a better life for all people, Jew and Christian, Negro and white. As an organization which has served the American community for over 50 years, we have learned that poverty, disease, and discontent cannot be isolated.

In our work in our towns and cities we have seen very graphically the results of discrimination in employment. We know that the slum areas of our towns and cities generally contain large numbers of people who belong to a racial or national minority. We know that their children do not have adequate medical care, recreational facilities, or educational opportunities. We know that if their living conditions are improved, our communities would be healthier and more prosperous. Equality of opportunity for all must become more than a catchword. It must become a living part of our democracy if we are to build a prosperous and healthy America.

To those people who believe that discrimination cannot be legislated out of existence, we point to the records of those States which have had antidiscrimination legislation in effect for the past few years. The New York State Commission Against Discrimination, for example, has been able, through the cooperation of labor and management, to solve many of the problems of discrimination that arise, with a minimum of coercion, with the result that discriminatory practices are on the wane in New York State. Other States can show the same results.

However, the only way to insure freedom of economic opportunity at this time to all our citizens is by creating a National Government agency to assure fair employment practices and nondiscrimination. The National Council of Jewish Women urges this committee to report favorably on S. 984, which guarantees these basic rights.

Senator DONNELL. Mrs. Wolfe, you say you live in Richmond, Va.? Mrs. WOLFE. Yes, sir.

Senator DONNELL. How long have you lived there?

Mrs. WOLFE. Twelve years.

Senator DONNELL. And where was your home before that?

Mrs. WOLFE. Baltimore, Md.

Senator DONNELL. You are a native of Baltimore?

Mrs. WOLFE. Yes, sir.

Senator DONNELL. How long have you been associated with the National Council of Jewish Women?

Mrs. WOLFE. Twelve years.

Senator DONNELL. Are you employed by that organization?
Mrs. WOLFE. No, sir.

Senator DONNELL. You are one of the officers, are you?

Mrs. WOLFE. No, sir; I am a member of the national committee on education.

Senator DONNELL. But you are not an officer of the organization? Mrs. WOLFE. No, sir.

Senator DONNELL. But you think you speak the sentiments of the organization and have quoted the resolution here as the official pronouncement of that organization?

Mrs. WOLFE. That is correct.

Senator DONNELL. Thank you very much, Mrs. Wolfe, for your testimony.

Our next witness is Rev. Sandy F. Ray, National Baptist Ministers Conference.

Will you please state your name and address?

STATEMENT OF THE REVEREND SANDY F. RAY, CHAIRMAN OF THE SOCIAL SERVICE COMMISSION OF THE NATIONAL BAPTIST CONVENTION, U. S. A., INC.

Reverend RAY. My name is Sandy F. Ray. I live at 846 Putnam Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Senator DONNELL. Are you one of the officers of the National Baptist Ministers Convention?

Reverend RAY. Yes; I am. I am chairman of the social-service commission of the National Baptist Convention. The social-service commission of the National Baptist Convention is a department which has to do with matters of public relations.

Senator DONNELL. Is the National Baptist Convention composed specifically, exclusively, of all churches the members of which are Negroes, or is it a Baptist organization which is composed of both whites and Negroes?

Reverend RAY. They are all Negroes.

Senator DONNELL. How large is the membership?

How large a membership do the churches have that compose the National Baptist Ministers' Conference?

Reverend RAY. They vary.

Senator DONNELL. I mean in the aggregate?

Reverend RAY. The aggregate membership of the convention?
Senator DONNELL. Yes.

Reverend RAY. 4,076,380. That is according to our national report.
Senator DONNELL. Are they largely in the South?

Reverend RAY. Well, they are distributed; I would say about 75 percent of them in the South.

Senator DONNELL. That is, south of Mason and Dixon's line?
Reverend RAY. Yes, sir.

Senator DONNELL. Has your organization passed any resolutions with respect to matters of discrimination in employment?

Reverend RAY. It did, Senator, pass a resolution, not referring particularly to this legislation, but it did pass a resolution authorizing the commission to act in all matters pertaining to matters of this sort, public relations, and it did anticipate the introduction of bills on FEPC and antilynching and authorized the commission to act in case those bills were introduced, and the president sent a letter dated June 30 urging me to appear before the committee here today in behalf of this bill. I have his letter.

