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FRIE

Without Interracial Justice

HARLEM

NDSHIP HOUSE

NEWS

Sociat Justice Will Fail

Vol. 7 No. 6

November, 1947

New Yerk, N. Y. 10 Cents

THE NEGRO:
A Problem or a Possibility

God in His wisdom has decreed that His human family
should exhibit differing racial characteristics. Man in his
ignorance and pride has presumed that God gave the white
man superior endowments. Because of this stupid error on
the part of man, we have tried to cut off the achievements
and talents of the Negro from entering our American culture.
Our great concern at this hour should be with the possibilities
and not the problem (so called) of the Negro. We make a
sinful and tragic mistake when we deny any race its right to
contribute to the total welfare and culture of the world we
all live in. er ee eee es ee

Fourteen million Negro) challenged on the ground of
Americans are asking for the inherent inferiority.e The tide
chance to help fashion a bet-! has already turned. The buf-
ter world. And in spite of | foon has been replaced by the
our persistent denial of that business man; the ‘dialect’ is
right, a steady vanguard of'supplanted by perfect Eng-
Negroes push forward and do | lish; the cringing yes-sir at-
make their contributions to! titude has passed into a quiet,
our culture. Against intoler-| dignified independence and
able odds, such as would |self-possession. And the typi-
make memorable and heroic | cal sense of ‘good humor has
episodes, they express their! become a solemn awareness
genius in many fields. Too|that some things can’t be
often we are unaware of the! laughed off, but must be faced
great roles of the Negro in- | and solved.
dividuals in our culture be-| The outstanding individual
cause of the adverse tradition | Negroes are the eternal
of our press. | pledge to the millions to fol-

It is said that when a bee low that they have genius and
steals from a flower, it also | great talents to contribute to
fertilizes that flower. So it is,;their country. These out-
when we do wrong to another | standing individuals have
of our fellow beings; we | proven that there is nothing
arouse him to greater striving |inferior about a person be-
and effort. The Negro in|cause of the color of one’s
America has a Christian tra- | skin. And in order to have a
dition. And because of} balanced sympathy and un-

BLESSED

BI. Martin on Record Again

The following is taken from
a testimonial letter received

‘from St. Dominic’s convent,
(Boksburg East, Transvaal,

his Christian character he/|derstanding of our fellow |goyth Africa:

has an .unfailing sense
of hopefulness and patience.
He has learned to turn his ad- L t
versities into advantages. The amen
Negro knows he will not get 4 : °
anywhere unless he is better | By Many Children
than the white man. So he! ,,, ,
becomes better. For us to|. To Many Parents
deny this great reservoir of| F
genius and talent to flow into | By Edwin Kennebeck
our national culture to enrich! Once when I was a little
it, is stupid and perverse. It) poy I had a penny in my
is not a way of achieving the | »outh and you made a face
best for ourselves and our | into a symbol of disgust and
posterity.
Within a span of only eighty | out of your mouth. Some dirty

(Continued on page 7)

said (remember): “Take that |

years the American Negro has
made greater development

and progress against greater |

odds than any other race in
human history in an equal

length of time. A prominent |

southern white family had to
ask for a letter of introduc-

tion to the late Dr. George |

Washington Carver. The
white master asking to be in-

troduced to a former slave. A |
far cry from the Negro slave |
standing in awe of his white | swer Hello.

master. It is our own imma-

nigger maybe had it in his
hand.” I remember.

Oh, tell me about the sac-
rifice of mothers. Tell me if

they could have chosen any |
‘only with the greatest diffi-

other than your noble way.
Did you sacrifice your hate
for me? Did you make an of-
fering of your disgust (“dirty
nigger”) by killing it for the
sake of my soul?
The sad dark faces say

Hello to me now and I an-|

In my heart I

|answer “Hello, dark face.” I

\ many fields ever again to be

turity of intellect and our | wish I didn’t have to give my-
own perversity of judgment | self this tiny push of pride to
that still keep us geared to a| say Hello to you. What I want
master-slave mentality. That} is to say Hello first and then
is no longer the pattern of our | accidentally remember that
relationship. you are dark. But once I had
The Negro has arrived. He}a penny in my mouth, and
can no longer be accused of|now it’s this way: first I
having inferior capacities. He| know you are dark and then
has proven himself in too|I say Hello. I’m very good
(Continued on page)

olin

The 12th of June 1946 was a
memorable day in the history
of this house. On this day God
conferred an immense favor,
through the intercession of
Blessed Martin de Porres, in
the miraculous cure of Sister

| Zedislave.

Sister Zedislave had been
suffering, and had been a par-
tial invalid since September
1945. An x-ray showed a
deep-seated ulcer. A diet was
prescribed and rest, but her
condition grew worse. Pain
was more acute, a hemorrhage
came on, she was able to move

culty. Another x-ray taken in
May revealed a very serious
condition indeed. The ulcer

|had developed rapidly and was

about to perforate the walls
of the stomach and showed

|signs of malignancy. The Doc-
|tor said that an operation was

the only means of saving her
from intense pain later on,
when he feared cancer would
set in,

Sister Zedislave was very
reluctant to have the opera-

tion and clung to the hope that
she would be cured by prayer
to Blessed Martin. She was
sent to the Kensington Sana-

Sat

MARTIN

MINSTRELS

The Black-Face
Minstrel Is Taboo
By THOMAS EVANS

The black-face minstrel is
taboo. There is no place in
our Christian community nor
in our present day society for
the type of comedy that de-
fames an entire body of our
brethren.

This type of comedy de-
fames the black man because
it is always he who is por-
trayed as being stupid, ignor-
ant and lazy. Unfortunately
the majority of the people of
the Caucasian and other races
form their opinions of the en-
tire Negro people on charac-
terizations in which they see
the Negro portrayed. There-
fore, through the medium of
black-face minstrels an entire
people is slandered socially
and generally underestimated
intellectually.

Because of this assumed in-

tellectual incompetence and
torium, Johannesburg, Mary (presumed anti-social traits
she was nursed by the Holy many men of dark skin have

Family Sisters. There the ; :
specialist and his partner gave been denied the right to earn

all ‘
her a very thorough examina- | 4 decent living at employment
tion. for which they are otherwise

One day a very severe at-| qualified.

tack of pain came on. The| Black-face minstrels create
nursing Sister that day took a| erroneous and slanderous im-
blood test. As soon as she be-| pressions. It is these impres-
|gan to take it, Sister Zedi-/sions that cause prejudice to
|slave felt a wonderful change| be born in the minds of those
|pass over her whole body.| who do not possess the grace
She knew at that moment that of Christian Charity and al-
she was cured although the|low themselves to be guided
}pain continued till next day | by whatever is seen in black-
‘when it disappeared|face minstrels,

| altogether. Holy Mother Church for-
| Sister Zedislave could not} bids Her children to read un-
'assure the doctors or nurses! wholesome literature, for in
ithat she was cured. All be-| it would be found occasion of
j lieved that she only dreaded|sin. We forbid our children
| the operation, Mother Prioress | to view unwholesome movies
‘arrived at the Sanatorium and| which may distort their im-
|all was arranged for the oper-|pressionable minds. Why,
}ation on the 12th of June. ithen, should we allow un-
| The Doctors were prepared | Wholesome comedy which is
for a very critical operation. | likely to distort our concept
[Mother Prioress remained |0f the Negro to find a place’
| praying in the chapel. Soon | in our midst? Is this too not
ithere was an unusual com-/@N occasion of sin? Prejudice
‘motion. The Doctor phoned|is born when we allow our-
| the x-ray institute to have the| Selves to become influenced
‘details of the report read| by idiotic portrayals such as
again. Then it became ap-|We see in black-face min-
parent to all that something |Strels. Let us eradicate the
lof a miraculous nature had | black-face minstrel and there-
|occurred. There was no ulcer | by terminate a possible occa-
to be found. sion of sin. Let us meet and
The specialist’s first words | ®Cquaint ourselves with our
to Mother Prioress after the|>/ack brethren in reality and
operation were, “Do you be-| 25 2” individual.
lieve in miracles?” “Of course| Black-face minstrel cannot
I do,” Mother replied. The} survive without your support.
Doctor said, “After today, I,| We ot com you to avoid this

too, will have to believe, for | type of comedy oyt of fairness
to the ot His brethren.

this is a miracle.”

2 <das

the Lay Apostle -learns the real and true TECH-

<i November, 1947

HARLEM FRIENDSHIP HOUSE NEWS

84 WEST 135TH STREET Tel. AUdubon 83-4892

Vol. 7 No. 6

CATHERINE DE HUECK DOHERTY... ccsccccccccccesessssserecsees Editor
LEONA LYONS.,......cccccvcscssccceecteeeseeseeececeeess Assistant Editor
MABEL C, KNIGHT.,..ccscscccscsccesesecesscssssssesers Managing Editor
MELITA RODECK....cccccccceveseceseesereeeseeessrsssssesere Staff Artist

ANN HARRIGAN EDDIE DOHERTY
A Member of the Catholic Press Association

HARLEM FRIENDSHIP HOUSE NEWS is owned, operated and published monthly

September through June and bi-monthly July-August by Friendship House at

34 West 135th Street, New York 30, N. Y. Entered as second clases matter Decem-

ber 13, 1943, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Subscription Price, $1.00 Year. Single copies, 10c.

IT ALL GOES TOGETHER

The Lay Apostolate is young. The Lay Apostolate is
new. Yet both its youth and its newness are of God.
For its re-birth is due to the Holy Ghost speaking
through the appointed and the anointed representatives
of Christ on earth, the Holy Father. And therefore, as
all things of God, its development, its ascent is IN-
WARD. All those who join its ranks, therefore, begin
a JOURNEY INWARD without which all their out-
ward activities, sacrifices, works, would be as NOTH-
ING BEFORE GOD, and could, in fact, rebound not in
the extension of the Kingdom of God to which we are
dedicated, but that of the Prince of Darkness.

It is a very simple journey, this “JOURNEY IN-
WARD” that each lay apostle MUST take in order to
make the Lay Apostolate the true success it must be. It
is like God’s journey “OUTWARD” from heaven to
Bethlehem; from Bethlehem to Nazareth; from Naza-
reth to Calvary.

The Lay Apostolate starts at Bethlehem. Small, hum-
ble, unknown like that hamlet, the lay apostle gives

’ birth to God. Which simply means that having REALLY

TRULY become aware of the true vocation of all Catho-
lics, he makes himself another Mary, and in complete
and utter simplicity of Faith, utters his FIAT. Know-
ing full well that this is the beginning of the end of him-
self—for FROM NOW ON he will begin to die to SELF,
so as to be filled with Christ and be able to say with St.
Paul—“I LIVE NOW, NOT I, BUT CHRIST LIVETH
IN ME.”

