N. Y. Afro-American Institute
Presents "Open Letter to Editor
NEW YORK At a special
meeting of the Afro-American
Institute, held here at 23 East
125 th Street, the executive
board voted unanimously to
endorse and to publicize an
"Open Letter on Our People's
Name." This open letter was
presented by its president
Richard B. Moore as a Reply
to Bayard Rustin's column
"What's In A Name," which
appeared in the "New York
Amsterdam News" of January
23rd.
Acting as chairman of the
board meeting was John Hen
rik Clarke, first vice- president
of the Institute, also associate
professor of Afro-American
Studies at Hunter College and
visiting professor at Cornell
University. "The action just
taken," said professor Clarke,
"is significant of the growing
determination to rid ourselves
completely of the noxious
name "Negro" and to adopt
worthy names such as Afro-
American."
In support the second vice
preadent Keith E. Baird, Pro
fessor of Humanities at Hof
stra University, made the fol
lowing statement: "This Open
Letter, as presented by our
president, is genuinely educa
tional and * thorough refuta
tion of the facile but specious
arguments of Bayard Rustin in
belated support of the term
"Negro" 'nowbeing ever more
widely rejected by our
people."
Attorney Hope R. Stevens,
treasurer of the Institute, ex
pressed his regret that the in
stitute does not yet command
funds for adequately publi
cizing such statements. "This
Open Letter," Atty. Stevens
emphasized, "should be read
in the first place by every per
son of African descent. It
should also be read by Asians,
and most certainly by Euro-
American and European peo
ple, who need to be thus in
formed and to govern them
selves accordingly."
A student member, Walter
E. Dix, made his comment:
"As a student, conversant
with the prevailing attitude of
youth, I can heartily give my
endorsement to this Open
Letter. For it shows among the
elders those, who like the
youth, will not tolerate com
placent acceptance of searing
indignity nor bowing before
racist detractors."
The Open Letter questioned
the propriety of the columnist
Bayard Rustin in basing him
self upon the "sampling" made
by the Euro-American journal
Newsweek, while disregarding
the representative polls taken
by Afro-American organs such
as "Jet" and "Ebony" maga
zines. "Note, please," the
letter summarized, "that 60%
of Ebony readers, who are
overwhelmingly of African an
cestry, chose the names of hu
man dignity and self-respect
Afro-American and African- •
American, while only 8.1%
were still satisfied with the
masters' invidious alave term
'Negro.' "
The letter then pointedly
cited the role of Booker T.
Washington, who in 1906 at
the instance of an Euro-
American Congressman, forced
the usage of "Negro," thus
pushing into the background
the accurate and then popular
name "Afro-American." An
swering Rustin's assertion thai
"young people think that 'Ne
gro' is a term that whites
gave to blacks," the Open
Letter cited the record to
show that the name "Negro"
grew out of the slave trade
and was thus "foisted upon
people of African descent ..."
Going on to Rustin's cita
tion of Theodore Draper as a
"historian" who "pointed out,
it ('Negro') was a self-chosen
word," the Open Letter
brands this as the "big lie,"
and characterizes this as "one
of the most vicious and despi
cable slanders ... adding griev
ous insult to wanton injury."
Pointing to the date of the
letter of Dr. Dußois which
Rustin quoted, precisely 1928,
the open letter then proceeds
to quote "later and more dis
cerning statements" from
"Dusk of Dawn," 1940, ar*d
"The World and Africa," 1947.
The letter next stresses that
M—U I 1 «
'Negro' is used, it is not what
the users desire or intend that
is chiefly significant" but the
stereotype or picture in the
mind of the hearers that the
symbol "Negro" evokes.
Examples are then given of
journals and organizations
which have dropped the name
and/or usage of "Negro." Par
ticularly noted is the action
taken in Philadelphia last
October of the 55th Annual
Convention of the Association
for the Study of Negro Life
and History to change its
name to African-American His
torical Association.
