Page Ten

SCARLET AND BLACK

FARBES: "I AM STILL REBUKED"
‘CHURCHES REFUSE FUNDS APPEAL

OE” RALLY

(Continued from Page 2)

speech here. I told them (the
rally planners) that i didn’t
want to speak,”, Walker began,
“because my words are words
of bitterness and words oi lrus-
lratll‘tn. And this is neither lhl
time for words or bitterness
nor ior words of irostretions.”

“i don’t expect to live through
the summer," he [old 300 people
sittlng on the grass in irnnt
of him, “mainly because I'm
black."

“Violent or non-violent,” Wal-
ker continued, “I‘m going to be
our there—1 have to be out
there—because I’m black."

The iormcr Smith hall pres-
ident told the group that it was
unfortunate that days or mourn-

ing placed an emphasis on the '

color black “when we are
mourning the death oi a noble
black man."

"We’ve got black suits on
ano‘it‘s a black day and every-
thing is black,’ Walker said,
”But Dr. King himself a few
months ago mid America it
ought not to emphasize that
Wlor.’

“I didn’t have to come here
In a black suit, bll dressed in
black," he added.

“It’s not going to do any good
to glorlry Dr. king. That will
be done enough, has been done
enough, all across the country,”
Walker slld.

”it's not going to do any
good to just talk about awaken-
ing White America,” he ex-
plained. “That's been done
gnough!

“Enough of talk," he conclud-
ed in a whisper. “I want to see
it there‘s my ml concern here
. . ,at Grime". . .1 want you lo
do more than talk."

5260 AT RALLY ALONE

SDS members and Thomas
then circulated through the
crowd taking contributions to
pay for the telegrams and in
send to the Memphis garbage
workers.

By the time they had {in-
ished, they had collected over
$264) irom those present at the
rally alone.

An admtionul 370 had been
turned over to the rally plan-
ners Sunday mornlng by Col-
loge Chaplain Dennis Hous—
the collection from the weekly
service in Herrick Chapel.

“I hate being ill Grinnell to-
day," the Rev. Ed Wright, a
former ministerial intern at
Grinneil during the 1964-65
school year and now Baptist
Chaplain at Harvard, had told
the Sunday worshipers in Her-
rick.

Wright denounced the Church
In general and Grinnell churches
in particular at the Sunday
momlng service before the
rally. He had come to Grin-
hell on President Leggett’s in-
vitation, he said, and was
cheerless at Grinnell on the
national day oi mourning for
Dr. King.

EIGHT CHURCHES SAY “NO”

Only 550 was brought in irnm
Sunday morning collections at
churches in the town of Grlnr
nell. According to Joe Berry,
twelve oi Grinnell's sixteen

churches had been called and
asked il a team or one black
girl and one white girl from
the College could attend the
Sunday services at each one
and collect money for the con-
tribution in memorial to Dr.
King.

Eight oi the twelve churches
contacted in town, Berry said,
“. . . gave us a flat ‘NO’ and
hung up the phone.’

As Hubert Forbes told the
300 persons at the rally:“0n
a day or national mourning I

collected more donations at
Sunday dinner, and a few more
donations trickled In Monday
and during the remainder oi
the week.

By Tuesday morning the col-
lections totalled almost $450 in
paper currency, checks, and
small change. Some of the
checks were made out to the
Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (sow), which Dr.
King founded and termerly
headed; some were made out
to “Memphis Garbage Work-

Photo by Alan lasinhardl

"l DON‘T EXPECT to live through the summer, mainly ba-
couso l’rn black.” Roy Walker told 300 peoplo It Blrber Pin-

u.

“Violent or non-violent, i’m going lo I» out then — I
have to be out there—because I‘m black."

