North Carolina Newspapers

4r THE CABOLINA TIMES SATURDAY. DEC. 81. 1855 WHAT PRICE HONEST NEGRO LEADERS The death of Dr. F. D. Blu- ford, presidtent of A. and T. College, on last Wednesday, imnoved from the field ^ of education in North Carolina one of the most outetandii^ personalities of our time. This newspaper could not always see eye to eye with Dr. Blu- ford on certain issues as they affect the Negro race in this country. However, we never last sight of the fact that un der his leadership A. and T. College had become one of the largest and most outstanding educational institutions of its kind in the nation devoted en tirely to the education of Ne groes. For 30 long years he stood at the helm of A. and T. Col lege, guiding its destiriy and planning its future, llurty years is a long time for any Negro leader in the South to be shouldered with the re sponsibility of the presidency of an educational institution that is dependent almost tirely on the state for its financial support. Often be hind the scenes maneuvers have to be made, and battles have to be fought with nar row-minded white southern members of trustee boards. battles that are trying to the soul of any self-respectmg Negro as well as challenging to tiis manhood. Dr. Bluford'took over the helm of A. and T. College when it had only about 200 students and eight buildings. During his administration he saw the student body grow to approximately 3,000 and its physical plant increase to 35 Wildings valued at ai^proxi- mately $12 million. It takes no ordinary Negro to pry that kind of money out of white southerners for Negro educa tion and at the same time re tain his self-respect and the re&pect of his own people. This newspaper has learn ed from a reUable source that just a few months before his death Dr. Bluford had fought ott the onslaughts of both the governor and the attorney- general of this state which tried to force him to come out for the governor’s un holy “voluntai^ segregation” scheme. When we consider that at the age of 73 Dr. Blu ford stood his ground and re fused to do the governor’s and the Attorney General’s bidding, we are forced to pay the highest tribute to him for having such moral courage That jQr. Bluford refu^ to pay such a horrible price for the governor’s and the attor ney general’s friendship is a tribute to his manhood and leadership. The ordeal of the incident no doubt contributed to his death. Someday white leaders in the ^uth are going to dis cover that a Negro leader who “Yes, Yeses” them on every hand and who is willing to make shady deals behind the scenes that will sell his race down the rivef are without character and moral courage. Then honest'i, |»fegro leaders will not have withstand such ordeals as that heaped upon Dr. Bluford at 73 years of age. Someday all of us are going to have sense enough to re tire Negro educators, min isters, business men and oth ers when they should be re tired; then we shall rely upon our old men for counsel and our young men for war. Cer tainly the counsel of Dr. Blu ford is sorely needed during these trying times through which the race is now pass ing. THE NEED OF EDUCAnONAL STATESMANSHIP Three Indian students will be admitted to an all-white school in Sanford when schools re-open in January. The chairman of the school board, Dr. J. L. Knight, says there are no objections and no meeting is necessary. It thus appears ttie board of educa tion in Sanford has handled with ease, what might have been a most difficult ques tion or much ado about noth ing. It would se«n that here is a fine example of educa tional statesmanship that might be followed in other cities, towns and counties where the question of admit ting Negroes is sure to arise come the opening of school next faU. It is our candid opinion that if southern white lead ers will do so, they can min imize the question of inte grated schools by taking a cue from the Sanford Board of Education in the instance of admitting Indians to a previously all-white public school. Leaders in education took the right and proper at titude, and we can rest assur ed that everjrthing will turn out all right and the three Indians will be accepted as any other school children. The greatest thing needed in the South is courageous and consecrated leadership among public school officials. If su^ is exercised, integra tion instead of being a prob lem will become a benefit to the southern economy that is already sagging under the burden of trying to maintain two standard stmool systems. Whatever happens Negroes will stage no ^and rush to enroll their children in white schools. Likewise, there will be no grand rush of inter racial marriages as a result of integration as has been de