Wilmington riots in 1968, school desegregation in 1975: News Journal archives April 6-12
Ben Mace"Pages of history" features excerpts from The News Journal archives including the Wilmington Morning News and the Evening Journal.
April 6, 1950, Wilmington Morning News story
Boy, 8, admits to causing worst Wilmington fire in 25 years
An 8-year-old boy, who detectives said yesterday admitted accidentally setting off Wilmington’s worst fire in the past 25 years last Sunday, was confined to the Detention Home on West Street last night to await further action by the Family Court.
The suspect, it is reported, may undergo a sociological study and psychiatric examinations under the direction of the court. ...
The boy said he dropped a lighted oil-soaked broom in a pile of loose straw in the yard of the Franklin J. Murphey feed warehouse on Lancaster Avenue near Madison Street. He said he had intended to play with the lighted broom but dropped it accidentally in the straw when the flames flared into his face. ...
The fire spread from the feed company to destroy the Wilmington Sash and Door Company building and yard, four other business establishments and 16 houses. Damage is estimated at $700,000 to $1,000,000.
Police talked to over 100 persons and learned that several boys had been seen on occasions playing in the yard of the feed company. They secured names of some of the boys in the vicinity, including the suspect, and on Tuesday night took him and four others to the police station for questioning. All were gradually eliminated with the exception of the 8-year-old. ...
April 9, 1968, Wilmington Morning News story
Wilmington unrest quelled after 4-hour burst
This archival story uses language that was common at the time.
Police restored order in Wilmington last night after a 4-hour outbreak of sniping, looting and firebombing that put the city under a state of emergency.
The disturbances began just before noon yesterday as ... young Negroes roamed Market Street following a memorial service in Rodney Square for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The wave of violence left 12 persons injured, one seriously. At least two persons suffered gunshot wounds. There were 13 firebombings and 19 reported lootings, mostly in a 12-block area of West Center City. Fifty-one persons were arrested.
About 50 state troopers were ordered into the city by Gov. Charles L. Terry Jr. and 1,200 National Guard troops were activated. Neither the troopers nor the guardsmen were needed to quell the disorders. Terry sent 1,100 of the guardsmen home.
A curfew from 10:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. was imposed. Helmeted officers had little trouble clearing the streets.
The curfew will begin at 7:30 tonight, according to Mayor John E. Babiarz. ...
April 11, 1975, Evening Journal story
New Castle County school desegregation plan could cost $18 million
The state Board of Education yesterday publicly outlined a desegregation plan for New Castle County schools that would cost from $12 million to $18 million a year, mostly to equalize costs among districts.
The plan is subject to change, and the state board still plans to appeal its case to the U.S. Supreme Court. ...
Basically, the plan would draw six new districts from the current 12 as one way of meeting the federal court order.
The proposal would include some busing but would not affect students until 1976. ...
The plan was the first made public by state officials since a District Court ruled March 27 that state laws violated the rights of students in the 84% black Wilmington School District.
Of the millions in increased costs, about $2.1 million would go for added transportation, with the rest to equalize pay, administrative costs and per-pupil spending.
“There is no cheap way to achieve desegregation,” said the board’s attorney William Prickett. ...
Last night, Wilmington City Council added a surprise by opposing the city school board’s approach and endorsing the state board’s plan for dissolving the city school district. The council said the schools take up a major part of the city’s budget and it urged the city school board not to take on any new obligations beyond the 1975-76 fiscal year.
April 12, 2000, story by The News Journal
UD scrutinized over 1981 grant for vacant marine research park
The University of Delaware spent $2.3 million to build a 166-acre research park at Lewes with the dream of attracting high-tech, marine-related businesses.
Nearly two decades later, the park – complete with asphalt roads, landscaping and underground utilities – is still vacant.
And the university may owe the federal government thousands of dollars as repayment for money invested in the development.
Federal officials are investigating whether the university failed to meet the requirements outlined in a 1981 grant agreement with the U.S. Commerce Department.
As long as the university continued to market the land as a research park or simply hold on to the property, the university owed nothing to the Commerce Department.
But in 1997, the university sold 77 acres of the land to Beebe Medical Center.
A citizens group asked for an investigation, prompting the federal government to consider asking for a refund....
Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com.