Henry Ford & George Washington
Carver One Hundred Years- Henry
Ford And The Negro
By Albert Dunmore*
Associate Editor-Michigan
Chronicle
The mutual respect that
Henry Ford and George Wash
ington Carver held for one
another has had far - reaching
effects not only on the Negro
students at Tuskegee Institute
and the Ford Motor Company,
but also on the Negro- in Am
erica.
This relationship between
these two great geniuses also
had a definite effect on the
United Negro College Fund.
Henry Ford was long a target
for Negro college presidents
seeking financial support for
their schools. Among those who
had audience with him was
Major R. R. Moton, successor to
Booker T. Washington, founder
of Tuskegee, one of the truly
great educational fund raisers
of the early Twentieth Century.
Ford, however, was attracted
to Tuskegee by the genius of
Dr. George Washington Carver
whose experimental work with
the soybean had gained inter
national repute. When Ford
heard of this great scientific
mind, he felt that something
could be gained to help in the
development of his great in
dustrial empire. He recalled
Major Moton’s invitation to
visit Tuskegee and arranged a
trip there while in the South
land in March, 1988. This was
one of several meetings between
the two men, two of which were
on campus.
Several Detroiters, now in
positions of prominence in De
troit, recall this visit to the
Tuskegee campus and the im
pact it had on the student body.
Among this group is Joseph
Williams, a top civic leader and
an employee of the Michigan
Employment Securities Com
mission; R. Conrad Vaughn,
president of the Booker T.
Washington Trade Association
and A. W. Curtis, president of
the A. W. Curtis Laboratories.
Williams and Vaughn were
student leaders at the time and
Curtis was assistant to Dr. Car
ver.
Vaughn recalls that he was
officer-of-the-day on the first
visit to the campus.
Mr. Ford visited the campus
a second time to visit Dr. Car
ver with Mrs. Ford. “The
campus was jammed with visi
tors, among them many white
persons who had never set foot
on a Negro college campus pre
viously,” Vaughn recalls. “They
had come because it had been
announced that Mr. Ford was
visiting the campus. When the
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great man arrived, driving a
mud covered Ford, and not one
of his latest models, with his
ohauffeur (seated beside him,
we who had envisioned this leg
endary figure arriving in some
thing elaborate like a gold cov
ered, specially built automobile,
were disappointed,
“This disappointment soon
vanished, however, when we stu
dents, later in the chapel, heard
our school, Booker T. Wash
ington and particularly Dr. Car
ver extolled by this great man.
“We heard also that he would
give students an opportunity to
get on-the-job training in his
plant in Detroit during the
summer. This was an incentive
to all of us. We felt that this
blessing was an ultimate recog
nition of Tuskegee.
“Later when we saw these
two men, Dr. Carver and Henry
Ford, walking about the campus
we all felt we had come in con
tact with men who had reach
ed their destination with great
ness. This inspiration, alone,
served many of us through the
years.” Joseph Williams also
recalls the impact this visit
had on the student body. He also
recalls that Ford kept his word
and sent Willis Ward shortly
after achieving greatness in
football at the University of
Michigan along with Don Mar
shall, then connected with the
Ford personnel department, to
Tuskegee to recruit students
for summer program at the
Ford Company.
It was this contact with young
men and women in the deep
South that played a great role
in the subsequent migration of
many Negroes to Detroit. Not
only had they heard of the
great opportunities in the auto
capital of the world, but Henry
Ford, himself, had seen fit to
visit Tuskegee .... then a
citadel to thousands seeking
educational and economic im
provement in the black belt of
the Mississippi valley.
Vaughn, particularly, recalls
Alcorn A. & M.
College Prof.
Authors Book
The Reverend Dr. George A.
Sewell, recent author of a book
under the title, A Motif for Liv
ing and Other Sermons, has
been professor of Sociology at
Alcorn A. & M. College and pas
tor of the local St. Peter A. M.
E. Church in Port Gibson, Mis
sissippi since 1962. An articu
late and energetic minister and
professor, Dr. Sewell has writ
ten several articles for leading
journals and magazines. He is
now preparing another volume
to be published in the near fu
ture.
Dr. Sewell received the Baoh
elor’s degree from Morris
Brown College; the Bachelor of
Sacred Theology, Master of Sa
cred Theology, and Ph. D. de
grees from Boston University.
He has served as Dean of Tur
ner Theological Seminary, At
the tremendous physical re
semblance of the two men.
“They were lean and tall and
had a hawk-like look as thev
were continually searching be
yond the known into the future.”
Many who knew of this rela
tionship felt that Dr. Carver
could have profited financially
if he had taken advantage of
this mutual respect held with
Ford. Those close to the great
industrialist feel however that
much greater riches were gain
ed for the race because of the
respect held for Dr. Carver by
Henry Ford.
It is known that hundreds of
students were brought to De
troit at the insistence of Mr.
Ford. Willis Ward explains
that one of his prime assign
ments during his brief tenure
v/ith the company, at the per
sonal instruction of Mr. Ford,
^ as to have students brought
from Tuskegee and see that they
were given on-the-job training
summer assignments.
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HENRY FORD and George Washington Carver in Mr. Carver’s food laboratory, July 22, 1942, sampling
food created from seaweed.
lanta, Georgia and has experi
enced a diverse college and par
ish ministry. He has served in
college and university centers
of Atlanta, Albany and Fort
Valley, Georgia; Jacksonville
and Tallahassee, Florida* and
Memphis and Nashville, Tennes
see.
The author’s Motif for Living
is a book that will interest all
who are concerned with the na
ture of human behavior and the
commitment to social living in
today’s world.
Dr. Sewell is to be commend
ed for his scholarly and refresh
ing work which gives a unique
approach to problems of our
day. ' !f!
Information On
Social Security
John F. Pate, district manag
er for social security in Jack
son, said today that a little
known aspect of the social sec
urity law is the use of military
credits.
According to Mr. Pate, when
a veteran who has had active
military service between Sep
tember 16,1940, and December
31, 1956, retires, dies, or be
comes disabled he may receive
credit of $160 a month wages
SAFETY PAYS
for each month of such military
service.
This military credit does not
automatically appear on the in
dividual’s earinings record and
can be established only at the
iime a claim is filed. This litlle
known aspect of the social sec
urity law has helped many vet
erans to become entitled to soc
ial sceurity benefits.
Beginning January 1, 1957,
all military personnel were
brought under the law and de
ductions are being made from
their pay.
Mr. Pate pointed out that
veterans and their families
should be aware of these pro
visions. In order to receive
these credits, a veteran or his
survivors must present, at the
time of filing a claim, proof of
military service. The most ac
ceptable proof is a discharge
certificate or other official
document showing the period of
service.
Any veteran or his survivor
who has already applied for
social security benefits has had
this provision of the law ap
plied and this type of credit
established in determining his
benefits.
More detailed information on
veterans and the social security
law can be found in Pamphlet
No. 31a, available without cost
at the social security district
office at 502 North Street,
Jackson, Mississippi.
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