07-02-62SpMtg JULY 2, 1962.
A Special Meeting was held in the'Council Chambers at 8:00 P.M.,
with Mayor Walter Dietz in the Chair, City Manager Louis J. Smitze~
City Attorney John Rosa Adams and Oouncilmen A10. AverT, George V~
Warren end Oliver W. Wcodard, Jr., being present.
This meeting had been called for the purpose of a meeting
tween the City Council and the [nter-Raciai Committee and the
ing members of the Inter-RacialCommittee were present: R. J.
Catherine Strong, Margaret ~atsmith, Florence Barnes, LeroY Baine'and
Lee L. Youngblood.
An opening prayer was delive~ed by City Clerk Wort~ing.
Mayor Dietz stated that ~his meeting had been requested by
Warren and thereupon asked Mr. Warren to take over.
~. Warren commented as follows: "I did not request this Special
Meeting, however, I feel, concerning Sunda~Vs attendance on the beach,
that we might have the Inter-Racial Committee's good advice. As we
understood each other, the three members of the Council that met with
them previously and had their willingness and agreement to cooperate
with us in any items or any phase of the use of the beach, and felt
rightfully that having attended that meeting where three of us were
in attendance, that we get together briefly and bring up a coupNe of
suggestions of how the Inter-Racial 0ormnittee, made up of all resi-
dents of the City of Delvay B~ach who are using the beach in an
orderly manner, namel~ the matter of---or perhaps group of people
taking off their Outer clothes ~n the beach'to get down to bathing
suits to go downonthe-beaCh,'whieh would, also apply anywhere on
the beach. On, that'partiCular ~unday a week ago,the use ~f. the beach
by a-group of o~t of town~eopleWho c~ould have abused the privilege
of our local residents. The intent-absolutely was for the good of
the City of Delray Beach, for the interest of overTone concerned. I
firmly believe that the [nter,Racial'Comm_ittee is functioning baauti-
fully and while you folk~ onthe~'waterway, you folks alt over' town,
wonder what's going on---aa' fo~ myself~ ~.have been.at this thing for
six ~years to do everything possible to'meet the situation in the'best
possible manner, with the cooperation Of all the residents of Delray
Beach, West and East sides. It was my intent to do this in the man-
ner which we did it before, and the go'od Inter-Racial Committee could
have assisted us in probably changing some of the actions going on on
the beach, It was rightfully intended and 'it is within~our absolute
right to meet with this Committee. We have met before. I have met
in years past and certainly nothing in detriment to the City in any
shape or form or you wouldn't try to accomplish something, through a
group, of cooperative people,'so I asked for this~ meeting in all good
Lntent~and good purpose which could'have been held up in Our Conference
Room as we. have before..and had their good assistance, the matter
solved,'.and go fr~ there~ However,. our good Mayor decided to make a
c-ity wide affair, of it Which is within, his.rights, called a Special
Meeting which~we are now sitting in. Inasmuchas~he deemed it' advis#
ableltO do it in that manner', I turn it back to the good Mayor~"
· Mayor~ Dietz stated.~hat h~'.di~.not~have..questiona to.ask anyone
a~d Councilman Woodard stated that he-had nothing'specific to'bring
before the meeting in regard .to the Int~,Racial Committee. Mayor
Dietz further, sSated that ~he. m~$i~n~at the previous ~eeting was:made
for the. Council to ask the Inte~-Racial.Committea to meet wi~h i~ so'
that it m~ht have-the-benefit, of an~ thoughts that'they had and that
a;.Oou-ncilMeeting according to.the~Charter.~must beheld as this one is
held.' Further,that he understands the.-Inter-Racial Committee ia'pre-
sent and' feels sure that they'w~d,l~i~be;ha~py: t0 answer any~ questions
that the' Council say,have. , .~ . ~ - ....
Mm~. Florence,Barnes info,mod'the ~uncil that the
~acial Commi~tee was not present, and.that the Cheizm~an C-; Spencer
Pompey end Vice Chai~man John Van.,Sweden .~ere not present as they'.both
were out of,the e:lty at t~is time~ but-'that the.-membe~s, present would
trT to,answer'the questions presented to, them.
Mayor Dietz told Mrs. Barnes that it ml~t be better for her to
make what statements were In her he~t~t as he had no qaestlons to ask.
~.~. Woodard asked for an opinion from the City Attorney whether
or not any other business could be brought up at this .meeting other
than with the Inter-Racial Committee.
Mayor Dietz stated that this meeting, could only be for the pur-
pose that it had been called, that he had p~posel~ eliminated the
phrase "and for any other business which may come before the meeting".
Mr. Aver~ asked that the. City Attorney read from the Charter how
a Special Meeting is Called~
City Attorney Adams read from ~ection 20 of the City Charter as
follows~ "The Mayor or any three members of the City Council may
call special meetings of the City Council upon written notice to each
members, served personally or left at the usual place of residence.
All meetings of the City Council and of the committees thereof shall
be public, and ~ citizen shall have access to the minutes and re-
cords thereof at any reasonable time. The city council..shall de-
termine its own rules and~ order of business and shall keep a minute
book of its pr0ceedings."
Following discussion, Mayor Dietz stated that this Special
Meeting had been called for but one purpose Only, and that apparently
the Council dOesntt wish any advise.from the Inter-Racial Co~m~ittee
as all three Council members have been polled and refuse to ask ques-
tions thereforeI ha~e a statement to make.. Mayor Dietz then read
his statement as foliows:
"I would not deny any citizen his beach right, but~ also I will
not forgive' him for his lack-of responsibility~ With the right goes
the responsibility. You cantt have one without the other. The right
affects the individual; the resp6nsibility a~fects the people around.
him.
