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RACE RELATIONS IN 1927

COMMISSION ON INTERRACIAL COOPERATION 409 PALMER BUILDING ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Race Relations in 1927

For ton years the outstanding fact in American race relations has been the shift of Negro population from the rural sections to the cities and from the South to the North. During the last census period the center of Negro population moved nineteen miles North, and the urban Negro population increased more than two million. This move- ment is continuous, though it is no longer a rush. Although the shift is more gradual, there are no indications that it will cease. Negroes are leaving the rural sections of the South to seek what they consider better economic opportunities, greater safety of life and property, and superior educational advantages for their children. The shift leaves in the rural sections from which they go many depleted Negro communities where it is more difficult to maintain schools and churches, and it brings into new communities the questions of hous- ing and segregation. The latter problem reached its most acute ex- pression in the high school strike at Gary, a significant feature of which was the fact that a large percentage of the strikers were young people whose parents were born in European countries, indicating the presence of new elements in American race prejudice due to economic fear and industrial competition.

LYNCHING AND MOB VIOLENCE

The lynching records of Tuskegee Institute for 1927 are as follows: Arkansas 3, Kentucky 1, Louisiana 1, Mississippi 7, Missouri 1, Ten- nessee 2, Texas 1, a total of 16. Compared with the thirty lynch- ings of 1926 the decrease is encouraging. The lynching area, also, has been further limited. This is- due to the fact that in all the states except Mississippi there is now persistent and aggressive opposition on the part of an increasing number of public officials and private citizens. A similar group is becoming more 'vocal each year in Mississippi, but as yet it seems to have been unable to make any effective impression upon public opinion in that state.

In most states sheriffs and other officers, in response to public opin- ion, are becoming more determined and intelligent in opposing mob violence. The reduction in the number of lynchings is due more large- ly to this better attitude on the part of sheriffs than to any other single force, and emphasizes the importance of good citizens through-

out the South keeping in constant touch with the sheriff’s office and doing everything in their power to keep that official keenly alive to his responsibility in relation to this vital question.

There seems to have been an increase during the year in the practice of flogging. While the flogging of white persons has received the major part of newspaper attention, the victims of floggings have probably been divided about equally between whites and Negroes. There are two very well authenticated cases of Negro land owners who were whipped by masked and hooded mobs in order to force them to sell their lands.

Medals for distinguished service in successfully resisting mobs have been awarded during the year to a number of sheriffs by a committee composed of ex-Governor Hugh M. Dorsey, of Georgia, Governor John W. Martin, of Florida, Mr. Marshall Ballard, editor of the New Orleans Item, Mrs. J. H. McCoy, President of Athens College, Athens, Ala- bama, and Mr. G. B. Dealey, owner and manager of the Dallas News. This is one of several lines of effort to place emphasis on the import- ance of the sheriff in relation to the administration of law.

COURTS DO NOT CONVICT

Over against the activities of sheriffs in opposing mobs the failure of the courts to convict mob members must be recorded. With one or two exceptions there have been no convictions, either of floggers or lynchers, and in many instances there has been no aggressive effort on the part of grand juries and court officials to secure such con- victions. This is true both North and South. Experience seems to indicate that in most American communities the members of lynch- ing and flogging bands need have little or no fear of prosecution.

No discussion of tihe improvement in lynching would be complete which failed to record the aggressive, consistent, and intelligent work to this end which has been done by the leading daily papers of the South. In season and out, both on the editorial pages and in the news columns, this issue has been kept before the people in a most intelligent and effective way. Too much credit cannot be given to the newspapers.

EDUCATION

During the year there has been an encouraging increase in the support by the states of institutions for higher education. The Gen- eral Assembly of Georgia, for instance, increased the support of the State College at Savannah from $10,000 a year for maintenance to $32,666 a year for maintenance and appropriated $50,000 for buildings and equipment. This was done without opposition, and is fairly typical of the attitude of southern legislatures on this question.

Toward the close of the year the four thousandth Rosenwald rural school was completed, and the number of tax-supported high schools for Negro youth constantly grows throughout the South. The City of Houston has just added the junior college to its school system, and it is significant and encouraging that such provision was made for Negroes as well as for whites.

