Letter from Louis Wirth to President Harry S. Truman, with a Reply from William D. Hassett

AMERICAN COUNCIL ON RACE RELATIONS [{coming off this with names listed] CLARENCE E. PICKETT Chairman of Board CHARLES H. HOUSTON Vice-President LEONARD M. RIESER Secretary-Treasurer 4901 South Ellis Avenue Chicago 15 Phone KEnwood 6-8101 LOUIS WERTH President August 10, 1950 The President The White House Washington 25, D. C. My dear Mr. President: As a member of the National Committee on Segregation in the Nation's Capital and as a member of the group that had the honor to present you with the first copy of the report of that Committee, I recall vividly the sympathetic interest you expressed, when we met with you in your office, in a resolute program designed to eliminate racial segregation and discrimination in the Nation's Capital. Since our report was presented to you and issued to the public in December of 1948, many encouraging steps have been taken to bring our practices in the Nation's Capital into line with the principles which it should symbolize to the Nation and to the world. Among these steps, none is more encouraging than the recent decision by the Honorable Oscar Chapman, Secretary of the Interior, to operate the swimming pools of Washington on a non-segregrated basis. I realize that this decision is made in the face of considerable resistance. It is noteworthy that in carrying out this decision no acts of violence have occurred, despite beliefs fostered by groups opposed to this democratic practice that a transition from a segregated to a non-segregated recreational program would entail serious consequences. I wish to express my great satisfaction with the action that has been taken and I know I speak for many others in the field of race relations when I say that this forward step in the Nation's Capital will inspire many other communities throughout the Nation to do likewise. I wish to offer, therefore, to you and to Secretary Chapman, my sincere congratulations and deep appreciation for a demonstration of sound public policy which will furnish the foundation in public acceptance for further activities to carry out the recommendations of the National Committee on Segregation in the Nation's Capital, and which by demonstrating our determination to live up to our democratic ideals at home, will enable us to become more effective spokesmen for the democratic way of life in the world at large. Sincerely yours, [signed] Louis Wirth cc: Hon. Oscar Chapman Secretary of the Interior BOARD OF DIRECTORS Will W. Alexander - Mary McLeod Bethune - Homer S. Brown - Ralph J. Bunche - James B. Carey - Marshall Field - Lloyd K. Garrison - Sidney Hollander - Charles S. Johnson - The Reverend John LaFarge - P. L. Prattis - Robert Redfield - Bishop William Scarlett - Boris Shishkin - John Slawson - Sara E. Southall - Genevieve Steefel - Channing H. Tobias - Willard S. Townsend - Louis S. Weiss - Walter White - Donald R. Young August 31, 1950 [handwritten top left corner] 6-P Nat'l Capital Parks Swimming Pools Dear Mr. Wirth: Thank you, in the President's behalf, for your recent letter. It was thoughtful of you to write in commendation of the action of Secretary Chapman. Very sincerely yours, WILLIAM D. HASSETT Secretary to the President Mr. Louis Wirth, President, American Council on Race Relations, 4901 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago 15, Illinois. elb