The SPHINX | Fall 1966 | Volume 52 | Number 3 196605203

THE

Sphinx A*A

The

Sphinx

Volume 5 2

Number 3

October

1966

LPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY, INC P.O.

Box

Lincolnton New York,

285 Station

N. Y.

10037

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Directory for 1966-1967 J e w e l H e n r y A. Callis

Editor-in-Chief George

3206 E Street. N.E., W a s h i n g t o n , D.C.

At

General President — Bro. Lionel H. N e w s o m General S e c r e t a r y — Bro. L a u r e n c e T. Y o u n g General T r e a s u r e r — Bro. Leven C. Weiss General Counsel — Bro. J a m e s H. McGee Editor. T h e S p h i n x — Bro. George M. Daniels, Vice

an

G

g

:i~~ .^'D ^ ' ^h JL°/ in 4432 S o u t h Parkway C h i c a g o , II. 2920 Kendall St Detroit Mich J—1?26 W ' ? r d S'|' D a J t o " ' S v 4 7 0 Lenox Ave., New York, N. Y.

Barton

Beatty,

Editors

Charles

Stenson

E.

Broaddus,

D a v i d A.

D o w d y , J . M.

1929 W. Lanvale St., B a l t i m o r e , M d 342-a East B r o a d w a y , East St. Louis, I I I .

2 0 1 8 Van Cleve, Dallas, Texas 2 8 0 1 14th Ave.. N o r t h , B e s s e m e r A l a .

5835 Ernest Ave., Los Angeles. Calif.

Presidents

T e n n . S t a t e Univ., N a s h v i l l e , T e n n .

R.

G o o d e , M a r t i n L. H a r v e y , M a c e o H i l l , L. W. Jeffries,

Belford

V.

Lawson,

Samuel

A.

F l o y d S h e p h e r d , A. M a c e o S m i t h , Frank L. S t a n l e y , Sr., L. H. S t a n t o n , C h a r l e s Wesley, O. W i l s o n W i n t e r s , L a u r e n c e T. Y o u n g .

Frank

Ellis,

Malvin

Committee

R.

Goode,

Marshall

J . H e r b e r t K i n g , B e l f o r d V. L a w s o n , S a m u e l A. M a d d e n , J . E. M a r t i n , L i o n e l H. N e w s o m , Gus T. R i d g e l , Floyd S h e p h e r d , L. H. S t a n -

C o m p t r o l l e r — Bro. Gus T. Ridget H i s t o r i a n — B r o . C h a r l e s H. Wesley Dir. Ed. A c t i v i t i e s — Bro. Oscar W. Ritchie

K e n t u c k y State College, F r a n k f o r t , Ky. 1824 T a y l o r Street, N.W., W a s h i n g t o n , D X .

4778 Lakewood Rd., Ravenna, O h i o

ton,

Felix W a r r e n , L a u r e n c e T. Y o u n g .

Staff

Chr. A l p h a Phi A l p h a B u i l d i n g F o u n d a t i o n , Bro. W i l l i a m M. A l e x a n d e r

Inc.—

REGIONAL

DIRECTORS

105 Greenwood St., B o s t o n , M a s s .

179 Doyle Ave., Providence R. I. 66 Dry Hill Road. N o r w a l k . C o n n .

3 1 H i c k o r y Hill Rd., T a p p a n , N. Y. 6202 W a s h i n g t o n Ave., Phila.. Pa. ••• • ••• •••••• 9 1 1 Spa Rd.. A n n a p o l i s , M d .

3 2 4 G r e e n b r i a r Ave., H a m p t o n , V a .

Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., 4432 South Parkway, vent Ave., New York, N. Y. Published four times a year: February, May, October and December.

Address

all

^ o c i j "E; 1 9 t ^ , G a : y J j d r a h r ] a , 10926 Pasadena Ave., C l e v e l a n d , O h o 2724 Hoover Ave D a y t o n , O h o 1340 W. Woodruff, Toledo Ohio 1731 Gaty Ave.. East St. Louis I l l i n o i s 2533 w . Paseo Dr.. Kansas City Mo 5344 N. 6 4 t h , M i l w a u k e e , W i s c o n s i n 2335 G a r d e n d a l e Dr., C o l u m b u s 19, Ohio 6 8 0 W. Van B u r e n St.. Battle Creek M i c h . , 4 7 2 8 D r e x e | Blvd.. Chicago, IIl.no.s 3338A A u b e r t Ave., St. Louis 15 M o .

3927 A m h e r s t St., Des M o i n e s , Iowa 699 N. Crescent Ave., C i n c i n n a t i , Ohio K e n t u c k y State College. F r a n k f o r t , K e n t u c k y 3548 Park Avenue, Kansas City, M o .

1010 L a f a y e t t e . J e f f e r s o n City. M o .

4 0 4 West 4 4 t h Street, I n d i a n a p o l i s , I n d i a n a i

editorial

mail

Lincolnton

Station,

Change

Address: Send

of

to

P.O.

New York,

Box

N. Y.

both

285,

10037.

addresses

to

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, 4432 South Parkway, Chicago,

Midwestern Region

III. Manuscripts or art

submitted

to

The Sphinx should be accompanied by addressed envelopes and return postage. Editor assumes no responsibi'ity for return of unsolicited manuscripts of art.

Subscription: $2.00 per year.

Opinions expressed in columns and articles do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and use of any person's name in fiction, semi-fiction articles or humorous features is to be regarded as a coincidence

and

not

as

the

responsibility

of

The

Sphinx. It is never done knowingly. Copyright

Southwestern Region

1965 by The Sphinx, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, N 9 t h Street „„5*9 ' V,MuS^°?,f,fn.PV = 1 6727 C o n f e s s Drive New Or leains. La. 2 0 1 2 C o m m e r c e St.. L i t t l e Rock, A r k .

O k l a h o m a — Bro. V e r n o n L. Fosbee L o u i s i a n a — B r o . A n t h o n y M. R a c h a l , J r A r k a n s a s — Bro. J a m e s A. V a u l t

The Sphinx is the official magazine of the Alpha Chicago, III., with editorial offices at 282 Con-

M a s s a c h u s e t t s — Bro. J a m e s H o w a r d Rhode Island — Bro. Ralph A l l e n C o n n e c t i c u t — B r o . W. Decker Clark New York — Albert H o l l a n d P e n n s y l v a n i a — Bro. Frank Devine D e l a w a r e — Bro. Frank Devine Maryland-Washington — Bro. Thomas Hunt Virginia — B r o . Talmadge Tabb

I n d i a n a — B r o . M o n t a g u e Oliver N o r t h e a s t Ohio — Bro Charles N u n n C e n t r a l Ohio — Bro. Oliver S u m l i n N o r t h w e s t O h i o — Bro. Robert S t u b b l e f i e l d S o u t h e r n I l l i n o i s — Bro. H a r o l d T h o m a s West M i s s o u r i a n d Kansas — Bro. E d w i n B y r d W i s c o n s i n — B r o Hovt HarDer S o u t h e d Ohio — Bro P a u T T u r n e r Western M i c h i g a n - Bro W i m a m B o a r d s , J r Northern I l l i n o i s - B r o . J . Herbert King East M i s s o u r i — Bro. C l i f t o n Bailey f o w a — Bro Ernest Russell S o u t h w e s t O h i o — Bro. H o l l o w a y Sells K e n t u c k y — Bro. H e r b e r t Olivera West C e n t r a l M i s s o u r i — Bro. J i m m y B u t o r d C e n t r a l M i s s o u r i — Bro. T h o m a s D. Pawley, J r Regional S e c r e t a r y — B r o . C r a m o n M y e r s

Photographer

Henry Crawford

4272 W a s h i n g t o n St., St. Louis, M o .

Eastern Region

Inc. Reproduction or use, without written permission, of the editorial or pictorial content in any manner is prohibited.

Southern Region

Bro Odell Lewis Bro W i l l i a m C o r b i n Bro! C a r t e r ? t ^ j : Z : Z Z ~ l

Custis,

H a r r i s , J o h n H. J o h n s o n , M o s s H. K e n d r i x ,

Eastern — Bro. Ronald F. C. A l l i s o n M i d w e s t e r n — Bro. J o h n Wesley S h a r p S o u t h w e s t e r n — B r o . J a m e s E. Glover W e s t e r n — Bro. George H. Pressley S o u t h e r n — Bro. V i c t o r R. J a c k s o n

Alabama — B r o . Kirkwood Balton Georeia Bro H e n r v Collier Flor da - Bro James* H Green M i s s i s s i o o i — B r o T J Ranee No 5 rt S n S Ca P r P olina B l 0 BTo J G Ra H nC v e aughn S o u t h C a r o l i n a — B r o . Luke C h a t m a n Tennessee — Bro. George W. J a m e s

Broaddus, F.

Ellison, Malvin

Editorial Advisory Assistant Vice

A.

Robert

M a d d e n , L i o n e l H. N e w s o m , Gus T. R i d g e l ,

Presidents

Eastern — B r o . Frank J . Ellis M i d w e s t e r n — Bro. Billy Jones S o u t h w e s t e r n — Bro. Earnest L. W a l l a c e S o u t h e r n — Bro. W. Dewey B r a n c h Western — Bro. Oscar V. L i t t l e

Daniels

Contributing W.

Officers

M.

....... 1303 M a i n St B i r m i n g h a m A l a .

1527 M i l l s B. Lane Ave.. S a v a n n a h , Ga. 1539 W. 23rd St., J a c k s o n v i l l e Fla. 407 W a s h i n g t o n St.. B r o o k h a v e n , Miss.

1708 Shady Ave W i n s t o ^ S a l e m N. C. "iiS0* ?°H4 ? U r £ S Venn' 1527 E. 3 r d St.. C h a t t a n o o g a , T e n n .

Western Region 3 3 0 2 2 n d A v e n u e , East, S e a t t l e , W a s h i n g t o n 2401 W. Cherry Lynn Road, Phoenix, Arizona 949 B r o d e r i c k St., San Francisco, C a l i f o r n i a

The since

Sphinx 19]4.

has

been

published

Organizing Editor:

continuously

Bro.

Raymond

W. Cannon. Organizing General President: Bro. Henry Lake Dickason.

Second class postage paid at New York, N. Y. Postmaster: Send form 3579 and all correspondence to P.O. Box 285, Lincolnton Station, New York, N, Y. 10037.

Contents

TOP OF THE MONTH

Features Today's Realities, Tomorrow's Probabilities/Robert P. Daniel...

Anniversary Convention

5

The Negro Soldier: 'He Tries Harder'/Peter Chew....

8

The New Leaders/John B. Ervin....

17

Fun Under the Arch/

21

The Death of Branch Rickey/Jackie Robinson

30

This issue and the next will include a considerable amount of materials pertaining to the recently concluded 60th Anniversary Convention. Speeches by Brothers Robert Prentiss Daniel and John B. Ervin appear herein. Brother Thurgood Marshall's will appear in December, along with a special picture section of convention activities.

Bro. Daniel is president of Virginia State College and has served Alpha as a national vice president, member of the former Executive Council, and as chairman of the Budget Committee.

Bro. Ervin, director of the Summer School, Washington University, is a true "servant of all." He has spread his precise judgement and keen insight over every facet of his community (St. Louis). His leadership ranges from the Executive Board of the Boy Scouts to the Metropolitan Church Federation, the State Human Rights Commission and the Mayor's Fair Housing Committee, of which he is chairman.

Departments Directory

2

Letters

4

Editorials

15

Frat Humor/O. Wilson Winters ....

20

Alpha Workshop/Laurence T. Young

23

News

24

Our Public Policy This month's editorials are basically Public Policy statements adopted by the convention. Each point will be dealt with later in much greater detail.