"Now as the Negro reaches out for his beach rights, he must fully
understand his..res~onsibilities. If, ~erohance, he does not know, he
will have to be told in a language and a.way that he can understand.
"Above all it must never be'overlooked that all citizens have
rights, even white people have rights, and with these rights go re-
sponsibiliities.
"Now this means the use of a beach by either white or negro does
not allow them unlimited freedoms - No by no means - No~ They have
the responsibility to use it in a way, not to disturb others.
"Over the years the beach of the City of Detray Beach has de-
veloped a high standard of personal responsibility. That is one' of
the reasons why the Beach is an attraction to Tourism. People do not
undress on the.beach, people are.not bois~ro~s disturbing others,
people do not congregate in large, group~, ~.~P~ople w~hing to lie on
the-beach .do scat a reasonable distance.~othe2~ ~!ready there.
People. do not ~alk into others On the B~.~$~: Pe~'-~re properly
attired f~r swimming or beaching. · peop~.~o not;~ into the water
knocking children off of f!~ats, otc, e~,:.~ 'No~?~:~:the Negro wishes
to use. the beach, this doe~not call f~ 1owerl~he high-standard
of personal resPOnsibility .he. must c~orm t~:~hese .s~&mdards Just
as the whites m~u~t/' If he,' as~an individual, d~s no£ ~ish to conform
he j~st can not ~s~ the beach. .
"As I canvassed the Western section of. town wheD I was election,
eerinE, I was agreeably ~leas~ed with the~fi~.mecep$ion I receive8
from f/~e home~i~alled upon. 'The occupants.~ these.homes know and
under~tand peP~onal responsibility. I am sure that ~there may be a
small_number that do not, but they can learn if one calls these things
to their attention.
"Now, i~.the past two months or so, the'Negros ~hat_have been
Us ~.oblems seem to be those from'areas North and ~est and
of D~lray Beach.
-2- 7-2-62
July 2, 1962
"Also, I think it is safe to say that at least one half of th~
people on Delray's beach now come f~om a~eas North and West and
~f D~lx~ay Beach.
~'Del~ay Beach taxes a~e used to clean, rebuild, protect the
beach. Also the life glAards are paid out of tax money~ The
]]eople do not contribute to the upkeep in an~ way,
"Just last week when t~e a~mission fees' to the western pool
were taken off for the vacation period, tYz~s 'enabling all children
in the western sectiom of tow~ to enjoy the pool, what happened?
Truck loads of Negro children arrived from the West, Not.th and the
South of Delray, They were not Citizens o~ Dat~ay~Beaeh~ They so
crowded our facilities that I got a request to make the westexul
available only to ou~ own children. Many of the children could no~i~
go into the peel because of' the outsiders. This has been done.
my opinion is proper ~or the pool is for the weS~e~a-sec~t,ion and i~'"
paid fo~ with taxpayers money. The Dolrey B~aoh taxpayer also~ pays
the maintenance.
"Why should this pool be handled di£fer~ntly from ou~' ~eacH as
the taxpayers money maintains the beach.
"~gain in this example it Was the out~ider giving us the trouble.
ShoUld this be-allowed to continue on our beach? It might result in
our own citiZen~ of Delray Bea6h being the recipients of economic
boycotts for the~thlngs that the outside Negroes do and will be wrongly
blamed on our own people. '
.... "The Delray Negro .neali~em only,..too .w, etl t~he. impomtance ,of the
tourism trade t.o. the City of Delray Beach and how it effects both
Negroes' and Whites alike. The .~Atside Negro has no interes,t in Delray
Beach, what ac e~er. -Witness t~ha;past .many weeks.. Had 1white p~eople
acted on our beach' as-t~e... Negroes did- and I.. personally saw. ~them m~uy
and many a day, they, would have been removed and in some cases locked
up.
"There was a reason for not allowing any incident to, take place
or he provoked.. That reason was .the. Feder.al Law and the ~ederal
Courts. Please wit~s~ today.~ ~he City still has police control
eve, it.'s beach for the prOPer and dignified uss o~ the, beach.
· ,Our ~ederai'-Law'has be~n a~ ~ill be enforced, it is~now~ time
to show everyone using the beach, ~e mean business in removing any
person not ac:ting in accordance _with ~he, high. standards, that. have.
applied· to our beach.over
"it. is time right now to $'hoW that we have not grown soft or
indifferent to the rights and property values Of all.
"Delray Beach must have st~ct' police enfor~m'ent not by passing
police cars alone but by police on foot patrolli~ the beach with
strict orders to shew no favoritism but remove all who are not ac~tng
as gentle people.~ This must apply to.White-and Negro alike and'with-
out favor, Of course ~there 'is bound to be more Negroes-(unless their
leaders instruct them) mot understanding their resptnsibili.ties.be-
cause many of, them have not had the advantage of social education.
"Those people who act like gentl~, peopte'~ White or Negro, will.
no~t be as~ked to 1.cave the beach by the police.
"~lease let. us look for a ~oment a.~,.the sources 'of..Delray Beach,s
i~come. ' The~ first three .,most l~portant are .Tourism~ Building and
F,a.rminE and all the ne. st follow. If anything affects Tourism it also
affects Building~ two of the top income pro-
ducers.. This in :turn depreciates ml.llions of dollars of' property
throughout the city and: especially along.,:the ocean.
".I ask ,you, is it' fair an8 :.right, to not heed these TRUTHS! Is
it not time right now to act for the greatest good of all Delray Beach?
