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YOLUME~NUMBER

FLINT, MICHIGAN, SATURDAY, DECEMBER

20, 1941

EXEC

TION STAY G.ANTED

7

Memphis
Receives

Attorney

Threats

A. A. Latting Denied Right To Try
Divorce Case In Brownsville, Tenn.

Brownsville, Tenn., county seat
of Haywood County, in West Tennessee, scene of the lynching of
Elbert. Williams, ~. $1 year..~ old
laundry fireman, ovem a year ~ago
because of his activities in the
recently organized NAACP branch

- of that community, reflected the
mob spirit. again last week when a
group of citizens of that community
threatened Attorney A. A. Latting, young Memphis barrister,
when he attempted to present a
law case in the Haywood County
eourt last Friday. ~

~ Mr. Latting was virtually chased

out of the county by,the mobsters.

The attorney ssserted that he
would have probably met with

violence, but. for -the fact thet he
outdistanced his pursuers. When
he was arrested-on a. charge of
speeding by Shelby county deputies, after crossing the Shelby

County line, Attorney Latting ex
plained why it was necessary for
him to rush out of Brownsville.

SIMPLE DIVORCE CASE

Mr, Latting had gone to Browns~ to represent Mrs. Ethel} Lee
y in an Soe hemi divorce

Or with the case, a group
of white residents of the town be~gan crowding in the clerk~s office.
An wnicentified spokesman for the
group remarked:

~Ain~t no ~N~r~ lawyer going to
try a case in Haywood County. We
ain~t goin~ to stand for it. We ran
one ~N~r~ lawyer out of here and
if you know what~s good for you,
you better ~git.~~

Mr. Latting said he tired to explain that he had only a simple
uncontested divorce case... that no
yacial issue was involved and pointed out to the crowd that its action
was undemocratic.

~J have registered and may be

Organizations, Clubs
Form Committee

FLINT, Mich.~Last Thursday
night at the Clifford st. Center,
the clubs and organizations of this
city formed the committee which
is. sponsoring the United Effort in
penta on the Emancipation Pro-: e Details of the plans are not yet
available for the pvess, But it is
certain the members of the ~
mittee will get out a program of
vast interest to us all.

- We are expecting the Elks Band
and several big musical numbers
to add zest to the affalfs of that
da

x prominent speaker will be
present to centralize the thought
of the occasion.

White friends are especially invited to be present with us. All of
you members of the several organizations are requested to invite
your white friends to come out.

It has been decided that the
meeting will be held in the auditorium of the Berston Field House
on North Saginaw Street. The
~hour is tentatively set at 2:30 p. m.
Purther. information will be placed
in the Flint News Advertiser and
the Flint Journal, since your
Brownsville: News will be out just
after the date of the meeting.

called. for military service,~ the
Memphian continued. ~If I am
called,-it will be to fight for the
principles of justice, liberty and
equality. which you are denying
me,~ =

~We can~t help that,~ the spokesman forsthe mob said. ~You ain't
goin~ try no case in Haywood
County.

Services of a. white lawyer in
~Brownsville, Aaron Kinney, who
is president of the town~s chamber of commerce, were obtained by
Mr. Latting. Mr. Kinney appeared in court and asked the questions necessary to obtain the divorce for Mr Latting~s client.
Judge T. J. Pearson tried the
case and. granted Mrs. Motley her
divorce uround 1:30 p.m. Friday
afternoon.
When it was learned that the
case had been tried, the group followed Mi. Latting into Shelby
County but turned back when the
Memphian was apprehended by
Shelby County deputies for speed
ing~,
Attorney Latting sald that he
hed taken all the necessary ap
propriate steps to appear before thc |

he case.

the agaose County court around
November 25th, oe 3. R. Moore,
City. Court Clerk, notified Mr.
Latting that he could try his case
any time after December 11th. Mr.
Latting, immediately after hearing
from the court clerk, called and
had the date set for Friday, December 12th, at 10 a.m.

