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OUTHER CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

Volume 1 August, 1963 Number 11 Birmingham Moves To End Segregation As Voter Drive Mounts The last vestiges of segregation be­ gan crumbling in Birmingham, Ala., on July 30 as lunch counters in the down­ town shopping area and outlying sub­ urban communities began desegregat­ ing their facilities and serving Negroes without incident. The move was part of a four-point settlement plan agreed to on May 10 following a crucial five weeks of non-violent demonstrations, mass jailings and the use of fire hoses and vicious K-9 corps police dogs. The integration of Birmingham's lunch counters in 14 stores within a two-day period Artist's sketch (above) of new churches being erected on site of ruins of bombed and burned out churches in Southwest Georgia is imposing structure. Below, Jackie Robinson (foreground) and Rev. followed closely earlier "good faith" efforts Wyatt Tee Walker examine ruins of Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Terrell County, Georgia. on the part of Birmingham authorities to live up to the agreement. Within a few days after . •, ;. :::~ /' the settlement was reached, the following were accomplished: 1.) Fitting rooms were desegregated (within three days). 2.) White-Negro signs were removed from drinking fountains and public rest rooms (with­ in 30 days) . 3.) Public golf courses, closed by the city following a court order last year that they be desegregated, were re-opened voluntarily with four of the city's seven links thrown open on an integrated basis. Moved Swiftly While the city had 90 days within which to (Continued on Page 3)

File Biggest Vote Suit Washington, D. C.-The Justice Dept. filed its largest voting registration suit to date on July 31, urging a Federal court Begin Rebqilding Bombed Churches to order the immediate registration of more than 2,000 Birmingham, Ala., Negroes. Atty. Gen. Robert F. Kennedy said the Rebuilding of three Negro churches which were destroyed by bombings and suit, filed in U. S. District Court in Birming­ fire nearly a year ago in Southwest Ga. areas entered construction stages last ham, demanded that local registration of­ month as building materials were hauled to the site of the leveled churches by ficials be ordered to stop discriminating the Blaylock McKinnon Construction firm of Albany, Ga. and Jacksonville, Fla. against Negro applicants. Birmingham is the largest city in which the department has The three churches -the Shady Grove Baptist Church in Lee County, Ga., sought through court action to obtain equal and the Mount Olive and Mount Mary Baptist Churches in Terrell County, Ga. voting rights for Negroes. were the targets of racists' bombs and arson The Birmingham suit was the 43rd such after their facilities were used as voter regis­ determined that the will of a free society voting suit filed and the eighth in . tration headquarters in mid-summer, 1962. would overcome race hatred and utter dis­ Discrepancies in Birmingham Negro­ In contrast to the hate-inspired destruction regard for God's Houses Of Worship. white registration totals show only 14,000 of the religious sanctuaries, their restoration Spearheading the drive to re-build the Negroes on the voter rolls out of 116,000 churches was one-time Brooklyn Dodger base­ eligible, while about 120,000 whites are is a tribute to the hand-in-hand working of registered out of 256,300 eligible. Americans, both white and black, who were (Continued on Page 6) Record 125,000 DETROIT REPORTS CASH-Making the first financial report following Detroit's huge fund-raising civil rights rally on June 23 in Convention Hall, Walk In Detroit Rev. William Carleton Ardrey (left), a representative of the sponsoring What very well could have been group, turns over checks amounting to a dress rehearsal for the upcoming $27,604.45 to officials of Southern planned on Washington on Au­ Christian Leadership Conference, Dr. Martin Luther , Jr., President gust 28 took place in downtown De­ (center) and Rev. Rolph D. Abernathy, troit on June 23 when a teeming, but Treasurer (right). Amount reported orderly, mass of some estimated 125,­ was first of several to be mode by the ooo persons joined together in a mighty rally sponsors. "Freedom Walk" which ended at Coho Hall where a jam-packed audience gathered to hear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speak. It was the biggest demonstration in the "Motor City" since 1936 when a rally was moved to devote bold, banner headlines and moth parade ended, Dr. King addressed a held for the late U. S. President Franklin pages of pictures and stories on the historical standing-room-only audience that spilled out Delano Roosevelt. "walk," which was led by SCLC President into adjacent, smaller halls, while many in The record-shattering turnout, which broke Martin Luther King, Jr., and had in its front the multitude listened to his message over loud­ all previous marks in terms of crowd size, was lines such dignitaries as UAW President speakers installed outside the rally hall. sponsored by the Detroit Council For Human , Mayor Jerome P. Cava­ The gigantic assembly was staged without Relations, which had as its chairman Rev. naugh and former Governor John B. Swain­ incident, and police later commented that it C. L. Franklin. son of Michigan. was "the most orderly, peaceful crowd" that Banner Headlines At Convention Hall where the super-mam- Detroit bad ever experienced. So impressive was the great swarm of hu­ manity that the Detroit daily newspapers were Expect 100~000 To Participate In March On Washington Aug. 28 Machinery was set in motion early this month for what will probably be the largest gathering of human beings ever assembled in history in the nation's Capital in a demonstrative demand for an end to discrimination and segregation as it affects minority groups. The expected gathering of more than 