St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1942-04-03
Morrow Calls Negroes
Refugees of Democracy in
Stirring St. Paul Address

enthusiastic audience that nearly
filed the chapel of the CamphOr
Memorial Methodist Church last
Sunday afternoon at the member
ship campaign mass meeting of the
st. Paul Branch of the National
Association for the Advancement
of COlOred People. The brilliant
twenty-nine year old orator, who
was a member of the debating
team of BOwdOin College and who
is the co-OrdinatOr of branches of
the N. A. A. C. P, did not hesitate
to score the prejudice and discrim-
nation of the Northwest. eff
this has been free territory it is
fast becoming less than Free"
In speaking about what we need
as a race to obtain our freedom,
Mr.. Morrow said: eve have lost
the spirit of sacrifice that our fore
fathers had. We are trying to
jitterburg our way through. We
are never going to be free in this
land until we make up our minds
to give our lives for freedom or at
least be willing to go to Jail for it
as Gandhi and Nehru in India"
The speaker revealed the fact
that he will probably be called into
the army by June, along with three
brothers already in the service. He
said that he did not mind going,
but that he hoped that his going
would not be in vain, because he re-
members that one of his brothers
served in the first World War "to
make the world safe for democ-
racy"-a democracy that has been
consistently denied the Negro in
America.
Morrow declared that construc-
tive criticism will win the war and
that as long as free speech was
permitted in America he would cry
out against enemies of democracy
here in America. "The Negro is
the acid test of democracy and I'M
til we get democracy here we can
not carry it abroad. Men must
have liberty before we can have
peace" Mr.. Morrow raised the
question as to whether or not
America would profit by England's
mistake of holding millions of peo-
Piles of the darker races in virtual
slavery, only to find that she is fast
losing her own freedom. eve are
not going to have peace in the
world until black people are free"
he asserted.
In reply to Major Samuel Ran
som, who spoke before him, Mr..
Morrow said he did not doubt the
Majors sincerity in accepting the
appointment from the Governor of
the State, as an officer on the Min
nesota Home Defense Force, but
we must be careful not to accept
high empty honors for ourselves
as individuals that mean nothing
for the good Of our people.
Other speakers on the program
included Mrs. Ethel Maxwell Will
liams, campaign director, Atty. R.
A. Skinner, president of the Min
neapois Branch of the N. A. A.
C. p, and Rev. B. N. Moore, presi-
dent of the st. Paul Branch.
Several musical selections were
rendered by the Swanee Singers,
directed by Mrs. s. E. Ware. The
invocation was offered by the Rev.
s. E. Ware, pastor Of the Pilgrim
Baptist Church, and Rev. Clarence
T. R. Nelson, pastor Of the Cam
phor Methodist Church, presided.
The benediction was pronounced by
the Rev. C. B. Wheeler, pastor of
the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church.
In statement to the press on
Wednesday before leaving St. Paul,
Mr.. Morrow, speaking in regard
to the 1912 membership campaign
of the local branch, now in prog
ress, said 'tfrom all indications the
present campaign will be the most
successful held in recent years in
st. Paul" He praised the workers
in the campaign and the officers of
the local branch for the NEW life
that has come into the st. Paul
branch under the leadership of Rev.
Moore"
The membership campaign will
be continued for ten days. A list
of the names Of the new members
will be published in the next issue
of the Recorder and Spokesman
newspapers.