Civil Rights in Cambridge

If there was one lesson of this summer's "race riots," it was that cities must recognize and attack--on a continuing basis--the problems of the Negro ghetto.

In Cambridge, a private group, called the Cambridge Civil Rights Committee and headed by James Vorenberg '49, professor of Law, has been working for the past year to probe the city's civil rights problems and find solutions. This group is currently setting up a service to disseminate job information to Negroes; it has handled some complaints of discrimination in city hiring practices, and has worked to increase communication between city officials and the Negro community in Cambridge.

Last week, Vorenberg suggested that a committee such as his be given official city sponsorship. Unfortunately, it appears that Vorenberg's idea may die without even the formality of any official city discussion.

Reasons can be given for not considering Vorenberg's proposal: Cambridge does not have an acute "problem"; sponsorship may not be vital--or even particularly important--to the Civil Rights Committee's success; and finally, there is already one city committee, the Civic Unity Committee, to handle civil rights problems.

Each of these points can be disputed. For example, although the Civic Unity Committee deals with civil rights problems, it handles only surface problems. This group will investigate a conflict once it has arisen, but does not seek to solve the underlying causes of the conflict. That is the job Vorenberg is talking about.

But to debate individual points is not our purpose. We only urge that the City Council not bury the issue without giving it a fair and objective hearing.

The Council would do well to set up a temporary committee to look into the problems of civil rights in Cambridge and to study Vorenberg's proposal for a permanent civil rights committee. (Temporary study committees are notoriously used to sweep problems under the rug; they can be effective, however, as the Council so recently demonstrated in investigating the projected NASA research center in Kendall Square.)

The temporary study committee could give the Council an accurate picture of the current difficulties of the Negro communities. Some Councillors seem to believe that Cambridge has no substantial problem. Even if this view were proved correct, it is presently dangerous because it is based on ignorance. In the light of updated information, Vorenberg's proposal could be studied seriously and objectively.

Although the City Council is often overshadowed by the presence of Harvard and M.I.T., it does a remarkably effective job of governing. With the problem of civil rights, it has the opportunity to take the initiative in a field where most American cities have been content to do nothing.