Parish Group Finds:

Giving Money Away Is No Simple Trick

“‘The remark zoomed the discussions into orbit. It ranged all the way from racial prejudice to currency convertibility, the missle

lag, the population explosion, the nature of Communism, and various estimates of Kennedy’s chances in November . . .

ARLY THIS year I sent the follow- ing note to the president of the Catholic Men of St. Cyprian’s parish:

“I am worried about the surplus of $208.12 in our treasury and would like to offer the suggestion that we adopt some struggling overseas missionary parish.

“Two-thirds of the world’s popula- tion live in areas that produce one- third of the world’s food. Between 7,- 000 and 9,000 people on this planet die daily of malnutrition. Two-third’s of the human race does not get enough to eat.

Stay in Channels

“The project would have to secure the approval of our chaplain, our pas- tor, our Bishop, the American Hier- archy, and Pope John XXIII. You know the position of the laity in the Church today. We must stay in chan-

nels at all costs.

“What would be involved would be a pledge for 1960 to contribute a mini- mum of $5.00 a month to help build the Church in some missionary territory.

“The advantages would be:

e Link our parish with the mission- ary apostolate of the Church on a Cath- olic person-to-person basis.

e Contribute to the defeat of Com- munism on some critical battlefront.

e Provide an opportunity to obtain first-hand information on present-day conditions in some missionary parish.

e Give an additional incentive to the

men of our parish to identify them- selves with our Society.

e Demonstrate Catholic leadership as an example to other parish societies and to other lay organizations across the country.

e Discharge our Catholic responsi- bility to be lay apostles to the limit of our capacity in a very troubled world.

e Return gratitude to God for the many blessings showered upon our So- ciety and our parish.”

Our president, Joe Crawford, a suc- cessfull advertising man, thought well of my suggestion. He approved my further recommendations that the mon- ey be sent to a veteran missionary in the West Indies who was trying to im- prove the living standards of his peo- ple through credit unions and various self-help enterprises. The per capita in- come of about three million people in the West Indies Federation averages

$3.00 a week.

Splendid Idea “A splendid idea,” Joe said. “Let’s bring it up at the next officers’ meeting. As I was the Society’s Second Vice President In Charge of Cultural Affairs, I attended this meeting. Our chaplain

Ten Cents

aa

and six other laymen were also pres- ent. Joe called the meeting to order in the parish school library. I thought the project would be approved very quick- ly. I was wrong.

Our chaplain remarked that an elab- orate ecclesiastical clearance would not be necessary. If the officers voted ap- proval, the entire Society would un- doubtedly take on the project at the next Communion breakfast.

Men Agreed

The men nodded their heads. The resident recognized Frank Alonzo, re- tail merchandizing.

“T think it’s a swell idea,” Frank said. “But I was just wondering whether our initial contribution ought not to be $10.00. Our Society will not meet until February and maybe we ought to take care of January when we authorize our treasurer to send off our first money in February.” oe

The President recognized Henry Glotz, physician.

$60.00 a Year? “I’m all in favor of what we’re do-

ing,” Henry said. “But I think we ought to send $60.00 for the entire year, all at one time, rather than send our con- tribution five dollars at a time.”

The President recognized Daniel Krutch, government worker.

“The project appeals strongly to me,’ Dan said. “But I have a nephew, the son of my sister Kate, who is doing some excellent work on Formosa or Taiwan. I’m sure he would be mighty grateful to our Society for whatever help we could send him. I’m not say- ing that the Jesuits aren’t doing good work in the West Indies. What I do say is that the Franciscans on Taiwan are doing a terrific job.”

The President recognized Harry Glover, lawyer.

>

Genuine Inspiration

“This project is a genuine inspiration to me,” Harry said. “I give it my hearty approval. But I have heard that if a missionary receives a private contribu- tion of $5.00, the Society for the Propa- gation of the Faith in Rome deducts $5.00 from his monthly allotment, and so the missionary is at a stand-still. What I mean is, we really wouldn’t be helping him.”

