Editor's note: Paul Greenberg, former editorial page editor of the Pine Bluff Commercial and retired editorial page editor and columnist for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and columnist for the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1969 for a series of editorials he wrote in 1968 on civil rights. Greenberg described the editorials during an interview once as being about the "need for understanding and the respect for the rights of others." We believe those sensibilities are worthy of review again, considering the racial protests and other turmoil in the country today. For that reason, we are republishing each of Mr. Greenberg's award-winning editorials over the next several days. He died Tuesday at age 84. This first editorial appeared in The Commercial on April 19, 1968.
The Negro members of the mayor's new biracial committee have been prompt and specific in making recommendations--and also, in general, moderate:
They suggest, for example, that there ought to be more Negroes in Pine Bluff's fire department and police force. The city ought to make it clearer that race is no qualification for either of these two important jobs--clearer than the picture now painted by the figures: Two of the city's 61 policemen are Negroes; there are no Negro firemen. Population figures alone would lead an observer to expect a higher proportion of Negroes in both departments.
The NEGRO MEMBERS of the mayor's committee suggest that one way to insure against racial discrimination would be to appoint a Negro to the Civil Service Commission. But race, we think, should be no more a qualification than it should be a disqualification. As a matter of principle, a Negro should be appointed to the commission only if he is the best choice available. An extra effort by the present Civil Service Commission to recruit the best men regardless of race would serve much the same purpose.
It would be a good thing too if Negroes could be assured that they will be considered for the highly visible, white collar jobs in government. The Negro taxpayer is bound to feel curious and maybe resentful about the absence of colored faces among the clerks at the Courthouse.
PRIVATE EMPLOYERS, too, can exert a healthy influence by making it clear that what matters to them is how well a man or woman can do the job, not color. Racial discrimination in employment is not only unjust but unhealthful for the community. It breeds frustrations that do nothing to improve race relations in Pine Bluff.
It is unfortunate that, after all these years, the principle of treating others as one would like to be treated has to be put forward as a recommendation by members of a mayor's committee. That's the sort of simple principle you'd hope people had picked up in Sunday School.
The Negro members of the committee also suggested a course for policemen in public relations. Assuming that 59 of the 61 policemen are thoroughly familiar with the ways of whites, the course would probably stress relations with the Negro community. Such training would be useful if it succeeded only in getting all policemen to drop the term Boy as a noun of address: even Hey You would be a salutary substitute from the viewpoint of race relations.
Then there's the Chamber of Commerce, which--with all the businessmen in town--includes no Negro members. The Jaycees recently acquired their first Negro member and it does seems that a representative and responsive Chamber of Commerce for Pine Bluff would follow suit--which is what the Negro members of the mayor's committee suggest.
THEY ALSO mentioned a youth employment committee and a training program for the chronically unemployed--programs that the Office of Economic Opportunity in town has been interested in for some time.
They noted, too, that Pine Bluff still needs adequate, low-rent housing, as any view of Packingtown from the levee would confirm. An Urban Renewal grant for streets and sidewalks in town another and literally constructive suggestion from these members of the committee.
WE ARE not clear what the Negro representatives on the committee mean by wanting the City Council to adopt the One Man, One Vote rule. A body of considerable power already has adopted that rule for municipal elections. And even before the Supreme Court of the United States made its ruling, everybody's vote for aldermen and mayor counted the same in Pine Bluff, since these officials are elected city-wide.
Ward-by-ward elections would increase the danger of fragmenting the community into competing areas concerned only with their own interests. And a divided community would be far less able to support projects intended to unify the city--like this mayor's committee.
But as a whole, these suggestions are clear and useful. They should be considered by the committee and by the city promptly, which is the way they have been proposed. These members of the committee deserve a courteous and constructive response.
