The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-11-25
THE FACTS
IN OUR NEWS
HOMES FOR NEGROES
IN DEARBORN

HOMES FOR NEGROES
IN DEARBORN
The Federal Public Housing
/ Agency has been looking about In
/ Detroit and outside Of Detroit for
sites on which. To put more tenn
! porary war housing for Negro occu-
pancy, There seems to he no sites
now available on which any large
number Of houses can he built for
Negro occupancy within the city
limits Of Detroit. Availability
means that there will he no con-
troversy over putting Negroes In
the area. Whenever II has been
decided by any housing agency to
put housing for Negroes on any
site other than those now occupied
there has come a great deal Of pro-
test from white people On. the sur
rounding areas. The same thing has
been true In the suburbs Of De-
troit--Roya1 Oak, Highland Park
and East Detroit.
Some people connected with the
Detroit Housing Commission and
the Federal Public Housing Agency
felt that the city of Dearborn was
a logical place to locate much
| needed war houses for Negro
workers. Some fourteen thousand
Negroes now work in Dearborn and
live IN Detroit There is also lot |
OF land unoccupied and unused
that could be improved and made 1
available for building these houses /
Friday, Nov. II, the mayor of /
Dearborn called special session |
Of the Common Council 10 which :
session many citizens OF Dearborn .
were invited. They were called for .
the purpose OF putting in a protest .
against locating war housing in the /
city OF Dearborn for Negroes. There ,
was no unpublished dealing with .
this subject. The mayor stated, I'M
abaShedly. and unapologetically.
that the city OF Dearborn would
not tolerate Negro housing within
lis borders. Dearborn is located I'M
the state Of Michigan. one OF the
great states Of the underground
movement during slavery. One
coming from another country into
the state of Michigan, and visiting
the special session OF the Council
called by the mavor. would And Il
difficult 10 believe that he was in
a country that was fighting on the
side OF the Allies.
The citizens of Dearborn. many
OF them foreign born and the great
majority of them workers, have
stated through their mayor that
they will not tolerate Negroes liv-
ing within their borders. Think of
II. For city 10 say such a thing,
is for that CITY to say that ii has the
right OF restricting the free move
ment OF citizens of the United
States. The Federal Government,
In the interest Of all the people,
cannot anord to permit Dearborn
to get away with this idea.
II Dearborn Is allowed to get
away with this, what OF the free
movement Of Negroes In other parts
Of the state II somebody happens
not to like II? Your correspondent
sat on . Thursday with q sub conn
mittee Of the Detroit Victory Coun-
ell where this whole matter OF put
ting housing into Dearborn was
discussed. Somebody ventured the
idea that Dearborn would not per-
NIT housing in its borders without
vigorous and probably violent pro-
test. Another very kindly gentle
man on the committee said that no
American living in Michigan would
dare openly say that he would not
have Negroes living in Dearborn
or any other place. Well. now We
can see how misguided he was.
Somehow. this seems to he the
whole difficulty with people who
deal with the race problem in 1
America. There is too much naive /
ness" about II. Too many Of us who .
feel kindly toward democracy think .
that all we have to do Is pass a
resolution, or announce some great
worthy program. and thereby we
have met the problem ~ race dis
elimination, segregation and pro-
scription. Not so!
The NAACP recently has been
carrying on. through its energetic
hut short-sishte" executive secre- /
tary. fight with the. DetroitS |
Interracial committee. The execu-
tive secretary Of the NAACP has
felt that the Detroit InterraciaI
committee should solve such a
problem as we now face In Dear
born. or course, the Interracial !
committee can do nothing Of the /
kind. The solution to this problem
is tied up with politics In Washing
ton. Dearborn and the state Of
Micbican. In addition to this. strong I
and influential economic interests ,
are here at work. An Interracisl
committee. YOU see, has no wav Of
4 getting at this problem for a Solu-
tion. The Interracial committee /
/ can. however. soften the tensions
while the problem Is being solved
nv forces much more powerful and
enduring than the Interracial com
mittee. And certainly one Of these
| forces Is the NAACP-but only one.
/ however. The local NAACP. how
1 ever. Is likely to blow uD on this
issue as II did on the SOjOurner
/ Truth issue.
They got their signals mixed in
tho Soiourner Truth issue In the
/ Sojourner Truth issue, il wasn't
matter OF mixed housing over
against housing for Negroes sepa-
rately. In the Sojourncr Truth
struggle. as il will be in the Dear
born struggle housing for Negroes
or no housing for Negroes-ot mat
ter what the sociological pattern Of
the races is in the matter OF hous-
ing Negroes. Dearborn won't quib-
BILE over whether or not the project
is bi-raciai or solely for Negroes
/ Dearborn will WORK 10 keep any
Negroes from occupying houses in
Dearborn. on any basis This point.
let us pray that our strong NAACP
branch in Detroit secs before IL is
too late 10 rally the people in sup
port of the right OF people IN be
housed wherever there Is land
available upon which n build