St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1944-11-24
Colored People
FOUGHT for France
Who Appreciates Il
By Noah C. A. Walter

the French Republic, sold out by
many of her white government,
political, business and military
leaders to Hitler, aiding his Ger
man Nazi army to overrun that
fair land, the late Felix Eboue, a
full-blooded Negro, a governor
general of French Equatorial
Africa ian area times the size of
France) stood loyal to the French
people, leading his army and mil
lions of black Frenchmen to fight
for Frances liberation on the side
of the United Nations.
Black Frenchmen in the West
Indies, Madagascar and all parts
of the world all remained loyal.
France has not forgotten!
Now, before Germany is COM
pletely defeated or general plans
for the postwar world are drafted
the leaders of the French gov
eminent have announced plans
ready for launching a worldwide
basis to give Frenchmen, white,
brown, yellow, equality on French
soil wherever the sun rises or sets.
Will England follow? How
about the U. S. A.? There has
never been racial discrimination
or segregation of any kind in
European France. However, the
political, educational, and eco
nomic conditions in French colonies
have in many ways been very
backward. France plans to change
all this. France plans to build pub
lie schools, for every so children.
High schools, colleges and profess
sional schools in all French ter
ritory equal to that which exists
or is built for European French
men. Hospitals, health centers,
theatres, recreational centers and
modern homes and modes of trans
portation. Colored Frenchmen
from all parts of the world shall
be at present trained in France and
installed to aid in carrying out this
great program of equality. No poll
tax there. Every community is to
be organized into an assembly 10
cal government). These assemblies
shall meet in Paris, France, as a
world federation to express the
wishes, protect the rights and i'm
prove the character of all French
men. In accordance with the pol
icy of France any government Of
fetal guilty of race discrimination
or prejudice will be Immediately
discharged from service of the gov
eminent.
France is planting the seeds for
political and economic freedom to
grow side by side. What France
is boldly doing to completely mo-
Billie the loyalty of her colored
people certainly will have its re-
action among the colored peoples
living under the flags of England
and the United States of America.
The colored people under the
English flag who are the neighbors
of French colored people in India,
Africa, the West Indies and South
America will quickly raise the de-
mand for equal opportunity for
full freedom. AS Frances pro-
gram of equality grows in strength
despite Churchill's pledge, he did
not become premier "to give away"
the British Empire. England to
remain a world power also must
launch a program among its COL
ored people giving all political,
educational and economic equality.
The freedom enjoyed by the colored
peoples of France will arouse the
oppressed colored people in all
lands to break the chains of in
equality and poverty.
England will not have a very
hard task to meet her problem.
England, true, built her world pow
er on the backs of her colonial peo-
pies, however, the English have no
Seasoned" custom of inbreeding
racial prejudice among its people.
How about right here at home?
Will this great change in status Of
the colored peoples of France and
England serve to abolish the pat
tern of discrimination, segregation
and abuse of the Negro in the
U. s. A.?
It must. But how this change
will come here will be determined
hv Americas interest tn nrotact ifs
position as a world power. Our
great country can not maintain a
peaceful, prosperous domestic econ
omy depressing 100000 Negroes,
surrounded with Mexico, China,
India and the millions Of colored
peoples Of France and England.
For survival America too must
meet the challenge France has
made!