DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Dorothy Schramm newspaper clippings, 1949-1955 (folder 2 of 2) | 1951-11-09 Burlington Hawkeye Gazette Article: "Let's Be Practical About This"

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Dorothy Schramm newspaper clippings, 1949-1955 (folder 2 of 2)

1951-11-09 Burlington Hawkeye Gazette Article: "Let's Be Practical About This"

4  Burlington, Ia., Hawk-Eye Gazette . . Fri., Nov. 9, 1951

Thinking Out Loud

Let's Be Practical About This

Much has been said already and probably much more will be said locally about better community relations between the white and Negro population of Burlington. A community-wide self-survey already has attracted considerable attention and we assume its purposes will be pursued further. It has the backing of social and religious leaders, including some of the city's most prominent clergymen.
There is one point, however, which we have long felt has been undervalued here in any discussions having to do with the Negro. That is his religious life. Few of us white people approach religion as enthusiastically and with as much fervor and confidence as a colored man. He gets comfort and inspiration that any of us might well find for ourselves. 
There are 2 active colored churches in the city . . . St. John's AME and Union Baptist. Neither is strong financially as far as membership goes. Clergymen have to watch budgets carefully and frequently difficulties are encountered, especially when it becomes necessary to make repairs or other capital improvements.
The white people of Burlington have long been very generous with respect to the colored churches.We recall we had been in town only a few days back in 1941 when we received a call from R. E. Pettigrew. He explained that Mrs. E. P. Eastman had very graciously put one of the Negro churches on its feet, providing a personage and furnishings. So Pettigrew, who probably is Burlington's outstanding man in philanthropy, was interesting a group of local business men in assisting the other church. 
A fund of a few thousand dollars was raised. Pettigrew kicked in around $500, we gave $200 and numerous others were generous donors. The other church was then provided with a parsonage in a good section of the city. We have since been inside the home and it is very comfortable. 
There have been numerous other times during the past decade when good friends from among the white folks have come to the aid of the colored churches . . . people like Ed Pettigrew, Dan T. Riley, John Witte, Norval Prugh, Mrs. Eastman, John Ferguson, Paul Bonewitz, Harry Murray, Arthur Reppert, Rev. Deane Chapman, the Gustafson brothers, the Klein boys, Bruce Werden, Milton Sandell, the Hawk-Eye Gazette, the banks and various others. Their donations have been sizeable, in some cases running to several hundred dollars.
Just a little over a year ago the AME church needed a new furnace, a new ceiling, some roof repairs and other improvements. The parsonage also had to be rehabilitated. Again these white men came to the rescue, raised over $3,000 and saw that it was wisely used. There was a modest balance left over and this was made available to assist the pastor and his family in maintaining a better standard of living.
What we're getting at is that the Negro congregations are small. Their means are limited. They cannot underwrite budgets as sizeable as even some of the smaller white churches. In simple words and quoting their own leading members who have talked to us, they find it hard to get along.
So why couldn't the white churches of the city, since most of which have home mission programs, include in their annual budgets some appropriate provision for the Negro churches? If every church in the city made only $50 a year available to each of the colored churches, that would amount to around $1,500 or $2,000 a year for each to supplement its own efforts in engaging competent pastors and carrying on worthy programs of church work. Surely no church professing the Christian doctrine of subscribing to racial tolerance could object.
If something like that isn't done, then the time may come when the colored churches will have to close, for lack of funds, and their respective memberships be absorbed by white churches of the same or other denominations. The colored people are proud of their churches, however, and want to maintain them. Let's help them do it, just as Pettigrew, the Hawk-Eye Gazette and others have done for so long. That, in our opinion, is practical application of the underlying principles of better racial relations.

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4 Burlington, Ia., Hawk-Eye Gazette . . Fri., Nov. 9, 1951 Thinking Out Loud Let's Be Practical About This Much has been said already and probably much more will be said locally about better community relations between the white and Negro population of Burlington. A community-wide self-survey already has attracted considerable attention and we assume its purposes will be pursued further. It has the backing of social and religious leaders, including some of the city's most prominent clergymen. There is one point, however, which we have long felt has been undervalued here in any discussions having to do with the Negro. That is his religious life. Few of us white people approach religion as enthusiastically and with as much fervor and confidence as a colored man. He gets comfort and inspiration that any of us might well find for ourselves. There are 2 active colored churches in the city . . . St. John's AME and Union Baptist. Neither is strong financially as far as membership goes. Clergymen have to watch budgets carefully and frequently difficulties are encountered, especially when it becomes necessary to make repairs or other capital improvements. The white people of Burlington have long been very generous with respect to the colored churches.We recall we had been in town only a few days back in 1941 when we received a call from R. E. Pettigrew. He explained that Mrs. E. P. Eastman had very graciously put one of the Negro churches on its feet, providing a personage and furnishings. So Pettigrew, who probably is Burlington's outstanding man in philanthropy, was interesting a group of local business men in assisting the other church. A fund of a few thousand dollars was raised. Pettigrew kicked in around $500, we gave $200 and numerous others were generous donors. The other church was then provided with a parsonage in a good section of the city. We have since been inside the home and it is very comfortable. There have been numerous other times during the past decade when good friends from among the white folks have come to the aid of the colored churches . . . people like Ed Pettigrew, Dan T. Riley, John Witte, Norval Prugh, Mrs. Eastman, John Ferguson, Paul Bonewitz, Harry Murray, Arthur Reppert, Rev. Deane Chapman, the Gustafson brothers, the Klein boys, Bruce Werden, Milton Sandell, the Hawk-Eye Gazette, the banks and various others. Their donations have been sizeable, in some cases running to several hundred dollars. Just a little over a year ago the AME church needed a new furnace, a new ceiling, some roof repairs and other improvements. The parsonage also had to be rehabilitated. Again these white men came to the rescue, raised over $3,000 and saw that it was wisely used. There was a modest balance left over and this was made available to assist the pastor and his family in maintaining a better standard of living. What we're getting at is that the Negro congregations are small. Their means are limited. They cannot underwrite budgets as sizeable as even some of the smaller white churches. In simple words and quoting their own leading members who have talked to us, they find it hard to get along. So why couldn't the white churches of the city, since most of which have home mission programs, include in their annual budgets some appropriate provision for the Negro churches? If every church in the city made only $50 a year available to each of the colored churches, that would amount to around $1,500 or $2,000 a year for each to supplement its own efforts in engaging competent pastors and carrying on worthy programs of church work. Surely no church professing the Christian doctrine of subscribing to racial tolerance could object. If something like that isn't done, then the time may come when the colored churches will have to close, for lack of funds, and their respective memberships be absorbed by white churches of the same or other denominations. The colored people are proud of their churches, however, and want to maintain them. Let's help them do it, just as Pettigrew, the Hawk-Eye Gazette and others have done for so long. That, in our opinion, is practical application of the underlying principles of better racial relations.