The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-05-27

With comments on Strange
Fruit" TO the right and left OF this
column in the Chronicle this week,
there isn't much that I can add
to the discussion. | do wonder if
the officials who have asked the
holding Strange Fruit from sale
here in Detroit have read many
modern novels. Despite BoSton's
prudery. there Is consistency
about its bannings which Mr.. De
Vito points out in his article IN
Harrer's for May-Boston is OPP
posed TO a decent treatment Of sex.
Here in Detroit where there is no
established custom OF banning
books or plays the reason for sing
ling out Strange Fruit doesn't
seem as clear, unless we look be-
yond the charge of obscenity.
In New York when the postal
authorities warned the Saturday
Review Of Literature not 10 accept
ads for Strange Fruit Norman
Cousins, lis editor. challenged the
ruling and stated that SRI would
accept any ads Reynal and Hitch
cock offered and further would even
run them free. Mr.. Cousins also
wrote a letter 10 friend praisin2
the book and quoting from il, then
asked the cost Office if this too
would not be accepted in the mails.
The union book store is 10 be
commended on its stand in refus-
- n ~ ~
the book from sale. Ii is dis
couraging again TO see how strong
and effective the forces of reac-
ton are. In commenting on the
action Of Boston authorities Miss
Smith has said that she regrets that
the attention Of the public has been
diverted from the true issues Of the
book 10 the false one of whether
use of one word is right.
:; !: !:
Characteristics Of the American
Negro" edited by Otto Klnebers
Harper and Brothers. New York
City; 1914; $4,000 is the last in the
Negro in American Life Series to
| be published. II is a collection of
various studies on racial character
istics OF the Negro: intclli gencc, at
/ titudes, personality; the racial hy-
brid. mental disease among Ne
groes Most OF the book is made
/ up of "a critical survey of the avail
able literature in several related
/ fields. rather than as an account
OF new research previously unpub-
I liShed" The original material in
cluded is the study by With and
] Goldhamer on the amount OF mis-
cegnation between Negroes and
whites in certain communities. some
unpublished material included in
HoroWItz discussion Of racial a,ti-
,udeS and data on mental disease
among Negroes.
The conclusions arrived az by
the various scholars arc more or
less the same: that enyronTental
differences for the most part deter
nine differences in Intelligence
scores. IN attitudes. in personality
variations between Negroes and
whites and in incidence OF mental
disease. In MS discussion OF the
mental abilities OF Negro children
Dr. kllneDcrg tells OF a study OF
,ne Ia made Of Negro children 10
determine Il iougth OF stay i'm an
urban center where educational op-
pDrtuni,4cS were equal for both
races made any differences I'm in
telligence test scores The results
demonstrate that children who
had lived in Mex York City for
several years were superior in per-
Torrance 10 those recently moved
from The South.
; There are some interesting re-
suits given here Of studies Of the
comparative tolerance Of reprcscn-
tat.ves o. different religious groups.
/ TIE conclusion u.s. For the present
We nay note only the absence If
evidence conCecI.uI any positive
value Of church activities for the
nculca,.on II liberal and tolerant
racial attitudes n fact two O;
,ae siidie- mentioned showed that
Aersuns with no ~ 0us a'lil -
ton tended 90 be more ;y.clant
hsn .lose who were Eegu.5a ~