This first step, this INWARD realization of his (and
humanity’s) is the very center, crux, foundation of the
Lay Apostolate. He who for an instant loses sight of
this beginning and end, loses his way. Yet to give birth
to Christ, to be Christ-bearers, is but the first step of the
long JOURNEY INWARD that lies before the Lay
Apostle. The next step is the HIDBEN LIFE.

Oh, the Lay Apostle and his apostolate is very visible.
For he lives and works in the market place. He is busy
about many outward things. -He is active in corporal
and spiritual works of mercy. Busy binding the many
wounds of the Mystical Body of Christ—now in the in-
terracial field, now in the rural one, now on the labor
front, now on the teaching one. But as the lay apostle
works, his soul is quiet—listening, learning, praying, go-
ing about inwardly full of recollection and contempla-
tion. It is at this stage of the JOURNEY INWARD
that the habits of prayer are acquired. The tranquility
of order established. First things placed first. Naza-
reth teaches the traveller of this JOURNEY INWARD
how to be one with the poor, how to be one with all men,
and to be all things to all men. The hidden life helps
him to find out too, the respective places of faith and in-
tellect. Shows him when to use either, and how they
are to be used. Brings the first realization of his utter
énsignificance and smallness, and gives a glimpse of
God’s perfection and awesomeness, gentleness and
mercy, wisdom and holiness. Introduces Mary and Jo-
seph—the legion of angels, the saints. Yes, first things
are placed first at this point of the JOURNEY IN
WARD.

But on the journey one does not stand still. Onward
to Cana and the public life of Our Lord, moves the Lay
Apostle, to sit at His feet and listen. And listening,
learn how to witness the living truth-unto-death. How
to become one with Christ the Teacher. How to steep
soonest in Love that is a Person, that is GOD AND

It is here that the inward horizons widen. Here that

The decision of Bishop C. P.
Greco of Alexandria, La., to
examine a young Negro can-
didate for admission to sem-

dinary studies was announced
publicly recently in the dio-
cesan weekly. At once a re-
port began to circulate that
Archbishop Rummel of New
Orleans had accepted a young
Negro of Algiers, La., a for-
mer member of the Society of
the Divine Word, as a major
seminarian and was consider-
ing a second candidate. Like-
wise Bishop J. B. Jeanmard
of Lafayette, La., is reported

NIQUES of his apostolate. Understands at long last
that they all can and must be summarized in one word—
LOVE. That all the rest—planning, organizing, doing,
working, in fact, ALL activities are but the reflection of
the height, depth and width of his love for GOD and
neighbor, and are utterly dependent on it for their
TRUE success before the Lord.

It is here, too, that the traveller-apostle on that
JOURNEY INWARD begins to see that HE MUST
DIE TO SELF in earnest. Fér CHARITY dwells only
where self decreases and God increases, and in the same
proportion. So from now on the JOURNEY INWARD
WILL BE A JOURNEY OF DEATH, THAT WILL
LEAD TO LIFE. A paradox? A secret? Yes. Re-
vealed to those who keep on going.

Through the dusty streets of doubt, and the dustier
roads of temptation, walking, walking in the footsteps
of the Master, the JOURNEY INWARD will now take
the apostle and teach him the one-ness of all, men—the
unimportance of works and techniques, the ever grow-
ing importance of learning well how to love friends and
enemies—how to grow in gentleness, patience, humility,
poverty of spirit, simplicity, self-forgetfulness, mercy—
how to slowly but surely and never falteringly. divest
oneself of self—of both outward possessions and in-
ward attachments.

And now the PASCH—GETHSEMANE—HOLY
THURSDAY—HEROD—PILATE—THE WAY OF
THE CROSS. Yes, the Lay Apostolate is new and
young, but neither youth nor “newness” are obstacles
for LOVE. And so, on fire with LOVE OF GOD, the
Lay Apostle will follow faithfully Christ unto the end.
He must. For unless he does, his apostolate will be but
a pious dream without substance—a humanitarian en-
deavor that cannot be lifted up to the Man of Sorrows.
No, it is ALL, OR NOTHING AT ALL. This IS the
cross-road of the JOURNEY INWARD. A true Lay
Apostle will take the turn to the Holy Hill. The ones
who have just been toying with the new fashionable
shibboleths of pseudo-Catholic action lay apostolate will
turn backward.

FOR THE LAY APOSTOLATE, ITSELF, IS
REALLY BUT A SERIES OF SIGN POSTS, AT
THAT, SHOWING, CALLING, LEADING ALL MEN
ON THAT JOURNEY INWARD—TO FIND THEM-
SELVES BY FINDING GOD—AND HAVING

| FOUND HIM, IN TURN, BEGIN WALKING IN HIS
|/FOOTSTEPS. AN ENDLESS CHAIN OF SALVA-
' TION BROUGHT FROM MAN TO MAN. Bringing,
too, the extension of God’s Kingdom on earth—His
peace—true happiness.

That is the true calling, vocation and work of the Lay
Apostolate. This JOURNEY INWARD — THIS
'SCHOOL OF LOVE—THAT WILL LEAD TO
DEATH OF SELF—AND TO RESURRECTION IN
LOVE—IN A LOVE THAT WILL BE A FIRE TO
SET MEN’S HEARTS AFLAME—SIGNPOSTS ON
'THE JOURNEY INWARD, THAT IS THE BEGIN-
'NING AND THE END OF THE LAY APOSTO-
|LATE. BUT INORDER TO SHOW THE WAY, ONE
MUST HAVE TRAVELLED IT TO THE END—AND
/KNOW IT WELL—AND LOVE IT INFINITELY.
OF SUCH WHO DO, IS THE TRUE LAY APOSTO-
LATE COMPOSED—EVEN THOUGH IT IS NEW—
EVEN THOUGH IT IS YOUNG. rt

ee
sessment

November, 1947

In the Right Direction

to have taken a young colored
seminarian.

These developments are the
natural outcome of sentiments
such as those expressed by
Archbishop Rummel October
16, 1945, at a banquet cele-
brating the silver jubilee of
St. Augustine’s Seminary at
Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
The Archbishop then said
that the day would come
when Negro priests “will be
integrated in the diocese and
will take their place among
the Secular priests” (St. Au-
gustine’s Messenger, Decem-
ber, 1945).

The religious leaders of
Louisiana, the most populous
Catholic area in the Protes-
tant South, are looking ahead
with vision, initiative and
fearlessness to days of glor-
ious growth for the Church.

Statement of the Ownership, Man-
agement, Circulation, Etc, Re-
uired by the t of Congress of
ugust 24, 1912, as Amended by
the Acts of March 3, 1933, and July

2, 1946, of Harlem Friendship

House News, published monthly

Sept.-June, bi-monthly July-Aug,,

at New York, N. Y., for Oct. 1,

1947.

State of New York |
County of New York ss.

Before me, a notary in and for the
State and county aforesaid, person-
ally appeared Mabel C. Knight, who
having been duly sworn according to
law, deposes and says that she is the
Managing Editor of the Harlem
Friendship House News, and that
the following is, to the best of her
knowledge and belief, a true state-
ment of the ownership, management
(and if a daily, weekly, semiweek-
ly or triweekly newspaper, the cir-
culation), etc., of the aforesaid pub-
lication for the date shown in the
above caption, required by the act
of August 24, 1912, as amended by
the acts of March 3, 1933, and July
2, 1946 (section 537, Postal Laws and
Regulations), printed on the reverse
of this form, to wit:

1. That the names and addresses
of the publisher, editor, managing
editor, and business managers are:

Publisher, Friendship ouse, 34
West 135th St., New York 30, N. Y.

Editor, Catherine de Hueck, Ma-
— House, Combermere, Ont.,

‘an.

Managing Editor, Mabel C. Knigh
48 W. 138th St., New York 30, N. Y.

Business Manager, none.

2. That the owner is: (If owned
by a corporation, its name and ad-
dress must be stated and also imme-
diately thereunder the names and
addresses of stockholders owning or
holding one percent or more of total
amount of stock. If not owned by
a corporation, the names and ad-
dresses of the individual owners
must be given. If owned by a firm
company, or other unincorporated
concern, its name and address, as
well’ as those of each individual
member, must be given). Not a
corporation. Owned by Catherine
de Hueck, Madonna House, Com-
bermere, Ont., Can., general director
of Friendship House. Mabel C.,
Knight, local director of Harlem FH,
34 W. 135th St., New York 30, N. Y.

3. That the known bondholders,
mortgagees, and other security hold-
ers owning or holding 1 percent or
more of total amount of bonds, mort-
gages, or other securities are: (If
there are none—so state). None.

4. That the two paragraphs next
above, giving the names of the own-
ers, stockholders, and security hold-
ers, if any, contain not only the list
of stockholders and security holders
as they appear upon the books of
the company but also, in cases where
the stockholder or security holder
appears upon the books of the com-
pany as trustee or in any other fi-
duciary relation, the name of the
person or corporation for whom
such trustee is acting, is given; also
that the said two paragraphs contain
statements embracing affiant’s full
knowledge and belief as to the cir-
cumstances and conditions under
which stockholders and _ security
holders who do not appear upon the
books of the company as trustees,
hold stock and securities in a ca-
pacity other than that of a bona fide

|} owner; and this affiant has no rea-

son to believe that any other person,
association, or corporation has any
interest direct or indirect in the said
stock, bonds, or other securities than
as so stated by him.

5. That the average number of

copies of each issue of this publica- ~

tion sold or distributed, through the
mails or otherwise, to paid sub-
scribers during the twelve months
preceding the date shown above is
wenn seeee.-ee (This information is
required from daily, weekly, semi-
weekly, and triweekly newspapers

only),
MABEL C. KNIGHT.
Sworn to and subseribed before

me this, 25th day of ge 1947.
LEROY GREEN.

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'

HOPE IN COURT

JOHN DOEBELE

A flood of articles, pamphlets, statements, and resolutions
have been published during the past few years against racial
restrictive covenants (which exclude from residence in a
given area elements considered undesirable). These state-
ments together with the steadily worsening and ever more
appalling conditions which first released the flood are gradu-
ally leaving their mark on American law courts. Although
we can still apply that famous statement of Saint Augustine
to many judges: “They run well but they have left the track;
the farther they run the greater is their error, for they are
going ever farther from their course,” it is more and more
apparent that the judges are beginning to find little satisfac-
tion in noting that in this matter their course is not set on

justice. Unfortunately, the majority seem not yet prepared

to change their course. +

A number of judges today
are forced to go to extraordi-
nary lengths to demonstrate
the difference between law,
which they are bound to obey;
and justice, which they es-
teem and venerate, but aban-
don to follow after law. The
“law” we have to do with
here is, as we said, simply the
law of precedent, the pol-
icy adopted by the courts.
Brought forth and nourished
by them, it can have life only
so long as they wish to sus-
tain it. (Ironically, it is from
equity, the special court of
justice, that one seeks a neigh-
bor’s eviction.)

