GRAPE STRIKE, 2ND MONTH

44 Arrested: StrikeGets Wide SupportTHE TWO TONE FLAG is an October innovation in the strike: red

for blood, black for sorrow. It is allegedly used by Mexican unions.

1Ott

VOL INO. IINOV.1965

MOVEMENTPublished byThe .Student Nonviolent Coord inating .Committee of Ca lifornia

SPEC IAL TO THE MOVEMENT

When a $267,000 War on Poverty grantwas awarded to the striking Farm WorkersAssociation, Democratic CongressmanHarlan Hagen immediately flew from Wash-ington to Delano. There he blasted theunion and the poverty grant. He met withgrowers and urged them to ignore theunions, organize the workers themselvesand set their own wages and workingconditions.

One of Hagen's chief objections was thatfederal funds might· be used as a toolagainst the· growers. He did not seem con-cerned that the gigantic federal subsidiesto the growers might be used against theunions. Most of the ranches .being struckare receiving irrigation water from thefederally-constructed Friant-Kern Canal.The cost of furnishing this water is $700

Continue

West"

WillStrike

kicked, elbowed, tripped, kneed and cursedstrikers in full view of police. Nothinghas been done.

The real squeeze on the growers willcome after the harvest is completed --around ThanksgiVing. Then the skilled workof pruning the vines for next years' cropbegins.

It looks as if the strike will continuethrough the pruning and into the nextharvest. The unions may use the. tacticof a boycott.

The grape strike of 1965, now two monthsold, is just beginning.

Ministers assisting the strikers havebeen stopped by police for no other reasonthan to get their names. One car ofministers was stopped because they hada "gun" in the back seat. The gun turnedout to be a rolled-up American flag.

The hostility of the· police has earnedDelano the title of "Mississippi West."

"'Mississippi

a PicketAttac.k on

The day before Rev. Havens was ar-rested for reading aloud (he told policehe was reading a sermon ), grower GeorgeDulcich choked .a: picket so hard he brokethe leather camera strap around the pick-et's neck. A cop who witnessed it didnothing.

A Kern deputy witnessed growerCharles Dispoto knock strike leader Hec-tor Abeytia, who is crippled, to the groundand beat him. The deputy reported it toDelano city police. By the time they ar-rived, Dispoto had left. Both Abeytia anda witness named Dispoto as the assail-ant. The police report, however, recordedthe assailan( as unknown. Only after atwo-day visit by a man from the stateAttorney General's office would the KernCounty District Attorney accept Abeytia' scomplaint.

15 minutes after Dispoto attacked Abey-tia, police witnessed Dispoto and anotherstriker, Bert Delarmente, shouting at oneanother. Delarmente made a few menacingremarks. He was arrested on the spotfor striking Dispoto.

Dispoto is over 6 feet tall and weighsover 200 pounds. Delarmente is a footshorter and 100 pounds lighter.

On Picket lines Dispoto has repeatedly

that ruling. They were bo!,ked for illegalassembly and failure to disperse.

FWA Vice-President Dolores Huerta wasarrested twic~ in one week for trespass-ing. The first time she was held 24 hoursand released on her own recognizance.She claims she did not enter the property.The second arrest occurred when sheinadvertantly led a crew of pickets downa private road whiCh from appearances,black-topped and all, looked like a publicroad. All were arrested by Kern Countydeputies when a grower signed a com-plaint. Bail was set at $276 each, a stag-gering total of $12,144.

A r.rests

Two days later, 44 persons, includingnine ministers and a mother of 11, werearrested by Kern County authorities. Theyhad set out purposely to test the sheriff'sruling. They were booked for violating

Kern and Tulare County sheriffs ruledthat no shouting would be allowed on thepicket lines. Strictly enforced, this wouldruin their effectiveness. Shouting is theonly way pickets on the road can communi-cate with workers in the fields.

48 hours after this ruling was announced,Rev. David Havens, FWA staffer, wasarrested for reading Jack London's de-finition of a scab in a voice that couldbe heard 50 feet away.

ARRESTED MINISTER being frisked. Rev.Francis Geddes of San· Francisco, one of 9ministers jailed.

an acre. Growers repay $123..The restis pure subsidy.

Mass

·"Legal" Harassment

ProgramThe Poverty

GEORGE BALUS

DELANO --During October, the Delano grape strike

grew into a movement. Ministers and col-lege students jolned the picket lines. Unionmembers in Los Angeles, Oakland,San Francisco, Fresno, / and Washington(the Industrial Union department, AFL-CIO) donated money. Civil-rights, Mexi-

'~an-American, union, liberal and churchgroups throughout the state gathered food,clothing and money. Strike leaders visitedcampuses to raise money.

As the growers became aware of thegrowing strength of the movement, theypulled out all the repressive and divisiveta.ctics they could use.

The Philippine Counsel was transpor-ted to Delano, where he urged the Fili-pino strikers to return to work at theirold ,pay rates. The strikers retaliated bypicketing his office in Los Angeles andcalling for his recall. The Counsel thendeclared his belief in higher wages.

FRAUD IN ARKANSAS SCHOOL ELECTIONSNegro candidates ran for seats on School

Boards across the state of Arkansas this··fall. Of the 30 who ran, all but one wasdefeated -- that one opposed by anotherNegro. SNCC backed a number of thesecandidates, and has first-hand accountsof fraud used to defeat them.

IN FORREST CITY an official repre-sentative at the polls witnessed a groupof Negroes enter the polling place andhand their registration cards to the elec-tion judges. The judge waited until af-ter 6:30 P.M. the closing time, to tellthem they were at the wrong polling place.By then, it was too late for them to vote.

After the polls were closed, a groupof Negroes was turned away, being told itwas too late to vote. A well-dressed whitewoman then drove up and was permittedto vote.

A poll-watcher also reported that theelection judge was calling out the ballotsto the clerks. He called the names of thewhite candidates when the Negro candi-dates were marked on the ballot. Shewas afraid to complain about it at thetime.

In GOULD, a town 82% Negro, fraudoccured at each of the three polling places.At City Hall poll-watchers counted the num-ber of white and Negro voters. A totalof 272 persons voted. The judges total,however came to 288. At the Youth Cen-ter the pollwatchers counted 243 voters;the judge gave 304 votes to the whitecandidate.

At the Douglass Store 7 votes wererecorded for the Negro candidate, but12 people are willing to sign the affi-davits that they voted for this candidate.

IN WEST MEMPHIS there were a largenumber of missing ballots. A rigidly en-forced system of segregation at the poll-ing place made easy the task of elimin-ating ballots of Negro voters.

At the West Memphis Junior High Schoolalmost 1000 ballots were unaccounted for.A poll-watcher counted 569 Negro vot~rsbetween 12:05 and 6:30 p.m. and estimatedthat twice that number of whites voted.ThL-MemDhis ..I=:Y_~!lil}g Times, corrobor-ates this. However, a total of only 578votes was recorded. This indicated thatmassive vote fraud took place.

IN HELENA, in the Negro diso;ict, therewas excessive police presence, amountingto indirect police intimidation. A policedog was left unchained and unattended ina police car parked outside the pollingplace. The windows of the car were leftopen, and the dog ran back and forth inthe car, snarling and barking at voters.

The judges at the Arkansas Street FireStation ih Helena accompanied most Ne-gro voters into the voting booths andwatchedthem vote. Many election judges were seenmoving from one polling place to anotherduring the voting, leading to the suspicionthat illegal activities were being coor-dinated.

In each of these CItieS, a number ofArkansas laws were Violated. SNCC workersfeel, however, that going to the COW"; swould be futile. The illegal practices donot represent isolated accidentalinstances,but .l deliberate policy to make meaning-less the Negro vote. "This policy hasthe approval, tacit or outright, and thesupport, implicit or explicit, of the poli-tical and judicial figures who are res-

ponsible for enforcing these laws," saysthe Special SNCC Report on the Arkansaselections.

Action can be taken on the Federal level,the report continues, "but the Voting RightsAct will be as meaningless as all theearlier Civil Rights Acts which 'protected'voting rights -- unless the Federal Govern-ment enforces it fully, aggressively andpromptly. It is not enough for the FBIto ask a few questions the day after andsend another report to Washington.

