Newspapers / The Carolinian (Raleigh, N.C.) / June 15, 1946, edition 1 / Page 4
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fAGE roOB THE CAROLINIAN 'W'EEK ENDING aATURDAY. JUNE 15, 1946 EDITORIALS “WORTH TRYING * “If you want an3'th!njr done and done nght always do it. yourself.” By L. A, Smith THE SUPREME COURT ON SEGREGATION The decision of the Supreme Coui’t in the Virginia bus sojfreKation case ha? been greeted as another milestone in tlie «Jow’ and painful march of the Negro toward equal citizenship and human rights in the United States, Witliin the past few years the Supreme Couii has materially aided this progres.s by .Ncxeral imporant decisions, each one In lino with the clear constitutional principles involved in the 14th and loth Amendments. Outstanding have been the Gaines case, e.stnblisliing the principle that all per.^ons, regardless of race, must be provided with equal edu cational facilities by the state and within the state, and the Texa.s Primary case, which outlawed the barring of persons because of color from participation in primaries. The decision which declared unconsti tutional the Virginia law requiring the separation bj’ race of interstate bus pas sengers was not based so much on the 14th Amendment as on the Inerstatc Com merce clause. The opinion written by .lus- tice Reed seemed primarily to be concern ed with relieving the carriers of the bur densome necessity carrying out the seg regation provision demanded by the state law, rather than with the rights of Negro passengers. But the result may be the .-^ame, and the decision should remove one of the most irksome and humiliating discrimina tions to which Negroes arc subjected. It has been noted many times that travel by bus is quite different from train travel, since trains carry coaches, or compart ments of coaches, set aside for Negroes. On buses, however, there is no specific sec tion absolutely re.served for Negroes, which means that in the South colored passenger has no inherent rights. He is at the mercy of the white passengers when it comes to getting a seat, and at the mi r- i«u etf lau' stnrf thp ririvpi-’s uy UUb lb quite Ulitej mv i • vm w v, since trains carry coaches, or compart ments of coaches, set aside for Negroes. On buses, how’cver, there is no .specific sec tion absolutely re.served for Negroes, which means that in the South colored p$ssonger has no inherent rights. He is at the mercy of the white passengers when it comes to getting a .seat, and at the mer cy of the law and the driver’s interpreta tion of it in keeping a seat, should he get one. The driver’s interpretation of the seg regation law often means that the only equality the Negro passenger enjoys is that of paying the same fare as all other passengers. Another result of the decision will in evitably be that the whole question of segregation on common earners will be brought before the public in a forceful manner. Already being discussed is the difficulty of enforcing the segregation rule for inrastate passengers while inter state travelers arc exempted. Conditions of train travel during the war demonstrat ed that for a large proportion of white persons in the South, being separated from Negroes on tr.iins was far less important to them than having a seat hi some coach or other. Jim crow prt-ed U' be verj’ elas tic when it would result in unneiossary inconvenience to white persons. Anj' unbiased appraisal of jini crow in practice at once reveals its iniquity. What ever the theory may be. in practice it al ways means that the right of Negroes are on a distinctly inferior plane as compar ed to the rights of others: that the facili ties and accommodations provided for Ne groes. if any. represent a necessary con- cea&ion. It may be interesting to recall in this connection that when inter-city bii?es first began to opernie in North Carolina there was no provision for Negro passen gers at all. and it took a couri decision THE CAROLtNlAI* ^bloned by The Carolinian PubliahinR Co. Entered as second-claas matter, April 6. 