Viewing page 348 of 484

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

Continued from page 4

and to whom Andrew Stein reneged on after he came into the office replacing Percy Sutton.
And also since we last met Hulan Jack, te former Manhattan Borough President, released his book.

"In 50 years a democrat" my good friend Hulan Jack tells a story of unwavering loyalty to the New York Democratic Party which elevated him up the slippery ladder of politics through the ranks of a clubhouse worker, captain, district leader, Assemblyman and finally to top of that ladder to become the first Black Borough president in New York.

The book, which for some reasons have not been reviewed in the general press, is an autobiographical sketch of Hulan's life which traces his trials and tribulations in and outside the party as Negroes during the Era 1930-1950 battled for position and recognition in the party.

Hulan tells poignantly of his humble beginning coming to New York as an emigrant who had star dust in his eyes and his battles for an education which he achieved and for recognition of his goals through the round of politics. It highlights a struggle for recognition by a Black man who battled both within the party against a white hierarchy which in the early days refused to recognize the working of the Black district worker. Of his opposition by white district leaders and captains who tolerated Blacks coming into their districts but he kept them meeting in the basements of their clubs. In fact Hulan and his cohorts around 116th Street were referred to as "Billy Solomons Niggers" and used by the Hines Machine just to get out the Black vote for Tammany Hall. Hulan recalls some of the incidents on his rise in the party but fails to recognize some of the real reasons why or how he was picked by the party to be their candidate for Manhattan Borough President.

For instance the post of Borough President was given to a Black when Charlie Anderson and Ferdinand Q Morton, the Negro dispenses of patronage for the Republican and Democratic parties of the time decided that the position would be given to a Black.

Charlie proposed that the Republican put up a Negro, one Elmer Carter, a highly respected Republican civil servant, then switched to Chauncy Hooper, a world war I hero from Wappinger Falls-Ferdinand Morton told Tammany that the only way he could help them among Blacks was for them to match the Republicans and put up a Negro Democrat for the job and after much wrangling the boys at Tammany decided on Hulan, a dedicated loyal Negro Democrat. Since New York was overwhelmingly democratic they won the election and Hulan was elected to replace Robert Wagner who moved across the street from the Municipal Building to become Mayor of the City of New York.

In those days the system called the Mayor of New York to come from the ranks of the Borough President and since New York was the biggest Borough the Manhattan Beep was the man.

The Book tells of Hulan's battle was powerful Forces which refused to recognize him on his position as Manhattan Beep since Hulan was a straight talking West Indian, with a mind of his own, he clashed with powerful white democrats like Robert Moses, the builder of bridges, highways and etc., James Felt and Clarence Davis great real estate men whose interest were of curtailing Negro Movement in the city; and Jack opposed them.

Jack came under fire for his loyalty to Tammany from white Jewish reformers led by Frank Finletter and Eleanor Roosevelt who were hell bent on reforming the democratic party and bringing in a new charter to the city, which gave all the Borough Presidents power to the Mayor of the city. This was objected to by Tammany.

Hulan got into hot water with Finletter, Roosevelt, Wagner and some Blacks because he refused to desert Carmine de Sapio and Tammany.

And here the Book would have more interesting if Hulan really revealed more on the inside fighting that went on at Tammany Hall, within and without, as the boys in the "smoked filled rooms" conducted business during those last days of Tammany.

The book should have been more explicit and more in depth of those incidents. The book also failed to give Hulan credit for some lasting things which the city enjoyed under his administration.

For instance, Hulan signed bills on top of bills which gave permission for the city to tear down the second, third and ninth Avenue elevated railways which made it possible for all the new constructions you now see on these avenues today. He signed the bill making it possible for the folks to build the Guggenhiem Museum at 5th Avenue, the only example of architecture by the famous William Lloyd Wright in our town.

Hulan built more public housing projects which was a no-no in the Bronx and Long Island, while in office; more Public School buildings; the new Harlem Hospital Center and the Schomberg library while he was in the chair. And did this at the disgust of Robert Moses, the man who called himself God and James Felt who thought that the Negroes should not be allowed to live outside Harlem, or Clarence Davis, who came from Bronx real estate family and was put in office by Bob Wagner.

Hulan also had to bear the brunt of Negro Ire because in his loyalty to the party, he supported Earl Brown to run agains Adam Clayton Powell for Congress.

And then I thought the book should have said a little more about the incident of his apartment fixing which his enemies used to hound him out of office.

The book does go into some details which must have been painful for him of his battles with Cora Walker, another dark incident of his life.

However, I think all of us should get a copy of the book and learn from its pages that some time it does not pay to be too loyal.

"And in the whose kidding whom department"-what is all this bull and cry of foul to their system because Herschel Walker decided to use his God given talent and desert the University of Georgia football team, to sign a 16 million dollar contract?

It seems that everybody who makes money on these college athletes are crying foul because this 21  year old Black kid decided to look out for himself. I can recall when I was Herschel's age the University of Georgia forced N.Y.U to bench Dave Meyers their Negro star before they would come to New York to play New York University and N.Y fans and this city reacted by having Chuck Meehan, the N.Y.U. coach fired. And say isn't this the same University of Georgia where Charlene Hunter and Tup Holmes had to sue to get in-So who is kidding whom?


NAACP - Continue from page 104

movies that are made for television as well as other entertainment programs that are aired. As an example, he directed attention to a story that appeared in The Los Angeles Times on Friday, July 30.

The newspaper reported that CBS had terminated its contract with the London-based Television Audience Program Evaluation Ltd. (TAPE) because of the nature of the company's research.

By using a formula called "factor analysis," TAPE penalized movie ideas whose central characters are blacks, Jews, Italians, Mexicans and other ethnic groups, the newspaper reported.

CBS denied that it had used TAPE's information discriminatorily. Though ABC or NBC networks did not use the "factor analysis," they utilized another selection method called "concept testing." The Los Angeles Times reported that "CBS will not drop concept testing."

An official of the network was reported as not being sure whether the factor analysis-type of concept testing would still be used even though the services of TAPE had been concluded.

Mr. Hooks ruled out an imediate boycott of the television networks. "I spent five years on the Federal Communications Commission," he said, so "I am loathe to call for a boycott" because of fears of infringing on the First Amendment privileges of free speech.

But his experience on the FCC, he said, had revealed to him some appropriate pressure points that

346