But while it is true that the provisions for Negro education are steadily growing better, the wide discrepancy between the respective expenditures for white and Negro education remains about the same. One county, for instance, spends $57.51 per year for each white child of school age and $1.50 for each Negro child of school age. This is probably the extreme. Following are the latest available figures for various Southern States :

Alabama

Arkansas .....

Florida

Georgia

Louisiana

Mississippi

North Carolina South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Virginia

Average Annual Expenditures per Child of School Age For Whites For Negroes

$26 57	$ 3.81
. 13.36	6.48
. 42.01	7.33
. 25.84	5.78
. 33.73	5.48
. 25.95	5.62
. 25.31	7.52
. 27.88	2.74
. 21.02	11.88
. 31.77	20.24
-‘,0.27	10.47

The effect of this disparity is very evident in the shorter terms, smaller salaries, and less adequate facilities for Negro children. The development of schools for Negroes is an essential element in the South’s general educational development, but so far these schools lag far behind the average. It is well to remember that the Rosenwald Fund has furnished a third of the money for four thousand of the newer Negro schools, and that the masses of Negro children are still housed in miserable buildings and taught for a short term by inex- perienced and untrained teachers.

Probably the most discouraging educational situation of the year has been the failure of the city of Atlanta to live up to its promises and its record of recent years. During the bond issue campaign of 1926 the mayor and other public officials promised Atlanta Negroes that a proportionate part of the issue, if voted, would be spent for Negro schools. The Negroes accepted this assurance at face value and

(helped to carry the election in favor of the bonds. Ignoring this solemn pledge, repeatedly and publicly made, those responsible for the expenditure of the funds are now applying them almost entirely to the needs of the white schools. This, too, in face of the fact that the Negro schools of the city are much more crowded, with 23.97 per cent of the Negro children attending schools having three sessions per day, and only 2.18 per cent of the Negro children attending schools where there is one session. This failure of the city to keep its word to its Negro citizens has undermined their faith in its integrity, and is doing much to complicate race relations. So flagrant a breach of faith must inevitably make for disillusionment and bitterness.

WELFARE

An encouraging feature of race relations is the increasing participa- tion of Negroes in the general welfare pi’ograms of the communities, both as beneficiaries and as contributors. This applies alike to state, municipal and volunteer programs. The community chest movement in southern cities is rendering a definite service in the field of race relations by making possible more adequate funds for Negro agencies and institutions, by developing Negro contributors to these community enterprises, and by multiplying the number of contacts between the white and colored communities on the high plane of service in common community tasks, and by promoting helpful cooperation between white and colored social workers.

The growing demand for Negro workers by all types of social agencies has led to an interesting effort for the training of such workers according to the most modern and approved methods. The Atlanta School of Social Work, which was established for that purpose in 1920, has passed the period of experimentation and has proved its ability to make a permanent contribution to social progress. Dur- ing the past year this school has been enlarged and strengthened. In spite of its increased student body, its capacity to train Avork- ers is still far behind the demand.

HEALTH

In the field of health decided progress has been made. Three notable instances may be mentioned. The General Assembly of Geor- gia without opposition increased its health appropriations sufficient- ly to provide for the care of Negro patients in the state sanitarium for tuberculosis. Walker County, Texas, a rural county with a large Negro population, has just provided a new hospital with equal facilities for Negro and white patients, and open alike to Negro and white phy- sicians.

The city of Houston, also, lias a new hospital for Negroes, built joint- ly bj' private philanthropy and public appropriation, but supported by the city and open without discrimination to Negro physicians. These two hospitals are the beginning of the process of hospitalization for Negroes which must ultimately provide the necessary training and the facilities now so meagerly available for Negro physicians. TWO IMPERATIVE NEEDS

There are two great needs in the field of public welfare that are being met very slowly. Nothing has yet been done by the Southern States to care for feeble-minded Negro children. This is particularly significant when one takes into consideration the close relation be- tween feeble-mindedness and crimes of violence. With hardly an institution for the care of feeble-minded Negro children, it is no great surprise that Negroes occasionally commit horrible crimes. A scien- tific study of such cases would probably indicate that they are due to the neglect of the feeble-minded rather than to racial character- istics.

