Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1962-09-29
easure

They were unanimous on
only two.
. First, the War Amend
ments to the Constitution, par
ticularly the 14th, ratified in
1868, which defined citizen
ship and extended the equal
protection of law to all persons.
1.-THE Emancipation Procla-
nation did not really free the
slaves; the 18th Amendment
did," says DR.. John Hope
Franklin, chairman of the his
tory department at Brooklyn
College.
"The 18th Amendment
brought the Negro into the
American family. The 18th
gave Negroes the right to vote.
Together, they made it possible
for the Negro to come into the
mainstream of American life"
THE 14th Amendment is
what the Negro has based his
whole fight for equality on"
adds DR.. Benjamin Quarles,
chairman of the history depart
ment at Morgan State College
in Baltimore.
Q Second, Brown VS.. Board
Of Education, the Supreme
Court decision OF May II, 1854,
which overturned the long
standing rule of separate but
equal" and banned segregation
in public schools.
For So years." said DR.. Clar-
ence A. Bacote, chairman of the
history department at Atlanta
University, separate but equal
was the standard in race re-
lations. The decision Of 1854
set a new standard"
at placed the Negro in
position where he was able by
law 10 avail himself Of existent
opportunities" says DR.. Frank
lin, who prefers TO measure
Negro progress by opportunity
rather than deed.
Smith vs.. Albright, the Sill
preme Court decision of 1914
that opened previously all
white primary elections to
Negroes. rated high on the his
torians' list Of mllestones.
Smith VS.. Albright means
more to US in the South than
in other sections says DR..
Bacote. 1T revived the Negroes
in the South. In Atlanta, AT
least. it has changed the whole
political climate.
Many ills can be redressed
by voting intclligently. But
first you have TO register. Once
we get federal protection at the
ballot boxes we will get a diff
ferent type of representative
from the South"
Another popular choice: Ex-
ecutive Order 1902, issued by
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
in 1941, barring discrimination
in factories with defense con-
tracts. II was the forerunner of
Fair Employment Practices
laws.
For the first time" says DR..
Franklin, Ill gave Negroes an
opportunity to make a living"
Both DR.. Bacote and DR..
Charles H. Wesley. president Of
Central State College in Will
berforce, Ohio. rate the rise of
segregated Negro schools high
on their lists of milestones.
For DR.. Wesley, it's SYM
bolized by the founding of Fisk
University in Nashville in 1866,
the first major Negro college
founded after the Civil War.
AT the time of the Emanci-
patton Proclamation" says DR..
Wesley, Negroes were 80 per
cent illiterate. They have made
an amazing advance. l know O.
no other instance of a sub
merged group emerging so
quickly"
For DR.. Bacote, the rise of
Negro education is symbolized
by the day in 1929 when At
lanta University became the
first Negro graduate institution
offering masters degree.
For long time" he says,
1T was a widely held opinion
that Negroes were inferior to
whites mentally. Education,
particularly the number of
Negroes earning masters de-
grees and doctorates. is de-
stroying that myth"
DR.. Rayford w. Logan, chair
man of the history department
at Howard University in Wash
,ington, sees the indignation of
the armed forces, symbolized
by the graduation from West
Point of Benjamin 0. Davis,
now major general, as top
milestone.
at lifted Negro morale" he
says. "Who wants to fight an
enemy abroad when you have
a fight of your own just to
serve your own country"
DR.. Wesley picks as a mile
stone Plessy VS.. Ferguson, the
Supreme Court decision of 1896
that established by law the
concept of separate but equal.
at gave Negroes the OBJ