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About The voice. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1946-195? | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 1948)
. Gp TET r ’ 'p I _ Ur --;- aqV r \v . 1 ... ■—.. —--- ■■ "■■ --—— Bj Volume 3, No. 5 yV\ Lincoln 3, Nebraska Thursday, October 28, 1918 Second Anniversary Issue Bertha Diggs Speaks For GOP Meeting Gov. Thomas Dewey has done a lot for the Neg^o in this coun try without much fanfare. “While other presidential can didates are making a big issue of civil rights, he has practiced civil rights in New York several years.” These were the statements Fri day of Mrs. Bertha Diggs, secre tary to the New York State De partment of Labor. A Dewey appointee, Mrs. Diggs has her of fices in New York City. She was in Lincoln to speak at the Urban League. Mr. Clayton P. Lewis was chairman of ar rangements. “My mission,” she explained, 4‘is to acquaint my people with what the Governor is doing for them.” She added that she is one of 32 Negro appointments to important positions that Mr. Dewey has made during his gov ernorship of the Empire State. “The Governor’s labor legisla tion in New York is outstand 9 ing,” Mrs. Diggs-stated. Minimum wage-and-hour laws and fair employment practices make it a model for other states,” she as | serted. - Mrs. Diggs came to Lincoln after filling an engagement in Omaha where she was greeted by more than 30 republican leaders on her arrival at Omaha Munici pal Airport Thursday noon. Many of these persons accompanied Mrs. Diggs to Lincoln and shared in the meeting held here. Associate Editor i if I * f: CHARLES M. GOOLSBY. ( Charles M. Goolsby has been associated with The Voice since February and because of his increasing interest and untiring efforts was named Associate Editor. Mr. Goolsby is in the grad uate college at the University of Nebraska after receiving an AB degree from Nebraska in June. He is an active member and Sunday School superin tendent at Quinn Chapel AME Church where he is organist for the * senior choir and fills many other prominent places. He is President and Regional Director of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity (Beta Beta Chapter), a 32 degree Mason and is affiliated with a num ber of civic organizations in the city. ' Voice Editor and Business Manager REV. AND MRS. MELVIN L. SHAKESPEARE By Charles M. Goolsby Rev. and Mrs. Shakespeare, who, two years ago launched one of the most significant projects among Lincoln Negroes when they estab lished The VOICE. By their untiring efforts and hard work. The VOICE has moved forward to promote “the cultural, social and spiritual life of a great people”—Nebraskans. Rev. Mr. Shakespeare is editor and publisher. He also holds the order of Elder in the AME Church and has been a bright figure in progressive Lincoln organiza tions. Mrs. Shakespeare is Business and Office Manager. A delightful personality, she is very active in church and civic organizations. She attended Nebraska University and is a member of Kappa Phi sorority. The Voice Looks Forward Two years ago something kind of wonderful happened in Lincoln. It was the consummation in the material of an idea that arose be cause there were so many people who felt that there should be a medium to supplement the usual news sources—the daily papers, radio and the big Negro weeklies. At first there were only a few who did believe it possible, then none. Was there not one among so many? It was at this crucial moment that whether or not there would be a “Voice” depended on a decision, a decision that was made by Rev. and Mrs. Shake speare. Three weeks later, on Oc tober 11, 1946, eight pages of nine by twelve inch newsprint went on sale. Since those early times The Voice has grown continually, al ways with the goodwill and sup port of the hundreds of subscrrb- j ers and advertisers it serves. The dispatches of the Associated Negro Press of Chicago, the Nebraska Press Association and the National Editorial Association have supple mented our columns with the best of news fit for print, as well as contributions from other news sources. The good work of the staff in securing the news has been commendable too, in this re spect. The people make the news, we print it. The Voice is dedicated to ad vancement, “to the promotion of i the cultural, social and spiritual life of a great people” here in the not-too-white “White Spot” of the nation. A cure for our ills can only be had after an accurate diagnosis of their causes. As we enter our third year, The Voice readers are anxiously await ing the publication in the near future of “The Voice Cook Book,” which promises to be a boon to every homemaker. Proceeds from its sale will contribute toward The Voice scholarship fund to be awarded in the Spring. And now The Voice looks ahead. It looks to the bright future that lies in store for America under a government that will recognize human rights primordial, and the right to earn a decent living, free from want and fear, and a fair deal for labor and management— a land that will be an ideal for dependent countries and sup pressed people. CME Church Gets New Minister The Rev. George L. Ray is the new pastor of the CME church, which meets the first and third Sundays at the Lincoln Urban