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FOR 29 YEARS THE OUTSTANDING WEEKLY OF THE CAROLINAS
Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at Durham, North Carolina, under Act of March 3, 1879.
VOLUME 29—NUMBER 51
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA, SATURDAY, DEC. 22nd, 1951 PRICE TEN CENTS
DOPE TRAFFIC MOVING SOUTH?
★★ ★★ ★★ ★★ ★★ ★★ ★★
May Outlaw Negro Voters In Alabama
REVEREND MRS. EDNA
GRAVES, evangelist who
claims to have effected the ex
ecution stay for Clyde Brown,
sentenced to die for rape of
17-year-old white Winston-Sa
lem girl, is still in the news
this week.
Reverend Mrs. Graves, who
says she is soliciting funds for
a new trial for Brown, was de
nounced in a letter from chair
man of the People’s Defense
Committee (the group co
ordinating defense efforts for
Brown) to the TIMES this
week. See story, this page.
MAN HELD
FORSDEATHS
■ GETS LIFE
Atlanta, Ga.—A man held re
sponsible by the State for the
death of 38 persons through liq
uor poisoning here last October
21-22 got off with a life sen
tence last Thursday.
John R. (Fat) Hardy, 44 year
old ex-convict with a court rec
ord several pages long, admit
ted mixing the fatal moonshine
which took the lives of 34 Ne
goes and four whites, sickened
350 and blinded for life four.
He maintained that he didn’t
know it would kill people,
though.
Defense attorney J. B. Mc
Curdy anounced that a motion
for a new trial would be filed
promptly.
The 360 pound defendant
would ordinarily become eligi
ble for parole after seven years
of his life sentence under Georg
ia law, but faces four other mur
der indictments which make it
very unlikely that he would be
freed after completion of the
minimum time of his sentence.
Hardy was convicted specific
ally of murder of John W. Blount
Negro who died after drinking
a lethal mixture of wood alco
hol, water and moonshine whis
key.
In Georgia, a jury fixes pun
ishment, and in this case the
jury’s finding of murder with
a reccommendation of mercy
makes life imprisonment man
datory.
Hardy was the only defense,
witness in the trial which lasted
two and one half days. He testi
fied that he did not know the
mixture would kill people.
Pregnant Wife,
Four Men Admit
Using Narcotics
Columbia, S. C.—Further evi
dence that the dope epidemic,
spolighted in the North and
East this Summer, has moved
South was given here this week,
Four men and an expectant
mother were given jail terms
here last Thursday for using
narcotics. _
Recently, two druggists and a
physician in Winston-Salem, N.
C. were charged with violating
the federal narcotics law.
It is reported that law enforce
authorities throughout the State
have been alerted to be on the
look-out for traffic in narcotics.
Also federal authorities are said
to have been anticipating a full
scale invasion of the South by
the narcotics racket.
The five, including a white
. man, who were arrested here
last October 2, were given
terms ranging from two to
three years in prison in State
Criminal Court b y presiding
Judge Bruce Littlejohn.
All entered pleas of guilty and
admitted using either marijuana,
cocaine or heroin. The men are
soldiers at Fort Jackson.
The woman, 20 years-old and
■four months pregnant wife of
one of the soldiers, broke down,
sobbing when Judge Littlejohn
pronounced the sentence. She
was given two years in prison,
but on completion of four months
retroactive to her arrest, she
will be put on five year’s pro
, _ (Please turn to Page Eight)
OUTSIDE INTERFERENCE!
State To Survey
Durham Schools
Arthur B. Spingarn (center), president of the
National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People, happily accepts checks for $5,000
from Bishop William Y. Bell of the Fourth Epis
cipal District of the C. M. E. Church. The checks
represent contributions to the NAACP of $1,000
from each of the five conferences in Bishop
Bell’s district.
Looking on are left to right, Walter White,
NAACP executive secretary; Reverend L. S.
White, minister of the Williams Institutional C.
M. E. Church, New York; and Reverend A. Pres
ton Porter, minister of the Calvary C. M. E.
Church, Jersey City.
