North Carolina Newspapers

THE CAROLINIAN 51, N. C., SATURDAY. APRIL 11. 19*4 4 Editorial Viewpoint WORDS OF WORSHIP John the Baptist, the voice crylns In the wilder ness, was the last of this majestic succession of thunderers. John forsook the clues as being w ck _ ed beyond any hope, and pitched his camp in the wilderness besides the banks of the Jordan Rwer. He attired himself in skins of animals, his food was locust and wild honey. He practiced long fasts and vigils, from which he emerged with flaming Overcame Insurmountable Obstacles! Too many individuals in this country like to complain about this and that. This editorial will present character sketches of two people— one black and the other white—who managed the impossible. Last week The CAROLINIAN carried the atory of a Negro, Henry C Mitchell, Goids boro newsman and pictured him as a man of many talents—although handicapped. Milch ell. who has been bed-ridden for 14 years, makes his living from a room with a telephone, metal filing cabinet, and writing equipment and materials. Mitchell reports news from his community _ to the Journal and Guide and The Carolinian, and recruits domestic employees for a New York agency from which he gets his chief in come. In this venture he has sub-agents in 12 counties working for him. Besides he sells Avon Products "mostly on the telephone." The story of our second ease is that of a white mother from Seattle. Washington. This - mother, now a registered specialist jn the study of cells, has improved her status until it is a far-cry from her situation seven years ago when the was expecting rer fifth child had o'n'y a ninth-grade education, and liwd on welfare. How did she accomplish this unusual sent of bettering her lot? The 28-year-old mother says that a guidance counselor and six teachers sparked her ambition. At the tiine she had married at 15 years and was separated from her husband at 21. Mrs. Alicia Carlington was forced to seek help under the "aid to dependent children” plan. Although told that “nobody ever goes to school on ADC." she finished high school. Dixie’s “Do-Nothing Policy” Harmful Old “Dixie” has had its Mississippi. Us Ala bama. and now its Florida for trouble is brew ing in Jacksonville and Daytona Bench In Alabama and Mississippi, the racial problems were traceable to both the sms of omiviou and commission In Florida, the trouble seems to rest with a policy of "do nothing ” A Winter Haven. Fin , Negro. Rutheled B Woltrr. recently summarized the Jacksonville case in these words “The racial unrest in Jacksonville has ex isted for a long time As a resident of Jackson ville for 10 years, until 1963, I can testify that Negro leaders have been working hard to get better job opportunities for Negroes and tr> re duce discrimination in schools, restaurants, by the police and by the bus company. “Most Negroes, and some white people, have supported the goals of Negro leadership For example, the boycott of certain downtown Jacksonville stores several years ago was com pletely successful. I served on a special Cham ber of Commerce committee at the timr in re lation to the hoycott. The result of the boycott was that all major downtown stores integrat ed their dining rooms and fitting rooms and made other similar changes. "The repressive police atmosphere in Jack sonville. directed at Negroes, could have only one result —to arouse hate and resistance. Other cities can well learn that a "do-nothing" ra cial policy is a mistake from seeing Jackson ville’s trouble.” This "do-nothing policy in Florida has led to Do We Want Political Bosses? Th* local political scene as it affects our readers will gather momentum as we get cl >srr to the Primary. In this stepped-up atmosphere the politician will be expected to try his hrst to garner every advantage for himself and thosa whose interest he represents. There will many attempts to attract or control the recently enlarged Negro registra tion. Political bosses know that if such a vre abla vote cannot be used to their advantage tha nest best thing is to split it so that it will do no harm. What can happen at this time with the 10.000 registered Negro voters in the May Primary is debatable. Thera is one school of thought that believes the Negro vote can be used to barter with and in turn elect a Negro to office This unques tionably is very plausible and is no doubt what will be attempted should anv Negroes offer for any of the various offices Whether this pro cedure should be followed under a civic or ganisation may prove a question. The labor and money contributed to the franchise efforts here should not allow a political boss to be come the recipient. In bartering for support Why Take Cassius Clay’s Crown? We cannot understand why the World Box- Inf Association wants to take the heavyweight boxing crown from Cassius Clay. Os course, if tha Association thinks Clay’s membership in the Muslims organisation Is harmful to box ing. we can understand the hypocrisy. When the WBA examined Clay's record, they could not justifiably accuse him of be 'mg a poor example for youth. We learned from rehab!