davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-07-08

to life Imprisonment. apparently just because the
same prostitute was also friendly with q white
lieutenant! Subsequently their sentences were re-
duced to and 10 years, respectively.
Then came the Australia case where four sol
diers and q merchant seaman were sentenced "a
be hanged for an alleged rape OF an American Red
Cross worker who admitted in court she had been
drinking party and had hitch-hiked a ride
back to her quarters in the truck operated by the
Negroes. This case was so bad that General Mac
Arthur committed the sentences to life. This prob
ably means, according TO the American standard.
that the men not guilty of rape, and should be
freed.
Finally came the now-famous case in England
which raw that the British press just could
not keep quiet The protests became so loud that
General Eisenhower disapproved the sentence of
death by hanging. The colored soldier involved
swore that he had had relations with the woman
in question on two previous occasions and that
he had paid her pound (about S4). but that on
this occasion she demanded two pounds, which he
did not have Whereupon she told him she would
make trouble for him. The British public just could
not understand why military court should sem
tence to hang on this kind Of story.
Over here know why. In a nutshell, the
woman was white and the man was blach Captain
Wilkinson white man, can commit FOUR sex
ofenses against l6- and l7-year- old girls He can
commit bigamy. and he can steal wrist watch
from the woman he married bigamously. But he
is white and the girls and the woman white.
So ne gets only 30 years from the military court,
and his defender has the nerve 10 blame the par
ents of the girls, and the girls themselves! It
begins to look like Negro soldiers getting a
thorough rocking in military courts on rape"
charges.
The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-07-08

ment against qualified workers of Jewish, Mexican,
Negro and foreign descent is still with us. Hence
all we hold is a beachhead and the fight for first
class citizenship must 60 on.
Executive Order 1902 which was later replaced
by Executive Order 9346 was designed to bring
democracy to the industrial front. There are many
reasons for likenng il to a beachhead II was
taken under the same Commander in Chief that
took Normandy, President Roosevelt From its
first day il has been hard to hold. II has been
held, and will continue TO be held only with the
help of powerful allies.
Defending the Executive Order which created
FEPC has been just difficult has the holding
OF the Normandy beachhead. The offense of the
enemy has been continuous. FEPC has been con-
demned a New Deal" agency, misnamed
racial equality group stabbed at by unenlightened
ern Congressman, and smearingly investigated"
by Congressional Committee. Last fall Con-
trolier General Warren (Southern origin nufed
the Executive Order for several weeks-untl the
President reaffirmed il.
The most recent and devastating attack upon
our beachhead you know all about. You know
how all hell broke loose to get S500000 appro-
priated by Congress for FEPC-how the enemies
OF industrial democracy wrangled for days in the
legislative chambers-and how the FEPC budget
got through the House by the slim margin of four
votes. Now we hold our beachhead for another
year.
This last fight could not have won without
the help of our powerful allies. The Jews the
MeXicans, the Unions, Protestant and Catholic
Churches, and a number of other organizations,
rallied to the support of FEPC. The way the Jews
The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-07-08
Anti-Semitism Is Race Suicide

And this is but one of the milder of the cases
have heard. One day siX-year-od Jewish boy
was standing in front OF his house in the Bronx
waiting for his mother. / am told that group OF
IA and l5-year-old colored boys passed. one of
them saying in friendly tone, Hello sonny" AS
he spoke. he passed his hand over the chds face.
In his hand was razor sharp knife. The boy will
be disfgured for life.
Jewish boys are not the sole victims. Recently
a gang of young hoodlums caught a six-year-old
colored boy, stuffed his ears with concrete and
held him until il had hardened
1t is not enough for us to say the true and OBJ
vious thing about such conditions in too many
American cities-that these youngsters are prod
ucts OF the depression years, that they have no
stimulus in the hope of jobs or other advantages
to make better citizens of themselves, or that it
is the fault of others and not own
Nor is the answer to be found in policeman's
billy or in jails and reformatories as some Negroes
and whites maintain.
Negroes Themselves, Must Help
The remedy IL TO be found In the correction OF
conditions which smbiffer and deny hope TO Ne
qroes and. equally. In Negroes themselves working
TO correct the situation. One Of the immediate
obligations which face Is the roofing out Of the
anti Ssmiism which is Individually growing among
Negroes.
The most suicidal course which any minority In
the United States in the world today could pur-
sue is that of hating or depressing another minor
ity That is precisely what the Nazis, the Ku
Kluxers and the Bourbons are aiming alto get
us lighting each other so that estranged from and
antagonistic 10 the other. each minority will be
easier prey. This is job which cannot wait to
10 done. II must be done right now.
The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-07-08

