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WE MUST CONTINUE TO MARCH
BERNARD S. LEE

AFTER THE PASSAGE of the Voting Rights Bill of 1965, those Negroes who don't have a thorough understanding of the nonviolent Movement and those whites who do have the understanding but don't favor social change with respect to one-fifth of the nation's population thought everything was settled now that the bill had passed. The 220 mile march begun by James Meredith is sufficient refutation of this notion.

For as long as one must fear for his life, during the exercise of his constitutional rights, then marches and other forms of nonviolent expressions will be needed whenever there is a breach of those rights. Democracy has never been implemented in this country. In a real sense, people around the world are saying to America,"We have watched you grow since your infancy in 1775 with amazement. We have listened to your preachments concerning science, technology and the humanities. We must go on with our business--that of making the world a better place for mankind. For we have not seen your chosen form of government work. Your words on the greatness of democracy are acceptable in theory but in practice, they have fallen on deaf ears."

The Negro in many quarters is questioning whether democracy can work for him. We have been told to get an education. How can you be educated when there is a breakdown in the educational process for the Negro? In 1954, the Supreme Court ruling gave us a ray of hope. In 1966, we find that America has pacified us for twelve years. There is still little more than 1 per cent of school desegregation in the south. Many of us ran to cities like Chicago only to discover that the schools are ninety per cent segregated. The school dropout


Rev. Bernard Lee is Special Assistant to Dr. Martin Luther King, President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (S.C.L.C.). Mr. Lee led the student sit-in movement in  Montgomery in 1960 as chairman of the student body of Alabama State COllege.

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