The responsibility for prot~c:ting all the lnteme's,~s 'of, Bel~ay' Beach
rests solely ~rlth the Council elected by the-people. -
July 2, 1962
"The Council of the City of De]ray Beach should restrict perma-
nently the use of the beach of the City of De]ray Beach to the citi-
zens of De]ray Beach.. · . '
"Then we will need less police activity.. The rowd'ies from other
areas do not then become our problem nor Could they then affect tour-
ism adversely. ·
'"In my opinion'the time is here for public opinion'of the citi-
zens of Delray Beach to expreSs itself decis£vely and loudly to their
Councilmen who they elected ko r'epresent them. Action will solve our
problem. Inaction -solves' nothing.'
"I campaigned on restricting the ~beach of the City of Delray
Beach and I feel more .strOngly now that it should be done as soon
as possible. Mr. George Ta'lbot agrees with me.
"If the citizens of Delray Beach agree with us, PUBLIC OPINION
pressure shou.ld be applied to Councilman Warren, Councilman Avery and
Councilman Woodard, asking them to restrict ·the beach.
"Now as to the Inter-Racial Committee. The methods of handling
inter,racial relationships today is entirely different from yester-
year. When I was carmpaigning, going from :home to home, I found the
Whites did not have confidence in their part of the committee and
that still holds 'to~ay, and I also found that the Negro did not have
COnfidence in his part~ Of the committee'~ and that still holds today.
"That I feel and-felt as I do should not have surprised anyone
nor did it develope after election. May I Please cai1~ attention to
the Sun Sentinel, December 1, 1961, page l, column 6, and quote:
~Themre ~i.s not 'good faith on either side' between Negroes and Whites,.
Also 'the SUn Sentinel, December 6, 1961', Page l, column .8, and quote:
"To solve our most Pre.s'sing problems we need dignity, respect, and
above a'll confidence. A new Inter-Racial Committee Should be ap-
pointed by the council~ ~ Also Palm Beach Post, December 6, 1961, page.
l, column'8,· quote:. 'A ..new Inter-Racial Commit'tee should be appointed
by the Counci'l,.
- '~Cond~tionS.- in Delray Be~ch have changed by action of the Federal
Government and th~e ~ederal Law is S~Pre~e'~:1' Today it is not'a case of,
has the Negro th~ right, but the time has come for stern police action
and confidence,.. Understanding, between all our c~tizens and all as-
suming re~ponsibilit2 .... ~ ·
"I sincereIy beIieve no group of people .would deliberately hurt
themselves economically, but they must have confidence f~om all sources
and then and only then can they sit abound the 'conference table, and
agree to dO: ~h~:"~hi~A~ 'th'at, are be~t f0~ the'city~'they live 'in.
"When I took office, one of the first things I did was to ask
for a guard (s°h001 guard') to be assigned to the crossing at N. W. 2nd
Street and 8th'Avenue begause of the large number of children that I
saw comi~ng from S~dY'Schogi ~when I was canvassing in the western
section' o~ towh~' ~U~0m&biles ~ere rAcihg down 2nd .Street endangering
thes. e child~en. A N~egro' school guard was appointed.
"A few days after his assignment,~ a white driver going to pick up
a Negro servant in the morning went through his stop signal. He called
a pollcemah and the driver was given a ticket. Believe it or not, but
to this day I have been unable through the 'efforts of the City Manager
and the Chief of Police to find out what h~ppened to this ticket, al-
though I have' ma~e sevsral official re.quests. This type .of enforce-
ment does not induce confide~ce~ I am r~ot talking about 'this kind of
enforcement, but enforcement aga'inst W~ite .and Negro alike and equally.
"Abov~'g~'ll; I could not and 'w.i~l not co~senb .to any groUp of
citizens either White'or Negro or both'patrolling our beach, or any
other par~ ~of our ci.ty. This is a police p~o~wer~ and .we have a good
polic~e 'f!o~' e~i~.'~ am ~-ql~,so '~he. Cbunc!'l~ sh~l~[ dem~ ~and s.tri~t po. lice
~a~t'~.gi On~ ~Beac~~ ~d th'e p'rob, lem .WiIl'b.e'~ihand'led. This. s~°{~l.d be
done ~.t o~6~'~
151
~uly 2, 1962
"Also by restricting the beach the number of disorders should
infinitestimaI and Tourism can continue to assist us with our econQ7~:
"I~have studied carefully the minutes made available to me
the so called Inter-Racial Committee.
"I can not find any~thing in the minutes to show that anything
inter-racial has been done. Please let me note also that I find
the minutes that the first Communication' sent me was ~Pril 25, 19,~.~
although it was stated in the press that I had not re~lied to an
earlier communication.
"Since the only thing th~ ~ ~o~.~ .tree, according to its minute, s,
had done has been in the weaterr~ ~ of town, it is not inter~ '
racial but a committee for the l~eg~m.
"There is absolutely no reasc~ why the citizens of Delray. Beech,
either Negro or White can not d~al)'directly with the regularly con,
stituted Government and not through a committee.
"Matters that apply to both Whites and Negroes are inter-racial.
Such things however like schools, truant officers, street lights,
streets, handicraft courses, etc., are not inter-racial.
"Now let's look A6 the 'record of activity of this committee, as
shown in the minutes o~ the Inter-Racial Committee. From January 25,
1961 to April 1, 1962 there were, by their ordinary procedure, fourteen
meetings scheduled. 0nly six of the fourteen were held. Five were not
held at !all.a,n,d.~three lacked a'quorum. In reading, the~minutes of the
meetings ,~t is impossible to-find out 'who attended." These minutes did
not impress me as the type that are kept by an active functioning com-
mittee'..