finitely proved in northern and western states where integrated schools are the rule and no ban exists on in termarriages. THE SOUTH AS PUYER AND REFEREE An apt summation of the official position of North Carolina—and of many other whites in this region-TOn the matt^ of Int^liaiibn wM presented in an editorial of the Durham Morning Herald the other day. In discussing the implications of a case in Greensboro where six Ne groes are being tried in court to test the val/dity of the city’s right to lease pubUc -^mds to private segregated groups, the Herald said in part: “Considering the readiness of many Southerners to abandon their public schools rather than to agree to ra«aal integration in them, it isn’t hard to figure that the future of public recreation is Him indeed if members of the Ne gro raM try to use public re creation facilities heretofore restricted to white people. * ♦ * “The N^roes, therefore, have It within their power to liquidate public recreation in the South for both races. And ,'''«ince it is a safe assumption that there are many among them who care little for pub lic recreation and who would rather have no recreation facilitie* than segregated facilities, the future of public recreation in the South seems dim Indeed.” What the Herald is actually saying amounts to this: “If Negroes Continue to press for first plnsig citizen-- ship, for full enfranchise ment under the law, they will force the South to^o away with all publicly supported institutions. Reduced to its common denominator, &e Herald says simply, if the Ne gro persists in trying to free himself from the gutter of legally enforced inferiority, he will cause the wUte man to wreck the South in trying to keep him in the gutter. And this will be the fault of no body but the Negro, who in sisted on getting out of the gutter in the first place. We pity the Herald writers. For they seem to have a re verence for and devotion to logic in their approach to various issues. Here^ they are faced with the ~ impossible task of trying to make logic out of an illogical situation. We cannot conceive of an un derdog killing his captor by simply removing the captor’s foot from his neck. The non sense in it all—and in the pur suit of logic, the Herald in exorably arrives at an in escapable nonsensical po sition—is readily apparent and makes plain the futility of trying to make sense out of nonsense. But, as we said in the first place, this is exactly what Governor Hodges’ appeal for voluntary segregation — vol untary dMrahchisement says, stripped of the verbiage of political doubletalk and hocus pocus demogoguery. And, the only difference between Gov. Hodges atti tude and that of the Mis- sissippians is that while Gov. Hodges and the Herald ap- pefd to reason of Negroes to lie in the gutter peaceably, the Mississippians, Uke other uncivilized tribes, do not have the capacity to make ap peals to the reason. The on ly appeal this tribe knows is from brute force. They will simply kill any Negro who tries to get his neck from un der the white man’s foot. The attitude displayed by fhe Herald and much of the civilized white south puts us in mind of one displayed by children who have not yet learned to appreciate the c^e of good sportsmanship. The attitude of the little boy who will take his glove, bats and ball and stop the game—^no matter how much he likes to play ball—rather than play by any rules except his own is one familiar to most of us. But, unlike real children, the South is not playing quite the harml^s and innocent game of ball. It is plajring with human lives. SATURDAY >*. E. JOHNSON DEC. 31, 1955 L. B. AU8nN, Pnblldier GLA1HAN M. BOSS, Editor ^blU»d Every Saturday by the UHITED PUBLISHEXS, InooiiMratad at 43« K. P*tt^p*w St. aa aeeond elaaa matter mt tlw PMt Otfiea at Durtiam, Morth CaroUna ■—^tt «v« Act at Marsh S. mt. Hationaj Advartijtiic B^praaantettva; Intorateta Mo (uarantaa of puldicatlon of unasUdtad niata- rUl. Lattara to the editor for publication muat ba ■ICnad and coBflnad to 500 worda. aabaerlittloB Bataa: 10c par 0197; Mx mmflia, n-OO; Ona Taar, (roratgn Conntiiaa. UM P*r >w.) Life Is (aike That BY H. ALBERT SMITH , THE IBiaUITY OF DANCER ion we would never contact in a life time without these inven tions. Increa*ing Dangm But with the technological advantages ol the times have come increasing dangers. They were numerous enough in the days when we were far less ad vanced. So true was this that one man in citing the ubiquity ol danger gives us an illustra tion to this effect. He stated that a man stand ing at a street intersection saw approaching him a team of run away horses. From another di rection, an automobile (an “ancient” one) was bearing down upon him. From