Anti-Communism and Colleges/Universities

This is a memo from Earl Johnston Junior the director of the Mississippi state cut sovereignty commission, to honorable Paul B Johnson, governor and Carol Garten, lieutenant governor. It is dated May 5, 1964, and is on Mississippi state sovereignty commission letterhead. The report is about A D Biettel, Tougaloo college.<br /> <br /> Our pipeline information from Tugaloo says the trustees gave as their reason for dismissal of Dr. Beittel that he was in efficient. This will certainly work to our advantage. Had Dr. Beittel been asked to resign because of racial agitation or collaboration with communist front organizations, he could have made a martyr out of himself. As it is, he can say nothing because the trustees would naturally answer any statement he made by stating he was discharge for inefficiency. And it efficiency rating is difficult for any professor to overcome in seeking new employment.<br /> <br /> We also have been informed that the bill we proposed in the legislature two separate authority of the Mississippi a credit in commission from the southern association is a weapon very much feared by Tugaloo authorities. If Mississippi accreditation is taken away they stand to lose considerable money which otherwise would be available from certain foundations. This bill, SB1794, it’s now all the Senate calendar, and we recommend that it be speedily past and signed into law.<br /> <br /> We also are informed that during the weekend, the SNCC office on Lynch Street in Jackson had on display a big picture of Kruschev with this caption “our man in Moscow.“ We have pass this information onto local press for a possible news picture if the photograph is still on display.<br /> <br /> We have had no direct contact with the Tugaloo trustees since the announcement about Dr. Beittel <br /> <br /> We will keep you informed as to future developments.<br /> <br /> Signed Earl Johnston Junior.<br /> <br /> CC: Honorable Shelby Rogers

A memo written by Erle Johnson, Jr. to Paul B. Johnson and Carroll Gartin about removing the state accreditation from Tougaloo College because of their civil rights activities. 

In the 1960s, Tougaloo College in Jackson played an important role in the civil rights movement. The traditionally African American school sponsored speakers, musicians, and activists who spoke out against segregation.  

In 1960, A.D. Beittel was hired as president of the college. His arrival coincided with an active period in the movement in Mississippi. During the first two years of his presidency, he promoted equality at the institution, witnessed Tougaloo students getting arrested in demonstrations, and often, bailed these students out of jail. Beittel never admonished Tougaloo students and faculty for their activism. At times, he was a participant in the demonstrations. 

The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission believed that Beittel and Tougaloo Chaplain Edwin King Jr. were "veteran supporters of communist causes and communist enterprises."  To be marked a communist was a common side effect of being involved in the move toward integration.  In addition, Beittel welcomed activists and supposed communists (like Carl and Anne Braden and James Dombrowski from the Highlander School) from all over the country to speak at Tougaloo, which only increased his reputation of encouraging communist activities.  

By 1964, several groups were working toward removing Beittel as president of Tougaloo in an effort to halt the activism on the Tougaloo campus. The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission collected information on Beittel to discover enough information for dismissal. The Commission took its information to Governor Paul B. Johnson Jr. to disseminate to the electorate. Due to the efforts of anti-communist groups in the state, Beittel was asked to resign from his position as president of Tougaloo College.  

To reprimand Tougaloo College for their support of the civil rights movement and their association with alleged communists, a bill was discussed to change the laws regarding accreditation of colleges in the state. Up to that point, if a college was accredited by the regional organization (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) then it was automatically given accreditation by the state. The proposed bill changed this by giving the state the ability to refuse accreditation. With the loss of accreditation, students who graduated from the school could not teach in Mississippi.  The students would be able to teach in other states only after taking supplementary classes to elevate them to the level of accreditation.  With the announcement of Beittel's departure, the threat of the accreditation bill disappeared having served its purpose.  

