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Mildred Brown & the De Porres Club's Fight for Civil Rights in Omaha · Nebraska History Podcast

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The following episode features a historic article from the
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Nebraska History magazine. This article may reflect the
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language and attitudes of its time and while it offers
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valuable insight into the past, may contend expressions or
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viewpoints that are outdated or offensive by today's standards.
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Any outdated terms do not reflect the current views or
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perspectives of the Nebraska State Historical Society.
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Welcome to the Nebraska History podcast.
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I'm your host, Chris Goforth. Each episode we explore articles
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written and published in Nebraska History Magazine
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through the pages of the Omaha Star.
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Mildred Brown didn't just report the news, she ignited a movement
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of boycotts and collective activism that predated the
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national stage. In this episode we explore her
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crusade to the 2010 Nebraska History Magazine article Mildred
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Brown and the de Porres Club. Collective activism in Omaha, NE
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near North Side, 1947 to 1960 written by Amy Helena Force.
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A stylishly dressed middle-aged black woman named Mildred Brown
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urged the Omaha City Council to quote do all in their power to
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see that Negroes were hired as bus drivers and therefore end
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the Lily white hiring practices of the Omaha and Council Bluffs
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streetcar company. End Quote.
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Speaking slowly, enunciating each word and standing at her
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tallest 5 feet 5 inches, the publisher of the Omaha Star
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newspaper and representative of the De Porres Club directed her
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comments to the council chairman.
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Quote. I say to you, Your Honor the
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mayor, if the tram company will not hire Negroes as drivers, we
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prevail on you to remove the franchise of the bus company.
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End Quote. Straightening the corsage
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fastened to her fuchsia colored suit jacket, she abruptly turned
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on her matching colored high heels.
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Approaching her chair, Brown looked over her shoulder at the
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row of white men in ties and said, quote, If our boys can
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drive jeeps, tanks and jet planes in Korea in the fight to
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save democracy, make democracy work at home.
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End Quote Born in Alabama in 19 O 5, Mildred Brown was the
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owner, publisher, and editor of the Omaha Star, which she Co
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founded in 1938. An iconoclastic leader, Brown
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nurtured, encouraged, and spoke for her Black readership until
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her death in 1989. But the years of her most
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intense civil rights activity coincide with the existence of
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the De Porres Club, a pioneering civil rights organization in
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Omaha that was active between 1947 and 1960.
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Brown was, quote, one of those individuals who became involved
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in the civil rights struggle long before it was fashionable.
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End Quote. As one of the nation's few Black
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newspaper women and the only Black woman to publish a
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newspaper in Nebraska, Brown occupied a unique historic
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position during the 1940s and 1950s.
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She and other De Poris Club members successfully created
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Equal Employment opportunities through boycotts and through the
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auspice of The Star. Brown's weekly not only provided
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a voice for Near Northside residents, but also provided the
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necessary communication for collective neighborhood
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activism. For her, it was more than a
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moral challenge. She felt it was her civic
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responsibility as a middle class businesswoman living in a black
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community. In February 1947, the Omaha Star
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printed a request for a community meeting.
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Brown wanted near Northside residents to meet her downtown
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at the Young Women's Christian Association, the YWCA building.
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She chose the location not only because she was a member of the
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YWCA, but also because of the organization's interracial goals
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of anti litching laws, race relations and female
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empowerment. Brown wished to quote acquaint
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the people of the community with the facts of the lack of
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employment in the business places of this community, End
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Quote. She wanted quote, freedom from
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fear, want, and the right to equal opportunity.
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End Quote. At the meeting, an interracial
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group of approximately 35 people listening to Brown expound on
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the unfairness of white business owners accepting the black
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community as customers but refusing them as employees.
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Brown's staffers researched 534 available occupations listed in
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the 1940 census. They discovered that Omaha's
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quote, Negroes have no employment in as many as 96
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occupations. End Quote.
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Skilled black men and women applied for these positions, but
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their applications were rejected.
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Approximately 1000 black Near Northside citizens seeking work
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remained unemployed, while the few who found employment were,
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quote, working for a livelihood at jobs far below their status
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both in rank and pay. End Quote.
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Brown told her audience they quote, must approach industry,
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commerce and big business with our problem and seek the
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opportunity to work and grow. End Quote.
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She demanded that those present act quickly, stating quote, let
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us resolve to be a people and subsequently act in a way to
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show we appreciate employment of members of our group by
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patronizing all businesses where there can be found Negroes
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working. End Quote.
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The Interracial Assembly agreed to convene again and elected
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Brown as their chairperson. Brown's newspaper campaign for
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Equal Opportunity employment gained momentum from the De
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Porres Club. The Reverend John Marcou, SJ and
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six white Creighton University students founded the activist
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organization on November 3rd, 1947.
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Additional branches appeared in Kansas City, MO and Denver, Co.
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By the mid 1950s, the non university sanctioned club
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demonstrated a nationwide trend between the Catholic Church and
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impoverished black communities. Patrick Jones's book The Selma
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of the North examines Father Grapi and his Milwaukee, WI
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congregation joining black urban residents in a church approved
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fight against racism and discrimination, while John
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Mccreevey's parish boundaries. The Catholic encounter with race
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in the 20th century urban N includes an exploration of
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Father Marku and his his brother Williams commitment Quote To
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give and dedicate our whole lives and all our energies as
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far as we are able to work on the salvation of the Negroes in
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the United States End Quote. The de Porres Club's first
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meeting in Omaha attracted an interracial crowd of 47 people.
