Arizona sun., 1962-05-24
COMMEMORATIVE
RALLY SUCCESS
Earnestine Spears Beatty


Last Sunday, May 20, 1862,
saw the death knell of years o.
apathy in metropolitan Phoenix
1t is doubtful that the 423 persons
in attendance at the First Institu
tional Baptist Church were aware
that they were at a funeral-flow
Ter bedecked hats and coatless
shirts are not usually found al
the bier of such an elite persona
lity as mass Indifference" With
80 per cent of the Churches hav'
ing afternoon services including
those in attendance as members
of choirs, this was not the attend
ance to be expected.
The first annual cOmmemOra.
ton rally of the anniversary Of
the May II, 1854 decision of the
United States Supreme Court was
an obvious result of teamwork.
The well-planned program using
a remarkable cross section OF
Phoenix talent was credit to the
citizenry of Phoenix. Choirs, rep
reSenting different and all denom-
nations in Phoenix, furnished mu'
sic from Negro spirituals to semi
classics. They told in song the
history of the pressureS on tn {
Negro better than any orator. Sc
many Negroes are giving up their
musical inheritance to be desc.
Grated by the popular recording
companies. No more appropriate
music could have been asked than
that which came from the choirs
of a ministry which has been ira
ditional leadership of minOrities
all these years.
Having been asked to give q
historical summary of the 1854
decision and its relationship to
Arizona, the Honorable Attorney
H. B. Daniels Interestingly recount
ed the incidents leading up to de-
segration of schools in Phoenix.
He quoted from suit initiated
in 1852 in which a Judge presiding
stated that There were no sec
ond-clasS citizens in Phoenix :
the judge is still wrong today He
took his audience back to 1877 in
whichi1the question of scope of the
14th Amendment yas it relates to
Negro rights was asked. The ans
wer was, ironically, that the Negro
had the same rights as others.
The ''corker" in the legal his
tory seemed to be the separation
statutes (Arizona started with
same) which were given impetus
after decision of 1917 which held
that the States were empowered
to separate races provided the
facilities were equal.
Thus the job of the NAACP INA
tional Association for the Advance
ment of Colored People, was cut
out, for it before its Charter meet
ing in the early 10th Century.
The May II, 1854 decision writ
ten by Chief Justice Earl War
rem clearly stated three import
ant things: < =
1t recognized education as the
most important thing in the coun
try; q Stated that everyone was
entitled to equality in public ed
ucation; and 81 Stated that separa
ton generates a feeling of inferi
ority as to their (Negro) status
Thus clearly and unequivocably
the Supreme Court of the Unitec
States said that the separate but
equal doctrine was in violation o.
the Constitutional Rights of the
Negro
Those persons who gave up theil
Sunday tele-viewing or the specia
services at their own individual
churches, could not possibly q
gack to their homes less aware
of the responsibilities they have
to themselves as individuals anc
to their children and their chill
dren's children.
We hope that the good people
who attended this meeting will see
the need of becoming working
members of this great organiza
ton which can accomplish so much
more than it already has if we all
put our shoulders to the wheel. We
must all surely become MEM
BERS.