* sources that Cassius doesn’t smoke. YAE NEGRO PRESS—balhree that America can best lead the world away from racial an d national antagoraune when it accords to every mar regardlees of raca. color or creed, his human end legal rights Hating no man (earing no man—the Negro Press strives to help every man on the firm be lte! that all man are k jrt as long as art) one it held back. eyeballs to deliver his uncompromising challenge "Repent," he cried, stretching out hla gaunt arm toward the thoughtless capital, "repent while you still have time. God has given up hope. Hla pati ence Is exhausted; He is about t.< wind up the af fairs of the world." Many people flock 3d out to his camp and hla fiery language burned through to consciences that were overgrown with a veiy thick crust. Mrs. Carlington lacked proper credit for en tering college, but she did a year’s work in six weeks in order to enroll in the University of Washington. Upon entering the university she was offered a scholarship. Then her self-help program almost came to an end when welfare officials decided if she could go to school, she could work. This decision indicates short-sight edness of some officials when they strictly ad here to policy. » Her long-range program of self-improvement would have then come to an end were it not for the fact that State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation for nondisabled saved the ship A rehabilitation officer tailored her case to fit the program. She received SIOO a month as an intern, but still studied the food ads "like the stork market” to make ends meet. On graduation day in 1962, this young mo ♦ rer received best student of the year award fiom the Society of Medical Technologists She also won an American Cancer Society scholar ship for six months study at the University of On gon. I am grateful to all who took a chance on me,” says Mrs. Alicia Carlington “Had I stay ed on welfare I figure the chances are that two of my five children might trrmselves go on wf lfarr." If this woman had not been able to comnlete her education, she would probably be back on welfare, too. Too many people try to make excuses for themselves and their status; Hut. if a mother could accomplish what she did with five chil dnn. others gan too with constructive and s'i mg motivation. an understanding of Florida's Development Program which invites tourists and visitors by the thousands to coinc to the Sunshine State 'or a happy vacation and relaxation. Besides, private business and cities spend millions of dollars to-woo the public to the state Now. since the recent disturbances in Day tona and Jacksonville, and because of the short-sightedness of a few the ef fectiveness of several years rffort and invest, mt nt is in danger of collapsing. To add frustration to an already tense sit uation in the state. St. Augustine’s police re cently arrested and jailed a prominent white Massachusetts citizen Mrs. Malcolm Pea body, mother of the governor of Massachu setts The world will not forget Florida’s treat ment of Mrs Peabody, a gentle and respected woman who is dedicated to the rightness of her cause. Officials in Florida sat down on "the stool of do-nothing” and either disbanded biracial committees, or refused to appoint them. This situation is an invitation to trouble. Southern white leadership may try and rte tend that racial disharmony does not exist, that the majority of Negroes are satisfied with things as they are. that we can handle these matters without the assistance of biracial com nutters. Postpone the solution to the problem if they will, but sooner or later they must act to settle the matter of racial injustices, discri minations. and segregation. from the majority group a Negio politican no doubt would be tied to some special inte est group. This, in itself, places our constituency in the hands of this special interest group, thereby placing our vote under a determined control. This should not be. Most Negroes would like to know we could have one of our own in office This ns needed. There is reason to believe this can be done even with several Negroes offering for any one office in the Primary. The public preference will be found out in the Primary In the Gen eral Election there would be only one remain ing Negro to vote for if any. This, we