100,000, scheduled for August 28 in Washington, D. C., is being jointly sponsored by The Southern Christian Leader­ ship Conference, Martin Luther King, Jr., president; the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, , executive secretary; The Na­ tional Urban League, Whitney M. Young, Jr., executive director; the Negro American Labor Council, A. Phillip Randolph, president; the Congress of Racial Equality, , national director; and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Com­ Act to bar job discrimination by Federal, State mittee, , chairman. and Municipal Governments, and by private employers, contractors, employment agencies Purpose Given and trade unions. The purpose of the march, officially titled, 3.) Broadening of the Federal Fair Labor "March On Washington for Jobs and Free­ Standards Act to include the uncovered areas dom," and called for on July 12 by the above of employment where Negroes and other mi­ mentioned national leaders is all-inclusive in norities work at slave wages; and the estab­ its aims. It intends to show by a massive, lishment of a national minimum wage of not peaceful and democratic demonstration in the less than $2.00 per hour. nation's Capital that there is evidence of the need for the Federal Government to take President Backs March effective and immediate action to deal with While there have been some members of the national crisis of jobs and civil rights that Congress who have spoken against the March, Negroes as well as whites are presently facing. President Kennedy .. bas expressed the view that In the area of civil rights, Negro leaders it should take place and that he feels certain have agreed that these demands be met: that it will be an orderly and peaceful demon­ 1.) Passage by Congress of effective and stration. This feeling was also shared by Police meaningful civil rights legislation in the present Chief Robert V. Murray of Washington, D. C. session, without filibuster. who has offered the full cooperation of the 2.) An end to police brutality directed District force with Negro leaders and par­ against citizens using their constitutional right ticipants. of peaceful demonstration. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. of SCLC Make Job Demands summed it up succinctly by stating that this Where jobs are concerned, the group of "is not a march to intimidate congressmen Negro leaders are asking for the following: considering President Kennedy's civil right's 1.) A massive Federal Public Works Pro­ bill." gram to provide jobs for all the unemployed, "This will be," he said, "a dignified, disci­ plined march followed by creative lobbying, Mighty moss of humanity spills all over down­ and Federal legislation to promote an expand­ ing economy. and it will have a positive effect on civil town Woodward Ave., in Detroit as thousands rights." joined parade, singing hymns and spirituals. 2.) A Federal Fair Employment Practices

2 Miss. Negroes Denied Vote TEACHING TEACHERS-Demonstrat­ ing at the blackboard the elementary techniques that teachers should know Protest On Election Day in carrying back the Citizenship Edu­ cation program to their communities, By Annell Ponder Mrs. Eliza Seymore of South Carolina Thousands of Negroes who have been shows a fellow teacher the proper art denied the right to vote throughout the of writing during class at Dorchester Mississippi Delta area staged a mass pro­ Center in Mcintosh, Georgia. School test in spotted sections over the state on will conduct five-day workshop be­ August 6, the state's Primary Election day. ginning Aug. 18 (see story below) . Their protests were made under a Missis­ sippi law which provides that any person who feels he has been illegally denied the right to register to vote may present an affidavit indicating that belief to the man­ 'Citizenship School' Schedules Five-Day ager of elections on election day and seek permission to vote. Concentrated Protests Workshop Aug. 18 At Dorchester Center Concentrated mass protests over vote de­ nial were scheduled to take place particu­ Volunteer teachers from seven southern states will converge on Mcintosh, larly in Jackson, Greenwood and Clarksdale, Mississippi. Grievances of the protestors in­ Georgia, for a five-day comprehensive training course beginning August 18 at cluded shootings, beatings, jailings and eco­ Dorchester Center, the SCLC-sponsored school for citizenship education which is nomic reprisals such as job loss, withholding helping to eliminate illiteracy throughout the South. of welfare checks and surplus commodities The school, supported by a grant from the Marshall Field Foundation, has and eviction from homes. Other flagrant acts of discrimination pointed directly to been in existence for more than two years and has trained more than 600 teachers local registrars, who are accused of dis­ in the special task of returning to their communities to teach reading and writing qualifying some 1300 Negroes in Leflore to aid Negroes in passing literacy tests as a requirement for voting. SCLC staff County who have attempted to register since members, who have helped guide this educational program are: Rev. Andrew March of this year. SCLC Operates 36 Schools Young, administrator; Mrs. Dorothy F. Cotton, educational consultant; and Mrs. The protest demonstrations were planned Septima P. Clark, supervisor of the teacher by Delta citizens and voter registration training program. workers from SCLC, NAACP, CORE and 10 Million Illiterates SNCC through the Council of Federated The great accomplishment of the Dorchester Organizations, a state-wide voter registration school has been its successful program of pre­ operation. Wire Protest Of Bias In paring adults, many of whom have not been Since the beginning of 1963 the Southern Christian Leadership Conference has oper­ professionally trained as teachers, for the tre­ ated 36 Citizenship Training Schools in the America's Oldest City mendous job of helping to bring