Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-12-02

education provided Negro stu
difficult, Mr.. Mearns said.
Alexandria, for example, is
forcing out its middle and up
per class Negroes through its
failure to provide them suitable
housing and these families are
the best qualified to contribute
to the city's welfare, he added.
Mr.. Mearns said Richmond
must realize its desegregation
problems are those of a big city
and not of the Negro. Here, he
said, the improvement of the
quality Of Negro education is
the first step to be taken.
Norfolk Picture Involved
Norfolk's school problems, the
report said, are complicated by
an unusual lack Of communica-
ton between the white and Ne
gro C ON m unities. The city
builds numerous small elemen-
tary schools. and creates segre-
gated residential areas complete
with schools to develop its ca
pacity to contain desegregation,
the report said.
Charlottesville's temperament
is such that it can accept more
desegregation than has taken
place. Mr.. Mearns said. It's
needs include a new high school
and degeneration at the ele-
mentary level.
Virginia's Negro school build
ings and equipment and the
States Negro teachers, teach
ing methods and curriculum are
inferior to those of whites, Mr..
Mearns said. Teaching methods
in Negro schools, he said, are
old fashioned, with emphasis
normally placed on developing
the memory, rather than the
reasoning power, Of the pupil.
The Negro teachers are prod
ucts Of segregated schools and
use the same methods and
standards as their former
teachers. Lacking cultural
breadth, as the result Of their
narrow experiences, he said,
the teachers are unable to
widen the cultural vision of
their pupils, Mr.. Mearns said
in his report.
Urges White Cooperation
Efforts to close the gap be-
tween Negro and white educa-
ton in Virginia must come
from white school administra-
tors" the commission report
said. "All too often in Virginia,
If there are no complaints from
Negro principals and teachers,
school superintendent and
school board members are will
ing to ignore what they must
know are serious shortcomings
in their school systems,"
The Civil Rights Commits
sion said that while the South
desegregates its schools slowly
and with great reluctance, there
is growing concern in the North
over school segregation.
These conclusions were con-
tanned in the commissions
study of public school segrega-
ton in North Carolina, Ken
lucky, Tennessee and Virginia
in the South and the Northern
cities Of Highland Park, Mich,
New Rochelle, N. Y, Philadel-
phia, Pa. Chicago, Ill, and st.
Louis, Mo.
School segregation In the
North grows mainly out of
residential patterns, the report
said. Some northern school ad-
ministrations have been the
targets Of lawsuits over various
aspects of segregated educa-
tional facilities.
Placement Acts Threatened
Recent Federal court deci-
Sions are threatening to knock
out the pupil placement acts,
the South's "last strong ar
tifice" to maintain segregated
schools. the report said.
Until this year, the pupil
placement acts were relatively
successful where proffered as
desegregation plans" the re-
port on the South observed.
The 5th Circuit Court de-
clined to approve Florida's
placement act as a reasonable
start toward full compliance
with the Supreme Court deci-
sion. And, in March, 1862, the
9Th Circuit Court held the
Tennessee pupil placement plan
did not constitute a desegre-
CATION plan.
Thus, in the latest decisions
Of first impression, the pupil
placement acts have been held
invalid as desegregation plans
because they manifested a con-
tinued policy Of segregation,
even though they did not ex-
pressly incorporate race as q
factor in pupil assignment" the
report said.