Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-11-09
Brief 10 Declare
Schools Here
Desegregdted
Bourd to Submit
Report Next Week
To Supreme Court
By james 6. Deone


A brief declaring in effect that
the District public school race
segregation issue already is set
tied will be submitted to the
Supreme Court by next Monday.
Assistant Corporation Counsel
Milton D. Norman said today.
Six Board of Education menu
bers yesterday saw a draft Of
the proposed brief in an infor-
NAL meeting with Mr.. Norman
and Corporation Counsel YER
non E. West.
The main point of the brief,
Mr.. norman said today, will be
that the School Board, by order
ing desegregation starting with
the current term, has made the
pending case attacking serega-
ton here legally moot. The Dis
trict will argue, therefore, that
no further action is necessary.
Aftermath of Complaints.
Yesterdays session was called
by the Districts legal officers as
the aftermath of complaints from
some board members that they
weren't consulted adequately
about previous court presenta-
tions. The nine board members,
along with School Supt. Hobart
M. Corning. are defendants in
the case which grew out of re-
fusal of school authotities to adj
init some colored Children to
Sousa Junior High School.
Two board members, Robert r.
Faulkner and Mrs. Frank S.
Phillips, made known personal
views yesterday, and the session
involved some >unscheduled de-
bate.
Mr.. Faulkner, a consistent OPP
ponent OF the Indignation pro-
gram now In effect, criticized the
board majority, calling those
members modern John Browns
and asserting that they had
forced desegregation before a
final Supreme Court decision re-
CARELESS of its impact on parents
/. and children.
Repeats Transfer Plea.
|. Mr.. Faulkner repeated plea
he has made at several board
meetings that children now re-
| quired to attend buildings where
the opposite race is a "substan-
tial majority" be permitted to
| transfer elsewhere. He also asked
that his viewpoint be conveyed
to the high court.
Mrs. Phillips submitted a study
Of school enrollments which she
told the group showed a marked
decline of white pupils this fall
A similar study recently was
published by The Star.
West A. Hamilton, Negro board
member, told Mr.. Faulkner he
felt the latter's complaints
should not be given further con-
sideration since the boards ma
jority had already decided on the
desegregation policies.
Mr.. Norman said today he
does not plan to include any de-
tailed reference to disagreements
in the brief, but the document
will state that there are "di-
vergent views" among some of
the board members.
It is also expected to include
a copy of DR.. Corning's detailed
integration plans. an indignation
time table and a statement of
principles adopted by the board
In Operation Next Year.
Under the indignation plan,
the school system is to be OPP
Grating completely without racial
bars by next September.
Mr.. Faulkner has not specifi-
cally defined what he would re-
gard as a substantial majority
to be considered in permitting
pupil transfers. He said today
this would have to be left to the
decision of school officials.
Yesterdays session was held
behind closed doors. Mr.. Kor-
man said board members in adj
vance were asked not to dis
close the proceedings publicly,
but several of the members said
they had not understood they
were to be secret.
Mr.. Norman said he felt it was
not respectful Of the court to
disclose the full contents Of the
brief in advance.
/ The high court is scheduled to
hold hearings on the District case
and similar cases from four
/ States next month.