The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-11-11
THE FACTS
m OUR NEWS
Bv HORACE A. WHITE

S~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~>~~~~~~~~~
NEGRO SOLDIERS ARE RE-
TURNING We have been talk
Ing . great deal about what we
must do for our boys when they
return from the war against the
Axis. Well. these boys have begun
20 come home In large numbers. IL
has been estimated that there are
about $1,000 soldiers In Michigan
who have returned from the war.
A good number Of these men are
Negro soldiers. Detroit industries
have been giving consideration to
all returned soldiers In the matter
Of employment regardless 10 creed
or color. There N one catch In
all this however. Too many Of
the Negro soldiers are jumping 1t
the first Job offered them. They
are not being advised that there
is an opportunity for training that
will At them into higher brackets
Of employment. In other words
Negro soldiers must be helped to
see that getting on to . compare
lively well paying Job may not be
the best thing for the future.
Our soldiers are young. Many
of them never had the opportunity
for an education of any kind. The
rehabilitation program offers an
excellent break" for the lad who
can see the sense in fitting himself
for the future. These lads must be
told that the immediate job is not
necessarily their answer to the flu
ture. Negro soldiers especially
need the help that many agencies
can give in this regard. -
We Negroes in America are en-
gagged in great struggle. There IL
nothing mystical about this strug-
gle. The fact about the struggle
and the meaning Of the struggle
are before us We were denied
jobs before the war We have been
living in filth and disease long
enough. The road away from all
Of this is within us TO some extent.
II we permit our soldiers TO return
from the war and not take advan-
tage OF the opportunity to prepare
for higher-type-jobs--we will be
to blame.
Negroes In the armed forces will
come home to a sweeper's job and
take them II those Of us who are
left al home do not now begin to
give some direction to the return
inging soldier. A returning soldier
can get his tuition paid for almost
any kind of training he Is fitted to
master. Some Of us still remember
that many people tried TO get us on
our path In the matter Of up-grad-
ing Negroes. by saying that Ne
groes were not qualified for some
of the higher skilled Jobs. To
meet this issue there had to be .
very concerted effort TO get Ne
groes into training for some Of the
better paying jobs. We will have
the same thing with the returning
soldiers if we do not now begin 10
give them some help on the matter
OF their opportunities for training
The people who are opposed to
equality and democracy have not
changed in the least When the
war is over we will have 10 fight
for economic opportunities harder
than we have ever fought. In order
to make progress in this fight We
must be equipped for the fight.
We are going 10 have much race
conflict after the war. This we
must make up our minds to under
stand and with which we must
work. This conflict has to come.
II il does not come the Negro
will have to stink back into the
economic gutter. We can be sure
Of one thing the Negro will not
stink back into the economic gut
ter. Some will answer to this idea
that white Americans will under
stand that justice must be extended
TO all people in America IL we are
to justify the blood, tears and
money hurled into this war. Fine!
But they will not grant justice
to all Americans without fight
Why? Most Americans are
trapped In 4 system that makes II
dangerous for them to allow too
much competition. The system
forces them to compete on the
basis Of race, color and religion
for what they think Is security. OF
course this Is false. Actually. the
only people who get anything out
Of this silly Competition" are the
creators Of this great hoax on the
American people. The people will
fight one another on the basis OF
race until they wake-up TO the
fact that they are being played for
fools. They will wake up. Still
race conflict after the war will help
bring this damnable exploitation to
n head.