GI's in Vietnam Some Brothers abhor lengthy articles and are even prone to declare that a fraternal magazine should not concern itself with academic articles of social significance. Well, we're going out on the limb again with the longest article we've published to date. We believe The Negro Soldier: He Tries Harder is a great piece worthy of publishing in the Sphinx. We are especially grateful to The National Observer for permission to reprint this article by Peter T. Chew.

The December Issue As a follow up to the National Observer article we intend to offer another on-the-scene report on the Negro GI in Vietnam. This one, however, will be by Brother Whitney Young, executive director of the National Urban League.

Memo to Associate Editors

Covers FRONT: A 'Deuce' in the Airborne is a Negro. 'Aces' (whites) know he's good.

Say the generals: 'They won't let the white guy with them do it better. BACK: Squad Leader Jerome Johns shows new man how to fix his aim: 'No place on the line for the diddy-bop or nit bits.'

A new feature series is being planned to pay tribute to outstanding Alphas.

A 2-page section will be reserved in each issue starting next February to spotlight the career and contributions of such Brothers, graduates and undergraduates as well. If you have suggestions for the new Outstanding Alphas feature, please submit his picture and a 250-word biographical sketch for consideration.

Another new department will be the Alpha-Gram for late and brief news of appointments and past and coming chapter events.

December Deadline: November 15.

3

Improved Appeal

LETTERS

The Brothers of my chapter, Delta Omicron, San Francisco, Calif., feel the Sphinx magazine, by including articles on subjects of general interest to the public, as well as Alpha news, has improved its appeal by 100 per cent.

R U F U S SKILLERN

Oakland, California

To the Editor The Sphinx P.O. Box 285 Lincolnton Stat ion New York, N. Y. 10037

From Past President This is just a belated note of congratulations to you on the "new" Sphinx. I have enjoyed all of the editions. I am happy that you could use the photograph of the Sphinx that I sent you some time ago as a "cover."

I hope, however, that news of achievements of individual brothers and their chapter activities will not be replaced by too many sociological and racial articles.

CHARLES H.

GARVIN,

M.D.

PAST PRESIDENT 1912-1913

10516 Wilbur Avenue Cleveland 6, Ohio Ed. News of achievements of individual Brothers and their chapter activities will always have priority in The Sphinx. And Brothers will always have a voice.

An Appreciation In the mid-afternoon of April 6, 1966 Life Member Robert T. Custis transferred to Omega Chapter. The long Golden Scroll of Alpha was thus both enlarged and further illumined by the inscription on it of the name of another of its distinguished and devoted Brothers.

adapted a few months ago, I have been disappointed in the magazine as a fraternity journal. I have grown to appreciate the Sphinx as a magazine which brought together both the graduate and undergraduate brothers in an enjoyable and informative link.

In my opinion, which seems to be the concensus of the majority of both undergraduate and graduate brothers throughout the Midwest, the Sphinx under its new format is not fulfilling this goal. The few, but longer articles of questionable universal interest are not unique to a fraternity magazine and do not give the chapters a chance for expression or perception of the activities of each other. In our opinions, it is a crippling factor which could easily be changed to a beneficial asset of Alpha Phi Alpha.

JOSEPH H. DAVIS, JR.

A Disappointed Reader I was made at Theta chapter in Chicago and received my bachelor's degree from Cornell College. I started at Meharry Medical College in Sept., 1966.

I come from a family of very active Alphas and have been very active in working for the fraternity. I have been acquainted with the Sphinx magazine for many years because of my background and have enjoyed the combination of undergraduate and graduate articles and pictures. I can recall many times when I would look forward to each issue. However, with the new format as it has been

4

1215 30th Street Des Moines, Iowa Ed. The best way to insure the type of magazine you describe is for more Brothers and more chapters to submit articles and pictures of fraternal activities. If you have any specific suggestions we would like to have them. Contrary to what many might believe, we do not bar manuscripts from any Brother, graduate or undergraduate.

Finally, we would appreciate a copy of the poll that substantiates your assertion that a majority of the Brothers in the Midwest feel that the magazine is not fulfilling its goal.

Devotion to Alpha and distinguished service to it are in a sense the legacy of more than forty years that Bob Custis has left to us who in our turn will follow him.

In his case, however, the qualities for which he will be remembered were unique.

His devotion was total. Few could remember a National or Regional Convention that he had missed. He served for many years as Chairman of the Committee on Constitution, and the quality of his service was of the highest order.

To Alpha's work, as with all else, he brought to bear his fine intellect, sharpened by the rigorous disciplines of Amherst College where he took his A.B. degree in the mid-twenties and New York University from which he earned a Master's degree. His integrity and sense of high purpose were above question and the fact that occasionally he stood in dissent or was outvoted never disturbed him when he believed his point of view was right.

His home Chapter, Alpha Gamma Lambda, feels its great loss at Bob's passing in the full consciousness that in this we are joined by the entire Fraternity.

Stunned and saddened as we all are, when we reflect on the degree to which this late Brother so nobly exemplified the highest ideals of the Fraternity, none should be inclined to weep at his transfer to Omega Chapter. We shall save all our tears for lesser men.

MARSHALL E. WILLIAMS ALPHA G A M M A LAMBDA

If man is to survive and fulfill his individual and group responsibilities, he must take a hard look at

nun

REALITIES

mum

PROBABILITIES

By ROBERT PRENTISS DANIEL These are awesome times. The excitement and rewards of life today are the most challenging yet to be presented to any generation. Confronted with the possibility of an immense tidal wave of change that threatens to inundate our contemporary world, Destiny wants to know what we are going to do. It is therefore appropriate that, like the wise men of the legend, we pause in our varied activities to contemplate and prepare ourselves to live fully and courageously under the pressures of a deeply troubled world—a world in which we tend to insulate ourselves against the exhortations of statesmen and politicians, scientists and religionists, and even educators, all of whom are calling upon us to give serious attention to urgent issues.

New demands press in upon us from every quarter.

We are faced with an unprecedented expansion of knowledge. We are faced with an explosion of population, a new leisure thrust upon us by automation, a burst of technology, the discovery of frightening new forms of energy, the rise of new nations and worldwide rivalry of ideologies.

Individually as members, and together as an organization, strong in our convictions, steadfast in our purpose, and determined in our stand on the issues of the day, we must at this convention chart the paths, develop procedures, and decide on a way of life that will prepare each of us for group responsibility under this tidal wave of a very real historical ultimatum.

In other cultures the meaning of responsibility may shade and shift; but in our own, it moves around a crucial center.

To us it is representative—a stewardship without slavery or tyranny, a partnership without partisanship of any section or sector. Within the framework of this understanding let us explore together the significant areas of our theme.

It would seem at the outset that our topic is framed as a dilemma, suggesting the difficulty of grasping one horn, the individual, without losing our grip on the other, the group—we are to relate individual preparation with group responsibility. The theme presents a challenge involving two important words — preparation and responsibility.

Then if man as a species is to survive in this rapidly changing and even dangerous environment, we must take a hard look it today's realities, and tomorrow's probabilities, and we must develop a system, or a procedure, or a way of life capable of helping man to acquire the special wisdom and skill that he must possess both for happiness and for survival.

Individual Capacity Let us begin with the basic premise that man is a creative being. For example, when he needed to tighten a screw in the hard-to-get-to corner of a cabinet, he invented a screw-driver with a flexible shaft.

When he is confronted with the agony and destruction wrought by disease, he discovers a preventive vaccine or a cure for

S

that disease. Today, however, we are faced with the most challenging problem of all time—how to prepare ourselves to take our rightful place in the current mainstream of life and living. In our attempt to resolve this problem, now is the time for us to utilize this creative power that is uniquely the gift of God to man.

provide just enough for us to get along on. Don't ever rock the boat with a new idea nor let a pressing community problem keep us from our television sets. If we do all these things while shutting off our minds and conscience, we will fit very securely into the gray masses which form the background of life without purpose.

As we ponder this vast and changing world, its opportunities and its pitfalls, we must surely wonder about the roles we should assume. There are several that we may take. One role is to avoid initiative and to completely conform to society around us. If we choose conformity, then we have decided to forget creativity and to ignore the progress in learning for the past ten years; to be satisfied not to read a newspaper beyond the sports page and the advice-to-the-lovelorn columns; to avoid stimulating people and controversial issues; to choose jobs for the security they offer and not the challenge; and to be among those who say "no opinion" whenever a vital question is asked. All we have to do is shun realities and let our talents

But there is another role for those of us who dare to utilize the creative power which is the unique gift of men who are truly free in every sense of the word.

It is the choice which this great fraternity has stressed throughout its history. It is a choice toward which this Convention of a college fraternity, celebrating an illustrious history of sixty years, should move now even more vigorously. It is a way of life—first class citizenship—that is vibrantly alive and sensitive to the ideals of our country, to the needs of our fellowman, and to the creed of Alpha Phi Alpha —First of all, servants of all, we shall transcend all.

Our course at hand demands self-examination, purpose, and involvement. It re-

quires not only solid basic education, but also continuous training and upgrading, hard work, self-discipline, and sacrifice.

Favorable legislative enactments, legal decisions, and interpersonal relations may open opportunities, but the individual must be prepared, the individual must assume a responsibility, the individual must contribute to the influencing factors of change.

Indeed, in addition to other factors it is the rewarding attainment of excellence which is demanded of all who would accelerate the removal of the barriers to first class citizenship.

Our next consideration must be the matter of individual preparation for group responsibility. There is power in group responsibility only if the individual members play the game as an integral part of the team. Too often the very substance and spirit of international negotiations fall apart as nations, lacking understanding, place selfish interests above the common peace. And too often here at home, man's inhumanity to man has become a byproduct of our major cities when neigh-

Broker Daniel delivers keynote address, admonishes Alphas to help rid race of certain beliefs and fears.

6

borhoods have been transformed into bloody, fiery battle grounds for ruthless gangs who try to brand their special kind of hatred of our society, its laws, and races and creeds.

Preparation for Excellence Furthermore, as a minority group within a nation, we must help to rid many of our race of certain beliefs and fears. Two centuries of serving as slaves, and a long history of oppression have profoundly affected their self-esteem. The fears, suspicions and feelings of inadequacy generated in many by their subordinate status are not duplicated in any other ethnic groups in our country. The color of our skin and other physical traits distinguish most of us sharply from other groups in society. In the past these characteristics were taken as physical stigmata which reinforced negative attitudes toward us.

Individually, and as a group, we must learn to ignore these differences and rise above these negative feelings.

"WONDER WHY I DIDN'T GET THAT JOB ! !

WE"SOUL BROTHERS" ARE SUPPOSED TO BE " I N " THIS YEAR I I ! "

The attitudes of the masses toward themselves are mere reciprocals of the attitudes of other groups toward them.

There have always been serious reservations on the part of some other groups regarding our capacity to live on a basis of equality with other Americans. It is up to us to continue to disprove this fallacy, and the starting point is through education and aggressiveness. The Negro today has been displaced from the farm and must now compete for work in an urban market which requires a higher degree of education and technical skill even for menial jobs than was the case a century ago: Our old battle cry of "Go to high school—go to college" has changed to "Go to high school—go to college—develop a skill—attain excellence!" Given the present educational and occupational inadequacies of a large segment of the Negro population, our task of overcoming these deficiencies is formidable, but it is our task as individuals and as a group.

In June of 1965, President Lyndon Johnson had this to say to the graduating classes of Howard University: " You do not lake a person who for years has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race, and say 'you are free to compete with all the others' and still justly believe that you have been completely fair.

"Thus it is not enough to open the gates of opportunity. All our citizens must have the ability to walk through those gates.

"This is the next and more profound stage in the battle for civil rights . . . the task is to give 20 million Negroes the same choice as every other American to learn, and work, and share in society, to develop their abilities—physical, mental and spiritual—and to pursue their individual happiness."

So spoke the President; and as individuals in this great fraternity, we cannot falter before the great task which he has placed in our charge, not for others, but for us to do.

