Stokely Carmichael, chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, brought a simple message with him when he visited Boston in mid-August: the leadership and support of the different organizations in the ghetto must be controlled by NegroesOver and over, he repeated the theme, "We must do it ourselves.'

Now, at least, the situation is not that simple. Many of Roxbury's civic organizations are directed, manned, and maintained by both whites and Negroes. Some organizations could not survive without the "Green Power" supplied by white members; other groups insist that often the white members are better trained and have more leisure time to perform the tasks which they admit ideally should be held by Negroes. However much Carmichael dislikes discussing the split between various groups in "the movement" before a national (integrated) audience, the differences persist.

There are, of course, arguments on both sides. The groups which have followed Carmichael's advice insist that it is more important to have indigenous Negroes showing their brothers in the ghetto that they can fill the posts traditionally held by whites. To most of the advocates of this position, it is more important to establish an image of Negro competence and pride than it is to obtain white financial and technical support. "We'd rather do our own teaching than have some lilly white teacher talking about Snow White to our black children," Carmichael said to a Roxbury gathering.

Other organizations which employ whites tend to feel that, as organizations, they are more mature and have conquered the fear that "whitey is trying to take over" when black and white are actually both working towards the same goals. Some, in this category, say that whites are a necessary evil in their groups and must be put up with until "they have worked themselves out of a job"--have trained a Negro replacement.

But to describe two prototypes as indicative of the struggle going in within the "movement" is grossly inadequate. There are groups which have reached compromises between the two extremes which can't be wedged into either category. If Carmcihael's own organization, SNCC, is representative of the extreme left in the civil rights spectrum and NAACP at the extreme right, there are other groups which have reached a middle ground solution to the problem of whites working in Roxbury.

O. I. C.

Opportunities Industrialization Center is a radical group working in Roxbury which trains Negroes in technical skills. Rev. Virgil Wood, Board Chairman of O.I.C. and one of its Boston founders said that Negroes have to determine which roles they must retain for themselves and which roles can be delegated to white workers. For now, Wood continued, the liberal white must accept the role determined for him--be it supportive or advisory.

"The only legitimate organizations in Roxbury are those which sustain a Negro leadership and are supervised by a community board," Wood said. The other illegitimate groups, Wood continued, are fast losing their influence and, he predicted, will either be ignored or physically "pushed out of the community."

"There are still white educators coming into Roxbury interested only in getting a grant to make guinea pigs out of Negroes. It's all for themselves and none for us. We don't want these dilettantes any more," Wood said. "We must keep Dr. Funk out of the picture and do it ourselves," Wood added.

Rev. Earl W. Lawson, O.I.C. program administrator, said that his organization was powerful and popular because "we train people within the poverty belt." What is important, he continued, "is visibility and not theory." Some people say that it does not matter who directs an organization, Lawson said, but this "is idealistic and not realistic." It is important for the Roxbury constituents to be able to see that their organization is run by Negroes, and that any whites who are working in the office are "in our hands."

"The only way a Negro will believe that he is doing something for himself is if he sees a black man directing the program." If the residents understand that they have their own people directing the organization, then organizations can use white tutors and counselors without worrying about the image they project.

"We have put the right content into black Power: Black Power means indigenous leadership -- it does not mean violence," Lawson explained.

Exodus

Rev Wood mentioned Exodus, a project that buses Negro students to white schools, as one of the Roxbury organizations which is both legitimate and effective. Wood, one of many parents interested in Exodus (he is not in a leadership position) praised its work. But if Exodus is "legitimate" it is also involved in the cross-fire controversy between those who think whites can work effectively in the Negro ghettos and those whose hopes have been dashed by experience. A Mrs. Butler, a parent worker at Exodus, said: "It seems silly. We're just people working together, it doesn't make any difference whether you're white or black. White people come in every day and I introduce them around. It doesn't make any difference."

A Mrs. Hill, in the same office, was less optimistic about the experience she had had with white volunteers: "I don't think I should talk about it because I had a bad experience with the white tutors I worked with this summer. They really shouldn't be down here trying to help us, they're sick and should help themselves."