Ousted Alabama Principal Wants to Run School District

HULOND HUMPHRIES, the former Alabama high school principal who allegedly tried to ban mixed-race couples from a 1994 prom, has qualified to run for school superintendent as a Democratic candidate.

Mr. Humphries was ousted as principal in August 1994 and banned from school grounds after months of racial turmoil that began with his alleged threat to cancel the spring prom if interracial couples planned to attend. A mixed-race girl who was then president of the junior class also claimed he had called her "a mistake."

Blacks from this tiny eastern Alabama hamlet boycotted the prom, organized protests, and set up their own school facilities. Racial tensions neared the breaking point when arson gutted the high school building.

The Randolph County School District agreed to a $25,000 court settlement with the mixed-race student and an agreement with the US Justice Department to bring school policies into line with federal court orders on racial desegregation.