after to rtudont of in tho -...

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AFTER DESEGREOATfON--WHAT

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To tho Negro collego rtudont of today-orpeci~lly in tho routh-

deregregaUoa ir the vidid momoat of 1U0, To grapph Mth J h n Crow

directly and permonally ir real ax~am.nt . r : A Mat likoly it would

involve fachg polico, court-trial mdjril. It might alro lnaludo W g

at the dirapproval of r cautiour Dour or an ultra-conrorvrtivo collogo

president, For once, it could b. porriblo to inrtruc$ one’r own parents,

instead of the other way around.

There are no eveningr quit. like thoro #pen5 in the rtudont

council office hammering out rttrtegy or putting together the rloganr

for tomorrow’r picket line. Sacrifice rad daring, action and the common

caure--there mako a hoady mixture for idoalirtic youth.

The dynunirm of the rtudont movement can be underrtood only

if we realise that it ir part of a revolt of all youth--Negro and White-

against r world they never -der a revolt not alone to achieve

deregregation but I ) rocial orddr conrirtant with tho high priaciplor

on which tho tio on war foundod. Youth har moved out to tako over

leaderrhip from what it parcoiver to be faltering Negro YOU&

har rurged into vanguard porition”becaure it har tho mort dorparate

need and bar been gripped by a ronre of dertiny.

The Negro rtudent kowr he ir not alono but ir fortified by rupport

of tens of millionr of white and Negro citisenr of all agor, of all C h l l O l c

of all political persurrione. Ho tr deadly reriour and fiercely determined,

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project

Orieinai In the Boston University librag P,lt:lcatioli priilixhi must be secured fntm tha Llbrar!


He i o not engaged in a lark nor ruperfictrlly thrtllod by the exeitunent

and ttWckrtt of a moment. He ir a part of a wodd-Wid. thrurt lato tha future

to abolirh calonialirm md racimn) to replac. inrtitutioarlired b n d k r p r

with freo opportunity.

Thee0 are the moodr and thoughtr of Negro rtudentr-urd many

white oner-ar 1 meot md talk whh them from Warhington to Hourton,

and h many Northern citier, too.

Many rtudentr and their eldsrr temporarily away from tho

pofiding rtruggls, pur8 b reflective moraentr to ark what will ba tho

rhape of thingr after doregrog8Uon ir aecomplirhod. Thoro youthful

partiranr of today, know that the battle of doregregation wil l not 1art

forever. Achrdly, one of itr groatost atWactitjGs h the bright promire

of triumph,

For example, lunch countor victorier h u e been artowding and

though rchool deregregatibn h r bson elow, foderrl judgor, ruch a# the

Honorrblo Skelly Wright of Loui-, and the Honorablo W. A. Bootlo

of Georgia, aro becoming 1eBr pationt with recdcitrant rchool bo8rdr

and politicirnr, Negro voter regirtration ir on a b tho uprwing. At loart

in the urban South, public opinion, on the whole, ir beginning to rcoopt

the inevitability of compliance with “tho law of fho land” ar determined

by tho United Stater Supreme Court, Throughout tho nation the trmd

toward equality ir incrsaringly favorablo. And d m o r t everywhere in

the world the tide8 roll forward agrlnrt colonWirm m d racirm.

Accordingly, rtudentr who %ow marr their rit-iar, kneelbinr

‘(churchar), rtand-inr (thtatrer) and w8de-br (bsrahor and rdwg poolr)


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Original In the Boston University llbraq Pat:icatioii prir,isshi must be secured fnm tba Llbrarr


are confidant that at l ear t the main cunpaignr in the derogreg.tioa

wil l be won before the end of the current tidc.de,

And 10, many bright young mon and wornon, ha thoir quht

momenta, are amking thmnrdvor about Aifo r f tor ~ol logo--orpo~hIAy

after tho big exciting hand-to-hand rtrugglo with J h Crow ir doao.

Almort all of them realiso that tho now frontier will bo %atogration" &f

rather than "deiegreg8tfont~ and thio m a r qdto a difforenco, Tho

latter meam the removal of h g r l and curtomary barriorr that h v o

reparatod individwlr and groupr, Thoro aro mortly turgiblo and oxtonnrl

ouch 88 law8 mxd "For Wbito Only" rignr, In a word, daregrogation io

the opening up of publia facilitier urd rorvicor to ovoryoae.

A

On the other hand, integrrtion ir much i.mr8 rubtle and Internal,

for it Lnvolvor attituder: the mutual acceptmce of individwlr and groupr.

Deregrsgation usuaUy precepdr integration, tho former making tho latter

porsible. But thir ir not automatic. Oaco tho Arwr betwoan thun hrvo

been rtruck down, both Negroer and Whiter will rtill m o d to w b firiondr

acroso the invisible, though nonethderr real, prychological color lino.

Such a challenge will be more difficult and 1.08 gloriour.

Many Negro rtudentr a r o &waro, at hart in 8 p r e l h n b t y

faohion of the rhiftr that they themaaver will b v o to make In 8 roeioty

that will be unregregated m d yot not really htograted. However, tho

quertion ramahr: W U Negroor generally find it 8a arry to givo up

their own prezltdicas a o i t now ir to demand their t ightr of othorr?

