The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1943-07-15

problem that has been steadily growing in the past sew
eral years. 1t is a problem of the gravest kind and one
that must be the subject of serious thought and great
concern by the white and colored leaders of the Amerl-
can people.
inteligently. The only way we can find a solution to any
problem is to first recognize the fact that we nave a
problem, bring it out into the open. OF that there can De
no doubt. When riots nearly erupt the nations capital
when martial law is declared in Detroit, when vital de-
Tense industry stops because OF a conflict between two
races, we must see that we have a racial problem.
The white man and the black man have dwelt to-
gether in peace and harmony in the south for many,
many years, because each has known his place ana KEPT
il. Each has had his own ideals, customs, and habits and
they have not conflicted. The white man has his own way
of living and thinking and the negro has his. They are not
necessarily in conflict as some OF our meddnng Iriehus
would have us believe.
The good negro is just as proud of his race and It's
integrity as the white man, the Indian, or the Chinese.
He realizes that God must have intended for there to be
q great colored race or he would not have created it. He is
not fooled by loose talk concerning social equality" he
knows there is no such thing as equality even among
white men, that some are by nature endowed with more
gift than others; that even ii all men were created lden--
tically they would not stay that way because some would
grow and develop and others would waste their talents.
The wise man realizes, whether he be white or black,
that as long as tastes and habits and appetltes OF peo-
pie differ there can be no absolute equality" among races
or people because every person is a different individual
and has to decide what is best for himself.
The vast majority of the colored race in the south
know that the white man is his friend; when ne is in
trouble the first person he goes to is a white 1rieno.
And the white friend doesn't let him down. he values
highly the friendship of his negro friends.
The wise leaders of the negro race know they have
advanced further in the shortest length OF time than any
other race in the history of civilization. From the time the
rich Yankee peddlers brought them over in their boats
from Africa and sold them into slavery to the southern
planters they have steadily advanced with the march of
progress and time. The progress of the negro in the south
has been as rapid as he has been able to assimllate by
virtue of his intellect and temperament.
But the south and America are a white mans coun-
try and both races know 1t.
America is a white mans country We may have ta-
ken it away from> the Indians but it is, nevertheless, a
white mans country lust as Liberia is q Dlack man
country where no white man is allowed to be a citizen.
America is big enough for both races.
Especially is the south a white mans country. Here,
where we have ten million of the thirteen million negroes
in the United States, the races, of necessity, must come
into closer contact with each other than IN other sectlons
of the country where only a handful OF colored people
live. That is why the so-called negro problem must DE
solved by southern white and negro people. 1t cannot be
solved for us by our northern friends nor In washington.
We must solve it ourselves because it is peculiarly our
own. No amount of legislating in Washington however
inspired can change that.
The southern white man knows the southern negro
better than any other person in the world. He knows nm
better physically, mentally and psychologically than any
one else in the country. The good negro respects and nkes
the southern white man more than any other white man.
He also knows that the person who would make troupie
between him and his white friends is either his worst
enemy or motivated by ignorance, or is just a PLAIN
trouble maker.
1t is encouraging to know that southern white people
are at last beginning to recognize the existence OF trouble
melted by people from the outside who nave mace a sec
ond carpetbagging expedition into the south under the
guise of the New Deal. Bodies like the Delta Council meet
and make recommendations tor retirement OF racldi Teid-
tons between the white planters and the negroes In the
Delta. Among these recommendations are better SCHOOLS
with adequate equipment and better prepared teachers;
more uniform wage scale in agriculture; enlarged and
adequate capitalization, medical clinics and health work
ers; more courteous treatment of negroes in retail estao-
lshments.
These recommendations show that we in our own
way and in our own time as best we can will work out a
better world for both ourselves and the negro in the
south. But we will not be hamstrung nor dictated to by
the group in this nation who would tell us how to run
our elections and our state.
Here in Holmes county We are blessed with some OF
the finest self-sustaining and self-respecting negro men
and women in the state and south. The vast majority OF
them are good, honest, conscientious men and women.
They work hard and most of them are well to do. Each
has made for himself a place in the life of his community
and country.
We feel confident that on the basis of the past we can
expect the good preachers, teachers and leaders OF both
races to continue their efforts in guiding the two races to
live together in harmony with each other; that we shall
not permit ourselves to become ~entangled in the conflicts
that seem to be tearing into the lives and hearts of other
people in other sections of the country; that we shall each
continue to do our jobs and to give the best that is in us
looking forward to that day when nations will cease
fighting and the world will truly be at peace.
The above is reprinted from last weeks column,
Through Hazel Eyes" in response to many requests
from our readers and due to the fact that the number of
,x+~a oo;a. ~ Ian4 raols nano~ woe fsso a. 49,