NEGRO HEALTH WEEK...MARCH 30th TO APRIL 6th
% IDE
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/JUSTICE/EQUALITY ,1EW TO THclM]
LARGEST ACCREDITED NEGRO NEWSPAPER WEST OF CHICAGO AND NORTH OF KANSAS CITY —MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED NEGRO PRESS
Entered as Second-Class Matter at The Post office, Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha, Nebraska, Saturday, March 29, 1941 OUR 11th YEAR, Number 2—City Edition, 5c Copy
Under Act of March 8, 1874—Business Phone: WE. 1517__ _ . _ *_’__
Hearings Begin April I 0 n Defense Jim * Crow
WARNING TO FREE NATIONS
(Reprint from the Magazine, “ASIA”, March 1941—A Comment by
PEARL S. BUCK)
The democracies are in danger of narrowing their front. That
front must not be allowed to shrink to the limits of England, for how
erer acute the moment there,- it is still only one point of the front.
That front extends to millions of people within the democracies them
selves who share little or none of the benefits of the form of govern
ment for which they are now, or maybe, compelled to fight.
I speak of the millions in India, who, without being given their
right to choose for themselves, have been forced to give men and re
sources to support a democratic government which has not given them
democracy, and has, indeed, within recent weeks put into prison yet a
gain and for a period of four years that leader of Indian democracy,
Jawaharalol Nehru.
I speak of twelve million Negroes in the United States of Am
erica, who are oppressed by race prejudice which prevents their tak
ing any active share in the life of the nation. They are excluded soc
ially and economically and culturally by the white Americans, and yet
they are being told today to fight for the liberty and equality of de
mocracy. Who can blame them if they ask: “Whose liberty? What
equality?”
I speak of. the peasants of China, long oppressed by govern
ments, by, the rich, by the intelligentsia. Seventy-five percent of
these pesaants aie illiterate. Taxes, collected sometimes as much as
fifty years in Advance, have kept them in dire poverty. Opium has
been forced upon them that officials might collect revenue. Flood and
famine and civil war have been allowed to kill them off—generation
after generation, nor have they been relieved in anyway, their more
fortunate fellow countrymen taking the callous view that the deaths
of thousands of peasants are China’s strongest resistance today to her
enemy.
Fo* whose liberty and equality are we~fighting, when We fight
for democracy, unless we fight for all? Wihen we defend demcoracy,
whom are those we defend, if we do not defend all? Unless we are
willing to face this full front of battle, we shall lose, even though Hit
ler himself is defeated. And we cannot evade by refusal to speak to
each other of our weaknesses. The American must not fear to speak
of India, nor refuse to acknowledge the Negro. And neither he nor
the Briton must fear to speak with candor to China. To fight with
England for Europe’s freedom while India is governed by tryanny, is
a monstrous contradiction, and yet no more monstrous than that while
the United States prepares for a mighty defense of her democracy,—
twelve million Americans should be denied equality in a nation found
ed upon equal opportunity for all, and not more monstrous than that
in China, a country fighting the aggressor, millions of peasants have
little redress from oppressions of their own people who are profiteers,
landlords, militarists and corrupt officials.
Democracy cannot win so long as these contradictions remain
unchanged. We will lose from within. For this war now going on in
which the last great democracy may isoon be plunged, is more than a
material war. It is a war in which, if the democracies are to win,
they must win by clear conviction of the right. We will not get an
all-out energy even for defense unless the moral issue is made clear
for all honest people. And people are more honest, they are harder
and less sentimental today than they were in the first World War.
That war came suddenly after years of soft living. But this war
comes after years of struggle and depression and hardship. Senti
mentality has already been stripped away. Stronger men and women
face the war today. They will make ready their defenses, they will
fight, for that in which they believe. But they must first make sure
that the thing in which they believe is true, and not a mouthful of
words.
Millions upon millions of people, at this hour now approaching
crisis, wait for leadership tow'ard freedom. That leadership will not
come in clear and infallible and necessary strength until it comes
first out of moral truth. Millions ready to follow, wait for a sign.
