Anthony Butler
The Integration of the Peach County School System
Peach County is comprised of the cities of Byron and Fort Valley. In the late 60’s Fort Valley was roughly half black and half white. Railroad tracks split the town separating the white population from the blacks, who live on the southeast side of town. The city of Byron was mostly white with only a small percentage of blacks.
Peach County’s population was dominantly African American, an important factor as Gallup poll surveys taken during the time showed that the higher proportion African American population in an area the more white opposition to integration. The total population of the county in the 1960 census was estimated at 13,846, comprising of 8,127 African Americans and 5,716 whites. Peach County was a relatively conservative county during the time of integration. They also had an excellent school system with high standards. Though the demographic population of Peach County would indicate a passionate battle against desegregation, integration was accomplished less contentiously than in other counties throughout the South.1
The Peach County school system was comprised of eight schools in 1968. The white schools were Fort Valley Primary School, the Fort Valley Elementary School, and the Fort Valley High School as well as the Byron High School. The black schools were the Peach County Training School, the Peach County Elementary School, the Hunt Junior High School, and the Hunt Senior High School. In 1970, the total enrollment of the Peach County School System was 3,819. There were 1,399 white students and 2,420 black students2.
In 1954, several lawsuits resulted in Brown v. Board of Education, which ruled that segregation was unconstitutional. However, Southern resistance was highly successful in many states. In 1964, the percentage of black students who went to a public school with whites was still zero percent in South Carolina, Mississippi, and Alabama. In Georgia that figure was .1%. Local officials often ignored federal guidelines and maintained the dual school system. However, in 1964 Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which stated that no person could be excluded from or discriminated against under any program or activity receiving Federal aid.3
Before the Civil Rights Act was passed, there was no progress within Peach County towards integrating the separate schools. In 1963, the Board of Education had adopted a resolution to consolidate Byron School with Fort Valley High School. However, both schools were white and there was very little protest from the white citizens of Byron, due to the fact they thought consolidation would not occur anytime soon. It was not until the July of 1964 that a letter summoned members of the Board of Education from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to a meeting in Atlanta discussing the consequences of the Civil Rights Act on July 9th.4
Nationally, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forced Southern institutions to finally proceed with some form of integration. Though the Act declared segregation unconstitutional and refused financial aid to any institution still practicing segregation, exemptions were made for any school system that was in the process of integration but not fully desegregated. To fulfill the Federal requirements in 1965 the vast majority of Southern schools adopted the “free choice” method, in which a parent could choose to place their child in a school, regardless of color.5
Naturally, no white students would choose to enter a black institution and very few blacks had the required economic or social autonomy to enter their child into a white school. Mrs. Carolyn Samson, a black teacher at Peach County Elementary School, noted that only the children of those parents who worked at Fort Valley State University had the ability to enlist their child in the white schools, because they were the only ones who didn’t have to worry about getting fired. The free choice method essentially maintained the status quo. Though a few brave black parents chose to place their children in the white school, the overwhelming majority simply could not afford to. In 1967, the percentage of black children attending white schools had only increased by 3.5% in the eleven states of the Confederacy and only one or two black students had enlisted in the white schools of Peach County.6
The Peach County Board of Education’s first plan for compliance under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 begins with the disclaimer that Peach County is a small rural county where the people have strong beliefs, customs, and traditions which cannot be changed overnight. Their plan allowed for parents to file an application for the placement of their child in another school but required the application to be notarized and subject to review by the Board. Though it promised to enable the continuing improvement of the educational advantages offered without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin, the plan was restrictive in its application of integration. It highlighted the role that federal funding played in their decision, stating that the Board of Education wanted no child to be denied the benefits of Federal financial assistance and argued that any general or arbitrary integration would induce disorganization and be disruptive to orderly administration.7