memoirs but he had to put II in. 1t might be
asked, what women were American soldiers in
France to associate with if they were not TO meet
French women
Anyway this question has been uppermost in
the minds of white Americans and there were
many bets. after the war broke out that Negro
soldiers would not be sent to Europe since we had
the South Pacific front also But. of course. they
were sent to Europe and to Australia and they had
TO meet white women Soon, not late, the traditional
American white attitude rape asserted itself.
Military censorship notwithstanding, reports
came through Of the conviction of Negroes for rape
There was the New Caledonia case where two
colored soldiers who went out with native pros
titute and paid her for her services were sentenced
The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-07-08
CONDENSED from Walter Whites column
in the Chicago Defender)

A FEW DAYS ago Mrs White asked me TO see a
IA Jewish couple from whom she has bought food
and vegetables many years. The husband could
not leave the store but the wife, we'll dressed
and very intelligent and we-read woman. came
10 the house to tell the story. She is distinctly
leftsh in her political thinking and, like so many
Jews past and present has an inexhaustible zeal
TO do whatever can be done to make this more
decent world.
Steal Box of Strawberries
few days ago. the couple and their studious,
frail, l6-year- old son were closing the store for
the day. Suddenly gang of Ia and l5-year-old
Negro boys rushed into the store. seized box OF
straw berries and, yelling like young Indians ran
out of the store The proprietor followed them
into a hallway nearby where the boys and group
OF girls of about the same age cursed him, the
mildest of their epithets being dirty Jew" When
he returned to his store the crowd of young hood
lums augmented by others rushed in and began
to pllage and destroy fruit and vegetables Sew
eral of the boys began beating him. breaking his
glasses and inflcting other damage AS the melee
proceeded, sx-foot Negro jumped of street car
and rushed in TO join in the beating OF the pro-
prietor cursing him meanwhile for attacking
little boys" Police had TO be called TO quell the
riot
An Irish policeman TO whom the Jewish couple
appealed for protection ignored their appeal, dis
missing the episode with the statement What else
do YOU expect giving liberty and equality TO
people like these" Other shopkeCpcrs in the
neighborhood are chuckling with glec because the
Jewish couple had refused TO join in dcrogatory
remarks about ringers" and had defended Negroes
as being the equal of any other race.
One Of tia Mild GAksr
The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-07-08

factories, Offices. social gatherings.
racial distinctions seem 10 pass un-
noticed.
The Soviet policy Of equal oppor.
IN ity for all nationalities was prac.
tical and logical. II offended no
one and satisfied everyone except
perhaps some Grea' Russian chau-
vinists and a few extreme anti Boil
shevik nationalist among the minor
tiles. II made administration Of far
of areas easy and IL accelerated
progress throughout the land. Ii
had everything 10 recommend Il.
It's concrete advantages and benefits
might recommend il TO other coun-
tries.
The Soviet policy towards nation
al minorities had a particularly in
,eresting effect on the teaching Of
history in the Soviet Union. Rus
sian history before the Revolution
celebrated the works OF monarchs,
princes, generals who had ruthless.
~ conquered the territories inhabit-
ed by the national minorities; it
glorified the classes that had ex-
plotted the common people. 1t was,
above all. the history of Russians
Russia's racial stepchildren had no
part in il. The Tsar's imperialistic
dream about the Balkans was dis.
guised as the Little Fathers" ten
der concern for Brother SlavS."
For all these reasons. the Bolsheviks
re-wrote the history books and
showed the past in very unfav-
orable light. light which reflected
the adherence which all good So
Wet citizens-and especially the ra-
cial minorities-felt towards the
deeds Of the Tsarist regime This
is the nub of the entire race Ques-
ton in the Soviet Union.
The Bolsheviks were able - g.
tablish racial peace st home because
they broke with the past. That d
also the key 10 werld peace. Their
Ii no peace In the past
The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-07-08

