Charter

Riots are noisier than reason. The public, concerned over race tension in Detroit and New York, paid no attention last week to one of the most hopeful steps ever to be taken in the U.S. toward better race relations. Significantly, the step was taken in the South. In Atlanta met 29 Southern leaders -- 16 white, 13 Negro. Purpose of the meeting: to set up a Southern Council on Regional Development. Purpose of the Council: to do "the most and the best that can be done here and now" in bringing about equal opportunity for the Negro in the South.

The Council, headed by Chapel Hill's Howard W. Odum and Fisk University's Charles S. Johnson, declared :

> "The Negro in the United States is entitled to and should have every guarantee of equal opportunity that every other citizen has within the framework of the American democratic system of government.

> "We propose to substitute the measures of the good society for the old biological struggle for physical survival.

> "We urge the formation of a national committee on race and regional development, constituted of representatives of all races.

> "We recognize the sweep and power of the emotions in time of war and crisis, and the rights ... of individuals and groups to agitate, organize and promote their own particular programs. This is and must be the essence of a democracy."

These were not empty words, pronounced out of foggy good will by mere do-gooders. This program was the fruit of a series of four hard-working meetings, soberly and thoughtfully attended to draw up a charter for racial cooperation. The men and women who attended them make up a roster of first-rate Southern leaders. Among them: Mrs. Jessie Daniel Ames, Field Secretary, Commission on Interracial Cooperation; President Rufus E. Clement, Atlanta University; President Mordecai Johnson, Howard University; Editor Ralph McGill, Atlanta Constitution; Bishop Arthur J. Moore, Atlanta; President Frederick D. Patterson, Tuskegee Institute.

That they could agree on so much was a hopeful sign.

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