How NOT lo Get
Job Opportunities
ji:ssi: m ins
Vic» point, WRAL-TV
The prominent Negro banker of
Durham, John Wheeler, voiced an in¬
telligent observation the other day
when he commented that Negroes
should be given more opportunities
for industrial training. He said, and we
suspect with accuracy, that a "vicious
cycle" is created in this state when
Negroes arc denied training because,
as he put it, "there is no job oppor¬
tunity in the fields for which they
train.”
Certainly we are in sympathy with
Mr. Wheeler’s hope that citizens of his
race can become better trained for a
wider variety of jobs. Where we take
exception with him is in his determined
support of federal legislation to require
employers to hire job applicants
whether or not the applicants arc suit¬
able to the purposes of the employer.
Mr. Wheeler, being a Negro, per¬
haps is understandably opposed to
segregation in any form. Yet he prac¬
tices it in his own banking institution
which is operated entirely by Negroes
and, incidentally, is respected by all
other banks and bankers in the state.
It is, therefore, a model which should
be studied by all Negroes in a position
to invest their own resources and
abilities in businesses which would, in
turn, offer ever-widening opportunities
to citizens of their own race.
There is still another example in
Durham of what can be accomplished
by the Negro race. An insurance com¬
pany, founded by a Negro barber and
made great by the late
С.
C. Spauld¬
ing, has recorded a remarkable growth
in financial strength and in service to
its policyholders. It is not cynical to ob¬
serve that this, too. is a segregated in¬
stitution. operated entirely by Negroes.
Rather, it seems to us, this exemplifies
a real opportunity open to Negroes of
our state.
These observations arc made, not
in the interest of segregation, but in
the belief that there is much that can
be done to enhance the opportunities
of Negro citizens of North Carolina
without creating turmoil and bitterness.
Social changes arc coming in the South,
but in the meantime we are inclined
to believe that Negroes may be over¬
looking many opportunities open to
them.
The North Carolina Advisory Com¬
mittee on Civil Rights has made many
statements alleging mistreatment of
Negroes in our state. More recently, the
committee’s attention has been focused
on job opportunities, with inferences
that employers arc denying Negroes
their due consideration.
An examination of the committee’s
membership discloses the names of
several white lawyers, a white banker,
and several other businessmen. A
casual check of these individuals shows
that not one has a Negro employee in
a responsible position. To say the least,
members of the committee arc not
practicing what they preach.
The same is true of newspapers
which, with a substantial degree of
sanctimony, have endorsed the expres¬
sions and findings of the committee
with respect to job opportunities for
Negroes. Yet. we know of no major
newspaper in the state which practices
the integration which it preaches.
The matter seems clearly to be one
of misplaced emphasis. People who
talk and advocate integration at every
turn arc not necessarily the best friends
of the Negro race. And. to be candid
about it, we doubt that those who ad¬
vocate government force in the matter
of employment are performing any real
service to anybody, especially the
Negro.
The Negro in our modem society
is capable of being a competitive force
that all businessmen will acknowledge
and respect. The bank and insurance
company at Durham arc durable proof
of this, and there arc countless other
examples, as well, around the state. But
there has not been enough effort in this
direction, and until the Negro leader¬
ship acknowledges this shortcoming,
job opportunities will continue to be
lost.
In a sense, Negroes arc at present
passing up an opportunity to demon¬
strate their abilities and potential. They
cannot achieve nearly so easily by force
what they otherwise can obtain by
simply proving their contention that
they are ready to measure up to the
tests of a competitive society.
As we say, for the purposes of
these comments, we advocate
neither segregation nor integra¬
tion. We are simply saying that the
Negro who devotes most of his
energies and enthusiasm to argu¬
ment, litigation and legislation re¬
garding social questions is passing
up a golden opportunity to move
ahead in a competitive society.
And this may be one of the big mis¬
takes of our generation.
Jnst A Moment, Please
While the Operator Changes Reels
Jim: "Can't understand why you
failed in business."
Harry: "Too much advertising."
Jim: “What do you mean, too much
advertising? You never did any.”
Harry: "No, but my competitors
did.”
Conceit is a funny disease. It makes
everyone sick except the one who has
it.
Two goats were grazing on a hill¬
side near the Paramount Studios in
Hollywood. One discovered a can of
movie film and promptly ate it. "How
was it?” asked his companion.
"To be absolutely truthful,” the
other replied, "I liked the book much
better."
There’s a forthright, plain-speaking,
straight-from-thc-shouldcr sort of in¬
dividual who lives in a West Texas
town. His minister, out for a drive
one Sunday afternoon, saw him mow¬
ing his lawn and rebuked him. The
man replied, "This is recreation, not
work, to me. Everyone has some sort
of Sunday recreation. Some mow their
lawns. Others get in their cars and
drive around to snoop on their neigh¬
bors.”
"Well, Brother Brown, 1 must be
going," said the preacher.
26
THE STATE, NOVEMBER 11. 1961
