Straight ThinkingIt gives us pleasure to present this section for it is evidence that some youngstersare taught to do hard, straight thinking. May we warn, however, that this is nocause for complacency. Some of the children who write this section are from thesame schools as those who contributed to the "Crooked Thinking" section. Billy,whose thinking is crooked, may be sitting next to Johnny, who thinks straight.Eternal vigilance against inaccurate methods of thinking is the responsibility ofthe educator. Are you on the job?

We Look for Authentic Information

¶ I feel it is un-American to have prejudicesagainst any minority group. After all, a prej-udice is usually a strong feeling based onremarks one has heard. I think anyone whohas any prejudices against anyone should lookup facts about them. I'm sure he would findthat most of what he has heard is untrue.1, for a long time, had a prejudice againstthe Negroes. I felt that they were no good.But after reading books and articles aboutthem, I have changed my mind about them.I found out they aren't so bad after all.Lately, our class has analyzed some of ourprejudices and many of us found out thatthey were based on false facts. I wish every-one would do this. I'm sure it would helpthem a lot.

We Recognize Rumorand Misinformation

¶ Comic books have had an amazing effecton children, especially those of nine or so.Their impressions of gangsters, Nazis, andsupermen are really enlightening. For in-stance, Jimmy comes home to supper and istold of a guest for dinner, a man from theJapanese district. Immediately Jimmy formshis comic-book influenced impression. Theguest will be short. His hair will probablystand on end and naturally his teeth will bebucked beyond all dentists' help. Then, to topit off, comes the eye-glasses. He wouldn't beJapanese without eye-glasses. When the guestfinally comes, Lo! and behold, to Jimmy'sgreat amazement the man looks completelyhuman.

¶ I wouldn't mind if any Jewish, Negro,Catholic or any foreign family moved nextdoor because I think it would be nice to learnif all the rumors about them are really true.I would like to know a lot aboutthem and their customs.

March 1945

¶ "The Jews are running the White House."This statement has nothing to back it upas only four percent of our population isJewish and that is exactly the same per-centage of Jews who work in the whitehouse (at Washington) or who are in federalpolitcs (Bureau of Statics). So the person orpersons who write a statement of this kindare dileratly lying in an effort to put overthis point or purpose. No reliable paperwould print such a statement.

¶ I feel toward the Negro as if they wereas good as any good American. I have heardbad things about the Negro, but I don'tbelieve them because I have lived next doorto them almost all my life. I am a paperboy and most of my customers are Negroes,and they never fail to pay.

¶ Most prejudices are formed from hearingothers slander those of minority groups. Myexperience in the matter demonstrates this.All my life I have heard that Jews are gyps,so my youthful mind formed a picture whichincluded all Jews. They had long whitebeards, unkempt and uncombed. All woreblack skull caps and contrieved to emit asmile from between their evil lips. EveryJew, to my mind, was a merchant, and onewho swindled everyone, particularly delight-ing in driving his grandfather to the poor-house. All this had been derived from onesentence which I had heard repeatedlythroughout the years. It was, "Those Jewswould cheat their own grandfathers." Theyears have broadened my mind so that Iwelcomed a unit in school called "Amer-icans All" which pictures social, racial andreligious groups as Americans. Through thisstudy I have overcome my prejudice againstthe Jewish people.

ALL INTELLIGENT PEOPLE know Discrimination is un-just, but unfortunately in our country all educated people aren'tintelligent.

ALL THE TIME people are giving ideas onhow to help this problem when many ofthem do not follow their ideas.

We Distrust Emotionalized Reactions

¶ People have strange attitudes about suchthings as inter-racial relations. A person willgreatly admire Generallissamo and MadameChiang Kai Shek but when one speaks aboutthe Chinese laundryman down the street, thesame person will immediately say, "Oh, he'sonly a Chinaman", completely forgetting thatthe Chiangs are also Chinese.

¶ Suppose we go back to our childhood daysand see what problem, if any, existed at thattime. I can remember playing with whitechildren in the neighborhood and also in thelower grades at school. All went well. Nohatred existed at that time. I went to theirparties and they came to mine. As yearsrolled on things began to change. I began tonotice the change in what had been myfavorite playmates.