Cicero Mayor, Police Chief,
Officers Indicted In Riot
Chicago—Seven officials and
employees of the Township of
Cicero, nearby suburb, were in
dicted last Thursday by a spec
ial federal grand jury for their
role in preventing Harvey E.
Clark, Jr., and his family from
occupying an apartment which
they had rented in lily-white
Cicero last summer.
Henry J. Sandusky, presi
dent of the Town Council; Er
win Konovsky, chief of police;
and Nicholas Berkos, town at
torney, were indicted on two
counts, charging (1) conspiracy
to prevent any Negro inhabitants
from occupying and owning
property in Cicero, and (2) il
legal action on their part on
June 8, as officers of the law
and officials of the township, to
deny the Clarks the right to
occupy the apartment they had
rented.
Indicted on the first count
with them was Theodore Wes
olowski, fire marshall; and on
the second count, Police Serg
eant Roland Brani and Patrol
men Frank A. Lange and Frank
Janicek. ,
In New York, Walter White,
executive secretary of the Na
tional Association for the Ad
vancement of Colored People,
wired J. Howard McGrath, Uni
ted States Attorney General, ex_i
pressing “appreciation for or
dering the special federal grand
jury. . . which resulted in in
dictments in connection with the
Shepard Foundation Earmarks
$3,000 For Hiah Schoolers
The James E. Shepard Memor
ial Foundation this week an
nounced the availability of $3,
200 in scholarships for 16 North
Carolina Negro high school stu
dents.
According to James T. Taylor,
the Foundation’s executive di
rector, the scholarships will be
awarded in amounts of $200 each
to 16 high school students with
superior records of scholarship
and character.
Juanita Winston, the NCC choir/
andd students from Miss Hut
son’s dance classes.
Miss McAllister was seen in
“Winter Wonderland,” a solo.
Miss Morgan presented “Sugar
Plum Fairy”, and Miss Winston
was seen in “Silent Night.”
Miss Hutson’s intermediate
modern dance class presented a
modern jazz number, “The
Sleigh..”
Phyllis Thompson of the NCC
choir sang “O Holy Night.”
Students from the folk dance
and social dance classes appear
ed in a series of holiday num
bers.
Stan Ferber of the Drama de
partment’s stagecraft division
designed the sets.
The NCC chorus, under the
direction of S. W. Hill, furnish
ed music for the recital.
More scholarships will be
made available as contributions
to the foundation increase, it
was said.
Expansion of the scholarship
program to include other states
will follows as soon as sufficient
funds are available.
Eligible students must pass
qualifying examinations. Only
students in the uppper tenth of
their class will be considered for
the examinations, Taylor said.
In addition to announcing the
scholarship grants, the Shepard
Memorial Foundation, named
for the late founder and first
president of the North Carolina
College at Durham, also an
nounced plans for constructing a
(Please turn to Page Eight)
notorious rioting at Cicero.
In their first attempt, on
June 8, to move into the apart
ment, Mr. and Mrs. Clark were
forcibly turned back by Kono
vsky and other members of the
police force and were warned
not to return. When, on July
10, the Clarks again attempted
to occupy the apartment, a mob
of 6,000 Ciceronians, undeter
red by the police, destroyed their
personal property and wrecked
!the 29-apartment building, driy
ing 19 white families out.
Prior to the July rioting
George E. Leighton NAACP At
torney secured by the Chicago
branch, had secured, on June
26, an order from U. S. District
Judge John P. Barnes enjoin
ing Konovsky, Sandusky and
other Cicero officials “from de
priving or attempting to deprive
the plaintiffs (the Clarks) of
their rights as citizens of the
United States as guaranteed by
the 14th Amendment.”
A Cook County grand jury
started a probe of the riot. In
credibly on September 18, the
grand jury returned indictments,
(Please turn to Page Eight)
Move May Veil
Sinister Intent
A wave of idignation swept
the Durham Negro community
this week in the wake of moves
by the Durham City Council and
the Durham City Board of
Education interpreted at trying
to sidestep the recent rulings
of Federal Judge Johnson J.
Hayes.
In the case of Carolyn Blue et
als, Judge Hayes ruled that lo
cal school authorities must
stop discriminating against Ne
gro school children.
