City of Chicago: Mayor's Committee on Race Relations

Journal of Negro Education

City of Chicago: Mayor's Committee on Race RelationsAuthor(s): Robert C. WeaverSource: The Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Autumn, 1944), pp. 560-562Published by: Journal of Negro EducationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2292513 .

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560 THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO EDUCATION

result of study and planning. They began by adopting a philosophy of education which, to them, was sound and using this philosophy as a founda- tion, set up definite objectives. The scope of the curriculum is determined by the four broad areas which are ex- plored. Subject matter is employed as a- means of giving breadth of under- standing to the scenes observed in the moving pictures and also as a means of helping students solve such prob- lems as they may encounter in working out various projects as they relate to a particular bloc.

The method of curriculum organiza- tion, already described, makes for great flexibility and provides opportunity for campus and community projects which aid in the achievement of established goals. Grade differen- tiation has been eliminated and students are moved from one division to another on the basis of the results of intelligence and achievement tests.

The program at Fessenden is now in its third year and the next step might well be the working out of a scheme of evaluation. One approach would be to make a follow-up study of some of the graduates who com- pleted their work prior to the inau-

guration of the new program and make a similar study of those who have been recently graduated. Such a study should provide one means of judging the worthwhileness of the institution's program and should also be suggestive of ways and means of strengthening it.

Another approach might be the making of a thorough survey of the community in which the school is lo- cated, for the purpose of studying, among other things, health conditions, the employment situation, home, farm, church, and recreational life of the Negro population. These data, when compared with conditions a decade ago, should yield a fair measure of the effectiveness of the institution's community life program.

As I see it, the curriculum at Fessen- den Academy is built around prob- lems which have real significance for the students, and they, evidently, can see a functional relationship between their school experiences and real life experiences. In a set-up like this, one. can reasonably surmise that learning is effective and that students look upon such learning as a privilege in- stead of a duty..

Section D: City of Chicago: Mayor's Committee on Race Relations ROBERT C. WEAVER

C HICAGO'S COMMITTEE ON RACE RE- LATIONS was appointed by Mayor

Edward J. Kelly in July of 1943. On July 28, the first meeting of the Com- mittee was held and Edwin R. Em- bree was unanimously elected Chair- man.

An Executive Director was appointed shortly thereafter and offices were opened in the Metropolitan Building at 134 North La Salle Street. Between July and December of 1943 the expenses of the Committee were borne by the Mayor's contingent fund, but with the beginning of the new year,

the City Council appropriated the sum of $25,000 for the 'activities of the Committee for the year 1944.

GOAL AND FUNCTION

The Committee by formal vote has defined its goal and function as follows: The goal of the Mayor's Committee on Race Relations is justice and equality of opportunity and treatment for all the people of Chicago regardless of race, creed, or color.

The Committee recognizes responsibility for much more than the expression of an



CURRENT TRENDS AND EVENTS OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE 561

ideal. We regard our unique function as working with -city officials and civic groups to bring practical improvements in basic conditions that will represent definite steps toward our goal.

The maj or concern of the Committee is with the large Negro population and the improvement of Negro-white relations. But we shall foster improvements in the conditions and interrelations of all peoples, realizing that no racial or religious group is safe where a pattern of discrimination exists.

PROCEDURE In its practical procedures the Com-

mittee's activity follows four. main phases:

1. Uncovering the sources of racial tension in Chicago. (The Committee gathers information through public hearings and by utilizing information as- sembled by existing agencies and individuals. We do not engage in extensive, original research.)

2. Deciding upon the most effective programs for relieving tensions and for removing their causes.

3. Making recommendations to the Mayor and cooperating with city officials in carrying them out. (The Committee, of course, does not undertake to perform the functions of any city department -such as police, park super- vision, schools-but it cooperates with these departments in de- veloping policies and practices on matters affecting interracial relations.)

4. Working with civic leaders and community organizations in sup- port of those activities which serve our common goal of estab- lishing equal justice and opportunity for all without discrimination. (The Committee does not take the place of any of the existing civic agencies. Promoting racial harmony is a big enough job to require all the resources that can- be employed in it and we hope for the continuation and enlarge-

ment of the constructive work of the existing social agencies. We do not undertake service functions to individuals or groups, but refer inquiries or complaints to the appropriate service agen- cy.)

