Elijah Turner Runs for Council 'Build Houses Not Museums,'

.YQk:3 NO.3 TAKING POWER IN SUNFLOWER COUNTY ELIJAH TURNER RUNS FOR COUNCIL 'BUILD HOUSES NOT MUSEUMS,' By Carolyn Craven is built on changing those priorities. "Oakland is in an economic and polit o HOUSING -'" (; ical crises." It is plagued with discrim On housing Elijah says that riot onl u ination in employment and housing, poor does the city have to build more low U" education in ghetto school, rampant un cost housing, but that the housing must :.0 employment, and disappearing industry." . be scattered throughout the city.' 'Hous .J:J o This is the way Elijah Turner sees ing should be built for the poor above III Oakland today. He has decided to run for MacArthur Boulevard in the established o o the at-large seat of the Oakland City white m~ddle class community rather .c: n. Council in order to do something about than putting it all in West and East the problems which he sees. Oakland. The city of Oakland has violated Elijah Turner arrived in West Oakland almost all of the Federal guidelines in otis Brown, Jr. is the dynamic young chairman of the Sunflower County Improve eight years ago from his home in Louis its programs of urban renewal, rehab Association of Sunflower County, Mississippi, homeland 'of Senator Eastland iana. His occupations have ranged from ilitation, and relocation. People are being and Fannie Lou Hamer. Unlike some parts of Mississippi where the movement toll collector and insurance salesman to " moved out of their neighborhoods and fell off after the Summer Project of 1964 ended, Sunflower has a strong and his last job as a community organizer in middle income hOUSing is being built there active local movement. West Oakland for the Council of Social so they could not possibly afford to move The Movement interviewed Brown during his recent fund-raising visit to Planning of the War on Poverty. He has back. There has not even been a pre California. Contributions to the Sunflower County Improvement Association been a leader in Oakland CORE and in" tense of community participation in the may be sent to the Association at Box 298, Sunflower, Mississippi. the recent fights around BART and the planning of Demonstration City. Ad Hoc Committee for Quality Educa MOVEMENT: Why don't you begin with tain schools. These people would jump tion. EDUCATION a history of what has happened up in a school assembly and speak out Elijah believes that the politicalchange "The city has got to becolJ1e involved since 1964. at a time when they were trying to priorities in Oakland are set by the rich in the problem of lack of quality educa BROWN: The s1!mmer project in '64 straighten something out. He would say, at the expense of the poor. •'Oakland tion for Negroes and Mexican-Amer in Sunflower County really didn't have any "We are calling a boycott for the school has built an airport, a new stadium, and icans. They have got to put pressure on end, because you had volunteers flash on such and such a date and we are a new art center. Poor people can't the Board of Education to begin to deal ing in and out of here from '64 until asking everyone to cooperate." This afford to use any of those things. Any with the particular problems facing each July ~ August of '65. In '64, that's worked out pretty well, and the boy way, how can you build a museu:n for high school. I am not interested in talk when they really began to work. They cott had an effect, because on that day dead animals when living people can't ing about integration of the schools. When first came to Indianola which boosted up supervisors, the sup e r i n tenden t, the get decent housing?" Elijah's campaign the entire county. sheriff, the police, and everyone else, CON'T ON PAGE 10 A fire was set in the Freedom House were all ridingaround the Freedom School. .In '64. This slowed some things down We also decided to have classes in the for awhile. "public library in Indianola; therefore, , In '65 there were "around eight out also integrating it. side workers in the entire county. There We boycotted the whole area which was was a strong youth group of those towns about 1,000 kids. About sixty went over that were organized: Moorehead, Sun to the library. IN THIS ISSUE flower, and Indianola. They would go out Our strategy was like the Indians. Their and do voter registration; we would also whole force never do come out; they just have freedom classes then. send something like a band to test and see SNCC WORKER GETS CHAIN GANG In '65 several others and I called what the soldiers' strength