Minneapolis spokesman. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1956-05-18
Do Negroes Want
To Be White? No.
Sdys Schuyler

Joined the chpitalB social set.
In Negro society today, the ac.
qtiiremeut Of u wife indistinguish-
able from a Sordic Ia no longer a
mark Of social arrival The black
girls at dances are no longer wall
flowers and tho appearance o. an
ebon lass In n chorus line no long.
er fotchea gales Of deriHive Negro
laughter There are few. II any
churches remaining where black
members are c0nApicuousiy alb
sent. However, Negro society here
has always been ahead Of tbs East
Indian. Latin American and Car
ibbean people among whom n
rigid color caste system remains
intact.
Conc Ia tho One-tlme boast OF
Negro handles Of their preference
for yellow taxls. yellow money
and yellow women" Taxis are
now multicolored and available
Ia all. gold certificates disappear
ed with RoGscvelt's New Deal, and
black women with polsc, eduea-
iion and money have risen high In
the social scale. As n visiting
black Brazilian recently eAciaim.
81. admiringly. Where else In the
world Will you sce n black woman
driving n Cadillac -
Apprehsnsive white America IL
self In responsible for the brown
skin milItancy and solidarity II
now deplorca, a solidarity trans
cending petty divisions and ap.
poaling 10 pride Of race In law
and practice u imposed the zone
drop" theory, according 10 which
pseudo scienoc, everyone with one
drop Of the potent Negro blood"
II dubbed Negro while one drop
of white blood" In too weak Ia
make n Negro n CaucaAian' This
In sciencc' When tho United states
Supreme Court invoked n far more
valid sociology In It's deaegrega-
ton decree. II enraged the South
rona
Tho precise color graduatinnE
obtaining In other multi.rariaI
countries foatered division within
non white groups American "one
drop perfectionists forced all
whites together without dls.
tlnution into one pariah class THIS
unique American practice was
summed up In tho popular Aong of
nifty years ago. "Ali Coons Look
Alike"
Those with light skins. better
manners and n little iiteracy
(moStiy gained as house servants
for white planters who were not
infrequently their relativeAl could
mot escape to the white groupa In
Latin America. They were com.
PEELED Ia Identify themselves with
the swarm OF black field hands
and proletariana, They supplied
the early Negro leadership, train.
81 and uplifted the masses and In
ntilled them with race pride and
resentment ot their lot. Thus. tho
hobgoblln Of black unity which
attn cSciten many Negrophobca Ia
n white creation
II was In the South where so.
rial relationships have always
been on u more personal plane
that thlA liason uf muialtn kin
folk somewhat tempered the paat
hellum savagery of the emergcnt
Cracker element. itaeif cmanci
patcd by the Surrender
In addition To these light Ne
groaA. free and slave, there was q
considerable number IT unmixed
Europeans ahauEhaist into chattri
scrvttude and sold IN Negroes by
gfasring aiavr dealers These
latter regularly curlcd the hair
of haplesa Nordio bondsmen Ia
still the qualma ~ prospective
buyer alarmed by white skins and
blue cyca n was thcn widely b.,
hevrd by Southern racial experts
stu addicted to riugernalI evt,
dcnce Of Negro ancestry. that cur,
" hair Indicates African blood
Many Of these whites intermlxel
with their black fellow -chatteis
As a commentary on the post
beilum practices Of the South,
new rulers, u II interesting tina,
the pre-Civl War freedman
though enjoying few citizenship
rights, was generally unmoies,eJ
In the slave states lie rode with
free whites on trains. In stage
coaches and ON steamboats,. often
was = slavehcldcr, and was not In,
frequently married To- u white WI,
man, one such ran a private
SCHOOL Tor the sons ot wealthy
whites An entire regiment VI mui,
att"cs free and supplying their
own equipment, offered their ser,