What then brings on the change in in-dividuals? I believe that all the hysteria di-rected against racial or religious groups arementally contagious. Like measles and tuber-culosis, they spread from one person toanother. They can be prevented or con-trolled by methods of education just asdiseases of the body have been controlled.We Recognize the Dangersof Generalization

¶ I do not think that it is fair for a personto condemn one race of people because oneperson or group has done wrong. For ex-ample, some people living here in the U. S.have condemned Americans of Japanesedescent because of Pearl Harbor. It is nottheir fault that they are Japanese any morethat it is our fault that we are of German,Irish, or English ancestry.

¶ The other night as I was walking homefrom school, I saw a "bunch" of Spanishgirls of about junior high school age. Theywere dirty, their hair was unruly, and theywore no anklets. They were spread acrossthe sidewalk so that nobody could get by.I had to go in to a store, and to.do so I hadto go around them. Instead of their lettingme by they pushed me into the gutter; andthey called me filthy names and such. I could

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have gotten raging mad, and I wanted to doso, but I didn't pay any attention because Iknow they were just showing their ignor-ance. I thought of the hundreds of Spanish-speaking kids who are really swell-ArnoldGonzalez, Lucille and Ben Herrera, the entireMartinez family-and I knew they wouldblush for shame at the conduct of these youngruffians.

¶ Now, here in America there are lots ofpeople who will have nothing to do withany one of Jewish blood. Some people saythat Jews are stingy. That isn't true. Ofcourse I'll admit that some Jews are, but soare some Scotchmen, and that doesn't meanthat every person of Scotch descent is cheap.You can't judge one large group of peopleby one person, or even one hundred persons,no more than you can say that all books areno good, because you have read one hundredbooks and didn't like anyone of them.

We Believe in the Rightsof the Individual

I I believe the Negroe should have the rightto vote. Even now he is fighting for thatright. It is pretty silly to be willing to diefor something and not be allowed to havethat right you may have died for.

¶ Foriegner are O.K. They aren't quite useto the American way of living but they'llcatch on.

¶ I believe that a person's religion is his ownaffair. If others believe that they can go toheaven by different ways, thats up to them.Religion is a very personal business and weshould not be prejudiced if someone differswith us. I am not an authority and I cannotjudge whether a certain religion is right ornot, so I have no right to be prejudiced.

¶ I would not object living next door to aNegro, Japanese, Chinese, German, Polish,etc. Because everyone is equal to the samethink. Every person is a human bean andhave a right just as the other.¶ I also do not like the way people talk aboutthe Jews. The people say that the Jews neverwork hard. I know because I have cousins,uncles, and friends who are Jews. I thinkthey work just as hard as anyone else in theworld. People say they are money hungry.Maybe they are, but they work for it andwork hard too.

Educational Leaderahip

¶ I think the Japanese American peopleshould be classed just as everyone else is.It is not their fault they are of a differentcolor than most of us, nor is it their faultthat people of their race are our enemies atthe present. But we should remember theyare Americans and not natives of Japan.

Now during the war, more than ever, mostpeople resent even seeing them walking downthe street. If they are walking down the streetit shows they are real Americans becausethey have been thoroughly investigated byour government.

We Resent Injustice

¶ The white people should not tease thenegroes the way they do. They can't helpit if they're not the same color as we are.God made them that way and He must havehad a reason or He wouldn't have done it.

¶ I think the colored folks or people are allright. Some kids or people believe that theycarry knives around with them and I justdon't believe. The only difference betweenthe colored and the white people are thatthey are a different color and has a axcentto there words. Some people might becrippled or a broken arm and the peoplewho have no broken arm or aren't crippledthink they are better then others, but myopinion is that they are just as good as us.

¶ A colored woman is born with two strikesagainst her, first, because she is a Negro, andsecond, because she is a woman. A coloredman is born with one strike against him,because he is a Negro. (Negro girl)

¶ I think the negros should have certainpriveliges, to do certain things, and to go tocertain places, and not be cooped up like abird in a cage all the rest of their lives.I think its pitiful the way they're beingpushed around. Its a wonder they don'tturn against us. If I were a negro I wouldn'tstand for it. I also think that they should beallowed to buy any house if its for sale.Personally, I think the people that push themaround should be punished in some sort ofway so that they wouldn't do it again. Iknow some people that used to live downin the negro district. They told me that someof the negros have more manners than thewhites. Some have more cooking abilitythan the white people.

