Newspapers / The Carolina Times (Durham, … / May 12, 1956, edition 1 / Page 2
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PACK TWO THE CABOUNA TIMKS SATURDAY, MAY ». IMI IF THE 6BIHUL5 UN7 REMOIBEI), THE PEOPLE CAN A voice of the dying past rose in the swamp lands of South Carolina last week to impugn the character of Negro soldiers. The voice belonged to General Mark Clark, head of the South’s private West Point, the Citadel at Charleston, S. C. General Clark told an audi ence in that tidewater city last week that he did not feel that integration was wise from a mibtary point of view from the very beginning, and added that he thinks it would be unwise for the South to des^regate now. He went on to say that his experience with Negro troops in the Italian campaign in World War II proved they were of little value and actually bolted in the face of the enemy. Gen eral Almond, one-time com mander of the tenth corps In Korea which made the now historic and fatal march to the Yalu river in the winter of 1950, backed up General Clark’s remarks, adding that Negro troops were the worst in his command. Now we’ve heard many arguments against integration from southerners, from the claim that God intended Ne groes to be forever servants of the white man down to the charge that all Negroes were either idiots ot syphilitic. But this is the first time that we’ve ever heard that they were all cowards. To deliber ately blacken the record of thousands of Negro soldiers who have been killed or maimed for life in the last two conflicts, in which this nation has engaged sets a new 'mark in subterranean foren- sics. We wonder how the thousands of Negroes felt who were lucky enough to escape but lost close friends in the last two blood baths when they read the General’s re marks. Or how the hundreds of cripples and amputees in veterans hospitals over the country reacted when they heard the voice of the great General brand them as cow ards. And what about the hundreds of mothers and wives who have but a few snapshots, some well worn letters and a few memories left to remind them of their husbands and sons who went away to fight an unpopular “police action” in a country whose name they could not pronounce. How must they have felt. It’s a good thing that the country’s memory isn’t as bad as that of Generals Clark »nd AlinoKd. ' Tor the peo^^ remember the young Navy cook, Dorie Miller, who man ned the guns at Pearl Har^r and became one of the na tion’s first heroes in World War II. Durhamites won’t forget John Baxter Robin son, first Durham man to die in World War II, the much decorated Lt. Ellison Wynn, an adopted son, nor Lt. Theo dore Joyner, the first Durham man to die Korea. In spite of Generals Clarks and Almond, the people will always re member the all-Ne^o 24th Infantry, credited with win ning the first victory in the UN’s initial counter-offensive in Korea. To refreshen General Clark’s memory, we thought it a good idea to cite the deeds of one of the units of that out fit and particularly those of one of its members, the late hidden on the far side of the mountain opened fire on than. This time, after again re fusing medical attoition, he advanced alona on the en- enemy position and routed them. Bat as he did, he was struck in the foce by frag ments of another grenade. He died that night. The commanding o£Scer of Sergeant Cornelius H. Chari-* the Twenty-fourth Infantry ton, winner of the Con gressional Medal of Honor, the greatest military honor this country can bestow. Here is part of a citation read by former Secretary of the Army Frank Pace, Jr., before Charl ton’s pa^^ts: “ . . r distinguished him self by conspicuous gallan try and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty . . . Wounds received dur ing his daring exploits re^ suited in his death, but his indomitable courage, su perb leadership and gallant self-sacrifice reflect the highest credit upon him self, the infantry and the military . . General Clark, in the words of Lionel White writing for the May 1953 number of Red- book, here is what this young Negro and the other Negroes of his unit did to help protect this country so that people like you could have the free dom to defame them: The last chapter in the life of Cornelius Charltmi be gan on the morning of June 24,1951, near Chipo, Korea. For two days hb company had been storming a heav ily defended hill. On the third day of fight ing, when Charlton’s pla toon was in an advanced position with no possibility of turning back, the platoon leader was killed by gren ade fire. Charlton took over com mand. The men were pin ned down by a barrage from automatic weapons, fired from emplacements above them. Motioning the others to stay back, the sergeant crept forward with several grenades hanging from his belt. He took the first two positions alone, killing more than a dozen of the enemy. A moment later, a grenade exploded near by, and frag ments penetrated