Evening star., 1943-04-11
Southerners Launch
Movement 10 Solve
Racial Problem
Committees Of White
And CoIored Leaders
Will Map Program
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press
ATLANTA, April l0.-Southern-
ers, represented by separate groups
of white and colored leaders, are
planning new efforts to solve their
racial problem, letting it be known
that they want to tackle the ques-
ton themselves, free from outside
pressure.
White leaders, conferring in At
lanta this week, emphasized their
opinion that the program must be
one of evolution and not revolu-
ton"
The Atlanta conference arranged
for a committee to be named later
from this group to meet with a
similar committee appointed by a
conference of Southern colored
leaders at Durham, N. c., last Octo-
ber. The two committees jointly
will work out program.
In formal statement Of policy
issued today, the Atlanta group as
serted that "either to deny or ignore
the increased tension between the
white and colored races would be
gesture of insincerity," and offered
the Durham conference assurance
of "our desire to cooperate in any
sound program aimed at the i'm
provement of race relations"
Program Set Up at Durham.
The Durham conference set up
specific program of what the
Negro wants and is expecting of the
postwar South and Nation" and
enumerated, among other things,
full political and civil rights for the
Negro, equal rights in labor, indus
try, education, agriculture, military
service, social welfare and health,
and improvements in the service
occupations, including social secur-
ity benefits for these occupations.
The Atlanta conference, while
holding that the Durham Statement
is so frank and courageous, so free
of any suggestion of threat and ulti-
matum that we gladly agree
to cooperate" did not attempt to
make here anything like a complete
reply to the questions raised"
A general policy, coinciding in
some respects with the Durham re-
quests, was laid down and signed
by approximately 100 representa-
tives for the guidance of its COM
mittee to meet later with the Ne
gro committee.
Atlanta Statement of Policy.
The Atlanta statement of policy
said:
These Negro leaders rightfully
placed emphasis in their statement
on discrimination in the admins
tration of our laws on purely racial
grounds. We are sensitive to this
charge and admit that it is essen
TALLY just. While all citizens
are governed by the same laws, it
is recognized that Negroes have lit
tie voice in the making or enforce
ment of the laws under which they
must live. This is violation
of the spirit of democracy. No
Southerner can logically dispute the
fact that the Negro, as an American
citizen, is entitled to his civil rights
and economic opportunities.
The conference also recognized
that there is often practical discrim-
ination by some peace officers and
in some courts in the treatment of
Negro prisoners and in the abroga-
ton OF their civil rights" 1t held
that false arrests, brutal beatings
and other evils must be stopped"
On economic questions, the con-
ference Endorsed "the right to re-
ceive equal pay for equal work" and
called for "a well-trained. we'll -em-
ployed and prosperous Negro popula-
ton" without which the economic
future of the South is hopeless"
Field of Agriculture.
In the field of agriculture. the
conference said Negroes should be
proided "all the facilities for i'm
proving agricultural practices
through schools, county agents and
supervision, and indorsed fair
wages, longer tenures of leases (on
farms) and increased opportunities
for farm ownership"
The Atlanta conference included
religious, educational, labor and
business leaders from Georgia, Flor
ida, Alabama, Louisiana. Mississippi,
Texas. North Carolina, South Caro-
lima, Tennessee, Kentucky and Vir-
ginia.
Ralph McGill, editor of the At
lanta Constitution, was elected to
preside at the one-day session.
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