The Detroit tribune. (Detroit, Mich.) 1935-1966, 1936-11-14
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NEW YORK-The heavy vote for
President Roosevelt by colored peo-
pie November does not mean the
race is now property fthe Demo-
cratic party it was declared here
Friday i'm a statement by the ~ A.
A. c. p.
Pointing out that the sizq of the
vote frees the President of obliga-
tion to the South, Walter White,
~ A. A. c. p secretary, warns that
something must be done about lyn-
ching, discrimination in the civil
service, relief and employment, or
else the Negro is likely to vote with
some other party or group in 1888
and 1910 The text of the state
ment:
MIR Roosevelt's phenomenal vic
tory should be soberly and intel
ligently considered by Negro A
mericans in all of it's implications.
Frankly, we of the n. A. A. c. P,
would have been happier had the
results been more close as the eff
forts for fair play of a minority
group are always more effective
when there is greater balance bet
ween political parties. This fact.
however. is balanced by certain o.
ther realities. Perhaps the most
significant of these is that Mr..
Roosevelt's victory was so over
whelming that he is the first DEM
ocratic President in history who
could have been elected had not
single vote been cast for him by
the solid South This circum-
stance should free Mr.. Roosevelt
and the enlightened wing of the
Democratic party from control by
the South of the Cotton Ed Smiths.
the Bilbos and the Talmadges.
The abolition of the two-thirds
erule by the Democratic convention.
which, rule has permitted the South
hitherto to exercise veto power on
many presidential candidates, and
the new mobility of the Negro vote
with the attendant attention paid
to it in pivotal states, can mean a
new deal politically for the Ne
gro.
Negroes, however, must wisely
and unselfishly utilize this new
power and these new situations
They must let the Democratic par
}y know that all elections will not
be won by the overwhelming ma /
jority of 1886. They must lie Demo-
cratic leaders know that the over
whelming Negro vote for Mr..
Roosevelt is an enthusiasm for
Roosevelt the individual and must
not be interpreted as unequivocal
approval of the Democratic party
''They must also let Democratic !
leaders of the country as a whole
know that the Negro is not now q
chattel of the Democratic or any
other party and that he can and
will vote for other parties in 1898
or 1910 as overwhelmingly as he
did for the President in 1886 If
campaign promises are broken.
They must let Democratic leaders |
know that Negroes want something
done about lynching, discrimina-
ton in jobs and relief and in the
civil service.
"The Presidents Overwhelming
majority not only means that the
anti-Negro South no longer domi-
mates the Democratic party, but
that northern Democrats can no
longer offer an excuse on such mat
ters as the anti lynching bill that
they are helpless in the face of
southern opposition. The South is
less unit on the Negro issue now
than it has ever been before and
this years election has helped to
strengthen the hands of those liber-
al forces in the South who want
the Negro given a square deal.
I'VE do not surrender the right
of individual Negroes to be appoint
ed to responsible posts but we are
and must continue to be, much
more deeply interested in legisla-
ton and in executive and other ac-
tion affecting the welfare of the
masses of Negroes rather than in
jobs for individuals.
Finally, a significant develop
ment of this years election is its
complete and Overwhelming repu-
diation by the South itself of the
attempts of Talmadge in Georgia,
the Southern Committee to Uphold
the Constitution, and others, to use
propaganda against the Negro for
selfish political purposes"
O-