1940. m the Post OlT're at Raleigh. N. C.. under the Art of M&rcb 3, 1879. I P. R. JERVAy. Publisher C. D. HALLIBURTON. Editorials Subscription Kates One Year ^00; Six Months. $1.25 Address all communications and make all checks payable to The Carolinian rather than to laAvlduals. lire Carolinian expressly repudiates for return of unsolicited pictures, manuscript, etc., unless stamps are sent llS Swt HargeU Sts Raleigh, N. C to establish their right to accommodations of any sort on buses. The whole philosophy of jim crow is fundamentally ba.sed on the idea that since the presencce of Negroes is repug nant to some whites, and since the inter ests of all whites naturally come liefore the rights of any Negroes, whatever ad justment is made must naturally be made in favor of white.s. If the adjustment is to the disadvantage of the Negro, that is sinipl.v one of iho price.s he has to pay for being so unreasonable as to be black. Coupled with and re-enforcing this philosophy is the belief that Negroes na turally want to force their company on white person.s—a tendency which mu.sl be scotched at all costs. Millions of white pensons seem incapable of under.standing that the average Neg)o’s objection to jim crow has no relation to wliat i.N c.omnionly called “social equality.” It is ratlier a re sentment of (1) infoj'inr accommodation.'! and facilities; (:i) the fact that the preju dices of whites as whites take precedence over the rights of Negroes a.s citizens and humans, and that whatever “adjustments” must be made hecauM> of these prejudices, it is always the Negro who must make tiiem, and to his own inconvenience and humiliation, if neco.ssaiy. Even the Suprente Court decision is based on the convenience of the operators rather than the inherent e(|uality of a Negro passenger who is paying the .same fare as the white passenger. IN OKLAHOMA Tit*’ jim crow philosophy as discti.ssed in these columns in connei’tion with the connnent on the Virginia segregation case is quite as clearly illustrated in the Okla homa case in which a young woman is suing for admission to the State Univer sity. Under the Gaine.'^ decision the stale is bound to furnish equal educational facili ties for all its citizens. The young wom an, wishing to take a c»urse not offered in any of the state’s Negro schools, ap plied of the Univeraity of Oklahoma for admission. Of coui'se her application was rejected: then the NAACP brought .suit in behalf of the appheant. In court the attorney general of the state admitted all allegations of the plain tiff. His oqly plea was the right of the .'in, WlSIIlllg lU t MiutiJv; wiiv-.v-v. in any of the state’s Negro schools, ap plied of the Univei-sity of Oklahoma for admission. Of course her application was rejected: then the NAACP brought suit in behalf of the applicant. In court the attorney general of the state admitted all allegations of the plain tiff. His only plea was the right of the slate to enforce the discriminatory law. regardless of its effect on one of its citi zens. In other words. “It's wrong, we ad mit; but after all which is more impor tant—that the privileges of all citizens .should be protected or that the prejudice? of some should be preserved from of fense?” FOR ALL PEOPLE Speaking of building fortiine.s by rx- ploiting the ignorance and superstition nf one’s own people which practice commented on here recently, let u.s mm- sider for a moment Prophet Harvey Am brose Green. The prophet *we.'« the U. S. (*o\'ern- ment $15.UtO in income taxes for IP-l I and IIMS. plus $5,000 in penalties and interest, plus a $1,6-10 fine lor late filing. Prophet Green presides over the Hou.se of Prayer for All People in St. Loni.s. He has available for sale blessed herb.s. The reverend prophet explains that he had no intention of defrauding his Govern ment by evading taxation; it was “merely an oversight,” and traceable partly to the inadequacy of his secretarial help. Religious organizations are of mwwze- exempt from income tax. but KederaWiov- ernment regards tlie Pi’ophet’s House of Pra.ver as a going bu.siness concern. AMAZING STATE OF AFFAIRS As a part of the defense of the Negriu'.-; being tried en ma.sse in connection with the Columbia, Tonn., “race riot,” the N. A. A. C. P. is calling thousands of Ne groes as witne.sses to demonstrate that Negroes are qualified for jury seiwico. Tile prosecution has been forced to ad mit that no Negroes have been drawn foi jury sendee in that county for many years, but also blandly asserts that no Negroes in county can qualify as jurymen! y ITKa district attorney who made that statement is setting a fine example of ver acity for witnesses to follow. KDrrOKIAL' ■DcuLh ;ind dc.Uructi.in patiently waiting!” By t>. HAIXIBUHTOM Some linir agu the National Urban Lcagu', with the aid of ii grant trom the (ieneral Edu cational Board, made a study of business education among Ne groes. More than 800 busines.'