I
if the Negro leaders of America
would simply stop long enough to
take a good, hard look at what is
going on, they could not possibly
fail to realize that the Negro race
is being used as a pawn in the
greatest political power play in the
history of Our.nation.
Strained race relations are
spreading across the country. In
stead of gaining ground, the Negro
race is losing it Bitterness is now
rampant where only a lew years
ago it was non-existent. The situa
tion is growing worse by the day.
Negroes need to ask themselves:
What purpose is being served?
What progress is being made —
and at what cost? These, are
deadly- serious, vastly -important
questions that cannot be answered
in pious political language.
We read with amazement a press
association account of a statement
issued by the White House last
week. Martin Luther King wanted
to be put in jail to draw attention
to his activities: he candidly said so:
There was not the slightest nmt
that King had been mistreated
while in custody; in fact, he has
now been released under bond and
he acknowledges that he was not
mistreated. Nor was he held in
communicado. .
Yet, the White House issued a
press release saying that President
Kennedy had interrupted his vaca
tion in Florida to make telephone
calls to Alabama. Then, according
to the press release, Mr. Kennedy
called King’s wife in Atlanta and
advised her that he (the President)
had “made arrangements” for King
to call his wife. [
What the White House didn’t
mention was that King had already
.called his wife, prior to the Presi
, dent’s intervention. In fact, King
•had called her twice, once the day
'before the President introduced
himself into the affair and, again,
two hours before the President
placed his call to Alabama.
The White House, of course, did
not say that King was being held
incommunicado. But the. implica
tions of the press release were
clear. The impression was left that
King would not have been able'to
communicate with his wife had it
not been for the President of itie
United State's.
A great deal is said about the
“world image” pf America in con
nection with facial difficulties in
>aB
mu
our country, it is not difficult to J
see the effect abroad of the White i
House press release. •
No election, the political career i
of no man, is worth the discord be- i
ing created by efforts to weld to- 1
gether the votes of Negro Amen- i
cans into a solid bloc. What has i
happened to sincerity and truth and i
good faith? As matters now stand, i
those who cry loudest for equality
of opportunity are frequently the i
very ones who offer no jobs for :
Negroes. Check the employee lists
of newspapers; examine the law
firms of the politicians — all the
tqst. Almost without exception the
story is the same : "Do not as I do,
but as I say do.”
This is a sorry ladder which Ne- •
groes are trying to climb. It will |
not support the weight of their
dreams of progress.
And, of course, the need for per
sonal responsibility on the part of
the Negro race is constantly show
ing itself. In Washington, D. C.,
where public schools are integrated
and Negro-dominated, Negro hood
lums are creating chaos. The sup
erintendent of schools, Carl F.
Hansen, has repeatedly warned
that “a volcano of problems” ex
ists in the the school system be
cause of the inability of officials
and teachers to discipline or get
rid of chronic trouble makers.
Hansen urged his board of edu
cation to permit such pupils to be
expelled or to be given corporal
punishment. The eight-member
chool board includes four( Negroes,
his its chairman who is a Negro,
lansen was rebuffed by a vote of
to 4.
North Carolina Congressman
lasil Whitener has introduced a bill
a Congress to permit expulsion of
tudents and corporal punishment
n Washington’s schools. It wjH be
nteresting to see how certain man
ors of Congress vote on this
neasure designed to restore order
n the schools of the nation’s cap
tal. It will be equally interesting to
;ee what, if anything, the Negro
eaders of Washington do in the
neantime to encourage personal
■esponsibility among the Negro
rnpils and their parents. Whether
Negroes like it or not, integration
s being tested in Washington and
'iegro citizens everywhere will be
udged by the results of the test.
No civil rights will long endure
vithout personal responsibility.
‘Country Girl’ Being
Given May 3rd and 4th ’
By Kinston Dramatists <
"Country Girl," an interesting
drama by Clifford Odets will be 1
presented Friday and Saturday, i
May 3 and 4 at Northwest School <
by the Kinston Community Theatre.
Curtain time 8:15.
This production deals with man’s
intricate self and society. It gives
a vivid characterization of back
stage life which is seldom seen as
it tells of a has-been actor given
his last chance to regain stardom.
Taking part in the final produc
tion for the season will be: Bob
Negroes who deceive themselves on
this point, or permit themselves to
be deceived, are simply walking
down a blind alley.
It cannot and will not be other
wise.
WHEN YOU NEED
AMBULANCE SERVICE
CALL
Garner’s Funeral Home
DIAL JA 3-2124 or JA 3-2125
Ambulance Equipped With Oxygen
For Emergency Use
“COURTEOUS ATTENDANTS”
paramount
irmistead, Jean Ford, Reece
ier, Billie Attfl Kteeves,
tnderson, Emanuel Traub
Jray Gilbert.
Betty Rhodes, a Kinstonian who
las studied drama in New Y
s the director for the “Country
lirl.”
STARTS FRIDAY
"Who’s Got
The Action?”
Technicolor
—Starring—
Dean Lana
Vlartin Turner
BRIGHT LEAF
Drive-In Theatre
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY
Walt Disney
IN SEARCH OF THE
"Castaways99
Technicolor
Corvair Monza Club Coupe
Who needs muscles?
Do you know how easy it is to take a corner
with'& Corvair or 'park one? Turn this
. newspaper sideways and it will give you a
rU?' pretty good idea. The wheel handles just
4 about that easily.
The Corvair’s engine is in the rear, for
. not only greater traction„but more balanced
weight distribution. And that s what makes
. the steering so completely effortless. -
The engine ip air cooled, too. No radi
ator. No water or antifreeze. No boiling
over or freezing up to worry about. It takes
the weather and the terrain as it comes.
So think about those trips to the beach
this summer, those bright sunny days and ~ ' jj
balmy moonlit nights. ’ • .. ' «
And besides, looking at it from a very & ’>
practical point of view, it’s Trade ’N’ *
Travel time right now at your Chevrolet
dealer’s. He’s got some beautiful buys.
But you had better hurry before somebody
muscles in ahead of you. Spring’s here.
Summer’s coming fast. And with these sporty
good-looking Corvairs selling the way they
are, he who hesitates will want to kick
himself.
CHEVY H, CQRVAIR AND CORVETTE