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PAGE TWO THE CABOLINA^TIMES SATURDAY, APRIL l4,1956 OPPOSED 10 STIGNA OF SEGREfi&IION If a white man and a black man choose to occupy the ACCIUV&O MIOV CMC AAX/TT 1 !• i ana mee^ able to the masses of Negroes conveyance on a the world’s great are those who are willing to f highway, it is their s? w^n* stand up and. be coun^f .to ^ MOURN NOT THE DEAD up the people.” Said Justice Harlan fur- Moura not tke dead . .. Whether oxa white folks But rather mourn the apathe- hke it or not, the only Negro tic throng, leaders that are now accept- The cowed and meek, Who see ***4 *** wrong " ag'^TIst the ®rnment, proceeding along on and dare not speak. speaK out ana act against me „ounJ_’ f _ „ “ nrevent —Author Unknown suffering and injustices of the can prevent race. Aether our white the , „ . folks like it or not, the day liberty of each . . . It is The esteemed News and the* headscratching, hovi-that a Observe, m(^g newspa- . wringing Negro leaders should not o^ who agrL with “the time occu^ing a pubhc leigh ev^ng news- ^ coach ^igned to his own pa^, toth o>^ed and Pu^ j 100 years He does not object nor lished by toe News and Ob- waited in vaiii for ^rhaps would he object, and server Pushing Company ^e might fe ought never to cease ob- have ganged up on Rev G. j^ting, toat citizens of the A. Fisher, rector of St. Am- ^ ^e W Episwp^ Church of i instance in which fdj^dged crmun^ because ^t cify^dchaumanof the oppressor of a subject ^h® right to Raleigh Citi^m Committee, people has ever voluntarily the pubhc coach Last week toth newspapers on the public highway.” And made an ^tonal atteck on oppressed. Only those we might add because they the Rev. Fisher for his ag- struggled against wish to sit on a bench m a pessiveness m championing „ session, only those who Park together which the taxes the cau^ of his People- In valu^ fr^om Sihove '^^te and Negroes view of the Obseryers usual- fortunes and their lives Possible, ItS »ave obtained ,„d kept it. Says the Times in part: “There can be no argu ment that the Negro citizens 'of Raleigh do not have ade quate park facilities. The miniature train at Chavis, for example, is stopped simply because there is not enough demand to keep it running. The swimming pool is well used, but a long way from being overcrowd ed. The grounds are spaci ous. Nor is one park more con venient than the other. Chavis is far closer to the bulk of the Negro popula tion than Pullen. We think, though, that as its heretofore very careful analysis, as well While we are on the sub- as understanding of the many ject, we may as well again re- and various problen^ con- mind the disturbed segment fronting the Negro in this quj. white folks that no sen- state and the South, the gible Negro feels compliment- editorials were somewhat of gj or feels that he has any- a shock to a majority of us. thing to gain by sitting beside Even though Negroes of a white person on a bus, in a “ North Carolina do not always school rwm, theater or el^ see eye to eye with the edi- where. Nor does he f^l he torial policy of the Observer become a fit candidate newspapers on racial matters, the presidency by mar^- from the standpoint or angle *”8, * white person, eating of the opposite group they with one in a home, hotel or have, in the recent past, come restaurant. These art not the as near being fair as it is pos- objectives of the leadership sible for those not actually of the race, and those who victims of segregation to ^^ve such abortive notions come. As a result, Negroes of have become grieviously the state, forgetting and for- stupefied with racial conceit giving the awful record of are looked upon with the tliat newspaper against the utmost contempt by every •* •+ • race during the Reconstruc- respecting Negro. For {JTJIhp n,L Hnr, 1 tion period, have come to look what has the Negro gained ^ on it as a kind of lighthouse pr se by so doing? What can „ ^ if “ IS""?, T *“"■ ss N^o ».s5;ssy s thi baireled attack on the Rev. ri.j,g News and Observer distance of Pullen Park from Raleigh Times should it — whether the swimming to be an atout face of pohcy. therefore, with little effort, pool or other facilites are not f ♦ « newspapers understand that the desire to being used — is beside the out to get Rev. Fisher s scalp, mingle socially with white question. The one and only No Christian minister who people is not the goal of Rev. one which concerns intelli- truly believes in the teach- Fisher or any other sensible .gent Negro leaders in this ings of Jews Christ could re- Negro. It is the stigma of be- state and country is that Ne^ main silnt or refrain from ing legislated against distinc- gro Americans and taxpayers becoming righteously indign- tively as a race, or as so cor- shall have the rights of other ant at the antics and efforts rectly and befittingly stated