education Delta area, which stretches roughly over and enlightenment to some of the nearly 10 the Northwestern part of the state between The Southern Christian Leadership Confer­ million functional illiterates in the U. S. today. Jackson and Memphis, . ence sent a wire of protest to Vice-President Their task has been to return to their com­ Lyndon B. Johnson over the planned Quadri­ munities, many of them in rural areas, recruit BIRMINGHAM Centennial celebration in St. Augustine, Fla., adults who need this type of special educa­ America's oldest city, which has stubbornly tional attention, and organize classes. The (Continued from Page 1) refused to desegregate its facilities for the classes then meet for three months, two act to put an end to its most flagrant practices celebration. nights each week for two-hour periods. The of discrimination, authorities moved swiftly to The wire, sent over the signature of SCLC result: a new addition to America's citizen­ comply with terms of the agreement which had President Martin Luther King, Jr., directed at­ ship population, now in possession of funda­ been effected by Southern Christian Leader­ tention to the fact that Federal Funds are mental reading and writing skills, and an in­ ship Conference through its president, Martin being used to prepare the city for its 400th telligent participant in local and national Luther King, Jr., and the Alabama Christian birthday observance, but that it was making government. Movement, headed by Rev. Fred L. Shuttles­ no effort to desegregate its facilities so that Prospective t e ache r s worth. all persons might join in the commemoration interested in participating Discriminatory practices in job-upgrading without fear of embarrassment. The immediate and hiring are being ended, Dr. King reported, in the program need have effect of the telegram was that some $350,000 only an interest in help­ and inter-racial steering committees are being in government funds were temporarily with­ formed to deal with race relations in Birming­ ing others, the ability to held, pending an investigation by the Federal read aloud well, and be ham. government. Registration Sets New Record able to write legibly on Meanwhile, voter registration efforts set Seven Youths Jailed a blackboard. Further in­ new records in the Steel City as a student St. Augustine, founded in 1565, has a total formation can be ob­ force of some 75 from among the 2,000 who population of 14,734 (1960 census), with tained by writing The were jailed last May carried Negroes by the 10,465 listed as white and 3,404 non-white. Citizenship School, 334 thousands to registration offices. The result Meanwhile, Dr. Robert Hayling, advisor to Auburn Ave., N.E., At­ was that more than 3,650 new names were the Youth Council of the NAACP in St. lanta, Georgia 30303. Mrs. Cotton added to the voter rolls within a two-month Augustine, reported that seven youths between period, setting an all-time high and bringing the ages of 14 and 16 were jailed on tres­ the number of registered Negroes to 14,000 passing charges when they sought to desegre­ out of an eligible 116,000. gate a downtown drugstore in the resort city. A Reminder ••• By contrast, previous attempts to get Bir­ When the youngsters came up for hearing mingham . Negroes on the voter rolls only before Judge J. Charles Mathis, Hayling said SCLC's 7th Annual produced 2,000 additional registrants over the the judge had a prepared statement for the five-month period from Oct. 1, 1962, to parents to sign to the effect that they would CONVENTION March 1, 1963. not allow the children to participate "in any The present drive, under advisorship by forms of racial demonstrations until they were Where? Richmond, Va. SCLC and coordinated by Rev. Charles Billups at least 21 years of age·." of the Alabama Christian Movement, will con­ The parents refused to sign and the children tinue full scale until Birmingham schools re­ were returned to custody - the boys to a When? Sept. 23-27 open this fall. reformatory and the girls to a detention home.

3 dramatized the Negro's circumstance in city after city. Nor will it be a Letters demonstration to end all demonstra­ tions. What it will be, and what its real meaning will convey, will be a To Publisher, SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN dramatic showing of a strength of num­ bers so familiar, and so eagerly sought LEADERSH~ CONFERENCE by the politicians who have been sent SCLC 334 Auburn Ave., N.E. to Washington to represent all the Atlanta, Georgia people. The March will contain only Phone: 524-1378 numbers. Concerning The March MARTIN LUTHER KINo, JR., President But these are the numbers that per­ haps will tug at the consciences of Dear Martin: F. L. SHUTILESWORTH, Secretary the law-makers in that august body I pray that you and those associated with you will not let anyone persuade you to call RALPH D. ABERNATHY, Treasurer in the nation's Capital. off the March on Washington. Now that you have the ball rolling you )HYATT TEE WALKER, Executive Director must demonstrate more than ever before. I want to tell you of a similar situation. It EDWARD T. CLAYTON, Editor was the time we were trying to get the Presi­ dent (Roosevelt) to set up the FEPC. He was hesitating for fear it would slow down war production. Hillman was against it. Will Alex­ AIMS AND PURPOSES OF SCLC ander was against it and the War Production 1. To achieve full citizenship rights, Board were against it. Walter White and A. and total integration of the Negro in Phillip Randolph sent out word to organize American life. Dr. Kenneth Clark, psychologist and pro­ a March on Washington. They talked of 2. To stimulate non-violent direct mass fessor at New York University: "The Negro 100,000. action to remove the barriers of segre­ is asking not to change society but to be The President sent me to New York to per­ gation and discrimination. included in it." suade White and Randolph to call