Greetings Brothers,
Congrats on a successful 86th Annual District Meeting and to all the worthy chapters and brothers who were deservedly recognized for their service. It is proper and fitting for this group to say thank you for making history. Please take time to upload pictures of your awards to the 3rd District Online Artifacts and Memorabilia Archive upload utility at http://3rddistrictques.org/third-district-archive-artifact-registration-utility/. You can examples of other similar submissions at https://3rddistrictques.pastperfectonline.com/.
In the late 1950s The Oracle was printed by the H.C. Young Press Company of Norfolk, VA. The printing company was owned and operated by Brother Henry Cheatham Young, businessman and community servant. The attached article appeared in the March 1957 Oracle and records Lambda Omega Chapter presenting H.C. Young with the “Omega 1956 Achievement Award” for his “devotion to duty and his work in the community.” The History and Archives Committee pulled on a few of the threads in the article to learn more about Brother Young and discovered some interesting interconnections.
As mentioned in the article, H.C. Young was the brother of Plummer Bernard “P.B.” Young, owner and editor of the Norfolk Journal and Guide (the Guide) (https://libraetd.lib.virginia.edu/public_view/mp48sc827), thought by many to be one of the top black newspapers of the 20th Century on par with the Pittsburgh Courier, Chicago Defender, Baltimore and Washington Afro-American, and the Cleveland Call-Post.
The Guide was considered by many to be the top black newspaper in the South. In addition to its distinction as a vital civic organ, the Guide had the distinction among equals of having to survive and function in the Jim Crow South. Despite being criticized by some for being too conservative and conciliatory in its agency for social change, the Guide and its editor still played an important part in advancing voting rights, equal pay for teachers, and equal opportunity for blacks in the Armed Forces. From 1942 to 1948, Luther P. Jackson wrote a column in the Guide called “The Rights and Duties in a Democracy.” In that time, Brother Jackson wrote numerous articles on the importance of voter registration, argued for the elimination of the poll tax, appealed for teacher involvement in political affairs and engagement, advocated for better pay for black teachers, promoted black history, and argued for the end to Jim Crow segregation and discrimination against black people in Virginia.
In addition to writing a column in the Guide, Jackson along with Benjamin E. Mays and P.B. Young were key figures in organizing the Southern Conference on Race Relations in Durham, NC, also known as the Durham Conference, and the related drafting of the “Durham Manifesto,” which proposed an approach for the South that would win the approval and support of white moderates, thereby salvaging the possibility of interracial cooperation. (see fully transcript https://archive.org/stream/southernconferen00sout/southernconferen00sout_djvu.txt).
There are likely more revelatory threads to be pulled from the hem of Brother H.C. Young’s Achievement Week recognition (e.g., see Henry P. Cheatham https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_P._Cheatham). Unfortunately, Brother Young entered Omega Chapter in 1960, just three years after being recognized by Lambda Omega chapter. His brother, P.B. Young, died shortly thereafter in 1962.
The H&A Committee encourages Brothers from Eastern Area I (or elsewhere) to share information you might have on the intersection of Omega, H.C. Young, P.B. Young, or the Norfolk Journal and Guide. Here are a few old related news clippings for your review:
Read More – ExtraExtraHCYoung
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30613550/njg_controversial_ad/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30614038/hcy_deceased/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30619641/durham_manifesto/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30619690/pb_young_and_truman/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30619517/pby_speech/
Make it a great week Brothers. Be noble!
F.I.E.T.T.S.
3rd District History and Archives Committee
The Monday Pearl is provided by the Third District History and Archives Committee and is a weekly sharing of fraternity content, commentary, and research of historical value we hope Brothers will enjoy and from which Brothers will draw inspiration. Previous “Pearls” can be found at http://3rddistrictques.org/about-us/overview/monday-pearl/. The Committee encourages your feedback. Should you have reactions, comments, information, anecdotes, documents, and the like, related to any of the content we share, we’d very much like to hear from you. Please send all communication to 3dhistoryandarchives@gmail.com.