New York Amsterdam News — 1963-00-00793

. V « 'T x i, <• % » •.* .«; "X MfMwr T -"Tolerated" —NY March (Continued from Page One) (Continued from Page One) SO • N. Y. AMSTERDAM NEWS, Sat, Sept. 21, 1963 _A|q ^00 —Her Head (Continued from Page One) (Continued from Page One) I went first to the office of the Mayor of Birmingham. There in lng (or the special youth program to be held that the mayor s own outer office i morning at the 16th Street Baptist Church where filled out • form which showed I , she w&s to serve as usher. At 10:21 a.m. Cynthia and her little friends, Denise McNair, Carol Robertson and Addi Mae Col­ lins went to the rear of the basement of the church ance against him, there simply is no hope for the lov man on the totem pole. And that’s the position of the Negro In Birm- * a _ was the 231st news correspon gingham today, dent to register there in recent days. The place is teeming with reporters. To Police Chief He simply can’t win unless there is a change. And the only change he can hope for is that some power greater than the present power structure will • for the program. Denise and Addi were putting on their choir of ,he chief of Police down on . i was sent from the Mayor s take over and change things. third floor offices to the offices Tn the chrp nf Birmingham that nower can onlv , ,, case 01 7™“^,’,inat P°wer f 0 y . •robes when the dynamite rocked the church. the first floor. Blown Off Cynthia’s head was blown completely off. The There I was handed another form which I had to fill out at which time I was then issued Birmingham police press pass little bodies of Carol, Denise and Addi simply crum- and'sent'to "the identification sec- -pled up like a Kleenex under the tons of concrete, 'tion of lhc Police Department /XS?"£li bus glass and wooden debris tom loose by the bomb in the basement structure. Little Sarah Collins, 10, sis- depot and buy myself a 25 cent ter of Addi, had her beautiful little eyes and face photograph and paste or the card ; peppered like steak by the flying glass, stones and writer for business in Binning- splinters. ham. be the full power of the Federal government It has now become crystal clear to this reporter that the only hope that the Negro can look to in Alabama is massive intervention of the Federal gov­ ernment. And when I say massive intervention I mean an intervention in which the government must move into the state by whatever means necessary and literally snatch control of the law from Governor Wallace and run the state itself until the law abid­ ing decent people of the state can gain control u- They didn’t cry out. There was no chance. They it was during that stage in j found were simply little girls alive and lovmg life at 10.21 of the chief of — who were struck dead by a bigot at 10:22. Their my new “friend'’ and learned . I do not know what this entails — but I do * ’ little bodies were completely covered by the powder how weu i was thought of in know that any other attempted solution is merely whistling past the graveyard. Sooner or later Presi­ dent Kennedy will have to face it. that once was the brick and mortar and lime of God’s church. Birmingham. JFK Must Face It Watches * labor unions throughout the city are being urged to mobilize their members to participate in the City Hall demonstrations. . Farmer said the New York March would not only be for jobs, but would include the ills in housing, schools, and other community problems. It will not be directed exclusively at the Wagner administration, but at all groups responsible for the city's conditions including busi­ ness corporations, labor unions and others. Plan Suits Earlier this week Farmer, in addressing a labor rally at Unity House, Pa., said that CORE would bring millions of dollars In suits against Southern cities and police for their attacks on Negroes In Plaqeumine, La. - News Of The Week National * President Kennedy arrives in New York Friday to address the new United Nations Assembly. He is ex­ pected to make a major policy speech outlining the United States’ position on disarmament, colonialism, and related issues which are expected to make this one of the most explosive of the 18 sessions of the UN. * • * • Sonje 800 pupils, four-of them white, entered class­ rooms Monday at the opening of the first free schools in Prince Edward County, Va., in four years. The school was set up last month at-the-urgings of Presi­ J ‘ dent Kennedy. * ♦ • • . As the nation anxiously awaited the coming show­ down over the President’s civil rights bill, a Senate subcommittee gave approval this week to a bill which would permit the government to uncover and halt The CORE leader, fresh from jail in Plaquemine and still v coughing tacks he suffered there, charged UEPC legislation, but its fate W8S in doubt, that In many instances Negroes from the tear gas at- „„„„ . „ racial discrimination in jobs. The bill is similar . , .. . . . .. • A • • . • . to were seriouslyJnjured from elec- tric cattle prods used by police to disperse the demonstrators. He was a target of local police there and narrowly escaped a lynch party by hiding in a funer­ al parlor hearse. -BiHiards (Continued from Page One) because it would attract unde­ sirable elements and might hurt their business by discouraging customers. “We do not need any more of this type of business on 125th St.,” Mrs. E. Marie Julien, who runs an employment agency at 290 Lenox Ave., declared at the hearing. The assistant commissioner said the hearing will be con­ tinued. Meanwhile his office will receive communications-until the end of the coming week from oersons who are for or against ssuanee of the license. On SS Site The proposed billiard club is to occupy the second floor of the building which formerly housed the Social Security office. The Territorial Social Club, Inc. is already operating at the rear section of the floor. The new club s to occupy the front part which is now vacant. 