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PAGE FOUR
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CLOSED SCHOOLS — GRIM VIEW
(From The Christian Science
Recently 33 southern educators—all
college officials spoke some frank words
about the results of closing down any
public school system to fight integration.
Their analysis is particularly effective
because it steers clear of arguing the in¬
tegration issue itself, and simply sets
down a picture of the economic and social
effects that would Probably descend on a
no-school community.
Ultimately, the educators said, the out¬
come would be a “collapse of our demo¬
cratic society . . . The labor market would
be flooded with unskilled and untrained
young people.”
These multitudes of unoccupied
youths could pot possibly be kppt busv
with sufficient iobs and or recreational
facilities, the educators added. The re¬
sults- “Mnnv will drift into crime and
delinquency.”
Even discounting a possible bias of ed-
cators toward education, this is a realis¬
tic description of what might indeed hap¬
WHY NOT BELAFONTE IN WHITEFACE?
Reprinted From The Montgomery by Associated Negro Press
Eddie Fisher is reported to be inter¬
ested in playing the title role in a televi¬
sion version of The Jolson Story. His
Qualification: he has seen Ihe movie ver¬
sion a dozen times.
But aside from the usual contractual
problems, tWe is another serious hitch.
The follmvin" commentary on the times
is from TV Guide magazine:
One of the great problems involved in
bringing Joison’s life to the television
cameras is the question of doing certain
scenes and songs in blackface—a makeup
and attitude wjilth are so necessary to
anv accurate portrayal.
The National Association for the Ad¬
vancement of Colored People has. in the
past, frowned upon the use of black¬
face on television. It is possible the
NAACP might feel that in Jolson’s case
LET’S ALL CELEBRATE
February 22 should be a day of cele-
ebration and redediVation.
In the 50 states, the District of Colum¬
bia and Puerto Rico 180,000,000 Ameri¬
cans will celebrate the birthday of George
Washington, father of his (and our)
country, and rededicate themselves to the
sacred principles of liberty, human < 1 iir-
nitv and democracy which he revered
and for which he and his men fought—
so gallantly almost 200 years ago.
Some 470.000 of our fellow citizens,
members of the National Guard in the 50
states, the District of Columbia and
Puerto Rico, today also observe National
Guard Muster Day,
It is eminently proner that our gallant
citizen-soldiers should celebrate National
Guard Muster Dav on General George
Washington’s birthday. As a member of
the Virginia Militia, the National Guard
of his day; commander in chief of the
military forces most ofth*>m militia men,
that won freedom for and gave birth to
this great Nation: and first President of
these United States, Mr. Washington eas¬
ily deserves the accolade as the greatest
National Guardsman of them all. We
won’t quarrel with this designation and
neither, we are certain, will our readers.
This newspaper believes that every
American citizen, all 180,000.000 of
them, should join their 470,000 fellow cit¬
izens in the National Guard in celebrat¬
ing and observing National Guard Mus¬
ter Day.
For the National Guard belongs to ev¬
ery American just as it is part of all
America.
The National Guard is our oldest mil¬
itary organization. As the colonial mili¬
tia it was defending our incipient nation
from the earliest pioneer days. With
the Bible for divine guidance and sup¬
port, the plow to tame and civilize the
wild frontier land, and the rifle to de¬
fend it against marauders and enemies
Avon
Walker Wins
(Continued from Rage true)
Golden and Ainora Bryant of
the Sol C. Johnson High
National Advertising Representatives
Associated Publishers
55 West 42nd Street
New York 30, New York
106 W. Washington St.
Chicago 2, 111.
Mr. Robert Whaley
Whaley-Slmpson Company
6C08 Selma Ave.
Los Angeles 28, California
Mr. Gordon Simpson
Whaley-Simpson Company
700 Montgomery St.
San Francisco 11, California
A
pen.
And yet the possibility of closed schools
looms- -in Georgia, for instance. In re¬
lation to average citizen income, Georgia
has a commendable record of supporting
the piiblir schools. But many public of¬
ficials. including the Governor, are com¬
mitted to shutting the schools rather than
allow even token integration. It is be¬
lieved that some of these officials hope
the courts will get them off the hook.
But the judicial process mav move too
slowly to avert a no-school crisis.
