Viewing page 58 of 196

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

[[image - full-page size black & white photograph of people around a podium]]

TO BE EQUAL 
By Whitney M. Young, Jr. 

"As Americans find ourselves challenged and on trial," says Whitney M. Young, Jr. in his eloquent and forceful book "To Be Equal" on the problems we face in the cities.  "All the freedoms that have been written into the Bill of Rights, all the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and all of the slogans we toss around, all have life and meaning in our society and must be honored.  Or we must frankly admit America is not really guided by ideological concepts in practice.  The unhealthy gap between what we preach in America, and what we often practice creates a moral dry rot that eats at the foundation of our democratic ideals and values." 

With hard hitting, uncompromising realism, Mr. Young proposes this country's first and most comprehensive program of special effort, in employment, education, housing, welfare and leadership, offering practical alternatives to a situation of continuous racial conflict.

His theme is what is imperative in the United States today is not merely the elimination of injustices and inequities, but a special effort on the part of the entire white and Black population to help Blacks overcome the discrimination gap which results from 300 years of deprivation.  Mr. Young contends that the gap must be closed now, and closed by intensive efforts on the part of our more favored people. Black equality will benefit all citizens, the author explains, providing new markets for business, a new supply of manpower for industry, a decreasing need for welfare funds and accordingly, lower taxes for all Americans.

Among the topics he discusses are hard core unemployment and ways and means of combating through education and retraining. He talks about the necessity of giving Black people political power, and more responsibility in educational and business positions.  

The inevitable Black breakthrough must not force inexperienced and untrained people into positions where they cannot function effectively. He proposes a massive Marshall Plan, that will reverse the economic and social deterioration of urban families and communities and that will help develop the tools and understanding that will prevent such deterioration in the future. 

In TO BE EQUAL, Whitney M. Young has made one of the most comprehensive statements of the whole civil rights movement.  It is an urgent statement and a major contribution to understanding the disaster that threatens us today.


BEYOND RACISM
By Whitney M. Young, Jr. 

In this trenchant and hard hitting book, Whitney M. Young, Jr. strips away the myths and misunderstandings that cloud our view of America's racial problems, and provides a program of action that would enable America to move beyond racism to an open society of justice and equality. 

"White racism is a disease that is tearing America apart," decrys Mr. Young,"and we have to study it and seek a cure for it, just as we do research on other diseases that kill."  Whitney Young has the cure, as he clearly and succinctly explains what government and the private sector must do to solve the racial crisis.  He also points out the important role the individual can play in building an open society. 

Mr. Young introduces his subject by stating the dimension of the American crisis, and in a persuasive argument; proves that the very existence of democracy and the future are in question.  He goes on to portray the effects of white racism on Black minorities, documenting the damage done to millions of people.  But he also discusses the strengths within the Black community - strengths that centuries of struggling for survival have bred, and must now be recognized as a basis for change.

He analyzes white America and proves how white racism has caused today's crisis, by examining each major institution, and revealing how they have fostered Black inequity through racist action.  

Mr. Young calls for an open society and presents concrete proposals and programs for action at local, state and national levels.  And he closes his book with a compelling discussion pinpointing what every American can do, white or Black, to cure for all time the racist disease that is the weapon that is killing the American dream of freedom, justice and full equality for all.