~This was the second time within
two years that a colored attorney
had been prevented from practicing in: Haywood County. A young

Jackson, Tenu., lawyer had to be
spirited out ~of Brownsville during
the early part of 1940 when he attempted to represent a client involved in a shooting case. Jackson
is the couhty seat of Madison
County, which adjoins Haywood to
the west.

The discovery of the ~decomposed
body of Elbert Williams in the
Hatchie river after he had been
missing from home for several
days brought to light the tense
feeling between whites and Negroes
of that community. Williams, who
was one of the organizers of: the
Brownsville NAACP Branch, had
been compelled to leave his home
late at night by a group of Brownsville residents, including the Night
Marshall, T. J. (Tip) Hunter and
his whereabout afverwards remained a mystery until his body

(Continued on Back Page) ~
James Chapel In
New Building

FLINT, Michigan~James Chapel CME Church has. purchased a
new building at the corner of North
Pasamena. Streets, and has moved
in. It has also purchased the build
ing next to it on North Street. Rev.
H. A. Royston, the new pastor, is
doing a fine job with his followers
here. The church. building was paid

for in cash. This a remarkable piece.

of business for a church group. All
Flint is welcome to attend the services each Sunday and during the

week when mid-week services are
in session. Mrs. Janie Nelson, re
* porter.

Man Held In Plot
To Blow Up Bridge

MIAMI, Fla=(S N &)~The FBI

stopped him at the scene
before midnight, while he aii se
another white man working. between

come on the way home. He hastened to the nearby highway; flagged
a motorist and reported to Miami

Blind Students In Air Raid Drill

NEW YORK~In orderly manner, blind students leave the main school building
alarm was sounded during a simulated air raid at
the New York Institute for the Education o~ Blind.
A troop of Boy Scouts and Gir] Scouts, students

after~ the

at the lectltete helped the~ official air raid war- |
dens from Zone 1 in the Bronx
schoo] building and administered first aid to the -
~injured.~ An American Red Cross disaster relief:
urit also particpated in | the demonstraton, Dec,

evacuate

i Se

Negro~s Participation In

Past War To BeDramatized

To Detail How Two Soldiers

Dispersed Twenty-four~Germans

WASHINGTON, D.C.~(S N 8)~
~The Battle of Henry Johnson,~ 4
skirmish in which two wounded
Negro soldiers dispersed ~24~ Germans with at least eight casualties
in World War I, will be dramatized
in the ~~Freedom~s People~. broadcast over NBC~s Red network. Sunday, December 21.

This program, fourth in
~Freedom~s, People~ series, will
depict war time serviccs of Negroes ir. United States military
forces. The series, which dramatizes Negro contributions to American life in music, drama. sports,
science, industry, education, and
national defense, is sponsored by
a national advisory comniittee with
which the U. 3. Office of Educacation cooperates.

SAW SERVICE IN 1918

Henry Johnson, a redcap from
Albany. New York, and Needham
Roberts were on front line duty
in the spring of 1918 when they
detected an enemy patrol of 24
men. Before help arrived for the

the

-

two men the enemy attacked. A
ust | sTenade wounded both of them.
Althovgh he had time to fire

only three shots before the Germans closed in on him, Johnson

| wielded his rifle butt, a bolo knife,

and a pair of grenades to save
Reberts from capture, inflicted
eight casualties, and drove~ the
enemy to flight.

Both Johnson and Roberts survived and they received the Croix

Den Ot ae Sr ners ee

but Roberts
on the broadcast.

is

This will be one of the sketches

on the broadcast dramatizing Negro participation: in five wars and
a pre-Revolutionary. undeclared
naval war engaged in by American
forces,

COL, HAMELTON TO SPEAK

In othe?! phases of the half hour
program, Col. West A. Hamilton,
commanding officer of the
Infantry at Fort Devens, Mass.,
Cne of the highest ranking Negro
officers in the United States Army,
will speak in behalf of the 115,000
Negroes now serving in our armed forces.

