Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1957-07-27
Tuskegee
Continued from Page One)

'
how it will end.
The action came about when
state Senator Sam Englehardt o.
Macon County introduced meas
ure in the Alabama Legislature to
exclude from the city limits of
Tuskegee the overwhelming ma
iority of Negroes, who long have
lived in one area. 1t passed unani
nously and was sent to Gov. James
E. Folsom. 1t became law July IL
when unsigned.
White voters in Tuskegee proper
have numbered about 900, Negroes
about 400. While Negroes have
never made any open attempt to
"move into" the Tuskegee govern
ment, it is obvious some whites
have felt the number of voing Ne
groes was getting too close for
comfort. The Negroes have been
conducting a vigorous campaign to
register for voting.
Fund Blocking Threatened
The Macon County Board of Reg
istrars long has dragged it's feet
on registering voters, but white
residents seem to have some doubt
how long this can be continued. So
preventive action was considered in
order.
Senator Engelhardt is executive
secretary of the Association of
Citizens Councils in Alabama, and
leading neutrality-suspicious.
AS expected; Senator Engelhardt
has now stated publicly that if the
boycott is continued, he will see to
it. that appropriation of funds by
the state for the Tuskegee Insti-
tute is blocked. While Tuskegee is
a private institution, the state for
many years has appropriated sew
eral hundred thousand dollars for
it, with an agreement that Tuske-
gee would provide for Negroes GER
tain types of training not available
elsewhere. The current request has
been for 100000, but the cover.
nor's office has trimmed this back
to 100000
The merchants are suffering ir
various degrees. Some say that
business is off up to 80 per cent
One said that he did not think he
could stay in business three weeks
at the rate things are going. Some
have spoken most feelingly about
the Negro action, claiming that
they-the white merchants-are in
nocent victims. One department
some manager pointed out that he
and other businessmen of the COM
munity long had supported finan-
cially many different types of Ne
gro civic and cultural activity
These now feel they are being made
to suffer needlessly.
The Negro viewpoint, as indi-
Gated by Charles G. Condition, Tus-
kegee (Negro) Civic Association
president, dean of students at Tus-
kegee, is that Senator Engelhardt' S
bill was uncalled for and unfair and
they seem to resent the fact that
so far as is known-white voters
did nothing to try to. keep the sena-
tor from introducing it.
The Rev. K. L. Buford, pastor of
the Butler Chapel AME Zion
Church, where several Negro meet
ings have been held, indicates the
bitterness Negroes are feeling:
"We have protsted and shall con-
tinue until these inhumanities are
abolished. We Negroes are dog
gone sick and tired of letting peo-
pie trow mud in our faces and
stand by and let them rub it in"
TJskegee Institute has now, for
the first time in its history, become
associated with an active drive TO
bring Negroes full political rights.
Although its president, Luther II.
Foster, has been largely silent
about the situation, his dean of
students is their key figure in the
current boycott effort.
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