off the 3. To disseminate the creative philoso­ March . . . White and Randolph said they * * * would not call off the March unless the phy and techniques of non-violence Sid Moody, Associated Press writer, in an through local and area workshops. President issued an order making it mandatory article on the racial crisis: "For years the that firms with Government orders hire 4. To secure the right and unhampered nation has said racial solution would take time, Negroes on a basis of equality. use of the ballot for every citizen. lots of it. But somehow, swiftly, the sands La Guardia (then New York Mayor) called 5. To reduce the cultural lag through ran out. The time is now." the President. F.D.R. fumed and pleaded that the Citizenship Training Program. * "such a March would turn the people against * * the Negro," and that "it would be a dis-service James Farmer, national director of CORE, to the nation in time of war." White and Ran­ comparing integrated neighborhoods in the dolph stood firm. Editorial South and North: "In the North they say, 'go ... The President (at a White House meet­ high but don't get too close.' In the South ing) waved us all out, saying to the Secretary they say, 'get close, but don't go too high.' " of War, Mr. Stimson, who favored the is­ About The March * * * suance of the order, "have Fiorella, Aubrey, There have been many views ex­ Ernest Vandiver, former governor of Geor­ Anna (Rosenberg) and Bob Jackson draw up gia, in a television interview: "We're in a the order." This we did, clearing it with pressed, both pro and con, concerning social revolution. Problems that we kept under White and Randolph. the March on Washington scheduled the rug for a good many years are coming But it was weeks before the President would for August 28. Some critics have stated out." sign it . .. Finally, one day Anna Rosenberg put the order down on his desk in front of that it could serve Negroes no good * * * him and literally screamed, "Mr. President, end, that the demonstrations which Rodney Scott, nine-year-old Chicago young­ sign it or the Negroes will march on Wash­ have been conducted, and are still ster, who can barely print his own name and ington within the next ten days." being conducted, in many sections of lives in a rundown tenement with six other The President then signed it. Remember, the U. S. have proved the Negro's children and a father who doesn't work: "Seg­ you get nothing for free. regation? Is it like a parade?" AUBREY WILLIAMS point and that there is now a willing­ Washington, D. C. ness to grant him the freedom he is * * * demanding. Ike Hall, a Detroit crane operator, quoted in a Newsweek article on Negroes in America: This may very well be true. But "We have always faced danger. Being a Negro Detroit's "Freedom Walk" the March has an even more significant is dangerous to start with. We have been beat meaning. and lynched and killed anyway." Dear Rev. King: To those who contend that there A more accurate estimation of the number * * * of people that marched and watched the can be no guarantee against violence Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, SCLC finan­ demonstration in Detroit on Sunday, June 23, erupting, a recent refutation of this cial Secretary, in a speech discussing 1963, is over 200,000. I am convinced that was made impressively manifest in the the high rate of Negro unemployment: I personally saw enough people to fill the June 23 "Freedom Walk" in Detroit, "The system of bookkeeping on the University of Michigan football stadium twice Negro is painfully and shamefully in­ full and have many left over. That stadium Michigan, in which more than 125,000 co n sis t e n t. He is holds approximately 100,000 people. persons joined in a peaceful, non­ on the m i n u s side This demonstration of your leadership and violent March in the city's downtown of the ledger when it influence, made me realize that probably you area. And this in a major Northern comes to employment; and your organization are the Messiah who on the plus side of the will lead the Negro in America to true 1st metropolis that has known race riots books when it comes to class citizenship. (Group integrity and self­ in its near-recent past. crime rates; deeper in sufficiency) . . . . The March on Washington is ex­ the red when he seeks As long as we are segregated and dis­ pected to be conducted in the same job upgrading; and hope­ criminated against; as long as the vote is lessly ignored when a denied us and as long as we do not have peaceful, ordedy, non-violent fashion. trial balance is struck adequate Negro law enforcement officers in It is not designed to be anti-climactic for a supervisory posi- our communities on the local, county and state to other demonstrations which have tion over whites.'' Rev. Abernathy level, we must continue our present struggle,

4 but you have enough influence and power to the progress the Negroes have made in recent wage war on two fronts: years. We would like to express our sympathy 1. Elimination of all segregation and dis­ for you and your movement. PROFILE OF THE MONTH crimination We would like to know what we as high 2. Work toward group, economic, self-suf­ school seniors jn California can do to help Since going to jail has become a badge ficiency .... you in your fight for civil rights? of dignity and honor for the Negro in LAWRENCE S. LACKEY, M.D. MARGIE SHEPPARD his quest for full citizenship rights, the Ecorse, Michigan Modesto, California m o s t often - asked question today is not "have you been to Birmingham Jail jail-yet?" but "how Dear Mr. King: many times?" For years I've been concerned that we white SCLC board people have sat so complacently,- knowing full DIS 'N member Hosea Wil­ well fu ll citizenship was long over-due for DATA liams can qualify on many of our Brothers. I have tried to express both of the above my convictions whenever and wherever pos­ Did You Know . . . that some counts, and possibly