believe, would attract many voters to the polls during the Primary as well as in the General Election. Should this remaining office seeker elec* to tie-in with any other office aeeker. or seekers, that would tie his prerogative In the mean time, should an organisation care to endorse him that would be left to them or him to seek. For all organizations to automatically belong to a lone candidate in the Primary and General Election could stand scrutiny A more democratic and freer precedure seems to us in order. doesn’t drink, ha* never been put in jail, nor has he been in any situation resembling trou ble. The champ was an Olympic medal winner, and he feels he has the freedom of religious choice. It doesn't matter whether or not the WBA dislikes the Black Muslim religious sect: but. if the WBA wants to indict Clay in orde® to dethrone him, it must find a better excuse, or we will believe what we hear about the dis integration of the boxmg world. A Just For Fan BY MARCUS & BOULWAKB THE MIAMI TRIP Well. I've made the trip to Miami to oboerve my intern In speech correction. But the main point of interest aboutt he trip was the ride on the train-—Sea board Airline Railway. It comes to my mind that the last rime I rode the train was In Feoru ary. 1952. enroute to Madron. Wisconsin, to take my final oral examination (2 hours mg > for the doetoral degree. I journeyed from Charlotte, N C., where I was then speech correctionist In the public schools at the time. On the * ay up. I was nervous and tense in expectance of the examination; but. on the way back to Char lotte. I was floating on the clouds of joy—because I nad passed successfully the oral ex amination. The train la more com'ort able to ride than the bus; how ever, the buses have more con venient and frequent sched;iles. The train given my 6-foot-3- Ineh frame a little more leg room. TRY ANYWAY: A lawyer, th" story go?.-., was attempting to browbeat the wltneas. "Just OA'FY L\ AMERICA THE DREADED MEN'S DISEASES We Americans worry over the heart. We have all the statis tics over how many men are killed annually ty a faulty tick er. The English, however, wor ry over their tummy and the French over their liver and the Germans over the Intestines, large and small, but of course, that's the way the Oermans arc It is all the same disease really. We arc all mortal and we all wear out. But where we ony take anxiety over the heart in much the same way that chidren take castor oil, the Continentals rather enjoy their national disease The Germans apparently never tire of saus age and beer, the Frenchmen never tire of vin ordinaire and rich meat sauces, and the Brit ish have yet to make a move to improve their cooking which Is as pointless p« their national game of cricket and just as bor ing. < A..,student told me on” of the usual meals at Oxford is called, "cold, rolled hoursc" be cause there Ls obviously too much of it to be squirrel and no cl es or dietitian, no matter how inept, could do that to beef.) Every year the American Heart Association ls Johnny on-the-spot with Its cautions a bout snow shoveling; get a physical checkup before buying the shovel: If you puff hard, stop; use your back and legs and feet; work slowly; do the Job before eating or an hour after; and the best remedy of all. let someone else do It. Wiry can't the Amercan Heart Association come out with cautions against help.ng the little missus dry the dishes which is her Job anyway, .ust as taking the garbage out ls by rights her Job Think of the fel lows who would live longer If only they dicin'! have to argue these points over and over with their helpmeet. Why are there no injunctions Letters To The Editor 301 E.u,t Davie Street Raleig! North Carolina March 28 1964 Dear Editor We would like to thank the members of th*.« community for their friendship. We would especially thank the officers and members of the Ralrigb Citizens Association, their Vot er Registration Committee sr.d the Student Nonviolent Coordi nating Commute for the op portunity to come to Raleigh The hospitality of the Davie Street Y.W.C.A Home Ecxtrs. Inc.. Peebles Grill and Lillie's and the students and faculty at Shaw Umvers.ty st. Augus tine's College. North Cari'ina State, and the Rsletgh Stud, nt Movement, as well as all the kind people who have assisted us. have mad'' our week in Ra leigh a rewarding experience. We will take with us memo ries of w arm unthem hospital ity as we travel back to our northern communities. Sincerely yours Students of Amherst College. University of Rochester, and Bmith College, partlclpoung In the Voter Registration Project of the National stu dent Y W. C A To The Editor Ask not what Raleigh car do for you, but what you can do