The northwestern bulletin-appeal., 1925-01-10
LETTERS

United Press under the heading OF
"City For Negroes Only" / inter
preted the significance of the article
as being a deliberate effort on the
part of the United Press, either to
justify those southern towns which
exclude Negroes from their popuia-
tion, or to accuse Negroes of being
inconsistent when they complain be-
cause of this exclusion.
The article says, "Flared across
Boley's main street was a sign with
the inscription, White Man, Don't
Let the Sun Set on Your Head.
Needless to add, white persons avoid
ed remaining long in Boley." The
article continues by saying, "The sign
was removed by the federal officials
upon order of the post Office depart
ment, which threatened to discon-
tinue the post office here unless 1t
was removed"
/ submitted an article to the Min
neapolis Journal, which was publish
ed in Mondays issue, challenging the
truthfulness of the statements men
toned above, and stating that white
person visiting Boley would have no
occasion whatever to feel the least
uneasy because of fear of being
harmed or treated with the slightest
disrespect by the colored inhabitants.
Incidentally l mentioned the fact tina;
there are two other incorporated
towns, besides Boley, well and eff
ciently governed, inhabited exclu-
sively by Negroes. mean, of course,
in the United States. The real chai-
lenge in my article was deliberately
omitted by the Journal, consequently,
forcing the reader to arrive at the
only logical conclusion left for him,
namely, that / was challenging the
truthfulness of the statement made
by the United Press, that Boley,
Okla, is the only city in the United
States inhabited exclusively by
Negroes.
In forensic debate, we would call
such an omission "garbling," the
most unfair and unethical strategy
to which a speaker can possibly re-
sort in attempting to win some con-
troversial point from his opponent.
If my article which was submitted to
the Journal has any teeth in it at all,
they are imbedded in that challenge
and statement which was intention
ally omitted by the Journal.
My only purpose in referring this
matter to the columns of the Bull
letin-Appeal is to emphasize our
utter heipiessness as race without
strong Negro press to fight our
battles for us. The white news
papers, in order to give their articles
comic value, will deliberately mis-
represent us in matters that tend to
subject us to the severest sort of
criticisms. If a colored person sub
mits an article which reveals the
Misrepresentation and exposes its
falsity, the managing editor of the
White daily abridges and revises the
article to such an extent, IL he pub
fishes it at all, that it is rendered alb
solutely worthless as a corrective
measure.
How absolutely essential, there
fore, it is to our reputation as a race,
and to our progress as well, for us to
strengthen and support our Negro
press, for after all, we must rely
upon it, finally, to spread the truth
concerning our achievements and ad-
vancement, and to correct the mis-
representations and falsehoods that
are circulated about us. = Not until
we realize the power and influence of
strong Negro press, and not until
we give it our full patronage and
wholehearted support, shall we be at
the beginning of making ourselves
the great and powerful people our
capabilities enable us to be.
The United Press originated the
charge that in the colored towns in
habited and governed exclusively by
Negroes, white visitors are in danger
of great violence at the hands of the
colored population, and the Mime
apolis Journal and other big white
dailies Of this country have waited
this charge to the four corners of
the earth. Many people, far and
near, will believe this charge, some
from sleer meanness and prejudice.
and others because there is no chan
mel through which the truth may
reach them. BY inference the pur-
pose Of the charge is to silence our
complaints against mob violence, and
to brand us as being inconsistent, IL,
in our grief and indignation, we pro-
test against the outrages which we
must for a time yet suffer. Our
Negro press is powerless because of
greatly inadequate support. to rectify
this terrible wrong. After all, the
fault is ours. How long shall we
allow our indifference to continue?