The other need is that of adequate care on the part of the states for Negro delinquents, particularly Negro girls. Although white and colored women in the Southern States have been working together for years in behalf of such institutions, little progress has been made. Legislators to whom these women have appealed have in the main responded with derision or skepticism as to the moral possibilities of this most neglected class.

INDUSTRIAL AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

A most important aspect of the relations of wrhite and colored people in America centers around their relations in business and industry. In sixty years Negroes have made remarkable pro- gress in the acquisition of property and business experience. It is well to note, however, that Negro business opportunities are limit- ed almost wholly to the Negro community. There is little or no op- portunity for a Negro to get employment that will give him actual business experience in white firms, and Negro business must depend almost entirely on Negro patronage for its support. This is a great handicap in the way of the economic development of Negroes. If Negroes are to have an adequate economic foundation so-called Negro business must bid more and more for general patronage, and the Negro’s business ability must somehow' find avenues of expression through general business channels.

The recent shift of hundreds of thousands of Negroes from the low- est forms of agricultural activity to industry has undoubtedly greatly

increased the incomes of these people. In one or two industries, par- ticularly steel, considerable advance has been made by Negroes into the more highly skilled operations, and there are individual instances of Negroes who are holding positions of influence and importance in industrial plants. All of this proves beyond doubt that Negroes can qualify for skilled operations in industry. In spite of this fact, the great masses of Negro workers in industrial centers are occupied in unskilled tasks and in heavy common labor. The attitude of white workers is such that labor managers usually hesitate to give these new Negro workers opportunity to demonstrate their ability in other than the most unskilled positions. There are many evidences that white work- ers are becoming increasingly aware of the encroachment of these colored workers on American industrial life, and instead of making common cause with them there seems to be a tendency to look upon them as enemies who threaten the security of white labor. Because of this, local labor unions, controlled by white leaders, have been very slow to admit colored workers. In a few cities definite efforts have been made to exclude Negroes from profitable employment by means of legislation.

There is grave danger that at this point race relations will in the future become yet more strained. It is obvious tihat those who deal with this question must give increasing attention to these economic and industrial issues.

COLLEGE COURSES IN RACE RELATIONS

The growth of social science teaching in the universities and colleges of the South is an encouraging feature in the academic life of the times, and explains in part the increasing attention that the colleges are devoting to the study of race problems. Something like a hun- dred institutions are offering such courses, and the interest grows from year to year. Tn Texas the teachers of social science giving such courses have formed a state-wide organization which includes the teachers of social science in white and Negro institutions. They hold annual meetings, discuss common problems and exchange experiences. So satisfactory was the first meeting of these white and colored teachers that they have taken steps to develop gradually a series of contacts between white and colored teachers generally in that State.

The office of the Interracial Commission has daily requests during the school year from teachers and students for materials to be used in courses, or to be worked into term papers and graduating theses. The range of these requests expands each year, and the numbers mul- tiply. Just now considerable discussion is going on among those who are teaching these courses as to the best materials available, and plans

are on foot for the production of a text book based on the experience of those who have actually done the teaching.

Of exceptional significance is the development of these courses in teachers’ colleges. One of the state colleges for teachers has been of- fering in the cities race relations extension courses for which teachers are given certificates and advancement. In one case last year such a course was given to a hundred teachers regularly employed in the city schools. The experiment was Satisfactory, and this year the course is being taken to another city. This seems to point to the possibility of getting such courses in operation generally in teachers’ colleges, and in extension classes among teachers already in the school room. STUDENT ACTIVITIES

While these class-room courses are absolutely fundamental, no small amount of very important work is going on among the students outside the class room. Forums between white and colored students have been held in eight or ten student centers. The program of these forums has varied. Some of them have met as many as six times a year, some once a month during the school year, and some oftener. They have not confined their discussions to race relations, but have con- sidered various topics of common interest. While these forums probably have not contributed anything very fundamental to the solu- tion of the race problem, the meetings have resulted in better under- standing and greater mutual appreciation, and in personal friendships which will abide. The experience has undoubtedly been worth more to the white students than to the colored. This movement is fostered by an interracial committee' of students from the colleges of the South- ern States. While it does not bulk large, it is one among the simple bridges that are beginning to span the chasm between white and colored communities.

