Brownsville Weekly News

tage
P42

~SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1941 -

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FLINT BROWNSVILLE NEWS, FLINT, MICHIGAN

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BY ~TYP. NEWS

TED ures

SYNDICATE. Reproduction in part strictly forbidden

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The Column That's Harlem....: OCTOBER: Here we have the month when golden leaves fly in
the breeze from the trees. "When squirrels take the gifts of nuts from
passersby and tuck them away for the winter that is to come. This is
the time when flashy sweaters, loud colored sport jackets; the smart
Fall-fashioned chapeaux of nfilady, and a gentleman~s Homburg hat,
topcoat, gloves, spats and cane take the place of loose-fitting clothing

and bareheads.

~In October, mind you, a cold breeze hits pedestrians at the knees
at 125th Street and Seventh Avenue where majestically stands the tall.
towering Hotel Theresa~New York~s finest hostelry~facing Harlem~s

most beautiful boulevard. Yes siree!

This month in particular, The

Theresa is inviting after a day of tension, conferences, study, reconstruction efforts and almost every discomfort imaginable.
October, my friends, is the month fur coats, minks and sables
are the topic of every glamour gal~s conversation. Decidedly so...
This month theatres, nite life, swing, art, indoor sports, picket lines,

police lines and gridiron lines grab the headlines.... Its the time.

when those week-end parties and dance dates find us all in the

~groove.

The gossip, facts and fancies get prominent space in the news
papers now-~since, 2s we al] know, columnists in their caustic manner relate the goings-on about your town; and, nearly everyone you

see is candid camera shooting in the nite élubs...

T venture to say

that on the twenty-ninth of this month your New York correspondent

will be thirty and six.

This month shopping centers will be eyed a-puhlenty., You dan see

them now~folks with both pad ~n~ pencil jotting own in their code
~the things they intend to buy when Christmas season rolls ~round.. -
Here in New York there are two kinds of people; people who. but for
a slight difference of custom and accent, might belong to Detroit, or Atlanta, or Cincinnati, or Cleveland~or, perhaps, even Chicago, or some
far distant city in the New England, Middle Atlantic, South Central,

* Mountain, or Pacific state.
city dwellers.

~ October is the month when
' you find folks in hectic Harlem.: each other the ~go-by~ as
pass in the-night. The autumn chill,I take it, stills one~s
tongue.... It is the Harvest
Moon month when my columning is all the rillera and the
hut-sut!:
SOME OF THE TYPE THAT THE
BOYS ARE PUTTIN~ DOWN:
Lucky Millinder was recently highly honored by Hon. J. Finley Wilson,
Grand Exalted Ruler of Ekks. Meastro Millinder was made Honorable

t

Bandmaster of the State of New:

York.... Cute little Edith Bedill,
formerly of Aibany, New York, has
artist Romare Bearden. singing,

~You and I~ Comic laughprovoker rh, we Markham is
touring the burlesk wheel.... Tap
dancer Bill (Bojangles) Robinson
and the ace of bandleaders,~ Jimmie Lunceford are now doing ~bang
up biz on a theatre tour.... The
Joseph (Internal. Revenue) Yanceys anticipate a blessed event....
Mrs. Melvin Proctor entertained
friends recently at the Riverdale,
New York Orphanage to celebrate
her recent appointment as a
member of the Board of Trustees....Negro. sports. writers:-do not get
working press tickets that are free
from taxation: There are so many. taxes levied on the decats that.,you can~t sit down and enjoy the
% bouts without yelping, ~Ouch!~ In5 cidently, the signing of ~Sugar
- Cane~ Ray Robinson to meet Red
Cochrane in a 10-round. non-title
bout was a_cry to the stench that
went with boxing when Harry Wills
tried to get a match with the Man
|

People who can best be characterized a*
In October these people hit the high spots.

assa Mauler Jack Dempsey....Tiny
Bradshaw~s appearance at the Apol
lo is awaited by Harlemites who

are anxious to lend their eyes ~n~
ears to blues (swinger) Lil Green,
the, band~s vocalist who wowed ~em
on a recent ~tour of 1l-nighters....
What disgusts me most is to hear
a Negro say that he never reads
Negro newspapers. It is the most
enlightening way to support Negro
business. I know of non-other enterprise as mighty as the Negro Press.

