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.c.V^ cwspaper Thursday, October 27, 1949
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1946 • Third Anni\ *ary Edition • 1949
Our Community Needs And
Community Communications
Through the years I have attended numerous conven
tions, each with some lofty-sounding slogan like “Through
difficulties, fo the stars,” or centered about some equally
remote goal. I have come away from numerous conventions
and seen that people very often do not live up to the high
ideals in which they basically believe. Since I have been with
The Voice, however, I have found an unremitting dedication
to the promotion of what is good
in the social, cultural and spirit
ual life of the community.
Begun three years ago on faith
in being able to serve a commun
ity need, The Voice was born as
an acceptance of the challenge to
exist. During the year past our
keynote has been service. Since
nothing justifies its existence in
our society if it is not of service,
and service shall continue to be
basic with us.
Perhaps one of the greatest j
hindrances to peace in the world J
is man’s inability to communicate j
and understand readily so vast a j
variety of his fellow humans. In j
our own country and state, the
lack of communication between
ethnic groups has led to avoidance
and prejudices based in igno
rance. If we have helped bridge
that gap, perhaps we have been
of service.
Advertising (which is really a
specialized form of news) helps
the seller communicate with the
buyer. If nothing more, it lets
you (the buyer) know which sell
ers are interested in YOU. The
natural recognition of this has led
to increased numbers of buyers
making their purchases from peo
ple that are interested in them,
and advertising has thus become
established as a business serving
a human need.
Perhaps one of the widest
ranges of news items fall in the '
social category. Many former |
Lincoln residents say it is like a
letter from home. And of course,
locally, Mrs. A. can’t make all
the tea parties, but she would
like to know who was there and
what went on. This, too, is part
of community living.
With the growing complexity
of life in our civilization, there is
also a growing need for contact
with people. Your friends, and
neighbors, can meet around this
giant roundtable to discuss their
problems in community devel
opment, and especially, as’ com
pared to what other similar com
munities are experiencing. Pre
literate peoples mostly have poor
means of communication. Being
able to exchange ideas “man to
man” or “man with man” is the
basis of our cultural development
and mutual understanding. Com
munity communication is basic
for the speedy supply of commun
ity needs. If The Voice has
contributed toward that commu
nication, it has justified its exist
ence in progressive community
life.—C.M.G.
The Associated Negro Press Tells Story of
Qetting News to the People, Pioneered Field
By The Associated Negro Press
News plays an important part in the lives of most people. They plan their activities
along lines influenced by the happenings recorded in the news of the day, and chart their
lives as a result of the interpretations which they place upon the information gleaned
from that news.
That there should be a particular variety of news . . . Negro news, as it were ... is
merely an outgrowth of the dual existence which Negroes, as a group, lead here in Amer
ica. The better informed among us keep abreast with the daily happenings . . . world
wide, country-wide, state and city-wide . . . and then, more or less as looking through a
glass darkly, we seek to keep familiar with another type of occurrence . . . that which re
lates to the particular part of which our own racial group plays in these world, na
tional, state, city and neighbor
hood affairs. It is upon this lat
ter information and our interpre
tation of it that we build this
separate existence of ours. The
first concerns us as Americans . . .
the second as American Negroes.
One of the results of this color
difference in American life has
been the development of the larg
est group of special or class pub
lications in the country, designed
to fill the needs of colored peo
ple who want information about
life peculiar to themselves . . . in
formation which can find little
outlet in daily newspapers or pe
riodicals of general circulation.
There are, roughly, more than
200 newspapers devoting them
selves to the task of supplying
^ news to Negroes. They have a
I combined reading public in ex
cess of two million. Individual
newspapers of this group have
various methods of gathering the
information which they print.
Some of the stronger papers main
tain large, and competent staffs
whose business it is to collect,
shape, and present news, features,
and special articles of different
types. Most of the larger papers
rely as well upon news-gather
ing and news-distributing organ
izations to secure much of the
material used in their pages, and
many of the smaller publications
depend almost entirely upon such
sources for news outside their
communities.
The standard and pioneer news
gathering and -distributing agency
is the Associated Negro Press, es
tablished in 1919, is the first suc
cessful news organization devel
oped by Negroes. It was founded
after the director, Claude A. Bar
nett, had spent a year in travel
ing and making surveys for the
purpose of appointing representa
tives for the Chicago Defender.
This tour had brought him into
contact with most of the editorial
offices in the country, and had
made plain the fact that the chief
weakness of the newspapers at
that time was their glaring lack
of dependable facilities for secur
ing news. The improvement in
news presentation since that time
has been marked.
“ANP” as the pioneer news
distributing organization is fa
miliarly known, as a co-operative
(Continued on Page 4)
Hastie Named Judge
Local NAACP
Sets Election
For Nov. 3
Membership
Roundup Set
For Oct. 31
The Lincoln branch of the Na
tional Association for the Ad
vancement of Colored People has
set its election meeting for Thurs
day, November 3. Rev. Robert
Moody, president of the associa
tion, reported that a nominating
committee has been named, in
cluding Clayton P. Lewis, Frank
McWilliams, Clyde Malone and
Odessa Johnson.
A membership roundup has
been set for Monday, October 31
at the Urban League building. At
the dinner meeting, scheduled for
6 p. m. on that date, a musical
program has been planned for en
tertainment. On the program is
Elois Finley, who will sing, the
Hub of Harmony under the direc
tion of Frank Hale and piano
selections by Barbara Moody. Mrs.
Basilia Bell, membership chair
man, is in charge of the infor
mation part of, the program. Res
ervations for the dinner may be
had by calling 2-4673.
Sunday, October 30, has been
designated “NAACP Day” in some
Lincoln churches and programs
have been planned accordingly.
