White Alabama principal who made racist prom threat wins Dem bid for county superintendent

Jet, July 15, 1996

Hulond Humphries, the White former principal of a high school in Wedowee, AL, who made headlines two years ago when he threatened to cancel the school prom if interracial couples attended, is being considered for the county's superintendent of schools after winning a runoff.

He led the field for superintendent in the June 4 Democratic primary, where he defeated runoff opponent Jimmy Holmes by a vote of 2,614 to 2,356; however, he doesn't have a Republican opponent, although though a write-in could be staged in November.

Some people in the town are wondering if he could fill the superintendent's post without starting another problem despite his victory.

In February 1994, as principal of Randolph County High School, Humphries said he would call off the prom if interracial couples attended. He said this would be a means of decreasing the chance of violence; instead, it ended up bringing about violence. In addition to that threat, Humphries told a student, Revonda Bowen, then 16 years old, that "Your mommy and daddy made a mistake, and I'm going to see to it that no other mistakes like that are made, after she informed him that her father was White and her mother was Black (JET, March 28,1994)

The incidents led to protests, strained race relations and an act of arson which resulted in the burning of the school. Banned by court order from contact with students until July 1997, in an approved settlement between the Justice Department and the county school board, Humphries was placed in an administrative job overseeing the rebuilding of a new school.

Nothing in that settlement prevented Humphries from running for the position, according to Myron Marlin, a Justice Department spokesman. Marlin also said the department is not aware of any complaints about Humphries becoming superintendent.

The school system's student enrollment during the past year was comprised of 1,660 Whites, 543 Blacks, seven Hispanics and one American Indian.

Humphries believes that his experience as principal for 25 years was the key factor in his victory. He didn't have to post any campaign signs because he had name recognition.

"I had that experience, and I offered the people of Randolph County an option, was the way I look at it. It had nothing to do with what happened in the past or anything like that," says Humphries.