The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-12-02
DETROIT AND DEARBORN

We will wager tidy sum that the converse
lions between the Mayor Of Detroit and the Mayor
of Dearborn if they are still speaking terms, are
full of choice phrases similar to the ones alegedly
used by President Roosevelt when the voting ma
chine in HYDE Park baked on election day. Mayor
Jeffries has neatly dumped the housing problem
right on the city hall steps of Dearborn. Says De-
troits Mayor Thousands of Negroes work IN Dear
born, therefore Dearborn ought to help house some
of them" On the surface it's good argument
and it puts the Dearborn city fathers who want 10
maintain ily-white town directly behind the eight
ball.
While the discussions between Detroit and
Dearborn multiply and governmental red tape plies
ND. the winter winds making LIE miserable 1or
the thousands of Negro workers who are llvlng
almost outdoors Even if Dearborn agrees to the
construction of the proposed public housing IN It's
area. many thousands of our workers IN Detroit
will not be housed The Dearborn proposal Will &C.
commodate only small part of the ilhoused Negro
popuation in the metropolitan area of Detroit.
AS we have said before in these columns our
CITY government in Detroit is deliberately seeking
to pass the buck and duck its responsibility to help
house war workers. The available sites in Detroit,
however are in areas which the Mayor calls con
troversial." That is in areas where some whites
are opposed to Negro residents. Then too, Mayor
Jeffries has to be careful about keeping his cam
pagn pledge to the local Khan crowd. After all,
he promised them that he would not violate the
racial characteristics of their neghborhoods.
AS we review the current housing dilemma,
the ctv fathers of Detroit seem to be determined
to maintain the intolerable principle of segrega-
ton in public housing, and secondly, to build this
segregated housing only in areas where Negroes
now live. The city fathers Of Dearborn firmly in
tend to keep their town ily-white. 1t is obvious
that as long as these views hold, the Negro war
workers of this area will get no public housing In
Detroit there is not enough free space in the Negro
districts to put up pup tent and Dearborn claims
its sites are "out of bounds" for people of color.
The only way to break this stalemate is for the
Federal Government, which builds the public hous-
ing to rise above the petty preudices of the area
and proceed to build the needed housing on sites
which it selects Local government has had chance
to express itself and all it has to offer is confusion
thrice COMPOUNDED. When local government falls
down on such fundamental and basic problem as
housing for war workers, it is time for higher
authority to act After ALL this housing is essential
for war production and we cannot slow up the war
effort simply to pamper the prejudices of people
who are anti-democratic anyway.
Until Detroit and Wayne County secede from
the Union, it will have to conform to the needs Of
the nation The obstructonst tactics of the Detroit
Housing Commission has already cost our war eff
fort enough and the time has come to tell Charlie
Edgecombe and Mayor Jeffres to get out of the way
of progress. They have trifled with the sufferngs
of our ill-housed people long enough. Negroes who
live in coal bins outhouses and brewery stables can
not make the contribution to the war effort which
is expected of them nor will they make good citi-
zens These facts admit of no argument Buck
passing and the appeasement Of racial prejudices
at the expense of the war effort and future peace
here in Wayne County will hurt us all regardless
of color