Our chaplain observed that the So- ciety for the Propagation of the Faith does not send a monthly contribution to all missionaries in every part of the world. He said that he felt reasonably certain that the Jesuit missionary in the West Indies would not be appealing for help if he was already being sup- plied with funds by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith.

qdommunity

The President recognized Christopher Heller, building contractor.

“The project should have our approv- al,” Chris said. “But I would like to inquire whether we will send our con- tribution by regular or air mail. This raises a further question. Will we sub- tract the amount of the postage from the $5.00 or will our Society absorb the postage expense and send the mission- ary the entire $5.00?”

Penny Sale

“Thank you very much, gentlemen,” the President said. “I think all of us realize that there is very little we can do in the Church or for the Church. This is the chance of a lifetime. I would like to clear away this project at this time, if there are no objections, because the most important item on our agenda tonight is whether our Society will sponsor a penny sale. There is very lit- tle that the laity are permitted to do. But at least we might try to make up our minds whether to have a penny sale in the parish under the auspices of our Society.”

“The parish has no debt now,” Har- ry Glover objected.

“That’s right,” the President replied. “But a penny sale is a good means of getting the men of our Society to work together and to become better acquaint- ed with one another. Let’s vote now on the mission project and then go on to the penny sale.”

Jamaica

“Mr. President,” Frank Alonzo said. “I don’t think we have fully discussed this perfectly thrilling. West.Indian_af- fair. For example, I was thinking that we must face the problem that Jamaica is a part of the West Indies Federa- tion.”

“That isn’t important,” Henry Glotz said. “What counts is that we’re trying . help out in the missionary aposto- ate.”

“The West Indies Federation is Brit- ish,” Alonzo said. “Don’t you see? Brit- ish currency. I think we ought to talk to the international department of one of our big banks to see how we should go about getting American dollars into a British possession.”

No End Yet

I thought this was the most stupid, tiresome, irritating, long-winded, petty discussion I had ever listened to. But the end was not yet in sight.

“It is my understanding,” Dan Krutch said, “that most of the people in the West Indies are, well, that is to say, colored.”

“So what?” Chris Heller snorted. “We have no race problem in St. Cyprian’s parish because we don’t have any Ne- groes.”

“Good thing,” Krutch said. “I got out of Washington and bought a house in the suburbs just to get away from them. For all I know, these West Indians practice voodoo and are members of the NAACP. If we go on helping Ne- groes, encouraging Negroes, molly-cod- dling Negroes, we’ll all end up with switch-blades in our backs!”

Fish or Cut Bait

“Gentlemen,” Joe Crawford inter- rupted, “we Catholics do an awful lot of talking about the equality of all men before God, about human dignity

(Continued on page 6)

June, 1960

EDITORIAL:

Police and Minority Groups; The Need for Professionalism

E RECENTLY had the pleasure of

participating in the Sixth Annual National Institute on Police-Commu- nity Relations, and were so impressed with the content of its program that we are printing in this issue the edited papers of three of the speakers: Lou Radelet, Thurgood Marshall and Dr. Mel Ravitz.

This week long institute was spon- sored by Michigan State University with the cooperation of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. The theme that kept recurring, the problem that was on everyone’s mind, was the relationship between the police and minority groups—and specifically between the police and the Negro.

There were about a dozen of we “race rélations professionals” at the institute but at least 70 per cent of the partici- pants were police officials. They came from every section of the country and represented our largest and our small-

Chicago. According to Professor Phil- ip M. Hauser, chairman of the Univer- sity of Chicago’s Department of Sociol- ogy, and former acting director of the United States Census, the American Negro is becoming more, not less, seg- regated in large cities.

