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“We have dreamed for generations
of a type of society never seen in the
world before,—a society in which the
ideals of liberty and equality have real
meaning because they are regarded as
social goals. Each decade we are anx¬
ious to move nearer to those goals. By
this desire and our evaluation of the
success or failure of our efforts, we
give content to the ideals summed up
by such phrases as ‘the maximum of
personal freedom,’ ‘the minimum of class
distinction,’ ‘tolerance of diversity among
individuals and creeds,’ ‘civil liberties,’
and above all ‘equality of opportunity lor
all American youth.’ ”
-President James B. Gonant
THE HOUSING QUESTION
Some months ago the Housing Author¬
ity of Savannah released a report of its
stewardship, so to speak, over the hous¬
ing projects under its jurisdiction, giv¬
ing accounts and pictures of people and
ihouses before and after the construc¬
tion of well known low cost and slum
clearance housing. The report also
gave figures and information as to the
government’s and the community’s share
in bringing about and supporting the
projects. It pointed out what would
be required for the Housing Authority
to participate in the government’s re¬
cent provision for building 810,000 units.
Despite the great need in Savannah
for urban redevelopment and slum clear¬
ance, Council so far has not given its
approval to the Housing Authority’s re¬
quest for authority to proceed with plans
for construction of new projects. How¬
ever, approval has been given for the
building of three private developments,
all for white people. We recall that the
statement was made at a recent hear¬
ing before a committee of Council, that
there was no need for additional hous¬
ing in Savannah, taking into considera¬
tion housing under construction and
housing construction contemplated. We
said at the time that such a statement
was only half true, because it did not
include tne housing situation for Ne¬
groes. of the three develop¬
The approval increases
ments for white people our
fear that the request of the Housing
Authority of Savannah for the city’s
endorsement for more housing will not
be granted. Of course, the crowded,
unpainted, and many dilapidated hous¬ of
es in which the majority of Negroes
Savannah live, will be grim and tragic
reminders to Council that housing
here is not adequate, and is an unfavor-
able reflection on its ow’ners.
THE COUNCIL—MANAGER PLAN
Two forms of municipal government
have been generally used by American
cities: (1*) the mayor-council type and
(2) the commission type. Under nei¬
ther of these forms has good govern¬
ment been consistently provided. From
information we have been able to get,
the council-manager plan comes nearer good
giving the kind of government
people want than either of the other
two forms. “The manager plan is strong
where the old systems are weak. It
provides these two essentials: control
by voters and efficient management,"’
an achievement we should like to see.
The problems of city government insoluble here
have been persistent and
enough to warrant a change in the form
of government. been
The council-manager plan has
adopted by a total of 935 American cities,
and from 37 years of experience it has
been shown to be the best form oi gov¬
ernment for cities of any size. It is
America’s greatest contribution to the
science of local government. Accord¬
ing to the National Municipal League,
“The manager plan surpasses other sys¬
tems because it remedies their inher¬
ent defects . . 1. The plan provides
better executives . . 2. The plan tends
to eliminate the sooils system . . 3. The
plan is understood by the voter . . 4. The
plan centralizes responsibility in the
council . . 5. The plan gives a coordi¬
nated administration headed by an ex¬
perienced man who is not dependent on
politics. .”
Cincinnati, the best governed city in
America, has the council-manager plan
of government. It saved in its first
two years of operation of the plan near¬
ly $2,000,000. Dallas, Texas, cut oper¬
ating expenses about $750,000 a year
within a few' months. We should like
to see the voters of Savannah given a
■ chance to adopt the manager plan.
Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post
Office at Savannah, Ga., under the Act of
March 3, 1879
National jAdvertising Representative:
Associated Publishers
5S2 Fifth Ave.
New York 19, New York
BUILDING BRIDGES
An institute on Judaism for Christian
Teachers was held in Cleveland to give
Catholics, Methodists and Presbyterians,
a better idea of what Jews think about
certain key things in Christian belief,
and incidentally to promote good will
and brotherhood among Christians and
Jew s.
Rabbi Barnett R. Brickner, who con¬
ceived the idea of the institute, com¬
menting on the plan of ( hristians to
hold an institute on Christianity for
Jews, said: “ . . Good 'will between reli¬
gions can never be achieved simply by
mutual back-patting . . We’re going to
have to build bridges. . ”
We appropriate the Rabbi’s idea as
being good for use in efforts to promote
and maintain good will and better under¬
standing in race relations. A general
criticism we make of our white friends
is that they do not employ the idea of
Rabbi Brickner with enough consistency
to secure good and fairly lasting results.