"The Constitution does not say 'theright of citizens to vote-shall not be deniedexcept when it is too much trouble, orpolitically inexpedient for the FederalGov-ernment to prevent it':'

. The 'effect of a failure on the part ofthe Federal Government is predictable,"the SNCC Report concludes, "Until now,many Negro Arkansans have maintainedtheir faith that the ballot box is the wayto secure social justice. The continueddenial of effective suffrage can be e',,··pected to erode that faith. . ,Time isrunning out:'

2 S.F. PLANS URBAN REMOVAL OF AGED

Land Grab

Martin Van Buren

A

Bob NiemannSue DouglasBeth Hoffman

P. O. Box 117308 Westwood PlazaLos Angeles 24

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Terence CannonBernice Glenn Gerhardt GschiedleGeorge BallisJeannette HarrisJean Hume Judi LynchBrooks PenneyJackie PenneyRev. Bill Grace Ellert Estrin

.. EDITORIAL GROUP:

EDITORIAL OFFICE:1316 Masonic Avenue, San FranciscoCalifornia, MA 6 -4577

HARRY BRILL

THE MOVEMENTis published monthly by the staff of the'Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committeeof California.

business. Is it really necessary? The agen-cy argues that it is. The main feature ofthe Verba Buena project includes the con-struction of a $34 million convention hall-sports arena complex. The agency says asports arena and convention center willserve the best interests of the city.

Already existing facilities are emptyfor a substantial part of the year. Eventhe agency's consultant claims that anadditional convention hall and sports arenawill add no more than one or two events ayear to the current schedule.

It is curious that the agency pays littleor no attention to a study which they them-selves sponsored and· financed. The agencystill plans to· clear Yerba Buena of soundas well as unsound properties to makeroom for this dubious venture, presum-ably in the best interests of the city.

Shouldn't the needs and aspirations ofNegroes, workers, small businessmen, andsenior citizens constitute part of the city'sbest interest? They make-up after all, themajority of the city's citizens. Yet for onereason or another, this doesn't seem tomatter to the Redevelopment Agency. Whatdoes matter are the interests of the realestate investors. They have apparentlyconvinced the Redevelopment Agency thatwhatever is best for themselves must bebest for the city.

'fhe Redevelopment Agency had original-ly intended to rehabilitate Verba Buenafor light industrial use. But in 1954, andagain in 1955, Benjamin Swig, owner of theFairmont Hotel, came along with an aI-

, ternative proposal: A large-scale Rocke-feller Center type of development whichwould include office buildings and a con-vention center.

SWig ,donated $3200 to the Redevelop":ment Agency to study the feasibility of hisproposal. Other real estate interests laterentered the scene, and the original planhas been amended accordingly. With therather aggressive cooperation of the pressas well as a range of "civic minded" or-ganizations, the Verba Buena project pro-posal is now presented as serving the"best interests" of the public.

Whenever the private ambitions of realestate become defined as the public interest,the people are in trouble. Any oppositionby the public to the schemes of privatespeculators is interpreted as hostile to thebest interests of the city. Prominent SanFranciscans privately opposed to the Re-development Agency frequently remainsilent for !ear they will be so labeled.

This brand of urban patriotism has weak-ened the struggle against private interesturban renewal. Verba Buena is an appro-priate place to renew this fight.

, ,

A renaSports

Displacing residents from their homes ..'lnd workers from their jobs is serious

erally considered a fair percentage to beallotted for rent, though it can be arguedthat even this figure is too high for seniorcitizens. The Redevelopment Agency, onthe other hand, claims that 20 percent istoo modest. They say that certain welfareagencies allot over 40 percent of theirmonthly payment for rent. Maybe so'- Butfor senior citizens not on welfare, such alarge allocation for rent is likely to drivethem onto the welfare rolls.

The agency claims that higher rents mightbe necessary for improved housing. Ap-parently nothing is too good for the seniorcitizen - provided he pays for it out ofhis own pocket.

In a report on their relocation programthe agency states that the "excellent pub-lic and commercial transportation sys-tems" make acceptable for relocation hous-ing any area in the city. Translated intoplain English iL can only mean, "Seniorcitizens, go to hell.' "

A

community - Negro - opposed the Re-development plan and fought it vigorously.Or, as the Agency puts it:

". . • in the sweep of national concernfor the improvement of rights and oppor-tunities of minority group citizens, theleadership of local civil rights groupshas been alerted to take a strong positionin opposition to urban renewal,"

There would seem to be solid front of in-convenient opposition facing Justin Hermanand. his Redevelopment Agency .. '. but no!

". • • due in part to the unanimous ap-proval given the Area 2 Plan by the Boardof Supervisors, there has been a divisionin the leadership of the NAACP and the'United Freedom Movement that makes itdifficult to approach minority leaders atthis time. For this reason the Redevelop-ment Agency believes that it is inappropriateto submit the Relocation Program for YerbaBuena' Center for consideration by thesegroups presently:'

In other words, if minority leadership isopposed, Justin won't talk to them; ifthey're split, Justin won't talk to them.Presumably only if they are unanimouslyin favor of Justin's current plan to removethem from their homes, will he considertalking with them. And if Federal regulationsget in the way - too bad.

Committee

SAN FRANCISCO - The Federal UrbanRenewal Manual of the Housing and HomeFinance Agency ·(l-IHFA) sets down the ad-ministrative . regulations which all localredevelopment agencies must follow.

In it there is a section called "Reporton Minority Group Considerations." It re-quires that when ". • • a project will re-sult in a substantial net reduction in thesupply of housing in the project areaavailable to minority groups •• ," theAgency must describe:

"Steps taken, and results achieved, inconsulting with representative leadershipin the minority group; and the represen-tative character of the leadership con-sulted,"

The S.F. Redevelopment Agency is plann-"ing to clear what they call the Yerba BuenaArea, south of Market Street. Over halfthe families are non-white. All will bemoved.

Did the Redevelopment Agency consultwith the leadership? No.

We quote from the Agency Report (R215): "Representative leadership of theminority community has not been· con-sulted on this project because of the eventswhich have taken place in relation to theWestern Addition Area 2 Project,"

What were these "events?" The minority

Fort,V Percellt Rent

In their downtown location in VerbaBuena, more than 80 percent of the singleresidents spend under $40 a month forrent. Only public housing units could matchthis. But according to the Agency's report,the displacement of elderly persons fromanother redevelopment project will absorbtlie entire supply of public housing unitsavailable to the aged.

Rental costs in private accommodationsare climbing upward. One consultant for theAgency observed that rising rents have al-ready caused many senior citizens aroundthe city to move. In another downtownsection of San Francisco (the TenderloinDistrict) rooms at reasonable rents havebeen available to single adults. This too ischanging. The agency's own consultantfo.und that "some of these hotels in the'Tenderloin' area have been remo_d~led, therates raised, and once again the pension-ers are being displaced," When the agen-cy demolishes the fifty or so hotels inVerba Buena, rents will rise even more.

Twenty percent of one's income is gen-

Justin Herman Breaks Federal Regulation,Rather Than Tal~ to Minority Leaders

Rights

No Mobility

Welfare

Victimized

Mississippi

The most impressive findings are theleast surprising. That is, the economicsituation and physical health of these agedcitizens have much to be desired. Theirmeagre incomes qualify over 90 percentof them for public housing. Many aredisabled; half are afflicted with one ormore of such disorders as heart disease,:arthritis and nervous ailments; The phy-sical and economic liabilities of the agedlimit their mobili.ty and curtail their ac-tivities.

For these reasons, low rents and a Cen-tral downtown location offer major advan-tages to the aged. Inexpensive restaurantsand movies are easy to reach. But if theAgency wins, the enjoyment of such con-venient facilities will become just anothermemory to the senior citizen.

Workers and residents will get the shortend, riot unusual for persons living in re- l1li .development areas. But there are otherunwanted citizens in Verba Buena who, un-like Negroes and workers, have neithera civil rights movement nor unions to backthem. These are the senior citizens of thecity.

Over a thousand live alone; others livein more than fifty hotels. They will be dis-placed by the redevelopment agency. Vir-tually all hotels in Verba Buena, whetherstructurally unsound or not, are scheduledfor demolition.

The severe impact upon the aged of suchan indiscriminant policy is familiar to theRedevelopment Agency. The agency hashired consultants, whose findings, if takenseriously, should make Mr. Herman and theRedevelopment Agency reconsider theirposition on Yerba Buena.

Bad Health,

The San Francisco Redevelopment Agen-cy and its director Justin Herman arerapidly earning reputations as people-re-movers. Their cur r e ri t redevelopmentscheme represents the best in this tra-dition. A massive bulldozing program willremove industries and homes from an87-acre downtown area South of MarketStreet christened by the agency "YerbaBuena," Negro dwellers pushed out ofVerba Buena will be forced as alwaysto crowd into the racial ghettoes else-where in San Francisco.

A large number of workers will bereporting to their local unemployment of-fice. Many firms displaced by redevelop-ment will leave the city or go out ofbusiness altogether. The agency's programwill jeopardize thousands of jobs.