League. The Rev. Mr. Ray is a product of the Kansas Central State Theo logical school where he obtained his B.D. degree in Theology. He is a veteran pastor and evangelist and has traveled throughout the West and Central states. At pres ent he is residing at 2244 S street. Civil Service Fair Employment Practice Board Draws NAACP, CIO Criticism Two Nebraskans Elected Trustees Of Wilberforee U. For the first time, this year, members of the Nebraska con ference of the AME church elect ed trustees to Wilberforee univer sity. This came as a result of the educational redistricting of the church last spring which moved the Noah W. Williams School of Religion from Quindaro, Kansas to Payne Theological Seminary, (Wilberforee universi ty). The Rt. Rev. D. Ordmonde Walker, Presiding Bishop of the Nebraska -conference, left the deanship of Payne to accept the episcopal office. The two new trustees, both Omaha residents, are George E. Camper and the Rev. John Adams, Sr. Mr. Camper has been quite a colorful figure on the Omaha scene. He is a trustee of St. John AME church in Omaha. He has also been with the finance de partment of government service in Omaha for 32 years. He is quar termaster of his VFW post, secre tary of the Past Master Masons council, Past Master of Hiram No. 10 AF&AM, Omaha, and is a member of the trustee board of the Prince Hall Affiliated Ne braska Jurisdiction of AB'&AM. He was also the first Negro to serve as foreman of a jury in Ne braska and is the first layman of the conference to be elected a trustee to the midwestern school. Rev. John Adams, Sr. is as well known for his civic services as for his contributions to the church. He has been a well-known Omaha attorney and aspires to state senu torship this election. According to straws in the wind, he is al most assured of victory and would succeed Sen. Harry A. Foster from the 5th district. He is pre siding elder of the Omaha dis trict of AME church. Two Kansans were also elected to fill similar posts. They are Rev. William H. Burnette, Pre siding Elder of the Kansas City district, and Mr. J. J. Parks, Su perintendent of the County Court House in Kansas City, Kansas. By Alice A. Dunnigan WASHINGTON. (ANP). While the appointment of a federal fair employment practices commission board might be an advanced step in wiping put discrimination in the federal government, the two organizations which fought hardest for the establishment of such a commis.'^ipn are apparently not too pleased with the method by which the board was set up, or with the administrative powers given it. Clarence Mitchell, NAACP labor secretary, said his organization “is determined that this new agency shall be a constructive job in eliminating discrimination.” He admitted, however, that the two Negro members, “Mr. Jones and Jesse Mitchell face a heavy task in carrying out their assign ment. The civil service commis sion itself refused to appoint per sons from private industry and liberal labor organizations who have had extensive experience in handling the problem of employ ment in discrimination. Instead, Commissioners Harry B. Mitchell and Frances Perkins have chosen to appoint five of the seven mem bers from the ranks of govern ment employes.” Any person appointed to such a job, continued Richardson, could not be sincere in his efforts to correct the segregated practices in the United States with the terrible injustices done to the people on the Panama Canal zone, where the federal government advocates the unfair “silver-gold” system. , When this board is to begin operation is not definitely known, but it is to be noted that the civil commission itself still dis criminates against Negro employes by maintaining a separate Jim Crow unit. Alliance Girl Elected State Y-Teen Prexy —Courtesy The Lincoln Journal Last week Y-Teens, YWCA girls’ organization, met in Lincoln to compare notes. Officers elected for this year are pictured above, j They are (1. to r.) Miss Barbara Parker, Hastings, vice president; I Miss Jane Jackson, Omaha, secretary-treasurer; Miss Norma Dahlke, Grand Island, publicity; and Stella Woodlee, Alliance, president. Every so often something hap- < pens in the news that gives us! new faith in the future. It is even more heartening when we find ! such things happening among j young people, and many times it | is true that grown-ups may learn a lesson in cooperative living from I their youngsters. Just such an heartening event I occurred last week when Y-Teen j girls from all over the state were ! in conferences here last week. ! After matters of business had been ! taken care of, the girls settled i down to put into n^actice some of t* e spi 'it of tr’te C ' ‘anity and democracy that the YWCA espouses. The result was an elec tion based on abilities of people to do their job. Miss Stella woodlee emerged victorious as president. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. M. C. Woodlee of Alliance. Fourteen years old, she is in the ninth grade at Alliance high school. She plays trumpet in the band and writes for “The Spud,” school paper. She likes people and it’s evident that they too like this personable miss. She attends the AME church and assists in reporting Alliance news to “The Voice.” During the conference she was a guest at the YWCA. ' --V