Public library
Fayetteville St
7-T/,
‘ ‘ 'a ' .
Literacy Test Step Nearer Showdown
Walk-Out Over
Negro Pastor
LOS ANGELES, CALIF.
The Reverend Nelaon B. Hlg-
glM, given the task of rebuild
ing a churdi whose member-
thip has been decimated over
tlie past twenty years by its
refusal to accept Negroes,
found himself immediately
confronted with the problem of
a missing congregation.
.entire aetlve member
ship sf Normandie Avenne
Methodist ChnrCb, some forty*
three white persons, resigned
In protest to the appointment
of the Negro minister to the
heretofore all white ehnrch.
Rev. Higgins, appointed last
month by the Southern Calif
ornia - Arizona Conference of
the Methodist Church, is
scheduled to make his first ap
pearance in pulpit Sunday. He
is a former teacher, and at one
time taught and coached
athletics at Hillside High
School in Durham, N. C.
Hie maas walk-ont by the
church membership appears
not aa critical as It first seem
ed. According to Dr. Bay Baga-
dale, snpervlsor of some fifty-
eight Methodist churches In
area, the new pastor is already
receiving more support than
had been given the chnreh In
several years. He predicted a
sharp Increase In membership
as the resnlt of Bev. Higgins*
(Please turn to page fight)
REV. N. B. HIGGINS
On Dixie Resistance
Ike Is Called Upon
To Breok Silence
DETROIT, Mich.
“When Hungarians resist
oppression, they are called
heroes; when American Ne
groes legally and peacefully
resist oppression, they are
called agitators.
"Our government sends ob
servers to Hungary, organ
izes airlifts, sets up refugee
camps, and opens immigra
tion doors; but it does not
say a mumbling word to the
Deep South states about per
secution, nor does it offer to
aid a single black refugee.
VOLUME 33 — NUMBER 27 DURHAM, N. C., SATURDAY, JULY 8, 1957
PRICE: TEN CENTS
"Instead, Alabama fines
our American freedom fight
ers $100,000. Georgia assess
es a so-called income tax of
$17,000. Texas, Virginia,
South Carolina, Mississippi,
Arkansas, Tennessee. Geor
gia and Louisiana have bar
red them from going to court
to test their rights.
"As we call the roll of
states, we wonder if there ev
er was a civil war, if the Con
stitution ever made us citi
zens, if, indeed, slavery does
not still exist.”
Thus spoke NAACP execu
tive secretary Roy Wilkins in
a plea to President Elsen
hower to speak out against
"repressive measures” In
flicted by southern states
(Pleat* turn to page Eight)
MRS. LOUISE LASSITER
SacthmoToDSSR
WASHINGTON, D. C.
The State Department is se
riously considering sending
Louis Armstrong and his band
to Russia in the Spring as well
as to other Iron Curtain coun
tries. No commitment has been
made as yet, but the State De
partment wants “a top-flight
jazz group" and though there
are .leveral contender.i, Louis’
so far out front.
BISHOPGETS ^SUPPORT
pictnred
bam. Left to are
Ity Blvcra, Bfn. Bfary B, Doby, E,
L fliatal^ WUlinmjG. Leatiien, Ihivid C. Deuu, Mn. Char-
HcnrickaadMr8. B.A. J.WUtted.
1{ace Issue
Probe Subject
WASHINGTON, D. C.
Out of the clear blue sky—
as the saying goes — the race
issue injected Into toe Hoffa
bribery trial^ this week. The
Government’s^ star witness,
John Cye Gheasty, was sudden-
ly cross examined by defense
attorney Edward Bennett Wil
liams with race questlona by
which it was obvious that the
real intent was to discredit
Cheasty and his testimony.
The race question had no link
with the trial at all. For three
and a half days Cheasty had
been testifying that Teamster
chief James R. Hoffa had brib
ed him to steal secrets from the
Senate rackets . committee as
one of its staff members. Chea-
sty says he secretly cooperated
with the FBI instead to catch
Hoffa red-hapded.
Thereupon Williams aslced
Cheasty about "when you wer«
employed by the city of Talla
hassee to Investigate Uie NAA-'
CP to break a buy boycott.”
Cheasty insisted on teUlng
the whole story here. He said
he had gone to Tallahassee last
July, and after a«16 day probe,
he reconamended that the city
hire Negro bus drivers, triMt all
drivers the same and “cut out
the color line on buses.” He
(Pletoe turn to page Ei|^)
Seven Leave
N.C Mutual
Seven North Carolina Mu
tual employees, including two
of the firm’s tojo-drawer offi
cials and a son of the founder,
were fonnally retired in cere
monies at the home office in
Durham last week.