While it is clear that we are moving steadily nearer to equality with other Americans, the processes by which equality will finally be achieved are certain to be difficult and tortuous. The questions ever before us are: Are we ready? Are we equal to the task? Are we willing to assume the burden of leadership?

And finally, let us be reminded that we cannot expect to be carried forward by the mere momentum of group contagion.

We do not make progress merely by being carried along by mass action. We have the responsibility as individuals to further our own advancement. The dynamics of group acceptance only provide an atmosphere

EXECurifE WANTED

of fellowship and good will. The contribution of the group ends there. For example, it is fine that a chapter has a life membership in the NAACP, but what about individual life memberships! Where would the fraternity be financially if we had chapter life memberships? But we make progress, by identification and involvement through individual life memberships.

The full participation in these more favorable circumstances and opportunities revolve around the individual acceptance of responsibilities and individual preparation for moving forward. The horizons must be extended, but an important factor in this undertaking is having qualified persons available to move into, and to possess, the promised land.

Brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha, this is a challenging day. We cannot get by merely upon the achievements of the glorious past in the development of our beloved fraternity. We cannot make it just because we are able to point to numerous outstanding brothers giving distinguished service in the cause of civil rights. We cannot qualify for these new opportunities by pointing out the successes of individual brothers in all avenues of service throughout the country and the world. It is more than that. Each member must consider himself personally involved in developing a local chapter continually alert to vital issues, and each brother must make his own individual contribution to social progress.

7

The Negro Soldier: 'He tries harder'...

By Peter Chew

PHAN RANG, S. VIETNAM "Kill him, Johns," whispered the white officer calmly to his Negro sergeant.

Johns lifted his M-16 rifle and fired at the Viet Cong soldier who had suddenly appeared in a clearing dead ahead.

"I aimed right between the eyes but I got him in the Adam's apple," recalls Sgt. Jerome Johns of the 101st Airborne. "And I said to myself: 'I've did it!' And then I puked."

That was last summer, shortly after the 1 st Brigade of the 101 st Airborne Division landed at Cam Ranh Bay, north of here.

In the months that followed, squad leader Johns would kill 16 more VC, but it would never again upset his stomach.

"The onliest thing I had in mind was getting my squad back alive," says Johns.

"And I soon realized that the more I kill, the sooner we get this over and go home. The quicker you get adapted to killing people, the better off you are."

Of the 3,600 men in the 1st Brigade, roughly one-quarter are Negroes, many of them NCOs like Sergeant Johns.

There are an estimated 40,000 Negroes serving in all the U.S. armed forces in South Vietnam. At a time when race riots are spreading like wildfire across the United States, attention has suddenly shifted to the Negroes who are out here fighting, fighting in many instances for a form of freedom that their families back home still do not enjoy. Because Sergeant Johns represents the backbone of perhaps the fightingest U.S. unit in South Vietnam, his views, and the views of his colleagues in the brigade should have considerable relevance.

One Out of Four Sergeant Johns is a tall, trim man with a slight limp from shrapnel wounds in his right leg, a man quick to anger, equally quick to laugh, a man with a keen mind that often outruns his ability to express himself—a natural leader. Dressed in a sweat-stained, brown tee shirt, camouflage jungle fatigue trousers, and jump boots, he was standing beside a tent here at the brigade's base camp, skeptically eyeing the latest batch of replacements from the United States who were clattering awkwardly from a truck under a light rain.

"This group don't look so good either," he said, shaking his head with annoyance.

The replacements are flowing here now in a steady stream. The 101st has been fighting almost continuously since its arrival last year, serving as a "fire brigade," hopping back and forth across South Vietnam in helicopters and C-130 transport planes, from one battle zone to another; 20 moves, a dozen or more engagements: An Khe, Qui Nhon, Phan Rang, Ben Cat, Song Mao, Tuy Hoa, Dak To . . . and now back to Tuy Hoa where they are getting ready to go into action again.

Gaps in the Ranks Most of the original group are now on their way home. And there are many gaps in the brigade left by 101st troopers who will never go home.

The officers, noncoms, and enlisted men of the 101st tell you that the stateside training of the replacements these days is shockingly inadequate. Incredible as it may seem, many of them are still being trained for conventional, road-bound warfare. Many of the recruits here have never seen an M-16 rifle, are not familiar with basic infantry commands.

Because so many 101st replacements have been killed and wounded shortly after going into action, the brigade has instituted a five-day combat-and-survival course here at the base camp in a desperate attempt to teach the green recruits a few life-saving lessons before they go up on the line.

Sergeant Johns conducts the course, and he does so with a severity that would make a U.S. Marine drill instructor look on with admiration. And although Johns is obviously the hardest sergeant these recruits have ever come up against, they appear almost pathetically grateful to him when the five exhausting, and at times terrifying, days are over.

No Time for Prejudice In such an atmosphere, with death in the equation, racial prejudice evaporates instantaneously.

"Race is the last worry on anybody's mind up here," says Johns. "The average combat guy feels: 'Let's get off this alive.'

My squad said: Take me to Vietnam and keep me alive.

"I came out of Maryland. La Plata, outside D.C., crabbin' and night clubbin' town. I had 10 kids in my rifle squad, nine of 'em white kids, all from the South:

Richmond, Va.; Norfolk, Va.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Louisville, and one Negro kid, John Willie Amos, from Nashville.

"I never had one incident. Up on that line, all those kids' eyes are on you. Them kids just look at you, and sometimes when you turn a corner on a trail you say to yourself: Oh, oh, Mama goin' to get her money now!

"John Willie was the smallest of the lot.

He didn't weigh more than 100 pounds, wore size IV2 jump boots. He looked like just an ordinary Joe but he was a legend.

Christ knows how much point time (lead man on patrol) he had. I never had to say a word to him: Just roll my eyes a certain way and he'd move, and he'd always move the right way.

"John Willie got hit in Binh Dinh Province somewhere; I can't remember. Half the time we never know where the hell we are anyhow. Shrapnel. I didn't see him for months, then one day he came up behind me when I was conducting the course and he said: 'Where can I find a new pair of 7 Vis?' and I asked the recruits who wore IVz. And one of the kids raised his hands, and I made him change with John Willie. I felt I owed it to him. So John Willie walked out of this country alive.

"One of my kids lost a leg. The leg was tore off. We got him on a poncho.

That kid had everything goin' for him, too.

Wanted to be a pilot for Pan American.

When we started to move, he said: 'Hold it.' He rolled off the poncho and picked up his leg and put it in beside him. 'There goes my flying career, Sarge,' he said.

"Another kid is still in the hospital trying to decide whether he's lost both legs.

Some were wounded. But nobody was killed.

"So I did my job. You can't convince me I didn't. All of 'em write me. But they all back in the real world now. I can't express my feelings. I got half a high-school education. I just ain't got the smarts. So I don't try to write 'em back. Sometimes it hurts."

Attracted to Airborne Airborne units have, in recent years, gotten a high percentage of Negroes. Many Negroes, it is said, are attracted to airborne outfits by the glamour and the extra pay.

"If you are crazy enough to jump out of an airplane it makes you kind of 'different,' " says one white airborne officer here. "And when a Negro returns to his block wearing those shiny jump boots, he's looked up to. Anyway, I have a theory that the airborne attracts neighborhood toughs. I ought to know, I was one myself."

By his own admission, Johns was a neighborhood tough, but his reasons for joining the 101st were far less complicated.

"I was raised with my two sisters in Baltimore; my parents worked for the civil service, and I was a real delinquent from gingko (from the beginning). When we moved to La Plata, out in the country, man, I was advanced. They expelled me from the 11th grade at Bel Alton, Md., country school: Nothing big, just a careless attitude. 'Do this,' they'd say. And I'd say: 'I ain't goin' to do it.' A lot of little nit bits, but they added up. Then I worked on a survey gang for nine months.

"One day when I was 18, in 1955,1 was walking by the courthouse in La Plata. A recruiting sergeant looked at me. " 'You ever think of goin' in the Army?' " 'The Army ain't bad enough for me.'

A sign at Phan Rang tells it all about the 101st Airborne Division in South Vietnam, 'The baddest thing in the Army.'

" 'What you want is the airborne.' " 'What the hell is the airborne?' " 'Why that's the baddest thing in the Army.' " 'So I joined up right there. Once I was in, it was too late."

Johns entered an experimental 23-week training cycle at Fort Bragg.

"They had plenty of men in the airborne, plenty of volunteers, they could

have cared less whether you make it: 496 entered the training; 10 or 15 people cracked up; 400 people made it to jump school; 99 people graduated. When I got my diploma, I felt I earned it.

"All our instructors were Korean vets.

I was scared of my instructors. If I messed up they would knock the tar out of me.

But that's why I'm alive today. They taught me discipline: A guy named Abernathy trained me. What a guy; I'll never forget him."

Nowadays, says Johns (and everyone here concurs wholeheartedly) a recruit sits down and writes his congressman if he feels put upon by a sergeant. Consequently, the training in the States is too soft.

"The kids just aren't getting motivated.

Something is missing somewhere along the line. Even at Fort Benning with all those 'training aids.' I have some kid six weeks in the Army come up and say: 'Hey, man,' or 'Hey, Sarg.' Now somebody failed to teach this kid discipline."

Answering Sick Call Some Negro recruits, apparently believing they will have an advantage because of their race, address Sergeant Johns as "brother." They only do it once.

"I put those guys in a state of shock," he says vehemently.

The other morning, 17 recruits reported that they were ill, or that their legs hurt or that they had headaches. Sergeant Johns drew them up in front of him, and said to one of his white staff sergeants: "O.K., run these guys to Grey Eagle."

The trip to Grey Eagle, at the Phan Rang airport, and back totals eight miles.

Half of the recruits fell by the wayside.

They don't report sick any more.

"The kids come back from the line and thank me. And they say: 'Remember so and so? He got hit.' And it never surprises me. You can almost foresee it. That's why we give these kids hell for five days to try to get their minds set. We tell them to forget their girl friends, forget their mama, and forget the chaplain.

"One kid on his fifth day sat down and started to cry. 'I can't accept the fact of killin',' he tole me. So I let him go talk to the chaplain hisself. After the talk he came outside and said: 'Sergeant Johns, I'm

9

ready to go forward now.' " "Now I blame somebody back in basic.

You've got to kill. You've got to motivate these kids to kill: It take away 50 per cent of the shock when they shoot Charlie the first time. They see a dead Charlie and they say to themselves: 'Oh, Joe probably shot that one, it couldn't have been my bullet.' But when you see Charlie and shoot him yourself: Now that has a big effect on an 18-year-old."

"Now we always police up the battlefield afterward. Why? Because Mrs. Victor Charlie and her cute little son come along and do it. That's how they get our ammunition. So we never leave nuthin' on the battlefield."

Off in the distance, a 101st trooper could be heard walking down a road whistling The Marine Hymn. The recruits laughed nervously.

Anger and Awkwardness

An End to Laughter The other afternoon, Sergeant Johns and half a dozen white and Negro sergeants on his training staff, doubletimed a group of 50 recruits, just off the airplane from the States, to a simulated battlefield in the scrub-covered countryside. On the way to the training exercise, the recruits were laughing and joking. They weren't laughing and joking on the way back.

Their assignment was to negotiate a quarter-mile of scrub-covered field under simulated fire from the Viet Cong, running in short, seven- or eight-stride bursts, hurling themselves on the hard, pebbly ground behind cover, jumping up and running again, firing, tossing grenades at cardboard targets hidden in bushes and spider holes while members of Sergeant Johns' cadre fired M-60 machine guns and M-79 grenade launchers off to one side.

The field, Johns explained, was boobytrapped. If they triggered a booby trap, they would soon know it: For each booby trap was attached to a canister of tear gas.