Senator DONNELL. You may proceed with your statement.

Reverend RAY. The National Baptist Convention was organized in Montgomery, Ala., in 1880. Our statistical report for 1944 gave a membership of 4,076,380. The convention has 23 boards and commissions, which operate in various areas of our denominational life. The social-service commission of the convention is its department of social education and action. This commission is authorized to work with. other groups outside our own denomination, for the general good of all humanity, and the construction of a sound and stable world order. The convention meets annually in different sections of the United States, with delegates from the several State conventions, district associations, and local churches.

I might say here that the convention has 33 State conventions. It covers the entire United States. There are some small States that are

combined in State conventions. It has 597 district associations within those several States.

Senator ELLENDER. Would you say 75 percent of your membership comes from the South?

Reverend RAY. From the South; yes.

Senator ELLENDER. And you are from Brooklyn?

Reverend RAY. I am from Brooklyn.

Senator ELLENDER. Were you born there?

Reverend RAY. I was not born there. I was born in Texas. Senator ELLENDER. Why has the organization selected you to make a statement. Do you know?

Reverend RAY. Up until September of last year, at the time of our meeting in Atlanta, a man by the name of J. V. Adams, of Brooklyn, was serving as chairman of this commission.

I was selected by the convention to succeed him. It happens that I live in Brooklyn.

It is exceedingly unfortunate that any group of citizens of a Nation, founded upon the philosophy of human freedom and equality of opportunity, should find it necessary to appeal to the lawmakers of such a nation for the passage of legislation demanding justice, which is provided under the Constitution. I am before you, representing four millions of the largest minority group in America. We have long borne the shackles of economic slavery, and yet we have remained loyal to our Government. We have remained loyal because we believe sincerely that our Nation is, indeed, a land of promise.

We believe that America has a special mission in the realm of international reconstruction. We believe that only a thoroughly unified, strong, consistent America can give vital and permanent leadership, in the building of a stable world order. We do not believe that peace is possible without justice, and there is no real justice until democracy becomes a functioning reality for all citizens in America.

The right to work and to earn according to one's skill is a basic right in a democracy. It is that right which we now seek. When undemocratic elements deny citizens that right, they rob them of their real citizenship, and force them out on the outer fringes of a democratic society. They force them into areas of hunger, disease, ignorance, and to death.

We appeal to you, because as elected represntatives of the people of this Nation, you have the power to make the provisions of the Constitution operative in all areas of our democratic society. We are not fascinated by, nor are we depending upon any foreign philosophy of government to deliver us. We feel that our hope is in the American way. We feel that a sense of justice and real democracy is alive in most Americans.

In asking a favorable report of you gentlemen on Senate bill 984, we are not thinking of Negroes in the U. S. A. alone. We are interested in the elimination of discrimination in employment for all citizens of the U. S. A., regardless of race, color, national origin, or religion.

We have demonstrated our military strength on foreign fields. We must now demonstrate our moral and spiritual strength at home. All citizens of America fought together to win a military victory over our common enemies. We must now work together to conquer and banish forever that brazen enemy, discrimination.

We believe that the passage of Senate bill 984 would be one of the greatest steps toward national unity possible. It would have cement

ing effect throughout the Nation. It would curb the spread of foreign philosophies and disunifying propaganda. It could force labor unions to extend membership privileges to all laborers. It would inspire hope and faith in a large segment of the citizenship of this Nation. It would say, in no uncertain terms, that America is the America of the Constitution.

Senator DONNELL. Might I interrupt you just a moment? There has been a very interesting experiment made in your own city in the baseball world. As I understand it, there is a colored man on the Brooklyn Dodgers. Have you had occasion to investigate how that has been generally received among the people of Brooklyn, and generally speaking, among the devotees of the sport, baseball?

