Negroes
Urged To
Disperse
The Park Hill Action Committee believes along with
leaders of minority groups, that
no one gains by extensions of
existing Negro "ghettoes." We
are happy to see this point of
view stated responsibly in the
Negro Newspaper "The Denver
Blade." The Blade said recently
in an editorial:
"The right to
live in Park Hill has been unchallenged for some time, what
has been challenged is the right
to buy a home and live any place
in town. Realtors with their
hidden agreements not to sell
a house to minority people in
all-white blocks, which restricts
Negroes largely to Park Hill,
have placed great pressure on
the Park Hill area (North) from
the shifting Negro population as
Urban Renewal and deteriorating
houses forces more and more
minority people to find new
homes.
De Facto segregation is caused
by a neighborhood becoming all
Negro in its population. Invariably, when this happens,
several social ills occur including a lowering of quality in
teachers and teaching. That this
has happened in the Denver
Schools in certain areas accompanied by over-crowding, is
no longer questioned.
"If the above is true, why
fight for the right to spread
these problems to North Park
Hill? Let us fi<;ht for our right
to live anywhere we please, and
let's not all please to live in
North Park Hill. The number
of us willing to go to North Denver, South Denver, etc. has been
too small. North Park Hill is
now threatened by re-segregation
which automatically causes de-
facto segregation.
"When looking for a home to
purchase, refuse to buy in those
blocks where there are four or
five Negro families presently
living.
"You certainly have the right
to live in Park Hill, but your
right is not limited to Park Hill.
Insist upon your right to live
anywhere you please, but please
don't please to re-segregate
Northeast Denver."
PHAC Group
Seeks To Extend
R-0 Zone To 32nd
A "watchdog guarding against
intrusion of liquor stores, tracking down zoning violators, and
keeping Park Hill strictly R-l,"
is the way the newly appointed
chairman of the PHAC Zoning
Committee, Gerald H. Kopel,
sees the group's goals for '63.
Kopel, an attorney who lives at
2801 Grape St., says his committeemen will attempt to re-
zone 25th to 32nd, and Colorado
Blvd. to Magnolia from R-l to
R-0. This would conform with
the rest of Park Hill which is
now R-0. The R-l designation
sanctions rented rooms and a
single person business while R-0
is strictly single family residential dwelling.
"Zoning is protection for an
older neighborhood since the
larger old houses would otherwise become sitting ducks for
being turned into boarding
houses, multiple rental units just
plain businesses." Kopel observed.
New Gym At Smiley Kennedy Order Helps Open
The main discussion topic of
the November 12 meeting of the
Schools Committee was "Merit
Pay-Its Pros and Cons" debated
by two teachers from Smiley.
Other topics discussed were the
proposed $150,000 girls* gym at
Smiley which was given formal
approval at the Nov. 21st School
Board meeting and die busing
service, which did go into effect
November 19th and which should
prove most satisfactory to both
the pupils who had to walk long
distances and the homeowners
above 26 th Avenue.
At the end of the meeting,
Mr. Milligan introduced Mr. Ed
Lupberger and Mrs. Kenneth
Whiting who willbeCo-Chairman
of the Schools Committee for the
coming year.
Later in the month, at the
urging of parents, teachers, and
the Committee members, Mr.
Lupberger and Mrs. Whiting went
to the School Board with more
long-term improvement recommendations for Smiley which
would tie in with building the
new girls'gym. In essence these
aie: to leave space under the
new gym for future Industrial
Arts rooms so that these rooms
can be removed from the entrance part of the building and
this space, in turn, could be
used for much-needed counseling
rooms, treasurer's office and
multi-purpose room in order to
bring Smiley up to the physical
standards of other junior high
schools. These improvements
would not be completed at the
same time as the gym but only
as money can be made available
through the "Pay-as-you-go"
budget. The School Board gave
approval to including these
recommendations in planning for
the Smiley addition.
With the excellent, improved
teaching staff and high esprit
d'corps of the entire school, the
new school buses, the new girls'
gym, the future proposed shop
space and other necessary
rooms, the citizens of Park Hill
have every reason to be enthusiastic as to the future of
Smiley and should give their
whoKv-hearted cooperation and
support to the school. At the
present time, the Schools Committee urges every present and
future Smiley parent to vocalize,
loudly and strongly, in favor of
the proposed plans for Smiley.
Suburbs To Minorities
Up to now, most suburban sub-
dividers of real estate have
ignored the Colorado Fair
Housing Act and have refused
to sell their new sur bur ban homes
to non whites.
Nevertheless an estimated
600 minority families, mostly
Negro, some Spanish American,
some Oriental, have managed to
buy or rent houses in the suburbs
throughout the Denver tri-county
area. But the going was hard.
Subsequently on November 21st,
President Kennedy issued his
Executive Order banning racial
discrimination on VA and FHA
insured housing.
According to Horace Basinger,
Veterans Administration information officer at the Denver
Federal Center, if a builder of
new housing refuses to show or
sell to minorities, he will no
longer be able to obtain GI loans.