Ida James, featured vocalist with
Erskine Hawkins Orchestra was
born in Providence, Rhode Island,

and not Philadelphia, Psnnsylvania,
as one columnist recently put it..
_..One thing White Americans
should learn to love Negro Americans if they expect them to fight
for America that is, as we have
been taught to believe, as white
as one of the colors of Old Glory
_... Cecil (Babe) Cooke, former
Nation A. A. U. and I. C~4A
quarter mile king, is top ranking
salesman in the New York area for
(A) beer concern.... Fats Waller,
and his large victor Recording Orchestra a sensation this~ week at
RKO Empire in Syracuse, - New
York.

Most sought after chorine is tall,
beautaneous Emily Santoz....Adelaide Marshall is one of this town~s
sweetest lovelys. If you don~t think
so ask Maurice (Chicago Defender) Dancer.... Marian Anderson

sings in Memphis on October 29,

And, I thnk that is about the nicest
thing that could happen on my
birthday~Gosh! Just to be in Memphis. In good ol~ Memphis, Tennessee.

Steel Symphonette
~Pleases Harlemites

NEW YORK, ~(ANP), ~ The
Rally and Promotion Day Group of

the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, one

* of New York~s ~largest, presented
Thursday evening the Steel Symphonette players from Baltimore, a
mew group of players whose air
it is to interest the public in guitar
playing, electrically amplified, nowadays, obscured in the ~swing~ orchestra. John Farnsworth, who, we
are informed, has done some symphonic conducting in San Francisco,
directed, and Harold Desverney,

_. presumably a tenor (the program

~ did not state), assisted.

~ "Phe program consisted of special

arrangements by Mr. Farnsworth

and several well known favorites
such as Donizetti*s Sextette from

Lucia, Verdi~s Celeste Aida from

~Aida~ and James Bland~s ~Car
ry Me Back to Old Virginny.~ The
players, eight in number, displayed

ew Orleans Versus

his ~Birth Of

rages
Started Over _
Premiere For
New Picture

Lieutenant Lee ~
Of Memphis Began
Heated Dispute

MEMPHIS~(A N P) ~ The
~Birth of the Blues~ fight between
New Orleans and-Memphis moved
the site of its battle to Hollywocd
Sunday night, when Harry Martin, amusement editor. of the
Commercial Appeal, white daily,
is here for the scenic
nny via American airlines to oppose the claims of Roark Bradford, noted fiction writer, that
this musical form originated ip
New Orleans ard that the Louisiona city is entitled to the world
premiere~ of Paramount's ~The
Birth of the Blues.~ The musical
production co-stars Bing Ciosby,
Mary Martin and Brien Denlevy.

Martin was asked to serve aS
Memphis~ advecate against Bradford by President Lester Presson
of the Junior Chambe: of, Commerce Saturday. Official encorsement was given by the city government. Lt, George W. Lee, author of ~Beale Street~; and "River
George,~ first broached the idea
that Memphis should have. repre
q

sentation at the Hollywocd inquiry, and Leste: Presson joined
with Lee in saying that ~something had better be done __nefore

this thing is written in the records
all wrong but Hellywood.~

~Harry Martin has nad Roark
for days about this thing in his
Bradford jumping through hoops
column. and he can do the same

thing in. Hollywood,~ the commerce president declared, ~He
ought to be there when the = in
vestigation band starts playing.~

A conference with the Appeal~s
executives, Malco theaters and
} Paramount Pictures corporation
was held and jt was decided that
Martin was to leave for Holly~wood. Mayor Chandler then. made
the commission officials and

4 Said, ~Frankly, I thought the agi- |

tation was a publicity Stunt, but
the matter has reached the stage
that Paramourt movie executives
have agreed to Mr. Bradford~s
claims, on behalf of Louisiana end
New Orleans, to the. werld premiere
of the film "The Birth of the
Blues,~.~

Hearings were conducted Monday and Tuesday, and it is expected that a decision will he rendered either Wednesday or Thursday.:

MOTHER OF MAYOR PASSES
MOUND BAYOU, Miss.~(ANP)
~Mrs. Eva P. Green Francis passed away Saturday evening after
en extended illness..She was the
mother of B. A. Green, mayor of
this all-Negro town, She was one
of the first settlers of this community, having come here with
her husband, the late B. T. Green,
one of the fcunders of the town.

