Evening star., 1949-08-25
Letters to The Star
Gives Illustrat tions Of Discrimina tion
In SEGREGATED Schools


In SEGREGATED Schools
To the Editor Of The Star:
Behind the announcement that the Board
of Education had inspected the new addition
to Taft Junior High School On The Star.
August I'D is the unshakeable meaning OF a
dual school system-discriminati in educa-
tional opportunity.
The story Is simple and not new. Taft
for white junior high school children and
Browne for Negro Junior high school children
were opened about the same time Is or ~
years ago. The buildings are identical in
architecture, similar in plan and constructed
to allow for addition. Taft. according to the
Strayer Report, has ~ more pupils than
pupil stations. Thus an addition to Taft
has been built in order that these pupils
won't be overcrowded, the building taxed,
and teachers overburdened. Incidentally.
without the addition the capacity Of the
white Junior high schools was adequate to
house all the white junior high school pupils.
The other part of the story is different.
Within five years of opening, in 1887. Browne
had exceeded It's designed capacity. No add1-
ton was built, however: nor was room
added during the next four years when the
enrolment at Browne steadily climbed past
1,400 children in school with capacity OF
about 8O0 BY 1941 Browne was operating
on an overlapping dual shift from 8 am.
until pm. and later that year on two
separate shifts, replete with all the thrills
of double shift (said to compare favorably
with the glamour Of the famed triple shift
of Cardozo). But no addition was built.
Browne in 1947-48. then enrolling about 1900
children. approached filling the building
third time. No addition.
Then Browne partially was relieved by
sending pupils to nearby elementary schools.
But to date no addition has been built,
although the relatively small overload at Taft
stimulated construction.
When the new Miller Junior High School.
in far Northeast and several miles from
Browne, is opened. Browne again partially
will be relieved-only partially. Miller with
a capacity Of 1.000-1 200 and Browne with
capacity OF 800 must then house more than
2.200 junior high school pupils.
There's another angle to this Taft-addition
story. The auditoriums in both junior highs,
have been considered safety hazards because
children pass Immediately through audito-
rum doors to a set Of four or five steps:
similar auditorium was built at Francis
Junior High School, another Negro junior
high school. The auditorium at Taft, how
ever. has been made safe by building .
sloping floor When will the Browne and
Francis children likewise be protected?
In both matters, that OF sufficient class
IOOu SpdCc duu odlcGy Ill tAc duulIOIlu
the dual school system has provided for the
needs of the white children, failed to provide
for the Negro children. The dual school
system will never tshort of spending enor-
nous sums of the taxpayers money! afford
equal educational opportunities.
AS in housing plans the dual school sys-
tenn makes its contribution toward herding
Negroes together. And as in housing for
white people. the school system sees to 1t
that they are not herded together to their
inconvenience. PAUL COOKE,
President, Local 81. American Fedora
tion Of Teachers (AFL.