As campaigning for a municipal election was getting in high gear, the Rev. Theodore Gibson, president of the Miami N.A.A.C.P., called on City Manager Ira Willard with a plea that Miami's sternly segregated recreational facilities be opened to Negroes. To the Rev. Gibson's surprise, South Carolinian Willard swiveled in his chair and tossed the question to City Attorney William L. Pallot. The Supreme Court, said Pallot. has made the issue clear—a city has no right to bar Negroes from public facilities. At City Manager Willard's direction, word immediately went out to recreation workers that racial restrictions were off.
Six Negroes...
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