“My words no words of bitterness and words oi frus-
tration. And this is neither tho limb to: words of bitterness

nor lor words of frustration."

am rebuked at halt a down
supposed ‘contorl of coir
lclenoe.’ "

“This is a say day," the CBS
president told them “not only
because a noble black man was
shot down in Memphis. . t It
is a sad day because on this
national day at mourning i am
still rebuked. p .lt is a sad
day because it took this day
to make our President (John-
son) give oiiicial concem.’

The $50 from local churches
came mainly from three—the
local Methodist church, Filth
Ave. at Park St; the First
United Presbyterian Church,
1015 Fifth Ave: and Father
John Hedger’s St. Paul’s Epl5<
copal Church and Student Cert.
ter, Sixth Ave. at State St.

Hedger and Rev. Newell Da-
vis, oi the United Church of
c h r i at (Congregationalist),
Fourth Ave. at Broad St, had
been involved in the February
Town vs, Negro Student con-
troversy on campus.

DONATIONS TOTAL 3450

An additional contribution of
around 35 was collected Surl-
day night by Gtinneli students
lrom the North Side Friends
congregation, lull West St.
Around $40 was sent to SDS
by a congregation in Gilmen.
In, Jen. miles northwest of
Grinnell.

' Tables outside the dining'halllz

ers;” And some to “Herrick
Chapel."

Some contributions came from
town citizens like Bill Weeks,
principal of the local high
school. And some came from
College personnel like Mr. and
Mrs. Stephen Aldrich, resident
advisers in Cleveland hall, who
gave $50 to the cause.

SMALL CHANGE

AND REAL CONCERN

But most came lrom students
or the rally itself. One white
girl put twelve pennies, three
trickles, ﬁvo dimes, and a
quarter into an envelope and
scrawled on the back “If I can
no instead or give, show me."

She wrote her name and er
tension number on the envelope.

The telegrams to Memphis
were Sent Sunday night. Andy
Loewi sent the check [or $443.78
to the SCLC headquarters in
Atlanta, Ga.. Monday morning.
specilylng it be used to help
the sanitation workers' strug-
glo in Memphis.

“Pm somewhat surprised that
there's that much support, that
much concern on this campus,"
Farbes told the 58:3 alter the
contributions were counted and
locked in the Forum basement
Sunday ottemoon."

“1 hope," ha added,
response won’t be limited to

“the '

money payments which will re-
lieve guilt feelings."

"(is an unprecendented a-
mount oi contributions for any-
thing ever all Grinnell. it's
amazing," added an snS mem-
ber.

PETITIONS AND APPEALS

Concern over Martin Luther
King, Jr‘s death, however,
was not limited to colliribu~
tions at the Sunday rally.

Friday - less than twelve
hours alter King‘s assassina-
tron—Gates freshman Ted Glick
posted a petition in Cnmegie
basement calling ror “prompt,
swift action on the lair housing
bill now under consideration in
Congress.”

"We, the undersigned stua
dents and faculty of Grinnell
College.” Gilck’s petition lead,
“in despair and sorrow over
the tragic murder or Dr. Mar-
lin Luther King, ask, beseech.

and demand that ihe goveming'

body of this country act im-
mediately to end the conditions
in this country which breed
violence nl this sort.”

After asking for immediate
aclion on the tan llouslng bill,
the petition went- on to . .
desire that more measures be
enacted to bring equality and
freedom [0 all residents of the
United States, no matter what
their color may be."

During the is hours the pe-
tirion was up in the post of-
nce, no students and faculty
members signed it.

Copies of Glick's petition were
sent Monday to Speaker of the
House John W. McCormack and
Vice President Hubert Hum-
phrey.

Gllck enclosed a letter with
copies oi the petition. “No at-
tempt to recruit the signa-
tures was made," he explained.
“i am sure that many more
signatures could have been ob-
tained it more effort had been
put into this undertaking. But
that fact is inoooscquentia '-

Pine Tree sophomore Marci-
Still and James sophomore
Nasrln Paklzegi began taking
contributions Monday for the
Poor Pcoples' March on Wash-
ingtull when they appealed
through the campus mall with
hand-outs.