his chest. Charlton fell, badly wound ed. His men were driven back. Charlton crawled back to his platoon and reorganized It. He again led h^ men forward; once more they were driven into retreat. Taking time to send back a number of other wound ed men, the sergeant ignor ed the wounds in his own chest. Once more regrouping, he led a last assault, and this time succeeded in driving the enemy over the sum mit. As Connie’s platoon took the crest, an emplacement wks Col. Henry C. Britt, a West Point man who had foteht throughout World Wu 11 in Africa and Italy and was in the Korean theater from the very be ginning. During the action in which Cornelius Charlton was killed, CoL Britt suffered extremely heavy lossea of enlisted men and officers. Wounded be has since described the fight ing: “It was tough. We fought the Commies back and forth, on the ridges and in the valleys. It was essential to hold, the high places. And those hills are steep. Steep as the sides of helL” Col. Britt has described Charlton as “A fine soldier, first because he wanted to be a soldier, also because he was clean, upright «n««i — a fearless man who was not %fraid to die.” We don’t claim that Ne groes were any braver sol diers than any others who faced death in the wars this country has fought. Negroes aren’t supermen, just human. But, likewise, Negroes are no greater cowards than any other soldiers. If anything, we’d be forced to give the edge in courage to the Negro soldier, for certainly if any soldier fighting for America has had less to fight for, it has been the Negro soldier. Hundreds of Ne^oes who have risked and given their lives for freedom and democ racy have had to come ba^ home to states like General Clark’s South Carolina where they and their brothers have been lynched, forced into peonage, deni^ the right of the ballot, herded into “shan tytowns” across the railroad tracks, relegated to every ia- ferior facility paid for by pub lic money, seen their wivra and daughters raped by white men with impunity, and watched while their children are denied the same chances to make their fortunes in the world as children of the same guy they had shared a “fox hole” or a can of combat ra tions across the “pond.” It re quires a little more than the ordinary courage for a man to face death for a country which offers no more than the South does for the aver age Negro. We hope Greneral Clark's young military charges at the Citadel can escape Ae poison he must be spreading in those ancient halls. NAT KING COLE AND THE NAACP' According to latest reports, King Cole says he was mis quoted by newspapers when they stated that he .had ex- prnsed himself as being somewhat opposed to the pro gram of the National ^^so- ciation for the Advancement of Colored People. Cole em phatically denied the report and responded further by purchasing a life membership in the NAACP. This latest re port will no doubt bring a sigh of relief to many admir ers of the famous song sty list; a number of whom had begun to take somewhat of a cold if not antagonistic atti tude toward him. The Carolina Times with held its fire against Cole be cause of confidential state ments made to one of its representatives at the Ra- leigh-Durham Airport when he flew here for his engage ment after the Birmingham discrimination, fiasco. That statement, which can now be told, made us see Cole in a different light and therefore we gave him the benefit of the doubt. Said Cole last week: 1^; Regarding the newspaper repo^ which quoted Cole as saying: 1 challenge anyone who claims I have not supported the NAACP. Only last November I not only play ed at an NAACP benefit trf- fair, in Las Vegas, but I al so gave them a sizeable check. I stand on my record all the way. I am, have been and will continue to be dedicated to the complete eHmination of all forms of discrimination, segregation and bigotry. And I have al ways supported the NAACP and other organizations: fifi1>ting segregation and! I’m letting you know em phatically I don’t intend to become a politician . .. I'm a performer . . . I’m cru sading as a gentleman. I meant I only wanted to be an isolatio^t as far as politics are concerned, but not from a moral point of view.” we think the above state ment and actions are solR- cient to reinstate Cole with in the good graces of all of his admhrers. As far as we are concerned, we are now willing to write the whole matter off our books as clos ed. 1 SATURDAY L. E. Austin Publisher Clathah Ross Editor H. Albcbt Smith Published Every Saturday the UNHKD PUBLISHERS. Inc. at 4S E. PetUgrew St. ftitagad as sseond elass matter at the Post Ottloc at Durham, North Carolina undsr the Act of Mardi I. Itn. Matkatf AdvettisiDg Repreaentattve; Inter- •leta Unttad Wewn>ap«rs. M. KL Johnson W_ A. Hennesbkx MAY 12, 1956 BtLainets Manager Advertising Manager Managing Bditor ■No guarantee of publication of unsolicited material. Letters to the editor for mibllcation