PROGRAM Effective planning and action in

four major fields as basic to the achievement of the Committee's goal.

1. Employment: Equal opportunity for employment is the prerequi- site of any peaceful integration of the Negro into the main stream of American society. In the period of full economic activity, this is not a great problem, but in order to hold the present economic gains, plans must be made now to foster the training and upgrading of work- ers without regard for race, creed, or color.

The Subcommittee on Employ- ment, under the leadership of James S. Knowlson, and having in its membership some of the leading Chicago industrialists, is mobilizing the successful experi- ence of large employers of Ne- groes for this purpose.

A part of the solution of this problem lies in the full integration of Negroes into all phases of organized labor, and under the guidance of the labor leaders on the Committee-Willard S. Townsend of the CIO and Anton Johannsen of the AFL, we are working for this objective.

2. Housing: One of the most serious sources of racial tension in Chi- cago is in the extreme overcrowd- ing on the South Side. All evi- dence which has been presented to the Committee to date indicates the urgent need for both public and private housing and for a correction of the restrictive practices which have contrib- uted so directly to the housing problem. Under the guidance of the Subcommittee on Housing,



562 THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO EDUCATION

plans will be formulated for the improvement of the living conditions of Chicago's Negro population.

3. Schools and other City Services: As we expect the colored population of Chicago to assume its obligations as citizens and to bear its share of the responsibility for racial harmony we must see that the same educa- tional opportunities are available for Negroes as for other residents of the community. This is equally true of the other public services, especially health, recreation, and welfare.

4. Police Protection and Civil Rights: The Police Commissioner and the officers and men of the Police Department are working in the closest cooperation with the Mayor's Committee in the handling of incidents which threaten the order of the community, as well as in the exercise of those practices designed to avoid any potential disturbances. Likewise the officials of the Park District are giving their thought- ful attention'to the promotion of interracial cooperation.

The only distinction between the im- mediate and ultimate objectives of the Mayor's Committee is one of de- gree of achievement. The measures that need to be taken to relieve tensions and avoid disturbances now are on the main road to the ultimate solution of this problem in full functioning democracy.

The Committee recognizes that discrimination and prejudice are symp- toms of fundamental attitudes. It will foster, through all the means of popu- lar education, the creation of under- standing not only of the evils of prejudice and discrimination, but of the positive benefits to the city as a whole of hearty cooperation among all the people.

MEMBERS OF MAYOR'S COMMITTEE ON RACE RELATIONS

Edwin R. Embree, Chairman, President of the Julius Rosenwald Fund

Mrs. Ruth Moore Smith, Secretary, Execu- tive Secretary of the South Parkway Y.W.C.A.

Charles S. Johnson, Consultant, Director of Social Science Institute, Fisk University

Morton Bodfish, Executive Vice-President, United Savings and Loan League

Preston Bradley, Pastor, Peoples Church of Chicago

Anton Johannsen, Vice-President, Chicago Federation of Labor

James S. Knowlson, President, Stewart- Warner Corporation

Julian H. Lewis, Associate Professor of Pathology, University of Chicago

Stuyvesant Peabody, President, Peabody Coal Company

Robert R. Taylor, Chairman, Chicago Housing Authority

I

Willard S. Townsend, International Presi- dent, United Transport Service, Employ- ees of America (CIO)

Robert C. Weaver-Executive Director Mrs. Eleanor Wright-Assistant Director Harry J.- Walker-Assistant Director

Section E: The American Council on Race Relations EDWIN R. EMBREE

A DECISION TO ORGANIZE THE AMERI- CAN COUNCIL ON RACE RELATIONS

was consummated Monday, May 8, 1944. This decision was reached at a week-end conference attended by the following persons:

*Will W. Alexander, Vice-President, Julius Rosenwald Fund, Chicago

*Homer S. Brown, attorney, member Penn- sylvania House of Representatives

* Member Executive Committee.



Documents

City of Chicago: Mayor's Committee on Race Relations