Newspapers / The Carolinian (Raleigh, N.C.) / May 23, 1964, edition 1 / Page 4
Part of The Carolinian (Raleigh, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
THE CAROLINIAN RALEIGH, N. C.. SATURDAY, MAY 22. 1964 4 Editorial Viewpoint WORDS OF WORSHIP Human being# are susceptible to suggestion*, perfectly sure that's what has never been done never will be done. Nineteen hundred years ago. we were even more penetrable, for modern sci ence has frequently shot through the hard shell For Negro: Is Freedom A Burden? When one glances first at the title of this editorial, he may say to himself: “What a lilly question to ask?” Those who answer in the affirmative must lot overlook the fact that the white man ha* been free for thousands of years, hut still he is tied down by the yoke of burden of his sins. He has aung of freedom and it has be come a sort of wishful thinking somehow freedom seems beyond his grasp. Yet in the darkness of his desires, he crus out and a merciful God hears his plea and waits for him to meet his responsibilities—for example, by according real civil rights to minority groups, eradicating segregation and bias, anti so on. But he stands and waits for the civil rights filibuster to end: and he knows that sooner or later he must take a rightful stand —he must act! The white man's misuse of his freedom has kept his lawmakers from reaching tlu status of great statesmanship constituency in order to be reelected, he cannot be free enough to become a great statesman whose footprints would be traced upon thr sands of time Thus he is forced to ini** the opportunity to rise above the thinking of the coinin'in mind and thereby commits philosophical and political suicide in the quest for greatness On the other hand, the N»gro has sung >f Are Churches Private Or Public? Are churches pnv.itr or pnhlir? Tim nn important question tit this time, since no many Nigro youths lmve participated in “knccl-ins’’ at whitt rhurchr* and landed in jail. If not tins, they were told firmly that their presence was not wants d and would not l>e condoned in the sanctuary. The nation is undergoing social "plastii surgery" and democratic facial lift But. in the face of this revolution, it is traditional for white and Negro churches to continue "busi ness as usual." However, Chtistians who arc looking at their religious conviction* under a Yfiicroccopc of objectivity and rrtlective thinking, come to note the uselessness of do ing things in the traditional wav I h«-se plul ©sophical thinkers, through analytic d review pf their present religious commitments, have rome to see that the Christian gospel must become a part of the changing world now taking place. Call this point of view whatever you wish in many rases it is bold, revolutionary, and to railed radical. As you read thr newspap ers. you will observe that much of this think ing is finding vocal expression in mtional church councils, conventions and assemblies Those Neßro students who were bold enough to participate in the “chinch kneel ins" were trying to test whether white chur ches were a sort of “private religious pie serve" for only Caucasian inemhi-is or whether these churches were living up to the Master's "invitation" that “vvliosoi vi r will, let him come!" We realize that some churches would have already made changes, hut their lenders fear ed the power of grass roots mrnib' is who would not hesitate to cut them down as they would a latgr oak tire. The theme of Whitnry Young Jt Kxrcu- five Secretary of thr National Urban Ltagur. in speaking at the d nnpa Ul. lumqutt was that passage of the e;vd lights bill was no cure-all Young said that the iivil rights bill is important in this wli V revolution, because it will give the Negro a mum of dignity and h , lot of other things that are lacking But along ... , , . ~ ■ with rights must go the poverty lull and r< training programs to make sure that, once thr rights are obtained. Negroes anil other dr prived persons will be able to take advantage grf them. The Urban League Secretary hit one of the core issues of- the civil rights problem when he said: ‘‘Thcrr are many good pro- - grams now sponsored by the federal govern merit, but the people who need them do not get the benefit because the programs are ad- ministered by hostile people, especially m College Bans Race In Charter During the lgst ten years, many of the North Carolina colleges with previously all white enrollment have led tlie way in making their institutions ■ beacon light for those who want a good education regardless of color, race, or national origin. And now the Board of Trustees of At lantic Christian College at Wilson ha* voted to eliminate the clause in the charter