1944-09-30

.. Page 4 "FIGHTING TOP4.Y FOR TOMORROW'S VICTORY" The PEOPLE'S OBSERVER Office 201'7 N. Williams Avenue, Portland 12, Oregon Telephone WEbster 3840 WILLIAM H. McCLENDON, Publisher Established 1943 EDITORIAL PAGE , -. September 30, 1944 Negro Runs for Senate in S. C. The People's Observer is a valiant defender against segregation and its I related evils; a vigilant champion for freedom, equality, liberty and justice; an alert guard against all social atrocities; a vitriolic analyst and severe critic of discriminatory practices; a sentinel to warn of all impend– Osceola E. McKaine, 51 year old organizer of the United Fur– niture Workers (CIO) .in the state of South Carolina, has the support of many influential whites for his candidacy to the U. S. ing retrogressive social trends and tendencies. The People's Observer is not financed or subsidized by any partisan group, organization or individual. The PeoP.le's Observer bases its whole program on the goal of equality of opportuhlty for all minority peoples to share fully in the political, eco– nomic and public life of the country. The problems of the Negro people shall be shown to be related to those of other National minority groups j and to the world issues created by the War and to the International ar- Senate. McKaine is the associate editor of the militant newspaper, the Columbia "LIGHTHOUSE and INFORMER. rangements resulting after it. / 1 Member of the Associated Negro Press, Calvin's Newspaper Service, Ted Yates Publications, Inc., Independent Press Service. This newspaper reserves the right to print for publication all press dispatches, features and photos forwarded by these agencies or otherwise credited to them. He is running as the standard bearer of the new!~· formed inter– racial Progressive Democratic party against the lily-,rhite Democratic candidate for the Senate, Gov. Olin D. Johnson. ~·· NOT IN THE SWIM Many approaches have been made here of late to have this publica– tion take up political alliances which are unanimously recognized as inimical to the best interest of the Negro people. Both Negroes and whites have insisted that such attachments would be financially lucra– tive as well as a significant boost to our prestige in quarters that here– tofore have regarded this paper with enmity. The Progressive Democratic party was formed after the reg– ular Democratic organization re– fu sed to obey a U. S. Supreme Court decision giving Negroes) the right to vote in Democratic prim– aries. McKaine is making a vig– orous campaign on a platform which includes support of all do– mestic and foreign policies of Pres– ident Roosevelt, the right of labor Already an adamant refu a! has been made to all such offers and proposals. Under no condition will the Observer prostitute its position as a reliable source of information to the Negro people and other min– orities in order that race-baiting, poll-taxing, labor hating, defeatists and "state's right political aspirants can gain a foothold. They may win their political contests anyway, but never will they be able to claim this Independent Political to organize as a step toward econ– omic reconstruction for South Carolina, federal aid to education with equal funds for white and Negro students and continuation of the FEPC. paper as an accessory to the crime. sEEN AND HEARD I Campaign Launched One of the most exasperating pieces of small time political cam- I (Continued from Page 1) Other newspapers which have paigning ever witnessed in this part of the country was carried on at ,least 1,000 Negroes, many of whom joined up with the League are the McElroy's dance gardens Monday night, September 18. 1 " ·ill he "new faces in the arena St. Louis Argus and the Oklahoma Letter tO Editor: The ever paternal and patronizing "Pops" McElroy .was on the of the fight for liberalism," 'said Black Dispatch. The organization alert to exploit an entertain~ent gathering of Negroes (which they Mr. Sengstacke, adding that " the of the league will be completed Things have come to a pretty were required to pay for) to solicit I\ egro votes for two of his political time for bogus opportumtJstJc next week, when officers will be state of affairs when you can't friend s. Scene of this contemptible act was the "Tiny Bradshaw" dance. leadership has passed." Dr. Alain chosen and more detailed plans even speak of your school with Bradshaw in attempting to gain the attention of .the dancers for the Leroy Locke, professor of philos- mapped out. pride; when you consider school speaker5 clearly indicated his disgust for such an interference. Before ophy at Howard University, and just a place that you have to spend the vast majority of the persons present had realized what was taking a writer of prominence, was the six hours of the day in an ever- place, the orchestra resumed its playing. Consequently, the political first to join up with the group Dewey Changes lasting struggle for everything you effectiveness was completely lost. For this, we are grateful. Such this week. S l S h get. You don't enter into any of attempts to indoctrinate the Negroes with fallacious political propaganda The league will define and de- eatt e peeC the school's social activities, you by any person or group will not go unnoticed,or unmentioned. lineate the issues of the presiden- Washington-(ANP) _ Two don't go to any of the dances, and tial campaign as they affect the versions of the same speech by Gov. why don't you? They practically Negro througho the press and by ernor Tom Dewey in Seattle, one tell you that they would rather