The Commission on Interracial Cooperation promotes an annual theme contest among college students on some subject bearing on race relations. In 1927 fifty-five papers were submitted from thirty- three institutions. The papers submitted, of course, were the best of those produced in the several institutions, and in some instances, were carried in the college papers. Invariably they reflected an open- minded, tolerant attitude on the part of the writers. By this means probably several hundred students wrere led to think and write on the subject.

For the first time an effort Avas made last year to bring the same subject to the attention of high school students. An encouraging aspect of this experiment Avas the hearty cooperation of many prin-

cipals and teachers in white high schools. Nearly three hundred papers of a thousand words each were submitted to the judges in con- nection with this project, and doubtless many more were produced. Through this project three important groups were reached: the high school students themselves, the principals and teachers in high schools, and the families of children participating, by whom, it is reasonable to suppose, the matter was discussed. These papers again reflected a spirit of open-mindedness and tolerance which is very encouraging.

RESEARCH PROJECTS

One of the great needs of the racial situation in America is ex- haustive, scientific study. Slowly this is getting under way. Through the cooperation of various agencies there is being made this year a careful study of the life of the people on St. Helena’s Island. This should yield important results for the anthropologist in the study of social institutions and show the natural development of a Negro community with the minimum contact with whites. The result of an exhaustive study of the recent urbanization of Negroes is now on the press under the title. “Negro Contacts in American Cities.” A limited but very ably led project is now under way to ascertain the causes of race prejudice, to discover the biological, social, psychological and economic roots of racial antagonism. The first need is for a reliable technique for such study. A number of competent scientists have an increasing interest in the intellectual capacity of Negro children. Here again trustworthy methods are necessary, and within the last year all those interested in this field have been brought together and are working out a cooperative project that ought soon to throw much additional light on this important subject. In the field of scientific study, however, only a beginning has been made, and as the years go by it must be given increasing attention.

Interest in the literature and art of Negroes is rapidly growing •among white people. The poems of Countee Cullen and James Weldon Johnson, the singing of Roland Hayes, and many other literary and artistic productions are being eagerly studied in college classes and by thoughtful people throughout the country. The high quality of some of this material is undoubtedly inducing a more tolerant and appreciative attitude toward the race which produced it.

THE CHURCHES

It would seem axiomatic that the churches would he the most active and energetic agencies for the creation of racial tolerance and co- operation. This is certainly true of the organized white church women of the South, whose interest and activity in this field cannot be given too

much credit. A second encouraging aspect of the churches’ interest is the substantial financial support given the Interracial Commission by certain mission boards. Without this help the Commission could not have continued its work. Mention should be made also of the notable work of certain individual ministers and church officials in local com- munities and in general movements.

The masses of the church people, however, do not seem to realize that race relations in America constitute a peculiar challenge to those who accept the Christian philosophy of life and lay upon them a special obligation. Apparently they have given little thought to the implications of their Christian faith as it applies to race relations. This in turn is probably due to the fact that very few ministers are placing any emphasis whatever on this point. The religious education programs of the denominations working in the South show the begin- nings of a conscience on this subject, but as yet they deal only indirect- ly and fragmentarily with this fundamental problem of human rela- tions.

One is surprised to find that the church colleges on a whole show a less aggressive and definite interest in this question than do the state and independent institutions. This is probably due to the fact that their emphasis is theological rather than social and economic. Even so, it would seem that, children of the churches as they are, they could hardly escape a peculiar sense of obligation in relation to this question.

