University of Virginia Library

Alumni End Use Of Segregated Facilities

By Stuart Pape
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

A series of correspondence spanning
nine months and involving a 1968 University
Law School graduate, the President
of the University of Virginia Alumni Club
of Washington, Student Body President
Kevin Mannix, President Shannon, and
Gilbert Sullivan, Director of Alumni
Activities has apparently resulted in the
adoption of the first anti discriminatory
resolution by the Board of Managers of
the Alumni Association.

At its regular monthly meeting in
Charlottesville on November 20, the
Alumni Board adopted a resolution
"urging all chapters to avoid the use of
any facilities which might possibly cause
embarrassment to any alumnus of the
University." Conversations with Mr. Sullivan
revealed that this was, to the best of
his knowledge, the first such resolution
ever adopted by the Board, although the
policy expressed has always been in
effect.

Law School Graduate

The matter which induced the Board to
adopt such a resolution was initiated by Stuart
Johnson, a 1968 Law School graduate who
currently resides in Washington D.C. and is a
member of the local Washington Alumni Chapter.
Mr. Johnson became aware of the fact that
the Washington Club had held and was continuing
to hold meetings at the Washington Golf
and Country Club, a club with allegedly discriminatory
policies. Conversations which Mr.
Johnson had with the Assistant Manager of the
club, a Mr. Molesky, led him to tentatively
conclude that the club did indeed have a policy,
albeit an unwritten one, which would prevent a
black from gaining admission.

Accordingly be followed up a phone conversation
with the President of the Washington
Club, John Colligan, with a letter indicating his
belief that the Washington Golf and Country
Club would be an improper place to hold future
meetings. This letter was sent on March 15,
1970 and a subsequent letter of June 14 also
produced no reply.

Letters of Inquiry

Mr. Johnson then wrote to Donald Santarelli,
a member of the Executive Committee of
the Washington Club, as well as a member of
the Board of Visitors and an Assistant Attorney
General in the United States Justice Department.
This letter to Mr. Santarelli was more in
the form of an inquiry asking for further
information regarding the situation. A day after
writing this letter, Mr. Johnson met Mr. Santarelli
at the Justice Department and in a brief
conversation was led to believe that the Washington
Club had discussed the matter and
would act upon it when it became an actual
problem, presumably, that is, when a Black
alumnus joined the Washington Alumni Club.

Considering this an unsatisfactory and insufficient
result, Mr. Johnson wrote to Gilbert
Sullivan here in Charlottesville. After relating
the details of his efforts to obtain a definitive
statement from some official of the Club, Mr.
Johnson expressed his belief that the Club
should not wait until the problem became an
actual one and that "If the Country Club is in
fact a facially segregated-facility, then the U.Va
Club's use of this facility is a real problem, in
light of the Student Council's ruling, and in
terms of State of Virginia policy, and in terms
of ordinary standards of decency."

Student Council Policy

Mr. Johnson had earlier written to President
Shannon requesting the position of the Student
Council regarding the use of segregated facilities
and received through Vice-President Williams'
office this explanation from Kevin Mannix:
"The position of the Student Council is that
organizations or officials representing or associated
with the University in any way should not
make use of any racially segregated facilities, no
matter what the circumstances are, for any
function which is connected in any way with
the University."

Having written letters for some seven
months and received only the reply from Mr.
Williams, Mr. Johnson on October 21 wrote to
Kevin Mannix, again explaining the situation
and relating the details of an unproductive
meeting with the Executive Committee of the
Washington Club held on October 8. In Mr.
Johnson's opinion, no member of that committee
agreed with his belief that the Club should
cease using the Country Club for its meetings.
The members of the Executive Committee did
not challenge the unproven allegation with
respect to the Country Club's policies and cited
its convenience and congeniality as well as the
lack of jurisdiction which Student Council had
in support of their position.

At that meeting with the Executive Committee
Mr. Johnson learned that as of January 1,
1971 the entire question will become moot, for
the Washington Golf and Country Club is
closing its doors to outside groups. The mootness
of the question is debatable, at least in the
opinion of Messrs. Johnson and Mannix, for the
Washington Club continued to hold their
November meeting there as well as planning to
meet at the Country Club in December.

Letter to President

Mr. Mannix responded to Mr. Johnson's
letter by writing the following week to the new
President of the Washington Alumni Club, Mr.
Jesse Wilson. In that letter he cited the position
of the University Administration regarding the
use of segregated facilities and stated that while
the Washington Club was essentially an autonomous
body "the fullest cooperation of all
student, faculty, and alumni groups' was
required if an open University was to be
obtained. He continued by stating that "The
use of segregated facilities creates the impression,
whether intentional or not, that the
University approves, at least indirectly, of such
segregation. This is particularly true when
non-segregated facilities are readily available."
Mr. Man nix concluded by encouraging Mr.
Wilson to reschedule the November and December
meetings in order to comply with general
University policies.

In addition to this letter to Mr. Wilson, Mr.
Mannix wrote to Mr. Sullivan requesting the
opportunity for he and Vice-President Hugh
Antrim to discuss this and related matters when