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[[image - Benjamin Banneker, assisting with the plans for laying out Washington, D.C.]]  

fascinating and at the same time, the greatest American city of any in the United States I have been privileged to live in.

Coming to Washington from Saint Louis, Missouri to work at Southwest Community House in 1942, I soon found out that I was an outsider. 

I had accepted a job of boy's worker at Southwest Community House from a Mrs. Scott, the directress, who really had no business sending for me because her board had just relieved her of her duties- But since I came, the board had no other excuse but to honor my contract, which they did but for some inward reason I knew I would never fulfill my obligation and I, too, was looking for an early out. And then it happened. 

I arrived in Washington with my trunk, no place to stay, an address to report to a house in Southwest Washington to work beginning Monday morning and the day was a Friday. 

Well being sort of resourceful I decided to lookup some fraternity brother to see if they could put me up at our fraternity house on 2nd and T Streets. But on my way out to the house I ran into Wiley Martin and Matthew Carter, two Morehouse buddies who were on their way to their classes at Howard medical School- And after learning of my predicament - both Martin and Carter took me to their lodging on 9th and 7 Streets and told the landlord that I was also a Medical student, who would be coming to the house to study with them. 

The lady did not fully understand how I would be coming to study since I had a suitcase and a trunk with me and being a person who was proud of the fact that some Medical students were lodging in her house, she accepted their explanation. 

I was told by Martin and Carter to make myself scarce when they were away at class and our play was for me to quiz them on their lessons in front of the landlady by throwing bones at them and asking them to tell me what the so and so was. This act worked for two weeks until when one morning the landlady came upstairs and caught me sleeping in one of the beds. In the meanwhile I had settled in at Southwest Community house and was fulfilling my duties there. And then it happened. 

Washington in those days was crowded with people from all over the globe doing war work. And this accounted for why I had no boys to do social work with. The reaon were obvious to everyone but me. All my boys were going across the street to a new Commerce Building and were being employed as messengers and section chiefs and for $1800 per year, a salary bigger than my $1,200. 

One afternoon while waiting for some kids to come to the center, a man named J. Hugo Warren came to the Center. He said he was the new director the Pittsburgh Courier Newspaper and was looking for some boys in my part of town who could handle some paper routes for him. 

I found Mr. Warren charming and found myself going over to the Commerce building with him to find some of my boys.

On entering the building the guard on duty directed us right away to the seventh floor. "You'll find your folks up there" he said - And we did - On leaving the elevator on the seventh floor, I heard a voice screaming "Cuthbert Patrick, over here - here-sit here" - you are in charge of this section - Thank God they sent me someone I know.
 
Furto Holt now a doctor in Baltimore, was a year ahead of me at Morehouse and was doing his gig between his medical classes at the Commerce Bureau. And honest, I did not know how to tell Furto what my mission was. All he said was we are key punching some cards for the Army and you are my section chief of these forty women here-Just sit down at this desk and sign these papers, you are in the payroll for $1,800.-per year and in a couple of weeks I will give you $2,400 if you stay. 

Well, you know the rest. I never went back across the street to Southwest House - And Mr. Warren and I made a deal for me to join him at the Courier and that is how it all started. 

Washington in those days was strictly a one horse town - based on segregation, although we were fighting for independence. During World War II a caste system was practiced there which pitted light Negroes against the Black Negroes and this system strictly enforced in Washington Negro society.
 
This I know because it was practiced on me. I was not too quickly accepted in society even though I was the Columnist for the Pittsburgh Courier-But that too worked out. Well with work and a steady income from the government and promised pay from the Courier I was able to go back to the house on 9th and T Streets and rent the other back room the landlady had there for the sum of 2 bucks a week. 

My neighbor on the left was Madam Lili Evanti, the concert singer and my neighbor on the right was Doxy Wilkerson, the radical Howard University professor. 

The base of my operation for newspaper reporting was the Hollywood restaurant on 7th and T which was owned by a man named C.C. Coley who later became a millionaire from restaurants, and Juke Boxes. 

Being a real Southerner, Mr. Coley was most generous to Howard students, so I told him a little white lie so that I could arrange for my eating at student rates in the Hollywood - But when I had to face up that I was not really a student but a struggling newspaper man, Mr. Coley allowed me student credit - And we became best friends. 

The hollywood restaurant was similar to the Red Rooster when George Woods was alive. Coley's man was a Habert Habert, a real workaholic who remembered figures that could serve up drinks at the bar quicker than one could shoot a springfield rifle. 

A daily ritual at the hollywood was the afternoon session held by the government workers between shift and professor Dorsey, the Howard University legendary history professor - then there was Joe Sewall, Jolly Forsythe, whom I replaced as the Courier Columnist - Willie Wynn, the Howard IMMORTAL basketballer, Sidat Singh, the Syracuse immortal, who was later to be lost in an Airforce training accident. Matthew Tyson who managed the Off Bent Club during the evenings - Lloyd Von Blaine (the promoter who wanted to outdo C.C. Coley as a restauranter [[restaurateur]]. 

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