Three views of the desegregation crisis
Posted on Sunday, October 5, 2008
When George Jones was
informed that he had
been selected to the
Country Music Hall of Fame—rather than thanking them for the high honor—he said, “It’s about time !” I thought of this when Paul Greenberg called and invited me to appear on this program—after 52 years. It’s about time ! Please know that I am honored—but after reading some of the works of Dr. Chappell, Dr. Green, Dr. Jacoway, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Klibanoff and you other distinguished writers at the conference, I must confess—I do feel a bit like a bastard at a family reunion. Our part of your program calls for conclusions as to the “Significance of the Little Rock Crisis of 1957.” First we must consider facts which brought the so called crisis about. Many legal scholars believed that the “politically correct” conclusions reached in the Brown v Board of Education decision of the United States Supreme Court was a result of judicial legislature rather than judicial adjudication.
First among those scholars was Dean Clarence Manion of the University of Notre Dame Law School.
Manion had been dean of the law school for 25 years when President Eisenhower persuaded him to go to Washington with him for the avowed purpose of giving him guidance as to matters which properly belonged to the central government and matters which had been reserved to the states.
One of the first pieces of legislation offered by the Eisenhower administration was the creation of the department of Health, Education and Welfare—all of which were matters reserved to the states.
Manion promptly resigned his position and returned to South Bend, Ind., where he founded a national radio program titled “The Manion Forum.”
I became one of his most avid fans and corresponded with him at length.
Sometime later, I was made privy to the writings of Mr. James Kilpatrick of Richmond, Virginia, and Mr. Tom Waring of Charleston, South Carolina, on the subject of interposition. [Interposition is an asserted right of states to protect their individual interests from federal violation. ]
I discussed these writings with Manion and Senator James O. Eastland of Ruleville, Mississippi, and he in turn discussed them with Senator Richard Russell, who was a known proponent of “Massive Resistance” [to integration ].
All of these men were convinced that the biggest danger to the future of America is legislative courts; that such courts have the tools to destroy the Constitution and that if the Constitution is destroyed, the country is destroyed.
In fact a legislative court in recent days came within one vote of judicially repealing the Second Amendment.
After my discussions with these patriots, my wife and I drove to Virginia and South Carolina to visit with Mr. Kilpatrick and Mr. Waring.
When we came home we drew up a proposed interposition amendment to the Constitution of Arkansas encompassing the things we had learned and calling for a federal constitutional amendment to correct the court’s error.
The names of tens of thousand of qualified voters on petitions are required to place a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot in Arkansas.
We embarked upon a crusade to obtain those signatures. Manion flew down to be present at our first meeting, which filled the biggest ballpark in El Dorado.
The names were obtained and properly certified by the secretary of state.
This Herculean task was financed by the crumpled, sweat-stained dollar bills, which were thrown in a tin tub at the rallies.
My advisers were convinced that the amendment would be meaningless without a dedicated governor to carry out its terms.
A regional rally was held, which filled the Robinson Auditorium, to hear speakers from Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia and Texas. Former Governor Ben Laney was master of ceremonies.
While the organist was playing Dixie and the crowd was puffing like a depot stove, it was moved that they draft me to run for governor. The people came forward and threw enough money in the orchestra pit to pay my filing fee.
In that race, I learned why rightwingers are called conservatives. They are tight with their money.
We made an underfunded race against the craftiest politician Arkansas ever produced and lost the race to him in the Democratic Primary in the summer of 1956.
The platform upon which we largely based our race was the interposition amendment and it wasn’t to be voted upon until the general elections in November.
The Arkansas Gazette wasn’t satisfied with beating me to a bloody pulp in the primary, they redoubled their efforts with front page editorials against my amendment in the general election—but when the dust settled, the people, and the amendment prevailed, passed by a substantial margin.
While Faubus had the best pollsters money could buy—this was one poll he didn’t have to pay for.
From that day forward, Orval Faubus, like most politicians, looked for an opportunity to place himself dramatically on the side of the people. That opportunity came with the beginning of the school term in the fall of 1957—which resulted in “The Crisis at Central High.”
As to the political significance—Arkansas elected Orval Faubus governor several more terms, and as to the cultural significance—that is yet to be determined.
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online