The Petal paper. [volume] (Petal, Miss.) 1953-19??, 1957-02-07


cision. This was not done.
Governors, state attorney generals, poll
ticians, school officials, and newspapers be-
gan to castigate the Supreme Court and an
nounce what the South was not going to do.
All the while they meant the white South.
Negroes for the most part were never con-
suited. In the one or two cases where they
were consulted, the plan was cut and dried
beforehand. To these leaders the Negroes are
not part of the South. And herein lies the
tragedy of human relations in many. areas of
our South Things are done for Negroes and
not with them. They are told what the de-.
cisions are but are not permitted to partici-a
pate in the decisions a
am convinced that if the leadership of;
the white South had in good faith consider
ed all the people, it would have found Neg
roes understanding of the difficulties in.
herent in implementing the decision and
they would have gone along with a reasona-
BILE timetable as to augmentation am
equally convinced though that no respecta-
ble responsible Negro leadership would be
a party to any scheme designed to defy the
work of the Supreme Court or circumvent
its decision.
The efforts to prove by various tests and
biased hearings that Negroes are not ready
for desegregation in the public schools are
not convincing to Negroes When it is reveal
ed that Negroes, on the whole, do not as well
Ia cbr1o md OBI,
tional tests, Negroes are not alarmed. They
know that for 244 years before emancipation
and for 81 years since emancipation Negroes
in the South have been denied equal educa-
tional, cultural, and political opportunities
and equal job opportunities. They also know
that even in the most segregated areas some
Negroes do better than the average among
white children and as well as the best in the
white group. These tests and hearings do not
indict the decision of the Supreme Court
They indict segregation. 1t would be mi
raculous performance if the disadvantaged
Negro child could in every particular equal
the white child on the various tests.
The Negro in the South is equally unim-
pressed when the South pleads to be left "a
lone without federal interference. The south
ern Negro would be happy to be able to look
to his state government for the guarantee Of
his civil rights But the historical evidence
is too slim for him to be optimistic over the
prospect He cannot forget that it was Ted
eral action that abolished the curtain in the
dining car, gave the Negro the ballot in the
deep South removed segregation in inter-
state travel, made restrictive covenants IN
enforceable, made possible the equalization
of educational opportunities, opened several
Of the state universities of the South to Neg
roes, declared segregation in the public
schools Unconstitutional, and abolished seq
regation on city buses 81 bsataaoa oa5 7sha
Rather than damn the Supreme Court we
should praise it. It is our federal Constitution
and our Supreme Court that give hope for
democracy in this country and in the world.
It is for these reasons that Negroes may be
perplexed but not frustrated. They believe
thew can become first-class citizens in the
limited States without revolution and vio-
lence.
That America should exemplify the princi-
pies of democracy irrespective of race is far
more important to the United States and to
the world than the desegregation of ten mill
lion Negroes in the South.
The climate is favorable for thorough
going democracy in the United States The
Negro worships the same God as other
Americans He follows the same Christ. He
speaks the same language. He fights for the
same flag. The Negro believes that under
these inviting circumstances if democracy
cannot work in the United States regardless
Of race it is doomed not only here but in the
world. So he fights for the full implementa-
ton of democracy not for sixteen million
Negroes but for 16OOOO,OOO Americans.
st in their sock ton Of dust on TRANSFORMERS The
motors flew into resulting arc broke high voltage
- cr,,rfod IN lime which fell across secondary