Betty Bentz – HTC General Organizer

Betty Bentz – HTC General Organizer

The following remarks were made by Local 6 General Organizer Betty Bentz, who is chairman of the Local 6 Civil Rights Committee, in presenting the 1958 Better Relations Award to the Little Rock Nine.

On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down a decision which answered a historic question: "Does segregation of children in public schools, solely on the basis of race, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities? We hold that it does."

This fateful decision held, in brief, that segregated public education is unconstitutional. This decision was a great milestone in American history, in our march toward equal opportunity for all our citizens.

But a new law or a new decree does not automatically bring results. Equal schooling for African-American students was not achieved overnight, or by the next school term, either. In fact, three years after the Supreme Court decision, the Federal Government had to move troops into Little Rock to safeguard democracy.

Under the eyes of a watching world, nine African-American high school students were thus enabled to exercise the rights guaranteed them in the Constitution.

These nine Little Rock students braved the threat of mob violence. Although there were troops outside the school, in the locker rooms, the gyms, the school rooms, the corridors and the stairways these nine students were on their own, a tiny few in a hostile world.

This is the history of progress. The great deeds are done by men going to work or children going to school. Somebody must do the difficult tasks first.

These children had to face a wall of prejudice and hostility and still, despite this, managed to apply themselves to their schoolbooks, to obey all the rules and to be more perfect than the next student. It takes a special kind of courage to face all this and to live with it day after day. We honor that courage tonight.

Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, became, last year, a laboratory for social change. This is what happened at Little Rock. These students, guarded by the guns of soldiers, made friends as they went along. And if this happened in bitter, strife-torn Little Rock, it can happen anywhere. This year past was tense and difficult for these nine students, but all of us, everywhere, benefit by the results. We honor them for that.

There is a legend that young people of our country are a "silent generation," content with the lot that is handed them, anxious only to conform, afraid to speak up or to strike out on new paths. The courage of these nine Little Rock students should end all of this without delay. This so-called "silent generation" is clearly as ready as was our own, or perhaps more ready, to take up the task of making America in full what our Constitution charted so long ago.

Here, in these nine young people, we have proof that the great dangers and great needs of our time will be met with fortitude, with willingness and with intelligence by the young people who are coming to maturity. We honor these nine students for giving us this priceless pledge.

Our Better Race Relations Award symbolizes our attitude in this field. It speaks for the fact that the trade union movement is in the forefront of the fight for equal rights for all, regardless of race, background, color or creed.

You will find officers of Local 6 on this platform who represent this gamut of freedom and equality. You will find this equality represented in the makeup of our Union's leadership in the shops. You will find it in our history - our participation in the past year, for example, in the Freedom Crusade to Washington, in the successful fight for the bill to end discrimination in housing in New York City, our support of the bill to end housing discrimination in New York State, our enlightened policies in every aspect of this field. We do not claim perfection, but we stake our honor on better race relations at home and abroad.