ACTIVITIES AMONG NEGROES
Appearing in a current issue of The Enterprise, a Negro weekly published in Seattle, was a news item from the Associated Negro Press which stated:
"WALHALIA, S. C., Nov. 5, Mrs. Emma Green will receive the sum of two thousand dollars from Oconee county for the lynching of her husband here some months ago, according to a directed verdict rendered in civil court here Tuesday afternoon.
"The payment is in keeping with a South Carolina law, which provides such compensation when the victim of a mob is proven innocent of the crime which caused his lynching. Attorneys for the county attempted to prove that Green was guilty of the crime, but the attorney for the plaintiff off-set their arguments and convinced the court that he was the innocent victim of angry white men and Judge Minn rendered his decision in favor of Green's widow."
Accord to a communication received from Rev. Robert Eleazer, educational director Commission on Inter-racial Cooperation with headquarters in Atlanta, the following is quoted.
"ATLANTA, Ga., Nov, 5. Twenty-one women prominent, in the religious, educational and social life of the South, met in this city Saturday, and broadcast to the world a repudiation of lynching as a defense of womanhood and called upon America to make an end of this crime which discredits our civilization and our religions around the globe.
"Distressed by the recent upsurge of lynchings, and noting that people still condone such crimes on the grounds that they are necessary to the protection of womanhood, we a group of white women representing eight southern states, desire publicly to repudiate and condemn such defense of lynching, and to put ourselves definitely on record as opposed to this crime in every form and under all circumstances.
“We are convinced that lynching is not a defense of womanhood or of anything else," said the women in their statement, "but rather a menace to private and public safety and a deadly blow at our most sacred institutions." Lynching according to the group "is not alone the crime of ignorance and irresponsible mobs, but every citizen who condones it, even by his silence must accept a share of its guilt."
The following are the name of the women constituting this committee: Mrs. Una Roberts Lawrence, St.. Louis, Mo.; Mrs. J. Morgan Stevens, and Miss M. M. Lackey, Jackson Miss.; Mrs. Ernest Moore, Clarksdale, Miss.; Mrs. W. C. Winsborough, Shreveport, La.; Mrs. J. H. McCoy, Athens, Ala.; Mrs. Maud Henderson, Birmingham, Ala; Mrs. W. A. Newell, Greensboro, N.C.; Miss Gertrude Well; Goldsboro, N. C; Miss Louise Young, Nashville, Tenn.; Mrs. R. L. Harris and Mrs. G. V. Patterson, Knoxville, Tenn.; Miss Hillie Snow Ethridge, {Willie} Macon, Ga.; Mrs. W. Srank Smith, Mrs. W. T. Martin, and Mrs. Elizabeth Head, Atlanta; Mrs. L. H. Jennings, Columbia, S. C.; Mrs. P. O. Arrowsmith, Kingstree, S. C; Mrs. W. A. Turner, Newman, Ga.; Mrs. Abigail Curlee, and Mrs. Jessie Danial Ames. Decatur, Ga. Mrs. Ames, who is a director of the woman's work department of the Inter-racial Commission, presided at the meeting, The resolution was unanimously adopted and given to the public.
NEGRO ARTIST PRAISED
Many southern white people do not approve of lynching, and are doing all they can to convince the other member of their group living the south that Negro are human beings, and should be so considered. They never lose an opportunity to bring before the public any notable recognition given to Negros, especially if they are from the south. This statement is borne out by a news item appearing in the current issue of "Opportunity" a magazine' published by the National Urban League, under the title "Art and Artists.”
"Aaron Douglass recently completed the historical mural decoration for the new library at Fisk university. Douglas, who has contributed frequently to Opportunity designed and executed the mural decorations for the College Inn room of the new Sherman House (Hotel) in Chicago, Ill. It was the editor of the Crisis magazine, Dr. W. E. Dubois, who first brought Douglass before the public, and kept him and his work constantly before the public until others finally recognized his artistic ability.
ART EXHIBIT
The exhibit of work by Negro painters now being held in the Oakland Art galleries in the Municipal Auditorium, has been made possible by the activities of the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People who have been given the courtesy, through the Harmon Foundation, and the Commission of Race-Relations Federal Council of Churches to exhibit this art in Oakland. The attendance has grown daily. Especially gratifying has been the large number of art critics and students who have sent letters of appreciation.
Some of the paintings referred to in these letters can be found by the following numbers. D. Norman Tillman’s “Mother Kilvans" is No. 59. No’s 70-l-2-3, 53-4-5-6 and "The Spirit of Transportation" required several years to produce. His home address is 6600 South Parkway, Chicago, Ill. For twenty years Ganaway acted as waiter and butler, all the time teaching himself about industrial and commercial photography. After his picture won the Wanamaker prize in 1925, he became staff photographer for the "Bee" which is the only Negro paper to put out a four-page rotogravure section. His pictures in the exhibit are "The Spirit of Chicago" "The Gardener's Cart" "The Spirit of Transportation," and "In Tow on Chicago River." "The Spirit of Transportation," which won the Wanamaker prize took two years to photograph. It is a picture of the two sections of the Century Limited and the atmospheric conditions had to be perfect. In February, 1918, just as Ganaway was snapping the picture he was arrested by a detective for carrying a forbidden camera. He was able, however, to convince the man of his sincerity and to depart.
The exhibit will be continued until November 25. It is free, go and see it, as it will give you a better understanding of the work for the uplift of the Negro being sponsored through the Harmon Foundation, the N. A. A. C. P. and Federal Council of Churches.