Other stories about the NAACP
on Pages 1 and 11.
V. of IS. Regents Redefine Rules
For Dorm Entrance; Racial And
Religious Bias Will Be Stopped
Some three years of research
and delays finally bore fruit last
week when the University of Ne
braska Board of Regents met in
Lincoln. Among other actions
taken was the redefinition of the
rules for entrance to the girls
dormitories at the university.
Formerly they held that Negro
and certain foreign students must
live at the International House.
This policy was restated as re
cently at 1944. In 1946, the Uni
versity YWCA began a study of
dorm housing discrimination and
published its findings in a pamph
let in 1947. Renewed interest was
taken in the situation last year,
and since then several student
groups including the Mortar
Board, girls political organiza
tion as well as religious organi
zations and the Council of
Church Women supported the
move. Only last Wednesday,
the Interim Student Council
passed a resolution to inform the
i*egents by letter that they op
posed all racial, religious or
similar qualifications for admis
sion, stating that they felt only
the order of applications should
be considered.
As for the girls themselves, two
polls taken this year showed an
overwhelming majority of the
girls favoring the abolition of
discrimination, said Ruth Soren
son, Religious Welfare president
and YWCA member. About 90
percent favored the change. I
Under the redefinition, appli
cations may be accepted from
any freshman student, irrespec
tive of race, creed or color for
residence in the women’s dormi
tories on the campus.
This discrimination has never
existed in the men’s dorms since
their construction in 1948.
Organizations that sent letters to the
regents in the ‘nterest of their actions
were: City can pus and ag campus
YWCA, Mortar Board, Tassels, Associ
ated Women’s Society, Religious Welfare
Council, Presbyterian House, B’nai Brith,
Father Whitley, Student .Council, Exec.
Committee of Lincoln Council of Church
Women, B. A. B, W.. Ag Institute Youth
Fellowship, several professors and stu
drifts, YWCA Advisory board and Public 1
Affairs group of Lincoln YWCA.
Virgin Islands Governor Named
ToFederalBench; Appointment
Highest Judicial Post To Negro
WASHINGTON, D. C. (NNPA). President Truman
nominated William H. Hastie, governor of the Virgin
Islands, for judge of the third United States Court of Ap
peals at Philadelphia.
The judgeship, to which Hastie was appointed, is one of
27 newly created federal circuit and district judgeships.
Appointment of Governor Has
tie to the highest judicial post to
which a colored man was ever
named is intended to give recog
nition to colored Democrats.
CAMPAIGNED FOR TRUMAN
In addition to having done ex
cellent administrative jobs as ci
vilian aide to the Secretary of
War during World War II and as
governor of the Virgin Islands,
Hastie did a fine job campaigning
for President Truman a year ago.
He perhaps drew bigger audi
ences, and his speeches were per
haps more effective with colored
voters in pivotal states than any
colored person who campaigned
for Mr. Truman.
Hastie was appointed Governor
of the Virgin Islands in 1946.
Prior to that appointment, he had
not been active in partisan poli
tics. The President’s civil rights
program is believed to be a factor
in Hastie’s decision to take up the
cudgels for Mr. Truman.
FORMER LAW DEAN*
Hastie is a graduate of Dunbar
high school here, Amherst college
and Harvard law school. After
graduation from Harvard he en
gaged in the private practice of
law here as a member of the firm
of Houston, Houston and Hastie,
and for a time he was assistant
solicitor of the Interior depart
ment. Later, he became dean of
the Howard university law school.
During the war, while on leave
from Howard university, he serv
ed as civilian aide to Secretary of
War Henry L. Stimson.
Hastie resigned the position be
cause of differences with the Air
Force over its racial policies. He
returned to the deanship of the
Howard law school, where he re
mained until his appointment as
governor of the Virgin Islands.
No great difficulty is anticipat
ed over Senate confirmation of
his nomination to be a judge of
the third circuit court.
Question of his Americanism
was thoroughly gone into by a
Senate committee at the time his
nomination as governor of the
Virgin Islands was under consid
eration, and he came out of the
inquiry with flying colors.
NAACP Votes
ToKeep W alter
White On Staff
NEW YORK. (ANP). Voting
unanimously in favor of Walter
White, the board of directors of
the NAACP last week rebuffed
the New York branch, and refused
to fire Walter White as executive
secretary of the association.
The New York branch had sent
a letter to each of the 48 members
of the national board requesting
the permanent resignation of
White from his post. The branch
had cited three reasons for not
wanting White, now on a year's
leave of absence, to return to
office:
1. The dismissal of Dr. W. E. B.
DuBois from the NAACP.
2. The furor caused by the so
called political articles written by
White for daily newspapers dur
ing the 1948 political campaign.
3. The recent article in Look
magazine “Has Science Conquered
the Color Line?” Written by
White—which according to the
local branch has caused dissension
among numerous branches.
Another alleged cause was *aid
to be the dropping of Judge Jane
M. Bolin from the national boerd
(Continued on Page 4)
New South Is Here
GREENSBORO, N. C. (ANP).
A new South is here, Senator
Kefauver of Tennessee declared
here last week.
“Dixie is sending more and
more liberal senators and repre
sentatives to Congress,” he said.
“State legislatures are taking
wholesome steps in civil liberty
fields to protect the rights of their
minorities. It’s a trend—a definite
trend . . .
“Who’s responsible? Why, I
think it’s the Teadership in the
churches, increased organization
of labor in the South and certainly
better methods of farming.
“There was a time in the south
I when any candidate for political
office felt he had to be ultra-re
j actionary and damn labor and the
Negro before he got started. I
think that spirit has been greatly
changed if not entirely broken.”