Professor Hauser said that the Negro is gradually moving outward toward the suburbs, and acquiring better edu- cation and jobs. However, where other immigrants did this as individuals and became assimilated, the Negro is mov- ing as a group, taking his segregated ghetto with him. This is.a result, said Professor Hauser, of prejudice against the Negro, and of the fact that his movement toward metropolitan areas

READERS WRITE:

est police departments. More impor- tant, they represented almost every point of view—from the Negro officer who felt that nothing would ever im- prove, to the retired New York City policeman who had realistic answers, to the officer from Texas who would not sit at the same table with a Negro. The trend over the past decade has been to try to convince police officers that they must-act as professionals in all situations and not let their personal feelings influence their performance. The wisdom of this approach, as con- trasted to our earlier attempts at “edu- cating” the police and eliminating their prejudices, was well demonstrated at the institute. The officer from Texas probably will not feel any differently toward the Negro students attempting to eat at the dime store lunch counter, but hopefully, as a result of this ex- perience, will treat them differently. —JEB

is more rapid and in greater numbers than was that of other immigrants.

Kaamazoo, Mich. The first Negro ever to win the title, Grace Hayes has been elected as the May Queen of Kalama- zoo College. Miss Hayes is one of only five Negroes among the college’s 639 students.

Louisville, Ky. “The exclusion of per- sons on account of race, color, or creed from business establishments ca- tering to the general public violates the moral and ethical principles of our re- ligion and . . . we abhor the injustices inherent in such practices.”

With this statement, Louisville’s rab- bis pledged themselves to work for elimination of segregation in business establishments here.

Washington, D.C. The new civil-rights bill over which Congress has strugged

Urges Readers Write Congressinal Leaders About Migratory Labor Legislation

Dear Editors:

An important legislative battle may soon take place in the Congress on bills which will seriously affect the future of migratory agricultural labor.

On June 30, 1961 the law which author- izes the Mexican Farm Labor Program, “Public Law 78,’ will expire unless it is extended. This law, originally passed as a temporary expedient during the war to sup- plement the shortage of farm workers at that time, has been extended periodically and the number of workers imported has in- creased enormously.

Two bills will be important. They are:

H. R. 9875. This bill, introduced by Rep. McIntire, would extend ‘Public Law 78” and would also amend it to prohibit the Sec- retary of Labor from issuing regulations to protect the wages and conditions of employ- ment for United States farm workers. If this bill is passed, the already abysmal condi- tions of migrant farm workers can be ex- pected to get worse rather than improve. This bill has been reported favorably to the House Agriculture Committee by one of its Subcommittees and it, or a bill similar to it, may. reach the floor of the House in the next few weeks at which time it will de- bated and voted on.

H. R. 11211. This bill, introduced by Rep. McGovern, would also extend ‘Public Law 78” but with a number of important amend- ments.

a. It would reduce the number of import- ed Mexican farm workers by 20 per cent each year until it would be termi- nated in 1966.

b. It would also reduce the adverse ef- fects of this program on United States farm workers by clarifying the author-

ity of the Secretary of Labor to regu- late the importation and wage scale of foreign workers where necessary to protect domestic farm laborers.

You and your readers can help by voicing your opinion to your Congressmen and Sen- ators, asking them to vote against H. R. 9875 (Mcintire Bill) and to give favorable consideration to H. R. 11211 (McGovern Bill).

Monsignor George Higgins of the NSWC has done an admirable job of testifying be- fore the House Committees in Washington, but when the bills come to the House for a vote, the interest of each Representative’s constituents will sway his vote one way or the other.

Letters and petitions from individuals and organizations to local Congressmen and Senators, personal visits with them when they are at home or in Washington, tele- phone calls and newspaper publicity are very important. Anything you can do to mobilize the individuals and groups with whom you have contact to do any or all of these things will be a signicant contribution to help im- prove the conditions of farm workers.

This office will be glad to help you in any way it can. Write or call us if there is anything we can do.

Sincerely, VERY REV. MSGR. WILLIAM J. QUINN Executive Secretary Lester C. Hunt Executive Assistant Bishops Committee for Migrant Workers 1300 S. Wabash Chicago 5, Illinois

OR BY ANY OF RACE, COL CONDITION OF

se,

What Was It We Th

for several months became law when President Eisenhower signed it on May 6. The bill, designed to protect the vot- ing rights of Negroes and other minori- ties, was called by the President “an historic step forward in the field of civil rights.”

