The voice. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1946-195?, March 16, 1950, Image 1

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    Vol. 4, No. 21_Lincoln -**0'^* ..fwspapcr_Thursday, March 16, 1950
Housing Corporation 44 A Hots’'’
1st Units For Negro Families
According to an announcement
by R. E. Harrington, president
of Lincoln Housing, Incorporated,
and carried in Sunday Lincoln
newspapers, the corporation’s
first housing units to be built
will be offered to Negroes, The
corporation’s board of directors
find 14 lots available in a delim
ited area for which they will pay
cash or give stock in exchange.
The units would be built in an
area to which realty sales to Ne
groes is almost wholly limited
and will rent at low cost, prob
ably in the neighborhood of $35
a month.
PATTERNS IN RESTRICTION
In the face of the fact that the
housing situation is rather criti
cal, especially for Negroes (1.5
families per house), the private
concern apparently is taking ad
vantage of the recent city coun
cil action, to entrench more
deeply restrictive housing for
Negroes with a considerable
amount of exploitation of all
cititzens involved.
In many urban areas where
local governments have not
moved to prevent it, Negro
“ghettos” have developed over
the years. Generally, these sec
tions contain some decent hous
ing, but also many substandard
units, for which people are re
quired to pay high rents. When
these delimited areas become
overcrowded. unscrupulous
realty concerns make huge
profits by exploiting the Ameri
can tendency to become emotional
about the race of one’s neigh
bors. Essential to the working
of the scheme is the implantation
of the idea that the Negro “be
longs” within a certain area, and
that his presence in a neighbor
hood decreases its value (regard
less of the individual’s ability to
keep his property up).
A tract of non-Negro housing
is then selected for exploitation.
This is usually a subdivision of
some years standing. The realty
firm first buys a key piece of
property (price and considerations
are of no consequence to the
concern) and this is then sold to a
Negro family in need of housing
and with the ability to pay for it.
Next the whispering and tele
phone campaign begins. “Ne
groes have moved into your
block or section. Your property
is dropping in value daily. You
had better let us take your prop
erty off your hands while you
can get something for it,” is the
generalized approach. Usually
the white property owner is per
suaded to take a heavy loss on
his property and is paid in cash,
or in credit on a new house in a
new subdivision, or with an in
terest in the concern or in vari
ous combinations of these. The
white property owner not only
loses money on his old property,
but finds himself with a new
house and a several-thousand
dollar mortgage to pay. His old
property is then sold to a Negro
family at a high price, which he
pays because he must have the
housing, not because he thinks
he is getting his money’s worth.
This scheme is tried several
times each year in such large
cities as Chicago and Detroit,
and only recently, apparently
has been tried in Omaha.
IS PATTERN DEVELOPING
HERE?
Since about 1935, it has been
customary in Lincoln for Negro
families to be shown properties
for sale that do not lie outside of
the area bounded more or less
by “G” street, Vine, 19th and
23rd streets. Hand in hand with
this action has been the diffi
culty of obtaining sufficient
loans from lenders for properties
outside that area. Many Negroes
do not live within this delimited
area. At the present time in this
area, there is at least one house
(and in many cases, more) per
block occupied by white persons.
Relationships are good, Negroes
and whites finding each other
good neighbors.
It appears that one reason that
certain pressure groups opposed
the City Housing project was
that such housing could not be
segregated under the Federal
Housing Act or under the Fed
eral Housing Authority (FHA)
ruling barring restrictions be
cause of race, religion, etc. It
also appears that the City Coun
cil’s recent action was the go
ahead for certain groups to save
their scheme, which they have
apparently been building on for
the past 15 years, although I am
quite sure that some of the coun
cilors who voted against the fed
eral aid did not consider this
angle. It further appears that
the corporation will make its
profit on race-bating if Lincoln
ites are not alert to prevent it.
WHO PROFITS? WHO PAYS?
