The Detroit tribune. (Detroit, Mich.) 1935-1966, 1939-04-22
What's The FoIlow-Up on the
Marian Anderson affair?

"yeni vidi vici' Caesar said OF
himself. With equal truth 1t may
be said Of the inimitable Marian
Anderson, vent. cantavit, vicit.'
she came, she sang and she con-
quered) Her dramatic appearance
before the Lincoln monument with
an audience OF 75,00O marks one OF
the grandcst gestures ever made
in race relations. Although this
writer opposed her singing under
"second-raie circumstances and
expressed the belief that the high
er ends OF strategy would he served
il she remained away from Wash
mgton Indefinitely. the fact that
the circumstances were suspicious
and the support nationwide made
OF the occasion the appropriate re-
buke 10 race prejudice that the sit
nation demanded The proper
dramatizatioa OF race prejudice was
all that could have been expected
regardless OF whether she sang un-
der first-raie circumstances or re-
NAMED away
Now that Miss Anderson and her
sponsors have indicated our cause
il remains for us to properly eval-
uate the great victory What our
follow-up will he, will determine
more than The occasion itself
whether we are worthy Of so grand
contribution as Miss Anderson
and her sponsors have made. In
other words. Miss Anderson's APP
pearance under such dramatic cir
cumstance was merely a potential
triumph; we must make il real
triumph by following II up with
intra-racial cooperation. Negro
business needs support and patron
age. the Negro church needs re-
iuvenescence. The Negro profess
sionals need faith and confidence
and encouragement the Negro
youth needs vocational guidance
and training. Negro history needs
popnlarixaiion Onr white collar
complex need revision, our hghting
spirit needs 10 be turned into con-
structive channels, religion among
Negroes needs 10 he made the vital
thing il was TO our enslaycd ia
Tiers. lust how we sci ourselves
TO these tasks will largely deter
mine whether Miss Andcrson's tii-
umph was a supplement or sub
stituie. As a supplement. her APP
pearance was triumph. as sub
situte for races sacrifice and
cooperation 1t was tragedy.
The morning after. as the morn
ing before. her notable triumph the
Negro is too prone 10 underestimate
the serious challenge OF joblessness
that only Negro foresight and CO.
operation can remedy. Just as the
work OF the Negro professionals is
Negro-made, more and more the
work Of the Negro aborer must BE-
Negro. made. Marian Anderson got
before that great audience because
she had something No amount 81
arguing over rights could have
won her so great an opportunity.
She had TO have The singing
goods and she had to deliver them
and she did What Miss Anderson
did in n big way The average Negro
must do in small way: for in the
last analysis the logic OF perfor-
nance is the only convincing ap-
peal for recognition In other
words capability and character
mnsr precede opportuniv. II was
ever thus A few days ago. Miss
Nina Sega. an African young wo-
man spoke in Virginia Union chap
81 and made the Significant stale
ment that the words command
and demand are key words for a
people struggling for their rights
and recognition In the long run
she said 1t Is not the respect and
rights that We demand that
counts. but those we command
by our character So sight must not
be lost OF the fact that Miss Ander-
sons triumph must he explained in
terms OF her own character and ef-
fciency and NOT by the dcplorable
incident that gave birth 10 the
great occasion Exploiting siiua-
lions call for great character. Only
'sOmbodies' can hope TO triumph
in such crises. As a supplement
TO us lesser 'somebodics Miss An
derson's triumph was mighty, as a
substitute for these lesser some
bodies. II was a great failure. Lets
follow up this wonderful triumph
with the cooperation 1t Justly de-
mands. Let us not forget the part
the Negro newspapers played In
making the great Marian Anderson
and in the making OF the NAACP
which was her chiefest sponsor
Without Negro press there would
be no Marian Anderson and without
this press there would he no
NAACP 10 champion the cause Of
Negro advance. The Negro must
not forget the bridge that brought
him over and forget 10 support his
own newspapers II IS becoming
more and more Of problem that
our larger white dailies are carry
ing Negro supplements. This NAV
he the beginning Of the end for the
Negro press unless the Negro Is
wary. Supplement or substitute?
Our race needs Marian Anderson
ling!