Parents who want to protect their
children presumably could help get their
elected leaders out of this awkward position
b.v nutting pressure on them now not to
make school closure their final line of
defense against integration. The 33 ed¬
ucators have given these parents a
convincing ground on which to argup—
not iust for their own children but for
the economic and social health of the whole
community.
it would not he distasteful. Tf not the
proiect would hinge on finding another
wav.
The first reaction to this is disgust, to
be reminded again that organized bigots
bold such a power of censorship over
television fas they do to a lesse*- extent,
over the movies). But since this is one
of the realities which television has been
unable or unwilling to surmount, a prac¬
tical solution is indicated.
Nothing will be lost if Fisher isn’t
Jolson: he never could be anyway. But
since he is being considered for the role,
the producers obviously aren’t too con¬
cerned with biographical versimilitude.
Therefore, why not have a Negro—say.
ITarrv Belafonte—plav the part in White-
face?
who would destroy it, the National
Guardsman of colonial days started the
proud tradition of loyal, patriotic service
that has continued to this day—and wall
continue so long as this Nation exists.
The National Guard has defended and
projected and served this Nation in war
and peace for over 300 years.
The members of this 100-per-cent vol¬
unteer organization have fought and bled
and died in everv maior war in which this
country was involved. Within the living
memory of most of the readers of this
paper they made outstanding contribu¬
tions to victory in two World Wars, They
made a major contribution in the Ko¬
rean War when, only a few years after
helping eliminate the most serious threat
to our continued existence as a nation in
our history, we were once again challeng¬
ed bv the forces of totalitarian aggres¬
sion.
Today, as a first-line member of our
military defense team, the National
Guard, called by military leaders our
“most ready Reserve Force,” is diligently
training to serve and defend our coun¬
try wherever duty and need requires.
During time of peace, in addition to its
vital military obligations, the National
Guard stands ready to serve communi¬
ty and State). Dating emergency or
disaster, sickness, fire, tornado, explosion,
epidemic—whatever the need—the public
knows from personal experience that the
National Guard, its personnel and equip¬
ment are ready and anxious to help.
The National Guard, warn and woof
of our country through all its history,
should be a source of pride and deserves
the wholehearted support of every Amer¬
ican.
National Guard Muster Day 1960 is a
cause for celebration for all of us. Let’s
all join in honoring nur citizen-soldiers
and in celebrating this great day.
Mrs. Dorothy Adams, adviser;
and Don Sibert. Musetta Jen¬
kins and Dorothy Williams of
the St. Pius X High School, Sis¬
ter Marie Donat, principal.
The contestants were given
! free examinations, including X-
rays, py the local deptiAs.
Members of the Chatham Den-
tal Society and the
Dental Auxiliary are Dr.
Mrs. James Wilkes. Dr.
Mrs. P. W. Cooper, Dr. and
J. W. Wilson, Dr. and Mrs.
W. Jamerson, Sr., Dr. and
J. W. Jamerson, Jr„ Dr.
Mrs. L. W. Thompson. Dr
j Mrs C N. Collier and Dr. A.
Lafayette.
THE SAVANNAH TRIBUNE, SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
And The Federal Government Has Allo jve d Mississippi To Prove They Cai
- -
• '•V* V- ' «£•.
mm "
NEGRO EDITORS- Sixth m a Series
EDUCATE FOR FREEDOM
Former College Teacher Heads Biggest
Chain Produced by Largest Working
I)r. f Carl Murphy has headed the,
venerable old newspaper c.hain, the J j
AFRO-AMERICAN Newspapers,
for 41 years.
Founded by his father, John H. \
Murphy, Sr., in 1892, (57 years ago, I
today the AFRO, published in
Baltimore, Md., is the world’s lar¬
gest weekly newspaper chain.
It includes separate offices in
Baltimore, Washington, Newark,
Richmond, Va. and Philadelphia.
Fifteen different editions of the
AFRO are distributed each week
in every state of the Union and
seven foreign countries.