another came a fire trucic, and from an* other some other vehicle. He looli£d up and saw a disabled airplane about to fall on him. In desperation, he snatched up a man-hole cover and jumped through the opening. A subway tr^in ran over him. Never Kwmt Unless a man lives a long Way from the highway today, he doesn’t know when an auto mobile is going to crash Into li|s living room, or he is apt to be rudely awalcened to find a car and a “tipsy” |river in his bed room. He has no guarantee that an airplane won’t fall on his house, however for out in the country he may live. When he sends his'child to school in the morning, or to the store at any time, he must of necessity have a bit of faith because the men ace of the automobile is a con stant tlireat of tragedy. Deadliest Holiday Even as 1 write this article, reports are coming in via radio, television and press that traffic deaths for. the weekend total five hundred and ninety-two, with the count steadily mount ing. This tragic toll made the three-day Christmas weekend the deadliest holiday in the his tory of the nation. Emphasizes Danger This wholesale slaughter but emphasizes the ubiquity of dan ger. ..that it is always and everywhere present-.Jind con- fronts'us always with the chal lenge: Be Careful! Centuries ago a Hebrew 'poet wrote, “There is only a step between me and death.” I wonder how he would express himself today were he alive to face the present , American scene? On Christmas Day about two thirty in the afternoon/'a man whom I knew well and with whom I tiave engaged in con versation more times than 1. can recall died on the highway while enroute to the funeral of a relative. A car fiUl of young people pulled out of a line of approaching automobiles and crashed into the vehicle In which he was riding and knock ed it into a ditch. He stood ap parently unhurt after the acci dent as officers of the law busied themselves with getting the facts when, suddenly he collapsed. He died within fif teen minutes before the arrival of an ambulance. Brought To Mind When the news of the passing, of this man reached me, it brought vividly to my attention not only the matter ol the senseless slaughter daily occur- Ing on our highways, but also the ubiquity or the omnipre sence of danger, especially in these days of technological achievement which has given us a world such as would stag ger the imagination of ances tors of a century ago. Henry duPont I read only a day or tWo ago a statement made by Henry B. duPont, a vice president of the duPont Company. He said, “Technology is one of the most powerful forces in the world to day, a force that transforms men into giants, deserts into gardens, and poverty into weal th.” It was another way ol, say ing that technology is a won derful thing and has made the world a great deal better place in which to live. In Agreement With this view, I am inclined to agree. For so far as I am concerned, the world today is infinitely more interesting than the world in which I grew up, affords far more comforts, en tertainment, enjoyments and convenience. The frigidaire and the deep freeze make us wonder how we ever got along wi old ice-box. Setting a^tffermi tat is so vastly beyone the oli fashioned heating ms coal stove and furnace SB ttf in vite no comparison. The auto mobile gives us a day’s cruising radius the grandparents of some of us hardly had in months. While, in our living rooms, we see and hear persons by means of radio and televis- "Still Plaugmg Us, rr Emplopent In Durham Area Passes Peak Employment in the Durham Area is still high, even showing a fractional increase over the last two months, despite the heavy seasonal layoffs in to bacco (500) in anticipation of of the holidays, as well as in creased atcivlty in textiles and services (primarily ho^itals), were the primary stabilizing factors. More' optimistic still is the fact that gains were regis tered in every industry over the past year, with the exception of a fractional loss in transporta tion, communication, and utili ties. Unemployment Up Seasonally The total number of unem ployed is currently estimated at 1,600 (1,260 women), an in crease over the past two months of 140, (9.6 percent). By con trast with 'last year, unemploy ment has decreased by nearly 000 persons, (36 percent). A survey of the unemploy ment claims and active applica tions yields, the fbllowing infor mation: , Initial claims increased ovar the past two months by 76, but there were only half as many as twelve months ago. • Weeks of total unemploy ment claimed decreased from September (427 vs 444) and were 40 percent fewer than at this time a year ago. Active applications on file total 1,200, an increase of 100 over September