The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-08-08
Negro Bourgeoisie Assemblies
By Fred Ellis.

proletariat, which does not so easily
indulge in lynching at the request
Of the "citizens committees" The
most significant barometer of the
feeling of Negro workers in regard
to lynching was the scattered but
insistent applause which greeted the
remarks of Hon. Fish when he re-
commended that machine guns be
placed on the jails with which to
repel "cowardly mobs" intent on
lynching. Of course, Fish did not
say that these machine guns should
be given to the Negro workers.
what he said was that they should
be given to the sheriffs and wardens
and that they should be held respon-
sible. The response to this sugges-
tion-true, made with quite another
purpose in view-was indicative of
the feeling of Negro workers in the
audience, that organized violence
and not non-violence could protect
the Negro workers from lynching
bees.
A Successful Racket.
In drawing up the list of achieve
ments in the 20 years of its exist
ence the N. A. A. C. P. was insistent
on saying that "series of court. de-
cisions has laid the foundation of
or real citizenship as voters, house.
holders, travellers and workers" The
report of the activities of last year
was concerned mostly with few
court cases based on segregation and
jim-crow, many of them being con-
cerned with well-to-do Negro men
and women who found discrimination
while travelling. The number of feet
of publicity the organization sue
ceeded in getting laws announced, as
was the mileage covered by its we'll
paid officials and field organizers
during the course of the year.
We. must not, however, underesti-
mate the damage that can be done
by this organization as a social re-
formist agency, within the ranks of
the working class itself. The report
of the N A. A. C. P. included an
open offer to the A. F. of L., MAX
ing a bid to cooperate with it as
treacherous agent of Yankee am
perialism against the Negro work.
ers. The report suggests that it is
time for black and white labor to
get together and proposes that
''there be formed the National AS
scciation for the Advancement Of
Colored People, the American Fed
GRAFTON of Labor, the railway BROTH
erhoods and any other bodies agreed
upon, an inter-racial labor commits
SION"
Sanction Segregation.
This is nothing more nor less than
an offer of cooperation with the A.
F. of L. officialdom in an effort to
create a Jim-C rowed section of the
reactionary unions in order to keep
the Negro workers from organizing
into the new left-wing unions. Bill
Green proposed practically the
same thing when he promised to
grant separate charters to Negro
workers whom A. F. of L. locals re-
fused to admit, at the recent meet
ing of the Pullman Porters in N. Y.
This is a more or less complete
picture of the N.A.A.C.P. conference.
Full supporter Yankee imperialism
and its war preparations; the cloud
ing of the actual system of vicious
discrimination and prejudicial bar
riers against the Negro workers; by
it's talk of the ballot and non-violence
attempting to keep the Negro
masses in subjugation; by accepting
segregation and, lessening its fight
against it attempting to continue
the artificial barrier raised between
the white and Negro workers; and
finally, offering to complete its SER
vices, bidding for space on the A..
f. of L. stump to further delude and
betray tho Negro workers.
Here and there were bright spots.
Sadie VanVeen, delegate Of the
Workers Interracial League Of
Cleveland succeeded in gaining the
floor and presenting the case of the
Negro workers. That was the only
time Gastonia was mentioned, nor
anything else but non-violence talked.
There was scattered support from
more militant delegates and a flare
up here and there. But the Confer
ence closed looking forward to the
advancement of the Negro bourg-
eoisie. at the expense of the Negro
workers.