What better sign could there be than that the enslaved within the de
mocracies themselves shall be freed ? Nothing and no one could pre
vent victory then. IBut lacking that sign, who can foretell the future.
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2420 GRANT STREET OMAHA, NEBRASKA
-C. C. Galloway, Business Manager.
;Sub-Comniittee Appointed by Sen.:
Elbert Thomas To Inquire Into
Negro Participation In National
Defense
Washington, D. C.—Senator El
bert D. Thomas of Utah, chairman
of the Senate committee on Educ
ation annuonced the membership
of the sub-committee to hold pre
liminary hearings on S. R. 5 which
provides for an exhaustive investi
gation of discrimination against
the Negro in the national defense
program.
I Chairman of the sub-committee
is Senator H. H. Schwartz of Wyo
ming. The other members of the
subcommittee of five are Senators
Claude Pepper of Florida, James
M. Mead of New York, Robert A.
Taft of Ohio and Robert M. La
Folletbe of Wisconsin. It will be
remembered that Senator Sch
wartz introduced the amendment
to the National Defense Act to pro
hibit discrimination on account of
race, creed or color.
According to present plans, the
sub-commitbee will hold its first
hearing on April 1 When Mrs. El
eanor Roosevelt will testify.
The Senate sponsors of the reso
lution—Senators Robert F. Wag
ner of New York, W. Warren
Barbour of New Jersey, Arthur
Capper of Kansas, and Prentiss
Brown of Michigan—will urge
speedy adoption of the resolution
and will emphasize the nature and
extent of the discrimination the
Negro is encountering which mak
es such Senate action necessary.
It is hoped that the sub-comm
ittee will make a speedy report, af
ter the factual material has est
ablished the need of an exhaustive
Senate probe of discrimniation.
Senator Thomas has pledged spee
dy action by the full Senate comm
ittee on Education and Labor as
soon as the sub committee has act
ed. This will bring S. R. 75 to
the floor of the Senate very short
ly for a vote, provided it is not
held up by the Senate Audit and
Control committee of which Sen
ator James F. Brynes of South
Carolina is chairman. Under the
Senate rules, all measures which
provide for expenditure from the
Senate contingent fund must be
passed on by the Audit and Con
trol committee.
Walter White, NAACl’. secre
tary, who has been here most of
the week working on the above
steps, again urged that authen
tic information regarding dis
crimination, particularly in in
dustrial plants filling contracts
from the federal government
for the defense program, be sent
to the national office of the N.
A A CP., 69 Fifth Avenue, New
Editor To Be Honored
Robert L. Vann, late editor and
publisher of the Pittsburgh Cour
ier, whose achievements are to be
memorialized in a tower to be
erected on the campus of his alma
mater, Virginia Union university
HniiiiiiiiMimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimmimiimmimimimummiimujuimimimuiiiii
York.
‘We are convinced that if lha
American people only knew what
is going on in the national defense
program and fully understood how
vicious is the discrimination the
at Richmond. The tower is the
gift of the Begian government and
was a part of the Belgian Pavilion
at the New York World’s Fair.
(ANP>
(Memorial Picture on page 3)
iiinmiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitniimiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNIliiiliii'liliiililillililhi.iliillililiii
Negro is Encountering, there
would be country-wide indignation
against those who are holding up
defense because of their anti-Ne
gro prejudices.
VERNON BROWN BENEFIT
AFFAIR A HUGE SUCCESS
Vernon Blown, a lad with a
fighting spirit, has a greater op
portunity for recovery; his friends
helped to increase the fund for him
by making the Benefit Dance held
fro him at the Dreamland Hall on
Monday, February 25 a huge suc
cess. The committee announced
that the net proceeds from the
dance totalled $303.00 and they
had hopes that the total sum rais
ed will amount to $350.00 when all
reports are completed.