Few courts now care to en-
force a restrictive covenant
without a more or less de-
tailed explanation—often bor-
dering on the apologetic.

our traditions and ideals .. .
At the same time, however,
and regardless of what its

dent and govern itself in ac-|

cordance with what it con-|

siders to be the prevailing |

law.”
Justice Henry W. Edgerton,
on the other hand, has ex-

pressed an opinion that “A/selyes that their homes or |
court of equity would have their land would never be)

nothing to do with such a con-
tract unless to prevent its en-
forcement.” But such state-
ments remain in the minority.
Again, judges are admitting
into eviction trials a picture of
the whole background in
which restrictive covenants
are set.

Generally, in citing past
policy, the courts forget that

Thus, a New York judge|the policy adopted in previous
about to forbid the sale of a| years arose from a considera-
home to a Negro family re-|tion of relatively unusual
cently began: “. .. by way/contracts, whose terms did in
of prelude, the court wishes|truth concern only a few
to state that it is in accord| people. But promoters of

with the views expressed by | residential segregation, quick |

Mr. Justice Murphy . . . that | to understand the advantages

; g: take the oars away from

‘Distinctions based on color
are utterly inconsistent with

of a system whereby the
courts would direct the power

Hoey Interracial

Awards Conferred

On October 26 the annual
James J. Hoey Award for In-
terracial Justice was given to
Mr. Clarence T. Hunter, Pres-
ident of the Catholic Inter-
racial Council of St. Louis,
Missouri, and to Mr. Julian J.
Reiss, Commissioner of the
New York State Commission
Against Discrimination. These
award are given to outstand-
ing individuals, one Negro and
one white person, whose work
during the year in the field of
interracial justice has merited
such honor. The award is
sponsored by the Catholic In-
terracial Council of 20 Vesey
St., New York, of which Mr.
George K. Hunton is exec-
utive secretary.

The Awards were conferred
by Rt. Rev. Msgr. Francis W.
Walsh, President of the Col-
lege of New Rochelle, who
represented Cardinal Spell-
man.

Taking the words of our Di-
vine Lord, that whatsoever
was done to the least of these
was done to Him, Mr. Reiss
gave a picture of how our
treatment of the Negro had
certainly given him the least
portion or justice in our so-
ciety. Where other men came
to this country to claim free-
dom and justice, the Negroes
had been reduced to the status
of mere chattels. There were
even those of the white race
who thought that this member
of our human family had no
soul, As Mr. Reiss declared,
that day has passed. But we
have a great deal yet to do in
order to give full justice to
those who share least in it.

Mr. Elmer A. Carter, Com-
missioner, also spoke, empha-
sising the need for laws

against diserimination in this |

country. He said that despite
all contrary opinion,

Mr. Hunter praised Arch-|F.E.P.C. in New York State

bishop Ritter for his firm stand
in opening the Catholic schools |
to Negro students. The Arch- |

bishop’s ultimatum

has been a positive success. It
has brought about a real con-
sideration on the part of the

against |employers in the matter of
segregation is that it is a sin,| hiring help impartially. Also)

and that it is no less a sin in|the individual discriminated
the South than in the North. /against has recourse and help
Mr. Reiss made a moving/in obtaining his just rights.

plea for Christian awakening |
to our moral responsibility
toward all men. He said that
many white people say that
the Negro must improve him-
self before he is acceptable to
their society. He pointed out

The failure to practice fair |

employment has become high-

ly unpopular. So much so that

an employer will conform to

F.E.P.C, rather than face the

stigmatizing procedure of ap-

pearing before the judge. He
y

that this is the same as asking|strongly advised that we do
him to row upstream while we | all we can to have a National

ca.

him.| F.E.P.C. in force soon.

Wy iat

the}

and

}

sentiments may be, this court | power, into supporting rather

is constrained to follow prece- |

| the area of an entire city, the

of the community, the police |
than hindering their efforts,
have succeeded in so spread-
ing these covenants that they
have become an _ institutiqn,
segregation an estab- |
lished fact. The first few men |
who contracted among them-

sold or rented to Negroes did
no great harm to the general
community. So long as the
total area of land restricted |
against Negro families is neg- |
ligible in comparison with

effect of restrictive covenants
will not be marked. But over
the last thirty years, the num-
ber of restrictive covenants

| city.

ithe cumulative effect of his

'the evils springing from seg-
|regation; we know them well, |
'and so do most of the courts,

has enormously increased.
Now, when a major area of a
city is blocked off, or when an
existing Negro community is
‘completely isolated by a ring
|of restricted land, the route
is open for the onset of all
those problems which have
become so well known.

The Negro population, like
the population of the nation
as a whole, is growing. To ex-
pect to enclose a growing pop-
ulation within the confines of
an ever more limited area is
as inhuman as it is unrealistic.
In the chaos that we call

blighted areas, life in society,
from being a most powerful
and efficacious instrument for
the development of human
personalities, becomes per-
verted into a means for the
dwarfing both of lives and of
personalities.

In signing a restrictive cov-
enant, an individual white
owner intends—usually after
he has been so urged—simply
to keep Negro families away
from his neighborhood. There
is no intention on his part,
nor indeed the power, to con- |
fine Negroes to any particu- |
lar undesirable section of the
Nor, and this is the
tragedy, is there any concern
on the part of the ordinary
signer as to what will happen
to colored families. However,

contract, when added to so
many others, is what must be |
considered in order properly |
to judge restrictive covenants.

It is needless to dwell on all |

now. Accordingly, for the
courts to continue to enforce
restrictive covenants long |
after the institution has be-|
come a leading cause of
American slums seems inex-
plicable, no matter how or by |
what adroit or learned argu- |
ments they may offer.

Nor is it necessary to agree
on some precise definition of
justice, to which we might
turn in order to to decid

(Continued on page 4)

The Village is under the
spell of Indian Summer these
days. Doors are open and the
street noises flourish like mid-
summer. Washington Square
has a merry-go-round and the
ice cream man is still making
his rounds, ringing merrily
his bell. But there are signs
that it is neither June nor
July. The morning glory
vines are no longer blooming.
The petunia boxes with their
gay colors no longer catch the
eye from balcony and inner-
court borders. Instead, the
lovely mums and red oak
leaves fill every florist win-
dow. It is Fall, and we are
looking forward to a winter
of active work in our new
quarters,

Already the children’s story
hour has gotten off to a fine
start. Lee reads to the neigh-
borhood children every
Wednesday afternoon. About
thirty children were in for the
first session, and they have
been in almost hourly ever
since asking for the next story

hour. This week Mary and
Peg gathered up their Harlem
tiny tots and gave them a sub-
way ride down to the Village
to enjoy the story hour and
cookies and punch with our
Village children. It was a
happy and exciting event in
their young lives and we hope
to repeat it regularly.

Our Wednesday evening
sessions will tend to conflict

with the American Labor
Party forums across. the
street. It would be interest-

ing to know what antidote for
a vital Christian way of life
is being offered over there
while we sit about hearing
Father Dugan give us some
powerful shots in the arm
about the duties of the lay
priesthood. As Father Ed
said, each of us can change the
world by changing first our-
selves and then our neighbor.
Which is the technique the
Communists claim to use. We
can remember that Christ
changed the world with only
twelve followers. This is an
age when the lay Catholic
should be living the high ad-
venture of rescuing the world
from its dead secularism. The
sin of the age, Father Dugan
reminds us, is not paganism
where men deny God’s exist-
ence, but an altogether more
serious offense of ignoring
God almost completely. He
has no place in politics, in the
schools, at work. No place in
their lives actually. This at-
titude is much harder to
arouse men from than one of
positive denial of God’s exist-
ence. Only the Catholic lay
leaders can do the job of

Village Views

changing the poisonous secu-
lar atmosphere in which we
now live. Father Dugan cited
thrilling experiences of indi-
viduals who have done much
in a positive way to change
their own environment.

Last Wednesday evening we
had the pleasure of hearing
Mr. Emanuel Romero speak
on Interracial Living. He gave
an encouraging picture of the
work being*done by the Cath-
olice Church. More _ schools
are being opened to Negro
students. Mr. Romero’s daugh-
ter has been offered a teach-
ing position in a Catholic col-
lege. That is true progress.

Bit by bit we-are spreading
a modest but dignified air to
our Village location. The fold-
ing chairs which a neighbor-
ing priest gave us are in a less
temperamental state of col-
lapse, thanks to our good
neighbor, Jim Cal and his
brother Adolph. They brought
in their electric drill and did
things that the chairs never
expected would happen to
them. That isn’t all; a good
friend has ordered seats for
their slatless skeletons. And,
who knows, we may sit folks
down on them and have them
hear words of truth they just
hadn’t thought of before.
We're awfully happy about
the chairs. Someone felt the
aesthetic need for shades
around our bare glaring light
bulbs. You have no idea what
soft elegance a_ thirty-nine
cent shade lends to the place.
Well, we're just happy
through and through over
things like that. Because you
may not realize how remote
from us thirty-nine cents ac-
tually is at times.

A good Father of hearty,
rugged appearance just stuck
his head in the door. “Is this
a Catholic place?” he asked.
(We're hoping for funds to
get the window lettering done
soon.) We answered, “Yes,
Father. It is Catholic and in-
terracial.” He raised his hand
in blessing and said, “Thank
the good God for a place like
this. We should have had it
years ago.” And like that he
disappeared. And we don’t
know his name or if we shall
ever see him again, but it
seems very peaceful and
promising just being here at
this moment. We are think-
ing that God sent him by to
cheer us up in this wonderful
way.

The statue of Blessed Mar-
tin has arrived. A _ lovely
two-foot figure that stands in
the window and commands
reverence from the street.
The expressman wanted to
know if this was the B. L.
Martin place. “Blessed” is

the title, we told him. And
he set the package down most
gently.

a Tn aT

ee eee

ct cee Cn. eo ee

ot ee

i Re ee ee en ee ee ee ee

—

PROM RG TS

Ss SE ATRESIA

S| NEO SOR REI Cao aaNet alin Fa Oatley eS

+ renee oe

Harlem Reporter

By M. C. K.
Passersby often stop to look

into Friendship House stores. |
‘of lung operations.

The best show of the month
was the children painting the
clubroom a shade _ between
nile green and aqua. Nathan

Lincoln donated the paint and |

recruited the painters, start-
ing with our Boy Scouts and
allowing smaller, fellows and
even the girls to help. Each
painted at his own level and
did a good job of confining the
paint to the brush and walls.