for Raleigh. Approximately one year ago. students were marching through downtown Raleigh ex pressing incUsv.ation and dis satisfaction over candiitona whteh exist in Raleigh. You may recoil that a bi-racial committee wv> set up.by the mayor to Iron out some of the problems- These men. by ac cepting the responsibility, prov ed that they were ready to iron, but as any house wife can tell you. an Ironing b ard Is neces sary. The records ot this commit tee are not available: them. are. we consider their efforts fruit less. Now we hav- a new commit tee under our new mayor with s similar name and purvee. Their inability to act on com munity problems is ploemg them in the same category as the previous committee They, like their predecessors, have no ironing bcarc T ha convnr.es has a good when did this robbery occur?" he demanded In aa aggressive tone of voice. “Well,” began the witness meekly, "I think it. .." “8top!” interrupted the at torney. “I don’t want to know what you think. I want to know what you know ” “In that case. I may as well leave the box.” retorted the witness quietly, "because since I’m not a lawyer. I can’t talk without thinking.” (Ha-ha-nan Yep. that fixed that lawyer. I bet. YES. Confused: A fool, a bar ber. and a 1 raidheaded man were traveling together. Losing their way. they were forced to sleep in the open air; and, to avert danger, they agreed to watch by turns. The first choice fell on the barber who. for amusement, shaved the fool’s head while he was sleeping. He then awoke the fool: and the fool, raiding his hand to scratch his head, exclaimed: "Here'a a pretty mistake You have awakened the baldheaded man Instead of me " *The fool waa no fool, you know.) BY HARRY GOLDEN against chopping trees'’ You aay few people chop trees? I say why Is our landscape desecrat ed? All our troubles ars suspic iously tied up with the heart. Overweight kills as fast as auto accidents, overwork ls almost as bad. and overfinancing or underlinencing runs a close third. So the folks alt around at a party with an arsenal of con versation openers. They tell me I ought to lose weight because I am such a credit to my com munity it would be a shame if I went too soon and some other fellow ought to stop playing tennis because he has three sons to educate and anotner chap who’s Just put a heavy second mortgage on his house ought to takj it easy. In fact. It s even suggested he go to the Caribbean. Let someone say. however, he couldn t make if to the party because he dare nqt shovel his way out and the hos tess Is bereft and angry and ..he will phone back later in the eve ning to see it they are at home or if they went to the mo vies. The late lamented A J. Leib llng wrote that life would have been a lot better if the doctors of the rich had never discover ed the liver in France. That is probably what did the monar chy in. I have no doubt that what makes Congress so slug gish and Inactive is the Amer ican doctor's discovery of heart and heart disease. I don’t ques tion the damage they do it's the anticipation of heart at tacks and heart disease that brings the whole show up snort. Take the fellow who wakes up one mom'ng and sees that first gray hair and he thinks: “My God. here I am 40 an-1 not only do I not own the wnole works, I am sweating out a pay check each week." That ia the truth of life; failure is as much v part of exist* nee as happiness and no amojnl of worried care about the heart redresses this balance. representation of responsible Negro leadership. I consider them well-versed as to the pressing problems which we as citizens are faced with. It is understandable why they ore not effective since they have nothing to iron on. 1 would like to think of them as holding the Iron poised for aotion with cm perature dial set on cotton ra ther than rayon. Where do you as a business man fit into the picture? The answer is relatively simple, op en your business to serve all the public and encourage oth ers to do so; employ perrons according to their ability and qualifications. As my favorite prn.ver put it. "It is in giving that we receive" I urge you to give your all to Raleigh, and Raleigh will give Us all to you. The Ironing board whlich I mentioned in the previous phr&sts is a ouolic accommoda tions law and fair employment practices law These ar? end have been the ultimate aim of mast protest movements A committee eould function efficiently if it had a few tools to work with CHARLES SAMMONS. 