Loretto Academy - Laurel Yearbook (Kansas City, MO)

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Mr. Robert Hoyt, choirmon of the Kansas City Catholic Inter- racial Council, explains how the Catholic Interraciol Council is trying to improve race problems in the community. What is prejudice? Are some really more intelligent than others? What is morally right concerning the race problem? If you can't answer these questions you can class yourself with most Catholics in the country. The race problem is a subject on which we are all very much uninformed; yet, it's every Catholic's obligation to contribute to the solving of this problem, says Mr. Hoyt, chairman of the Catholic Interracial Council. To solve this problem we must under- stand it, and this is what the Catholic Interracial Council is trying to do by informing the public. In Kansas City the Council has 120 salaried members and 1000 names on its mailing list. Members need nor be Catholics, although, all the Council’s work is presently aimed at Catholics. Dues of the organization are used for literature and other expenses which may occur. The first step in solving the race problem is to learn the situation in depth and detail, says Mr. Hoyt. Many people still have a ridiculous image of all members of another race; this is especially true of the whites in regard to the Negroes. People just don't know any different, because they have been raised on these ideas. The racial problem is a moral problem. The Council is trying to reach people's consciences, making them realize that they can't say, I believe in God and democracy and keep refusing people their basic rights. The Council has set up a home visitor program, which is designed so that people of different races meet in their own homes and discuss the prejudice question. The Council is striving for unity; not wiping out cultural differences, but wiping out prejudice.” What is the Catholic Interracial Council? How does it work? What is the race situation on Kansas City? These questions and others were asked at an inter- view with Mr. Robert Hoyt, editor of the Catholic Reporter and chairman of the Kansas City Catholic Interracial Council. His answers showed that the main solution to the race question is for us To Be Informed You can't draw a line or have reservations. You can't destroy one part of discrimination, without destroying all of it, replied Mr. Hoyt when he was asked about the seri- ousness of the Kansas City problem. Like almost every Northern community, Kansas City has discrimination in employment, education, housing, hospitalization, and public and private accommodations. The Catholic Interracial Coun- cil studies these problems and tries to negotiate with those involved. In the case of education and public accom- modations, members of the Council have testified before the school board and the Chamber of Commerce. The Council, in the future, hopes to break up the white ghettos in the suburbs, thus, helping the Negro housing problem. T he most popular way to arouse interest today, is the non- violent demonstration. Although no one can be in sym- pathy with all the incidents, the non-violence movement is remarkable because it shows great self-control, courage and training, said Mr. Hoyt when asked about the national demonstrations. As of yet, the Council has taken no active part in any demonstration, but members were sent to take part in the Washington march. T his is an era of revolution where prejudice, discrimina- tion, and segregation are a part of the every-day life. Every- one must be aware of the crucial developments of the race situation. The Church is just beginning her efforts in this field; but prejudice is a powerful force and the only force comparable to it is religion. By being informed Catholics we can better meet the demands which the racial problem will involve in the future. 18 the laurelette

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 At the cross her stotion keeping echoed through the holls of Loretto September 1 7 when the students mode o pilgrimage in honor of Our Lady of the Seven Dolors, the patroness of the Sisters of Loretto. Moving to shrines throughout the school, the pilgrims relived Mary's seven sorrows. Laurelette editor, Kris Schaeffer awards the big Spirit Cup to senior president, Peggy Wolski. In the laurelette drive the sen- iors turned in a whopping $1,638—227% of their quoto. Alto- gether the four classes brought in $4,384.50—130% of the school quota. This will go toward putting out four complete issues of the laurelette plus a senior supplement. Striving for a better Loretto world. Student Council members met with the faculty ot the Student-FocuIty Institute, September 8 Leadership campers tried to recreate the outdoorsy otmosphere of comp, but at Dede's form they hod to substitute cows for chipmunks and rolling Kansas farmland for Colorado Rockies. Sister David Maureen told student and faculty about the retreat Fr. Kusman gave the sisters during the summer on the Better World Movement. Fall 1963

