The Michigan chronicle. [volume], June 24, 1944, Image 6

About The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current

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INDEPENDENT
Published Ewry Thursday By
THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE PUBLISHING COMPANY
MAIN OFFICE: SM Eliot Detroit 1. Mich. TEmpla 1 4177 t
LOUIS EMANUEL MARTIN Editor
Cahrad as second clan matter May I. I§4o at the Post Office a«
Detroit Mich, under the act ot March X lI7A
Terms of Subscription (payable in advance):
One Tear *44oi Nine Months JJ.SOi Sis Months. fi.SO
HITLER'S LAST HOPE
With bombs raining on Berlin, with allied armies
tightening a ring of steel around his neck. Adolf
Hitler still has one last hope. The Nazi dictator
still hopes that disunity among the allies and within
the allied countries can in the eleventh houi* blunt
the edge of the democratic sword and ultimately
save the Nazi government. Ibis hope is not as lan
tastic as it may at first seem because the destructive
force of disunity i> as great as massed cannon.
The wicked power of disunity is illustrated for
us in the following excerpt from h rank Kingdons
new book “That Man in the \\ hite House :
“Ever since June 1940 I have been haunted by a
question: What is a nation?
“That was the month France collapsed. One
week France was there. The next week it was no
more. It disintegrated. Its armies found them
selves without officers. They were a leaderless mob
who had no alternative but to flee. The government
just disappeared.
“What is a nation? An army? France still had
a mighty army.
“Cities? There were Paris, Lyon, Marseilles and
the rest.
“Wealth? France still has its banks, its rail
roads, its fertile fields.
“Empire? The French still held North Africa.
“People? There were still some forty million
Frenchmen.
“Yet there was no France.
“A nation is confidence and mutual trust. \V hen
these are gone the will to live is gone. There is no
longer any power to resist. A nation is a moral
achievement. Cynicism can destroy it. It crumbles
when decay sets in.
“Hitler has said he can have revolution in the
United States any time he wants it. We have proven
his boast untrue this far.
“But we need not think he has given up. Discord
is his element. He believes it can be stirred up any
where to such an extent that a state can be toppled,
that his success anywhere is only a question of or
ganization and money ...
We believe that every sober, straight-thinking
American is now aware of the danger of national
disunity. Nevertheless, many of them fail to see
the connection between disunity in Detroit and the
security of the nation. Racial, political and religious
conflicts which occur in our community are the first
conditions required by the Nazi method of conquest.
Confusion and chaos are materiel of war for Der
Fuhrer and every little conflict counts. That we
should fall to fighting among ourselves, race against
race, faith against faith, party against party, is the
last hope of Hitler and it is the responsibility of
everyone of us to see that he is robbed of this last
chance to destrov democracv. Certainly we who
* . .
are on the home front should be able to do this job
of strengthening national unity while our boys
abroad close the trap on the world’s worst enemy.
NEGRO PUBLISHERS
Over forty publishers representing newspapers
which control ninety per cent of the circulation of
the Negro Press attended the Fifth Annual Conven
tion of the Negro Newspaper Publishers Association
in New York last week. These publishers rededi
cated themselves to the task of championing the
cause of the Negro people and promoting a true
democracy with freedom and equality for all, re
gardless of color or creed.
The highlight of the program was the stirring
address by Dr. Max Lerner, editorial writer for
PM, who urged the publishers to consider the fol
lowing objectives:
“First, to help your people understand their
world, and the means by which they can best carry
on their fight for equality and freedom. Second, to
help them to see that this fight can best be carried
on within the framework of the larger struggle for
a decent economic system and a warless world. Third,
to make certain that your people are not embittered
by the fight beyond the point where they will be able
to enjoy freedom and equality when they have fully
achieved it.”
The message of Dr. Lerner won wide acceptance
among the publishers who have consistently sought
to bring before their readers the full implications
of the struggle for Negro advancement. We know
that the denial of full citizenship to the Negro threat
ens democracy itself because when basic principles
are flouted in relation to one group, it is no great
step to extend the flouting to other groups. No
American is safe as long as any American is arbi-
EDITORIAL PAGE Of THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE
trarily underprivileged and democracy cannot ful
fill its promises in a society which limits its operation
to only parts of the whole people.
In seeking to promote the welfare of the Negro
group, the Negro Press has hammered home the
peril to our system of government inherent in the
second class status of thirteen million citizens. The
fact that such a large minority can be kept under
heel is a standing invitation for willful men who lust
for power to apply the same techniques to other
minority groups. This is the way of fascism and
we believe that the Negro Press in seeking to extend
democracy is of necessity anti-fascist.
