Of One Blood 2/14/43

Scripture: Acts 17: 22-28

Text: Acts 17: 26a .. “and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth.”

On the windward side of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, overlooking beautiful Kaneohe Bay, is a Christian camp-conference ground called “Kokokahi.” It was conceived in the mind of Dr. Theodore Richards, a Christian layman who is deeply interested in getting people of every sort together, in Christ, and in understanding of each other. It has become the site of many a young people’s conference, similar to our Green Lake conference. Many adult groups meet there each year. And practically all of the conferences held at that camp are interracial. The name of the camp was “made” of the Hawaiian words “Of One Blood” abbreviated and contracted into a single word, “Kokokahi.” Not only did Dr. Richards desire to promote interracial fellowship at conference meetings, but he arranged for the sale of lots for small homes or summer places to Christian people of every race who cared to be part of such a community. The camp and its adjacent territory became a living testimony to the unity of human spirit beneath the superficial differences in physical appearances of people due to racial origin.

Celebration of the birthday of Abraham Lincoln gives us as good an occasion as any to emphasize our thinking about interracial relationships. And so the second Sunday in February is designated “Race Relations” Sunday. (The fact that it falls this year on St. Valentine’s day may give it an added significance; though the relations between members of different races in this country need more than the sentiment of the average valentine to bolster them up!)

The biggest problem in interracial relations is that which involves white and black in our nation. It seems to me that the preponderant burden for its solution belongs on the white race. Black people first came to the shores of this nation in significant numbers as slaves, forcibly imported from Africa. Slavery was an institution which had wide recognition. White people could be indentured - and were! Slavery was practiced to some extent among the black peoples themselves in Africa. As an institution, slavery had existed through the centuries among many peoples. (In more insidious forms, nonetheless real, modern tyrants have revived it!)

All of this analysis and explanation does not alter the fact, however, that black folk were brought to these shores on the initiative and insistence of white folk. The conscience which finally led to their emancipation is still uneasy. For emancipation by no means absolved the white population from responsibility for other aspects of the problem.

Our spiritual ancestors and national forefathers had founded a government “of the people, by the people, for the people.” Such a democratic ideal implies fair treatment and equal opportunity for all people of the nation. It is an ideal which has never been fully achieved. Tremendous progress has been made toward that ideal, but tremendous progress still waits for us to do something further about it.

The great people’s president, Abraham Lincoln, practiced what he preached when, upon issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, he said: “As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy.” If we agree with the implications of Lincoln’s statement, a thoughtful examination of our practices of discrimination might give us some measure of the degree in which we fall short of true democracy in our land.

About a year ago, I preached a sermon in which I took pains to document my belief that no people are, as a group or race, an “inferior” people. With reference to members of the black race, I pointed out the accomplishments of people like Henry O. Tanner in painting, Alexander Puskin and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor in literature, Nilo Pecanha in politics, all of whom lived and worked in countries abroad. In our own country there are those like Booker T. Washington in education, George W. Carver in applied science, Roland Hayes and Marian Anderson in music, Phyllis Wheatly and Lawrence Dunbar in poetry, Joe Louis in athletics.

The black race has great achievement to its credit, and tremendous potentiality within it. It is unworthy of a democracy that we should continue our prejudiced treatment of the black race.

We are making a little progress! A year ago, our navy would accept Negro citizens only as mess attendants. Now, a thousand or so are in training for regular naval activity. The bravery of a mess attendant named Miller in manning a gun on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, and the contribution by Joe Louis of his share of the proceeds of a championship bout to Navy relief have undoubtedly helped. In some instances, black and white army officer candidates are being trained together, and higher officer ranks have been opened to Negroes. Through the years, church and other private funds have been stretched far to provide Negroes for the education they seek as eagerly as anybody else.

But we are still far short of ideal. A thousand Negro sailors is a ridiculously small number out of the total black population of the country. Negro army troops are for the most part segregated in separate units; many in separate camps. Glaring instances have come to light of discriminatory treatment of Negro soldiers by white troopers, M.P.s and even civilians. Negro schools are usually much inferior to schools for white folk in the same districts. The average per capita expenditure for Negro education is far below that for white education in public and private institutions alike. As for that festering sore upon the arms of democracy, known as lynching, it reached a new depth last October when 3 Negroes were lynched in one month in Mississippi. Two of the victims were 14 year old boys. They were accused of terrible crimes. But the fact stands that mob rule robbed them of a just and lawful trial, prior to which a citizen of our nation is legally presumed innocent until proven guilty! Health and housing conditions among Negroes are a national concern, a definite factor in democracy’s struggle for survival.

What of some of the other racial adjustments among the peoples of our land? I suppose we never speak of the “white” or “Caucasian problem” because a majority is seldom a conscious problem to itself. I sometimes think we may be a considerable problem to the minority groups!

But, being white, here this morning, we might consider for a few moments, better understanding of our original Americans, the American Indians. In fairness to them we need to remember our responsibility to help them to a better station than that of petty offenders against the law and occasional laborers. Our government has found that the patience and accuracy of Indians qualifies them for much defense work requiring a high degree of accuracy. Indian stenographers and typists have gone into war work in considerable numbers. Stories are frequent of the calm and effective bravery of individual soldiers. They are worthy of opportunity and of responsible care on the part of those who have taken over control of the land that was originally theirs.

There are approximately 127,000 people of Japanese origin on our mainland. Of these, about 80,000 are native born. Of the 47,000 aliens among them many would be citizens if our laws made them eligible. About 112,000 are now evacuated from the west coast states - California, Oregon and Washington.

The compulsory concentration of 80,000 citizens of our nation in relocation centers involves Americans - American reared, American trained, American educated. They sing American songs, dance American dances, eat American food, live in American homes, read American newspapers, books and magazines, enjoy American movies, speak the English language with the American idiom and accent. The United States of America is their native land, they have known no other, most of them will never know another.

Their removal to relocation centers led the “Tolan Committee” last May to say “The Nation must decide, and Congress must gravely consider, as a matter of national policy, the extent to which citizenship, in and of itself, is a guarantee of equal rights and privileges during time of war. Unless a clarification is forthcoming, the evacuation of the Japanese population will serve as an incident sufficiently disturbing, to lower seriously the morale of vast groups of foreign-born among our people.”

We might discuss Mexicans, Chinese, Filipinos, certain people of European origin if we were to expand the field of our concern this morning. Our discriminations, our lack of enough understanding and appreciation make observance of Race Relations Sunday more important than ever before.

Minority groups wonder if we really do want democracy. They wonder what is their stake in this struggle. Axis propagandists take full advantage of every discrimination, of every lynching, of every doubt.

Things we can do.

1) Examine our own prejudices. (My experience at CTS and Parhoelle home) (a little child in DVBS said, “If peace on earth I wish to see, I must remember it begins with me.”)

2) Continue approval and substantial support of the mission work of our churches among Negro colleges and schools, Indians, Mexican migrants, etc. We have a new Director of Race Relations, Dr. Charles S. Johnson (colored) at Fisk University.

3) Give study and support to a project on Japanese evacuees.

Next week: Brotherhood Week.

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dates and places delivered:

Wisconsin Rapids, February 14, 1943