SPEECHES & WRITINGS FILE
Address for the Maryland
Committee for Peace, Oct. 6, 1950

Address For the Maryland Committee for Peace, Baltimore, Oct. 6, 1950
It is always a pleasure for me to meet with an organization whose
members are trying to advance the interests of their fellow man, either by
introducing something new or by trying to preserve something old which is in
danger of being, injured, discarded or destroyed. In coming to Baltimore tonight,
however, my pleasure is increased one hundred fold, because the news
I read in the Washington Post Tuesday, September 26, makes me feel that I am in the presence of
supermen and superwomen, because only supermen and superwomen could have
accomplished what the Maryland Committee for peace lead by its progressive
forceful,  youthful president Gunther Wertheimer is reported to have done.
Sometime ago, the newspaper stated, the Maryland Peace Committee had
arranged to see Jacob A. Malik, the well-known Russian Diplomat.  In the
first place I was stunned to learn that anybody was so imaginative as to
dream it was possible to see Mr. Malik, who as [is well all] everybody knows is a very busy
man who has not established a reputation for [being] socialability or for being
easy to see. I had no idea I would ever meet [see] in the flesh anybody who had
the courage, actually to try to stand in Mr. Makik's presence, and if such
an impossibility should happen by chance, nobody could have made me believe that any
human being would have the monumental audacity to dare to ask Mr. Malik any
questions.  But, of course, miracles are happening every day, and nothing
illustrates that better than that Mr. Malik was courteous and obliging
enough not only to see the Maryland Committee for Peace, but also to answer
the questions he was asked.
According to the press, there were four questions. Number 1. "Will your
government pledge that it will not be the first to use the Atomic bomb?"
2-Do you favor general disarmament and the outlawing of atomic weapons by
all nations under a strict system of central inspection administered through
the United Nations?
3-Do you favor (or will you agree) to a meeting between the top leaders of
the United States and the Soviet Union to negotiate their differences to
help achieve full peace?

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4-Do you favor the free interchange of ideas and information between the
peoples of the two countries in order to achieve the understanding that
is necessary to an enduring peace?
It is impossible to place too high an estimate upon what we actually
accomplished by the successful effort made by President Wertheimer and
the Maryland Committee of Peace. It was the first time, recently at least
that a Russian of Mr. Malik's rank and importance has said officially that
he favors a meeting between the top leaders. Of course the inference is that
by top leaders he meant a conference between President Tryman and Prime 
Minister Stalin.  Considering the disturbing conditions which face not only the
United States but a large part of the whole world we have a right to be 
encouraged that Malik received the Maryland Committee for Peace. This is the
first time Mr. Malik has allowed his comments to be given to the press. He
personally telephoned the Associated Press to tell the world what he had
said, the first time that the Soviet Delegation has gone so far as to give publicity
to questions asked by a Peace Committee in the United States and the answers
given. Mr. Malik, not only favored a meeting between President Truman and
Prime Minister Stalin, between United States and Russian officials for broad
scale negotiations on all differences, but he offered a plege that Russia
would not use the atom bomb first. Again I say we should be encouraged, 
because it is axiomatic that no member of the Russian Foreign Office acts
without his chief's approval and permission.
Of course there are Doubting Thomases who wonder if what they call
Malik's sweet talk means anything. [*The Mind-Readers say*] They say he knew MacArthur had landed
and had advanced across middle Korea [*in a pincer movement*] in a pincer movement to cut off the
North Korean Amy and crush it between  the two United Nations forces. 
so he thought it was time to be a good boy. But no matter what the Doubting
Thomases or the Mind-Readers think I want right here and now to take my hat
off to the President and the Maryland Peace Committee ofx I want to express my gratitude
to them, for when they were persistent and clever enough to beard the lion
in his den, so to speak, they made an invaluable contribution to peace, no
matter whether the Doubting Thomasew think so or not. The Moscow newspapers

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gave it their top place in the newspapers. That described the Maryland
Peace Committee with Mr. Malik as taking place in a warm, friendly atmosphere.
They said the meeting expressed the desire for peace whoch the great
mass of American people want very much. If the Maryland Peace Committee
had done nothing else but impress the Russian people with the fact that the
American people want peace, their efforts would have been well worth while.
for those who are in a position to know the facts say the Russian people are
being continually told that the people in the United States love to fight
above everything else and are trying to provoke Russia to way. The Russian
press published the questions which Mr. Malik was asked and said they were
asked in the name of the city of Baltimore and of Maryland, the State. It is
impossible to overestimate the good which may be done by giving the Russian
people behind the iron curtain this information about the people in the United
States. and their desire for peace. It is impossible to overestimate the good
which may be done by telling the Russian people as Mr. Werthheimer has done through the 
statement presented to Malik that the strengthening of friendship between the peoples
of the Soviet Union and the United States, not only is the burning wish
of the people of Maryland but of all the American people. With all my heart
I congratulate the President, the Committee which met Mr. Malik and the 
members of the Maryland Committee for peace. Let the good work go on.
Generally speaking there is no doubt that practically the whole
world hopes for a durable peace. The world is tired of dangers and war-like
tensions which have held it in their terrible grip for at least four of
five years. Under prevailing conditions, with human nature as it is, if 
anyone should ask you if you think it is possible to have peace in the
world, what would you say? In replying to the question it would be necessary
for you to remember of course that there are  many races of human beings
in the world who differ in complexions, apparently in native ability
in disposition, some of whom are strong and some of them weak. The world
calls some of the races superior and some inferior. The strongest and richest
of what are considered [called] the superior races have developed a system called 
"Colonialism"

