, 1952-03-05
PATTERSON and eide

NEW \0lOOdiJ-F hAAnAI L. e0~@ooA "
year-old passivelooking, dark bespectacled man, is both
an attorney and National Executive Secretary of the Civil
Knights congress and, acting in both capacities, he has
been called many many names, many many times.
He has run the gamut from being labelled a left
wing radical and ~agitator to apologist for Russia. He was
also called a 'black son O ia B." during a congressional
hearing by a Georgia congressman. Many folk say he's a
Red and on March 10 of this year he will face his second
trial in federal court on charges of contempt OF congress
for failing on August 3 and 4, 1850, to turn over to a con-
gressional committee the books and records of the CRC
dealing with that organizations finances. At his first trial
a jury could not agree.
Our reasons for discussing" this man of color at the
moment, concern his recent European trip and failure to
submit an explosive petition to the United Nations general
assembly in Paris, the lifting of his passport upon his re-
turn to this country, and some of the things he said at a
recent press conference he held in New York for the Ne
gro Press.
The document Patterson failed to get before the UN
assembly, was one which he edited, assisted by nine other
writer's, charging the American government with pursuing
a policy of genocide against the Negro people. In essence,
he accuses the government, either by conspiracy or COM
plicity in destroying American Negroes.
Now, that's a serious charge. The Allies accused the
Hitler government in similar vein and the UN later set up
a convention on the prevention and punishment of the
crime of Genocide. incidentally, this country has not yet
ratified that convention.
The book, eve Charge Genocide," lists instances of
brutalit yand barbarism against Negroes in America, be-
ginning only in 1916, but enough of them are there to ap-
pear as an appalling Indictment against this country which
is trying to establish democratic principles in other coun-
tries in the world.
But, although many will agree that Patterson's facts
are irrefutable and carefully documented, the majority
dispute his choice of the word "genocide." Thus it was,
according to him, that when he first appeared in the VI
loung in Paris, Negro leaders in that organization com
pletely snubbed him or else criticized his attempt to bring
to the attention of the world the shame of America.
In addition to the fact that the UN did not take any
official recognition of his petition nor list it among the
documents received, Patterson says that out of 1875 copies
of the book sent to Paris by air from New York, not one
arrived-a mystery he couldn't explain since the books
have not been returned to him. To add to this mystery, out
of so sent to London only % arrived, none arrived out OF
SO forwarded to Vienna, and SO reached Hungary only
because a Especial courier" was used.
After the failure of his mission to the UN, Patterson
had to leave Paris in a hurry to avoid having his passport
taken away from him there for reasons without precedent
Upon his arrival at Idlewild airport in New York Janu
airy %, however, his passport was "retained' on reuues
of the State Department-aong with copies of European
newspapers which had front-paked stories on his petition
Neither the questions concerning the color of Patter
sons political views, nor the fact that the organization hi
heads has been labelled subversive by the House Unameri
can committee, have anything to do with the facts he pre-
sents within the book he edited. The facts all too vel
known are there hemselves-lashin out brutally in typ,