That's in the near future: The redevelop-ment agency's 'lOilg range plans for SanFrancisco call for the "revitalization" ofllOO acres South of Market. In other words,the agency intends to rezone light industryright out of the city.

n Washingtony{!~looD~ffi~"tJ~!~~l~~""~n!,I!~,r!,m ~ights Laws"

fare was a big issue in Greenwood last sum- cut offfederalfunds if it found thatthe county Mississippi refuses to accept available Fed-mer, according to returned volunteer Rose- failed to provide equal services for Negroes eral aid. The state no longer providesmary Bacon of San Francisco. Civil rights and whites. medical care for the indigent; it refused toworkers collected dozens of complaints There are several obstructions in the way sign a compliance agreeing to treat whitefrom welfare recipients. of the Greenwood Committee. One is that and Negro equally. The state has also passed

A farm worker earning $5 a day, whose a new law that threatens fines and jail sen-daughter had rheumatic fever, could not re- tences for any mother - on welfare or offceive welfare aid and was too deeply in - who has more than one illegitimate child.debt to buy medicine or proper food. Another difficulty, according to Jesse

A 70-year-old widow, needing medical Devore of the Inc Fund staff, is that "wel-care, was allowed only $15 a month for fare is a political problem. Health, Educa-living expenses by the Welfare Depanment. tion, and Welfare simply refuses to take fed-The Department also forced her to spend eral funds away from welfare agencies vio-her monthly Social Security check of $33. lating Title 6 - obviously because ofto pay old doctor and' hospital bills. pressure from Southern Congressmen,"

A mass meeting, which packed the Elks' A final problem is that the Inc Fund itselfHall, was held and a Welfare Rights Com- is swamped with other cases. The New Yorkmittee formed. The NAACP Legal Defense Office turned the Greenwood complaintsand Education Fund (the "Inc Fund" )offer- over to the Jackson, Mississippi office,ed to apply pressure in Washington. The Inc which seems unable to handle the legal prob-Fund attorneys recommended also that lems.Committee members take statements to Still, Mrs. Bacon feels, the Greenwoodprepare demands upon the Department of Welfare Rights Committee revealed someHealth, Education, and Welfare. vast gaps in our public assistance and social

Under Title 6 of the Civil Rights Act of GREENWOOD WOMAN and family, unable to insurance programs, and demonstrated to1964, the Department of Health, Education get welfare because husband earns $15 a week. mothers in Greenwood the necessity ofand Welfare (HEW) could investigate Le""- The baby has rickets. changes on the state and federal level.

Old People

Brutality in Parchman Jail

700 ARRESTED IN NAlCHEZNATCHEZ, MISSISSIPPI--

Natchez has always been known in themovement as one of the toughest townsin Mississippi. Located in the southwestcorner of the state, it is a Klan strong-hold and the home of 1. L. McDaniels,Grand Dragon of the United Klans of Mis-sissippi. The Klan recently set up a per-manent office in Natchez and Grand Dra-'gon McDaniels stated that he was no longerworking as a truck driver. "I am workingfull time K~uxing," he said.

On August 27, George Metcalf, Presi-dent of the NAACP in Natchez, Missis-:sippi, was seriously injured by a bombattached to the ignition of his car. Mr.Metcalf was one of the first local peopleto speak out in favor of the movement.

Since the bombing, almost 700 peoplehave been arrested for parading, picketing,and in harrassment arrests. Four hund-red were sent to Parchman State Peni-tentiary, 200 miles away. In Parchman,the prisoners were brutally treated. Allwere forced to drink a large amount oflaxative. They were left naked or in under-

'wear in 40 degree weather in cells withopen windows and air conditioning.

7~d ~(J."

11(.'1" Steele

3

,\ newspaper in which teenagers of NewYork express their views. c/o Mr. F.E.Campbell, 32 West 131st Street, New YorkCity.

PEOPLE'SPAPERS

(A monthly listing of news-papers and publications putout by com m u nit y andgrass roots organizations.)

mj d p news letterNews directly from the Mississippi front.State office, MFDP, 507 North FarishStreet, Jackson.

e1 malcriadoNow published in English as well asSpanish. Militant voice ofthe Farm WorkersAss·ociation. Box 894, Delano, California.$2 a year.

news letter from Dr.Ben Yellen

Muckraking newsletter by a Brawley, Cali-fornia Councilman attacking the big growersof Imperial Valley. 128 South 8th Street,Brawley, California. Contributions.

what's happening

"The Bay Area Urban League is proudof its record of over 1000 job placementssince the inception of its Skills Bank Pro-gram in June, 1964. We are not, however,unaware of the fact that without the demon-strations of NAACP, CORE, the Ad HocCommittee, the United FreedomMovement,and others, we would probably be talkingin terms of about 100 job placements.Demonstrations have been both necessaryand effective and they have brought aboutlong overdue changes."

Percy Steele, Executive Director, BayArea Urban League.

Up!"

Corp 0 rat ion s

It""Burn

Natchez

Natchez is the home of InternationalPaper Co., johns-Manville Corporation,and Armstrong Tire and Rubber Company.Mr. Metcalf's car was bombed in theparking lot of Armstrong Tire, whereMetcalf worked. All of these companieshave remained silent during the currentracial crisis. The Mississippi FreedomDemocratic Party has called a boycottagainst Sears-Roebuck and Company, whicheffectively controls Armstrong Tire.

I[{nored Demands

Evers and other NAACP officials metto consider their response. The city'sreply was read to a meeting of 1200people. 'Burn it upl" someone yelledwhen the reading finished. Commentingon the city's statement, Evers said, "Wehaven't been given anything. I believe weshall continue to negotiate, but the besttime to get what we want is now."

Mrs., Mamie Lee Mazique, secretaryof the Natchez NAACP, said of the city'sactions againstthe Negro community, "They Ithought they would stop us by arrestingus and sending us off to the state prisonfarm .•. What they did was help us. Afterpeople came back from Parchman and toldabout being forced to take lax~tives, morepeople turned out for the marches thanever before." lf talks don't produce re-sults, says Mrs. Mazique, "We will goright back in the street again."

On October 12, the Negro leaders againpresented their demands, this time in modi-fied form. Only two were granted: a squadcar for Negro police, and a police escortfor Negro funerals. Other requests weredealt with vaguely: asked that they calladult Negroes by Mr., Miss, or Mrs., theCouncil replied they would treat all peoplewith equal courtesy.

Unanswered went demands for a stifferhousing code and integration of the publicpools. Mayor Nosser said the NAACPwas "still asking for things that are notin our. jurisdiction" and was "ignoringracial progress" the city had made, suchas registering 3,000 Negro voters in thelast three months.

The day after the bombing of Mr. Met-calif's car, the Negro community pre-sented the Natchez City Council with 12demands. Leaders stated they would marchif the demands were not granted. (Earlier,white citizens had called for a bi-racialcommittee, but the Council had refused).Over 500 people gathered to march on Sep-tember 2nd, but NAACP official CharlesEvers cancelled the march when 650 unitsof National Guardsmen arrived in the city.

Several marches to City Hall were madeduring September. On October 2 an at-tempted march was made by 700 people.All were arrested within a block of thechurch where they had gathered. The mar-chers were loaded into buses, firewagons,and police cars and taken to the city audi~torium. The police released children underthe age of 12. The adults were sent toParchman.

Successful Boycott

More people were arrested for picket-ing downtown stores. The Negro communityhad been boycotting downtown merchantsfor about three weeks and business.wasoff 2S-S(JJb, according to Natchez MayorJohn Nosser. Reports from SNCC workerssay the boycott was almost 10(JJb effectiveamong the Negroes.

By October 4, the total of Natchez dem~O,llstrators in Parchman had reached 409.Bond was set at $200 apiece. Many casesof brutality were documented. Mrs. AnnieTillman, a local woman, reportedthat guards ordered all the women toremove their shoes and sweaters and thenforced thm to swallow laxatives. Oneof the women was pregnant. Mrs. Till-man said that a female guard tore offher blouse while searching her and thatmale guards made her take off all herclothes except her pants.

It was reported that Rev. Henry Russellof Natchez was whipped and Rev. Sampsonof SCLC slapped. Samuel Carter, a highschool teacher in Natchez and James Her-man Johnson, a student at Alcorn Jr. Col-lege, both reported being stripped for anexamination of their genitals.

Parchman officials refused to provideany transportation back to Natchez, 200miles away, for those freed on lJond.The Delta Ministry reported that it spent

. $1500 for bus transportation to returndemonstrators from Parchman to Natchez.

