The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1945-04-07


We Negroes get so confused on
this race issue business. At times
we predicate our whole relation
ship to an unfolding democracy
upon some foolish uItcrances one
white man makes. 1t is hard for
Us to look beneath the surface and
see what is really at stake We
are carried away with words. II a
person says the right words, he
can be as vicious as hell itself in
. carrying out his program.
Housing is an important issue
for all the people. Forty per cent
of all the people in Detroit are ILL
housed This is the main point
about Detroit's housing situation.
II government and private agen-
cies can dodge the real task be-
fore them by raising the race is
sue, II is pretty soft for them. Ne
gro leadership ought 10 catch on
TO this trick sooner or later. BIZ
racial housing is no issue. The is
sue is that Negroes and whites
are lnadequately housed Suisse
quent 10 an adequate program Of
housing is that government must
spend tax money without diScrim-
nation. All that Negroes need TO
do is insist that government treat
all OF its citizens equally and
without discrimination Wherever
we have discrimination. the peo-
pie fostering the discrimination
are getting away with some spuri-
Gus economic advantage. Our pro-
gram for housing in Detroit and
the nation should be adequate
housing for all the people.
In a postwar planning program
food must be available 10 all our
people. IL you were to study the
causes for rejection OF million
men by the army. one OF the
things that would surprise is that
Is per cent OF them were under
nourished. Ill-fed is all that means.
They ate the wrong kind of foods
and too much OF the FOODS
with little or no nutriment value.
This is true in face of the fact that
tons and tons OF fine food are al
lowed 10 rot in order TO keep re-
tail prices at certain level. POST
war planning has 10 deal with
this subject in vigorous manner
Negro leadership can spend its
time in court arguing over some
restaurant waitress that refused 10
serve a Negro ham sandwich.
but it will not pay much divi-
denS Dividends are large for the
nj ut A,InrfAL -
we can help TO get democratic
and humanitarian way OF diStrib-
uting food so that all the people
will be assured Of food Leader
ship has not learned yet that you
can get the masses Of Negroes just
AS emotional about this as you can
over the fast that some frustrated
white person said niger" The
white man said niger for the
same reason that Negroes get eX-
cited about his saying il. We all
miss the point OF our struggle for
a better life. n the white man
felt secure about his chances for a
decent living. he could not be
used against the Negro in order
for the rulers and controllers 10
rob Negro and white workers.
This is why the Clio and AT OF l..
unions are interested in Negroes.
1t is selfish but ri2htD
The health Of our community is
not minority problem. II is a
community problem. We need AT
least one thousand more adequate
beds for tuberculosis patients. We
need more thorough going social
disease control program. Look 1T
this picture: The people who
earned less than 81 900 per year
in 1910 lost in work time because
OF illness l46 days on the average
for the year. The people who
earned. more than $1,000 per year
lost in work time for illness lis
days on the average. The people
earning 81 500 lost only 8.5 days
for illness in 1870 The average
time lost for persons earning over
$4,000 per year due to illness was
SO days on the average for the
year. This means that there is
some relationship between earn
ing and medical care. The figures
quoted above refer only to the i'm
duStrial worker. II we took in the
domesticS and farm workers. the
picture for the people earning
less than 81 900 per year as re-
CARDS their health would look
even worse. Health OF the Amer
lean people is the issue. not Ne
gro health and white health.
Education comes as our next
great task We have gone far in
this direction Public education
is hard-won victory. The only
other thing in American history
that was harder TO win was the
freedom of the Negro from slav-
cry We have public education as
theory at least. Sixty per cent
OF all people have not finished the
eighth grade. Less than FIVE per
cent Of our people have gone 10
college In Washington. ID. C..
the seat OF our government. only
% per cent OF the people i'm the
district are people of high school
education. Forty-one per cent Of
the white inducjces in Georgia
Louisiana and Mississippi were re-
jected because they were too ig-
norant. This ought 10 mean some
thing when we consider the fact
that in these states we get Huey
Long. Talmadge and Nixon. The
percentage OF Negro reflections in
these states was about the same as
whites We could 60 on and on
with fact after fact. but you get
the point Education in our post
war world means better education
and more OF it for all the people.
We do not need 10 discuss jobs
here Most Of us see our task in
this direction The point 20 be
made here is that job security
must be for all workers, or some
workers can be used 10 keep other
workers in the streets on the false
issue of race and color. White
workers 40 no, hate black work