W i l l the mame forthrightnerr be rrhoftn in admitting whitor to Negro


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0riP;inal In the B o s t o n U n i v e r s i t y Llbraq Pi1t:lcatio;r pr;i,iachl must be secured from tho LlbrRrl


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clubr, fraternitier and other voluntary arrociatiom athat i 8 now boing

shown in prerrkrg for admittance to rertaurantd and thwtror.

Moreover, after the fight ha8 rucceodod in unlocking tho door8 to rightr

and opportunitler, there will ba the vory real obligation to "deliver the

good5;' that ir, to behave wall and perform excellently.

A8 the color dffferenttrl fader, 80 wUl tho rachl point of view.

L o r e and l eer will i t be posrible to @pork with acauracy of Negro nowrpaperr,

Negro churches or *e Negro vote,

profereional statur wi l l be more deciriva in dotermining a man'r

orientation t h u the color of hi6 r h .

Mora and mor., economic, social, and

Some may wall ark w b t h 8 r rtudentr ara gaiaing from the prorent

movement the necersary rcnourcoe urd inrightb .u make the prychological

rhift from a dercgregated to an intsgratod rociety, Are rtudies being

neglected? W i l l half-trained graduator typify thin generation 3 Are

deepor le660nr of race relatione bdng abrorbed o r ir a rimple ''race

rgainrt race" conception dominating immature mind# ?

There i o undeniably a risk that romo rtudentr wil l stumble

into e r r o r , No movement of esrentially revolutionary quality can bo

neat and tidy,

ir today in the thick of the dsregregaUoa fight will r U C C O r 6 f d l y mako tho

tranriuon to the cunpui jn for in$egration and itr conrequcnt responri-

bilitier. I have rpecial rearonr for my faith,

The public may havo noticod that the rtudent movement ir bared

It has never advocated jurtice for Negroer ar much;

Yet I .M confident that the Nogro college rtudent, who

on broad principler.

rather justice for a l l men, Negroer included, of cour ier The rtudontr


Ori@nal In the Boston University Llbrav Piit:lcation pi;lrisihi must be secured from tha Libran


realiee that the fartering more of regregation dobilitater the white man

an well ar the Negro.

create a moral balance in society which will allow all men, Negro and

Therefore, the removrl of unjurt ry.~lern will

' white, to riee to higher levelr of relf*cornpletion. In workrhop after

workrhop thayhave been inbued with the principle that tho problem i m not

a purely racial one, with Negroor ret agakrrt whit01 rather, it ir a tonrion

between jurtice and injurtice. Thera?ore, their rerirtulce ir not airnod

against opprerrorr but rgainrt opprerrion.

"Black Supremacytt 8 8 Agorourly a8 they have rtood againrt "White

The rtudentr have oppoaed

Supremacy." They are not in m y renre reeking to rire from 8 porition

of disadvantage to ond of rdvant.ge, thereby rubverting jurticel rather,

they ate reeking to rcbieve democracy for everybody.

out of their way to enlirt whiter in their rrnkr ro that the m o m e n t

They have gone e

itrelf would symbolire the 80dOty that they hope to bring about.

Then there is a factor that may have ercrped public notiao.

So much attention bar been given to tho movement'r empharir on non-

cooperation with evil, that i r , with Jkn Crow lrwr and curtoma, that

not much light has bean shad on itr cooperation with good, that i r , itr

conatauctive program. Thio conrtauctive program ir a baric part of

any genuine non-violent movement, for non-violence ir errentially r poritive

concept. Ita corollary murt dwayr be growth. Without thio broad range

of poritive goalr, non-cooperation end8 whom it beginr. The rtudentr

have revealed an amrsing degree of undarrtmding concerning the neod for

ouch a constructive program. So, on the one hand, they 8p@y S


Oriqinal in the Boston University Llbraq Y,lt:lcafioii ~ u t i ~ , i x h i must be secured from th8 tlbrari


n o n 4 o l s n t rerirtanco to all forma of racial L P f ~ t i a o , including r k t o and

local lawr and practicer, even whan thir mamr gohg to jbfl, On tho other

hand, they rea the neod for h a g b t i v o , bold, conrtructiva action to and

the demoralization caured by the legacy of slavery and rogregation, inferior

rchoolr, r lumr, and recond clam0 citisenrbip.

thrurt of the rtudent'o non-violent rtrugglo will in itrolf holp ond tho

demordiaationi but they rediso that 8 POW frontal arrault on tho poverty,

direare, and ignorance of a people too long ignored b y Amorica'r oonrcience

will make the victory more cortain.