If racial peace, cooperation and justice are ever to be established, a larger use must be made of the opportunity presented by the edu- cation of children. Without doubt the seeds of racial antagonism, sus- picion, and fear are sown very early in life, as the result of indirect and more or less unconscious forces at work in the home, in the schools, and even in the clrurches. This is a field that urgently needs the at- tention of the best educators and the largest resources that could be put into it. An encouraging beginning has been made during the year by the publication of a book developed through an actual experiment with white children under competent educational leadership. It is entitled “The Upward Climb”, and has been published by the Mis- sionary Education Movement, 150 Fifth Avenue, New York City.

NEGRO SUFFRAGE

In a decision of the Federal Supreme Court rendered in 1927 the right of Negroes to vote in legalized Democratic primaries in Texas was unequivocally affirmed. It is well known, of course, that in recent years Negroes have been largely eliminated from politics in many states by exclusion from the Democratic primaries. There seems

to be no doubt that this is an important legal decision, but its practi- cal effects cannot as yet be stated.

The comments of the Texas press were as interesting as the de- cision itself. The Houston Post-Dispatch calls for the repeal of the whole law in question as a “useless and senseless provision in a primary election law full of glaring faults.” The Houston Chronicle says, “No legislative body in America has the right to classify men by color or race in the passage of laws.” The Austin American says, “Does it take color of the skin to make a Democrat? Isn’t a man a Democrat who believes in the Jeffersonian principles of democracy?” And the Dallas News among other things said: “These gentlemen

who are so anxious about the purity of the Democratic primary en- tertain that attitude in the belief that voting the ticket straight is an evidence of inward excellence. If that be so, then the fact that an occasional Negro wishes to imitate his white neighbor is at once a compliment to them and a testimonial to his good taste. In any case there is no maintenance of white superiority in introducing into laws of the white man’s making the spirit of lying pretense. Nor is it any more reputable to conduct campaigns before white men on the preposterous theory that Texas is threatened now or ever is likely to be threatened by Negro domination of the Democratic party.”

These editorials are typical of a somewhat widespread discussion that has been taking place regarding the Negro and the ballot, all of which would seem to indicate that many serious-minded persons are trying to re-think the whole political situation which has arisen be- cause of the interracial population of the South.

George Fort Milton, editor of the Chattanooga News, has recently said, “Many Southerners like myself favor a greater exercise of the franchise by the Negro throughout the South, believing that he would be a greater asset if he were trained for political, legal, and economic equality with the whites. But 1 confess freely that the voting Negro, in cities which have come under my observation, has hitherto served merely as a tool for debauching elections, and maintaining corrupt and unfit men in power.

“But there are hopeful features in this situation. Intelligent and educated Negroes show an increasing tendency to revolt against cast- ing their ballots in bloc at the bidding of a local political machine. As Negro education increases, as his economic condition improves, the Negro will undoubtedly show a greater tendency to pay his own poll tax, qualify under the law, make up his own mind on political issues, and cast his vote. The next generation will inevitably see a great change in the condition of Negro suffrage in the South.”

INTER RACIAL COOPERATION

For nearly ten years now there has been in progress a definite effort to experiment in closer cooperation between white and colored lead- ers. This was brought about by the war and the tense racial situations that immediately followed it. The Commission on Interracial Cooper- ation, a South-wide organization of white and colored men and women, now numbering nearly a hundred, undertook at first to meet these situations. In eight hundred counties groups of white and colored men and women were brought together. Their task, of course, was first to prevent actual interracial hostilities, but their reaction to this first situation was so intelligent and effective that it seemed possible to turn them to a multitude of constructive tasks about which they have been busy ever since.

In the larger communities of the South these committees have be- come more or less a fixed part of the community machinery. Because of a limited staff, the Commission has been unable to keep in close touch with most of the committees in the smaller towns and rural sections. However, a cross section study of a large number of these communities in the autumn of 1927 revealed the fact that the persons originally appointed on the committees were in many instances still working together along lines of community improvement. They are accomplishing a great many things, and that, too, with hardly any stimulation from the outside. Cooperation has become spontaneous and indigenous in many of these rural sections. The Commission has not been trying primarily to build an organization, but rather a new community habit, that of conference and cooperation between white and colored neighbors, which will go on without outside promotion. The Commission is greatly encouraged, therefore, to find this habit growing and becoming more and more the normal means of dealing with community needs. It is most encouraging that the Commission is now with increasing frequency called into communities to advise and guide these indigenous groups, rather than going in on its own initiative to try to organize something.

