Decade of Desegregation

Ten years ago, in a major test of the Supreme Court's educational desegregation rulings, Arkansas' Governor Orval Faubus ordered out the National Guard to prevent Negro pupils from entering an all-white Little Rock high school. Last week Little Rock's school board unanimously named William Harry Fowler, 45, assistant superintendent for personnel--the man responsible for hiring and assigning employees throughout the system. Fowler is a Negro.

The appointment of Fowler is symbolic of how far toward integration Little Rock has gone under the watchful eye of federal courts. Although in many classrooms integration is only token, the community has accepted 1,850 Negro students--about 23% of the city's Negro children--into previously all-white schools. Faculty desegregation is also under way. In the past two years, 31 Negro teachers and 27 whites have been assigned to schools in which their race was in the minority.

A member of the Urban League, Fowler formerly served as a principal of one of the twelve remaining all-Negro schools in Little Rock; three of his five daughters attend integrated classes. He is well regarded by white teachers for his integrity and professionalism. Fowler hopes to "place people where they will best serve, regardless of race," but adds that under the law, anyone holding his job must press for further job integration. "It can be done," he says, "and I will do it."

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