The Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith joined with two Negro civil rights organizations to issue a “long overdue protest” against racial discrimination allegedly practiced by the New York Athletic Club.
A joint statement issued by Dore Schary, national chairman of the ADI., Roy Wilkins, executive director of the NAACP and Whitney Young, executive director of the Urban League, hailed the public attention given to the fact that “what may be the largest private club in the largest city in the world still uses race as a membership criterion.” They also praised the decision by Negro athletes not to participate in the upcoming NYAC track meet and the other college teams and athletic associations that have withdrawn or allowed their team members to do so.
Mr. Schary noted that the NYAC had long been a source of concern to the ADL and recalled that former Mayor Robert F. Wagner had resigned his membership after his commission on intergroup relations confirmed that the club discriminated against Negroes and Jews.
“Not only is the New York Athletic Club in flagrant disregard of the axiom that creed and color bear no relationship to athletic competition, but it is completely out of step with the prevailing spirit of our time,” the joint statement said.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
