Negroes in the Tucker area met last Sunday to discuss the means of registering their children in schools closer to their homes next fall. They now have to travel to Scottdale for high school and Stone Mountain for elementary school.

Also in attendance were five white citizens from the Tucker area interested in helping the transition be a smooth one. Most prominent among this group were Doctor and Mrs. Binkler who are working with people of the Negro community in preparing their children to enter the first grade with Project Headstart. Representing Holy Cross Parish was Mrs. E. P. Ilchuk, her son Peter Ilchuk. Holy Cross is located in the Tucker-Chamblee area.

The meeting was conducted by Rosetta Williams a prominent lay woman in the Negro community. The primary purpose of the meeting was to discuss what problems would be encountered in registering and transferring children for next year. One of the big difficulties was that nothing could be done until area attendance maps and instructions were made available from the office of James Cherry, Superintendent of Schools in DeKalb County.

It was emphasized by many in attendance that they do not want their community to be another Birmingham or Selma. Mrs. Williams expressed hope that “our transition will be a shining beacon” in the integration of schools.

Mrs. Binkley urged that the students of the area get together before school next fall for a “get acquainted” session. This way they would go to school and “see faces they know and have met before.”

The four ministers in attendance each expressed the hope that the transition would be smooth. As one minister said, “What is needed is brotherly love and understanding on both sides.”