The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1917-07-06
SOUTH BLAMED FOR
THE NEGRO EXODUS
New York Times)

view 10TH 1AHlCSt
A mass meeting of New York ne
grose to discuss the problems created
by the wholesale negro migration from
the South in the last year, held yes
terday afternoon in the Abyssinian
Baptist church, 240 West Fortieth
street, showed plainly that Northern
negroes are watching the exodus of
their people with deep interest and
approval, and that they believe the
reason for 1t is not higher wages in
the North, but treatment in the South
to which they object. The church was
packed to the doors, and the speakers
were freely applauded.
Several of the speakers alluded to
the extent of negro migration from
the South in the last year. Mr. Powell
estimated that $4,000 negroes had
left Georgia, Alabama, Florida and
other Southern states within ten
months, and he placed the economic
loss TO that region, due to their de-
parture, at 100000, 900. In 0cala,
Fla, ne said, the Rev. A. L. James, a
negro clergyman found his flock so
depleted that he gave up his parish
and came to New York Arriving in
Harlem, within two days he found
twelve families from his flock, and
was busy re-establishing his church
here
sThis migration" said the Rev.
Clayton Powell, pastor of the church,
differs from all others in that it has
no visible leader. To say that the ne.
gro is coming North for higher wages
is grossly to misinterpret the spirit
of the exodus. The negroes are leav-
ing the South because life to them has
been made miserable and unbearable.
"They are tired of being kept out
Of public parks and libraries, of be-
ing deprived of equal educational OPP
portunities for their children, for
which they are taxed, of reading
signs, Negroes and dogs not admit
ted; the men are tired of disfran.
chisement, the women are tired of
the insults of white hoodlums, and the
whole race is sick of seeing mobs
nlutilate and burn unconvicted negro
men. All the people coming here are
mot poor. If the $4,000 negroes who
have recently left the South were Of
fered S. day and free transportation
back, not 10 per cent would return in
"a whole year. If they were assured
that these horrible injustices would be
removed, especially the hellish insti-
tuition of lynching, 80 per cent of them
would return almost as quickly as
they came away"
Fred Moore, editor of the New
York Age, the negroes organ, point
ed out that in New York you could see
white and negro children going home
from school side by side, under the
Of rejection of the same policeman.
s'There is no race friction in the
North" he said. "Who is responsible
for race friction in the South? How
can white people in the South expect
the black people to respect them when
they are always drawing the color
line? Can the white South expect the
black South to stay there forever I'M
der these conditions?
eve have been patriotic, we have
been faithful, we wanted to fight for
our country, but the man in the
White House drew the color line on
US. The South is in the saddle in
Washington. But unless the New York
Times and other Northern papers that
have spoken for us cry out now to the
South and tell them where they are
heading, it will be too late for them
to save themselves. We have been
patient. We have never taught our
children to hate the white man, but
right now the Southern white child
is taught in his own home to hate, not
only the negro, but the Northern
white man who wants to give the ne
gro the square deal. The only peo-
pie who can stop this emigration are
the white people of the South, and
they can only stop it in one way; by
putting an end to lynching and injus-
o,,,a -