Their plan was submitted on February 16th, 1965 to the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. By April of 1965, Superintendent Ernest Anderson had received no word from the Federal Government and the Board decided the plan would be enacted. In May of 1965 the government sent a letter not accepting the plan. A revised Compliance Plan was drafted and in June submitted. The revised plan applied the free choice method to students in Grades 1, 4, 8, and 12 in 1965-66 and added the following grades each year so that by 1967-68 free choice would be available to all. Several important differences from the February plan were that it would allow each child the ability to choose another school without the complex restrictions and to also allow a child to transfer back to the school of their color anytime during the school year. The revised plan also mandated that all joint faculty meetings activities would be administered without regard to race and that the assignment of teachers and staff would be in accordance with the requirements of Title VI. In accordance with Federal Guidelines, the right to free choice was published in the local newspaper, The Leader Tribune, and county residents were notified.8
On March 22nd, 1966 the School Board called a public meeting to discuss the Revised Guidelines for School Desegregation. After, the Board went into a private executive meeting in which it decided to comply with Federal Guidelines. Only a handful of black students volunteered to enter the white schools of the Peach County School System during the choice period. However, the school board was able to assign several staff members to work in a school of different color. Several white teachers began to teach in the black schools and a few black staff members transferred to the white schools.9
On October 4th, 1966 the School Board was requested to join with other Southern schools in providing funds to fight federal guidelines. The Board members voted not to participate in this campaign. On February 6th, 1967 Superintendent Anderson reported that the county might qualify for federal funds under P.L. 815. The Board sent a letter to the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare reaffirming its commitment to complying with Title VI and also promised to transfer more teachers to the opposite race’s school.10
In 1965, the State School Superintendent sent a letter to the Peach County Board of Education urging them to consolidate the Byron High School with the Fort Valley High School, and promising funds for the construction of a new building. Due to the inevitable desegregation of the School System as well as the fifteen-minute drive between Byron and Fort Valley, Byron was vigorously protesting consolidation. Byron’s mayor W.E. Green, the Byron Lions Club and the Byron Junior Chamber of Commerce all filed formal protests in 1967 against eliminating Byron High School and arguing that a consolidation in the 1968-69 school year would be too hasty.11
The Peach County Board of Education replied that under Federal Guidelines, the Byron High School would not meet the requirement for a Standard School. The Board sent a letter to Green and the other organizations stating that there was no other conclusion possible under the standards of the state level under which they were forced to operate. The Board believed that it was no longer possible to effectively operate the county schools in disregard of the state level policies that were designed to promote consolidation. The Byron High School’s demolition was set for May 31, 1968.12
From the June till September of 1968, the Board met several times with Federal officials concerning integration. In August, the Board received a letter from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare notifying the county that it needed to submit a plan by September 30, 1968 for the elimination of the dual school system. The Peach County Board of Education did not send off a plan before the deadline, though increasingly integration was occurring. On November 5th, Superintendent Anderson reported that 65 black students had transferred from the Hunt Schools to the Fort Valley Schools.13
These black students included Gail McCray, whose mother was Evelyn McCray, a black librarian at Hunt High School who ended up at Peach County High School. 1968-69 was the first school year that a large number of blacks entered the white schools. Evelyn McCray noted that the incoming black students felt they had something to prove to the white population, having to overcome the preconceived notion that black students were incapable of in-depth learning. Carolyn Samson, who began as a teacher at the Peach County Elementary School in 1964 but eventually ended up as a principal, recalled that the incoming black students were the best and the brightest. She felt that many of the white administration and teachers were surprised by their dedication and intelligence. These students paved the way for complete integration by providing good examples of black equality. Gail McCray remembers being reprimanded to act like the “white kids do.” Her first day at Fort Valley High School, she recalls how shocked she was at the white students lack of discipline complaining that they were loud, rude, disrespectful and spoiled. These students helped pave the way for the relatively tranquil integration of 1971.14
In the January of 1969, Peach County was notified that its case was being forwarded to Washington because of their failure to provide a plan for the complete administration of the dual school system. In February, the Board decided to continue with the “free choice” plan, but Superintendent Anderson was charged with the task of beginning preliminary preparations if the Freedom of Choice plan was rejected. In the March of 1969 the Board visited integrated schools of Social Circle, Georgia, and in June Superintendent Anderson attended a meeting of County Superintendents called by State Superintendent Jack Nix concerning integration.15
On December 30th, 1969 the Board reviewed a Court Order that required a plan for the elimination of the dual school system to be submitted by March 1st, 1970. After a meeting with local officials and leaders in January to discuss plans for the public schools for the 1970-71 school year, the Board decided to prepare two plans for Federal compliance. On February 25th, 1970 the Peach County Board of Education submitted its plan for compliance with the order in Civil Action No. 12972. It began the plan with a preface declaring its preference for freedom of choice and made clear that the sole reason for the Peach County Board of Education’s compliance was because it had been ordered to submit a plan detailing the end of the dual school system. In February of 1970, the Board of Education decided to compose two plans detailing the integration of the school system.16
