The Miami times. [volume] (Miami, Fla.) 1923-current, 1950-02-11
THE NEW NEGRO

For the first time in goodly number of years the
Mississippi legislature faces serious phase OF the negro
rroblem and unless faces that problem in fair impair
fal and courageous the result is going to be u
happy for our state w , +
Negro problem per Sc, but there is new Negro IN our
land and the Southern awmaker citizen who fails TO
recognize that fact is being stupid at his own cost
The new Negro has education. He has oetter
health He makes more money per week. He has better
clothes He reads newspapers He is adopting Ine
White mans customs the White mans speech the White
mans standards and the White mans shbboleths.
Now it doesn't make sense to assume that tnls new
Negro going to content in the cabin OF his slave
grandfather And doesn't make sense to pretend that
there is where ought to be- His eyes are on better
materially considered going to have car and drive
it. He is going have business and run It, He is gong
to buy home and live in it. He is going to step lnto c
zenship and exercise its rights and demand It's privileges
Indeed our of the future tense merely to gentle
and the more recacrant of our readers to the fact that
the new Negro already doing these things The new Ne
gro is not man of tomorrow. He is man OF To-Day.
The important thing is not that the new Negro is new
or that he is Negro Those things important to him.
of course but the thing of chief significance to the mite
man is determining his attitude to the new Negro IS
that the new Negro There is aduthood about
this status that simply can't be ignored 49,, >,
The old-time Negro in some things child with
many endearing ways Even his faults mostly child
sh ones easy to chucke easy to forgive Inc new
Negro growing Maybe he is not fully grown but ne
has grown amazingly. He is no longer child
That means this other thing-having become man.
he must put away childish things. -
vast deal of foolishness has been uttered about
equality The Negro is dlerent Ii ne WerenC nere WouO
be no problem and argument 1t is silly to he isn't
The equality that the Negro entitled to is equality of
opportunity How high he will reach given the same level
to stand on something else Some will reach high some
will grove the dirt It has been with Others and it
will be with him. Few Negroes endowed with any sense
are thinking about social equality of mscegenaton.
Soberly, justly and with all kindness of spirit, the
White is going have to make the ground rules
of living together Quietly, patiently with all the dignity
of his SOUL the black man is going to have to wait while
the White does make over those ground rules.
The White will make them over not because he
is chosen of the Lord to make ground rules but because
the White is in the majority. Democracy you
know that the majority make the ground rules Civza
ton the overall process by which the rules
and nearer by slow stages violent jerks to justice and
peace and public order.
Our Negro citizens must be patient tolerant and try
to understand that matter how ksome forms Of
injustice inequality may that there cannot pos
siby overnight transformation Jackson Daily
News, Jackson, Miss.