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"Colonialism", by which they hold in subjection the weaker groups, from whom
they take their land, often full of valuable products of one kind or another,
sometimes silver, gold and diamonds, and grow richer day by day, while
many of the natives  live in want and some of them nearly starve. Sometimes these
superior races invade the countries of the weaker races under the pretext
of "civilizing them", occasionally they stir up a war with the natives
which with powerful weapons they win, because the natives know nothing
about civilized warfare and have only crude weapons with which to fight.
It is unnecessary for me to consume your time giving a list of such
cases, for they are well known. For 100 years India was held by Great Britain
which kept the natives in subjection and cold-bloodedly appropriated the most 
valuable products the country possessed. In addition to having the major portion of
their wealth stolen from them, while England grew richer and richer year
by year, many of the natives lived in wretched squalorand a number of them
starved, and some of them  were subjected to indignities of various kinds
and were often the victims of injustice and cruelty beyond belief. They were
given to understand they belonged to an inferior race and should not consider
themselves the social equals of the British.
Colonization has made Holland one of the richest countries in the 
world. From time immemorial she has been appropriating to herself valuable
products from the natives to whom they rightfully belonged. We all know
the story of the Indonesian Republic which Holland overturned Heaven and
earth to destroy.
Eritrea once an Italian Colony stolen from Ethiopia 
is now being administered by Great Britain .  After I went to Zurich Switzerland,
in 1919, to deliver an address  for the Woman's International League
for Peace and Freedom Mr. and Mrs. H. G. Wells invited me to spend a week end in with them in a suburb near London.
While I was in London I made up my mind I would have a visit with Heile Selassie
who lived in Bath, after he fled from Ethiopia, if [it] he would consent
to seeing me. He graciously appointed a day and hour for me to come to see
him.  It is a great temptation for me to talk about Haile Selassie, [how he
looks every inch a king, but I]

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looks every inch a King, but I shall resist it.  I did not tear
passion to tatters, but I told the then ex-Emperor of Ethiopia that right 
minded, justice loving people all over the world considered Italy a high
way robber, sympathized deeply with Ethiopia and hoped that some day somehow
justice would triumph in the end. In spite of the fact that at that time
there did not seem even a remote chance that Haile Selassie would ever 
regain his throne the gave me distinctly to understand that that he expected one
day to be able to return to Ethiopia as the Emperor. And now at Lake Success
Eritrae is being discussed and we have a right to hope that justice will
prevail and Ethiopia will regain Eritrae of which she was robbed.

It would take an interminable time to give even a slight idea of the 
millions of millions of which Africa with her mountains of gold, diamond and
valuable products of various kinds has been robbed by Great Britain, France,
Portugal and other countries of the world. [Even if I had the time I would not care]
the cruel, brutal treatment of
to describe here tonight the injustices of various kinds of which the 
natives of South Africa have been the helpless victims and the brutal treatment
most disgraceful episodes relating to the degeneracy of civilized people
to which they have been and today re being subjected. Several months
which history records.  and injured by the British police
ago many African mine workers were killed at [?nigi], Nigeria, South Africa.
because they went on a strike to get a wage of 80 cents a day. For years
they had been working in the mines for .40 a day, while workmen in other 
racial groups who were doing much less difficult and dangerous work were paid
$2.50 a day and more.  I shall simply refer briefly to the manner in which 
the natives  are being treated in South Africa right now. At the head of
the South African nationalist party now today is a man who has boasted that if
liberal people thought the natives were badky treated by Jan Smuts, who wa
at the head of the United Party a long time ago, he would h=show them what
harsh treatment really is. He and his party are definitely committed to
White Supremacy and they have divided South Africa into compartments, so
and the natives are forced to live in sections assigned to them
to speak according to the color of their skins.  The enclosures
They are forced to live in enclosures far removed from the other races.
The natives have no yoive whatever in their government and are completely
disfranchised. the penalties imposed upon the natives who violate a law,
some of which reduce them from the status of human beings to that of slaves 

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are heavy and terrible indeed. Compared
with the treatment to which the South African is subjected colored people
in Mississippi live in a perfect heaven on earth. Malan and his party are
telling the world they dont care what people think or say. There is no doubt this
inhuman party will blow up and those responsible for it will receive
their just desserts. Do you think there can be much peace in South Africa.

The same thing is happening in Indo China. The French have taken the
country from the natives who have been fighting desperately for four or fi
five years trying to keep their country for themselves. The French are now
in a much better position then they were last year, because the United
States has sent the French a large quantity of war material which is being
used against the Indo Chinese now. According to a pact between the two
countries the United States is pledged to send the French in Indo China
$50 millions worth of military equipment, including tanks and planes.
We are all sorry, I am sure, that our government has promised to help
another government to dispossess and racial group of their own land.
So far as the countries across the sea are concerned it is natural that
we should wonder whether it is possible to bring peace to them. I am glad
to tell you that there is one way, and only one way to start a movement
for peace, and Prime Minister Nehru has told us exactly how to do it.

In discussing the inroads which Communism has made upon Asia, he expl
plains it by saying that Communism in Asia is due entirely to the fact that
the people of Asia want to be free and independent, that they are tired of
being dominated by foreign powers. He does not call the powers by name, but
it is not hard to guess to whom he refers. He warns these powers that the
people of Asia desperately want their freedom, are determined to have it
hate Colonialism, that the more the powers ignore Asia's desire for freedom
the more these victims of Colinislism will join and cling to the Communist
party.  In other words if the Western powers want Asia to reject
Cimmunism they must stop forcing their will upon the people, allow them to
be free and independent and have governments of their own. In short, the
victim of Colonialism want the Western powers to adopt toward them a policy 


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of justice , rather than one of force. I am sure that everybody here tonight
agrees that if the world or any portion of the world really wants peace, 
respect for the diginity of human beings and justice toward them without regard to race or color
are the only means to 
that much to be desired end. "No matter how much money the Western Powers
send Asia", said Nehru in an interview he allowed to be published, "arms and
money alone will to win the heart of Asia," There is only one way to win Asia's heart [can be won by] and
and that is by helping her people to put an end to Colonialism which they hate. Nehru has recently referred 
several times specifically to the case of Indo China and has urged the Western Powers to stop
supporting Bao Dai who is  trying to steal the land from the Indo Chinese
and whom France is backing as Emperor of Viet Nam.  "The desire of the people
of Indo China to be independent is natural", said Nehru and should be respected,
and no outside help should be given to bolster up the colonial regime."
Surely the people of the United States should understand and sympathize with
the desire of the people of Indo China to be free and independent since 
our own country was founded on that same desire and determination to be free from the tyranny of a stronger power even though we had to fight 
the revolutionary [to] war to satisfy that desire.