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Marcu, an eccentric, tall, silver haired former West Point
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graduate recently banished from Saint Louis University's Jesuit
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community for his civil rights advocacy, delivered the opening
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prayer. Afterwards, he explained to
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those gathered that the organization borrowed its name
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from a black Dominican Friar, Martin de Porres, the 17th
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century biracial monk best known for his slave ship ministry.
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The Catholic Church canonized him in 1962.
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Marcoux informed his audience that although the club's goals
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were, quote, better racial relations through constructive
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actions to banish every form of compulsory segregation and
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abolish any and all forms of discrimination against
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individuals because of race, color, or creed, End Quote.
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Its real purpose was to quote, kick Jim Crow's ass out of
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Omaha. End Quote.
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At the end of the initial meeting, members elected 21 year
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old Denny Holland as club president and Omaha Star
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reporter Harold Tibbs as vice president.
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The De Poris Club taught its members to challenge
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discriminatory behaviors in the city of Omaha.
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Bertha Calloway and her husband James joined the club.
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Quote, because Omaha was a racist town, you couldn't eat
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downtown. End Quote.
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She recalled the Jesuit priest encouraging members to fight
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against racial superiority. Quote.
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Father Markkud tried to keep quiet, but he talked about white
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people like you wouldn't believe.
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Then after he'd do his little talk, we would get together and
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have little meetings. End Quote.
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The porous member Dorothy, your remembered these original
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breakout sessions. Quote.
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Not only did we discuss the evils of racism, but we
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developed plans and strategy, maneuvering our small force to
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correcting the vicious acts. End Quote.
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The city of Omaha, similar to other urban Midwestern cities,
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enforced Southern du jour laws as accepted de facto
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segregation. A 1943 editorial in a mainstream
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Iowa newspaper, the Des Moines Tribune, indicated a common
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feeling among several pro segregation citizens living in
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one of Brown's former cities of residence.
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Quote. Conditions are getting to be
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rather rotten in Des Moines where Negroes are given the
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right by our damnable state law to enter the first class
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restaurants and be served food in the booths with white
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customers. End Quote.
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The De Porres Club first joined forces with Brown when Marvin
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Kellogg Senior, her adopted son-in-law, filed A
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discrimination suit against downtown Greyhound bus stations
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Harket Cafe. The eatery refused service to
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Kellogg and his interracial party of 6/1 of whom was Brown.
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The club hosted a Marvin Kellogg rally to pay his legal fees.
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While the Star publicized the event, the response from Near
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Northside residents was overwhelming.
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Possibly intimidated, the Harkard Cafe owner failed to
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appear on his court date. Specifics of Kellogg's
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discrimination case might offer a better assessment of the
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city's latent racism, but records of Kellogg's suit and
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all other northern Omaha grievances filed at Omaha's
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police court remain unavailable to the public.
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The author was first denied access to these records by the
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Omaha Police Department and upon further inquiry, was told that
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these records no longer existed. Research at Omaha's Roman El
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Ruska United States Courthouse revealed no documentation of
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federal discrimination suits filed by either Mildred D Brown
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or Marvin Kellogg Senior. Because of possible backlash
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against the university, Creighton administrators
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insisted that the De Porous Club convene elsewhere.
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According to Dennis Mihalich's The History of Creighton
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University, 1878 to 2003, the club quote moved its meetings
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off campus due to controversy. End Quote.
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As the organization's sponsor, Marku was aware of a quote few
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college professors and citizens finding fault with the program.
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End Quote. Outsiders viewed the club as
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radical, a group of crackpots, disturbers of the peace.
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Because it was interracial in character, it was accused of
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fostering interracial dating, designed to culminate in
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interracial marriage. Several Creighton priests
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ostracized Marku after he organized the club.
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It began in the dining hall. Marku, a veteran of the Spanish
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American War, somehow always ended up eating alone.
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He heard the not so quiet mumblings, his colleagues giving
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him labels. Inundated by the lack of support
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from his fellow professors and the university, Marku
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temporarily moved the club to a storefront office on 24th
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Street. But the rent money proved
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difficult to sustain. Brown invited the De Poris Club
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into the Star's office building, which was also her home.
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She told Marku, Quote, you don't need money to operate out of my
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place. End Quote.
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The De Poris Club planned to meet at the Star on Friday
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nights. Brown announced the
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organization's new arrangement in the newspapers October 27th,
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1950 edition by printing quote through the courtesy of Miss
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Mildred Brown. The De Poris Club will be
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meeting at the newspaper office for the foreseeable future.
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End Quote. Father Marku and Mildred Brown
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thus became the parents of the De Poris Club.
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The Reverend Kenneth Vavrina of Saint Benedict the Moore saw
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Marku as, quote, the father of the civil rights movement in
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Omaha. Marku LED demonstrations on 24th
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St. when no one knew what was going on.
