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IHt REFr: v 130 South V^atnut Street South Send, Indiana 46625 Phone 288-2513 SOUTH BEND, INDIANA HiST. & TRAVEL REFORMER 15c Vol. 1 No. 2 YOUR VIEWS MAKE OUR.NEWS August 17, 1967 HEARING CONCLUDED WILL MAYOR ACT ? LEADERS ISSUE THIRTEEN RACE PRIORITIES Mayor Lloyd Allen of South Bend After ten days of hear- ing testimony concerning the incidents of July 25, 26, and 27, the South Bend Board of Public Safety will be in a stand- by position awaiting the transcript covering all the testimony presented by witnesses present at the LaSalle Park inci- dent and during the Washington Walnut dis- turbance. The transcripts will be available sometime next week for Board Re- view. The Board will then study the volumi- nous testimony and will report their findings to Mayor Lloyd Allen. It seems inevitable that action will be long de- layed. A considerable delay in hearing the primary evidence re- sulted from the great amount of time devoted to a meeting which was held early in July. There was apparently a determined effort to establish that this meet- ing was a contributing factor to the disturban- ces and incidents that marked the last week in July. The board was charged with learning the causes of the trou - ble as well as investi- gating police action during the disturbances. To the Negro youth and the adults who were present at the LaSalle Park Center the empha- sis on the July 5 meet- ing was a delaying tac- tic of the investigating board. The primary issue is and will continue to be the actions of the police in attempting to control the crowd in and around the LaSalle Neighbor- hood Center following a meeting of the youth with members of the Cont. to pg. 8 Negro and civil rights leaders presented thir- teen priorities to lessen racial tensions in South Bend to a mass meeting of over one hundred peo- ple on Friday night. The meeting, attended mostly by Negroes was held at the New Hope Baptist Church at 313 East Ohio Street. The event was con- sidered by some leaders as a milestone in the struggle for full equality for Negroes of South Bend. The attendance of Negroes was one of the largest ever reached for such a meeting. There was a show of unity rarely achieved in the past. Youth leaders Fermon A. Thomas, Jr., Willie Middlebrook, and Ben Johnson shared the platform and podium with long time civil rights and Negro leaders Jesse L. Dickenson and Rev. Lawrence Crockett. Mr. Dickenson is exec- utive secretary of the South Bend Housing Authority and Rev. Crockett is president of the South Bend chapter of the NAACP. Towards the end of the meeting, Mr. Val- jean Dickenson, former director of South Bend's ACTION, Inc. called on people to volunteer to work. He said new lea- ders and faces were needed to supplement the efforts of the exis- ting leadership. The moderator of the meet- ing, Mr. David Sims, circulated a list for volunteers, and numer- ous people signed. Mr. Sims opened the meeting by calling for unity and solidarity. He said the adults should support the needs of the young people. Fermon Thomas, one of the leaders of Negro Youth Government, was the first youth to speak. Thomas, on leave from the Army, was wearing his uniform. He pointed out that Negroes are not for "black power", "we just want to be treated like human be- ings." He called for support of organizations like the Urban League and the NAACP. In reference to vio- lence, Thomas said, "We don't want to riot, but we've tried every legal means. If there's a riot it won't be our fault. It lays in the lap of the council and the people downtown." Thomas called there- cent hearings by the Board of Public Safety a "whitewash." He said, "take heed, we are no fools." Middlebrook dramati- cally expressed Negro unity in South Bend by holding up four fingers representing four major Negro neighborhoods in South Bend. He then clenched these fingers into a fist and held his arm high as a symbol of unity and strength. He said, "If we must make demands downtown, we must go as a united front. Nobody is going to give us anything." He expressed surprise that some Negroes had not yet realized this. Johnson compared the conditions of Negroes in America today to that of the American colonists before the Re- volutionary War. He asked Negroes to "stop bickering" among them- selves. Mr. Jesse Dickenson said it is the job of every Negro to influence persons in power. While he readily accepted the right of Negro youth to make demands, he re- turned that rights come with responsibility in the American way. Rev. Crockett com- pared treatment of white youths to that of Negro youths by the judicial system. Negro youths in Cont. to pg. 8 PRIORITY LIST TO LESSEN RACIAL TENSION 1. Suspension of the police officer in charge of the detail last Wednesday night at LaSalle Park Cen- ter. Suspension of the officers or officer who fired into the building. 