St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1944-03-24

tiles are far better" Perhaps times
are better than they used to be-
but the question with me is "How
much better?"
First of all, let's talk about lynch
ing. Do you refer to the old
fashioned or the modern method?
1t used to be sport for sadistic
mob to string a Negro-yes, any
Negro-to a nearby tree. In those
days, these were more or less iso-
lated cases. Today, lynchings paral-
lei the blitzkrieg technique popu-
larized by Hitler. Scared by a
flame of race hatred, mobsters de-
scend upon Negro "ghettos" with
bludgeoning clubs and blazing re-
volvers, in place of rope and faggot.
Haven't you heard about that mess
in Beaumont and the flare-up in
Detroit?" We should whisper that
they were race riots, since we are
now engaged in all-out war effort.
What does it matter that scores of
Negro homes were reduced to
shambles? weren't they too good
for those 'uppity' niggers? They
were making too much money any
way" What difference does it make
if the majority of the dead and in
jured were Negroes? "a few dead
niggers won't hurt, anyway. It
will teach 'em that they'd better
stay in their place! Do you sup
pose it's true about that white
woman in Beaumont not being
touched by a niger? Any niger
would rape the first white woman
he'd have a chance to. I just can't
believe she wasn't"
But lynching is lynching, any way
that you look at it. Nor can this
malady be cured by the insistence
of Southern states that they be
left alone to handle this delicate
problem. To bolster their argument
that they can and will abolish
lynching, these states pirate loudly
of estate sovereignty" and issue
bland announcements of reputed de-
clines in the number of lynchings.
Of course, the Southern states are
not alone in their tendency to lynch
Negroes, for Northern communities,
more than seldom, stage such mob
orgies. While it is true that there
has been a decline in the number of
lynchings, it is also equally worthy
of notice that there are still lynch
ings of Negroes, some of which new
er reach the eye of the general pub
lie. Hence when one takes into &C
count the subtle fashion, alluded to
above, in which the Negro is be-
ing lynched in America, the i'm
mediate need of a federal anti
lynching law should become OBJ
vious. For, as long as any lynchings
white or black-occur, the spirit
of Judge Lynch" still lives.
Of grave Importance to the Ne
gro is this matter of police intimi-
dalton and double" justice in the
courts. At once, this brings up the
question of the Negro and crime.
I shall not attempt to repudiate
the thesis that a considerable pro-
portion of Negroes commit criminal
acts. However, 1 would like to call
attention to the type and causes
of these misdemeanors. For the
most part, the Negro is not addicted
to planned crimes. His offenses
seem to fall mainly in the cate
gories of petty thievery and I'M
premeditated killing. Why is this Z?
Again, the fabric of Southern So
ciety is responsible. Goaded by his
submarginal status, as reflected in
restricted job opportunities and
poor housing, the Negro gives vent
to a natural upheaval of frustrated
human emotion, acting to live the
best way he can-especiSlly when
honest efforts appear unavailing.
Gallant indeed is it for liberal
whites to endorse Negro policemen
for Negro neighborhoods, in South
ern communities; but while we are
waiting for this to come to pass,
these liberals might we'll direct
suggestions for restrained action to
those white minions of the law who,
political sycophants that they are,
proceed upon the principle that you
beat the Negro first and ask ques-
tions afterward. But why, in the
first place, should Negro police
men be confined to Negro areas?
1t would be a fine lesson in democ-
racy to station Negro police Of
ficers in both white and Negro
neighborhoods. My ears are ring
ing with the singing rebukes
that, I am told, certain South
ern jurists deliver to black cul-
prits, advising that the Negro
"better not listen to those agitators
from up North and to remember
that the South is a white mans
country" Even as I say this, 1
am mindful of the fact that there
are courts in the South and South