St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1941-11-21

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First Suit
1t was the first suit of it's kind
matically national and no doubt
international attention. to the glar-
ing inconsistency of American de-
tense which makes it necessary for
Americans of Negro ancestry to
have to go to court to join the
armed forces of the Nation!
Lee Kenneth Turpin of st. Paul,
80 years, is the plaintiff in the
suit which named as co-defendants
Harold E. Stassen, Governor of the
State of Minnesota, E. A. Walsh,
acknowledgement; G. E. Green, act
ing adjutant general, and Col. F.
G. Stutz, executive officer of the
State Defense Force Bureau.
Turpin is an insurance salesman
and is active in civic affairs in st.
Paul. On December 80, in answer
to newspaper appeals for able
bodied citizens to enlist in the State
Defense Force, Turpin, J. Nathani-
ell Smith, World War veteran, and
others applied for admission to the
militia.
Background of Case
At that time Turpin and the
others were told that "no provision
had been made for the enlistment
of Negroes in the Home Defense
Force"
Officials of the st. Paul branch
of the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People ap-
pealed to Governor Stassen as COM
mander-in-chief of the state mill
tary to reverse the action of Col.
Stutz who was the officer who re-
fused to admit Turpin.
Unable to obtain an audience
with the Governor on the matter,
the st. Paul NAACP at a public
meeting organized a Twin City
wide committee which was named
the Minnesota Negro Defense to
deal with the Home Defense mat
ter and any Of the various prob
lens attendant to the defense and
emergency program. ---~--.
Threaten to March on Capitol
After a controversy in the press
in which the committee threatened
to organize a march on the state
capitol while the legislature was
in session, Gov. Stassen took ac-
ton by advising the committee that
he had appointed Raymond w.
Cannon, Minneapolis attorney, and
Lawrence Tarver "to investigate
how Minnesota Negroes might best
serve in the defense program"
Following the Cannon-Tarver in
vestigation, the Governor invited
group of prominent Negroes to dis
cuss the matter with him at the
capitol. At that time he explained
that he was powerless to do any
thing to protect the interests of
the colored men who sought to
serve in the Home Defense because
of the army code which insisted
the Negroes and whites could not
serve in the same military units.
Turpin Tried Again to Enlist ON
August 81
Defense committee members, af-
ter disagreeing with the Governor,
invited him to address a mass
meeting and tell his story to the
people. He spoke at Halle Q.
Brown House in st. Paul October
5 at a meeting sponsored by the
defense committee.
The defense committee warned
Governor Stassen that the case
would be taken to the courts I'M
less he fulfilled his oath of office.
The National office Of the NAACP
and it's legal department backed
the committee in it's determination
to see the case of rank discrimina-
ton through.
Public support of both Negroes
and whites was large and every
meeting the defense committee has
sponsored during the various
phases of the fight have been large
ly attended.
The fight has received more
space in the Negro press of the
nation than any other controversy
in the history Of Minnesota.
After it was ascertained that the
Minnesota governor did not intend
to do anything about the situation,
the committed requested volunteers
from the st. Paul and Minneapolis
bar to prepare to take the case to
the courts. Only one Negro attor-
ney, A. r. Skinner, volunteered to
help.