Brownsville Weekly News

~FLINT-BROWNSVILLE NEWS

830 Pingree. Phone 9-7571 Flint, Michigan
HENRY G, REYNOLDS.............5~.;. Editor and Publisher
BESSIE ANN REYNOLDS...............,.. Associate Editor
WEELEIADE NIG, SF. cw ke ecg Director of Photography
ch io copes onaetles nas ng Gea One Manager of Circulation
I occ oc ced oeuess Fass Adv. ~Manager
Be ED 6 in oo keels ok oe os vu bees Se dalen

Adv. Asst.

me Cut Out The Alibis!
By DR. CHARLES STELZLE

IT~S EASY ENOUGH to prove an ~alibi~ when the job
should have been done ~ but alibis never, get you anywhere~
they~re generally ~framed up to prove that you ~weren't there.~
When the roll is ~called, they won~t ask you where you BIDN~T
go,-and what you DIDN~T do, but WHAT DID YOU ~CET
ACROSS.~

One and one don~t make two~when yeu try to add things
that aren't equal. The belief that it does is responsible for much |
of the trouble in the world today. No one man ever exactly equals
any other man*~we're all different in ability and character~bu'
some people want to put us all in the same mold and treat us 11!
alike and make us all live and workin the same way. They don~t
allow for individuality.. Perhaps you are doing this to yourself. Maybe you are using
an ~alibi~ because you are failing to make- good on a-job which
isn~t your kind of a job. And this goes for all men~regardless of
their race, cr2ed, or color. You can~t expect to make good, if you.
haven~t got ~what it takes. Find out. what you can do best~and
then go.to it!

It~s usually in the little things that most men fall down~itt
the day_by day tests of character. Whether you can get ~on wih
others, and give credit to whom it belongs, and speak in.an evet:
tone when there~s provocation to shout in anger, and whether you
are giving: to others nvhat you expect of them~an absolutely
square deal~these are some of the things that show what kind of
a you are. And when you do this, you can look every man
in the face, without apology, and without using an alibi in.an ~at
tempt to get by.

Let The Church Set The Example Of Peacc |

WHEN READERS of the current press are occasionally
treated to such news as ~Deacons Padlock Church, Minister
Breaks in Churek: with Ax~, ~Judge Bars Trustees from nae
ing with Affairs of Pastor~ and such titles inferring that there has
grown such strained relations within the church family ar a
linen is being hung out to the public, there is no grounds. for sort
that the church is fast losing the prestige and sacred dignity sc
essential to its saving influence. |
ve seem. to be an epidemit. In ee
the

baa

Church squabbles in our tin pi
quarters there are grave church troubles, not only costing

church its good offices, but the falling out of life long friends or
~the hard money earned by the poor whose duty it seems 1s to take
care of the churches and the ministers.

If our church should promote anyth
church is the-temple of our Lord: It is founded upon the prin
ciples of the gospel and those who would destroy the good influ~ence of the church are certainly no friends to the righteous cause
the church seeks to espouse.:

As relates to our special group the churcli has an unique place,

~not only in our Christian lives, but in the field of public welfare;!
civic standards:educational-effert-and interracial goodwill. | It was
in the church that the early struggle for our freedom began. |The

early church sponsored many fing niovements now in flower, in the
field of liberal education. But for the church there would not now,
be so inany strong colleges for the education of the youth of the
south. The church traveled hand in hand with philanthropy in
those excellent projects pioneering the field of education and
culture.

Our churches twere the first to house the poor school projects

~handed our people after the civil war. The church seryed as the

meeting piace for all civic and public spirited relations staged for
early betterment of the general people. To this very day many of

+ the churches are used for schools. The schools kave literally worn
out many of the churches and to our certain knowledge boards of
education have refused to even replace as much as a window panc.
We have seen times when indifferences arose: between the church
and school people, the school was driven completely from the set-. tlement for the want of housing facilities.:

The mission the church has served for the race would rufi into
several chapters. The debt owed the church outside of its religious activities can never be paid. Therefore the church should
niean more among our people than any other people on earth.

{ PUBLIC COAL CO.

~HOME OF BANNER COAL

~HIGH IN HEAT ~ VERY LOW IN ASH~.| Order Your Coal and Coke from a Firm That Handles

ONLY QUALITY COAL
Phone 9-2114 Flint, Michigan

ing at all, it is peace. The

eli)

+ FLINT... Did You Say~

Flowers by BUCK~S

1110 South Saginaw Street

_ Rsaid FLOWERS by
| BUCK~S are FRESHER

-) >. MORE FRAGRANT

oe

DELIVER. Open Evenings and Sundays

until 9 pm

Se ee oe =

ee
enc 7

ke

at

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| of Dr. A. H. Johnson, the club pre-"

put under the ~black out~~ by in
"Greeks were copied from the Ethi
Phone 2-3824 }

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}

National Negro
History Week
In Flint.
By HENRY G. REYNOLDS [|
FLINT, Michigan ~ The Negro;
History club was sponsor of @ mammoth program held at the Clifford

St. Center last Sunday afternoon,
February 16. Under the direction

sented a highly interesting program which dealt with the accomplishments of our people in their
contribution to world development.