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End Quote. Vavrina, the leader of northern
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Omaha's largest black Catholic congregation, understood Marku's
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dual role in the northern community and the De Porres
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Club. Serving as a priest, Marku had
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neither wife nor child, but he mentored club president Denny
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Holland because the activist liberal arts student lost his
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father at a young age. He regularly asked Marcoux for
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fatherly advice, especially when Holland received hate mail
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threatening to kill him because of his involvement in the club.
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Brown was a mother figure in the de Porres family equation.
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The Star's owner became the organization's staunchiest ally.
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When club members invited activist organizations such as
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the Friendship Houses of America to Omaha, Brown provided rooms
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for their meetings at their Carnation Ballroom.
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Interacting with the De Poris organization became a shining
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part of the publishers life. Brown hired Holland as a Star
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reporter, photographer, advertising salesman and driver.
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Employing the club president as her chauffeur allowed Brown to
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teach him salesmanship while acting as a surrogate mother.
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When Holland married to porous club reporter Jean Waite, the
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Omaha Star not only ran a long article on the nuptials, but
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also accompanied it with a large wedding photograph of the happy
13:59
couple. Father Marku, who had a history
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of using the press to make change happen.
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Quote. Use the Omaha Star to his
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advantage. End Quote.
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The paper printed summaries of weekly club minutes, featured
14:11
articles charting the organization's actions and
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published members editorials critical of racism.
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Brown supported club activities by printing letters sent to
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business owners refusing service to Black Omahans.
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In return, the club provided exclusive pictures and
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sensational news stories every time it picketed A
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discriminating business. Brown was well aware that,
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quote, editorializing for social causes was not always acceptable
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to white business enterprises that might be chief advertisers.
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End Quote. Challenging mainstream Omaha
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proved costly for her business. Denny Holland's son Matt
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remembered Brown, quote, had the constant worry about money and
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was nervous about the Omaha star going out of business.
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End Quote Jean Waite Holland recalled Brown Quote running out
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of the star to stop workers as they were about to shut off the
15:04
electricity. End Quote Brown preserved
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despite her financial difficulties.
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The De Porres Club jump started northern Omaha's equality
15:13
campaign when it discovered an old but valuable Nebraska legal
15:17
precedent. The 1893 Nebraska civil rights
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statute supplied necessary legal leverage against discrimination,
15:26
it states. Quote.
15:27
All persons within this state shall be entitled to a full and
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equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages,
15:34
facilities and privileges of Inns, restaurants, public
15:38
amusements, conveyances, Barber shops, theaters, and other
15:42
places of amusement, subject only to the conditions and
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limitations established by law and applicable alike to every
15:49
person. If the equal privileges were
15:52
denied, a penalty ensued. Any person who shall violate the
15:56
foregoing section by denying to any person, except for reason by
16:00
law applicable to all persons, the full enjoyment of any of the
16:04
accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges
16:07
enumerated in the foregoing section, or by aiding or
16:11
inciting such denials, shall for each offense be deemed guilty of
16:16
a misdemeanor and be fined in any sum not less than $25 nor
16:21
more than $100, and to pay the cost of prosecution.
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End Quote. Although the statute explained
16:29
how Nebraska civil rights applied to all residents of the
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state, the current issue depended on convincing the City
16:35
of Omaha to prosecute violators. Club members distributed
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hundreds of handbills documenting the civil rights
16:42
statute. Brown supported the
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organization's activism. Quote I believe in economic
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measures like boycotts to achieve goals.
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A businessman who won't hire you but wants to RIP you off should
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not be patronized. End Quote.
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She encouraged De Poris members to file discrimination suits
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against local venues such as Harry's Tea Club, Pignotti's
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Donut Shop, the Paxton Hotel, Eppley Airfield and the
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Greyhound bus station. Sometimes the de Poris
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organization had quote 8 to 10 different suits going on.
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End Quote. Bertha Callaway recalled
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visiting Pignotti's donut shop with a white girlfriend named
17:19
Peggy. The waitress refused to serve
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them. The two women asked the owner,
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Mr. Pignotti, to come to their table.
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The following conversation ensued.
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Peggy said. Quote, don't you know me, Mr.
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Pignotti, we go to the same church.
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Mr. Pignotti replied. Yes, I know who you are, but I
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am not serving them. You're going to have to leave,
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Peggy replied, In the name of Christ, how can you do this?
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His reply Hey, I serve them and I'll lose business.
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I'm not going to start to serve colored people here.
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End Quote. Callaway let them know that she
17:55
had the right to file charges. But Pignotti replied, quote, I
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don't give a damn whether you file charges against me or not.
18:02
I'm not serving you. End Quote.
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Callaway filed those charges at the Omaha's police court.
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The following day, an officer served Pignotti with a warrant
18:11
during his lunch break. At the court proceedings,
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Pignotti pointed to Callaway and said, quote, that's the one that
18:17
had me arrested like I was a common criminal.
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All I did was say that I was not going to serve colors in my
18:23
place. End Quote.
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Judge Palmer replied, quote, well, I don't blame you, but
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you're going to have to pay the $25 fine.
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End Quote. The judge turned to Callaway and
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told him, now that de Poris Club, what are you guys up to
18:36
you? Are you all communists or
18:38
something? Club members assured Northern
18:41
Omaha and the City of Omaha that it was a patriotic American
18:45
organization. Members refused to react to the
18:48
practice of red baiting, accusing someone of being a
18:51
communist. Their strategy was common.
