Jackson advocate., 1951-03-03
The Negro Citizens Committee And
The Appointment OF Negro
Policemen In Jackson

Sometime before the appointment of Negro police
in Little Rock, Arkansas, and other cities in the deep
south, a part of program adopted by the Negro
Newspaper Publishers Association, the Jackson Advo
cate began periodic editorial campaign for the appoint
ment of Negro policemen to the local police force.
The purpose of the Jackson Advocate, in regard to
the appointment of Negro policemen to the local police
force which that of creating public opinion and thus
to stimulate movement toward the end,
pished when the Jackson Negro Chamber of Commerce.
and subsequently the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Civ
ing organzatonal support the movement adopted as
their most important project that of securing the ap
pontment of Negro Policemen to the Jackson Police
force.
The Jackson Negro Chamber of Commerce, through
its duly elected officers demonstrating high of
public interest and civic responsibility after due consid
GRAFTON and deberaton respecting the matter presented
petition for the appointment of Negro policemen to the
responsible authorities of the city.
Having presented its petition the organization set
about to collect and later presented to the responsible
authorities of the city factua and well documened data
gathered from number of cities in the deep south
where Negro officers had already been added to the
force in support of its petition substanating the
that the appointment of Negro policemen every city
in the deep south has brought about immediate reduction
in crime and delinquency in the Negro community;
brought about tremendous increase in respect for the
law enforcement authority reduced the of law en-
forcement and brought about marked improvement in
race relations Facts which the appontve authorities
could study and ultimately arrive at decision
The action of the Jackson Negro Chamber of Com
merce was followed by that of the Alpha Phi Alpha
fraternity whose president Hurshel Latham after pre-
sentng its petition to the proper authority, acting on
behalf of his organization to Atlanta Georgia. and
brought back for the city authorities we'll documened
report on the great good which has resulted following
the appointment of Negro policemen in that city,
Both the petition and action of the Chamber of
Commerce and of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity met
with the most favorable reception from the city author
es and in the light of developments in the state and
in other states of the south there ultimate favorable ac
ton could well be foregone conclusion
1t Will therefore be readily apparent to any one of
ordinary Intelligence that the most important work in
connection with the effort to the appointment of
Negro Policemen to the local police force has already
niZ tbo
son Negro Chamber of Commerce and the Alpha Phi
Alpha Fraternity
Emphasizing the worse drawback to the achieve
ment of worthwhile goals for the improvement of Negro
Community life, that of the failure to recognize the
power of organization and the the organzationa
approach to the solving of it's problems noted and
pointed out by every student of the Negro community
down to the recent great work of Myrdal in his An
american Dilemma great amount of public attention
mas Deen attracted IN the past few days. regards the
matter OF the appointment of Negro policemen here by
a Negro citizen committee
The first question which comes up as regards the
committee what who does it represent and how was
organized Does it flow out of another one of those
meetings of self appointed Negro Leaders which forms
itself into Negro Citizens Committee without thought
or consideration of the rights of the people of the Negro
community to elect their representatives? pro-
cess which has brought little progress the Negro
community during the past seventy five years.
Frankly we know of recent meeting of a repre-
sentative group OF Negro citizens from which such
committee was elected or appointed Therefore at BEST
the committee appears not as Negro citizens Commit
tee but rather committee of Negro citizens and
very small committee indeed.
Here to 1t may as well be said that the Negro COM
muny, and to increasing extent the white communi-
y is becoming more and apt in it's recognition of
socalled Negro Leaders seeking only personal credit
and only personal recognition of their efforts.
One must approach more than human nlagnaninitv
despite the alleged existence of socalled Negro psyco-
ogy in order to appreciate the committees recently
published resolution 1t certainly must have been equal
y battling to friend and foe alike of Negro policemen
The appointment of Negro policemen here, every
thing else considered has reached it's present stage out
m Of NoOro
voters qualified to vote in the Democratic primary
1t will be noted that the chairman of the citizens
Committee, and most OF it's members prominent
Republicans who under their party rules, and under
state law take active part in Democratic pri-
Since the leadership of the Negro voters the vast
majority of whom Democrats, must from other
Sources the fact of it's Republican leadership might have
had important bearing the of the commit
tees efforts thus far.