! i-stablishments in iwel'’e repre- s-vnlativc southern cii.rs wen- hUrveyed. Although the study was pri marily concerned with the edu cational background of the pro prietors of the businesses and their employes, in an attempt to discover the net*d for busi ness training, many interesting iacLs were established. For in stance. it was shown that Nc- g r o business estublishaents were predominantly of five kind: restaurant^, beaaly shop-s. barber shops, grocery stores and cleaning ana pressing shops. Casual observation on the part of anyone interested would hav- Icd to the same conclusions. The majority of Negro busine.sses pnciors oi their employes, in an attempt to discover the need for busi ness training, many interesting tacts were established. For in stance. it was shown that Ne- g r o business establishmenta were predominantly of fiv4 kind: restaurants, beauty shops, barber shops, grocery stores and cleaning and pi-cssing shops. Casual observation on the part of an> one inlere.stcd would hav,- led to the same ronclusions. The oiajority of Negro busine.sse.s are in the fields in which (1) there is little or no competition, because whites do not wish to ;cnrlei sei-vicc to Negroes (bar ber .shops, beauty parlors and undei'tuking establishments, for instance): (2) little capital and no particular skills arc required for entering the field (grocery .sloi-es. etc.) Also to be expected was the conclusion that must Negro busi nesses cater to the Negio mid dle class, and are found in uv- • iwhelmingly colored districts; but it was also brought out that 20 per cent of them cater to both while and Negro clientele. Less than 2 per cent .serve ex- clu-sively or almost exclusively white trade. Important and thought-pro- vnking facts brought out by the study are that Negro business- (.- typically are launcheri with a capital of less than $1,01)0: that they are typically individ ually owni-d rather than corpor cti- interprises, and that their but it was also brought out that 20 per cent of them cater to both white and Negro clientele. Less than 2 per cent .serve ex- clu-sively or almost exclu.sivoly white trade. Important and thought-pro voking facts brought out by the study are that Negro business- t'}- typically arc launched with u capital of less than $1,000: ’hat they are typically individ ually owned rather than corpor ate 'ntcrprises, and that their average life is five years. Cer tainly the first two facts, alone with the further amply docu- m'-nied ronchisiun that the ope- lators of most of the e.stnbiish- ments sui vcycd has little bust- mss training or experience, go u long way in explaining th-e nigh mortality rale of Negro Lusinesses. Eighy-onc per cent of the pro prietors, nearly lialf of whom, by the way, weie women, have hud no busimss education, though mure than half express ed a desire for more trainii.g. The study raises at least two questions. One is. can practical training in the fu.ndamcntals of business be made available to those already in business who feel the need of it? The other is. why do relatively such few education Negroes go into busi ness for themselves? The second of these tvo questions will be the subject of a later discussion tn this space. Meanwhile the writer would like to hear from MORAL GIANTISM Oinnlism and dwarfism are hinlogical rharactenstica strik ingly illusti'ated in our p'lpulation. Somewhere between these fx- :rvme.-5. Mother Nature places most of her children; for the dear old mother deals harshly with deviates from the average. As with biologieal giantism and dwarlism so with the moral manifestation? of these qualities, we ran see them on every hand. For quite a few years this column Jia.s emphasized the need for more moral courage in race relations. As clumsy as our s‘cial machinery may appear, it is far mere .iflvancf'd than is our moral courage. There is today an alarming fi-arfulnrss and timidity among both white and Negro leadership. S>-!dom do wc find a man who is willing to suffer for his (-unvi,?