St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1945-08-31

to do something about it. Two of
them put on signs and started
walking up and down in front of
the place. In twinkling the whole
street was in an uproar. Thousands
of people congregated on the street
to listen to the denunciations of the
lily-white Franks policy and to
agree out loud with the pickets
that Franks should be forced to
hire Negroes. Meanwhile a group
of Negro educators and friends
walked on across the picket line
and went inside to eat. In another
place in Harlem a we'll known Har-
lem society woman and her escort,
who were going to Franks to eat
before going downtown to one of
the nightclubs, actually cried be-
cause Negroes were picketing the
place. "Why do they want to do
that?" she said. "Why can't they
leave the only place We have to eat
alone? What difference does it
make whether the man has white
or colored help so long as we have
decent food and decent surround
ing? just don't approve of it." A
we'll known Harlem leader was bit
ter in his comment, saying that
the place would be ruined the min
ute they put a Negro cook, bar
tender, or waiter to work. One
Negro wanted to form a commit
tee and call on the management of
Franks to see that a clause was
inserted in the contract with the
union to demand that any Negro
hired at the place first be superior
in ability and performance of their
duties to the whites on penalty of
revocation of the entire agreement!
He felt that as a prominent citizen
he had no place to take good white
friends and consequently he want
ed to be protected from what he
termed characteristic antics in the
serving of foods in a restaurant"
To the Negro on the street the is
sue was plain.
Can't Get Jobs on Broadway
The white man had a place in
Harlem that didn't hire Negroes.
There are hundreds of Negro wait
ers capable, with years of expert
ence and polish, out of work. These
Negroes should not work in the big
paying jobs of Broadway, despite
all the ballyhoo about racial I'M
derstanding, good will, cooperation,
and etc. If they can't work in Har-
lem, where in the hell are they
going to work, and that is the
point that the Negro union men
saw at once and one that Negro
intellectuals and socialites refused
to see over the years that Franks
practiced its discrimination. Need
less to say that the picket line in
front of Franks broke down all
resistance on the part of the man.
agement, and a capitulation fol-
lowed in which four Negroes were
put to work as bartenders, cooks,
and two walters. Future negotia-
tons are expected to increase Ne
gro employment to 258o.
This is an example of the type
of thing and action that will bring
about the desired result in the Ne
gro status and one toward which
the Negro intellectual could point
it's efforts if it is to remain in the
drivers seat as the real leadership
of the American Negro. There are
no two ways about it, and there is
no middle ground. The twilight
zone in which lot of baseball has
been played between Negroes and
whites is doomed.
Everything will have to be done
out in the open from now on, be-
cause Negroes are awakening and
demanding it, and when the masses
demand somebody has to accede
because the masses are our ma
jority and are the Negro people.