American citizens or even of many of our so-called in- in the dissenting opinion of aliens who might visit this telligent white people to de- the late Justice John Marshall country, fy, evade or circumvent the Harlan in the Plessy vs. Fer- Until- this stigma is remov- teachings of Jesus Christ, to guson case: “It is the right of ed, Negro leaders like Rev. say nothing of the rulings of exemption from legal discrim- Fisher, who have dedicated the federal, courts on segrega- ination, implying inferiority their lives to the cause that tion and Democratic govern- in civil society, lessening the under God and under the ban- ra«it. Rev. Fisher, we think, security trf their raijoyment Her of IJemocracy all men is exactly within the role of of the rights which ofeers en- without regard to race, creed a true minister of the gospel joy; and discriminations or color shall stand before the all of- whom in former and which are steps towards re- law and before their feUow- sundry times have often been ducing them to the condition men in all other walks of accused of “turning the world of a subject race” that the society. as Eqiuils, will never upside down” and “stirring Negro leaders seek. cease crying out against it. A LACK OF LEADERSHIP AND STATESMANSHIP Life k Like TJiat By U, ALBERT SMITH IF PILATE HAD KNOWN The Elimination Of These Evils Will Produce The Desired Relief The lack of leadership and statesmanship of North Caro lina white folks was never more in evidence than that exhibited last Thursday night over a television and radio broadcast, when the so-called Advisory Committee On Edu- ' cation, under the leadership of Thomas J. Pearsall, made its report to the people of this state. The report was in truth the mutterings of decadent North Carolina leadership rather than a forthright and courageous facing of a prob lem and the presentation of a solution. With a population of over four million people, about one-third of which is com posed of Negro citizens, the Advisory Committee, so far as we have been able to ascer tain, made no attempt to con sult, confer with, or seek the aid of Negro leaders in reach ing its conclusions about a matter in which Negro co operation is so badly needed. Instead, the committee, com posed entirely of white mem bers, disregarded entirely the hopes, desires and aspirations of over one million Negroes of North Carolina. If this is leadership or statesmanship, then may heaven forbid it from further operation in this state. So, even if the Negro citizens desired to cooperate, to work in close harmony with the white citizens of the state in solving this moment- ecus problem, they never had a chance. Insttad, the Ad visory Committee assumed a more or less parental role or attitude and went about its merry way of deciding ways and means of defying the Su preme Court of the land and, as Attorney C. O. Pearson says, to do by indirection what the Unit^ States Su preme Court says is unlawful to do directly. The Committee’s restrained but definite threats of closing all schools in North Carolina and its attempt to place par tial or full responsibility of continuing their operation under a segregated pattern on the shoulders of Negroes intimidate^ no intelligent Ne gro in this state. If the time ever comes when it is neces sary to improvise teaching equipment, use barns, lodge halls, churches, brush arbors for school rooms, operate three or four classes in one- room school houses, walk to school for the lack of trans portation, we shall see who is the better trained in that direction, those who have not yet fully been emancipated from such conditions or those who because of warped no tions of racial superiority have never been exposed to such. SATVRDAY Clw CatSi|a APRIL 14, 1956 U £ A»TIM CUamMM u. ROSS gMTTH Publisher Editor Managing Editor M. E. JOHNSON _ JESSE COFIELD _ W. A. HENNESSIE — Buslnen Manager - Circulation Manager Advertising Blanager murt be signed and confined to 500 words. Subscription Rates; 10c per copy; Six months, »2.00; One Year, $3.00 (Foreign Countries. $4.00 per year.) . daa> matter at the Post ^orth CaroUna under the ; Bepresentative: Inter- U Pilate had known who Je sus was on that lateful day when he sentenced the Son of God to die, 1 am quite certain there would have been no cruct iixion that day, regardless as to the pressure exerted upon that Roman Ruler to render a ver^ diet contrary to his convictions and at variance with his consci ence. But PUate was Ignorant of the true identity of the man, charged with conspiracy against the Roman Empire, and, there fore, he decreed Jesus must die. No Excuse But the fact that Pilate did not know who Jesus was, that he was the Lord of life and the Prince of Glory, was no excuse for his dastardly act. He had knowledge enough to save him self from his nefarious deed and its fateful consequences. He was convinced