Arkansas General Assembly 1959 #2

Sixty years ago, the third of three Arkansas General Assemblies in the space of three years passed a final battery of pro-segregation legislation. Fifty-six pro-segregation measures were introduced, thirty made it to the governor’s desk for his signature of approval, and sixteen were signed into law. Nine of the sixteen new laws sought to preserve school segregation. Act 461 provided racially coded language as a basis to justify segregated school assignments. This included: “the effect of the admission of new pupils upon established or proposed academic programs…the scholastic aptitude and relative intelligence or mental energy or ability of the pupil…the psychological effect upon the pupil of attendance at a particular school…[and] the home environment of the pupil” as well as “the morals, conduct, health and personal standards of the pupil.”