"If you do somethin' wrong," he told the recruits, "the cadre (training personnel) will kick you into the middle of next week. You never run backward. The more you kill, the sooner you goin' home. You better start gettin' nasty, everybody's nasty up on that line. The 101st is the best unit in Vietnam: We got to be, we're the smallest. Now watch your profile: If Charlie can't see you, it stands to reason he can't pluck at you.

"When you throw your grenade, throw it like a baseball: None of this sidearm, Fort Ord stuff. You got four, five seconds.

If it's a dud, you comin' down-range with me to disarm it. You do everythin' on the double. Not little diddy-bop steps. On the double: 180 per.

10

"You laughin' now," said Johns ominously. "You, won't be in a few minutes.

Any questions?"

No one stirred.

"Who's kiddin' who?" snapped Johns.

"O.K., this group move out. Doubletime!"

The recruits started running. With few exceptions they were awkward. One threw himself on the ground, leaving his cartridge case open; when he jumped his magazines fell on the ground. He didn't notice it until the next turn came to fire. The cadre yelled angrily at the recruits窶年egro sergeants batting the helmets of white recruits with heavy sticks, poking them in the back; white sergeants screaming furiously at Negro recruits, and combinations of the two.

"Can't you see how exposed you are!" yelled Johns at a kid frob Brooklyn by the name of Goldberg.

The heat was beginning to get to the recruits, their heavy fatigues were soaked through with sweat.

Johns yelled at one boy to get up and "run to your right."

The boy, bandy-legged with fatigue and confused by all the machine-gun and grenade fire, ran to the right, drifted off to the left and kept on running about 50 yeards beyond the regulation few strides.

"Come back here!" Johns yelled.

When the boy got back, his webbing hanging down around his buttocks, perspiration pouring from his face, his hands shaking, he started to give Johns some backtalk: "Chris sake, you tell me to run . . ."

Sergeant Johns nearly bit the boy's head off. Thrusting his coal black face up against the boy's face, he yelled: "Son, don't you ever give me that! Son, I've killed. I've reached my goal. I've killed! Have you?"

Shaken, the boy stammered: "No, sergeant; sorry, sergeant."

Tear-Gas Trap A few minutes later, the same hapless recruit tripped a booby trap, "CS" tear gas enveloping him. Sergeant Johns made him lie there, retching, tearing at his eyes. Elsewhere on the "battlefield," other recruits were heaving and retching in clouds of tear gas.

Now they were throwing hand grenades, and the sound of the concussions was frightening. One boy threw a dud. Sergeant Johns poked him in the back with a stick: Down range they walked to disarm it.

I walked along behind the suffering recruits with Pfc. Tyrone Howell, a Negro combat-medic veteran, a bright, articulate young man. At about the same time, we both spotted one recruit who seemed to be doing everything right. He turned out to have the same first name, Tyrone; his last name was West, a small but well-built and well co-ordinated Negro from Philadelphia.

When the ordeal was over, we sat and talked with West and the others. West, it turned out, had taken his training at Fort Gordon. As he lay back, panting he said: "I'm not worried about the mental part.

But don't put me in there blind. Thank God for this damned course."

The Brooklynite was equally thankful.

"Man, that Johns is tough. He made me lay there and take it. He's good, though."

Despite preoccupation with their personal survival, the GIs here know all about the race riots back home. Most of them, including Sergeant Johns, consider them stupid for the simple reason that the ones who end up getting killed are the Negroes themselves.

Pfc. Howell said, however, of the rioters: "I sympathize with them. I'm tryin' to accomplish the same thing, but I'm doin' it another way, that's all."

Then he started talking about his combat experiences.

"Charlie knows he's got to get in close because of our air strikes. At Dak To he was right in among us. Captain Carpenter had to call in that napalm, otherwise we were all goin' to die. Man, did we kill those cats. But the guys are tired now.

Sgt. Otis Curry: 'The race thing just doesn't exist. Man, you just can't make it alone over here. You got to have spark.'

They need a rest. They're like me, man: I'm scattered all over Vietnam; I got to start thinkin' about life again instead of death."

Then he swung back to civil-rights situation at home.

"There is no doubt in my mind that when I get home I'm goin' to have my freedom. You know when somebody tells you over and over again that you are inadequate, you start to believe it. Always this question of 'heritage': Heritage, man, that's just a breeze that goes by. I'm going to have my freedom, don't you worry.

Let's put it this way: I've paid my dues."

At the NCO club one night, Sergeant Johns sat with a large group of Negroes.

Interestingly, despite the friendships forged in combat, the whites and Negroes have a tendency to split up during their off-duty hours. One white sergeant came

by Johns' table and said with a big grin: "What the hell, we desegregated and you still stay by yourself."

Sergeant Johns showed me a recent article in the Negro magazine, Jet, which mentioned him favorably, and talked of other Negroes who have made outstanding records in Vietnam. At the end of the article, an anonymous Negro soldier was quoted as saying that he approved of the riots: "Cause when we get home, we gonna raise hell too, if they keep pushing us around."

"I didn't like that article one little bit," said Sergeant Johns. "It pushed too hard on the race thing."

Some of the more radical Negro politicians and civil-right leaders at home have charged that a disproportionate number of Negroes are getting killed and wounded in South Vietnam, and that the

United States is "sending Negroes to their slaughter."

No Race on Records The Pentagon likes to emphasize that there is nothing in a serviceman's record jacket, IBM card, or aptitude-test papers that indicates his race. Yet Negroes and whites here refer to whites as .001s or "Aces," and Negroes as .002s or "Deuces."

(There is a Negro sergeant here in criminal investigation by the name of Carl Black. When a white colleague said one day: "We ought to call you Agent 007," Sergeant Black retorted: "No man, Agent 00 Deuce!")

"Look," says Sergeant Johns of the "slaughter" charges, "if you have a unit with 90 deuces and 10 aces, and you get in a fire fight, you going to have higher casualties among the deuces. What did you have to start out with?" The charge,

1!

he said, was ridiculous. "Most of us are volunteers anyway."

Sgt. Otis Curry, a huge, powerful man, is another old-time Negro veteran. "Let's see," he says with a smile, "was little Big Horn my first fight? I'm a confirmed lifer."

It is Sergeant Curry's job to ride in Huey B helicopters over the battle zone and fire canisters of "CS" tear gas down upon the heads of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops.

One night in a little hut called "The Cave," where all ranks can gather for beer in the evening, a Negro and a white got into an argument. At one point the Negro flared: "You're just saying that because you consider me a damned nigger!"

Sergeant Curry grabbed the Negro soldier by the nape of the neck and held him up in the air.

"He never said that! So don't you say he did!"

The Negro soldier calmed down and the pair made up.

Such situations, says Sergeant Curry, are rare.

'Just Doesn't Exist' "In a tight situation over here," says Sergeant Curry, "the race thing just doesn't exist. On both sides you find guys with chips on their shoulders. But when this happens, they are ostracized by their own kind. And man, you can't make it over here alone."

Of the riots, he said: "The ghettos are a sore spot on the country, a sore spot on our race. But they are hard to break up.

I come from Detroit and I was there during a riot. What's it prove? Everybody goes and busts up the grocery store and steals bread. One week later they are back at the store on credit, same as before.

"It does seem, though, that the Negro cat on the top of the pile is the one who is getting these better jobs. So these cats in the riots feel they have nothing to lose.

They can get jobs if they get education and qualify for it but they don't want to try. You got to have a spark: I got mine.

When I retire from the Army, I'm going back to school if I can."

"But when I get my education and if I'm the better qualified man, then I ought to get the job, regardless the color of my skin.

"We going to have another problem.

We've got some genuine Negro heroes over here. But you take a kid from Jackson, Miss., and he goes home with medals hanging down to his knees. Now where is he a hero? He's a hero down in the same part of town he left when he come over here—not uptown."

A Proud Volunteer Such a man is Sgt. Larry Forrest of Rockford, 111., one of the first Negroes in the brigade to volunteer for long-range patrol work. A tall, slim, handsome young man, he is proud that of 150 volunteers, he was among the 30 men who were able to "cut it."

Sergeant Forrest is going home soon, and the race problem is something that he prefers to laugh off. "We had some white guys in our platoon," he says, "they weren't a bad bunch: We called them 'the misfits.' " At brigade headquarters outside Tuy Hoa north of here, Lieut. Col. Henry "Gunfighter" Emerson, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Airborne, had little trouble ticking off the names of outstanding Negro soldiers in his unit.

"Sgt. Willie Harris is one," he said. "At Dak To Willie kept lugging machine-gun ammo forward, be-bopping and dancing and singing a little tune about having to get up front and 'fix old Charlie.' He's down with malaria now."

Then, he said, there was an enlisted man named Famous ("that was his real name") Lane, who came to the 101st from the 82nd Airborne where he had been busted from sergeant a few years back.

"He first came to my attention when he represented his company in some boxing matches. He was over 35, and when he won, a howl went up from the crowd.

He was a natural leader, real quiet, and everyone thought very highly of him. He was gradually working his way back up the ladder.

"One day when a big bunch of VC charged, he covered the rest of his squad, jumping forward like John Wayne. He was hit in the neck and rolled over dead with his finger in the trigger. He's in for the Distinguished Service Cross."

Sgt. Andrew May, a 29-year-old Negro squad leader from Rocky Mount, N. C ,

has been decorated for bravery on more than one occasion. He has an interesting outlook on the civil-rights situation.

"We are fighting for freedom right here where we should be fighting for it. Most of the peace marchers are Communist-inspired. The riots are just hurtin' people.

The civil-rights thing and the peace thing shouldn't be tied up together."

Then he paused for a moment and said: "It does make you feel kind of funny sometime, though, because we are fighting here for the things we are just about denied at home. But you just got to shake your head and hope the situation at home will change. I haven't run into hardly any discrimination in the Army, very, very little, so little it's not worth mentionin'."

Negro Officers Too Not all the Negroes in the "five o' deuce" as the 502nd is affectionally called, are enlisted men. Take, for example, Capt.

Benjamin F. Fobbs, a medical administrative officer in the 502nd's headquarters company.

Fobbs, from Glen Arden, Md., is a graduate of Morgan State College who has seen plenty of action supervising medical evacuation and resupply missions during combat operations. He recently volunteered to extend his tour of duty, will soon transfer to the 5th Special Forces Group in Nha Trang.

"I think you've got to isolate and separate the two—civil rights and the peaceniks. I think the peaceniks are showing political immaturity. They have no understanding of communism or the Far East.

They can't understand how the Communists can drive so hard."

Then there is Capt. Lucius Reeves of Miami, also of headquarters company, who has two white Southern sergeants assigned to his staff. At 28, and a regular Army man, he is a graduate of West Virginia State College.

"This civil-rights drive is a good thing." he says. "And I don't know, I admire the nonviolent ones because if anyone attacked me I'd want to fight back. But the riots make no sense."

"When you're out in these hills, no one has time for race. Everybody that has U.S. on his sleeve is a buddy. I've seen white guys hugging and kissing their Ne-

gro platoon sergeant after he's brought them through a fire fight. And I think a lot of white guys are leaving here with a completely different outlook."

We walked over to talk with a group of black-bereted "Recondos." These men patrol deep behind the enemy lines in small groups, find the VC, fix him, and call in heavy firepower on him. It is perhaps the most hazardous assignment in the 502nd. Fully half the Recondos I saw were Negroes.

One of the Negroes was Billy E. Ware, 19, from west Chicago, the scene of recent rioting. "I believe in what they're tryin' to do," says Ware, "but not in the way they goin' about gittin' it."

Ware stands only five feet, five inches tall, weighs 140 pounds. Yet on patrol with the Recondos he carries an M-79 grenade launcher and half his weight in ammunition. He looks about 12 years old.

"Don't let his looks fool you," I was told. "That kid is tough."

During the second World War, and part way through the Korean war, Negro troops fought as segregated units. And as segregated units, their reputation was not good.

