DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Dorothy Schramm newspaper clippings, 1949-1955 (folder 1 of 2) | Burlington Hawkeye Gazette Article: "Findings of Burlington's Self-Survey Committee"

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Dorothy Schramm newspaper clippings, 1949-1955 (folder 1 of 2)

Burlington Hawkeye Gazette Article: "Findings of Burlington's Self-Survey Committee"

[[Header in bold text]]
Findings of Burlington's Self-Survey Committee
[[Article text]]
[[italics]](By Lloyd Maffitt in the Burlinton Hawk-Eye Gazette.)[[end italics]]
With the uncompromising honesty of a Goya painting the scars and blemishes on the faces of his portrait subjects, the Burlinton Community Self-Survey committee painted the visage of Burlington. The resulting likeness is full of lights and shadows and, while not hideous, is certainly not flattering.
The portrait was publicly unveiled at a dinner meeting held in First Congregational church Monday night, and attended by over 200 Caucasians and Negroes.
Results of the long-range survey were presented by members of the various sub-committees. Here are some of the highlights of the 86-page report:
[[Bullet]]Nearly four-fifths of Burlington's places of public accommodation (especially eating houses and taverns) discriminate against Negroes.
[[Bolded subheading]]
No Negro Employees In Many Businesses[[end bold]]
[[Bullet]]Nearly two-thirds of Burlington's business houses and industries have never employed Negroes, and Negro unemployment is disproportionately high in less desirable occupations.
[[Bullet]]Nearly half the firms which do not presently employ colored people have indicated that they are willing to do so.
[[Bullet]]Negro children in the lower grades of school "participate freely in school activities with a feeling of relaxation and belongingness, and are, on the whole, treated democratically by the other boys and girls." But as they approach high school age, Negro children "are considered to perform less and less effectively."
[[Bullet]]Burlington's hospitals, the Des Moines County health center and the Des Moines County mental health center do not discriminate against Negroes, although some of the city's 15 nursing homes do. The Des Moines county blood bank segregates the blood of Negroes and Whites.
[[Bullet]]"Not one doctor indicated an unwillingness to serve Negroes." [[Bullet]] Several dentists discriminate against colored people, however.
[[Bold sub-heading]]Housing Sub-Standard and Segregated[[End bold]]
[[Bullet]]Negro housing tends to follow a pattern of segregation, and to be sub-standard.
[[Bullet]]Despite an appreciable rise in the population of Burlington since the 1940 census, the Negro population has shown a marked decline over the past 20 years, largely because "the pastures do not seem particularly green for Negroes around Burlington."
***
Principal speaker a the dinner meeting was Archibald Carey, jr., Negro minister and attorney and member of the city council of Chicago.
In an emotion-packed address that was several times interrupted by outbursts of applause from the audience, Carey complimented Burlington on having "the courage and the intelligence" to undertake a self-survey, commenting that "diagnosis is the first step in the cure".
[[Bolded subheading]]Denied Accommodations In a Hotel[[end bold]]
Mr Carey criticized a local hotel for denying him accommodations. Carey said such prejudice plays right into the hands of Communist propaganda agents, and warned the American people that such incidents are "magnified and broadcast" throughout Europe and Asia by enemies of the United States.
[[Bold]]The speaker also ridiculed the Des Moines county blood bank for separating white from Negro blood, pointing out that no scientist has ever been able to find a way to determine whether a given blood sample comes from a white man or a colored man.[[end bold]]
***
Carey called the roll of Negroes who have made great contributions to human progress starting with the Spanish Negro who was pilot of Columbus' ship, the Nina, and continuing down to Daniel Williams, the first physician successfully to operate on the human heart.
He said it is up to the white race to end the practice of discrimination against  the Negro for three reasons:
[[bold]]
(1) "It's the human, decent thing to do."
(2) Discrimination works against "enlightened self-interest." The negro is capable of making great contributions to society if given a chance, the speaker declared.
(3) Society as a whole is impoverished when some of its members are forced to live in squalor and treated like second-class citizens.[[end bold]]
Carey said that discrimination was once "fashionable," but that it is "on the way out," and he cited several instances to show that the walls of prejudice are crumbling.
"People ask what the Negro ants," the Chicago councilman cried. "I'll tell you what he wants--he wants exactly the same things as the white man wants." Many whites worry about the inter-marriage question, the speaker went on. He called attention to a survey taken among Negroes, in which inter-marriage was shown to be one of the things in which Negroes are least interested.
[[End article text.''
[[Caption for image]]
[[Italics]] "Burlington's hospitals, the Des Moines County Health Center, and the  Des Moines County Mental Health center do not discriminate against Negroes..."[[end italics]]

