An April 13, 1950 article contains mentions of Hungerford alongside the issues which complicated site selection. Hungerford was ineligible as an option as a “proposed $200,000 modernization” was “held up by…discussion about whether Hungerford can legally be made a part of the public school system” due to its “status as a semi-religious private institution.” It is unclear what would happen to the school if it was deemed ineligible as the deal with “Bethune-Cookman College is reported to have been discarded.”
The background of the contentious and long anticipated survey for the new school explains Superintendent Walker’s expedient reaction to news of the impending suit. The inability to select the site originally only impacted one half of the school’s jurisdiction—“almost the entire Negro school expansion program.” This is a revelatory piece of evidence that also explains the significance of the suit and the reasons for its efficacy. Before the suit, further construction and expansion of schools only impacted black schools. It presented a very real and much more pressing problem to officials when the suit applied the same barrier to expansion of white schools as well.
Issues with site selection highlight those with maintaining segregated communities. They also reveal potential motivations for institutions eventually implementing integration. Social factors complicated the initial survey as local white citizens pushed back on selections deemed too close to white areas. Much of their rationale came from concern over a potential decline in property value. It was the concern over property—its proximity and its value—that held up construction and expansion of Black schools.
One site presented a significant logistical issue with a high student transportation cost to the State. Another site deemed close enough to “the Negro residential area” was considered cost-prohibitive by the board. A third involved converting an elementary school to the high school, only delaying the issue by creating the need for an elementary school instead. Orange County School Board chairman George W. Johnson cites lack of transparency from “Orlando authorities to determine in which direction they think the Negro population might be expected to grow." [1]
[1] "Solution Sought on Site: Decision Blocks School Plans," Orlando Evening Star, April 13, 1950.
The issues with the different sites are further explored in a June 4, 1950 article, which also includes a map illustrating the site and its proximity to nearby Black communities. A North Gore Ave. site was viewed as most likely due to its location between two black residential areas with the article stating that “the Negro community which is now well confined within limits bounded by Gore to the south and Robinson to the north, Hughey St. to the east and Orange Blossom Trail to the west.” The map also allows us to overlay the areas discussed onto our present landscape. This reveals the site selection as the likely final decision with the area now home to Jones High School. Attempts to find enough land to accommodate the new project while also adhering to local demands to maintain segregated boundaries challenged the finalization of the selection.
Quotes by Board chairman George Johnson point to the difficulty presented both by local citizens and the local government. He compares the issues of site selection and community pushback faced by the school board to coming “up against a veritable stone wall.” He then asserts that the failure to finalize the site selection led to the board being “‘put on the spot’ in the matter of arriving at a decision.” Citing Orlando’s explosive growth, Johnson describes the Black communities as “closely confined” and likens the lack of their expansion to keep pace with growth as a “situation as similar to a steam boiler.” To alleviate this problem, Johnson calls for decisions by the city government to outline more areas for Black communities.
There is also more detail concerning the “difference of opinion between the Negro population, white citizen groups, the county school board, and the State Board of Education.” It is an admittedly frustrating read as issues concerning cost and proximity are presented at every proposed selection. Limitations imposed on the landscape expose the toxic consequences of maintaining segregated societies. Attempts to maintain these societies stymied expansions of access to Black education. Land and its acquisition often placed hurdles in front of Black educational progress. It appears as though Hungerford remains strongly caught up in currents which prioritize land and its monetary value over its potential benefit to Black communities. [2]
[2] "Negro High School Site Selected; More Living Space Seen," Orlando Sunday Sentinel Star, June 4, 1950.
Sources
[1] "Solution Sought on Site: Decision Blocks School Plans," Orlando Evening Star, April 13, 1950.
[2] "Negro High School Site Selected; More Living Space Seen," Orlando Sunday Sentinel Star, June 4, 1950.
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