The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-04-25
DARK SKIN MEANS
hitch RE NTS FOR
MANY WORKERS
Latin Americans, Too,
Suffer Barriers

Continued from Page One)
play with regular baseball bats, but
here they cannot get even the nickel
or dime necessary for cheap bat.
Into Darkness.
FAVE the nlight-what there is
"a of it permitted thru the elevator
tracks on Third Avenue--alive with
dust and CRIME, and enter one of the
tenements between 102nd and 103rd
Street. Notice that the bells are not
working, although there are mail
boxes which have been put up by the
tenants themselves. Climb thru this
six story building, with no lights
burning in the halls, and grope your
way from door to door of the 80
flats.
You will have good reception, no
matter whether it be Latin-Ameri-
can, Negro or Italian who opens the
door for you and asks you to come
in. They are all glad to speak to
you, once you convince them that
you are just one of them.
A Cracking Whip.
This particular tenement, No.
1869, is a little more "fortunate"
than the others in the neighborhood
in having a landlord who would
rather collect the rent in installments
than dispossess the tenants. He has
a good reason for this. He gets his
money and at the same time he has
whip to crush over the heads of the
tenants. For the tenants will not
kick about falling ceilings, lack of
water supply, rats and vermin, no
garbage collection.
| No sooner does a tenant say:
"Why don't you fix the sink?" when
the agent for the landlord, will hold
out his hand and say:
"Have you got your rent ?"
Rent or no rent, improvements are
not forthcoming.
Pay for Color.
The system of rent raising is not
as vicious here as in Upper Harlem,
altho a colored worker is made to
pay for the color of his skin in
higher rents than those paid by
white tenants in the same building.
A Cuban family pays $25 for four
rooms on the fourth floor, Negro
family pays $23 for 8 rooms on the
third floor, another Negro family
pay $27 for three rooms on the
| fourth floor, Porto Rican family
pays $26 for a rooms on the fifth
floor, a Negro family pays $50 for
8 rooms on the fifth floor, an Ameri-
can family pays SIS for rooms on
the third floor, and so on.
The discrimination against Negro
and Latin-American families is very
evident, and is keenly felt by the
tenants. A Negro, lather living
here knows that he is paying five
more dollars for his flat than his
next door neighbor, Jew, is paying
for his. Mrs. Verona knows that
she is paying $40 more for the same
| three rooms than the family below
her is paying.
That is O part of the landlords
plan. He exploits the colored work
ers to the limit and makes them feel
that he is doing them favor by
letting them remain in a mixed
house.
Intimidation.
eff only we could all get together"
said the Negro lather. eve get used
to this discrimination. We look for
it. When / ask the lady next door
to lend me her rent receipt SO that
I can go to the agent and show him
that | am paying more, she is afraid
to give it to me. She may be thrown
out. When / talk to the tenants
about starting something they want
me to start it. But l have only been
here a year, and l haven't been
working for weeks. The landlord
didn't throw me out when l couldn't
pay my rent and waited few weeks
for it. If l started anything now,
out CO."
That is race prejudice in dollars
and cents, the only terms in which
the landlords think. They terrorize
and intimidate the tenants, throw
up walls of prejudice, in order to
have better hold on them. The
dispossession Of one Negro or Latin
American family in the tenement is
enough to intimidate the others into
submission.
Whitewash.