Note:
Gunnar Myrdal died in 1987, less than 70 years ago.
Therefore, this work is protected by copyright,
restricting your legal rights to reproduce it.
However, you are welcome to view it on screen, as you do now.
Read more about copyright.
Full resolution (TIFF) - On this page / på denna sida - IX. Leadership and Concerted Action - 39. Negro Improvement and Protest Organizations - 11. The Commission on Interracial Cooperation - 12. The Negro Organizations during the War
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
850 An American Dilemma
with moderate means can afford to pay membership dues.^°^ If the Com-
mission could raise its budget, this would greatly increase the possibilities of
building up local organizations and of intensifying its work in all directions.
The present War and the peace crisis to follow it will severely test the
whole work of the Commission. It is attempting to meet this test by
increased activity.
12. The Negro Organizations During the War
A War fought in the name of ^^the four freedoms” is a great opportunity
for Negro organizations. The exclusion of Negroes from defense jobs, the
limited opportunities and maltreatment of Negro soldiers, the restrictions
in the Army and Navy, bring home to every Negro individual the cause
for which the Negro organizations are fighting.
In the First World War, Du Bois, then the leader of the N.A.A.C.P.,
wrote his famous article in The Crisis^ ^^Close the Ranks,” in which he
virtually postponed the settlement of Negro grievances until the end of the
War:
We of the colored race have no ordinary interest in the outcome. That which the
German power represents spells death to the aspirations of Negroes and all dark
races for equality, freedom, and democracy. Let us not hesitate. Lei «/, while the
war lastsy
forget our sfecial grievances and close ranks shoulder to shoulder with our
white fellow^citizens and the allied nations that are fighting for democracy. We
make no ordinary sacrifice, but we make it gladly and willingly with our eyes lifted
to the hills,^®®
With few exceptions, Negro leaders In the Second World War have taken
a different stand. They stress, of course, the loyalty of the Negro, but they
do it more to inflate racial pride and to Jay a basis for the accusations against
the dominant whites who do not allow the Negro to make his full contri-
bution to the war effort. They keep on emphasizing that Negro morale Is
low because of injustices and humiliations. They demand full civic, politi-
cal and economic equality more strongly than ever, Walter White, in a
statement issued a few days after the Pearl Harbor catastrophe, is typical
of this Negro policy:
Memories of all Negroes except those of the very young are bitter-green regarding
the last World War. ... I urge [Negroes] to remember that the declarations of war
do not lessen the obligation to preserve and extend civil liberties here while the fight
is being made to restore freedom from dictatorship abroad. . . .
We Negroes are faced with a Hobson’s choice. But there is a choice. If Hitler
wins, every single right we now possess and for which we have struggled here in
America for three centuries will be instantaneously wiped out by Hitler triumphs. If
the Allies win, we shall at least have the right to continue fighting for a share of
democracy for onrselves.^®®
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
