St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1947-03-28


and conventions. 1t takes courage
am member Of an interracial,
Faith group, the members Of which
believe in and work TO build a new
social order on the foundation Of
what is good in the old. One night
a white doctor who belongs to this
group reported that another white
doctor did not approve Of colOred
and white members Of the Faith
group meeting together. 1t is illegal
to practice true Christianity in this
section.
Calmly Stood Their Ground
The chairman requested that all
members present join freely in con-
sultation on the matter to the end
that we might arrive at an agree
ment by which we would stand to-
gether. | shall never forget the
statement made by a white woman
doctor. She said, in substance:
81 thought that we all under
stood when we banded ourselves to-
gether that we might be imprisoned
because Of our practice Of absolute
equality within our organization,
irrespective Of the race or religious
background Of individual members;
that we were so convinced Of the
importance Of our position as
it relates to achieving the Most
Great Peace that we stood ready
to be ostracized, to give up our
friends and suffer Imprisonment, if
need be, rather than surrender our
faith and its practice. l move that
we calmly stand our ground and
take the consequences"
Each member was then given
an opportunity to state his con-
victiOns. And everyone present
vowed not to be moved from their
VOWS.
To have seen these white mem
bers Of our group live a life free
from race or religious prejudice, in
spite Of all the advantages which
supposedly accrue to those sub
scribing to and worshipping at the
shrine Of race segregation, was
indeed a marvellous sight to be-
hold. They point the way to world
peace. They are the examplars of
that which, if adopted by white
men everywhere, would make this
the white mans shining hour.
There are men of goodwill, who
are mentally capable of helping
the white man to stand back, as
II were, from the trees in the
garden of mankind far enough
to see the great human forest.
The United States is natior
Of 132,00O,000 people. There are
100000 colored people in it
p There are upwards Of 1l5,000,00(
whites in this country. Clearly, tn,
4 whites are in the majority in thi
country. But in China, for example
, there are four or five hundred mil
A lion souls. Scattered Throughout
other parts Of the globe there ar
millions Of other colored peoples
Thus, from global aspect, tn
white man is n minority. But thi
minority has the industrial, fnan
cial and military resources to Civ
. the world effective and constructiv
leadership along the path of justic
. and world unity which are neces
sary for the foundation upon whic
to build just and lasting peace.
White Mans Shining Hour
This is the white mans shinin
hour, in which he has the oppoi
tunity to arrest of tide Of atheisl
and communism by applying tn
Golden Rule in human relation
{ He has the once-in-a- lifetime OF
= pOrtunity to deal with others d
. he would want to be dealt wit
if the colored peoples Of the worl
u who constitute the majority, shouI
> ascend to world dominance. Thel
Z is no point in his delaying pra
Is ticing what he breaches. There
no point Of talking about what wi
be done in the by-and-by. 1t
already almost too late now. "Tl
street of by-and-by leads only
the sea of never" In a very lar,
sense, today is forever.
| can understand those VIII,
!, would like to try to stem the ris
ing tide of communism by feed
=, ing the starving peoples o
~ Europe and supplying them will
billions Of dollars worth of sur
" plus war materials. | also cal
C. see this method as a source o
III temptation which may be fan
mad hy lot,