Of interest is the fact that the
corporation is capitalized at only
$100,000. From this amount,
does the corporation expect to
build 170 units? By fourth grade
arithmetic this works out to
about $515.30 a unit. However,
we understand from . reliable
sources that the $100,000 will be
used to borrow up to $2 million
in government funds. That seems
logical, since a new house does
cost in the neighborhood of $10,
000. Another objection to city
housing was that it would in
crease the tax burden and that
the city would have no say over
the housing authority’s officers
or records. If Mr. Taxpayer is
going to be the one to pay any
way, in the long run, ^ why
doesn’t he borrow the money
through his City Council? The
tax money (federal funds) is
contributed by all the states, and
Lincolnites pay part of those
tax^s and they will pay in more
than taxes. Incomes from a city
sponsored, unsegregated project
will be lost if the council does
not act That means money for
parks, better streets, drainage
and sanitary facilities, better
teacher pay and even Christmas
lights for some of the suburban
shopping centers will be lost.
Lincolnites will pay in more than
that: They will pay for spurn
ing the opportunity to advance
our American ideals, they may
even pay for it in the kind of so
cial unrest prevalent wherever
segregation is the rule in our
country. They will pay for it as
victims of emotional racism. And
who will profit? Lincoln Hous
ing, Incorporated?
Well, we are well aware that
the housing is desperately
needed, but most Lincolnites will
not favor entrenching segrega
tion or the idea that each group
has a “place,” nor segregation
agreements for which both whites
and Negroes pay and do not
profit.
i-eekskill Defendants Win
Delay in $2,000,000 Suit
Truman Ticks
Successor for
Judge Hastie
WASHINGTON. (ANP). Mor
ris F. de Castro, 48-year-old
member of the few native white
families of the Virgin Islands,
was nominated by President Tru
man here last week to succeed
William H. Hastie as governor of
the islands. Hastie was recently
elevated to the U. S. Circuit
Court of Appeals bench for the
third district.
De Castro, a career government
employe, is the first native Vir
gin Islander to be appointed to
the governorship. He entered
the government service as a jun
ior clerk in the Sanitation de
partment in 1918. When Hastie
left to take over the federal
judgeship, de Castro served as
acting governor of the islands.
The governor-designate told
reporters at a St. Thomas press
interview following his nomina
tion that “my nomination by
President Truman as the first na
tive governor of the Virgin Is
lands is a challenge to me as well
as to the people of the islands. It
is a significant advance in the
application of the policy of self
government to the insurer pos
session of the United States.
“I am conscious that because
I am a Virgin Islander my respon
sibility to administer good gov
ernment will be greater than that
of any of my predecessors. . .”
Zaimek Tells
Why He Made
“No Way Out”
By Harry Levette
The idea for the picture “Pinky”
had dramatic appeal and also of
fered a medium for better hu
man understanding. This was
given by Daryl F. Zanuck, head
of Twentieth Century-Fox Pro
ductions, as his reason for pro
ducing “Pinky.”
In an exclusive rapid fire in
terview your columnist managed
to learn a bit of the philosophy
of the man who has produced
such socially significant movies
as “Grapes of Wrath,” “No Way
Out,” “The Song of Bernadette,”
“How Green Was My Valley,” and
“Gentlemen’s Agreement.”
“The picture, ‘No Way Out,’ was
produced for the same reason as
‘Pinky.’ It is a story of terrific
dramatic impact, and it presents
a courageous statement of facts
without preaching. The making of
such pictures is an integral part
of my production policy, and I
will make them whenever I find
a story of suitable force and popu
lar appeal.
Although the interview was
very short it did give some in
sight into the man whose studios
have produced films with such
memorable Negro non-stereotyped
characters as . . .
Leigh Whipper as a minister
who tried to stop vigilantes from
lynching a white settler in “The
Ox-Bow Incident.” ... or the
Dorie Miller type character in
“Crash Drive” as played by the
late Ben Carter ... or the role
of Louise Clark speaking perfect
French in “Cafe Mont Marte.”
PEEKSKILL, N. Y. (ANP). Defendants in the $2,000,
000 damage suit filed by Paul Robeson, the Civil Rights
congress and others, won a delay last week in Federal Judge
Conger’s court.
The defendants are the State, Westchester County and
Peekskill officials. Judge Conger ruled that the suit filed
by Robeson and his co-plaintiffs conflicts with the present
Westchester Grand Jury probe of the anti-Negro, anti
Semitic riots that shook the nation last summer. A tty. Bella
Absug, counsel for the plaintiffs,
argued against the Judge’s opin
ion which postponed the case un
til the grand jury has finished its
investigation.