must be signed and confined to 500 words. Subscription Rates; 10c per copy; Six months, $2.0t; One Year, $8.00 (Foreign Countries, $4.00 per yaar.) CANINEGIECI COURT REMBNES By REV. EUGENE CARSON BLAKE President, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the .United States of America Ekiitor’s Note: This is another in a series of articlos written by outstanding leaders in American life sup porting the NAACP Legal De fense and Educational Fund^ Inc. in its efforts to obtain through the courts fuU citizen ship and “equal Justice: under law” for all Nugro Americans. Contributions to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund can be de ducted from your Income tax. In general, there are two ways in which discrimination against racial or cultural groups is successfully attacked. One way is the educational process by which the attitudes ot people are changed, leading ultimately to the enactment of fairer laws and the enforcement of existing laws. The other way is by court action to win a right that has been denied extra legally. Those who are interested in seeing justice dune to racial or cultural groups dare not neg lect either of these two ways of attack against discrimination. Public opinion is ineffective un less it is enforced in individual court cases. On the other hand, a victory in a court case may be rendered ineffectual by a hos tile community opinion. In general, the educational process is being successfully carried on by political, social and religious bodies m the Uni ted States. The theory of non discrimination has never been more generally held and ap plauded than it is today. But all must be conscious of the fact that illegal discrunina- tion on account of race does in 'fact exist in the whole nation, including those parts of the United States where in general public opinion is favorable to non-discrimination. Usually the victims of racial discrimiiuition do not have sufficient money to press for their legal rights in the courts. It is for this reawn thgt the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund is such an important part of the machinery needed to establish the civil rights of all racial groups in the United States. If the fund had not existed and been financially supported, it is not likely that the clear Supreme Court de cisions of May 17, 1954, and November 7, 1955, ending legal segregation in the nation's pub lic schools and parks would have been secured. It is quite certain that the financial suppoit of the Legal Defense and Educational Fund must be continued if these de cisions are to be implemented in American life. DE6ERVIN6 OP A PLACE LEUERS TO THE EDITOR The Editor Dear Sir: A recent editorial in the papers told of a Mrs. O’Neal Greenhow, who served as a Con federate spy during the so-called Civil War. The editorial erroneously states that she was “the only woman, aside from nurses, who gave her life while actually ser ving the south. The writer of this editorial forgets that Mary Surratt, the woman convicted in the' trial of the eight conspira tors who brought about the as sassination of Abraham Lincoln, died at the end of a rope for her crime. The editorial' states that Mrs. Greenhow was “a widow living in Washington, D. C. at the time the war began, ^rs. Greenhow made no pretensa of being loyal to the United States Govern ment, and remained in Washing ton for the sole purpose of get ting information for the Con federate Government. She was finally arrested and held prison er by the U. S. Government for nine months, but this did not keep her from communicafihg with the Confederacy.” Then the article states that she was buried from St. Thomas’ Church in Wilmington, N. C. This is a Catholic Church, and as the Catholic Church does not accord heretics “Christian buri al”, this shows that she was a Catholic. Her disloyalty to her government is in line with the Catholic Church's teaching that she has the right to absolve citizens from allegiance to “ty- ranical governments” not “or dained of God” (meaning ap proved by the Church). Mrs. Greenhow’s confinement “did not keep her from commu nicating witli the ConfedM«cy” much information which she had, since her -‘Fatho' confes sor”, who visited ho: at the pri son, was able to convey it to the South. The Catholic Church regarded the Federal Government as al though “unrighteous’’, and Lin coln as a "tyrant”. This explains why Booth, when fleeing across the stage of Ford’s Theatre after shooting Lincoln, shouted, “Sic semper tyrannis”, Latin for “So ever to tyrants"’. John Wilkes Booth and Mary Surratt and all the convicted conspirators were Catholics. J. J. Walsh Durham Dear Editor: Your editorial concerning the possibility of drafting young white women graduating from college to teach in the public schools so as to help liquidate the current teacher shortage was very interesting to me. It seems that you favor the idea but have little iiope such a thing