The Miami times. [volume] (Miami, Fla.) 1923-current, 1956-09-15
Between The Lines . .
THE NEGRO WINS

For better and not for worse,
the Negro plight is currently
HURLED into the forefront Of the
worlds attention. The two great
political conventions just closed
proved without and beyond any
reasonable doubt that the Negroes
case and cause is before the
house" of world attention; and
that is on the agenda of every
inn ortant conclave of social and
economic and political import
ance.
Pilste of old asked what could
be done with Jesus? II may with
equal propriety be asked what
can be done with the Negro;
since he assumes world impor-
;tapce, to the extent that we can
not so far without humping into
the Negro question? Negroes talk
about little else and whites do
the same. 1t doth not appear
where Russia will wind up with
the United States currently alb
Sol'bed in the intricacies and vag-
aries of the color question. The
olo South has about concluded
that Russia may have the world,
if only the lowly Negro is turned
over to the Old South, to be
handled as it seems best to the
present day generation of Negro
phobeS.
States rights have come to mean
only one thing, and that is, the
right to >op,reSS, to suppress, to
repreSS, to diSpoSseSs and to dis
treSS the Negro. There is a seq
ment of the Old South that has
the subtle hope that slavery may
he Reconstructed, if that be neceS-
sary to hold the Negro down. The
Old South and the Pharohs there
fore have decreed unto death not
to let the Negro go! And so when
the SouthernerS of the Old South
got the white supremacy they
are fighting for under cover of
states rights, it is the right to
keep the Negro in physical and
psychological bondage. What does
it profit the Negro to be free in
body, if he loses the soul of self
respect and first-claSS citizenship.
States rights is a slogan and bat
tie cry of the Old South, in its
war to keep the Negro subjugated
and not to keep white supremacy
at any cost.
Just as states rights are sy-
nonymouS with white supremacy
and Negro subjugation, so civil
rights are synonymous with Ne
gro Liberation. What then may be
asked concerning the Importance
of civil rights and states rights
in the forums of public debate of
today? The Negro and his aspira-
tons are the subject of both civil
and states rights. White suprema-
cistS have made the two terms
mutually exclusive, whereas 1t
was not so from the beginning.
The point here being made is that
the Negro, his cause and his case,
are currently the subject of world
debate and interest. That is
good sign-and a promise-that
in the end something will be done
about the situation So it matters
not whether civil rights or states
rights are in the fore front of the
nations attention, the Negro is
the subject of the matter.
We are told In social psychology
that great issues must be widely
discussed and debated before they
can be reduced to action. Slavery
went through a talking discussion
stsge; then came the Emancipation
Proclamation. The Negroes second
class citizenship must be the sub
ject of greet discussion, before we
gain entrance into the Promised
Land. The fact that either states
rights or civil rights are on the
agenda of all great deliberative