The Dayton forum. [volume] (Dayton, Ohio) 1913-1949, 1939-03-24
HERE IS A PICTURE OF
WASHINGT0N---THE
CITY OF CONTRASTS

for these youngsters" and they
are as earnest in the pursuit of an
occasional dollar as any younger
hustler in the business.
The dual system Of schools, that y
one for white and one for colored
children, gives employment 70 nun
dreds Of colored men and women
and pays them nice, comfortable
salaries. The elimination OF TINS
system, which many decry but do
nothing about, would throw many Of
| the upper strata out Of work.
These constitute the upper class
| in Washingtons society. And they
are just about as snooty as any
group Of people could be. There u
story of church in Charleston, :.
i G., which often told, evokes much
comment elsewhere, to the erect
/ that light-skinned Negroes sit on one
side Of the church and their darker
bretheren sit on the other. Ihat
isn't exactly true Of Washington, but
! it il true that many of our best FOLK
are what is commonly called "coior-
| struck"
| Below this group is the domestic
| group-large in any city and espec-
tally SO here in Washington, ior
many of the Southern residents IN
The city insist on having colored
servants. They form their own
little cliques and rarely break
| through the barriers to the upper
social level.
/ Business is limited to insurance
| companies, of which there are five
operating in the city--Wlth q white
insurance company doing the bulk
81 of the business and maintaining q
separate office downtown to handle
colored clients! There is one bank,
many barbershops, billiard rooms,
| liquor stores, restaurants Of kind,
and bootblack stands. Of course,
there are beauty shops and several
good printing establishments. But.
as usual, the scope of the businesses
Is limited.
Amusements here are in the hands
Of one concern-as far as theatrlca
enterprise ii concerned. The Light
man theatres control practicall.
every theatre in the upper section o.
, the city, and one or two IN outlying
areas However, it must be sal,
that these theatres are models o
cleanliness and the service rival
: that Of the Keith-0rpheum circuit il
larger cities. Comfortable houses
{ good attractions, excellent servic
7 mark the theatres inducement t
Negroes to attend. This situation
III far superior to that in other larg
cities, especially New York, wher
an owner Of group of theatres doc
: not begin to measure up to tn
= l4ightman houses. In fact, one o
Z The theatres presenting legitimat
I shows makes certain Of our perform
Z ers "launder' their acts before pr,
senting them to the public. Th
;, censorship is unheard of elsewher,
: But it is tribute to the manage
= ment.
9 And on and on, reams could /
= written about this city of strane
= contrasts where governmental ru
permits two thirds of the city to Ii,
y 81 one manner and the other OF
= third to be restricted according
- the best usages of the deep Sout
And tie sad part of the picture
- Nashingtonians long accustomed
these things have accepted sui
- usages, while at the same time, a
tempt to maintain distinct cas-
system among themselves. And
= looking at Washington from an OF
= sider's viewpoint, there is MUCH
as admire, there is more to condens
ae But as long as the Rebel Sou
- through its leaders and .'rnisgio
~ aries continue to dominate Il
= Capital, there viii be even more u
~ fortunate conditions arising to tx
"a pent an already torinented. thou,
20 placid, population.