This episode is from the WNYC archives. It may contain language which is no longer politically or socially appropriate.
Grover Whalen presides. Roger W Strauss, Robert Montgomery, Patrice Munsel, and Mayor Impelliterri address the crowd (mostly school children) about the importance of brotherhood. Police Department perform "I am an American (every part of me)." Patrice Munsel sings "God Bless America." (Sanitation Band also plays)
Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection
WNYC archives id: 69144
Municipal archives id: LT555
This is a machine-generated transcript. Text is unformatted and may contain errors.
For. Today is brotherhood day in New York City and from the council chambers to the home the merits Committee on reception is an operating room probably with a full cooperation particularly of the youngsters of the school system of the city a very fine program has been organized on the out of a grove or a whale and chairman of the mayor's committee will make some very interesting introductions in the course of today's meeting here in the council chamber Robert Vaughn Gummer E R Ver movieland is receiving quite an ovation from the youngsters and I must away a lot. When you please ban all the. Mail on the ceremonies today were they saying of The Star-Spangled Banner. The. For all day they all say uh. Huh. They are the. Leading Ladies First of all right off the. All the off it off oh the. They made. The I say I say the. The. Oh the. Oh the. They. Oh all Oh all right. Now Mr Whalen chairman of the mare's reception committee Brotherhood day at City Hall. On May On Feb eighth one thousand nine hundred and fifty. Acting may have mentioned impellor Terry. Issued the following proclamation whereas grave dangers and great opportunities lie before us in this critical period and only the spiritual and moral power of brotherhood can stand the tide of selfishness and crime heal the disruption and hatred characteristic of postwar period and they bring us to think clearly and act normally as citizens and open the way for the future nobility as citizens and open the way for the future welfare and progress in our great commonwealth and whereas we are grateful for the good will and cooperation that exists among the many religious racial and other groups in our state and whereas here in the world capital we can demonstrate such real democracy and religious life I shall keep the heart of America and the world founded on the able us to fail our God given destiny of leadership and service in a confused world now therefore I mention our Impala Terry acting mayor of the city of New York to here by proclaiming the period of February nineteenth to twenty six thousand nine hundred fifty as. Brotherhood Week in the city of New York and I urge our people to cooperate in this the seventeenth annual observance designed to overcome prejudice and bigotry and create goodwill in witness that arrive I have here on to set my hand and cause the seal of the city of New York to be effect of this eighth day of February one thousand nine hundred fifty signed vents and then pow of Terry acting mayor. We have a great privilege today of having with us one of the founders of the National Conference of Christian and Jew a distinguished business experience executive president of the Rada chairman the ball of the American spelling coffer ation and vice cochairman of the National Conference of Christians and Jews it's a great privilege for me to present to you Mr Raja W. Strauss. Thank you Mr Whalen. My theme is what is breath of. Brotherhood is a fact because God is the father of all people and we are therefore members of one family. That is our faith as Christians and Jews do. This family of mankind is a very big family to be sure and its members the scattered throughout this huge planet. But no matter how big the family is and regardless of where we live we are all brothers. That is a big idea but it takes a big ideas to live in this twentieth century if we are going to keep a Bob's age Bob. Germ warfare and jet planes from destroying us completely We must think big ideas and make them realities in our lives in other words the only real answer to these tremendous forces of destruction is brotherhood. Now what does that mean in terms of what we think and do every day in the first place that means that we must begin with us selves to live Brotherhood and we are we treating other people as we want ourselves to be treated if not we are deny our belief in brotherhood. Do we believe that people of all races creeds of nationality should have the same chances for jobs education homes and political opportunities as we have if so then we are practicing Brotherhood if not we are actually helping the forces of destruction you know our world. Do we apply the raga Terry names to people of other races and creeds do we think of them as naturally inferior to us do we refuse to associate with some people because of their shirt color if we engage in such day to day denials of good will in brotherhood we are actually helping the forces that seek to destroy freedom in the world there is nothing more desired by the tyrants suggest today than to see groups of people in this in the free parts of the world he or fighting one another these dictators know that freedom zero survives with those of us in the free nations respect one another and work together to make strong societies. Just made I sound like something far away from the everyday problems we face but actually it is very close to us. Nothing is more personal than what we think and feel about our nations and that is where Brotherhood begins with us and with our neighbors the peace and freedom we all want is this close is that as close as our day by gay actions as they can see other people to be sure that is not the whole problem of peace we must continue to develop United Nations we must you realistically with Russia and our satellites for another part of the problem we will switch costly for effective international control of atomic energy. I believe we can do these things and avoid war at the same time helping extend freedom in the world. No