"Another inters.sting observation, ~lease~ O~'page 48 of the
minute's of the-Inter Racial C6mmi~tee, dated' May ..6,..1962, I quote~
,Regarding th~ two ordinances ~pasSed by ~the Council regarding preser-
vation.of ~order on-the' beach and limiting use of the ~each to local
people only, the oormuittee UNANIMOD~LY felt they were .&om~letely un-
called ~for,. -
"This' Confounds me as it is the only~ .opinion I have Heard ex-
pressed against ordinan~e lfo.. G-~;~!';~' (preserVation of the p.ublic peace)
and .was requested ~by the Chief of Police himself.
"Now please let me. quote .from 'the· Delray Beach News-Journal of
May :3,' 1962, taken, out of one of their columns: ,Alfred. Straghn 'said
that ~iT. the ordinances are enforced ~ight and equally on Whites and
Negroes then it' is the best thing that could have happened, and he
was glad the~ issu~ was' worked .out with the solution pas~sed by the
Counci'l,~. · ·
"Al'fred Strahn is reported as representing the N.A.A'.C.P. and our
own committee whose first and only interest should be the City of
Delray Beach iS at variance With-the Council.
"In closing', .please let me make the following observation. A
comprehensive' rec~reation cen~er and program for the western-part, of
Delray~,Beach will assist us materiall~ 'in reducing delinquency of. all
kinds. Such a center is presently-in process of developement. A
splendid report has been turned in to the Council by the all Negro
committee~appointed this year for determining the needs of the citizens
of Delray Beach in the western pa~t of town.
"Also by t~e end of-October,,, all inhabited streets in the City of
Delray Beach wall have street' Xights which should also assist in re-
ducing delinquency~
· "I' do hope that all our citize~s of Delray Beachi~Ize that all
of this..~t~pe ~.~improve~ents cost-~aey,'.a~d a. healthy T~r~sm gives us
the .money bo d o 'these, things ~fox~.i Ot~r ~.ci~:~ns. ~
"Thank you for your kind ~.~en-tion."
July 2, 1962
Mrs.' Florence Barnes stated that she was net speaking as a member
of the Inter-Racial Committee but as an individual and asked Mayor
Dletz what, in his opinion, iS the language understandable by a Negro,
since a11' speak the lEnglish language. Mayor Dietz explained that
since some of the Negro people ~o not read, that they would have to be
told. .The Mayor further stated that he had talked with a Minister
from the West 'sector regarding' how to communicate with that section
of town, since many of them do not read, in an attempt that proper
communications could be set up.
~Lr.. O. F, YoungbIood ssi4' that he agreed with the Mayor in that
the standemdS ShouId not be 1O~ed~ 'by ~White or Negro, and explained
how Fort Lauderdale is handling their ~sitUation, as was explained by
the Mayor of Fort Laudemdale at an American Legion Convention held
there recently ....
Mm. Youngblood asked what the rights of She Negro were on the
beach ~'nd Mayor Dietz answered that they were the same as any body
else.
Mms. Frank Doman complimented Mayor Dietz on his talk and stated
that it is vez~y offensive to see either White or, Negro men disrobe on
the beach and that it had been questioned whether there was an ordi-
nance gove~ning same, Mrs. Doman recommended that it be checked into
and if there is no ordinance concerning same, one should be-considered,
Mayor Dietz stated 'that some of the things that were allowed to
transpire were done so that Delray Beach could not ~be ci.assed as a
community, that was going to violate the Federal Law, but that it is
the 'intention to-.~have thl_ngs conducte~ in an orderly fashion Just as
soon as it can be done.
Mr. A1 Johnson of West Atla~i,c~e~w~e counted at length on
facilities for dressing and undre~tlng 'on the beach, conduct on the
beach, · and possible Solutions.
Hrs. Catherine Strong, member of the Inter-~acial Committee pre-
sented a statement from said Committee._and requested that it be read.
city Clerk Wc~thing 'then read the following statement from the Inter-
Racia! committee, da~e~ 'July 2,' 1962.'
"When people are deprived of certain facilities and opportunities
because of their color, tensions arise between them and those who are
not ~eprived of such facilities and opportunities. In the changing
economic and social structures of our times, we are.seeing the elimina-
tion of so~ Of these deprivations and the attaining of .a more even
balance between the 'haves' and the ,have-nots', which is the same as
saying the have nots a~e becoming haves.
"This. is in real~lty'a social rewolution and we are very fortunate
that, for the most part, it has b~en a peaceful revolution. Through-
out the countryl, people ofl goo.~ will are working in groups and organi-
zations to £ore~all .violence and maintain peaceful relations in the
midst' of volatile conditions which can and sometimes do lead to vio-
lence and ill feeling.
"in Delray Beach for the'~past decade there have been individuals,
both of the White and Negro races, who have been aware of these chang-
ing conditions and of the importance of trying to maintain order so
that the economy.and character of _our community .will not suffer~
There have also been many who have restricted the inexorable change
being 'brOught.' about, and whose actions ha~e heart,based on an extremely
limited self-interes~In restricting.what they don't want to see haP-
pen. "The main purpose of the Inter-Racial Committee is to provide an
atmosphere of discussion aboUt racial matters. There was a time when
Delray fo~und itself in a ve~y~ serious s!~uation because the lines of
communication between the ~aCes'had been completely cut.. For more than
a mont~t~e tOWn~ ~xiSted~'.with the air of a time bomb about ~to erptode.
