High school burning in Wedowee, AL, rekindles racial tension there

Jet, August 22, 1994

A fire swept through Randolph County High School in Wedowee, AL, only hours before the beginning of a Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) march aimed at ousting the school's principal, Hulond Humphries.

Randolph County Sheriff Larry Colley said officials are "99 percent sure' the recent Saturday morning fire that gutted classrooms inside the 56-year-old red-brick building was the result of arson. Humphries is the principal who has been condemned since February for threatening to cancel the school's spring prom if interracial couples had plans to attend. The school's prom was held despite the controversy, but protesters held an alternative dance.

Revonda Bowen, a mixed-race student at the school, sued Humphries and the school board in March after he called her 'a mistake' during a school assembly. In an out-of-court settlement the school board agreed to pay Bowen $25,000 for her college education (JET, May 9).

Civil rights leaders and SCLC members called off their protest rally after the fire attracted Ku IGUX Klan members. "The danger is too great," said the Rev. Emmett Johnson of Wedowee. The Rev. Henry Sterling of the SCLC added: "We've never failed to march because of what the Man might do," but he said march leaders agreed with state troopers that "Wedowee needed a cooling-off period."

Attorney General Janet Reno has requested that FBI agents investigate the blaze. In addition, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is checking into the matter, as is the U.S. Justice Department.

The Justice Department has filed a complaint alleging racial discrimination in the school system and is seeking to remove Humphries from his position. A hearing on the principal's status was scheduled for Federal District Court in Montgomery at JET press time. A federal trial is scheduled for Oct. 11, if no settlement is reached before then.

Humphries, 55, has been principal for 25 years at the 680-student school, which is about 38 percent Black. Authorities noted several vehicles in Wedowee with license plates from a Georgia county where the Ku Klux Klan is active. "I don't think we're blind to what that means," said Alabama Attorney General Jimmy Evans.

Charlotte Clark-Frieson, the only Black member of the school board, told reporters, "The African-American community is still determined that Mr. Humphries move out."

Meanwhile, Gov. Jim Folsom posted a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the fire, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference added a $3,500 reward.