- lions." Fearful saintism" and Pontiu, Pilalism are too prevalent in both white and Ncgio leadership 'anks. At a time wh«’n moral (oiiiage is paying its greate.st divid' nds. we have an alarmiog timid ity and fearfiilne.'S on the pari of Anvrican leadership. We are oveidomg the "safety first" methods in our interracial procedures with the result that a.sldc from plea.sing platitudes we are not accomplishing much. Wc read "withoiil regard m race, creed oi color" a hundred time.s in vari(>u.s ".statement-s” but in actual practice, few if any jim-crow signs arc being taken down, while attempts to hang them up are going on apace. When it comes to a magnificent display of moral courage the juuthful governor of Georgia is fast .stealing the limelight of this nation, a limelight he verily deserves! His successful fight to over throw the terrible Tulmadgc, his successful attack on the poll tax system, his refusal to interfere with the supreme court's decision cn the Democratic primary and his more recent statement to the i ff-cl that every legal resource of rtf’ irgia would he employed to drive out once for all the resurgent Ku Klux Klan mark Arnall as one of the moral stalwarts of this generation. These safety-first interracialists should study Ellis Arnall of Georgia. In his joust with his enemies he has yet to lose a major battle, although he is always holding an advanced position, If a ct^nesponding strong Negro leadership rises to match such leader- j-hip as Arnall and Lillian Smith are giving the south, wc are going to head into a more secure course in race relations. Now comes the latest decision of the United Stales .Supreme c Hill that segregation on interstate common carriers is illegal. This j>-- anothei heartening decision that must challenge ihe Negroes to renewed efforts to help themselves by utilizing e\-cry opportunity to exercise the rights of .suffrage. Supreme court decisions art ‘■mpty things unless Negroes are going to rise to the occasion and acquit themselves like men. With the supn-me court paving the way in W'ashington and with Gov. Ellis Arnall blazing a new highway in the south, it seems that after all, the Negro is on tlie advance. It was in rccognitiua of this now .south with its new .spirit that gave rise to the Southern Fegiona) counci’ F'rom the beginning 1 wa.s contended Ihe Negroes of the .south .should in an organized way sei'k to capitalize this growing liberalism in the .spulh for in tiic last analysis if the advance is to come, it must come through he liberalism of the soutn. for Wa.-jhinglon has on trx) many occa sions irvgloriously failed to do anything (hat would offend the south The .supreme court alone poses an exception to this statement. The most remarkable thing about this whole matter is the pro- nounctMi absence of any .stiff oppo.'ition to Arnall's advanced pro gram, thus proving that this column has long contended that th*. south could go fartl'‘’r and fa.s*-r than it was going. The south today is more ready for advance than is generally believed. It is waiting on a leadership of moral giants where too often pygmies are holding the fort. The extent to which the younger generation can be brought into the picture i.s Ihe extent to whi^h the advance can be acceleral- rd. When .Arnall securt-d (he suffrage of the 18-yeai* old.s he was making his most .substantial .-.trides; tor it is among these that the hopes of advances are brightest. A iew more moral giants among the white.s who dare to be called ‘Nugro-lovers" and a few more ed a desire for luorc training The study raises at least two questions. One is. can practical training in the fundamentals of busine.ss be made available to those already in business who feel the need of it? The other is. why do relatively such few education Negroes go into busi ness tor themselves? The second of these * vo questions will be the subject of a later discussion m this space. Meanwhile the writer would like to hear from uilcrestcd readers who would express their views on the whole subject of Negroes and business. gram. thu.-. proving that thus column has long contended that th* south could go farther and faster than it was going. The south today is more ready for advance than is generally believed. It is waiting on a leadership of moral giants where too often pygmies are holding the fort. The extent to which the younger generation can be brought into the picture Ls the extent to which the advance can be acceleral- * d. When .Arnall secured the suffrage of the 18-year old.s he was making his inn.sf substantial .>liides: lor it is among these that the hopes of advances are brightest. A lew more moral giants among til,' whilo who dan- to be called "Negro-lovers'* and a few more Negi o« s who dare tn he called ''Uncle Toms” to cooperate with them, will hasten a hi-ghfc. day in race relation^ in the south and nation More moral giants, white and Negro? SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON Ry . M. W. William, Siit'jei-l I.rarninc Alwiil tie- Kingdoiri. I>ukc fl:23, 2-1. tfi-.'W M R2; lt;l-1: 17:20. 