Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1919-11-01
AN OPEN LETTER TO
MAYOR A|NSL|E
Pref. J. NJ. Sampson Asks About tho
Police Interference ut Meeting.

foltCc interference at Meeting.
| October 80, 1919 On the occasion
| of an address by Mr.. VIM. Monroe
| Trotter of Boston Massachusetts.
those in the local management were
aStounded to face n phalanx Of police
| and the Commonwealth Attorney,
on entering the Auditorium, AS spoke
man, the Chief Of Police questioned
Mr.. Trotter as to whether he would
speak on social equality, warned him
| not to, and warned him not to say
anything which might lead to a
| breach Of the peace. On being asked
whether he, the Chief would be con
sidcrcd the sole judge of what con
Stituted social equality, he answered
] "fes,' He also said that if Mr. ,Trot-
ter did speak in the way suggested,
| that he would break up the meeting,
and that he was amply prepared to
do so.
| rms action is uNusua' IN three
| ways First. In past times things
] which were confcssedly intended to
! create racial feeling have been per
| mittcd to go on. In 1916 a committee
! sent to the Mayor and the Chief of
| Police n petition asking the suppress
! sion OF the moving picture play, The
Blrth or Nation. In this petition
| were quoted the following words of
Thomas Dixon, the author of tho
story on which tho play was built,
! taken from an affidavit: "Onc our
! pose i'll the play was to Great afecl-
| ing OF aDhorrcnco in white people, es
, pccially white women, against color
! ed mon" Again the play attempted
! TO Justify mob violence as represented
in the ku KluX Khan in series of
. incidents likely to intensity racial
! feeling, such as an attempted rape on
! a white girl by n Negro and an at
! tempt by Negro to force an unwill
! ing marriage on white girl After
| thcsc incidents the intimidation and
! persecution of Negroes by the Klans-
! men raise the audiances to n high
pltch making the unthinking regard
! them as the saviours Of white VIZ
| ture and white supremacy However
! the real kklansmen were q midnight
| hahd or lawlcsS ruffians and so bad
! were they that when brought into
court in Southern state, South Car
| DINA, their own counsel, q MARYLAND
| lawyer, after hearing the evidence of
! winch much was confessions, would
not plead their case, but left them
to the mercy OF the court saying: 81
nave listened with unmixed horror to
some OF the testimony with has been
. brought before you. The outrages
! proved are shocking to humanity:
they admit Of neither excuse nor ius
| tiflcation; they violate every obliga-
ton which law and nature impose I'D
on man; they show that the par
ties engaged were brutes, insensible
to the obligations Of humanity and
religion" Yet a play teaching racial
hatred and justifying mob violence
against Negroes was allowed several
performances and even a return en-
gagcment in Richmond without inter
ference from the authorities, and over
protest.
| Second. 1t is unusual that the police
should prohibit anyone from speaking
on any topic or subject, or from agi-
tating any legitimate line Of action,
when the means suggested Of attain
ing that end are also legal.
Third. 1t is unusual that n guest
coming to the city should be humili-
ated by the accusation or implication
that he came here for the purpose of
; stirring up trouble between the races
when his whole life has been devoted
to an effort to remove from the escut--
| cheon of American the faint of dis
elimination and injustice toward the
! Negro. This last is at the bottom of
all unrest among Negroes in this
country. 1t would seem natural for
a man characterized by such efforts
to be welcomed and protected rather
than Inundated and threatened.
But this Is only the first instance
of repression Of speech, and We do
not know for the future what treat
ment our speakers may expect in
| Richmond if such course of action
be consistently followed by the police.
| One thing Is sure. IF the police are
anxious to preserve peace between the
, races in this city, and that is the
reason behind the action taken to-
ward Mr.. Trotter, they will find
that any such autocratic, czarlike sup
preston will tend to stir up more
dissatisfaction than tho speeches
themselves. Unless the Negroes have
some grievances, such speeches can
not inflame them. IF they have griev
ances, the wiser course would be for
: the authorities to remove the causes