4 r scher quintuplets of Aberdeen, South Da- kota, were the talk of the nation as they passed through the 72-hour danger period and prospects of the na­ tion’s first living quintuplets brightened. The family was being showered with gifts as the quints were be­ ing given careful medical attention. They all weighed less than three pounds each at birth. . ..___. • • * • City and State Facing an uphill fight in his bid for the Republican Presidential qpmination in 1964 as GOP polls indicate that Arizona’s Sen. Barry Goldwater is a slight fav­ orite, New York’s Gov. Nelson Rockefeller told news­ men this week that he feels it is “realistic” to say that his recent marriage has hurt his chances for the nom­ ination. New York stores may soon be able to stay open on Sundays as a result of the City Council’s approving of a bill this week to allow the operators of tfmall, family- type shops to remain open on Sundays if they observe another day as the Sabbath. • • • • Mayor Robert Wagner, in a move believed to be politically motivated to draw out the Kennedy brothers, hinted Monday that he may not want to run for the U S. Senate next year, but might prefer to be New York's first four-term Mayor. There was little political reaction. The alignment of the power structures against the Negro here is complete. Two cases serve to prove the point: Sunday at a time when the nation and the rest of the world was literally reeling under the ghastly bomb deaths of the four little Sunday school girls, Alabama’s police force moved in to “preserve law and order.” So what happened? So a few Negroes, blinded by anger, threw rocks at the police and the police promptly shot dead,— in the back—James Robinson, a 16 year old Negro boy who was RUNNING AWAY when he was killed! Minutes later two white youths riding by on a motorcycle shot and killed 13 year old Virgil Ware as he rode past them on a bicycle. All this mind you, just a few minutes after the bomb death of the four young girls . . . and at a time when the streets of the city were literally teem­ ing with city police and state troopers “preserving order.” Contrast this death of six Negroes with what happened in this city last week when hundreds of white youths staged a demonstration against the integration of three schools. Policeman Wounded , ~ . v. As I sat down in the outer — Their dazed Sunday school teacher, Mrs. Clevon offjce of the Chie( one of his Philips, said earlier in the morning she had taught assistants who obviously was in the girls a Sunday school lesson about Joseph and charge of press accreditation (in „ New York a deputy commissioner .. r - , the forgiving of his enemies. The theme of the les- handles the Job, came over and son was “The Love That Forgives.” deliberately watched over my 5 All that is now left of that lesson of love are shoulder as i filled out the form, When I reached the part where dark- patches of blood on the basement floor where I wrote my address on the form 16 other persons shed their blood for the blood. the man said “I’m glad to see you in Birmingham” and that's when I told him I was glad that he was glad, and then asked him • • i why. He was an elderly man with a smile that could be called pleas­ ant — and then again it could be called cunning. But neverthe­ less he said “I’m glad you are here because if a Negro reporter like you writes the truth about Birmingham, maybe those New York editors will believe it. A Parent Knows 5 On the floor in the shambles of the basement one can still find long daggers of shattered pointed glass with stains of blood on the points — indicating where once the soft young bodies were in the path of the flying glass but which now have been doomed to a final place of safety, six feet beneath God’s ground. No one can adequately describe the terror inside 'that church in the moments that followed the bomb i , But every man and woman fortunate enough to have a child in this world can imagine what it must have been like. There they were — the family, at church on Sunday morning, in the highest tradition of Amer­ ica. The children attending Sunday school, mother teaching a Sunday school class and Dad upstairs consulting with the trustees about the Men’s Day tally to come. Then suddenly — the bomb! Then screams: “Where is my wife? Where is my child? I want my mother. Oh my God, have you seen my husband?” I tried to appear as calm as I could and I said