The guardian. [volume] (Boston, Mass.) 1901-1960, 1940-04-13

history there was to be a boxing team
representing the colored youth of the
South. Upon hearing this, hope ran
high everywhere. Such a history-mak-
ing event would undoubtedly help
break down the seemingly insurmoun-
table racial barriers. And so, all Bos-
ton made ready to greet the ambassa-
doris of racial amity'.
There was the usual publicity and
then the various teams began arriving
on the scene. First came the team
then the teams from the west coast
representing the Hawaiian Islands,
followed by those from the midwest
and finally those from the nearby
places, such as New York and Phila-
delphia. On Monday the trials were
held because of the large number of
entries, three rings were necessary to
keep the show moving smoothly. On
Tuesday the quarter-fnals were held,
followed by the finals on Wednesday.
As l sat there Tuesday night before
the show, l was talking to an elderly
man of the other race about this fight
er and that one and boxing in general.
He was saying that too much shouldn't
be expected of Paul Junior in his COM
ing fight with Henry Armstrong be-
cause of the wide difference in their
ring experiences. From there we
talked about the present crop of anna
teurs, of how they seem to lack the
crowd appeal of some of the former
heroes of this great sport.
rTha1o aaroa tho op11O11faoT,'c NyOica
that the show was about to get under
way. There was a sudden let-down in
conversation all over the house and
the voice continued naming the ring
officials and making other preliminary
announcements. Finally, the first
contestants were introduced as Mooney
Little, of Memphis, Tenn, and Eddie
DeAngelis, a local boy. At that
moment, I began specializing as to
whether or not that colored boy would
be able to overcome the psychological
handicap of competing against one of
the white race. If he felt the least
bit disturbed, he didn't show it and
although he didn't win the decision, he
made gallant bid for the honor. And
so it went on and on with the colored
fighters winning more than their share
of the plaudits. AS the night came to
an end l thought how cruel fate
seemed to be. My program showed
that all the contestants from below
the Mason and Dixon line had been
disqualified by their opponents. But
just then something seized me-some-
thing within kept saying that they
were all winners-winners of some
thing far greater than the coveted
championship. Under the most ex-
IRENE handicaps, confronted by none
of the other teams, they had a formid-
able group which must have helped
racial goodwill with their competitors
from their own section of the country
It's true that none of them got any
further than the quarter-finals, but,
considering all things, even that was
more than great. In the North, we're
all aware of the many opportunities
our race has to learn the finer points
and science of various sports but
sometimes we lose sight of the fact
that it isn't the case everywhere.
Down in the southland, where white
people consider our noble race inferior
always oElGC GNluGuCG Ill luG OJneG
direction, our youth seldom, if ever,
get the opportunity of supervised play.
It's true a good number of them do
have some opportunities for such, but
usually it comes to those in the large
cities or to those who are fortunately
situated near a college or some other
institution of higher learning. So in
view of such a discouraging situation
this group above all others wrote anna
teur fistic history.
Even as | sit here now thinking of
that great show, my mind travels over
many miles to that section south of us.
Perhaps, by this time, all the stories
of the competition have been told by
those who were actively engaged in
the tournament and those who were
merely spectators. No doubt the vari-
GUS impressions have been related
over and over again. And as each bow
tells his own story, he does a great
deal toward creating a new hope, a
new outlook, as it were. And as the
accounts of the trip get abroad, many
young boys who in the past, probably
thought the day would never come
when they, too, would be able to in
clude themselves in the like of such
national affairs and who are already
making plans for the next one.