might ever be done. I suggest that there is a simp ler .and more practical way of practically liquidating the teach er shortage in practically all the ,Southern states, certainly here in North Carolina. If North Carolina would fall in line and seriously try to implement the ecision of the United States Su preme Court and immediately integrate or desegregate the public schools through the high schools, te problem would be solved. That is, if Colored teach ers, of whom Uiere is a surplus, were integrated in the schools along with the pupils of both races there would be enough of these colored teachers to com plete the number required to staff all the schools in the state. There is po loghead reason why this should not be done. The white people of this state have employed colored women from the’ days of slavery to nurse their children and practi cally rear them. Why noe em ploy colored women and men to teach these same children in the school room. The colored teach ers are just as wel prepared aca demically as the whites. This is due to the fact that practically all colored college graduates in the South have gone into teach ing because prejudice denied them other occupations com mensurate with their training. Then, too, the colored teachers are better prepared spiritually to teach certain courses such as Civics than the whites. Because if a white teacher in North Caro lina teaches the true principles on which this nation was found ed she is teaching what she does not practice, and her white fel- low-citizens do not practice, and the children know this. Why not solve the teacher shortage by giving the colored teachers a chance to teach in any school, white or colored, where teachers are needed? Dr. A. H. Gordon, Salisbury, N. C. Sixth District Meeting Of Omegas Attracts 300 At Cliarlotte CHARLOTTE Nearly 300-men attended the- 21st annual meeting of the Sixth District of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity held here last week, April 27-29. The evtet, drawing on mem berships in the fraternity in North and South Carolina, broke all attendance records for district meetings which have been conducted by the Omegas over a 24-year span. The prime feature of the three-day confab was the an nual Talent Hunt, celebrating the 10th anniversary - at the site of its founding, in 1946. A pretty and talented high school senior, Miss Dorts Jean Duncan, Asheville, took top honors in this event as she sang herself in to the hearts of an audience of more than 1000-and the Judges. She completely captivated the throng which crowded the Northwest Junior High School Auditorium on Saturday even ing with the “Binou Song” from Faust. She was accompanied by Mrs. OUie M. Reynolds, The winner had placed third in the competitions held in Spartan burg last year. CIT\ZV^ «SHT5 Spiritual Insight “LUST: A DEADLY SIN” “Thou shalt not r.ovet..." Ex. 20:17 Lust, gluttony or inordinate desire is classod as one oi the seven deadly sins among us hu man beings. Tiie passion of lust causes untold unhappiness and misery among men. We long for things which are against our happiness and spiritual well be ing. Someone has said that de sire, after all, is the root of sin. Thta idea may be the whole truth; however, there is a lot of truth in it. All of us have been In trouble because of the lust of passionate desire. Lust is indeed an enemy of man’s,spiri tual life. Lust has marred the peace of individuals and fami lies, Lust interferes with the harmony of society. The word o£ God rightly ad monishes us to beware of and guard against lust, one of the seven deadly sins among us Lust offers a glittering but very false satisfaction. It pro mises all and gives nothing. It is deceptive. The seeming sweets By REVEREND HAROLD ROLAND Pastor, Mount Gilead Baptist Church of lust turn into the'gall of bit terness. For the seeming plea sure of a moment lust gives in stead the heartache or regret of a life time. Yea, lustful esca pades have brought the regrets of a lifetime. Lust, with its false satisfactions, has carried many down to the dark depths of de spair. Too many are deceived by the false glittering, glamour of lust. Lust’s unholy cravings leave the soul hungry and empty. May it not be true that much of our restlessness is due to the soul- emptiness left by lustful pas sion? Lust cannot become a fit ting substitute for the deep hun gers and thirsts of the hmnan peace of the individual and thp soul. There is no fitting stihsti. tute for God and spiritual things. We are unsatisfied drinking at the fountain of lust ful passion. Millions feasting at the table the lustful passions are left with deep hungers unsatis fied. What is the result? We are left -with emptiness of soul that brings untold misery and un happiness. We see the tragic re sults in the daily headlines. Yes, the unholy cravings of lust leave our souls empty and hun gry. Lust, the deadly sin, robs us of the peace 6£ God. Why? This thing