The significance of these exercises is the fact that constructive
doings of the Negro are brought
out to the end that our youth as
well as ourselves can have the
knowledge of what powers the Ne- |~
gro has in himself to play his role
competently among.the rest of the
people of the earth.

Owing to the fact that nearly all
of the better créations in history
by our people are left, by the
American system of censorship,,to
the unsung pages of human history,
these endeavors prove very beneficiary to our generation This
work becomes important because
of such unfair censorship. The
American white people have been
made to think of the Negro as having started from ~zero~ at the instance of the emancipation. Slavery was just an interruption. The
study of Negro history illuminates
that vast field; of achievement
which the Negro has effected for
society, and brings to light the
fact that the Negro~s racial background of accomplishment has been
and is now being systematically

different and prejudiced historians
and ~American Democratic~ censors.

An example of such practices
follows: The~ white man~s history
emphasizes characters as Julius
Caesar, but say little of the Negro,
Cipio Africanus. It says much of
Nepoleon but almost nothing of
Hannibal] of Carthaginia, ~It says
much about the Spanish. conquerors, but nothing much about: Tou
saint L~Overture of Haiti who
made it possible for the early
American government to provide itself with the territory of Loulfsiana.; =

It does not tell us that Alexander Dumas, the novelist, was a NeSro.in France. It does not tell us
that the father of the present
American federal system was a
mullato Negro. -Alexander Hamilton; that Beethoven was a Negro.

The white ~American Democratic~~ history censors do not mention
Alonzo Pietry, a Negro pilot.of one
of the ships wher. Columbus sailed
to the west hoping to find India or
pyove that the world was flat, and
incidentally discovered this -country. They do not tel] us that the
early Roman laws and those of the

opians There ig no end to the accomplishments of the Negro race,
likewise there is no end to the
~blackouts~ on them hy the censors of today. So, it is a very imjportant step the organizations for
the study of Negro History, have
taken. May they go far to further
illuminate the works of the Negro
so that our generation may not be
robbed of its true heritage.

WASHINGTON D. C.~tA N P;
~Progress in the fight~ against
discrimination against Negro skilled worrers in the U.S. Navy
yards was noted this week in.the
employment of more than a score
of Negro machinists at the Washington Navy yard following _ thei
school here.

THIS IS JOE OF
JOE~S PLACE

Men~s & Women~s!
~Garments... Fine!
Shoes, Dry Goods!

All pF Bago to Bone
~p91 OME AND SEE.

Adult Education
And The Masses

features of the recent Adult Education Conference on the Negro was
the public admission by
leaders in the field of liberal arts
education that Negro educators
must reevulate their philosophies
of education in the light of the

gro youth that has blinded
many of them to an acceptance of
the raw facts. of the lives of the
masses Of Negroes. They seem to
feel that the masses of Negroes are
personally to blame for their sad
plight. They seem to feel that they
are educated above or away from

| BETWEEN THE LINES ~~stcmors.mon

| ~NOTHING DOING~ a year ago this team attracted na- |

_in.years, gets a handsome wage and!

| the story. In far too many instanc-,

Rhein Syilaes ama tag

~T

4é ~ ie ge Tt oe
OUR~ COUNTRY |
DR. MARY McLEOD BETHUNE, who needs no
introduction to~ America~s millions, spoke a great
truth on the Columbia Broadcasting System program
sponsored by the Committee to Defend America by; Aiding the Allies when she stress
ed the point that it should be
~our~ country~s immediate effort
to aid ~the gallant people of
by such a measure as the lease-lend proposal
now being considered by Congress, Dr. Bethune made it plain
to her great radio audience that}
this is ~our~ country, made so py
~our~ sweat and blood. No greater truth eould have been uttered
_on the eve ~of Negro History
Week, which attempts yearly to
bring to attenton of all Americans
the achievements of this largest
of minorities in our land,
|. At a time like this, when the philosophies of Hitler and Mussolini would have the world believe that
black men are little above dumb arimals, fit only to
be slaves and prostitutes. it is wise that there be
brought to the attention of all the fact that Negroes
have worked to build the industries, cleared the
fields and contributed in all branches of high and
low endeavor that America might lead civilization
in its upward advancement.

