TO BE EQUAL

In spite of--or perhaps because of--the proliferation of committees, plans, and promises, very little has yet been accomplished to end the Negro's economic and social disadvantages. The progress made by the few and so loudly proclaimed only serves to point up the abysmal situation of the many which has been allowed to exist for so long. Mr. Young, director of the National Urban League, documents with facts and figures the enormous gap between reality and aspiration. The figures themselves are sensational; Mr. Young's presentation is matter-of-fact. In the areas of job opportunity, pay, and union acceptance, the Negro is tragically far behind. So naturally, in the figures for unemployment and welfare receipts they come out far ahead. Education takes too long to have much effect on the present generation, and the passing of certain legislation does not automatically widen the horizons of a man without skills. The proposals offered here, amounting to preferential treatment, are not easy or cheap (or original); but surely an extraordinary situation demands some extraordinary measures. This book ought to be required reading for anyone who thinks we'll have the problem licked once Congress passes The Bill.