which has limited enrollment at the institution to idividuals of the Caucasian race. This action came at the annual mid-win ter board meeting. Tto become effective the resolution must be ratified by the North Ca- Polina Convention of Christian Churches T HE NEGRO PRESS—baihees (hat America can best bad tht world away from racial and national antagonitmt when it accord s tc t er\ mar regardltet of raoa, color or creed, hit human and legal rights Hating no man fearing no man—the Negro Press strives to help every man on the firm he ~Sbi that all man an hurt at long at anyont it bald back. i Rights Bill No Cure-All of our complacently— “To the whole creation Assuredly there waa no demand for a new religion: the world was already over-supplied. Ai d Jesus proposed to send forth eleven men and expect them to substitute Hi* hlnking for ali existing religious thought! And they did freedom through his spirituals and “sit-in songs” all over this land. He has the desire to be fre< but he has discovered that no amount of wishful thinking can capture it for him. He knows that freedom brings with it certain r< sponsibihties, and who can truth fully say that is a burden which most Ne giois care to bear? Tiir rank and file of Negroes depend upon tb' r leaders to lead and also speak for them. There is nothing wrong about this, because the majority of Negro citizens are not articu late enough to present their cause effectively ; but some of our leaders can speak not only effectively but with some measure of artistry. The Negro is a man and is entitled to free dom as any white man. But, although he has leaders, he cannot get freedom alone by “cry ing in the dark .” He must open his eyes, see the light, and prepare himself for assuming all the duties of citizenship He must also remember that Negro leaders cannot do the whole job alone. If we judge the manner in which the Ne gill is employing vari-techniques to gain free dom—demonstrations, selective buying, cases in various courts, etc.—hr will not consider that freedom is a burden. The Apostle Paul said that freedom is bought with a great pine. £ Many southern ministers and pastors are working quietly to change the attitudes of their numbers on the issues of segregation, human lights, and human dignity of Negroes, and thr privilege of extending “the righthand of Christian fellowship" to Negroes who of i truth are genuinely interested in joining thr all-white church. In spite of the “kneel ins" which may have angered many white members to the corner of stubbomess. God’s church should be open to the high and the low, the rich and poor, the black and the whiti. the red and thr brown : thr educated and the ignorant, and thr sinner as well as t ie hypocrite. Wr offer encouragement to those white ministers who are seeking and praying for a new visitation of divine truth in the church es. Pastors know that persuasive pressure must he brought upon thr members of the i hurches and people of the community to change their ways The church cannot afford to isolate itself from participation in the discussions with the decision-making renters of the modern world The southern white ehurrh must not permit itself to stagnate, because of its love for the Old South the patriotic “Dixie”, the Virginia plantations, and the eternal image of the Confederate soldier Thr church is often called private in con trust to i statr religious institution, hut Jesus did not mean that it should hrrome a “pri vate religious cluh" into which he could not niter if In came dressed and made up like a Nrgro Public or private in the restricted sense, what should all white churches do if Negroes desire to attend seivices or even join thr bre thren’ The church cannot much longer ig nore this question Alabama and Mississippi" Thr uinot thinkers in our rare know that one of our greatest problems in thr quest for first class citizenship is economic. The freer we become economically, the more re aponsibilitirs w< can assume as citizens with out ton , tdfnng then, burdens or yokes. ~.. . , If management in factories and inelus ... ~ . tries, if adnustrative officials in government * provide 10 s on a fair non-preferential fiasis. demos t n v would show a new image to thr world Mi Young says that all "we need is about 10 vines of this, to help close a gap created In .500 v< ars of second- class citizrn ship and deprivation " We admit that a civil rights bill on the tnjoks will not solve completely the Negm problems in this country, but it will go a long way. —it enforced —in creating a legal bast« tor the black man's human dignity. which meets in Washington. N. C April 24- 26.. If the board of trustees had the courage to consider the resolution, we