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[[Header in bold text]] Findings of Burlington's Self-Survey Committee [[Article text]] [[italics]](By Lloyd Maffitt in the Burlinton Hawk-Eye Gazette.)[[end italics]] With the uncompromising honesty of a Goya painting the scars and blemishes on the faces of his portrait subjects, the Burlinton Community Self-Survey committee painted the visage of Burlington. The resulting likeness is full of lights and shadows and, while not hideous, is certainly not flattering. The portrait was publicly unveiled at a dinner meeting held in First Congregational church Monday night, and attended by over 200 Caucasians and Negroes. Results of the long-range survey were presented by members of the various sub-committees. Here are some of the highlights of the 86-page report: [[Bullet]]Nearly four-fifths of Burlington's places of public accommodation (especially eating houses and taverns) discriminate against Negroes. [[Bolded subheading]] No Negro Employees In Many Businesses[[end bold]] [[Bullet]]Nearly two-thirds of Burlington's business houses and industries have never employed Negroes, and Negro unemployment is disproportionately high in less desirable occupations. [[Bullet]]Nearly half the firms which do not presently employ colored people have indicated that they are willing to do so. [[Bullet]]Negro children in the lower grades of school "participate freely in school activities with a feeling of relaxation and belongingness, and are, on the whole, treated democratically by the other boys and girls." But as they approach high school age, Negro children "are considered to perform less and less effectively." [[Bullet]]Burlington's hospitals, the Des Moines County health center and the Des Moines County mental health center do not discriminate against Negroes, although some of the city's 15 nursing homes do. The Des Moines county blood bank segregates the blood of Negroes and Whites. [[Bullet]]"Not one doctor indicated an unwillingness to serve Negroes." [[Bullet]] Several dentists discriminate against colored people, however. [[Bold sub-heading]]Housing Sub-Standard and Segregated[[End bold]] [[Bullet]]Negro housing tends to follow a pattern of segregation, and to be sub-standard. [[Bullet]]Despite an appreciable rise in the population of Burlington since the 1940 census, the Negro population has shown a marked decline over the past 20 years, largely because "the pastures do not seem particularly green for Negroes around Burlington." *** Principal speaker a the dinner meeting was Archibald Carey, jr., Negro minister and attorney and member of the city council of Chicago. In an emotion-packed address that was several times interrupted by outbursts of applause from the audience, Carey complimented Burlington on having "the courage and the intelligence" to undertake a self-survey, commenting that "diagnosis is the first step in the cure". [[Bolded subheading]]Denied Accommodations In a Hotel[[end bold]] Mr Carey criticized a local hotel for denying him accommodations. Carey said such prejudice plays right into the hands of Communist propaganda agents, and warned the American people that such incidents are "magnified and broadcast" throughout Europe and Asia by enemies of the United States. [[Bold]]The speaker also ridiculed the Des Moines county blood bank for separating white from Negro blood, pointing out that no scientist has ever been able to find a way to determine whether a given blood sample comes from a white man or a colored man.[[end bold]] *** Carey called the roll of Negroes who have made great contributions to human progress starting with the Spanish Negro who was pilot of Columbus' ship, the Nina, and continuing down to Daniel Williams, the first physician successfully to operate on the human heart. He said it is up to the white race to end the practice of discrimination against the Negro for three reasons: [[bold]] (1) "It's the human, decent thing to do." (2) Discrimination works against "enlightened self-interest." The negro is capable of making great contributions to society if given a chance, the speaker declared. (3) Society as a whole is impoverished when some of its members are forced to live in squalor and treated like second-class citizens.[[end bold]] Carey said that discrimination was once "fashionable," but that it is "on the way out," and he cited several instances to show that the walls of prejudice are crumbling. "People ask what the Negro ants," the Chicago councilman cried. "I'll tell you what he wants--he wants exactly the same things as the white man wants." Many whites worry about the inter-marriage question, the speaker went on. He called attention to a survey taken among Negroes, in which inter-marriage was shown to be one of the things in which Negroes are least interested. [[End article text.'' [[Caption for image]] [[Italics]] "Burlington's hospitals, the Des Moines County Health Center, and the Des Moines County Mental Health center do not discriminate against Negroes..."[[end italics]]