St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1948-09-24

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West Virginia seeded frol
Civil War, but the South still
dominates the population. The
Civil War as it has been truly
said did not free the Negro. II
freed the poor whites.
Charleston is a city Of contra
dictionS. The colored population
Is lntegrated throughout the city
and in the hills, which surround
it but the schools are segregated
and the movies" and other
places of public entertainment
are barred to Negroes. There are
a number Of county schools, two
junior high schools and one SEN
ior high school.
Negroes are not served in res
taurants, the bus depot, drug
stores or any eating establish
mentS.
With such a small number of
Negroes, the colored children
could be easily and more eco
nomically assimulated into a one
school system. The two colored
and white teachers have equal
pay: in the city and county
schools, and so the colored intel
ligentsia (teaChers) do not COM
plain for they are not certain they
would be absorbed in a one school
system.
There are about five Baptist
churches, five Methodist, and one
Seventh Day Adventist church.
There is one real drug store and
two that are really liquor stores.
There are other minor business
establishments, but none out
standing.
The Negroes are well integral
ed in employment. A large Du-
pont plant is located there, the
largest of its kind in the United
States. 1t employs hundreds of
colored and white labor in skilled
and unskilled labor at equal pay.
The plant is never closed and one
can see the myriad lights shining
along the river or across the river
for miles.
There are many Negroes and
whites employed in the coal
mines at equal pay, and in many
smaller plants and in the trades.
There are the chemical plants
which employ hundreds Of inte-
grated labOrers.
Negroes can and do work in
many trades with equal pay if
they so desire. OF course, as in all
groups, there are "drifters" who
look for work but pray to God
they won't find it, but that trait is
not confined to any race or group.
1t is universal.
There does not seem to be any
militant group who could bring
pressure to bear to break down
some of the race prejudice in
Charleston. There is a 'lalSSez
faire" attitude among those that
are getting on and the unlettered
group are satisfied with the sta
tuS quo"
The better class" Negroes will
ride 80 miles to Montgomery, up
in the hills to a theatre common
surate with our nelghborhood
theatres to see first class pictures,
or rather movies" and there they
are relegated to one of the side
alSlcS-a section SO small that
often the Negroes cannot be &C
commodated, No matter how
many seats are vacant IN the
white sections, they must await
their turn or return TO their
homes, 80 miles away.
There is one ColOrCd movie
in Charleston run by a man, who
some of the population allege
sold out to white prejudice to
make money. The story goes and
quote: Some years ago the
movies and public entertainment
were not barred to the Negroes.
This man went to the authorities
and told them that if they would
bar colored patrons from the pub
lie amuSementS, he would open
movie to accommodate them eX-
cluSively. His theatre is worse
than our third-claSS movie
houses in the Twin Cities. His
pictures were all released several
years ago. l, myself, saw a
movie that had shown in St Paul
ten years ago.
districts especially in the hills
where one finds hundreds of
white mining families, those who