The Petal paper. [volume] (Petal, Miss.) 1953-19??, 1957-02-07
From The Monitor
A Negro Educator Gives His Views
By DR.. BENJAMIN E. Mays

President. Morehouse College. Atlanta. GA.
am Southerner With the exception of
Ieight years of college and graduate study in
New England and the Middle West, | have
elected to live in the South. l have not ac-
!cepted positions offered to me in the North
and in Europe despite my almost instructive
hatred for legal segregation. have been OPP
posed to the practice of judging people on
the basis of race and color, rather than on
ability and character, for as long as / can re-
member shall always be against it.
/ stay south because l believe my best
work can be done in the South plan to
continue to live here.
The United States emerged from World
War II the most powerful nation on earth
and the chief exponent of the democratic
ideal in the world. We, perhaps more than
any other people, have fought two world
wars for the sole purpose of defending de-
mocracy When the test came for the SUI
preme Court to declare itself on segregation
it would have been colossal blunder if the
leading democracy in the world had said a
gain that it is constitutional for man to be
segregated solely because God made him
black or colored.
Such decision would have drawn Asia
and Africa closer to Russia, and our Euro
pean allies would have questioned our dem
ocratic announcements. We would have lost
our moral leadership in the world, Further
more, the judges had to interpret the Con-
stitution as they understand it. 1t is pity,
therefore, that the political leadership of the
South did not see this and accept calmly the
decision rather than melting rebellion a
, gainstit.
The South accepted the 1896 decision OF
the Supreme Court Plessy VS.. Ferguson)
(which confirmed the separate but equal
doctrine. Tragically enough the South O.
beyed only part of that decision. 1t adherT
ed religiously to the separate section OF
the doctrine but deliberately disobeyed the
equal part of it. Educational statistics at
test to the fact that the South never did take
seriously the equalization phase of the 1896
decision until Negroes began to sue in state
and federal courts. In all too many instances
the gulf Of inequality widened with the
years.
When the court ruled that segregation
was constitutional, the South was pleased
and disobeyed the separate" phase OF it. But
when the court ruled against segregation the
political leadership of the deep South rebel
lied. Governors and attorney generals de-
nounced the decision. State legislatures took
action against it. Notification acts were pas
sed. Leading statesmen signed the Southern
Manifesto. In some areas the Ku Klux Khan
came to life again. White Citizens Councils
were organized. Negroes who petition school
boards to desegregate the schools are threat
ened Efforts are being made in four states
to destroy the N.A.A.C.P. mainly because it
has argued successfully before the Supreme
Court So out of the 80 cases. The press, the
radio. and television are used by the South
to convince the nation that the Supreme
Court made mistake in declaring segrega-
Ition unconstitutional.
j And yet Negroes have more than obeyed
They accepted both segregation and lnequan-
ty and the humiliation that accompany tnem'
For So years since 1896, Negroes have staged
no riots in defiance of decision tnat EN-
. harnesses them and places upon them badges
of inferiority.
It is painfully disappointing to southern
Negroes that the white leadership OF the
South did in this instance what has ira
ditionally and habitually done. 1t acted as Il
Negroes do not exist In most OF the deep
southern states Negroes constitute from 70 to
As per cent of the population. When the SUI
preme Court handed down its decision de-
Iclaring segregation in the public school I'M
constitutional, it would have been the part
lof wisdom for the leadership of the two
groups concerned in the deep South TO SIT
down in their respective communities an0
i ELECTRICITY RUNS WILD Light globes b
1erfr r.