sible. But this shows no results. It's nothing Mississippi churches have such an ab­ can add still a third when 50 "good Christian people" agree "some­ horrence for the word black that cer­ from among his own thing should be done." tain passages in the Bible have been experiences as a wit- None of us live near minority groups so ness who has served one of the longest we have few opportunities to express good will changed to delete it completely. For terms. By the end of July he had served in real actions. Yet this is the main topic of example: the familiar verse in which a total of 23 days in the Savannah, Geor­ conversation wherever we go. Solomon says "I am black, but gia jail on 12 separate "peace" warrants, I prayed for guidance as to what action I comely," has been altered to read, sworn to by whites in Savannah. His could take. Then your letter written to the bond reached a staggering total of $30,- Ministers while in Birmingham Jail and pub­ "I am suntanned, but comely." ... 000 - or $2,500 on each count. It was lished in Presbyterian Life came to me from Civil war history books in that state later halved to $15,000, but Williams a woman who feels as I do, lent to her, by have also suffered similar re-arrange­ was still behind bars, awaiting disposition a woman who also feels concern. ments. Instead of white pupils being of his case. Like a light, it flashed into my mind. "I've written my Congressmen (only yesterday, and taught out of books correctly titled Family Goes To Jail often) urging them to work for legislation The Civil War or The War Between Thirty-seven-year-old Hosea Williams regarding Nuclear Testing, Foreign Aid, and The States etc., Mississippi's history is one among the numberless thousands other matters - but never have I written books carry such titles as, The War of who have been willing to make sacrifices about Civil Rights legislation. I am ashamed. for the cause of "Freedom Now," and I'm writing you so you will know I'm ashamed. Northern Aggression. his dedication to that cause has virtually Please tell other people that I'm not alone in • • • embraced his entire family. Besides Wil­ my shame, but I'm starting today to write at liams himself, who has been jailed three least one letter a day, and today it will be Have you read . . . the two articles times this year as result of demonstra­ I 0 to Congressmen, President, Ministers, written by Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker, tions, his wife, the former Juanita Terry friends, relatives, and anyone the Lord inspires SCLC's executive assistant to Dr. Mar­ of Atlanta, has been in jail once and me to write to . . two of his five children, Elizabeth La­ tin Luther King, Jr., which hit the Cenia, II, and Hosea II, 8, also have MRS. A. R EES news stands almost simultaneously in Fairview, Oregon been arrested for protesting discrimina­ July. One was in Negro Digest, en­ tion. Elizabeth has been jailed four times. titled Freedom's Song, which traces and Hosea II had to spend a night and Want To Help two days in an Orphan's Home after he the development of the Negro spiritual insisted on being served an ice cream Dear Dr. King : and its influence on today's nonvio­ cone in a restaurant. In a Sunday School class yesterday we were lent movement. The other appeared Home to Hosea Williams has been discussing the struggle against racial discrimi­ in the July issue of the New South Savannah, Georgia for the past 10 years, nation. One of the big problems is housing. where he has been employed as a re­ What can we as individuals do to help the under the title, Achievement In Al­ search chemist with the U. S. Dept. of cause of fair housing? bany. Agriculture in the Stored Products Di­ LILLIAN LARSON • • • vision. His birthplace, however, is At­ Norristown, Pa. tapulgus, Georgia, a small town at the Have You Heard . the new re- southern end of Georgia near the Dear Sir: cording Birmingham Jailhouse, written state line. Both of his parents have been I am writing on behalf of my American by Redd Evans? The tune, inspired by deceased since his early childhood, and Government class. We are very interested in Hosea was reared by an aunt, Mrs. Azzie the mass jailings in Birmingham last Hines, a school-teacher librarian in At­ Reprinted by permiss ion from Negro Digest May, has received a letter of commen­ tapulgus. dation from TV's well known personal­ Is Purple Heart Veteran ity Edward R. Murrow, and may very At age 15 , teen-age wanderlust lured well catch on as a hit for veteran com­ Hosea to Orlando, Florida where he be­ poser Redd, who has shared credits in gan to support himself by working in a the past on such hits as There I've Said dry-cleaning plant. Three years later he went into the army, rose to the rank of It Again, This Is The Night and No staff sergeant, and was honorably dis­ Moon At All. charged with a purple heart - the result • of injuries he received in combat in • • Germany during World War II. Have You Seen . copies of the Like many Gis, Hosea took advantage July 29 issue of Newsweek which car­ of the armed forces' educational benefits ried a 20-page article entitled, The for veterans. He returned home, finished high school, then went to Morris Brown Negro In America, which was the re­ College in Atlanta, Georgia, where, he sult of a national survey based on was graduated in 1951. That same year 1,250 interviews, a 252-question inter­ he married Juanita Terry whom he met view sheet and 3,000 man hours of in Atlanta. He is now the father of five children, whose ages range from two to labor. One of its conclusions was that 15, including (besides the two previously SCLC president, Martin Luther King, mentioned) Andre Jerome, 6; Yolanda Jr., was rated by Negro leaders and Felicia, 2; and Barbara Jean, 15, the latter by a previous marriage. "I'm sorry, Reverend-but I guess I just the rank and file of Negro masses as ran out of cheeks to turn." the No. 1 leader in America today.