Anyone' ~..~o remembers the city's ill-advise~ ~ecision to institute an
illegai;~errymander action .will agree that it is absurd to allow mat-
ters.~T' ~6!~"0me"~ ,: to. sucha,, pass. As .10ng asmen .can sit.down around a
tab,.~~ talk'things over, there' i~ ,chance .Of agreement .and accomplish-
me~/~,,;:~hen they refuse to do this,~ the battle.lines are drawn and
w~ it is an airline strike or a:cd.vil war, ~the ,result is the same,
a ~l~t must enSue. 6 ? 2 62
July 2, 1962
"The history of the Inter-Racial Committ-ee, appointed in 0otober,
1960, sh~ws that until the fall.of. 1961, it was never allowed to diS-
cuss the beach situation because of the existence of a former
appointed beach committee. It was only through the insistence of
Inter-Racial Committee,. when its Negro members felt it to be thei~
duty to report g~0wir~ur~est because of 'the in~olerab~e beach
a~ion, that the COUnCil finally met Wi~h the cormnittee t~ ~lacuss:
this problem. Since then the be~ch has been inter,rated with vemY
llttle distu~b.ance and, showing that they are-very much aware
mportance of ~reserving the winter tourist business, Negroes hav~i~
refrained from, use of the beach dtwing the winter months.
"This came about as a direct action of the Inter-Racial Committee
last fall when it recommended to the council that illegal ordinan~ss.
~rohibiting Negroes from us~ of the Be.ach be mepealed. They were~i~d
the only quarrel to be had with the Inte~Racial Committee on thl~ i
Score would.be from those who would advocate defiance of the
this is what the. council wants, the present Inter Racial C'ommitte{
will be glad to resign in a body,
"The beach ~roblem, certainly the most pressing ~aci$1 issue in
the corm~unity, has been further aggravated .by council disag~eement
regarding the committee itself. It is ha~d to imagine how any com-
mittee could be expected to function When it is under constant public
attack from the mayor of the community, di.spite the fac~that council
action has been taken to continue the committee and the majority of
the council is Working with the committee and has expressed confidence
"The.'.mayo~.'s attacks hay6 served to sti~ up contro=ersY in an
already C.ont~overslal a~ea,.oUaating public-confusion regarding..Zhe
committee. 'The fact that the 'committee-operates, not secretly, but
quietly wiZhoU't the benefit~of newspaper coveuage, ~addsfuel t= his
claim that they do nothing. All thinking people acknowledge the
necessity of .sesmions Where f'mank..diacussion can take 91ace... Any
acti,oo re.suiting from~ecommendatione of the Inte~Racial Committee
is take~ .at'.re'gUla~.council sessf/ms wher~ full and open dimcussion
by the public is possible.
"Since the committee has for some time been under attack by the
mayor, who does not'answer, correspondence from the committee, nor
agree to its requests to meet wi~h them, it ia hard to Find his reason
for his attitude about the' committee. It-has been 'suggested that the
presence of foumer Mayor Holland, Whom 'May6r Dletz defeated by a mere
l~ votem in the last election, and fo~mer Mayo~ Strong, who.supported
Holland in the ·last election, .'and Coach Pompey, who also supported
Holland in,the last election, are a source of .embarrassment,
"Ih the year and a half of'its.'existence, the Inter-Racial'Com-
mittee has concerned itself~ith improving conditions in-the Negro
schools.~andlwlth examining other areas where i~rovement is needed,
such as housing, recreation, lighting, stueets, etc., in the Negro'
a~ea. At all times the~e has been' unanimity within'the committee.
DiScussions have been entirely frank and open and a feeling of harmony
has prevailed z
"On.the matter of mestricting' the beach to the use of Delray
ci~izens~,.the committee feels'that this is not-an intem-racial matter.
If=the beac~ls sc ~stricted,-.it will not only'k~ep cut-of-town
Negro~s fnom us'lng, it, as seems t.o be the puzi~0Se of th~ Proposal, it
wi1.1 al~okeeD~many tourists'and residents of the .area outside the city
l~mtts .from uming it. - ' '
"In'order. that the~e e~n-'.be no misUnd~rstanding on'the committee,s
position.'ue~arding inteEeation'of ~he beach,' it sho'uldbe clearly
ed.'that ~a committe~.'f~eiS.this is a qUeStion of law and it can only
work within 'that.framework of reference.
"As-. to ~he matter.o~ ad~,.'t~ona~,911ce on the beach, the 'committee
feels that ~eat dlsoret~hoUZd-~'~ed, in thZs matter. Nothing
c~n cause'c'~oWdS and p0~t'ial't~ouble-make~s to gather'quicker than
She appearance, o~ uniformed'.polio~men. It should' be remembered that
th~ ~ob :of. the po~io.eman is 'to preserve taw and o~der and to p~otect
July 2, 1962
life and property, not to enforce one group's standard of behavior
upon another. Matters of behavior and decorum are delicate areas for
officials to act in. If' there seem tO be problems in this regard,
the .committee andcouncilshould study them carefully before hasty
action is taken." .... '"'
Miss Dorothea GalVin*comented as follows: "I represent myself
and can represent the Beach Taxpayers League. I *would like to re- ·
present myself first. I think ~.~S. Strong and a good many of the
people in this town have heard me 'say f0r*years teat I came from Long
Island where ~e~had,:'tt~rough self preservation, *to-restrict our beaches
in Order ~to be able to use them ourselves, otherwise we had' so many
peoPle coming from out of town that we could not'use the beach. I be-
lieve that ;-~s. Strong will remember the time when we were redoing the
Charter and We wanted to put_that in. I wanted 'to get it in and some '-~
other people wanted to for' the simple reason that*we knew in time that
our beach would be too crowded'. Right now I live on the beach and
maybe I see it a little mope than otherS. I'v~'.seen car loads of
people, and I'm talking about white people, come here. I know they
didn,t belong in*Delray. I could'tell by th'elf actions. They were
not our type as was s. aid tonight 'Gentl~ Peopie'~ I've seen, the last
few weeks, something that has made me feel very heartsick but I be-
lieve the western section of ~townWill thoroug~.!y agree with me and
it will 'be taken came of by 'them, because no W~man likes to sit on
her front porch-'J-I,m talking` to everyone inciud!ng the COuncil-=--
I don't believe any of you gentlemen and lady, from the western part
of town, want to see gentlemen zip and unzip their pants all day long.
