TOM HAYDEN
About six Negro men were trying to prevent us from demonstrating,
by cornering people and telling them not to be fooled by the "whites
and outside agitators." They represented the Irvine Turner Associa–
tion, in the absence of their leader, Turner, Central Ward councilman
for a decade and the only Negro on City Council, who was sick.
His power has rested on an ability to do favors, and also on his
popularity, especially among the older people, as the first postwar
"Negro leader." However, this power perhaps is being sapped because,
first, his swaggering style belongs to a passing era of Negro politics
and, second,
his
Civil Rights positions are far behind those of the
newer Negro movements. Here was the first test, though, quite a
bit earlier than I'd wanted it. His men were pushing us around a
little, but our people told them very sharply to "get out the way of
right." People were refusing to sit down with "their leaders."
We finally went into the street. The first time across, we just
slowed traffic, then came back to the corner to see whether the police
were going to do anything. There was a squad car one block away,
parked, the patrolmen motionless. So we went out again, this time
to block the traffic. Some of the people were even cooperative, and
turned off their car engines. Mter about fifteen minutes, one policeman
walked up to us, saying something very cordially to Sampson. You
could tell they were terrified of another Los Angeles. The cop surprised
us by agreeing to clear the street of traffic, and he went to create a
detour two blocks around us. Then a Public Service bus tried to slip
through our line as it was scattering, but Fred Douglas stopped
it
by
running out in front of it. The two hundred of us cheered him, and
everyone began to feel we were flexing a set of muscles the community
had not felt before.
Zizza, the captain from the Fourth Precinct, finally came by.
He took several people to a pay phone and called the Deputy Mayor,
Paul Reilly, who said that he'd give us stop signs and a traffic cop
within forty-eight hours, meet with us in the morning, and commence
an immediate "traffic study" to determine if a traffic light is needed.
They came back and we had a street meeting to hear the promises.
Many of the people were dissatisfied, but no one wanted to stay out
in the street after dark. So it ended, with everyone very pleased. I was
especially happy because everyone I'd been working with came down
and joined the picket line. Some people from the next block were