UNION URGES
EMPLOYMENT

DETROIT, Mich.~ Delegates to
the sixth national convention of
the Federation of Engineers, Architects, Chemists and Technicians,
meéeting here this week at the Fort
Shelby Hotel, urged the employment of Negro technicians and en
the abolition of jim crow laws
from American life as ~the only
way of defeating Hitlerism and
maintaining democracy in the
United States.~

URGES STUDENTS TO
DEVELOP. CAPACITIES
JEFFERSON, City, Mo. ~Father

body of - instrumentalists invikes
monotony expent the ascending
tone of the final chord of _ the
pieces, thereby raising doubt that
they will ever succeed in developing
a permanent taste for that sort of
entertainment. Nevertheless, the
sincerity of the effort, particularly
that of Cassie Schilling, manager

John LaFarge, S. J.,; of New York
| City, nationally known Catholic
| leader, urged Lincoln University
| students to ~develop the infinite
capacities lying dornant~ in ~them,
in all address delivered in Page Auditorium. tL

A

and spoysor, is too~ great not to
provide a genera] hearing -for the

organization sinee its work far surpasses in qual that generally
heard in community concerts.

Plan ~Native Son~~ For
Good Shepherd Church |

CHICAGO, ~(ANP)~ Plans to
sponsor a benefit performance of
~Native Son~ at Good ~ Shepherd
Community Oenter, Monday, November 10, has been announced by
Horace R. Clayton,-director of the
center. D

~T have contacted Lester Smith,

| advance representative of the show,

and November 10 has been agreed
upon as the tentative date,~ Clayton said. ~This is the locale of the.| play and a performance of it here

should be ideal.~
- Taken from Richard Wright's

book, ~Native Son,~ the play stars
Canada Lee and has been perform~d before packed houses in varidus
parts of the country.

The importance of the play being
staged ~at Good~ Shepherd Community center was. pointed out as
kindred ~to the center~s task to prevent children of the community
from becoming ~Bigger Thomases.~

When ite Chicago recently, Richard Wright stated at the center
two weeks while gathering material for a new book, =

film col-|
gineers in defense industries, and |.

| Strikes A Note For China |

~

Doc Rhythm Johnson of World~s Fair fame (who claims a Chinese great great grandmother) sings his song, ~~Lend A Hand

to

China,~ before the ~Spirit of China,~ now on display in New York~s
Columbus Circle. The plane, donated to United China relief, will be
sold to help swell the current $5,000,000 fund for aid to China. Doc
Johnson who wowed them at the New York World~s Fair Court of

China the best.

Peace, has travelled in nearly every country of the world but liked

NEWS OF
THEATRES

Quizzicale To

Return-To Air

NEW YORK, N. Y.~(SNS)~Cab Colloway suspended

liis highly successful radio program, ~Cab Calloway~s Quizzicale~ recently in order to fulfill a mid-western theatre tour
contracted prior to the advent of the broadcast series.

Sends Gabriel

Ida James

Cute little Ida James is one of/
the main sparkplugs of ~rskiite
Hawkins~ famed orchestra, holding
down the spot of featured ~ocalist. She is Providence, Rhode Is
land~s gift to

the swing procession, cE /

Roland Hayes I
HeardAt Howard

WASHINGTON, D. C. ~(SNS) ~
Roland Hayes, tenor, whose unparalled artistry ~has lifted him to an
almost legendary place in the affections of music lovers, appeared
in recital at Howard University
Tuesday night as the first artist to
be presented this season on the concert. series.

Music critics insist that neither
his early tribulations nor ~the accolades of the millions who have
heard him sing have robbed Mr.
Hayes of his freshness. Two honorary doctorates and his command
appearance before King George V.
and Queen Mary failed to affect
his inspiring humility and innate

~charm.

Roland Hayes sings for the joy
of music, reaching every sensibility
of his listeners in powerful transmission of: his artistry and emotional insight, and critics say it is
small wonder that his many appearances Throughout North Ameriea and Eurape have provoked unprecedented enthusiasm.