Mr. Goldie Davis was the out
standing ticket seller. He turned
in $95.00 from his sales to the O
maha Athletic club employees and
members. Mr. Bill Gordon sold
$40.00 worth of tickets in the Ne
braska Power Company and the
Electric Building. Mr. Uharlcy
i rump’s sales at the Wilson Pack
ing Company amounted to $30-80.
Other outstanding ticket sales
were made by Milton Johnson of
the Johnson Drug Company, Ralph
Underwood and the American Le
gion Post No. 30, McGill’s Bar, Ar
thur Goodlebt at the Cudahy Pack
ing Co., II. and M. Buffet by Cleo
Mortimer and Jess Hardin, Lee
Washington at the Apex Bar, Roy
i White for the IBPOE. of W-, Ed.
‘Bearcat” Wright, Harvey Carter,
at the Armour’s Packing Co., J.
Dillard Crawford, Charles F. Da
vis, Johnny Owens, Orlo South,
lohn Elliott, Henry Robinson.
Mr- James “Jimmie” Jewell do
nated the hall for the affair. The
EVELYN SMITH and ORVILLE COX as they sang "Indian
Summer”, Vernie’s favorite piece. The dancers paid tribute to Vernon
when they slowed their dancing steps on this number. About six
hundred dancers were present for the Benefit.
5>
NAZIS’PLAN
FOR NEGRO
®---®
(Reprint from The Nation,
March 1 Issue)
—BY HANS HABE—
The ‘‘Illustrierte Beobachter”,
German illustrated weekly, has re
cently published a special issue de
voted to the question of France’s
war guilt. This journal, known as
the I. B-, is an official German
weekly and an offshoot of the
“Voelkische Beoabchter”, in which
Adolph Hitler has the controlling
interest. Published by order of
Propaganda Minister Goebbels,
this special issue was the opening
(Continued on page C&°3)
FREE CANDY! FREE CANDY
TODAY!!!
Hello, boys and girls. A break
for you if you can find an Omaha
Guide of March 15, 1941 and bring
it to 2420 Grant St., the Omaha
Guide office, or to Johnson’s Drug
Store and we will give you a pen
ney's worth of candy in exchange
for the Omaha Guide. Remember
it must bear the date of March 15,
1941. You will have to hurry for
we only need 100 copies for our
files.
American Legion Post 1 “Bluie
Band” played a few hill billy num
bers. General Chairman, Joe Stol
inski gave thanks to the press and,
ithe radio stations for the publicity
they gave the affair. Mrs. June
Robinson, Vernon’s mother, was
there to personally express her
thanks. She addressed the crowd
as “friends, Vernon’s friends”.
Vernon, himself sent a telegram
of thanks for the wonderful effort
his friends put forth in his behalf.
NYE THRILLS HARLEM MASS
MEETING
New York, N. Y.—March 22 —
Castigating the President for re
neging on his recent campaign
pledges to keep America out of
war, Senator Gerald P. Nye of N.
Dakota thrilled a large and en
thusiastic audience at the Golden
Gate Ballroom in Harlem last
night with his criticism of war
mongers.
Noted as an outstanding Senate
Isolationist and exposer of the
international munitions trust, Sen
ator Nye immediately won his au
dience by his verbal shafts and
trenchant wit. He traced the
growth of the war spirit in the
United States from Roosevelt’s
“quaran/tline the aggressors”
speech down thru the all aid to
Britain short of war period to the
present request for American war
ships to convoy freighters to En
gland. This step he warned would
inevitably lead to a declaration of
war.
Preceding Senator Nye on the
platform was John T. Flynn, na
tional chairman of the Keep Am
erica Out of War Conference, who
warned of the danger to the min
ority groups in this country with
the repressive measures which
would follow a declaration of war.
He contended that war would lead
to Faeism in this country and the
Negroes would be the first ones to
suffer from it.
The final speaker was J. A. Rog
ers, noted historian and war cor
respondent, and author of Sex and
Race. Mr. Rogers discussed the
discrimination against Negroes in
England and her colonies.