is. This is the a plan to boycott the schools. The issues same kind of strategy we use. My plan were to get better facilities in the schools was not to use adults, but to use chil TUITION EOUALS SEGREGATION such as up-tO-date books, chemicals, dren who have more effect. For example, better teachers, and higher teacher sal if you send a line of 65 people out, only 800 BLACK STUDENTS SIT -IN aries. eight z.re 18 and up. Therefore only MOVEMENT: Was the boycott suc eight get arrested. The others they will cessful? arrest and then have to turn loose be- A PRIMER OF CALIFORNIA POLITICS When the boycott rallies were called, CON'T ON PAGE 8 we had different people represent cer- PAGE 2 THE MOVEMENT MARCH 1967 NAACP TOO SLOW FLOOD VICTIMS RACISM IN CONGRESS DEMAND CHANGE Mr. Roy Wilkins Dear Friends: NAACP The Adam Clayton Powell case reveals That charge has nothing to do with mis 20 West 40th St. This is Hurricane Betsy salvagedpaper again the racism of the UnitedStates Con used funds. It has to do with POWER. New York 10018 we are still able to use. The flood which gress. But racism is what we should ex the powers would like us to f0rget. pect from this instituton. Dear Sir: Please enter the enclosed subs, be It was racism which refused to un CONGRESS WORKS ON POWER ginning with the February issue. ('Ne are seat the illegally elected Mississippirep Congres~ works on power. You don't To achieve greater discussion and dia following Carmichael's careful studies and resentatives during the Congr~ssional get bills passed because they are good logue of the concepts of the Civil (Human) activities with admiration and interest Challenge in 1965. It is racism which pre bills. You get them passed because you Rights Movement, 1 take the liberty of and want our people to share the study; serves the great power and seniority held wheel and deal. You do favors for people replying by open letter to yours of Feb we all need it.) by the Dixiecrats, all of whom were elected and then they owe favors to you. The ruary 16, 1967. illegally. And we should not overlook the more power you have - like a Commit You state that since 1909, the NAACP fact that it was Northerners who led tee Chairmanship - the more favors was guided by the fundamental principle, BETSY VICTIb1~. the move to oust Powell. Racism is not just you can do and the more people will owe of the objective of getting for the Amer We are all victims of the 1965 'Betsy a Southern problem. to you. ican Negro the full participation, without Flood here. Poverty funds here were A lot of people must have been in debt discrimination, in every phase of Amer RACISM NO SURPRISE quickly snatched by an Uncle Tom group to Powell who didn't want to pay. And ican life. ("Ninth Ward Civic Improvement") which We should not be surprisedwhen Powell because Powell is black, and because While no one will deny the achieve stages fakeloo "Town hall" meetings is removed as Chairman of the Education black people don't have power in this ments of the NAACP in the last 58 where the poor protest to gov't author .and Labor Committee while MendelRivers country, they could dump him. They could years, the RATE of these achievements ities, who soothe them...period. Nothing from South Carolina continues as Chair even pass a bill - blatantly unconstitu seems to prove that it will take another more happens; this same group has gypped man of the Armed Services Committee tional - which denies the people of Har 58 years (and maybe yet another) to g-et the people for years on behalf of the city even though his habitual drunkenness se lem the right to re-elect their chosen to the objective of full and EQUAL par administration; the group is mainly verely hampers the functioning of his Representative. ticipation in all phases of American life. creoles (very light complected) but some Committee. And in the meantime? How many Negro are real brunette, but none are really for we should.not be surprised that Powell lives are to go on being corroded by the RIGHT TOJVOTE NOT YET WON the people. has been denied his seatinthe House at the indecency andindignity of being conSidered After the hurricane we formed our own same time Representative Coleman from Hundreds of black people in this coun and treated as a second class human??? organization "Betsy Flood Victims", to Mississippi has been appointed Chairman try have fought and died for the right to Uving as we do in an age of great demand $10,000 cash per home for drown of the powerful House Rules Committee.

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