WE casas ano Whricar nzcroes \ by W.B.Beby Bois Schendes Jaudhi wes born 19 months after ay birth. Js a schcolbey in s axel tove. in the Horthecstern pert of the United States, I knew litile of EAM) TN aMbocie Adbit eda. roe ccs Aemicus Link viion tousd oe 4a, taase skin oo-or. (thet wie inportent in Auerica snd even in my tovn, elthough little wes 901d ebout it. cut 1 vas conscious of being the only brovn fece in my school fend sithough my dark femiiy hed lved in this valley for tvo hundred yeere or @ Gores eh more, I wes esrly voneetous of © status different fron that of my school nétes. ja 1 grew uk thpre yeeued to be no fit re for we in the place of my birth cid e% seventecn, 1 vent South where formerly colored people had been slaves, ao thet 1 could be trained to work anong then. There et Fisk University 4 fires becen @ evare of @ world of colores folk snd 1 lesrned not only of the condition of /merican Negroes but began to reed of Chine end india. sud to meke /frica the espacial object of my study. 1 published my firet book in 1696 while Gendht wre in south Africa end my subject we the Afrigas, slave ‘trade. ve did uot at the time have mich direct nevs fron /frice in the nevepepere Dut 1 didheve severe) bleck students from South Africa end begen to eeuse the ‘tragedy of that avful lend . It vas not until efter the Tirst Vorld ver thet 1 cere to komo? Gacdhi ‘2 work for Africa end the orld. I ves toriby the proble» of peace, /# a yoth I wes certein that freedom for the golored peoples of the earth vould cone only by var. By doing to white Burove end Anerica what they hed done to bleck Africa end colored Aeie. Thie eeeued the natural conclusion fro: the the fairy tales oslled history on which 1 hed bees nourishéd, zhen in the leet decades of the 19th century as 1 case to men- hood, I cought the vision of world peace end signed the pledge never to take pert an ver. with the /irst vorld ver care ny firet knoviedge of Gendhi. I cane to know Aesjpet iat end Hedeme NX eida, John Neynes Holmes wes one of ay co-workers in the ocietion for the sdvencenent of Jolored Yeople rnd he wee e friend end ar netione / edmirer of Gendhi. indeed the "Lolored People" referred to in cur neve ves not origineliy confined to Americs. I reweuber the discussion we hed on inviting Gen ahi to viast Anerion snd yy ve vero forved to conclude that this le. ves not ctv | Aiiged efiough to raceive-hém es an honored eueet. L2-4-3 2 4m 1929, @8 the Sepression loomed 1 eked Grudhi for a nesacge to /cer ich 1 published in the crisis. He acid: "let not the 12 million Negroes be sshaned of the fact thet they are the grandchildren of sleves, There ie dishonor in being slave-cvners. iut let ue net think of honor oF dishonor in connecticn vith the past, Let ue realize thet the future is with those who vould be pure, truthful end loving, Tor ea the old wise sen have seid: Teuth ever is, untruth never wae, Love #lone binds and Truth rnd Love accrue enly to the truly humble This wes written cn hey day, 1929, "hrough viet ohentecsegoria of hurt ud 5vi1 the world has peaced since then ! ve /sericon segroes have reeled ond staggered fron side to aide end forverd exd beck « in the First vorid ver, ve Joined vith /merican capitel to keep Gerusry end Itely from sharing the spoils of colonial imperielion. in the Devression we sank beneath the burden of rover- ty, Ignorauce aud Lisease due to discrimnation, unexploysent ard crime. in the jecond orld Var, ve agein joined Yestern capital egainst vascian end failed to realize hov the Soviet Union dm epcrificed her blood end savings to save the world. Bat we @id realize hoy out of ver began to arise # nev colored vorld free from the control of Surope end /merice. ve began too to fealize the role of Gendhi ocd to evalunte hie vork as a guide for the black people of the United States. Ae on integrei pert of this country 8 vorkere, covsuzere end crestors of its culture ve cold not 100% forverd to phyaice) seperetion excert as @ change of néstere. ut whet of sume Gondhi's progres of Yeece and Non-viclence? oudy An the last year We Asericen iegroes begin to eee the possibility of this progran being ay/plied to the Negro problesa in the United states! rersons lly Ifwle pussled. /tter the vorid Depression, 1 sensed recurring contredicticn, a yew candhite Non-Violence gsin freedom for India, only to be followed by Violence in il the vorld, I realized thet the vaunted "fundred yeors of reace” from yaterloo to the Battle cf the Harve, vee not Peace at ell but var of Surove en North Arerica on Mrica end Asie vith only troubled bite of peace betveen ‘the coloniel conquerers, I sew sritein, France, Selgium end Yorth fnerice ‘trying to continue to force the vorld to serve then by monopoly of ec, ‘technique end machines becked by physicel force which hes nov culineted by ‘the use of atomic pover. “uly the possession of this pover by the Soviet Unionvary 2 3 prevents the restoration of eoloniel irperislism of the vest over /eia end Af rica under the leadership of Dulles end Sden. rerhspe in thie extracrdinary in- pease the teachings of Mahstoe Gendhi may have a chence to prevail in the vor vorld. seoenty in the forver slave territory of the United states throvs & caricus light on this possibility. in vontgomery, /lebene,m the forser capitol of the Confederate States which fought four years to eke America e slave steve, the war black workers lest year refused longer to use the public busses on vhich their seats hed long been segregated fron th engers peying the srse fare. In eddition to seperation, there wee abuse end ingult by the white conductors ‘mia custom bed continued sinee-endneipetion, Then lest yesr a tired colored sconstress got tired of insult end refused to give her sert toa white ren. “The bisok vorkers led by young, educated ministers degen 8 strike vhich stoprt ‘the discrimination, aroased the state end nation end presented an unbending front of non-violence to the surderous mob vhich hitherto has ruled the South the occurrence wee extracrdinery. it yes not besed on any first-he 4 knovledge of Gandhi end his work. “beri lesders like,Fing nev of non-resistence in éndi yemy of the educated teachers and professional men hed heard of Candhis, “xt ‘the rise acd spreed of thie mover ent wa due to the truth of ite underlying prineifler «nd not to direct teaching or propege da. in this aspect it is & most interesting proof of the truth of the cendhi philosophy. the American Negro is not yet fret is etill discriminated ge inst, oppressed end exploited. The recent court decisions in his fevor are excellent but ere as yet only partially enforced. It mey well be that enforce nent of thees lave end real human equality end britherhocd in the United tates will comeonly under the lesdership of Mohs.des Gandhi