I've seen it all day. I don't want to see any race do it. I think
the thing is that we've forgotten one thing. When we come over to
the beach in an automobile .... when I lived in Long Island I drove from
my house in Manhassett to Bart Beach .... I went over with~my bathing
suit on, a bathing jacket and a piece of'(we didn't have~taStic) a
piece of oilcloth. We' unrolled the oilcloth and we sat On it when we
came out of the*water'and-were wet, to protect our cars. I think that
is something we'have kinds forgotten. I think we G~ do that without
a bit of trouble. Am I righb, gentlemen? Thanks. '~That gives me my
one answer that has probably been the*one thing that has caused a lot
of furror. No one here, and I was on the origlnal---~something was.
said about the last year and a half of an Inter-Ra~ial Committee---
The Inter-Racial Committee was formed a way back when Dr. Robinson was
the Presbyterian Minister in this town and We were all boys and girls
together and we did a lot of quiet ta~ng, a lot 9~ quiet thinking,
and I believe we accomplished a lot'.~!~can sit~ at times and
solve all Our problems. I'belteve t~$~r Prob~right now will be
solved, but I dO believe' this. I rea~ yesterdays Paper that they
claim if we get three and 'a half~ more~les of b~in the county
that we~ill have enoughbeac~' ~Or the next~fifty~ears~ To racy mind
the SoUthern Bell Telephone'O0mp~ny and ~he Ame*~ican Telephone'& .
Telegraph Oompany is prObablY the biggest company in the ~nit.ed States
outside of ~he Department of Defense. I belong to both. I~=e .got a
couple of-shares in'the AmeP~pan' Telephone"and Telegraph a~ I belong
to the Department of Defens%~s Well. i've got over nineteen'years in
that cO~poration. Now they"~ade a survey .... survey!s are wonderful
things .... they said when '~hey surveyed Delray'Beach for a telephone
office that it would, hold good for twenty or twenty fiv~ years. Three
years later .I was in Jacksonville and met one 6f the officials in the
Southern Bell main office. He said ~Dot, what has happened down therel~
We thought we had everything we ~eded for twenty or twenty five years
with our office in Delray B~ach that.would cover Delray Beach, Boynton
and Boca.'· Now they are building an office in Boynton and Boca, so
their idea'of what wo~ld be go0d for-twenty years has been swept out
in JUst 'a few years. The .~ame tb~ng is going to hold good for our
beach, ladies and gentiem~n'. We'are not going to have room, as much
as we would like to, to invite Palm Beach County and the northern part
of Broward County to come and use OUr beautiful mile of beach. The
only way 'to do it now is to reStrictlt..$0 all, and I'repeat, all
citizens of 'Delray ~each. By ~hat I mea-n ~eOPie ~P~y taxes and
people Who rent.' That ~illtake care ~fi.$~,~ry onset, us so that we
can use our beach,~'but we cannot as mU~.'~S~we wo~ !$~.to. We will
not in five years time have room to invl$~ Palm BeachSty and..
Broward C0unty~:' If we dO it' now, fine. "iWhen we get '~rswded --
I've' seen acme days"d6~n':theret~at you .Cah't Eat .on {~~. And
don't forget one thin~,: a~l of uS.'have tp. Use an ~tomobi~ ~.get to
155
J'~i~y 2, '1962
the beach.. Parkin5 is at a presidium on any Sunday, even in the s~mm~e~-
time. In the winter time I see people drive around and look
fro~t yard. It is Just a continuous parade tz~ying to find a pta~e~
parle. If you let people in from all over, where are we going
when we want to go to the beach, ladies and gentlemen? Let's ~-ael~
Delray Beach as Delray Beach forever and have it for our own.fO~
wherever we live in Delray Beach and let's all .... which I know ghat
after tonight we will have no troubles at all and everybody be gentle
folks. Thank you."
Mr. Avery took exception to Mayor Dietz attitude toward the Inter-
Racial Committee and read the. following letter to Mayor D'ietz from th~
Inter-Racial Comm~ittee dated June ~, 1~62.
"We are addressing this let.tot to you from the members of the
Inter-Racial Committee, not as an official action of the commi.ttee
but as a gesture of our desire to cooperate with you in whatever wa~
will benefit the co~uunity we all wish to serve. We are not makinE~
the contents of this letter public and-hope that you will feel the
same way, although, of course, it is your privilege to do ac Zf yo~
choose. [~e do not wish to engage in any public controversy, not be~
cause ~e are unwilling to publicly defend our position, but because
we feel that personalities have entered the case and further public
statements will only lead to more misunderstanding. It is our ela~nest
desire to communicate our ideas to the one in the highest poslt£on of
leadership in our city in the hopes that we can eliminate any further
disharmony.
'"We believe .we understand your positi'on ~to be that you want the
abolition of the committee on the grsunds that some of the Negroes
expressed lack .of confidence ~n it.to you while you Were.campaigning
and that you..campaigned on a platform promising, to dissolve 'it. We
understand further that .you Deel the'committee has' not functioned
effectively 'and. that you feel.a.'member of the NAACP'should not be
chairman. '-we have also understood you to say that ~ou do not know
members of the committee and feel the .interests of. the community would
be best serve~ by starting clean with a-brand, .new group. You also
stated objection to the name,.. Inter-Racial, saying Citizens Committee
would have a better' connotati'on.
