Walter F. White to Charles W. Chesnutt, 4 September 1930
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NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE
69 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
(AT FOURTEENTH STREET)
TELEPHONE: ALGONQUIN 65481
September 4, 1930
My dear Mr. Chestnutt:
I wish you would give me the benefit of your opinion on the forthcoming political campaign in Ohio.2 It is my personal conviction that the N.A.A.C.P.3 ought resolutely to oppose re-election of McCulloch4 because of his vote for Parker.5 There are several reasons why I think this most necessary: first, for the effect upon McCulloch, the Ohio Republicans and the Republican party generally and, second, for the effect upon colored people themselves in stirring them to protest on so vitally important an issue.
There is, as you doubtless know, some division of opinion among colored people in Ohio. There are those who feel that because McCulloch has not been absolutely bad, so far as the Negro is concerned, prior to his vote for Parker that he ought not to be opposed. As far as we can tell from this distance, however, the independent Negro and the masses of Negroes generally feel that by voting for Parker McCulloch negatived all that he had done prior to that time.
What is your feeling and what do your recommend? If you feel that we ought to go into the campaign, should the National Office direct a campaign or ought it to be led by the Ohio Branches? What do you think would be the most effective way of stirring Negro voters and their friends, keeping in mind the meagre financial resources and man power which we have?
This matter will be discussed at the Board meeting on Monday next, September 8th.6 Could you possibly let me hear from you by that time? If that is impossible, write me your full and frank opinion anyhow.
Sincerely yours, Walter White Acting Secretary Mr. Charles W. Chestnutt Union Trust Building Cleveland, Ohio WW/ID ENDORSED BY THE NATIONAL INFORMATION BUREAU. 215 FOURTH AVENUE, NEW YORKCorrespondent: Walter Francis White (1893–1955) was a Black civil rights activist and writer. He began working at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1918, at its New York City headquarters, as assistant to James Weldon Johnson, the Association's first Black Executive Secretary. He investigated lynchings and riots, sometimes passing for White, and he became Executive Secretary in 1930. He helped desegregate the armed forces after WWII, and under his leadership the NAACP established its Legal Defense Fund. He nominally remained executive secretary until his death in 1955.
1. For readability, the remainder of the letterhead is not transcribed at the top of the letter but is included in this footnote as unformatted text. The letterhead can be seen in its entirety in the accompanying image of the letter. The text of the remainder of the letterhead is as follows: "NATIONAL OFFICERS PRESIDENT MOORFIELD STOREY VICE PRESIDENTS REV. JOHN HAYNES HOLMES BISHOP JOHN HURST ARTHUR B. SPINGARN OSWALD GARRISON VILLARD TREASURER J. E. SPINGARN EXECUTIVE OFFICERS JAMES WELDON JOHNSON, SECRETARY [on leave] WALTER WHITE, ACTING SECRETARY DR. W. E. B. DU BOIS, EDITOR OF THE CRISIS ROBERT W. BAGNALL, DIRECTOR OF BRANCHES WILLIAM PICKENS, FIELD SECRETARY DAISY E. LAMPKIN, REGIONAL FIELD SECRETARY HERBERT J. SELIGMANN DIRECTOR OF PUBLICITY BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chairman MARY WHITE OVINGTON New York Baltimore Bishop John Hurst Boston Joseph Prince Loud Charleston, W. Va. T.G. Nutter Chicago Jane Addams Clarence Darrow Cleveland Hon. Harry E. Davis Detroit Hon. Ira W. Jayne Indianapolis F. B. Ransom Los Angeles Dr. J. A. Somerville Memphis R.R. Church New Haven George W. Crawford New Orleans Dr. George W. Lucas New York Lillian A. Alexander Rev. Hutchens C. Bishop Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois Rev. John Haynes Holmes Florence Kelley Hon. Herbert H. Lehman Ella Rush Murray John E. Nail Arthur B. Spingarn J.E. Spingarn Charles H. Studin William English Walling Dr. Louis T. Wright Philadelphia Isadore Martin Richmond Maggie L. Walker Springfield Rev. G. R. Waller Topeka Hon. Arthur Capper Washington Nannie H. Burroughs Hon. James A. Cobb Prof. George William Cook Charles Edward Russell NATIONAL LEGAL COMMITTEE Chairman Arthur B. Spingarn Chicago Clarence Darrow Chambridge, Mass. Felix Frankfurter Charleston, W. Va. T.G. Nutter New York James Marchall Herbert K. Stockton Charles H. Studin." [back]
2. The death of Senator Theodore E. Burton in 1929 left a vacancy in the Senate for Ohio. In a 1930 special election, Republican candidate Roscoe Conkling McCulloch ran against and lost to Democratic candidate Robert J. Bulkley. [back]
3. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) began in February 1909, with a Committee on the Negro and "The Call," a statement protesting lawlessness against Black people. In 1910, the organization adopted its current name and in 1912 began publication of a monthly journal, The Crisis, which was edited by W. E. B. Du Bois from 1912 to 1944. Chesnutt's involvement with the NAACP extended over many years, and included serving on its General Committee, attending conferences, presiding at NAACP events in Cleveland, publishing four stories and two essays in The Crisis (1912, 1915, 1924, 1926, 1930, and 1931), and being awarded in 1928 the organization's highest honor, the Spingarn Medal. [back]
4. Roscoe Conkling McCulloch (1880–1958) was an Ohio State Representative (1915–1921), unsuccessful Republican candidate in the 1920 gubernatorial election, and attorney in Canton, Ohio. In 1929, McCulloch was appointed to fill an Ohio State Senate seat left vacant by the death of the incumbent. He failed to keep the seat when he lost a special election a month later. In his September 6, 1930, letter to Walter White, Chesnutt shared his views on McCulloch and his reccomendation that the NAACP not support McCulloch. [back]
5. John J. Parker (1885–1958) was an unsuccessful nominee for associate justice of the United States Supreme Court in 1930. When he was a candidate in the gubernational election in 1920, Parker publicly opposed voting rights for African Americans. [back]
6. On October 11, 1930, the Cleveland Gazette reported that the "Cleveland branches of the NAACP have voted to oppose U.S. Senator McCulloch" ("McCulloch-Bulkley Contest Hot!" Cleveland Gazette [October 11, 1930]: 1). [back]