The remaining artists to appear

el at the univessity in concert this
season as follows:

Bernado Segall, pianist, November 24; Gunnar Johnson, pianist,
December 11; Eythl Wise, soprano,

ist, February 17, and Louia Vaughn
Jones, violinist, March.

in Andrew Rankin Memorial Chap- |

The Mutual Network and WOR,
the New York outlet advised Calloway that hundreds of letters had

been received from listeners request
ing that the program be restored
on the air. FA

During all of the eleven /~ years
that the King of Hi De~Ho has
been leading his famous, orchestra,
he has never once broken a promise
or a contract.;

Rather than cancel the half dozen
engagements which prevented his
broadcasting and subsequently disappoint ~~thedtre managers, Calloway requested and reluctantly. received a~ waiver from the networ
officials. >

As~ soon as his present tour is
concluded, Cab will resume to Quizzicale.

That the program was) a* success
is well evidenced by the thousands

of letters received in the form of |.

questions suggested for ~the -program and newly discovered talent
as a font of knowledge, and of
course, letters from listeners expressing their pleasure hearing
Cab~s songs and music.

The program which was aired
Sunday nights, coast to coast, is
probably the most successful to ever
feature an all-Negro cast.

HONOR ZION BISHOP
CHICAGO~(ANP)~Bishop and
Mrs, John W. Martin and Presiding Elder and Mrs. Silas Samuels
were the guests at an appreciation reception held there Thursday night at the Chicago Northern District Club house. Leaders in
the community and church were
present at the affair which was
tponsored~ by the conference work
ers of. the Chicago district.

Pour some brew, and
Heigh Ho, let~s kill

keeps them posted on what~s

will know what to watch

Hattie sends cigarettes instead of
flowers.... Sorry there~s not space
to repeat all the wires in ful, but
among them were congratulatory
messages. from Hattie McDaniel, Ar:
thur Ray, George Mosby, Albert
Williams, Mary Ann Bellow, Maceo
Sheffield, Jed Buell, Rose Bairpaugh, and others, besides a lot of
telephone messages, Most unique
of all was the tribute of my old
friend Hattie McDaniel, of whom
both races are proud as our first
Academy award winner.

Etta Moten Returns to Coast....
On Monday, October 20, a packed
auditorium at 8th and Towne
Church welcomed back to the glam:
orous song-bird Etta Moten,. who
appeared in recital there. Every one
of the boys and girls who danced
while she sang the Carioca in|
~Flying Down to Rio~ should have
been in the front ranks of ~he
throngs who listened to the ~voice
that since has been heard in ~many
countries of South America, where
the Carioca was born. For it was
her part jn it that bie ee

~sequence, ~makin emusieal out of Holl ywood in
cycle. 7

Sidney P. Jones sailed on, the
Matson line Streamer S. S. Monterey for Honolulu from which as a
central point, he will tour other
islands~ and all points of interest
in Héwaii, during a vacation of
over a month. Besides credentials
from the local national offices of
Associated Negro Press as corres~
pondent, he-has letters to Honolulu
city officials, to Mrs. Porter, mother
of Thelma now settled there with
her husband, Duke Upshaw, to
Ted Shaw, well known Los ~Angeles
ball player, now warehouse manager
of the. telephone company and oth
er Honolulu citizens.

Work Picks up in the Movies....
As if by an act of Providence to at
least assure many members of
Screen Actor~s guild the $4.50 due
for the next quarter~s fees calls for
colored players in current pictures
picked up considerably last week.
Besides the atmosphere players em~
ployed by Central Casting bureau
through Charles Butler, a number
of featured players were also - at
work through their agents or by
personal contact. 5

In ~Lady for a Night,~ at Republic, Leigh Whipper, who cata
best~
that

where; the new title of the last picture worked in,

lowdown they can~t find in Variety,
wood~s Nordic featured sheets. ~

HARRY LEVET TE
ASOCATED
HOLLYWOOD,Calif~.:

The Prodigal Son has come back home
The Ol~ Kclyum a week did roam.