Sponsored by Martin Luther
King's own SCLC, the Poor
People's March is scheduled to
begin April 22. Thousands or
demonstrators are expected to
sit-in in the nation's Capital
City until their demands are
met.

“in order- to go to Wash-
lngiou," the Griuneil girls said
in their mailbox appeal, “these
people will need food. clothing,
and transportation. They will
be staying there UN-
TIL SOME ACTION [5 TAKEN.
The length at their stay is there-
fore unknown,“

CONTROVERSY OVER
CHURCH REBUKE

That churches in the town
of Grillnell “rebuked” those
seeking contributlons for the
Memphis garbage workers be.
came a raging controversy on
campus beginning Monday.

“1 was at a meeting last
night where i learned about
the adverse response oi some
local churches (mine included)
to a request to seek donations
lor the. Memphis garbage col-
lectors," Professor James Kls~

sane (English) wrote dos Bér-’

ry Monday.

Kiss‘ane‘, who cuclomd‘ a do"

Friday, April IZ. lqbl

nation to the Memphis strikers,
is a member of the local Con-
gregationalist c h u r c h A the
United Church of Christ, Fourth
Ave. and Broad St.

“i believe Rev. (Neweli)
DavisAand no doubt others as
wellafeit he acted in rhe only
way he could, given his respon-
sibilities and the short notice
oi the request,” Klssane added.

“I happen to think he (Davis)
made a serious mistake in
this, but more important," Kis-
sane said, “I think is the (act
that his concern about civil
rights in general and his eilurts
on behalf 0! decent treatment
of our black students in the
town of Gn'nnell have been not
only creditable but outstand-
ing."

“He puts most or us to shame
in this respect,” Kissane
avowed. Davis has been in<
volved personally with many or
the Negro students on campus
as “friend and mentor.’ ac-
cording it) one CBS member.

“ii there was going to be a
‘YES' in town—-in addition to
(Father) l-lcdger— thought it
would have been Davis," added
Sl>S member Berry.

Davis refused a request to
collect contributions at his
church when asked Sunday by
berry. By Monday, however,
the congregation or Davls'
Church had sent about $35 in
contributions to H835 to be
given to Hubert Farbes of the
rally group.

CHURCHES, CBS TO MEET

College Chaplain Dennis l-laar
was expected to reprimand the
members oi the Grinnell Min-
isterlal Association (GMA) at
a meeting Tuesday morning at
St. Paul's Episcopal Church—
Father Hedger's church — at
Sixth Ave. and State St,

According to Joe Berry. Haas
decided Monday nlght to fell the
Tuesday assembly or local mln.
isters that “as far as i am
concerned, you have completely
separated yourselves from the
College,"

At the Tuesday meeting, how-
ever, Haas didn'o have till
chance or the inclination to
deliver his reprimand. They
began the meeting by inviting
representatives of campus Con-
cenied Black Students to a
special meeting of the assocb
otion which will probably bl
scheduled for tomorrow morn-
ing, April 13.

Only about hail of the churcheo
in town are actively represented
in the GMA, which has no na-
tional alllliation; several min-
isters who are active were ab-
sent from the Tuesday meeu'ng.

Monday night about ﬁfteen
students—mostly Negroes—met
in the SGA Board Room of the
Forum basement to draft lll
letter condemning the Grlilncll
community churches. The meet-
ing was planned shortly after
the Sunday rally by Farbes,
Thomas, and Berry.

The letter—ﬁnally signed by
SDS, Forbes (representing CBS)
and Thomas (representing, he
said, only himself) said the
death “oi Rev. Dr. Martin Lu-
ther King was a loss that oh
iects every man, woman, and
child in this country."

"The spirit of that man has
been tragically violated by the
indifference of the Grlnnell lead-
ers or that Christian cause for

RALLY~ '-
(Continued on Page 11)

 

