Dear Mr. Kerns,

Thank you very much for sharing this with those of us who call themselves
historians.  Your writing on this is something that every good historian
prays for when trying to make sense of our convoluted past.  I have passed
this on to both my husband and brother (a lawyer and historian himself).
Both were very taken with it.  Perhaps, since you say you have no plans to
write about it, you should save some of your personal notes for future
generations who tend to take so many things for granted.

Margaret Peters

----- Original Message -----
From: "Wilmer L. Kerns" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2003 8:52 PM
Subject: school desegregation-- 1958-1969--a personal journey


> I'm motivated (although reluctant) to send this post after reminiscing
about
> my earlier years in Civil Rights-- specifically school desegregation, and
> realizing that most of my former co-workers are deceased. I have not
written
> anything on this subject and have no plans to do so, in that I was more of
> an activist than an academician. If no one reads this rambling post to the
> last line, at least it will have been cathartic for me.
>
> I was a Mathematics teacher in Norview Senior High School when the Norfolk
> City schools were closed in the 1958-59 academic year, which was part of
the
> passive resistance strategy. I broke contract in mid-year because my
> conscience wouldn't allow me to teach white children in makeshift private
> schools, mostly in Independent Baptist churches but in other facilities to
> avoid desegregation. Those who did that received an extra salary. I didn't
> enjoy attending faculty meetings at 1:00 pm every other day in order to
> qualify for monthly payments on my annual salary of $3,250 (my earlier
> starting salary was $2,900 per annum). So I resigned in December of 1958.
>
> A broken contract in those days meant that you probably wouldn't get a job
> in another school system (they labeled the recommendation "with
prejudice").
> I moved to the West Coast in December of 1958 to enroll as a graduate
> student in Mathematics at Oregon State University (was on the Quarter
> system), and then transferred to the University of Michigan to finish my
> first graduate degree in 1960.
>
> After receiving the MA from the U. of Michigan, I returned to Virginia in
> 1960 with the Arlington County Public Schools, a system in the throes of
> court-ordered desegregation. I played a behind-the-scenes role in that
> transition at Washington-Lee High School and in the central
administration.
> Just last month, an African-American former student recognized me in a
> grocery store in Arlington to thank me for my supportive role during that
> difficult time in her life.
>
> When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, I decided that I wanted to
be
> a part of that. It wasn't easy to get into the Federal Government back
then
> if you were from the South, but I eventually succeeded. Perhaps my
> upbringing in Appalachia played a role in my identification with the
> underdog.
>
> My first assignment in HEW was to a grants program (Title IV of the Civil
> Rights Act of 1964) that made grants to universities for "racial
sensitivity
> training." That was a good experience working with numerous universities
in
> the South, black and white. All of my close co-workers from that program
are
> now dead. There is no one to talk with about those experiences. I remember
> Dr. Anthony "Tony" Gaines, a sociology professor at St. Augustine's
College
> in Raleigh, NC. He said that he was the first black person to receive a
PhD
> in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania. Tony died at least 25
> years ago. I listened to many stories about racial prejudice, not only
from
> Tony, but from other gifted members of that faculty (Dr. J. Cheek was the
> President).
>
> Later, I was assigned to help develop desegregation plans in several North
> Carolina and Georgia Counties (I have vivid memories of being denied
service
> in restaurants and motels because of my bi-racial team-- Ramada Inn was
the
> worst chain), working with school boards to develop desegregation plans to
> eliminate the dual school system. Most of the people in those Counties
were
> civil (not violent), although all were very defensive and anti-HEW, from
> Morehead City and Jones County in the east to Senator Sam Erwin's Burke
> County in the west.
>
> The ultimate experience came in calendar year 1969 when I was assigned to
> develop desegregation plans under the jurisdiction of the 5th Federal
> Circuit Court in New Orleans. These school systems were under Court Order
to
> desegregate, but had made no progress for several years. The first
> assignment was to develop a desegregation plan for the Philadelphia,
> Mississippi school system, just after 3 civil rights workers had been
