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From The Militant, Vol. 12 No. 28, 12 July 1948, p. 6.
ranscribed & marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for the Encyclopaedia of Trotskyism On-Line (ETOL).
There was one resolution adopted by last month’s national convention of the NAACP in Kansas City that got practically no publicity in the Negro press ana yet may turn put to be the most important of all the decisions made by that gathering. This particular resolution dealt with the problem of fighting military Jim Crow.
The text of the resolutions adopted by the convention has not yet been released by the NAACP, so we can only give the gist of the above resolution. It points out that Negro Americans are determined to put an end to Jim Crow segregation in the armed forces. The resolution then places the NAACP on record for the calling of a conference, with invitations to be sent to all national and local Negro and inter-racial organizations in the country, urging them to send delegates for the purpose of democratically discussing and working out a program of action to attain the goal of equality in the armed forces. The officials of the NAACP are instructed by the resolution to make the necessary arrangements and to send out the invitations.
We do not know what the leaders of the NAACP propose to do about this resolution, nor when they will begin to put it into action. But it certainly presents the opportunity to strike a great blow against Jim Crow, and to expand the prestige of the NAACP at the same time.
What a wonderful thing it would be if representatives of the hundreds of Negro organizations in all parts of the country would get together in such a conference, work out a common program for fighting military Jim Crow and then swing into action to carry it out! How inspiring such a conference would be to the whole Negro people! How effective it would be in winning the support and assistance of organized labor! How it would frighten the brass hats and Jim Crow politicians!
There have been various proposals o» how to eliminate segregation in the armed forces. Randolph has made one proposal; other Negro leaders have made others; the Socialist Workers Party and The Militant have advocated a program of mass action and nation-wide demonstrations. What better way is there for reaching a decision than by a democratic conference of the representatives of the Negro people themselves? What better way is there for uniting the Negro masses in action to achieve a goal for which they all are striving?
In making the decision to hold sueh a conference, the delegates to the NAACP convention took a very wise step, and they deserve the gratitude of all fighters for Negro equality. But of course their decision represents only a beginning. As we have seen so many times in the trade union movement, it is not enough to pass a good resolution; it is also necessary to carry it out – fully and in the spirit in which it was intended. Future developments depend not only on the leaders of the NAACP but, above all, on the Negro people and their many organizations.
In this sense, the next big step is for NAACP branches and all other Negro organizations to start thinking and talking about the proposed conference, to start working out plans to make it a success. The Negro press ought to give this question publicity right now, and the NAACP leaders should be informed about the amount of enthusiasm and support which the convention resolution arouses not only in the NAACP branches, but in the Negro community as a whole. If the support is great enough, the convention resolution can have far-reaching consequences in the struggle to smash the Jim Crow system.
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