After seeing that in other countries injustice to human beings is the
cause of the unrest, unhappiness and hatred which makes it impossible to
have peace, it is our duty as citizens who love our country to ask ourselves
whether under conditions obtaining here today it is possible for us
to have peace in the United States  . Last May 703 delegates attended the
MidCentury Conference for Peace in Chicago. They met to appeal to the American
people to stop the cold war, declared that war between the Soviet Union
and the United States was not inevitable, and called upon their fellow Americans to enter the
Crusade for Peace. The delegates to the Mid Century Conference for Peace
called for personal and individual dedication and the concerted action of
all groups groups, societies  , parties and organizations to set the issue
of peace above all others. A program of activity was adopted which lack of
time prevents me from outlining tonight. But there is one statement in this
program to which I wish especially to draw your attention. "The protection
of civil liberties," says this program "is intertwined with the full and 
frank discussion  of the problems of peace. We  therefore Protest

7 1/2
No racial group in the United States should protest more strongly and
loudly againsy Colonialism than those of us who have African blood in our
veins. Colonialism is holding more Afrigans in ignorance degradation and
slavery than any other racial group. According to reliable statistics
72,320,000 native people in Africa alone, inhabitating a territory of
4,038,888 square miles  live in bondage made more terrible by British 
decaption, exploitation and terror.

For years the Netherlands has hold in bondage nearly 80,000,000 people.
in the East Indies, and in South America.
The French Government is today attacking the people of Viet  Nma and 
expois millions of people in its colonies in Asia and Africa.
Belgium holds the people of the Congo in bondage.
Portugal is holding in subjection and ignorance  9 million Africans in
Portugese Guiana, Congola, [Mozabigue] Mozambigue, Cape Verde Islands , San T
Tome and Principa. With so many helpless human beings the victims of
Colonialism, it is the duty of people who call themselves civilized  to start a holy crusade
against [the] a system so cruel and unjust.

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We therefore protest all violations of civil rights. The program urges the
people of the country to do everything in their power to prevent the 
occurrence of anything  which result in unreasoning anti-Semitism in our own
country and the development of prejudice against other   tacial and religious
minorities. It is most encouraging  to see that the delegates to a conference
on Peace  realize that even if it is possible to avert war with
Russia, it is impossible to have peace in the United States, so long as
15,000,000 people  are deprived of the rights, privileges, immunities and
opportunities  to which they are entitled by the Constitution of the United
States. Especially in this violation of the Constitution countenanced and
[*practiced*] sanctioned in that section of the country where the majority of that racial
group live [*who*] which are the victims of this lawlessness and injustice.
The truth of the matter is that 3/4 of the sections of the country which claim to believe in Democracy are completely
dominated by 1/4. which openly, brazenly boasts that it will not observe
the laws of the land.  In the Congress of the United States are senators
and representatives who have been illegally elected because thousands of the
States which they represent have been disfranchised- they have not been allowed
to cast their ballots because of their race. There are many who wonder
whether laws passed in a legislature, some of whose members have been ilgally 
elected are valid.

I do not wish to be an alarmist , especially a meeting called to consider
peace, but I feel it is my duty to call attention to the fact that,
even though it is possible to keep peace with other countries, so as to avoid
going to war, it is impossible to keep peace here at home, unless those who
really believe in Democracy join together to practice it, to make it a rule
of our lives, and join together to to [make] prevent the enemies of Democracy  from
violating its priciples and precepts. There isreason to fear that some of
the basic American freedoms, such as free speech, free assembly, free press
and free petition are in grave danger. From the Atlantic to the Pacific the
hard-won Bill of Rights  is under attack. Many good citizens were discouraged
at the speed with which the Communist Control Bill was passed and at the
speed with which the Senate and the House of Representatives overrode th

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President Truman's veto, although he plead with Senators and Representatives
to vote against the bill which he said was a great mistake, because it would
help the communists and not hurt them and that it would make a mockery of
our Bill of Rights and of our claims to stand for freedom in the world.
Those who love our country should do everything in their power to preserve
its good name. We know that the eyes of the world are upon our practices and
our behavior, especially in the District of Columbia, the Capital of the 
United States, called the Greatest Democracy on earth. The world knows that
colored people in the District of Columbia are discrinated against and segregated.

In its printed report the Committee on Civil Rights appointed some
time ago by the President declared  "The District of Columbia should sybbolize
to our citizens and to the people of all countries our great tradition 
of civil liberty. Instead it is a graphic illustration of a failure of
Democracy. As the seat of our federal government under the authority of
Congress  , the failure of the District is the failure of all of the people."

Permit me to mention briefly two incidents  two incidents which illustrate
graphically the truth of this statement. The Sesquicentennial Committee
decided to have scenes from "The Faith of Our Fathers" performed in the public
schools of the District, which as you all know are segregated. When 12 white
actors and 2 colored actors appeared at the Anancostia High School to enact
the scenes assigned to them, the pricipal of the school told them they could
not appear. Dr. Corning, Superintendent of the Public Schools told the principal
she did exactly right, and that she could have done nothing else under
the circumstances. Although there is no rule forbidding the appearance of
mixed groups in our public schools, Superintendent  declared it just hadn't
happened before. However, the First Assistant Principal of the Colored School
immediately issued to the principals of colored schools an order that under no circumstances would an all white or an all colored group of actors  be allowed to present scenes from the dram

As exhibit number 2 of the way we behave in the Capital of the Greatest
Democracy on Earth I want to refer to the decision rendered by Judge Myers
in the Municipal Court of several months ago.. when he declared that an old

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law passed in 1872 and 73 by the then existing Legislature in the District of Columbia which imposed a fine upon proprietors 
of hotels or restaurants who refused to serve well-appearing and
well-behaved colored people on account of their race was invalid by implication.
It is hard [to imageinega] to imagine a more inopportune time for Juge Myers to render
this decision [for at that time] permitting proprietors of hotels and restaurants to refuse
to accommodate and serve colored people, at that time [for] this country was just beginning
a desperate struggle with Korea,  inhabited by colored people, as you know, who reporters tell
us hate [colored] white people people. At this very minute there are four human beings
whose faces are black, [yellow] brown or [brown] yellow to every one whose face is white.
That means that four fifths of the world's population are colored people.
It is a well-known fact that Russia is assidulously cultivating the friend
ship of colored people of the world so that she can count upon their
friendship and assistance if she needs them. These hundreds of millions of
colored people in Asia and elsewhere know that a Judge in the Court of the 
Capital of the United States  has rendered a decision permitting the 
proprietors of hotels and restaurants to refuse to accommodate and serve them.
It is hard to understand how anybody who loves his country and claims to be
a good citizen can do anything which will cause three fourths of the worlds
population to hate it, and to try to get revenge especially at a time when the country
was struggling desparately to overcome terribly heavy odds in a war, 
reports from which at the time Judge Myers render the decision were by no
means encouraging.Those who think we are keeping facts like these from the 
world make a great mistake. If there were sufficient time I could give several
incidents to illustrate this which happened when I was a young woman
studying abroad. No doubt some of you are surprised that I did not confine
my remarks at this Peace meeting exclusively to a discussion of the question
as to whether war between the Soviet Union and Russia is inevitable instead
of going all over the world to show why it is impossible to keep the peace
in countries where certain groups were constantly quarreling with each otherr
for one reason or another. I did not confine myself exclusively to the question
of whether war between the United States and Soviet Russia is inevitable 
because I am a  