> murdered and were buried south of town. We negotiated with the School
Board
> attorney, a Mr. Wolf-- we called him "Wolfman" because he was also the
> attorney for those who murdered the Civil Rights workers-- an eerie man.
He
> drove us south of town to show us the site that bulldozed the graves of
the
> dead civil rights workers. He wanted to know where we were staying, but we
> always gave false information. We occasionally flew to Atlanta or New
> Orleans to spend the night. The U. S. Government gave us a blank book of
> plane tickets to anywhere we wanted to go, and we were advised not to
drive
> GSA cars. We felt somewhat safe in Meridian because of FBI presence, and
we
> liked Gulfport and Hattiesburg and Jackson.
>
> On another assignment that year, we were staying at the Holiday Inn in
> Hattiesburg for a day of rest-- we watched on TV the men landing on the
moon
> on that day in August 1969. We didn't realize until the next day that the
> black man who cleaned out the swimming pool was reporting our movements to
> the white power structure.
>
> The newspapers published our movements and wrote negative comments about
our
> mission. Once, a clerk at a motel recognized us and said, "You're going to
> burn in hell for this." After assessing the danger, we cancelled our
> reservations and moved to another location after notifying the FBI.
>
> Soon thereafter, we went to Columbia, Mississippi for a night meeting with
> the school board. We were trailed or shadowed by the FBI, who parked near
us
> in an older model car. We had requested their surveillance after receiving
> death threats. As much as we appreciated the protection of the FBI, we
> didn't trust them unconditionally, even though they were assigned to
protect
> us. After that meeting, we had to drive to New Orleans. We were petrified
> that we had to drive through the Parish that was ruled by Judge Perez. He
> was a tough Judge who was anti-integration.
>
> One thing that I learned during that year in Mississippi was the role of
> Uncle Toms. They betrayed us many times (we had a bi-racial team). I
> remember once when we asked a black man for directions to the airport. He
> gave specific directions-- "go two miles and turn right at the end of the
> lake." We did, but it was a dirt road that led into the woods. We went
back
> to the same black man who was mowing a lawn in front of a plantation
house.
> We asked again, and he said to keep going down that road. Well, our FBI
book
> showed that this was the headquarters for a KU Klux Klan "Rod and Gun
Club."
> We decided to drive on to Jackson. Why would a black man send us into an
> ambush? We had not researched this very well or we would have known that
> there was no airport in that town, nor within 60 miles.
>
> I headed the team that closed the high school of former Governor Ross
> Barnett. That was a major accomplishment that went surprisingly well. I
also
> was in charge of the effort to desegregate the Neshoba County system (near
> the Alabama border), but that was unsuccessful. As I recall that was the
> home County of Senator Stennis. President Johnson undercut our efforts to
> desegregate that system because he needed the Senator's votes on the ABM
> legislation. The President had betrayed us for a "more important cause."
>
> Leon Panetta was head of the HEW Civil Rights Office. He had compassion
for
> everyone- rich or poor, black or white. I remember him weeping in one
staff
> meeting after he had made a trip to the Delta area of Mississippi. As you
> may recall, the tapes of Richard Nixon stated that his greatest
> accomplishment during his first term was firing Leon Panetta (not an
> accomplished record). I have not been in touch with Panetta since we
parted
> in 1969. I've seen him on TV; he looks great for his age. I plan to get in
> touch with him.
>
> Last year I attended a 50th anniversary of my Korean War unit, a Navy
Patrol
> Squadron (VP-772). I had served as a radarman on a 4-engine PB4Y2
aircraft.
> We were in the line of fire and won an Air Medal for flying 28 missions
over
> Korea and along the coasts of China and Russia.  I told my comrades at the
> reunion that my service in civil rights was more dangerous duty than
flying
> in the Korean War.
>
> Only an old man would make this kind of post, after realizing that he may
be
> the only surviving member of the 1957-1958 faculty at Norview Senior High,
> and that most of his coworkers in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s
are
> dead. BUT, I hope this post might make a connection with someone of the
> past. This is not an attempt to start a thread on this topic!
>
> Wilmer L. Kerns
> Arlington, VA
>
> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
> at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html

To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html