Page Four
STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE NEWS LETTER
March 16, 1949
Education Of Negro Soldiers In World War I! jwhatwouid Happen?
(Presented by Mildred Stephenson
During Negro History Week)
Mildred Stephenson ’51
Almost 1,200,000 American Ne
groes entered the Armed Forces to
engage in World War II. They
stepped into the most severe test
ing ground of all times, a period
of history that was to tap their
talents and stimulate their think
ing.
Training opportunities were
thrown open to people who had
never before enjoyed them, and
employment shot to new heights.
Negroes shared more fully than
ever before in the American econo
my. For Negroes in the Armed
Forces, this meant, along with the
■vhites, schoolirg and mechanical
skills for the mechanical war.
Commanding General Army Ser
vice Forces, General Somerwell
had warned America: “We can lose
this total war on the battle front
as a direct result of losing it on
the educational front. Education is
the backbone of the army.” His
word was heeded by the Armed
Forces when they discovered that
there was an alarming number of
illiterates and unskilled people
among the men turned over to
them for training.
Selective Service, at first, did
not regard this as a great prob
lem, but later the demands of the
war became critical, and it was
realized that the Ar.^ied Forces
might lose the service of three-
quarters of a million of physically
fit' people because they were illit
erate. It was decided to salvage
these people for war.
This decision led to the historic
attack on illiteracy. Tens of thou
sands of service men, white and
Negro, were sent to school. Sub
ject matter was made vivid for
the students by relating it to their
military duties, and they had spe
cially prepared books, such as “The
Army Reader” which described in
simple words a day with “Private
Pete.”
A full instructional day was
planned for all students in an en
vironment free from care. Food,
housing, exercise, recreation, and
rest were assured. Individual in
struction was made possible
through small classes.
Many Negroes worked in the
Army Engineer Corps, a branch of
the service that requires skilled
craftsmen. Among every thousand
Negroes inducted in one period,
there were approixmately six auto
mechanics, three carpenters, less
than one plumber, and almost no
draftsmen, machinists, and weld
ers. By the time an engineer corps
could be ready for duty, it re
quired the services of 48 mechan
ics, 175 plumbers, 5 draftsmen, S
machinists, and 8 welders.
Their army experiences and the
encouraging prospect of being
able to study without charge under
the G. I. Bill of Rights stimulated
many Negro soldiers to plan for
more education after the war. Vo
cational training helped t'o cre
ate the feeling of optimism. Many
Negroes expressed themselves as
believing they would have better
jobs after the war.
The Army brought all kinds of
men together for every profession
and occupation, from every class
and caste, from every part of the
country, town, village, and farm.
It afforded many soldiers their
first opportunity to travel.
Many veterans had a great deal
in common. They learned new
skills, tapped fresh sources of
pride, and drew inspiration, in spite
of some segregation, from the ad
vances of their people on the home
front. They had reached the point,
in short, where they would lay
strong claim to equality of public
treatment and a greater share in
America’s tremendous wealth.
Touring Players Present
‘‘The Corn Is Green”
Paul L. Pruden ’51
On January 28, the College pre
sented, in Moore Auditorium, the
All New York production of “The
Corn Is Green.” The play, under
the direction of Toni Merrill, was
enacted in a manner typical of
Broadway.
The action of the play took place
in a small village in a Welsh coun
tryside, the industrial heart of a
progressive coal mining area.
Knowledge of the inhabitants was
limited to coal mining. Children,
at a very early age, were sent into
the mines, instead of schools where
they became old men in a few short
years.
Miss Moffat, portrayed by Mar
garet Campbell, was especially
commendable in her interpretation
of the elderly school teacher who
was determined to educate the
children in spite of obstacles. She
was well fitted for the role and
made a lasting impression upon the
audience with her humorous an
tics, as well as her serious atti
tude toward the task confronting
her. Timothy Gordon, as John Gor-
mery, was an able assistant for
Miss Moffatt. The manner in
which he acted will long be re
membered by those who saw the
show. The comedy by the Squire,
Betty Watty, and her mother.
