Understanding the policy of rolling both expansion and integration into one initiative by the Orange County School Board, mentioned last week, requires context from the decade prior. Looking into the equalization suits filed against the School Board reveals potential connections that brought the two together. At the same time, these connections indicate a continuation of policies which continued to consider black educational institutions second to those for white students.
As the board sought to expand in the face of population growth following World War II, they focused much of their attention and funding on construction and improvements to white schools. Equalization suits filed by members of black communities were seen as methods to shift this focus and hold school boards accountable to the “separate but equal” approach to maintaining educational institutions and facilities for black and white students. Many of these suits sought to bar further construction or improvement to white schools until more attention was paid and resources allocated to Black students. Two years before Brown vs. Board of Education, black parents used equalization suits to advocate for change within the system responsible for their children’s education.
Freda Avant, “School Site Survey OKed for Orange: State Board Will Visit Locations,” Miami Herald, August 11, 1950.
An August 11, 1950 Miami Herald article reports on a site survey for a new Black school, calling it a step toward “settl[ing] the long dispute raging” as Black communities employed legal action to achieve equalization. Superintendent Judson B. Walker initiated a new call to resurvey for a site. Described as “tired of the situation which now has brought news” of a federal equalization suit “to be filed immediately,” he believed prioritizing this task would demonstrate commitment to the construction of the new school and result in either the dropping of suit or an earlier settlement. To advocate for a resurvey, Superintendent Walker traveled to Tallahassee and met with several officials: Attorney General Richard W. Ervin, State Superintendent Thomas E. Bailey, and Secretary of State R.A. Gray. Together, the state officials agreed that a “capable board of survey would be appointed and would undertake the [survey] next week.”
Walker’s reaction and description by Avant signify efforts to equalize schools had been underway for some time but had since lapsed. This is further supported by hints of problems “which [have] halted construction so long” and threatened to “make building thousands of dollars more costly [due to] rising prices and the war situation.” That Walker’s reaction was in response to news of the impending suit is a testament to the effectiveness of using legal methods to argue and advocate for equalization. [1]
“Protest Asks for Injunction,” Orlando Evening Star, August 12, 1950
More information about the suit was published in the Orlando Evening Star the next day. Filed by Orlando and Tampa attorneys against the Board of Public Instruction of Orange County “individually and collectively,” it outlines grievances and calls for change. Central to the suit was the issue of “discriminat[ion] against plaintiffs and other Negroes similarly situated, on account of race and color,” which resulted in educational facilities “vastly inferior to [those] provided for white children, similarly situated.” The suit also points to plans to continue this trend into the future with nine contracts given for white schools to the one given for a black school, despite the funding pool used to construct these schools—the six million dollar bond issue—intended for use for both black and white schools. It alleges that proceedings for the construction of a new school had languished due to school administrators requiring “the complete agreement of all persons concerned” in the land site selection, which was apparently contingent on a consensus that the site “most closely conforms to the needs of the community.” [2] Returning to Avant’s article, she indicates the issue inherent to this approach. She mentions that the inability to find the land needed for the new schools was the result of a reluctance to sell land for a black school and pushback by residents who did not want to live in proximity to the school. [3]
These reactions were typical of the time and indicate one of the many issues plaguing Black education at the time. Addressing it required a different approach—perhaps one that married integration with much-needed expansion? Further exploration of equalization suits is likely to yield more information about the board’s decision to combine the two initiatives.
Sources
[1] Freda Avant, “School Site Survey OKed for Orange: State Board Will Visit Locations,” Miami Herald, August 11, 1950.
[2] “Protest Asks for Injunction,” Orlando Evening Star, August 12, 1950
[3] Avant, “School Site Survey…”
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