Too much time and energy are used [ire-
venting the building of bridges or pre¬
venting their use. it is fortunate that
an increasing number of individuals are
working as bridge builders. A bridge
may be just an encouraging word, or
word of commendation, an appointment
for an interview', or to a community
board or committee.
Two instances of bridge building
come to mind: (1) the appointment of
Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers
by Branch Rickey, and (2) the sugges¬
tion of the Southern Regional Council
that Negroes be integrated in state and
local government. The entrance of
Robinson into organized baseball has
made the way for other Negroes to en¬
ter. The suggestion of the Southern
Regional Council has had gratifying re¬
sults:
Two Negroes were appointed to the
Petersburg, Va., Central Democratic
( ommittee.
At Jacksonville, Fla., a Negro woman,
Mrs. Florence J. Dixon, was called on
jury service.
At Wilmington, N. ( ., the Rev. R.
Irving Boone was appointed to the
City Commission on Parks and Recrea¬
tion.
At Winston-Salem, N. C., the Mayor
appointed A. T. Harrington to the C ity
Zoning Board of Adjustment.
In Little Rock, Ark., Gov. McMuth
named J. Robert Booker, to the Gover¬
nor’s Commission for Recodification of
the Statutes of Arkansas.
In Columbia, S. C., four Negroes were
elected to the city's Executive Democrat¬
ic Committee.
At least seven Southern cities have
Negro representation on their local pub¬
lic housing authorities. They are Day¬
tona Beach, Fla., Durham, N. ( ., Louis¬
ville, Ky., Nashville, Tenn., Newport
News, Va., and Roanoke, Va.
At Columbia, S. C., W. T. Gantt, a
Negro educator, is a member of the
South Carolina Department of Educa¬
tion.
These opportunities to participate in
government are bridges to further op¬
portunities, and at the same time they
open the way for other states and com¬
munities to integrate Negroes into the
workings of “their government.” We
should like to see Georgia get into the
group of states which will permit bridge
building of this nature.
The following is a portion of an edi¬
torial from the Norfolk Virginian-
Pilot, as it appeared in the New South:
“Delegate Armistead L. Boothe, the
scholarly (University of Virginia and
Oxford) representative of Alexandria,
is getting set to make Southern history.
He proposes to ask the 1950 General As¬
sembly ... (1) to repeal the State laws
requiring separation of the races on
railways, streetcars, steamboats and mo¬
tor vehicles; and (2) to create a Virginia
civil rights commission to study economic,
educational and other problems in their
interracial aspects to the end that “we
might come a little closer to living up
to what the Constitution promises.”
“We don’t know what the Genera 1
Assembly will do with Mr. Booth’s
civil rights’ bills. Considered in the
perspective of 'history, they are more im¬
portant, in our opinion, than any other
measure likely to be introduced during
the 1950 session. Wc also think they
are sound measures and deserving of
enactment.”
THE SAVANNAH TRIBUNE
“STILL WISHBONE THINKING”
* - - -• 1
•5-
m
THItyi
PARTY
r THREAT
BETWEEN THE LINES
By DEAN GORDON B. HANCOCK for ANP
MRS. JUDGE WARINGISM
In taking my sociology classes to the Cen¬
tral hospital for mental cases at Petersburg,
where an annual clinic is usually held for
us, it was made clear at one of the clinics
that the effects of insulin on insanity are
beneficial for the mental patients because
the drug produces a kind of shock in the
nervous system. The mental patient must
be shocked into a certain mental balance.
There is something akin to this insulin shock
needed at time to help men and women ov¬
er a moral imbalance known as racial pre¬
judice. Tradition is the social germ plasm
and when a child is born in prejudice and
brought up in it and is forced to breathe
the foul air of race prejudice from his child¬
hood onward into maturity, such individu¬
al is p.tifuliy conditioned to prejudice and
all of its evil concomitants.
It is thi3 that makes it of dubious wis¬
dom to impute ‘ blame” in the matters of
lac relations. The child brought up in
a prejudiced hohme is just as like to be pre-
diced as one brought up in a Baptist home
is lixely to become a Baptist.