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inevitable because I am a member neither of the General Assembly nor the Security
Council of United Nations. And if any one is wise or prophetic enough to
reach a conclusion on this $64 question I am not that individual. [and] Ever
since I was a little girl, as you observe, that was only a [short time] few years ago,
I have heard that there is always hope for a fool if he knows he is one.
And if I was [one] told I had to guess the answer to that important question I am obliged
to confess that up to date I have never distinguished myself as being a good guesser.
I have tried to show that peace is impossible where injustice prevails . Of
course I [did not] am not the first one to discover this important fact. It is as old
as the rock-ribbed ancient [*hills*] mountains. Indeed [and yet] it is axiomatic, and yet it is
astounding how many seem to believe that brute force is the only thing 
necessary to keep the peace.
And now I want to say a few words about Communism. Everybody knows there
could be no well-planned, well-conducted meeting on Peace without some
reference to Communism. For if there ever were a disturber of the peace in [this country] United States of America, 
that old sinner, Communism is certainly it. First and foremost, I want
to say that I am not a Communist, never was one, [and] never will be one, and have
no interest in it whatsoever except to wonder how in the world it ever got that way.
When I hear people who appear to be sane say that communists want to overthrow
the Government of the United States, I fear that my hearing has suddenly
detriorated so shockingly as to be beyond repair, or that something serious
[is the matter with] has happened to my mind.
It is generally conceded that the United States is the richest and strongest
government in the world, has the most modern weapons, and get as many more
of them as are necessary,  when she needs them It is hard, in fact it is impossible 
for me to believe that any individual outside of an insane asylum
in the wildest flight of a lurid imagination  could dream of trying to overthrow
the government of the United States. The very idea is so ridiculous
and fantastic, that I can think of it only as a huge joke, and have to exercise [restrain
myself]
a lot of self control to keep from laughing myself to death. But Communism ceases
to be funny when we see honest, upright people smeared, their reputation
ruined by being called communists, which causes them to lose their jobs

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lose some of their friends, the respect of the community in which they live, all
because they entertained an opinion of some kind with which their accuser
did not agreeor because somebody full of envy and jealousy wanted to punish
their victim for the brilliant success he had achieved . I have a definition
for the word Communist upon which I intend to [have] get a patent. According to my
definition a Communist is a colored person who wants all the rights to which he
is entitled, and a Communist is also a white person who wants colored people
to have their rights.

Several weeks ago Attorney General Howard McGrath delivered an address
to the Bar Association which met in Washington. He warned against what he
called "vigilante" justice and against the kind of security legislation which
is caused by hystaria.  We seem to be going through a period of public
hysteria", said Attorney General McGrath. There are many self-appointed 
policemen, who call themselves "guardians of Americanism" who want to force
everybody to have the same opinion and call those who disagree or oppose them  disloyal.
They best people whom they call "Communist sympathizers, said the Attorney
General. And then Attorney General McGrath said something which should be
posted in every building [in the] and on every fence in the United States. America's The best
long-term weapon against Communism", said he, "is the elimination of of its
shortcomings, including inequalities in the treatment of its people."

No doubt some of you are surprised that I did not confine my remarks
at this Peace meeting exclusively  to anwering the question as to whether war between the United
States and the Soviet Union is inevitable instead of toaming all over the 
world to show why it was impossible to keep the peace in countries where
certain groups were constantly fussing,and quareling with each other  first
for one reason or the other. I did not confine myself exclusively to the
question of whether war between the United States and Russia is inevitable
because I am a member of neither the General Assembly of the United Nations
nor of the Security Counsel over there at Lake Success. And if anybody not
a member of those wonderful units of that aggragation of intellectual giants is wise enough to reach a conclusion
from the facts actually in his or her possession, I am not that individual

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And I have been hearing since I was a little girl, only a few years ago,
as you see, that there is hope of a fool if he knows he is a fool. Again,if
we had to decide such an important question as to whether a war between the
Soviet Union and the United States is inevitable by guessing, I am obliged 
to confess that up to date I have not distinguished myself asa dependable
guesser.

We have been roving around the world this evening  trying to find ways
and means of keeping human beings living in different on friendly terms with each
other, and have discovered so long as the Colonial system is used by powerful
nations to   hold in subjection less advanced and weaker nations, it is
impossible to preserve peace in the world. Confining ourselves to each
country as a separate and distinct unit, we find that when a minority group
in a country is deprived of the rights and privileges and opportunities
which another group enjoys , and in that way become a victim of discrimination 
and injustices,in such a country it is impossible to preserve the peace
Therefore it is the duty of each and every one of us to do everything humanly
possible to change the de plorable, dehumanizing conditions which exist
by setting a proper, personable example ourselves, by appealing to the 
conscience of those whom we can influence and by urging [all] those with whom we cone
into personal contact to deal justly with all human beings without regard 
to their religion or their race.

Address For The Maryland Committee For Peace. Baltimore, Oct. 6, 1950
It is always a pleasure for me to meet with an organization whose
members are trying to advance the interests of their fellow man, either by 
introducing something new or by trying to preserve something old which is in
danger of being, injured, discarded or destroyed. In coming to Baltimore tonight,
however, my pleasure is increased on hundred fold, because the news
I read in the Washington Post Tuesday, September 26, makes me feel that I am in the presence of 
supermen and superwomen, because only supermen and superwomen could have
accomplished what the Maryland Committee for peace, lead by its progressive 
forceful, youthful president Gunther Wertheimer is reported to have done.
Sometime ago, the newspaper stated, the Maryland Committee for Peace [Committee] had
arranged to see Jacob A. Malik, the well-known Russian Diplomat. In the
first place, I was stunned to learn that anybody was so imaginative as to
dream it was possible to see Mr. Malik, who as, everybody [well all] knows, is a very busy
man who has not established a reputation for sociability [being] or for being 
easy to see. I had no idea I would ever meet [see] in the flesh anybody who had
the courage actually to try to stand in Mr. Malik's presence, and if such
an impossibility should happen, nobody could have made me believe that any 
human being would have the monumental audacity to dare to ask Mr. Malik any
questions. But, of course, miracles are happening every day, and nothing
illustrates that better than that Mr. Malik was courteous and obliging 
enough not only to see the Maryland Committee for Peace, but also to answer 
the questions he was asked.
According to the press, there were four questions. Number 1, "Will your 
government pledge that it will not be the first to use the Atomis bomb?"
2-Do you favor general disarmament and the outlawing of aromic weapons by
all nations under a strict system of central inspection administered through
the United Nations?
3-Do you favor (or will you agree) to a meeting between the top leaders of
the United States and the Soviet Union to negotiate their differences ro
help achieve full peace?