feel confident that member* of the Christian Church will demonstrate that their Christian exhortations and words and deeds are one and the same thing. | Who know*’ This may be Jesus Christ’s way o fgettmg into all area* of the Christian Church in the appearance of a Negro student We commend the trustees upon their cour age and Christian duty m trying to meet a challenge' HUMOR OF JESUS We have led to believe that Jesus Christ waa a aad and sanctunonius man who went a bout not enjoying himself, and one who never laughed. If what I read in the Bible is true, Jesus Christ never miss ed the point of a good joke. He just loved to move among the crowds, and during his lifetime, he was the most popular dinner guest in Jerusalem. Although he always won in his encounter* with the Phari sees, he must have enjoyed tell ing of the incidents as Jokes. < Now don't get me wrong, foi the Bible does not say It in these word*!") Present day men and women must often wonder how much of the humor of Jesus has been lost to us by the literal minded - ness of his chroniclers—his dis ciples. Take, for example, the incident at the pool of Bethes da? The pool was in Jerusalem near the sheep market and was supposed to have magic healing powers. Hundreds of sick people were left along the edges to wait foi the moment when the waters would be stirred by an angel. Passing by one afternoon, Jesus saw a man with a whin O\LY IX AMERICA THE ANTI-POVERTY CAMPAIGN A dozen people have claimed the remark but it was Panny Brice who said, "I've been rich and I ve ben poor; rich is bet ter " Henry George said it even belter; “Poverty is a crime. Not that jt U a crime to be poor Murder is a crime, but it is not a crime to be murdered ” But there may be different kinds of poverty, or at least different attitudes toward pov erty—the poverty with hope and the poverty which seems to be the end of the line. A* a boy I saw poverty in my home and all around me on the Lower East Side of New York City between the years of 1904 and 1920. James Baldwin, the novelist.*, too has written about the pov erty he knew as a boy in New York’s Harlem. But I believe the povety I saw at the beginn-' ing of this century among the immigrant Jews. Poles, and Italians would make James Baldwin's people station wagon folks. The poverty James Baldwin writes nbout is a poverty filled with hopelessness, with no chance The poverty I knew in the 1900'* was filled with oppor tunity We lived within sigh! and distance of the ease, com fort and optimism of those who had succeeded We lived at the gates of the open society and every invitation to enter was extended Jatnes BRldwdn and his people lived within sight and distance of 'hose sane mjddle-cla.se wonders but the Here are excerpt* of edi torials. selected bv the Asso ciated Negro Press, from some of (he nation's leading dally newspapers. THE CIVIL RIGHTS DEBATE OOPS ON THE: CHICAGO TRIBUNE New threats of mass demon stration* In Washington and elsewhere were made Sunday by Negro rivil right* leaders. James A Fanner, head of the Congress of Racial Fqualitv said Negroes are going to be politically opportunistic' at the November election, judging candidates not by their words but by their deeds Failure to pass a strong ctvtl rights bill, he said, would work to the de triment" of Fresident Johnson. Tilt' Rev Martin Luther King Jr., head of the Southern Chris tian Leadership Congress warn ed that “there tea real possibil ity'' of a civil rights march on both the Democratic and Re publican conventions to press for a strong civil right* stand When these attempts to in timidate Congress, the Presi dent, and the party conventions are added to warnings by less responsible Negro leaders that a summer of violence lies a head it is time to tell the agi tators that their tactics are jeopardizing the cause of civil rights. The aomc constitution which guarantees freedom of speech and the right to assemble peaceable also established Con gress gjid the Presidency our system of reprrsentatne gov ernment Congress has no obli gation to make decisions ac cording to how- many pr-vple take port in parades, boycotts, sit-ins. he-ms. stall-ms. or other demonstrations One of the duties of Congress and the President is to insure doin'Stic tranquility, not to sanction or be influenced by Incessant tur moil MORF THE DAILY NEWS Jackson Miss If the people of this count: v. regardless of race, understood how the so-called civil rights bill, now being debated in the V S Senate would destroy their civil rights and the:: tra ditional .American way of life, they would rise up fn masse and demand that this miquiti ous and un- American legisla tion be killed. The manner In w hich this bill "will