Box 18, Folder 21, Document 38

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Box 18, Folder 21, Document 38

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£04 fetes

Dear Mr. Leftwich: °

Mr. Vaughn of Pittsburg Civic League asked me to write you a letter, thanking
you for coming out to see him. You will receive it later. I just wanted to tell
you what a good thing it was--your coming out. You always do all you can to help
but there are circumstences you don't know anything about that made this doubly
a good move.

As you probably know, EOA is trying to force the City to turn Model Cities
over to them. They know it is just a matter of time for EOA and want to insure
keeping their jobs thisway. This is what is behind their charges of "no citizen
participation". John Hood is helping them because he gets votes by getting people
jobs at EOA. The Center Directors in the "Model City" area are meeting with John
a couple of times a week--at the Southside Day Care Center (the EOA nursery where
he has an office). They are really stirring people up against the City---the people
don't know what it is all about--they just do what they are told. The latest
development is that EOA Centers are working on voter registration---I am in charge
of it here and at a staff meeting I remarked that it was hard to get people to
come register in a non-election year. Terrill told me I was neg#Zative thinking.

To tell them that the aldermen and representatives in this area weren't doing

anything to protect them from Model Cities--that this meant their homes would be
taken--and for them to come PEES SESE so they could vote new aldermen and representatives
in next year. We really had it after the staff meeting was over--I told him I didn't
appreciate the references to you, Hugh and G. D.--that he didn't even live in this

part of town ari we resented people coming in trying to run our politics. Also,

that he didn't even know when the elections would be held, as the next City election
would be in 1969. He told me that EOA was the biggest vote getter in the City and

EOA could make or break any politican because the people in the areas served by

EOA would vote for anybody they were told to. After a few more words, he threatened
-2-

to fire me for disloyalty to EOA. I told him I owed my loyalty to the City and

to the City Administration and if he could find any conflict in that with the EOA
operation--to go ahead. Things haven't been too pleasant since. Meantime, Eliza
Paschall complained to Mrs. Crank, who is Terrill's Supervisor about the business
about the phone calls--said she thought I should file charges withthe Community
Relations that I was being discriminated against. He jumped me about this too, but
when I told him Mrs Paschall was not the only one complaining about the phone~-that
John Greer had complained to Emmerich--he calmed down. John Greer, who I am close
to in the Democratic Party, is on the board of EOA. I take my complaints to him--
since this way Terrill cen't claim political pressure. It is terrible the way the
three remaining white girls are treated here---but I am not going to quit until I
get ready---where else could I draw a good salary for doing about an hours work a day.
I run the entire department--there were three of us in Housing originally--I am the
only one left and I still don't hurt myself working--which shows how over-staffed
the Centers are. I have good work habits, I get along with the other employees,
and I respect supervision--so if he fires me, he is going to have to come up with
some pretty good charge. |

I have checked up and found that this bit about the Aldermen not helping the
people about Model Cities is true at all Centers--this is what the people are being
told. My idea of what EOA should do is to work with the City--but all they are doing
is encouraging people to fight it! When I hear all this it really burns me up.
Especially when the criticism comes from a Vista volunteer--all they do is stir
people up.

I don't want any of my friends to get mixed up in my personal problems, but
something should be done about the breach EQOA is creating between the City and the
people in the “odel Cities areas.

I have talked to G. D. and told him to keep in touch with Mr. Vaughn, Mrs.
Billingsley and Mrs. Wright---they are the leaders in Pittsburg and while they are

on the Advisory Board of EOA--they are not fooled by it. They all. beg me to stay
ota
every time I threaten to quit because they say it is the only way they have to
know at is going on. Most of- the Advisory Boards go to meetings and agree with
all they hear-=but not the Pittsburg leaders. As proof of the poor com-unication
--most people would have gone to EOA----Mr. Vaughn came directly to you with his
problems, and all the "street corner hanger outers" have been praising you ever
since=-because you bothered to come out! ‘These are good people in Pittsburg, if
the west side negroes would not come out here stirring them up. I have good
influence over all the leaders but I cannot get them to believe anything against
John Hood. Something needs to be done to stop him from knocking the City however.

I had some phone calls from some of the negroes in the Democratic Party wita me--
telling me what all they had heard about the negroes "going after" the Wrens Nest
until they changed their admittal policy. With Calvin Craig meeting in Vest End,

I figured it would really cause trouble if the negroes started breaking out windows
and storming the dors as they were threatening to do. I discussed this with Irving
Kaler and made the motion that the Commnity Relations ask the Wrens Nest to change
their policy. Don't know if this will help, but figured it would show good faith
on our part or as Helen Bullard puts our movements "act as a asprin towards helping
the headache.

I really enjoyed seeing Richard Freeman in action at the Commnity Relations
meeting last week. Concerning this Dixie Hills mess, he really pinned down some
of the people who claimed they witnessed "police brutality"----when he got through
--all they knew was what somebody else told them! He is really good in this job and
the best police committee chairman we have ever had.

Mrs. Leftwich told me you had to go back into the hospital---hope you are feeling

all right now. Take it easy, cause wecan't get along without you.

Mary

Terrill backed down on the phone calls---I can have incoming calls--I just can't make

any §

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