The Michigan Chronicle

JEALOUS LEADERSHIP
Our attention has been called to an alleged spirit of professional jealousy on the part of the so-called Race leaders in our city. We hesitate to believe that one influential citizen could be jealous of the success of our citizens. Nevertheless, we are informed that our various leaders maintain their separate followings and the program of one leader is frowned upon by the other leaders. In short, we are said to have a divided leadership although they seek a common goal. They all seek social justice.
We have no accurate way to determine the truth of these allegations, but if there is such tendency nothing could be more alarming. It must be admitted that in matters of opinion, we, like most mortals, can be expected to disagree. Our miserable, impoverished economic and social position, however, are matters of fact and not opinion. We all agree that unless something is done to alleviate these conditions our position in this society will shortly become very much worse.
It is equally obvious that our plight demands the very best efforts of all of us for mutual help and betterment. Our public men who are doing their utmost for the common good do not have the time to seek personal applause nor indulge in petty jealousies. Our position is too precarious to afford a divided leadership or a divided people. All vital issues affecting the group should bring together all of our influential citizens whose responsibility it is to arouse all of us to an intelligent course of action. We must become as one man, intelligent and determined.
We believe that all our civic and social organizations have a great contribution to make to the general welfare. They deserve support for their undertakings and they deserve credit for their accomplishments. We must not, however, permit ourselves to pull each other down. We believe further that all of our civic and uplift bodies should be federated into one great central organization, the membership of which would include almost every citizen in Detroit. Such a federated and representative body would automatically call for a united stand on the issues which continually confront us. Here all of our leaders in whatever walk of life would meet together and the pressure of our troubles should make them forget their differences.