Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-09-08
FIRST YEAR
Some Students Found
Worries Exaggerated

DR.. Bish told Of two happens
ings which he felt showed the
school was adjusting well.
A new colored girl student and
a classmate who was wearing o
Mckinley T-shirt were riding on
a bus when some white students
from another high school stepped
near and made some remarks
about the students going to
Mckinley now. Several white
youths on the bus, wearing
Mckinley letters. stepped up and
said:
eff you have something to say.
lsay it to us"
After the other students,
cowed, got OF the bus. one Of
the youths who interviewed, q
Mckinley graduate, told the
colored Tech students:
"It's all part Of being good
Techite."
| In another instance, a colored
boy. stating he hoped he was
causing no offense and intended
nothing personal, wrote an end
of -the-year note to a white
classmate expressing gratitude
that during the year the class
mates manner had made him
feel that Il at least had one
friend"
i DR.. Bish's opinion was that
the year. from a human rela-
Itions standpoint, was amazingly
successful.
4 Eastern, a combined Junior
senior high school, was the most
i integrated Of the -city's secon-
Diary schools, with a white
majority in the senior unit and
la colored preponderance in the
Junior.
/ Oficials blamed the years
chief problems on having two
lage groups In the same build
ing. Junior high pupils were q
discipline problem, and the
school had more than usual
truancy and hardness.
j Behavior Improved
However, behavior greatly i'm
proved during the year. Favor
able reports by two students who
visited racially mixed high
school in New Rochelle. N. Y.
helped student attitudes. Prin-
cipal John P. Collins declared
; regarding his Junior high school
difficulties:
II guess If I'd gotten 750 white
! they'd have been just as much
! trouble"
Some students at other schools
.. credited those at Anacostia High
, School with taking the lead in
= the October indignation strike.
Mckinley and Anacostia were
the first two schools to have
demon STATIONS. Yet oddly
enough, Anacostia had only -
!, Negro students and no Negro
: teachers.
Repeatedly there was some
. agitation in the school over
!. rumors of more pupil transfers.
These rumors proved unfounded.
!, and once the demonstration
. ended the school settled down to
q a largely uneventful year. New
: Corners participated in. various
school activities without difficult
ties.
A colored girl was elected to
the student council. and colored
:. boys went out for basketball.
baseball and track. Mixed SWIM
! ming classes were held in the
] adjacent outdoor pool, although
!, swimming enrolment, which Is
voluntary, declined from the
!, previous year.
The school had good sports
season. although Principal John
IKoontz declared:
IF we'd had couple of the
icolored boys Mckinley or Roose-
welt had we'd have won the
basketball championship"
Roosevelt, Coolidge and West.
ern Highs had no strikes, al.
Though all were somewhat inte-
grated.
I At Roosevelt, Jefferson
i At Roosevelt, with 10 per cent
| colored. officials felt student adj
!, Ijustment was highly successful.
| lColored students were elected. to
.Ithe student council. participated
lin assemblies, made the honor
! roll and were outstanding in
: sports.
4 Two colored basketball players
, won varsity letters.
Mrs. Elva c. Wells. the prin.
/ Icipal, said of the newcomers:
81 have never had as many
! children come in and say Merry
christmas as last December"
: At jefferson Junior High
School, most integrated of the
|city's separate Junior highs, FRI
sIday night dances were dropped
; and teachers had many educa-
, Itional. problems. But colored
! children were elected to the hon.
!, Tor society, mixed plays were
given and colored teachers, on
! one occasion, were invited to q
, party at the home of white one.
jefferson students did not
strike. Principal Hugh Smith,
who did much advance SPADE
work on building good neighbor-
hood relations, said:
II don't believe I've had any
new problems because of inte-
gration-merely an ampliflca-
ton of what I've had"
i Just before summer vacation
this writer was in an assistant
principals Office at another
Junior high when two colored
girls and a white girl walked
lin. One of the colored girls
Isaid a white teacher, annoyed
lat the class behavior, had said.
"Just because it's the end Of
the year, it's no time to show
your true color" ~
This showed that there were
e. e. L.