The first plan left H.A. Hunt High School and Elementary School open as neighborhood schools for students within walking distance, all of who would’ve been black on Peach County’s black side of town. The Courts requested more information concerning the proposed plan in early April of 1970. The Board met and authorized the Superintendent to provide as much information as possible. On April 27th, the Revised Plan was submitted but the board agreed to adopt the second plan, named the Pearing Plan, in the case that the Revised Plan was rejected. On July 17th, 1970, a federal hearing in Atlanta rejected the Revised Plan and the Pearing Plan was submitted, which the court accepted.17
The difference between the Revised Plan and the Pearing Plan were slight. Essentially, the only major difference was the particular grades allocated to each school. The Pearing Plan established more racial balance throughout each of the individual schools and was accepted. The Pearing Plan reorganized the school system into seven schools, comprising one high school, one junior high school, and five elementary-primary schools. The five elementary-primary schools would have less integration due to their location in Byron and Fort Valley, but the junior high school and high school would be a combination of the two cities.18
At last, the Peach County Board of Education seems to have been convinced that desegregation was an inevitable conclusion and they stopped fighting Federal regulations. In October 27th, 1969, Judge Bell had requested information on integration and the Board refused to comply, believing it was in their right to do so. On April 16th, 1970, the Board was notified that the Court wanted more information on the Peach County Plan for Desegregation. The Board authorized Superintendent Anderson to provide as much information as possible and passed a resolution that the court must be satisfied.19
In 1971, Peach County schools were fully integrated. By most accounts, the desegregation of the Peach County School System was done with relatively little protest. Miss Marie Anderson, the wife of deceased Superintendent Ernest Anderson, was proud of the job her husband had done in integrating the school system. She noted with pride that Peach County had desegregated without the creation of a private school in the county. However, neighboring counties did open private schools and Evelyn McCray noted that several white students did enroll in these, though their numbers were quite small.20
Ernest Anderson served as the Superintendent of the Peach County School System from 1945-1984. Mr. Anderson maintained his position for that span of time largely due to his political ability. He was renown for his ability to acquire funding through various grants and government programs, which he used to maintain nice facilities for a county of Peach County’s size. In 1964, Peach County became the first county in Georgia to have all of its schools air conditioned, a distinction still held in 1972. Though not an avid desegregationist, Anderson seemed to feel it was necessary to comply with Federal guidelines in order to continue receiving federal funds and maintain the high standards of the Peach County School System.21
Carolyn Samson felt that Anderson did not have personal beliefs that led him to support either desegregation or segregation, but rather that he was simply looking to please his constituents. Anderson and the Board fought against complete integration until roughly mid-1970 in an attempt to appease the community but their protesting consisted mostly of procrastination and an inability to craft integration plans that were acceptable to the courts. However, becoming convinced that integration was required in order to maintain their status as a standardized school, the Board eventually began to support integration.22
Anderson was remembered as a quiet individual that kept to himself. He was not a contentious Superintendent and these characteristic traits explain his and the Board’s behavior during desegregation. Though they applied mild resistance at first, in order to please county residents, the Board eventually adopted integration with an acceptance not present in other counties. Anderson once remarked that his decision to comply with Court Orders cost him quite a few supporters, but Carolyn Samson thought that one of the reasons he was in power his whole life was that he himself changed to match the political landscape of the county.23
The only struggle between the Board and blacks during the desegregation period was when Robert Threet, a black professor at Fort Valley State University, ran against Anderson for the position of Superintendent. When several black teachers supported Threet, Anderson sent them a letter demanding their support. In 1971-1972, these teachers found out their contracts were not being renewed. After filing a lawsuit, all the teachers were rehired and Anderson later admitted that he regretted ever sending the letter. It is instructive that the only confrontation between the Board and blacks was over political issues, not racial beliefs.24
The political motivations that seemed to inspire the Board’s actions during desegregation was at first the need to get reelected, inspiring their early resistance in order to please white county members. Eventually, the need to maintain the Peach County School System’s respectability and its standardized rating provided the impetus for change. Peach County was extremely proud of the fact that Fort Valley High School won the State Literary cup for ten years in succession from 1957 to 66, and also that it was considered standardized every year from when the State Board began rating schools in 1966. In 1970-71, only 65 systems in Georgia were rated as standard.25
