Minneapolis spokesman. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1944-05-26
Bill of Rights, Supreme Court
And Negroes Civil Rights
By Max Lerner in P NJ

The Amendment man, still
thousands of who held virtual working
under the threat of violence land belonging others The 1
Amendment the Negro against that
strip him of his civil rights the basis which
the fight being carried today for the Negroes right land
and property and live where he chooses his right take in
belong union; his equal job which
pay carries equal right
share judicial procedure the equal right his children schooling
to immunity terror living
Of in civilian life the Army.
How difficult is all these the distance between
the Bill of Rights the practice wrong history
of primary" protects Negro
from discrimination of his The constitu
ona test tube of this clause has been Texas For more than half
century War, quietly
voting tests In 1928 however thew made the mistake of passing
excluding Negroes from the Negro
called Nixon brought suit 1927 the unanimously held
the law unconstitutional decision by Justice Holmes But Holmes
did fool himself about the practical effect of the decision After
reading in he added Of his Il know that
good brethren Texas will rejoice
primary rights which heretofore they
joyed at the general elections"
proved right skeptcsm.
Indignation getting
around the decision The Legislature repealed the law and passed
giving party power
Again Nixon brought suit and again 1892 he upheld Justice
Cardozo writing the opinion This time the shrewder
They repealed the law and put nothing its place Thus the Lg
ure took care not be involved and the Democratic convention
did the dirty work Another test brought and this time
(GrOvey Townsend 1850 the white primary sustained
unanimous opinion written by Justice Roberts The idea the
Democratic Party acting private club and
force club to let down its bars There nothing about clubs
the 18th Amendment.
rejoiced
1887 The American people became that they engaged
against racsm and the from that
When Louisiana 1871 involving fraud
the Classic the ruled that in Louisiana
primary integral the election
Lonne Smith, another Texas Negro,
whether the Classic should the Texas primary
primaries be from fraud why bar?
The Supreme Court has agreed that the Lonnie Smith
unanimously for Justice Roberts The lone dssen
judicial about failure of the stick
Perhaps also his pride involved since his earlier
decision that But he his there
freedom justice blindness and the legal
of injustice has been done in the past, the Supreme
Court under the duty of correcting rather than compounng
Suppose however, that after reading the Courts opinion Justice
Stanley Reed had added the earlier of Justice Holmes
to what the Negroes could Would they be justified? The
American alone that what does the
fight the poax And the American people
For Bill of Rights parchment be stronger
enduring than the human heart
UNFAITHFUL NORTHERNRRS
And finally let all remember that the Bbos and the Rankn
their k nearly the
gro this country unfau
the who either boldly their
dent Roosevelt and the Negroes secretly support these Souhees
by allowing such tactics Fbue Estates Rights" "Un
constitutional" etc., all of which could be stopped had
willing welfare of the country above
politcs-St Louis Argus