The Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1931-1952, 1937-02-05
Prominent Figure In Political Life
Discusses Participation OF Negro
People In National Elections Of SO

my people must stop. Mob rule
must end. It can be ended by
invoking heavy penalties. Lynch
ing must be made federal crime.
The 18th, 14th and 10Th Amend
me3its to the Constitution must
be enforced. Right here It must
be stated that neither the Re-
publican nor Democratic Party
has attempted to enforce these
amendments in the South"
Another angle was brought into
the problem Of the Negro people
IN a radio broadcast delivered al
Los Angeles, California;
In the film industry the most
frightful discrimination is prac-
ticed against my people-the
colored people. It is seldom that
any Negro actor or actress is
given a decent part Negro
evtras and even those who a.
chieve some deggee of acclaim
as artists are compelled to per-
form in such a way as to foster
the Hitler theory of white rae
ial superiority
when we speak of equal
rights for the Negro people we
remember that in the film indus
try there must be a real drive
to realize equal rights for the
colored workers and artists.
There must be a stop to this
policy of forcing colored people
to take parts that degrade their
people and encourage the dis
gusting ideas of rascism."
Unite Political PoCer
The Communist Party thus fore
saw all the issues that faced the
Negro people in the elections. Our
strategy also included the leading
Of the Negro people in an organ
lied manner toward a movement
for Independent political action as
the only sure means of effectively
pooling their political power to re-
alize their demands.
One outstanding example of this
was support given to the building
of the All-People's Party in Har-
lem, which brought together many
diverse groups and organizations
on the basis of program of the
people of that community in line
with the general policies for a
Peoples Front in this country.
The All-People's Party in its
political campaign ana in its or
ganization work was a great sue
cess. 1t was hailed by leaders OF
political opinion throughout the
country. The All-People's Party
in Harlem pooled altogether about
1000 votes. This vote, together
with the vote cast for the Ameri-
can Labor Party, the Communist
and Socialist Parties, brought the
total vote for Independent political
action, in Harlem, for Peoples
Front, a Farmer-Labor Party, to
a grand total of approximately
10000.
The Communist campaign in the
State of Virginia was one of the
outstanding political events in the
South. Donald Burke, candidate
for the Senate against Carter
Glass, received 1000 votes, and
Ed Wright. Negro Congressional
candidate in Norfolk, received 500
votes; showing excellent POSSIBLE
tiles for progressive political ac-
ton which is bound to develop in
the South.
The task that lies before the Ne
gro people is to strengthen their
forces organizationally, in the
trade union movement, and parti-
cularly in the C. I. o. movement,
in the unemployed field and in the
movement for peace.
President Roosevelt promised
many things during the election
campaign. He lnderscored these
promises by saying that For all
these things we have only just
begun to fight"
The most immediate task before
the Negro people is to develop a
broad united front legislative pro-
gram, to fight for this program
in the next Congress of the United
States. 1t must be a broad unity
struggle. Only unity in mass
struggle can bring results. The
legislative program should be de-
veloped around the following is
sues:
1. Guarantee the Negro people
complete equality in every phase
of life; equal rights to jobs; equal
pay for equal work; the right to
organize, vote, serve an juries and
hold public office.
2. Abolish segregation and dis
elimination against Negroes
3. Establish heavy penalties a
gainst floggers, kidnappers, with
the death penalty for lynchers.
4. Enforcement of the 18th,
14th and 18th amendments to the