After this had happened once or
twice. the Negroes found that they
had 10 stand in line during the en-
tire lunch hour, never having a
chance 10 rest, while the white fell
lows had half an hour in which TO
relax. % The fellows refused 10 eat
A high officer Of the base interviewed
and asked one OF our officers why he
followed such a policy He replied
that such were his orders. However.
they worked out a policy whereby
the Negroes ate IN a separate line,
ard the whites in our unit lined up
with the crew members Of the sta
ton. all white. But The station crew
were so displeased az the attitude
assumed by our whites. that they
refused 20 eat with them. AS re-
suit. three chow lines were formed,
one for rs. one for the station crew,
and one for our superior whites
When living quarters were COM
pieted. all of us moved into them,
with the same patterns Of segrega-
ton we had followed back In the
States. For the first time since boot
days, we were separate from all
other naval units. with our own
Ships Service Store. our own rec
reation buildings. For the first time
since boot days. too, q sign went up
In the ships service. This time, In
stead Of saying. "Colored and white
rs In boot days, II said: This line
for enlisted men,
No one. however. was fooled.
Everyone knew what was meant,
for even chiefs and frst-class men
are enlisted men Also. the handful
OF whites who were below first class
rating always fell into the tirst-claSs
line The sign this time was no
hastily scrswled pastebpard affair,
but was pretiily painted IN bold red
letters against a white background.
A Negro guard was posted 10 see
that this sign was adhered 10.
For The first week the store was
in operation. the enlisted men
The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-07-08
WHAT 4 6. !. THINKS

Negro soldier pria''s
Grove BAde)
I'VE get along here with the white soldiers don't
know why wasn't that back In the states don't know
whether Is owing the fact that all realize we have
Job TO do here and that fighting each other helping do
that job that people becoming more tolerant and
broadmnded Hope that the latter reason responsible Tor
the relations white and coored soldiers over
hope that II remains that when we come home
again That one OF the supposed TO DO
fghtngthe right for to live his life the way he
1T with equality and Justice wonder what the future
really does have in store for minority groupsl
The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-07-08

story your heart is the Barney Josephson
told me the night while having dinner at Cafe Society
Seems party Negroes sitting the ring and
party officers seated the table who kept
passing the usual insulting remarks The Negro informed
the party whatever they the officers thought was their
but when those remarks became audible thai
was different story again. An argument ensued and the
officers rejected the The Negro in question
made the bar cool off and followed by two
men civilian clothes who with thick southern accent
the Negro his When they told offered
his hand gave his introduced his friend and said I'VE
Mobile. Ala, and overheard the argument you
had those southern Naval officers and just want you
that all the people the south don't feel they do
and We apologize for them and their kind"
Peoples Voice
The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-07-08

We then considered its almost
unbelievable achievements - in
view of its small staff. We noted
that real progress is being made.
There is, however, another
side to the picture. This was
suggested in the closing line of
last weeks column, namely, that
Executive Order 1902 is only a
beachhead. We still have a
whole country to take. The
struggle ahead is long one. The
"super-race" armies are still I'M
defeated. The forces of intol-
erance and bigotry give us no
raSt DiScrip,ipatiopi IL, apn,1ov-
The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-07-08

Pittsburgh Courier, tries to make
believe that these schools are boon
to the Negro race. Crlticizing work.
ers who according 10 HIM are max
ing more money than any time IN
history" for not helping Mr. Rookie
teller out a little more, he quotes
the well-known late educator Kelly
Miller:
The Negro pays for what he
wants and begs for what he needs. ="
This slur reveals Schuyler's con-
tempt for the masses As a matter
Of fact. il is your big shot educators,
rather than the workers whom you
will usually find begging Most Of
these educators have been typical
Uncle Toms from Booker T. Wash
ington with his policy Of train our
hands not our heads down 10 Patter-
son. President Of Tuskegee Insti-
tute. with his public sanction of
separate Negro and white AIT
The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-07-08

