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at ” oa ae angi ty are Ral, en Te * ee “. eee? . . - poe HIGHLANDER FOLK SCHOOtaun« 4 : | _- MONTEAGLE. TENNESSEE PMvISION Res SEIVEGMECENVED FEB 5 = 1051 DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FEB 7% 1951 DIVISION OF RECORDS EA vonorable 3. Howard McG ‘3 United Sates Attorney ney Washington, D. C. Dear Mr. MoGraths : M4ss Lucy Randolph Mason, Southe cr FR ho retions Representative, haa suggested that I ask your advice about a problem growing out of the attendance of Negroes at the High lander ' Folk School, Because of your own personal feeling in regard to - Macrvinmination, Misa Mason felt that vou wold understand the ee ee eS SE OF in en te ed — we See See ee 2 ee . problem he re and be in a position to giw advice, . The Highlander Folk School endeavors to put racial demoo- . _ racy into practice; consequently we can expect a measure of opposi= { tions We hardly expected, however, to have Negro students mde the subject of investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. On October llth I wrote Senator Estes Kefauwr that FBI agents wre | asking our neighbors about the attendance of Negroes and implying that: our non-discrimination policy was commnistic and immoral. This line of questioning has created confusion in the minds of our reighbors regarding the rights of Negroes to be at the School, weabe ogee a ; On December 10th I raised this question with Mr, Hugh H, . . Clegg, Assistant Director of the Federal Burean of Investigation, ; ' and quoted one of the FBI agents who had told me that he thought our enclosed news release condemning discrimination would be cone eek ce on ee 2 eh 2 hee —_ nD BLU Te CVURMALL OLS ae a ma jority of Souths Si SPU s The apparent confusion of racial democracy with communism - by the Fal agents and the implication of this kind of thinking , alarmed the Highlander Executive Council members who met January 22 ‘