Dealing with the implica
tions with which Rustin's
column concludes, the open
letter replies that "no in
formed advocate of change of
name has ever asserted that the
mere alteration of a name will
solve all our problems," but
"the change from a bad and
debasing name to a good, self
respecting, and worthy name
will tremendously aid the
necessary struggle to improve
our condition."
Answering Bayard Rustin's
implied strictures upon youth,
Richard B. Moore's open letter
observed: With their "dashi
kis" and "Afro" hair cuts,
these young people are voicing
the same motivation which in
spired Althea Gibson to be
come a tennis champion: "I
always wanted to be Some
body." The question is then
put: "What are you sayiig
or doing when you walk the
streets of Harlem attired in a
"dashiki", wearing your hair
in the long 'Afro' manner,
and displaying a modish me
dal?"
According to this Open
Letter, the fear implied by
Rustin that young people are
likely to be "fooled by names
and appearances" is wholly
groundless and visionary. Our
generation needs rather to be
concerned about how the
youth will judge it. "For unless
we demonstrate," the letter af
firms, "forthright resistance to
every form of racist oppres
sion, the youth will reproach
our age group, as they are all
too prone now to do for lack
of historical teaching and
social information, as sad,
hopeless, and outworn 'Uncle
Toms,' obstructing their path
to freedom and manhood."
The Open Letter concludes
with a call "to strive to under
stand and to meet the need for
change of name, as well as for
a more effective stand towards
the complete liberation of our
people."
Mrs. Royster
Host to Ladies
Ushers' Union
The Lookout Committee of
the Ladies Department of the
Durham Ushers's Union met
with Mrs. Edna Royster in her
home on East End Avenue Sat
ruday, March 20. After a brief
devotion, Mrs. Royster, the
chairman of the committee,
preceeded with the discussion
of business on hand, after
which Mrs. OUie Mae Rayand
Mrs. Cornelia, co-hostesses,
served a delicious dinner to the
following members: Mrs.
Louise Harvey, Mrs. Grace
Jones, Mrs. Minnie Ford, Mrs.
Curley Harris, Mrs. Mattie*Can
ty, Mrs. Hattie Fields, Mrs.
Thomasina Langley and Burch
Coley and Mrs. Ruby Wilson.
***
SENIOR USHERS OF
ORANGE GROVE SPONSOR
PROGRAM
The Senior Usher Board of
the Orange Grove Baptist
Church on East End Avenue,
held its annual program Sun
day, March 20. The Rev. H. L.
Bridges, along with his choirs,
ushers and congregation from
both of his churches, Cameron
Grove and Silaom Baptist,
were guests. Rev. Bridges deli
vered a very fine sermon. The
singing and sermon were en
joyed by all. Rev. P. H. Amey
is pastor of Orange Grove.
Street Sleepers
LONDON An estimat
ed 1.000 homeless men and
women sleep in the streets of
London—a higher number than
»t anv time since the 19205, a
East Cedar Grove to
Conduct Workshop
At S. S. Convention
'Hie General Sunday School
Convention of the East Cedar
Grove Association will con
duct a workshop, Saturday,
March 27, 1971 from 10 a.m.
to 12:15 p.m. at the Greater
Saint Paul Baptist Church, on
Juniper Street.
This workshop is designed
to last about two and one
half hours, consisting of three
things for all superintendents,
teachers, and workers of the
Sunday School.
1. A thorough acquaintance
with the work of the General
Baptist State Convention's
Unified Plan.
2. An acquaintance with
methods for teaching in the
Sunday School and Baptist
Training Union.
3. An acquaintance with the
relationship and responsibility
of the local Sunday School to
the State Baptist Sunday
School and Baptist Training
Union Congress.
We would like for all su
perintendents to stress the
importance of attending the
workshop. A state worker will
be conducting the workshop.
WASHINGTON—Sen. Hu
bert H. Humphrey, calling
for a United Nations com
mission to protect the en
vironment in which Red
China should take part:
"China has a grave pol
lution problem and a grave
population problem."
"""'n
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