The Home Front:
BOHN, WILLIAM E.
THE HOME FRONT By William E. Bohn Progress Report On De-segregation IT WAS ten months ago that the Supreme Court handed down its anti-segregation decision. Since that day in May, there has...
...A hope springs up that the lack of violent expression is a sign of thoughtfulness...
...So much publicity has been given to unpleasant incidents that I take pleasure in passing on an item reported by the School News man in Missouri...
...Since that day in May, there has probably been more vigorous discussion in this country than at any time since the Civil War...
...is made up of Southern newspapermen and educators...
...Supreme Court opinion...
...Public high-school students in the neighborhood will attend a mixed school expected to have from 25 to 30 per cent Negro enrollment...
...Last come the "unyielding resistance" stales...
...Six 'for sale' signs promptly went up...
...If you picture their inhabitants in relation to the United States, you will see them as a comparatively small enclave of conservatism...
...We like our fine neighbors...
...News...
...This happened in a highly respectable part of St...
...South Carolina and Louisiana...
...Mississippi...
...His regular job is that of editor of the Charlotte (N.C...
...In the first group, the "do it now" states, are Delaware, West Virginia and Missouri...
...In outlining what he calls "the biggest regional story of the century," Mr...
...Under this heading fall Maryland, Florida, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Arkansas and Alabama...
...During the last few months, however, the debate has seemed to wear itself out...
...Possibly some of those who have shouted so violently against the Court may be having sober second thoughts...
...It is an area of dignified old homes, once among the finest in the city and still possessing distinct charm...
...Samuel H. Marcus, however, put up a different kind of sign in front of their 16-room brick colonial home...
...Your race, religion and polities are not our concern...
...Next come the "wait and see" states...
...The best way to follow the integration-segregation tides is to read the Southern School News...
...Virginius Dabney, for example, is serving as chairman...
...After Mr...
...So it was, naturally, to this source that I turned in order to discover what is going on in the minds of our Southern friends...
...Can someone tell me what goes on...
...In that fine city, integration has already taken place...
...If you consider them as a fraction of the population of the world, the majority of which is non-white, you will see them as a tiny minority in a great flood of contrary opinion...
...Recently the block was re-zoned from single-family to two-family dwellings, and two Negro families moved into one of the homes...
...From the point of view of those who favor integration, this picture is not bad...
...McKnight divides the 17 segregation states into three groups...
...McKnight has some reservations to make regarding the classification of Maryland and Alabama...
...Many of them are well known...
...From some states, on the other hand, have come violent expressions of opinion against the decision and reports of legislative steps to frustrate it...
...I take it for granted that he is a good Southerner...
...Ml who take pride in their homes are welcome on this street...
...We have heard news about states, cities and counties where honest and, in many cases, well-devised efforts are being made to comply with the decision...
...Though the District of Columbia lacks the privilege of making its own decisions, it obviously belongs in this category...
...If we count the District of Columbia, we have four "do it now" states, ten "wait and see" states, and four "unyielding resistance" states...
...For there was the text of an address by C. A. Mc-Knight, Executive Director of the Reporting Service...
...This journal is published once a month at Nashville, Tennessee, "with the aim of providing accurate, unbiased information to school administrators, public officials and interested lay citizens on the developments in education arising from the U.S...
...Marcus's sign went up...
...It read: 'This house is not for sale...
...During this period of quiet, one naturally wonders what is going on...
...all six of the others came down...
...If Alabama later joins the never-never crowd, we will have five of the stubborn resisters...
...The Southern Education Reporting Service, which does the publishing job...
...In a number of the states which have made rapid progress, the Catholic Church deserves some of the credit...
...and Mrs...
...In Alabama, a legislative study commission "has recommended that legal steps be taken to circumvent the Court decision...
...It lies," so the story goes, "athwart the westward push of Negro residential migration...
...When I received the number for February 3, I found my task made easy...
...But here is the most Catholic state in the union —and it is dragging its feet...
...In the District of Columbia and in each of the 17 states where integration is a problem, a reputable newspaperman reports...
...Louis...
...These are only four in number: Georgia...
...I am especially interested in the state of Louisiana...
...In the first of these, the city of Baltimore belongs to the "do it now" areas...
...but the Legislature has not yet acted upon this advice...
Vol. 38 • March 1955 • No. 10