.-"Since you yourself have brought these points up in public, we are
sure you would like to have them answered or explained.
."It 'is-~perfectly true-that this committee has functioned ineffec-
tively on the beach issue. This is the reason why. This committee
came into existence less than a year. and a half ago, in October, 1960,
to be exact, following a serie.s of steadily worsening racial rela-tions
which included a c, ourt suit, the passage of illegal ordinances regard-
ing use of the~ beach, purchase of the. Ocean Ridge beach, and another
court suit which continued for s .long period of time. A former inter-
racial comm$$~ee had been .inactive for some time..(A record of newspapez
clippings giving the whole history"of the beach situa$ion is being
c~ontolled by the committee as a permanent record for the city. Copies
Of these clippings are Being made and we hope you will want to review
them. )
"When 'this commi.ttse ~s appointed in 1960, the city already had
a bi-racial committee whiah..it had appoint'ed several years previous
adviSe..the council on the~'~en explosive.'beaoh situtation. The IRC was
apparentl~appointed to.handle 'ether inter-racial matters. From that
time..until last summer, the. committee functioned 'rather normally, look-
ing into and advising the'council on various sub.Jects such as school
imp~oVements,, primarily, housi.ng, improved professional, services.
'~As '-the .cou~.t-case involving the beach: at Ocean Ridge dragged on,
discontent was reported on the part .o~ Negroes who felt they Were being
given th~ run ~ .around rega~ding their right' to beach privileges, The
matter came up in our committee but two members of the committee who
were alSo-members of the beach c~ttee said they were not at liberty
to:discuss the case on advice of the city.'a attorney. Last summer
learned that' Negroes intended to use the public Beach and we fet~.we
should ~ad~lSe the 'council 'of this' fact...' We wrote 'them.on ~ul~.
asked for a meeting to discuss the-matter d~id .were" advised
dated Augus. t 1 that this matter was not within the p~ovince of our
committee. ' .
7'~.-62
July 2, 1962
"When the wade-ins followed, there were no doubt man~ people who
wondered (as you have recently) where the Inter~RacialC0mmittee was.
The Council called a meeting~on a few ~ours' notice ak which the press
was present and asked the committee 'what it bad'to report'. A little
thought on your part can imagine the effect of this on members of the
committee.
"HOWever, itwas decided to put.Personal feelings aside and the
committee asked, the council to meet to discuss the~situation without
the press in attendance. This meeting took place on October 31. The
situation was reviewed and it was pointed out to the council that
Negroes regarded the court case as a~Staltingmeasure and felt they
could never have faith in the Cityts good intentions as long as
illegal ordinances prohibiting their use of the public beach remained
in effect.*. The committee recommended that these ordinances be quietly
repealed and this Was later done. Itwas brought out in this meeting
that most local residents are busy in;the winter season.and rarely or
ever go to the beach then. It was felt that there would be no proble~
that would effect the tourist economy of ~he town. In the sum~er when
we all have time to go to the beach, it is not so crowded and there
was no reason to expect trouble.
"At'all committee discussions aud'those with the~council, it was
emphasized by Negro leaders that they intended to solve their local
problems.themselves without resor~ to the NAACP or any other outside
organization. Even though there was.strong pressure on the~part of
some members of their community to enlist the aid of such groups, the
Negro members of the committee were certain that this would never take
place a.s lon~. as there was ~c~ntinuedme~idpnce of effort by the cit~ to
has never changed..True, there~may be ·some individuals*who want sUch
outside help.;(or interference, depending on your viewpoint)', and it
may well be that they. were among those who expr~essed their lack of
confidence in the COmmittee to you while you were carm~aigning.
"As it worked out, there was no trouble during the season, as we
had expected there would not be. At the*~end of the season, when
Negroes apPeared in groups to. use the beach, their appearance evident-
ly created a disturbance and the rest is history.
"It should be pointed out that at the ~beginnlng of the year, when
the' new council took office, the IRC was not appointed until the middle
of February. The appointments were on a 'temporary' basis, which was
a little confusing to the committee, since the reason for this was not
known. At its first meeting wafter this, the committee wrote to you as
mayor, asking if y0u and the council would like to meet with us to
discuss our program f,or~ the coming year. We never received an answer.
Then the abo~e lnci~en~ at the be.ach~ occurred .and the next thing we
knew was that we were being publicly asked again, ,Where were you?~.
"Unfortunatel~ for the situation, the chairman of the committee
was persona!ly~invalved in the group'swimming at.the beach and, al-
though he certainly has the right'to act as an individual in any way
he pleases, we~-felt and told him at the,time that he was Jeopardizing
the position of the committee. When he realized this, he resigned.
Then we r~ad in the press of your displeasure with him and the com-
mittee. Man~ of us, individually, felt chagrined and disappointed in
this, since we felt that our~motives and actions were~being criticised
by someone who~.either didn,t understand ~he~situation or had some
personal reason f,or such action. ~he firSt Jinclination of. many of us
was to rtsign butSince the. time o£~ou2 next meeting was near, we de-
cided to meet first~
"At'this meeting~ we discussed the situation and decided that our
personal feelings should be forgotten in the interests of the community
and the cause we were trying to serve.~ We also felt that we had been
appointed ~y the council, notan individual, and'should continue as
long as the council wanted us to and felt~we ~cOuld do some good.
"~e went ahead-~ith the election of our officers, which had been
planned for this meeting b~f.o~e, the.-l~ctdent involving M~. Youngblood.