and less by 800 than last year. A sharp rise over the next two and four month period is expected as a result of seasonal layoffs in tobacco, retail trade, and construction; thus' increas ing the number of tuiemployed to approxirnat^ly 2,800 and 3,200 by Janua^ and Itburch, respectively. / Employment Demands ‘ Down Seasonally Labor demand, as r^ected by job openings in the local office, has been steadily drop ping since S^tember, and by November a decline of more than ^ 20 percent was shown. Even so, the demand exceeded (U0A9S oSsd no panu;;uo^ SCIENCE IN YOUR UFE The Giant Foe One of the most striking achieve ments of modem medicine has bean itg success in routing tuberculosis. This story is well-documented with statistics. In the United Stataa alone, for example, the disease haa —— plummstad from y vr, a first-ranking \ cause of doath to tenth piaca, laav- ing hospital altar hospital amptiad of its victims. Host TB spe cialists credit ttis drop primarily to tha new aatl-ta- bercnlosls drara devaloped towarin tha end of World War II, lor the pmod in which these drags have i>een available has encompassad the most rapid decline in tnbsrenlosis mortality the world has aver aean. The drug streptomycin marks tha starting point of this chamieal at tack on tha disease. Baeeatly, Ae nrst human patient treated witii the drug was re-visited, and a **beloT« Md alter" report was made In tte A«t«n«em Rtvino e/ rafcanwiesis and Pulmonary Dittos*. The patient, a 21-yearH)Id girl snf* lering from advanced toberctilosis. was given streptomycin in 1944. Now married, she is “Um mother ol three robust childraa who ware bora in 1960, 1962 and lOM respeetiva> ly,” tha report states. This happy ending ol an apper- ently hopeless case has bm npli- cated thousands ol times stoea tha TB wonder drugs wera first devel oped, and new advances in therapy are today constantly adding exaw- pies. Cited by experts as partica- larly promising le the recently developed drug Straptohydrasid, which links the. two poweirnl aoti- TB weapons streptomycin and iso- niaiid so they can be given in a single Injection. Medical specialists from Howard University, reporting on its use at thS'recent Third Annual Antibiotics Symposium, stated that Streptohy- drazid produced more rapid clinical improvement than did either isonla- sid or streptomycin given alone. In addition, it helped to eliminate major problems arising from the prolonged nse of the otter drugs— problems such as dangerous sida- eiTects and resistance. Spiritual InsiglifV Facing The Future UnaJraid’ BY REVEREND HAROLD ROMm Ptutorf Mount Gilead Baptist Church ' “I will lead th^ in paths that they ^ve not knovm..J loill make" darkness light before them...’’ Isa. 42:16. We are facing the adventure of the unknown path ol a New Year. It wUl be lor us the thril ling adventure ol the unknown. With each passing day^this lu- ture will unfold to become the living present. We do not know what will be our lot as the dark impenetrable unravels Itself daily. How will you face this futiure? Will you lace it with courage or with fear? With God as companion you can face this unfolding future of the New Year with confidence and as surance. Face it with God, and and there will be less fear and dreed. Have faith in God, and you can.lace this, unknown fu ture unafraid. May I suggest, therefore, that you make God your daily com panion that you my face tills future unafrtdd. You have the promise of His word which cannot fail...“I will lead them in paths they have not known... I will make dark light before them...” A little time in meUta- tlon with God will make every day bright and its burdens lighter. i an|^ Make God your compan|. and you will become undis- courgaging in the lace of the worst that this imfolding fu ture can bring. Life in God is unl>eatable. You know not what will be your lot for the year. But with God you can face anything. Yes, with him you can Do and Endure any thing That May Come Your Way. Accept God’s invitation for guidance for this unknown future.' Mt^e use of God’s [low er for the journey. How can you make it without God?. As^ him to go with you, and'you will be prepared for the changes, crises and emergencies. God’s word is true. Take Him at His word, you can’t go wrong...“Pear not.. I am with thee, be not dismay ed for 1 am thy God...I wnr up hold thee with the right hand of my righteousness...’*^ It is a blessed thing to put God in your business. Leave Him out, and yo^ confusiQP' and in, and nothing | The way may and discouraging He will give you through.,Too many will crdwd' Him out. Many wiU try to make this unknown journey without Him. Why take such a chance? Put God in your business for the New Year, and it will be come a hijgh ndvrn^rr-mf and victory." Yes, with your business and on yra there is nothing to fea| unknown future unfo and becomes the livii “What have I to have I to dread lean everlasting arms?”