Atlanta Daily World

Lester Granger Gets Elks' Lovejoy Award

WASHINGTON, D. C. (NNPA) Lester Granger, executive director of the National Urban League, was presented the Lovejoy Award by the Elks grand lodge at its civil liberties program in Metropolitan Baptist Church here Monday afternoon.

The award, named for Elijah Lovejoy, an abolitionist, is presented each year to an American who makes an outstanding contribution in the field of civil rights.

Mr. Granger was the ninth recipient. The award was established in 1949. Since then it has been given to former Governor Alfred E. Driscoll of New Jersey, Ralph Bunche, Under Secretary of the United Nations; Branch Rickey who broke down the color line in major league baseball by bringing Jackie Robinson into the Brooklyn Dodger organization.

Other recipients were the late Mrs. Mary McLeod Bethune, educator; Marian Anderson, world renowned singer; Thurgood Marshall, NAACP counsel; the Rev. Martin Luther King, leader of the Montgomery (Ala.) bus boycott, and A. Philip Randolph, vice president of the AFL-CIO.

APPRECIATE CITATION

In all of the citations he has acquired, Mr. Granger said in accepting the medal, "none means more to me than this one coming from a group which is more typical of the rank and file leadership of colored people in this country than possibly any other group that could be named."

Mr. Granger also said the award was "solid proof of what I have been feeling for several years-that objective and responsible colored leadership has come to see what it did not see 15 or 20 years ago that the Urban League is part of the

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Lester Granger
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great fight for full civil rights"

In the fight for freedom, the Urban League director asserted, that colored people in this country have three big advantages on those who fight for freedom in other parts of the world

1 "The Constitution to which we can constantly return for court interpretation.' About every 20 years when the courts have been obliged to pass on some question of civil rights. he said, the decisions have moved upward to higher levels of interpretation

The last jump was too much for the timid souls of the South." he said.

2 "The fact that we have access to a free ballot." He said people in this country can go to the polls to vote their approval or disapproval of what has been done.

FREEDOM TO READ. LISTEN

3. People in this country read newspapers and magazines and listen to the television and radio.

"Therefore, we have what is probably the best informed general public anywhere in the world, and that informed general public is an ally of ours."

Mr. Granger urged that a job be done of indoctrinating intelligent white citizens, who may be uninformed or misled

Hobson R. Reynolds. grand director of the Elks civil liberties department presented the award to Mr. Granger and presided at the meeting.

The J Finley Wilson Foundation sponsored by Seagram's Vanguard Society, made presentations to the "Brother Elk" and "Daughter Elk" of the year. who were chosen by committees
The "Brother Elk of the Year" is Dr. I. W. Williams of Valdosta. Ga.. state president of the Georgia Elks Association and a grand trustee. and Mrs. L. Marion Poe, an attorney of Newport News. Va., state daughter president of Virginia.

The presentation to Dr. Williams, a dentist, was made by Mr. Reynolds.

The presentation of Mrs. Poe was made by Mrs. Nettie Carter Jackson of Staten Island, N. Y., grand daughter ruler of the grand temple (women' auxiliary)

Mrs, Isabel Hyder. the Daughter Elk" of last year received her award which she did not get last year.

McLAUGHLIN WELCOME

Robert E. McLaughlin, president of the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia, made an unscheduled appearance to welcome the Elks to Washington. Mr. McLaughlin also presented a key to the city to the grand daughter ruler. He made a similar presentation Friday to Robert H Johnson of Philadelphia, grand exalted ruler.

"We feel we 'got the city pretty well toned up for you." Mr McLaughlin told the Elks. "We have got rid of most of the aspects of segregation here. but we know. of course, that the job is not finished "

Mr McLaughlin added that he though it is "most appropriate" that every semblance of racial segregation be rooted out of the Nation's Capital

He said the Commissioner expects the recently established Council on Human Rights to take up the task and work with its more delicate aspects in this community

Mrs. Daisy Bates of Little Rock. chaperone of the nine colored students who attended Central High School there last year and one of the pupils. Miss Gloria Ray. were introduced to the audience