Says one white American general in Saigon: "My people in the Army were annoyed when we were made to integrate, in the early 1950s, long before the rest of the country. But we sure were glad it happened. To be brutal about it. the segregated units just weren't taking their share of losses. But I want to emphasize that today, here in Vietnam, there is absolutely no difference in the caliber of white and Negro soldiers. The Negroes are good. In fact, I think they try just a little harder.

They won't let that white guy in the foxhole with them do better than they."

There is another side to this coin.

Whitney Young, Negro head of the Urban League, a civil-rights group, was here on a tour of South Vietnam to talk with Negro troops and to try to plan for their smooth transition to civilian life when they return home.

Mr. Young, despite his college education, could get no higher than sergeant during the second World War. "I served in Europe under a lot of white officers who never went beyond high school: now if

13

you don't think this was frustrating."

Only One General Mr. Young wryly observed that there was only one Negro general in the armed forces, namely, Maj. Gen. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., of the U.S. Air Force. General Davis, Mr. Young pointed out, was in turn the son of the only previous Negro general in the U.S. Army.

"Now we're all getting a little worried, because General Davis, Jr., hasn't had a son."

When he completed his tour here, Mr. Young praised the military command for an excellent showing in integration of the forces. He said he found morale of the 40,000 Negro servicemen high.

"In addition to such things as patriotism, they have become intrigued with the people here and their cause" he said.

"They felt it was right to be here." He added that the men kept up with civilrights activities at home, but were more aware of the negative than the positive things.

The Chief Complaints His chief complaints about the situation in Vietnam were a shortage of Negro officers, especially in the Navy, and the fact that de facto segregation has cropped up in some bars and restaurants in Vietnamese cities.

A characteristic that stands the American Negro here in good stead is his sense of humor. When a newsman asked a Negro Marine fighter pilot in Da Nang one day about civil rights, he replied.

"No problem in the Marines. They treat us all like niggers."

But the story that I like best concerns a bunch of 101st Airborne troopers, black and white, who decided to take over, for their own, a certain bar when they were stationed in Nha Trang. Airborne troopers look down upon foot soldiers whom they call "legs," and their disdain transcends the color bar.

A big white 101st sergeant sauntered up to the bar in Nha Trang and said: "O.K., you legs, get the hell out of here."

And an equally big Negro sergeant from the 101st addressed himself to the Negro legs in the bar.

"O.K., and all you niggers get out of here too!"

A glorious interracial brawl ensued.

14

Capt. Lucius Reeves: 'When you're here, no one has time for race. Everybody that has U.S. on his sleeve is your buddy.'

Editorials Our Public Policy CIVIL RIGHTS We recognize the many problems which are before us as a Fraternity. We are especially concerned about our social leadership position. From amongst the many problems, we have selected several that we feel are important and to which we wish to call your attention.

Our first concern is the Civil Rights laws that have been passed as Acts of Congress, especially in 1964 and 1965, and the expected actions of 1966. We, in the Fraternity as well as elsewhere, have passed resolutions concerning these Acts and have asked the Congress, urgently, by resolutions and telegrams to adopt them. It is one thing to pass a law and another to use it. If a law is not used, it becomes a dead letter and will be forgotten or displaced. We, therefore, urge that each Brother should become acquainted with this legislation, to know what it is and to urge its use in each of our communities.

The suffrage right is a major factor in these considerations.

There are, however, other factors which must not remain neglected any longer. Among these are labor unions and suggestions that others become active in these unions which often control the opportunities for employment in areas requiring technical skills. Such skills often carry with them more than average emoluments; they should be considered by the Negro youth in the central cities.

Employment opportunities arc important parts of our Civil Rights and we should approach the public school and higher educational authorities concerning training, as well as apprenticeship schools which are controlled largely by labor unions.

Civil Rights activities should extend to the local levels of the ghetto as well as to the middle class of our cities. Our people must be made to understand that there is a unity which must exist among darker peoples. On the matter of Civil Rights each Brother must actively interpret this application for himself, but this ought to be done within the framework of our civil rights legislation.

Related to civil rights is the question of home rule. There is one community in America where there is exclusion from participation in government at the local in Washington, D. C.

One of the reasons alleged for this is the presence of a large Negro population. Bills have been offered in the Congress for the further enfranchisement of the District of Columbia, but they have always failed due primarily to the action of chairmen who head the committees of control and other legislators. In this endeavor the people of the District should have the support of our Congressmen and Senators and we should inform them of our views so that they will vote in the affirmative on this issue.

There arc also divisions in the population of the District of Columbia which need to be closed. In this respect it should be remembered that "divide and conquer" is practiced not only under colonialism, but also in democratic societies. It is our hope that this division can be closed, and that the people affected can unite behind a program to the end that the goal of enfranchisement in the Capitol of this nation can be achieved.

THE MIDDLE CLASS AND THE GHETTO Our second concern is the concept of the middle class and the ghetto. We have been marching forward with tremendous strides in the sixties, but with the advance and forward march of middle class America, a wider gap will develop if we do not take along with us, as far as is possible in each community, the people who live in the ghettos. Today we move into better sections of the city; we live differently from the people in the ghetto and oftentimes regard ourselves as different from them.

This widening gap must be closed, and it can be closed by leadership coming from our Fraternity in each community.

We or our representatives serve on city councils and action must begin here. We go to the same churches as the people of the ghetto, the same lodges; we participate in the same community organizations, and we rub shoulders with them in the streets. We, therefore, urge that every effort be made to ensure that the man lowest down realizes that we are not seeking to get away from him. but to raise the level of the total community, and that his salvation and ours are tied together. Each community must work this out for itself, and here Alpha has the opportunity to serve as the initiating force.

15

DEMONSTRATIONS AND MARCHES Our third concern is demonstrations and marches. They have accomplished much good in communities where they have been held and, by reflection, in others as well. Even where local community law has been violated some good has usually been accomplished and there has been some ultimate value to the community. However, by themselves and without a follow-up of negotiations toward desired goals, they have been like "flashes in a pan." This means that demonstrations and marches should be channelled by our leadership in Alpha Phi Alpha in the implementation of worthy goals. Alpha men should be active and at the forefront of the stage which must now follow demonstrations and marches.

BLACK POWER Alpha Phi Alpha has been a black power for many years since its organization in that our ritual emphasized black Africa and our membership was composed of descendants of Africa.

We represented a black leadership in our communities. In the forties we moved from this stage into the area of integration in our membership, but we still gave emphasis to the priority of black leadership. We believed, and we still believe, the words of Lord Byron that "they who would be free themselves must strike the blow." This idea has been followed by the Jews, by the Irish, by the Catholics, by the labor unions, by women and by other minorities in their battles against majorities. It is still the way upward in American life. However, we must not make our power so exclusive that it is discriminative against whites. Nor must we have divisions of mulattoes, darker people, or. for that matter, any class group. We should close ranks along all lines, and move forward together with all distinctions as to colors and classes abolished. The power of positive and enlightend community effort should take the place of either white power or black power.

RELATIONS WITH AFRICA Our fifth concern is our relations with African peoples.

As the ancestral homeland of one-tenth of the American population which has been isolated for centuries in subject matter and contacts by other Americans, the time is now for drawing closer the ties between Africa and the United States, with the leadership being taken wherever possible by Negro Americans.

Since the first mention of Ethiopia in our history as Alpha Brothers, we have still an abiding relationship with it. Not

16

only Europe, but also Africa has given its blood to America.

As black Americans we must continue to show our interest in Africa's history, in its trade, in its emergent governments, and give to it the leadership in better relations which will be as effective for Africa as for other parts of the world.

BASIC EDUCATION Our sixth concern is with education in metropolitan communities. There are few areas which call more for the activities of Alpha Phi Alpha then education in the cities, where Negro Americans are being more centralized than ever before through the movement of white Americans to the suburbs. This concerns not only the voting power of Negroes as citizens, but their education as citizens. Due to deprivation and not to race, their children need far more inspiration and techniques than does the average American child.

This need should be reflected in the curriculum textbooks, in teaching methods and in the libraries. Their teachers need to be better equipped and better motivated than those in other community areas. It is not a question alone of Negroes having better school buildings, but also one of having better basic education, better teachers and a total better environment of learning in order to make up for the deficiencies of the past.

Negro youths will continue to make lower scores on so-called intelligence tests unless these steps are taken. We can no longer be satisfied with less than these improvements if we expect to compete effectively in American society. Through community councils, city councils. Boards of Education, ParentTeacher Organizations, Teachers' Unions, and Human Relations Commissions, this demand should be voiced again and again until the community grasps its significance and does something about it.

OUTSTANDING ALPHAS Starting with the February issue the Sphinx will inaugurate a new 2-page feature that will pay tribute to Alphamen who have made significant achievements in life and society, or those who are on the threshhold of accomplishment. Some will be graduate Brothers of national fame, and others will be rising undergraduates who are setting the pace on college and university campuses throughout the nation.

While we intend to spotlight these Brothers and honor them for their contributions as men and scholars, we hope to bring to the front many of those Brothers who heretofore have gone unsung but who deserve tribute.

To insure the success of this new endeavor, all chapters are being asked to submit the names of Brothers they believe should be included in this section. In addition, all entries should include a photograph of the outstanding Alpha being submitted, and at least 500 words detailing his accomplishments.

To salvage today, to insure tomorrow Alpha must provide. . .

THE NEW LEADERS

By JOHN B. ERVIN

I've been a part of Alpha for many more years than I'd like to say, and though one would never know it by my fraternal activity, the ideals of this fraternity have been somewhere near the heart of everything I've tried to do. Young people still insist that there are only two kinds of men: those who are Alpha and those who'd like to be!

These are unusual times. There is a sense of "community" among Negro people in the United States considerably beyond any that has existed before—in my own lifetime, and I suspect not since the antebellum days of slavery.

There has been a series of events, going all the way back to the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, through the Selma March, culminating in the Meredith March through Mississippi, which have demonstrated dramatically that there is enough consensus among Negroes of all stations, at all socio-economic levels to get thousands to take overt action and millions more to give assent to what that overt action represents.

As one gets a picture of developments across the country, via the mass media, one is struck by the essential sameness of the problems and the approaches—the responses to the problems. A couple of years ago, Mrs. Ervin and I left for Los

Angeles at the very hour that a local march on the Board of Education began, and listened intently to radio descriptions of what was happening and analysis of the issues involved.

When we arrived in Los Angeles four days later, Negroes there were preparing to march on the Board of Education and it was difficult to believe that we were not hearing the St. Louis story — even the composition of the leadership was almost identical. A physician was leading the demonstrations in both places, flanked by ministers, lawyers and political figures.

Right now there seems to be preoccupation with sprinklers, swimming pools and recreational facilities in most of the large central cities.

There is a sense of community today that is unique and the problems related to civil rights are at the heart of current concern, with a broad base of unanimity of thinking—at least about ultimate goals —that has probably never existed.

For most people, particularly the Negroes involved, the goal seems pretty clear.

President Johnson has said: "// will not be enough to provide better schools for Negro children, to inspire them to excel in their studies, if there are not decent jobs waiting for them after graduation. It will not be enough to open up job opportunities, if the Negro must remain trapped in a jungle of tenements and shanties. If we are to have peace at home. if we are to speak with one honest voice in the world—indeed, if our country is to live with its conscience—we must affect every dimension of the Negro's life for the better."

A Negro College President. Dr. Benjamin Mays has written: "The Negro wants the abolition of segregation and discrimination in education based on race. He wants equality of opportunity in education and wants deliber-

17

ate attempts made to compensate for the educational disabilities imposed on Negroes in 350 years of slavery and caste."

Where are the Leaders The mass media are filled with indications that the goal of the current Negro revolt is pretty well universally accepted.

