St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1962-11-16
NAACP Housing
Aides Presence Stirs
MoYor voVouIiS

A st. Paul citizens group made
up of residents in the Rondo-St,
Anthony, Dale and Lexington area,
the North Central Community
Council, stymied at getting any
answer on whether the area would
get a urban renewal program
! this week brought to the city the
NAACP's housing secretary, Jack
E. Wood, Jr.
His presence here for three days
brought forth a number of state
ments, some mild and some wrathy
from such sources as the st. Paul
Housing Authority, and Mayor
Vavoulis who is hospitalized.
One important result of Mr..
Woods visit according to Council
president Leroy Lazenberry was
the discovery" that the housing
authority had a committee on
minority housing"
So far as this newspaper could
ascertain, the fact that such COM
mittee existed had never been pub
licized or has there been any re-
port of any meetings ever being
held by the committee.
Another discovery Of great in
terest to some citizens especially
those interested in the end to dis
elimination in housing was that
the so called Citizens housing
committee" appointed by the
mayor or the housing authority
has on it James Bowman Of the
st. Paul Home Builders Assn,
arch-foe of fair housing and virul-
ent critic of the Negro communi-
tvs attempt to end fragrant hous-
ing discrimination by the home
building and housing developing
firms.
Citizens secuted Mayor Vavou-
lis criticism Of Mr.. Wood, in which
he avered it "regrettable that Mr.
Wood had to come to st. Paul to
criticize our urban renewal pro-
gram rather than coming here to
suggest improved methods of i'm
plementing this program"
Members of the North Central
Community Council were particul-
arly incensed at Vavoulis' state
ment, 1T is also rather peculiar
that a person of his stature would
make such statements (about lack
of committees) without first hav-
ing complete knowledge of the
subject"
A North Central official called
the latter statement laughable.
He said, This is the first time we
here in st. Paul have ever heard
Of 1.-The minority housing commit
tee" Since this is so, it can be
u derstood why Mr.. Cooper
wouldn't know there was such a
committee, since we furnished him
all the information he had.
Discovery" of a minority hous-
ing committee, the council official
pointed out at this late date re-
emphasizes that st. Paul needs
some decent planning and cooper
alton in the entire field of federal
ly assisted housing. Groups whose
existence is not generally known
it was pointed out cannot do much
of job.
The North Central Community
Council has been insisting that the
area in which most of its members
live needs urban renewal in the
WOlo way ~ SAdAAAlA0 NAAC
authority after making prior prom
ises has by-passed the area.
Woods, the NAACP official, an
expert on housing problems espec-
tally as they effect areas which
are predominantly Negro left the
city Tuesday to return to New
York.
The local group is determined
to have its position heard with re-
spect even If 1t must take the mat
ter to the courts, an official stated.
Wood told the Pioneer Press
newspaper he planned to recon-
mend to the st. Paul NAACP and
the North Central Council that
they file complaints with the reg
ional and Washington urban re-
newal offices that the committees
already set up are not representa-
tive OF the total community.