Arkansas State press. [volume] (Little Rock, Ark.) 1941-1959, 1959-01-09
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Churches Call for Compliance

Four important religious groups voiced support of
the Supreme Cous desegregaton rulings during the year
In October the Protestant Episcopal Church House of
Bishops issued statement calling for equality of oppor
tunity in education housing, employment and public
commodatons without discrimination and without sep
araon' The following month"; both the Roman Catholic
Bishops of the United States the Methodist
Bishops issued strong statements in support of the Courts
antbias rulings In November 309 white Protestant and
Jewish clergymen in Atlanta called upon community
leaders and state leaders to give creative thought
maintaining sound public school PLAN Such plan must
be consistent with the law of the land respect and pre-
the rghts-of all citizens assure the preserva-
ton of our system of public education"
The denial of freedom of residence the urban Negroes
most serious problems attacked by the Commission
on Race and Housing, private group financed by the
Fund for the Republic The report based years
of intensive study recommended federal community
action to eliminate discrimination in housing Serving on
the commission were prominent in industry finance
housing and education.
Bombngs Denounced
On the negative side were the bombngs of churches
synagogues, schools and private homes the defiance of
the Civil Rights Commission by Alabama election off
Gals who refused to cooperate in the investigation of
ations of Negroes right to in that sate the high
handed arrest of three visiting Negro cergymen in Brm
ngham suspicion of planning urge Birmingham Ne
groes to refrain from riding city buses long they
segregated and the sentencing of Sand 9year
old Negro boys to reformatory in Monroe N. c. be-
cause one of them was kissed by little white girl play
mate
Two of the school bombngs significant in mat
they occurred in schools where desegregaon under
way without incident, although in Clinton Tenn
there had been trouble in 1856 The Clinton dynamiting
and that of the Atlanta Jewish Temple nation
wide attention and hardened public opinion against law
less and violent defiance of the courts
The revelation of the crude manner in which Negro
citizens denied the right to register and vote in Ala
bama and the defiance of the requests of the Civil Rights
Commission for records and other testimony gave impetus
to the demand for the enactment of additional and
stronger civil rights legislation by the Seth Congress-
The segregationists lost ground during 1858
Federal Activity Increased
The year marked, ALSO by increased activity of
Federal government in the civil rights field Two forth
right speeches by Attorney General William P Rogers
especially the to the American Bar Association con-
venton in Los Angeles left doubt that government
would take vigorous measures to secure enforcement of
Federal court orders and to uphold the Supreme Court
The Department of Justice moved expeditiously in
the Little Rock situation only with u S. mar
shals ready for service in Little Rock but with briefs
petitions and arguments in the Eight Circuit Court of Ap-