Noble Sissle, well-known orchestra leader who saw overseas service in World War I as a lieuten~and, will tell about his buddy, Jim
Europe. 'In France, Europe or
ganized a band composed of men
in his regiment which entertained AEF forces long before other
morale-building troupes started
performing overseas,

One day while Europe lay in a
hospital overcoming the effects of
a gas attack, Sissie came to visit
him and the ~wo cor~ poscd cne of
the most popuar of wartime songs,
~Over the Top in No Man~s Land.~

~Fats~ Waller and his band will
play several musical numbers, including ~Salute to the Boys.~
MATTHEWS TO SING

Edward Matthews, featured baritone of ~Porgy and ~Bess~ and star
of the concert stage in both United States and Latin America, will
also take a major part in the pro
The program will switch to Fart

Belvoir, Virginia, for an interview
with men.in the engineer replacement center there, and a S(ng by 2
chrous of Neg:o enlisted men.

366th.

Grants frem the Rosenwald Fund
and the Southern Education Foundation and broadcasting facilities
furnished by the National Broadcasting Company~s Red. network

ple~. broadcasts.
Directing the sé:.es fr the U.. RIGHMOND, Va.~(SNS)~

year old Negro shatecropper, for
the shooting of his. white landlord,
Oscar Davis, at Gretna, Va., in
1940 in a dispute over crop shares,
-Was| Stayed Thursday until Marcb
20th, 1942 by Governor James H.
Price of Virginia in response to
-appeals by # Workers. Defense
League attorney, for time for the

| Supreme Court of Appeals of Vir| | Simla to act upon a writ of habeas
' 4 corpus which raises the poll tex

Issue,

The petition for a writ of habeas
conpus, filed last week in Virginia's
highest court, uncovered an 1870

| Act -of. Congress which, according

to the. Workers Defense League
which As handling Waller~s defense,
may give the Supreme Court of the
United States a new basis, fo

constitutional.as @ qualification
fer -voting. The court cannot act
on, the petition until it reassembles
January: 12, 1942, according to reports from~ Thomas H. Stone of
Richmorid and Jchn F. Finerty of
new York, ~attormeys for Waller.

TAX ~ISSUE RAISED

~

PE ad poll tax issue was raised: be

exclusively of payia~s $1.50 Cbivnlafive

the |

| tion. of service to our~| public could not be found than to

make possible the ~~~Freedom~s Peo-'

-

(Continued on Page 3)

Prominent Flint
Resident Passes~
FLINT, Michigan~Mr. William
B,. Johnson, one of Fiint~s Real
Estate Brokers, passed away last

68
by

Kennelworth Street. He was
years old. Death was caused

weeks.

ville. Tenn., and was the son of

in 1910 to Anna Maxine Johnson
of Detroit. He had: been in | the
Real Etate brokerage
since 1915 both in Flint and.in
Detroit,

Mr. Johnson leaves a wife, Mrs.
Anna M. Johnson; one son,
liam Marvis; five daughters, Mrs
Fred Walker, Mrs. John
Alta, Harriet, Roberta, Johnson;
and four grand children, ali of
Flint; one brother, Ross Jolinson;
one sister, Fanny Pearson; and
three nephews and a niece. all of
Nashville. Tenn. eer

The funeral was held at the
home, 425 East Kennelworth St.
| Tuesday morning. Services in Mass:
were held by Father Norman

}Dukette, and interment was - at
New Calvary cem let

Reynolds Funers! home.
ed the arfangements. |

Thursday morning~ at his home on

pneumonia after. an illness of two }
Mr. Johnson was born in Nach- |

James Johnson. He had _ lived in })
Flint since 1909> He was married.

business |~

| Wil--

Given to Flint
Brownsville News

~FLINT, Michigan ~ A very amusing.comment concerning the FlintBrownsville News. has been reported.--to this office: It. was said to
have.been uttered by one of the
moguls of Flint, who, in his wrath,

+ || stated Ae e this newspaper is a; ~Barking.Dog

We believe. that a better illustradeserving

Say. that it is a barking dog.