O PRESS

ne

i
q
|

let~s highballs quaff!
the ~~~fatted calf!~

If the above quotation from a poetic masterpiece is not
the sentiments of all the thousands of readers of this valuable paper, rest assured it expresses the thoughts and welcome home, of the 269 members, of the Screen Actor~s guild.
They missed it last week, when from lack of time, Yours
Truly was unable tc chop it out, and many of them have
informed me they looked for it in vain. ce |

You see not only as a fellow actor have I jumped through
a movie jungle, or strutted ~Harlem~ highways with them
in 118 pictures during the past 16 years, but

Ol Kolyum
coming up; who~s working
so they
and a lot of other

for;
and other of Holly
FOOTLITE
FLICKERS

Ne- |

pulated to fame in the stage and
screen version of ~Of Mice and
Men,~~ scoring recently again in
~Bahama Bassage,~ has an excellent featured role. ee

KILLER EXECUTED

TUCKER PRISON PARM, Ark.~
(ANP)~The execution of John
Andrew Washington, 33, went off
at aawn Saturday. Fight minutes
after he had been strapped to the
electric chair, he was pronounced
dead. Wasington -was sentenced:to death for the murder cf Mrs.
Raymond Rongey, white 17-yeareld ~housewife.

Income payments to individuals
are estimated by the Department
of Commerce at. 90 billion dollars
for this year.

Rabeson Fo
Bill Handy~s

NEW YORK CITY ~(SNS) ~
Paul Robeson, it was announced,
will appear at the. artists~, festival,
being.sponsored by the National.Conference of Negro Youth in, hon- | sor

or of the 69th birthday of W. C.

Handy, i Negro musician, No-;

Appear On
Festival

of them represent two of the most
popular trends in American music~
through. Mr, Handy~s.. ~Blues~ and.

By ALVIN MOSES.

NEW YORK~(A N P)~It ~is
welcome news tc know that DUKE
ELLINGTON is collaborating
with....SID KULLER, (like himself, a musical genius), on an
opera, based orf the....history of
the Negro in America...... ~BILL
ROBIN~S New Mimo Club is
without a doubt, the finest enfertainment spot since the _ late
Jeff Blount held forth at Lefiox
Avenue club; the Mimo, however..
is much more ornate, and caters
to a class of youngsters (WPA
kids, etc), that should popularize
it for years to come.

There~s a hurdy-gmrdy Italian.--.80nt of a throwback to the days
when PAUL ROBESON - first
thought of a theatre career, playing... ~Would You Care,~~~ under my bedroom window; and he~s
distracting my thoughts on what
I wish to say about...... EDDIB
(Rochester) ANDERSON. Jack: ~my, my~ associate:
Wonder how that stolen-pipe piece
of furniture passed muster on. the
stteet since. Mayor LaGuardia
ruled their noisome: throats. cut. of
Our social structure?....However,
that lady~ Rochester is packing
them in the APOLLO THEATRE as
we dedicate this epistle like the
~Bums of Brooklyn,~ packed them
into their small ballpark during
the late (but not - lamented)
WORLD SERIOUS.

TINY TAN and TERRIFIC, were
the inimitable beef trusters (700
pounds of ~em)....Known as. the
PETER SISTERS, as they _ took
encore after encore at Loew~s
State during their recent New
York booking:

WAEREN
COLEMAN~S: ~Salt and Pepper to
Taste~ has iust the right tang to
appear to Harlemites we helieve:
Abe Hiil tells us that the patrons
of the AMERICAN NEGRO Theatre, located in the west 135tr

Street Library auditorium, will enjoy immensely this opus} ~hich
has got its theme~~~Compznion: |

~TOE LOTS fae

org

And Husband To -

\Broadway Soon

Both Like Stage
Better Than Work.
_ Before Cameras

By PETER DAMA

NEW YORK~(SNS)~Jack Carr
and Ruby Elzy (Mrs. Jack ~Carr).
who have been doing a bit of all -
right for themselves out Hollywood way, are back in~ New York
for a revival of Georga Gershwin~s
~Porgy and Bess.~ which after an
Gnening at Manlewood, New Jersey
this week is slated for Broadway.
within the next month.

