Arizona sun., 1962-11-01
Judge Sullivan
In Unique Court

In Unique court
TALLADEGA, Ala. - The agony
of the Southern white minister
was personified in Circuit Court
here during the hearing of an in
junction against integrati0n lead
erS.
The Rev. John Willard Vess. a
Wesleyan Methodist pastor, reveal
ed the terrible conflicts he had
when three Negro students knelt
in at his church last Easter Sun
day.
Mr.. Vess told Judge William c.
Sullivan that he asked police to
arrest the students to protect them
from angry white church attend
ers, including man with knife.
Judge Sullivan is holding hear
ing to decide if Talladega College
students and others should be
permanently barred from taking
part in integration activities.
The defendants are now under a
temporary order forbidding picket
ing, marches, sit-ins, kneel-ins,
and parades. The order was issued
after a series of demonstrations
last April.
Mr.. VesS said there were IT'S
people in the church when the stu
dents walked past an usher and
down the center aisle. The con-
gregation was standing and sing
ing at the time.
The minister related that two
men in the church, including
professional football player, want
ed to drag the students out of
the church. Mr.. VeSs stopped them.
Instead, he asked the Negroes to
leave because of the confusion
they had caused by their presence
He said he did this because he be-
lieves God is not the author of
confusion
Mr.. Vess said in his statement
to the students: Il love the colored
race. l love the Negroes, but there
is a lot of confusion being caused
and / would ask you kindly to
leave to keep from being harmed"
The minister told the court:
There was one man with a knife.
knew that unless the Negroes
left of their own accord, they
would have been dragged out and
there would have been bedlam. l
felt it was for the protection of the
Negroes to let the police take
charge"
Police did arrest the students
but not the man with the knife or
those who threatened to drag the
Negroes out of the church.
Mr.. Vess also described the ef
feet of the incident on his congre-
cation. Before the students came
in," he said, there was real spirit
| in the service and people were
thinking about the Lord. But some
thing like this sort of takes the
spirit out of you. We went on as
best we could and then dismissed
after a short time.
Soon after the, service, Mr., Vessd
was visited at his home by DR..
Everett MacNair, white chaplain
at Talladega College. Il felt that
DR.. MacNair would understand
the burden on the heart OF min
ister," Mr.. Vess said. Il would
like to do anything to get this
thing Strengthened out -
The minister said Dr.. MacNair
was asked what the Negroes would
do if they could not obtain their
goals by nonviolent direct action
(N.V.D.A.) DR.. MacNair replied
that Southern whites should ap-
preciate the Negro students non
violent approach, because if they
fail in their appeal others may try
to settle tie issue by force and
violence.
Late, at special meeting of
the Tallldega Ministerial Associ-
alton, DR.. MacNair read a state
ment on the subject but the as
sociat;on would not hear a state
..lent by another minister.
This other minister was the Rev.
Norman Emerson, Birmingham
executive secretary of the Alabama
Council on Human Relations. Mr..
Jimerson is among those barred
from integration activities by the
injunction suit.
Mr.. VeSs said the ministers felt
'that this was a local matter and
Emerson had no business there.
We felt that it was only for our
own town to decide.
The witness said he objected to
the way in which the students went
about their kneel-in. ''The way in
which they came in caused con-
FUSION he declared. Confusion
was evidenced by their being there.
Their rushing in brought a spirit
that was unable to deal with. The
spirit in which they came caused
the disorder" ;"
Mr.. Vess also said he thought
the students main purpose was
to get publicity "and we didn't
want to give them that. can't
feel that they came on Christian
principles.
Another witness at the hearing