Heading the list of retiring
personnel was E. R. Merrick,
son of the late John Merrick
who organized the Company
back in 1896. Merrick was a
A. & T. Trustee
8ANF0BD
A ^WBlaentliM Con^ edn-
eator neetved anether h«n«r
last week when am^nted te
the trwtee board ot A. aad T.
CoUege at Greensbore.
WlUlam Bartelle mOuK, a
aathre «f Lea Canaty aad la
whlek ha has labarad, saeaasa-
fnUy, te edmatlan far man
than tt-yaaia, will hainf ta
eallaga a wea^ a adaaatla*-
al axparieaae aad haek-
graaad.
Jul ttfaayaaw aga, tta
adMal, kara, wUdi fea kad
aanrad aa ptlaeipal itaaa 1914,
wa* aaaMd la Ua kaaar. Fra*
vWaaly tka Laa Ugk SAaal, tt
was roHonad Om W. B. Wlekar
■ig|tMhaalkil9M.
Above i« Miss Zelma Eliza
beth Aihey, 17 year old daugh
ter of Rev. Henderton Amey of
Third Street in Durham., She
tons one of two Segro high
school crroduates whose applica
tions to attend Women’i College
in Greensboro this fall were
recently accepted. The other
student is Claudette T. Grave*,
June graduate of Dudley High
in Greensboro.
Miss Amey, on outstanding
student at Hillside and porticl-
pont in many extra-curricvlar
activities, pUtns to study intert
or_ decorating... Admission- of
these two students brings to
five the number of Negro stu
dents who will be attending
the University of North Caro
Una wdt this fall. Previously
this summer, th« college an
nounced acceptance of Miss
Margaret Patterson, h i 0 h
school produote of Lenoir. Last
year, the sehoei aeeepted its
first two Negro students.
vice president and treasurer.
In addition to Merrick, two
other top officials, D. C. Deans,
Jr., and Mrs. B. A. J. Whitted
were given certificates oil snvlce
on their retirement. Deans was
also a vice-president and had
staff duties as agency director.
Mrs. Whitted sorved in the dual
capacity of assistant - treasurer
and cashier.
Othen leaving tha Oanpaay’s
employ who reoelved service
certificates last week were
Mrs. Charity Blvera,
inspeetlon elerk; BIra. Mary B.
Doby, chief clerk af tha Can-
troUer’s Departmant; William
P. Fllntall, malatananca en
gineer; and William O. Laatk-
en, Jaintor-mesaaa^ar.
Close friends iuid relatives of
the outgoing personnel were on
hand to witness the formal cere
monies at tha hiosna office, dur
ing which they were awarded
the certificates and given a fare
well address by the oompaay
pretidant
.la Us farawtf lasassge, Pree-
Ment W. J. Keaaadjr, Jr. prais
ed than in tkair aenrlea to
m eesnpaay aad duOlaagad
them to malatala tka klad of
laterest dl^layad aa tkalr Jaba
in eivte aad religions welfare
of their eowmmaHles "
Certlflcates wera poresentad to
each of the seven by J. W. Good-
loe, secretary of the comiwny.
D«part«re dX Merrick virtaal-
ly briags to a elasa aa era a(
seeMid generatlaa leadarsklp af
the firm. Be had kaea wltk tha
compaay fw M years, startlag
la Jnae, IMS as fi^ rapta-
seatattve. Sabaeqaently, ka
became asslstaat seeretary
(ItlS), treasarer (ItM) aad
was elected a vlaa preddeat la
1914. Be Is alsa a iwsswliar af
the kaaid af diraetars.
Deans, who put in most ai his
service amy from the bome
ofllce, hid a total of 97 yean In
the firm’s employ. Ha want to
work for tha Mutual In 1910
district manager in Richmond
Ya., and roaa to Mgtonai si^a-
(Plaase tom to pafe Bgbt)
Boycott
Body Backs
Embattled Cleric
TALLAHASSE. Fla.
Support embattled for A. M.
E. Bishop D. Ward Nichols
came this week from an organ
ization which led a bus boycott
here.
A statement released by the
Reverend M. C. Williams for
Uie Inter Civic Council jof Tal
lahassee pledged a vote'of conf
fldcsiaa lar youiig
wnid
ta "alleged Irregularities”
in handling of funds.
Presiding bishop of the 11th
A. M. E. district which includes
most of Florida, Nichols is un
der fire from many quarters in
the church. He faces a general
church trial at Jacksonville on
July 30 on five ritarge!r most
of which deal with improper
use of church finances.
