Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1950-12-09
: K EN- D RIx
co N M ( n S
USE THE VOTE
GET THE RIGHTS
BY MOSS H. HENDRIX

and half million Negro votes
would do more to hasten the day
of full citizenship participation
for Negroes than all of the lip
service that has been given the
subject in the past quarter cen
fury.
Actually, / would not give
dash how these votes are cast, as
long as they are used to advance
representative government at To-
cal, state and national levels. Po-
iitical determination is for the
most part an individual matter of
During the period Immediately
local concern-and should be.
before the recent November cleo
tions, | touched the southern-re-
gion states from Maryland down
to Florida, west to Texas, up to
Oklahoma, and back to the vote
less District Of Columbia.
In too many instances, the Ne
gro was the guy who did not come
to vote. The Negro voter must
have played big hand in defeat
ing the poll tax in South Carolina
as well as the attempted extension
OF the county unit system to gen.
eral election in Georgia.
But in Texas, a try to outlaw
the poll tax failed. Now leader
ship persons in the Lone Star
State are asking, "Where was the
Negro?" Here in Oklahoma City
where as many as 10000 Negroes
could have voted, less than 500
showed at the polls.
1t is good to note that in Mis-
souri,, the Negro demonstrated
his disgust over a stated affairs
! and aided in the retirement of
COP Senator Forrest Donnell in
favor of Democrat Thomas C.
Hennings, Jr. Donnell had fought
the confirmation of Judge William
HASTE as we'll as rights.
Regardless, the Negro vote,
southwide, was too small on last
November Z. Somewhere along
the way the Negro has failed to
catch the spirit that would slim
ulate desire to exercise the use
OF the ballot to the advantage of
his rights.
| like the fact that Arthur
Clements offered himself for Con-
gress out of Charleston, S. c., al
tho he did not get the Democratic
nomination; that Earl J. Amedee
tried for the school board in New
Orleans, and; that a young vet,
Louis Steward, Paul Quinn stu
dent, ran for the City Council in
| Waco.
These Negro candidates did not
earn office, but they made tries
unknown in the south since Re-
construction. 1t would be hoped
that their running for office pulled
some Negro to the polls, who
would have otherwise not gone.
SO this is more lip-service di-
rected at the problem. 1t says
in short, more Negroes should seek
elected posts in government, local,
state and national. The assump-
ton is that such should stimulate
more Negroes to qualify to vote
and vote. One wonders.
Attic Negroes were quite mac
tive in the south during the recent
elections, Negro-voted activity, as
seen elsewhere in the nation thru
the elevtion Of Negro candidates,
should be looked upon with a de-
gree of pride.
Good results were seen in bor-
der and northern states. While
Kansas was electing COP Gov
ernor and u. S. Senator, a Negro
Democrat was winning a post as
county commissioner in "sure"
Republican Wyandotte County.
In West Virginia, Negro wo-
man was elected to the state legis-
lature. She becomes the first
lady of her race to hold public of
flee in West Virginia. For the
first time, two Negroes will sit
in the Arizona legislature. Kan
sas will have a Negro in its as
sembly.
Three Negro lower housemen
will give service in the Missouri
state legislature. Two Negro can
didates were elected to state leg
islatures in California, Colorado
and Indiana. Delaware has one;
Pennsylvania, five; New York,
four; Massachusetts,, one; Mich
igan, three; Ohio, two and Illi-
nois, four.
Two Negroes went back to Con-
gress. Several Negroes were sue
cessful in local contests paced by
Harold Stevens, who won the
plum in his election to the 14-year
term as New York City general
sessions judge at s28, 900 per year.
Judgeship and coroner posts went
to Negroes elsewhere.
In Maryland, Negroes helped to
elect Republican governor and
q U. S. Senator, while nine Ne
gro GOPers failed to make the
state legislature. For the third
time Mrs. Horfensa Young nf