Betty Alexander writes in the Minneapolis Spokesman about a meeting at Coffman Union organized to protest the creation of an “International House,” whose purpose was to provide segregated housing for African American male students. This segregated house appeared to reverse the 1938 decision to stop racial segregation s at the University of Minnesota. Alexander references a speech made by Cecil Newman, editor of the Spokesman, who applauded Acting President Guy Stanton Ford for a decision that was “based on the finest convictions of American democracy.” He compared Hitler’s theories to the promotion of segregation in the United States. He noted that rights for African Americans was the true test of American democracy for which a war was being fought.
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