2
4-Do you have the free interchange of ideas and information between the 
peoples of the two countries in order to achieve the understanding that 
is necessary to an enduring peace?
It is impossible to place too high an estimate upon what was actually 
accomplished by the successful effort made by President Wertheimer and
the Maryland Committee of Peace. It was the first time, recently at least,
that a Russian of Mr. Malik's rank and importance has said officially that
he favors a meeting between the top leaders of the two countries. Of Curse, the inferences is that
by top leaders Mr. Malik [he] meant a conference between President Truman and Prime Minister
Stalin. Considering the disturbing conditions which face, not only the
United States, but a large part of the whole world, we have a right to be encouraged
that Malik actually received the Maryland Committee for Peace. Then too, this is the
first time Mr. Malik has allowed his comments to be given to the press. He
personally telephoned the Associated Press to tell the world what he had
said. [Heretofore he] That was the first time that the Soviet Delegation has gone so far as to give publicity
to questions asked by any Peace Committee in the United States and the answers
given. Mr. Malik, not only favored a meeting between President Truman and 
Prime Minister Stalin, between United States and Russian officials for broad
scale negotiations on all differences, but he offered a pledge that Russia
would not use the atom bomb first. Again I say we should be by that pledge encouraged because
it is axiomatic that no member of the Russian Foreign Office acts
without his chief's approval and permission. 
Of course, there are Doubting Thomases who wonder if what they call
Malik's "sweet talk" means anything. [They say] The Mind-Readers say that Mr. Malik knew MacArthur had landed [in a pincer movement]
and had advanced across middle Korea in a pincer movement to cut off the 
North Korean Army and crush it between the two United Nations forces, 
so [he] according to the Mind Readers, Mr. Malik thought it was time to be a good boy. But no matter what the Doubting
Thomases or the Mind-Readers think, I want right here and now to take my hat 
off to the President and the Maryland Committee for Peace I want to express my gratitude
to them, for when they were persistent and clever enough to beard the lion
in his den, so to speak, they made an invaluable contribution to peace, no
matter whether the Doubting Thomases or the Mind Readers think so or not. The Moscow press [newspapers]

3
gave it top place in [all] the newspapers. They described the Maryland
Peace Committee with Mr. Malik as taking place in a warm, friendly atmosphere.
They said the meeting expressed the desire for peace which the great
mass of American people want very much. I say emphatically if the Maryland [Peace] Committee for Peace
had done nothing else but impress the Russian people with the fact that the 
American people want peace, their efforts would have been well worth while and could not possibly have been in vain, 
for those who are in a position to know the facts say the Russian people are
being continually told that the people in the United States love to fight
above everything else, and are trying to provoke Russia to war.  The Russian
press also published the questions which Mr. Malik was asked and said they were 
asked in the name of [the city of] Baltimore the city, and of Maryland, the State. It is
impossible to overestimate the good which may be done by giving the Russian
people behind the iron curtain this information about the pwople in the United
States and their desire for peace. it is impossible to overestimate the good 
which may be done by telling the Russian people, as Mr. Wertheimer has done through the statement
he presented to Mr. Malik that the strengthening of friendship between the peoples 
of the Soviet Union and the United States, not only is the burning wish
of the people of Maryland but of all the American people. 
I congratulate the President and each and every member of the Maryland Committee
for Peace which met Mr. Malik. I beg you to let the good work go on.
Generally speaking, there is no doubt that practically the whole
world hopes for a durable peace. The world is tired of dangers and war-like
tensions which have held it in their terrible grip for at least four of 
five years. Under prevailing conditions, with human nature as it is, if
anyone should ask you if you think it is possible to have peace in the
world, what would you say? In replying to the question it would be necessary
for you to remember, of course, that there are many races of human beings
in the world who differ in complexions, perhaps [apparently] in native ability, 
in disposition, some of whom are strong and some of them weak. The world
calls some of the races superior and some inferior. The strongest and richest 
of what are considered [called] the superior races have developed a system called
"Colonialism"

4
"Colonialism", by which they hold in subjection the weaker groups, from whom
they take their land, often full of valuable products of one kind or another,
sometimes silver, gold, [and] diamonds, and grow richer and richer day by day, while
many of the natives live in unspeakable squalor [want] and some of them actually [nearly] starve. Sometimes these
superior races invade the countries of the weaker races under the pretext
of "civilizing them", occasionally they stir up a war with the natives 
which [wich] with powerful weapons they easily win, because the natives know nothing
about civilized warfare and have only crude weapons with which to fight.
It is unnecessary for me to consume your time giving a list of such 
cases, for they are generally well known. For instance, for 100 years India was held by Great Britain
[valuable works that the] which kept the natives in subjection and cold-bloodedly appreciated the most
valuable products the country [the most] possessed. In addition to having the major portion of
their wealth stolen from them, while England grew richer and richer year
by year, many of the natives lived in wretched squalor [and], a number of them 
starved, [and] some of them were subjected to indignities of various kinds
and were often the victims of injustice and cruelty beyond belief. The [they] natives were
given to understand they belonged to an inferior race and should not consider
themselves the social equals of the British.
Colonization has made Holland one of the richest countries in the
world. From time immemorial she has been appropriating to herself valuable
products from the natives of the countries to whom they rightfully belonged. We all know
the story of the Indonesian Republic which Holland overturned Heaven and
earth to destroy.
Eritrea once a part of Ethiopia which was taken by Italy an [Italian] colony [which is really a part of] stolen from  Ethiopia 
is now being administered by [Great Bristish] Great Britain hicehen. After I went to Zurich Switzerland,
in 1919, to deliver an address for the Women's International League
for Peace and Freedom [I went to London] Mr. and Mrs. H.G. Wells invited me to spent a week end with them in their home in a suburb near London. [*their home*]
While I was in London I made up my mind I would have a visit with Haile Selassie
who I learned was living in Bath as the English pronounce it,  about an hour and a half ride from London, after he fled from Ethiopia, if [it] he would consent
to seeing me. He did consent to let me visit him and graciously appointed a day and hour for me to come to see
him. It is a great temptation for me to talk about Haile Selassie, how he
looks every inch a king, but I shall