“With continuing help from all per- sons,” said the President, “The new law will play an important role in the days ahead in attaining our goal of equality under law in all areas of our country for all Americans.”

The new law sets up a procedure un- der which the attorney general could file suit in cases where there is an ap- parent pattern of discrimination against the exercise of voting rights. If it is found that discrimination exists, court- appointed referees could listen to com- plaints from those who had been dis- criminated against. If such persons were found to qualify under State law, the referee could order that they be al- lowed to register and vote.

Attorney General Rogers said that he hoped for voluntary elimination of dis- crimination at the polls, but that if it was not forthcoming the Justice De- partment would immediately investi- gate complaints and “proceed vigorous-

y,”

FRIENDSHIP HOUSE 4233 South Indiana, Chicago 53, IIl.

JOHN KEARNEY will become Ex- ecutive Director of Friendship House effective July 1, David James, chair- man of FH’s advisory board, announced June 6. Plans were also announced for a field program directed from the Friendship House national center in Chicago by Miss Mary Dolan.

“With the closing this month of the New York City Friendship House—the last ‘local’ center of the movement,” Kearney explained, “Friendship House’s activities in New York and other areas will be under Miss Dolan’s supervision out of the national office.” For the past four years Miss Dolan was executive director of Friendship House.

Immediate plans for a field program call for developing representative par- ticipation from other regions in Friend- ship House’s Interracial Weekends July 15-17 and August 19-21 at Childerley Farm near Chicago, and for strength- ening in those areas the circulation and impact of COMMUNITY.

Future plans include: visits by the field secretary and other FH personnel to various centers in the country, for lectures and fo rstudy sessions with lo-

D OR

E THE UNITED STATES,

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STATE,ON AC

COUNT OR, OR PREVIOUS SERVITUDE.

Is™ AMENDMENT RATIFIED 1670

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ught We Settled? cal leaders of interracial movements— sharing ideas and experiences. Also planned are experiments in training other groups in the Visiting Workshop technique, which has been developed at Friendship House’s national center during the past four years.

Newly-appointed director, Kearney is a former migration specialist for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, depart- ment of labor. He is also chairman of the National Fair Credit Practices Com- mittee.

OUR CONTRIBUTORS

e DR. JOHN O'CONNOR, Professor of History at Georgetown University, is President of the National Catholic Conference on Interracial Justice.

e JEAN HESS, a librarian in Louis- ville, Kentucky, regularly contrib- utes our “Views” column.

e LOUIS A. RADELET is Director of the Commission on Community Or- ganizations of the National Confer- ence of Christians and Jews.

e THOMAS GAITHER is a student at Claflin College. PATRICIA STE- PHENS is a student at Florida A. and M. Their articles were supplied by the Congress of Racial Equality, 38 Park Row, New York 38, New York.

e THURGOOD MARSHALL is Chief of the Legal Division of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

e RUSSELL BARTA is Executive Di- rector of the Adult Education Cen- ters of Archdiocese of Chicago.

e ANNE TAILLEFER writes for the Catholic Worker. Her review first appeared there.

e DR. MEL RAVITZ is Professor of Sociology at Wayne State Univer- sity, and is the Senior Sociologist for the Detroit City Plan Commission.

JUNE, 1960 * Vol. No. 10

COMMUNITY

(Formerly ‘The Catholic Interracialist’’)

_ is published by Friendship House,

an organization of Catholic laymen and women,

_ dedicated to working for love of God on the elimination of racial prejudice and discrimination.

1

Co-editors: James E. Burns, Emery J. Biro Circulation Manager: Dorothy Besal Address all communications to 4233 South Indiana Avenue Chicago 53, Illinois

Phone: OAkland 4-7700

Subscription rate: $1 a year (for- eign $1.25 a year). Single copy: 10 cents. 10-99 copies: 7 cents per copy. 100 or more copies: 5 cents per copy.

Advertising rates on request.

Address change: allow one month Please send both old and new ad-

dress. COMMUNITY

is published monthly except August. Office of publication: 115 North Mason

Street, Appleton, Wisconsin. Second

class mail privileges authorized at

Appleton, Wisconsin.