Anne Brown Sings—
The soloist for the evening was
Anne Wiggins Brown, noted star
of the Gershwin opera ‘‘Porgy and
Bess”, who sang the national an
them.
Prior to the speaking, the au
dience was entertained by a Lat.'n
American orchestra.
George S. Schuyler, well known
newspaper man and author, and
chairman of the Negroes Against
War Committee, presided.
During the week of March 30
to April 6, 1941, —these days and
nights shall be set aside as Nat
ional Negro Health Week, and
should be observed by every race
member.
Let us observe our own individ
ual health. Let us then take an
inventory of ourselves to see if
we are able to run all way and
win the great fight of life because
we are fit Jesus said “whicn of
you intending to build a town sit
teth not down first nd counteth
the cost whether he have suffic
ient to finish it? Or what king
going into battle sitteth not down
first and consulteth whether he be
able with ten thousand to meet
him that cometh with twenty-tnou
sand?’’ Many of the war-like vir
tues such as physical courage, co
operation, endurance, and faith in
leaders are desirable traits at all
times. Plans for physical and so
cial fitness must be beyond the
immediate needs. Fitness must be
both physical and mental. Treas
on may occur among persons phys
ically fit, but never among those
mentally and spiritually prepared
as well.
Do not think that because you
are at home and not among spec
ial National Defense Groups your
health preparedness does not count
No man liveth to himself alone or
apart from others. What a man
does about his health may concern
his family, his business associates
and even his entire community.
There is no more profitable form
of conservation than the saving
and prolonging of human life, and
no more abominable waste than
that caused by preventable sick
ness and premature death.
The race is not to the swift so
much as to the careful driver and
to him who holds out to the end.
f,et us run the race this week with
momentum that will carry ur for
ward through the entire year,
making sure that America’s Health
is America’s Strength, and that
we shall not be satisfied with vic
tory short of the goal of national
health. Run as Paul instructs and
inspires you; lay aside the hind
rances and keep your eyes on the
Guide, Christ Jesus, Who is the
Author and Finisher of our faith.
LET US PRAY:—
Father in Heaven, help us we
pray Thee
To appreciate our bodies and to
keep them
That Thou cailst always find a
dwelling place there.
Keep us from sin and temptation
that we may not
firing reproach upon ourselves.
Help us through righteousness to
build our Nation.
Help us. Oh God, to be prepared
in body, in mind and in soul,
Not for war, not to kill, not hate,
But that we may have peace and
life, and love and happiness
for all.
And help us to run this race with
patience
fjooking to Thee for Victory.
Through Jesus, we ask these
blessings.—Amen.
MEN’S DAY PROGRAM AT
CLAIR CHAPEL
There will be a Men’s Day pro
gram given at the Clair Chapel
Church, 22nd and Miami Street on
Sunday, March 30, both in the
morning and in the morning and
in the afternoon. Two groups
are sponsoring the program, one
headed by Rev. J. E. Wade and the
other by Mr. Sam Grevious. Ev
eryone is invited.
FINED $5.00 AND COSTS
Doris Washington, 2430 Lake
St., was fined $5.00 and costs in
Judge Palmer’s court on Friday,
March 21.
CHARGED WITH BOOTLEG
GING
Case of Rueben McGee, 2411
Patrick avenue, who was charged
with bootlegging was continued
from March 24, until Saturday,
March 29th.
30 DAYS—
Novella Parks was sentenced by
Judge Palmer to serve 30 days in
jail after inflicting knife wounds
upon Ellis Lawson. He appeared
in court wilth bandages on his lips
and chest to appear against her.
$7.50 AND COST—
Foch Allen, 23, 2216 North 24th
Street, was fined $7.50 and costs
on a speeding charge Saturday.
FIRES—
A fire call was turned in at at
1:05 p. m. Tuesday from 2613
Grant St., in the apartment of 01
lie Love. Grease buring on the
cooking stove was blamed for the
fire.
At 2:40 p. m. Tuesday a fire
was recorded from 2616 Seward St.
at the residence of V. Pitts, an
overheated furnace pipe ignited
the wall