Desegregation of Public Schools in Kentucky--One Year Afterward

Abstract

As this is written, a year after the Supreme Court's historic decision of May 17, 1954, Kentucky's attitude about desegregation of its public schools is still mostly wait and see. There has been no instance of actual desegregation of public elementary or secondary schools in the state, and, despite the well-publicized and unchallenged positions to the contrary taken in several states, the state Attorney General has stated that Kentucky's state segregation remains in effect, until repealed or specifically declared invalid by court decision or decree. A few school districts are actively planning for desegregation, but in the great majority there is no public discussion and any planning or official thinking about the matter is being kept undercover. Even parochial school desegregation is confined to a very few schools, involves only a handful of Negro students, and has been kept out of the newspapers. Yet in a good many ways the state displays a certain degree of readiness for adjustment to the Court's decision. Both before and after the decision, the Governor and state school and legal officials stated publicly that Kentucky would obey the law and would make whatever adjustments were required. After the decision, the Governor predicted that desegregation would be easier in Kentucky than in any other southern state, and several school superintendents stated that they foresaw relatively little difficulty in adjusting in their districts. The general public greeted the decision fairly calmly. There was a flurry of letters to the in the newspapers, but these were both pro and con. A cross was burned in the yard of the Lexington City Superintendent of Schools (who had made a very innocuous public statement), but little was made of the incident and it apparently represented no organized protest. Letters to the editor soon dwindled, and during the year since the decision there have been no reports of citizens' councils or other organized groups with the objective of preventing desegregation. On the other hand, many clubs, churches, and organizations have been having speakers and discussions on desegregation, and some have passed resolutions supporting the change and calling for the cooperation of their members and others.