destroy civil rights of ALL eitlgrtv in the United S'ate* who fall within its scope is clearly described and detailed by six members of the House Judiciary ComnvUee in a pam phlet “Unmasking The Civil A Jus* For Fnn BY MARCUS H. BOIL WARE BY HARRY GOLDEN Editorial Opinions ing voice, who had been lyin, there for 38 years. But for some reason, he never beat anyone in the pool; perhaps he enjoyed being sick. Jesus walked up to the man and said, "Wilt thou be made whole?” The rnan might have thought Jesus stupid, for hadn’t he been at the pool for 38 years - wasn't this evidence enougti? Why should Jeaus annoy him with such Impertinence? The smile on the face of Jesua broadened upon the man who was enjoying poor health as a profession. With a twinkle In his eye, Jsus said, “Get up and walk!” The side man splutter ed and grumbled, but there waa no resisting the command of the presence of Jesus. To his own amaze ment, the sick man lound that he could stand, roll ed up his bed and moved off. Jesus must have enjoyed a light chuckle at this moment.) The sick man who imagined that he had hard luck began to think on his way. What would his relatives say that night when he came walking in? What a shock to him in the morning when they told him he'd have to get a Job and go to work! < Ha-ha-ha-aaaaa) gates were locked and the Ne gro people who were consigned to drift aimlessly and sadly a round the margins of the so ciety. The poverty I knew has be come a fit subject for legend and literature. Almost an echo of the line of Albert Camus, . . the nostalgia of poverty ” The poverty of the Negroes, North and South, was too ter rible for anything but the cold arrangement of statistics. The rest of America knew about our poverty because they could see it. We dressed poorly and our homes were often un hcated and unventilated. The iioverty that afflicts thousands today is invisible because the American poor in the city are l iie best-dressed poor in history and know all about the laws which govern tenements and insure health: everybody knows about tl em but the rats that is, and the vermin. Today the frontier Is closed to our poor. It is no longer a matter of "working hard” and thereby "suceeding.” Nor is It a question of finding greener pas tures. There is no optimism among our poor today. The an ti-poverty campaign initiated by President. Lyndon Johnson demands great effort on the part of the government. The government to help dissipate povei 'v must reeducate, re train. and relocate many thou sands of Americans, because povertv in America of the 1960'.’ is not only unnatural but re presents the renunciation of all logic. Rights Bill " The pamphlet represents the dissenttrg views of members of the House Committee on the Judiciary: Representatives E. F. Willis of Louisiana. E. L. Forreste of Georgia, William M. Tuck of Virginia. Robert E Ashmore of South Carolina, John Dowdy of Texas, and Ba sil L. Whltener of Texas. WALLACE IP NORTH—IN INDI AN A Opv,Wallace of Alabama did not run as w-ell In Indiana's presidential primary as he did In Wisconsin's In Wisconsin he took about .14" of the total vote. In Indiana he got about 30't of the Democratic vote and 17 6“- of the total vote. Potentially Indiana was a more logical state for the “backlash" against civil rights to show. In the steel producing areas around Gary- there has been a big Influx of southern whites over the past years, bringing strong racial feelings.. At the same time there was an influx of southern Negroes Southern Indiana has many of the characteristics of southern states. In the state as a whole there is a history of strong af finity for the Ku Klux Klan and right wing organizations. THE CHICAGO SVN TIMES The Indiana presidential pre ference primary reiterates, in a broad sense the conclusions drawn after simriui primaries in Wisconsin and Illinois Oo\ Wallace of Alabama campaigned in Indiana as he did tn Wisconsin, as a racist and a champion of states rights He won c substantial mi nority vote Indiana has been free of ra cial tension with the exception of the Gary Lek- County are* where the problem of do facto segregation of the public school system has brought school boy cotts. sit-ins and other militant demonstrations Gary. Lake County and ad joining Port»r County rave Wallace the strongest Indiana endorsement Gov Matthew F Welsh ruled to carry a single a .1-white precinct against Wal lace In Gary a Welsh strong hold m the last election. TROUBLE IN HARLEM THE NEW YORK TIMES The existence of a Harlem gang indoctrinated tn hatred of *1! white person* t* chilling news It is as indefensible as the Ku Kux Klan It must be firmly repressed bv the police It should be extirpated once and for