The white community provided some resistance towards integration, as would be expected in a conservative Southern town, but overall seemed to be fairly apathetic to desegregation. In 1969, a biracial commission to plan integration was formed with county support. District representative Daniel Grohl commended this committee for the fact that Fort Valley has been free of sit-ins, lay-ins, and riots. He also argued for the inclusion of blacks among the school board in December 11, 1969, leading to a Grand Jury appointing two blacks to serve on the Board of Education in 1970.26
The school children themselves also seemed to have little problem getting along. Both Samson and McCray noted that the students generally accepted integration and neither recalled any confrontation with a white parent. Both stressed that they simply treated their students as children, ignoring color. Marie Anderson’s reaction was slightly different, as she noted that she was surprised by how much hatred she felt from some of the black students towards whites, but also agreed that in general the students simply focused on learning.27
Peach County was a conservative county in the late-60’s. The principal city of Fort Valley was segregated with a black side and white side, and the Superintendent had held power for over twenty years. However, Peach County’s tendency seems to have also served the desegregationist cause, as their desire to avoid the intense protests of other Southern counties led to reform. When Daniel Grahl promoted the lack of riots, sit-ins and other forms of protest he gave an indication of Peach County’s feeling about integration. By the time a Court Order concerning unitary busing reached the Peach County Board of Education, unitary busing had already been adopted. Though not necessarily enthusiastic about desegregation as indicated by the Board of Education’s procrastination in meeting Federal Guidelines, nevertheless there was not an avid segregation spirit among the county residents. The lack of enthusiasm for segregationist causes were what led to the relatively congenial desegregation of the Peach County School System.28
1 John Robey, The Politics of School Desegregation: A Comparative Analysis of Policy Outcomes in Southern Counties (Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Georgia, 1970), p. 5.
Geospatial and Statistical Data Center University of Virginia Library, “Historical Census Browser,” available from http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/histcensus/php/start.php
2 “History of Henry Alexander Hunt High School,” Leader Tribune (Fort Valley), Sept. 1, 2004, p. 16.
3 Robey, The Politics of School Desegregation, p. 37.
4 Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings of the Peach County Board of Education,” October 21st, 1963. (Microfilm)
Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” July 5th, 1964.
5 Robey, The Politics of School Desegregation, p. 42.
6 Carolyn Samson, private interview held at her house, Fort Valley, Georgia, October 2004.
Robey, The Politics of School Desegregation, p.43.
Marie Anderson, private interview held at her house, Fort Valley, Georgia, October 2004.
7 Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” February 16th, 1965.
8 Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” April 5th, 1965.
Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” May 27th, 1965.
Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” June 2nd, 1965.
“Notice of Freedom of Choice Plan,” Leader Tribune, March 20th, 1969, p. 5.
9 Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” March 22nd, 1966.
10 Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” October 4th, 1966.
Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” February 6th, 1967.
11 Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” March 7th, 1967.
12 Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” March 7th, 1967.
Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” May 23rd, 1967.
13 Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” September 30th, 1967.
Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” November 5th, 1967.
14 Evelyn McCray, private interview held at her house, Fort Valley, Georgia, October 2004.
Carolyn Samson, interview.
Gail McCray, “Reflections from Fort Valley Schools,” April 2003. (unpublished)
15 Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” January 7th, 1969.
Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” February 27th, 1969.
Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” March 6th, 1969.
16 Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” December 30th, 1969.
Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” January 19th, 1970.
Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” February 25th, 1970.
17 Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” July 7th, 1970.
Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” July 17th, 1970.
18 “History of Henry Alexander Hunt High School,” Leader Tribune.
19 Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” October 27th, 1969.
Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” April 16th, 1970.
20 Marie Anderson, interview.
Evelyn McCray, interview.
21 Marie Anderson, interview.
Daughters of the American Revolution, Georgia, Governor Treutlen Chapter, Fort Valley, History of Peach County, Georgia (Atlanta: Cherokee Publishing Company, 1972), p. 31.
22 Carolyn Samson, interview.
23 Carolyn Samson, interview.
24 Evelyn McCray, interview.
Carolyn Samson, interview.
25 Daughters of the American Revolution, History of Peach County, p. 31-33.
26 Dan Grahl, editorial in Leader Tribune, November 27th, 1969, p. 1.
Dan Grahl, Leader Tribune, December 11th, 1969, p. 1.
28 Peach County Board of Education, “Minutes of Meetings,” February 2nd, 1971.