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The reader rampant This is the journal of a white man’s experiences as a Negro in the deep South. The subject matter is in itself fascinat- ing, but Mr. Griffin, an accomplished novelist, does more than document his travels in an informative manner. He observes human nature and environment and creates a moving manuscript with a powerful impact. Sitting in his Mansfield, Texas office one autumn night in 1959, Mr. Griffin pondered what a man might discover by darkening his skin in a land where blackness is despised. He best describes his decision as the only way I could sec- to bridge the gap between us (the races) was to become a Negro. 1 decided to do this. In Fort Worth he discussed his idea with Negro friends. One of these, George Levitan, owner of the Negro maga- zine Sepia, agreed to publish what then was to be a report rather than an experience. The mustard seed was planted. Griffin wondered if both races lived side by side in har- mony as so many Southern politicians claimed. The time had come. He consulted a prominent dermatologist in New Orleans and began accelerated skin treatments (usual time is three weeks to six months—but only a w-eek could be spared) using medication and ultra-violet rays. Now the transition from white to black society began, and cheap hotels became his abode. From New Orleans he traveled by bus and on foot through Mississippi and Alabama. He changed neither his name nor his identity. As an educated Negro writer he could find only menial labor. Travels with Charlie. Writing about his native country, it is necessary for an American author to get acquainted with his subject. This is true for everyone, no matter who he is. Steinbeck had to get out and smell the grass and the woods, see the hills and the water, hear our nation's sounds, and learn the quality of its light. And so, with this in mind, John Steinbeck and his sophisticated poodle, Charley, set out to re-explore” their native land. Only Mr. Steinbeck and Charley could amble around the countryside—completely ignoring the crowded cities—and come back with penetrating insights into the real America. In the beginning of the book, Steinbeck expresses his belief that New- York, Boston, San Francisco, and all big cities, are no more American than Paris, France. Steinbeck claims that they are simply badger holes, ringed with trash—surrounded by piles of wrecked and rusting auto- mobiles, and almost smothered with rubbish. But there is good to contradict the bad. For every badger hole there exists the expanding land. The American, noble land of Throughout his txx)k the bitter struggle for dignity and survival is conveyed through the people Griffin meets. On a New Orleans street corner he ate coon and rice with a crippled bootblack. In a bus rolling into the Mississippi night he comforts a fellow traveler who despaired of his blackness. He shared two rooms of a backwoods shanty with a struggling couple and their six children. These are people who wait for the day we can have butter with our bread. From this pattern of personal experiences the total picture of the Southern Negro emerges. It is one of wanton pov- erty, courageous striving, and crushing frustration. Mr. Griffin gives us no detailed analysis of the Prob- lem. What he offers is part of himself. Reading this book is witnessing a profound soul-searching. It was this full realization that brought Mr. Griffin to repeat his message in this book and in countless lectures and pleadings across the country. The gist of this message is contained in a statement he made recently: The dangers are equal in areas where some rights are denied as where none arc- granted. Our silence is as dangerous as the racists shouts. Black Like Me. John Howard Griffin, New York: New American Library (A Signet Paperback), 1963. rich fields, magnificent trees, and white picket fences— America's inheritance from God. The pair travel through worlds of people and a galaxy of states — each possessing its own characteristics. Mr. Steinbeck became aware that every state has its own literary form—made evident by highway signs. However. Steinbeck comes to the conclusion that the states agree on one mat- ter: Each one admits that it is the finest of all and an- nounces that fact in huge letters as you cross the state line. As Steinbeck rambles in and out of localities, attending witches' ceremonies, renewing acquaintances, and fighting the elements, he learns, along with his readers, that Amer- ica is a land of both good and bad. This, Steinbeck says, is fine. For: What good is warmth without cold to give it sweetness? Travels with Charlie. John Steinbeck. New York: The Viking Press, Inc., 1962. (Also available in Bantam Paperback.) Fall 1963 19