This is the first page of a Mississippi state sovereignty commission report about Tugaloo college. It is from Earl Johnston Junior, the director of the Mississippi State College sovereignty commission. The memo is set to Governor Paul B Johnson, lieutenant governor Carol Garten, and the chairman of the state judiciary committee EK Collins. It was sent March 10, 1964.<br /> <br /> The memo reads as follows:<br /> <br /> One. The staff of the sovereignty commission has been engaged in extensive research complying with an order to assemble evidence which might be used as valid reasons for revoking the charter of two glue and or canceling it’s a credit Dacian by the Mississippi accrediting commission. This will be the first of a series of reports as information is developed and evaluated. The investigation is continuing.<br /> <br /> Two. Reference is made to Dr. AD Beittel<br /> , President of Tugaloo college. And testimony before the general legislative investigating committee at 1962, Mr. JB Matthews of New York City, and outstanding authority and communism, testified under oath that there were two major propaganda groups operate in the south. He defined as “and infiltrated group” and a “communist front” the southern regional Council with main headquarters in Atlanta and the southern conference educational fund with headquarters in New Orleans. He lent these two directly with the southern conference for human welfare. Mr. Matthews identified Dr. AD Beittel as an active member of all three groups. He said Dr. Beittel and the other individuals identified with these groups were “a veteran supporters of communist causes and communist enterprises.“<br /> <br /> Three. We have in our files information that Dr. OR Paul has openly advocated to his class that speakers lecture on the campus in defense of communism. Dr. Powell, who is white, teachers sociology at Tugaloo. He has also conducted devotionals at the school. One of his topics as shown on a school program was “the heresy of the spirit.””<br /> <br /> For. There is ample evidence that to the loo has departed from its chartered responsibility of teaching liberal arts and related subjects. Classroom time as well as time after classes is being devoted to political discussions led by representatives of CORE, SNCC, and NAACP. The college publication the votes considerable space to these activities. The Mississippi student union, which is the youth organization of Council of Federated organizations,

Memo from Erle Johnston Jr. the director of the Soverignty Commission, to Governor Paul B. Johnson Jr., Carroll Gartin, and E.K. Collins, March 10, 1964.

This is a memo from the director of the Mississippi state sovereignty commission, Earl Johnston Junior, to Governor Paul B Johnson, lieutenant governor Carol Garten, and chairman of the state judiciary committee EK Collins. The letter, written on Mississippi state sovereignty commission letterhead, was written on February 25, 1964, and the letter concerns Tougaloo college.<br /> <br /> The memo reads as follows:<br /> <br /> One. Reference is made to Senate Bill 1672, and act to repeal the charter up to go to college, now in the state judiciary committee. The files of the sovereignty commission are available at any time to the governor, lieutenant governor, or judiciary committee for inspection. Revocation of the charter would be a popular, punitive actions against Tougaloo. In our opinion it is doubtful that revocation of the charter would slow down any of the current activities at the institution, unless a law could be pass prohibiting any private educational institution from operating within the state without a charter. If the only effect of the revocation is placing the physical properties of Tougaloo on the tax rolls, the college we could reap a rich harvest from sympathizers by raising thousands of dollars over and above whatever taxes may be assessed. In fact, they would probably welcome an opportunity to use this act as a basis for persecution propaganda. We certainly favor revocation of the charter if it can be a step toward curtailing Tougaloo activities.<br /> <br /> Two. We recommend that consideration be given to a movement designed to limit the certification of Tougaloo graduates as teachers in Mississippi schools. If we can aluminate certain accreditations now being enjoyed at Tougaloo, it is possible we could do more to hurt the enrollment in the reputation of the institution.<br /> <br /> Three. Reference is made to section 6791.5 in the Mississippi code, volume five, re-compiled, entitled “commission on college accreditation. In paragraph three of the section, the last sentence reads “provided, however, that all colleges and universities on the southern association list... shall be included on the official list“ of the Mississippi commission on college accreditation. Under this law, Tougaloo College is automatically given full accreditation because it is fully accredited by the Southern Association. Before the Mississippi commission would have authority to consider

A letter from Sovereignty Commission director Erle Johnston Jr. to Governor Paul B. Johnson Jr., Carroll Gartin, and E.K. Collins, February 25, 1964. 

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Memo from Sovereignty Commission director Erle Johnston Jr. to Governor Paul B. Johnson, Carroll Gartin, and E.K. Collins about Tougaloo College, March 26, 1964. 

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