The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1958-09-05
Third Of Series
nv LAURA VIRGINIA HALE

Reprinted from the Norther Vir
ginia Daily by special permission Of
the author.
Mr. Hill has made II quite clear
that he Is not aeitating for better
Negro &C h 0 S, but for mixed
schools declaring that he would not
be satisfied for his clients TO at
tend II. even II We now had ready
tho Negro high school which Is to
cost our county nearly half mil
lion dollars He insists that they be
entered in our white school, al
ready so crowded that 1862 pupils
arc packed into space built to &C
commodatc $40. where classes last
Year had ID meet in the cafeteria.
and seven home rooms to be as
signed to the auditorium, library
and cafeteria and where many
students wishing TO enroll in home
economics. typlng and shop courses
had 10 be refused
Jeffries Elementary School tcol-
ored is 240 The attendance last
term was 20l. 80 fewer than the
capacity Yet Mr. Hill insists that
five children be transferred from
that school To the white elementary
achool whose pupil capacity Is 1895.
but had an enrolment Of 1923 last
year. with eight sections of the
lower grades on a half day basis
Mr. Hill admits that the average
Negro pupil in Virginia scores
lower IN mental tests than white
children but contends ii is solely
the result Of segregation 1t isn't
the blackncss Of the skin. it, be
cause he's segregated It's simple
Remove the segregation he said
Mental Capacity
Sadly enough. 1t is not that
simple. as no one knows better than
Mr.. Hill His facetious remark that
the skin color has nothing to do
with it is absolutely correct. for
education Is not absorbed through
the skin but there is very impor-
tant factor which he carefully
avoids mentioning. entail ca
pacity Without it. no child can
gain an education in any school:
with it. he can learn sitting alone
IN the forest with a book in his
hand
For the truth of this. our Negroes
need only recall the famous Ameri-
can whom they honor as their bene-
factor. Abraham Lincoln. BY fire.
light in a wilderness cabin, he edu-
Gated himself reading books which
nc walked miles to borrow. It
would have been most unfortunate
If he had gotten the idea that he
must "mingle and participate" with
other races in order to develop his
own brain and talents. for | fear
the lndian-the only "other race"
within contact--could have helped
him little. On whom would he have
placed the blame had he been
shown below average" in mental
tests?
Modern Advantages
There IS not Negro child in
Warren County today who does not
have far better educational advan-
tages than Lincoln had. Yet MIR.
Hill insists that child cannot
learn. seated there in a classroom
az the Ressie Jeffries School. IN
less a white pupil sits in the desk
beside him. Thus, despite his leg
ally trained mind. Mr. Hill has led
his clients into a frank admission
that their children are mentally in
terror to Southern white children.
VINO have a ended segregated
schools for generations and suf
tered no retarded results thereby.
In 1856, US News and World Re
port published an article on race
differences by DR.. Frank c. j. Nc
Gurk, associate professor pr psy-
chology at Villanova University
Basing his findings on a number Of
studies made during and since
World War l, he reaches the obvi-
Gus conclusion that Negroes are
below whites in capacity for edu-
cation and that Improvement Of
their social and economic status
does not reduce this difference. In
his copyrighted story, he says. If