The guardian. [volume] (Boston, Mass.) 1901-1960, 1949-03-12
REV. PATTON,s ADDRESS

49, - = - = = - ~~-1 - ~~--t~TA@
Rev. Kenneth. L. Patton, prin-
cipal speaker at the Sunday
Boston Massacre Day Exercises
in Roxbury Memorial High
School, said in part:
Boston has always been a
headquarters for liberty. Here
the war for our independence
was kindled. Here was concen-
trated the movement for the
abolition OF slavery and the sta
tons Of the underground rail-
way. And always THOSE of a
darker complication fought be-
side those of lighter skins, Girls
pus Attucks dying in the first
bloodshed of the revolution,
troops OF colored soldiers march
ing from Boston to help win
their own emancipation in the
Civil War. We have fought to-
gether many times for our COM
mon freedoms.
But the shame of our democ-
racy is that there have been in
CAPABILITIES even in the battle line,
segregation and discrimination
in the armed forces. Men have
not even been allowed to die for
their ideals as equal brotsers.
This racial discrimination has
continued now for nearly a
century after the freeing of
those in slavery, and has con
tinued after two world wars,
fought, so it was said, to make
the world safe for democracy.
Even though it is illegal and
against the Constitution, we still
offer many Americans what is
in fact and practice only a sec
ond class citizenship.
The time Of fighting for free
dom with the sword should be
past, In America we must find
peaceful, creative, democratic
ways of revolution and evolu-
ton. We must now build free
dom with ideas and education,
with publicity and propaganda,
not fight for it longer with blood
and death. Rather we must
fight for it with our lives.
There are many organizations
through which we can work,
such as the NAACP, the Urban
League, CORE, the Equal Rights
League, local, state and nation
al councils for civil rights, re-
form groups of all kinds, labor
unions, political organizations,
housing authorities, social Sc
CURLY, medical reforms. educa-
tional Improvements, and a re-
turn Of churches to vital and
social gospel religion. The press
OF the land, in books, newspap-
ers, and periodicals, the movies,
the radio-every instrument of
public opinion making must be,
and is being used.
we can also work through pas
siye resistance for equality. The
success of Ghandi in winning
the political freedom OF his
people without war is deep
and pointed lesson to the world.
we can use the techniqueS that
CORE has Illustrated. We can
refuse to cooperate with Inc
qualities, and we can refuse to
be Disseminated against. If we
refuse to use jim crow facilities,
to honor segregation in hotels,
restaurants, transportation, ed
ucation, religion and real es-
tate. above all in employment,
we can make ourselves properly
and effectively obnoxious. There
are daily fragrant violation of
the law in racial and religious
persecution. These must be
prosecuted and penalties ex-
acted. That is what law Is for
and we must enforce it. The
lovers of freedom of all shades
of color must band together in
common cause, to make quiet,
peaceful, law-abiding but deter
mined trouble for all the enc
.nies of equality and democracy.
But if we are to be free We
must make ourselves free. 9th
ers can, and should, help by Of
fering greater opportunities for
seIf-help, but in the end each
person makes his own freedom.
The white men, so-called, are
seldom polite and considerate
even to their own kind. If they