Speech of M. E. •’
Nationally Known Business Executive the
Firm of Bozell & Jacobs, Omaha, Nee +tia
mi t JtuiiirMJJs, i trunk i nave tne solution oi tne inter
racial problem. It is as simple as all that.
Just yesterday, while speeding
from New York to Omaha at
about 375 miles an hour in order
to be here for this important oc
casion, I discovered the solution
to the inter-racial problem. As I
sat in that airplane 14,000 feet
above the ground, speeding west,
I could take a good look down on
this earth . . with its people, its
buildings, its homes, its strife, its
prejudices.
And looking way down here,
from way up there, one couldn’t
help but have a different per
spective—a wholesome perspec
tice. Why shouldn’t one, when
the only thing between you and
the hereafter are a few pieces of
man-built mechanism, over which
you yourself have no control?
From way up there looking
down, one couldn’t help but won
der what it was all about; why
there should be occasion for re
ligious and racial hatreds in the
world below, when we have, at
best, such little time living to
gether.
What little difference there is
between race, creed and color,
when one’s individual life isn’t
very important. How little dif
ference there is, for example,
when often are fighting for their
lives on the battlefields. Amidst
the shot and shell, when men's
lives hang in the balance, there
isn’t any thought given to the race, {
creed or religion of the buddy j
fighting by one’s side. Then true
values and worth count and are
accepted at 100 per cent face
value. The inside of man counts
them not the color of his skin or
the method he uses to pray to his
God. When Eddie Rickenbacher!
an his companions were striving
to stay afloat and alive in a raft
at sea, Rickenbacher said every
man counted as an individual. No 1
one wondered then about skin ;
color and creed. The everlasting
unity and co-operation was
needed for survival, and what
mattered one’s color or religious
views. There are no race bar
riers . . no creed carriers .. there
is no intolerance at times when
the individual suddenly discovers
the importance of unity and
understanding and cooperation
among those about him for his
own individual survival.
Perhaps that’s why I felt as I
did, way up there in the sky, buf
feted about by strong winds and
tossed from airpocket to air
pocket. Yes, the complexities of
life seemed easy of solution way
up there. I couldn’t help but
think that proper understanding
could be Von by taking the in
tolerant, and the prejudiced, and
yes, the pedlers of hate and strife,
and placing them in a large air
plane. Then take them up 20,000
feet toward the heavens kill
off three of the four motors, and
let them contemplate. I think
these people would quickly realize
that one’s individual life, as im
portant as it is, takes on greater
importance when all strive ot
gether for the rights and better
ment of all .
Sure .that which I have por
trayed borders on the allegorical
something surrealistic. But the
solution of the problem, my
friends, would be simple if it
were possible to tear away the
fakery, the ignorance, the hate,
the greed, the jealousies, yes, the
inferiority complexes of fright
ened people and yet our democ
racy stand as it was supposed to
be. . . unadulterated . . . sincere
all equal before all.
UNFORTUNATELY, AS WE
ALL KNOW, that can’t be done
as simply as the words are said.;
But there must be a solution ..
there has to be. So what, then,
do the experts say. ..we of pub
lic relations and advertising ..
who get paid in the currency of
the realm—too much, say some
of our clients—for getting out
guide posts for the selling of
ideas, ideologies. . .beliefs, as well
as material things.
Too often. I believe, the mis
take is made in selling a way of
life, or a belief, in appealing to
the individual to buy the idea or
belief because it is the fair thing
to do . . . the decent thing to do
. . . because it is the right and
the humanitarian thing to do.
I am sure, my friends, you have
already grasped the idea that al
though I aim to be of service to
my fellowman, I still remain real
istic for I don’t care what type
the approach takes ... be it an
appeal to the idealistic or the
selfish side of man, the solution
is more important than style of
approach. To get the job done,
without sacrifice of principle or
dignity, is my aim.
DO YOU KNOW Aisx MIS
SIONARIES? Ask them how they
sell their religious beliefs. They
don’t appeal alone to the esthetic
sense ... or the sense of righte
ousness. They drive into the
minds of the prospects for con
version the personal benefits in
volved . . . what their salvation
will mean to them personally. I
say without hesitation there is
nothing wrong or sacrilegious in
that approach. The man is won
over to God and he, personally,
benefits through his salvation.
Even among us. . . what do peo
ple, in most instances, pray for?
They pray for health . . . for hap
piness . . . they pray to be kept
from plagues and famines . . .
they even pray for rain ... all
appeals for personal benefits!
That is why 1 say it could be
that the approyh to this prob
lem, to win greater interest and
understanding, might be wrong.
