A warning that “a deepening of the economic recession may bring a crisis in groups relations” in this country was sounded here last night by Governor G. Mennen Williams speaking at the inaugural dinner of the 1958 Joint Defense Appeal campaign at the Waldorf Astoria.
“In times of economic tension, it can be very easy to set one group against another in the competition for jobs,” the Governor said. “It can be very easy to wipe out the principle of equal opportunity in promotions and equal pay for the same work. In Michigan, steps are being taken to assure the strictest, fullest enforcement of the state’s Fair Employment Practices Act in view of the serious unemployment situation.”
Noting that more than 14 percent of Michigan’s labor force is now idle, the Governor said that. “The economic crisis faces us all, no matter what our race or religion.” He added that “discrimination is a political liability to us on the world scene. I am not referring to discrimination in education and jobs only, but discrimination in housing and resorts and promotional opportunities.” he stressed.
The dinner formally opened Joint Defense Appeal’s national drive to raise $5,600,000 in behalf of programs for combating bigotry and discrimination and safeguarding democratic rights. JDA is the fund-raising agency for the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith.
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.
