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About Portland inquirer. (Portland, Or.) 1944-194? | View Entire Issue (July 6, 1945)
PORTLAND INQUIRER MUSIC SWEET AND HOT Pag« It Happened in Ohio: t MY MOST HUM ILIATING JIM CROW EXPERIENCE By Langston Hughes It happened in C leveland years ago w hen I was in high school, and the G reat M igration of Ne groes from the South during W orld W ar I was. at its height. Jim Crow, new to C leveland in most public pjaces, was beginning to raise its ugly head. O ur high school French class had gone to see a m atinee p er form ance of the late great Sara B ernhardt, w ith h er wooden leg, in C leopatra’s death scene, w here th e sap stings her in th e bosom. The m agic of S arah ’s famous goldpn voice still rings in my ears. B ut of th a t afternoon, th ere is Exclusive Independent Press Service Photo The celebrated INK SPOTS, fea an even m ore vivid mem ory. Fol turing Billy Kenny, are currently low ing th e perform ance, w ith one appearing at the Paramount The of my w hite classm ates, a Polish- atre in New York where crowds are a block long as this outstand A m erican boy, I w ent across the ing attraction is featured along stre et from th e th e atre into one of with Ella Fitzgerald, Buck &. Bub C leveland’s large cafeterias. Its bles, Ralph Brown and Cootie self-service and low prices ap Williams and His Orchestra. pealed to our schoolboy pocket- EEN-AGE boy» and girl« in New York’» Harlem crowd around the juke box, one of the features in the books. Its long cases and co u n t new Pepsi-Cola Junior Club of Harlem. The Recreation Center at 121 Lenox Avenue, New York, ha» ers and steam -tables loaded w ith I said. been presented a» a gift to Negro youngster» in that community by Pepsi-Cola Company, through its Presi apeptizing food w hetted our a p “Pay your check—or else pu t dent, Walter S. Mack, Jr. The Club is run on a system of self-government by the teen-age youngsters petites. We took our tray s and your tra y dow n and leave it,” themselves; an adult Director and Neighborhood Committee of adults give guidance. The Center, which operates late afternoons and evenings, was presented by the Company so that Harlem’s youngsters could have got in line. My w hite schol-m ate she shouted. “You are holding a place of their own, with games, dancing, refreshments, and activities they would enjoy in wholesome was ju st in fro n t of me. up th e line. T h a t’s w hat it costs surroundings. , We passed around in fro n t of if you w ant to e a t!” the colorful green salads, the I p u t my tra y dow n and left it have had com bat experience in you th a t the W ar Bond purchases sweet, good loking desserts, the th e re in fro n t of her. I had not the p resen t w ar, I would like to of your students w ere not in w hite and pink chocolate frosted ru n into an y th in g like th a t before say th a t the experience of the vain. It so happens th a t I was Cakes, th e long steam tab le w ith in C leveland, bu t I knew it was soldier of the p resen t w ar is far | the first cadet to fly the training its soups and vegetables and because I was colored. I w en t up d ifferen t from th a t of yours. As plane th a t your students donated m eats. Each of us selected our to the tab le w here m y w hite A m ericans, we have our own way to the w ar effort. Being a Mem-; foods, and stopped w ith our classm ate was eating and said, of thinking, bu t I w ant to em phis boy, I wish to express my tray s before th e cashier’s desk. “Come on, le t’s get out of here. phasize this one point w ith those appreciation for w hat m ay ‘hom e' She rang up m y frien d ’s bill, he They w on’t let me eat in this G eneral Eaker, and com rades in of you who have not had actual to w n ’ is doing to help us service paid her, and passed on to seek place.” the service, I am very happy to com bat experience in th e present m en.” a table. have this privilege of being pres He was astonished, and it took w ar, th a t it is necessary for you “Be assured,” Mr. Hayes replied B ut w hen th e w hite wom an a long tim e to ex p lain it to him, en t at w hat I understand is to be in your thinking, in your tra in to C adet Beck’s letter, “th a t not looked at me and th en dow n at because he did not know th a t an activation of a new group. To ing and in your perform ance to only th e stu d en ts of M anassas my tray , I th o u g h t she w ould such things w en t on in this dem me an assignm ent to du ty w ith a give full support to th e officers High School, bu t ^ h e " stu d en ts of n ev er stop striking the keys on ocratic land th a t his p aren ts had new organization carries w ith it a who com m and you. all schools in M emphis and Shel the cash register. It rang and trav elled w ay across th e sea to serious