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About The Omaha guide. (Omaha, Neb.) 1927-19?? | View Entire Issue (April 27, 1935)
The Truth on What Happened in Harlem Not a “Race Riot” By Frank D. Griffin. Field Organizer, International Labor Defense, New York Dis trict. New York.—With four nxen dead from the bullets and clubs of police, with scores horribly in jured, with eleven persons under indictment in a shameless frame up designed to cover up ihe truth, with two courts rapidly grinding out jail sentences on any and no evidence against the 150 ci izens placed under arrest hrdialaiaaoa who; placed under arrest; Har lem, largest Negro city in the world, stands revealed by the events ox the past week as a com munity in which Southern terror, Suthern Jim (Jrowism, Southern bruiality, Southern s.arvation of tne Negro people ,are the order of die day. An investigation by the local interna ional Labor Defense shows Harlem to be, not the “cen ter of freedom and plenty’’ it is popularly reputed, but a Dixie eome-North, a community with the customs and practices of the Southern white rulers transplant ed into .he very soil of New York. It was against the customs and prae.ices that the masses of Har lem directed their wrath in the spontaneous outburst of March 19 and the stormy days and night! that toilowed. 1'ierc'eing the fog of conflicting rumors, and the barrage of lies and slander against the Negro people and the militant wnite w orkers Of Harlem, that have been diligen.ly spread by city officials, by police and by the press led the yellow lynch-sheets of \\ idiam Randolph ilearst, the I. L. D. in vestigation has been able 10 es tablish definite and significan' facts concerning the Events in Harlem. Not a “Race Riot. ’ What happened in Harlem was no “race riot,” although this term has been used almost ex clusively by the press to descritx the Harlem events. There was no general anger against Harlem’s white working class population. The tales of a.tacks agains*. white working people are deliberate lies. WThat happened in Harlem was not an “outburst of savagery,” as the Hearst press would have ii, nor were the much-adveriised theft and iooting more than spor adic, insignificant, negligible in cidents in the whole affar. The Harlem events were not “instiga.ed by agitators attempt ing to set one race against anoth er,” as ciy officials attempt to show in their frantic efforts to throw up a smoke-screen thta will hide their own guilt. Teh events of the past ten days in Harlem were a revolt against twentieth century Negro slavery in New York. An undisciplined, spontaneous revolt,it is true. But nevertheless, bascially, an expres sion tf the long pent up anger of the people of Harlem, tormented by hunger and the stormy indif ference of relief agencies, infuri ated by the denial of the right to work even in their ow'n communi ty, tortured and goaded by the sight of children huddled in over crowded tenements, terrorized by police trained in the best tradi tions of Southern peon farm and chain-gang, humiubated and shamed daily and hourly by the thousand and one petty insults, abuses, meannesses degradations of the elaborate complex, sublte Jim Crowism thta holds sway in New York. Hunger, terror, job lessness and humilation were the tinded that awaited only the spark of some particularly brazen act of oppression. On March 19 that spark kinlded a flame of re volt that swept through Harlem like a prairie fire fanned by a high wind. These are tne trains wnicn nun dreds of Negro and white citizens are erady to present to the may or’s committee when it meets in open session next Saturday. These are the facts which led the International Labor Defense and other militant organiztaions to de mand that the city set free the arresed workers, indict and try the police responsible for the kil lings and beatings of the last few days, put an end to police brutali ty,* abolish discrimination and Jim Crowism in New York in its every form. These facts will form the basis of the defense by the I. L. D. of