Evening star., 1957-08-19

One colored boy was taugf
ing for a semester because
facilities for the course he
wanted were not available at
the Negro school.
Located almost anywhere
else in the United States. a
county like Arlington with a
small percentage of Negro res
idents would not ordinarily
know racial strife. At last
count, the county had 20.569
white and 1897 Negro students.
But Arlington is poised on the
banks Of the Potomac River
segregation's last frontier. On
one side of the county is the
rest of Virginia. leader of south
ern massive resistance" And
on the other side is integrated
Washington, seat of the civil
rights-conscious Federal Gov
ernment.
The suit. brought by Con-
stance Carter charged that the
Arlington School Board was Of
fering white high-School stu
dents better educational oppor-
tunities than it offered Negro
high-school students.
Three Years Before Courts
1t took the Constance Carter
case nearly three years to get
through the Federal Courts.
Judge Albert v. Bryan held that
the Negro and white high
school facilities were substan-
TALLY equal, but his ruling was
reversed by the Fourth Circuit
Court of Appeals.
BY this time. Constance Cart
er had married and other
Negro students had been al
lowed to join the case.
With the appellate court rul-
ing to be met. Arlington had
to offer Negro students the
same courses it offered white
students.
A 17-year-old colored boy
put the ruling to test the
following September by apply
ing for an automobile me-
chanics course which was Of
fered at Washington-Lee, but
not available at Hoffman
Boston where he was enrolled.
Hoffman-Boston at that time
didn't even have a shop in
which to teach the subject.
Given Special Class
The school board decided to
teach the boy. Richard o.
Green, in a special class at the
Washington-Lee shop while no
white students were using it.
For one semester, he was
carried from Hoffman-Boston
across the county to Washing
ton-Lee for the shop class each
day.
Richard, now "a, is employed
as an automobile mechanic and
lives at 3506 South Eighteenth
street, Arlington. He said 1t
wasn't too pleasant attending
classes all by himself. and he
hoped the Negro students now
seeking admission to Washing
ton-Lee have better luck break
ing down racial barriers.
IF they are successful, I'd
like to think my effort helped
a Bit" he said.
In 1852. the county built an
addition at Hofman-Boston,
remodeled the old building and
confidently thought the appel
late courts equal facilities
mandate had been obeyed.
CO-Mingling Assailed
The segregation question ex-
ploded again in 1868, when the
late John Locke Green charged
the school board with mall
feasance for permitting the
co-mingling of white and
colored students in violation Of
Virginia law.
Mr.. Green. a former Repub-
lican county treasurer and self
appointed watchdog Of county
government operations, asked
for removal Of the entire school
board. A grand jury called to
consider the charges cited four
instances Of racial co-min-
Cling" at such things as a mu1
sic festival, a teachers meeting,
and the like.
A friend Of the school board.
Lindell F. Shrum, promptly
filed suit asking removal Of all
County Board members for per-
mitting co-mingling Of white
and colored persons at public
meetings. Mr.. Shrum, said, I'm