The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1945-09-29

Fingers have been crossed in De-
troit since June. l943, when "a per-
sons were killed. 500 were injured,
ana property worth 81 900, 900 was
destroyed in the three most shame
tul days Of the city's history.
Ire community conflicts which
brou ght on one OF the worst race
riots ever 20 break out in the
USA are still here, siTTering.
Ard me economic crisis nt recon-
version. which hit Detroit hard
est. IS stirring those conflicts.
But Detroit had tragic lesson
in l943. and the city Is doing more
than crossing is fingers and hoping
tina, i, won; happen again Steps
however inadequate and tenta-
tiIe-have been taken 10 try 10
make sure that the conflicts are
kept in control. II not eliminated.
The l943 riots. which cost the
lives Of IS Negroes and nine white
victims. stemmed from a complex
situation compounded OF violent
anti-Negro bias. public and Off
cisl indifference TO pitiful Negro
living conditions. police strong-arm
policies, hoodlums Of both races
a.. wrapped up In rumors. rumors.
Housing Is Bad
Race prejudices here st.l, are vio-
lent. and not enough by FAR has
been done 20 provide decent hous-
IHg fog nc thousands on thousands
o. NEGROES their population in
creased more than - Pc cent? who
SWarUei in since 1910 - GO war
JOB and 2e; better lie.
There has been 4 revolutionary
new deal however, - the police
force HeN-rs.S!Nc gangs Of what
ever Co'or no LONGER roam up and
down Paradise Valley. the Nesro
S.uM a~c8--oy AZ least they don't
roam "a or for Ions. The rumors,
which used 70 run like fire over
re city. kirdlln- violence, nov
are usually checked as soon aS they
-ct loose
Precise figures about population
shifts into the Detroit area nv the
end of the war are not available,
but what is clear is that more than
a quarter million came in and that
there was little shift in home
grown prejudices among the new
corners. Fully n third Of the white
migrants came from the South.
along with 20 per cent Of the Ne
groeS.
No Formula Found
Nobody yet has found a sure
formula for a quick transformation
Il an mpoyerlShed white worker
IRON, ne share South into
4 tolerant citizen who respects his
Nero nciEHbor Often such white
men have only one crutch - sup
port their d,2nity--a feeling o!
superiority over the Nczro When
thousands OF these arc compressed
into an already compressed town.
prcsSures OF existing preiudices 80
Up
The Negroes who migrated into
tho Detro!: area during the war
added "a; least $4,000 20 what the
L. 5 Bureau of the Census calls
thc 'Uonwhite' population For
the most part they went into Ne
Rr0 communities. eDphcmiSacallv
cared residential which had no
room
Along Paradise Valley. running
~ the east OF De.roii's main-Stcp
Woodward avenue the Negro work
c,> have been going 10 work IN
shifts and coming back 20 cat and
Sleep n shifts Many OF their
lodgings are so bad that q humane
health department avoids cn'orc-
InS municipal sanitary regulations
on ground tha. II they we're en-
f0rcei the tenants would have 20
get ou,--and where would they
90
There al'.Os, H,sraIlv is no place
.,HeU> ~ So k&y=s Ei@sc6 },
Jeffries. Jr, whose administrative
has hecn held LARGELY responsible
for what happened In June. 1913,
has good housing director
Charles r. Edgecomb. LONG activa
in the labor movement and former
ly a leader in the United Auto
mobile Workers Go. But the JEFF
fries administration also has
public housing policy that the "ra-