Box 18, Folder 29, Document 77

Box 18, Folder 29, Document 77

BRADENTO



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THE ONLY “DAILY (NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN) MANATEE

W. E. PAGE, President and Publisher

JOHN T. HAMNER
Editor

WILTON MARTIN
Managing Editor

P. RICHARDSON, JR.
Advertising Director

W. BE. PAGE Il, Comptroller

4-A
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Thursday, Sept. 1, 1966

But he who has doubts is condemned, if he

eats, because he does not act from faith; for whatever does not proceed from

faith is sin—Romans 14:23.
*

*

All the strength and force of man comes from his faith in things unseen,
He who believes is strong; he who doubts is weak. Strong convictions. precede
great actions.—James F. Clarke, American theologian.



EDITORIALS

Common Sense And Silliness

There have been some encourag-
ing. comments from Negro leaders
in recent weeks, seeking to put
common sense’ into the efforts for
improvement of the lot of Negroes
and to put an end to the mania for
achievement by riot. These are
keyed generally to offsetting the
rougher aspects of the “black
power” movement.

Out of these have come some good
words of advice. Even Martin Luther
King has tried to play down the
“black power” business, and called
off his planned march into Cicero,
Tll., with what appeared to be only
a face-saving agreement with official-
dom, in the face of almost certain
violence.

THURGOOD MARSHALL, former
executive of the NAACP and the

first Negro ever to be appointed
solicitor general of the United
States, a former federal judge and
thoroughly competent lawyer, has
added his weight to the common-
sense talk.

Speaking to a national Negro
fraternity’s convention last week, the
solicitor general denounced “the
rock throwers and the Molotov cock-
tail throwers.” And he added that
“lawlessness is lawlessness, anarchy
is anarchy, Neither race nor color
nor frustration is an excuse for
either lawlessness or anarchy,”

IN A TIME when both whites and.

blacks are increasingly prone to the
vidlent approach to problems, and

in an era When Dr, King’s espousal
of moral Jaw-breaking is a major

Negro precept,
worthy of repeating. And they are
refreshing and encouraging.

But inthe midst of these encour-
aging signs, there continue to be
indications of a lack of maturity in
other areas of Negro leadership, and
of a basic misunderstanding of the
meaning of equality of citizenship.

The Florida NAACP, for instance,
has just pulled one which is best
described as silly.

IT HAS ANNOUNCED that it will
hold a rally, and invite all candi-
dates for the Legislature and other
state offices. “And we will campaign
against any who don’t accept the
invitation,”

Apparently, then, the NAACP
leadership in Florida is not inter-
ested in what future legislators and
state officials believe, what their
policies for better living conditions
are, what their ideas are about eco-
nomic improvements which would
aid Negroes as well as others. The
NAACP leadership is merely inter-
ested in demonstrating its blackmail
power to force candidates to come
before a convention audience,

THIS IS THE poorest form wu;
leadership for Florida Negroes sin-
cerely interested in improving their
lot, and the poorest form of political
leadership as well.

If the leadership of the Negroes
of Florida has no more concept of

its role than it showed in that chal- .

lenge, the outlook for better days
for Negro citizens is not as rosy as
it has appeared to be.

these are words