the distribution of literature. It for northern newspapers and the not have you on the floor. You no will be financed by the contribu- other for southern newspapers were doubt wonder about this, for this tion of Negroes and its emphasis apparently released last Mosday, os supposed (and we say, supposed) will be placed upon getting out the it was discovered here this week. to be the most democratic of all Negro vote. To this end, it will The "southern" version did not times; our schools, if 00 other stress work. with in-migrant Ne- i contain any reference to the FEPC place, should be a place where de– grees, especially those who have I and its continuance. The "north· mocracy prevails despite race, color, REPLY TO STUDENTS In another column there is a letter submitted by Negro students from Jefferson High School. The purpose of the letter is clear at it stands. This is a brief reply to the question that was posed. "Are our boys fighting to come back to a world of segregation, a world under the rule of the white man's whims?" No, the Negro soldier is positively not fighting for the preservation of white supremacy. All over this land now Negro crusading organiza– tions and the egro press are laying plans and formulating programs to resist to the bitter end every attempt the white man may make to bring complete subjugation upon the Negro people. Already our people are being told by their writers and their speakers that they may expect "A peace more terrible than the war." The only method whereby this can be averted is for every Negro-– young and old, students and workers, soldiers and scholars-to resist the southern fascist pattern of segregation and discrimination wherever it appears. A great deal of sacrificing will be made in an effort to dispel these practices from our national existence. "Uncle Toms" and "sell-outs" among the Negro people will make these difficult tasks even harder. But even so, you must never lose sight of your objective which is free– dom, justice and equality or opportunit~·. To many people here-even a few Negro people-your letter will appear ridiculous. Be not discouraged, however. You are now coming face to face with a condition that southern born Negroes meet before they are out of the cradle. It is the eventual lot of every Negro born in the American social order. Your continuing to resent and resist the growth of this monster will be another ally to the varied forces now fighting for Negro liberation. Continue to READ ... THE P E 0 P L E 'S 0 B S E RVER NEGRO OWNED - NEGRO CONTROLLED Our eyes are never closed to Minority Problems! come from disfranchised southern ern" edition did. or creed. If you cannot find it states to northern areas during re- . . there, where can you expect to find cent months The three maJor news agencies 1·t? Our P e t th . t · 1 . . · ar n s pay e1r axes "This will be the first chance ~-Associated Press, U mted Press and therefore we should be entitled for many of the folks to translate I and ~nternat~~n~l. ~ews ~ervice-:--1 to the same rights as others, but their voices in political action for use different wires ( regwnal d!s-J are we? Th k . . . e answer, you now, liberalism," said Sengstacke. There- tnbutwn telegraph channels) for as we do s NO. At Jefferson Hight fore, included among the 19 states the papers they service in the north School (we know for we are stu– are Washington, OREGO r, Mas- and south. dents there) on Friday, September sachusetts and Connecticut, the Ne-, In the Dewev ·speech which 28, 1944, there was held a school gro popu.lations of whi~h have bee~ I went out over the. "northern wire" dance. The entire school was in– grea:ly mcr_eased dunng the mi- there appeared this paragraph vited, out when we Negro students gratwn for ;obs. checked in the New York Times: arrived and had danced a few To Select Officers Other states included in the cam– paign are Indiana, Missouri, Ken– tucky, Illinois, Ohio, California, Kansas, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Oklahoma and West Virginia. Among the methods to be used m the organization's drive will be to encourage listening posts-that is, to encourage Negroes to listen to all speeches in behalf of Roose– velt. The first action of this sort will be directed toward the speech of Vice-President Wallace at the Golden Gate Ballroom here Sun– day, which will be broadcast to several states. these wasteful, competing bureaus dances we were told by our student filled with men quarreling for jur- body president acting under • the isdiction while American citizens authorization of the Dean, that stand and wait. We shall put NO Jitterbugging was allowed. their powers and duties into the We explained that we were not one place where they belong, in the Jitterbugging. (A white couple was department of labor. We shall es-1 doing the same steps we were tablish the Fair Employment Prac- doing, but they only shook their tice Committee as a permament heads at them). They also told us function authorized by law." that they would like for us to learn In the speech which w~s sent out on the "southern wir~" and checked in southern papers, includ– ing the Washington Times-Herald, the paragraph above ended with the words "department of labor." The mention of FEPC was miss· ing entirely. to dance as they do. They further explained that perhaps at some spe– cial time or to some special record we could dance as we pleased. Per– haps, said they, if we danced in a place designated for us they could arrange for us to jitterbug. Tell us, isn't that segregation with a <Continued on Page 8)