Evening star., 1951-06-28
Displaced Pupil
Raised
Langley Shift
Corning to Study
Placement of 400
Affected by Transfer

Now that the transfer of Lang
ley Junior High School from white
to colored students is an accom-
lplished fact. the Board of Educa-
tion must decide what to do with
the more than 400 displaced Lang
ley students.
The school board yesterday
voted to transfer Langley to COL
ored students. The action was
taken, despite a last-minute ef-
fort Of DR.. James A. Cannon,
board member, to block the shift
and transfer Eliot Junior High
School instead.
DR.. Cannon was the only mem
Der voting against the Langley
shift. Absent from the emotional
meeting were Adelbert w. Lee, vice
president Of the board, and Wool
sey w. Hall, colored member. Mr..
Hall was replaced and will not
be on the body after July /.
School Supt. Hobart M. Corn
ing said he will bring to the board
a recommendation on the dispo-
sition Of the Langley students at
q later date. He said they can
be placed either in Mckinley High
School. which is adjacent to Lang
ley at First and T streets NE, as
a unit, or dispersed to other jun
ior high schools.
Corning to Offer Plan.
However in a previous report
to the board on the situation, DR..
Corning indicated that transfer
OF the Langley students as a
group would be preferable. In
the report, he said some altera-
tions would have to be made at
McKinl ' and new equipment
obtained to accommodate the
junior high pupils.
Before the vote was taken, C.
Melvin Sharpe, board president,
read letters from three persons
objecting to the transfer-Repre-
sentative Redmond, Democrat, Of
North Carolina; Ralph. w. Don
nelly, of the Northeast Council
OF Citizens Associations, who
wanted a delay in the decision,
and Mrs. Louise Parent, of the
Brookland Citizens Association.
The board also heard another
plea from Mrs. Ina Whitall, Of
the Langley PTA, that the trans
fer not be made, and from Mrs
Edna Quantrille, of the Eastern
High School PTA.
Mrs. Philip Sidney Smith, CHAIR
man of the buildings and grounds
committee, said she was beginning
to feel mo matter what is de-
cided, we will be wrong" Her
committee conducted the public
hearings and recommended the
transfer of Langley.
Cannon Fears Trouble.
In protesting the transfer Of
Langley, DR.. Cannon said the
board was liable to light a can
of dynamite that would be heard
the world" He said the
board had no right to place the
colored and white citizens in a
position where there will be
trouble"
Mrs. James w. Williams and DR..
Phillip T. Johnson, both colored
members. DISAGREED that there
would be trouble. even though the
;wo buildings are adjacent.
Albert E. Steinem declared
something has to be done to
satisfy a pressing need" The 3
was proposed by DR..
Corning to relieve serious over
at three colored junior
highs. Miller, Browne and Randall.
Mr.. Steinem said it was un-
ortunate that the board could
lot meet the need with new
But, he added, the fig
Tres indicate Langley is the proper
chool to transfer. not Eliot or
stuart, which also had been under
consideration.
DR.. johnson pointed out that
.angley "just was not being used''
nd it was impossible to justify
is continuation as a white school
While the colored junior highs
,ere jammed beyond capacity.