761 Bunche D ive. Raleigh. Editorial Opinions • Here are excerpts from edi torials compiled oy the Associat ed Negro Press from some of the nation's leading dally news paper on subjects of current in terest to our readers ' CIVIL RIGHTS THE DETROIT NEWS In one of the recent discuss ions of the civil rights bill in the Senate. Senator Ervin, North Carolina Democrat said he would not engage in a filibuster against it but he would partici pate In an educational debate. The very next day. the follow ing exchange occurred between two of Senator Ervin's Southern colleagues. Senators Ta'madge. of Georgia, and Long, of Loßi suna. who were joining Senator Ervin” in opposing the bill: Mr. Talma*;. Does not the “The Rolling Up Os Sleeves” Gordon B. Hancock's BETWEEN THE LINES PRICE AND PRINCIPLE The Gulf Refining Company rendered the cause of education and Negro advance a great service when it released its brochure on the Influence of the Southern Negro colleges on their communities and the nation. There was many outstanding and encouraging inclusions among the colleges and some notable exclusions. The accurate history of the N"gro college of the Bouth cannot be written without mention of such schools as Benedict College and Virginia Union University, the latter institution easily ranks sec ond to Morehouse College in producing college presidents. In the brief history and description of the sev eral colleges, the writter was moot keenly struck by that of Johnson Smith University at Charlotte, N. C. The record shows that it was founded by two white Presbyterian ministers and was first called Biddle Institute and later Biddle University Its fame was widespread. Just who Biddle was. was not made clear in the story, but he was either a large contributor to the school named for him or he was an influential Presbyterian of note in his day. Perhaps because of the large benefactions of Johnson C. Smith, the school's name was changed from Biddle University'to Jonhson C. Smith Uni versity. , The change In the name somehow stirred some thing within my deeper feelings r.bout the Biddle whose name the school carried so many years and to such commanding heights. There was lust something about the change that just did not sound right and does not leave ennobling thoughts. Biddle doubtless w f as a mighty man in his day and perhaps his longing for earthly im mortality hinged about the fact that a great Ne gro college would bear his name to posterity. But a few years after his passing, the institution's name is changed and evidently because of later and greater benefactions. The principle here in volved is worth pondering. It ir here suggested that the man with the Largest bcnefatlon in terms of money will be remembered while good men without great financial means stand to be for gotten. John Harvard, because of his modest con ISSUES: GOOD AND BAD In a press conference in Detroit last week. Sen ator Barry Goldwater practically surrendered the State of Michigan to the Democratic party al though that was not the purpose of his visit. Per haps he did not know In advance that there was a possibility of him being questioned by some hard-nosed Negro reporter*, or perhaps he didn’t care. At any rate, he wasn't ready for them But they had their guns loaded. One of the things which has cooled Negro voters sr far as Senator Goldwater is concerned, has >een his support of states rights. The omniscient Senator from Ari zona seems not to know that in the minds of southerners states’ rights and Negro rights art the same thing. If you have states' rights southern style you deny Negro rights northern style. In Detroit. Senator Goldwater, reaching for Johnson votes in the South, expressed himself on civil n ;h:s. He is very cool on the civil rights bill and when cornered by Negro reporters came out flativ against the “public accommodation'’ and the "fair employment" sections of the bill. This is amazing for a man of Jewish descent. It is amaz ing for a man of any descent. How on earth any body car. rationalize that you are protecting the rights of anybody by denying the rights of Ne groes t beyond comprehension Senator Gold water does r.ot think that Negro .Americans should have the same right to the same kind of *olxlo6 white-- receive in motels, hotels, restaurants, theatres and other places of public accomm'Via tlon. How do you justify such a position , Even white southerners can’t. All they can do is lament that trifir way of life" is being destroyed. There is no way for th-m to justify tire rejection of a huncrv man from a restaurant just because ne if colored. aer.aior a tree that the bill really ought to be labeled a bill to reg ulate the American people from the cradle to the grave"’ Mr Long: I believe the sena tor is correct. Mr Tilmadge: Is not that ex actly what it would do* Mr Long: It would regulate th# people and strip them of their freedom. Mr Talrradge: And starve and control them Mr. Long: Yes It would