Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-09-01
Hord-Core Opposition Shrinks

~ ASASAtA AN~0~
NASHVILLE, Tenn.-Slowly the
hard core Of Southern States un-
compromisingly against integration
Is shrinking.
With another school term about
TO open, the battle line Of diehard
pro-segregationists Is drawn back
upon only seven States-Alabama,
Georgia, South Carolina, Louisi-
ana. Mississippi, Virginia and
Florida.
Thirty-nine months ago, they
counted II States as more or less
firmly in their camp even though
the prolonged adherence Of some
border States like Maryland.
Missouri, Oklahoma. Tennessee
and West Virginia - appeared
prohlematical.
Virginia and Florida are under
heavy pressure to begin desegre-
cation as the result Of Federal
court actions and could be the
next bastions Of the pro-segrega-
tionists to crack.
The South is now split on the
public school Observation-Disclosures
ton issue on an axis stretching
from Fort Smith and Little Rock,
Ark, through Nashville and on
through Charlotte, Greensboro and
Winston Salem, N. c. In all these
rities stems toward integration
have been taken.
Change seems to be brewing,
especially in the mid-South.
Immediately after the May IT,
1854, decision of the United States
supreme Court holding racial
segregation in the public schools
unconstitutional, there vas a Bort
of stunned silence throughout the
region.
Gradually there developed q
highly vocal opposition which ex-
pressed outrage and defiance IN no
uncertain terms from Virginia to
Texas.
That is no longer true. On the
matter Of ultimate compliance
with the Supreme Courts decision.
the South appears to be breaking
I'D into communities. 1t may well
be that even in the communities
there is developing q split along
economic class lines over the inte-
grafton question.
Negro Power Grows
Even in deep South States.
Negroes have made some minor
cracks in the monolithic white OPP
position to indignation.
In Atlanta, for example, Negro
minister, the Rev. William Holmes
Borders. said that If the Negro
vote continues to increase he
might run for mayor. One Negro
already has been elected to the
city school board.
In Atlanta's last city election
Negroes cast some $4,000 votes for
the successful candidate for
mayor. In all. the winner. VIII
liam B. Hartsfield, received 1852.
Even in South Carolina some
ministers have been circulating a
Statewide petition for a more
moderate approach to the school
indignation question. In another
deep South State. Alabama, the
Negroes are developing tormi-
dable leadership.
1t may be that the decisions TO
make a start on indignation in the
six cities are manifestations Of
whatever it is that is fermenting
beneath the surface.
In Charlotte, Little Rock and
here in Nashville. for example,
the people who make up what
the sociologists describe as the
power structure are moving open
ly for the first time to the side
Of compliance.
Nashville and Little Rock were
under Federal court order to be-
gin indignation, but in all proba-
bility both cities could have OBJ
tanned further delays by insisting
on tests of recently enacted State
laws.
On the advice of their attorneys
the school boards in these two
cities went ahead with migration
plans. holding that further litiga-
ton would be costly and useless.
Token Action
The three North Carolina cities
Of Charlotte, Greensboro and VIM
ston-Salem we're under no court
compulsion whatsoever. Their ac-
ton in simultaneously announcing
plans to begin desegregation on q
token basis (only II Negroes will
be admitted to white schools in all