responsibility in th at the The only people w ho know how b y county and th e en tire citizenry rang and rang. The am ount it find. But n eith er one of us m ade new unit has not the advantage of to fight this w ar to th e best a d of the same, regardless of race, registered on th e black and w hite any protest. We w ere only fif th e trad itio n and history of an old established unit. It mean.; vantage are th e people who have color, or creed are 100 p er cent tabs behind its glass strip becam e teen, and we did not know w hat th a t the new unit will be very had actual com bat experience 1 behind you and the other m en larg er and larger. F inally the to say. He and I both w ere em- closely observed, and all of its w ith th e enem y. I wish to con in th e arm ed forces.” Mr. Hayes cashier pulled out a check and bararssed. acts w ill be given very close g ra tu la te you on th e calibre of took th e occasion to th an k Cadet flung it on my tray. It was Eight Some y ears la te r a large group scrutiny and evaluated m ore th e officers to be assigned to you. Beck for his thoughtfulness in D ollars and S ixty-F ive Cents! of Com m unists picketed th a t My frien d ’s check had been same re sta u ra n t and others like closely th an sim ilar acts by an They have the confidence of the w riting th e stu d en ts of his school d ep artm en t they have the respect th an k in g them for their co n trib u only about fo rty -fiv e or fifty older, w ell-established unit. it in Cleveland. Negro and w hite The d ep artm en t is sparing no of the men they have fought tion to th e w ar effort through cents. I had selected about the w orkers to g eth er w ent in and sam e am ount of food. I looked in insisted on service for all. In th a t pains to give you the advantage w ith and against. I urge you to the purchase of W ar Bonds. of experience. Y our new com give your w hole-hearted loyalty, In th least year, students of am azem ent at the cashier. w ay they broke dow n th e color “W hy is m ine so m uch?” I line and ended th a t kind of un- m anding officer, Colonel Davis, support and m axim um effort to the nation, th ro u g h th eir bond and the officers accom panying bring about a victory. and stam p drives, supplied the asked. A m erican Jim C row in the dow n Again I w ant to assure you th at “T hat is ju st w hat you w ill pay tow n caterias in C leveland. I do him from his form er assignm ent m ilitary forces w ith 37,000 jeeps, are men fresh from the European I feel g reatly honored having the 12.000 am phibian jeeps, 12,800 if you eat in here,” said the no t believe such an incident com bat zone. N early all of them privilege of being here today be flying jeeps, 7,700 parachutes, cashier. would happen to a high school have not only been in combat, cause I know th a t your p e rfo rm 6.000 life floats 5,000 motor scoo “But I don’t have th a t m uch boy th ere today. A t least, I hope but they have been aw arded dec ance is going to m ake this one ters, and 7,000 field am bulances. food,” I said. not. Such things are h a rd e r to “T hat is w h at you w ill pay to take w hen one is young. orations for m etritorious services of th e most outstanding events Also stu d en ts have bought an perform ed in com bat. It has been of o ur history. unknow n nu m b er of gliders, eat it,” said the cashier, h er face my privilege to know som ething w alkie-talkies and potato peeling: grow ing m ore and m ore b ellig about our enem y, having visited m achines, am ong other items. | erent, h er skin tu rn in g red and his country and observed him in M any thousand planes, jeeps and her eyes narrow ing. I could see training. am bulances in battles areas are th e h atred in h er face. “B ut it doesn’t cost th a t m uch,” The J a p is a tough soldier, ami m arked w ith school sponsorship in m ost cases he has to be killed. panels. To the veterans of W orld W ar I W ar Bonds and stam ps being M EM PHIS, TENN.—The s tu I who m ay be w ith you now and dents of M anassas High School bought m onthly ru n about $50,-j here recently learned th a t a 000,000—enough to pay for 200 tra in e r £lane bought by them heavy bom bers, or enough to: through W ar Bond purchases is m aintain 733,000 boys and girls in being used by a fellow M em ph colleges for th e m onth w hen the ian w ho is an a ir cadet at C arl- bonds m ature. T reasury D ep art A COURTEOUS FRIENDLY STORE m ent statisticians credit the strom Field, A rcadia, Fig. QUALITY MERCHANDISE CAHLLE R. VICKERS. DOS. In a le tte r to J. A shton Hayes, schools of th e nation w ith the 1471 N. E. W illiam s C ourt principal of th e large Negro high sale of more th an $1.300,000,000 a TABLE LAMPS—MIRRORS P ortland, Oregon school, A ir C adet R. O. 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