2. Calling for a study and a new organizational structure of the entire police department. 3. On-going human relations orientation for all police officers. Lights in needed areas of the city used for rec- reational purposes and for proper street lighting. 5. Declaration from the School Board concerning defacto school segregation. 6. All of the community resources active in bring- ing about new employment opportunities. 7. We request a fair housing ordinance to be passed by South Bend Common Council in addition to up- grading current housing. 8. More training in the areas of vocational educa tion and this is to be over and beyond MDTA pro- grams. 9. Total involvement of labor unions and the inclu- sion of all minority youngsters in apprenticeship programs. 10. All poverty programs be removed from the edu cational structure until such time the School Board declares a non-descriminatory statement. 11. That there be a concerted effort to give human relations education program to the total community by community sources in addition to the Human Re- lations Commission. 12. That dialogue be established with the County Department of Public Welfare to iron out problems in the areas of welfare. 13. That immediate steps are taken to create a Youth Commission which would work in all the areas concerning youth.
Object Description
Title | The Reformer, August 17, 1967 |
Volume, Issue Number | Vol. 1, No. 2 |
Subject |
South Bend (Ind.)--Newspapers African Americans--Indiana--South Bend |
Original Date | 1967-08-17 |
Time Period | 1960s (1960-1969) |
Digital Date | 2015-03-26 |
Digital Reproduction Specifications | Full View: 300 dpi jpg; Archived: 300 dpi tiff |
Type | Text |
Genre | Newspapers |
Language | en |
Identifier | NEWS-REF-19670817 |
Repository Collection | Local & Family History Services Archival Collection |
Physical Repository | St. Joseph County Public Library |
Additional Usage Terms | Materials in Michiana Memory are in the public domain. This image is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. To purchase copies of images and/or for copyright information, contact local.history@sjcpl.org. |
Provenance | St. Joseph County Public Library (South Bend, IN) |
Rating |
Description
Title | Front page |
Additional Usage Terms | Materials in Michiana Memory are in the public domain. This image is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. To purchase copies of images and/or for copyright information, contact local.history@sjcpl.org. |
Transcription | IHt REFr: v 130 South V^atnut Street South Send, Indiana 46625 Phone 288-2513 SOUTH BEND, INDIANA HiST. & TRAVEL REFORMER 15c Vol. 1 No. 2 YOUR VIEWS MAKE OUR.NEWS August 17, 1967 HEARING CONCLUDED WILL MAYOR ACT ? LEADERS ISSUE THIRTEEN RACE PRIORITIES Mayor Lloyd Allen of South Bend After ten days of hear- ing testimony concerning the incidents of July 25, 26, and 27, the South Bend Board of Public Safety will be in a stand- by position awaiting the transcript covering all the testimony presented by witnesses present at the LaSalle Park inci- dent and during the Washington Walnut dis- turbance. The transcripts will be available sometime next week for Board Re- view. The Board will then study the volumi- nous testimony and will report their findings to Mayor Lloyd Allen. It seems inevitable that action will be long de- layed. A considerable delay in hearing the primary evidence re- sulted from the great amount of time devoted to a meeting which was held early in July. There was apparently a determined effort to establish that this meet- ing was a contributing factor to the disturban- ces and incidents that marked the last week in July. The board was charged with learning the causes of the trou - ble as well as investi- gating police action during the disturbances. To the Negro youth and the adults who were present at the LaSalle Park Center the empha- sis on the July 5 meet- ing was a delaying tac- tic of the investigating board. The primary issue is and will continue to be the actions of the police in attempting to control the crowd in and around the LaSalle Neighbor- hood Center following a meeting of the youth with members of the Cont. to pg. 8 Negro and civil rights leaders presented thir- teen