Inert? is a serious question whether pre¬
judiced people should be censured or pitied.
But when a child has been exposed to pre¬
judice throughout its formative years, itJ
becomes all the more remarkable that he
can for any reason break away and find
his way into a larger race relational world.
Now the Warings of South Carolina have
found their way into such world. The
fact that Mrs. Waring was born in Detroit
did not immunize her to the vagaries of
prejudice for there is plenty of race preju-J
dice in Detroit. But Mrs. Waring and her
great husband have been able to shock this
nation into a sense of guilt on the one
hand and a sense of agitated frustration on|
the other. Mrs. Waring’s deliverance on
tiie race question has done and is doing
for many prejudiced whites 'what insulin
does for the mentally upset and its efforts
will be quite as salutary, all this southern
"rambunctiousness” to the contrary notwith¬
standing. i
Many whites and a few Negroes may not 1
see eye to eye with Mrs. Waring but she
has chosen a deliberate course and it leads)
*!*■-
e
tha boxcar had been sealed and
was singing its way along the
rails.
When he got out, eight days
later, he was 2.000 miles away in
Los Angeles and. furthermore, he
downright hungry. Doctors
say that only nis meager lunch
kept him from starving to death.
And here’s another story a-
bout a fellow who came home
work, weary, and hungry,
and asked his wife what time
dinner would be ready. That did
it. Wifie felt this was a slur up-
on her abilities and efficiency
as a household executive, and
she warpped a lamp around the
inquisitive hubby s neck,
By the time the little woman
I’VE BEEN THINKING
by Cab Calloway
We humans are a daffy lot,
for sure. When you become a
columnist you are constantly on
the lookout for ideas which will
; form the springboard for your
next column . . . and one of the
best places to get an iaea is in
the folds of your local newspaper.
Since I write for so many I
newspapers, I nave most of them
delivered to my home and I read
them all. carefully. One paper
alone will satisfy my statement
j (when that humans are a daffy lot, but
you read a stack of papers
(every week, there i; no question
(about the statement. For in¬
stance:
A l-os Angeles paper reports
the story of a gent who recently
went to look for a job at the
(Detroit branch of the Ford Mo¬
tor Company. Being a foresight-
ed lad, he took his lunch along
with him - acouple of sandwices.
ome fruit, and a thermos of
: coffee. -
You know how tiring job-
hunting can get. T us fellow was
Iso tired by the time he got to
the plant that he duelled into a
boxcar and went to sleep. When
he woke up he found out that I
somewhere. The Dixiecrats will rave and
weep and gnash their teeth but between
times they are going to do a little hard
thinking and this is very important in
such matters however little resort is gen¬
erally haa to it. The truth in Mrs. Wait¬
ing's statement is irritating in the nature
of things. Truth always irritates and
when we find people like the Warings who
are willing to "take it” for truth’s sake we
see one of the finest hours in the history
of Dixie. Mrs. Waring is a benefactor of
the south. Mrs. Waring rightly surmises
doubtless when she tries to forget the mean
and terrible things southern zealots may
say today when she envisions the gratitude*
that future generations will feel toward
her.
It is encouraging to know that we have
two whites in South Carolina who are will¬
ing to suffer to righteousness sake. It
was the truth in Mrs. Waring’s statements
that produced such deadly irritation and
it is this truth which if known will make
mortals free indeed. We need a lot of
“careful” talkers w’ho can talk much and
say little when discussing race relations;
and then we need a few straight shooters,
who say what they mean and mean what
they say! There are many whites and Ne¬
groes who would not have said what Mrs. •
Waring said and would not have said what
she said in the way that she said it.
This does not prove Mrs. Waring wronig;
it merely proves that somebody else lacked
backbone and courage. What Mrs. Waring
said should have been said however reluc¬
tant the average race relationist would
have been to say it. Those who do not
possess the courage certainly should not
detract from those who have it!
The shock-cure may not be the best but
it often proves to be very effective. Had
some com ageous £*outh Carolina Negro
spoken as forthrightly as the Warings, he
would long have been dead at the hands
of "parties unknown” in South Carolina;
but the Warings. God bless them, are stili
defying their traducers with their lives in*
tact. A couple more doses of Mrs. Judge
Waringism would shock the South forward!
through with her hungry
hubby, he was fodder for Dr. Gil-
At last report he was ask¬
ing for seconds on the baked
custard in Ward 3 0 . General
Ho spital :.......