seven -workers, three of them Negroes, now under indict ment in a monstrous frame up de signed to cover the truth about Harlem. „ , The Spark Almost any eorner of oppres suffering Harlem might have fee*’ the scene of the beginning of the outburst. And yefit was bo* altogether an accident that the storm gathered first m one of the stores of the Kress-chaw^at 125th Street and EightllAimj The Kress chain of stores has earned the hatred of the people ef Harlem by its consistent an deliberate and refusal to hire Ne-, g oes except in positions of port ers and scrubwoman. This parti cular store has wi.hin the last iew months been the scene of militant picketing by Negro and white workers, demanding that Negroes be among those hired as salesgirls and floorwalkers, and in all the better paying jobs. At about 4:30 on ihe aiternoon of March 19, a young boy entered the store. die was accused by salespeople of attempting to steal some small article from one of the counters. Because the boy was a Negro, it was almost a routine ma.ter to seize him, and drag him to the basement to beaT him un mercifully. Negro and white shoppers saw the incident. A committee of men and women, con aining a number 01 whites, sprang up spontaneous ly, went to the rear or the store, ut-manded to see tne manager, ihey asked tha. the boy be set itt-e. Trite manager refused satis faction. The crowd inside the Si.ure waited, tense and angry. A ' rumor that the boy had been .aken to the 121st Street Police b.atiou sent the delegation flying here. The police rustled them out or the station, a.id would give no answer .o their inquiries about Hie boy's life and safety. The Police Amve Then ihe cry: “Bring that boy upstairs. Turn him loose. Quit beating' him” was taken up out s.ue ne store. A crowd gathered svvirt y. Almost a.. once the po lice arrived. There was no doubt in the minds of the police as to the proper course oi action. These people were “niggers”—lie only to be shoved about, beaten, kick ed, mauled and arrested. Clubs descended on shoulders and heads. Mounted police clattered up, their horses charging from sidewalk to sidewalk, ruthlessly trampling the people. Policemen fired iheir guns into the air. 'ihese are all the customary police methods of terrorizing Harlem’s population—and now they were applied again, once too of.cn. From mouth to mouth flew the word: “We got the right to our own sidewalks: We got the right to protect our kids. Don’t let them shove us around.” The, word was taken up by the crowds pouring out of the neighborhood theaters and subway entrances. There was still no news of the boy who had vanished into the depths of the store. It was now, according to the testimony of dozens of eye wit nesses, but the police proceeded to define, open provocation. Miss Louise Thompson, well-known Ne gro intellectual, who was on the scene from the beginning describ es the attitude of the police at this point as deliberately egging on to attack them . Police provocation “Come on ,hit us, we dare you” the police yelled. They col lared Harry Gordon, a white youth, punched him, and shrieked in his face: “Hit a cop, will you, you bastard.” From one cynical, brutal policeman to the other were branded the words: “God damn niggers, ought to be strung up like they do ’em in the South.” “Few feet of rope’s good enough for 'em. “Hitler has the right idea—he’d know how to deal with these niggers.” The sentenc es were punctuated by blows, kicks, and cuffs, aimed at all Ne groes and white workers within reach. The fury of the crowd toook form. Someone threw a brick through the window of the Kress store—this store that had so long taken thei pennies, that had so long spit in thei faces when they asked fo wok. Aound the front o fdozens o white owned business houses, from which Negro work lo try SWEET GEORGIA BROWN HAIR DRESSING and Face "POWDER. So don't »alt 1 Be enre to get year FREE Samiflee. Tact tend name, address and Se stamp for mailing eoata. SAMPLES and BEAU TY BOOK will be sent you right away. We will also eend yon oar Big Money ■Uikfag age its* proposition. Don't mis* this big off*. Writs today, Says "Send ■e agents* offer and FREE Samples." VALM5R PRODUCTS CO., Dept. 616 5249 Cottage Grove Ave., Chicago, 111. 