to him “What's the matter, is Birming­ ham having trouble with the truth in New York?” The police official warmed to the subject and moved in so as almost to whisper in my ear. “Do you know," he said, "that right now on the streets of New York there is a newspaper which says that it is not safe for a Negro to walk the streets of Bir­ mingham?” He’s Surprised I tried to express surprise as I said: “Is that right? I didn’t know that." Addi’s mother was busy helping to care for her “Well it is” said my new found friendly cop. “It’s on the streets right now. We had a man in New youngest daughter, Sarah, when word came to her (York read it to us by telephone.” that her oldest daughter, Addi, was dead. B. H. Wilson, a trustee of the church who led some of those inside to safety, said: Just Terrible “It was just terrible. People couldn’t find their relatives — mothers .couldn’t find their children. All you could hear were moans and groans and screams.” Every stained glass window in the church was shattered except one. Oddly enough that one is a window showing Christ being worshipped by a group of young children. ADVERTISEMENT tm need greater erteetlve Intelll Naper learainc pawer? A pMMr- mind? TWw are hades far greater ■ad wealth la Hfe. All yna ____ la oar amaslag maaaal af terh- aMoes. "Rew ta laerease Taar Ertee­ tlve IntelUgeare aad Improve Taar Mady TeehaMaaa”. Gaaraoteed aalli fartiaa nr yaar maaey refanded. Scad •S.M laday._______________ ASHBFF ENTERPRISES tit Mh Are.. NTAN. New Yark 10. N.T. LIBRARY CLOSED The present Shdepshead Bay Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. 2627 E. 14th St., will close for two weeks on Sept. 27 to permit the removal of books and equipment to the new and larger site across the street at 2636 E. 14th St ANOTHER GREAT PRODU . . 0N “'"J FASTI rel^f^HB OF MIN AND DISCOMFORT DUE TO HEADACHE - NEURALGIA 11*0 ON YOUR DIAL 311 LfMX ML AT 12M ST. MW TMK 37. HEW TON s My friend continued saying "Now you know yourself that’s lie, isn’t It? Here you are sit­ ting in my office just as safe as you would be at home. Now tell me, did anybody bother you on the streets when you left that Gaston Motel to come down here?” I told my new found friend that had to admit that no one had bothered me on my way down to the police station, but I also dialectally reminded him that I lad not yet made it safely back to my hotel. I didn't think that business about being “safe as you would be at home’’ rated any com­ ment whatever. When I reminded him that I still had to make it back to my hotel safely he came around in front of me and looked quizzical y into my face asking: Are you afraid?” Words In My Mouth I said: “No, no. I'm not afraid — there is no need to be afraid. That's right ”, he almost shout­ ed, “there Is nothing to be afraid of.” At that point had he not been a white cop in Birmingham, Ala bama I would have told him to stop putting words in my mouth. For I certainly had not said that there was “nothing to be afraid of’ when I was so much aware that six Negroes had been killed here In the last 30 hours Ait instead of telling him what I was thinking I simply said to myself "I’m not scared — I’m Just a damn fool.” I wanted to get off the subject of being scared so I said. ‘What about those New York editors—I don't understand what you meant when you referred to them.” My friend answered: “Well we have actually check ed some of the stories that the white reporters write from down here and send to New York And we have found that sometimes those New York editors get what these men write and change It around so much that they don’t recognize their own stories tl selves when they see them In the paper Maybe if a Negro re­ porter like you writes the truth about Birmingham 'hey will be­ lieve you. This Is a good town to Negroes.” To him I said: "It’s a shame for an editor to change a man story like that." To myself I said: “Brother you ever read the story I'm go:n to write about this town I I swear Dr. C. B. Powell, my edi­ tor. changed R too - especially If I’m In Birmingham when you see the story!" And I would Because I like noy new found friend In Birmingham. And 1 wouldn't want to come back here and find him unfriendly. And I might have to come back! The white youths fought the police for hours in According to a police report hand to hand struggles all over town and at least City Welfare Commissioner James R. Dumpson re- read-at the hearing by Sol Lam- ber, a License Department in­ one policeman was wounded and had his gun taken $pector u,e Territorial club turned here Tuesday from Miami and announced that spector, the Territorial club away from him by the whites and hospitalized for was raided last June 16. and iw ^e has hired 22 Cuban refugees as social investigators VbTS! “VX to deal with Spanish-speaking applicants for welfare ln)UrleS- But throughout the long day of rioting the white the ABC ,*w. The club aid in New York City. • were against Negroes. police aid not fire one single shot — either in the which is still in operation has an —---------—--------------------------------------------------------------------- ———— air or at one Of the fighting students! all-woman