THE VOICE
A NEGRO WEEKLY
"Dedicated to the promotion of
the cultural, social and spiritual
life of a great people"
Rev. Melvin L. Shakespeare
Publisher and Owner
2225 S Street Phone 5-6491
If no answer call 5-7508
Rubie W. Shakespeare
Advertising & Business Manager
Mrs. Joe Green
Circulation Mgr.
Dorothy Green
Reporter
Rev. Trago T. McWilliams. Sr.
Special Writer
Joseph V. Casmer
Special Writer
Member of the Assoc. Negro Press
Subscription rate $2.00 per year
10c per copy
Watchman,
What of the Night?
In these dark and dangerous
times, we are liable to become
morose and gloomy. The tre
mendous events that are shaping
up about us may cause temporary
dismay; but we must not be
blinded to the larger forces at
work, through which liberation
is assured. If we confine our at
tentions to immediate situations
and matters, there is much ground
for panic; but if we can think in
ultimate terms, we have abund
ant reasons for rejoicing.
It may not be amiss for stu
dents of the interracial situation
to stop ever so often to get their
bearings. The clamor and din of
many voices may confuse for a
while, but in our calmer moments
we can surely discern on the dim
outline of current events Signs,
that in spite of an uncertain pre
sent, give promise of a more fav
orable future. We must not be
too downcast over our setbacks
to note our steady progress. The
untoward events that transpired
at the conclusion of the war
wrought deadly dismay in our
spirits; but all about us are evi
dences that we are heading in the
right direction.
Who would have thought that
in 1946 Bilbo would be sitting in
an investigation committee not as
the all-American bulldozer, but as
a defendant in an investigation
that threatens to bar him from
the senate of the United States?
Whether the investigation fails or
not is a minor matter. The fact
that the great Bilbo feels called
upon to deny that he sought the
intimidation of Negroes in the
Mississippi polls is one of the
greatest strokes for righteousness
we have seen in a long time.
Let us not forget that this in
vestigation is not taking place in
Washington, but in Jackson, Miss
where the Bilbo is supposed to be
king. But King Bilbo is taking
low even in his home town. This
Negro-hater and Negro-baiter is
on the defensive! When Bilbo
denied that he ever attempted to
keep Negroes from voting, we are
.witnessing one of the most dra
matic events of the 20th century.
Bilbo denying that he used intim
idational tactics to keep Negroes
from the polls! If this can hap
pen in Mississippi and to Bilbo,
it is difficult to imagine what
good things may yet happen in
the realm of race relations.
Add to the Bilbo episode in
Misissippi, the investigation un
der way in Athens, Ga., where
attempts are being made to in
dict somebody in the quadruple
lynching of a few months ago.
When we come upon a time when
Georgia Lynchers are even called
into question, we are come upon
curious times indeed. For 100
years lynching Negroes was the
undisputed perogative of certain
elements of southern whites; and
when that prerogative is being
questioned, we are seeing strange
things today. We are getting
somewhere in this country even
when Georgia lynchers are being
even called into question.
Elsewhere in the south a Negro
is being tried for rape, a thing
unheard of 25 years ago. The
pattern was to lynch some Negro
and investigate later, if at all. I
distinctly remember some years
ago when a white woman claim
ed to have been attacked and all
she remembered of her assailant
was that he had white hairy
hands. He caught her from be
hind.
One of the outstanding citizens
of that little southern town was
so infuriated that he made a pub
lic announcement that “some nig
ger must die tonight!” Saner
citizens could not get the idea of
lynching a Negro, for Negroes do
not have hairy white hands. The
white woman stuck to her story
and the saner citizens stuck to
their record, which showed that
no Negro had ever been lynched
in that neighborhood. When Ne
groes accused of rape are being
tried in the south we are indeed
coming upon better times. Per
haps in less than 100 years they
will even secure acquittal in iso
lated cases.
Add to all this, the fact that
over 50 per cent of whites in
Georgia have enough of Tal
madge. Can we really believe
that Talmadge is winning in
Georgia on a political fluke and
not by an overwhelming major
ity? To be frank this writer is
more concerned as to whether
Negroes will be prepared for full
citizenship than whether it is
coming. It is bound to come and
if we are not prepared it will be
indefinitely postponed. Watch
man, what of the nigbt? The
morning cometh.
by Dean Gordon B. Hancock
for ANP
Select Works of Negro Artists
WASHINGTON—(ANP) Prof.
James V. Herring, head of the
department of art, Howard Uni
versity nad noted authority on
Negro art, has been chosen by the
International Bus Machine com
pany to make representative se
lections from the works of mod
ern Negro artists to be used as
part of a travelling exhibit in the
Mediterranean area.
Among the Negro artists whose
works will be studied for inclu
sion in the exhibit are Elizabeth
Catlett White, Richmond Barthe,
Jacob Lawrence, Hale Woodruff
and Ellis Wilson.
-o
Winner
The We Modern Club, Miss
Mary Sampson, president an
nouces as winner of the Christ
mas Turkey, Henneretta Kart
lang.
Miss Sampson expresses sincere
appreciation for the enthusiasm
and cooperation displayed during
the contest and its close at the A.
M. E. Parsonage on Thursday,
December 12.
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