OPPOSITION IN U.S. TO ROLE IN SOUTH
VIETNAM
DETROIT -~ There is widespread opposition in the United States to American involvement in South Vietnam. Fear and anger over the belligerency of Washington have touched off a number of antiwar demonstrations, The demonstrators, mostly young people, chant slogans like: "Pight Unemployment, Not Vietnamese!" "No More Koreas|" "Bring the Troops Home!"
Some of the demonstrations have involved as many as a thousand participants,
Such actions, however, remain sporadic, The great bulk of the population are not yet prepared to voice their antiwar sentiments in so militant a fashion. Nevertheless the hostility to imperialist war adventures runs deep, This is shown, among other ways, by public opinion polls and letters sent to legislators,
A poll taken by the Harris Survey in March, 1964, showed that the majority of Americans do not support administration policies in Vietnam, Fluctuations in sentiment have occurred. Immediately after the Diem dictatorship was overthrown, hopes rose that the situation would improve; U.S. government policies were viewed more favorably by most Americans, When the crisis continued, the attitude became more critical,
Criticisms of U.S. foreign policy voiced in congress, especially attacks on adventures and brinkmanship, have met with zood response, On March 25 Senator Fulbright (Democrat, Arkansas) declared that the attempted boycott of Cuba was a failure, that the U.S. should re-evaluate its China policy, that the government should revise the Panama Canal treaty and that it should acknowledge that the USSR is no longer implacably hostile to the West. These opinions of the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee received national publicity. On April 5, Fulbright again pressed these ideas at a symposium at the University of North Carolina,
Later Fulbright declared: "In twenty years of experience, Itve never had anything like it. The volume of letters was far beyond anything I've ever had before," His mail was running four to one in favor of his criticisms,
Senator Wayne Morse (Democrat, Oregon), supported by Senator Gruening (Democrat, Alaska), has steadily donounced American policy in Vietnam, His attitude is summed up in the succinct statement: "We should never have gone in. We should hever have stayed in, We should get out,"
Morse labeled the Tonkin Gulf incident a "provocation" by the U.S.
On August 13 he reported to the Senate, "My mail is still
running better than 200 to one in support of my position, although one would never know it if he were to read the kept press of America,"
No praise is due senators Fulbright, Gruening and Morse, since their record shows them to be as deeply committed to procapitalist, antilabor and anticivil-rights programs as their colleagues in the Democratic party. What they are really critical of is the stupidity of American foreign policy, not its imperialist aims. Their criticisms, however, are well worth paying attention to, for they have said many true things. What is most interesting is the response in the mail bag. The following are examples placed in the Congressional Record by Senator Morse;
Los Angeles, California. "We support your stand on Vietnam wholeheartedly, our outspoken manner on this and other vital issues is refreshing in this era of repression of facts from the public,”
Waterbury, Connecticut. "Yours seems to be a lone sane voice. in this rather insane Vietnam situation. We would like you to know» that we admire your courage and condone. your stand. Keep up the good. work,
Germantown, New York. "We gratefully support you on Vietnam situation," .
me Tacoma, Washington. “I support you in your vote against undeclared war in an area where we do not belong. Bravo for your stand on Vietnam, Thanks for speaking for me."
Long Island, New York. "We support your courageous stand against extension of war in Vietnam, Many Americans with you,”
Los Angeles, California, "“Cantt we find some way of getting out of Vietnam? I am 50 years old & all I've ever known is wars, Itm siok of it,"
Chicago, Illinois. "Thank you for defending American people. The destruction of war has not visited our country in more than a century, Is that the reason our leaders are trying to visit war's ravages on others? Instead of helping people we bring destruction and heartbreak, What madmen are these who speak in our name?"
New Ulm, Minnesota. “We do want to compliment you on your views in regard to Vietnam. We haven't yet found one person in accord with our present policy there. . . It is too bad the American citizen has no opportunity to vote on this issue,"
Pritchett, Colorado. “What we need is a third party for people who belfeve in peace and good will,"
~MISSISSIPPI'S LONG HOT SUMMER
By Evelyn Sell
Freedom Summer Project
For eight weeks some 850 white and black students and adult volunteers participated in Mississippi's Freedom Summer Projeot, Negro history, American government and basic school subjects were: taught to more than 2,000 Negro students in 47 Freedom Schools, Community centers were established in 13 towns with programs ranging from adult literacy classes to ping~pong games, The voter registra~ tion drive, however , attracted very few Negroes.