refused to buy cokes and beers
there. Instead, they went TO the
nearby air station or the Army PX
where il was a case OF first come
first served. When the Supply Off.
Ger al the MAS. was threatened
with beer shortage. he asked our
fellows why they didn't buy beer
at their own store. The answer he
got was that we didn't have any
beer. Upon investigation. he dis
covered that not only was there
plenty OF beer at our store but that
his helpers had been trying 10 Dor.
row beer from II 10 repleniSh hi,
rapidly declining reservoir.
Toward the end Of the week. We
noticed two or three strange gold.
braids" inspecting our ships store
On Saturday the two pretty sign.
disappeared. and our fellows dis
covered that there was some beer
in our Ships Store, after all.
Conference with the skipper"
The next day. Sunday. was ap-
preached by the Commanding on
GERS steward. TN. who asked il
! would be az the cos Office tina,
afternoon at 1900. I asked VIVA,
for. He said he had asked 10 have
a talk with the skipper. al his con-
venience, 20 discuss some things not
going SO well and which he thought
the skipper didn't know about. The
SIX PIPER replied that he would be
u a. 81, ,..tsA - 49,,
with number OF the other fellows
as well 40
You know have just had notices
read which invite any enlisted man
10 Request Mast with his Com.
handing Officer when he thinks ne
has any grievance. Come Sunday
afternoon and bring any OF the men
you WISH TN. quoted hun As
saying
7 told TN. I would be there a,
1900 AS ! nesred the Office. saw q
group Of officers enter. | was some
wha; surpr .sed 10 see them, as ! had
supposed We would talk only with
our skipper We all took seats in
the Office as best We could. approx
imstely nine officers and twelve
enlisted men"
This Is a little informal, off-the-
record get-together." our skipper
Sald. You fellows speak right UP
and get OF what's on your chest"
The first subject brosched was
liberty. J T. said he wondered II
i was possible for the fellows 10 &c
ashore on liberty a little more often
The CO said the liberty bill was
prepared by the Army. but il pos
sole he would be glad 10 grant us
more liberty. Transportation was
an important factor he said. as We
were much farther from liberty
town than where We landed.
That amt really what's on you
fellows minds, spoke up one Off.
GER what We want 10 hear IS wha,
you think about the racial situation
on cur base here
The question. thus frankly put
was as frankly answered Ore by
one the fellows expressed then
The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-07-08
MIR. Rockefeller And His Negro Colleges

toices 10 do battle for democracy
Furthermore, why should we have
all-Negro colleges? Even though
there are probably no white appll-
cants Except occasional Jews who
are also widely Disseminated
against in higher education) still the
all-Negro policy is just as obnoxi-
Gus as that Of the many white uni.
versities which bar Negro students
II Mr.. Rockefeller Is really interest.
ed in more equal opportunities for
the Negro people why should he
make this appeal for the salvati on
OF these n little Jim-Crow colleges?
He should. instead. throw the weight
of his influence and money behind
a campaign TO stop the thousands OF
other colleges from refusing 10 ad-
nit student because of his color
As far as the masses are concerned,
capitalist subsidization Of Jim-Crow
colleges is step with the wrong
foot and in the wrong direction.
The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-07-08

men and rape by black men.
II will be remembered that
after the last war Negro SOL
diers were slandered by va
rious officers in their memoirs
as being rapiSts. One medical
officer, a member OF the faculty
Of Johns Hopkins university.
was sent overseas on a strictly
medical mission. He chose 10
write a book about il. But he
could not resist the urge 10 in
clude two or three pages about
Negroes associating with
French women. That topic had
nothing TO do with the mission.
or. pres mably with his
The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-07-08
American Negroes
Favorites In Soviet Society
! WAS A SEABE

views. Those who didn't speak up
were called by name and asked
either general or pointed questions.
Re-rstings were discussed at
length. Said HIS: I'VE wondered
If there was a naval rule that a
Negro could not be promoted be-
yond End class po. Several white
fellows who enlisted below that rat
ing al the same time we did have
advanced up 70 lst class or chief,
while not one Of Us has gone beyond
that"
No, there was no rule against Il.
Il specifically looked up that point
when l was in Washington" our
skipper said.
How can We obtain promotions?
asked 1T.
Work hard. obey orders. and
prove yourself worthy" he was
told.
We have always done that" said
C.S. Il have always done my best
for the entire time I've been in
htre Before we left the States
had the understanding that I was
soon TO be promoted even II II
meant my being transferred to an.
other unit"
Yes. that Is true said our CO.
However. IL Is the policy Of this
battalion 10 have emily white fellows
first-class or above. II ! were 70
upgrade you fellows - that rating.
IL would upset my setup. I had
considered transferring all the
whites out and giving you fellows
the chance you want, but II I did
that ] would be dedging the issue.
not meeting II, 50 haven't decided
to do that. l have also thought OF
upgrading all whites who can pos
sibly be upgraded 10 chief. trans
ferring the others out, and letting
you fellows step mp one grade"
ME. I'm from Texas"
Here Officer H. demanded to know
II we were re-rsted up TO lst class.
would we expect 10 be quartered
with the whites or eat with them.
Some fellows said il didn't matter.
they were interested in getting the
ratings they deserved. not beng
held back because Of color. Others
asked II his question meant that
we would not be promoted II we
answered Yes" One fellow said
he didn't see why separation had
10 enter the picture at all.
Where would you fellows be
willing TO draw the line between
the races. asked Officer II.
Il don't see any definite place you
car draw q line" replied. so
long as We get along with the white
fellows on various Jobs. why not
in eating and living quarters. The
rore contact there is between the
races on an equitable basis. the
The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-07-08

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