5 
looks every inch a king, but I shall resist it. [There this] When I met the Emperor of Ethiopia I did not tear
passion to tatters, but I told the then ex-Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie that right
minded, justice loving people all over the world considered Italy a highway 
robber, sympathized deeply with Ethiopia and hoped that some day, somehow
justice would triumph in the end. In spite of the fact that at the time
there did not seem even a remote chance that Haile Selassie would ever regain 
his [empire] throne the gave me distinctly to understand during my visit that day in Bath that he expected one 
day to be able to return to Ethiopia, as the Emperor. It gave me great pleasure when I heard he was installed as Emperor of Ethiopia once more. And now at Lake Success 
Eritrea is being discussed and we have a right to hope that justice will
prevail and Ethiopia will regain Eritrea of which she was robbed. 
It would take an interminable time to give even a slight idea of the 
wealth in millions [of millions] of which [brutal manner in in which] Africa with her mountains of gold, diamond and valuable
products of various kinds has been robbed by Great Britain, France,
Portugal and other countries of the world. Even if I had the time I would not care
to describe here tonight the injustices of various kinds of which the natives
of South Africa have been helpless victims. [and]The brutal treatment 
to which they have been and [today] are today being subjected.  Several months
ago many African mine workers were killed at Enigi, Nigeria, South Africa and injured by the British police
[The cruel, brutal treatment of
[the natives in South Africa by Great Britain and the] Dutch is one of the
most disgraceful episodes relating to the degeneracy of civilized people
which history records.]
because they went on a strike to get a wage of 80 cents a day. For years
they had been working in the mines for .30 a day, while workmen in other racial
groups who were doing much less difficult and dangerous work were paid
$2.50 a day and more. I shall simply refer briefly to the manner in which
the natives are treated in South Africa right now. At the head of
the South African nationalist party [now] today is a man Malan by name who has boasted that if 
liberal people thought the natives of South Africa were badly treated by Jan Smuts, who was
at the head of the United Party a long time ago, he Malan would show them what
harsh treatment really is. He and his party are definitely committedt[y]
White Supremacy, [and] Among other things they have divided South Africa into compartments, so to speak according to the [complexion] color of their skins. [The enclosures]
and the natives are forced to live in sections assigned to them
The[y] natives are forced to live in enclosures far removed from those of [the] other races.
The natives have no voice whatever in their government and are completely
disfranchised. The penalties imposed upon the natives who violate the law
and some of the laws [which] reduce them from the status of human beings to that of slaves
[*remember half a [?] top of Page*]

[*6*] are heavy and terrible indeed. Compared
with the treatment to which the natives of South African are subjected by [Great Britian] Englishmen colored people
in Mississippi live in a perfect heaven on earth. Malan and his party are
telling the world they don't care what people say or think There is no doubt that someday this
inhuman political party will blow up and those responsible for it will receive
their just deserts. I have described the conditions in South Africa and now I want to ask you if in that troubled spot you think there is any prospect of peace.  [Do] you think there is any prospect of peace?
The same thing is happening in Indo China! The French have taken the 
country from the natives who have been fighting desperately for four or 
five years [insperately] trying to keep their country for themselves. The French are now
in a much better position then they were last year, because the United
States our own government has sent the French a large quantity of war material which is being
used against the Indo Chinese now. According to [the North Atlantic Pact] the pact between the two
countries the North Atlantic Pact the United States is pledged to send the French in Indo China
$50 millions worth of military equipment, including tanks and planes. 
We are all sorry, I am sure, that our government has promised to help 
another government to dispossess any racial group of their own land.
So far as the countries across the sea are concerned it is natural that
we should wonder whether it is possible to bring peace to them. I am glad
to tell you that there is one way, and only one way to start a movement
for peace, and Prime Minister Nehru of India has told us exactly how to do it.
In discussing the inroads which Communism has made upon Asia, he explains 
it by saying that Communism in Asia is due entirely to the fact that
the people of Asia want to be free and independent, that they are tired of
being dominated by foreign powers. He does not call the powers by name, but
it is not hard to guess that [to whom] he refers especially to Great Britain and France. He warns these powers that the
people of Asia desperately want their freedom, are determined to have it, 
that they hate Colonialism, that the more the Western powers ignore Asia's desire for freedom
the more these victims of Colonialism will join the Communist Party and cling to it [the communist party.]
In other words, if the "easterm powers want Asia to reject 
Communism, they must stop forcing their will upon the people, allow them to 
be free and independent and have governments of their own. In short, the 
victims of Colonialism in Asia and everywhere else want the Western powers to adopt toward them a polic

[*7*]
of justice, rather than one of force. I am sure that everybody here tonight
agrees that if the world or any portion of the world really wants peace, respect
for the diginity of human beings and justice toward them without regard to race or color, are the only means to
that much to desired end. "No matter how much money the Western Powers
send Asia", said Nehru in an interview he allowed to be published, "arms and
money alone will not win the heart of Asia." There is only one way to win Asia's heart he said [can be won by]
and that is by helping the people of Asia to put an end to Colonialism which they hate. Nehru referred
several times specifically to the case of Indo China and urged the Western Powers to stop
supporting Bao Dai who is trying to steal the land from the Indo Chinese
and whom France is backing as Emperor of Viet Nam. "The desire of the people
of Indo China to be independent is natural", said Nehru, and should be respected,
and no outside help should be given to bolster up the Colonial regime."
Surely the people of the United States should understand and spmpethize with
the desire of the people of Indo China to be free and independent since
our own country was founded on that same desire and determination to be free from the tyranny of a stronger power even though we each had to fight the revolutionary war 
to satisfy that desire. [*Page 7 1/2*]
[*Begin*] After seeing that in other countries injustice to human beings is the cause of the unrest, unhappiness and hatred which make[s] it impossible to have peace, it is our duty as citizens who love our country to ask ourselves
whether under conditions obtaining here today it is possible for us 
to have peace in the United States . Last May 703 delegates attended the
MidCentury Conference for Peace in Chicago. They met to appeal to theAmerican
people to stop the cold war, declared that war between the Soviet Union
and the United States was not inevitable, and called upon their fellow Americans  to enter the
Crusade for Peace. The delegates to the Mid Century Conference for Peace
called for personal and individual dedication and the concerted action of
all groups, [groups], societies , parties and organizations to set the issue
of peace above all others. A program of activity was adopted which lack of
time prevents me from outlining tonight. But there is one statement in this
program to which I wish especially to draw your attention."The protection
of civil liberties," says this program, "is intertwined with the full and
frank discussion  of the problems of peace. W