March 1945

I Does every citizen of America haveequality? Are we perfect as a government?Should we then go out to a peace conferenceand make plans for other countrys when we,ourselves, need reforming? It has been proventhat men, regardless of race, creed or colorcan work, live, fight and die side by side.The negro, the jewish boy and the Catholicsfight side by side in battles of this war. Theyalso die together. Isn't it just as right thatthey should come home and live together?Come home and go to the same movies, eatin the same resturants, ride together in thesame vehicles, without fear of arest? Can notour government keep them to this effect?

The Negro treatments has not infuriatedme so much as that of the Indian has. Thesered men, who first lived on this bounteousland, who taught the early American settlershow to till the soil, hunt and fish, were latermassacred by the hundreds. In the 18oo's theIndians were placed in reservations, crowdedtogether in dirty quarters and given only alimited amount of education just because thevwere in our way. We needed more room.

Ile Insist on a Square Deal

¶ I like the Germans Japanese chinese negrosand jews that live in America. I think thatthey are very extra nice people. I think allforeigners that lives in the USA should betreed as any other person is but I think theyshould not take advantage of the things theyget to do. Well them Jap Americans are okjust as long as they stay americans and nojaps. And the Jap warlords like tojo I thinkare nuts. That Jap emporor is controlled bythe Jap army and navy but I think the Japsthat fight the war in the American armyare ok. Some Americans think all japs arenot right, but they are not right.

¶ The white believe if they give the negorthe right to eat and associate with them, theywill eventually want to marry them. Thisidea is false and is held only in the whiteman's mind. The negro first of all wantsto earn a decent living, and then to vote.He hasn't a thought of intermarriage.

THE NEGRO PROBLEM is a very hardone and it will take someone smarter thanme to solve it.

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¶ "Aw, you Jew," said one boy to another.The boy to whom the remark was directedwas immediately indignant This is only oneexample of the attitude of some young peopletowards those of other creeds. I am notblaming youth for this disgraceful attitudethough, because young people only reflectthe ideas of their elders. I have heard friendsof the family, who have no connection withshow-business, say that they object to theJewish people because they own many ofour large theatres and places of entertain-ment and have to an extent, monopolizedcertain other businesses. The Swiss makeadvances in science, but no one denouncesthe Germans and the Swiss for theiringenuity. So, if the Jewish mind can affordus better entertainment and if they workbetter than we Gentiles in some fields, thenthey should work in these fields unhindered.

We Appreciate our Differencesand Likenesses

I Before studying the intercultural course Irealized that there were Italians, Negroes,and other groups making up America, but Ihadn't realized what they contributed to thiscountry nor the importance of their con-tributions. Only now do I know that thebook I like was written by an Italian andmy favorite music was written by a Negro.I understand now that if I want to helpmy country to be a real democracy I shouldlearn to live and cooperate with all my fellowAmericans.

' There may be a feeling of hatred againstthe Germans because of this and other wars,but, that is not justified because the Germanpeople as a whole are not responsible for thiswar. We owe a great deal to Germany forits many accomplishments in the scientificfield.

I I regard with highest esteem such Negroesas Dr. Carver, Paul Robeson and manyothers. I do not regard them as great Negroesbut as great people. (White boy)

We Recognize Cause and Effect

¶ It is stated that there is more juvenile'deliquency among the Negro race than thewhite race. If that is true it is because thewhite race won't give the Negro childrendecent playgrounds for recreation, therefore,they end up in the poolrooms, taverns, etc.

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If they were given decent places for recrea-tion there would be fewer deliquents amongthe Negro race.

I If a person is Prejudice against wholeamounts of people he is not a real citizemof the world. If people hate each other onlywars will come and then we will not arvenceany. And if rich people do not employ acertain race they are no good because theyare not atvancing any.

¶ Negroes are polite, courteous and kind. Ithink that the negroes are better than somewhites. My opinion is that we are responsiblefor the way they act in some ways. Negroeshave hearts as well as whites, and theyshould be treated well. They haven't muchopportunity in America. They should haveas much opportunity as the whites.¶ The reason for the negroes getting drunkis that that is the only thing that they cando with their money. They can't buy adecent place in which to live.¶ As I am Spanish I know there is an awfullot of racial discrimination because I havebeen discriminated against more than once.I think that the whole world should look ateach other as brother and sister. The reasonthere are gangs of Spanish-speaking boysrioting is because they are trying to getrevenge for so much discrimination.

