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these were conciliatory. One from an African American woman, who signed her
name "Mig," deplored prejudice everywhere, but didn't believe that there were
serious problems between Blacks and Jews, The problems I think are more
economic than racial." The other was from a Jewish progressive who pretty much
accepted Israel's point of view, though with less anxiety, and counseled
"sympathetic unity" was necessary between Blacks and Jews but could only come if
"the Negro as well as the Jew extends the hand of friendship."^
Two other Baltimore letters were highly critical of Israel. Lillie Jackson's
letter, already reviewed in part above, not only surveyed Black grievances against
Jews, but compared Jews unfavorably to Gentiles (which she used to identify white
Christians), and blamed Jews for starting department store segregation. The
second letter was harsher and was written by Rev. John T. Colbert, pastor of Grace
Presbyterian Church, member of the executive board of the reorganized NAACP,
and grandson of abolitionist Henry Highland Garnett. Colbert made points similar
to those in Jackson's letter about the multiple grievances held by Blacks, adding an
explicit reference to the Buy Where You Can Work campaign and giving his
argument a strong anti-Communist twist by remarking that "the small number of
Negroes who have become Communists have become so because of Jewish
„«
agitation. -*J
The final Baltimore letter, and final letter of the debate, came from Edward
Lewis of the Urban League. Lewis' letter was unique in the whole debate because
he alone took a consistent class point of view. He criticized some of the Black
respondents for failing to see that some Black landlords and merchants exploit their
own people; that some Jewish real estate brokers exploit Blacks, white Gentiles,
and Jews; and that in the workers' movement blacks, white Gentiles, and white
Jews often cannot get together because of ethnic hostility. Regarding the latter
failure, he told of his involvement during the previous six weeks attempting to
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