The beginnings were humble. The
elder Mr. Murphy was in the white¬
washing business when he and Wil¬
liam Alexander, a church member,
began printing a Sunday School
paper in his basement. Gradually
the 4-page sheet grew until it in¬
cluded about-town news and then
features of national interest. ]
Mr. Murphy’s ten children, five
hoys and five girls, helped in off
hours from teaching school and
other* Occupations later when the
AFRO was managed solely by Mr.
Murphy.
In 1918, Carl left his 5-year
post as German instructor at Ho¬
ward University and joined his
father and family to help build a
greater AFRO.
The new era of the AFRO also
saw Carl’s four brothers, Daniel
and George, both now deceased,
John and .jtrnett, taking part in
the publishing firm as heads of
mechanical, circulation, adminis¬
trative and advertising depart¬
ments.
At the helm, when his father
died in 1922, Carl was a dyna¬
mic, indefatigable worked, skilled
in news writing and in possession
of uncanny administrative ability.
The AFRO gradually moved into
first place in influence both in
the Baltimore area as well as
along the Eastern. Seaboard as
Carl guided it into a powerful
journalistic champion of civil
rights.
AFRO correspondents are on the
scene in every major news event.
During World War II they were
scattered around the globe to bring
front-row coverage to the AFRO’s
155,000 readers. An AFRO man
was the only colored reporter pre¬
sent at the coronation of King
George VI of England and one of
the few newsmen to interview
Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. When
the Moton Commission went to
Haiti in 1931, Carl Murphy, AFRO
president, went along and gave the
world the only full detailed re¬
port of that history-making event.
When the Afro-Asian Conference
was held in Bandung, the AFRO
| was represented. In February.
1959, the AFRO Editor went to
Cuba to get first hand stories and
pictures when Fidel Castro's Re-
voluntionary forces pverthrew the
government of Fulgencio Batista.
Carl Murphy, president and
chairman of the Board ol Directors
is the guiding spirit of the huge
■M • : ,
DR. CARL MURPIIY
operation. Personally directing
operation, he is fondly known as
“Mr. Carl” by all employees,
Four generations of the Mur-
phy family and second and third
generations of other longtime em¬
ployees are employed in the main
office plant and in the four asso¬
ciate offices.
Nearly 200 other employees j
work night and day shifts, seven
days a week, to produce the AFRO
from beginning to end.
The Baltimore plant houses
mechanical, advertising, circula¬
tion and administrative depart¬
ments but each branch office is
complete with advertising editorial
and circulaton departments.
No part of the Afro is farmed
out for processing.
His intricate knowledge of even
the, most minute phase of the
newspaper, his wisdom, gained
from nearly a half-century of
hard work, close contact and ex¬
perience,they know, have made him
foremost in the field.
His opinions are respected and
often feared. His advice is sought
by high government officials, civic,
church, fraternal organizations
and persons in all walks of life.
Throughout the nation he is
known as the editor and publisher
who will fight for human dignity
and wage war against all who en¬
croach upon the rights of his peo¬
ple.
In 1955 Mr. Murphy received
the 40th Spingarn Medal, award¬
ed annually by the NAACP to an
American for distinguished ser¬
vice. The citation read: “Both as
a newspaper publisher and an en¬
lightened citizen, Mr. Murphy has
been an ardent, uncompromising
advocate of freedom and equality I
in the best American tradition to
advanee the cause of human rights j
and to beat back the evil forces of I
bigotry.”
Honored as a distinguished
journalist. Mr. Murphy received
an honorary LL.d degree from
Lincoln (Pa.) University. A 33rd
2)6 SDrops
By R. W. Gadsden
This business of getting
groes to register and vote is a
terribly disturbing and frustrat-
ing problem that is common to
Negroes almost everywhere. It
is a matter of grave concern to
1 Negroes who regard registering
and voting as an undeniable
right and a bounden duty.
In Chatham County, the be¬
havior of Negroes in this respect
is shameful and vexatious. One
is hard put for words to
his feeling that they have paid
little or no attention to the
paign now going on to get peo-
pie to register. In the
court house, right behind the
line where Negroes make their
tax returns, is the place where
they may register. Very few
have bothered to register and
some seem to resent being ask-
ea to register. Do these
i want “first class citizenship?”
Do they know what it is?
a sorry reaction to the
and labors of those who
pion our cause!