It seems that the "zoot" is the cause of thewhole thing. Spanish-speaking boys and girlswear zoot-suits and jeans and sweaters; au-thorities try to stop this; I don't see anythingwrong with wearing clothes of that sort. Itdoesn't seem possible that so much troublecould be stirred up on account of some cloth-ing does it? Since when do clothes signifya person's character, or mean the differencebetween a good person and a bad person?

We Look to Basic Causes¶ All people should have equal social andpolitical rights. Because, of the population onthe earth, each person is different in his orher physical characteristics, the racial minori-ties often get oppressed. There are many"reason" for this oppression. In this countryan example would be the southern politician'sfear of an educated Negro vote and someCalifornian farmers fearing the competitionof the efficient Japanese farms. In many coun-tries an outside enemy has stirred up hate

Bducationdl Lederhip

by playing different cultural, economic, andracial groups against each other.

I When the "so called zoot-suiters" broke outand started fights in California, people de-nounced every Spaniard on sight, but youcan't judge everyone by a few. If peoplehad read the papers to the last and smallestdetail they would have read that the Mexi-cans who started the fights had been sentto the U. S. in cattle cars, to work in thebeet fields. They had to sleep and eat in them,and ride three davs in the hot sun. Whenthey pulled into the station in California theywere naturally restless. People stood aroundmaking wise cracks and commenting on theway they looked. Who wouldn't get just alittle peeved? (Boy of Spanish descent)

We Reason It Out

I If a white man and a colored man believein Democracy and another colored rnan be-lieves in the Nazis the first colored man ismore closely related to the white man thanhe is to the second colored man.

¶ Of all the occupations which one couldmention, I cannot think of one from whicha Negro can be excluded without rewritingthe Bible, Constitution and Declaration ofIndependence of the United States of Amer-ica. These works allow no room for racialdiscrimination, prejudice, or intolerance. Asimmigrants, or descendants of immigrants,who are we to say what freedoms a Negroshall or shall not have?

¶ Most of the American younger generation,from Missouri on down through the Southernstates, believe the Negro to be of a very lowclass; they believe Negroes are here to servethe white people. I believed that too, until Istarted "Race Relations."

Now I shall attempt to prove the state-ments made by my friends are completelyuntrue.A. Why should we "ship all Negroes back to

Africa?" They helped explore this land.America is a democracy, a free nation,therefore why shouldn't the Negroes behere. They are fighting for America andthe American people. Certainly this factgives them the right to be thought of asAmerican Citizens.

B. "Negroes should be made to act as ser-vants." As I stated before they are citizens.Once they were slaves, not now. The

March 1945

Constitution says so; therefore, they havethe right to live as a free people.

C. "Negroes are all dumb." Those who madethat statement certainly should be surethey know what they are saying beforemaking such a broad, untrue statement.Phyllis Wheatley learned the English lan-guage and read the Bible in sixteenmonths. George Washington Carver in-vented articles that could be made frompeanuts. In doing this he gave many whitepeople jobs. XVhat about Brooker T.Washington, John Chavis, Ben Banneker,and many other! Al brilliant. AllNegroes.

D. "Put all Negroes in one state and leavethem alone." This statement means noth-ing. In the first place there is not one ofour forty-eight states available. Also, thereare many educated Negroes who are inindustries that might not be carried onin that state. And how about the coloredentertainers we like to see and hear? No.it would never work out. Besides thesefacts, there are Negroes fighting anddying in this war and there are Negroesin defense work, who have a real job todo, just as we do. They have a right tolive as we do.

E. We are not superior to them and theyshould not treat us as if we were. Theyare no longer slaves, they were not allslaves before they came to America. Ac-cording to God we all look alike. Whyshould we be prejudiced because of adarker skin? Don't we all want to be asnear like God as possible? Why not startright here.

That's my point of view on the subject ofthe Negro problem in regard to the attitudesand beliefs of children of majority groups.I believe I am right.

We Know It's Our Job

¶ Race, color, creed make no difference whenit comes to dying on the battlefield. Whythen should it make any difference when itcomes to their living? It is to us, the youthof today, to understand and to practice toler-ance and temperance of thought and actionin order to be worthy of the sacrifices thatare being made.

I love the hold nation. Iv nothing to say abut no am

Copyright © 1945 by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. All rights reserved.