The Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1931-1952, 1940-11-29
Walter White
Thrills Portland

The arrival of Walter White
Monday afternoon for a two day
speaking engagement brought to
Portland a socialogist, lecturer and
author of renown. Mr.. White, Ma
tional secretary of the Association
for the Advancement of Colored
People, spoke at a banquet held
at p. m. Monday at Portland Tea
Room. Tuesday, 8 p. M, he spoke
at a mass meeting held in Wash
ington high school auditorium;
sandwiched in on Tuesday was a
10 a. m. meeting with local Board
members at Williams Ave. Branch
Y, and 4 p. m. at Reed College
where he talked to faculty and
students. Singing the National
Anthem with prayer, offered by
Rev. Browning C. Allen; introduce
tory remarks by the POSTMASTER,
Mr. Kelly Foster. brief resume
of the local N. A. A. c. p. by
DR.. D. N. Unthank, pres; Mr.. Ed
gar Williams, former President Of
the Local Branch, presented Mrs.
A. Roberts (for her loyalty to the
Branch) with book titled along
This Way" written by the Youth
Council. Thanks were eloquently
extended by Miss Eunis Mott; for
the city, his honor Mayor Carson;
and on behalf of the state, Mr..
David Echols representing Cover
nor Sprague.
Introduction of Mr. White
brought loud applause from the
200 white andcolored assembled.
Opening his speech with its mob
violence, lynchings and race hat
red, Mr.. White held his audience
spellbound as he related the plight
of the American Negro who is ev-
en- denied the privilege to show
his patriotism because of race dis
elimination. Mr.. White said few
Negroes have been converted to
Nazism, communism or Fascism
but that the spirit of mob violence,
too often shown leads to race riots,
lynchings and proves dangerous.
This spirit, however, is the very
thing on which Nazi bunds and
other subversive groups grasp for
foothold, he continued.
Mr.. White is noted for his fight
for anti-lynching bills and his deep
concern for the Southern share
cropper He reiterated stories of
brutal treatment to helpless, i'm
poverished families, of mob at
tacks of innocent victims, where,
in some cases, mobs included men
of the law as in Brownsville, Tenn.
when the sheriff and marshall
were mob leaders.
At Washington High Tuesday
evening Mr.. White gave a report
of some of the accomplishments
of the organization, DR.. Unthank
presiding. Rev. Lee Owen Stone
gave the prayer, followed by the
Negro National Anthem, Lift Ev-
cry Voice and Sing" The all men
chorus rendered group of spir-
ituals. In his dynamic speech Mr.
White said the thing that had kept
the National Association in exist
ance for 81 years was unity of
thought and purpose, sacrifice and
cooperation. He said mob violence,
lynchings, Acknowledgement, has
has been greatly reduced through
fights waged by the Association
that the Negro be given justice,
which in many cases had to be
carried to the supreme courts. The
inferior Accommodations and MAX
ing inroads on widespread dis
elimination in the navy, army and
air corps.
In his closing remarks Mr..
White urged the local Branch and
interested persons to speak out
against Military offense by send
ing cards, letters and kilograms
to Secretary of Navy, Secretary
of War and Senators in a protest
to discrimination because of race
and color. An appeal for member
ship resulted in many one dollar
memberships, several two-fifty
memberships and one ten dollar
membership "a young white man.