Mrs. Watty kept the play moving
on an even level. The parts were
heart-warming and the audience
laughed with them and sigehd with
them. They enjoyed and got satis
faction from the triumphs of the
characters.
Phillip Abbott, as Morgan Ev
ans, supplied the drama and sus
pense. He was taken from the
mines, educated by Miss Moffatt,
and given a scholarship to Ox
ford.
Social Welfare Problems
Presenetd At Assembly
Edith L. George ’51
“The need for maintaining a
better emotional and physical re
source balance in human welfare
lies largely in keeping the family
unit intact,” Mr. John R. Larkin
of the Public Welfare Department
of the State of North Carolina told
an attentive audience on Febru
ary 4.
“The reason why some of us
are particularly interested in hu
man resources,” said Mr. Larkin,
“is that we are ignorant of the
facts concerning conditions of our
welfare existing among our race
today—conditions which we will
have to fight to succeed as a race.
Not only is poverty the great ene
my, but ignorance and other so
cial handicaps are taking their
toll upon the less fortunate mem
bers of our race.”
“Man,” said Mr. Larkin, “is born
with two distinctive abstract
traits, instinct and emotion. These
two traits, if reserved to the full
est extent, can produce a normal
or above the normal balance in
nature. But, if at any time, either
of these becomes psychologically
or physiologically interrupted, the
life processes of the individual be
come upset.”
Looking to the future, Mr. Lar
kin predicted that the only and
best known weapon to use in the
conservation of human resources
is education. Not only for a fortu
nate few, but education is a neces
sity for all, if we are aiming to
maintain a sufficient and well-
organized population. Education is
the only thing that will help our
people, socially, economically, and
physically. “Natural resources
can wait,” concluded Mr. Larkin,
“but we must remember human
resources can not,”
If Alice were a “Day” instead
of a “Knight” ?
If George were a “Woman and
not a “Mann” ?
If Ruby were a “Hook” and not
a “Bates”?
If Annie Bertha were a “Moun
tain” and not a “Hill” ?
If Lucy were a “Blackhead” and
not a “Whitehead” ?
If Della were a' “Parker” and
not a “Miller” ?
If Willie were a “Bicycle” and
not a “Carr” ?
If Esther v/aro a “Knife” and
not a “Faulk” ?
If Delores were a “Cadillac” and
not a “Hudson” ?
If Hazel were a “Cherry” and
not a “Berry” ?
If Jimmie were a “Rider” and
not a “Walker” ?
If Velma were a “Ceiling” and
not a “Wall” ?
If Luther were a “Galloper” and
not a “Trotter” ?
If Mertha wei'e a “Bandage” and
not a “Gause” ?
If Bettie were a “Peace” and
not a “Quarrel” ?
If Thelma were a “P-38” and
not a “Balmer” ?
If Margaret were a “Softie” and
not a “Harty” ?
If Bernice were a “Brickhouse”
and not a “Woodhouce”?
If Elizabeth were a “Biglowe”
and not a “Littlejohn” ?
Decication Ccrner
Velma Williams dedicates to
Willie Lamb “To the End of
Time.”
Robert Poole to Alberta James
“Why Did You Do It?” and “My
Greatest Mistake.”
Wiley Neal to S. T. C. ’’Long
Gone.”
Betty Raynor to Thomas Hicks
“I Love 'rou Qo Much It Hurt-'..”
Frances Powell to Richard Hol
ley “I’ll Always Be in Love With
You.”
Tlargaret Harty to Ernest Pitts
“My Heart Belongs to You.”
James Wilkes to Alberta James
“I Love You, Yes I Do.”
Sterling Perry to Bessie Rogers
“Always.”
Aggie Alston to a city admirer
“My Heart Belongs to You.”
Riley Mackey to A. P. M. “I
Don’t Care Who Knows.”
Mildred Stephenson to Paul
Pruden “’Long About Midnight.”
Wiley Neal to Delores Hudson
“A Gold Mine in the Sky.”
—Rosita Hodge ’51