Evening star., 1947-02-09


Redevelopment Agency. Then, he
said, they changed their minds after
reading a Federal Bureau of In
vestigation report about him.
When the names of nominees
for the new agency were made pub
lie Friday, Richard Atkinson, law
yer and former member OF the Dis
trict Board of Barber Examiners,
was the colored nominee.
FBI Report Swayed Commissioners.
A District Building spokesman
said tins Commissioners had asked
Dr. Marshall If he was willing to
serve and had been told that he
would Then the FBI report came
in, this spokesman went on, and the
Commissioners felt it indicated DR..
Marshall had "pinkish tendencies" /"
T DR.. Marshall was called In. One
Of the Commissioners told him he
could not be nominated by the
Commissioners because an investi-
cation indicated "pinkish tend
encies," the District Building Of
fetal said. A Commissioner, this
spokeman went on, told DR.. Mar
shall he would have to beAapproved
by the Senate, and Capitol Hill
sentiment about Communists was
well-known. ...
DR.. Marshall told the Star he
had found out the grounds on which
the Commissioners decided he
leaned toward Communism. Here
they are, with his comments:
Objections Answered.
I. That he was a member of the
Washington Committee for Demo-
cratic Action, termed a Communist
front organization by he House Un-
American Activities Committee DR..
Marshall said he had been a men,
ber but had not attended a meet
ing for at least a year before it was
called a Communist front. When
he heard that, he said, he Withdrew
from the organization, now defunct.
2. That he was present at a testi-
monial dinner for Doxey Wilkerson,
a professor of English at Howard
University who resigned to become
educational program director for the
Communist Party. DR.. Marshall
said he wasn't at the dinner but he
might have gone because he had
known Mr.. Wilkerson for a long
time.
3. That his name appeared on
list of citizens asking the pardon of
Earl Browder, former head of the
Communist Party in the United
States. The list was published in a
Washington newspaper. DR.. Mar
shah said he did not give his con-
sent to having his name used and
was not aware that it had been
used. He argued that if requesting
Browders pardon was "pinkish"
then the Government was "red" for
having pardoned him.
4. That he addressed a Chicago
meeting of the National Non-Parti-
san Conference in June, 1914. DR..
Marshall said the conference was an
all-Negro session to obtain support
from both the Democrats and Re-
publicans for inclusion of such
measures as the Fair Employment
Practices Committee and anti-poll
tax legislation in their party plat
forms.
5. That he addressed a mass
meeting sponsored by the National
Association for the Advancement of
Colored People in the Metropolitan
A.M.E. Church where he was intro
duced as chairman of the District
Nom Partisan Committee. DR.. Mar
shall said he considered this an
obligation as leader of the Negro
community. The committee has
since been dissolved.
DR.. Marshall said that as soon as
he found out what was in the FBI
report he went to the FBI SO that
his explanations could be made a
part Of his record.
Resents Insinuations
"As a veteran of World War /
and one of the original members Of
the Selective Service Appeals Board,
resent the Commissioners insinu-
ations," DR.. Marshall said. "It's
foolish for anybody to think would
do anything subversive."
In his letter to District Selective
Service Director William E. Leahy,
DR.. Marshall said he felt it was his
duty to bring the matter to Mr..
Leahy's attention since he was still
a member of the appeals board.
DR.. Marshall was the first presi-
dent of the NAACP here, He is
president OF the Rock Greek Civic
Association and chairman of the
board of trustees Of the National
Medical Association.