all. by the aroused sen timent of the better element* This Calls For “Skilled Piloting” a**-: ■*•••- •• Gordon B. Hancock’s BETWEEN THEIINES PREJUDICES PLAYED DOWN Race prejudice has been accorded top priority in the Twentieth Century world! The reason for this unreasonable precedent Is found In the fact that our world Is dominated by the white man who dominates the Twentieth Century world. Color prejudice is a solid part Os the white man's rule the world over and there is little to lead to the conclusion that this will not be true for a long time to come. Race prejudice is a dirty and dangerous thing in the life of mankind, but it is studiously played down.by the white forum and press and all mass media, although It Is the cause of the world condition that threatens hu man survival. The capable medical practitioner carefully diagnose* his patient's troubles and concentrates on causes rather than on symp toms. But in the case of current world troubles, the attempt is being made to ignore the cause and treat the symptons. Segregation with Its humilia tions and degredatlons and deprivations and it* corruptions and moral dirtiness are all spawned in race prejudice The great congressional struggle over elvil rights is but an inevitable concomitant of race preludice. but the term race prejudice Is never heard in halls of Congress and our white pres* is mum on the very term. There Is so much moral ugliness in the term "race prejudice” that it is difficult, to get any, but the poorest and most Ignorant whites to even admit that they have race prejudice. Even hose fighting Southerners In Con gress cannot be brought around to admit that they are down-right prejudiced tn their hearts. Therefore few or no whites can be found who will admit that they are prejudiced. Why? There is something nasty and ugly about race prejudice and the white man of decency and Intelligence and integrity la ashamed to admit that he Is pre judiced for there is something scandalous about beins prejudiced. Even a Faubus or a Barnett or a Wallace would admit with great diffidence if at all. publicy that he was a victim of race pre judice although their whole lives are fashioned after the dictates of prejudice. This article was inspired by a statement of ISSUES: GOOD AND BAD It hardly seems possible that anybody in a po sition of leadership in the Republican party would be hatching plans to make it a national lily white party. Shortly after the election in 1960. it seemed as though the party would face up to the fact that Democratic party strength was in the big cities with large Negro populations. It was frankly agreed then that the road to success for the Republican party must lead to a special wooing of these dark-.skinned voters. But some thin* seems to have happened The snub given Negro Republican leadership In Tennessee and Georgia by the lily white Republi cans is par for the course. For years these south ern white Repubicans have sought to dump the Negroes But only now do they seem to be succeed ing As they seek to shake their former allies, southern Republicans are rejecting some of the bet: Negro leadership in the South This leadership may ultimately line up with southern Democrats, which bodes no good for southern white Republi cans Negro Republicans in the North may be in fluo'ieod by what is happening to their brethren in the South In the North there are some Republicans who seem to feel that it will be smarter and cheaper to bid for the suburban white vote than to try to win the Negro vote tn the cities. This apparently is the stand taken by Gold-water supporters They seem to be completely indifferent to the almost unanimous rejection of Ooldwater by Negro Dem ocrats and Negro Republicans. If the Republican parri finds itself unable to get rid of Ooldwater and he could win the nomination, the percentage of Negro Democrat* will rise sharply The Re publican party will become whiter than it areadv la. of the Harlem community But while it is the function of the police to put a stop to the gang's lawlessness and that of the leaders oj their own neigh borhoods to cope with the blind hate that motivates it. only the community a* a whole can meet the much greater, the far more difficult, problem of remedying the conditions that have made possible such manifestation of esnl The fetid k'ums the broker home*, the wretched schools the lack of job opoartunitMa and. above all. the feeling of being End-rate ciUdens all eon tribute to the despair that Is so widespread throughout Harlem. Governor Wallace of Alabama as he campaigned in South Bend, Ind., at the University of No re Dame. The students were heckling him and hoot ing him, and when he could get in his first