TownKlanA

" . . . . Several hours later we weregiven out underwear, the only clothingany of liS had throughout our stay. Thelaw officials tending u,s were always threa-tening brutality. Several people were un-, .able to bear the intense cold and brokedown into fits of screaming and crying.The prison doctor treated them rudelyand discourteously, arriving several hoursafter the victims were stricken. . . .We were given heavy doses of laxatives• . . The only reason in sending us toParchman was the obviously sadistic OIieof degrading and dehumanizing us . . .We tried exercises and such to keep warm

,but all we had to stand on was the coldconcret~ floor and all we had to sit onwere the frigid steel bunks. In my cellwater had leaked all over the floor. Itwas like an icy lake right below us. It'sa wonder more of us didn't crack underthe strain."

~- Phil Lapansky, , arrested in the Nat-chez demonstrations.

Harvard Part o' the Mississippi Povver Structure?

"According to reports filed with theSecurity and Exchange Commission for1961, the President and Fellows of Har-vard College are the largest stock holderin Middle South Utilities, Inc.

"Furthermore, Paul C. Cabot, Trea-surer of the University, is Chairman ofthe State Street Investment Corp., whichis the third largest stockholder in MiddleSouth: ..

"Again, Thomas D. Cabot, Overseerof the University, is a member of theAdvisory Board of Massachusetts Inves-tors Trust, which is the second largeststockholder in Middle South.

: "These three entities control 4.5% oftte outstanding stock of Middle South. Ina corporation with outstanding shares am-ounting to almost 19 million, this is aformidable voting bloc. What is Middle

One habit of wealthy Northern liberalsis to disclaim any responSibility for theevils that exist "down there" in the South.This is mostly a myth. The power thatmany respectable "pro-integration" li-berals have over the actual conditions inthe South is rarely revealed.

A letter, sent to the Harvard Crimsonby the Student Nonviolen~CoordinatingCom-mittee, shows some of these powerfulconnections. "We maintain," the letterbegins, "that the President and Fellows ofHarvard University; and Harvard Universityas an institution, must bear heavy res-ponSibility for what has happened and willhappen in Mississippi.

"Harvard University, through its hold-ings, plays an important role in the dom-

. inant economic, social and political in-stitutions 'of Mississippi. Let's see how.·

Middle South Utilities

South Utilities? It is a holding company,"Among the operating companies wholly-

owned by Middle South is the Mississippi~

Power and Light Company, which sellselectric power to the westerrl half of Mis-sissippi. Thus, Harvard University, asan institution, and through at least twomembers of its ruling body, is intimatelyinvolved in the economy of Mississippi.

"We can show that Harvard University,through Mississippi Power and Light, isclosely connected to the largest banks,the White Citizens' Council, and the Demo-cratic Party of Mississippi, which arethe dominant economic, social and poli-tical institutions of Mississippi.

"Electric power and finance capitalformthe keystone of industrialization•••Mis-sissippi Power and Light is the largestproducer of electric power in Mississippi.Electric power is' fundamental to commerceand industry.

Harvard's Segregationists'"Now let's look at Harvard's connections

in Mississippi."First, R.B. Wilson of Jackson MisSis-

sippi, is a member of the Board of Direc-tors of Middle South Utilities. He is alsoPresident and a member of the Board ofDirectors of Mississippi Power and Light.In addition, Mr. Wilson is a member of theBoard of Directors of the Deposit Guan-anty Bank and Trust Company of Jackson,Mississippi, the largest bank in the state.

'''Then there is William P. McMullen, aDirector of Mississippi Power and Light.Mr. McMullen is also Chairman, ChiefExecutive Officer, a Director and impor··tant stockholder of Deposit Guaranty Bankand Trust Company. Mr. McMullen occu-pies a seat on the Board of Directors of

the Jackson White Citizens' CounciL"Another member of the Board ofDirec-

tors of Mississippi Power and Light isRobert M. Hearin, who is President, Direc-tor and member of the Advisory Committeeof the First National Bank of Jackson, andcontrols the second largest percentage ofoutstanding stock of First National Bank.Mr. Hearin is a colonel on the official staffof Mississippi Governor Paul Johnson.

"The Public Information Director forMississippi Power and Light is Alex Mc-Keigny, who holds a seat on the Board ofDirectors of the Jackson Citizens' Council.

"Let's explore this further.,"

Deposit Guaranty Bank"A scoreboard of Directors of Deposit

Guaranty Bank and Trust Company wouldread the following way. On the DepOSitGuaranty Board there is one member whosits on the Board of Middle South Utili-ties (principal stockholder, Harvard Uni-versity).

"There are two Deposit Guaranty Boardmembers who sit on the Board of Missis-sippi Power and Light (wholly owned byMiddle South Utilities). There are fiveDeposit Guarantee Board members whosit on the Board of Directors of the J,leK···son White Citizens' CounciL And there aretwo Deposit Guaranty Board members whoare colonels on Governor Johnson's stafL"

The letter from SNCC to Harvard thenoutlines the racist policies of the WhiteCitizens' Council and the Mississippi Demo-cratic Party, and concludes:

"Harvard cannot disclaim responSibilityfor the "goings-on down there." With itspolitical, economic, and social roots inthe state, it could wield tremendous pres-sure to change Mississippi. The economicand political structures could not last long

if Harvard applied its weight against theirfoundations.

"But Mississippi is a profitable businessenterprise. We wonder whether education is .only incidental to the Board of Trusteesof Harvard University.

"There is much' to be done. And time isrunning out."

SNCC and THE MOVEMENT encourageconcerned students in other univ.ersitiesin the North to conduct similar studiesinto the sources of income of their schoolsand to consider the implications of thisincome.

(The entire text of the SNCC letter toHarvard is printed in the KEY LIST'MAILING, a service available from theSan Francisco SNCC Regional Office.)

FREDMSomebody wroteWhat he hardlyKnew how to write,But what he knew,With a piece of chalkOn a brick wallAnd it was:FREDMAnd no literacy testscan disqualify him'Cause he knowsIt's FREDMAnd the knowingAnd the tellingNot the spelling

ROB WOOD

'THE BATTLEFRONTS IN DELA 0SPECIAL TO THE MOVEMENT

get put in jail, your movement is takenmore seriousiy. The press suddenly dis-covered the strike when 44 strikers werejailed. Many who showed no interest beforeresponded with aid. The American CivilLiberties Union called and offered to postbond and provide legal services.

On the evening of the release, 200 peoplegathered at the jail to welcome the jailedpickets. As the workers walked out ofjail, the crowd shouted HUE LGA I in uni-son; no one was arrested. But the issueof shouting HUELGA in the fields muststill be tested in

lcourt.

We are admonished ahnost daily bythe authorities to be quiet, to lower ourvoices, to be careful. But the strike willnot be won by more jailings -- it willbe won on the picket line. In the lastweek, the picket lines have grown andthe strike is, surprisingly enough , strongerthan it was a few weeks ago.

People are talking about a long strikenow. They have heard that the sugar work-ers on Hawaii plantations took 16 monthsto win.

What began as one more farm laborstrike -- doomed to failure in the eyesof most people -- is gaining rather than

. losing strength. The growers are morevulnerable during the winter months andthe workers, who have been trained inthe art of striking during the fall, knowit.

MoodNew

Senor Ranchero:

One thing is sad, but true -- if you

This is a copy of the letter sent to the growers whosefields are being struck. The only response from the growerswas a mimeographed leaflet circulated in the liquor storesand bars of Delano, unsigned, that said: '

We do not wish to endanger the harvests of any farmer, because the workersare not going to gain anything if the harveat is aborted and the grapesremain on the vines. Besides the representatives and members of the FWAdo not condone eny action which endangers the security of any man.

For these reasons it is crucial that we get together immediately to signa contract satisfactory to all interested persons.

It is true J as you know, that our Association has giv:en its completecooperation to AWOC. By means of the Special Committee for the strike ofthe two organizations, we have mobilized a supreme effort to help the farmworkers of the Vineyards in order to improve working conditiohs. FWA isresolved in its fight for contracts which gua.rantee the rights of thefarm workers.

Our de.mands are the following:1) ;.. minimum of .$1.40 an hOur, plus $:25 e box.2) Per gondola, .$12 for the firat, .$16 for the second, end ~2

for the third.

Sincerely,

We wish to meet with you 88 soon as possible about a collective agreementwith respect to the wages, the hours, end ell !:-he other conditions of workfor your employees. .

Cesar E. ChavezGeneral DirectorFarm Workers Association

"To the grape pickers of Delano,. . • How many people have left their jobs? How many of the people who are walking

on picket lines are workers and how many are strangers to you and to the growers?What are they doing here? Why are they trying to keep you from working?

