Minneapolis spokesman. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1944-04-07


Friday night, March 81. The meet
ing, attended by 1000, was held at
the First Baptist church.
Randolph spoke in defiance to
'Boss" Ed H. Crump and Crump's
stooges, which include the city ad-
ministration, the city police, the
sheriff's police and last but not
least the Crump Brown Nuts,
group of local Negroes who jump
at the crack of Crump's whip.
All these with the help of Lev
Loring, rabid Negotiating presi-
dent of the Memphis Trades and
Labor Council and who is referred
to as "Who Told You Was A Jew"
LOring; Mayor Walter Chandler,
Vice Mayor "Holy Joe" Boyle who
also is commissioner of fire and po-
lice and who brings the Catholic
vote into the Crump camp; E. W.
Hale, chairman of the county com
mission; Sheriff Perry, William
Geber, attorney general of Shelby
county, County Attorney Charley
Crabtree had left no stone unturned
to keep Randolph from making a
public speech in Memphis.
Friday night, Randolph soundly
denounced Boss Crump and his
methods. Randolph declared that
IF Crump's policy on free speech
was permitted to prevail one could
only exercise the right of free
speech when he said what Crump
wanted him to say. This is dictator
ship with vengeance. Indeed, the
Memphis political boss out-Hitlers
Hitler"
Randolph insisted that white
workers and black workers in the
South and everywhere should join
trade unions, the same unions,
where they may work, fight, suffer
and sacrifice together for a common
goal. He advocated the placing of
Negro history in every public
school, white or black; the enforce
ment of the 14th and 18th amend
ments of the constitution; the par
ticipation of Negroes in the peace
conference, and the spread of edu-
cation, scientific, technical, profess
sional and cultural among all of the
people in the SAME institutions.
And after Friday nights meeting
at which no uniformed policemen
were seen in the audience, no secret
service men or any who might have
been taken for such were in evil
dence, Memphis went about its
business as usual. Beale avenue
sidewalks were crowded to the edge
with its Saturday visitors from the
country who mingled with the
townfolk; downtown Memphis was
quiet and nowhere were there any
signs of racial disturbances such as
were feared by Crump, his stooges
and his Brown Nuts"
Every now and then on Saturday,
city police car or a car full of
sheriff's uniformed police would
round corners on Beale avenue and
its cross streets. There are no Ne
gro police in Memphis, which has a
population of 10000 colored peo-
pie. There are no Negro firemen
either, despite Boss Crump's asser-
tons that he helps to elevate Ne
groes in this city.
Backed By AFL President
Randolph came here with the
backing of President William Green
of the American Federation of
Labor with headquarters in Wash
ington, D. c., who instructed
George Googe, white southern or
ganizer of the A. F. of L, with
headquarters in Atlanta that Ran
dolph was to speak. And Randolph
was prepared to speak at a public
mass meeting in Memphis if no one
else was there other than Ran
dolph' Googe and some reporters.
The New Yorker spoke under the
auspices of the Brotherhood of
Sleeping Car Porters, the Team
sters Union, No. SGT; Longshore-
mems Union; United Textile Work
ers; Laundry Workers, Local 26S;
Freight Handlers, Coopers, Tobac-
CO Workers, and others. He spoke
over the protests of the Trades and
Labor Council although "a locals
of the council signed a pledge to
support Randolph's coming and
President Green's move in backing
up the A. F. of LIS policy of free
speech and free assembly which the
A. F. L. has upheld since its found
ing in 1868.
T. ]. Johnson, former school
principal and now a drug store
operator at Mississippi and Walker,
and G. L. Young, who nobody in the
Bluff City could be found who
could attach his name to a regular
business, were two of the Crump
Negroes who went all the way to
Washington to present to President
Green the Negro protest against
Randolph making any address here
now or ever.
We were told that Johnson was
given 5000 to make the trip with
Young. But as to who passed him
the money the informant couldn't