1 ers were barred as employees, a crowd gathered, venting its long accumulated wraih. Stores owned by Negroes, stores hiring a share of Negro labor, were passed by. Nor were there attacks on white workers, many of whom mingled freely with the crowd. On this point .he accounts of all eye wit nesses are unanimous. Someone suggested setting fire to certain stores. Above these stores lived poverty s. ricken white workers. “Those white working folks suffer plenty in those up stairs tenements. Leave them alone,” wa sthe word that pas sed through the crowd. And those houses remained untouched. Police Kill Four. (5ne or two hours was not enough to express the suffering of years. Not until almost daWa were the streets of Harlem quiet. By that time, three men had been carried away, dead or dying, first victims of the police assault. James Thompson died of a bullet fired by a patrolman. Andrew Lyons died of injudies inflicted by police clubs. These were Ne groes. Augus. Miller, a white man, was the third victim of the policemen’s blood lust. These murders were followed by the de liberate killing, on Saturday, of a Negro worker, Edward Laurie, who dared to “talk back” to a white patrolman. In an attempt to distort ihe character of the revolt, police and newspapers made much talk of loo ing and robbery. All eye witnesses but policemen and oth ers with a stake in the opppres sion of Negro Harlem are agreed on this. There was almost no loot ing. And equally significant what looting there was consisted of the taking of food and clothing alone, the necessi.ies of life which these people had been systemati cally deprived. Almost 150 arrests took place that Tuesday night. Police laid -,heir hands on the people nearest, dealt them a few blows as a foretaste of beatings to come, and flung them into patrols. I wanf to give here the accounts of some of those who passed that night in the Harlem jails. Their stories rival those that have come out of the Nazi Germany’s con centration camps to shock the world. I talked with Frank Wells a young Negro, while he was still doubled up with the pain of beat ings he had received in the police station. A brick had gone through the window of the Willow Cafe teria. Police ran down the slreet, one of them seizing Wells, who had had nothing to do with the brick. One policeman felled him with a blow, another jumped on him. At the 123rd Street police station he was hit in the ribs with nightsticks, beaten with a rubber hose, w'hich descended in regular rhythm across his face, his head, his shoulders. Continued on Page 8 Legal Notices Attorney Ray L. Williams, Room 200 j Tuchman Bldg., 24th and Lake St. NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION In the County Court of Douglas County, Nebraska: In the Matter of the Estate of Hattie Williams, (Johnson), Deceased. All persons interested in said estate are hereby notified that a petition has been filed in said Court alleging that said deceased died leaving no last will and praying for administration upon her estate, and that a hearing will be had on said petition before said court on the 11th day of May, 1935, 1 and that if they fail to appear at said I Court on the said 11th day of May, ! 1935, at 9 o’clock A- M. to contest said petition, the Court may grant the 1 same and grant administration of said estate to W. L. Myers, or some other : suitable person and proceed to a set tlement thereof. Br; ce Crawford, Begins 4-20-35 County Judge Ends 5-4-35 No. 1 Attorney Ray L. Williams, Room 200, I Tuchman Bldg., 24th and Lake St. PROBATE NOTICE In tha Matter of the Estate of Houston Murdock, Deceased Notice is hereby given: That the i creditors of said deceased will meet the administrator of said estate, be fore me, County Judge of Douglas County, Nebraska, at the County Court Room, in said County, on the 10th