Minneapolis spokesman., 1963-02-07
Chicago Negroes
New Political
Dimension

fear - especially because they do
not know the extent Of the Mus
Inns following.
Said Berry:
'"The Black Muslins represent q
very dangerous outfit. Whether or
not they gain very much in prom
inence is dependent almost entirely
upon what the community does In
furthering the rights Of its nom
white citizens.
"It exists, actually thrives, on
human misery and is really a crea-
ture of bigoted whites. I think II
programs like our own make rea-
sonable progress - in jobs, edu-
cation, housing, hospital care -
the Muslims won't get anywhere.
But If we founder, they can take
over.
ITO the poor Negro, the man
who can't get job-or who is
Disseminated against If he does,
whose wife Is turned away from a
hospital, whose kids are called all
kinds Of nasty names, this guy
Elijah makes more sense than I
have"
AS an alternative to the Black
Muslims, TWO and other communi-
ty organizations fighting for Ne
gro rights are developing new
leaders. They are not political
leaders, in the sense Of developing
political organizations and spon-
soring candidates at least not
yet.
But in the broader sense, they
are political leaders because they
have organized to bring pressure
on elected officials and on bodies
such as the Chicago Board Of Edu-
cation, which, in the end, are re-
sponsible to elected officials.
Leaders Background Vary
These new leaders vary in back
ground. Many of the more militant
ones are clergymen, who speak out
strongly. Among these are the
Rev. Arthur M. Brazier, pastor of
the Apostolic Church of Christ,
1914 S. Kimbark, a leader of TWO;
the Rev. Thomas Ellis, pastor of
Lincoln Memorial Congregational
Church, 645O S. Champlain, and
DR.. Ulysses Blakeley, co-pastor of
First Presbyterian Church, 6400
S. Kimbark.
Other Negro leaders are emerg-
ing in the clergy, as well as in
business, the professions and, in a
small way, in politics. They in
clude:
Hollis Chester, $685. S. Drexel,
school teacher; William H. Robin
son, Republican state representa-
tive and a trained social worker
who is on the staff of the Church
Federation of Greater Chicago;
Ewart G. Abner, president of Wee
Jay Records; the Rev. Joseph H.
Evans, pastor Of the Church of the
Good Shepherd, 7116 w. Palmer,
moderator of the Illinois Congreg-
ational Christian Conference, first
Of his race to hold the important
statewide office; the Rev. Harry
B. Gibson, Jr., pastor Of Gorham
Methodist Church, 5000 S. Indiana,
and George e. johnson, president
Of Johnson Products Co., 5831 S.
Green.
Also considered as leaders are
DR.. Robert G. Morris, a radiologist
who was head Of the staff at Prov
ident Hospital and is a leader in
the antitrust suits filed against
Chicago hospitals; Dempsey J.
Travis, owner of Travis Realty
Co., and former president Of the
Dearborn Real Estate Board, the
Negro counterpart Of the Chicago
Real Estate Board; Edward Hal
facre, vice president of Unity Mu-
tual Life Insurance Co.; Earl e.
Strayhorn, bright young lawyer
who also is a member Of the Chi
cago Civil Service Commission, and
his law partner, Raymond Harth;
John Morris, brother Of DR.. Nor
ris and the attorney who is press
ing the antitrust suit, and enter
tainers Dick Gregory and Oscar
Brown, Jr., both militant and out
spoken on the subject Of race re-
lations.
None Emerging Politically
However, none Of these leaders
has yet emerged as a political fig
ure, nor have all Of them combined
to press for any one candidate.
Korshak thinks that the day will
come when the Negro will speak
politically with one voice - and
probably as a result Of the dis
solution of the Dawson machine
and the rise of the independent
middle-class Negro.
IF the Negro ever becomes as
nationalistic or group-oriented as
the Jews or the Poles or the Irish,
then they would be something to
contend with. But they have not
been emancipated enough from the
white leadership yet, nor united
enough in thought and philosophy, |
to take advantage Of their num-
bers. But 1t Is coming. It's COM
ing.