SOME WOULD FORGET

Some grovns in America among the dominant
cace, would FORGET these facts and never have
their children LEARN of them. Millions of children
of the other race today do not know that a black
man was the first to shed blood ~in the. American
Revolution for freedom from bondage of the mother
country. They do not know that we have fought
bravely and well in every war in which this country has been engaged and that we have helped build
and_ maintain our culture in other capacities than as
slaves~even then _with untold credit.

The underlving philosophy of all Hitler~s methods of achievement smell of deceit and purge. both
factors of that evil human element known as hypocrisv. It is this element in American life that must be
done awav with. ouickly and surelv, or our land will
find itself dominated by ~little Hitlers~ in Washing
FOWLKES

Scout Week.

in ~such acts of

were learning to

|

to color or creed

smiles and cheers and says ~~We
| (as they say in the slang) race

control of our land. They must be made to know and
that quickly that ~this is o:+ land~not yours or
mine~ alone, but ~ours.~ abe
Another recent celebration. which interested me
and which, by,the way, shows that~ American democraev is moving along if

When I was of Scout age in that little Tennessee
tunction, there were no such things as Negro Séouts
in the section. Only the larger Cities had a few. 1
remember well how in the picture shows when the
United States flag appeareti on the screen, only those
below clanped their hands and cheered at its significance. We in the balcony just looked on. We Knew
it was the flag of the country we claimed as our
homeland. but we somehow didn~t feel that patriotic
urge to stand up and cheer as should always be dong

changed in many quarters.)

When I visited home a few years back, I discov- |
ered that they riow ~had Scout troops and thet they
were in all the towns around. Children and oldsters |

wae ~ours~ as much as ~theirs.~
voised with. higher ambition and respect for each
other. Scouting had done something to them and I
respect it for having done so.

Infiltration of Scout ideas on the American scene
may prove the saving of our type of government.
Just as no American would dare to drag our flag in
the mud. no true Bov Scout would down another
who wore the regulation uniform and exhibited the
eourtesies and resnect attached to Scoutdom~true
sign,of young American boyhood. withovt reference

$

only slowly, was Bcy

hatriotism, (That teeling hasn~t

cheer the flag and to feel that it
The boys seemed

*

WALTER CHIVERS. SAYS:.

the possibility of such a condition
of life. a
They seem to feel that they. are
ingenious enough to. pay in full for
the education they receive. It may |
~ be that they only want to feei
that the responsibility is not, in
ONE OF THE most encouraging inrge part, thelzs.. Anyway, -00F
if the college did not create it did
strive hard to destroy~.:
So when Negro educators of the
liberal. arts variety begin to show
deep concern about the plight of
the masses, especially the disadvantages they are suffering from

certain

needs of the
~thasses of Ne~ ence of this sort is getting somewhere.

They have studied the. needs of
these underprivileged folk and tconcluded that they must be educated
to do work for which there is a
market. They must be prepared~ to
earn a living. This must be done
before these people will have any
stomach for lectures on democracy,
crime prevention, advantages of
group organizations, and certainly
before they can trade with Negroes continue to educationa] and
welfare institutions.. Most Negro
liberal arts college graduates
have not mixed; with the masses
as fellow work
ers. They have

felt a superiority that, as they:
thought, gave

CHIVERS
them the license to moralize these
folk and to criticize their apparent short-comings.

TOO MANY BLINDED

There has been some ingredient
in liberal arts education for Ne
These educators have reached
another vital conclusion in reference to the needs of the masses.
That is that they need a leadership which has grown out of the
crises of their struggle for status
in a democratic society. This leadership must be recognized by the
more favored~the two must work
together for their goal has to be

too

are following a great illusion which |.

ment. it is encouraging~a confer- | -

the same.

It has been an ~interesting and

paper fame, was to find oyt that

stomachs

meannets and indifer
So if the Negro professional man
is to nave clients, if the businessman is to have customers, if marriage is to be a satisfactory anticipation for Negro young men em
must be trained to.meet the work
demands of a methanized industrial society.

The privileged Negroes, who
would be leaders, must ~lead the
fight for. such training opportunities, Then and only then will Negroes in appreciatle numbers attend mass meetings on the theory
of Democratic Rights with any will
to fight for the practice of these
theories.

*

movement in Georgia of a few
years previous was only making
vocal what many others: felt, when
they were openly demanding that
~No Negro shall hold a- job that a
white man wants.~

Although the movement as such
wag quashég by whites of the better
class, the Black Shirt spirit is still
rampant in this country both North
and South. |

Some weeks ago wliile passing
through Spartanburg, South Carolina, a Negro was tried and acquitted while I was in the city.. His
car bumped into a police car one
night and, of course, our colored

IN A CERTAIN southern city is
a bakery owned and operated by a
white woman. This bakery specializes in pies of diver~s description.
Nearly a hundred_Negroes are employed. The foreman, a Negro along

every consideration due one of his
years and record. He is beginning
to ~ail~ a bit within recent months
and a white foreman is being
groomed for his job.

