The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-08-12
THE PHILADELPHIA STORY

that breed hatred and il was fear that led the white
transit workers of Philadelphia to succumb to the lies
Of their leaders and defy their government rather
than permit eight Negroes TO work as their equals
The fears which dominate the minds of these whites
have been taught them from birth and they have been
passed down from generation to another through
out our history.
These fears are founded on the widespread belief
among American whites that when Negro goes up,
some white man must go down, that Negro progress
cannot be made except at the expense of whites and
that the American economy is not big enough for both
races to enjoy prosperity. BY playing upon these
fears, handful of adamant and wicked men have
robbed the transit workers of their and para
lived major American industrial center in time of
war Similarly it was the exploitation of other fears
which opened the gate for the Naz conquest of Ger
many and the rise of Hitler who has lived to bring
the world to the brink Of destruction.
The fantastic position of the strikers who are
willing to risk the prolongaton of the war and the
death of their own sons by stopping war production
all because eight men of color have been promoted
to bus drivers indicates the profound depth of the
color problem in America and the dire need for a
program to free this country of racsm That this
should happen in the enlightened city OF Philadelphia
staggers the imagination. What is supremacy I'M
porant however, is that this strike is warning to-
the natlOn tnaC the DaSc WHICH SclLeu
minds of these whites and made them easy victims for
the racist hatemongers must be set at rest.
Color prejudice in America has been kept alive
because it has become bound up with the great eco
nomic forces which have determined the life and hap
pness of the whole people, The Negroes conspicuous
color has given the white majority handy instru-
ment and in times Of depression he is the first fired
and in times of prosperity he is the last hired By
exploiting the labor and resources of the Negro people
without giving them full opportunities to reap the
harvest of their labors the white majority has main
tanned colonial system within the nation. The i'm
perialist principle of living off the sweat of some
one eses brow has, with subtle notifications, been
tradition in the South and to lesser degree in the
North In some respects the Philadelphia strike is
just an extreme manifestation of vicious principle
which has always kept the Negro in serfdom in
this country.
Against this background of the economic impli-
cations of the color problem in America it is not
surprising why so little is accomplished by liberals
and honest souls who shout so hard for brother
hood" The cards are stacked against brotherhood,
and until we achieve that kind of economy which is
big and broad enough to support the liberal deaism
of our democracy, minority groups will be penazed.
While such an economy will not of itself free America
of color prejudice it will remove the props from
under those who use this color prejudice an eco
nomc weapon in the fight for jobs and security
Unless some decisive action is taken in this strike
to guarantee to the Negro his right to job for
which he is trained and qualified, the Philadelphia
strike may be but prelude to many violent outrages
in the postwar period Despite the handicaps, the
encouragement and the Illustrations which meet the
Negro people at every turn there has arisen among
them spirit new determination to obtain
their Constitutional guarantees and perogatives This
spirit has grown steadily over the years. keeping
pace with the rising cultural level of the people The
Negro is not demanding any special advantages, but,
as has been said before in these columns, he is not
going to accept special disadvantages either
We are Mortified at the failure of the majority
group to understand the thinking of the Negro
today. Many whites are living in the 10Th century
as regards this issue and they are suddenly alarmed
to learn that black man who risks his life for his
country expects to be treated with dignity, that
Negroes want first class citizenship and that they
will no longer be brow-beaten into accepting less.
These whites believe that they can send million men
to fight abroad for democracy and these will re-
turn like simple children, content to take what is
dished out to them They are living in FOOLS para
disc.