From the standpoint of organization, somewhat greater emphasis has been put on the building of formal state committees. There are eleven of these in the thirteen Southern States. Missouri, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Michigan have also organized state committees along the same general lines. These committees are composed of leading white and colored citizens, men and women, representing var- ious state interests and agencies. They meet once or twice a year to discuss matters of state-wide importance, to plan programs of gen-

eral education, and to study together siacli needs as should be met by legislation, appropriations by legislatures, etc. These unofficial state organizations are composed of from fifty to several hundred members each, as conditions seem to demand. They are exercising a real in- fluence in the promotion of justice and better understanding.

The general Commission on Interracial Cooperation, which fosters and assists these hundreds of state and local committees, in addition to its own South-wide program of education, has a staff of seven work- ers in the headquarters office, and six in the field. A larger field force is imperatively needed to give more direct and continuous stimula- tion and assistance to the many local and state groups.

After all, it is probable that the most valuable result of this work has been indirect. In the various interracial groups that have been com- ing together for the last ten years, the best representatives of each race have become known to each other, and the two racial groups have reached a fuller mutual understanding and a better knowledge of con- ditions. Out from these groups scores of men and women have gone into the community life, where through organizations and personal contacts they are exercising wide-spread constructive influences for the building of better race relations.

THE BLACK BELT

The geographic area in which the least progress has been effected in improving interracial relations is the so-called Black Belt — rural counties with more than forty per cent Negroes. In this rural situa- tion, contacts are of primary nature. This fact is tremendously signi- ficant by reason of the deep-seated fears which the white man of the Black Belt has inherited from the past. A corresponding fear has been inherited by the Negro.

Racial attitudes in this area are directly inherited from the slave regime. This determines the white man’s evaluation of the Negro’s possibilities on the one hand and the Negro’s estimate of himself on the other. Hence, the Negro is far less removed here than elsewhere from slavery and its attendant attitudes, conditions, and practices.

In spite of the boll weevil and migration, the Black Belt still exists and the majority of Negroes in America are found there. The amelio- rating influences that have helped to improve race relations generally in America have as yet had little or no effect in the Black Belt coun- ties owing to the backwardness of the Negro and the determination of the white man to maintain the status quo. And yet, this section is the final testing ground of America’s ability to work out her race problem. In recognition of this fact, the Georgia Committee on Liter- racial Cooperation, in cooperation with the Institute for Research in

Social Science of the University of North Carolina and other agencies, is now making an exhaustive study of race contacts in two Black Belt counties of Georgia, with the hope that the findings may become the basis of an intelligent and effective approach to the situation in these rural Black Belt counties.

TIIE MASS MIND

In the last analysis the problem of racial understanding and justice is the problem of the mass mind. Fear, suspicion, contempt, the denial of essential humanity, and the determination to suppress are still al- most universally found in the minds of the masses. These attitudes are surprising and amazing in their depth and inflexibility. They are inheritances from the past, complicated by economic, political, ami social conditions which are very difficult to change. Yet it is this mass which must finally be dealt with if we are to achieve any ap- proximation of interracial justice here in America. And this is a long and difficult task. There are no quick and easy solutions, and he who looks for a panacea will be disappointed. Progress is possible in two ways: first, by the amelioration of present acute situations, and, second, by the long range processes of study and education which go to the roots of social maladjustment. The Interracial Commission, through its headquarters and field staff and its local and state com- mittees, is working at both these tasks. Neither is easy. Enough gain has been made to warrant greater effort, and the vast field that has not yet been touched presents a stirring challenge to wisdom, courage, and patience.

Sample copies of this pamphlet H’ill be supplied without charge to any one inter- ested or it may be had in quantities at the rate of $1.25 per hundred.

COMMISSION ON INTERRACIAL COOPERATION

409 Palmer Building Atlanta, Ga.