21- Key Vdi-sc Thy Kiiiurioin t-onir Thv will be d-inc. as in hr-ai-rn VO on oarth. Mall. fi:in. There IS someihiiu to he K->i- 'en f'om a --cni' n t'lHay jii^l a> ‘>111- nf the disciples caught the vpiiii of ihr Mii.«-tcr and dC'irPd to b*' laiichl to pray aftei li-l'U- Hit! to thal memorable sermon n Ihe M-nml near faui rnauin in th*' -i.miner A H 2!» So we Itiok oi.t ini ) the wurlti torn with strife and confusion. Hie Clirisians feel deeply their re- s|K)n.'ihility for ll W* air told "Wlun we pray, say. Father. H;l- I'-wed l>e Tiiy name. Tliy King- d'lm romc " To under.stand rightly the Kingdom of God is to accept Him .is King in our own hciirt^ Tiie: I very act of our own will be towards bringing His Ktng- doMi to rule the world. To jiray ftir c)ur daily bread and then go ■ ■III buy. ■->nri siorc up enough to last u- ft I month-! hrcaii.-ic we i-iui. ihert-hy lobhing others wh-' ran only hiiy enough for today ronlr^y to our long prayt i*. ni tl •• »'hv there is such a strug gle vir OPA The Kingd-.m of O-hI ir.eans tteaee on o.nrth among men Can ii true Christian pr.i.. for "Thy Kingdom" and at the siiine time hire mt n at .starvation wages while they make profits ■ •ll the i-omnuKtilifs pr dueed. and they Ihomsclvov gel -iufliiient tc feed tlicir familie-- and lu-e in lux ury.’ Tlien on Hie other hand, ran a true Chri-tinn lahof-r. pray f r "Thy Kuig(i...n" and .•;l the s-'nu- tune d miind a wa.'e -v hieli I'" knows is pulling li- r i i deeper m d' bl 11- r ivh.tt ■till . >k: (• Christian control the situ-i- lion’ The nnswor is yes. Three- fourths of the- industry in this roi.niiy is controlled liy Church going people. If 'hey w. uid ap ply the Christian principle,-! of life as Mibject.-: ef tho Kingtlom of God, the oilier one-fourth would be cr>nslram--d to adopt il'C same policy. If not at - ncc. our Chris tian way of life would cause llu in In think on their ways. What then are the cardinal |i unis to be rigid ly nb.servcd as princil'lc.s of life u'' brni-ght out in this Ip-sson'' Fir-t. Sarrif'cr »f self. I" Luke f);-2.T "If any man would eome after me, let him deny himself, Old i-ike up his cr-'ss daily, and folio-,' me" We no longer ask. what IS the 'vill of the King? All ion often, we ask whni i.s in it for me'.’ The second principle: Tlic spirit of humility. In Luke 0:48. "And therR arose a reasoning among them, whirh of ttirm was the greatest.'" In n world ■ f confusion, tlie Iasi man In display a spirit of ariongnnce should b,' the Chris tian worker, l,et me do all I can for 'he Kingdom if it happens t-> be more ttian m.v brother is /loinc or ran d" let me thank God I eniild d" -"ch for the Kingdoms sake and not MY GLORY. How miuiv times have we seen worthv caiises loU bpcai.Te somebodv could not be tJie greatest? Do you have the right spirit? The third principle nf life for those who are .subjects of th. Kingd'm is; A votuntary deter- niinatinn to follow Him u-ithsut reservation. The incidents record ed illustrate the sense of urency Luke J):'i7, a teacher offers to fol low. bi.1 wntils time to 'bury my father:' and in Luke P:fi1 another 'iiid. "I ''-ill follow Thee, but uf fer me !■> hid farefcll to the-n Unit an at my luuise. ' After learn ing about the Kingdom, whieh of flu'se do you represent? state here that there is a plac>» m the big citk-.s for all tyoes of people, and the poor and the damned are in most of them in abundance. It is true that a man can find his niche with no higher ability than that of a bootblack, a porter or a flunky, but it is also true that there is a place for men who arc law yers and doctors, radio mechan ics. writers, teachers and gard- ners. It docs appear that there is more dignity and profit in the latter category. Some of the people who make it a practice to study such things feel thal the incidence of ju venile delinquency in some nf I ur larger cities is due to the neglect of c*duciilion f-jr Ncgr > youth. They point out that be cause Negro youth do not have educational advantages in the south, they are unprepared for an dare irustratcd by life in the city. Domestic Relations Court Justice. Hubert T. Dclany used the figures gathered in nine southern states to point out recently that the educational expenditures for the education of a white child is 211 per cent greatei than those made for Ne gro children. PLAIN TALK Y .1 O H N M. LEE THEY’LL NEVER DIE yu rntlGATlON IS AN INVEST- MTTNT THAT BENEFtTS THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE STATE B'mkei T- Wa'!hington who was retenily eU cUd to Uu: Hall oi Fame w.is it man ot whom i: might t; 'hlujly be said, ' he liiul a smgU’ id> .1 in whicn he fer- vmtly and pas.smnat! ly belli v- i-d” With hLs deep instinct an'l uneriing foresight, he saw that tie- land offered the truest s:i'.