Letters: Apr. 18, 1969

(2 of 4)

Sir: A commentary on the violent age in which we live was reflected in the question of our six-year-old daughter, while watching the funeral of Eisenhower. She asked: "Mother, who shot him?"

MRS. DESMOND HERBERT Jackson, Mich.

Role to Play-Sir: I do not know on-what basis you reach the conclusion in your essay "The Future of Black Leadership" [April 4] that "Roy Wilkins, despite the 450,000 membership of the N.A.A.C.P., has lost more ground than any other leader, with the decline of integration as the principal issue and the loss of the N.A.A.C.P.'s traditional adversary role."

Last year N.A.A.C.P. membership increased by 23,239 and its total income by $745,233.77. Included in the association's 1968 membership are 67,586 youth—the largest number of young people in the civil rights movement. Our membership figures, our incoming mail and the demand for his public appearance indicate no "loss of ground" by our executive director. On the contrary, there has been ample evidence of his increase in stature.

Integration remains a vital issue despite the loud and widely publicized demands of the black neo-segregationists. It is noteworthy that Southern black folk who have suffered most from the chains of Jim Crow have been most consistent in pressing for acceleration of desegregation. Meanwhile, the N.A.A.C.P. continues its "traditional adversary role," aided now in many areas by the Federal Government, thanks to new legislation largely instigated and vigorously and persistently lobbied for by the N.A.A.C.P.

HENRY LEE MOON Director, Public Relations N.A.A.C.P. Manhattan

Sir: You correctly pointed out the reasons why white liberals yearn for the Martin Luther King image rather than that of Malcolm X—self-interest. And your statement that "white Americans are well advised to provide every ounce of help they can" is in the same vein. What you only underscore in a parenthesis ("whites really choose black leaders") and in a reference to "white racism" is the much deeper problem. The crucial difference between King and Malcolm was that until shortly before his death, King was saying "Look, whitey, move over and let us have some of what you've got," while Malcolm realized that what was needed was the more difficult job of changing the basic structures in society that continue to oppress the black community. How about trying an essay on white racism, since the goals and directions of black leaders are almost determined by such racism?

GARY L. CHAMBERLAIN Berkeley, Calif.

Capp and Gown