The Mississippi enterprise. (Jackson, Miss.) 1938-current, 1943-05-22
THIS N THAT
BY Your Rowing Reporter.

1t is indeed pleasant to note that
here in Jackson, there are two
places where wholesome and prop
erly supervised recreation is pro-
vided for Negro soldiers, we refer
to the local USO Club, which has
served soldiers since September.
1912, and the new Soldier Center
which will be dedicated Sunday,
May %.
1t has been an enjoyable ex-
perience of ours to visit both the
USO and the Soldiers Center, and
we feel that soldiers who will be
serviced by either place are inoeed
fortunate.
We have had personal contact
with the directors of both places
and we have found that both are
profoundly interested in the well
fare and well-being of the boys
and young men with whom they
come in contactt-on one hand. we
have found a mana real mans
man, who fits so well the role
assigned nina big brother, one in
whom the soldiers can confide,
can discuss those problems that
are for male ears only, on the other
hand, we find a lovely lady, dug
nified and refined-one whose
life's experience of rearing into
manhood and womanhood several
children of her own, makes her
the ideal mother. that these boys,
hundreds of miles from their own
mothers, can love and respect.
Jackson can justly be proud of
both places-we who live here and
expect to rear our children here:
to leave for them a heritage of
better opportunities than we had,
can especially be proud of the
beautiful, modern, streamlined
building that now houses the SOL
diers Center-for there is a posi-
bility that after this grim war
business is over, this building will
be turned over the Negro citi-
zenry for a place of recreation for
our youth
Both the USO and the Soldier
Center has one paramount purpose,
as given by President Roosevelt,
and that is ito preserve for the
soldiers, wherever they may be,
the moral and spiritual values of
the democratic ideals and freedoms
for which they now are fighting
And because it is so vitality i'm
portant to the success of the USO
and the Soldiers Center, we again
beg, the women and men, and es-
pecially the men, to realize that
there is no time for class and seq
regation of groups, of feeling that
one group is better than the other,
that unless my group can run the
thing it won't be run. For our
leaders, it would be well to re-
member that the humiliation does
not come from the fact that you
were not appointed head of a GER
tain committee, but it does come
from the fact that you have fought
and quarrlled among yourselves,
that you have, in your rise to the
successful educated leaders, you
have forgotten the masses to the ex-
tent that when the time came to
make such appointments, you
were found wanting, and in order
to preserve the peace and unity
that must surround any successful
organization, other persons had to
be chosen
We do not intend to give the i'm
preston that we do not respect in
teIligent, Christian Ieadership-for
we do. We also feel that the great
est hope of the Southern Negro,
his greatest weapon, is education,
but we will also have to learn
tolerance, cooperation and, above
all, love for our fellowman -.
Hundreds of soldiers invaded cur
fair city Saturday night - on the
streets were between four and five
hundred and to date, we have not
had reports Of anything but the
best of conduct. Negro military
police were stationed on Parish
street, cooperating with the white
MP's in keeping order.
Sizzling hot, correctly styles the
music played by the popular ALL
girl orchestra from Piney Woods
school, up at the USO Center Sat-
urday night, where under the di-
rection of Mr.. Edwards, Mrs. Lu-
cius Patton and others, hundreds
of soldiers and their company
were entertained with a dance
that proved to be one of the gay