- vLtion tn his people, and hi dedicaltd his life to leaching the .skills that would enable them to reap an increasingly nrher harc-vsl of independent end .s« lf-r sped. Today, with the emphasis on urbanity and culture, there are many v.-ho would disclaim his dislinrtitin as the greatest Negro educator in hUtorv. Whatever your opinion of Booker T. Washington, you can not disagree with the truth of philosophy th-at it is the dutv of every man to learn to be bet ter than he is. There are too many of us who are teiQpeia- mentally and phv.-irally >in -iiited for the vigorous life in tlie land, -nd yd, most of us who eliH-t U' live the iile in tne big cities aie proving daily that we are timperanu ntnlly and physienlly unsuiled for the problems wc must face. By iho standards with whiih VC mcasine, city life is the high est form of c-xitsonce. yet Mu- low »-st evidi nces of human be haviour come from the cities. A.dmittedly the conveniences that make living .set'm compar atively like a sojourn in Paia- dise. abound in the cities, hii* then the mo.sl horrible examples of our concealed barbaric tend encies also show up greatest in the cities. Perhap.s, at the ox- pense of over-simplification it can bi- said that the greatest single difference between 'he citified and non-citified area* is that in the cities, more people crowd together in less space than is the case in strictly rur al area4 What Booker T. Washington taught had its limitations. It pre- 3iipp»vH a rac*' ''f people who would have lo work their w-ay i:p from the bottom, and he aoiiglit to prepare them to pro vide for ihcniselvts the thing.s they would immediately need. For a time he was successful in proving lh.it there Is dignity in hard work, and Negro farmers sughl eagerly to learn the tricks and tho skills that would givt them a greater yield. As other gi-nerations came on Ihe scene, the influence of Book er T. Washington was lost as the urge to gel away from it all seized young southern Ne- gioes. Because the communities in which they lived didn't give a damn whether they could read or write their own names, they felt that they didn't have any responsibility in the matter I ither. As a consequence, many of them came to the -big cities of the nortli with no better equipment than a grudge against white folks and a determina tion to get by without struggling too hard in the process It 4ould probably be well III WIUIAM S SCARBOROUGH WAS -OWPtTE BVASEOPGIA !?^.aEL WHO TOOKAUKiNfirO HIM. A FINE SCHOLAR, '■-CARROROUGH WAS 6RADL? ATEO PROM OBERLIN.AND AT 30. HAD EARNED tllS DOCTORS DECREE / H'S KNOWLEDGE OP IA N 6UA6E9 • BOTH CLA$S - IC^L ANOMOOERN'WAS STAGGERING'SO MUCH 50 THAT HtS -FIRST LESSONS W GREEK" A TEXTBOOK PUBLISHED IN NX.WON WIDE ACLAIM HDR |TS ACCVRACV and SIMPLICfrV/ VnUIAM 5* SCARBOROUOH AUTHOR & PROFESSOR ■ AT WtLBERFORCE Um. V CeatiaMtkl This disparity, Justice Delanv said, "robs not only the Negro child but ihe whole country." It would seem then, that when the forces of prejudice and greed in the south are inviting illiteracy and low educational standards for Negroes, they are iindorinining the very' founda tion of the nation which tJiey profess to love. How much the Negroes in the south can do to help themselves is questionable, the south being what it is but there is certainly .something. However much we dislike criticism, wc must admit that it is getting a little sick ening to realize thal Negro youth are committing serious crimes, ■■nd, in too many cases, the youth have come from the south more or less recently and did not have much schooling. A boy who has been trained to direct hi.'i mind .-ind . ,iergy into a chan nel that u both profitable and interesting to him Ls less likely to get into serious trouble than is the boy who has been taught only to brood over the injustice that has robbed him and his kind of their rightful opportun ities.
The Carolinian (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
June 15, 1946, edition 1
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