Someone sent us pretty pale |
green cretonne drapes which |

Peggy put up over the barred
window in back of the stage,
making it look less like a set
for “The Last Mile.”

We have a copper plaque of
the Christ Child, made by stu-
dents in Pittsfield, Massachu-
seits, which we are going to
put up. In addition to being
beautiful _ it’s
which will make it a more
restful addition to the club-
room. Now, does anyone want
to make the clothing room
more cheerful?

In Youth Work

Mrs. Helena Alexandrea is
helping Mary Lee with the
Girl Seouts and a flourishing
troop is promised. The Cub
Scouts are our pride and joy
with their six Den Mothers
who hold weekly meetings in
their own homes and the Pack
meeting every month in the
clubroom. Brownies, Boy
Scouts, Tiny Tots and Teen-
agers are going strong. The
little ones from Harlem had
a wonderful time at
first story hour (with refresh-
ments) in Greenwich Village.
Venice came
Flat to tell us about it with
her eyes just shining.

Feeling that a _ store in

Greenwich Village would be |

more useful, we gave up one
store in Harlem, leaving the
library, clubroom and clothing
room. We miss it as a dormi-
tory for men visitors. It was
not comfortable, having no
electric lights and only Navy
cots, but it was shelter, which
is at a premium in Harlem.
Ken, Thom, Stan and Joe
moved the piano from there
across to the library one night
while Sheila borrowed Blessed
Martin’s vigil light in its
lovely filigree cover to warn
traffic. Ever so often Willa
Mae Lowery, a privileged per-
son because she’s a goddaugh-
ter to one of the staff, comes
in to play the piano. She's
about seven. Her three little
brothers and sister sing with
her like birds.

Marie Faust is a wonderful
help to us at this busy time
in the office and library. She
has catalogued our Green-
wich Village library. As a
visiting volunteer she even
pays for her room and board.
Her conversation with its
solid Catholic attitude to life
and literature is a delight.

Enough blood was donated

unbreakable, |

their |

into Madonna |

_certain Museum employees.

, by Staff Workers and friends
‘to pull
friend, Joaquin Torres,
through the first of a series
He’s a
Dominican tertiary, a lay
apostle who talks on the faith
at street corners in Puerto
Rico because of the shortage
of priests. Blessed Martin
brought him to FH through a
non-Catholic woman he met
on the plane coming to this
country. Please pray that he
may fully recover as he can
do much for the church in
Puerto Rico.

our Puerto Rican|

HARLEM FRIENDSHIP HOUSE NEWS

HOPE IN

(Continued from page 3)
whether the institution is un-
just. We know that it is. The
courts, too, tacitly admit it;
and therein lies the reason
why they develop this or that
elaborate explanation for con-
tinuing support of the sys-

tem. The initial policy of en-
forcing what were taken as
isolated and completely pri-
vate agreements can no longer
rationally be applied to re-
strictive covenants, when
their enforcement as law is
tantamount to a sentence of

ooo TNC
UL

roa

Harlem Friendship House Clothing Room

In Reply—

We note, with joy, that the in all cases that come to my |

children’s groups attending
the Museum movies, since our
petition-letter, published in

have been well received. The |

following response was re-|
ceived from the Chicago)

Natural History Museum: |

Dear Miss Harrigan:

After a thorough investiga-
tion, I am unable to confirm
any report of discourtesy by
Museum employees that,
would not apply equally to
persons of all races. Inatten- |
tion, neglect of duty, rudeness |
or incivility on the part of)
Museum employees are not
condoned by the management,
and corrective action is taken

° Ne ‘ e &
: Christmas Gift Suggestions R
‘ Remember Christmas is Christ’s Birthday! Give gifts ‘
5 that will please Him and spread His kingdom. &
BOOKS t

“Friendship House,” by Catherine de Hueck....... $2.00
“Dear Bishop,” by Cacherine de Hueck........... 1.75.8)

Order from Friendship House, 34 W. 135th Street, N. Y,

attention.
The attendance at the sum-
mer programs in the James

: Simpson Theatre this year |
+F.H. News, September issue, |has been considerably in ex- |
cess of the seating capacity. |

Unfortunately, there has been
difficulty each Thursday
morning in seating persons

who arrived during the five}

minute period. before and

after the starting time of the |

program. I am inclined to be-
lieve that the apparent dis-
courtesy on the part of our
ushers was due to confusion,
inexperience, and lack of skill
rather than any deliberate at-
tempt to avoid the established
rules of the institution. In any
case, all members of this
group have been admonished,
and I feel certain that there
will be no further lapses on
their part.

I am amazed to find even
the least suspicion of racial
prejudice directed at this in-
stitution, as the very nature
of our work causes us to rely
upon fact rather than preju-
dice. I find it difficult to be-
lieve that even a possible lack
of courtesy on the part of one
or more employees should be
interpreted as Museum policy,
and I regret exceedingly the
veiled threat carried in the
last paragraph of your letter.

Very truly yours,

(Signed) Clifford C. Gregg

Director

| indefinite civic exile for mil-
lions of citizens.

| In the past, the Supreme
| Court has declined various op-
portunities to render a def-
initive decision on the enforce-
ment of restrictive covenants.
But now it has agreed to re-
view two covenant cases this

coming term.

met squarely, the course of |
segregation for several dec-|

ades may well be set by the
decisions in these cases.
One case involves a home
in Detroit; the other a home In
Wi
4,” Zj7CG
ATU
hag) a
a ba es

We
i

j
WU

SUT
Ae |

|
i

| St. Louis, Mo. In the Detroit
/case, Benjamin Sipes and
others asked and received an
‘order from a Detroit court
ousting a neighboring fam-
ily, Orsel and Minnie Mc-
Ghee, from the home they
owned and occupied, having
'purchased it
1944. On appeal, the Mich-
‘igan Supreme Court upheld
the eviction order.

In noting the ruling of the
Michigan Court against use,
as distinguished from owner-
ship, we recall that thirty
years ago the Supreme Court
threw out a Louisville, Ky.,
law forbidding Negroes to live
in certain sections, although
they were free to own prop-
erty in those sections. Said
the Supreme Court then: “In
|effect, premises situated as
are those in question in the
so-called white block are ef-
fectively debarred from sale
to persons of color, because if
sold they cannot be occupied
by the purchaser nor sold by
him to another of’ the same
color.”

In the St. Louis case, the
Circuit Court had been asked
|to evict Mr. and Mrs. J. D.
Shelley from their home, pur-
chased August 11, 1945, and to
cancel their title to the prop-
erty. The request was denied. |
On appeal, the Missouri Su- |
preme Court upheld the evic- |

| tion request, reversing the de- |
‘cision of ‘the lower court. |
Initially refusing eviction, the |.

lower court_had decided that |

f
i

pene»
ai

If the issue is|

in November, |

November, 1947

COURT

the original restrictive con-
tract intended complete ex-
clusion of Negroes from the
i district, but could not be re-
| alized, since not all residents
‘had signed it, for some were
| Negroes.

Disagreeing, the Missouri
|Supreme Court said: “Obvi-
ously it could not have been
the intention of the parties to
prevent any Negro occupancy
at all because that already ex-
isted. It must have been. their
\intention to prevent greatly

increased occupancy by Ne-
groes. And their plan has suc-
|ceeded ... there is no change
in the conditions in the dis-
| trict which would warrant
| withholding equitable relief
(enforcement of contract) ...
ithere is no reason’ why en-
‘forcement of the restriction
{would be inequitable... The

/agreement is valid and the
irestriction should be en-
|forced ...

“The chancellor (lower
'court) found the Negro popu-
|lation in St. Louis has greatly
| increased in recent years, and
| now numbers in excess of
| 100,000; and that some of the
isections in which Negroes
\live are overcrowded, which
is detrimental to their moral
'and physical well being.
| “Such _ living conditions
| bring deep concern to every-
/one, and present a grave and
‘acute problem to the. entire
|community. Their correction
|should strikingly challenge
| both governmental and pri-
vate leadership. It is tragic
that such conditions seem to
| have worsened although much
i has been written and said on
the subject from coast to
contt...

Upon the decision of the
| United States Supreme Court
in these two cases may well
| depend the health and welfare
of many, many families. Nu-
merous interested groups will
|doubtless seek permission to
‘file supporting statements
| with the Court.

—Reprinted with permis-

sion of the Common-
weal, Sept. 12, 1947.

Fire On the Earth,

| The world is not shocked
by heroism in her own serv-
ice, but the world is horrified
jat Catholics who dare to live
simply. The same _ world
which counsels heroism on
the battle field counsels mod-
eration in the service of Christ.

By Paul Hanley Furfey.

| cere
|

'
'

|
|

Poa}
GHOST }

ne vf

ALL RACES
In THE FIRE
OF DIDINE LOVE

ex-
the
re-
nts
ere

uri
vi-
pen
; to
icy
eX-
eir
tly
Ve-
uc-
ige
lis-
ant
lief
en-
ion
‘he
the
en-

er
ou-
tly
nd

of
the
9eS
ich
ral

nd
ire
on
ge
ri-
pic

he
irt
ell
ire
lu-
ill

its

is-

.-. heart.

November, 1947

Minstrels—

The Question

Dear Ann:

Greetings! How’s Chicago
Friendship House?

Got a problem for you!
Several days ago it was pro-
posed to stage a “blackface
minstrel” down here just for
fun. A group of us strongly
opposed it on principle, but
were outshouted. What’s your
opinion of such things—are
they OK or not? If we're
right we'll carry the matter to
the Dean, if need be.

Catholic College Student.

The Answer

Dear Tom:

Just this spring a semina-
rian had the same problem in |
the East where he is in his last |
year before ordination (in a |
Southern state, too) and he|
handled it like this. There}
was opposition and misunder- |
standing, but he tried to reach |
the fellows by word of mouth. |
He gave a convincing talk to |
two fellow students, these two |
reached four, and so on. And |
these were the arguments:

The Popes in our days have |
been telling us that the big |
thing at stake is the dignity of
man. The Negro is a man,
and we are following the call
of the Pope, which is the call
of Christ, where we as Cath-
olics uphold precisely this—
his dignity and rights as a so-
cial being.

There are ways of denying
this dignity.

The flagrant denials of the

THE LoRD

ENKINDLE

IN US |
THE FIRE
oF HIS LOVE |
AND THE FIAME |
of EVERLAST- ©
ING CHARITY.

*
Gratitude
My very dear only friend of |
the world!