What effect does this lethar¬
gy and unconcern have on those
who waged abattle
to Washington on civil
r i g h t s, a few days ago? What
affect does it have on the ef-
frot of the volunteer Civil Rights
Commission to impress the fed-
I eral government with the tes-
j ) timony of persons who regis¬ have
been refused the right to
ter and vote in the deep, South
states. 'The volunteer
Rights Commission is
by representatives of some
enteen organizations
(Washington, D. C.. and
southern states and is compos-
ed of six prominent citizens.).
While registering and voting
occupy high rank among the
things Negroes can do for them¬
selves, there are other areas
where we are not doing what We
can do to remedy some of the
things that keep us socially
unacceptable.
Degree Active Mason, he received
the Outstanding Scottish Rite
Masonic Award of the Year in
1954.
He was elected president of the
National Newspaper Publishers
Association in 1954 and awarded
the National Urban League Ameri¬
can Teamwork citation the same
year.
International recognition of the
AFRO came in 1952 when Mr.
Murphy represented the United
States government, at the inaugua-
tion of the president of Liberia
and he received the rank of Com¬
mander, Order of the Star of
Africa, Monrovia, Liberia.
Both in 1949 and 1931, Mr. Mur¬
phy received the Omega Psi Phi
fraternity Achievement Award. A
life member of the NAACP, he
revived the Baltimore branch of
the organization in 1935 and serves
on the local Board of
as well as the national Board of
Directors. He is a member Alpha
Phi Alpha fraternity and was one
of the early editors of its magazine
— “The Sphinx.”
.... , , ,.
to Ihe service of his city and
State, Mr. Murphy has been a
member of ten commissions,
eluding the Governor’s Committee
on Unemployment Insurance and
Relief, .the Maryland State
mission on Higher Education and
the Maryland State Council of
Defense.
Mr. Murphy is a charter mem-
her of the Board of Trustees of
Morgan State College. He is at
present chairman of that Board.
A nativevof Baltimore, Mr. Mur¬
phy is married to the former Miss
Vashti Turley of Washington
They celebrated their 43rd
ding anniversary this year. Their
five daughters are Mrs. Elizabeth
M. Phillips, executive assistant to
her father who writes a weekly
column under the name B. M.
Phillips; Mrs. Ida M. Smith, ai
AFRO advertising sales
tative; Mrs. Frances , M. Wood,
a Baltimore teacher; Mrs. Vashti
M. Matthews, a house wife and
fornier AFRO engraver; and Mrs.
Carlita M. Jones. Buffalo, N. Y ..
teacher and one time AFRO re-
porter.
Mr. murphy’s hobbies are gar-
dening, fishing and his family,
which includes Id grandchildren.
Fisk Receives
$14,120
'Continued from I age One)
partment, and will include lectures
by outstanding scientists, sem-
iliars, field trips, and research
experiences.
This program which will he
scheduled for 6 weeks will offer
to 40 selected students unusual
and adv anted experiences in
misery and mathematics.
Between The Lines
By Dean Gordon B. Hancock for ANP
•?■**?* ’■*' ** * *’♦ *?**!* *!•*/• *?* **■•••’* -/•*!**’* *v* -l- *■!**!*•!• »’•* . *.4
POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM FOR THE NEGRO
The time for the Negroes of
this country to elect the polit¬
ical course they will follow in
the oncoming presidential elec¬
tion is now. There is no ne-
cessity to wait until the issues |
are cuddled and confused by
unscrupulous politicians whose
, desire is to
get elected,
| As this column has intimat-
p d time and again, .the time for
! the Negroes’ strict adherence to
j certain party loyalties is past.
i In the nature of things the
;Negroes are out to drive a po-
j ^ J thpnl ltlca ^ lf ba they ^ am drive ' an d a woe bad is one unto, i
-
F ° r years and years after ;
' Emancipation, . the Negroes fol- j
I * owed *' be Republican party line <
~ and even slavishly. With the j
i corrling tbe inimitable Frank-
j bn Delano Roosevelt, there came,
j a significant change in the Ne-J
j gro s political thinking, and he!
turned to the Democratic Par-,
i ty and found in it many politi- j
ca i advantages. i
As Gunnar Myrdal said in j
An America’ Dilemma,” it was
under Roosevelt’s administra- |
Hon that was made the first
serious attempt to integrate the
Negro lnto American life.
