Equal Rights – Integration (1962)

Integration (1962)

Human dignity and the worth of the individual are basic in Judaism as well as in the spiritual heritage of America.

Discrimination such as is practiced in many parts of the world and in our own country, is contrary to the spirit of both cultures. The Constitution of the United States rejects the notion that the rights of man means the rights of some men only.

In spite of the progress in eliminating discrimination in transportation and in employment, through administrative action, discrimination and segregation because of race, religion or national origin are still serious problems in the North as well as in the South. In the North, segregation in public schools is frequently a consequence of segregated residential neighborhoods. In the South, discrimination in voting, in education and in accommodation, is the official policy of many local and state governments. Negroes are still widely denied the right to vote through the unfair use of literacy tests and in some cases, through the use of economic boycott and physical intimidation. The Supreme Court ruling of 1954, condemning public school segregation, is still widely flouted. These and other evils are described in the 1960 reports of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, which was established to remove the prevailing inequities. Their recommendations of a program of steps to deal with thee injustices was ignored.

National Women’s League opposes all discrimination in employment, education, public and private housing, public accommodations and voting, and urges the 88th Congress to enact legislation to eliminate discrimination in these areas. We look to the Executive and Judicial branches of our government to protect the civil rights of all American citizens.

Integration (1960)

Human dignity, the worth of the individual, is basic in Judaism as well as in the spiritual heritage of our nation.

Our people’s long history as the victims of discrimination makes us especially sensitive to the harm that comes to society through discrimination.

The Constitution of the United States rejects the notion that the rights of man means the rights of some men only.

** Discrimination… origin remain serious problems in the North as well as in the South. Discrimination in employment means lower income, poorer housing and less education. Most injurious, however, is the discrimination that establishes segregation as the policy of residential neighborhoods. Segregated housing means segregated schools. The most potent source of intergroup tension is discrimination in housing. It can lead to violence and terror. It continues to injure the entire community in all parts of our country.

Therefore, National Women’s League urges enactment of legislation to eliminate discrimination in private as well as public housing.

** Something appears to be missing here—perhaps: “Discrimination and segregation because of race, religion or national” (Educated guess based on resolution #823 below which is similarly worded.)

Integration (1958)

“Have we not all one Father? Hath not one God created us all?” – Malachi 2:10

In the recognition that all men are equal creatures of God and that the 14th Amendment of our Constitution grants equality to all citizens of our land, National Women’s League urges its affiliated Sisterhoods to support equality of opportunity in education, housing, employment and other phases of American life.

National Women’s League affirms its support of anti-discrimination laws such as the Brown-Isaacs law of New York City, which prohibits discrimination in private dwellings of three or more families. We urge that our Sisterhoods conduct educational campaigns in behalf of similar legislation in other cities and in the various states.

We are disturbed that resistance to the United States Supreme Court decisions calling for integration in the public schools has resulted in widespread violations of such basis constitutional liberties as freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and the right to petition for redress of grievances. The issue of law and order transcends all others, and we believe that many citizens who are opposed to integration will agree that the above mentioned practices pose a serious threat to democracy and orderly government as opposed to mob rule and anarchy.

Therefore, National Women’s League:

• urges the agencies of government—federal, state and local—to uphold the Constitution by exercising their full authority to prevent interferences with and abridgement of constitutional liberties;
• calls upon the President of the United States to assert the leadership of his office so that desegregation as the law of the land is obeyed and that the shocking resort to violence and intimidation is halted;
• pledges its efforts in support of the right of all organizations working for full equality to conduct their legitimate functions, free from interference and arbitrary restraint; and
• urges its affiliated Sisterhoods to:
  1. Join with reputable like-minded groups in confronting the moral challenge of racial injustice in American life; and
  2. Engage in programs of Sisterhood education on the substance of this resolution.