18:54
For those harassed during the Cold War years.
18:57
The fear of interracial organizations dabbling in
19:00
communism was not so far fetched during the 1930's.
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The prevalence of blacks in the Communist Party earned it a
19:07
special epithet throughout the South, especially in Brown's
19:10
home state of Alabama. The De Porres Club weighed the
19:14
benefits of becoming members of the American Communist Party,
19:17
but Father Marku dissuaded members by stating, quote, I'd
19:21
do business with the devil himself to stop racism.
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End Quote. But communism would not change
19:26
Omaha's discriminatory practices.
19:29
Besides, he disclosed, the club was already under investigation
19:32
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
19:35
Federal agents kept surveillance log books in question.
19:38
Club President Holland, he informed the FBI there were
19:41
several members whom he called confused individuals, such as
19:46
vice President and Star reporter Harold Tibbs, who did not know
19:50
if they were communist or not. But just because the interracial
19:53
organization supported civil rights did not mean its members
19:57
were more apt to join the ACP. Thomas Borstelman's The Cold War
20:03
and the Color Line explores how several self-righteous
20:06
Americans, such as George's governor Herman Talmadge,
20:10
claimed communism as a rationale for supporting segregation of
20:14
the races, saying quote, if communists supported racial
20:17
integration, could there be any clearer sign of its immorality?
20:21
End Quote. In March 1950, the De Forest
20:24
Club explained its moral stance by staging the play Trial by
20:29
Fire. Members of the cast placed an
20:32
article in The Star summarizing the production's script.
20:35
Written by Father George Dunn, a friend of Father Markku, the
20:39
play focused on the true story of a Black family moving into an
20:42
all white neighborhood in California.
20:45
A mob burned down their home and several family members died.
20:49
The dramatic presentation proved timely because an incident,
20:53
albeit less severe, had recently occurred in Omaha.
20:57
Woodrow Morgan, a World War 2 Black fighter pilot and prisoner
21:01
of war, bought a home in one of the city's covenanted white
21:04
neighborhoods, according to Jack Angus's text Black and Catholic
21:09
in Omaha, a case of double jeopardy prior to the Morgan
21:13
family moving into their new home.
21:14
Quote. Someone broke some of the
21:17
windows. End Quote.
21:18
Marku and the club arrived the morning of The Morgans intended
21:22
relocation and seated themselves on the front porch.
21:26
Looking imposing in his clerical collar, the priest told
21:30
inquiring neighbors, Quote, we're here to welcome the new
21:33
family. End Quote.
21:35
The Morgan family moved into their home without any trouble.
21:39
A review of the play appeared not only in the Star, but also
21:42
in the establishment newspaper, the Omaha World Herald.
21:46
Holland clarified the two review situation by explaining that the
21:50
mainstream newspaper viewed A theatrical production as an
21:54
innocuous activity. If the media quote, publicized
21:58
desegregation actions, it might lead to riots.
22:01
Therefore, they would never give us publicity on our more
22:04
militant kinds of activities. End Quote.
22:07
The Star printed details of discriminatory employment
22:10
practices in northern Omaha community in tandem with club
22:13
minutes. Newspaper articles focused on
22:15
sensitive positions, entry jobs that were visible to the public,
22:19
such as counter clerks and drivers.
22:21
The Near North Side's Ed Holmes Sherman Laundry refused to hire
22:25
black employees. Brown published Misses Ed Holmes
22:28
conversation with a club member. The laundry owner disclosed that
22:32
even though 70% of her clientele were black, her policy was not
22:36
to hire black men and women. Quote, the white people might
22:40
object to a Negro waiting on them.
22:41
End Quote. Although the club member was
22:44
flabbergasted with the proprietor's logic, Brown
22:47
validated the laundry owner's right to hire whomever she
22:51
chose, but noted that if Missus Edholm did not change her
22:54
beliefs soon, it would be a great loss to the community.
22:58
After another week of Misses Ed Holm continuing her unfair
23:02
hiring policy, the Stars supported the club's quote do
23:06
not patronize campaign since it had no alternative but to ask
23:10
the Negroes of the city for a boycott against this business.
23:14
End Quote. By October, the club's campaign
23:17
resulted in a surprising result. The owners of the Ed Holm
23:21
Sherman Laundry put it up for sale.
23:25
Excited by their success, Brown and the De Porres Club attempted
23:29
collective activism against Omaha's Central High School.
23:32
The secondary institute was the alma mater of the publishers
23:36
foster daughter Ruth Harris Kellogg.
23:38
As a club member, Brown paid for the printing of 4000 handbills,
23:43
which described why the activist organization needed to protest
23:47
the high school's production. Quote, this is discrimination.
23:51
Negroes at Central are not allowed full and equal
23:54
participation in some activities at this school.
23:56
How is it that the opera tonight put on by the student body has
24:00
no Negro students in the cast? The last roadshow here
24:04
humiliated the Negro students by presenting A degrading blackface
24:08
in the show. Isn't it about time for public
24:11
school officials to catch up with public opinion on this
24:14
matter? With democracy on trial all over
24:16
the world, it is not time to eliminate on the local scene
24:20
that which is against the spirit of democracy and thus weakens
24:23
her at home and abroad. End Quote.