Judge Hayes rules further
in effect, that local school au
thorities must provide, “equal”
facilities for Negro and white
children.
The moves apparently design
ed to sidestep these rulings were
three-fold.
(1) . The City Council auth
orized clearing of the rugged
terrain around the “Wolf Den”
section of Pine Street. This is
the proposed location of a new
Negro elementary school.
(2) The City Board of Educa
tio announced plans to call in
State Board of Education officals
for a “survey” of the proposed
site.
(d) ihe City Council an- |
nounced a program of limited
streets improvement which
would surround Negro schools
with hard surfaced streets with
out curbs or gutters.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers earlier pro
tested the “Wolf Den” section
which has been termed inacces
sible, unavailable, and undesir
able, and unequal to comparable
sites for white children. Upon
the last point much of the con
troversy rests. Will the improv
ed “Wolf Den” site be “equal”?
Lawyers for the winners in
the suit against school officials
say “No”. The City of Durham
says “Yes”.
State officials in the past have
been interested only in “minu
mum standards” as brought here
during the trial. However, in
view of recent modification of
State laws, there appears the
faint possiblity of an entirely
new interpretation of the State’s
liability in the Durham schools.
Judge Hayes failed to find the
State a party to the action ori
ginally brought by the plain
tiffs.
WASTE OF TAX PAYERS
MONEY
It is said that the City of
Durham’s new policy of permit
ting unpaved and unguttered
streets in some of the neighbor
hoods in which Negro schools
are located is a waste of the
(Please turn to Page Eight)
FOUR GENERATIONS AT THIS REUNION—
Members of the Whitehead family of Halifax
pose at the home of their parents, Mr. and Mrs.
John Grant Whitehead, during a reception and
dinner December 9 which marked the couple’s
sixtieth wedding anniversary.
Four generations of Whiteheads, including five
children, 23 grandchildren and six great grand
children, attended the family reunion. More
than 150 friends of the family from parts as re
mote as Buffalo, New York attended the recep
tion.
Members of the Whitehead family shown in
the above photo are, front row, left to right, Wil
liam A. Hargrave, Buffalo, New York; Miss Rose
mond Weaver, New York; Miss Elizabeth Robin
son, New York; Joseph, William, Jr. and Lloyd
Hargrave, all of Buffalo, New York.
Second row, sitting, are Mrs. Maude Weaver,
New York; Mrs. Catherine Robinson, New York;
Mrs. Ora Whitehead, Halifax; Mrs. J. L. White
head, Lawrenceville, Va.; John Grant White
head, Halifax; Mrs. Jacqueline Hargrave, Buf
falo, New York.
Standing are Mrs. Annie Hargrave, Buffalo,
New York; Dr. William Whitehead, Newport
News, Virginia; Mrs. Jasper Whitehead, Law
renceville, Virginia; Mrs. Laura Hargrave, Phil
adelphia, Pa.; and Norman Robinson, Buffalo,
New York.
Case Against Railway
Bias In Court Again
Richmond, Va.—Racial segre
gation in interstate public trans
portation was scheduled to face
the test in Federal Court again
here Wednesday when the case
af William C. Chance, principal
af the Parmale-Chance High
School, versus the. Atlantic
Coast Line Railroad.
Professor Chance was arrested
when he refused to sit in a
coach reserved for Negroes. His
case comes before the District
Court for the second time. On
the first hearing, that tribunal
ruled against him, but a Federal
appeals court reversed the de
cision and remanded the case
for retrial.
The well-known North Caro
lina educator contended he was
wrongfully ejected from a Coast
Line Train. After his ejection,
he was arrested.
The District Court, in its de
cision, upheld the right of the
railroad to enforce its segrega
tion rule. The court, however
awarded Prof. Chance $50 be
cause of his arrest.
An appeals court reversed the
lower court decision last Janu
ary and ruled that the railway’s
segregation regulation was in
valid.
The case , orignated in 1948,
when Chance was put off a
Coast Line coach at Emporia,
Bennett Must Get $17,000 Or
Face Loss Of $75,000 Gift
Greensboro — N. S. Calhoun,
chairman of the Bennett College
Quarter Century Fund said to
day that the Greensboro Metho
dist College for Negro women
must raise $17,407.05 within the
next two weeks or forfeit a
$75,000 donation.