Forms 3579 should be forwarded to

4233 South Indiana Avenue, Chicago 53, Illinois.

COMMUNITY

Police and Community Relations

Policemen May Have Personal Bias But As A Professional He Must Be Unbiased Symbol of Equal Justice

OLICE OFFICERS are not, by and

large, any more mischievous in the field of community relations than are other forces of community leadership. Yet it should be clear that the true professional attitude will avoid the ex- tremes of sorting out the “good guys” and the “bad guys.” To do this, it seems to me, is simply to create an- other axis for “we-and-they” thinking in community relations. There is a middle ground on which to stand, rec- ognizing the actual, rather complex mixture of good and bad in each of us, whether we are police officers, teach- ers, clergymen, or what have you. Im- plied in this is the point that we take to be the fundamental assumption in the development of police leadership in community relations. Los Angeles Police Chief William H. Parker re- ferred to this point in his 1955 address to the National Institute on Police- Community Relations, when he said, “social order is the first concern of those interested in improved commu- nity relations.” Chief Parker was speaking of civil law. But if we look behind civil law, we discover an ulti- mate law. It would appear obvious that the Great Architect of the universe placed heavy emphasis upon the ne- cessity of order. The space scientists of our time are finding this anew in the physical laws of the outer atmo- spheres, just as Galileo and Newton and Einstein found it in their times and references. It is assumed, further, that this design of an ordered universe

includes mankind, at the highest level of created things in the natural order. But man was created with a dual na- ture, i.e., with a capacity for chaos as well as with a capacity for order. Love versus hatred; mind versus matter; spirit versus flesh; order versus dis- order. And if order does not prevail, society collapses. Therefore, we may conclude that social order, with jus- tice, is the fountainhead of the ideal community toward which mankind constantly strives. This, you see, is the essential point when tensions and con- flict arise in community relations. It is expressed commonly in the plea that “the peace of the community must be preserved.” Our Republic prides itself in its system of government by law. And the popular symbol of govern- ment by law—of social order with jus- tice—is, of course, the law enforcement officer. It is his primary task to enforce the law, with equal justice for all, to preserve the peace of the community.

Police Professionalization

Forthwith, spelled out in positive terms, is the crucial role and respon- sibility of the law enforcement officer in community relations. His potential force for moral good in society is sub- stantial. Now add to this the trend to- ward professionalization in modern po- licing. It is enough to say that the de- velopment of police leadership in com- munity relations assumes a profession- al approach to the law enforcement function.

you’re invited to

Friendship House Interracial Weekends

July 15-17 and August 19-21, 1960 at Childerley Farm, near Chicago

schedule includes: sung mass . . . today’s challenge .

. . roots of prejudice ... sub-

urbs and new neighbors... sit-ins . . . a parish in transition . . . history of segre- gation . . . divine office . . . friendship house programs for your town . . . world of color: the new africa . . . conflicts among newcomers .. . bible vigil recommended reading .. . human relations groups ... fun... new wonderful friends. .. .

For information, to apply, or to help sponsor a worthy applicant, please contact: Friendship House, 4233 South Indiana Avenue, Chicago 53, Illinois,

(Also—Work and Study Week openings now and year-round.)

JUNE, 1960

The ever-greater emphasis upon pro- fessionalism and training in law en- forcement today goes hand-in-hand with the increasing complexity of the work in the contemporary community. All of us tend to resist the seemingly inexorable trend toward making our job tougher, more complicated, more challenging. Surely parents feel this way sometimes about their responsibil- ity in rearing children for effective democratic citizenship in a time of un- precedented change. Likewise do po- lice officers tend to resist what they sometimes classify as “all that soci- ological and psychological poppycock.” But then, does some elementary skill in delivering babies in a patrol car qualify a police officer to practice ob- stetrics? You will agree that there are times when it is handy to know some- thing about such things!