_ Then there’s the involved sto¬ .
ry of the gent who asked the
stranger sitting next to him in a
restaurant to watch his over¬
coat for him. The stranger kept
a weather-eye on the coat (hang¬
ing on a coatracki for a ha if
hour. When the so-cal’.ed owner
of the coat failed to return ' the
stranger looked around for his
own coat on another rack. It
wa* gone.
The stranger, who hadn’t
owned a coat at all* had stolen
HIS coat while he was diligently
watching out for the coat on the
other rack.
Oh, people are daffy, for fair.
If you don’t believe it. just read
the pages of your newspaper.
You'll sure find out in short ord¬
er.
You still don’t believe me
How about the story of the man
who was about to be embalmed
wlien he suddenly rose up from
the slab, saw where he was. and
went yelling off down the street,
clad in the morgue sheet, they
mistook a sleeping pill overdose
for death. Hah! Now do you
mit we humans are daffy?
THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1953
HOME EDUCATION
Issued by the National Kindergarten Association, 8 West 40th
Street, New York City. These articles are appearing weekly in
our columns.
"THE CHILD’S FIRST SCHOOL IS THE FAMILY”—Froebel
Security For Americans
Florence Ian” Ovens
Billions of do.lar3 are being
spent on efforts to ensure th
security of our people—to safe¬
guard American ideals, life ana
property, To make every doLai
accompiio’.i it; purpose it will be
j (appreciate necessary that ail of our peop.e uiis
the security
money aims u> provide, in otnei ,
words, we need security vitim:
securny. a cit zjnry practicing I
unswerving loya ty to the pn.i- j
c.p.cs undenying the American
ty of -ife and giving whole-
hearted al.egiame to me S.ar
and Stripes—win ai symbolizes
a conscientious ef ort to demon¬
strate these principles—is secu¬
rity of the highest order.
Lne achidveme.it of th s inner
:ecurity is brought about by the (
right kind oi education, and me
right kind means, in all cases, '
the best possible for the mental *
age and capability level of the
student. Education at its best
does not follow along the hnes oi
mas; production; it is definite—
personal. It begins in the home
wi h tne mother and father as
teachers, and whhe this homo
guidance must soon be supple-
memed. it shou.d be always a- 1
vailable—suitably adju.ted tJ
the child’s development. |
When a litt e one is three or
four years it is beneficial to send I
him to a nursery school; when
he is five he ought to go to kin- |
dergarten. Remember, we arc
speaking of security.
If a child lives where there are
no :chcols mis does not change
the fact that he ought to go tn .
schoo So, if he lives where
there is no kindergarten, it is ,
still true that he oug.it to go to |
kindergarten.
The kindergarten year is a pre-
paration fnr for all o f the ho \7 years 0 oi"3 t that Vva f
follow—even those of adult life.
It is a positive step in providing
secruity for the individual and,
through him, for hi; country.
Tne explana’ion? Kindergarten
procedure give; tne child experi¬
ence in living happi y wi’h et¬
her boys aid gir’s. Class con¬
sciousness has seldom at that
age been developed, and diff¬
erences arou e no disdain but
interest wiiicit otten
minates in appreciation. Undrr
a weil-trained kindergarten tea¬
cher true wortu is early recog¬
nized by her pupi’s—especially
ability and good sportsmanship
It is quite trying to a couple of
boys who want to use the big
building-blocks together to find
that these are all out and then
have to content themselves with
two boxes of plasticine—but us¬
ually there is no outcry, for who
wants to be a "poor sport”- Al¬
so, these boys are learning one
of the most valuable lessons o-
ver which one has no control.
How many of our unemployed
would find work to do if they
could accept the changes that
available positions would require
of them. Then those un-Ameri¬
can idea;—which enemies of de¬
mocracy are always sending out
to unsettle men during a peroid
of so-called "enforced idleness"
_never could find lodgement.
