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NAACP newsletters, Fort Madison Branch, Fort Madison, Iowa, 1967
Page 003
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- 3 - There is a project in our community which is called, 'Friendly Town', where culturally deprived, minority group children are brought into the homes of white families, for a short time. There is no doubt that the participants in this program are 'well-meaning'. Also, some good must be a product of such an effort. From comments which were heard after the little visitors left, last summer, there were those of us who felt that the culturally deprived children were really the ones who taught the 'lesson'. For, by being present in these homes, they were able to show people that they were human beings that act and react as any other children might. However, this project,...as are many efforts of this type, is hypocritical. The same people who take part in this program...because it is the 'thing to do'...', and because it is essentially a 'white man's program',...will turn their backs on the minority group children who live in their own town. They fail to see...or do not want to recognize the fact that these same children would qualify for the 'so-called' Friendly Town project if they were living in the city ghetto. The same people who offer 'friendship' to these city children stand aloof and apart from any sort of human rights activity which takes place in their own community. They are much like the ostrich,...hiding its head in the sand. They do not want to see that Fort Madison is not an Utopia when it comes to race relations. Those of us who are exposed to the constant reminder that a problem exists here, are very much aware of the fact that there is lots of work to do right here. We realize, also, that it is easier to reach out and offer aid and advice to people from whom we are removed. Also, as long as others are 'doing' it,...there is no need to fear social repercussions..., and with the end of the visit the commitment to active participation in the area of human relations also ends. Much more that is concrete can be accomplished by taking stock of what lies in our own back yards. Mississippi, Alabama, Harlem, South and West sides of Chicago and numerous other places are magnified looking glasses. The project is not condemned, for it is felt that some good is done...if in reverse of what the participants intend. "Though it be a thrilling and marvelous thing to be merely young and gifted in such times, it is doubly so to be young, gifted and black." Lorraine Hansberry It is very important that we remember during this time when there is much talk of power,...whether it be black or white...American or foreign,...that it has been proven time and time again, that economic power is the real stabilizer. It is especially important for us to trade with those people who support us with their equality of opportunity policy. DO YOU KNOW?... "The 'due process' and 'equal protection' clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution prohibit Federal or state action which discrimin- against any person because of race color or creed. The Federal Civil Rights Act of 1866, which survives to this day, provides that "ALL citizens of the United States shall have the same right, in every State and Territory, as is enjoyed by white citizens thereof to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property." - Taken from THE STRUGGLE FOR OPEN HOUSING by Frances Levenson and Margaret Fisher In Shelby, Mississippi, a white Southern-born minister, Reverend Bruce Nicholas, was dismissed as pastor of the First Methodist Church because of his active participation in the field of civil rights. Moving to Dayton, Ohio, he plans to now work in the area of Fair Housing. WRITE YOUR CONGRESSMAN - TODAY! University of Iowa Libraries. Iowa Women's Archives
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- 3 - There is a project in our community which is called, 'Friendly Town', where culturally deprived, minority group children are brought into the homes of white families, for a short time. There is no doubt that the participants in this program are 'well-meaning'. Also, some good must be a product of such an effort. From comments which were heard after the little visitors left, last summer, there were those of us who felt that the culturally deprived children were really the ones who taught the 'lesson'. For, by being present in these homes, they were able to show people that they were human beings that act and react as any other children might. However, this project,...as are many efforts of this type, is hypocritical. The same people who take part in this program...because it is the 'thing to do'...', and because it is essentially a 'white man's program',...will turn their backs on the minority group children who live in their own town. They fail to see...or do not want to recognize the fact that these same children would qualify for the 'so-called' Friendly Town project if they were living in the city ghetto. The same people who offer 'friendship' to these city children stand aloof and apart from any sort of human rights activity which takes place in their own community. They are much like the ostrich,...hiding its head in the sand. They do not want to see that Fort Madison is not an Utopia when it comes to race relations. Those of us who are exposed to the constant reminder that a problem exists here, are very much aware of the fact that there is lots of work to do right here. We realize, also, that it is easier to reach out and offer aid and advice to people from whom we are removed. Also, as long as others are 'doing' it,...there is no need to fear social repercussions..., and with the end of the visit the commitment to active participation in the area of human relations also ends. Much more that is concrete can be accomplished by taking stock of what lies in our own back yards. Mississippi, Alabama, Harlem, South and West sides of Chicago and numerous other places are magnified looking glasses. The project is not condemned, for it is felt that some good is done...if in reverse of what the participants intend. "Though it be a thrilling and marvelous thing to be merely young and gifted in such times, it is doubly so to be young, gifted and black." Lorraine Hansberry It is very important that we remember during this time when there is much talk of power,...whether it be black or white...American or foreign,...that it has been proven time and time again, that economic power is the real stabilizer. It is especially important for us to trade with those people who support us with their equality of opportunity policy. DO YOU KNOW?... "The 'due process' and 'equal protection' clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution prohibit Federal or state action which discrimin- against any person because of race color or creed. The Federal Civil Rights Act of 1866, which survives to this day, provides that "ALL citizens of the United States shall have the same right, in every State and Territory, as is enjoyed by white citizens thereof to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property." - Taken from THE STRUGGLE FOR OPEN HOUSING by Frances Levenson and Margaret Fisher In Shelby, Mississippi, a white Southern-born minister, Reverend Bruce Nicholas, was dismissed as pastor of the First Methodist Church because of his active participation in the field of civil rights. Moving to Dayton, Ohio, he plans to now work in the area of Fair Housing. WRITE YOUR CONGRESSMAN - TODAY! University of Iowa Libraries. Iowa Women's Archives
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