Police Commissioner Stephen Ken- nedy of New York City puts it this way: “Consider the role of the police in a vast community composed of millions of people, each one not a statistic but a person having a body and soul—a community where vir- tually every language is spoken, where the customs, manners, be- liefs and prejudices of almost every culture are present. The problems presented are highly complex and most difficult, and not susceptible to easy, over-simplified solutions. The performance of police duties must be carried out with ever-in- creasing skill, accompanied by a better understanding of the basic motivations which cause those who come into contact with the police to act as they do under varying conditions and in changing circum- stances. In short, I am of the opin- ion that it is not only what the police do in the discharge of their duties that is important, but how they do it.”

Change in Police Methods

Now this suggests that a police offi- cer may have his personal prejudices, as all of us do, but as a professional he must remain the unbiased symbol of equal justice at all times. This, you may say, is a somewhat Olympian goal, implying an almost super-human ca- pacity. Yet it is the precious legacy of law enforcement to strive for this lofty ideal. The police officer of which we speak is a far-cry from times past. For- tunately, the frontier characters of old, whose main activity was throwing their weight around, have largey disap- peared from the modern police force. There remain only a few officers here and there who would be more at home in the Old West. We still have strong- arm methods in making arrests and in securing evidence, especially with cer- tain groups in the community—proce- dures which enforce personal prejudice first, and perhaps the law later. Par- ticularly in traffic cases, there still are police officers who behave somewhat unprofessionally. And unfortunately, there are those in the community who take this kind of behavior as typical of all police officers. Related to this is the tendency to blame the police for all manner of social problems. Small wonder that police are inclined to be a bit defensive! Generally speaking, a police agency will be as professional as the community it serves demands and supports. It is time for the com- munity to stop scapegoating the police for social bankruptcy!

Social Change

This increasingly complex modern community which the police officer en- deavors to serve is a matter requiring special attention. For example, there is the manner in which people are moving around; one study shows that one person in five in the United States today changes his place of residence each year. This is a movement of about 31 million people annually, with a large proportion moving across state lines. Social change, as it affects peo- ple-to-people relationships in our time,

he State of Oregon has an integrated police force.

has reached a point where historians wonder whether the human psyche can adjust to it. Current best-sellers deal with aspects of the situation, and their titles are provocative: INDIVIDUAL- ISM RECONSIDERED; THE LONELY CROWD; THE SANE SOCIETY; THE ORGANIZATION MAN; THE HID- DEN PERSUADERS; THE POWER ELITE; THE STATUS SEEKERS. While we are, in fact, more interde- pendent than ever in this world that has become, so to speak, no bigger than an orange, our relationships with one another tend to be more and more mechanical, automatically controlled, impersonal, detached, even indifferent and apathetic. Our energies and our emotions have gone into things. These things serve us, but they also come be- tween us. And the things take on an authority that men accept without pro- test. Even in the way in which we give to the needy nowadays, we do it through an agency, and our contribu- tion becomes a statistic, rather than a life-line thrown out directly to a fel- low who is in need.

Brotherhood

We speak of Brotherhood in high- sounding language. And yet this point of our essential interdependence is as earthy as a detergent. It places a high value on the right to be different. Free- dom means difference, and when peo- ple differ, there will be inevitable (and I would say indispensable!) conflicts of interest. The acid test of Brotherhood in community relations is in how we deal with our important differences— the extent to which we turn conflicts of interest to constructive rather than to destructive ends — without, if you please, questioning the motives of others whose views differ from ours, or maligning their good name, or im- pugning their rationality or their pa- triotism. We learn from one another only as we develop respect for those who differ from us.

I do not mean to “preach.” I am still talking about the community and about the needs of people who live and work and play in our communities. The police officer is part of this com- munity, not apart from it. There is more to his leadership potential than “maintaining good public relations.” On the other hand, it need hardly be said that the police officer is not alone responsible for the maintenance of or- der and justice. He plays a key posi- tion on the community team. But it must be a team, in which he is joined by the teacher, the clergy, the alder- man, the business man, the labor lead- er, the social worker, the newspaper editor and all the others.

—Louis A. Radelet

Student ‘Sit Inners’ Relate Experiences

| Was Arrested And Placed In Stockade With 350 Other Students In Orangeburg, S.C.

