Letter, Pearl S. Buck to Franklin Roosevelt

R.D. 3 PERKASIE, PENNSYLVANIA ack 21/31/41 mw January 10, 1941 The President The White House Washington, D. C. My dear Mr. Roosevelt: I write to you as an ordinary American to express my great appreciation of your recent speeches, and especially the last one, because you are clarifying for us the principles which we must now work to defend. We need moral leader- ship and it is essential that we have it if our complete effort is to be put forth to save our- selves and our way of life. But I have one advantage over the average American in that I have peculiar opportunities to know what people generally are thinking and feeling. And I am convinced that what is needed now to put into us the necessary spirit for complete devotion to the cause of democracy is some profound symbolic act from England and the United States, the two great democratic powers, which would give reality to the idea of democracy. This act is obvious. It is al- ready in many people's minds. If the Prime Minister of England would demand the release of Jawaharlal Nehru, the democratic leader in India, from the jail to which he has just been condemned for four years, and if you, Sir, in our country would demand the equal treatment of the Negro American especially and at least in the matters of defense, where now the most ruthless and shameful discrimination against x93 the Negro is being carried on, these two acts would supply the touch which we need to light our spiritual fires. Far too many who long to believe in our leaders are prevented by these two questions as yet dominion unanswered: why is India not a free colony, if England is a true democracy, and why in the United States do those in authority ignore the oppression by stupid prejudice of a whole race in our nation? Shall those x pp7200 Message toleongress 1/6/41 B 335-B 48-A