No one was more pleased over
Jeck and Miss Elzv~s return than
Eva Jessye from whose choir thev
are graduates and who is choral
directcr for the Gershwin opus. It
was a\ warm reunion for these
three in their rooms at the Hotel
Theresa. early last week, since Carr
and Miss Elzy had not worked.
with the noted choral ductor
for over three years. having gone
to. Hollywood to stay in 1938.
BACK TO FIRST LOVE

For the tall, swarthy, handsome

| Jack and his charming wife com
ing back to the New York stage i*
like returning to their first love.
Jack will b. remembered, among
cther things, for his sterling performance ds the native doctor in
Guthrie McClintic~s production of
~Yellow Jack.~ and in Hall Johtson~s ~Dun Lil~ Chillun~; while
~Miss Elzy will be recalled for her
rcles in ~Brown Sugar~ in the
origina} production of ~Porgy and
Bess~. Her singing of ~My Man~s~
Gone~ in the part of ~Serena~ was
one of the high points of the
Gershwin opera, and promises to ~
score heavily, in the current re-.
vival., ae

Speaking of their MHollywod~ ex- -
periences, Carr and, Miss. Elzy say

the movie capital in 1938, they
_~ not. sure they would stay. But *'
ack got on well with his~ acting
ang Miss Elzy with her concerts.
and occasional parts in pictures.
Cart~s outstanding role was the
dual one in ~One Hour To Live,~~
in whick ~~ played the Senegalese
boxer n*g ~iis twin. brother.

TURNED DOWN CTT

Outstanding also was his vart in
~Safari.~ ~which starred Douglass
Fairbanks, Jr. Miss Elzy has just
ecmpleted her best role in pictures
to date. annearing as ~Rochester~s~
wife in the soon to be released
~Birth of the Blues~, starring Bing
Crosby. Before coming to New
York, Miss Elzy was being. con~
Sidereq for a role in RKO~s ~Syne.
copation~; sinca her arrival] the
role was offered but New York
commitments. vrevented her ac~
cepting.

The Carrs are now permanent
residents of California, h ving
bought a home and a small cont
not far trom Hollywood, They were |
dinner guests this week of Miss
Helen Dowdy, member of the
~Porgy and Bess~ cast and famed
for -her rele of the ~Strawberry.
Woman~ in the produc
' revival.

tion and which she resumes in the

~By FRANK MARHALL DAVIS

(For ANP)
ICKING THE ELEPHANT~S ~
EETH ee

Four past masters of the art of
picking the elephant~s teeth are

heard in a Victor album _ entitled
~Hot Pianos.~ Tuens and artist are | bee

ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE

STREET and MY MELANCHOLY

BABY, Earl Hines; RING DEM
BELLS and CAROLINA SHOUT,
Fats Waller: SOLITUDE ~ and
DEAR OLD SOUTHLAND, Duke
Ellington, and SEATTLE HUNCH
and FPREAKISH, Jelly Roll Morton.
All of cone foe weer waxed this
year excep ortcon~s ir, press
in 1929. aah =
All of these masters are strikingly different, from each other.

The only thing they have in. com-.
mon is ability to get music from
the moth box. Hines~ work is, as
inventive Waller
pounds a piano to pieces with ac-. cent on rhythm; th;
& ptlish and modernity that
n' too little heard, while me
late Jelly Roll shows his kinship
with ragtime and thet hoky-tonk
ja origina] ideas. I think that it
ere are any honors they go. to
the Patha, but the pollectinn "fe so
good that all eight sides merit
~warm 2) i,.
SINGLED OUT

The Department of Commerce reports that current sales of bicycles
are believed to be in excess of

those of the ~Gay Nineties.~

Adaptable Laxative

is Popular!

Laxatives, ~tike people, are quite
different. Some are quick, some
are strong, some are gentle. Popular ones among them must have
something of all three qualities,
and be adapfable to individual
needs, fee ee
_ Adaptable BLACK-DRAUGH7T
has been popular with four generations of Americans. This spicy

s

aromatic powder may be taken
dry followed by water, or made
into a tea. Either way, it is easy
to take, and yeu regulate the

strength to suit your needs. _

And. either way, you get the
laxative~ ~

full benefit of a ~tonic