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READERS' FORUM

REPATRIATION - DEAD ISSUE OR RESURRECTED ALTERNATIVE?

THE YEARS since the end of World War II have witnessed a profound radicalization of Afro-American thought. The period between 1945 and 1954 might be characterized as years of reappraisal and expectancy. With the proclamation of the historic Supreme Court decision, the hopes of many Americans, both black and white, were roused that the nation was beginning to make genuine efforts at redressing the grievances of its black citizens. Although in many quarters the notion of "deliberate speed" was viewed with suspicion, black America was prepared again to cautiously test the good faith of the nation. The spectics did not have long to wait before their pessimism was confirmed. The growing defiance of the nation's majority to the desegregation decision revealed to even the most sanguine observer that the nation would not - indeed could not - comply with this decision of the highest court of the land. The winter of 1955 saw Mrs. Rosa Parks emerge as the first symbol of growing black impatience. Two years later, Little Rock exploded in the headlines throughout the world. Within the black community the reaction to these and innumerable other similar events was understandably diffuse. But the maelstrom was brewing while the voices of warning were muffled by a blanket of national indifference. 
Two important phenomena ushered in the 1960's. First, the emergence of newly independent African nationals into the international arena, and secondly, the engagement of Afro-Americans in a campaign of direct, but non-violent, confrontation with the in-
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Dr. Calvin H. Sinnette, now living in Nigeria, is a member of the Board of FREEDOMWAYS. The Editors invite comment on the issues raised in this article.

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