It is idle and untrue to state that there is no
bitterness among Negro Americans over the stric
tures of color discrimination. Hate breeds hate and
the attitudes of white America toward Negroes
have produced in them much bitterness. While it
is possible to brow-beat and terrify a human being,
it is impossible to make that human being like it.
This is a truth which is very little understood in
white America.
The Negro Press can help to mollify this bitter
ness only if it can find some fragments of hope in
the run of events which demonstrate that the cause
for which Negroes fight is marching on. The cen
turies of anti-Negro traditions in America have left
their mark upon the people. No propaganda tricks
can cast a spell over an oppressed group which has
known this oppression from generation to genera
tion. The Negro must have a peg upon which to hang
his hope and it must be sturdy and real. No one is
more anxious to find or help make this peg than
are Negro publishers. .
POETS’ CORNER
A TROPICAL NIGHTFALL
Composed and Written by PAUL L. BELL
(t.PITOR’S NOTE: The following poem wat contributed bv (pi. Paul T..
Bell, a >ourig Detroiter now keriini; with the 7t>6th Engineer Dump Truck
tompany In New Guinea.)
Behind the blue horizon, the sun is dimly sinking.
Swiftly growng brighter, the Evening Star is blinking.
■ts.
The most wonderous of fowls, designs of splendour decorating its
breast,
Endowed with all rapturous colors, that only its maker could possess.
Flamingos in flight to a well earned rest,
Silhouette in hordes the dying gold crest.
Earth should be proud that Heaven has blessed
This* glorious bud with unequaled zeal and zest.
The great Pacific Ocean with its blue unfathomed depth.
Calms the roaring, slashing waves to a lower, slower rhythmic step.
Smoke rings from my lighted pipe in an upward endless climb
Kush to join the clouds above where freedom is more sublime.
The last sun rays have vanished with never a more colorful grace,
The yellow moon rising heavenward in a vainless effort to take its
place.
Dusk has hence long fallen, darkness stealthily, slow-ly wanders
Crickets take up their melodious chirping, in ever increasing
numbers.
Dew* through the leaves gently seeping
Birds have found their mates and in their nests are sleeping.
Evening has finally passed, piuplc shades darken the sky
The wind ceases its whistling, with a dying mournful sigh.
Palm trees have bowed their heads in gracious slumber too,
White clouds racing quietly to their secret rendezvous.
The Jungle and Sea is still at last and I, too, must prepare for bed
Yielding eyelids flutter sleepily in a tired weary head.
Deep slumber has soon overtaken my slender molded frame.
God Almighty concludes the day which is forever an eternal game.
•Y WILLIAM L. SHERRILL.
WHAT WILL TOMORROW
BRING?
Sunday's papers announced that!
the War Product! n Board has re* i
1. xcd controls ca. < ertain products j
"in a move toward orderly recon
version of indu-'ry to peace-time
production.” The announcement
say# that the WPB ' also gave in- j
dustry a go-ahead on the building
of a single work.ng model of any !
planned post-war product—whether !
an auti mobile, a refrigerator, or a
railroad Pulhnai c\n\" All of which
says in so many .words, peace,
though ,t nay be a long or short
ways off. i> at lea.-t in sight. We
•heiefnre n.u#t beg;n now worKing
on our post-war problem#.
Ore < f ■he most difficult of these
prouletnr. i.-* that < t supplying jobs
for all. The rr.o\c being made by
t..e WPB at tin- t.iv.e is toward
answeri- g tiii- ;• olein. “We all
Know that wnen m.l tar> operations
are far rr u_’h advanced," says
Donald M N« -<>n. cha rrnatt of tlie
board, “big lenu'.i ns a ill be made
in the o\er- II war production pro
gram.. Noi> dy can predict with
certainty i >.v loiik it w ill be before
those over-.ill it dictions beg.n...
Whenever they b* gin. large num
bers of men and women will 10.-e
their war job# ..If they are to f.nd
other work w .th« ut ■ ng delay, and
if plant# are r.ot to stand id.e in
necev>-aiil.v. ind.i/tiy must be ready
at that t.rr.e t • move at once into
sharply increased production of
, c.\ ;lian goods."
This quest.on c-f post-war jo,* ;>
something f r all of us to thii <
i about. ‘We. tne Negro. n,u*i th iiK
about if tw.ee as earnestly as our
wh.te brothers for we ha\e an extra
Darner to hurdle...We must r.ot
wait until the war ha* stopped to
start looking out lor our jobs, now is
the time.
