Arizona sun., 1947-03-28
Citizens Continue Drive To
Put An End To School Bias
By HELM TAYLOR

at Fremont High School, >Wheye
nearly 500 studeRts walked out
Monday in an anti-Negro~ demon
stration, continued today.
A second delegation of citizens
met with school board officials
Among the delegates were six Ne
gro girls, whose attendance at the
school touched off the demonstra-
ton.
Approximately SO representatives
of trade unions, community groups
and churches, meeting yesterday
with Superintendent of Schools
Vierling Kersey, charged the board
has a "do nothing" attitude in the
face of increasing racial bias at the
school.
A proposal that an inter-faith
advisory council, composed of COM
munity and religious leaders, be set
up to advise schools officials on
methods of preventing such out
bursts as took place at the Fre-
mont school, was presented Kersey
by Milton Shields, executive secre-
tary of the Citizens Committee for
Better Education.
Vicki Landish, executive secre-
tary of the American Youth for De-
mocracy, and Howard Lambert,
head of the Los Angeles CLOS
Community Services division, both
suggested that an immediate mass
meeting of students be called to
thoroughly air the situation.
Kersey, however, said there's
been so much adult outside influ-
ence infIaming these youngsters
that / seriously doubt if it would
be wise to hold big meeting at
this time"
Kersey denied the charge that
Negro students were Systematically
excluded from the school or were
told they would be happier at
some other school,"
His denial Immediately was chal-
lenged by Mrs. A. B. Towns, Ne
gro, whose daughter attends the
school.
"When I enrolled my daughter
in Fremont school in February"
she said, II was told by the princi-
pal, DR.: Herbert Wood, and the
girls vice-principal, Miss Frances
Donovan, that my daughter would
be happier someplace else because
she was a Negro and that the anti
Negro bias was so bad in the school
they didn't know how to cope with
it,"
81 insisted that my daughter re-
main. / told them this was a de-
mOcracy and that my daughter had
a right to go to Fremont school if
she lived in the district.
"Since my daughters enrolment,
she has been constantly Inundated
by both students and teachers"
Asked flatly to explain his re-
mark Negroes were not asked to go
to other schools in view of Mrs.
Towns. statement, Kersey abruptly
terminated the meeting.
Mrs. La Rue Mccormick, Com
munist running for board of edu-
cation, who was one of the dele
gates, said the situation at the high
school now was one of earned
truce" despite the fact most of the
students suspended for participa-
ton in the demonstration now have
returned to classes and have signed
statements they will not walk out
again.
'"The students now are saying
they'll find some other way to get
the Negroes out of school and are
insulting those who did not parti-
cipate in the strike. Something has
to be done Immediately" she said.
Delegates participating in We'd
nesday's meeting included:
Helen Samuels, executive secre-
tary of the National Negro Con-
gress; Frank Alexander, member
of the United Negro and Allied
Veterans, and AFL Carpenters Lo-
cal 634; DR.. H. Claude Hudson, Ne
gro candidate for board of educa-
ton; Clara Towns, executive board
member of the Jefferson High
School Parent Teachers Associa-
ton; Marjorie Dehr, executive
board member of the Parents
Council for Child Care Centers;
Carrie Carroll, president of the Los
Angeles CIO Women'S Auxiliary,
and the Rev. Charles S. Mundell,
minister of the Berean Congrega-
tional Church.
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