tha. Jesus was inno cent, and that fact alone left him without excuse or justification for what he did. Object Of Pity Under ordinary circumstan ces, the victim of injustice be comes an objecc of pity rather than the offend-^r. But Pilate, in his desperation to escape mak ing the verdict he knew he ought to make, is the person eliciting our pity, as he tries to dodge the issue confronting him hy placing the fate of an inno cent, man into the hands of others who had no more right to act as judge or jury in tnat case than some vagabond roam ing neighboring hillsides. Terror Stricken We hear the frantic question of that desperate, spineless, cow ardly ruler and judge as he ad dresses the mob; “What shall I do then with Jesus who is call ed the Christ?” We see stark terror and spiritually paralyzing fright mirrored to his wide- stretched eyes and upon his blanched and pallid face as the answer comes back to him: ‘Crucify him!” Voin Effort “Why? What evil hath he done? Why execute an innocent man?” In vain did a spineless ruler endeavor to change the vet-diet of a vengeful Inolj, B»|t they, sensing Pilate’s weakness, pressed him with unrelenting insistence until he yielded to their wiU and ordered Jesus to be crucified. Washed Hands Visibly shaken and lashed by the painful recriminations of his conscience, Pilate washed his hands to symbolize that they were hot stained with the blood of Jesus, as he declared; “I am innocent of the blood of this just person; see ye to it ” It was a meaningless and futile gesture. He Knew But Pilate, intelligent man that he was, knew full well that that evil decision was his. He felt the overtaxing weight of the dreadful responsibility for the crime about to be enacted. He knew that he had just played a little game involving the dirtiest kind of pKJiitics, that he had placed office and political pres tige above an innocent- man’s right to live. All the water in the Mediterraneaji Sea was not sufficient to wash away the guilt that stained his soul. And, this, Pilate knew. Must Be Ours And that reminds us that there are some decisions we must make for ourselves be cause nobody else, nor combina tion of persons can make them for us. Moral questions, ques tions of destiny, the matter to be or not to be—they are so completely individual and per sonal—that neither God nor man can act in our stead. Responsible Further, we learn that re sponsibility for wrong decisions is ours however insistent and numerous the voices that de mand those decisions. Guilt and consequences ore determined not by the source or sources of temptation, but by temptation accepted and carried out. An Opportunist Pilate’s trouble was this: he was an opportunist. He was for doing what would be immedi ately advantageous to him re gardless as to who got hurt. A man’s life, which he could take, but not give, therefore became a stepping stone to continued political power, prestige and glory. History shows, however, that Pilate’s decision seemingly backfired to bring disaster up on his head. If He Had Known But I am thinking that, even opportunistic as he was, had Pi late really known who Jesus was, he would have defied the mob who insisted upon the Mas ter’s crucifixion, even if he had found it necessary to use troops to protect that divine itinerant preacher who had “no place to lay his head.” What Counted A few weeks ago, I met a man who had been haled to court by a traffic cop seemingly without just cause. Exoneration quickly followed, but it seems, a ring, pin, or some kind of an emblem worn by the defendant, designa ting affiliation with some secret order with which the judge was also connected, was “a very pre sent help in the time of trouble.” What Should Cotmt I’ve got nothing against any “secret” or “non-secret” order; but, so far as I am concerned, a man Is either guilty or not guil ty, when before a bar of justice, and the verdict should be made in the light of that fact. Race, religion, politics, nor anything else should ever take precedence over justice. Had Light With respect to Jesus, Pilate had sufficient light to have ren dered a verdict which would have made him one of the nob lest of the immortals of history. And that light was not who or what the man was, but the evi dence as to whether he was in nocent or guilty. Under pres sure, Pilate ignored the evi dence; and, therefore, made a colossal blunder. The “little” man he crucified turned out to be the Biggest Man of History.” LAW MISSES ITS MARK Editor’s Note: The following is repwnted from the Cheraw (B.C.) Chronicle for March 22. Without going into a discus sion of the merits or demerits of the NAACP, we submit that this organization was immeasurably strengthened by proposals ap proved in the General Assembly and signed into law last week by Gov. Timmerman. At the same time the historic liberties of all the people, re gardless of color, were