St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1943-06-11

dle-of-the-road' mentality in my
association with the War Depart
ment. Most of US would be sur
prised to know the number of we'll
meaning persons in high places in
the military establishment who
would like to improve the status of
the Negro in the armed forces, but
are committed to a course of COM
promise between fairness and intol-
erance."
In closing his address, Judge
HASTE said: "The Negroes position
must be clear. To establish and
maintain that position every energy
must be bent. Simply, we shall
insist that the federal government
deal with all of US as individual
Americans and not as black and
white groups. We shall not accept
any compromise that subordinates
national authority within its prop
er fields to local practices and poll
cies which are pernicious and evil.
We shall insist that even as we
are one nation that there shall be
one national policy of democratic
action and that government meas
ure its action by that policy alone. 3"
Dorothy Maynor, one of Amer
ica's great singers, led the great
congregation in singing the ma
tional anthem at the beginning of
the formal program. She sang
Gave Maria" and "Ride on, King
Jesus" to the delight of the audi
ence. Mrs. HASTE, mother of
Judge HASTE, was presented with
a basket of American beauty roses
after her illustrious sons address.
A portion of the Statement to
the Nation from the Conference
was read to the audience and the
TAB delegates from thirty-nine
states and the District of Columbia,
by Roy Wilkins, associate secre-
tary of the NAACP and editor of
the Crisis. The militant statement
must have met the approval of the
vast throng according to the fire.
quent and enthusiastic applause
given while the statement was be-
ing read.
The conference was opened on
Thursday evening in the Second
Baptist Church with welcome pro-
gram and the keynote address by
Walter White, executive secretary
of the NAACP. Mr.. White was
recently given the honorary degree
of Doctor of Letters by his Alma
Mater, Atlanta University. In the
opening statement of his address,
Mr.. White said:
I'VE are met here at this critical houl
of the war and of the Negroes history Il
do two important things. The first II
take stock of our defeats and victorie:
and to appraise the effectiveness of thu
methods we have employed in our strug
gle for liberty. As a race we have beer
like a man swimming upstream against
a strong current. We pause here in De
troit briefly to gather our second wind
to fix our eyes more clearly on the still
distant goal of justice and equality, anC
to determine if the strokes we have beer
using are the ones most effective in the
further struggle upstream.
Having done these things, we are met
here to chart our course for the difficult
days ahead. We must use our maximum
intelligence and strength to help the de
mocracies win by making democracy it
self win. We must formulate plans here
to present our cause, and the cause o.
other colored peoples throughout thu
world, to the peace conference when il
meets. And, finally, we shall plan herr
to take those steps which will insure oul
full participation in the planning ant
execution of those plans in the post wal
world.
Let me make crystal clear at the out
set that we are not on the defense, bu
the offense. Let US also make clear tina
we are not trying to use the war SELFISH!
to gain advantage for ourselves. GU
enemies and our fair-weather friends ar,
attempting to put US on the defensive b!
making such charges. To them we repl!
that the Negro today is asking nothing
he has not been asking since and befor
the Civil War-namely, simple Justice: ID
Ill "a 1V
its responsibilities, as well as its priv
leges. He asks these not alone for him
self, but for all other disadvantaged PEG
pies of the earth. He wants white peopl
of the earth to have every right and op
portunity because the Negro knows from
long and bitter experience that no man i
free completely or for very long while an!
other man is kept down because he is JeV
or Gentle, Protestant or Catholic, whit
or black, laboring man or employer, ma
tive or foreign-born."
Greetings from three distin-
guished Americans - President
Roosevelt, Secretary of the interior
Harold Ickes and Wendell Wilkie-
were read at the opening session.
The Negro in the Armed Serv-
ices was the subject of the discus
sion at the opening business ses-
sion on Friday morning. Judge
William H. HASTE was the prin.
cipal speaker. Consultants were
Bernard Jefferson, from the Office
of Civilian Defense, Washington
D. c.; Henry W. Pope of the USO
New York City and Earl Brown
staff member of Time and Life
Magazines. Earl B. Dickerson, 6
member of FEPC, was the princi.
pal speaker Friday afternoon fol
the discussion on Manpower-The
Right to Work for Victory. Con
sultants included Walter Hardin
UAW-CIO, Detroit; Thomas N
Roberts, Department of Agricul