Let us take a professional look.
Instead of telling Mr. John Q.
Public that he should be rhore
tolerant, more understanding,
more cooperative because it is the j
fair, honest and decent thing to;
do . . . and we must admit this I
approach hasn’t worked well up- 1
to-date . . . perhaps it might be
best to start selling Mr. Public
on the fact that he should do
it because of what it means to
him . . . his family and all others
about him ... in benefits . . .
benefits of value to him person
ally. And the best part of it is,
there are a multitude of personal
benefits involved.
When I refer to valued- per
sonal benefits, I am not referring
solely to financial or commercial
advantages expressed and em
phasized when approaches are
made to industrial and business
heads to cooperate in the Urban
League program. I know of the
type of approach made by your
League in connection with locat
ing and upgrading of employment
. . . ana 1 Deueve in u, lor l
think, as I have already stated,
you have the right to appeal to
the selfish, financial, or other
side of man or industry, if that
will help solve the problem.
When I referred to valued per
sonal benefits, I meant better and
happier living; greater national
unity, of greater importance now
to every person than ever be
fore, during these days of world
strife; a better country for each
person to enjoy.
Remember Hemingway’s For
Whom the Bell Tolls—“Every
man’s death diminishes me for I
am involved, so never send to
know for whom the bell tolls
the bell tolls for thee.”
Too many people can’t under
stand that no one suffers alone;
when one diminishes another, he
diminishes himself. When a per
son participates in destroying the
dignity of another, he is degrad
ing himself and, thereby, degrad
ing his community and his coun
try. Everyone suffers.
When a Negro, holding a mas
ter’s degree, has to take employ
ment as a porter, it diminishci
me, and it diminishes everyone
else. For only by building highei
the standards of living for all, car
I hope to upgrade and make trulj
secure my own standards.
I HAVE BEEN ADVISED tha
in the last two years nine oul
of ten of Negro college educated
i youth who have been trained in
our local and state universities
at the taxpayers’ expense have
left Omaha and have gone to
other communities where they
can make their contributions.
Omaha and the people of Omaha
can ill afford to lose these well
trained, well educated citizens.
When the Negro community loses
these fine people, educated at the
taxpayers’ expense, every person
in this entire community loses,
directly and indirectly. Yes, it
even effects directly the cash
registers of the business and in
dustrial institutions.
We have community losses,
too, as a result of the dispropor
tionate relief, crime, and health
costs, the result of social pres
sures so far as jobs, housing, and
educational opportunities are
concerned.
A CITY IS JUST AS GOOD
as the contributions each of its
citizens has an opportunity to
make. There is a very strong
correlation between the extent
of discrimination in a community
and the standard of living for all
people in the community as evi
denced by the Southern states,
which fall at the lower end of
the scale in standards of living.
Only through integration can
suspicions and hostilities be re
moved, because people can only j
understand each other when
they know each other.
I need not remind you of the
tremendous loss in international
prestige and the suspicions creat
ed in th minds of two-thirds of
the world’s population who hap
pen to be non-white because of
the continuation of the treatment
accorded our Negro citizens.
Just think of the price we are
paying now to protect precious
freedoms and liberty. A tre
mendous price of American lives!
is being paid to protect the free- j
doms of people throughout the
world. We proclaim that com-.
munism is a dangerous threat to !
our American freedoms and in- j
dividual rights. We are willing
to send our young men to battle.;
even to death, to all parts of
the world ,to make secure these
freedoms for others, so that we;
may make our rights more >
secure. But what about the
freedoms at home? To make
safe the freedoms throughout
the world we must make safe
the freedoms for all races, creeds;
Rev. Rucker Dies
In Lincoln
Rev. Thomas Rucker, 73, of
Omaha, a retired army captain,
died Wednesday in Lincoln. Rev.
Rucker lived in Omaha 35 years
where he was assistant pastor
of St. John A.M.E. church. Fu
neral service and burial was in
Omaha.
and religions at home, in our
cfwn country.
We can do so only by a united
front, built on a foundation of
equal rights and freedoms, for all
Americans. Otherwise we might j
win on a foreign battlefield and
lose the battle for a true demo
cracy at home. If we don’t win
the battle of freedoms and equal
rights at home, we will weaken
the structure of our own demo-1
cracy, which is today the foun
tain-head of world democracy.
We must wipe out any source
which strenghtens the ideologies
of communism which might bring
about the loss of our own free
doms and rights, regardless
whether it be in Korea, or
Europe, or at 24th and Lake
Straeets, or at 16th and Famam
Streets.