24:27
Before police officers halted the leaflet, protest members
24:31
managed to hand out approximately 300 missives to
24:34
opera attendees. The police warned the club
24:37
protesters that they were not allowed to distribute the Flyers
24:41
on school property. President Holland keenly
24:44
remembered what happened next. A man strode up to him and
24:47
accused him of being a communist.
24:50
Holland then replied. May God have mercy on your soul.
24:54
The club's administrator had, quote, never seen anybody.
24:57
Soul full of hate. Now that was the closest that I
25:00
have ever come to violence. End Quote Refusing to be
25:04
intimidated by false accusations, the club and the
25:07
stars next targeted the Coca-Cola bottling company.
25:11
Brown met with general manager Mac L Gothard on May 7th, 1951
25:17
and informed Gothard that the club was launching a Don't Buy
25:20
Coke campaign. Brown said that she quote agreed
25:24
with their activities completely.
25:25
End Quote. In fact, she told Gothard,
25:28
quote, every thinking person in Omaha should support the De
25:31
Porres Club. End Quote.
25:33
But not everyone in northern Omaha agreed with her
25:36
assessment. Peter C Doss, advertising
25:39
manager of the Black Omaha Guide newspaper the Omaha Stars
25:42
competition, met with Gothard and informed the bottling
25:45
company's manager that, quote, most blacks in North Omaha do
25:48
not support the boycott. End Quote.
25:51
Shortly after this conversation, CC Galloway, the guide's
25:55
publisher and Brown's former boss, met with the depor's club
25:58
members. Galloway stressed the importance
26:01
of the black press and how it molded public opinion.
26:05
Brown ignored Galloway's veiled judgement of her paper.
26:09
However, after Dos paid photographer Irwin Miller to
26:12
take pictures of Coca Cola's two token black hires, Brown accused
26:17
Dos of Being and Uncle Tom. A concerned Miller gave his
26:21
photographs to Holland, who later handed the images to
26:24
Brown, whose instincts proved correct.
26:27
According to FBI records, Dos visited their Omaha office
26:31
seeking incriminating evidence against the De Porres Club.
26:35
Dos informed FBI agent John Barnes that the club caused,
26:39
quote, disconnect and disunity among the Negroes and hate
26:43
between the white and Negroes. End Quote.
26:46
Brown and her staff stayed up most of the night printing an
26:50
extra edition of the Star. The June 8, 1951 special issue
26:55
displayed an image of a smiling Gothard shaking hands with his
26:59
two new permanent black assembly line employees.
27:03
The Star quoted the Coca-Cola manager insisting that, quote,
27:06
the De Porres Club didn't have anything to do with our hiring
27:09
Negroes. End Quote. 14 years later, in
27:12
1965, Gothard publicly amended his previous comment.
27:16
Quote. If there is anything I can say
27:18
about the De Porres Club, it is that they were ahead of their
27:22
time. The methods and pressures they
27:24
used were not thought of in those days and I was shocked by
27:28
their tactics. I was ignorant of the whole
27:30
thing. End Quote.
27:33
Energized by their employment victory, the club and the Star
27:36
next contacted the Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway
27:40
Company, whose buses and electric streetcars crisscrossed
27:44
Omaha, Northern Omaha and Council Bluffs, IA.
27:47
In the early 1940's. The Omaha Urban League
27:50
challenged the local corporations steadfast refusal
27:53
to hire black bus drivers. Like the De Porres Club, the
27:57
Urban League was accused of ties with the American Communist
28:00
Party. The Urban League questioned the
28:03
company's personnel manager, Chester Colvin, about the unfair
28:06
hiring practices, but to no avail.
28:10
Reform did not occur until the De Porres Club and Brown
28:14
challenged the policy in 1952. The streetcar management used
28:18
stereotypical rhetoric. Quote no white woman would be
28:22
safe in A streetcar if there was a black man driving.
28:25
End Quote The club printed and distributed pamphlets and the
28:29
Star provided I rate readers with the home addresses and
28:32
phone numbers of the company's officials.
28:35
Shortly thereafter, the O&CB bought its last full page ad in
28:40
the Star, Brown wrote. Quote, It is this papers duty to
28:44
take a stand on vital issues. We are convinced that 2 great
28:48
evils facing us are racial discrimination and racial
28:51
segregation. This paper will expose and
28:55
oppose those evils. We accept this not only as a
28:59
right but as a duty. The price of the duty which we
29:02
accept comes high. It would be financially more
29:05
profitable for us to remain silent.
29:08
In the past few months, we have opposed racial discrimination as
29:11
practiced by several business places.
29:13
Others have found it to their liking to remain silent or to
29:17
completely sell out. We have and still are losing
29:20
money for taking the stand of exposing and opposing these
29:23
evils. End Quote.
29:25
Brown also printed a blanket statement addressed to Omaha's
29:29
city commissioners, warning that the Star would run a tireless
29:33
campaign for civic and economic improvements for the Near
29:36
Northside. She encouraged Star readers to
29:39
send editorials to the Omaha World Herald's Public Pulse
29:43
column. She raised the hopes of Near
29:46
Northside readers by printing stories of successful bus
29:49
campaigns, such as a protest in St.
29:52
Louis, MO Quote. The Saint Louis company now is
29:55
accepting applicants for bus and streetcar operators regardless
29:59
of race, creed or color. It is Omaha's turn now.