But the matter of means remains fuzzy, unclear, filled with latent conflict. And it is at this point that leadership becomes exceedingly significant. Part of the difficulty in the current revolution, and I use the word advisedly since most observers of the American scene call it a social revolution, leadership roles are in a state of flux. It is often difficult to tell who is exerting leadership and who is jockeying for a particular position in the hierarchy.

Some individuals dubbed "leader" are merely those who occupy status positions,

which in themselves imply making decisions that affect the lives of other people.

It is difficult to tell, however, what impact these may be having in the present ferment. Others may be much more influential in molding public (and private) opinion and attitudes which spark the drive for more equitable distribution of opportunity.

Joseph P. Lyford, writing for the Saturday Review says: "There are many voices that talk for the unemployed, disused Negro in the black corners of his Northern cities, but there arc very few leaders, white or Negro, who have crossed his threshold to learn about his most immediate discontents, and what he wants right now, this afternoon, this very moment. The demands of Northern Negro "spokesmen"

are beginning to have more and more the ring of liberal middle class sociology, and they seem increasingly remote from those Negroes who are beginning to understand that, even if every racial barrier fell tomorrow, there would be no jobs for most of them, young or old."

"There is a difference," he continues, "between having spokesmen and having leaders. In most large cities, there are congressmen, councilmen and commissioners who say they care, but who seem to have become part of a worried establishment that ends by blaming its paralysis on the shortcomings of bureaucracy and an uninformed public. Nobody can expect them to take charge of a revolution."

A strong statement, and yet it seems obvious that if we are to make the present efforts count most, there must be real leadership exerted at many points.

I go back to Lyford, "The Point at issue now is not whether the Negro will take to the streets in his battle for citizenship. The question is where and how it will happen, whether there will be leadership and preparation and sanity in the plan, or whether there will be nothing at all, not even hope, but only the customary spasms of rage" on Chicago's south side, Los Angeles' Watts area, or in a St. Louis public housing area.

What are the Needs It is at this point that "individual preparation for group responsibility" becomes extremely significant. Obviously, I am not a fortune teller, no prophet, no seer. But as I look at organizations like Alpha Phi Alpha in the context of this 20th century assault on the forces which make for sociocultural disadvantage, I am convinced of several things which are important if our influence is to continue in the communities in which we live.

"DON'T THINK WE'RE PREJUDICE MR. JONSON BUT THE HOMES YOU SAW WERE ALREADY SOLD. WE FORGOT TO REMOVE THE "FOR SALE" SIGN ! ! !

\H

One of the most critical needs of communities across the country is leadership.

And Alpha Phi Alpha must provide its share of that leadership. Leadership that is responsible—that works at keeping informed, then works in terms of this for the best interests of all. Leadership that is sensitive to community needs—not just interested in status striving. And leadership that attempts to fulfill its obligations to keep inducting young people into

Facing the Challenge What I have been trying to say is that we (Alphas) are part of the leadership cadre in our communities, whether we like it or not, and because of this must assume certain responsibilities for our own continued growth and development.

John Gardner has written, ' The tens and hundreds of thousands of citizens who have achieved positions of eminence and influence in our natural life must live with a powerful sense of their obligations to the community and to the nation. They are our dispersed leadership. The influential citizen—whether he is a farmer or banker or labor leader or professor or lawyer—cannot evade his responsibility to the larger community.

"STATISTICS SHOW THAT THE TEN NEGRO ADDICTS THAT WE EXAMINED OUT OF TEN NEGRO ADDICTS WE EXAMINED WERE NEGRO"

leadership ranks.

It (the leadership) must work at developing vertical communication. There is a tendency for people in the ranks of the college trained to talk to each other with little concern for developing skill in communicating with the masses.

It must be willing to be "involved" and help others to buck the trend toward "non-involvement," and be sensitive to what "success" really means. Preoccupation with the material is understandable but there is need for highlighting a new set of values—respect for human dignity, concern for the realization of self and other selves.

Furthermore, if Alpha is to be worthy of its place in the sun, it must become more and more sensitive to certain specific needs.

These include: Help in identifying and salvaging bright young Negroes who have been unable to take advantage of opportunities for higher education. Implementation of this concern implies reorientation of fraternity scholarship programs with not only larger sums of money made available but greater assistance with peripheral personal needs related to the possibility of continuing education for young people.

Help in restructuring the life goals of

undergraduate members, putting activities into the perspective of the academic demands of school life.

Continuing reexamination of the role which this organization must play in the context of changes taking place in the institutions and communities with which we are associated.

We cannot permit our organizational commitment to become in any way antithetical to the trend toward a non-segregated society.

Graduate groups may need to provide leadership in moving to more adequate implementation of the highest ideals of fraternal life.

It does little good to talk about "love for all mankind" when young men operate within the context of a parochial, exclusive clique, tied together by certain symbols of in-group membership.

It is somehow juvenile to sing of "Scholarship" as an aim of our dear fraternity, and to equate that with concern for the grade-point average representative of a minimal requirement for membership, not ever seeing scholarship as related to knowledge, and intellectual power, that power which renders us competent and strong enough to decide what kind of world we want and how to achieve that kind of world.

"Leaders, even in a democracy must lead. If our citizens are to recapture the sense of mission which survival demands, then our leaders at every level must have the capacity and the vision to call it out.

It is hard to expect an upsurge of devotion to the common good in response to leaders who lack the moral depth to expect or understand such devotion, or the courage to evoke it, or the stature to merit the response which follows."

Some months ago, it was my privilege to deliver a commencement address to a group of young people about to enter the teaching profession and I tried to suggest to them that they could make a difference in a world filled with tension, problems and conflict. It was suggested that as we view these from the limited confines of our individual perspective, many of the problems seem so insoluble, so impossible of solution, that we are overcome by a sense of hopelessness and futility. But, I insisted, one can make a difference.

We need men, who, when asked, "How about you?", will sense the challenge and answer: "I am only one, But I am one.

I cannot do everything.

But I can do something.

What I can do, I ought to do.

What I ought to do By the Grace of God I will do."

We can make a difference. We must make a difference!

19

Another one of the convention blues was the numerous complaints of the hilarity, loud and long, on the eight floor of the hotel. Buckner statistics say there were ninety-five undergraduates registered, thirty-one local and sixty-four from out of town. I'll bet you all of the sixty-four foreigners "were domiciled" on the eighth floor. No, not domiciled, that looks too much like docile. They were quartered on the eighth floor, they were sixteenth, they were thirty seconded—they "requistioned" the upper floor.

Heh! Brothers are not supposed to read this column until they have perused all of the other items in the Sphinx. The newsletters from the General Secretary and the Convention Chairman gave you the statistical and other historical accounts of the 60th Anniversary Convention. Frat Humor records the echoes of the Alpha Joys and St. Louis Blues. * * * In childhood I jingled this ditty: "PussyCat, PussyCat where have you been, I've been to London to look at the Queen."

Paraphrased I now say: PussyCat, PussyCat, where have you been/I've been to St. Louis to look at a king/That's right!

King John I of the Buckner dynasty. And oh, what a kingdom! Sure there was Shelby, the Freeman, Arthur, the Ray, and Frank, the Lyerson, all able rulers of their respective chapter provinces but throughout the convention week there was the ubiquitous Buckner and the indefatigable convention committees and auxiliaries.

The attending phalanx completing the picture were seventy-five St. Louis Life Members. Think of it, J. G. Holland once pleaded in verse "God, Give Us Men!"

• * *

Frat

Humor

By O. WILSON WINTERS

* * * No, Hortense, I did not go on the wonderful ride on the S.S. Admiral on the fifteen mile Mississippi River cruise, the largest excursion steamboat in the world, air conditioned with five decks holding four thousand passengers. I did not attend because someone told me that town's people would overcrowd the boat blotting out the Pan Hellenic atmosphere intended on such a cruise. I was completely wrong.

I missed one of the finest affairs of the convention. I also missed the episode of the over Bourboned Brother who gave mouth to mouth resuscitation to a girl only to discover that she was relaxing in sleep—or was she?

Brother President Dr. Newsome in a moment of erudite meandering declared that to the American anthropologists there were very few pure blooded primitive "Nigras" in this country. A stentorian voice from the audience said, "How about Brother M. G. Miles?"

20

Brother Aaron Brown of New York City is one of the victims of a joke I have used when Brothers would hail me at Alpha affairs and proudly introduce their lovely wives. Eagerly glowing with interest I would say "Oh my dear, I'm so very happy to meet you. Your husband has often spoken of you; yes, he always talks so much about "Myrtle". The non-plussed and quissical look on the face of the wife is a sight to see, but the look on the Brother's face is calamitous. Never, has the wife's name been "Myrtle." At St. Louis this Brother's wife's name was not Myrtle either but the girl "he gave up" to marry his wife was named Myrtle, so said his wife when I, the forlorn Brother, and the surrounding Brothers explained my identity as Frat Fun editor. Brother X and Mrs. X if you are reading this column, believe me, I am sorry. By the way, where is Myrtle now? I bet she is fat and wrinkled and single, but you looked awfully cute in that nice new convention dress. * * * On the lower floors were the story tellers.

I remember a story of the fastidious little pig who eschewed the pig loving mud of pig-pens but sat on a grassy knoll and sprayed himself with Chanel # 5 saying "I could sit here for hours on end." He did not, he was decapitated and those ends were processed into sugar cured hams. A housewife bought the hams in a super market. He was a gentleman to the last; he gave his seat to a lady.

Frat Humor is not an eavesdropper but it does remember indelible humor when it appears. Overheard: "What was the bull doing behind the barn with his eyes closed?

What was he doing? Bull dozing."

Don't believe him, Hortense; it is not socialized medicine if the psychiatrist sits on the couch beside you. (continued on page 22)

rs Uofl UNDER;TH£ GATEAU ^ ^ - ^ ^ ^ I J ^

1

-

BRO.JAMES D.PARKS * •

- 9 4 (f^i) 3R0TI4ER MO CmV UP WORT MOUDAM--

^

ORATOR. °F THE DA<//

BUT FRIDAg

IDEALS $ £ i £ PARK PLA-Z.A

Qi* BMRUSHTKOM I~IOT£L 7o THE £047":

BR0TMURG00D MARSHALL STRIKES h SERIOUS

QJE CAN'T OVERLOOK THE LOVL./GS

HE &RUTHUH WITH THE BIG TEX AS HAT

BLIND DAT-C

21

Standing at the door of the Crystal Room during the Fashion Show featuring Miss Perita Bates, International Model and Charm Consultant, Brother Sylvester Carter said, "that's the best argument for legal polygamy in this country."

* * * "Where does Batman keep his bats?

Where? In the bat house, of course." â&#x20AC;˘

0 *

"Where do the Ku Klux Klan keep their sheets? You guessed it! "In the sheet houses."

* * * Oh the loud language, the four letter words,â&#x20AC;&#x201D;stop, ouch, mama, baby, daddy (that's five letters; you supply a four letter one), help!"

* * * You've heard of St. Louis Blues but Brother Dewey Curtis of New York ran into some East St. Louis Blues when the nice, kind, sweet lady from Chicago, with an Eldorado Cadillac, who was taking us down to the steamboat landing got lost and landed in the stock yard of East St. Louis.

Curtis, using his suavest Harlem guile asked a denizon of the place: "Can you help me sir, I am lost, I want to go to the Steamboat wharf?" The gruff, nasal reply, characteristically crackerish, "I'd like to help you Nigra. I'd like to throw you into the Mississippi."

* * * During the most hectic session of parliamentary confusion, tempers were high and nerves were frayed, Brother Holly of Chicago arose and in a spell bound assembly said: "only an inept Parliamentarian would permit this state of affairs." Since I was the Parliamentarian I was amused, but at a later session when I presided at a parliamentary seminar I gave the brother my membership directory of the American Institute of Parliamentarians and indicated that on page 46 my name was listed as a member, not inept, possibly inert and inebriated. It all ended in good Frat Humor.

