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it, big-lie style, the cause of racial unrest. The stress, both personal and
organizational, that resulted among ILD personnel unquestionably accentuated
their existing tendencies toward sectarianism and, while not justifying these
tendencies, at least make them more understandable. Perhaps Charles Houston
had similar understanding when he accepted Ades panial renunciation of the ILD's
"charges" and graciously offered to defend Ades again during the next round of the
government's disbarment efforts.
Older adult participation in the Baltimore Black freedom movement had
grown considerably during the successful campaign for Black social workers, the
anti-lynching movement, and the Buy Where You Can Work campaign (both
before and after the temporary injunction) in 1933 and early 1934. Nonetheless,
the youth of the City- Wide Young People's Forum remained the movement's
leadership center through 1934 and much of 1935. During this period, though, the
breadth and character of the issues the Forum addressed, its relationship to the
broader social movements of Baltimore, and its connection to the freedom
movement beyond the Baltimore region changed significantly.
Throughout 1934 and 1935, the Forum continued the various social, uplift,
educational, and cultural activities it had initiated in its first years. In some cases it
expanded on these activities. Realizing - probably due to experiences in the Buy
Where You Can Work campaign - that Black youth needed training in
"salesmanship" to qualify for jobs in the sales, the Forum persuaded Douglass High
School to offer an evening course in this field. Eighty-five persons enrolled when
the course was first listed in January 1934. Shortly thereafter, the Forum initiated,
according to a later Forum publication, another related project in the economic
field:
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