New England bulletin., 1949-03-26

I was born here in Waterbury went to our mixed schools for m! education andI, like many others believed that there was no discrim ination, segregation or Jim Crow here. That was when l was going to elementary and high school playing basketball with mixed teams, and other various sports being invited to white homes and always mixing quite freely and ire ouently with white and colored. ] never paid any attention to the fact that once in while l was affronted with the word 'nigger, it was just a matter of fight ana forget. But, as l grew older found that those same friends that I had gone to school with ana played with, when met on the street or in other places, would avert their eyes or drop their heads Co keep from speaking. l soon learned that it was that they did not want to be seen by their friends talking to a Negro at their age
 Experienced Segregation
 I found out about segregation at this point when upon purchasing tickets at certain theaters l learned that Negroes were only allowed to buy tickets for the upstairs. In1s was true of all the smaller theaters 5 of the town and at least one ol the largest theaters in the down. town area. The upstairs of some oA the theaters was referred to as 'nigger heaven
 Tn this town of 10000 people, approximately 5000 are Negroes There are no colored mail carriers, nor is there any colored person III Inc IT. S. Postal Service of Water h11rv It has been said that It IS becsnse the Negroes have not tried +o oct into such positions. Many capable Negroes have tried; Ihose few who have been permltCeu to take the examinations ana nave nassed them have been sent out u town to Hartford, New Haven anu anu other towns to work rather Gnan @ be allowed to fill positions m va +erh1rv. leaving our Post O1llce Stil1 1ijv white. With Negro pop ,,Ia+ion of 5000 we have coloreu no1icemen, and they only recently annointed. There are no co1o,Iu ,: f;renoen. There is no Negro Worh- ino in the City Hall-not even a0 n T T;onitor, Upon inquiring why Ne @,.ces S do not run for city pupnc eeff;ce. immediately you are gfvedn gf.ed tLa answer that none are quaHlleu' S1',e1v Sr in a city with the Negro nnon,1istion Waterbury has there popb pp"t be one qualified to run TOT l't1;o mus; office, to be a fireman, or deliver mail.
 Six days a week you will see Ne oroes rushing from the Var1ous 9oints of the city to go to thelr iohs in the center of toWn' neatly Sressed. fine appearance, ana yIu 11onld think that they were rusn- ;ro to a position. But only rev of these have positions downtown and those are the professional men m, with their own businesses. The o+hers are porters for the large s+oras The center of Waterbury w;th it's many fine department stores has not one Negro, sales nerson. The only store who has ever had a Colored salesperson IS Worth's. This store hires about two thirds of the Negro employees work ing downtown. I have found the owner of this store the most pro- gressive of the downtown mer- chants. These same conditions you will find prevailing in the factor. ies where the greatest number of Negroes make their living.
 There are Negroes there who have worked up to thirty years in the factory and there is yet to be a Colored foreman. I remember about eight years ago in the cast ing shop of one of the large fac tories when a Colored employee was about to be made the first Colored caster. Practically every white man on the shift at that time threatened to walk out, and would have walked out if the su- perintendant had not told them that it would cost them their jobs, and they would never work agaln
 Yes, he was made caster and it paved the way for other Negro casters, but there was i'll feeling among the two races for many months, and much of that feeling still exists. The man who was