The unions have no jobs to offer, only the growers can do that -- and the growersare offering you jobs.

The growers have not negotiated. They are not negotiating. And they will not ne-gotiate with anyone.

Remember, if you want to work, only the growers can offer you work and a chanceto earn money for your family.

The growers followed this humanitarian document with a paid radio broaqca,st inSpanish that announced to the farm workers that Governor Brown wanted them to goback to work and that the strike was over. Though damaging, neither of these tacticsbroke the strike.

So far the ranchers have tried to ignorethe strike. The weather in Delano thisyear has been ideal for grapes; it has notrained yet. It has been unseasonably. warm.ln other parts of the state the bumpercrop of grapes has swamped the localunderproduction caused by the strike.

As usual, someone is profiting fromthe strike. The buyers, knowing that thegrapes will be of poorer quality, loweredtheir price from $2.50 to $1.75. a box.

Grapes which have stayed on the vinestoo long to be sold as market grapesare being sold to wineries. The buyersanticipated this. They lowered their priceon wine grapes from $43 to $29 a ton.This has given growers an excuse on whichto blame their troubles. It isn't the lackof skilled grape pickers, they say, it'sthe market.

Meanwhile, the pickets are learning tobe very patient.

Jail--A

Tactics

Strate~.Y

Vnder~rollnd

The

Special

rAe

ln mid-November the grape harvest willend. After several weeks lapse the prun-ing season begins and then strike activitywill accelerate. Pruning the vines requiresmore skill than cutting the grapes. Im-ported scabs can damilge the rancher'svines and threaten the next year's har-vest.

Ranchers may be more willing to talkwith the striking pruners, who have plantedand tended the vines for years.

Some people say if you are poor youhave to be smart just to stay alive. Ifyou are poor and you want a union contractfor $1.40 an hour, you have to be verysmart, and creative, and devise and re-vise strike strategies for organizing thefactories in the fields.

Spies

Friends of the farm workers have alsodevised means of helping the strike. Twopriests from northern California volun-teered for aerial picket duty (growershide scab crews in the middle of fieldswhere they cannot be seen). Father Ken-ney of Sacramento, a commercial pilot,flew over the strike area while· FatherMahler and Cesar Chavez talked to scabcrews with a loudspeaker.

The Student Nonviolent ,CoordinatingCommittee sent a dozen giant balloons

FWA FOOD "STORE" doles groceries to strike headquarters. Filled with heliumto striking families. Th~ foo~ has come from and painted with strike slogans, they are_supporters all over Cabforma. floated over the fields by pjckets standing

on the public road.Farm workers and civil rights leaders

in towns just outside the strike zone, inareas where contractors are recruiting

The man behind the desk is Cesar Chavez, scabs, have organized to support the strike.Director of the National Farm Workers From 5 to 7 a.m., before they reportAssociation. The Association's current' to their regular jobs, they picket the con-grape strike is different from other agri- tractor's pickup points. After work, theycultural strikes. It is a people's strike go house-to-house contacting scabs. Theand the people know how to fight. license numbers of scabs are recorded

For three years, Chavez has patiently in Delano and telephoned to the outsidebuilt an organization of the poor. Worker's groups.dues have been the sole support of him-self and Dolores Huerta, the Vice-Presi-dent. For three years, the Associationhas been bailing people out of jail, trans-lating for them in court, helping theirrelatives immigrate to the United States,and filling out income tax returns (mostfamilies earn about $2000 a year).

The staff and some 30 volunteers in30 communities have built leaders anddevotees. The workers who voted to strikeknow Chavez is one of them; they knowhe is smart; they know he won't leavetown.

The same afternoon, the telephone rang."I am from Delano," a woman's voice

said. "We can't afford any trouble, but Workers themselves are in a uniqueI cook out at one of the ranch camps position to develop and carry out strikeand I want to tell you that there are all plans. For example:these woman workers there. Whenever Farm workers are seldom known asanyone comes into their camp they run individuals to the ranchers for whom theyand hide. They're illegals, I can tell. ,work. A striker can often go to work for

"Who is this?" asked the man. 'a day in a scab crew, talk with scabs"Well, I'd rather not say," she said. and learn of changes il1 the rancher's

"I've got a lot of kids home, and I've harvesti~g plans.had this job a long time. I just felt like Most pickets have car radios and moni-I had to say this to you strike people." tor the Spanish radio broadcasts while

"Thank you," said the man. He hung they are driving through the fields search-up the phone and dialed hnmigration. ing for scab crews. When a grower buys

radio time to urge strikers to return towork, the union finds out immediatelyand can counter with their own publiCity.

When a labor contractor is sent toold Mexico or Texas to recruit scabs,relatives and friends of strikers often.hear of the contractor's actiVities. Theywrite or wire information. The crew ismet at the bus station by the striker"s.

At noon the next day, an old man droveup to the same building. He w'as dressedin old work clothes, and smoked a 'cigarthat was ahnost gone. He reported thatthree scabs had registered at his roominghouse the night before.

"They come from Texas," he said. SINGING "NOSOTROS VENCEREMOS" (We Shall Overcome): Rev. Jim Drake, Julio"But don't worry about them. As soon Hernandez, Dolores Huerta.as they left for work, I went in theirroom and took out the beds. The bedsare in my pickup now. I brought themfor the pickets to use."

"Thank you," said the man behind thedesk.

The

WENDY GOEPEL

At 10 p.m. the busboy at a local motel,got off work. He drove a mile across'town to a pink stucco building ringedwith old cars, walked in and knocked onthe door of a small office built into onecorner of the building.

"While I was clearing the dishes," hesaid, "I heard Mr. Ranchero tell Mr.

.Farmer that he didn't expect the striketo last so long. Mr. Farmer said he'd!like to sign, but he doesn't dare." '

"Thanks," said the man behind the desk. '"Good night," said the busboy.

A,\~W, ...'1 O'r (~c.,,"(At 'H( to)

WAtcl A:M

··f/U

NOTES ON RURAL ORGANIZING

One day, in a phone conversation, HalLight asked a rights worker in McComb,Mississippi what they needed "more thananything in the world." The prompt reply: aDodge truck to get out of the mud. Theparent's group sent the requested truck.Four more trucks followed.

To raise money for trucks and cars, thegroup sold one-dollar "raffle tickets" -for which there was no drawing - in ac-cordance with state law. With the trucks,10,000 pounds of materials, food andclothing, were sent by the parent's groupto Mississippi.

When Mississippi's ex - Governor Cole-man was appointed to the Fifth Circuit Court,the parents sent 350 letters to parentsthroughout the country. Several parents wentto Washington to picket the Senate judiciaryCommittee hearings; three testified. Afterthe Washington gathering, the Bay Areagroup was able to establish communicationswith similar groups in other states.

WE NEED VOUJNTEERSThe SNCC Regional Office in San Fran-cisco needs office personnel. If you canoffer your services, please call 62p-4577.

Picket JohnsonThe California group, protesting the Cole-

man appointment, picketed President john-son at the United Nations meeting in SanFrancisco this summer. Hal Light notesthat except for KQED, no publicity wasgiven the parents' group by any localnews media.

The parents are about to renew theircampaign for truck money. "When nextsummer comes," says Light, "more pa-rents will be faced with the reality that theirkids will be going South" and perhaps willnot even be going back to school."

They will have to understand the com-m,itment their children have made. Fromthose "newly-initiated" the parents' grouphopes for growing support.

Parents of VolunteersS'end Cars, Money South

SAN FRANCISCO -- "Where are all theparents? Who are they?" were the ques-tions Hal Light asked himself inthe spring of 1964. His son, Bill, hadgraduated from Stanford' and promptlyjoined the SNCC office in jackson, Miss-issippi.

That summer Hal visited Mississippiand returned to San Francisco with the 'conviction - shared with other parents -that "the parents should be involved."

Out of this came the Trans-MississippiAssociation, formed at a meeting of forty-one Bay Area parents. The first activitieswere the raising of emergency bail moneyand clothing. They gained additional sup-port when a delegation of parents requesteda meeting with the l\1ississippi delegationat the Republican convention, and was snub-bed.

Cars to Mississippi

The reason for using this home is thatyou have now found that dependable lead-ership does not exist. You must, from this

-little group, find and build a leader orleaders. How?

In this meeting plan some kind of act~on.You put suggestions before the group.Let them talk over the suggestions, aboutpav~d streets, stop signs, street lights, orrecreational facilities, and how the votecan get these and more.