AH that went before was so
much political palaver, design-
the Negro s vote,
without letting him in on, the!
RTcat advantage of full citizen-
ship.
Whatever may have been
right or wrong with the Roose-
V elt regime, there was a serious
attempt to have the Negro share
in fu n the benefits of our vaunt-
e d democracy. Negroes accord-
mgly flocked to the democratic
standards and his political as-
piration soared.
It was even under the dem-
ocrats as with the Israelites un-
der the Pharoahs there arose in I
Egypt a Pharoah who knew not
Joseph. So there arose aj
leadership in the Democratic
party those who knew (not !
Franklin Delano Roosevelt; and up-} j
politically the Negroes fell
on grevious times.
sented The the democrats Old South who came repre- in- j
to power and the democratic |
party manipulated i
was soon j
after a manner to perpetuate j
the Old South’s traditions in 1
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1%0
A year or two ago several writ-
j ers received wide currency on
j ^eir statements of the South's
case f or segregation. One
writer used these very words as
the title of his article. Another
had for his title: Is Relocation
The Answer?
, One of these writers named
five areas in which he pointed
out wide differences between
Negroes and white people. They
were: public order or crime,
j health .family background, mar-
1 integrity and illegitimacy,
The other writer was more
specific in that he cited sta-
tistics to emphasize his posi-
tion. For example, “In New
York state in 1950, 1053 Negroes
were sent to prison out of a
j total Negro population of 918,-
000, or 114 lawbreakers for
| each 100,000 Negroes. The white
offenders sent to prison num-
bered 1.818 out of a white pop-
ulation of 14,000,000, or 13 iaw-
breakers for each 100,000
whites.” Or saying it anoth¬
er way, “Negroes representing
only 6 per cent of New York’s
total population committed 35
per cent of its felonies.” ....
“In Mississippi .... eight white
persons were slain by Negroes
in 1.954 (the last year of rec¬
ord), six Negroes were killed by
white persons, and 182 Ne¬
groes were killed by other Ne¬
groes.” Other areas are treat-
statistically, also.
The natural impulse is to de-
ny the truthfulness of such fig-
ures. Many of us react with
bitter resentment, and then get
j over it. Is what is happening
I in our own city and county an
index of what might be a na-
tional picture? Should we try
to prove such figures false? Or
should we plead for responsible
people to sit down and soberly,
thoughtfully and yes, prayerful¬
ly seek to find out something
to do about it?
its treatment of the Nejgro race.
It is true that Negroes elect¬
ed to Congress were elected on
the democratic platform, but
this has not stopped the Old
South’s representatives from
hamstringing Congress for seg¬
regationists ends.
When Vice President Nixon
returned from Russia where he
had the courage to stand up to
Khrushchev and talk back, as
no other American had done,
this column declared in one of
its releases that “Nixon Looked
Tremendous.” No.th i n g has
transpired within recent months
to alter this observation, and
we are again declaring that
“.Richard Nixon Looks More Tre-
mendous.”
in the nature of things, the
Negro must be a political oppor-
tunist. He must support the
political party that supports his
aspirations to full equality in
this country. The democratic
party is at present in the full
control of the politicians of the
old South and cannot be de-
pended upon to advance the
cause of the Negro’s fuller free-
dom.
Moreover, so far as the Ne¬
groes are concerned, there is
only one major issue in this
campaign Democratsb7 ^ and that tt“in is, will the
le power and
thus given further opportunity
to strike back at the Supreme
Court and its decision of May
17, 1954? Negroes must nev¬
er forget that the Old South
is spending millions in an at¬
tempt to ^o constrain public
opinion i this country as to
make a popular demand for the
reversal of the Supreme Court’s
decision.
This is at present, the Su-
preme obsessi on of the Old
South and unless a strong man
like Nixon ^ at the helm of
s t a te, it is well within the
range of possibility that the mo-
mentous decision of the Su¬
preme Court will be reversed or
overridden.
The Old South may he com-
paratively silent; but its mil-
are at work and results
______ may be _ eX t pected ______ sooner or lat-
er a niess the Republican par
lContinued on Page Five)