The Petal Paper

Letters
Alexandria, La.
Dear Mr. East,

The governor of this state, said, "If the Negroes of this state are not satisfied I am willing to hire a ship and take them back to Africa."

The Negroes of this nation have no more rights in Africa than the whites of this nation have in Europe. The governor has forgotten that America was the home of the Indians.

The whites migrated here and brought us over also. They made slaves of us and England made slaves of them. In the Declaration of Independence, they said, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

Southern Governors, Senators, Representatives, Commentators, News Papers and even ministers of the gospel are preaching lopsided gospel, lopsided politics and lopsided Americanism, trying to brainwash ignorant whites and colored Americans to believe that America was the original home of the whites and that Negroes have no rights in America that the whites must respect.
This brain-washing has been so successful until Governor Long believes it himself.
A careful study of history sets forth this fact that America was the home of the Indians. The patriot Crispus Attucks, a Negro, was the first to give his life for Americanism; we served 250 years without a pay-day; Negroes have been among the first to shed blood in every war since. We were first to land in France in World War I, first soldiers to land in Italy in World War II, and the first to land in Korea in that War. Negro troops captured San Juan Hill under Colonel Theodore Roosevelt in the Spanish-American War after all other troops had failed, and Negro troops were sent across the Mexican border to capture Villa.
The sacred Constitution of the USA spells out Americanism and to safeguard said Americanism for Negroes the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments were added to the Constitution. Southerners separate themselves from the United States, turn their back against Americanism and are fighting for a "Southern Way of Life." The Southern way of life spells out white supremacy.
The Negroes are fighting for Americanism as embodied in the US Constitution and all of the US Senators but 17 are supporting same; we are working within the frame-work of the Supreme Court decision, the South is working against the Supreme Court decision. Should the Negroes be sent back to Africa or white supremacists sent back to Europe?
Yours truly,
James Samuel