DISCONTENT AND FURS
TRATION opens the doors of the
mind to the appeals of destruc
tive agitators; it can’t help bu
make foreign ideologies appeal
more attractive. Too many of us
who fortunately are able to en
joy the full freedoms our coun
try offers, take for granted thes
freedoms, not realizing or ap
; predating fully that these free
(doms can be kept absolutely
secure for ourselves only by mak
ing these same freedoms and
I rights possible for every Amer
j ican citizen, regardless of race,
| creed, religion, or color.
And in my humble opinion,
never before in the history of our
country has there been as great
a need for unity and understand
ing on the part of all of the
people of our country for the pro
tection of our American freedoms,
our American institutions, our
way of life yes, our free enter
prise system upon which rests
our complete American economy,
But for our free enterprise system
to be secure always, to continue
strong always, not some Amer
icans must be given equal oppor
tunities to obtain its benefits.
So, my friends, others than
Negroes must be convinced that
this racial problem is not a Negro
problem; it is a community pro
blem.
It is a problem, In whose solu
tion, rests great benefits and
/alues for all Americans. Full
democratic participation by all of
our citizens benefits all of our
citizens.
Can you understand now why,
I stated, at the outset, that per- i
haps the wrong approach has
been made to win the minds and
hearts of the people? Can you
understand now why I quoted
from Hemingway’s “For Whom
the Bell Tolls?” For only by
building can we improve our own
position, and receive the benefits.
Only by upgrading, rather than
undergrading our fellowmen do
we upgrade our own living
standards and receive the bene-I
fits. Because when the bell tolls1
for you, and you, it tolls for me
also. No one can diminish another
without diminishing himself and
those about him.
WE ALL KNOW that in the
main, prejudice against a particu- 1
lar race or creed is the result!
; mainly of lack of opportunities
for personal contact and ac
quaintanceship; lack of under
standing; or a natural apathy—
and unfortunately, in too many
instances, just plain ignorance.
But 1 can’t help but wonder
sometimes whether it wouldn’t
make for greater progress in
racial unity in this country, if we
declared the adult citizenship a
total loss from the standpoint of
inter-racial education and under
standing, and concentrated all of
the energy, all of the planning,
and all of the expenditures on
programming among the youth.
Action might be delayed for a
few years; we might lose the
greater part of one generation,
but for the long range pull it
might be the best thing to do.
No—we can’t do that, can we?
We Americans seek action now;
we are an impatient people; we
won’t wait that long to hear the
cash register of human better
ment ring. And also perhaps there
are some among the adults to
whom we can deliver inter-racial
salvation, so let’s carry forward
the work with even greater in
tensification.
May I venture the suggestion
to you, however, that the Urban
League be built not as an organ
ization to win rightful rights for
Negroes but as an organization
whose ultimate purpose is to up
grade the living standards of
everyone by winning equal op
portunities for all American citi
zens. Sure, you should continue
to represent the Negro primarily
in winning his legal and moral
rights, but don’t overlook the fact
that as you do this you make for
a better community, for a better
country and for greater palm
Continued cm Page S, CmL 1
Sen. Adams’ Plea
Fails to Revive
F.E.P. Measure
Nebraska Legislators refused to
resurrect LB 69, the Fair Em
ployment Practice Bill which was
introduced by Sen. John Adams.
The vote was 13 to 4 to raise
the bill killed by the labor com
mittee. Twenty-six members did
not vote. Twenty-two votes are
necessary to raise a bill killed by
committee.
SEN. JOHN ADAMS of Omaha,
the legislature’s only Negro, made
an impassioned, half-hour speech
in behalf of his L.B. 69.
“My motion asks that you give
working men a chance to work,
wage earners a chance to main
tain in dignity their homes,” he
pleaded.
The senator called his col
leagues’ attention to a resolution
passed by the 1949 legislature
calling for a legislative council
study of F.E.P. legislation.
THE COUNCIL committee
found that there were unfair em
ployment practices in the state
and recommended “home rule”
legislation to curb them.
He called opposition to bills
like his “antiquated, unreason
able, flagrantly immoral, against
the teachings of science, abject
’ blindness toward the trend of
present-day civilization, con
> trary to good America* and,
■ in a cosmopolitan melting pot
■ such as ours, absolutely destruc
i tive of democratic intentions, es
- tablishments and ends hoped for.”
THE VOTE on Adams’ motion
r to raise the bill:
For—
J. Adam. Hill Tvrdik
T Adams Klaver Williams
Burney Larkin Wilson
Carmody Moulton
Carmer Syas
Against—
Hoyt Nelson Pizer
McKnlgrht __