Reverend RAY. I have attended several of these games and I have purposely sat among white people to get their reaction to Jackie Robinson. I found that there was some little unfavorable reaction, but generally the reactions were favorable. I found also that in many instances these people, both white and Negro, were actually pulling more for Jackie than they were for the whites. There was one team, as you probably recall, that there was some little talk of their not even playing against the Brooklyn Dodgers because of Jackie Robinson being on the team, but it was soon cleared up, and of course the

on.

game went

The team mates of Jackie Robinson were just a little bit indifferent toward him at first, but I understand now he has been accepted as just another member of the team. There is absolutely no difference made so far as Jackie is concerned.

Senator DONNELL. Mr. Griffith was largely instrumental in the introduction of the colored member of the team, was he not? Reverend RAY. Yes, sir.

Senator DONNELL. Proceed with your statement.

Reverend RAY. We believe that a segregated minority has a moral right to prod a dominant majority in a democratic society, when that majority fails to force the functioning of the principles of democracy for all of the citizens of the society. We recognize, with great pride, the opportunity which our Nation has to spread democratic thinking to the battle-scarred, baffled, and bewildered nations of the earth, but we do not have the moral right to demand democracy elsewhere, until we make it real for all of our citizens at home.

Senator DONNELL. I referred to the Brooklyn Dodgers, the baseball team, as an experiment. I do not know that it is an experiment. I should withdraw that word and say it is something that has been introduced in the team. However, that is what I meant.

Reverend RAY. It is indeed an experiment.

Senator DONNELL. I didn't know whether it was considered any experiment or whether it was the permanent policy of the owners of the team.

Reverend RAY. But it is working out very satisfactorily, according to Mr. Griffith.

We believe that the practical expression of justice is the Golden Rule "as ye would that men should to unto you, do ye even so unto them."

This is the key to a functioning democracy. This was the dream of the founding fathers. This is the hope for an abiding society. Our blood went into the purchase of our military victories; our brain and brawn helped to turn the wheels of industries, to produce mate

rials. Our money flowed freely into the Treasury for stamps and bonds; our prayers ascended constantly to the Almighty God for all enlisted men and for the leaders of our Nation, and now we hope for a real America, the America of the Constitution, the America of the patriot's dreams, the America which we are capable of becoming: "One Nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Gentlemen, the realization of that hope is dependent upon your attitude and action as representatives of the people of this Nation. If you believe that every citizen should have the right to employment without discrimination because of race, color, national origin, or religion, you have the opportunity to shout it to the Nation through this legislation.

If you believe that this Nation can endure, half slave and half free. you can say so by rejecting this legislation.

This legislation, gentlemen, is not political, it is moral, it is spiritual. It is concerned with the dignity of human personality. It is concerned with basic human rights.

The time has come, we believe, that this Nation must speak to its own citizens, those citizens who do not see, or pretend not to see, the democratic light. We are lighting torches of democracy throughout the world, but we must fan the flickering flames at home.

We believe that "swords can be beaten into plowshares, and spears into pruning hooks." We believe that the instruments which are built for brutality, butchery, and barbarism may be turned into instruments of production and moral and spiritual development.

A working, earning, producing citizenship in America is our only hope for domestic peace. The recent war forced us into some advances in the field of employment. We showed then, what America can do in a national emergency. We can now show what a free people can do together without pressure of war. We can now prove that America is more than a name.

America is a spirit; America is an ideal; America has soul and moral stamina. You gentlemen are America. You represent her ideals, her dreams, her soul. When you rise in the strength of the power vested in you, the fetters of economic slavery will be broken from thousands of our citizens, and a new America shall emerge.

So, on behalf of the National Baptist Convention, U. S. A., Inc., I respectfully request your careful consideration of this legislation, and sincerely trust that you may see your way clear to report it to the Senate, with the recommendation that it pass.

Senator DONNELL. Are there any questions?

Senator ELLENDER. Reverend Ray, did Dr. Jemison prepare that statement?

Reverend RAY. No, sir; it was prepared by a committee, members of the social-service committee of which I am chairman. Some of the members live in the New York area. I have a letter, however, from Dr. Jemisom, urging me to urge the passage of the bill.

Senator DONNELL. Mr. Ray, we very much appreciate your coming today and thank you very much for your statement.

The committee will be in recess until June 18, 1947, at 9:30 a. m., in this room.

(Whereupon, at 1 p. m.. the subcommittee adjourned until 9: 30 a. m., Wednesday, June 18, 1947.)