The summer project was organized by “EHS Council of Federated Organizations [coro], a group of civil-rights bodies, The project was carried out despite repeated bombings, police harassment, the murder of three of the civil-rights workers and the burning of churches being used as Freedom Schools and community centers. Plans have been made to extend activities into Arkansas, Georgia and Alabama. Fall and winter projects are already underway in various © Mississippi communities. Particularly hazardous is the work now be~ing done in Neshoba County -- scene of the. slaying of the three young COFO workers in June.
The dozen young black and white project workers now in Neshoba County. describe a nightly reign of terror designed to scare them away. The students are determined to. withstand the carloads of armed racists that ride past their headquarters and the eviction threats of the local sheriff, They plan to remain until a community center is built and functioning as a living memorial to their three murdered colleagues, .
Freedom Democratic Party ee
One of the COFO summer projects bore dramatic fruit at the Democratic national convention held in Atlantic City, New Jersey, at the end of August, In April COFO formally launched the. Mississippi Freedom Democratic party, an integrated group but predominantly Negro. During the summer 50,000 signatures were gathered on behalf of the party. Several Negroes ran. on the party ticket for various offices during the primary (nominations) elections,
A sizeable delegation from the Freedom Democratic party went to the Democratic national convention determined to upset the traditionally all-white delegation, Although they directly challenged the seating of the Mississippi delegation, their arguments were direoted against every Southern delegation, They asked to be seated as the legal delegation from Mississippi, arguing that the duly elected "regular" delegation was illegal since it barred Negroes from member~ ship and thus excluded them from any active participation in the political life of the South,
These arguments were presented before the Credentials Comnit-~ tee before the actual opening of the convention itself. The high point of these hearings was the testimony of Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer, the 46-year old wife of a Mississippi sharecropper and one of the Negro candidates sponsored by COFO earlier in the summer. Mrs. Hamer explained to a nation-wide television audience how she had been . jailed and beaten for trying to help Negroes register to vote, Because of her oivil-rights activities both she and her husband lost their jobs. Additional witnesses described the terror in Mississippi and the denial of voting rights, civil rights, human rights for Negro citizens of that state,
a The Credentials Committee presented a compromise which was accepted by the convention: the seating of the "regulars" after they . pledged their loyalty to the national Democratic ticket and the seat-~ ing of two of the Freedom Democratic party delegates.
The Committee further recommended that state Democratio organizations in the South allow Negroes to join, The U.S.Constitution and the recently enacted Civil Rights Bill -- for which, please note, the Democrats take credit -- proclaim the Negroes! right to vote and participate fully in the political life of the nation. The reoommendation of the Democratic party was that their Dixiecrat partners allow Negroes to exeroise their constitutional rights. The Democratio party had been put to the test by the freedom delegation -- and the party failed the test, ,
The Northern liberals were put to the test -- and they failed miserably, too, Nine Northern and Western delegations promised to support the Freedom Democratic delegates but when the time for action came, they folded up, backed down and voted for the phony compromise, The compromise was supported by President Johnson and he sent his choice for running mate, Humphrey, to personally put the pressure on Negro leaders and the Freedom Democratic delegates to accept the com~ promise, Walter Reuther, president of the United Auto Workers, acclaimed as "q labor statesman" and great liberal, urged the Negro delegates to accept the compromise as "good enough." The delegation refused to let the liberals save face, They rejected the compromise, staged sit-ins within the convention itself and staged demonstrations outside the hall, The actions brought them a major portion of the news reports and television time devoted to the convention,
The confrontation at the convention exposed President Johnaon, vice-presidential nominee Humphrey, the Northern liberals and the whole party apparatus. It also exposed the futility of civil-rights fighters trying to achieve their goals within the Democratic party. Northern Negroes have already achieved what the Southern Negroes were demanding so eloquently: the right to belong to the Democratic party, vote. for the Democratic party and run-on the party ticket. Yet the summer riots in a number of Northern cities underlined the fact that Negroes outside of Dixieland have not won their freedom, their human
dignity, their constitutional rights, decent job opportunities and fair treatment in the educational system. It was ironic that the largest group of regular and alternate Negro delegates came from the state of Michigan -~- where militant civil-rights fighters have organized outside of the Democratic party and-put the first all-Negro party on the ballot, —
Undoubtedly, there were those within the Freedom Democratic party who sincerely meant it when they pledged themselves. to work for the election of Johnson, and who honestly desire to help the Democrats win office. There were also those who conceived of their campaign at the convention as a clever means of attracting the attention of the nation to their grievances and of revealing the corruption and hypoc~ risy of the Democratic party. Many illusions still remain among most Negroes about the Democratic party. Many Negroes, however, are rejecting any support to either of the capitalist parties. The actions of the challengers and the party machine at the convention should help turn even more Negroes onto the road of independent political action,