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Lena Horne Appears In Benefit Aug. 20 Glamorous singing star Lena Horne, whose show business career has em­ braced all phases of stardom, from radio to television, and motion pictures to supper clubs and concerts, will ap­ pear in Atlanta, Georgia, August 20 at the City Auditorium for the first time in the more than 20 years of her fabulous career. Her concert debut here will be a benefit per­ formance for SCLC. The beautiful song stylist, who launched her career in 1940 as a singer with Charlie Bar­ nett's orchestra, will be the first artist to appear in what will be a series of "Stars For Freedom" to benefit the present . Appearing with her on the same bill will be the Billy Taylor Trio, whose pianist-leader is recognized as one of the most brilliant com­ Installed as new president of Los Angeles chapter of Western Christian Leadership Conference, posers and arrangers among today's keyboard Dr. A. A. Peters (right) posed with fellow officers and visitors. Others, from left, Rev . Joe artists. Hardwick, treasurer, Rev. Edward Gardner of Birmingham, Ala., and Rev. Richard Bass, vice-president. 23-Piece Orchestra Also sharing the spotlight with Miss Horne will be the talented and much-publicized trio WCLC Establishes Los Angeles Chapter of Lambert, Hendricks & Bavan, who first gained fame for their unique imitations of The Western Christian Leadership Conference, an affiliate of SCLC, covering musical instruments and scat singing with seven Western states and Alaska and Hawaii, established its first chapter in Los Count Basic's orchestra several years ago. Ac­ Angeles on July 12 and installed Dr. A. A. Peters, pastor of Victory Baptist companying Miss Horne will be a 23-piece Church, as president of the new branch. orchestra under the direction of Mercer Elling­ Installation ceremonies for the new Los Angeles chapter were presided over ton, son of the famous composer-bandleader by Dr. Edward Gardner, pastor of Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. Duke Ellington. Besides Dr. Peters, other officers elected to serve the branch organization were: Rev. Richard Bass, pastor Lewis Metropolitan CME BEGIN REBUilDING Church, vice-president; Rev. Joe Hardwick, (Continued from Page 1) Praisers of Zion Baptist Church, treasurer; and ball star Jackie Robinson, in conjunction with Rev. J. B. Reece, pastor St. John CME Church, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, recording secretary. headed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Co­ More To Follow ordinating the fund-raising campaign was Dr. The Los Angeles chapter, the first of several King's executive assistant, Rev. Wyatt Tee to be established by the Western Christian Walker. Leadership Conference, has among its aims the This is how it began: abolishment of prejudice and discrimination in On Sept. 9, 1962, the day of the second Los Angeles in the areas of housing, employ­ church destruction incident, two churches, ment and education. Other chapters to be Mount Olive and Mount Mary, were burned established later will include branches in Ore­ to the ground shortly before daybreak. That gon, Washington, Nevada, Arirona, New Mex­ same afternoon, Jackie Robinson arrived in ico and Utah. Albany, Ga., for a city-wide registration rally. The parent organization, WCLC, was After conferring with Rev. Walker about the founded in 1961 and has as its president incident, he agreed to serve as National Chair­ Marvin T. Robinson of Pasadena, Calif. man of the SCLC Church Re-building Fund, following a long distance phone call to Dr. King and Rev. , who were Miss Kenyatta Visits on the West Coast. Miss Margaret Kenyatta, daughter of Prime Gov. Rockefeller Donates $10,000 Minister Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, East Africa, Jackie's first donation was a gift of $5,000 was a guest August 6 in the Atlanta home of from his employer, William Black, president First appearance for Lena Horne Mr. and Mrs. Harry Boyte while on a six­ of New York's restaurant chain, Chock Full week tour of the U. S. as guest of the State '0 Nuts. This was followed by a $10,000 stained glass windows for the three sanctuaries. Dept. Mr. Boyte is a recent addition to the donation from New York Governor Nelson Others, including the Atlanta Constitution SCLC staff as Special Assistant to Dr. Martin Rockefeller. and the Mennonite Central Committee con­ Luther King, Jr. Then the fund began to grow with other ducted their own fund-raising campaigns, with Miss Kenyatta, a leader of women's organi­ organizations and business firms either making the net result that some $75,000 was made zations in Nairobi, Kenya, served as chairman financial contributions or offering their serv­ available for the church re-building program, for 1962-63 of the African Women's Semi­ ices on a gratis basis. Among the latter, the Will Seat 200 nar in Nairobi. Georgia chapter of the American Institute of On Feb. 3, this year, Dr. King broke ground Mrs. Boyte became acquainted with Prime Architects, led by Joseph Amisano of Toombs, for the three churches, and construction is Minister Kenyatta during· her student days at Amisano and Wells, assumed all responsibility expected to be completed in October. the London School of Economics in 1938, at for preparing sketches, drawings and blue­ The churches will cost about $30,000 each which time the Prime Minister was attending prints free of charge. The Trappists Monks at to re-construct and will have a seating capacity some graduate seminars. Conyers, Georgia, volunteered to provide the of 200.