~In: ~the first. place a. dog is the
epitome of faithfulness to its masters; No man has 3 truer friend
than is the dog. The barking dog
stays. on watch through the darkness of the night while. his masters
and loved ones are asleep in the
home.:

He will lay down his life for his
friend the master. In every community and in many Homes in
the city the dog serves to-warn his
owners and their families of dangers from night prowlers, thieves,
wolves in the neighborhood and
from every type of ~disturbance.
| He awakes his master so that the

-| master can.provide himself with the

necessary: protection of whatever

danger may be impending. A bark
ing dog then, is a most valuable

-|asset.to his- people.

Flint,;Colored people @an, well be
~Iikened to the masters in the home
sleeping; not knowing that there
aré wolves, night prowlers, thieves
and robbers abounding them on every hand. These enemies of the
~tranquility and safety of the Mass
~of Colored people in their finances,
morals, outlook on life, chances to

execution. of Odell. Waller, on

holding payment of a poll tax-un- |.

* Odell Waller was_ tried by 2 ae. The petition for. writ

bsg Virginia = Shrecrpe

WASHINGTON, D.. C~(sNs)~
More than 250~ students at. Howard

Council~s call, ~If you think your
country vie worth defending, stay
here and: learn how to defend: it~
by signing petitions to give up their
Christinas vacations and remain at
the. university: to take courses _ in
fire - fighting,: ambulance driving,
komb extinction, fist aid, the art
of camouflage and other, courses
relating -to -the- duties: of an air
raid warden. ~

The movement,. sponsored by the
Student Council~ under the direction. of its. président, Andrew Howard, is ~believed to be the first one
Of itg type initiated. by. college
students since America entered the
War. i

The. purpose of the movement is
to prepare Howard. University stuwents for any emergency, and to
organize a group of student-teachérs to serve ag assistants to air
raid.wardens.in training~ residents
Washingtonians -in fire fighting,
bomb extinction and. first-aid..
LEADERS OF MOVEMENT
~Student leaders who are organizing the stadent body~ in the
movement include: Misses Jean
McKissack, Catherine Roett, Catherine Swanson,- Myrtle Thorne,
Clarice Btyan and Richard. Bancroft, John Dennis, Edgar Draper,
| David Rerzineoff, Sergil Cave,
Ernest Davis, Lorenzo. ~Harris,

ard.

The petition, signed _ by more
than 250 students with many others still signing their names to it,
reads as follows:

~The militatist leaders of Japan
have launched a dastardly attack
ym RonBow Dattrhan. beriongs aia
are trying t) destroy our schools,
our homes, yur very lives. The soldier, the sailor, the business man,

University answered. the Student~

George Smith, and ~ How- be

Drop Holiday To!
Train As Wardens

to handle: any denergeness, We
propose that you, stay With us on
the sampus over your Christmas.
vacation ~to stuiy first ~aid, ambulance~ driving; the art of ~cumou
flage, fire ~fighting, te. A short

time now for a lifetime late: ie
150 STUDENTS AIR

RAID WARDENS | a~. or.
~Mcre ~than 150 " students have
volunteered~ as assistant ~
wardens to assist Chief Univ
Air Raid Warden Edward 8.
supe enr of pening
grounds, in -his work..~ = nd

Members of the university. stat!
who have been named ag

%

follows:

" Julian ~Cook. ps aes

tection: Clirtiss ~
foreman in.
Buildings

Pier of the University.
rvice,. first. aid~ Robert
Ming, as
education and morale;

rictta Thayer, dieticion, em sieehiy

raid -

Chief ai Raa Wardens, we;

man, -in charse of police; Eugene - 3
H. Gough, heac janitor, fire pro--

tenance: oe Paul B. Ooknely, ae

nt professor of pes