Evening star., 1948-12-17
Letters to The Star
Segregation Debated

~S~~A ~ ~
Segregation Debated
| TO the Editor Of The star:
An archeologst Of the year 2048, If excavat-
ing the ruins Of q devastated Washinstou,
would have great difficulty In reconciling
Washington's professions Of democracy and
Christianity with the "anachronistic" views ap-
pearing In The Stars editorial Report on
Segregation"
contained IN the last two paragre .hs Of the
editorial:
d) Presumably the report is not directed
to Washington, however" The report. Of
course, Is directed to Washington because IL
Is directed to the whole Nation. Conditions
In Washington are the responsibility not onlv
OF washington but Of the whole Nation, par
ticularly when Washington itself fails to act.
because Washington should be an exemplar
Tor the country as whole. The New York
1lmes OF December IL, in my judgment, dis
closes the fundamental fallacy Of The Stars
reasoning along these lines: "The arguments
mace Tor segregation in the old South are not
Valio IN washington, which is, or ought to be,
not Southern city or q Northern city, IN
Eastern city or Western city, but a national
CITY. It's streets, parks and public buildings be.
long to all Of US; each of us, directly or indt-
rectly, helps support most Of its working popu-
lation; and each Of us should have equal rights
within Its boundaries There is suitable
field here for national legislation, against which
no specious plea Of States rights can be
Brought Reform Of the injustices existing in
Washington City should have high priority in
any Federal program Of civil rights legis-
lation"
ca That approach (of legislaton) takes no
account OF the evils that may be substituted
for the ones removed" am fully aware
that before Judgment can be passed upon the
evils that may be substituted, these evils
must be spelled out. am also sure, however
that these evils. If spelled out, will be found
In most cases to be unreal. Have the civil
rights laws in New Jersey created inslrmount-
able evils7 Has the employment of Negroes
in the Philadelphia Transit System impaired
the transportation service of that city7 Has
the admittance Of Negroes to graduate schools
In Delaware, Maryland Oklahoma, Arkansas
Gall Jim Grow States impeded the search for
knowledge and truth in these States? Has
the opening Of parochial schools to all the
children of st. Louis hampered the dissemi-
nation OF Christianity or done violence to the
doctrine OF the brotherhood of man?
90 Surely there is opportunity for some
foundation to finance q genuine study that
would concern itself with the relative merits
Of the so-called gradualist thesis and reform
by statute" The Fabian tactics Of suggesting
study upon study are familiar weapon of those
opposed to . change in the status quo A
plethora Of studies on the Negro already exists.
What We need now is action. We need the
will to translate into action our professions of
Christianity and democracy
Gradualist Thesis Derided.
The Star itself implies by suggesting another
report that discrimination exists in the Ma
tion's Capital. But The Star desires another
study to determine the merits Of the "gradu.
alist" thesis. The "gradualist" thesis is usually
Q euphemistic term for -nothingness." The
reductio I'd absurdum Of this "gradualist"
thesis appeared in The Stars editorial on Levi
jackson. There was little, If any, analogy
between Levi Jackson's elevation to the
captaincy Of Yale's football team and the
Improvement Of the conditions for tho Negro
in the South.
Negroes are not employed by the Capital
Transit as streetcar and bus operators, yet the
Negro pays the same fare as those Who are
employed In such a capacity How would the
"gradualists" remedys&this9 Negroes are not
permitted to attend the theaters or the movie
houses (the Dupont excepted How would
the "gradualists" remedy this? Negroes are
not permitted to eat in the restaurants Of
our city. How would the "gradualists" remedy
this7 Negroes are not permitted to enjoy with
equality the recreational facilities provided by
the District. How would the "gradualists"
remedy this7
Now q quick glance at the evils" which The
hoa ,i,treN a -
full rights to the Negroes in these four areas
White citizens ride in taxis driven by Negroes.
White citizens enjoy art in the presence Of
Negroes at Constitution Hall. the Water Gate,
Dupont Theater, the National Gallery Of Art,
etc. White citizens eat with Negroes in Gov
srnment buildings and In Union Station White
citizens recreate with Negroes in the areas
provided by the National Capital Park and
Planning Commission.
The protagonists Of the "gradualist" thesis
need to read and to ponder the paragraph on
segregation which appeared in q report pre-
sented recently to the Virginia Baptist Gen.
eral Association because in this paragraph
appear reflections Of themselves: 1--WE confess
that we are prejudiced on this question in
spite OF the desires that come to us at times
to be otherwise We believe that most Bap-
lists are likewise prejudiced. We confess that
we are fearful, that We are afraid-for political,
or ecclesiastical, or social reasons-to follow
the way Of Christ We believe that most Bap-
lists are likewise fearful and afraid"
Finally, The Stars editorial concludes: "1t
could be that the increasingly aggressive ex-
ploitation Of the race issue tends to solidify
rather than soften opposition to change"
If certain Of our white citizens as The Star
implies, have reached the point where they In
terpret the 10th century's Just insistence
upon the fulhllment Of our democratic and
Christian ideals as exploitation of the race
issue" which tends to solidify rather than
soften opposition to change they have de-
veloped q grave hamartia Such hamartia
could be fatal, because the capacity for self
criticism is test of high civilization both in
community and an individual
FRANK M SNNWorN yr