You may need to hold ten or more ofthese kinds of meetings; at the same time,trying to get a church, getting the wordout about the house meeting by leaflet orword of mouth. But let it get out I Electa chairman to chair the meetings; you shouldnot do this after the first meeting. Eachmeeting, give more and more of the res-'ponsibilities to this group, and as the groupgrows, form committees so as to involvemore of the people.

To overcome the fear, many of the thingsabove mentioned will apply. By getting thepeople tog~ther, they will see that they are

Buildinfl Leaders

" J, I .~'u. ..,~( I' \ - .~I \""h '---.,I •I '

~.'

_/not alone. By stopping by each one's homeas much as possible, you will let them knowyou are sincere, in what you say and do --that you not only care about the meetingsbut you are interested in continued progressin their community ana family life. Thefeeling of being close together will helpovercome the fear.

Apathy ,Will disappear when you give thepeople some-responsibility. When they as-sociate with one another, through the con-versations of personal and community prob-lems, the apathy will disappear. At firstthe family educated you; now together theyare educating each other.

Suspicion comes from mistrust. So manyhave led us wrong, that it is hard to trustpeople we don't know. You must be friendly,reliable, and most of all trustworthy. Withthis, suspicion will disappear. When thepeople trust you, and trust your judgement,suspicion will be a thing of the past.

, -CHARLES MCLAURIN

PeopleMotivatinl!

Canvas two or three days, the firstweek. Do not worry too much about whatyou hear from the people. If you just talkand ask questions, some of them may talkabout Chicago or Welfare checks; this isgood, this is' what is on their minds pre-sently.

During canvassing, be sure to t?ke downthe names and addresses of the peoplewho talked, who seemed to you that thereis hope in them. This could be only twopeople; or it could be ten. No matter whatthe number is, these are contacts. Youhave a small group of people. Now youneed a place to meet with them. Try toget a church or an empty building if youcannot 'get either, use one of the person'shomes for a meeting place. Again, startwith the people where you live; ask to holdthe meeting there.

and it starts just as do most things, inthe home.

You should spend as much time as thefamily has talking to them, because ~h~yhave information about the people -- bothwhite and black. They have been there allof their lives; they know the community;they khow the people who will help. Taketime and talk to them; ask questions, for itis here that you get real community edu-cation.

Now you know the key people in the com-munity, from this talk With the family.But some of them won't work out; do notget discouraged. Keep on pushing.

Canvas the whole community one after -noon. Talk with the people, laugh with them,joke with them; do most anything that getssome attention on you, or on some kind ofconversation. It is very important to learnwhat bugs them. It may happen that theyare thinking about trying to get the vote.You'll know when they talk.

The most important thing is to movethe community by action; the communitywill move when the people move. Thepeople will move when they are motivated.

6

Since I am under ,the impression thatSNCC workers are organizers, I thinkthat this is what they should do.

A SNCC worker should never take aleadership role in the community unlesshe is in his own community. A SNCC work-er should give the responsibility of leader-ship to the community person or personswhom he has or is building. The SNCCworker should give form and guidance tothe peoples' organization, and/or theirprograms.

I think that in each area one faces dif-ferent kinds of problems. I've attemptedto state some of the problems found insmall communities such as RuleVille andIndianola, Miss. '

The larger, more middle--class communi-ties will be somewhat different.

I think you at first meet the people 'ontheir own terms, or you lose.

M a I..-Illfl COli tact

Since you have found a place to stay,say with a family, then the work starts,

Ellterinfl the CommunityThere are two ways to enter a communi-

ty: the~ and the uninvited way.The invited is the easiest, because you

know that somebody wants you. Somebodywill put you up for a while, and throughthis person or persons, you will meetothers.

An invited person goes to live with Xperson in Y community, Mr. X takes theperson to church on Sunday. He introduceshim to his friends and neighbors. You arethere to do a job which at this time isundefined; so you act friendly, smiling andgreetil1g the ladies as they approach you.Then, with your warm, friendly face yousay to the people; "I want to do somethingfor this community." That afternoon youare asked out to someone's home fordinner. Go, because this is one time youwill be able to talk with a family, or maybeseveral families. Remember, try to answerall questions asked of you at this point,because you are on trial. You must impress,as well as express.

An uninvited worker faces many difficul-tl~s; first, he is unexpected and in manycases unwanted by the do-nothing leadersof the community. He is a stranger to thepeople, ahd therefore, he is alone in astrange place. If he is to be successful,he must become a part of the community.

HOlt, One Becomes (lPart oj the Communit.v

First, get a place to stay. It is best toget a place in the community, with a

, well-known family.It may just happen that you are not able

to find a place for weeks; but do not giveup. You may have a room in a roominghouse; but try to stay as close to thecommunity as possible. This will enableyou to spend long hours in the communitywithout worrying about a way home after-wards.

My Land ,s the Land

My land is the'land I don't understandFor any eye to see

Now look my friend, Look to the North and South

Don't Understand PEOPLE, MONEY NEEDED IN DELANOThe Staff of the Farm Workers Association is asking for money and volunteers. They

ask those who come to be active participants; particularly needed are people who canstay in Delano during the week, Monday through Friday. Br.ing a sleeping bag.

The staff also asks clubs, groups and organizations to help sustain the strike with amonthly pledge. A suggested figure for groups that could afford it is $100 a month.

Send all aid directly to FWA, Box 894, Delano California. The FWA street addressis 102 Albany.

You see the bloody hills far in the SouthHills lined with men and guns and black oak trees

Now to the North you see that terrible valleyThis land is murder

TheThe

More

More

Things Change,They Stay The Same

I tell it to you -- my land beneath the sky of white and blackThis land is murder

For I don't understand it

I am the land for it is part of meWe are a kin and thus our kinship be

It would make me sister to the slave

As far as the eye can see

This land is murder.

by Glory jean Louie, 15 years old. Tchula. MississiPil;

The prime reason that organized labor in California has tended to remain aloof fromthe farm-labor problem is that Trade Union officials, themselves entrenched in power,have feared the democratiZing effect of the organization of farm labor. These petty TradeUnion satraps, through their control of the political machinery of the Trade Union move-ment, have occasionally been able to strike a legislative bargain by throwing their supportbehind the industrial groups against the farm groups, or vice versa. The farm indus-trialists, on the other hand, have been able to perpetuate the anachronistic distinctionbetween urban and rural industry,. by forcing the city industrialists to bargain with themover control of the Legislature. For at all times the farm groups. through their controlof the State Senate, have held a veto power on legislation, Our system of legislativerepresentation is, or course, based on the idea of a balance of power between industrialand agricultural interests. Thus the present system of control is self-perpetuating andwill continue until the organization of farm labor brings about a merger or fusion ofagricultural and industrial interest. Carey McWilliams, FACTORIES IN THE

FIELDS (1938)

Job Corps Workers Strike For Hours, Wages

JOB CORPS TEAM talks about conditions with SNCC field secretary.

had been talking about a protest.TIlen three white kids from the South

told a foreman that they refused to takeorders from any Negroes or Mexican-Americans (the job Corps workers areprimarily from these two minorities).

When word of this spread, members ofa Negro job Corps gang caught the threeand beat two of them badly. The thirdescaped. but was later beaten by a groupof Negroes ,and Mexican-Americans.

-Things SNCCHasn't June

MIKE MILLER

SNCC did not endorse Jack Morrison inthe recent San Francisco Supervisorialelections.

A word on how SNCC works might helpthose who have been confused by thesereports. The national SNCC staff, whichmeets three or four times a year, decideswhat SNCC is going to do. Individual SNCCfield secretaries may, as individuals, dowhat they would like to do. lf their actionis a violation of basic SNCC views orprinciples, then SNCC folks talk about whatthey're going to do about that. Friends ofSNCC, the northern support arm of SNCC,primarily engagep in fund-raising, politicalpressure and educational work in behalf o(the Southern movement, decide what theyare going to do. About 20 such groups existin California.

For the record, we hope that triendsin other organizations in the movementwill show some respect for these concerns.

We keep reading about ourselves in thepapers: SNCC does this, SNCC endorsesthat, SNCC says something or other. Nowit's' not that we agree or disagree withthese various reports. We'd just like to bein on the decision' to use our name, so wecan decide for ourselves whether we agreeor not. To clear the record, as far as weknow it:

SNCC has taken no position on policein Oakland; SNCC has not asked for infor-mation regarding Viet-Nam troop trainmovements; SNCC did not organize theWatts action.

We have not been asked, nor have wevolunteered any organizational resourcesto the protests against the war in Vietnamnow taking place.

