The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1921-12-03
President Harding and Social Equality

l.
Find fault with the President after
he has gone straight into Southern
territory and come out plump for the
colored mans political and economic
rights, and the necessity Of giving
him an education equal to the white
mans?
Why then cavil at any single phrase
of the President? Why not overlook
his one unfortunate utterance in or
der to bestow upon him unqualified
praise? Because that one reference
to- social equality linen of both
races may we'll stand uncompronis-
ingly against every suggestion of So
cial equality"-fell like a lash upon
every thoughtful colored man and off
set much of the good Mr.. Harding
did. Even in far-off Buenos Aires it
called forth protests; the national Ar
gentine Socialist convention at once
| interpreted Mr.. Harding as meaning
| that the condition of ''the ter, millions
of colored population in the great re-
public will be eternally one of infe-
riority and subordination," and en-
phatically protested against it. True
the phrase quoted sweetened the rest
of the dose for the South and saved
the President from endless coarse
abuse and fanatical denunciation as a
"nigger lover" and from the charge
Of 7"insulting the South" Yet it
would have been far better had he
never uttered it, for by it he played
into the hands of all who justify any
discrimination against the colorec
man.
At least he should have defined just
what he meant by social equality. II
he had in mind intermarriage only, he
should, in justice to himself and tc
! tunately the phrase covers a multi
less aggression and wrongdoing by
the Superior race" In the fna
analysis in the South social equality
invariably whites down to the rela
lions. Of black men with white women
and in order to prevent them multi
| tudes Of our white Americans in thu
: South honestly think themselves jus
titled in resorting to any measure:
down to torture and burning. So GER
tain are they that this must not b
tolerated that they seek to proven
any approach to it by even forbiddins
!, colored people the use of public libra
ries, to say nothing of public car
t riers. Hardly an hour goes by in tn
t life of a black adult without Their
being driven in upon his conscious
] ness realization that in aNrepubli
2 which hypocritically boasts Of tn
: freedom Of all it's citizens and thei
t equality Of opportunity he bears upo
i his brow the badge of shame and q
: deliberately classified inferiority.
: So President Harding ought to hav
q Informed US whether he meant by hi
: words on social equality to approx
t Of the jimcrow car, the denial Of a
( cultural opportunities in theaters,
e concert and lecture halls to colore
t people, and the unending discrinnins
Y tion against them in restaurants an
t hotels and in practically every wal
Of life. He has not even stated thu
$ he is opposed to that precious bit
a Wilson wrongdoing, the segregatio
: Of the colored man in the department
. at Washington Until Mr.. Hardin
d does speak out on these question
: which mean more to the colored ma
: than anything else, which daily Der
t his back. scarify his soul, and NAL
= every educated colored mother 1oe
n upon her chi dren and ask wheth
j, she can justify to them their heir
" lcalled into existence, he cannot ha,
r. =