priorities to lessen racial tensions in South Bend to a mass meeting of over one hundred peo- ple on Friday night. The meeting, attended mostly by Negroes was held at the New Hope Baptist Church at 313 East Ohio Street. The event was con- sidered by some leaders as a milestone in the struggle for full equality for Negroes of South Bend. The attendance of Negroes was one of the largest ever reached for such a meeting. There was a show of unity rarely achieved in the past. Youth leaders Fermon A. Thomas, Jr., Willie Middlebrook, and Ben Johnson shared the platform and podium with long time civil rights and Negro leaders Jesse L. Dickenson and Rev. Lawrence Crockett. Mr. Dickenson is exec- utive secretary of the South Bend Housing Authority and Rev. Crockett is president of the South Bend chapter of the NAACP. Towards the end of the meeting, Mr. Val- jean Dickenson, former director of South Bend's ACTION, Inc. called on people to volunteer to work. He said new lea- ders and faces were needed to supplement the efforts of the exis- ting leadership. The moderator of the meet- ing, Mr. David Sims, circulated a list for volunteers, and numer- ous people signed. Mr. Sims opened the meeting by calling for unity and solidarity. He said the adults should support the needs of the young people. Fermon Thomas, one of the leaders of Negro Youth Government, was the first youth to speak. Thomas, on leave from the Army, was wearing his uniform. He pointed out that Negroes are not for "black power", "we just want to be treated like human be- ings." He called for support of organizations like the Urban League and the NAACP. In reference to vio- lence, Thomas said, "We don't want to riot, but we've tried every legal means. If there's a riot it won't be our fault. It lays in the lap of the council and the people downtown." Thomas called there- cent hearings by the Board of Public Safety a "whitewash." He said, "take heed, we are no fools." Middlebrook dramati- cally expressed Negro unity in South Bend by holding up four fingers representing four major Negro neighborhoods in South Bend. He then clenched these fingers into a fist and held his arm high as a symbol of unity and strength. He said, "If we must make demands downtown, we must go as a united front. Nobody is going to give us anything." He expressed surprise that some Negroes had not yet realized this. Johnson compared the conditions of Negroes in America today to that of the American colonists before the Re- volutionary War. He asked Negroes to "stop bickering" among them- selves. Mr. Jesse Dickenson said it is the job of every Negro to influence persons in power. While he readily accepted the right of Negro youth to make demands, he re- turned that rights come with responsibility in the American way. Rev. Crockett com- pared treatment of white youths to that of Negro youths by the judicial system. Negro youths in Cont. to pg. 8 PRIORITY LIST TO LESSEN RACIAL TENSION 1. Suspension of the police officer in charge of the detail last Wednesday night at LaSalle Park Cen- ter. Suspension of the officers or officer who fired into the building. 2. Calling for a study and a new organizational structure of the entire police department. 3. On-going human relations orientation for all police officers. Lights in needed areas of the city used for rec- reational purposes and for proper street lighting. 5. Declaration from the School Board concerning defacto school segregation. 6. All of the community resources active in bring- ing about new employment opportunities. 7. We request a fair housing ordinance to be passed by South Bend Common Council in addition to up- grading current housing. 8. More training in the areas of vocational educa tion and this is to be over and beyond MDTA pro- grams. 9. Total involvement of labor unions and the inclu- sion of all minority youngsters in apprenticeship programs. 10. All poverty programs be removed from the edu cational structure until such time the School Board declares a non-descriminatory statement. 11. That there be a concerted effort to give human relations education program to the total community by community sources in addition to the Human Re- lations Commission. 12. That dialogue be established with the County Department of Public Welfare to iron out problems in the areas of welfare. 13. That immediate steps are taken to create a Youth Commission which would work in all the areas concerning youth. |
Provenance | St. Joseph County Public Library (South Bend, IN) |
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