Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-03-23
Negroes Mobilize
To Register Voters

or will be-organized on the dis.
trict, county. town and precinct
levels with q chairman for each
Jurisdiction. Statewide meetings
will coordinate the efforts Of the
districts. The NAACp will be the
nerve center of all these drives,
with its registration committees
in each branch charged with as
signing tasks to other groups.
So far, Mr.. Alexander says, the
NAACP is finding that the major
barriers confronting the campaign
are apathy and ignorance among
Negroes.
Many Of them Just don't even
know what it's all about" he ex-
plains. Some don't even know
that the bill was passed. There is
also the fear that they'll have to
pay more taxes If they become
voters"
To meet this problem the
regionwide program also includes
voter registration institutes" in
each congressional district. The
institutes instruct the potential
voter in practical politics and
voter responsibility. Mr.. Alexander
emphasizes that this function is
entirely nonpartisan.
Rev. King Is Active
One Of the organizations work.
ing with the NAACP on a South.
wide basis is the Southern Chris
tan Leadership Conference, which
Is playing a leading role in mobi-
lizing the great numbers of Negro
churches. Its head is the Rev.
Martin Luther King, jr., who led
the successful Negro boycott Of
segregated city buses in Montgom-
cry, Ala.
Mr.. King has become a power.
full symbol to Southern Negroes Of
their numerical strength, and is In
great demand as a speaker at
rallies kicking of the campaign.
To date there have been no re-
ported instances of interference
with the door-to-door solicita-
tons, but the Justice Department
is currently investigating COM
plants in seven areas of refusals
by registration officials to register
qualified Negro applicants.
The NAACP expects no startling
successes immediately-that is be-
tween now and the months Of
May, June and July, when Demo-
cratic primary elections are held
in most Southern States. Certain
ly, says Mr.. Alexander, no one
expects that any Southern Con-
gressmen or Senators will be I'm.
seated this year as a result Of in
creased Negro voting.
But, he says, look for some
real changes in 1860. Especially
in the areas of close Democratic.
Republican competition will the
Negro vote be sought by both
parties"
Congressional Toreets
One planned tactic, says Mr..
Alexander, is to retire those high.
seniority Southern members Of
Congress who are most resistant
to Negro advancement. This
would be the strategy:
In elections where two congress
sional candidates, a seniority-rich
incumbent and a challenger, are
equally unattractive to Negro
voters, the Negroes will be urged
to vote for the challenger-some-
times even if he is less attractive
than the incumbent.
Mr.. Mitchell is confident that
the campaign will reach the goal
Of 3 million Negro voters in the
South by 1860 and he is equally
confident that the increase will
bring some notable changes in the
position of many off1ceholders.
1T would not only mean I'M
seating of some present members
of Congress, he says, "but it will
make it possible and safer-and
sometimes this is even more inn
portant-for many Southern Con.
greSsmen to vote their con-
sciences
"And there are more Of these in
Congress than most people real
ize," he declares.