Race relations in 1927.

A -

a. ct-

■R^.1

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.