The Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1931-1952, 1931-08-13

National advertisers have been
missing a fertile and fecund market
in disdaining to bid for colored trade
through advertising in colored news
papers. Negro newspaper men have
long been aware of this fact but
have been forced to await the pleas
ure of the white business houses.
These white concerns are now chang
ing their attitude. They have dis
covered" the Negro market. The
New York News in full page adj
vertisement in Editor and Publisher,
craft journal, has this to say con-
corning the colored trade: "And the
high priced hosiery line, which, much
to it's makers astonishment, was en-
joying its best distribution among
the dusky bellies of Harlem"
We may not be so keen on that
"dusky belle" allusion, in fact we
do not like it as it carries a tinge of
disrespect, but it is lost in the fact
chat the white business man is COM
ing to realize what, we as a race,
have always known concerning our
selves-that we will go hungry be-
fore we will go without fine clothes.
Reports from Chicago, Cleveland,
Detroit and New York reveal many
avenues of employment have been
opened to colored people as result
of the do not spend your money
where you can't work" campaign in
augurated bv Negro newspapers.
The slogan of the campaign has been
mo Jobs, no patronage" and the
Negroes have lived up to it. As a
result of years agitation In Chi
cago from so to 100 per cent of the
clerks in the retail stores of the dis
trict are colored. In the new Sears
Roebuck store, selling radio supplies,
there is Negro manager and three
Negro assistants. Black boys and
girls are behind the counters as sell
lers, clerks and cashiers. They are
working along side of white employees
and there is no racial friction though
manv of the whites are from the
South.
Colored people everywhere have
the same power to achieve this re-
suit as the people of Chicago. There
are many stores that would go out of
business if deprived of their Negro
support. Wherever possible. trade
with stores that do not practice dis
elimination against your race. Shun
those that do. Spend your money
with concerns that employ Negroes
Help support those who help support
you. Stand by those who stand by
YOU. Stop crying. Stop complain
ing. Get up off your knees and do
something for yourselves.
In the midst of amazing and puz-
zllng racial programs and problems
of this one thing we can be sure, no
race can rise any higher than its
aims and ideals. And another is
equally true, and that is that we
cannot say that our aims are high as
long as we content ourselves with
circumstances and conditions that
are dramatically different from
those of other races who fashioned
their ideals above the status of the
commonplace. The ideals and aims
for race of people are not created
and established by the masses of the
people but by their leaders. If the
accepted leaders of a people are con-
tent and satisfied with the lowly
and mediocre things in life then their
ideals, philosophy and psychology,
will be transmitted down to the mass
es and the race will adapt itself ac-
cordingly
Frequently we hear adverse crit
cism of the colored people and their
fallings. In most cases the failings
are said to be because they are col
ored people and that the failings are
racial. Those who hurl the charge
are likely to be in error as ninety
five percent or more of the weak
nesses of the colored man are Just
ordinary human failings and not in
herent racial weaknesses.
If white people and MANY colored
people would approach our problems
with the fact that we are human in
mind many of the so-called weak
nesses that are now dubbed as racial
could be seen in the light of ace old
human nature. We would appear in
much better light than we are now
pictured both from within and with
out. After all there is something
to the saving that the proper study
of mankind is man. We will have
to make others and ourselves see us
IN the light of "tust humans" if we