Strih'eDou'"Si t

The rest of the workers, Negroes andMexican-Americans, decided to go on striketo demand an eight hour day. One of theforemen, white, objected and was run offby the kids.

The next .morning the strike was stillin effect. A white crew leader was runout of the park for objecting. The kidssat down on their tools and demanded thatthe jobs Corps Coordinator come out and,talk to them. When he did, they thoroughly iquestioned him and forced him to send aproposal to Washington requesting longerhours for the workers and higher wagesfor the crew leaders.

"The kids are in a trap," said the crewleader. "Most of them are on parole;they can't get any other job. The wholeoperation is marked with apathy; kids aredropping ·out; Some clown is sitting in anoffice downtown, J!1aking a thousand a month,and never comes our to see them. Thekids 'are hip to this. They don't expectanything from the program."

Asked what the workers he .had spokento felt about the job Corps program, theSNCC worker said, "They know they'rebeing, exploited. They were given thesejobs to keep the city safe from them, andthey don't have any illusions about it. Theyknow what's happening."

Racial Fil!hti"l!

Until then they were to have a four hourday.

"They're supposed to be apprenticesin landscaping," said the crew leader,"but all they do is dig up stumps andclean up. They don't learn anything ex-cept how to use a shovel.",

On September 27, when the programwas in its fifth week, trouble broke out.The kids and crew leaders were dis-satisfied with the wages and hours and'

SAN FRANCISCO - The job Corps Pro-gram is a farce, according to a SNCCfield worker and a job Corps crew leaderin San Francisco. The crew leader hasworked on the "apprenticeship" programin Golden Gate Park, and the SNCC workerhas talked at length with some of theparticipants.

Crew leaders and job Corps workersget $1.35 an hour. The Foremen, re-cruited from the labor unions, gets $5an hour. When the kids were recruited,s aid the crew leader, they were told thatthey would be able to work eight hoursa day after the first few weeks of work.

A Freedom Worker's View on War And Peace

(Copy of letter being distributed in Holmes County, Mississippi, by "A Local CivicGroup.")

Says Bob Parris, "The rationale this nation uses to justifywar in Vietnam turns out to be amazingly similar to therationale that has been used Jy the white So:ut'l'l to justifyits opposition to the freedom movement." For the racistwhite Southerner, there is a logic in this parallel, he notes.He condones murder in Vietnam/or the same yeason he con-dones it at home - he sees a threat to his civilization.

HE NOCTURNAL MESSENGER...Citizens of Holmes County:

We come to you as a group of men who have dedicated ourselves to the task of stopping'the on-slaught of communism, in the disguise of so-called "civil rights" to which we arebeing subjected, in this area.

We have watched this Godless Movement advance, along with its infamous fellow tra.veI-er, integration, until it is on our own door steps. We do not intend for it to go any further.We are going to fight back and, as our ranks grow, we intend to regain the ground wehave lost. We are going to do this by whatever means we deem necessary to accomplishthe task.

lf some of you begin to feel that our methods are too severe, just remember this.The same blood that gave our forefathers the strength to band together and defend whatthey believed in, flows also in our veins. Any thing worth living for is also worth dyingfor if this becomes necessary. The raging inferno of Communism which is runningrampant in this country is not going to be stopped by the garden hose type of resistancewhich we have offered up to now. Every action our so-called "leaders" have taken upto now has been a step backward and we are tired of retreating. Battles are not won byappeasement and surrender. As our gallant soldiers fight this Godless Evil in the faroff jungles of Viet-Nam, so shall we fight it here at home.

Because we are in an area of heavy bi-racial population, we feel that we should adviseall members of the Negro Race that we are not going to be "overcome" by anyone.The many negros who have remained aloof from the Communist inspired and directed"civil rights" movement have nothing to fear from us. Tj'ley have intelligence enough toknow that 'we can and must live together here in the future as we have in the past, withmutual respect and understanding for each other.

We grant the other group of Communist indoctrinated, mis-led troublemakers thesechoices. They can get the white scum known as "civil rights" workers out of theirhomes and away from their churches, They can get their children out of the white schoolsof this county and put them back into their own schools which our taxes built for them.They can do these things or they can prepare to take the consequences. The same eyesthat observe them by day will also be watching them by night. WE DO NOT PROMISE,WE PRODUCE. God Bless and keep you fellow loyal Holmes Countians. '

who have the information about the worldand its complexities and also the legiti-macy to speak? Can they awaken the na-tion as the Sou this beginning to beawakened?"- Condensed from an article in the SOUTH-ERN PATRIOT, October, 1%5.

of the "outsider," the "foreigner," "onedifferent fr~m us," a fear of the "foreig-ner" telling him what to do, a fear of a"conspiracy" from those" outside forces."

"What do you do when the whole countryhas a sickness?" Parris asks. "How doyou break through then? Are they the people

As to what people and organizations mthe civil rights movement can do aboutall this, Parris notes that even critics oftheir participation in the peace movementconcede the right of an individual in themovement to join peace groups. It is in-volvement of civil rights organizations thatthey question.

But this objection tends to silence theindividual too, Parris says, because Ameri-can society' identifies people primarily aspart of a category.

As for the whole freedom movement,Parris says the relevant question is notwhether this movement should join the peacemovement; this is not a possibility.

"Rather the question we must ask our-selVes is what kind of a movement are wegoing to be," he says. "Are we going toaddress ourselves to the broader prob-'lems of society? Can we build a widerbase for a movement in this country; andactually can the freedom movement as ithas existed survive and achieve its goalsunless it does this?

One thing is sure, Parris says. There isa sickness in this country in its view of theworld. And it is possible that those whohave been part of the agonies of the Southin recent years can understand it betterthan some others.

The White Southerner, like the nationtoday in regard to the world, he points out,has been twisted and perverted by its fear

CONVERSATION WITH

BOB PARRIS

The basic question regarding the re-lationship of civil rights and peace, BobParris says, is not whether civil rightsorganizations should take formal positionson the war in Vietnam.

In the first place, he notes, formal reso-lutions are meaningless unless they growout of the natural direction of organiza-tions and are combined with action.

Instead, Parris thinks, the correct start-ing point is for those identified with thefreedom movement to consider the under-lying philosophy of their own movement,to decide what response this philosophy callsfor in relation to war, and what naturalcourses of action flow from this.

"Those who say people identified withcivil rights should not become involved inthe peace question," he explains, "threatenthe Negro with probable loss of what hestands to gain from the civil rights move-ment if this involvement develops."

"Certainly one of the most basic rightswe have been seeking is the right to par-ticipate fully in the life of this country,"he goes on. "Now if by participatingthat is, taking part in the discussions ofthe great issues that face the country -we threaten the right to participate, wehave to begin to wonder whether the rightis real."

In addition to the right to take a .standon the peace issue, however, civil rightsforces may also have the responsibility todo so.

At present, 'Parris notes, there is ageneral assumption that foreign policy is tobe made by the executive branch ofthegov-ernment.

"But the civil rights movement, in linewith its philosophy, puts forth a differentidea," Parris says, "We have alwayssaid people should be involved in all themajor decisions that affect them,"

"We do not want the new politics to bejust the old. People need a chance to voteon real issues. That means, among otherthings, debate on foreign policy in our elec-tion campaigns - something that doesn'treally happen anywhere in the countrynow."

One of the things that really warms your heart about Lyndon's Great Society, is theway people are permitted to borrow their future incomes in order to buy the big cars,colored refrigerators, color television, sets, fancy furniture, expensive vacations, electric

- toothbrushes and high fashion jock straps that make life really worth living.This way of buying the necessities of life in the Great Society is known as "Consumer

financing." It's a way of making it possible for the Corporate Empire to sell its ownfolks (as opposed 1:0 its colonial subJects in other lands) the products for which it wouldotherwise have trouble finding a market. Why, you might ask, don't the folks with fullmembership in the Great Society have enough money, out of their earnings, to be ableto buy these tliings without borrowing what they (apd the "consumer financers") hopethey'll make in the future? Well, one reason is that not enough of these full membersearn enough money to be able to eat and sleep and have something left over. Lyndon'sBureau of Labor Statistics has said.repeatedly that it takes over $6,000 a year for a familyof four to live "adequately". This means that it takes that much to feed, clothe, shelter,etc., a family of four.

Brecht -What Is It.?