mars or disrupts our re lationship with God. What hope is there for the branch when it is cut off from the vine?.... “Apart from me ye can do noth ing....” It leaves the soul cutoff, isolated from its true source of life—CJod the creator. Lust also strains and disrupts our rela tionship with our fellowman. It breaks the sense of conununity so essential to happy living. Lust is the root of so much of our interpersonal conflict. Yes, lust robs us of p^ace because it cuts the vital ties of human and Divine relations. The disruptive work of lust leaves us uprooted, spiritually displaced persons. But in righteousness we shall beo^e “Like a tree planted by the riveis of water...” Capital Close Up . Mark Clark and the “Black Phalanx” On April 27, Gen. Mark Clark, president of “The Cita del," South Carolina’s private West Point, told the Southern Regional Conference of State Governments, then meeting in Charleston,, he was opposed to the integration of white and Negro troops, from a military point of view. Geo. Clark, the former Su preme Commander of UN For ces in the Far East, based his opinion, he said, on his experi ence with the 5th Army, in Italy, during World War U. Ob viously reviving the story of the 92nd Division, commanded by Major Gen.- Kdward Almond (now retired) which created much furore at the time the charges were made, Gen. Clark, according to press releases, de clared, last week, that Negro soldiers could not be relied on, and boHed in the face of the enemy. “The worst division I had was a Negro division,” said Gen. Clark. The document ed refutation of the results of troop integration, by Civilian Aide to the Secretary of Defense James C. Evans, (New York Post, April 30), is one of many which will be forthcoming. Neither Swallow Makes a Summer We hope that Gen. Clark will be able to find, on the shelves of The Citadel’s library, “The Black Phalanx, a History of the Negro Soldiers of the. United States in the Wars of 1775, 1812 and 1861 to 1865,” by the late Joseph P. Wilson, veteran of the Second Regiment Louisi- BY CONSTANCE DANIEL ana Native Guard Volunteers, the 54th Mas.sachusetts Volun teers, and first Negro member of the National Council of Ad ministration ol the Grand Army of the Republic, whose Depart ment of Virginia, in 1882, desig nated him to write the history. The volume, entered in the of fice of the Librarian of Con gress, in 1887, was published by the American Publishing Co., of Hartford, Conn., in 1890. Cmmden and (luUjord Court- hotite From this volume we com ment on the projcct to raise Ne gro troops, during the Revolu tion—a project zealously push ed by Col. John Laurens of South Carolina, whose “services in Rhode Island had given him an opportunity to witness the conduct and worth of the Negro soldier,”: “Statesmen, both South and North, as they talked about it, became free to express their approbation of the mea sure. They had witnessed the militia from Virginia and North Carolina, at the battle of Cam den, throw down their arms before the enemy; they ha'd seen black and white troops under command of (British) Gen. Pro vost occupy Savannah.." The same chapter cites Grimshaw’a U. S. History to the effect that at the battle of Guilford Court House, the following year, “the North Cl^rolijia militia...fled at the first fire,” and the Second Maryland Regiment deserted. As swallows, neither the 5th Army’s 92nd Division in the Italian Campaign, nor the Vir ginia, Carolina and Maryland troops at Camden and Guilford Courthouse, 16b years earlier, make a summer, in terms of the courage of soldiers—^Negro or Southern white. More from 'The Black Phalaruc’ ■‘As early as 1652, the militia law of Massachusetts required Negroes, Scotchmen and In dians,—the indentured slaves of Cromwell, who encoimtered his army at the battle of Dunbar,— to train in the militia. Nor was It an uncommon occurrence for them to be manumitted for meritorious and courageous ac tion in defending their masters’ families, often in the absence of the master, when attacked by the red men of the woods. They fought with a desperation equal to that of the whites, against the common enemy.” John Cadwater of Annapolis, Maryland,, in a letter to Gen. Washington, (June, 1781) wrote: “We have resolved to raise, immediately, seven hun dred and fifty Negroes, to be in corporated with the other troops; and a bill is now almost completed.” appear,” writes Wilson, “that tije Negroes were formed into separate organiza- uons in this State, but filled the depleted ranks of the ConUnen- tal regiments, where their ener gy and daring .was not less than mat displayed by their white comrades, with whom they tought, shoulder to shoulder. The advocates of arming the Negroes were not confined to the Eastern and Middle sections; some of the best men of the South favored and advocated the enlistment of free Negroes.” (Please turn to Page Seven)
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