Letter to President Dwight D. Eisenhower from Ira L. Aldridge In Favor of School Integration

11/14 28-4 REVEILLE CLUB OF NEW YORK MULTA all IRA L. ALDRIDGE 12/7/51 SECRETARY egg 1947 SEVENTH AVENUE NEW YORK 26, N.Y. November 1, 1957 The Honorable Dwight D. Eisenhower President of the Untied States The White House Washington, D. C. My dear Mr. President: We take pride in the technique employed in disposing of the crisis which was "Little Rock", and hold in high esteem your courage and forthrightness in this situation. When history is written this incident will be one of the milestones in the evolution of the true democracy, the ideal social state, which gives to all peoples equality in opportunity, education, suffrage and employment. The day has gone when mob rule has a place in these United States. There can be no compromise with this, especially when it challenges the law of the land, as handed down by the Supreme Tribunal of nine of our wisest men. Your sending of Federal Troops to Little Rock for all the world to see was the only answer to the Faubus challenge. Africa, Asia, Western Europe, and the Soviet, along with the rest of the civilized world, watched to see what you would do, and they saw, and in seeing, had to change their opinions about many things. If we, as Americans, are to have friends and allies, we must find them in their greatest numbers, in Asia and in Africa. With the exception of Western Europe and Latin America, these are the only people left in the world who have not yet become a part of the Soviet domain. If we are to survive we can no longer please only ourselves, much less a small and vicious minority in our own land, but we must legislate, dictate, and manage our internal affairs in such a manner as to make our policies ethically acceptable to those whom we now need as friends. Governor Faubus has unknowingly created an awareness in the watching world by bringing this horrendous affair into the open to be seen by a larger audience than ever before. In spite of the fact that Little Rock is not a part of the "Deep South", these attitudes may now be more readily comprehended. The provincialisms, the hates, the prejudices, and the corrupt politics now stand before the bar of universal public opinion, and, like an ulcer, have been exposed, to be analyzed and diagnosed clearly and carefully and the remedy applied for efficient cauterization. We salute you and Mr. Brownell for the methods and treatment which were employed to resolve the Little Rock "incident". Respectfully submitted, Sah. Gedudge