Nichols, third ranking mem
ber of the board of Bishops —
the supreme spiritual authority
of the church — was suspended
by the General Church board
at a recent New York meeting.
In its statement pledging
support to Bishop Nichols, the
Inter Civic Council statement
declared:
. whatever sentence is
meted out to him will also be
meted out to our present gen
eration and the unborn genera
tion.”
The statement went on to
point out that the organization
had given Bishop Nichols a
"standing vote of confidence”
and described him as "man of
integrity, forthrightness and
love. . . . It also depicted
him as a fighter for freedom
for Negroes.
The statement by Rev. Wil-
lianui was also accompanied by
a copy of a letter addressed t6
the Bishop by Williams. 'The
letter promised to turn over fi
nancial records of the organiza
tion which would clear the
bishop of the charges.
The letter and the statement
were dated June 26. Both were
signed by Rev. WllUams.
Charge* which the bishop
(Please turn to page Eight)
Scottish-Rite
Masons Convene
WINSTON-SALEM
A meeting of the state Grand
Calvary Scottish-rite- Masons
and Eastern Star affiliates-is in
progress at Winston-Salem
Teachers College. The ass«nbly
began Wednesday, July 3rd and
Is scheduled to end Sunday,
July 7th.
A banquet, being held on the
college campus at 8 p. m. July
4th, is ona of the main features
of the meeting. Highlighting
the entire event, will ba a big
parade to begin at 2 p. m. Sun
day, July 30th from Shiloh
Baptist Church to Teachers
CoUaga Campus.
J. E. Mlsantaour of Kannapo
lis is gnnd onmselor and chief
presiding officer of calvary sm-
sions.
The. Forest Hills teiuils courts, a portion of which can be seen in this picture, will be
flie setting next week for the climax of the Southeastern Open Tennis Championships. The
extreme edge of tennis courts bordered by wire fenc# (designated by arrawj^fan^ he seenJn
right of picture. Building at left is tennis club house.
Located in a fashionable white residential section, use of the courts for the tourna
ment will mark the first tlfiie that an all Negro tournament will be played there.
Only one of the city’s tennis facilities equipped with lights, tournament officials request
ed use of the court in order to schedule night matches. See details of tournament, page live.
Third Move
Next In Chain
Of Legal Action
SEABOARD
An action challenging the va
lidity' of the state law requir
ing prospective voters to pass
a literacy test before they can
qualify to vote moved one more
step along the long and intri
cate path it must take before
a final decision can be render
ed.
Last Friday, the two women
who brought the court action
had their appeals from denial
off registration by a Seaboard
registrar rejected by the Coun
ty Board of EUections.
The board upheld the deci
sion by Mrs. Helen Taylor, ive-
cinct registrar who refused
Mrs. Louise Lassiter and Mrs.
Ellen Edwards after they would
not submit to the literacy test.
Immediately following the
board’s decision, attorney
James R.- Walker of Weldon,
representing the women, serv
ed notice of appeal to Superior
Court.
The hearing by the County
Board of Elections became nec
essary as the result of a series
of actions by the General As
sembly and a federal court.
Mr.s. Lassiter, who had been de
nied registration in the spring
of 1958 on the grounds t|)fit she
failed to pass the literacy test,
brought action in federal court
to have the literacy test provi
sion declared invalid. She was
permitted to be joined in the
action by Mrs. Ellen Edwards
and Mrs. Sarah Harris, both of
whom were also denied regis
tration. Mrs. Harris subse
quently died.
In March, the General As
sembly passed a new statute
dealing with registration quali
fications. The new law contain
ed the literacy test as required
by the old law but added a pro
vision tor appeal from a regis
trar’s decision to the board of
elections, sind 11 necessary, to
Superior Court and State Su-
Court.
before a thraa judge fMeml
court In Raleigh last month, at
torneys tor Mrs. Lassiter and
Mrs. Edwards contended that
the portion of the North Caro
lina constitution which - con
tains the literacy test require
ment was in conflict with the
federal constitution, and conse-
quenUy the law which cut tb#
constitutional provision into ef
fect was also invalid*
The court struck down the
state constitutional provision
(Please turn to page Eight)
NAACP Pledges Fight To End
ff a I a Ala., the Rev. Martin Luther branch of the NAACP, was aga of oongratalatloni to the
As Long As
We Breathe"
DETROIT, MICH.
"We will keep up the light,
on crutches, on one leg, with
one arm or with one eye, as
long aa we can see, think, act
and breathe—as long as we are
alive,” said NAACP national
secretory Roy Wilkins here last
Saturday as the NAACP closed
its 48th national convention.
