Honolulu Record, August 9, 1951, vol. 4 no. 2, p. 8
By Frank Marshall Davis
Ralph Bunche as Ambassador
According to Doris Fleeson, syndicated columnist whose articles appear in the Star-Bulletin, there is another move under way to have Dr. Ralph Bunche named U. S. ambassador to Russia. Sponsors of the plan believe the noted Palestine mediator should be used in the war against communism and say that his appointment would be a "living refutation to Communist racial propaganda against the United States."
Thus far, Dean Acheson has not agreed. The Secretary of State does not want to seemingly aid aspiring politicians with large Negro voting blocs, nor does he want to set a precedent of naming officials because they represent minorities. And on this point the Star-Bulletin had an editorial on Saturday, August 4, which stated, among other things:
"Practical Side of Present Unrest"
"All peoples everywhere, want equality. That is a practical side of the world's present unrest which too many people like Mr. Acheson, who long ago achieved equality, fail to recognize."
Since Secretary Acheson says he always tries to appoint the best qualified man for the job, regardless of color, the afternoon daily charges the head of the State Department with "disavowing" his own words. He is not considering Dr. Bunche without regard to his Negro ancestry. He is, on the contrary, handicapping him on account of it."
I am glad to see that the Star-Bulletin is back of the proposal to name Dr. Bunche the U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union. I believe that not only I, but virtually all of America's 15,000,000 Negroes would take pride in such an appointment. it would mark a milestone in U. S. history.
Act As a Diplomat But Not As a Tool
But at the same time, most of us would expect Dr. Bunche to act as a diplomat and not as a tool of the white supremacists who would hope to use him to silence criticism of discrimination against America's non-whites instead of eliminating that discrimination.
Frankly, I do not believe that Dr. Bunche would allow himself to be used in such a fashion in the war against Russia. For this same Dr. Bunche is one of the nation's most vocal persons in calling attention to jim crow and denial of equal opportunity. It was not too long ago that he refused a top post in the State Department because he would not live in the segregated atmosphere of our national capital.
Speaking before the 42nd annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People held a few weeks ago in Atlanta, Ga., Dr. Bunche had this to say:
"It is imperative that we go much further than we have gone thus far in applied democracy for all Americans. Pull equality is the answer, and the Negro can never be content with less. We must all keep battering away at the undemocratic barriers of discrimination and segregation."
Appointment Would Not Bring Equality To 15 Million
Nobody knows any better than Dr. Bunche that his appointment as ambassador would not bring full equality to all Americans. He knows that housing restrictions, job discrimination, jim crow in education and denial of civil rights would not automatically end for 15,000,000 Americans. Ho would not dare say to Russia:
"Look at me. I am living proof that there is no such tiling as white supremacy and racism in America."
As a matter of fact, we could appoint a Dr. Bunche as ambassador to every other nation in the world and it still would not eliminate the stigma of the legal lynching of the Martinsville Seven in Virginia, or Willie McGee in Mississippi, or the recent race riots in Cicero, Ill. and near Washington, D. C., and Dallas, Tex.
Yes, people everywhere want equality. But it must be equality for all, not for one or two individuals selected in the hope they can be used for propaganda purposes.
Pass and Enforce Strong Civil Rights Laws
As one Negro woman in California phrased it: "I'm tired of having Ralph Bunche waved like a flag in front of me. I want to live wherever I can afford to pay rent, and I want my husband and son to have the best jobs their abilities will permit. Of course I'm proud of Ralph but until these things happen, he's just one Negro who happened to get ahead. Look back and see how the rest of us live."
"If the politicians want to silence Russian criticism of white supremacy in America, they have the soundest and surest means already in the palms of their hands. Let them pass strong civil rights laws and then throw the full weight of the Federal government back of them to insure their enforcement. Then you won't need to talk of appointing a Negro as ambassador to Russia purely for propaganda reasons.