This means that Negro and
other minorities who want new
houses in the suburbs with small
down payments can now take
advantage of the new legislation--
thus ending previous abuses
which often tended to funnel
minority home seekers into preselected older areas so that
suburbia could remain snow white
and racially monochromatic.
Human Relations Unit
Works For Stability
PHAC MEETINGS
Anyone who is interested is most welcome to attend the meeting
of me Governing Board on Monday, January 28, at 7:45 p.m. at St.
Thomas Episcopal Church, 22nd and Dexter. Plans for the year and
reports of committee chairmen will be heard.
Put a bright red ring around February 26 on your calendar as that
is the tentative date set for the PHAC Town Meeting. Plan to attend!
The Human Relations Committee will meet on January 21, at
7:45 p.m., at Park Hill Congregational Church, 2600 Leyden.
Headed by their new co-chairmen, Mrs. Kenneth (Jan) Whiting and
Mr. Ed Lupberger, the schools committee will meet January 14,
at 4255 Montview Blvd. at 7:30 p.m.
AUDREY BLACKWELL
A c tio news
Volume 2, No.9 Dec ember,1962
For information, call DU 8-6965 or FR 7-1461
This Ad is written and paid for by the Park Hill Action Committee, Inc.
"BETTER TO LIGHT ONE CANDLE THAN TO CURSE THE
DARKNESS..." This is the 2300 block on Forest Street in Park
Hill as it looked recently in response to the PHAC-inspired "Lights
On Crime Out" Campaign. The drive to keep porch lights on from
dusk to dawn is gaining in momentum as householders begin to
realize the importance of lighting their dark blocks against the
peeping toms, loiterers, muggers. PHACs efforts have been applauded by police chief James M. Slavin. The Action Committee
shortly intends to develop a program with the Police authorities
to make "Lights On Crime Out" a city-wide endeavor against crime.
Cost is 490 a month for a 60-watt bulb lit all night.
Help!
Have you ever wondered just
how the PHAC gets all the things
accomplished that it does? How
we have managed to compile the
store of knowledge on Park Hill
problems that we have? It took
people-people just like you to
get these things done.
As our organization grows
larger and we have more things
to do we need more and more of
these volunteers. Right now we
are in need of typists and secretaries to do a few hours work
whenever possible. Everyone is
needed; male or female, young
or old, white or non-white. If
you would like to volunteer call
Mrs. John (Doris) Schultz at
FR 7-1461 and offer your
services.
WE SUGGEST
That several prominent
Realtors, who now refuse to show
prospective white buyers houses
north of 26th, revise their thinking. We believe they are missing
a lot of sales this way, and even
more good will.
The Human Relations subcommittee works toward maintaining one of the intangible
assets of a good residential
area..a stable emotional climate.
Committee members have
worked over the past two years
to prevent panic selling, to encourage friendly block meetings,
and to welcome new families, both
Negro and white, to participate
in making Park Hill the kind of
community that we desire. Members of the committee have appeared on panels and given talks
and programs on intergroup relations before many Denver
gatherings. PHAC has received
two plaques as civic awards for
work inhuman relations. Under
the auspices of the Adult
Education Council, the Human
Relations committee held a two-
session workshop last fall, and
is planning another. At present
the committee is working on
methods for preventing a too
heavy concentration of Negro
families in any one block, and
is working on open housing for
the entire metropolitan area.
According to Mrs. Lyman
Blackwell, chairman of the
Human Relations committee,
"One of the greatest strengths
of our committee comes from
the interchange of ideas and
understandings gained from
working together. Many white
people tend to lump all Negroes
together in a collection of stereotypes associated with slum conditions and poor education. We
have found that most Negroes who
find homes in Park Hill have
much the same aspirations, and
economic and educational background as most of the white
residents, so that we have the
proper conditions for working
together for good schools, zoning
and well-kept homes."
ACTION COMMITTEE
OFFICERS
GENERAL CHAIRMAN
Richard E. Young DU 8-6965
VICE-CHAIRMAN
Bill Bradley DU 8-2124
TREASURER
Kai Mortensen DU 8-1900
SECRETARY
Mrs. John (Doris) Shultz
FR 7-1461
COMMITTEES and CHAIRMEN
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS
Cecil A. Hartman DU 8-2976
CLEAN-UP, FIX-UP
Bill Bradley DU 8-2124
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
Mrs. Rhoda Gersten FR 7-1124
HUMAN RELATIONS
Mrs. Lyman (Audrey) Blackwell
FR 7-1196
MEMBERSHIP
Joe Meyer FL 5-0859
INFORMATION
Mrs. Jon (Jan) McAlear
FR 7-5271
REAL ESTATE
Harry Sager EA 2-8883
SCHOOLS (Cc-Chairmen)
Ed Lupberger DE 3-5819
Mrs. Kenneth (Jan) Whiting
FR 7-9318
ZONING
Gerald H. Kopel DU 3-2174
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