N MARCH 16 many newspapers

throughout the world carried a photo showing 350 arrested students herded into an open-air stockade in Orangeburg, South Carolina.

I was arrested later in the day while marching in protest in front of the courthouse. I didn’t realize until scru- tinizing the stockade photo much later, that the scene was unusual—to say the least—and would provoke questions from newspaper readers unfamiliar with the local scene.

What were all these well-dressed, peaceable-looking students doing in a stockade? Why weren’t they inside the jail if they were under arrest? How come that such un-criminal-appearing youths were arrested in the first place?

Inspired

The story begins about a month be- fore when we students in the Orange- burg area became inspired by the ex- ample of the students in Rock Hill, first South Carolina city where lunch coun- ter sit-ins occurred. We, too, feel that stores which graciously accept our money at one counter, should not rude- ly refuse it at another. We decided to request service at Kress’ lunch coun- ter.

But first, we felt that training in the principles and practice of nonviolence was needed. We formed classes of about 40 students each over a period of three to four days. Our chief texts were the pamphlet “CORE Rules for Action” and Martin Luther King’s in- spirational book, “Stride Toward Free- dom.” In these sessions we emphasized adherence to nonviolence and discussed various situations which might provoke violence. Could each one of us trust our God and our temper enough to not strike back even if kicked, slapped or spit upon? Many felt they could disci- pline themselves in violent situations. Others were honest enough to admit they could not and decided not to par- ticipate until they felt surer of them- selves on this issue.

Choose Spokesman

After the initial briefing session, two group spokesmen were chosen: one from Claflin College and one from South Carolina State College. Their duty was to chart action plans for Feb- ruary 25. They checked the entrances of the Kress store and counted the number of stools at the lunch counter. The number of minutes it takes to walk from a central point on campus to Kress’ was timed exactly. From our training groups, we picked 40 students who felt confident in the techniques of nonviolence. After further training and some prayer we felt prepared for ac- tion.

At 10:45 A.M. on February 25, stu- dents from Clafin and South Carolina State left their respective campuses in groups of three or four, with one per- son designated as group leader. The groups followed three routes, walking at a moderate pace, which would en- sure their arriving at the store simul- taneously.

The first fifteen students went in and sat down at the lunch counter. After they had been there about a quarter of an hour, signs were posted saying that the counters were closed in the interest of public safety.

Seats Removed

The first group then left and another group of about 20 students took their seats. The manager then started remov- ing the seats from the stands. Each stu- dent remained seated until his seat was removed. A few students were jostled by police. A number of hoodlums were in the store, some of whom carried

4

large knives and other weapons, un- concealed. However, no violence oc- curred. By closing time the seats were still off their stands and nobody was being served.

We returned to the store next day, following the same plan of action. At first the seats were still down but by 11:30 those at one end of the counter were screwed-on and some white peo- ple were served. We students stood along the rest of the counter until 3:30. By this time, additional students had joined us and were several rows deep. At 4:00 P.M., the store closed.

The next day, Saturday, we decided against sitting-in. We had sought and obtained clearance from the chief of police to picket and we were prepared to start on Monday. However, no soon- erer had some 25 students started pick- eting than they were ordered to remove their signs or face arrest. They were in- formed that an anti-picketing ordi- nance had been enacted that same day.

Trash Cans

Inside the store, the counters were stacked with trash cans. Not more than two Negroes at a time were being per- mitted to enter. Each day our spokes- men checked the counter. Meanwhile some 1,000 Caflin and South Carolina State students were receiving training for the mass demonstrations which were to follow.

The first such demonstration started at 12:30 on March 1. Over 1,000 stu- dents marched through the streets of Orangeburg with signs saying: “All Sit or All Stand,” “Segregation is Obso- lete,’” “No Color Line in Heaven” and “Down With Jim-crow.”

Not long after reaching the main street, the marchers were met by a contingent of state police who request- ed identification of leaders and asked that the signs be taken down. The group leaders were informed that they would be held responsible for any out- break of violence and that if this oc- curred, they would be charged with in- citing to riot. There was no violence. Only two persons were arrested, and these were not participants.