6 =Th=e S=C=LC=I[\J Review Of The Month Missionaries Give $3,263 The Furloughed Missionary Conference J3ookJke/{ ~ by Martin Luther King, Jr. of the Board of Missions of the Methodist (Harper & Rowe $3.50) Church, donated their entire Sunday Com­ With an increasing number of books be­ munion offering to the Southern Christian ing written by and about Negroes at one of By Carole F. Hoover the most accelerated paces since perhaps Leadership Conference recently, following the Negro "literary rennaisance" of the mid­ If you have never quite understood Martin an address there by Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker, depression years of the Thirties, the nation's Luther King, Jr. the Man, the Pastor, the executive assistant to Dr. Martin Luther book stalls are rapidly becoming replete Leader, you can get an understanding through King, Jr. The sum amounted to $3,263.94. with a wealth of information about Amer­ his latest book, Strength To Love. It is a real The Missionary Conference, composed of ica's heretofore lightly regarded minority - testimonial to the man, the leader and to his modestly-salaried missionaries, raised the the Negro. The following is a minutely work toward achieving full integration for amount from among an audience of about partial list of what is current and upcoming. Negroes in all aspects of American Life. 350 persons who heard Rev. Walker speak The book expounds religious philosophy that Due In The Fall has led America to an embarkation upon one in the campus church at De Paul Univer­ of the greatest social revolutions in history. sity in Green Castle. The missionaries, on )) Black Man In Red Russia by Homer furlough from their duties, return to the Smith. Another in the Johnson Publishing Martin Luther King repeatedly stresses that Company's line of hardbacks, this is sched­ Love is both the imperative and ultimate factor U. S. every five years from their assign­ uled for Oct. 10 publication date. Smith, a in the Negro struggle for human dignity and ments in the field. former war correspondent for the Afro­ first-class citizenship. It is upon this premise A check for the amount was sent to the American newspa­ that he has been successful in leading millions Atlanta office of SCLC with this notation per, Associated Ne­ of Negroes in this country and has won respect from Ashton A. Almand, treasurer: " .. . I gro Press and As­ of people all over the world. trust that this wjJI not only assist your sociated Press, spent He Minimizes Oppression He does not make frequent reference to the program in a material way, but that it will 14 years in Russia graphically express to you and your fellow and writes lucidly use of high-powered water hoses on children, of his experiences the many unsolved bombings in the south, the workers the concern on the part of our there. arrests of thousands of school children and people in the work of your organization." )) The Negro adults, the use of police dogs on humans of Mood and Other Es­ all ages and many other vivid occurrences that says. This, also by have taken place recently in our struggle. registrar's list. Jesse Hill, Jr., co-chair­ Johnson Publishing Instead, he speaks of God's unquestionable man of the All-Citizens' Registration Co., is a collection of love for all human beings. He speaks of man's Jove for his brother. He speaks particularly of Committee, disclosed that there are Lerone Bennett essays by and about Negroes, has as its the Negro's love for his oppressor which has about 46,000 Negroes registered now lead contributor, Lerone Bennett, who au­ enabled him to withstand his suffering and and that, "we intend to have 65,000 thored the current best-selling history of the Jove those who inflict suffering upon him. The voters registered by 1964 for the presi­ Negro in America under the title Before title of the book is outstanding in every para­ The Mayflower. graph of every chapter through a multiplicity dential election." of well chosen words. It is a beautiful, benevo­ )) White On Black by the editors of Ebony Working with Rev. Bennette are lent, humane and a Christian love that he nine persons trained by SCLC in Voter Magazine. Due in the late Fall, this will be speaks of which certainly gives all of us real an anthology from the pens of noted writers Strength To Love. Education at the Dorchester Citizen­ who h!lve written about Negroes for Ebony ship School in Mcintosh, Georgia. magazme. Some of the names to be in­ cluded will be the late Mrs. Eleanor Roose­ Atlanta Aiming for 65,000 These persons were specially trained velt, Ralph McGill, columnist and titular to return to their respective communi­ publisher of the Atlanta Constitution and Negro Voters Next Year ties and train others in citizenship, William Faulkner, the noted author f;mous One of the largest voter registration education, registration and voting. for Sanctuary and Sound Of Fury. drives ever to be staged in Atlanta A recent survey indicates there are )) The Negro Politician: His Success And Failure by Edward T. Clayton. Also due and Fulton County is currently being approximately 120,000 Negroes in At­ for late Fall publication by Johnson Pub­ conducted under the leadership of lanta of voting age. lishing Company's Book Division, this non­ SCLC Field Secretary fiction work traces the development of the Rev. Fred C. Bennette. Negro politician from before the Civil War through the elections of the present day. Bennette, w o r k i n g In The Hopper with the All- Citizens' Registration Committee, )) Why We Can't Wait by Martin Luther has already added some King, Jr. The third book to come from the 6,000 new voters to the pen of the internationally acclaimed Negro