I am again at home from the |
hospital,. but I am not yet/!
healthy. I thank you so very
much because I have received
through the Catholic Worker
in Pawtucket, Rhode Island,
from Miss Mary Holleran, a,
package. And I thank you}
so very much because you|
have done this for me. I have |
written Miss Holleran thank- |
ing her for her kindness. I}
am so glad I cannot tell you. |
The last time I have received |
three packages from strang- |
ers. For all of this I am grate- |
ful. May God compensate |
you for your goodness.

I hope you have my letter
that I wrote from the hospital. |
Now I have the three pack-
ages received from Kaukauna,
Wisconsin, from Mrs. Henry
Haen. She found my name in
the Friendship House paper.

Excuse my bad writing be-
cause I am very ill.

I thank you with all my |

Irena Mochaleyr.
{ ot.

‘the past few

|‘ one.

Negro’s God-given rights need
to be reiterated:

The Right to Life, denied in
lynching, unequal dealings in
courts, newspapers, etc.

The Right to Earn a Living,
denied in job discrimination.

The Right to Decent Hous-
ing, denied by the ghettoes in
all the cities, and by signers
of restrictive covenants.

The Right to Bring Up His
Family according to Christian
|standards, denied him in his
|being banned from schools,
| hospitals, ete.

The Right to Grow in the
| Love and Knowledge of God,
denied him when he is segre-
gated in the House of God, or
refused entrance, or when he
is excluded from parish ac-
tivities.
| Then there are other ways
in which the Negro is denied
his dignity. Ways more sub-
tle and insidious. Jokes about
Negroes which incessantly
show him as lazy and shift-
less, the name “nigger” in-
stead of referring to him as
Mister or Miss. The stereo-
type one sees in the movies
hears over the radio—
these are small and can be
harmless, but to balance the
scales of justice and to make
doubly sure of charity, we
should drop these references.
|The blackface minstrel show
}is one of these things that
could be perfectly harmless,
‘but is it?

If a minstrel show in black-
'face is done to show the cul-
| tural as well as the humorous
side of Negro life, it is a good
|thing. But where the direc-
tions in the book specify that
the interlocutor must be a
white man,and that all of the
comedians must be blackface
whose chief job is to show
their own stupidity and the
cleverness of the white man,
then I think it is wiser to
have another kind of show.
The general attitude of the
students is important, too. If
you know that there is a lot
of prejudice in the majority
of the students, then I think
having a minstrel might just
Strengthen this _ stereotype
about all Negroes, instead of
the other way around.

With these arguments, my
friend the seminarian, won
without taking it higher. So
try to work among the stu-
dents themselves, first, Tom,
because what have you gain-
ed, if the dean refuses the stu-
dents permission, but a tem-
porary advantage? Convinced
students will mean that a new
leaven will be working among
all the other groups that each
student ever touches in the
course of his life. Among this
is the leavening we _ want,
isn’t it?

And let me compliment you
on your interest in one of the

most pressing social problems

today, and ask you to get all
those who think as you do to

| dedicate themselves to this

precious cause, the unity of
all men, for which Christ died.

Fishers of Men,

policy which went into effect

School Incident
Well Handled

When several hundred stu-
dents remained away from)
classes at Emerson school in
Gary, Ind., to protest the|
city’s new integrated school |
policy, the Superintendent of |

Schools, along with other city |
officials and citizens, took ef- |
fective disciplinary measures
which broke up the mass tru-
ancy move.

The strike occurred on the |
second day of the new
semester as a protest against
38 Negro students who regis-
tered at Emerson school un-
der the city’s new school

this fall.

Despite efforts on the part
of truant leaders to make the
strike city-wide, the action of
the School Board, supported

| by leading citizens and organ-

izations, effectively confined
it to the Emerson school. Cor-

| respondence and press reports

provided the following infor- |
mation on the techniques em-
ployed:

1, An informal city-wide |
(Continued on page 6)

What if it wer

Action
October 9 was our regular

;volunteer meeting with Fa-

That night, the misery, the |

unhappiness and the disgrace- |

ful side of my town‘ did not
make me sad as usual, for in
hours it had
dawned on me that perhaps

something could, after all, be,
2

By van der Meersch.

ther Ed Dugan officiating and
enlightening us on the impor-
tance of the lay apostle in the
world of today. Father’s talk
brought out the difficulties of
the clergy in converting the
working class. The value of
the Catholic laity, who are in
daily contact with these peo-
ple and in a position to influ-
ence them morally and spirit-
ually by their actions and
words was firmly impressed
on our minds as being a spe-

EMERGENCY
ENTRANCE

As the Jim

FOR THE FIRST TIME the
United States Supreme Court
has agreed to rule on the va-
lidity of covenants by white
property owners who will not
sell to Negroes. The four
covenant rulings, in Detroit,

'St. Louis, Washington, D. C.,
j}and Columbus, Ohio, on the

current Supreme Court dock-
et, bring the explosive issue

| of restrictive covenants to the |
‘high court of our: land.

Lower courts have up to
this time held that restrictive

|agreements are private mat-

ters. In the Detroit and St.
Louis cases, attorneys are
asking the court to declare

| that when the state courts en-
‘force such agreements, the

State becomes party to the ac-
tion. Enforcements become
State acts. When that is the
case, the States violate the
equal protection clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment to
the Constitution.
and let us pray, that the spirit

may become the letter of the |
| law.

*k * **

A two-room apartment at

e YOUR Child!

(Facts In Black and White—Friendship House—Chicago, Ill, lee)

Harlem Volunteers

Romance of Catholic | cial vocation given to us by
’ | God.

Frolic Time

Well, folks, we are at it
jagain! Yes, more parties.
This time it’s a Hallowe’en
party for the kids and were
hoping that they leave their
flour sacks at the door.

Not to be outdone, the staff
/and “vols” are having a little
| of the same the following Sat-
urday. Oh well—all work and
no play——!

The volunteers wish to ex-

lof his mother. We wish to as-

sure-him of our prayers for |

the repose of her soul. “Requi-
escat in pace.”

pillows, sheets.

We _ hope, |

|tend their sincere sympathy |
to Eddie Doherty at the death |

’ Foreign Friends

German seminarians living in a half-destroyed house,
almost without windows, have no bed clothing, blankets,
Half-starved, without coal, they need
warm clothing also. Please send to Rev. Fr. Rector Junk
* St. Georgen, Offenbacher Land Strasse 224, Frankfurt/
| ‘Main, Germany, U. S. Zone.

wn 4 224
. Ss

Crow Flies

water Beach Hotel rents for
$69 per month. A two-room
apartment in the rat-ridden,
overcrowded firetrap at 942
West Ohio street, where ten
people lost their lives October
10, rented for $78. These in-
credible facts were brought
to light when a fire of suspi-
}cious origin swept a West
‘Ohio street tenement, bring-
ing death to four women and
| six children.

The grim hand of restric-
, tive covenants and the law of
| the jungle which racial hatred
‘brings showed themselves
|clearly in the tragedy which
| happened, ironically enough,
_during Fire Prevention Week.

|The fire occurred in a “bor-
| der area” where the great fear
'that Negroes will soon move

over into nearby covenanted

property has resulted in 14

cases of arson and anti-Negro
vandalism in the past three
years.

That Negroes live in con-
| stant danger, in untenantable
apartments, paying $60 to $82
per months for quarters which

'Chicago’s fashionable Edge-| Whites formerly rented for

$11 to $13 is a telling indica-
tion of the choking grasp of
restrictive covenants. Former
white tenants moved to better
conditions freely, for they
were not hampered by “agree-
ments.” The Ohio street dis-
| aster points up, in a very clear
| way, how really State en-
| forcement of restrictive agree-
| ments is a denial of citizen’s
rights.

ok * oe

| FOR THE FIRST TIME
| big-league baseball accepted
_a Negro in its ranks. And the
Dodger first-sacker, Jackie
| Robinson, has written sports
| history this season, not only
as one of the best U. S. ath-
letes on a _ pennant-winning
team, but as the quiet, modest,
courageous ball player, re-
|markably controlled under
fire of unfair racial jibes. A
pioneer has proven himself
under tremendous odds, and
the big league bar has been
broken. Jackie, incidentally,
stayed with the team at the
Stevens Hotel when _ the
Dodgers were in Chicago. An
other Negro, Larry Doby,
taken on later in the season
by the Cleveland Indians, was
|refused accommodations ~ at
'the Del Prado Hotel, head-
; quarters of the American
| League.
*s * *

FOR THE FIRST TIME
O'Reilly Veterans Adminis-
| tration Hospital, Springfield,

| Mo., has hired colored appli-

;cants for a vacancy, because
'an employee suggested that
|they do so. The jobs were
| there; several Negroes had
|applied for them. It took a
few courageous words from
Martha Schibler, a Southern-
er, who has the fullness of the
Catholic doctrine, and more
bars were downed. The ad-
ministration, it seems, had
| never thought of hiring them.

Sa Aa NE A NN a cn ne ee ee ee ee

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j
P

LE OIE LT OE EI POR: SE CO YR kT -

6 =

Why Have An

Interracial Program?
By E. A. ROMERO

Why have an interracial program? Or to put the question
in a different form, Does an interracial program help the race
problem? If by an interracial program we mean living
interracially, then the answer is yes. But the trouble with
the whole program is that most people are willing to “talk”
interracially but few are willing to “live” interracially. They
are unwilling to practice what they preach. They are either
unwilling or unable to make it a part of their daily living.

In the field of race relations+
it is very essential that both/in the South after the Civil |
white and black peoples learn | war Negroes and whites lived
about each other before devel-|¢5- the most part in a sem-
oping attitudes. By the very|blance of harmony. As one
nature of the distinctiveness | white says: “I’m beginning to |
in the pigmentation of the) think maybe a black man and |

Clare Boothe Luce Raps Negroes
Religious, Racial Lines

Clare Boothe Luce, former In Br ttain

Congresswoman, has contrib-| Mrs, Josephine Hunter, a
uted .an undisclosed sum of| former Red Cross Worker in
money to St. Malachy’s, a| England, and graduate of the
Negro parish in St. Louis,| School of Social Work at the
Missouri. University of Chicago, told
The pastor, the Rev. Ralph/the Chicago Monday Night
W. Warner, S. J., earlier had| Lecture Group that there are
declined a $25 donation from|not more than 15,000 Negro
the Catholic Parents’ associa-| families living in Britain to-
tion, a group formed to protest|day. Prejudice does exist,
against Archbishop Joseph E.| however, against even this
Ritter’s decision permitting} tiny minority and Mrs. Hunt-
Negroes to attend Catholic|er substantiated this with nu-

high schools in the archdio-|Merous evidences.
cese. A factor of British life
In making her donation which confronts the Negro
‘ -}and white citizen equally is

skin, the Negro’s high visibil-|, white man can live togeth-|Mrs. Luce said: “There are ;
i te hie oft wpa from |, Pie an can lve, tne Oe in every country who that ofthe cass stem, While
the white. To the whites the} jitical conventions and state | claim or suggest that there are middle class may not fare

color black is synonymous
with inferiority. The inferior-
ity which they associate with
slavery. Thus the whites feel
superior to the Negroes.

