The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1924-02-23
AN ADVENTURE I'M GOOD
WILL
The Inter-racial Commission, Its
Origin and Work
BY z B. EIeazer, Educational Director
Part !. erigin

enQeQ the Great war traveller
through the South would have been.
struck with the wonderful solidarity Of
the population. white and colored. III
the support Of the war they were
united as never before. Two hundred
thousand Negro youth were fighting
for the flag in France and many more
were preparing to go over. The mill
lions back at home were responding
heartily to every wartime appeal and
in proportion to their means quite as
generously as any other group.
The white people were unstinted in
their praise Of the Negroes loyalty,
while the Negro, encouraged by the
stirring utterances of President Will
son and the democratic ideals of the
war. felt that in the future things
would not be quite the same. He
looked for more of sympathy, less of
prejudice and injustice, a fuller guar
antee Of his constitutional right Of
''iife. liberty and the pursuit Of happi-
ness" Racial antagonism was forgot
ten in devotion to common cause.
A week after the Armistice one
might have observed a subtle but
ominous change. Distrust was begin
ming to get abroad. What would be
the attitude of the Negro troops when
they returned from France? Incen-
diary rumors filed the air, and BY the
time the Negro soldiers began to re-
turn suspicion and fear had taken deep
hold upon both races. Mob violence,
which had greatly declined during the
war, burst out afresh. In city after
city race riots famed up, with casual
ties on both sides. The tension tight
ened everywhere, and the nation
awaited the outcome with dread sus-
pense.
1t was in this crisis that the Com
mission on Inter-racial Cooperation
came into existence. Oppressed with
the ominous possibilities of the situa-
ton, a small group of Southern leaders
met day after day in Atlanta, earnestly
seeking some means of averting the
threatened calamity by bringing to the
front the constructive Christian lead
ership Of both races. AT the center Of
this group were John J. Eagan, manu-
facturer and churchman; Rev. w. w.
Alexander, who, as a representative Of
the Y. NJ. c. A. War Work Council,
was in close touch with the returning
Negro troops, and DR.. M. Ashby
Jones. pastor of a leading Atlanta
church. 1t happened that these three
represented three Of the strongest
Southern denominations - Presbyte-
rian, Methodist and Baptist.
Out of the thought and prayer Of
these men and others like them the
Commission on Inter-racial Corpora
ton was born early in 1919. It's MEM
bership was made up of leading educa-
tors, ministers, business and profess
sional men from every state in the
South, including number Of out
standing Negro leaders.
The situation was desperate and the
effort to cover the field with close
and effective organization was pushed
at top speed. State committees were
organized throughout the South and
men were put in the field to set up as
quickly as possible local committees
in every community where the prob
lem was acute. 1t was a staggering
task and fraugft with peculiar difficult
ties, but with the cooperation Of the
Y. NJ. c. A. machinery and the War
Work Council it was accomplished in
record time.
The result fully justified the effort
A better spirit Immediately appeared
Suspicion and distrust began to give
way to understanding and confidence.
The force9 Of law and order were
encouraged and strengthened. The
fires Of hate were checked and the
threatened conAagration was averted
largely, without doubt through the
agencies set in motion by the Com
mission.
Having proved its efficacy in the
crisis which called It into being, il
was felt that the Commission should
enter upon the task Of permanently
improving race relations throughout
the South, by putting them, as far as
possible, upon thoroughly Christian
lbasis. A South-wide campaign of good
will was accordingly projected, aimed
at the creation Of a better spirit, the
correction Of grievances, and the pro-
motion Of understanding and sympa-
thy between the races.
The methods employed III this effort
and general survey Of the results at
tanned will be set forth in the two
succeeding numbers Of this series.