Rights in the U.S.
VICTORIES BEST .DESCRIBED AS "HOLLOW"
By Evelyn Sell
The loud publicity in the American capitalist press about "gains" in civil rights in the United States concern certain victories that can best be described as "hollow," Two good examples are the direc-'~ tive of the Defense Department curtailing civilian discrimination against Negro servicemen and ratification of the twenty-fourth amend~' ment to the U.S.Constitution,
Last summer the New York Times [uly ev, 1963] carried a front-— page story headlined "Pentagon Fights Bias Near Bases," The Presi~ | dent's Committee on Equal Opportunity in the Armed Forces had reported many complaints of discrimination against colored servicemen, and the Defense Department was requested to do something about the matter,
"The Pentagon authorized military commanders today to designate as off limits to servicemen any areas in the vicinity of mie stary bases that practice 'relentless discrimination! against Negroes, t the Times! article.
said
"A directive issued by Secretary of Defense Robert S, McNamara
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. Said that commanders were responsible for opposing discrimination affecting their men not only on bases but talso in nearby communities where they may live or gather in off-duty hours,.! ...
"The directive also called for the military departments to institute. in each service ta system for regularly reporting, monitoring and monsuring progress in achieving equal opportunity on and off~base.'. . .
"As indicated by Mr. McNamara in his memorandum to the President, recommendations for placing certain areas off limits would be made by military commanders only after they had failed 'in their best efforts with community leaders,!"
"Unexpected Difficulties"
The antibias order was hailed as a significant victory for civil rights by the administration, which was courting Negro votes, South= ern congressmen, however, were incensed over the seotion giving base commanders power to declare Segregated businesses off-limits for mili-~tary personnel, ... Months of silence followed the July announcement. In Ootober the U,S.Civil Rights Commission reported that Negro servicemen had great difficulty in finding decent housing for their families near military bases, Segregated housing patterns near the military installations forced Negro servicemen to house their families in slums or to leave them behind, —
"Evidence of housing discrimination against servicemen has been reported," noted the commission, ". . . from Alabama, Colorado,. Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont and Virginia. v Blame was laid on the defense Department for failing to implement a presidential executive order banning discrimination in federally aided housing,
What happened to the Defense Department fight against bias? Well, we learn now that the July directives were never put into effeot, The policy was supposed to begin September 1 when special regulations and instruction manuals were to be distributed to military personnel, The Defense Department, however, has found "unexpected difficulties" in preparing these manuals.
The Poll Tax Amendment
The twenty-fourth amendment to the U.S.Constitution, abolishing poll taxes in federal elections was finally ratified January 23, Since the end of the Civil War, the poll tax was used as a device to keep Southern Negroes from exercising their constitutional right to vote. Because of their poverty, Negroes found it impossible to sorape up the money required for the special taxes that had to be paid before they could vote,
Many civil-rights fighters urged the federal government to
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abolish such. an obviously discriminatory tax. An antipoll tax bill has becn introduced in every session a Congress | since 1949. Finally, the bill passed, an ” The twenty-fourth amendment is virtually. meaningless in the pre-# sent situation, Only five states still had poll taxes, in the first . place, and other means are ‘being employed by the racists to keep the Negroes out of the voting booths in the South, Today's bigots use -economic pressure, special qualifications tests, physical terror and outright murder to prevent Negroes from registering and voting, The poll tax was a political corpse years before Congress finally decided to give it a formal burial,