Jackson advocate., 1961-10-07
jackson And Mississippi And
The Atlanta Story

The story of the development of Atlantas salu-
tary race relations policy which is bound to have
a salutary effect on relations throughout the
entire State of Georgia, told in the September
issue of Fortune Magazine should be read by every
responsible adult white and Negro citizen in Jack
son, and in the State of Mississippi because
firmly convinced that what has been done in At
lanta, the capitol city of Georgia. can be done in
Jackson, the capitol city of Mississippi with the
same sautary effect upon race relations through
out the state
The Importance of the Atlanta story as told
in Fortune Magazine to us, is not what has been
DONE but it's Identification of the individuals, per-
sonalites, powers and forces responsible for its de-
velopment It's identification of white citizens of
the highest responsibility and influence, including
the President of the Coca-Cola Company, the head
of Rich's Department store, with it's $50 900 900
annual sales making it among the largest in the
nation, bankers, heads of corporations, and other
businessmen, meeting with Negro leaders of the
highest responsibility and influence, in the search
for the solution of of the citys and the states
most pressing Immediate problems.
We panied, and perhaps little bit Jealous
OF the revelations in the Atlanta Story because it
will occupy place in the history of the develop
ment of salutary race relations in the SOUTH and
IN the history of the development of the new south
that may well have been occupied by the City of
Jackson and the State of Mississippi Time and
time again. during the past fifteen years, we have
called attention to the need for responsible white
and Negro citizens meeting together in the search
for the solution of the race relations problem both
in the City of Jackson, and in the State of Mis-
slsslppl, many times in talks with responsible
white citizens, in and out of government in all
sections of the state calling attention to this need
before it became accentuated by decisions of the
nations highest court and by edicts of agencies of
the federal government
Here again, as many times before but this
time supported by the relevatons in the Atlanta
story, we assert that no purely negative force no
matter how strongly backed, is going to make any
salutary and lasting contribution to the develop
ment of race relations in Jackson and in the State
of Mississippi. At the same time we also assert
that the positive extremes advocated by some Ne
gro groups with wide backing from other sources
are as much deterrent to the development OF
salutary race relations the advocates of the
purely negative approach to the problem.
While panied and perhaps little jealous of the
Atlanta story, we revert to the ancient saying that
1t is never to late to do good. Negro organizations
other groups, and the demonstrations of Jealous
Negro students have sufficiently dramatized
problem, the full knowledge of which is the pos
session of every intelligent Mississippian the real
challenge of the Atlanta story is to the white lead
ershlp of the City of Jackson and the State of Mis-
ssslppl, in whose hands rest the real power and
influence, and we assure them that there are Ne
gro citizens in Jackson, and in the rest of the
state OF high intelligence and high sense of re-
sponslblllty who will be glad to meet and work
with white leaders for the development of salutary
race relations in Jackson and throughout the state