word he denied that he was a racist. Saying that a ra cist is one who hates those of other races. He w is thereby trying to escape the shame of being called prejudiced. In spite of his prostestations the world knows that racism is one of the extreme forms of race prejudice. If Governor Wallace is not prejudiced why is he taking to the country the fight against civil rights for Negroes? Most certainly a Negro's fn ni would not oppose a measure designed to mak" a first class citizen! If Wallace can wage such a fight without being a racist what under li “h heavens would or could a racist do? Call the ri'l of the Southern contingent fighting to d°i"t the Civil Rights Bill and let each answer to hs name, it is doubtful if one oould be found v o woud admit to being prejudiced but each in h's turn would profess to being a “friend" of ttr Ni gro. The Southern white man Is Just as proud to boast that he Is a “friend” of the Negro as h? is reluctant to admit that he Is the Negro's einr”. who through preiudioe lnspired-segrega 101 is seeking ways and means to eternalize the Negro's second class citizenship. So long as tire white press is playing down rac’ prejudice why the Negro press does not play it no and thus focus the attention of the world on the world's greatest trouble? Today race prejudice has political priority, it has economic priority, it has social priority, it h as religious priority and herein lies the great danger. Race prejudice is that “other god” put before the God of Abraham. Isaac and Jacob even the God of our fathers. Race prejudice sits upon the throne of the Twentieth Century world. That 1s why it Is so shameful and dangerous to admit race predjudice. It files Into the very face of God and Jesus Christ. No wonder the intelligent whites are ashamed of it' He takes his prejudice in and out through a back-door. BY r. L. PRAfns For ANP As stated above, it is diffieut to believe that higher echelons in the Republican party are plan ing in such ways to win the election without the Negro voters Only recently, the Republican Na tional Committee released a brochure to show how many Negroes are employed by the Committee in responsible positions. The brochure is impressive, but it would not influence many Negroes to vote for Goldwater. It does say significiantly that while white Republicans in Tennessee and Geor gia are showing lifetime Negro Republicans the door, the Republican National Committee Is em ploying their sons and daughters in white collar jobs in Washington. Os course, one will have to wait until the convention to see whether the del egates will uphold the ouster of the Negro Re publicans. The position taken by President Johnson is not making things easy for either white’ or black Republicans. The aggressive Texan has gone far boyend Republican Pi sident Warren Harding who m Birmingham. Ala . orated on the "ines capable difference" between blacks and whites Johnson tolls Georgians thr destiny of the coun try depends upon the guarantee of all cons*ut:on al rights to all the nation's citizens, regard!rs- c: race, creed or color No other President has gone South and spoken as clearly and forcefully as President Johnson And the fact that huts crowd* of white Georgians cheered him lust ’ v ought not to be lost on Georgia senators anti congressmen No wonder Senator Russell of Georgia is nv optimistic about killing off the Civil Firms bill He U much leaa sure of klling it than the Presi dent is of seeing it enacted into law Under such conditions es bit tern ees and frustration it Is not strange that some of its thwarted youth turn to the “Blood Brotherhood" for re venge Such criminal groups cannot be to (orated, but neith er can the conditions that fos ter them. NEGRO COLLEGES THE CHICAGO SUN- TIMES Raci-i Integration In South ern 00. .’gas is proceeding, but still only Si per cent of the W 000 Neemes m schools of higher teaming in Dixie attend institutions that formerly were all «htte Moat of the others at tend one of the 32 famous Ne gro .universities such as Fisk. Hampton or Tusk eg ee. Three- Ouarters of all the Negro stu dents at private four-year ccl leges in the Deep South attend schools that receive support from the United Negro College Fund. Henry T. Heald. president of the Ford Foundation- last year announced, a grant of lIS.OOO 000 to the colleges aided bv the fund. He said that "strengthen ing these institutions, some ol which already enroll a few white students, should hasten the day when there will no longer be all-Negro or all-whit* colleges and universities."
The Carolinian (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
May 23, 1964, edition 1
4
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75