Bill v. the Boycott

As race relations have grown more embittered in Oakland, Calif., and outbreaks of violence have increased, the conservative Oakland Tribune (circ. 235,000) has earned the wrath of Negroes by solidly backing the police in every confrontation. Publisher William F. Knowland, 59, onetime Republican leader of the U.S. Senate, has recently hired more Negro guards. At the same time, he has turned the already imposing Tribune building into something of a fortress. Every employee must show his pass before he can enter; Knowland's own office door is kept locked, and anyone seeking admission is scrutinized through a peephole.

So it was no surprise that Knowland reacted hotly when Negroes organized a boycott of a square block of food and liquor stores called Housewives Market. It was a curious boycott: Negroes had no particular grievance against the stores. But when local Black Panther Leader Bobby Hutton was shot and killed by police last April, black militants decided to retaliate by forcing Housewives Market to support their demands; the chief of these was a call for the indictment of the police involved in the shooting. Despite heavy Negro patronage, the stores understandably demurred, and pickets assembled to turn customers away, often by threatening them. Business dropped by nearly half.

Citizens Against Coercion. That was too much for Knowland, who ordered a front-page editorial titled "Our Community Challenged." Every citizen, it said, should "realize that this is an attempt to use threats and brute force to demand compliance with the views of an articulate and aggressive minority. This was a process used by both the Nazis and the Communists in destroying free institutions abroad." Knowland then urged the "average citizen" (meaning white) to patronize the boycotted market. "This is where we stand," concluded the editorial. "Where do you stand?"

On the Tribune's advice, many whites stood in line at the market. And Knowland continued to encourage them. News stories appeared regularly on Page 1 giving store hours. Knowland also ran a full-page ad showing a gloved hand gripping a revolver surrounded by inky darkness. "Think it over carefully," said the caption, "because some time soon you may have to decide whether you want to run a business with a gun to your head or close up shop." The ad announced a campaign for "Citizens Pledged Against Coercion" and urged readers to sign up. With similar ads running daily for a week, some 1,100 people did so.

Backing Off. Then some Tribune staffers began to rebel. Deskman Rex Adkins, a twelve-year man, quit the paper in protest, saying: "I can't work for Knowland any longer." Rush Greenlee, a Negro reporter who had been hired a year ago and who had turned out incisive articles on the ghetto, also resigned with a blast at Knowland. Other staffers laid plans to run a separate ad disavowing the publisher's position. At that point, Knowland backed off a bit and said that no more counterboycott ads would be run.

Instead, the paper ran a more effective sort of ad. Housewives Market announced a week-long special sale of many staple goods, plus free balloons for the kiddies and free orchids for the ladies. Despite the entreaties of the pickets, both Negroes and whites streamed into the market last week and business was almost back to normal. Militants muttered that Oakland was in for more trouble. But for the time being at least, William Knowland had won his battle.

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