Reliable information is ~floating
around~ to the effeet that recently
the woman who owns and operates
the business was approached by a
committee and flatly asked to ~lay
off~ all Negroes and: ~lay on~ all
whites. The reply of this fair-minded white woman was ~Nothing doing.~ And so nothing like turning
off her Negro help was done.
DONE ON QUIET

' This instance can be indefinitely
multiplied in every part of this
nation. But it is good for us te
~now that this is only one side of

porch near the corner where th?
wreck occurred heard of the ver
ero labor with white.
*he +,:

s in the City~Terms to Suit You!

- | mond, one of the celebrated white

tion-wide attention. A young white
fellow. saw the boys play or heard
about them and remarked to his
father that it- was a pity that such
brilliant players did not have a
gymnasium in which to practice.
The boy~s father was~ a~ man of
large affairs and a ranking official
in the American Baptist Home Mission society. This man, Mr. Hening,
moved by his son~s statement interceded for the Belgium buildings
which are being removed at, this
instant to the campus of Virginia
Cnion university _ from. the World
fair grounds in New York. The
transaction amounts approximately
to a millior-dollar proposition.
When ~the temptation to become
oblivious to the fortunes of. his
g ~oung Hen
throughout the - nation - will be
blessed and the cause of interracial
goodwill and understanding _ received one of. the greatest boosts
within recent years. What is more,
ts of the University of Rich
~Desh. ane

have considered the average human |

| life, Most of us in measuring our |

lives feel that for every ~pint

~Why should this come upon me
and mine,~ is the bewildered query
that rises to the lips, if it does
not come from the heart, of
practically all who are called upon
suddenly to face those mighty
crises in human experience that
have caused ~countless ages to
mourn.~ We are too prone to for
day must come both darkness and
light; both sunshine and shadow,
So into each fully developed personality there must be sorrow and
suffering as well as joy and
laughter. And who shall say what
their proportion shall be!

We only know that those who
_ have suffered most have seemed
to be able to serve best. That from.
vesus to Kagawa earth~s greatest
leaders have been those~ whcse~

which. forms the subject of this
meditatich, ~Never a laugh but
the tears come double.~
Grief and pain and loss and bereavement may not be indispensa-.
| ble concomitants of ~the
abundant, but they keep watered
the fertile places of the soul where
spring in all their fragrance the
flowers of mercy and love.
Because the Christ himself had
been betrayed, He knéw the devastating bitterness which _ blights.

trusted. proves false. Because in
the little band.
constituted His disciples were

us to forgive our.
sinned against us that many times.
Because He had _ experienced
metal weariness and physical fatigue; He was.able to comprehend
mortal limitatoons and making allowances for human weaknesses.
Because He knew the anguish of
shattered hopes and dreams wunrealized, He was able to Jeave the
world a gospel that can satisfy
every spiritual longing and bolster

get that just as into the perfect |

lives would reduce to the formula]

-life [

the spirit when one who has been };

a i 3 A % 2 brother |
until seventy times seven if he has |

~

who was~ a~ transfer to the
state asylum. was burned to death
in a fire of undetermined origin.
in the Floyd County jail it~

~ROME; Ga~(SNs)~-A

up the most wavering faith. The
greatest leaders. in every period of
Our Raci

ur Racial
Background ~

Discoveries made by scientists
like Schlieman and Sir Arthur Ev...
ans reveal the fact that Negroes
were. known to Asia, Europe, and '
the Mediterranean world.

During Queen Isabella and King,
Ferdinand~s reign, there were so
many Negroes in Spain that the
authorities provided for their local
self-government:

1. Juan de Valladolid was made
mayor of Seville.

2. Andres de Claramonte, a seventeenth-century Spanish dramatist, wrote a play_.~El Valiente Negro en Flanes~~to show. the fine
qualities of the race.

3. Juan Latino ef Granada became a Latin and Greek teacher
during the 17th century, So great
was his ability as a Latin scholar
that Cervantes called him ~Ej Negro -tuan Latino.~ |

4. Sebestian Comez served the
creat art teacher Murillo and later
excelled as did his master in harmony of color, freedom ~of touch, |
and knowledge of light and shade.
Sebastian died during the year
1529 or 1590. '

5. Toussaint L~Ouverture, a. contemporary of Napoleon. led a revolution in Haiti for freedom of minority groups.. ge

6. Abram Hannibal, the greatgrandfather of Pushkin, was taken_
to Russia mainly out of curidsity

He was educated in Prance as an

au investigation of the blaze.

was
Sheriff M. E. Horton launched

westernizing of Russia.
1. The Chevalier ~_
French Révoliition ~ad wel as

as the ~Negro of Peter the Great.~ | 2

engineer and later figuted, in the |