30:02
End Quote. She made sure that articles
30:05
concerning the De Porres Club's bus protest ran in the Kansas
30:08
City Call and the Saint Louis Argus, both black weekly
30:12
newspapers. Brown devised this progressive
30:16
strategy nearly four years before the famous Montgomery, AL
30:20
bus boycott of 1955 and 56. As a De Poris Club street
30:25
railway committee member, Brown instructed her readers, Quote,
30:29
don't ride Omaha's buses or streetcars.
30:32
If you must ride, protest by using 18 pennies.
30:35
End Quote. The De Poris Club leaflets
30:38
repeated her words. The club's FBI file still
30:41
contains a copy of the flyer. The club advised local merchants
30:45
to stockpile pennies to aid the protesters.
30:48
As the boycott, or what ministerial activists in
30:51
Philadelphia later dubbed selective patronage, stretched
30:55
into its second year, Brown asked her subscribers to donate
30:58
money to the cause. Quote.
31:00
It is obvious that we are gauged for a long campaign, a campaign
31:05
of which that be won only through much hard work, planning
31:09
and finance of which must come from the Near Northside
31:12
citizenry. End Quote.
31:14
In a grass roots tactic used later in Montgomery, de porous
31:17
club participants organized carpools to keep black Omahans
31:21
off the buses. Realizing the importance of
31:24
communication during the boycott, Brown kept readers
31:27
updated by printing the club's daily activities.
31:31
On March 3rd, 1952, the De Porres Club voted to affiliate
31:34
with the Congress on Racial Equality, better known as CORE.
31:39
Club members elected Brown as their CORE spokesperson, Glenn
31:43
Excuse. But for Birmingham, the local
31:45
and national movement in the civil rights struggle discussed
31:49
how CORE made a difference, especially with college
31:51
students. It's Journey to Reconciliation
31:55
campaign non violently challenged segregation, while
31:58
it's Freedom Rides ended in publicized violence.
32:03
Brown's first assignment as a core representative consisted of
32:06
presenting the club's arguments to the Omaha City Council.
32:10
Brown asked the council to encourage the O&CB to hire Black
32:15
bus drivers, especially since Black men served as drivers
32:18
during the current Korean War. She noted that President Truman
32:22
had ordered the desegregation of the military in 1948, but this
32:26
failed to impress Omaha's administrators.
32:29
The council recommended the Stars publisher investigate the
32:32
ONCB situation by speaking with the newly formed Mayor's Human
32:37
Relations Committee. The chair of the City committee,
32:40
who was none other than De Pours Club sponsor Father Marcu,
32:44
commended Brown quote for the fearless presentation of facts
32:47
dealing with racial discrimination quote, but he was
32:51
unable to increase pressure on the streetcar company to hire
32:54
black drivers. By November 1952, the De Porres
32:58
Club picketers were marching in front of the railway company
33:02
headquarters carrying signs reading quote Negro GIS drive
33:06
tanks, jeeps and trucks, why not buses and streetcars in Omaha?
33:10
End Quote. The protests and boycotting
33:13
against the transportation company continued for another
33:16
two years. Finally, the City Council
33:20
threatened to attach an anti discrimination amendment onto
33:24
the streetcar's franchise agreement.
33:26
The company soon hired 3 African American men as drivers.
33:30
Omaha administrators trusted the ONC BS new hiring policy, Mayor
33:35
Johnny Rosenblatt said. Quote, they have had a change of
33:38
mind. I think we have got the thing
33:40
licked. End Quote Public Property
33:42
Commissioner Warren Swaggart agreed to leave out the policy
33:46
amendment since now, quote, the clause would be discriminatory
33:49
against the streetcar firm. End Quote O&CB President James P
33:55
Lee insisted their final decision to hire the three black
33:58
employees was, quote, merely coincidence.
34:01
And quote, Lee denied that the O&CB had refused to hire
34:04
applicants because of their race.
34:06
Apparently previous applicants were either unqualified or
34:10
failed to pass the required tests.
34:13
Enraged, Brown asked her readers quote, how gullible and naive do
34:17
they think people are furlough these many years?
34:21
They have with utter disregard, refused to hire a Negro
34:24
applicants. Suddenly they hire 3.
34:27
And you want to believe that they have never refused bus and
34:30
train operator employment to anyone solely because of the
34:33
applicants race or color? End Quote.
34:36
A Star reporter interviewed Lee. When asked if he would let them
34:39
go after the risk of losing his franchise past, he patronizingly
34:44
responded, quote, these drivers can stay with the company as
34:47
long as they want it if they do their job right and behave
34:50
themselves. And quote, the ONCB even
34:53
attempted to hire De Pours club member and International
34:57
Sweethearts of Rhythm trombonist Helen Jones Woods as a driver.
35:01
Not knowing how to drive, she turned down the offer.
35:06
The first of the ONCB public hearings convened on August
35:09
17th, 1954. The Star publisher attended the
35:13
meetings along with 200 other Omaha.
35:16
Brown happily noted that the northern Omaha community sent
35:20
representatives quote from every club, group, church and special
35:24
interest End Quote to the meeting.