We are making big money row.
Because it i# diff.cult to secure
; labor; bee* ue there is so much war
: material needed we find oursel\e.«
employed in place* from which Ne
groes were barred before the war...
Will wc be able ! . hold job# with
these firms w!i» i they revert to
peace time Buslnev? and production?
Are wc insui .ns our chance- of be
ling in ir.e chai. # v-o\tr# Loin war-
production to peace-production by
making good on our war jobs?...
We are on trial during his war pe
riod... Many of our bosses never
used Negro help before.. .They
didn't use us because they had an
•dea that we are inefficient, untidy
with ourselves, boisterous and un
couth; that we are 111-mannered,
dishonest; that wo have no regard
for time and lake a dav off as soon
as we are paid; that we are irre
sponsible and cannot be depended
upon... Are we, on our new-found
jobs dispelling this idea by our de
portment?. . .Are we proving to our
employers that they have been
wrong about Negroes? Are they so
pleased w ith our work—our deport
ment and our personalities that they
will place us on their list of em
ployee* who mu>*t be retained in
the change-over? These are some of
the questions we should ask our
seivi N when we think of our jobs in
the post-war era.
It will also be necessary, if we are
t i compete for i* st-war jobs, that
we be trained... When the war ends
and millions of nen and women
return to civilian life seeking jobs—
the untrained ar.d unskilled will be
the ones to join the ranks of the
unemployed and eventually wind
up on the relief r 0115... What jobs
there are will g> to those who are
prepared... We must prepare our
selves to meet this challenge of
p. •e-war jobs by taking every ad
vantage of the many opportunities
about us to tra.n ourselves in a
| number of fields . Make yourself
a# nearly md.spensiole to your em
ipi yer as poss.ble; prepare your
.-olf to do s it e ore thing well; you
I who worn on jobs and in places
\ here Negroe- never w rked be
fore. do vour job *i well :hat whites
who are cxpenmer.ting with Negro
help, will cou.it you as an asset,
i Tnese things t gether with proper
planning or. the p.irt of our organi
' za’ions will s'ai d our group in good
itead during the post-war period.
C ONTRIBI'TION OPENS DRIVE
NEW YORK—A SIOO contribution
fr >m the Musician's Union and 2.000
new members marked the opening
of the campaign on the West Coast
for 20.000 new members in the Los
Angeles Branch NAACI’.
THE FACTS
IN OUR NEWS
; Sy HOKACi A. WHITE j
Rl 7 MORS OF RIOTS . . . For
(he last lon day* your correspondent
has been receiving from one to two
telephone call* per day from peo
ple located In various part* of the
city saying that they have heard
that another race riot I* in the mak
ing. These people talked over the
pltone with anxious voice* One ha*
the right to wonder how such
rumor* get started, ✓ ich rumors
ran easily fan an unsettled and un
disciplined population into hostile
outbreaks. Therefore, every effort
must be made to nee to it that these
rumors have no foundations, and
positive step* taken to reassure the
whole population that there should
be no cause for alarm over race
riots this summer.
Every rumor of a race riot nature
should be traced down by the city
authorities and the Bureau of Fed
eral Investigation. Whenever such
a rumor is traced to its origin, it
should be made known to the pub
lic. One of the major reasons w y
people get nervous over race riot
talk In the city of Detroit is that a
great many people have lost con
fidence in the law- enforcement
agencies Both Negro and white
people do not feel at this time that
the law- enforcement agencies In
the city of Detroit are all that they
could he. In view of this fact, if
there could be a strong, positive ap
proach to the matter of controlling
law less activity on the part of all
group* regardless of race, the peo
ple would cease to feel fearful about
rumors. The law enforcement
a Reticles in the city of Detroit must
stop temporizing and evading the
personal conduct problem of the
agents of our law enforcement de
partment. The police department
Itself in too many instances is pro
vocative of trouble. They act as If
they are policemen to get revenge
on Negroes. This thinking on the
part of certain members of the po
lice department could be corrected
overnight with a firm hand at the
top.
It should be made clear by the
administration of our city that Ne
groes are not planning any riots and
never have planned any riots. The
Negro people as a whole are aware
that riots destroy progress for ‘hem
selves and for the city. It may be
asking too much of our city admin
istration to reassure the people in
our city that the administration is
leading the city toward unity and
mutual respect among its citizen*.