Boycott

After the March 1 demonstration, the lunch counters were closed for two weeks. With a view to strengthening our local movement and broadening it on a statewide basis, the South Caro- lina Student Movement Association was established. I was named chairman of

o.

Students in Orangeburg Stockade. Some were soaked by firehouses and had to remain here in sub-freezing weather.

the Orangeburg branch. We initiated a boycott of stores whose lunch coun- ters discriminate.

March 15 was the day of the big march—the one in which 350 students landed in the stockade. The lunch coun- ters had reopened the previous day and a sit-in was planned in addition to the march. Governor Hollings had asserted that no such demonstration would be tolerated. Regarding us, he said: “They think they can violate any law, espe- cially if they have a Bible in their hands: our law enforcement officers have their Bibles too.”

Of course, we were violating no law with our peaceful demonstration. As for the law enforcement officers having their Bibles, they may have them at home, but what they had in their hands the day of our demonstration were tear gas bombs and firehoses, which they used indiscriminately. The weather was sub-freezing and we were completely drenched with water from the hoses. Many of the girls were knocked off their feet by the pressure and floun- dered around in the water. Among the students thrown by the water were several physically handicapped stu- dents—one of them a blind girl.

500 Arrested

Over 500 students were arrested. One-hundred-fifty filled the city and county jails. That’s why some 350 were jammed into the stockade, surrounded by a heavy wire fence about seven feet high. The enclosure ordinarily serves

From Woolworth’s Counter To

I AM WRITING this in Leon County

Jail. My sister Priscilla and I, five other A. and M. students and one high school student are serving 60-day sen- tences for our participation in the sit- ins. We could be out on appeal but we all strongly believe that Martin Luther King was right when he said: “We’ve got to fill the jails in order to win our equal rights.” Priscilla and I both ex- plained this to our parents when they visited us the other day. Priscilla is supposed to be on a special diet and mother was worred about her. We did our best to dispel her worries. We made it clear that we want to serve- out our full time.

Students who saw the inside of the county jail before I did and were re- leased on bond, reported that condi- tions were miserable. They did not ex- aggerate. It is dank and cold. We are in what is called a “bull tank” with four celis. Each cell has four bunks, a commode and a small sink. Some of

the cells have running water, but ours does not. Breakfast, if you can call it that, is served at 6:30. Another meal is served at 12:30 and in the evening, “sweet” bread and watery coffee. At first I found it difficult to eat this food. Two ministers visit us every day. Sun- days and Wednesdays are regular vis- iting days, but our white visitors who came at first are no longer permitted by the authorities.

Time to Think

There is plenty of time to think in jail and I sometimes review in my mind the events which brought me here. It is almost six months since Priscilla and I were first introduced to CORE at a workshop in Miami. Upon our re- turn we helped to establish a Tallahas- see CORE group, whose initial meeting took place last October. Among our first projects was a test sit-in at Sear’s and McCrory’s. So, we were not totally unprepared when the south-wide pro-

as a chicken coop and storage space for chicken feed and lumber. There are two tall iron gates. It afforded no shel- ter whatsoever in the sub-freezing weather.

In contrast to the cold outside, stu- dents in the jail’s basement were sweat- ing in 90-degree temperatures emanat- ing from the boiler room. One student drenched from head to toe was locked in solitary in a cell with water three inches deep. Requests for dry clothing were denied. The Claflin College nurse who came to give first aid was halted at the courthouse entrance and literally had to force her way inside.

I was arrested with a group of some 200 students marching around the courthouse in protest over the earlier mass arrests. At first police told us we would be permitted to march if we kept moving in an orderly manner but then they announced that unless we re- turned to the campus at once we would be arrested. I was seized first as one of the leaders and was held in jail for four hours.

The trials of the arrested students started next day, a few students at a time. All were eventually convicted of “breach of the peace” and sentenced to 30 days in jail or $100 fine. The cases are being appealed to the higher courts.

Meanwhile, our action program pro- ceeds. We are set in