Jackson advocate., 1963-10-05
| LIKE MY OWN
YARD


tegration segregation hassle
that completely disturbs me is
this: the insistence of ALL ra-
cial integration carries with it
the inference that there is moth
ing worthwhile to be attained
until and unless l am permitted
to mix" with the white folks.
| reject this premise in toto
for what should be two very
obvious reasons.
The first and perhaps
the most important lies in
review of what Negroes have
accomplished in the last one
hundred years on their own will
show that few minority" races
in history have ever done better,
nor have deserved more COM
mendation. The contributions
that we have made to American
society should be too we'll known
to repeat here. Suffice to say
for the moment, / will point
out that many of those contri-
buttons have left an indelible
impression on the history OF
Americas progress, and that
this has been done in spite of
any and all handicaps which
have befallen us.
The second reason for my re-
lection of any I-have-simply-
got to mix with-the-white
folks-to-make-it premise is that
any such philosophy is a direct
insult to my racial pride. The
very acceptance Of that belief
implies that | do not possess
the capability of making any
contribution to, or acquiring a
respected position in, my COM
munity and country through my
own efforts just because I hap
pen to be Negro. | would not
accept any such a degrading be-
lief, regardless of any source
from whence it emanated.
If have learned any lesson
from a lifetime Of human rela-
tlons activities it is this God
helps those and those only
who first help themselves.
The respect of others can never
he attained without the possess
sion of self respect, the gateway
to acceptance; and this can
never be forced or coerced =.
it can only be merited when it
is deserved.
have seen all the evidence
| need to convince me that a
dedicated Negro school teacher
is as capable of providing STU
dents with as good an educa-
tion as a white instructor .
that a truly holy and devout
Negro pastor can point the way
to Gods redemption as we'll as
any white counterpart that
a qualified Negro physician can
provide effective medical relief
and cure for his patients just
as any white one can that
a Negro athlete who has made
the grade can do the job on the
football gridiron or baseball
diamond in precisely the sue
cessful manner as a white play
er . that the great talents of
a Negro entertainer will be as
favorably accepted by an appre-
ciative public as those of any
other racial origin.
On my way home from school
during the fourth year of my
primary education. | acquired
a habit of stopping to play ev-
cry afternoon with a friend in
the backyard of his home. FL
nally, my family bluntly point
ed cut to me that we had a very
we'll kept yard of our own, and
to bring my little buddy home
with me to play sometimes.
l apply the moral of that
incident to my conception of
"integration." l have splen-
did "yard" of historical back
ground myself, that covers a
span of thousands of years.
am so busy in my personal eff
forts to keep the plants of ac-
complishments growing in that
ward that | will not have much
time to spend elsewhere.
Come on over and see me
sometime. It's quite a place.