If we look back into history
we will find that slavery is not

legislatures together and when
the question of building
ischools came up, another
white man was heard to say,
“If the only way is schools
where black and white go
together, then sure enough,

peculiar to the Negro. In fact,|I’m for schools! If I can sit in
whites have been slaves fora convention hall with niggers,

a longer period. Here it might
be noted that the state of
slavery in America existed
before Negroes were imported.
We are told that during the)
17th and 18th centuries, white |
children were kidnapped in)
the British Isles at the rate of

then my son can sit

in a
schoolhouse with them!” And
still another white man said,
“I am going into the Conven-
tion because the only way to
fight the monstrous thing that
has happened is to understand
it, and the only way to under-

Interracial Program

conquered a large area of the
world, both in Europe and!
Asia in World War II, the)
subject peoples were reduced |
to slavery. What else can you
term forced labor and con-
centration camps? In a very
short period those subject peo-
ples, some of whom repre-
sented the best minds of their
native lands, were reduced |
through starvation and _ in-
humane treatment to an im-
poverished state. Their minds
and bodies suffered, some died |
and others will remain total
wrecks. Yet, after these peo-
ples have been liberated, they
are returned to society and the
past is like a nightmare. Of}
course the experiences will |
leave their traces both physi-
cally, mentally and emotional-
ly. But their personalities will
not suffer from it.

When we speak of race rela-
tions or interracialism today,
we refer to Negro and white}
relations. This relationship |
began with the arrival of the
first shipment of Africans|
which landed at Jamestown, |
Virginia, and when they were |
sold into slavery. At that time |
it was a master-servant rela-
tionship. It was even more|
degraded than that. A slave!
was considered property —a|
chattel according to law.|
Hence the human personality |
was taken out of the rela-
tionship and the slave was
considered just a mere thing. |
It is the memory of this abject |
state of degradation which has |
caused so much of the prej-|
udice and discrimination we|
see today and which has come
down to us from the beginning
of American history.

During the eight year period

stand it is to become a part
of it.”

After President Hayes was
elected and the northern sol-
diers were removed from the
South, the eight year period
of Negro-white freedom and
cooperation in the South was
destroyed.

Today when we look at the
situation in the country and
remember how the various

basic differences—essential
and inherent inner qualities—
among the various branches
of the human family.

“All such claims plainly
deny the validity of our
American concept of spiritual
and political life. First, it is
fundamental Christian doc-
trine that we are all children
of God and equal peers to His
kingdom.

“Second, it is fundamental
democratic doctrine that
every citizen, regardless of
color, creed or race, is equal
before the law.

“For God and country,” her
message coricluded, “your
|good city and many of its
citizens have struck one more
brave blow for the dignity of

man.”

The Catholic Parents’ as-
sociation was disbanded here
after the Most. Rev. Amleto
G. Cicognani, Apostolic Dele-
gate to the United States, in-
formed the group that he was

missionary boards of white sure it would “readily comply”
When Germany and Japan| people helped to establish| with Archbishop Ritter’s de-

educational
through their philanthropic
organizations built such edu-
cational institutions as Fisk,
Atlanta, Howard, Hampton for
the proper preparation of the
colored people to take their
place in the citizenship of the
country, we cannot but
wonder why prejudice and
discrimination exist. Why
segregation continues to be
the black man’s burden.

Has all the effort in the past
to live interracially been a
failure? Have the Negroes not
proven themselves equal to
the opportunities they have
had up to date? Have they not
contributed largely to the
American way of life? In-
creasing in numbers from 4,-
000,000 to 14,000,000, have
they not earned the right to
be regarded as an_ integral
part of the nation? Are they
not entitled to their just share
of the pursuit of happiness?

Father Paul Furfey in his
book “The Mystery of Iniqui-
ty” says, “Our attitude toward

men of other races is a crucial |

test of our Catholicity. The
great law of charity requires
us to love all men, regardless
of race, with an intense love.
... The interracial test is an
excellent test of charity.
Christ made this point in the
story of the Good Samaritan.”
Then he added, “Conformism
is the tendency to compromise
by. adapting oneself to the
position of unbelievers as far
as it is possible to do so with-
out positively denying any
dogma of faith. This con-
formism is brilliantly illus-
trated in the attitude of many
Catholics toward the Negro...
Conformism is basically dis-

institutions and_| cision.

honest. It refuses to face the
fact that there is an utter con-
tradiction between supernat-
ural charity and the philos-
ophy of worldliness .. . In our
treatment of the Negro we
must take on one attitude or
the other. We must be world-
lings or Christians. There is
not the slightest possibility of
finding a middle ground.”

In an article in a recent issue
of Interracial Review, Sister
Mary Pauline in her “Christ-
Seeing and Color-Blind” says,
“When human feelings are
aroused, the mind controls
them only by indirect means,
and imperfectly.” Shake-
speare struck deep into the
realities of human psychology

in Romeo’s penetrating words,
“Hang up philosophy, unless
philosophy can make a Juliet.”
What many an abstractly cor-
rect thinker on the problem
of racial justice needs is a
Juliet or two... There are
many good people who are
convinced, here and now, that
“Negroes in general” must be
given justice. These good peo-
ple are willing to help Negroes
achieve their full constitu-
tional rights in America, and
their social and religious her-
itage too. Yet, these same
people do not even know that
they themselves are tainted

with racial prejudice” ...Then
she adds, “To those of us who
work in parts of the Lord’s
vineyard where the parasite
of racial prejudice has eaten
into the mentalities and feel-
ings of our people, surely the
first lesson is a plea for per-
sonal contact ... And the goal
gleaming through and provoc-

badly, the great majority of
the 15,000 colored persons in
England are born into the
lower class, and there they
are confronted with odds far
more severe than those of
their lower class white con-
freres.

Because Negro men are ac-
tively discouraged from com-
peting in the English labor
market, and because the mar-
ket is virtually closed to
Negro women, it is not likely
that the colored population in
England will increase by im-
migration, concluded Mrs.

Hunter. Rather, it is probable
| that emigration and intermar-
| riage will absorb the race per-
/haps within the next hundred
years.

Mary (Geni) Galloway.

| ative of every such effort for
racial justice has been .. . not
to show a different, even
though cordial attitude to
| strange colored people from
that shown to strange white
people — in a word to be
Christ-seeing and color-blind.”

In Commonweal, Father
George H. Dunne in his article
“The Sin of Segregation”
writes, “When we look honest-
ly at this question we see that
it is the advocate, not the
antagonist, of racial segrega-
tion who impungs our right
to choose our friends. The
|pattern of racial segregation
and the prejudices which are a
part of it say to me who am
white: “We deny your right
to include among your friends
or to open your home to any-
one who is of Negro ancestry.
If _ violate this taboo we
shall cast you out of society.”
The social ostracism imposed
upon me by a racist society is
| clearly an effort to interfere
|with my freedom to choose
my own friends...” He ends
his article by saying, “It has
been sufficiently proved that
racial segregation violates
|strict justice ...” But the
| point here being made is that,
;even if justice were not vio-
|lated, no one would pretend
|that charity is not greviously
wounded. Racial segregation
|is certainly a sin against chari-
ity and, in the Christian dis-
|pensation, is certainly im-
moral and not to be tolerated.
We can go to hell for sins
against charity as easily as for
sins against justice, perhaps
more easily.”

The philosophy of Friend-

November, 1947
School Incident

(Continued from page 5)

committee which included a
representative cross-section of
business, political, religious,
racial, veteran and civic lead-
ers was immediately formed
to hold neighborhood meet-
ings, explain issues and com-
bat rumors. Members of
School Board and press func-
tioned on the citizens coém-
mittee.

2. Press agreed to refer to
the action as “mass truancy”
rather than dignify the action
by calling it a strike. Also
agreed not to give the stu-
dent truants any favorable
publicity.

3. Since the football team
took an active. part in the
movement, the School Board
cancelled Emerson’s athletic
schedule for the year.

4. All truants who did not
comply with the School
Board’s order to return to
classes within 24 hours were
disciplined; those over 16
years old (600) were expelled;
parents of those under 16
were notified that unless their
children returned to classes
within the 24-hour deadline,
they (the parents) would face
charges of contributing to the
truancy.

5. One man was arrested
and charged with violating
Indiana’s new anti-hate law.

6. Police calmly dispersed
all mass meetings called by
the students. This was done
without a single incident of
violence. Police told leaders
that freedom of speech did not
mean freedom to incite hatred.

7. Police protection in-
sured against any violence
against the Negro students.

8. The CIO United Steel-
workers’ union (30,000 mem-
bers in Gary) threatened to
suspend from the union any

member whose children con- -

tinue to defy authority. The
suspension threat was author-
ized at a meeting of 200 sub-
district CIO directors.

9. In one Gary school, a
committee of white students
met the new Negro students
as they arrived and conducted
them on a tour of the school
| building with an inter-racial
party winding up the day.

Reprint—American Council
on Race Relations.

ship House can be briefly
alluded to in support of the
real interracial program. Its
way of life challenges all ad-
vocates of interracialism.
Friendship House is following
in the wake of other Catholic
interracial programs and mov-
ing westward. It is now in
| Chicago and Canada and may
soon be in the Far West. All
'of which tends to show that
'if we must have colored and
white in America, we must
have an interracial program.
It cannot be an interracial
|program if it denies “living”
interracially.

Discrimination must disap-
pear. Segregation must van-
jish. Prejudice must make way
‘for justice and charity. We
imust “live” the commands of

love the Lord thy God with
| thy whole heart, and with thy
|whole soul, and with thy
whole strength, and with thy
whole mind; and thy neighbor
as thyself.” No more—no less.
3 { : ; Sat

‘
EE A EE Agee

God which say, “Thou shalt’

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Daal 2. - a a. at 2 he ae oe a

—_— |

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A ee eed oben els beets et COA

rere

,’

November, 1947

HARLEM FRIENDSHIP HOUSE NEWS , 7

Illinois Bell Telephone Co.
Employs Negro Operators

By COLLEEN KELLY
On October 6, 1947, 20 Negro women were employed by the

Illinois Bell Telephone Company in a position of telephone
operators. The women were not segregated in any one office
or district but were integrated in the working force of the
whole State area. Two women began their training in the
Chicago Toll Office as Long Distance Operators. Others began
as local operators in Chicago and suburban local offices; the
rest were employed’in the various cities and towns through-

out the State.

