University of Virginia Library

A New Committee

We read with a great deal of interest about
Charlottesville Mayor G.A. Vogt's decision to
appoint a 32-member bi-racial committee for
the purpose of studying and bringing to light
the issues between the races, and for
recommending to the City Council means of
preventing racial strife. Apart from our
natural disinclination to trust the committee
method of dealing with serious problems, we
cannot escape the feeling that this committee
is a direct result not of the community's
desire to help the lot of the black people of
Charlottesville, but of the community's fear
that the next disorder might not be confined
to the black neighborhood.

The political candidates seem to have
made this election year the year of law and
order. But there are times when law and order
seem synonymous with suppression. Had
there been law and order, either through
persuasion or coercion, in Charlottesville this
summer, would the constructive steps that
this committee proposes to take ever have
been even conceived of? We don't know. The
appointment of this committee seems to be a
good indication that black power must be
established in the streets before it will ever be
considered in the boardroom.

The principle function of municipal
government ought to be something other than
closing the proverbial barn door. Mayor Vogt
has taken a step that is the first towards
preventing further disorders. We trust that this
is not his primary purpose. But if it is, we
believe that the Mayor will be disappointed.
We believe that he will find that the
establishment of a just domestic peace
requires more than the appointment of a
committee. Only a police state can avoid
disorder in a situation where the only
effective voice of a substantial minority is
disorder and violence.

Obviously, Mayor Vogt does not feel any
desire to establish a police state. A more
effective voice must be found. Therefore he
must realize that the primary concern of the
committee ought to be jobs, housing, and
education, rather than peace-keeping. We feel
that the Mayor and his committee are aware
of this. They have a huge job to do, and they
must do it in a town that has shown little
indication that it is ready to make the
sacrifices that will be necessary to ameliorate
the conditions that spawn disorder. With such
incidences as the non-discriminatory date
housing list and the Corner barber shop
imbroglio in mind, we wish Mayor Vogt luck
in his plan to bring free enterprise to the
mini-ghetto of Charlottesville. —RBC