dictator attacks unless he thinks he can win he knows he cannot win against a nation of equal strength if its people are united that is why he so desperately tries to divide the nation as he plans to attack in the short other leadership of the world depends in large part on how well we practice Brotherhood in our daily everyday lives the peace of the world freedom of people everywhere depend on the sincerity of our belief in brotherhood and how well we live it that is why the theme of Brotherhood Week this year is brotherhood for peace and freedom. In sponsoring Brotherhood Week we have the National Conference of Christians and Jews call upon each Catholic each Protestant each Jew to intensify his own religious belief and through that inspiration to work together to make this country this world a better place for everyone to live in we pray that by living up to the principles of our individual religions we will together make manmade governments carry forward God's will and Larry let me close by defining Brotherhood as the National Conference of Christians or Jews to find it. Brotherhood is giving to others the rights to dignity we want for us selves. The next speaker will address himself to the subject Brotherhood America's responsibility and sit down life oh a privilege for me to present a distinguished radio commentator and produce our product and downright was. There is no place that I would rather talk about tolerance and goodwill than here in New York. I'm no stranger to this city in this state I was born not far from here sixty miles up the Hudson river trips to the city were kind of big holidays for me when I was a kid I speak of this for I feel strongly that no one can live in or near New York or even visit it briefly without having brought home to him the full meaning of the word Brotherhood. I'm one street in New York you will find a Lutheran church a Catholic chapel a synagogue yes perhaps even a mosque on one street in New York in fact on almost every street you will find a block long United Nations what would happen to New York if for one day each separate nationality each separate nationality group reverted to the old rivalries and to the old jealousy ladies and gentlemen no bomb yet made could destroy a New York so completely and if the city forgot tolerance for twenty four hours. Now I don't say and you would I hope not agree with me if I said that New Yorkers are all perfect that there are no lingering traces of outworn prejudices and outworn hates but as there are we must conquer them for New York the largest city in the world meeting place for all America gateway for new Americans must have the largest and the warmest heart of all we must not only give the lesson of tolerance and give that lesson well we must be ready in turn to seek it from other uptown here in New York City not more than a mile from here there is a small plane wrong it is the headquarters of a refugee government in exile composed of men driven from central Europe because they attacked both Nancy ism and communism I visited that room a few weeks ago there were men there united against tyranny they spoke a tongue which was strange to me their names I could hardly pronounce but we were brothers we were comrades in arms in the Common Cause today against all types of fascism from the right all from the left and we were brothers in the cause of tolerance let me tell you who these refugees were several of them were proudest Protestants to war the color of the Catholic Church two were Jewish one still bears the numbers of the German concentration camp on his on they are men from the Social Democratic Party men from the Conservative Party a lawyer a former prime minister a great great union leader these men are thousands of miles away from their native land it may be years before the Iron Curtain will be lifted and they can return home these men have learned by experience men. Will is there hope for the future. Let us learn from these newcomers Let us also look beyond our great big bridges and see what is happening to the rest of the country it has been a good year for tolerance I want to cite some of the encouraging things that have happened not so that we will relax and say the job is done but so that we can say this has been done let's do some more here is a partial roll call of the American conscience in one thousand nine hundred forty nine New Haven Connecticut the captain of the Yale football team was Levi Jackson a negro It was only twenty years ago the Jewish football stars like Benny Friedman and Marshall Goldberg attracted special attention now with the election of a negro football captain the beginning of another great touch is the beginning of another great touchdown march against bigotry Miami Beach Florida a city ordinance forbids advertising that discriminates against any relate to any religion or race Incidentally it is you and I far more than the laws who will finally end this business of advertising bigotry never patronize a place which has hate on its sign board Washington Mississippi Jefferson College hard pressed for endowment funds was offered fifty million dollars if it would agree not to admit a negro and a Jew as a student this small southern college gave an answer heard across the continent a very simple answer no that no one has heard even in Moscow for the greatest ammunition communism has always has had always will have is not a super bomb. But the hatreds of one man for another because he worships in a different poem because he speaks with a different accent because he comes from a different walk of life that is why one of the biggest guns in our spiritual arsenal of democracy is an organization dedicated to the spread and growth of true democracy this organization dedicated self fifty two weeks a year to the service of brotherhood It is not enough for us to talk about Brotherhood for one week year we know that no can we legislate tolerance although certain legislation is most necessary no government can make its citizens tolerant it is for each of us each individual each citizen to take the full obligation the full on up of respecting his fellow man it is only in our hearts that we can make Brotherhood live with us fifty two weeks out of the year in all our words in all our actions to you my fellow citizens in the office I thank you with all my heart and with all my sincerity for the chance to speak here today during Brotherhood Week May the year ahead May the year ahead May the year ahead bring us even closer to. Thank you Lou. Thank you Mr and damn right I will now have several selections from the place the client and billy club. Oh. I I. I. I. Am. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. Oh oh. He. And. To the. Women. Of the Met. This works both ways it hurts the groups. It hurts even more the people that use it. May have the largest part in teaching Brotherhood. Forms Most of. The bond between mother and child is the strongest. Just as a mother brings a child who was infected with the disease so a mother administered child as a preventative against the germ of intolerance in this way I think we women must make it our aim to carry brotherhood throughout our lifetime and throughout the lifetime of our children because they're going to be the future. And a leader without tolerance and never be a great leader. I miss my hands. We shall now hear from the president of the city council the honorable Vince and. Thanks. For Waylon. Ladies and gentlemen particularly the children of our public school system here in the city of New York. Behalf of Merrill. I'm very happy to greet you here today and this historic council chamber as the official representative of the city of New York. I want to pay my respects at the offices and members of the National Conference of press and you. For the outstanding contribution they are making in the great cause of brotherhood through their sponsorship of Brotherhood Week which we are marking here today. I am particularly great froze for the privilege of participating with you adversary morning which I know is dedicated to the same ideals of human decency. Which have motivated your present city of ministration in its efforts towards the elimination of racial bias and bigotry in our right city of New York today more than ever before we need the wonderful inspiration that is provided in the observations of brotherhood week and we need the combined efforts of all organizations such as yours as well as the individual efforts of every one of our citizens in the advancement of human understanding New York City as you all know is now literally the capital city of the world for representatives of the United Nations meet here I am an earnest effort to create up pattern for global harmony it might be well to realize that their efforts can be rewarded with success only if we have our universal adherents to the print suppose of brotherhood and it is up to the city of New York to set this inspiring example. Your city all facials are making every sincere effort to make New York City I'm a cropper lists of genuine brotherhood where the sedes of racial or religious discrimination cannot Germany I haven't time to tell you what a great length of these efforts but I would like to point out that it is our particular concern that their spirit of brotherhood shall be fostered again every possible way particularly. As it backs the character and attitudes of the children in the schools of our city we have no place in the educational institutions in this city which in any form whatever nurtures or gives comfort to the methods of intolerance and I can assure you that wherever such an American practices might appear this administration will take emphatic and proper steps to ensure their speedy elimination we will fight vigorously all forms of racial or minority prejudices and persecution it is important indeed that this the world's greatest city drawing its strength from people of all nations and all religions she had set a very high standard for the rest of the world and should give great impetus to the cause of brotherhood tolerance and the consideration of fellow man without the stink sion of race rank or religion represents the younger lion hoped far any solution to world affairs. Surely we as citizens of the greatest city of the world should apply a vigorous determination to wipe out the forces of bigotry and bias wherever they exist and that job properly starts in our own city in our own neighborhood and with our own children I have full confidence that the people of this city can be depended upon the carry forward the spirit of brotherhood that is the example of piety in the tenets of the National Conference of Christians and Jews I have full confidence that the up servants of brotherhood week will not become fine as declared in the proclamation to our single week of the year but will be continued every week of the year year in and year out it is indeed true that brotherhood and freedom go hand in hand in this critical period of world affairs freedom is undergoing its greatest assault in history there is a futility in any action we take to withstand this assault on less it is on us solid. Foundation of brotherhood I wish God speed. Of the object brought into sharp focus that this meeting today. There are. These. Oh. God bless America. Was. The. Was the. The. Was. Was. Was. Beautiful voice. That wonderful statement God Bless America we bring to a conclusion the mare's committee reception to Brotherhood Week here in the council chamber in city hall the animal grower a whale and chairman of the mass committee acted as a chairman in introducing the artist and a Robert Montgomery Patrice months fellow at the acting mayor of the city of New York the police League club the sanitary sanitation department band and Mr Roger W. Strauss cochairman of the National Conference of Christians and Jews let us all celebrate Brotherhood Week which was given its impetus here today in the council chamber of city hall where the laws of your city and made laws that are always be for the best the good in the welfare and the towers of all of those good and worthy in our citizenship and I will return you to the studios of the middle school building this is the minister Broadcasting System.