weaken ed and endangered. Specifically, we are referring to that statute which makes it illegal for any member of the NAACP to hold public office in the state, or in any county, municipality, or school district. The purpose of the law, of- course, was to weaken the NAACP by preventing the bet ter educated Negroes from be longing, and hence, from fur nishing leadership to the doom ed to'disappointment. The effect of the bill will be to increase both the membership and the ef fectiveness of the NAACP, not to weaken it. The law has created a great deal of interest in and sympathy for the NAACP among Negroes who heretofore had not belong ed. The law, in trying to drive the NAACP underground, has brought to it a measure of mar tyrdom. Freedom-loving, self- respecting Negroes, many of whom had not heretofore been interested in the NAACP, wiU resist efforts by the state to de prive them of the right to join whatever organization they please. Many will join it now, out of resentment against the law and in sympathy with these teachers whose jobs are endan gered. One needn’t look far to find proof of this cuiitention. Right here in Cheraw the local branoh of the NAACP is holding its an nual membership drive. Last Sunday dozens of local Negroes, after hearing a talk by a state NAACP official about the new law, joined the organization for the first time. / The law itself won’t prevent Negro teachers from supporting the NAACP. There’s no law against their giving gifts to it, nor attending meetings and pro viding leadership • and moral support. They can do all that and still not technically be members. The law, which can not be enforced, simply will drive j some Negroes underr ground. As a tactical device, the As sembly and Gov. Timmerman made a big mistake. The law simply cannot do what it hopes to achieve. All that it accom plishes is to further irrifate the relationship between the races, at a time when we need good wiU. Many people who strongly op pose compulsory integration in the schools disapprove of a law which deprives a citizen of the right to belong to any organiza- (Conttinued on Page Seven) eMTISH § Spiritual Insight “GREED: A DEADLY SIN” By REVEREND HAROLD ROLAND Pastor, Mount Gilead Baptist Church “Covetousness must not be among you...” Eph. 5:3. Greed or covetousness has been listed among the seven deadly sins which mar the spiri tual beauty of man’s immortal soul. Greed is indeed an enemy of man’s spiritual life. It must be classed as one of man’s great spiritual moral problems. What is this so called deadly sin of greed? Why does the Bible warn us against it? Why did the Christ center so much of his. teaching at this point? The Bible and Jesus recognize greed for what it really is—a deadly sin. Greed is an excessive desire or craving for things. Yes, it is an unheal thy passionate desire even for the things of others. ^ All have seen many of these unfortunate victims of this deadly sin. Many of the victims may be classed with- the Alco holic or the Drug Addict: Greed Has Become An Inner Compul sive Kind Of A Thing. Thus it may be classed as an emotional or spiritual sickness. It may be so deep-seated as to require treatment or heuling. So we are rightly warned by God’s word.. “Covetousness must not be among you...” Greed is an enemy of the true spiritual aspirations of the soul. It becomes a drug to the soul. Thus we can see that it is a serious sin. Anything that hin ders. mars or corrupts the rlinib of the soul to spiritual nobility is a sin. It is clear that greed has a destructive impact upoiT’ the soul. Why? It warps and twists the soul into a shameful sight of selfishness. Yes, greed robs the soul of its true heritage of moral richness and beauty. Greed hinderS the soul in its normal and natural growth. It Is a road block to the true no bility of the soul. It strangles the blessed fruits of the spirit. Greed--forgets about the rights ttncertainHfgTif~onr8. _ and the welfare of others. It thinks mainly of securing and enhancing the self and its aims and security. Greed looks with passionate desire upon the things of others. It is fed by an unholy passion. Thus we can see why greed is listed among the seven deadly sins. Yes, greed is a deadly sin for it blocks the growth of compassion, genero sity and love. Greed may be rooted, gnaw ing, nagging inner feeling of anxiety or insecurity. 