Certainly tho eroativo

In admitting that there aro lagging rtandardr in the Negro

community which murt be improved through a coartructivo program, the

studentr are not in the hart giving aid to the reac t ionuier who argue

that the Negro io not ready for integration, Tho only anawer that one can

givo to thoro who would quertion the readinerr of the Negro for integration

io that the rturdardr of tho Negro lag behind at timer not becauro of an

inherent inferiority, but becauro of tho fact that rogregation and dircrim-

ination do exirt. Thero ir no more torturour logic than to ure the tragic

effectr of regregation ar an rrgumont for itr continuation, TLxfact

that 80 many Negroer have mad. lrrting and rignificmt contributionr

to th8 ongoing life o f America in rpito of much crippling rertrict ionr ir

sufficient to refute any argument of hi0 unreadinorr.

Yot, the rtudentr havo not allowod tho fact that thoy aro tho

v i c t h r of injurtice, economic deprivation and rocid i roht ion lull them

into abrogating rerponaibility for their own l iver. Thoy reek to make

the lagging rtrndardr the barir for creative raconrtruction. Their


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contort With regregation ir w o l y the p r o l i m b r y tark of d o a r i q away

the obrtacler to rolf-fulfillment to tb roleare of burnan on orgy and

talent for the goal of .u. ~ h o y re& to toar down what ir rertriativo,

corrupting and inhibiting in ordor to build a rociety b which men m r y work

and l ive in harmony with nature and each othor. They bolievo in mm'r the

creative potential .ndhwhole movunsnt lr dediarted to tho proporttion

that if the Nogro a d d but freo htprdf d tha frurtrrtionr of an Wurt

rocial order, the rchievunontr of the human mind urd heart would bo

limitlee . But mor. than anything elre, the type of education that the

rtudentr are gaining 8r a rerult of thir movemont dl a r r u r e a meaningful

tranrition, The overwhelming truth penetrating through the wholo frbric

of thio extraordinary youth movemont ir the fact that the Negro rtudent

i o gaining a double education. Indeed, the aarwer to the quert for a

more mature, more educated Americm to compete ruccerrfully wlth

the young people of other landr may be prorent in thio rpontureour, new

movement.

The Negro youth ir learning rocial rarponiibilityi he 'rn learning

to earn through h i m own direct racrifico and effort the rerult he reeko.

There ir IP one to coddle hirri-to m J 0 hbn roft, pliable and conformirt.

He cannot be an uncreative o r p h a t i o n &mn nor 8 mochanicrl rtatur

reeker, His experience ir 81 harrh and dunanding am tdat of tho.pionaor

on the untamed frontier.

For thore who falter and weaken, tha penalty ir immediate

failure in wide public view, On the other hand, roriour, planned action


Ori@nal in the Boston University Llbrav Y;rt:lcatioii ptiirixhi must be secured fmm tba Llbrerl


producer equally immediate victory and acclaim. Becaure thir rtruggle

it3 complex, especially purrued in a rpirit of rcrirturce and non-violonce,

there i u no place for the frivolour or the rowdy. Knowledge and dircipline

axe a s indispensable ar courage and relf +racrLlce.

Hence, the forging of p r i c d e r r qwlitier of character ir taking

place daily and monthly as the atrugglo for a goal of b high moral rad ir

pursued, What will thir mean to tho futu;.e? There d come from tbir

cauldron a mature man, experiencad in life's l emonr , socially aware,

unafraid of experimentation, and mort of al l lmbued with the rpirit of

service and dedication to a great ideal. Door America noed ruch men

and women? ArWng the querSon bnswerr it.

Often in the past educator8 have pondexclu che paradox that the

academically brilliant student With superior grades failed Ifrequently to

roaliee the bright promice of his rtudent dayr. More scholarrhipr, more

degrees, more training turned to drorr a s life'r dnmandr found them

wanting in ability to relate to associatea, to motivate and to lead. The

anawer is in the one dimenriod quality of learning.

own advancement alone ir inevitably rdf-dofeating,

To learn for one's

To learn L order to

become M instrument of aocial advancunont har dwayr been 8 keyrtons

of achievement. It ir thir quality at 'the heart o f the rtudsnt movement

today which guarantee8 2 s a d d i t i o ~ l dlmonrioa of wirdom accompanying

know1 edge . A new generation of Negro graduator rchooled in life'# tenrionr

and changer will emerge on t o m o r r w ' r rtago. Not a hot-hour. product,

not a privileged elite, but an outgoing, though rerioua, perron who wi l l


Ori~inal In the Boston University Llbrag Yirt:lcation ptir,isskii must be secured from tha Libref!


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confront a world ha not only underrtandr but ha6 helped to rhape,

Thir ie the double education mort rbbnto will acquire .nd,

in turn, contribute to his fellow-man who ha0 already boon hir comrade-

in-arme - white and Negro, rich and poor.

To face the aweaome challsngee of automation, rprco conquert,

economic eecurity and world peace, nothing lerrr than tho doubly oduccrted

man ie indicpenrably-neoeseary. I am Zotb proud urd confident that the

Negro rtudent of today io on hir way to becoming that perron. He wil l

give to the nation a leadership ability and dedicated performance which

will make the oid myth of the inferior individual an ugly memory which

will be difficult to reca l l in the luminour prerence of bir effective and

crsative performance.


Orieinal in the Boston University Llbraq P i i t k a t i o i i pai;i,isslr;a must be secured from ths llbr6ri


after to rtudont of in tho -...

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