day of June, 1935, and on the 10th day of August, 1935, at 9 o’clock A. M., each day, for the purpose of j presenting their claims for examina J tion, adjustment and allowance. Three j months are allowed for the creditors j to present their claims, from the 10th | day of May, 1935. Bryce Crawford, Begins 4-20-35 County Judge Ends 5-4-35 No. 2 WEAK AND SKINNY MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN S»T*d by new V itamina of Cod Liver Oil in tasteleM tablets. Pounds of firm healthy flesh instead of bare scraggy bones I New vigor, vim and energy instead of tired listlessness I Steady, Quiet nerves! That ia ;what thousands of people are getting through scientists' latest discovery—the Vitamins of Cod Liver Oil concentrated In little sugar coated tablets without any of its horrid, fishy taste or smell. McCoy's Cod Liver Oil Tablets, they’re called I “Cod Liver Oil in Tablets’’, and they simply work wonders. A little boy of 3, seri ously sick, got well and gained 10 yi lbs. in juat one month. A girl of thirteen after the same disease, gained 3 lbs. the first week and 2 lbs. each week after. A young mother who could not eat or sleep after baby came got all her health back and gained 10 lbe. in less than a month. Yen simply must tar McCoy’s at once. Remember if you don’t gain at least 3 lbs. of firm healthy flesh In a month get your money back. Demand and get MeCoy’s-the original aad genuine Cod Liver Toil Tablet! —approved by Good Housekoepinf Institute. Refuse all substitutes— insist on the origins] McCoy’s— there are none better. Attorney Ray L. Williams, Room 200, Tuchman Bldg., 24th and Lake Street. NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION In the County Court of Douglas Coun ty, Nebraska: In the Matter of the Estate of John White, Deceased. All persons interested in said es tate are hereby notified that a petition has been filed in said Court alleging that said deceased died leavIng no last will and praying for administration | upon his estate, and that a hearing will be had on said petition before said court on the 18th day of May, ! 1935, and that if they fail to appear i at said Court on the said 18th day of May, 1935, at 9 o'clock A. M. to con test said petition, the Court may grant the same and grant administration of said estate to Joseph D. Lewis or some other suitable person and pro ceed to a settlement therof. Begins 4-27-35 Bryce Crawford Binds 5-11-35 County Judge Attorney Ray L. Williams, Room 200, Tuchman Bldg., 24th and Lake Street. In the County Court of Douglas Coun ty, Nebraska: In the Matter of the Estate of I Ellen White, deceased All persons interested in said estate are hereby notified that a petition has been filed in said Court alleging that said deceased died leaving no last will and praying for administration upon his estate, and that a hearing will be had on said petition before said court on the 18th day of May, 1935, and that if they fail to appear at said Court on the said 18th day of May, 1935, at 9 o’clock A- M. to contest said peti tion, the Court may grant the same and grant administration of said es tate to Joseph D. Lewis or some other suitable person and proceed to a settle I ment thereof Begins 4-27-35 Bryce Crawford Ends 5-11-35 County Judge i Renewing the Pledge of Service By R A Adams (For The Literary Service Bureau) | Sometimes, I would be satisfied, All efforts cease, and cast aside Ambitions fond, content to be From worries and from strivings free. Thus thinking, with what I possess, I’d live a life of happiness, And, satisfied with what is done, Calmly await life’s setting sun. And yet, a something from within, Reminds me ’twould be an awful sin, To let life’s precious moments fly, While all my talents rusting ife. j Then, banishing the guilty thought, I Knowing, in spite of all, I ought | Still labor on, till ife is spent, Striving for human betterment. My ped,ge of service I renew, Fully resolve, with might, to do Whatever work my hands may find, To serve and bless my fallowkind. Societyjfeaden. TELLS