Mr. Write's Page

When I went off to college in the fall of 1960, I had a handle on things. My goal was to get a degree in journalism, and the University of Georgia was a fine place to get it.

Not only was the journalism school at UGA nationally regarded, but, because I was a Georgia resident, the tuition was almost reasonable.

When my freshman year got underway, everything was peachy — grade-wise, workload-wise, and social-life-wise.

But in January, when winter quarter arrived, things got a little crazy.

I’m referring to the heated 10 days in January 1961 when the University was desegregated under court order, barely avoided shutting down, and got its first African-American students.

Interesting times, indeed.

Before 1961, Georgia’s colleges and universities were segregated by law. To me, that was quaint and sad. We Smiths are Southerners, but I had attended integrated schools all my life.

When I was growing up, Dad was in the Air Force. We lived all over the place — eight different cities in the USA, plus Japan, France, and Germany.

I wasn’t the only one who was ready to dump segregation. Plenty of the students I knew at UGA understood that the old system was counter-productive and undeniably doomed.

But most students, most politicians, and most of the populous didn’t see it that way. To them, “race-mixing” and “federal encroachment” were evils of epic proportions. Every right-thinking citizen should oppose such threats with great vigor. Which only prolonged the agony.

Somehow, it’s a mindset that won’t go away.

This is how the fireworks began that January…

After that, events were rapid and dramatic. Judge Bootle issued the integration order on January 6. On January 9, the Georgia Attorney General asked for a temporary stay on technical grounds, which Bootle granted.

Within hours, the stay was overruled by Judge Elbert Tuttle of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

Later that same day, Judge Bootle followed up with an injunction that prevented Georgia Governor Ernest Vandiver from cutting off funds to the University. Legally, it was over.

On January 10, the two black students, Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes, ages 18 and 19 respectively, registered for classes at UGA.

As they did,  a group of about 100 white students outside the Registrar’s office chanted, “Two, four, six, eight, we don’t want to integrate.” The group soon got tired of that and went away.

Classes began the next day. In spite of scattered heckling, a few protests, and the distraction of all the news reporters underfoot, the day was mostly uneventful.

In fact, TV news anchor Chet Huntley said on NBC, “There are places in the North now which might note and emulate the example of adult behavior set by the University of Georgia.”

Unfortunately, he spoke too soon.

That night, after Georgia lost a basketball game to Georgia Tech, the atmosphere turned ugly. A crowd began to gather outside Hunter’s dormitory, Myers Hall.

This gang of rowdies, which grew to about 1,000, was a mix of students and locals, including KKK members. They shouted obscenities, started a few small fires, and tossed firecrackers, bricks, and bottles at the dormitory.

In all, about 60 panes in the windows of the building were broken, including 10 in the windows of Hunter’s room.

Members of the Georgia State Patrol were on standby near the campus, but when the Dean of Students pleaded for help, they refused to respond. They said they only took orders from the Governor.

Athens police on the scene tried to control the mob, but were overwhelmed. The turning point came with the arrival of Dean of Men William Tate, who waded into the crowd and began confiscating student IDs. He was joined by additional Athens police, who used tear gas and water hoses to disperse the rioters.

After the riot, the Dean of Students suspended Hunter and Holmes from the University, citing their personal safety. They were immediately driven home to Atlanta by State Troopers.

This editorial appeared in the student newspaper.

A few bonehead public officials commended the rioters, but only a few. Most were shocked by what happened and denounced it. Even the Governor, whose campaign slogan had been, “No, not one,” spoke out against the violence.

At the University, a group of 300 faculty members risked their jobs by signing a resolution that condemned both the rioters and the State Troopers and demanded that Hunter and Holmes be reinstated immediately.

They were. Judge Bootle issued the order on Friday, January 13. The two were back in class on Monday, January 16.

The violence at Myers Hall was never repeated. Hunter and Holmes settled in as students and never again were in physical danger on campus. Most of their classmates simply tuned them out, and life returned to normal.

Eventually, both of them graduated and went on to enjoy distinguished professional careers, he as an orthopedic surgeon, she as a journalist.

As for me, I experienced all of the drama from a safe distance. I kept my head down and my mouth shut. I made it a point to stay clear of the entire circus.

But I wasn’t surprised soon after the riot when a letter arrived from Dad.

I knew the contents without opening it: he was a concerned father who felt obliged to counsel me about the current unpleasantness.

First, he would advise me to be careful and stay away from trouble. Second, he would remind me that getting my degree was paramount. Third, he would get around to those topics after some initial small talk.

I was right on all counts. But he surprised me by viewing the situation in an insightful, downright eloquent way. This is the letter.

——————

Lt. Col. W. A. Smith, Jr.
416 Johnson Ferry Rd. NW
Atlanta 19, Georgia

11 Jan 61

Mr. Walter Allan Smith
Box 21, Reed Hall
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia

Dear Rocky,

We received your letter telling about the new subjects you will study this semester. All of them were interesting to me when I was in college. I think you will enjoy each one. Those subjects require more reading, however, so stay with them. It is easy to get behind.

I am sorry you were not able to continue French. Aren’t you required to take two years? By breaking it up and skipping a semester, you will forget all you knew when you start again. French will now be twice as hard.

The news media all over the country is making the most over the closing of the University, integration, and funds for the college. We note that the cross-burnings, demonstrations, etc. have caused the dean and other school authorities, plus the police, considerable worry, and several students are in jail.

Demonstrations can get completely out of hand — as a mob. Individuals can be severely injured, either willfully or innocently. Please keep well clear of these incidents. Observe them only from a respectable distance.

You can contribute more effectively by writing articles on the subject in the freshman paper, if you desire, rather than risk a bloody nose or trouble with school or civic authorities.

These are difficult times. There is much at stake for the University and the state. I’m sure the legal actions will have run their course by next week, and the University will be integrated, and funds will be restored.

It will greatly help this state if reasonable decisions are made and violence can be bypassed. Integration is inevitable.

Young men who have been raised in the South and have not had the advantage of travel cannot be expected to have as broadminded an outlook on integration as those more fortunate.

One’s character and customs are generally molded by one’s environment. Therefore, an understanding of the views of these young fellows must be considered and understood.

If incidents and misunderstandings can be avoided, the thinking and beliefs of these young men can be slowly, but surely, influenced to bring them around to reality.

Please be clear-headed, understanding, and observant. Do not get involved in something that will cause you to regret your actions. Remain in school until the problem is eliminated or the closing is definite and done by competent authority.

If the school is closed, remain until you get a complete refund of all money due you, and obtain a complete, authentic transcript of credits. I will then assist you, if it comes to this, in getting enrolled in a private university like Emory, Oglethorpe, or wherever we mutually agree you should attend.

Keep up your classes, or at least continue your studies if there are no classes in the interim. We hope the situation there is soon clarified.

Never lose sight of the fact that the next 3-1/2 years are the most important of your life. Everything besides your studies and a degree is secondary.

The land in Suwanee is in our name now. The deed has been recorded in the Courthouse at Lawrenceville. I will get with the loan company soon to start planning construction of our permanent home.

Lots of love,

Dad

——————

I was always proud of my old man.

Hunter and Holmes en route to register at the Academic Building.