The policy of the company
as explained to the operators
was to accept Negro women
for employment until they
constituted from ten to fifteen
per cent of the work force.
From that point on, every
tenth woman employed would
be a Negro. This is, of course,
endorsement of the un-Chris-
tian “quota system.” The
women employed will share
equally all the facilities avail-
able to the other operators,
such as lunchrooms, rest
rooms, quiet rooms for sleep-
ing, and recreational opportu-
nities such as volley ball,
baseball, etc.

The attitude of the white
workers has beén mixed. They

Negro workers. The policy
explained above was outlined
to them. The inevitability of
the situation was stressed.
Management seems to have
made no effort to educate the
white worker attitudes of jus-
tice or democracy. The union
was informed and accepted
the situation without enthusi-
asm. It will accept the work-
ers as members and has a non-
discriminatory clause in its
national constitution. The
union also did little educa-
tional work among its mem-
bers beyond repeating the ac-
ceptance of Management’s
action.

The workers’ first reaction
was for the most part hostile.
They objected to working be-
side, eating with, and sleep-
ing in beds after Negro work-
ers. Management said as a
condition of employment that
any worker must work beside
and together with any other
worker or resign. Activities
outside of the operating room
are the worker’s own, the only
exception being that all com-
pany facilities are available
to all operators.

Weighing this alternative
against years of hard-earned
wage increases and seniority,
the white workers are accept-
ing the situation. These white
workers include women just
up from the South, property
owners on the restrictive cov-
enanted South Side of Chi-
cago, and a working group
vith generally a white collar,
middle-class outlook.

In New York State, 894
Negro women are now em-
ployed as operators. In New
York State F. E. P. C. has be-
come law. Not yet is this true
of Illinois. At every session
of the Illinois Assembly a bill
for the creation of a Fair Em-
ployment Practices Law has
been introduced since the
President’s Executive Order.
The bill’s support has grown
stronger and more widespread
every year. The Telephone
management sees its passage
in the near future as inev-
itable. To ward off any future
investigation and unfavorable
publicity, management is now
attempting to set its house in

clusion to be drawn from this
action appears to be the
power and merit of an
|F. E. P. C., even if it is only a
|potential one. It should en-
| courage us to redouble our ef-
forts here in Illinois to inspire
| believers in democracy in
other States to enter at least
a bill this year in their State
Assemblies for a Fair Employ-
/ment Practices law (F.E.P.C.).

LOVE WE AS

Lament

(Continued from page 1)
about it. I try to be good. I
wish I didn’t have to try.

To many parents I ask
about sacrifice. You would
not sacrifice your hate. You
kept your disgust and passed
it lovingly to me. More than
once, “Dirty nigger.” I ask
about sacrifice to many par-
ents who know God. Don’t
speak to me of love. What
you know of love you can
write on one side of a dirty
penny.

Dear parents we love you.
| When I say Hello to a dark
| face sadly smiling, I say in my
heart, “I wish I could talk as
simply talking to you.” But
‘someone from the past says
Who are you talking to?
Mothers and fathers with love
on their paste faces say Watch
out what you say to that dark

BROTHERS

For we are all Christ’s creatures, and by His coffer are we

wealthy,

And brothers of one blood, beggars and nobles.

| Christ’s blood on Calvary is the spring of Christendom,

And we became blood brethren there, recovered by one body,
were informed a week in ad-| AS quasi modo geniti, and gentle without exception,

vance of the acceptance of| None base or a beggar, but when sin cause it.

Qui facit peccatum, servus est peccati.

In the Old Law, as Holywrit tells us,
Men were men’s sons, mentioned always

As issue of Adam and of Eve, until the god-man was crucified,
And after his resurrection Redemptor was his title,

And we his brethren, bought through him, both rich and poor
men.

Therefore love we as lief brothers, each laughing with the
other,

And each give what he can spare as his goods are needed.

Let each man help the other, for we shall all go hence.

William Langland.
From Poetry and Life, Published by Sheed & Ward, 1942.

A SUMMER
WELL SPENT

I can still hear the hearty,
wonderful “Hello, Miss Mary
Lou! I can still see the bright,
shining eyes and the honest
smiles on the faces of the sum-
mer school children at Friend-
ship House.

Oh! they were happy chil-
dren, happy because at the
Casita they had a chance to
learn more about God, to go
to the city park, to learn to
swim, to play new games and
sing new songs. For a few
hours each day, they were like
other children; they had a
place to play, a place to use up
their energy. In reality, they
jare like other children, chil-
idren of God—just because
|their skin is a shade darker

of so many rights which other
‘children can have.

For six weeks I was a chil-
\dren’s couselor at Friendship
House, in the black belt, the
'slum area, of Chicago.

“You will never stay more
ithan a week”, friends said.
“Going to Friendship House
icertainly is a _ sacrifice for
you.” Was I really giving up
something by going to Friend-
ship House for the summer?
I asked myself this question
millions of times. I never
really found a true answer
until now. I did not give up
anything by going to Friend-
ship House; I have only re-
ceived. Working with the
children, I acquired spiritual
growth, further education
plus a suntan and 18 lbs of
avoirdupois tissue.

- Ihave begun to see the im-

than ours, they are deprived |

face. Mothers and fathers
with the Sign of the Cross on
their rubber hearts say Why
are you taking to him?
Quickly I took the penny
out of my mouth and spat to
clear my mouth of filth,
thinking of an evil dark hand.

portance of an integrated per-
sonality. Through my sum-
mer at Friendship House, I
have begun to realize how
essential. a Catholic liberal
education, the liturgical move-
ment, and Christian charity
are to the full living of the
life of grace.

In other words, my eyes
have been opened to the true
meaning of a spiritually ma-
ture personality, habitually
making an appropriate re-
sponse to value. I am striving
to give each thing the love it
deserves, and I am finished
with the feverish desire

i'merely to be different. Now

that my eyes have been
opened to the right light, it is
up to me to carry on. I will
only be able to carry on in the

right manner if I let Christ
live in nie and act through me.
Mary Lou Edelbach

If literal renunciation is not
exacted of all but only of
those whom God calls to it, a
certain attitude of the will is
exacted of all Christians: we
may hold life’s good things,
but with an utter willingness
to renounce them—and _ in-
deed life itself—if duty should
call upon us to do so.

The Desert Fathers, '

By Helen Waddell. hadn’t been nimble enough to

Principles and Objectives of the
Catholic Interracial Council of Chicago

“The first of these perni-| States are so widely discrim-
cious errors, widespread today, | inated against, so many mil-
is the forgetfulness of that law |lions of American Negroes,
of human solidarity and char-| Mexicans, and Orientals are
ity which is dictated and im-|denied full happiness, health,
posed by our common origin hve security, that the com-
and by the equality of rational|mon good of the nation is
nature in all men, to whatever | threatened, its full economic
people they belong, and the|development retarded, and
redeeming sacrifice offered |domestic peace endangered.
by Jesus Christ on the altar 2
of the cross to His Heavenly |tion to work together for in-
Father on behalf of sinful|terracial justice, to secure
mankind.” — Pope Pius XII, | justice and equality of human
Summi Pontificatus. rights to the members of all

The Catholic Interracial|racial groups.
Council of Chicago recognizes:| (7) that in the daily Sacrifice

(1) that as Catholics, mem-|of the Mass offered by the
bers of Christ’s Mystical Body, | Mystical Body in the name of
we must be aware of the unity | all men, we as Catholics have
of men, which is rooted in the|a unique and powerful source
essential equality of all men, |at which to learn more deeply
in the Fatherhood of God over | what justice and charity mean
all men, in their common|before God, and through
descent from Adam and Eve,| which to obtain the assistance
and in the universal redemp-| The Catholic Interracial
tion of all men by Christ. Council of Chicago, therefore,

(2) that this unity, as God | proposes to do the following:
intends, is to be intensified} (1) to spread the spirit of
and deepened in the Mystical | interracial justice and charity
Body of Christ which is meant | by the personal example and
by God to embrace all men|prayers of its members.
without exception, so that] (2) to set up an educational
“those who enter the Church, | program to teach Catholics to
whatever by~their origin or|respect the rights of racial
their speech, must know that! minority groups.
they have equal rights as| (3) to combat racial dis-
children in the House of the | crimination wherever it may
Lord, where the law of Christ arise.
and the peace of Christ pre-| (4) to work for political

(6) that we have an obliga-

vail.” (Pope Pius XII.)

(3) that, consistent with
these truths, we cannot harbor
racial prejudice, or tolerate
discrimination based merely
on the accidents of race or |
color.

(4) that science offers no!
proof for the superiority of |
one racial group over any)
other.

(5) that, as a matter of fact,

equality by securing suffrage
for all groups; for economic
equality by securing full and
unrestricted employment; for
full cultural development by
securing equal health, educa-
tional, and recreational facil-
ities and wholesome home
surroundings for the members
of all groups.

(5) to cooperate with other
organizations working in the

racial minorities in the United ‘cause of interracial justice.

THE NEGRO

(Continued from page 1)

—

keep ahead of the white man’s
law. Mr. Still conducts or-
chestras as well as composes.
Americans, we must know as|He has twice received the
much as possible about them.| Guggenheim Fellowship, a

Dr. George Washington! Harmon Award, Rosenwald
Carver, the great American | Fellowship, and has an hon-
Negro scientist, is dead. But

orary degree as Doctor of
another Negro, Dr. Percy L. Music from Howard Univer-
Julian, is making almost

sity.
equally amazing contribu-| At the Yale University
tions in the field of science in School of Law, Jane Bolin
his work with the soy bean. aroused interest in two oa
Dr. Julian is a graduate of | spects; she was a Negro an
DePauw University in Indi-|she was a woman. Two prej-
ana and was early recognized | udices had to be overcome—
for his scientific genius. He|that Negroes are inherently
was invited to Fisk Univer-/|inferior to whites, and that
sity as a member of their fac- erage are ee ee.
ulty, later he went to West | ana overcome them she did.
Virginia State College as pro- | In 1932 she passed the bar in
fessor. Then he spent oe | New York State, and after but
years at Harvard. He re-| ¥d years of a. a
ceived his Ph.D. in chemistry | 59€ was appoin ustice 0
at the University of Viet. the Court of Domestic Rela-
His discoveries from experi- | oo = New a ay oy ie
ments with the soy bean ‘ate Mayor LaGuardia. Jus-
started his work in ‘. syn- tice Bolin has established a
thesis of vitamins and sex | ae ve omy for “* ~
hormones. Dr. Robert Rob- | "Ot Only for her race, Dut as
inson, head of the department | an outstanding individual of
of chemistry at Oxford Uni-| integrity and great capacities.
versity, challenged the au-| This is but to mention arbi-
thority of claims made by Dr. | trarily three outstanding Ne-
Julian. The young American | gro Americans who, in spite of
Negro proved his point, and | our iron-curtain of prejudice,
the eminent Oxford scholar | have contributed to our cul-
and teacher had to bow to the | ture real achievements. We
inaccuracy of his own work. | should become more and more
_ Some evening when you are | acquainted with the Negroes
listening to the symphony and | who have achieved success for
you hear the announcement|themselves and developed
that the selection is by the| their talents, so as to have less
eminent American composer,!of a problem mentality and
William Grant Still, remem- | more of an interest in the pos-
ber that he is a Negro. A Ne-| sibilities we are denying them

o who might have been|and ourselves of when we
ynched in Mississi ppi if he

permit any form of discrim-
ination whatsoever.

