St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1945-04-06
Many Negroes
Attend Justice
Black Banquet

~
Washington, D. C. (NNPA)-Su-
preme Court Justice Hugo L Black
must have gained a keen satisfac-
ton as he looked around the ban
quet room at the Hotel Statler on
Tuesday of this week during the
dinner given in his honor by the
Southern Conference for Human
Welfare.
The liberal, progressive jurist
was being honored for the second
time by the Southern Conference
as recipient of the Thomas Je6er-
son award-given to Southerners
whose work in public affairs is most
in the Jeffersonian tradition. He
received the award first for his dis
tinguished service in the United
States Senate. This time it was for
his notable service of seven and
one-half years on the Supreme
Court bench.
But what must have struck the
Justice was the large number of
Negroes in the audience, seated at
various banquet tables, paying him
honor. His memory must have
called up the intense opposition ex-
pressed to his appointment as Su-
preme Court Justice by members of
that same race in fear that his
presence on the bench Of the high
est court in the land might mean
loss of many of their constitutional
rights. He had once been member
of the Ku Klux Klan. On the con-
trary, he has proved their most
stalwart champion.
Hardly had he warmed his seat
on the bench of the Supreme Court,
when he delivered an opinion in
Chambers v. Florida, 1888, in which
he said: "Under our constitutional
system, courts stand against any
winds that blow as Ravens Of refuge
for those who might otherwise suf-
fer because they are helpless, weak,
outnumbered, or because they are
non-conforming victims of preju-
dice and public excitement. No
higher duty, no more solemn re-
sponsibility, rests upon this Court
than that of translating into living
law and maintaining this constitu-
tional shield deliberately planned
and inscribed for the benefit Of
every human being subject to our
Constitutional whatever race,
creed or persuasion"
And in 1910, in Smith v. Texas,
he said: cit is part Of the estab-
lished tradition in the use Of juries
as instruments Of public justice
that the jury be a body truly repre-
sentative of the community. For
racial discrimination to result in
the exclusion from jury service Of
otherwise qualified groups not only
violates our Constitution and the
laws enacted under it, but is at war
with our basic concepts Of a demo-
cratic society and a representative
government. The fact that the
written words of a States laws
hold out a promise that no such
discrimination will be praeticed is
not enough. The 18th amendment
requires that equal protection to
all must be given-not merely
promised"
Speakers at the banquet were
Hon. Alben Barley, majority lead
er of the United States Senate,
who served as POSTMASTER; Mrs.
Franklin D. Roosevelt; DR.. Frank
P. Graham, on leave from the Presi-
dency of the University of North
Carolina to serve as a public men,
Der of the War Labor Board;
Charles H. Houston, Negro attor-
ney in Washington and member of
the Presidents Committee on Fair
Employment Practice; Sen. Claude
Pepper of Florida; Judge Sherman
Minton, and Hon. Fred Vinson of
Kentucky, recently appointed head
of the Reconstruction Finance Cor
poration. Mr.. Vinson made the
principal address.
Presentation Of the Jefferson
award was made by DR.. Clark Fore
man, president of the Southern
Conference on Human Welfare.
Mrs. Mary Mcleod Bethune and
Mrs. Roosevelt both have been
| nravions winners of the award