22

In hushed tones of admiration and with bated breadth let me tell you that in the old Court House where the famous or infamous Dred Scott decision was rendered in 1857 I saw again the thorough Thurgood Marshall, United States Solicitor General, and the dearest Mrs. Julia Davis, mother of John Buckner.

In fifteen minutes the Brothers collected $500 for Brother Attorney General Edward Brooke who is campaigning for United States Senator of Massachusetts.

Stop reading this right now and mail your check to 26 Crawford St., Roxbury, Mass.

* * *

Brother Theodore Randall of Indianapolis on the boat ride promulgated some Hoosier philosophy as he noted the capacity list of 4000 passengers. He opined, "If this boat would only sink now it would solve a lot of Negro problems for "Marse Charles."

To maintain a modicum of humor and close my column and meet my deadline I can squezee in some more humor by acknowledging the several chats I had with my ex-editor C. Anderson Davis and my present editor in chief George M. Daniels.

I even saw him smiling but mostly when Frau Daniels was around.

* * * PussyCat, Pussycat, where have you been I've been to London to look at the Queen.

PussyCat, PussyCat what did you there, I caught a little mouse under her chair.

I've also been to St. Louis, in 1966 and in 1933. This time I took with me my Golden Card showing the listing of Life Member No. 1. I attended the first Life Members' Banquet at Eden Plaza Room, Miss Hullings Restaurant and at the moment when the Toastmaster, Brother Shelby T. Freman, and Brother Lionel Newsome hailed my presence as Life Member No. 1, all my humor was secondary, the buffonery expendable, and suddenly I was engulfed in a realization that I, too, like the Jewels was being written into the pages of Alpha Phi Alpha history.

* * * "Lay on McDuff and damned he who first cries, 'hold enough!' " H:

*

#

Brother Gilbert Ware introduced by the Demosthenesian Belford Lawson as a M.A. from Amherst and a Ph.D. from Princeton gave an acronymic approach to the "Nigra problem." He told us Brother Martin Luther King said the Negro is not yet what he ought to be, not yet where he's going to be, but thank God he's not what he used to be.

* * *

He

*

*

Brother John B. Erwin, Associate Dean of Washington University at St. Louis where Brother Newsome was the first Negro to receive a Ph.D. degree, spoke with consummate logic interspersed with humor. He promised not to speak too long because of his throat. "After thirty minutes, most of you would want to cut it."

His subject "Should there be a difference?" should follow in one of our issues. He told of a Baptist Church which had a preacher who stayed for 25 years at very poor salary. He asked the Deacon one day how had they tolerated him all that time. The Deacon said: "It's like this, we really didn't want no speaker here at all and you were as near nothing as we could get."

* * * There were some moments of Blues but more of Alpha Joy. I must admit the personalities many of whom have formed links of fellowship throughout my Alpha years. Burt Mayberry, the inscrutable, Alvin C. Wilks, cheer leading, prestidigitator; Robert P. Daniel, the astute administrator; Charles H. Wesley, the handsome historian; Meredith G. Ferguson, the imperturbable economist; Andrew J. Lewis, III, pedagogue, fraternalist, and confidante; Tolly Harris, nonpareil; Lawrence Young, Antonio Maeeo of the Texas Smiths, the judicial Joneses, Sidney & Billy; the subdued Walter Washington, the immaculate Kermit Hall, the fraternally upsurging William Ross and Randall Maxey, and closing out a long unnamed list I salute Brother Oscar W. Ritchie, the precisionist.

ALPHA WM WORKSHOP £ m Laurence T. Young, General Secretary The Convention: They said it couldn't be done, and St. Louis did it. The curtain has been drawn on the 60th Anniversary Convention of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, and what a glorious Convention it was. Hundreds of brothers assembled from all parts of the country to witness and participate in the largest attended and most successful General Convention in the annals of the Fraternity.

A few of the statistics, which will appear in details in the official minutes, indicate that the over all attendance and participation was 4, 744, including 38 Undergraduate chapters and 11 Graduate chapters registered for a total of 149 chapters represented and a total voting strength of 412 — with 652 registered delegates, representing 35 States.

Special Events: Special Events included, of course, the pilgrimmage to the Old Court House in St. Louis where the Dred Scott decision was rendered, and the presentation by the General President, Brother Lionel H. Newsom — of the Alpha Award of the Century to Brother Thurgood Marshall, Solicitor General of the United States. Brother Marshall delivered a masterful address, at this site — stressing the need for Negroes, wherever located, to get into the communities, sit down with the people, tell them we are with them, find out their needs and help satisfy them.

Other special events included a Bowling Tournament, a Golf Tournament, a cruise on the SS Admiral down the Mississippi River, and Convention Dramatics — the presentation of "Dilemma", a play in 3 acts by Joan Brampton. The Alpha Hostesses' part in providing entertainment for the Alpha Wives (visiting) and children, and many other affairs of a social nature sparked the Convention.

Congratulations continue to pour into the office of Brother John D. Buckner, Convention Chairman, and his working committees, with special emphasis on the participating chapters: Epsilon Lambda— Brother Shelby T. Freeman, President; Alpha Eta (undergraduate chapter) Brother Arthur C. Ray, Jr., President, and Delta Epsilon Lambda chapter of East St. Louis, Illinois, Brother Frank T. Lyerson, President.

Constitutional Amendments: Amendments to the Constitution which were approved by the General Convention were circularized to all chapters by September 15. Note is to be taken of By-Law #23 of the Constitution and By-Laws of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated which states: "All adopted amendments to the Constitution By-Laws, shall be submitted to the Chapters for approval or disapproval. A negative vote within sixty days after submission by 5 1 % of the chapters shall be sufficient to veto the action of the General Convention."

Public Policy: Brother Charles H. Wesley, Chairman of the Committee on Public Policy enunciated the findings of this Committee, the same were heartily received and duly adopted by the General Convention assembled, and deal with: 1.

Civil Rights Activities and Legislation.

2.

3.

4.

5.

The Middle Class and the Ghetto.

Demonstrations and Marches.

"Black Power" and our Attitude toward it.

Relations with African Peoples.

6. Basic Education in Metropolitan Communities.

Business Sessions: The seven business sessions were productive.

Decisions were reached touching on vital points of the Fraternity, including the acquisition of a Field Secretary, the relocation of the General Office, the financial and administrative structure, the plan for operating the two new corporations — the Education Foundation and the Building Foundation.

Election: Brother Lionel H. Newsom, former president of Barber-Scotia College in Concord, North Carolina and presently Associate Director of the Carnegie Foundation's Southern Regional Education Board, — was re-elected to a second two year term as General President of the Fraternity. Other officers elected were: General Treasurer, Brother Leven C. Weiss; Eastern Vice President, Brother Frank J. Ellis; Midwestern Vice President, Brother Billy Jones; Southwestern Vice President, Brother Earnest L. Wallace; Western Vice President, Brother Oscar V. Little; Southern Vice President, Brother W. Dewey Branch.

Assistant Vice Presidents: Eastern Region, Brother Ronald F. C. Allison; Midwestern Region, Brother John Wesley Sharp; Southwestern Region, Brother James Ervin Glover; Western Region, Brother George H. Pressley; Southern Region, Brother Victor R. Jackson.

Awards: The Chairman of the Committee on Achievements and Awards, Brother Tolly W. Harris announced the following Awardees for the current year — Award of the Century: Brother Thurgood Marshall; Distinguished Service Awards: Brother E. L. James, Brother W. D. Hawkins, Jr., Brother Robert T. Custis (posthumously). Outstanding Undergraduate Chapter: Delta Pi — Cheyney State College, Cheyney, Pennsylvania. Outstanding Graduate Chapter: (a tie) Eta Tau Lambda, Akron, Ohio, Beta Lambda, Kansas City, Missouri.

Hon. Edward W. Brooke: Voluntary contributions were made in support of Brother Edward W. Brooke, Attorney General, — State of Massachusetts, who is now campaigning for post of United States Senator.

Zip Coding: The General Office is now preparing to Zip Code the mailing list of all active brothers. New regulations issued by the Post Office Department makes it mandatory for mailing addresses to include the proper five digit Zip Code. The dead line for compliance is January 1, 1967. Be sure to include your zip code on all correspondence.

23

news from the chapters ST. LOUIS CONVENTION largest Ever' The 60th Anniversary Convention of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity held in St. Louis (August 15-18) is history and the 4,800 persons who participated, including 1,095 registered delegates and their wives, are hailing it as the "greatest convention" in the long and distinguished history of Alpha.

The convention's attitude was best expressed in a series of 'public policy' statements (See editorials, page 15) it approved dealing with a variety of subjects from "Black Power" to education.

On the controversial "Black Power" issue the convention stated that Alpha Phi Alpha has been a black power for many years since its organization in that its ritual emphasized black Africa and its membership was composed of descendants of Africa. "We represented a black leadership in our communities," the Fraternity said.

"In the forties we moved from this stage into the area of integration in our membership, but we still gave emphasis to the priority of black leadership. We believed, and we still believe, the words of Lord Byron that "they who would be free themselves must strike the blow." The power of positive and enlightened community effort should take the place of either white power or black power, the Fraternity declared.

In addition, Alpha Phi Alpha called for a continuation of interest in Africa and all of its components, reaffirmed its continuing support of Civil Rights legislation and activities, called for closer ties between the middle class and those who reside in the ghettos, pointing out that " . . . we go to the same churches . . . the same lodges, and participate in the same community organizations . . . we must demonstrate our willingness to help the underprivileged and point up the need for education which . . . due to deprivation and not to race, (Negro) children need for

24

more inspiration and techniques than does the average American child. This need should be reflected in the curriculum textbooks, in teaching methods and in the libraries . . ."

Dr. Charles H. Wesley, former General President, served as chairman of the policy drafting committee. Dr. Wesley delivered the major banquet address calling for a "resolute breed of men to furnish responsible leadership."

Other highlights included the pilgrimage to the site of the famed Dred Scott decision and the address delivered there by United States Solicitor General Thurgood Marshall; the fiery keynote address delivered by Dr. Robert P. Daniel, president, Virginia State College and the luncheon address by Dr. John B. Ervin, Director of summer school, Washington University (St. Louis), all related to leadership development in these times.

Dr. Lionel H. Newsom, recently President of Barber-Scotia College—now Associate Director of the Carnegie Foundation's Southern Regional Education Board, was re-elected to a second two year term as General President.

The pilgrimage was to the Old Court House, site of the famous Dred Scott decision of 1857. The decision, which later required a Civil War, an Emancipation Proclamation, and the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the United States Constitution to undo, represents the point of lowest despair—of sheer futility for the Negro American. The Supreme Court had ruled on March 16, 1857 that he had no rights that a white man was bound to respect.

Leading the pilgrimage was Solicitor General Marshall.

Judge Marshall, an Alpha who left the federal bench to accept the assignment, was appointed to the post on August 11, 1965 and took the oath of Office on Aug-

ust 24, 1965. The Solicitor General is the third-ranking officer of the Department of Justice and directs all government litigation before the Supreme Court.

The Solicitor General beyond question is the nation's most influential advocate at the high court bench. The high court sees, hears and heeds him more than any other man since the government is party in more than half the court's cases and the Solicitor General is the Government's chief Appellate lawyer.

Dressed in his regal high coat replete with tails, and his pinstripped trousers, the Solicitor General—in a sense—is the United States.

The appointment is a lasting tribute to the career of one who, as a long-time chief Counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and who successfully argued 29 out of 32 cases before the Supreme Court, is the architect of Civil Rights litigation.

Pilgrimages are not new to Alpha conventions. Back in 1921, Alpha men marched to Frederick Douglass' home site in Anacostia. A year later a pilgrimage to Alton, Illinois was held honoring Elijah Lovejoy's site. In 1923 the Columbus, Ohio convention went to Dayton, Ohio to pay recognition to the eminent poet, Paul Laurance Dunbar. As recent as 1963— meeting in Boston, Massachusetts—Alpha Phi Alpha marched to the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on Boston Commons.

