The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1960-03-08
Brown Urges
Negroes Create
Own Wealth

I offer this observation
through sympathy. not prejudice
in the hope that it might touch
a chord of common agreement
and be helpful to all parties who
are now greatly exercised over
the problem of integration.
Having just noted or celebrat-
ed. depending upon where you
live. the birthday Of the great
emancipation. Abraham Lincoln,
whose oft expressed desire was
to see all men free. leads me
to say that nowhere in Mr.. Lin
coins many biographies do we
| find any thought that the color
ed people could through force,
conflict of intimate association
put themselves quickly n d
happily in the confidence of
their white neighbors.
Mr.. Jefferson, the great Demo
crat, stated in the Declaration
Of Independence that among the
rights that mankind is entitled
to are life, liberty and pursuit
| of happiness"
! Mr.. Jefferson, like Mr.. Lin
coin. sought to free Americans
from a type of tyranny but
made no further promise that
freedom could be easily won or
happiness attained without work
/ patience and excellence of con-
duct.
Both Mr.. Jefferson and MI.
Lincoln fought stubbornly for
freedom as a right, but never as
a license. Also, 1 am quite sure
that both of these men would,
if living today, greatly deplore
the methods being used in the
pursuit of happiness for both
races now living on the North
American continent.
UNDER OUR FORM of gov
eminent, freedom is the right
to develop ones potentialities
without infringing upon tn e
rights of anyone else whatever
these rights might be.
The most that any govern
ment can do for its people is
to give them the chance to sue
coed: it cannot pick them up
bodily and drop them down in
this schoolhouse or that restau-
rant and say this is it-y u +
pursuit of happiness is now full
filled.
No people has ever discovered
happiness and self respect while
trying to work with O he I
peoples tools and eating out Of
their ration bags. Therefore, il
we don't learn under our type
of freedom by hard work and
thrift to produce our own tools
and rations we must continue
to be followers Of those that do
we must create if we would be
recognized.
1 have often said to my Negro
friends that they must produce
material and cultural things fol
themselves by working harder
saving more of their earnings
and investing their savings il
permanent thingS-things they
can call their oWn-such as Ii
braries, drug stores, theaters
better homes, better morals, ant
a more creative livelihood
Blood is thicker than water ant
they, the Negro people, vii
never attain by trying to force
these things from their more ad
vanced white neighbors.
Neither can their white an1
colored advisers from far away
places" hope to reap comforting
profits by further exploitation O
the Negro people.
The Negro people have beer
subjected to exploitation BY
prejudiced and narrow-mindee
leaders ever since Mr.. Lincoln
issued the Emancipation Pro
clamation and much of it has
ccme from people who profess
much but give little. No, all the
carpetbaggers and scalawags
are not dead; they continue tt
'xiSt and disturb.
IF INSTEAD Of collecting oul
Negroes hard earned dollars fo1
the high and exalted purpose Of
pushing them into white peoples
organizations. these so-called
leaders would spend this money
% help them create their owr
ools and rations, the colored
people would soon be "eating in
their own restaurants amongst
kindred fellowship not now tc
be found in their white neigh
bors' eating places.
submit, therefore, that the
approach to be segregation-in-
tegration problem smacks OF
ugliness and discomfort due
largely to what would call "a
poor quality of thinking" on the
part of those who should know
that creative excellence rather
than disturbing controversy is
now and always has been the
key to the door of happiness.
Our world needs more crea-
tive thinkinU ond honocf ON