It doesn't take a lot of courgae to do
this, nor does It take a lot of plan
ning. People are reassured by lead
ership that tackles the problems
confronting a community head-on.
When the leadership shows itself
frightened and confused because of
rumors of race riots, there is
nething left for the average citizen
to do but to “stew" in his confusion
and frustration. He does this be
cause he is left without a rallying
point for his failing spirit.
Negro leadership must become
much more positive in its approach
in these trying days. To always at
tack the problems that confront the
Negro people with negativism is
superficial. One can certainly get
a crowd when he is in the business
of denouncing. It does not take
much brains to denounce, and it
does not take much courage to de
nounce. It does take a great deal
of courage and insight to fight prob
lems of discrimination, secregation
and the denial of civil liberties in
a positive manner.
There Is much work being done
on the Negro’s plight in this coun
try from m positive point of view.
The difficulty is that the positive
element* at work do not trickle
dow n to the great masses of Negro
people. For some reason, and I
think the reason is the lack of com
munity organization among Negro
people, only the negative about the
Negro's plight is known among Ihe
masses. These negative attitude*
have piled up and up until the Ne
gro In the street has become a bun
dle of nervous frustration and hope
lessness. lashing out in all direc
tions to free himself. As one watches
this lashing out on the part of the
masses, one sees how completely
lost in the frustration and hopeless
ness of the masses any processes and
programs for improvement are.
The matter of community organi
zation for doing something by Ne
groes for their condition in a con
junction with all progressive forces
is fundamentally the responsibility
of Negro leadership. Let us take as
an illustration the recent Allied Ne
gro College Fund Drive as it op
erated in Detroit. Here we were
dealing with the education of the
people—a very important factor. We
had a goal of $75,000. An attempt
was made to raise this money with
ghtened and confused because of I have been a little surprise
USra NEW YORK Captain Ora,. Ray- •"<» *°"l
do but to “stew" in his confusion nolds. who was retired a> an armv h.i.e looked *' v l )o,s 11
d frustration He does this be- lain in j,, nuarv< * in address Strange Fruit" and have out th«
use he is left without a rallying ' , O ook down think.i c they haw
Ini fnr hi. fliiinr vnirit the Wartime Conference of the uuw “ J
Kegro leadership must t>ec«me NAACP in Chicago July 13 on the ("und them For a apeaae.
ach more positive in its approach subject. "What the Negro Soldie here recently is * inosed o ha\.
these trying days. To always at- Expects." Chaplain Reynolds served said that she knew that no col.eg*
'k the problems that confront the at Camp lae, Ft. Devens. Camp graduate like N nnie would hav<
!g ro people with negativism is : Custer. Ft. Huachuca. and on | been involved in s .. ch ' a love affair
perflcial. One can certainly get Pacific coast and has an intimate j bls person overlooked completely
crowd when he is in the business; knowledge of the feelings of Negro | that this .. affair *. bvKan wht>M Non
denouncing. It does not take lighting men. The NAACP meeting nje waj not yei jn co lle*te. Bes des
uch brains to denounce, and it will open Wednesday night. July 12, such a general statement could no
es not take much courage to de-! and run through Sunday afternoon. be made t , ven 0 f a n college gradu
unce. It does lake a great deal July Isl Sessions will be in the att , s gome object to the fact tha
courage and insight to fight prob- Metropolitan Community Center. p ess and Nonnie were colleg<
ns of discrimination, secregation 41st street and South Parkway. e\- trained yet d.d d-niesi.c work f-r*
d the denial of civil liberties in cept the Sunday meeting which w ill getting that thi* does liuppen in tht
positive manner. be staged in Washington Park, near South and was especially true ir
There Is much work being done ti,. lagoon. the 1920* when the action toOH
the Negro’s plight in this ooun- -as sssss as pi aCe
f from a positive point of view.] Totally Different Treatment
le difficulty is that the positive no thought of permitting the masses Qth . * haVl . dIH tho boo ;
■menu at work do not trickle of people t . participate in the drive is that ill the saml
wn to the great masses of Negro at all. No iv.achinery w..« sc up _ J( uh , to M) . l;e PX .
ople. For some reason, and 1 whereby they might contribute their ' . . nt c ....