Wilkins speeek made It elear
that there would ba aa let np'
in the association’s drive for
elimination of racial dlserlm-
ination and segregation.
“If our convention here in
Detroit had a theme, It was
that we will not be dismayed,
that we will continue to press
forward. If I sense correctly
the feeling of the delegates, it
is that in goodwill, but fiim
determination, we continue In
the NAACP tradiUon of attock-
ing evils, and attacking again,
until victory is won. We will
attack them in North as
well as the South, and we will
have, as we always have had,
an affirmative, positive pro
gram, as well as a program of
prote^”
The eonventlon passed a re-
solatloB urging passage irf the
civil rights bills and heard ad
dresses by man promlnrat
'Americans, kiclnding Walter
Benthar, United Anto Workers
ehlef Sidney Foliar, vlea-prea-
ident of tke Amarleaa Jewish
Congress, aad Joasi^ L. Bauk,
Jr., 'ylee ekalmaa of tka
Americans far Denoeratle Ae-
King Qets Medal
Accepting tha 42nd Sptogam
Medal mi behalf "tha 90,000
Nagro ritizens of Montgomery,
King, leader of the famed bus
protestont movement in that
city, warned that there can be
no rest "until segregation and
discrimination have been li
quidated from every area of
the nation’s life.”
The medal was presented by
the Bt. Bev. Richard S. Em-
rieh, Bishop of Michigan, who
pralMd King as a man of
“quiet courage who has work
ed and suffered for Justice.”
Kelly Named
Kelly M. Alexander, presi
dent of the North Carolina
one of seven top ranking
NAACP memben chosen' to
select candidates for the
Board of Directors for the As
sociation during its conven
tion.
The committee will name six
teen candidates to run for the
Board for three year tomn be
ginning next year.
Alexander Is already a mem
ber of the Board of DIreators.
Ike Wi^es Praise
President Elsenhower’s me
NAACP was read at the open
ing session of the organisation’s
aaaaal eonventlon last Tues
day prior to the keynote ad
dress by Or. Channing Tobias,
ehalrmaa of tke NAACP board
of dkraatars.
“Aa yon have helped—by
irord aad deed—to bring sub-
stanee to ... the principle that
all mea are created equal and
all men ahonld toke an equal
share In the responsibilities of
govemneat... you have con
tributed to the national com
munity,” a portion of the meaa-
aga read.
Ouster Of Second Count
Against Walker Is Asked
SEABOARD
Superior Court here was ask
ed last week to "quash” or
dictment was filed with the
ing Attorney James E. Walker
of Weldon with "disturbing” a
registrar.”
The motion to dismiss the in
dictment was filed with tiie
court by Attorneys Herman
Taylor and Samuel Mitchell of
Raleigh last Saturday.
I'he indictment grew out of
an incident at a Seaboard
precinct in the spring of 1956
when Walker protested Mrs.
Helen Taylor’s denial of regis
tration to his clients.
Several charges a^inst Walk
er flowed from the incident,
one of Whidt was assault on a
female, on which ha was con
victed last August. Ha was giv
en a 9900 fine and a suspended
sentence.
Walkar want to ]all iat two
in order to bring the ap
peal to the State Supreme
Court. However, the court re
fused to hear it on grounds of
procedure.
The original charge was as
sault, but when the appeal'
reached the higher court, it
was broken down into two or
more different charges by
Solicitor E. R. Tyler. The
grand Jury found true bills
charging Walker with assault
well as with interfering
with or disturbing a reigstrar.
The indictment charging
Walker with disturbing Mrs.
Taylor speciiies that be “un
lawfully and wilfully by his
own boisterous fnd violent
conduct’' did disturb Mrs. Tay
lor while in perfonnance of her
duties.
Tha motion asking dismissal
contends that tha “disturbing”
charge ^uld ba quashed or
Htmt—rf for the raason that
the stotuto upon which the In
dictment Is presumably based
is too uncertain. Indefinite and
unreasoiwble to support a
criminal charge.
Mrs. Maridum
Dies Suddenly
Mrs. Maggie Markham, died
unexpectedly at her home, 619
St. Joseph Street, Tuesday
morning of this we^ at ap
proximately 7:00 o’clock.
Mis. Markham, coniiiied to a
wheelchair for the last live
years, sincc suffering a fractur
ed hip, was up at 6:1)0 a. m.
She seemed to be her twial scU
as she *.alRCd with her son. De
laney Markham, som after
wards.
Ha spoke to her a few mo
ments biter, and noti^ that
(Please turn to page ^tkt)