NHA Chapter Has
Chocolate Sip
The N. H. A. chapter of the 8-
Sme C’-iocoiate Sip .*?£ at the
oi Mr"~and~Mrs. Coley Da-!
vis 641 West 40th street. Tne
Dining room table was very at¬
tractive, covered with a cream
lace cloth, on which ivy and red
and white roses were p’aced
| The following program was ren-
1 dered Negro National Anthem,
’audience; The l-ora s Prayer an-
dience; is the __xt N. tr H. A. A creed, -i,'nn/-l NHA NT TJ A
chapter; Welcome, Miss Juanita |
Gilbert; introduction of officer', |
Miss Elizabeth Fleming; Greet- j
ings by NHA president, Miss (
Fannie Mae Capers; piano solo, j :
Miss Dorothy Davis; greetings
by 8A-1 NHA Miss Janet Colvin,
spiritual, audience; short act,
Miss Fannie Mae Capers; duet,
Mis es Juanita Gilbert and Es-
telia Jackson: poem, Miss Sarah
Williams; piano solo, Miss Ruth
Sims; song selections, audience
(remarks. Mr. and Mrs. Coley Da-
| vis, advisor Mrs. J. Gibbs. Miss Miss- Ruth
I tress of ceremonies,
j Simms. Mr. Among and Mrs. those Coley present Davis.
jwere: Coley Davis Jr., Misses Caro
jMr. j lyne Barker. Margaret Burney.
Fannie Mae Capers, Bernice
iGrant, Elizabeth Fleming, Sala-
In the kindergarten the true
American way of life is really
ived. Boys and girls are encour¬
aged to think—to listen to both
sides of a discussion, wolgu evi¬
dence, and, for their own guia-
ance, to judge according to cer¬
tain fixed standards, 'this men¬
tal process usually develops into
a pfeiong habit and becomes for
lbem ^ and for the rest of us. a
safeguard
Au j.her way in whichthe kin-
contributes to securi¬
ty is by ma king i'.ie child ready
f or WO rk of the grades. Tais
is the outcome of the regular
kindergarten routine. During the
daily activities the children’s
movements are purposeful, and
project broadens their out-
look and add . wor <j.i- w hi e ex¬
er jences. No formal lessons are
given, • ...... but the facts absorbed - - - by
contact and the ability* of the
U pi[ s to express themselves an*
constantly increasing each]
cb ji d > s preparedness for later
scbool W ork
the absence of read-
ing j essons j n t he kindergarten
cb ii dren quickly learn to
^ and to appreci a<t e the
printed page, and the boy's and
girIs are con tantly meeting up
with ob ects and conditions a-
bout which their first-grade
readers will, next yeatt have
to say Xhey ; eani to di:f _
erentiate between tue mautifu i
bird ^ the Qne about f owers>
the one that talks to them
of everyday thi in th3 h0me
pnd aJ}Uos of the out _, : .
^ - Books te H you what you
to know „ ’ the kindergar _
ten b win tof rm
Ea in readi is luHdamen .
to‘the success of fad child’s
school career Where kiri ;} crgar _
ten advantages are unattainable
lack of preparation for the pri¬
mer and first reader becomes a
handicap that hinders a large
percentage of the class through¬
out their scholaitic education.
History, geography, lessons in
language, and problems in arith¬
metic are only partly understood
because of poor reading profici¬
ency. Instead of growing in con-
Sul'L SK"
hensive and repeatedly suffer a
sense of frustration. Is tIt any
wonder that many come to dislike
school, and. as soon as the law
will allow them to do yo; they
leave and go to work. But, alas,
their misfortune follows them.
A curtailed education 1
means
limited opportunity in the busi¬
ness world, little confidence in
one's ability to succeed, and
consequently, for themselves and
their country, little security.
You have heard “Poor Rich¬
ard’s” saying:
“For the want of a nail
the shoe was lost <s
For the want of a shoe
the horse was lost
L
For the want of a horse
the rider was lost.”
One loss led to another, you will
remember, until the country was
’ost. And a nail—or a kindergar¬
ten—costs so litt’e.
thia Smart, Ruth Simm;, Maslee ♦ H
Jenkins, Joyce Batty, Neornia
Herrington, Gwendolyn Davis,
Juanita Gilbert, Margaret Mac-
key, Sarah Williams, Susie
Smalls - Dorothy Davis, Esteila
Jackson, Willie Mae Rice, Janet
Colvin . Sammy Knight, and our
idvisor. Mrs. J. Gibbs.
Reporters,
Salathia Sjnart
Neomia Herrington
compliment makes tnore
friends than the truth.
1