The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1943-09-25
BENEATH THE BUSHEL

BENEATH THE BCSHEL
Of all the widespread comment on the court
martial at Selfridge Field in which Colonel Colman
who shot Negro private in the stomach was con-
ycted of carelessness in the of his firearms ana
reduced to the rank of captain very little has been
said about the reasons why such mockery of justice
came to pass Because this was such glaring DIT
of monkey-business everyone is aroused and peeVes
that something must be done Immediately to rect1y
the Sefridge situation. The sense OF talrplay IN
every honest citizen has been duly outraged ana
many would like to see the hapless Colonel hangeo
to the old sour apple tree.
In some respects however, Colonel Colman rep
resents in person the logical conclusion of the false
philosophy upon which the War Department oper-
ates. There are two conflicting views about the
Negro in America which some label the northern or
liberal point of view and the southern reactonary
point of view The so-called northern viewpoint holds
in theory that the Negro is citizen and entitled to
all the rights and privileges of his citizenship. The
southern viewpoint holds in theory and in practice
that the Negro has no rights which white man
is bound to respect" and that he is a second class
cit zen
Now the southerners have devised technique
Of social organization through which their point
of view is expressed and perpetuated. This tech
nioue is i'm crowism. The United States Army and
the brass hats in Washington have made this tech
nioue their very own and have even added on occa-
sion some trimmings The War Department mas
adopted a regional attitude toward the negro ana
made it nationwide. When as observation-disclosures gets
into the United States Army he is forcedo conform
to the Jim crow way of life and many OF them may
well wonder who in the hell really won the battle
at Appomattox. =.
Today many thousands of innocent white youths
from the northern states who went to school and
PLAYED with colored boys are being trained by the
United States Army in the southern chool OF
thought. They have begun to believe that Negroes
are not fit and proper associates and that differences
in color signify fundamental differences in their
essential humanity. 1t takes strong liberal charac
ter to withstand the insidous influences OF any en-
vironment of ant-Negro prejudice. And strong lib
eral characters have been scarce as hens teeth
ever since civilization began.
Now Colonel Colman was Yankee born and Yam
kee educated While he may very well have had
strong dstaste for people of color he probably never
had greater opportunity to develop and cultivate
this prejudice than in the United States Army. No
matter how he felt about the Negro he at least had
to respect the rights of Negroes as long as ne lived
in the North risk being hailed to court On enter
ing the Army however, Colonel Coman discovered
that Negroes were rgidly segregated and they dare
wa =
martial Although Selfridge Field is located in the
liberal state of Michigan within it's confines all the
laws of Dixie freely operate, blessed by the federal
government iself.
Now all of these fine people who are indignant
over the fact that the shooting of Negro private
can be considered by court martial of army colonies
as careless use of firearms can do wonderful
thing for the United States Army and for democ-
racy by demanding that the War Department drop
the color bar AS long as the United States Army
remains school for color prejudice, many other
Colonel Colmans will shoot away forevermore. You
can help by writing Secretary Of War Stimson and
reminding him of that incident in our national his
tory where Grant made Lee sign on the dotted line
Surely we won't have to fight that war all over again
WE TAKE OUR STAND
Ever since the creation of our present system
- f.