Hartford chronicle., 1946-10-05

In these critical days, when the world is delicatley poised on a pre- carious balance between a truly progressive future and the dark age reaction of the past (and sometimes present) there IS one crying need that can be clearly seen above all others: the need for the most intense unity between all groups and individuals working to- ward the same goal of better place in which to live. This unity is already fully appreciated and employed against us by the boys whose sole means of existence is the exploitation of the largest number of people in the worst pos sible manner in the shortest al- lotted time. That the fighters for progress could fail to follow their example is sheer tragedy, born either of utter stupidity, which we cannot afford, or collaboration with the enemy, which we must not countenance.
 The Fight On Lynching
 It is astonishing, to say the least, therefore, to learn that the National Association for the Ad- vancement of Colored People, one of the strongest American weap- ons in the fight for democracy for the people, reacted toward the re- cent mass anti-lynching mobiliza- tion on Washington by sending out to its Youth Branches communi- cations informing-or warning them that the National Office of the Association was not taking part in the anti-lynching effort. To anyone experienced in the ways of the NAACP such communica- tions were not merely sent out in comradely attempt to be con- versational; the effect of such. no -tices' almost always is expected to act as a directive, complete and full. And such, alas!, has been the docility and conformity of most branches in the past that such di- rectives enjoy a high percentage of blind obedience.
 NAACP Belonged In Fight
 The disgrace of lynching is a crime against the people of the United States, and the night against it is peoples fight. Un- less the better part of a million people have been mis1ed, the NAA- CP is a peoples organization. Hence, the NAACP belonged IN THE CENTER of the mobiliza- tion. The added strength which would have resulted in this BROADER representation of the liberal white and Negro people would have been tremendous; i; | President Truman's reception of Paul Robeson and the others who accompanied him was luke-warm, almost hostile, because Truman KNEW he was able to play one group of Negroes off against an- other. Had our ranks been united, unbroken, this could not have hap pened. Our fight on lynching was immeasurably weakened, and lay the blame for the weakening DI- RECTLY ON THE DOORSTEP OF THE NAACP.
 No Excuse For Misleadership
 There is no excuse for mislead- ership of the people at a time like the present one, and the attitude of the NAACP has no explanation other than misleadership of the most regrettable sort. If the As sociation had any reason which it thinks good for it's action, it has not made such reason known. That there could be any good reason is virtually unthiikable. The people engaged in the mobilization wore a stamp of responsibility" that even the Brahmins of the Associa- tion's national board cannot dis pute. Some of the most outstand- ing Americans of the present time were numbered there. It was led by the great Paul Robeson, a man whose personal contributions to the advancement of the Negro compare favorably with the com bined contributions of many of our organizations OVER A LONG PERIOD OF YEARS. It may be that the NAACP did not welcome the introduction of another effort into the fight at the time it was already making certain gains with Truman on the same subject. If this is the case. it is time that the people demanded 8 different type of brain-trusting in the NAACP leadership. No one organization is large enough by itself to stop lynching in this country, and any thing short of stopping it fully, once. and for all, is half measure.
 Truth More Sinister
 That, l say, is a possibility, just ,