In letters to hundreds of cit
izens of Greensboro, Calhoun
explained that in November,
1950, the Kresge Foundation of
Detroit, Mich., agreed to give
Bennett $75,000 towards build
ing and furnishing the new stu
dent Union and clearing the col
lege of all debt provided the bal
ance of the money needed was
secured from other sources by
December 31, 1951.
Calhoun declared that those
who have helped the college in
the past, both white and Negro
the students, faculty and alumni
have contributed all they can, a
total ot $132,592.95 to date. ,
“For the balance, we must
turn to you and others in the
state who may know the achieve
ments of Bennett and may,
therefore, be willing to help in
this crisis, ” he said.
“It is an arithmetical fact
that every single dollar contrib
uted now will help Bennett Col
lege to realize an additional
grant; each gift of $100 will
add $850 to the Student Union
Fund,” he added.
Calhoun remarked is his let
ter that “when a college presi
dent — particulary the presi
dent of a small college like Ben
nett—sees $75,000 about to be
lost to his school, he gets des
perate—so desperate that he
asks me to write a letter like
this to a person like you whom
he knows only by reputaion—
in the hope that somehow the
great problem can be solved.”
Amendment Would Restrict Voters To Those
Of "Good Character;” Local Registrars To Decide
Special to the TIMES
Birmingham — Proponents
of white supremacy reached
back into the pages of his
tory to come up with a pro
posal which could legally de
ny the pitifully few Negroes
now voiting in this State the
right to the ballot.
Taking a clue from their an
cestors who authored the in
famous “grandfather clause'1
which successfully disfranch
ised Negroes for some time
during the post Civil war era,
white supremacists diehards
have offered an amendment
to the present voting qualifi
cations which would legally
bar any undesired group from
voting.
The amendment stood a good
chance of becoming law after
early election returns last
week. An early count gave
48,535 out of 2,444 boxes for
the amendment. 46,401 were
tallied against it.
The measure would give
sweeping powers of judge
ment of voting qualifications
to the county board of regi
trars. It would require would
be voters to be of “good char
acter” and “embrace the du
ties and obligations of citizen
ship.” County registrars
would decide whether these
qualifications were met.
The amendment was design
ed by States Righters who sup
ported the Boswell Act. The
Boswell act was ruled invalid
in 1949 on the grounds that it
discriminated against Ne
groes.
Little was heard of the meas
| ure before last week’s election
although the National Associ
ation for the Advancement of
Colored People had condem
ned it. The amendment would
replace existing laws which
provide few restrictions.
Alabama’s poll tax of $1.50
per year, cumulative up to
$36, would not be affected,
however.
Although Negroes have par
ticipated in every election in
the the state since 1865, the
number of Negroes voting in
Alambama is not available.
Va. while traveling from Phil
adelphia, Pa. to Rocky Mount,
N. C.
Clyde Brown
"Crusader" Is
Hit By Group
Another blast was levelled
this week at a woman who
claims she is crusading for a
man condemned to die is the
State’s gas chamber.
Rev. Mrs. Edna Graves of
High Point who claims to have
effected the stay of execution
for Brown and who says she
is now soliciting funds for
a new trial came under fire from
the organizatio nhandling de
fense efforts for Brown, it was
revealed this week.
Brown was sentenced to die
on a rape charge of a 17 year old
white Winston-Salem girl. His
conviction was upheld by the
State Supreme Court and a sub
sequent appeal to a U. S. Court
was lost.
Rev\ Graves, who has already
been repudiated by Brown’s de
fense attorneys, was also de
nounced as a bona fide worker
for the Clyde Brown defense
in a letter from the chairman
of the People’s Defense Com
mitte to Rev. Graves last Octo
ber.
(Please turn to Page Eight)
W. C. CHANCE, principal of
the Parmele High School at
Parmele, is seeking repara
tion of damages from the At
lantic Coast Line Railway
Company incurred when he
was rejected from an ACL
train for refusing to sit in a
segregated coach. See story,
this page.