Black History

Sir: … The article on the 1938 hurricane [August, 1969] brought back so many memories to me and my friends that I have let many people borrow this issue. One of these people, a Negro neighbor who had never read the A MERICAN H ERITAGE before, enjoyed the article, but he was upset as he returned the copy with the remark, as he looked at the cover, “Is that America’s heritage?” I missed his point at first, so he pointed out the Negro servant, on his knees, while the Rev. William H. H. Murray is standing in “full ambiance.” He is far from a radical, in fact he is the typical “Uncle Tom” to his militant friends. He feels more should be done to get the Negro “off his knees,” and as Mr. Chew’s article on black history pointed out, perhaps the Negro has not made more history or progress because he did spend so much time on his knees. With so many other beautiful illustrations used for the Adirondacks article might not one of these have been in better taste?