'This dead ly spiritual virus may act in this way on the miiul aid soul of man. Deep down there may be an overmarteMng fear.or anx-. lety that feeds the unholy flame or passion of greed in the mind and the soul. It may be an ex cessive desire to be made se cure with the “insecuraWe.” There is little real security In a world like this.'Why? There is so much tragedy, misfortune, distress, disaster and death one step ahead of us In this brief Why would a man sell his soul for the fading things around us? Trust God and do right and you will have what little security there is here. Capital Close Up . iir CR Went Home for Easter Civil Rights went home for Easter. “No action” was the re port, last week, on HR-627, the civil rights omnibus bill, on which a discharge petition to force it out of the House Com mittee on Judiciary—calling for the usual 218 signatures of members—was started more than two week.s ago, by Con gressman James Roosevelt (D.) of California. As he went to press, the office of Civil Rights co-chairman Hugh Scott (R.Pa.) dejectedly reported that civil rights mem bers were still hoping, but noth ing was happening on the Ad ministration’s three-point CH program, on which the press was to have been briefed by the Attorney General on March 29. The program which was to have been discussed called for a CR Commission with subpoena pow er, and a CR Division operating directly under an assistant at torney general. HR-62’, which was intro duced by the perennial civil rights-er Emmanuel Celler, (D., N.Y.) replaces the old lynch- Ing-as-such provision, with a more comprehensive clause ma king injury, oppression, threat ening or intimidation in the ex ercise of legal rights, a Federal offense. Interstate transporta tion, primary voting, and abuses of person or property by local officials are also covered. In fact, so much is covered (as the name “omnibus” im plies) that it is more than likely either that the effort to dislodge the bill from committee will fail, or that it will be turned loose to face certain death by filibuster, if it is allowed to reach the floor of the Senate. HR-10027, th > CR bill intro duced March IB by Rep. John D. Dingell (D.,Mich.) is also BY CONSTANCE DANIEL marking time in House Judi-^w organization heads appear- ciary. Like the projected Ad ministration program, it calls for the establishment of a CR Division with eniorcement pow ers, in the' Department of Jus- “Bourgeosie Nqire”—More Nose-Thumbing We regretted to see that our friend, Fred Morrow of the White House staff, has gone self-righteous and, apparently, attempted to berate the black middle class to which we gather both Fred and The Guardsmen, which he was taking to task, be long. Fred’s comments, as re ported, sounded pretty much like E. Franklin Frazier’s speech at the Alain Locke Memorial Conference, at Howard, last year. That speech, which seemed to us to be more frustrated than analytical, is repeated in Dr. Frazier’s latest volume, “Bour- geosie Noire,” in which he en gages in a rehash of previous nose-thumbing for the benefit of our French contemporaries. We understand that Esther Popel Shaw is reviewing this volume for the Journal of Negro Educa tion now in proof stage. We’ll be interested in seeing what she found, therein. History of Segregation in the United States The March issue of the Annals of the Academy of Political Science carries a lead article, “History of Segregation in the United States,” by John Hope Franklin, Howard history pro fessor, whose “Militant South” will probably be out by the time that takes over the chair of History at Brooklyn College, N. Y., in the Fall. Low-Vote States Slow Electoral Change Off-the-record comments made to us by heads of some organl zations concerned, tend to sup port questions raised as to whe- ing before Congress on current issues, are correctly reflecting the views of members, or are fixing policy without reference to these views. The recent defeat of Electoral College reform by failure to ob tain the two-tiiirds Senate vote needed for constitutional amend ment, can be traced, ^ilmost di rectly, to the combined opposi tion of 14 organizations, includ ing the NAACP, Sleeping Car Porters, and others. According to a number of cooperating "heads,” electoral changes ac tually favored as essential, were slowed down and discredited because of the interference with the franchise in the low-vote South, the effects of which ap pear in unexpected placet. Low-Vote South Affects D. C. Home Rule Southern disfranchisement, by whatever means effected, is already influencing the District of Columbia’s efforts to regain Home Rule. With a high propor tion of voting-age population, Negro residents from out-of- state will do more local voting than will whites, due to the fact that many, unable to vote, “back home,” because of disfranchise ment, make much less use of absentee ballots than do white residents. Federal Waste In North Louisiana, we once saw a warehouse filled with rusting electric sewing ma chines, bought for sharecropper families far from any power line. ’The idea—to save the farm wife’s time so that she coiUd help in the fields. In Georgia—speaking of sub sidies—eggs, taxpayer bought at 12 cents a dozen, sold back to farmers for fertilizer at five cents a crate. (And we were (Conttinued on Page Seven)
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