| ai>solijitely nothing! There Is . but one this unknoWIM|ity New Year una^aid; Ask God to be with you, and everything will turn out right..,“X will lead them in paths they have not known...I will make darkness? light before them...” Yes, withi God you can face the lutme im-1 afraid. ■ Capital Close-Up Peace Tree Lights Standing by when the Presi dent, at Gettysburg, flashed on the lights of the great Christ mas tree in the Ellipse below the White House, were two youngsters representing all the children of the Nation. One was white—a Campfire Girl. The other was a Negro—16-year-old Merwyn Reaves, D. C.’s newest Eagle Scout—a Junior at Mc Kinley Tech Senior High School, Inducted the morning the Peace Pageant opened. Two short years ago, McKinley’s only Negro students—and gra duates—were those who resort ed to “passing” in order to avail themselves ol the vastly su perior lacllltles at “Tech,” aa contrasted with outmoded, in adequate and generally Inlerlor facilities at Armstrong Hlgh-lts “Division Two” (Jim-Crow) counterpart. Mrs. Vann, Asa Spaulding Off to Tubman Inaugural Mrs. Jessie L. Vann, Pitts burgh Courier publisher, and Asa T. Spaulding, North Caro-; lina Mutual vice-presidait, will be leaving for lilberla, Dec^ber 29, as two ol the five official United States delegatea to the Third Inaugural ol Presl* dent William V.S. Tubman of Liberia. Other members of the U. S. delegation iare Garfield I. Kass, realtor, former Senator Robert W. Upton, ol New Hampshire, and top echelon re presentation Irom the Armed Services. Ranking U. S. repre sentatives at the inauguration will be Resident Ambassador Robert. Jones. Send-oll cere monies lor the delegatton are scheduled lor December 29, at the Department ol State. Another "Marian Anderson Case" for D.C.T Another "Blarlan Anderson' case” seems to be ior the mak* ing. In 1939, Cecil Cohen, ol Howard's S^ool of Music, seeking an adequate place, lor HiUss Anderson to sing, was turned down on the use of school building space, by the! Community Center Depart ment,' which operated imder the Board ol Education. On the Board were three Negro mem bers—^Mrs. Virginia RlchaM- son McGuira, Col. West A. Hamilton, and John Wilson, It;-, cal Lawyer. Mrs. McGuire, Nf .grq monfber on the Board Coni mittee on^Pommunity Use q [vised Cohen to apt -down to th, lard -supported ^1. Mrs. Bfc- Guire wrote ^iettef''^1ie$t3 West HapHton, at the Board meeting* which lollowd, cast the only'vote in favor of granting the school space to Miss Ander- ii6n. Mrs. McGuire, ill, was absent. LETIER 10 THE EDIIOR Editor’s Note: A copy of a letter sent to Rev. Dwight Watts, pas tor of the Oak Grove Baptist Chikch at Wake Forest, Is re printed here at the request of the writer who sent a copy ol the letter to the TIMES: Rev. Dwight Watts, Minister ol Oak Grove Baptist Church Wake Forest, N. C. Deer Reverend, lollower ol oiu’ beloved Christ: Now that Thanksgiving is past, we remember our bless ings in this country which we love, a country with so much opportunii^ to show the world through examples, not words, a way ol lUe that will lead to World Peace. The deplorable incident and regrettable behavior by the membership of your church to wards a Christian lady, citizen ol this lair State, haa come to the attention ol niany people. Something should be done by your Church. Not only an apology to Miss Perry for the inhuman action to another of God’s children, a lady, a teach er and church-wonaan, who prayed for the one^who offend ed her. ' I am from Vienna, living in this country a long time, who respects and loves its blessings and the people, in high places and in humble walks of life, who Uve the principles of their respective creeds and obey the divine laws taught, by their Prophets, w^jich are all ttie same. People ’h^ake-the enoCs. I have travelled much and many years on three continents for religious and himuin pur poses. This past summer I re ceived a permit and a visa to travel in countries behind the Iron Curtain, talked there with people who have li^e opportu nities and suffer much. They asked me, "what are the citizens of your country doing to their people and what effect have their churches? So, you see what happens here is known far a^ay. I wish I cotild speak to Miss Perry and tell her how sorry and ashamed I am for wh^ happened to her, how much I admire her for the prayers she offered lor th^ offender. She behaved as a ChristUn lady. Hoping praying and working for a better World, 1 remain Is His patlw Ludmila Van Someek