Jackson Advocate

Patience-Forebearance & Faith In God
Basic Principles Of Negro Progress

There are some critics of President Eisenhower's suggestions to some three hundred Negro leaders attending the summit conference in Washington, that "leaders have patience and forebearance and depend more on education than the letter of the law in their struggle for equal citizenship rights."

As I see it, the President whose administration has gone further to help the Negro secure equal citizenship rights than any other president since the immortal Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation, has lifted the race issue out of politics and given the leaders some practical common sense advice.

While the President's statement on patience and forebearance may not please many of the politicians and other leaders who are seeking to exploit the race issue at this time, we believe that he expressed the sentiment of millions of Negroes and other groups including the Jews who have made miraculous progress through patience, forebearance and self-determination.

As I see it, when an individual or group loses patience and cannot endure in any cause, they have partially lost the battle. This does not mean that as an individual or a group we should sit down and give up.

What would have happened to the future of America had George Washington given up at Valley Forge? What would have happened to the Negro if General Grant had surrendered to General Lee? They had patience to keep on fighting, not so much to free the slaves, but to save the Union.

It is reported that Lincoln, in the crisis of the war once said "lay down your arms, come back into the Union and you can keep your slaves."

As I see it, the Negro slaves in America would no doubt have been slaves forever if they had not had patience, forebearance and faith in themselves, and faith in God. Had they tried force they would have met the fate of John Brown whose body "lies mouldering in the clay."

Mahatma Gandhi is a striking example of the faith and forebearance we speak of now. India and her four million subjects, owe their freedom today to Gandhi's patient forebearance.

Many of us can silently testify that our life's work would have been a failure had we not had patience and self-determination we would have failed to achieve our education when we had no means and the way was dark.

Many of those who are rated wealthy would be in poverty had they not had patience, endurance and faith.

As I see it, Negro progress in America is unparalleled in the history of mankind because we had patience, faith and self-determination.

We have made this miraculous achievement generally without resorting to violence even against our oppressors.

Patience, and forebearance are virtues. They are the greatest weapons by which Negroes can win their fight.

We can band ourselves together as tight as Gideon's army and have not patience, we will lose.

As I see it, we should take a lesson from Job who was the richest man of his time. He lost it all. But he kept his patience and faith in God. At one time he stated: "I will wait on the Lord all my appointed time."

Some day history may record President Eisenhower's statement on patience and forebearance which will be cherished as precious gems in the archives of history.

C. W. Rice, Negro Labor News, Houston, Texas