35:26
At the second hearing held on August 24th, the City Council
35:29
made a motion to add an anti discrimination clause to the
35:32
company's amended franchise. Quote In the employment
35:36
relations of the company, there shall be no discrimination in
35:39
the employment because of race, creed or color.
35:41
End Quote. O&CB administrators realized the
35:45
ramifications of the clause. On the front page of the Stars
35:49
October 22nd, 1954 edition, the newspaper displayed a large
35:54
photograph of an additional 4 black men hired as drivers by
35:57
the O&CB. Brown and the De Porres Club's
36:01
hard fought campaign was a success.
36:05
One of the last protests spearheaded by the club and the
36:08
Star concerned the discriminatory employment
36:11
practices of Reed's ice cream company.
36:14
Initially, Belle Griffin, a representative of the De Porres
36:17
Club, spoke with Reed's personnel manager, a Mr. Becker,
36:21
who assured Bell that he would think about hiring black
36:24
employees. Two years of non compliance
36:26
later, Holland wrote a letter to Reed's management.
36:30
The Omaha Star printed his missive quote.
36:33
This unfair policy of denying equal job opportunities to
36:36
Negroes, especially because of your large number of Negro
36:39
customers, has for too long stood in complete violation of
36:43
the American ideal of equal opportunity.
36:46
It is becoming ever more urgent that we live up to this ideal as
36:50
Americans in Korea, regardless of color, bite and die to
36:55
preserve democracy beginning Monday, January 19th.
36:59
Until we hear from you before then, we will stop supporting
37:02
your unfair policy by not buying Reed's Ice cream.
37:05
We shall take all of our friends who believe in equal
37:08
opportunity, regardless of color, to do the same.
37:11
Until you open employment at all levels to qualified Negroes, we
37:15
remain anxious to discuss a change of policy with you.
37:19
End Quote. The club and the Star insisted
37:23
that Near Northside residents boycott the ice cream shop at
37:26
24th and Ward St. Protesters distributed handbills
37:30
in front of the store after one potential white customer read
37:33
the De Porres flyer. He stated, quote, my boy's life
37:36
was saved by a Negro in Korea. As a small token of thanks to
37:39
him, I'll tell my friends not to buy Reed's ice cream.
37:42
End Quote The store's manager responded through the Star
37:46
quote. We don't care if they buy our
37:49
ice cream or not End Quote Near Northside resident Richard
37:53
Artisan remembered watching the Reeds demonstration when he was
37:56
a young child. He witnessed Brown marching with
37:59
the picketers. The Star owner stopped to talk
38:02
with him. She explained why he should not
38:05
purchase ice cream from reeds. He did not buy his customary
38:09
treat. Later on, the Star's publisher
38:11
witnessed a woman asking a child to buy her an ice cream cone.
38:15
When the child asked the woman, quote, what's wrong with you
38:18
lady? Don't you know that they don't
38:19
hire our people at Reed's? I wouldn't go there for no
38:22
money. End Quote.
38:24
Max Brownell, Mildred Brown's common law second husband and
38:27
Deporce club member, kept track of non compliant residents.
38:31
He noted the names of four young black men who read the club's
38:35
handbill but still purchased ice cream.
38:37
They knew about the racist hiring policy, but they like the
38:40
frozen dessert better. The star not only printed
38:44
Brownell's list of Uncle Tom's supporting white supremacy, but
38:48
also promised to print photographs of anyone seen
38:50
buying ice cream. The paper threatened to include
38:53
the patrons quote, name, license plate, and the amount of time
38:56
that they were in the store. End Quote.
38:59
By September of 1954, the Star reported that there were very
39:03
few blacks visiting reads and that hundreds of whites turned
39:07
away as well when they learned of the stores quote UN American
39:11
employment policy. End Quote.
39:13
Occasionally, club protesters needed the protection of the law
39:17
when white citizens quote would go by and throw things quote at
39:20
them. Reed loudly told the picketers
39:23
to leave the premises, but police watched the entire affair
39:27
from a block away and did not interfere.
39:30
After nine months of protests and picketing, Reed's
39:33
capitulated and in January 1954 hired Virginia Dixon.
39:38
The black saleswoman worked the 5:00 PM to midnight shift.
39:42
The Deporis Club and the Star proclaimed a victory, insisting
39:45
in print that they bore no grudges.
39:48
Organization members joined Brown in a celebration.
39:52
The star publisher treated them to an ice cream cone that reads.
39:57
Although Brown and the Deporis Clubs fair employment campaign
40:00
raised residents hopes of attaining more rights, the Black
40:03
community showed signs of class factionalism.
40:07
Brown scolded her readers in an editorial quote.
40:10
Today we are deeply concerned with the role of the colored man
40:14
in the advancement of democracy. Specifically, we refer to those
40:18
colored citizens of Omaha who by good fortune and in some cases
40:22
and hard work in others, are looked upon as leaders.
40:26
We know there are those among the leadership for who some
40:29
petty and selfish reasons are leaders in name only, traitors
40:33
and do nothings are dangerous not only to the cause of non
40:37
whites but also the cause of the nation.
40:39
End Quote Omaha's black class system was causing a schism
40:45
among civil rights leadership, former resident Joan McCall
40:48
Lincoln explained. Northern Omaha's hierarchy
40:52
status depended on an individual's employment and his
40:55
place of worship. For instance, Christian
40:58
congregants at Saint Philip's Episcopal Church and St.