[*7 1/2*]
No racial group in the United States should protest more strongly and
loudly against Colonialism than those of us who have African blood in our
veins. Colonialism is holding more Africans in ignorance degradation and
slavery than any other racial group. According to reliable statistics
72,320,000 native people in Africa alone,inhabiting a territory of
4,038,888 square miles  live in bondage, made more terrible by British deception,
exploitation and terror.
For years the Netherlands has held in bondage nearly 80,000,000 people.
in the East Indies,and in South America.
The French Government is today attacking the people of Viet Nma and expoits 
millions of people in its colonies in Asia and Africa. 
Belgium holds the people of the Congo in bondage.
Portugal is holding in subjection and ignorance 9 million Africans in
Portugese Guiana, Congola, Mozambigue, Cape Verde Islands, San T
Tome and Principe. With so many helpless human beings the victims of 
Colonialism, it is the duty of people who call themselves civilized  to start a holy crusade
against [the] a system so cruel and unjust.
[*Return to Page 7*]

8
We therefore protest all violations of civil rights. The program urges the
people of this country to do everything in their power to prevent the occurrence
of anything which may result in unreasoning anti-Semitism in our own 
country, and the development of prejudice against other racial and religious
minorities. It is most encouraging to see that the delegates to a Conference
on Peace realize that even if it is possible to avert war with 
Russia, it is impossible to have peace in the United States, so long as 
15,000,000 people are deprived of the rights, privileges, immunities and
opportunities to which they are entitled by the Constitution of the United
States. Especially is this violation of the Constitution countenanced [and]
sanctioned and practiced in that section of the country where the majority of that racial
group lives who [which] are the victims of this lawlessness and injustice.
The truth of the matter is that 3/4 of the sections of the country which claim to believe in Democracy are completely
dominated by 1/4, which openly, brazenly boasts that it will not observe
the laws of the land. In the Congress of the United States are senators
and representatives who have been illegally elected because thousands of citizens in the
States which they represent have been disfranchised- they have not been allowed 
to cast their ballots because of their race. There are many who wonder
whether laws passed in a legislature, some of those members have been illegally
elected are really valid. 
I do not wish to be an alarmist, especially at a meeting called to consider
peace, but I feel it is my duty to call attention to the fact that,
even though it is possible to keep peace with other countries, so as to avoid
going to war with them, it is impossible to keep peace here at home, unless those who
really believe in Democracy join together to practice it, to make it a rule
of our lives, and join together to prevent [to make] the enemies of Democracy from
violating its priciples and precepts. There is reason to fear that some of
the basic American freedoms, such as free speech, free assembly, free press
and free petition are in grave danger. From the Atlantic to the Pacific the 
hard-won Bill of Rights is under attack. Recently Many good citizens were discouraged 
at the speed with which [the] Congress passed the Communist Control Bill [was passed] and at the
speed with which the Senate and the House of Representatives overrode th

9
President Truman's veto, although he plead with Senators and Representatives
to vote against the bill which he said was a great mistake, because it would
help the Communists and not hurt them and that it would make a mockery of
our Bill of Rights and of our claims to stand for freedom in the world.
Those who love our country should do everything in their power to preserve 
its good name. We know that the eyes of the world are upon our practices and 
our behavior, especially in the District of Columbia, the Capital of the
United States, called the Greatest Democracy on earth. The world knows that
colored people in the District of Columbia are discrinated against and segregated.
In its printed report the Committee on Civil Rights appointed some
time ago by [the] President Truman declared "The District of Columbia should symbolize
to our citizens and to the people of all countries our great tradition
of civil liberty. Instead says the report, it is a graphic illustration of a failure of
Democracy. As the seat of our federal government under the authority of Congress,
continues [says] the report, the failure of the District as a [the] failure of all of the people."
Permit me to mention briefly two incidents [two incidents] [two incidents] which illustrate
graphically the truth of this statement. A few days ago The Sesquicentennial Committee decided
to have scenes from "The Faith of our Fathers" performed in the public 
schools of the District, which, as you all know, are segregated. When 12 white
actors and 2 colored actors appeared at the Anancostia High School to enact
the scenes assigned to them, the principal of that school told them they could
not appear. Dor. Corning, Superintendent of the Public Schools of the District of Columbia told the principal
she did exactly right, and that she could have done nothing else under
the circumstances. "Although there is no rule forbidding the appearance of
mixed groups in our public schools," the Superintendent declared, "it just hadn't happened before," he said. However, the First Assistant Superintendent [principal] of the Colored School
immediately issued an order to the principals of colored schools that under no circumstances would an all white
or an all colored group of actors be allowed to present scenes from the dram
As exhibit number 2 of the way we behave in the Capital of the Greatest Democracy on Earth I want to refer to the decision rendered by Judge Myers in the Municipal Court [of] several months ago., when he declared that an old