Attorney Abzug declared, “It
has never been held that because
a grand jury is considering a
matter all other courts must defer
their own business. If the con
tention of the defendants were
upheld, all other tribunals having
jurisdiction, including especially
the Federal courts, could be para
lyzed while they proceeded with
their own investigation of their
own conduct—the very conduct
complained of in this action.”
All may help
through your
RED CROSS
Girl Seoul Short
To Be Featured
Throughout U.S.
NEW YORK. (ANP). A two
reel technicolor film about girl
scouting, “Women of Tomor
row,” with a cast of colored and
white Girl Scouts, has been pro
duced by Warner Bros., in co-op
eration with the Girl Scouts of the
the USA, it was announced last
week by the National Headquar
ters of Girl Scouts. The cast is
made up of real scouts. There are
no professional actors in the film.
The picture shows some of the
things that girls from seven thru
17 do in scouting—from a Brownie
attending her first troop meeting
to a Senior Scout taking part in
an international encampment. It
demonstrates how Girl Scouting
develops better citizens and bet
ter people through a program of
activities- that are both fun and
good training.
“Women of Tomorrow,” will be
shown as a regular short subject
in theaters throughout the coun
try, beginning March 17.
Our Honor Roll
The following are some of those
who are New Subscribers or have
renewed their .subscriptions to
THE VOICE.
How does your subscription
stand?
Mrs. R. C. Brooks
Mrs. Mary Watkins
Mrs. George B. Wilder
Mrs. Roland W. Young
Mrs. Birdie Artis
Mrs. Charlotte Riley, Omaha
Mrs. Mildred Elliot, Omaha
Mrs. Esther Green, Los Angeles Calif.
Dr. James Marshall
Mrs. Pauline Ivory
Mrs. Edward C. Fisher
Rev. Philip Schug
Miss Pearl Watkins, Omaha
Mr. John Knickrehm
Rev. B. T. McDaniel, Omaha
Mrs. O. Lintz
Mrs. Rudolph Parson
Rev. Forrest M. Sttth
Mrs. Beuiah Caesar
Mrs. • J. R. Edwards
Mrs. Lillian Miller
Mrs. Fern Hubbard Orme
Women Reject
Teeth Pulling
JOHANNESBURG, S. A. (ANP).
Women of the Baila-Batonga tribe
of northern Rhodesia will not be
bound by conventions, especially
when it involved the pulling of
teeth.
Sen. J. Adams
Sunday Speaker
At Quinn Chapel
Sen. John Adams, sr., presiding
elder of the Omaha district of the
, AME church, was the Sunday
morning speaker at Quinn Chapel
last Sunday. Senator Adams has
only recently returned from
Jacksonville, Florida where he at
tended a meeting of the Council
of Bishops. The church is mak
ing great progress in expansion
of its physical facilities in the
south, he related. He also brought
highlights of the report from
South Africa on the exploitation
of the natives by the new gov
ernment.
Last week Senator Adams filed
for re-election from the 5th leg
islative district in Omaha.
Court Postpones
Decision of N.Y.
Bowling Suit
NEW YORK. (ANP). State Su
preme Court Justice Samuel H.
Hofstadter postponed a decision
on an ouster suit against the
American Bowling congress here
last week. The state attorney
general’s office has sought to bar
the ABC from New York because
of the outfit’s ban on persons
other than those of the “w’hite
male sex.”
The ABC counter with one mo
tion seeking to make the attorney
general state separately and num
ber the complaints. The attorney
general dubbed this a delay tac
tic. Goldstein followed with a
motion to force the congress to
answer the complaints within five
days.
Lest We Forget
Those W ho Are III
Mrs. Lillian Miller, St. Eliza
beth hospital.
Miss Anna Johnson, St. Eliza
beth hospital.
Mrs. Estelle Davis, St. Elizabeth
hospital.
Miss Dorothy Greene, 32221 S
street.
Mrs. Odessa Patrick, 2410 Hol
drege.
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