leader, this will be an embellishment of his now-famous essay, Letter from Birmingham Jail. Publication date has not been set, but A FAMILY AFFAIR- Martin the publishers will be Harper & Row. Luther King, Jr., obliges his sister, Mrs. Christine Farris Available At SCLC (left), and his mother, Mrs. )) Strength To Love by Martin Luther Alberta King, with an auto­ King, Jr. Publishers: Harper & Row. Price: graphed copy of his latest book, $3.50. Strength To Love, during a spe­ cial autographing session at )) by Martin Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Luther King, Jr. Publishers: Harper & Chur.ch where Dr. King is co­ Brothers Co. Price: $2.95 pastor. The new book, pub­ )) Crusader Without Violence by L. D. lished by Harper & Row, is Reddick. Publishers: Harper & Brothers. dedicated to his mother and Price: $3.95 father, Rev . Martin Luther )) Echo In My Soul by Septima Poinsette King, Sr., also co-pastor of the Clark. Publishers: E. P. Dutton & Co. Price: church. The event was the first $4.50 such autographing occasion in )) The Desegregated Heart by Sarah Pat­ connection with the current book, his second. ton Boyle. Publishers: William Morrow & Co. Price: $5 .00 7 50 Fined; Settlement Reached In Savannah Climaxing nearly two months of pro­ driven into an areaway between the jail dropped against arrested demonstrators; test demonstrations, jailings, Wall Street and the City Hall. City police, aug­ 2) that public facilities be desegregated picket lines and attempted negotiations, mented by deputized garbage collectors and Negro-White signs be removed from Savannah, Georgia's rigid segregation set upon them with billy clubs nearly public accommodations; and 3) that Ne­ barriers finally toppled as the city three feet in length. Men and Women, groes be hired in all departments of the agreed to discard its discriminatory prac­ boys and girls were clubbed, kicked and municipal government. tices. The move came almost simultane­ savagely beaten without a single arrest ously on Aug. 7 with the sentencing and (no charges of resisting arrests could be subsequent release from jail of some 50 entered.) The president of SCLC's Dan­ GADSDEN, AI.A. Negroes accused of trespassing and other ville affiliate, the Rev. L. W. Chase, was Police arrested more than 600 demon­ charges, among them Hosea Williams, hauled from his home at 4 a.m. in noth­ strators from among 1,000 marchers who nresident of the Chatham County Cru­ ing but his bathrobe to answer charges paraded through the Agricola shopping sade For Voters, who had been held un­ that he encouraged his children to dem­ center in downtown Gadsden, Ala. on der $15,000 bond. Williams was ordered onstrate. August 3, protesting discrimination and to pay a $100 fine or spend six months segregation in that city. It was the in jail. SCLC staff members, Andrew second such mass jailing in Gadsden Young, and John Gibson, WII.I.IAMSTON, N. C. since Nov., 1962, when pro­ who were with the Savannah crusade at An uneasy truce was reached in Wil­ tests were first made. SCLC Field Secre­ all its junctures, provided counsel and liamston, North Carolina, on August 4 tary , who has been in the guidance for local leadership in helping following five weeks of sustained demon­ forefront of helping to break down racial to bring about an end to the ugly pat­ strations by Negroes making repeated barriers in Gadsden reports that the terns of segregation. thrusts at segregation and discrimina­ city's buses have been desegregated since tion barriers in this small town of some the middle of July. No other moves to 40,000 persons. The demonstrations be­ end segregation and discrimination, how­ DANVII.I.E, VA. gan on June 30 when more than 200 ever, have been made. Danville, Virginia has been the scene protestors marched from Williamston's of the most brutal police action in the Bible Way Church to the steps of City CONTRIBUTIONS entire South. The Danville Christian Pro­ Hall in a Prayer Pilgrimage that lasted gressive Association began their direct 10 minutes. Every evening thereafter the I wish to contribute to the work of action protest against public accommoda­ marching demonstrators continued their SCLC and the social struggle in the tions and job discrimination in this South direct action protests, choosing as vari­ South. Side Virginia textile center. The protest ous targets the city's segregated Wash­ began on May 31st and continued peace­ ington Theatre, drug store lunch count­ NAME fully without incident until the night of ers, and the Shamrock Motel & Res­ June lOth. Danvillians refer to that night taurant. SCLC Regional Representative ADDRESS infamously as "the night of the mas­ F . L. LeGarde and Field Secretary (street) sacre." L. G. Campbell, DCP A Executive Golden A. Frinks, have guided the dem­ Secretary, describes it as the worst night onstrators, whose ranks have swelled to he remembers in his life. Nearly 100 as many as 700 at times. So far, al­ (city'& state) demonstrators had marched to the City though scores have been arrested on Hall. While they were praying, Mayor trespassing charges, incidents have been Amount of Contribution Albert Stinson ordered Chief of police at a minimum. At month's end, as about McCain to "Give 'em everything you've 430 Negroes were preparing to demon­ Send to: S C L C got." Water hoses with as much as 100 strate, the city agreed to meet three of 334 Auburn Ave., N.E. pounds of pressure split the group al­ the six demands made by the protestors. Atlanta, Georgia 30303 most in two. The larger segment was They were: 1) that all charges be ·. SCLC#~ 334 Aub urn Ave., N.E. Atlanta, Ga. 30303

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