December 7, 1960 CORE - Congress of Racial Equality 38 Park Row, New York 38, New York MEMO TO: Local CORE Groups, National Officers and Advisory Committee FROM: Gordon R. Carey, Field Director RE: Bus Terminal Desegregation and Field Staff Bus Terminal Desegregation The Supreme Court has just handed down a significant decision. It has desegregated eating facilities operated as an essential part of bus terminals to [interstate] passengers. This is a limited decision but it has wide implications. As in the past, CORE continues to urge all its members not to voluntarily accept segregation. This decision by the Supreme Court has not actually desegregated any restaurants. The restaurants will only be desegregated when you use them. Therefore, let it be the responsibility of every CORE member to enforce this decision of the Supreme Court. If you travel in an interracial group you should only use eating facilities in bus, train and airport terminals that are marked "white only" if the terminal has any such gains. If you are Negro you should use only those facilities which are reserved for whites. If you are white you should use only those facilities which are reserved for Negroes. Only in this manner will the desegregation edict of the Supreme Court be made a reality. Remember that although the Court decision on the Richmond, Virginia, Trailways Terminal Restaurant was only handed down by the Supreme Court this week the restaurant has actually been integrated for some months. National CORE played a part in the desegregation of many restaurants in the Trailways terminals throughout the South. Marvin Rich negotiated with the restaurant chain and with national Trailways in conjunction with our contacts in Virginia. Let us make certain that every CORE member helps implement this decision. FIELD STAFF From time to time I want to make you aware of what the CORE field secretaries are doing. We have five field secretaries who work throughout the country building CORE groups and helping groups that we now have. Jim McCain has been working recently in New Orleans and in South Carolina. Presently he is making arrangements for the second workshop on CORE methods in the Deep South. This one will be held in Orangeburg, South Carolina this weekend. Thomas Gaither has been working primarily with the three new student CORE groups in South Carolina. Genevieve Hughes has been working in Ohio, New Orleans and northern Virginia. She recently organized new CORE chapters in Cincinnati and Columbus. Presently she i8s working with our new group in Newark, worked with the Ann Arbor District Action Committee which recently has applied for affiliation with CORE and also worked with me to establish the new Detroit CORE group. He formed a new group in Huntington, West Virginia and is presently organizing a group in Covington, Kentucky. Richard Haley worked throughout the state of Florida for a month and organized our third Florida CORE group in St. Petersburg. He is presently in California after having begun organization of two new chapters in Arizona. You can see the field staff is busy. Each one of them is doing a tremendous job. CORE has the greatest potential now of any time in its 18 year history. We have over fifty functioning chapters throughout the country, new groups are being organized, and the groups are engaging in vigorous and varied programs.