Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1949-12-03
An Outsider Looks At Negro-White
Education In Mississippi

One thing that Mississppians are easy and
quick to get het up about is when other people point
cry, outside interference and outside influence" in
the minds of many people, both in and out the state
kind of naturalization of desire to do nothing or do
as little as possible towards correcting the evils that
sorely beset us.
Recently the responsible and authoritative source
of such information published figures that had
to do with Negro and White education in the state
These figures were subsequently analysed by one of
the responsible newspapers of the country outside the
state, which voiced sentiments in an editorial
under the caption THERE is NO EQUALITY HERE
which says:
The state of Mississippi spent eighteen and quar-
ter million dollars instruction for white students last
year During the same period it spent almost five
million dollars for instruction of Negro students In
other words it spent rs cent of its school funds
whites, % per cent Negro youngsters The popula-
ton of the state is 1875 per cent Negro
While it was spending those amounts on instruction
Mississippi spending slightly less than three hun
dred thousand dollars to get its Negro boys and girls
to school, That figures SO per cent for whites,
per cent for Negroes Looking at the figures in
other way It is apparent that Mississippi spent almost
much for transportation of white children to school
as it spent on instruction of Negro children
Mississippi hires 1866 white teachers and 6164
Negro teachers The average salary of the white in
strucors S173105 and the Negro teachers got an
average of $659.49 for their work Negro teachers
with masters degrees got thousand dollars year
less than their white counterparts and Negro teachers
with bachelors degrees got about eight hundred per
year less than white teachers with similar education
here and remark that these official statistics fur
nshed by the state of Mississippi itself and nobody
charge that Negro agitators northern Dixie-baers
dreamed them up.
It is plain beyond the need for argument that there
is no equality in Mssissppis separate school system
Although figures not at hand at the moment, for
inquiries have demonstrated that Mississippi rates
very low IN the matter of proving educational facilities
for its school children The state poor and is unable
to keep pace with northern western and southern
states t is too poor to finance adequate school
system M hJ
insisting dual scheme.
Of course, Negroes who denied the ballot ard
kept in an economically disadvantaged position
bound to get less than their share of funds in the opera
ton of that dual system The dominant group always
gets the best of ALLEGATION of public funds in any seq
regation system.
Mississipp's figure lights up the need for re-
examination of the separate. but equal" CONSTRUCT
T1ON placed on the Fourteenth Amendment by reac-
tlonary supreme court after the Civil War Time has
demonstrated that there can be equality under jim
Grow and that the equal protection clause of the Amend
ment is meaningless long the states are per-
mitted to enforce separation in public facilities.