10
law passed in 1872 and 73 by the then existing Legislature in the District of Columbia which imposed a fine upon proprietors
of hotels [or] and restaurants who refused to serve well-appearing and
well-behaved colored people on account of their race was invalid by implication.
It is hard to imagine a more inopportune time for Judge Myers to render 
this decision permitting proprietors of hotels and restaurants to refuse
to accommodate and serve colored people than at that time for this country was just beginning
a desperate struggle with Korea, inhabited by colored people as you know, who, reporters tell
us, hate white people. On this mundane sphere at this very minute there are four human beings
whose faces are black, brown or yellow to every one whose face is white.
That means that four fifths of the world's population are colored people. 
It is a well-known fact that Russia is assidulously cultivating the friendship 
of the colored people of the world, so that she can count upon their
friendship and assistance [if] when she needs them. These hundreds of millions of
colored people in Asia and elsewhere now know that a Judge in the Court of the
Capital of the United States has rendered a decision permitting the proprietors
of hotels and restaurants to refuse to accommodate and serve them. 
It is hard to understand how anybody who loves his country and claims to be 
a good citizens [can] could do anything which [will] would cause three fourths of the worlds
population to hate it, and to try to get revenge especially at a time when the country
was struggling desperately to overcome terribly heavy odds in a war, reports
from which at the time Judge Myers render the decision, were by no
means encouraging.Those who think we are keeping facts like these from the
world make a great mistake. If there were sufficient time I could give several
incidents from my own personal experience to illustrate this which happened when I was a young woman
studying abroad. No doubt some of you are surprised that I did not confine
my remarks at this Peace meeting exclusively to a discussion of the question
as to whether war between the Soviet Union and United States is inevitable instead
of going all over the world to show why it is impossible to keep the peace
in countries where certain groups were constantly quarreling with each other 
for one reason or another. I did not confine myself exclusively to the question
of whether war between the United States and Soviet Russia is inevitable because I am

11
ble because I am a member neither of the General Assembly nor the Security 
Council of United Nations. And if any one is wise or prophetic enough to reach a conclusion on this $64 question I am not that individual, [and] Ever
since I was a little girl, and as you observe, that was only a [short time] few years ago, 
I have heard that there is always hope for a fool if he knows he is one. 
And if one had to guess the answer to that important question I am obliged
to confess that up to date I have never distinguished myself as being a good guesser.
I have tried to show that peace is impossible where injustice prevails. Of
course I am not the first one to discover this important fact. It is as old
as the rock-ribbed and ancient [mountains] hills. Indeed it is axiomatic, and yet it is 
astounding how many seem to believe that brute force is the only thing necessary 
to keep keep the peace.
And now I want to say a few words about Communism. Everybody knows there
could be no well-planned, well-conducted meeting in the United States on Peace without some reference
to Communism. For if there ever were a disturber of the peace in [this country] the United States of America,
that old sinner, Communism, is certainly [that one] it. First and foremost, I want
to say with all emphasis which I can command that I am not a Communist, never have been one and never will be one, have
no interest in it whatsoever except to wonder how in the world it ever got that way.
When I hear people, who appear to be sane, say that Communists want to overthrow 
the Government of the United States, I fear that my hearing has suddenly 
detriorated so shockingly as to be beyond repair, or that something serious
[is the matter with] has happened to my mind.
It is generally conceded that the United States is the richest and strongest
government in the world, has the most modern weapons, and can get as many more
of them as are necessary, when she needs them. It is hard, in fact, it is impossible
for me to believe that any individual outside of an insane asylum,
in the wildest flight of a lurid imagination, could dream of trying to overthrow
the government of the United States. The very idea [is] seems so ridiculous
and fantastic to me that I can think of it only as a huge joke, and have to exercise
a lot of self control to keep from laughing myself to death. but Communism ceases
to be funny to me when we see honest, upright people smeared, their reputation
ruined by being called communists, which causes them to lose their jobs

12
lose some of their friends, lose the respect of the community in which they live, all
because they entertained an opinion of some kind with which their accuser
did not agree or because somebody full of envy and jealousy wanted to punish
their victim for the brilliant success he had achieved . I have a definition 
for the word Communist upon which I intend to get a patent. According to my definition
of a Communist, a Communist is a colored person who wants all the right to which the
Constitution of the United States of America is entitled,  and claim a Communist is also a white person who wants colored people
to have all their rights. 
Several weeks ago Attorney General Howard McGrath delivered an address
to the Bar Association which met in Washington. He warned against what he
called "vigilante" justice, and against the kind of security legislation which 
is [the] caused by hysteria. "We seem to be going through a period of public
hysteria", said Attorney General McGrath. "There are many self-appointed policeman,
who call themselves "guardians of Americanism" he said who want to force 
everybody to have the same opinion and who call those who disagree or oppose them disloyal.
"They beat people whom they call "Communist sympathizers", said the Attorney
General. And then [Attorney General McGrath] he said something which should be
posted in every building and on every fence in the United States, "America's [the] best
long-term weapon against Communism", said the Attorney General, "is the elimination of of its
shortcomings, including inequalities in the treatment of its people."
No doubt some of you are surprised that I did not confine my remarks
at this Peace meeting exclusively to answering the question as to whether the war between the United
States and the Soviet Union is inevitable, instead of roaming all over the
world to show why it is [was] impossible to keep the peace in countries where
certain groups [were] are constantly fussing,and quareling with each other, first
for one reason or the other. I did not confine myself exclusively to the
question of whether war between the United States and Russia is inevitable,
because I am a member [of] neither of the General Assembly [nor] of the United Nations
nor of the Security Counsel over there at Lake Success. And if anybody not
a member of that aggregation of intellectual giants [those wonderful units] is wise enough to reach a conclusion
from the facts actually in his or her possession. I am not that individual.

13
And I have been hearing since I was a little girl, only a few years ago,
as you see, that there is hope of a fool if he knows he is a fool. Again, if 
we had to decide such an important question as to whether a war between the
Soviet Union and the United States is inevitable by guessing, I am obliged
to confess that up to date I have not distinguished myself as a dependable
guesser.
We have been roving around the world this evening trying to find ways
and means of keeping human beings [living] in different countries on friendly terms with each 
other, and have discovered so long as the Colonial system is used by powerful 
nations to hold in subjection less advanced and weaker nations, it is
impossible to preserve peace in the world. Confining ourselves to each
country as a separate and distinct unit, we find that when a minority group
in a country is deprived of the rights and privileges and opportunities
which another group enjoys , and in that way becomes a victim of discrimination 
and injustice,in such a country it is impossible to preserve the peace.
Therefore it is the duty of each and every one of us to do everything humanly
possible to change the de plorable, dehumanizing conditions [which] wherever they exist
by setting a proper [personal] [personall] example ourselves, by appealing to the conscience 
of those whom we can influence and by urging those [all] with whom we cone
into personal contact to deal justly with all human beings without regard
to their religion or their race. And this my friends is the only 
way to have peace in the world.

Transcribed and reviewed by contributors participating in the By The People project at crowd.loc.gov.