Dear Bill
I vote reluctantly to admit Brent as a student in the advanced department of the Peabody Conservatory of course subject to Mr. Stewart finding him to be “extremely talented”. That Mayor Jackson backs him counts nothing with me. I have talked the matter over with Mrs. Cooper who is here at York Harbor, and also with Gilman Paul before I left, and as you and they feel that he should be admitted, I acquiesce. I do not think however, that a public announcement of a policy to admit negroes should be made until there has been a full discussion of the subject at a board meeting.
I feel that there is an hysterical element in the way the negro question, especially in its racial aspects, is being rushed at the present time, and that under the guise of racial equality, things are going too fast. Had public opinion been allowed to develop more slowly there would be less friction in a community like Baltimore. You and I both know, that apart from the negroes themselves, where most of the pressure now comes from.
Yours sincerely,
J. Hall Pleasants]]> A Message of Inclusion, A History of Exclusion: Racial Injustice at the Peabody Institute, Acceptance of Paul Brent: 1949]]> A Message of Inclusion, A History of Exclusion: Racial Injustice at the Peabody Institute, Acceptance of Paul Brent: 1949]]>
Dear Mr. Marbury -
Replying to your letter of July 22nd [illegible] to say that I approve of the admission of the negro student into the Conservatory provided he can meet the standards set forth[?] in your letter.
Sincerely yours
Harris E. Kirk]]> A Message of Inclusion, A History of Exclusion: Racial Injustice at the Peabody Institute, Acceptance of Paul Brent: 1949]]> A Message of Inclusion, A History of Exclusion: Racial Injustice at the Peabody Institute, Acceptance of Paul Brent: 1949]]> A Message of Inclusion, A History of Exclusion: Racial Injustice at the Peabody Institute, Acceptance of Paul Brent: 1949]]>
My dear Mr. Marbury -
Have read your letter carefully and agree with you. If Paul A. Brent is qualified for admission to study in the advanced department of the Peabody Conservatory he should be accepted. Being in Maine I have had no opportunity to connect with any Trustee. Hall Pleasants arrives tomorrow and I shall be glad to look it over with him. I hope you and Natalie and the children have a fine vacation.
Sincerely Yours
Louise J. Cooper
July 19 - 1949
Yorkshire Inn
York Harbor, Maine]]> A Message of Inclusion, A History of Exclusion: Racial Injustice at the Peabody Institute, Acceptance of Paul Brent: 1949]]> A Message of Inclusion, A History of Exclusion: Racial Injustice at the Peabody Institute, Acceptance of Paul Brent: 1949]]> A Message of Inclusion, A History of Exclusion: Racial Injustice at the Peabody Institute, Acceptance of Paul Brent: 1949]]> A Message of Inclusion, A History of Exclusion: Racial Injustice at the Peabody Institute, Acceptance of Paul Brent: 1949]]>