Cocking affair


The Cocking affair was an attempt in 1941 by Georgia governor Eugene Talmadge to exert direct control over the state's educational system, particularly through the firing of Professor Walter Cocking because of his support for racial integration, and the subsequent removal of members of the Georgia Board of Regents who disagreed with the decision. It has been made into an opera entitled A Scholar Under Siege.

Background

Governor Talmadge's first political interference was in 1935, when he supported a 1935 bill that would have given the governor additional control over funds appropriated to the Georgia Board of Regents, transferred the titles to all Board of Regents property to the state, and absorbed any trust funds or investments held by the university system. In addition to the obvious disadvantages for the university system, this would have made it difficult or impossible to fund building projects as the state could not take on Public Works Administration loans.
A compromise deal was reached; if the bill passed with the support of the regents, the state would provide funding to cover projects that would have been supported by PWA loans; however, Talmadge's effort to control the regents and the university system was relatively clear at the time.

Firing

Talmadge fired Walter Cocking, who was dean of the College of Education at the University of Georgia. Talmadge accused Cocking of championing integration, in this case the admission of African-American students to historically all-white educational institutions. Talmadge declared that he would fire anyone who stood for "communism or racial equality". Among others, Talmadge fired Marvin Pittman, president of Georgia Teachers College for supporting Cocking against Talmadge.

Consequences

As a result of the firings, all Georgia universities lost their accreditation. Students rallied, and Pittman and Cocking were eventually rehired. This incident also contributed to Talmadge's loss in the subsequent election to Ellis Arnall.

Works cited

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