41:01
John's African Methodist Episcopal tended to be the
41:05
professional and elite blacks. Their children went to museums
41:09
and attended the opera. Saint Philip's showcased their
41:12
wealthy members by sponsoring the coronation ball.
41:15
St. John's held a comparable event,
41:18
the King Solomon Wedding. The two black high society
41:21
events were the equivalent of Omaha's Exarbenball, A lavish
41:25
annual affair since 1895, which had a whites only policy for
41:29
many years. Although Brown belonged to Saint
41:33
John's AME Church, she was not originally on Black Omaha's
41:37
Social A list, despite being crowned the reigning church
41:41
Queen from 1952 and 1953 at the annual King Solomon wedding.
41:46
Several of the Black elite derogatorily named her Miss
41:50
Carnation because of her oversized carnation corsages.
41:54
She was not accepted in the higher echelon of northern
41:57
Omaha's society because she had slighted Black elite.
42:00
CC Galloway, publisher of the Omaha Guide when she and her
42:04
first husband, Dr. SE Gilbert, took five Guide staffers with
42:09
them when they founded the Star in 1938.
42:12
Dorothy Glenn, co-owner of the short lived American Record
42:15
newspaper, explained that since the people of the Near North
42:18
Side accepted the Star as an alternate to the Guide,
42:21
eventually they accepted Brown as well.
42:24
But she was quote, not part of the Creme de la Creme until she
42:27
was older. End Quote.
42:29
Several weeks after Brown's printed outburst, Holland wrote
42:32
a follow up article entitled Those Who Don't Make Mistakes,
42:37
addressing his remarks to readers disgruntled with the
42:39
club and the Star. He said, quote, spending all of
42:42
our time criticizing those who are in a position of leadership
42:46
is like rocking a rocking chair. It keeps you busy, but it
42:49
doesn't get you anywhere. End Quote.
42:51
He challenged readers, some of whom he knew to be biased
42:54
against Brown and the club, to quote, throw aside all pettiness
42:58
and unite to work for common cause.
43:00
It is those who do nothing who make no mistakes.
43:04
End Quote part of the class issue stemmed from a
43:07
misunderstanding. Several middle class northern
43:10
Omaha citizens incorrectly assumed the de Porres Club's
43:13
employment discrimination interests only helped the black
43:16
Catholic community. Residents interviewed for this
43:20
article still believe this to be true quote they were Catholics.
43:24
That was Saint Benedict's End Quote department.
43:27
However, the black church's jurisdiction in Omaha's Second
43:31
ward connected it to the city's 33 other houses of Catholic
43:35
worship. After Omaha's Archbishop Gerald
43:38
Bergen committed Omaha's parishioners to fight against
43:40
racial discrimination, Northern Omaha gained significant support
43:44
for its next round of protests in the 1960s.
43:48
Between the late 1940s and early 1950s, Brown and the De Porres
43:52
Club successfully enacted a minority employment campaign.
43:56
Through collective activism, the star publisher Father Markku and
44:00
Denny Holland reformed the discriminatory hiring practices
44:04
at Ed Holmes, Sherman Laundry, Coca-Cola Bottling Company and
44:08
O&CB Corporation, and Reed's Ice Cream Company.
44:12
Decades later, Brown's close friend Paul Bryant recalled that
44:15
she and the De Porres Club were simply practicing what she
44:19
regularly preached to him. Quote Do right because it is the
44:23
right thing to do. Don't do right in search of
44:25
reward or in fear of retribution.
44:28
End Quote. In October 1954, a special
44:31
meeting took place in the back of the Omaha Star office.
44:34
The 8:00 remaining members of the De Porres Club voted to
44:37
disband after seven years of protesting.
44:40
Brown's days of collective activism were over.
44:43
Quote She had to walk a narrow line wooing white advertisers
44:47
while informing black readers as she paid the price and lost
44:50
revenues and broken windows. End Quote.
44:53
Although the club reconvened in May 1955, Holland was no longer
44:58
president and activities dwindled.
45:00
Father Marku remained the club sponsor throughout his thirteen
45:03
years of activity. It was time for another
45:06
organization to take over Black Northern Omaha's fight.
45:10
The Citizens Coordinating Committee for Civil Liberties,
45:13
better known as the Four CL, replaced the De Porres Club in
45:16
1960. By now, Marku was an elderly man
45:20
and Brown only a decade and a half younger.
45:23
They served as members of the new activist organization but
45:26
followed its Black clergy leadership.
45:29
Brown no longer picketed businesses, and the De Porres
45:32
Club members no longer convened at the Star on Friday night.
45:35
But their years of boycotting together laid the foundation for
45:39
Omaha's national civil rights movement.
45:41
It would be the next chapter in Brown's commitment to the Near
45:44
North Side struggle for equality.
45:48
Thank you for listening to the Nebraska History Podcast.
45:51
To learn more about Nebraska History Magazine, to learn more
45:53
about our podcast, or to support our podcast by becoming a member
45:56
of the Nebraska State Historical Society, go to
45:59
history.nebraska.gov/podcast. And don't forget to subscribe to
46:03
the podcast and get notified when we release new episodes on
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your favorite podcast platform every other week.
46:09
Until next time, I'm Chris Goforth.