The Convention was sponsored by local chapters: Epsilon Lambda, St. Louis (Shelby T. Freeman, President); Delta Epsilon Lambda, East St. Louis (Frank T. Lyerson, President) and Alpha Eta, (Arthur C. Ray, Jr., President). Registered for the convention were 1095 delegates and their wives. Guests included 182 children, 507 local participants at various events and 2960 invited guests on the Admiral cruise. All seemed to agree that this was one of the finest Alpha General Conventions. The next General Convention will be held in August, 1967 at Los Angeles, California.

- ~ 535 STiAM»0»T ADMIRAL

>

O.—•'

» i n

/>

S53 SSS SSs «Ss SS S3 ^ . I s

IJS

rJ

,,,. f

. « .

^

*"

SSS SS! as SSi 55s «= TTr^Ur-^r^^'• , s s a "^—

I

mi

Some 5,000 Alphas and guests of the St. Louis Pan-Hellenic Council took a 4-hour cruise down the Mississippi River on the S.S. Admiral, world's largest steamboat, and danced to music of two swinging bands. Special cruise for youths under 18-years was held earlier.

Alpha wives, mothers and sweethearts attended special social functions during closed convention business and luncheon

25

Brothers gather for march to site where Dred Scott Decision was handed down in 1857. In 1921 Alphas marched to home of Frederick Douglass (an honorary Alpha), and a year later

marched to Alton, III., in honor of Elija Lovejoy. As recent as 1963, meeting in Boston, Mass., Alphas marched to the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on Boston Commons.

Brother Thurgood Marshall delivering "freedom" speech in rotunda of Old Court House.

Seated at right is John D. Buckner, convention chairman, who introduced civil rights fighter.

26

Selected from among more than 1,100 teachers and other professionals as "Educators of the Year," three classroom teachers and a principal receive plaques honoring them for individual achievement and service to education and to the community. They are (l-r) Ealie W. Thornton, Mrs. Gladys Prillerman, Edwin J. Holt, all teachers, and McKinley Nash, principal. Of the four winners, two are Delta Upsilon Lambda Alphas: Bros. Holt and Nash. The Educator of the Year program is an annually held event and is co-sponsored by the Caddo Education Association and the Shreveport Times newspaper.

Other Alphas who have received this award since its inception in 1957 are Bros.

Leonard Barnes, James S. Holt III, Alphonse Jackson, Jr., and Ernest Lampkins.

Mrs. Joel Anderson rules the waves at Alpha Tau Lambda chapter, Tulsa, Okla., as chapter sweetheart for 1966 and 1967.

27

Alpha Gamma Lambda Dinner Honorees

Bros. Dr. John B. King (L) retiring executive superintendent of schools, New York City, Dr. John L. Holloman, president of National Medical Association, and Dr. James A. Colston, first Negro president of a New York City college (Bronx Community) will be honored December 14 by Alpha Gamma Lambda.

Bro. Henry Parks, Jr., Baltimore, (right) receives Outstanding Achievement Award from Bro. Frank J. Ellis, Eastern Regional Vice President.

28

In making the announcement, Philadelphia Development Coordinator John J. O'Shea said the service, made possible by a $130,000 grant from the Federal Government's Department of Housing and Urban Development, will operate in North Philadelphia to serve low-income families seeking decent housing.

Levari Gordon to Housing Post

BROTHER LEVAN GORDON A 33 year old Philadelphia attorney has been appointed executive director of the Philadelphia Housing Information Service.

He is Bro. Levan Gordon, a member of Zeta Omicron Lambda chapter.

THE LATE W I R E Bro. Westry Home, Zeta Nu Lambda, Plainfield, N. J., appointed assistant to the director of elementary education for the N. J. State Dept. of Education and in charge of education programs for children of migrant workers. . . . Some 300 Alphas were among 2400 delegates attending the White House Conference.

Epsilon Omicron Lambda and Delta Tau, Lawrenceville, Va., presented Miss L. Aldora Greene and Mr. George W. Stevensor in concert. . . . Bro. Lancelot C. A. Thompson appointed Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Univ. of Toledo.

. . . Four Alphas were among 25 undergraduates participating in a Carnegie Foundation sponsored graduate school prep course at Columbia University, New York. . . . Tau Lambda, Nashville, Tenn., honored Bro. Richard B. Cardwell, assistant vice president of Empire City Savings Bank, (NYC) and member of task force "Plans for Progress," at a smoker. . . .

Tau Lambda also presented four scholarships to graduating high school seniors....

Delta Upsilon Lambda, Shreveport, La., included book and play reviews and a community-education program as part of its culture series.... Eta Alpha Lambda, New Haven, Conn., (Bro. W. Decker Clark, Eastern Regional Director) reactivated and honored seven initiates recently.

Gamma Zeta Lambda, Tampa, Fla., plans final installment on NAACP Life Membership, annual Honor Stag for high

Mr. Gordon's office is a demonstration project designed to show that many lowincome families, who are now living in substandard housing, can get better housing with the proper counseling and assistance for the same prices, or only slightly higher prices than they are now paying.

A graduate of Lincoln University (Pa.) and the Howard University School of Law, Bro. Gordon is a resident.of North Philadelphia, a former Public Assistance case worker with the State Department of Welfare, and a former Area Youth Worker with the Crime Prevention Association of Philadelphia. He is a former partner in the law firm of Schmidt, Williams, Gaskins and Gordon. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Tindley Temple Methodist Church.

Bro. Gordon is married to Vivian J. Goode. They have a six-year-old daughter.

school seniors, Scholarship Award, Spring Outing for Brothers, Christmas Party and annual formal. Efforts are also being made to advise and assist in establishing undergrad chapter at the Univ. of South Fla. Bro. Richard Pride promoted to principal at Howard Blake Senior High School. Bro. Howard Harris new principal of Carver Elementary School. Bro. Dr. W. W. Andrews certified by American Board of Surgery.

Bro. Dr. Gilbert Porter, assistant superintendent of Dade County Schools and one of the founders of Fla's. first state chapter, urged Brothers at the State Convention to show more leadership. . . . Bro. Dr. D. I. P. Davis, appointed to 15 member Advisory Comm. on Older Americans. . . . Bro. Raymond S. Bennett, Alpha Xi Lambda, Toledo, Ohio, appointed Chief Probation Officer.

29

respected so deeply during my baseball days. My foremost thoughts about Mr. Rickey are of the wonderful communication we had with each other after I left baseball.

the Death of Branch Rickey Like Losing a Father

by Jackie Robinson The Place—St. Louis, Missouri. The Time, December 11, 1965. The Event— the passing of Branch Rickey, veteran baseball manager.

With the passing of Branch Rickey, I feel it can be truly said that God has called one of the greatest men of our time.

There have been and will continue to be soulful eulogies about his life and works and I am certain that many people will be saying •— and understandably — that baseball has lost one of its grandest personalities.

This is true.

But I think that Mr. Rickey was not only a great man of baseball, but a marvellous and magnificent human being and personality.

Of course, I am prejudiced.

He brought me into baseball—and he did it, I believe, for reasons that were basically much more unselfish than most people realize.

Yes, it is true that he was a good bus-

30

iness man and that he had his commercial motivations in cracking the color line which had for many years disgraced the favorite sport of Americans.

But I also believe that he was sincere when he revealed to me and others that his courageous action was the result of a vow he had made when he was a much younger man and a catcher on a team he was managing was refused accommodations in a white hotel. At that time, Mr. Rickey persuaded the manager of the Jim Crow hotel to allow the catcher to share his own room. The persuasion was backed up by a threat Mr. Rickey made to cancel the reservations of the entire team if that Negro boy could not be sheltered in the hotel.

Many people would expect me to talk about Mr. Rickey and our relationship when I was in baseball. But, believe it or not, as I mourn for this splendid man, my foremost thoughts are not of the Branch Rickey I knew and trusted and

It is that relationship which makes me feel almost as if I had lost my own father.

For, Branch Rickey, even after 1 was no longer in the sports spotlight treated me like a son.

You know how it is. Often, when you are useful to people, they give you all the affection and respect you might need to keep you motivated. But, after I had left the game, after I had nothing left to offer Mr. Rickey in his business life, he continued to remain close to me, to be concerned about how I was doing, how I was making out.

I will never forget two incidents.

One occurred when I was inducted into the Hall of Fame. At the precise moment when this dream of all baseball players came true for me, I said to the audience at Cooperstown that I felt my induction should be shared with the three people in that audience who had meant the most to me—my mother, my wife, and Mr. Rickey. I asked them to come and stand by my side and they did. From Mr. Rickey's reaction, I knew it was a great moment for him.

The other incident happened when I was in a Westchester County hospital not too long ago. I had gone into the hospital for an operation made necessary by an injury 1 had sustained in baseball quite a few years back. Doctors assured me that the operation was important but not critical. They did not take into account the fact that I am a diabetic. The fact caused complications to arise and the operation then became not only critical but crucial. Very few people know it, but I faced the possibility of death at that time. Branch Rickey was sick himself. But he traveled to New York just to come to see me. He talked with me and treated me just like a son.

That's the way I feel now — like a father is gone.

Under God, there is a time for praise of men. It was Mr. Rickey's passing that reminds me of this.

Even now I will not speak of the grief I experienced as I realized that the man

who hammered down the brutal barriers of prejudice in organized baseball had left us.

That was tragic enough.

But, for me, it was even more tragic to realize how ungrateful and how thoughtless human beings can be.

In my mind, it was a disgraceful and almost unbelievable thing that, when Mr. Rickey came to the end of the long road of life on this earth, not one of the present-day Negro greats of baseball was there to say a silent, grateful farewell.

Outside of myself, there were two Negro ex-players present.

One was "Cool Poppa" Bell.

The other was Frank Duncan.

Neither one of these men were ever beneficiaries of the bitter, lonely fight Mr. Rickey made. Both of them are veterans of the heyday of Negro leagues.

Neither one of them earned the fortunes that have been amassed by black ballplayers—fortunes they might never have realized had it not been for Mr. Rickey.

If I guess correctly, however, "Cool Poppa" Bell and Frank Duncan were at the funeral out of respect for the deceased. I think they realize that had there been a Branch Rickey in their day, they could have had a fame and a fortune which never became theirs.

I will not call names of those I missed.

I know who they are and so do you and so do they.

As one listened to the beautiful eulogy delivered by Dr. Ralph Sockman—as one heard that eloquent minister and longtime friend of Mr. Rickey's characterize him as not only "the master mind but also the master heart of baseball," one couldn't help thinking that it would seem that Negro players would be willing to go down on their knees in reverence for this man.

Yet where were they?

Did they care?

Did they bother to send telegrams or flowers?

They knew—as did the world—that Mr. Rickey was going to leave us. They knew how his lion heart had repelled

death as he fought it on a hospital bed for nearly a month.

It was this same strong heart of his which enabled him to do what he did when he decided to make baseball a truly American game. No one knows as well as I what a bitter struggle he had. Almost to the man. he was opposed by his colleagues. Tremendous pressures were applied against him. But he refused to give in. Because of that fight, one now reads in the newspapers how many thousands and thousands of dollars black players are making today—and how the whole image of the Negro has been improved and how respect for him has increased.

It was a sad funeral. It was a beautiful funeral. But for me, it was a bitter thing to have to hear Mrs. Jane Rickey, the dead man's courageous widow, say to me: "We know who our friends are."

I suppose the Rickeys did know who their friends were.

But I wonder if the people who ought to know what Mr. Branch Rickey was— really do.

31

The Sphinx

Second Class Postage Paid

P.O. Box 285 Lincolnton Station New York, N. Y. 10037

At New York, N. Y.

Return Requested

< -

y »Vv

*

k Jfc<

• .

s

m