Ce i ne ee ee en nn nn ee ee

oe ae ea ea RN eet

anes,

~ RT aN A TN TEMS Nene on mbes cities

ea sh na ttt

Sn ety martina ete cereye ratinie tthe ox

The Baroness Jots It Down

Somehow or other, I am gasping for breath! And, I bet,
so would you, if you were me. Now just think: You start a
Friendship House because you can’t help yourself. The Lord
bezuiles you into it... All right. You sort of expect that you
will spend your life from that moment on in the obscurity
of the poor to whom you have gone, and because of whom
your heart sings. For you will now have the privilege not
only of being one of them, but of serving them. .
hope that in your lifetime you may bring the Glad Tidings
to, say, ten people and be of real service to another dozen.

That’s what YOU THINK.*

The next} wonderfully along the paths
thing you know there is a|of the Lord.

(I did anyhow.)

Friendship House in Ottawa,
Ontario. And you started in
Toronto, Canada. And then
another one in Hamilton, Can-
ada. And before you can say
knife, you are across the bor-
der with a Friendship House
in Harlem, NYC. A few years
and you have one in Chicago
and one in Wisconsin, and
then you have jumped the
border again and are in Com-
beremere, Canada, learning
and doing as you learn the
Rural Apostolate. Now that}
would knock the breath out
of anyone—wouldn’t it now?

But it does not stop there. |
No siree, the Holy Ghost has |
taken charge completely (He)
always was the Boss anyhow) |
and Harlem FH has an annex |
in Greenwich Village...And
the new Chicago FH is big |
and roomy. Its clothing room |
alone looks like a department
store, what with all the gifts
of charitable people and the
hard work of the Staff Work-
er in charge. News comes
from all houses that new staff
workers are applying...And
you see your tiny humble ex-
pectations grow, expand be-
yond your wildest dreams...
Four houses. A_ growing
Friendship House family. In-
vitations from everywhere to
start new foundations. Now
I ask you, dear readers, do
you wonder I am gasping for
breath. And so happy I want
to cry at times. Yes, that is
what happens when the Holy
Ghost takes over.

a * *

Our retreats this year have
been marvelous. And that is
another joy. For the Lay
Apostolate, like all works of |
God, can really grow only in- |
asmuch as those that work in
it grow in depth of knowledge
of God and love of Him. And
Father Vann OP certainly
gave a wonderful idea of |

NYC FH. Father Quinn did |
likewise for the Chicago and
Wisconsin crowd. We bless

HARLEM FRIENDSHIP HOUSE NEWS

. You half

ae * Me

Here at Madonna House
things are somewhat hectic.
What with Milky, the Pig,
having with age acquired ex-
ploring propensities, Flewy
and I have been chasing him
all over our five acres. Good
for the figure, but bad for
one’s temper. Then there is
the kid’s library to bring up
to date, as we are opening it
this month. And if you ever
want to see kids who are dy-

SEJOHNF GOD

DO YOU HAVE
A JOB?

Daily they inquire, “When is |our New York friends?
our library going to be open-
ed?” And we plan a story
hour once a week with hot
cocoa for the freezing days

story:

will bake some—hope they |
come out OK).

is coming out sometime this/because our quarters are|

month. There was a little de- |, , % WS:
small, we have a women’s, could be added on the matter. be a Christian

I would have to sit on the side

jof a Negro to stay with my| +. swift battle, the fact that
|religion, then I would sit on! ithin a few days it was re-
the side of the Negro.” .

| Saint
October 6, 1947.
from which the excerpt
taken is, of course, the story
of a group of Catholics in| everybody!
Saint Louis. The story of their|from Time
tragic struggle to reconcile
racial segregation with Chris- |
tianity.

‘On Archbishop Ritter and the
St.Louis Catholic Parents Ass’n.

By MARY GALLOWAY

“If it got to the point where|by the ecclesiastical author-
\ities of the archdiocese.”
The fact that the group lost

duced from the calm foothold
of law and convention to the
Louis Post Dispatch, | sudden quiéksand of a moral
The story|abyss, was something ulti-
is| mately inevitable.

But it surprised nearly
It was NEWS,
Magazine and
Town Hall of the Air, to each
of those little people in the
Catholic Parent’s Association.
‘ Why should the simple, es-
The underlying facts are} ential projection of Christ's

So runs an excerpt from the

probably familiar to most of . ?
us: Archbishop Ritter’s decree law be 8 surprise sa.enyooay

of September, 1947, that the
—|Catholic schools of that dio- thy God with thy whole heart.
cese would be available hence-| Thou shalt love thy neigh-
forth to all Catholics; the at-i}57 as thyself. On these two
tempt of the Catholic Parents’ | .ommandments
Association (hastily formed to) whole Law ...” (Matt. 22-38.)

ing to read, come up this way. | : meet the crisis) to legally
g I Y-|Do you have a job for one of | enjoin the Bishop's’ decree;

Christ said very clearly:
“Thou shalt love the Lord

depend the

If a man has to discipline
himself “to sit on the side of

But first let me tell you the | or° Bishop’s pronouncement | 4 Negro to stay with his re-

excommunication UP°DT | ligion,” is he thinking about
love concerned
minimum fulfilments?

man understand

ecourse from an ecclesiastical with

Association, which | AND HE HAS TO!

That may be why the story
carne as such a surprise. Why
“T have to state that nothing it made news in what should
nation. So

paper shortage and what have |c¢rowded around the

Se de been so clearly proposed! by a MANDATE!

November, 1947

you?
with proofs, etc.: The cloth-
ing room. Painting the up-
stairs. Kids. Libraries, The
Outer Cifcle letter. My col-
umn. Did I tell you about
havmg become a COLUMN-
IST? Yes, Ihave. It will ap-
pear monthly in St. Joseph’s
Magazine, a Benedictine pub-
lication of St. Benedict, Ore-
gon. Well, with all these
things, three meals a day, the
stock, the planting, cleaning,
painting, writing articles, etc.,
etc., we are busy. But we love
it. And now evenings Flewy
and I plan our next project—
a handicraft center. I have a
loom. Rug frames. Every-
thing is ready. Please say a
prayer we succeed in that.
a * a

Please remember Miss Elis-
abeth Salget (22c) Konigs-
winter / Rhein Drachenfels-
strasze 2 British Zone, Ger-

a home made one. Her mother |
is dying from undernourish- |
ment. She really needs food, |

So there is much to do | desk, with others waiting on|

|New York friends.

the benches and in the door- |}
way. | French, would be glad to wash

“Dosyou have a job?” I pots and pans. .
asked, looking around at the| Mest of these men do NOT
group. (It WAS a useless | WANT to be on relief. They
question, I knew, but I wanted 8° to the Welfare Department
a “feeler.”) , only when everything else has
: ifailed. They do NOT WANT

Mt Tso — | to go to the Municipal Lodg-
“If I had one I wouldn't be | 128 House . . . “I’m a Christian

here!” This, from a stalwart Eee ma’am .. . I don’t like to
young man. hear a lot of cursing and
” OBfould you want one?” swearing.” They would like

“YES, MA’AM!” An unbe-|t® Pay for a lodging where
lievably eager light came into |Some rest might be assured,

10 pairs of eyes, and several and | for simple meals... .
added, “Got one?” Ma’am, your friends always

That smoldering spark of | ‘at you to a drink, but they
eagerness was quenched al-|40n’t buy you nothin’ to eat.
most at once as I shook my| Last month we made an
head...“No...I’msorry.. .’|@Ppeal for clothes. Your an-
(what else SHOULD I say to|SWer to our SOS was instant
bring it back?) And that’s | 2nd magnificent. Every other
when I decided to tell our, Week for some months now,
\we have had_ to close on
What kind of jobs are | Thursdays as there was almost

‘nothing for men. Now, with
tailor, but due to a recent op-| Your -help (and the express
eration must find work less|Strike over!) we are receiving

dispiritedly

confining and easier on the| Packages regularly. PLEASE |

these and many other saintly | oh, so badly, and clothing too.|eyes; another was an auto) KEEP IT UP! Here are two
priests who have led us so! God bless you all.

34 West 135th Street
New York 30, N. Y.

eee eee rere eeene

HARLEM FRIENDSHIP HOUSE NEWS

Please enter the following subscription:

|
|

eee eee ereeeeeseseeees
ee ee i

| ness;
a ; 5 > a
(Spanish with a smattering of isfy everyone of the 40 odd/|

mechanic, but had to give up| items not yet received; a pair
his job to the man who re-/|0f high shoes, size 7% for a
turned and now would like to|}man with crippled feet; and
be a building superintendent; |... a banjo! ...and...volun-

license some years ago but has/ Mrs. Foster, our faithful de-

take porter’s jobs,|ing.
So on this Thursday, Ken-

another, who knows'!tion that he was able to sat-

Return Postage Guaranteed
FRIENDSHIP HOUSE

34 West 135th St., New York 30, N. Y.

‘men who came, if not with
| coat and trousers—there is
rarely a matching suit—with
at least a vest and hat, or one
pair of socks. These were the
last to come and by that time
the “fitting room” was like the
proverbial cupboard.

But we had NOT solved the
problem. In a recent address,
Mr. Julian J. Reiss, a former
Commissioner of FEPC, called
opportunities the “oars” used
to propel a boat. How often is
the Negro’s life a “fight
against the current”! It can be
done—but without oars the
frail boat is swirled into dis-
aster. Some of the men who
come to us destitute NOW,
were denied an opportunity
twenty years ago.

Though women seem to be
|more fortunate, there are still
‘calls for work.

And one of our former Staff
‘Workers is also anxious to
|make connections...

So if you know of a job—
steady or transient, light or
‘heavy work, please get in
itouch with us at once. If you
jcall by phone, any Staff
| Worker will take the message,

lanother man had a driver’s| teers to help Mrs. Russell andj either at Audubon 3-4892 or

| Audubon 3-5163. We will not

will be glad to spread the
word among those who come
.. Thank you and God

H. Hronek

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Full text of "Harlem Friendship House News 1947-11: Vol 7 Iss 6"

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