Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1960-03-05
The Sitdown Protests And The
Future OF American Negroes

Without attempting to distinguish between the in
spred agtatons of political groups whether foreign
or domestic and the legitimate aims and aspirations of
American Negroes having already suffered again and
again the sings and of those who espouse
the popular opinion of the moment again hear risks
their darts and by expressing unaterable OPP
position to the sit protest. CORE the Committee on
Racial Equality, by whom they are reported to have
been nstgated and to the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People, who according news
paper reports, have given them its endorsement.
While recognizing his great popularity with the
thnkabe masses of Negroes we find ourselves again in
opposition to Rev Martin Luther King, who Identifies
the sit down protest with the violent resistance
which ne advocates. Adopted by Rev. King from the
Mahatma Ghandis Independent crusade in India we
would again point that there is no analogy between
the situation of fifteen million or more Negroes
sat down among one hundred forty million white people
in the United States, and that of the 400 million people
of India who Ghand led to Independent in struggle
with the British Empire separated from India by ten
thousand miles and with population in all the world of
only some 60 million people.
Giving the Sainted Mahatma credit for the great
sagacity and wise leadership accorded him by history,
constrained to doubt that he would have adopted
the slogan of nonviolent resistance had the situation
and condition of the people of India been that of the
situation and condition of Negroes in the United States
We are certain the Sained Mahatma must have recog-
nlzed from the beginning that in reality there is no
such thing nonvioent resistance however convinc
ing it sounds as political slogan, that resistant itself
violent and in its furtherance leads only to violence
and chaos
Non-volent resistance is revolutionary technique
and II followed to it's logical and final conclusion leads
only to violence and bloodshed
Negro orators of late have been arousing the emo
tons of their audiences by subjecting them to the stir
ring words of the great American patriot Patrick Henry
Give me liberty give DEATH, all things considered
however, we would refer the Negroes in the United
States in these troubled times to the story of Ben Hur
the young christian leader opposing the excuses and
brutality OF the Roman Empire. while galley slave,
when called upon by his followers to lead them in muny
and die answered and rejected saying no. let us pray
Tor life that we may live to confound our enemies
certain class of Negro preachers, who have sub
stituted politics for religion and fambouyance for log
a ncfIrr fhn 80
their congregations in these troubled times by asserting
that the Bible says that there be no REDEMPTION
without the shedding of blood. We would answer by
pointing out that those words uttered by the pro
pnetS predicting the coming of Christ; Christ came
went to the cross emitted His blood and gave hope to
the powderess and down trodden and denied the need
of further shedding of blood by asserting that the
meek shall inherit the earth
Having recognized violent resistance as a revo-
tlonary technique take readers briefly to the
history of the French Revolutionary ntercene srup
gle OF the people of France Edmund Burke the great
EngEsn lawyer philosopher and statesman, in his classic
essay the French Revolution points out that served
only to destroy the best minds and the best blood of
France and to set the French nation back for manv
generatons pointing out that at the time the con-
dtions that existed in France whose leaders allowed it
to develop into bloody and destructive revolution also
existed in England but that in England revolution was
avoided and the conditions corrected by the Brit
ish Parliament and the development of British public
opinion.
patient despite the exuberance Of youths as now
being exhibited in the sit down protests say that the
future hopes OF Negroes for enjoying freedom cti
zenshp in accordance with the high American ideals
without resortng to revolutionary techniques best
await the inevitable actions of the Congress of the
United States and the development of American public
opinion.