LIFE WITH LYNDON IN THE GREAT SOCIETY

Us Live Adequately

Those We Borrow to. Buy From7 •

Half ofThan

The Rich Get Richer and

The Poor Make Payments

Less

Where do the finance companies get the money that they loan to consumers who wantto guy the products of the Great Society? They borrow it from those who have alreadymade it by exploiting the labor, energies and skills of the people. Thus the workers whoproduce the products of the Great Society don't make enough money to buy back from theiremployers such products for their own use. The employers refuse to pay them enoughmoney. So the employers take the money they refuse to pay the workers, loan it to thefinance companies. The finance companies pay the employers interest on the money. Thenthey loan the money to the people who should have gotten it in wages, and they charge thepeople enough interest that there is plenty for their own profit after they have paid theemployers' interest.

Money Earns MoneyAll of this is clearly shown as a result of a finance company going broke recently in

Canada. A Canadian newspaper got hold of a list of people and organizations who hadloaned the finance company money. The money had been loaned to the finance companyat real interest rates offrom51/2%to 6 1/2%. The finance company then loaned the moneyto consumers at real interest rates of from 10.9 % on up. It collected this high rate of

interest from the consumers, paid the 51/2% to 6 1/2% back to the people it had borrowedfrom, and had a tidy sum left over for its own stockholder.

Here are some of the American companies who had loaned the finance company money sothe finance company could then loan the money to consumers (many of them, perhaps, em-ployees of these very companies):

American Cyanamid Co., (through a subsidiary, Cyanamid of Canada, Ltd.) one of thelargest U.S. chemical companies; Borg-Warner Corp., in which Barry Goldwater's wife isa large stockholder; Campbell Soup Co.; Chrysler Corp. (through its Canadian subsidiaryChrysler Canada, Ltd,): Cheasapeake and Ohio Railway, mc.; Continental Can Co.; DowChemical Corp.; First National City Bank of New York; Minnesota Mining and Manufac-turing Co.; Moody's mvestors Service (owned by Dun & Bradstreet, Inc.): Proctor andGamble Co.; Rayonier, mc.; Shell Oil Co.; Union Carbide Corp.; Aetna Life InsuranceCo.; Travelers Insurance Co.

Less than half the families in the-Great Society have income over $6,000, accordingto Lyndon's Bureau of the Census. So, if the great proportion of Great Society familiesare to buy the nice things the Corporate Empire makes for them, they have to borrowwhat they hope to make in the future in order to pay for them. Who do they borrow from?Why, from the Corporate empire, of course.

This borrowing, naturally, costs money, which means that products bought with borrowedmoney are more expensive. We know of a family who recently bought a refrigerator anda freezer. They didn't have any cash, so they had to ~'finance" the purchase. The twopieces of equipment cost a total of $400. They "financed" the $400, agreeing to pay forthem o~er a period of 18 months. The total cost of the equipment, financed this way,was $428. In .other words, $28 was added to the price of the equipment as a penalty fornot making enough money to buy the equipmeI:1t for cash. That was $28 the family couldn'tspend to get the kids teeth fixed, 'to 'buy a new tire for the car, have the hot air ductsinsulated (to cut down on the gas heating bill during the winter), etc.

Most of the things that Americans buy are bought under various kinds of these "con-sumer financing" arrangements. The charges they have to pay the finance companiesare very high. The finance companies generally tell the borrower that the "interest"charge is 6% per year, or 7% or '8%. But that is a lie. What the finance. company call6% "interest," is really 10.9% interest, if the money is borrowed for only one year.If it is borrowed for longer' than' that, the real interest rate the borrower pays goesmuch higher.

Monev Comes From

The director, john Hancock, boasts thatthis play by Brecht and Lion Feuchtwangeris a "pre-communist" play. Thus what?Thus no politics, of course, so we don'thave to fear that our senses will be dis-turbed. We can be sure that the directorand company will not tamper with the realmeaning of the play in any political manner.

There must still be great anxiety amongtheater people that Brecht may one day beexposed as a Communist and banned. Fearnot. Nothing radical in the play will appear •in production. And if at all possible the .emphasis of performance will be on psy-chological relationships developed on per-sonal grounds" never social. The techniqueand paraphernalia will be uppermost inyo,ur mind' as you leave the theater think-ing -- "Ah, Brecht, just like Shakespeare-- boring -- once a year is enough."

Brecht used to be a German playwrightwho came out of the German expression-ist theater with an interesting style ofproduction designed to make complex po-litical and social ideas very clear usingsimple actions. The purpose was to makeideas essential to popular audiences. Itwould be better now to read about him.

R.G. DAVIS

Theatrical Red-Baiting

DRAMA REVIEWEDWARD IIBy Bertold BrechtDirected by john HancockSan Francisco Actors WorkshopMarines Memorial Theater

There once, was a playwright namedBrecht.

Who used to be considered important.And now?

He is a museum piece for Repertorycompanies who can use his name to drawaudiences.

It is an axiom of art that the avant-garde eventually. becomes the pap of thecommercfal world. just as the radicalideas of 20 years ago are whittled into aplank/for the Democratic Party.

EDWARD 11 is a play confusing as pre':sented and boring as done. We are toldin the notes that Edward had an "unnatural"infatuation with another man, Galveston,and thus went to war. One also learns thatParliament wanteCl to 'banish Galveston andEdward did not. But why? Moral? Immoral?Reasons? Why to war?

Brecht wanted -- or used to want (ac-cording to the books) his audience tothink. We are now bored by slavish ad-herence to the "Brechtian style", whichmeans a revolving stage, a short cur-tain (on a wire), grey, grey and more grey(ugly greyness -- is reality!) and a disas-sociated acting style, where not more thanonce during a scene may any actor look at

another actor. They all look out towardsthe balcony, like televisiop announcersreading an idiot box. They look like they'respeaking directly to you but they ain't.

SAN FRANCISCO REGIONAL OFFICE

1316 MASONIC AVENUE MA 64577

LOS ANGELES AREA REGIONAL OFFIC~6605 HOLLYWOOD BLVD. ROOM 307 4626873

COLLEGE OF MARIN: 32 Williams St., San Rafael, 453-8241EAST BAY: 5929 Grove St., Oakland, 655-9545LONG BEACH: P.O. Box 1170, 430-6387LONG BEACH STATE COLLEGE: 604 Henderson, 436-6689MARIN:Box 210, Mill Valley, 332-1127MID-PENINSULA: 180 University Ave., Palo Alto, 322-5521MT. DIABLO: 1658 Foothill, Lafayette, 935-3061SACRAMENTO: 3015 Franklin Blvd., 457-5123SAN DIEGO: 7053 University Ave., La Mesa, 465-5310SAN FRANCISCO: 1316 Masonic Ave., 626-4577S.F. STATE COLLEGE: 1600 Holloway, 584-5215SAN JOSE STATE: 603 North 16th St., 293-4684SANTA BARBARA: 734 Elkus Walk, Apt. 204, 968-6762SANTA CLARA VALLEY: 269 Pamela Ave., Apt. 8, San Jose, 258-6029STANFORD: Box 2484, Stanford, 327-8879STOCKTON: Anderson Y Center, Univ. of the Pacific, 462-7314UNIVERSITY OF S.F.: 425A Phelan Hall, 387-2100

The Lenders In the TempleMany of the organizations which loaned the finance company money are not generally

thought of as the kind of completely amoral, profit-hungry outfits mentioned above.For example, the American Lutheran Church loaned the finance company $500,000; theAmerican Missionary Association loaned the finance company $170,000; the Congrega-tional Christian Churches of the U,S, loaned the finance company $42,000: the AnnuityFund of Congregational Ministers lqaned the finance company $170,000. We wonder howmany members of these churches scrimped themselves to make a "contribution to theirGod," and then had to borrow the money back to make ends meet, from this loanshark .finance company (the Canadian company operated in many parts of the U,S. so this isentirely possible.) r .

Other highly respectable, public-service type organizations were on the list: TheRegents of the University of Minnesota, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania,the Ford Foundation (which is exempt from federal taxation because its "general purposeis to advance humane welfare" with its $3 billion).

The M0" e V WeB 0 r r 0 u· Sh 0 III d Be 0 II r SThe example we use here happens to be a Canadian finance company, with rather

wide-spread U,S. operations. However, this Canadian company is typical of all financecompanies in this country. So, the next time you have to borrow from a loan-shark tomake ends ~eet, you can figure that you may be in effect, borrowing the money your em-ployer should have paid you, or the money you paid for your child's college tuition, or.the money you contributed to your church.

There's been some publicity -lately about an investigation of finance companies that'sbeing conducted by a congressional committee. The committee, it seems, is worriedthat "criminal elements" may have gotten control of some of the finance companies.We can assure the committee that they're right, in any sensible use of the term "crim-inal." '

The trouble is that we don't usually think of corporation executives, and church anduniversity trustees as criminals.

More's the pity, perhaps, JACK MINNIS

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