deny them freedom of association which I have always felt belongs to them as Americans and t• tribution and his library in the early day* of A merica s oldest institution of learning wag rum ored by the young institution which theae more than three hundred years has been called by his name. Today Harvard has assets of more than half a billion dollars to which some mighty large gifts were made. But so far as history has revealed, the name of Harvard still stands. John Harvard'« humble financial contributions have been over shadowed many times, but the gratitude of John Harvard has never been overshadowed by tt p-cu r gifts in later days. And so we are wondering about this changing the names in such way as to 'ea' e unhonored those who were great in the day of small things and who bore the burden in the heat of the day. Gratitude Is a principle p.nd l iust never be conditioned by price. It should be a a*v* price. Too often W’e see monetary considerations pre vail over principle. This writer has known good men and women graduate from our colleges ;nd forced by circumstances to live and serve and die in th* rural districts. They live and die i.ltniet, unhonored and unsung. And in the nv'' h.i • die graduate who had the good fortune to land a good job and send back healthy donat'ons to his nhi.a mater is soon honored and hailed by said alma mater The oountry Is filled with instances of Lrila fact. We might deduce an educational "beatUud." Bessed is that graduate who is so circumstanced that he can send back to dear old alma mater healthy donations and often, for verily shah he soon get that honorary degree, while the graduate giving faithful service in the lowly places and keeps the lower lights bruning will seldom attain unto such honors. It he does receive the honore it is when the sun of life is setting. Too often our colleges in seeking epeakers for great occasions invite men who have the money or access to it! Money hath its place and a very important one. But character and principle still have their place but the man with the price haa the inside track—unfortunately. Price versus principle. BY P. L. PRATTIS For ANP The chances are that Goldwa er would want to make service at publlc accommodations voluntary, just like it has been for the last 10 years. There is explosive truth to proye that voluntary does not get you aynwhere. The people need help to change their attitudes. The Senator is also against fair employment policies buttressed by law. One hundred year* af ter slavery, one finds a greater percentage of Ne groes without jobs and without skills that during the period of slavery. The Negro is being shoved off to the side and isolated on public assistance. He is running the risk of becoming a permanent pauper, a perennial burden to the taxpayer. Ap parently. the Senator thinks this is all right. Strangely enough, there are only two countries, so-called civilized ones, in the world of where Ne groes without jobs and without skills than during color of their skin These countries are the United States and the Union of South Africa. When many of the present independent states in Africa were colonies, discrimination existed In them too. There is no need for a public accomodations law in Fr ance, Italy. Germany. Rumania. Swelen. Den mark. Norway, Russia, Turkey Syria, Egypt. Spain. Nor is there any need ."or a fair employ ment .aw in any of thi»e countries if extra jebs exist. Their only concern is that their own peo ple get jobs first. Sweden at thri time is trving to entice workers from the United States. If Ne gro Americans hav? the skills required by the Swedes, they'll be welcomed. Men like Senator Go'dwater make one rcaLz* that Harry Golden didn'* tell the full story when he wrote his Only in Amertra. Itonly in America thixt some have a' the chancs end others h3ve none. braathe the free Mr nt a great country Very educational, isn’t if THE NEWS & COURIER. Char leston. S. C. The civil rights bill is finally on the road in the United Sta’e* Senate. Thu means that tne mam procedural r -adblocks have been overcome and that the formal filibuster will now be,, . Paradoxical as It may seem, this is r.o small victory. For more than a fortnight tea Sou thorn Senators have been playing exhibition game*, de laying the mam contest. But by defeating two attempts fur ther to delay formal considera te or of the bill, the Senate has f rally indicate that it recognizes the v.isdotn of getting down tc business of a sort The filibuster, outrageous in itself, will bring new moments of anguish and perhaps of rancor. But at least the Sena tors util now be in the mam arena, and at times coming to grips with the most important domestic issue of the day.