Arizona sun., 1949-06-24
First California City
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nual NAACP conference will be
held in Los Angeles beginning July
IL, 1949.'
"Add this bit of spice: The Rich
mond branchof the NAACP is
credited with winning the passage
of the first city fair employment
practices code in California
"The smashing defeat of Cali
fornia'S FEP initiative (PropoSition
No.1D in the 1916 electionwas to
have been the death blow for years
to come.
"But for the Richmond NAACP
the task was natural
"The basis was laid painstakingly.
It began in 1916, when the branch,
through diligent effort, won City
Council endorsement of the ILL
fated Proposition No. IL.
"Next came joint campaign
with the Progressive Citizens OF
America to win employment for
Negro clerks at a Lucky Stores
branch insultingly lily-white' in
the heart of the Negro community.
There were frowns from some
NAACP circles when pick e t S
sprouted from the sidewalks before
the giant super market. Arrests,
convictions and long court fight
ensued, with the basic right to
picket for fair employment the is
sue. It has now reached the U. S.
Supreme Court.
"These militant actions focused
wide attention on the facts of life
about fair employment and the
cold; hard reality of brutal, de-
grading, inhuman discrimination
against Negro citizens. For among
Richmond's wartime swollen popu-
lation of 100000 are an estimated
$4,000 new Negro residents who
provided muscle and skill needed to
win the home front production
battle in shipbuilding.
NEARLY $1,000 men and women
built ships in Richmond during the
waS. Today the shipyards are grave
yards, and for r C h m n d that
much-predicted and much-denied
depression is a stark reality. For
the Negro people packed into de-
teriorating temporary housing bar
racks, the struggle for jobs has be-
come life and death matter.
Cali the pressures of segregation
and isolation from the community
were bringing m aSsive weight
against successes in winning FEP.
"The fight received an apparent
setback when, in April, Mrs. Jua-
nita Wheeler, dynamic secretary of
Richmond's NAACP, was defeated
as candidate for the City Council
with the Negro vote split and con-
fused under the attack of the red
baiters.
with deep-rooted tenacity and
political m aturity the branch
bounce d back and Immediately
stepped UP the FEP campaign. Mrs.
Wheeler sharpened to a razor's
edge in her candidacy. Instead of
throwing in the towel, the branch
appeared before the City Council
with an air-tight draft of model
FEP ordinance. The ordinance be-
came a central issue in the final
elections May 6.
"The move, executed with skill
and a fine sense of timing, electri-
fled the political scene. Three of
the six candidates in the final cleo
tions were forced to take a strong
er stand in concrete way. Even
the reactionaries, looking toward
a close final race, broke with the
past and, for the first time in local
history, payed lip service to the
Negro community.
1.-TWO of the progressives won
handily at the next days election
James Kenny, CIO Oil Workers of
ficial, and Gay Vargas, AFL Mu-
sicianS secretary.
"The steam was up for final pas
sage.
Instead of a collective back
patting spree, however, the NAACP
under the leadership of CleophuS
Brown, its president, reached into
every possible corner of the COM
munity for mass support.
"a two-day petition campaign
brought in 1900 signatures-a SUBJ
stantial percentage of them from
white areas. Here the NAACP en-
listed the help of the Young Pro-
ANrNNW