ink the reason is the lack of com-| one dollars and five dollars Con- .;.B* No ' tn)ok bv u ,~! or
unity organization among Negro sequently. the Allied Negro College , (i ; da?e pre , a i ov »
ople. only the negative about the Fund Drive will ose on «« scores bl .. Al ., n a N rl and a Ahlt<
•gro s plight is known among the In Detroit. It will lose in the mat- U; stsch h * ( , nnr w ;th , ucl
asses. These negative attitudes ter of not reaching its goal to an ap- . ' . imnlic-iMuna fur tin
V* piled up and up until the Ne- preciahle degree, and it will lose he- 1 \ u .* d ‘ a ;
oln the street has become a bun- cause the people who ultimately -“ U *! ‘ ,' / f ' dramJ
eof nervous frustration and hope- must come to the rescue of Negro u , K . . v
j&TlJhtat .«» in .11 Uric c 011,,,, hav, not boon Inrlulrd. r . r h * h ‘ ‘ . “I'-.Vi Tnt
>ns to fra, hlmsflf. A. on. watch,, 1 They have not brrn In.hnlrd. hr- •“> '* ■ ■ 1 .1 ‘ .
la Uahlnt out on tho part ot thr rauic thrrr baa brrn no proaram "' d *‘f' .'itVis ontl In
Basra, .nr arra how completely ,et up t» Include them. It is to hr ’ 1 ' 1 “T,,. t l ,v dfr bul h
st in the frustration and hopeless- hoped that in the future some part * V?rv P *i‘ V l , Wl, ni n,
a. of the masses any processes and will he given to community plan- *>a>.c fl ory ? .hem*, n
ograms for improvement are. ning in relationship to the Allied ' b *' u .. n h ‘ ,nc " °
The matter of community organi- Drive for Negro Colleges. Less than stl,4 ‘V» e ‘‘J J,t 41 .! U
tion for doitig something by Ne- two per cent of the Negro popula- * T ’ l l: ‘ l ~a nd ‘hous.ir ds of < thr
oe« for their condition in a con- 1 tlou knew that they could parti- ult, i,re uhcn
nction with all progressive forces clpatc In this magnificent effort, inns ..re lemmed.
fundamentally the responsibility Now. it certainly is not meant here non.i.d Ad;uns_n h > co* :mi
Negro leadership. Let us take r.s that there were not newspaper re- hi the New Vh'k Times
l illustration the recent Allied Ne- leases and letters sent out to the rr , .about Strang'
o College Fund Drive as it op- churches. This is merely a substi-] rui! w nch I thin* boat repeatins
ated in Detroit. Here we were tute for real work In organizing the "Strange rruit” must have fur an;
‘aling with the education of the community to put over a project., sensitive and open-minded rcade
a () pi e —a very important factor. We These newspaper releases, letters i a terrific impact - aiul I use tha
id a goal of $75,000. An attempt and dinners should have been the I adjective co*>!ly ai.d judici.il.v It i
as made to raise this money with, bark-drop for a real program. 'the best novel or. th, theme of mis
. * TIRED OF LENDING?^
WELL, DO WE BUILD OR NOT?!
t m I*'
111 O R
' o -
Negro Soldier
Topic Of NAACP
Chicago Confab
NEW YORK—Captain Grant Rey
nolds. who was retired as an army
chaplain in January, will address
the Wartime Conference of the
NAACP in Chicago July 13 on the
subject, "What the Negro Soldo*
Expects." Chaplain Reynolds served
at Camp Lee, Ft. Devens. Camp
Custer, Ft. Huachuca. and on the
Pacific coast and has an intimate
knowledge of the feelings of Negro
fighting men. The NAACP meeting
will open Wednesday night. July 12,
and run through Sunday afternoon.
July 18 Sessions will be In the
Metropolitan Community Center.
41st street and South Parkway, ex
cept the Sunday meeting which will
be staged in Washington Park, near
lagoon.
BOOK NOTES >H<
t -By-
CERTRUDE SCOTT MARTIN
I have been a little surprised
and yorry to find that some Negroes
have looked for we. k spots in
“Strange Fruit" and have put the
book down thii.g.i g they have
found them. For instance, a speaker
here recently is s pposed to have
said that she knew that no college
graduate like Nmnie 4 would have
been involved in s..ch a love affair.
This person overlooked completely
that this "affair" began when Non
nie was not yet in college. Bes des,
such a general statement could not
be made even of all college gradu
ates. Some object to the fact that
Bess and Nonnie were college
trained yet d.d d mieshc wont for
getting that thi-f does happen in the
South and was especially true in
the 1920 s when the action took
place.