Whether or not Mr. Pompey was a membe~ of the NAACP was of no concern
to ua, although we knew~ that he was. Yt was he, in fact, who had been
mainly responsible for' .the work dena in keeping the solution of the
i57
July 2, 1962
problem in local hands. Those of us who have worked with him on this
committee and have known him for many years, recognize him for a
thoughtful, dedicated individual whose~actions and words are always a
credit to hlmselS and to the community~- We feel grea. tful to have his
help on. this comraittee. (N.B. This,paragraph, of course, was inserted
by. members of the committee other than Mr. Pompey.)
"As to the name of the committee, this is a minor matter, but
Inter-Racial would seemas good as any.. While the phrase may.have
some unpleasant-connotation in your experience, to many. the phrases
'Oitlzens Councilt or ,Citizens Comml~tee!.bring to mind the Ku
Klux Klan element which comprises many Citizens groups.of the South.
"These are the points we hoped to.discuss.with youin.person at
our meeting with'the council. We agree with you entirely that'the
city charter provides, that all official, meetings of the council should
be open. to the press and public. This was not an 'official meeting,
called for the purpose of any-action whatsoever. It was a meeting.of
the commit~ee a~d the council, to i~form~ to discuss, to exchange ideas
and to increase our ~nderstanding of a situation which w@ feel is a
serious one threatening our community,
"We are all of the mind ~hat no problem can exist for which a
solution cannot be founds, by thoughtful consideration and discussion
plus a sincere desire to lind-the way,. We hope we can continue to
serve this .end. ~
"We are sending copies of this letter to the other councilmen
for their information." ~ ~
* See Page 158 tot Admendment of these minutes
~. Warren also took exception to Mayor Dletz etti~tude and action
in this matter.
}~. Woodard~aid that he felt that everyone here tonight is doing
what he feels is.his sincere duty, either, directly or indirectly, in
contributing to the progress of Delray Beach, but each has a little
different approach to the solution. Further, that the only harmonious
conclusion to this. situation is to sincerely, calmly, and patiently
continue to negotiate these problems so that all of our thoughts can
be put together and the proper solution determined. ~. ~oodard
stated that he was interested in the .Inter-Racial Committee-continuing
to function and that he does oppose prohibiting non Delray residents
from using the Delray Municipal Beach, and explained his reasons for
same.
Mr. Edgar Vaden of De!ray Beach, addressed his remarks'to Mr.
Avery and stated bhat he thought Mr. Avery owed the Mayor an apology
for drawing an analagy between Adolph Hitler and the Mayor and that
this community had been done a very great dis-service by such comment,
Police Chief Croft asked the City Attorney what constituted dis-
robing and the Attorney stated that Delray Beach does not have an
ordinance prohibiting disrobing on the beachat this'.time.
There was further discussion by Chief Croft, City Manager Smitzes
and Mayor Dietz concerning certain ordinances that are or are not
effective at this time concerning the Beach, inciting of riots, etc.
The meeting adjourned at 10:O0, P.M. on motion ~by Mayor Dietz and
seconded by.~..Woodard.
~ D. WORTHING ......
City Clerk
APPROVED:
MAYOR
-11- 7-2-62
July 2, 1962
Amendment to Mtnutee .:of SpeCial Mee~ttng of July 2, 1962
Page 1i of M~nutes o~ SpeCial ~et~.o~ J~y 2, 1~2 ~a~e he~eb~.
~end.e~ to read as follo~' ':~1o~ the'~l~ ~Om the Int'e~
~acial Co--tree" to Ma~o~D~etz, -
Co~cilm~ Avery then took exception to ~he"Mayor~s ac'tion concern-
ing limiting this meetin~ to discussion With t~ Int, er-'Racia~ C~-
mittee, though the City At~orn~ had indicated that Co.oil, 'if it
so desired, m~ght.~ consider othe~ ~tera. :
~. Warren also/'.took excep$icn to ~yor Diet~ attitude and action
in t~s ma~er.
~.: Wooded said that he felt t~t ~everyome-here tonight i-s ~o~
what he feels iS his Sincere dutT~ eitheP direct~.?Or ~ndirectl~)
tn ~ontributing, to ~ he nrogress of Delra~ Beach,J~ each has- a:
different approach to t~.-sol, ion.~ ~ther,- t~ the 0nly ~on~ou{
conclusion to. this situation is to e.lnce~ely~ c~y, ~d patiently
continue to negotiate these eroble~ so that ali of our. t~hts c~
b~ put together ~d the proper solutien/.dete~ined. ~. Woo~d
stated that he was interested tn the ~er-Racial Comittee continu~
ing to f~ction ~ that he does~op~s~'p~ohiblting non Del~ay resi-
dents- fr~ using the Delray ~icipal Beach, ~d e~la~ned his reas~s
for same.
.~. Edgar Vaden appeared before the .Co.oil and took exception- to
~. Avery's criticism of the'~Mayor~s restricting this..~eting,
~t one i~e. - . ...
Police Chief' Croft 'asked the Oi~2 AttoPney what. ~ons~iSuted
robt~ a~ the .At;to~e~ stated..~ha%: Delray Beach do'e's~ not .have
or.dinanoe pr. ohibit~g' d.i.S:robin~ on .the beach at :~his time.
Theme was f~theP discussion ~ Chief-Croft, 0ity M~ger ~zes
a~d Mayop Dtetz concerni~ oer2ain o~di~ces that are or are not
effective at ~his time ~-ePni~ She Beach~ inciti:ng of riots, etc,
The meeting adJoUpned .~t:~'~O.:00 P,M[ on motion by May~ Dle.tz
seconded by ~. %%odap~.. '
City ¢le'rk
MAYO. R ]