The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1959-11-27
A South Carolina Lawyer
Analyses Prince Edward

Il
distinguished lawyer Of Columbia.
>. C.. virginian by birth and !,
former president Of the Richland
County. 5. C.. Bar Assn. Below are
excerpts from the South Carolina
News and Courier Of Charlest0n.)
TAU grass grows in all the public
school yards Ia Prince Edward
County. Virginia. and weeds and
brlars are springing up.
Those schools are as silent as j
tomb and as empty as a, last year 5
bird nest No children enter them.
The ! 800 white children who at
tended them last year are nov 60
ing 10 school In churches in the
community and the 700 colored
children are not going to school
anywhere
What brought about this con
ditiOn? Prince Edward County is in
Southern Virginia and it is one Of
the counties the NAACP selected
for forced mixed schools 1t is the
first county having nearly equal
numbers Of both races where the
courts have forced the issue.
Federal Judge Sterling Hutcheson
heard the case He knew the con-
ditlons and ordered that the people
have ten years before they would be
forced but the Circuit Court Of APP
pealS with a majority OF outside
judges who did not know local con
ditionS Overruled Judge Hutchinson.
and the County Commissioners
levied no school taxes 50 there was
no money to run the schools and
they are now closed.
The closed schools cry out against
the Intolerance of those Americans
who have no race problem in their
communities and who are unwilling
70 believe that their fellow Ameri-
cans who do have stlch a problem
are doing their best to solve il.
They also cry out against judges
who are so foolish as to think they
Can. By order Of cotrt change hui
man nature and wipe out race
problem.
What have the people of Prince
Edward County done to deserve
this fate? They taxed themselves
to build those schools. The popula-
ton Of that county is about halt
colored and half white. The colored
np0n1o haya haop 40 x,;,u ,ho,,t -
per cent of the taxes and have got
ten about so per cent of the bene-
fits. They were all getting along all
right until the NAACP came in and
brought their law suits.
The people decided that if they
can't run their own schools they
will have no public schools so they
closed them. They are violating no
law because there are no public
schools to go to- Everybody is
equal. The 500 white children are
going to school in churches and are
being taught by white teachers. The
! 700 colored children are not going
70 school anywhere and the 10 col
ored teachers have no Jobs.
The NAACP has not helped
either the colored children OF the
colored teachers lii fact the white
people tried to help the c0lored
people arrange schools like tn.
white schools. but the NAACP
would have nothing to do with any
schools unless they were mixed No
one wanted to close the schools bit
II all shows what happens in com
munity where there are large mum
bers OF both races and you try 10
force mixing
The otfenSe Of the people of that
county is that they want to protect
their children They know. al white
people in the South know. that il
sections where there are large
populations OF both races and
where race tension and friction
exist that cOl0red children will not
take discipline from white teachers
and white children will not take dis
cipline from colored teachers.
They know it is natural that if a
colored child is disciplined by
white teacher or a white child by
cOlOred teacher. the child feels