membership of about This was white against white — and all of them ^lk’"d is managed by Ann The inspector's report reveal- Some idea of just how much the deaths of the ed that several churches and schools in the neighborhood were checked out for reaction toward the proposed poolroom, and two business school principals ques­ tioned said they had no objec­ tion. However, one of the minis­ ters consulted, Rev. N. C. Dukes of the Fountain Spring Baptist church, 158 W. 126th St., opposed granting of a license to the ap­ plicant. The Post Herald referred to the little girls’ deaths as a “Most Unspeakable Bombing,” and it called for the apprehension of the bombers (it could scarcely ask for less). four little Negro girls meant to the power structure here can be gleaned from an editorial which ap­ peared Monday, the day after the bombing, in the Birmingham Post Herald. about 100 persons h regarded in many quarters as a slow process that could, conceivably take years to complete the list of 2,672 names if it continues at its cur­ rent pace. The committee was the organi­ zation which picketed Harlem Hospital In June, forcing cessa­ tion of work on the foundation of the miilti-mlUion-dollar an­ nex. It has not been resumed. ner for what It calls the unions* indifference to attempts to Inte­ grate them. * -100 Names (Gontinued from Page One) But the Post-Herald aimed the punch line of its editorial, not at the bombers but at the Negro community — and did it in such a way as to make one feel that Negroes throwing rocks at police in revenge are worse than white people aggressively killing Negroes with bombs! Said the Post Herald: “These rock-throwers are going to have to be taken into custody and dealt with severely. The Negro leadership must impress upon their people that such actions will not be tolerated.” Tolerated indeed! That word “tolerated” just about sums up why ittle Cynthia Wesley never had a chance living in Birmingham — even if she had been able to keep her head on her shoulders. Negroes do not LIVE in Birmingham. They are merely “tolerated!” -Jackie Mrs. Sherry Victor, of 15 Stone­ henge Rd., Great Neck, L. I., a representative of the proposed club, told the Amsterdam News after the hearing that she plans to operate a first-class club. Need Of It “I don't know what they are ‘rying to do to me," she said, decided to go into this venture because some people living in the pre a said they need it.” Mrs. Victor said she is the principal stockholder of the cor­ poration backing the proposed Hub, but she did not disclose the name of the company. A lease has already been ob­ tained from the landlord, Sam Sobel, she said. It is for $12,000- a-year rental. The applicant for the club license also said she ilans to hire guards to keep out the undesirable element, and would charge 35 cents a game as a further deterrent. (Continued from Page One) |ment was reached, this news- where the two discussed the pot- paper has ,ea«‘n«d sibility of Robinson taking over the post and a general agree- -Mourns (Continued from Page One) ices were being held for the Residence The source said that Robinson, a resident of Stamford, Conn., has established a New York State residence, and will probably take over the post sometime near the end of the year after a new state post Is found for Gen. Kru- lewitch. Robinson has long been g[a Rockefeller booster. young children Wednesday, large - group of local minist’rs and civil rights officials held a silent procession down Fifth Ave., io the UN Plaza in protest of the killings. , Rockefeller, who has been und er increasing criticism for fall­ ing to name more Negroes to key state posts, is reported to be highly pleased over the possi­ bility of Robinson taking the post. Mr. Robinson would have to give up his present executive’s post with Chock Full O’Nuts to take the state Job, which pays $20,475. •Twenty etght bombings In tht past eight years, climaxed ht the cowardly and brutal bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Churck In Birmingham last Sunday and resulting In the death of four children while attending Sunday school, places responsibility! Gov R^kefeller Is reported Ktuarely on the federa govern- to conCerned with the bad Geo,rfe ^awre,,ce reputation that boxing has in said in a statement for the group New York stlte ,nd fee„ th.t Hundreds of New Yorkers will!Robinson’s high prestige in Rad Reputation join In special memorial serv- ices on Sunday in front of die U.S. Courthouse In Foley Square at 3:30 p.m sports would bring new dignity and status to the sport in New York. a He is also concerned over the Mayor Wagner led New York­ fact that although nearly 75 ers In special statements mourn per cent of the leading boxers '.ng the Birmingham murders. A In New York are Negroes and resolution condemning the bomb­ Puerto Ricans, there Is no Negro ing was passed Tuesday by the member of the State Athletic City Council and scores of lead- ers and groups were sending let- Commission, and there have ters of protest to President Ken- been long standing criticisms nedy demanding federal action J from Negroes over this failure -Bank (Continued from Page One) upon completion of the initial financing. Mr.’ McLaurin .noted that there is no present commercial bank in Harlem with its head office in the community, but only with branches in the area. Draws Interest Mr. Altman said that since the original announcement of the proposed bank, widespread In­ terest has developed throughout the community, in many down­ town businesses, and in various parts of the country. The new bank would be the first in the city to be organized from the ground up since 1929. Following the Initial financing, stockholders In the bank will meet to elect the board of direc­ tors who will In turn elect offi­ cers to get the bank off to a lood start. They are presently working on recruiting staff mem­ bers. Among those on the organizing committee. In addition to Mc­ Laurin, who Is chairman of the group, and Mk. Altman, are Jackie Robinson, former base Jail star; Jack Blumstein, of Blumstein's Department Store; ?rank Schtffman, of the Apollo Theatre, former Judge Samuel R. PWrde; Herbert B. Evans, of the Housing and Redevelopment Board; and Alvin C. Hudgins, rising young business executive. I Brennan had said in June, when public interest was turned to the construction unions in the wake of the demonstrations that halt ed work at the Harlem Hospital annex, that he doubted that unions could absorb large num­ bers of newcomers. His assertions were echoed by union representatives during the recent hearings before the City Commission on Human Rights who balked on making commit­ ments on how many apprentices they would be able to accept. They — and Brennan — said a swelling of the number of con­ struction craftsmen would en­ danger the longevity of jobs of other union members in an Indus try whose boom, they said would not have long life. May Be Slow Consequently, the construction unions may "not speed the re- viewal process, although both Mayor Wagner and Acting City Labor Commissioner James J. McFaddeh have voiced hopes that they will. But the Joint Committee for Equal Employment Opportunity in the Construction Trades, a co­ ordinating body of the NAACP, Urban League of Greater New York, Negro American Labor Council, Congress of Racial Equality, Workers Defense League and Association of Catho­ lic Trade Unionists, blames Wag­ -Cynthia (Continued from Page One) an “embalming miracle” on her that he is to have joined with others here In urging that the public be allowed to view the body. Cynthia’s father, however, said “no.” I viewed the bodies of the other two victims, Wednesday, at Amsterdam News presstime Although the undertaking firms of Davenport and Harris and Poole’s Chapter had obviously ne great work on the corpses, they still could not hide com­ pletely the tragic, grisly, devas­ tating effects of the bomb on their small bodies.1 It was a sight one will re­ member as long as he lives. Three hours before the funeral was set to begin hundreds of people were’ already in their seats In the fttfi Ave. Baptist Church for the services which were scheduled to be conducted by the Rev. John Cross, pastor of. the bombed-out 16th Street Baptist Church. The committee now plans to resume picketing of City Hall on Sunday of Sept. 29 to urge the Mayor to either push Integration of nonwhites in the unions — or caned contracts for publicly- sponsored projects. 40.006 To March Some 40,000 Negroes and whites of the committee and sev­ eral other civic, labor and fra­ ternal groups are to join in the first large, local protest since the historic March on Washing­ ton last Aug. 28. Of the 2,672 persons who sub­ mitted applications to the CityLa- bor Department since the drive opened last Aug. 16, 1,806 are Negroes, or 80 per cent of the total. Thirty-seven per cent of the remainder are Puerto Rlcsni Of the 1,806 Negro applicants, 1,000 expressed interest In the unions* apprentice programs, while the remainder sought jobs as journeymen who have already acquired skills in the Industry in which they seek union member­ ship. -Bias (Continued from Page One) aid the League "because of its proven responsible leadership over 53 years.” In urging support for tha League. Dr. Taylor stressed the League's campaign for school integration, declaring, "the con­ tinuing slaughter of children In­ tellectually under New York’s nine months plan of Inferior edu­ cation la almost as deplorable as the slaughter of four children In a BirminghamSundaySchool.” Young Warns I Mr. Young urged Immediate support for the League's pro­ gram from business officials, pointing out that Negroes in New York, most of whom mi­ grated here are near the end of the gangplank in their search for full freedom, adding that If something Isn’t done la New York, more serious problems might develop. Among the leading firms rep­ resented at the luncheon were the New York Telephone Com­ pany, McGraw-Hill, Chaw Man­ hattan Bank, American Stock Exchange. R.H. Macy's, Frank­ lin National Bank, City IsvMtlng Co., the New York Amsterdam News, and many others. Untitled Document file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/Administrator/Desktop/hello.html2/18/2007 11:01:03 AMThomas M. 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