Totally Different Treatment
Others have di> , -sed the book
on the grounds tint it is the same
old story, which :t s to some ex
tent but the treatment is new, cer
tainly No book bv white or colored
,t .th>>»■ to d.ite h.is presented a love
between a Negro g.rl and a white
man , p such ,t plane nor with such
devastating implications for the
South. Besides ;f one examines all
the great works of history, drams
or novel or short story, the themes
are few: the eternal triangle, and
unrequited love, are two of the pr.n
c.pal ones Tho characters and the
tune and place may difler but the
basic story i> the same. When one
t xamine* the basic themes of
! Strange Fruit” or "Roiyieo and
Juliet" and thousands of other
I works they are the same when the
! fnlis are removed.
J Donald Adams in his column
|in the New York Times recently
made .** me po.n ■» about “Strange
i Fruit" w hich I think bear repeating.
"Strange Fru.t" must have for any
! sensitive and open-minded reader
! a terrific impact—and I use that
adjective coolly ai d judicially. It is
I the be st novel on the theme of mis-
SATURDAY, JUNE 24, 1944
cognation that I have ever read, but
its implications go f.*r beyond the
story it tells of love bet .seen a white
man and a Negro girl "
"Strange t rull” and "Native Ion”
Mr. Adams' comparison of Miss
Smith’* novel and "Native Son” is
especially good:
"There is. to jnv mind, a marked
and important difference between
this book and another, published
three years ago, which also had a
wide sale, and, in lesser degree, po
tential power to affect opinion. I
refer, of course, to "Native Son” by
Richard Wright. The first book was
a less effective instrument on the
*;de of eon>tructive thinking, not
because its author was a Negro but
because its page* were scarred with
hatred and its thesis blunted by
Its use of what, to n y mind, was a
much too singular and biased cave
history. The Negro boy Bigger
Thomas was a po t example of his
race, or of any race, for that mat
ter. upon which to hung the exhor
tation implicit in tm* bow*. Bigger,
m> far as I could determine, wa*.
born mean; and if not actually a
congenital criminal, at least a bor
derl.ne case. In mute of its me,o
dram.itic force. "Native Son" w.ts
basically illogical, confused and un
sound."
Tracy's WrtknrM
Mr. Adams d.scus?cs too the quo.'-
tK I II of Trac> > weak:.ci'* ulv.ch
others ha\e mentioned and which
w.cs criticized m a column by Ralph
Matthews in the A tro* American,
Mr. Adams has this 'o sttv:
"The only serious weaunfw in
her book, 1 think, is the fact tliat
the white youth about whom her
story center* was deliberately made
a weak dial actor, and yet, although
this obvious .Mention weaken* her
effect, it makes possible the story
she tolls Had Tracy Deen grown to
manhood w .tii more guts than he
possessed, he very probably would
ha\e sought hi.> future elsewhere
than in the drowsy little Georgia
town where he was born; and very
likely too, he w ould have seen more
clearly the hazard' of the situation
into which his !«\e for Noruue
Anderson was leading her as well
as himself."
I think that Mr. Adams refute? hi*
own critic.»m ai the last sentence
above Some Negroes rather self,
consciously have said <as in Mr.
Matthews’ column* that M ss Smith
made Tracy wtak to show that only
a weak man would have fallen in
love wtth a colored girl. In l.ght of
Miss Smith ' sincerity and sympa
thetic trratn ent of her characters,
this criticism is both unjust and un
warranted. It b true that like Mr.
Ad an s says had Ti cv been strong
er he would have found a different
solution to h,s problem but then
the story would hwo been totally
different Tracy like all those
around him was the product of his
family life, the town and the times
in which he lived. Had he been
taken out of this situation this book
which bares the South’s racial dis
ease could not have been written.
1 have written at such length
again about "Strange Fruit" because
I think it i* of the greatest i im
portance that an author has p’-e«
sensed the tru’h about the South
with ftich claritv and Insight. All
the criticisms of the book I have
heard voiced seem to grow out of a
Mirt of wary sclf*cunsciotisnc?t and
an a.s.'Oci,.t.on of Nonnie with all
colored women and the conclusion,
therefore, Unit Negro womanhood
has been trealed lightly by Misg
Smith This sort of feeling is com
parable to the white man’s concep
tion of "southern womanhood’ in
its lack of realism. Nonnie and
Tracy were normal human beings
and their love no more remarkable
than that of B.gger and Clara in
Native Son" or of Pergv and Bess
in "Porgy and Be>s’’ yet there were
no criticism? of either or these on
this score Actually, the relationship
between that in "Strange Fruit"
was on a far higher plane than that
m either ol the two other caaas.