The Omaha guide., 1946-12-28
SAYS
JOE LOUIS AT
TESTIMONIAL
DINNER
GIVEN IN HIS
HONOR AT
WALDORF
ASTORIA

champion, asserted that fighting
prejudice and disease and second
class citizenship is my business
He continued, It's the business
of every American who wants to
see our country and its people
grow stronger, healthier, and hap
pier year after year"
Attended by more than 500 out
standing figures in the theatrical.
civic, sports and professional
world, the dinner was held in the
Starlight Roof of the Waldorf AS
toria, New York, on Monday even
ing, ecember 16. Frank Sinatra
star of screen and radio was mas
ter of ceremonies at the event;
Jean Muir, former screen actress
and Duke Ellington, composer,
served as CO. chairmen of the din
ner.
Among the leading personalities
who paid tribute to the Champ"
as a great fighter and great Am
erican' were Mrs. Mary Mcleod
Bethune, founder of the Bethune-
Goodman College; Clark Foreman
president of the Southern Confer
ence for Human Welfare; General
John fitzpatrick, president of Mad
ison Square Garden; Carole Ian
dis, screen star; Ham Fisher, car-
toonist and creator of "Joe Pa
looka"; DR.. Claiming Tobias, lead
ing educator, recently appointed
to President Truman's Civil Rights
Commission; DR.. James Sheldon.
president of the Non-Sectarian An
THAI League who recently x
posed The Columbians Inc, and
Duke Ellington.
Thanking all the guests for
their kind words. Joe Louis
stated, Your words have given
me a kind of road to travel on@a
road to follow that will be bumpy
in spots, but there1l be many of
you along to help do the repair
job In a fortnight declaration of
his principles. which was broad
cast owe radio station WMCA, the
Champion asserted. II hate jim
Crow, | hate the poll tax, / hate
keeping good folks down because
of their color. And I'm not going
to let those hates stay in my VS.
tenn. I'm going to work with 9TH
er people and do all I can to stop
Jim Crow and lynching and the
evils he bring. That's why I'm
100 percent for the Southern Con
ference for Human Welfare; they
are my kind of people and your
kind Of people,"
Among the exciting nighlights
of the evening was the auctioning
of the boxing gloves Joe Louis
wore when he knocked out Tami
Mauriello. Mr.. Herman Sobel. a
brush manufacturer from New
Rochelle, New York. was the high
est bidder with an offer of $500.
Later the audience responded to
the appeal of Clark Foreman, Con
ference presidnt, WIN he called for
progressive Northern money to
help defeat the Southern bigots
and white supremicists'' and al
most $4,000 was raised.
Percy Green. editor of the Jack
son, Mississippi Advocate who mo-
bilized Negroes to go to the polls
and later to testify in the Bilbo
hearings, was another speaker.
Calling the 1916 campaign in Mis-
sissippi one of the most violent.
vulgar. vicious. brutal, unchrist-
ian, undemocratic campaigns ever
carried on in the south. Mr..
Green stated that in spite of the
almost complete breakdown of
federal and state law enforcement
more than $500 Negroes in Missi-
ssippi went to the polls and cast
their ballots"
Declaring that race prejudice was
h worst influence in the political
life of the country, Mr.. Green de-
clared it must be abolished not
only because of what it means to
the future developments of the
Negro, but because of what it
means to the white people and to
the future relationship of the en-
tire nation with the people of the
world" In conclusion Mr.. Green
stated that he had faith in the A
merican idea and ideal as long as
there are people like those in the
Southern Confernc for Human
Wlfare" working for real democ-
racy.
COMPLETE TEXT OF
JOE LOUIS SPEECH
I want to thank all of you for
you good, kind words and I want
to tell you too, that I will try to
live UP to the fine things you have
said abou me. You've given me a
long way to go. Your words have
given me a kind of road to travel
on-a road to follow that will be
bumpy in spots, but there1l be
many of you along to help do the
repair job.
1t was good of you to come. You
are here, I know because you're on
the same road-the road that will
lead to a happier, healthier, and
better America, eve got to get a
lot of traffic on that road-else the
people going the other way, and
you know who I mean, will push
us off. They're SC used to push
ing it comes by them natural like.
We have decency and right and
what made America strong on our
SIDE; we need the good people of
country to work and fight to-
gether to make the dream of Abra
nam Lincoln come true.
But, honestly, I don't e why
the Southern Conference had to
honor me especially. / am just do
ing what every ordinary Ameri-
can who has a heart and a soul is
doing-what every decent person
in this country who believes in
fair play, in giving his fellow A
merican an even chance to live in
peace and quiet is doing. If any,
one should be honored here to-