HOW TO HAVE LOVEIY CLEAR SKIN “I have been using Dr. FRED Pal mer’s Skin Whitener Ointment for years and have found it wonderful. |It is the best." These are the grate ful words of beautiful Miss Aloah j Vaughn, social leader in Norfolk, Va., who like thousands of others insist on Dr, FRED Palmer’s to make her skin lovely shades lighter, brighter and free from blackheads, pimples and blemishes. I^for FREE TEST " If you would like to know how famous Stage and screen Stars im prove their complexxions with Dr. FRED Palmer Products, send 3c post age for FREE Samples of Dr. FRED Palmer’s Skin Whitener Ointment, Soap and Face Powder to Dr. FRED Palmer Laboratories, Dept 205, At lanta, Ga. Classified Ads and Business DIRECTORY Help us to Build Bigger and Better Business. The Omaha Guide in its Eighth Year and is offering a New and Greater Service to its Readers and Advertisers through this Weekly Clasified Directory of Community and City. j THREE Room, modem apartment for rent- Price reasonable to right part. Call WE- 2500 2 room Kitchenette Apt. for rent, light water and heat for the room fur nished. Mrs. Johnson, 2914 No. 25th Street. For Permanent Guest, reasonable rates. 1916 Cuming St. Furnished Apartments, Reasonable. WEbster 2243. FOR RENT: Apt. with gas, elec tricity, heat, hot and cold water at all hours- Telephone WE. 4285. LOVE’S Kitchenette apartment for rent at 2518 Patrick Ave., 1702 N. 26 St., and 2613 Grant St. We. 5553 FOR SALE—Beautiful 8 room, modern home, wonderfully constructed, steam-heated, 4 large bed rooms, beautiful basement and back yard, screened-in front porch for sale at your owrn price to close an estate. Call at 2212 Burdette Street for further informat :n. FURNISHED Room, modern for rent, i Half block from car line. Call WE- j 2582. FOR RENT—Unfurnished room and kitchenette, light, gas, heat, furnish ed, 2909 No. 26th Street. The Michael Beauty Shoppe for Price Reduction at 2115 N. 27th St., We. 5633. For apartments, rooms and houses for rent and sale, call Dixon’s Real Estate. AT. 7435. Room for rent in private family, 2642 Binney St. Two room apt. and use of kitchen We. 4162. One 3 room apt. for rent. WE. 4044 or 1417 N. 24th Street. Melton’s Lunch, Sanitary Cooking, 2011 N. 24th Street. THE ONE HORSE STORE W. L. Parsley, Propr. Phone Web. 0567 2851 Grant Omaha, Nebr. Furnished room for rent. WE. 4862. Kaiman Drug Co., 1406 N. 24th St., Prescriptions. Ice cream 25c quart, 15c pint, free delivery, Ja. 7183, Jack Kaiman, Pharmacist. FOR RENT—Modern furnished rooms Call WEbster 4042. HELP WANTED: FEMALE Wanted 12 women from the age of 16 to 35. Good income. Call in per son at the Guide Office, 2418-20 Grant Street. BETTER RADIO SERVICE A. E. and J. E. Bennett, 2215 Cum mings St. Phone Ja- 0696 SHOE REPAIR SHOPS YOUR OWN—LAKE SHOE SERV ICE NONE BETTER; 2407 Lake St Frank Stuto, Shoe Repairing while you wait, 24201-4 Cuming Street. Money from Lapsed Insurance Poli cies. 309 Arthur Bldg. Office hours 2:30 tt 5:00 P. M. Telephone Jackson 0370. 4—8t SAVE TIME, WORRY, CONFUSION AND MO NEY BY CONSULTING THIS COMPLETE DIRECTORY OF NEIGHBORHOOD AND CITY BUSINESSES. falsing the i-amwy- H4ooum understand wnat C wei.i, too eAtVr POT «s ce-a- Utm THIS OVER 2000 MUE.S iooR'M‘ w<oeKPt^r TO «OH ovAE*J TOO GET" home - we | ■NTCj^NATTONAl/cAl^tTOOlN''C^W. yT ** 1 * s j ^ S^CT^^gSWIJjgSS^ ~ I _ __ __ ,1.. m.mmf. ...■■■■ inf i Y1TTIMII 'I ■nmiTrmiimW^~,^TM-"‘^JI,Mfc—•*»”’ MM<*» UU YUU KNUW WHY - - - If These Were Styles Women Would Wear Them ? rOratro for this psoer By Fisher I---—-——-—---rjrivgr-v . _ "I • KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES” The Midnight Prowler ^ THERE> A LAQ, »»s/ IPX GO DOWN - HHl WHy! BLESS My HEART.’ ' ''■ ■“l 'THvy souse.. .*ju3t as suae stairs and wake ujmg rrls owl-/ hr. bowers; AS My MAr<?. .$ TESSIE uP EDDIE BOWERS gSiypl ONE OP My BOARDS RS-' A hamburger. « oh ; I MAy set *sh<dt. ' «-^Bk [* what thau. i do ? i'll Yell For. — .__ Tue police " . Si.. . \ • ' ? .. -fciSl 7? 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