INTRODUCTION The chairman of the Special Studies Subcommittee, the Honorable John S. Monagan, directed the staff to undertake a study of the Honorable William L. Dawson's efforts on behalf of his people in the nation. He felt that the work of the chairman of the full committee on their behalf was such that it deserved inscription in the annals of history. Congressman Dawson has been characterized by his peers as a man of great personal courage and conviction-a fighter for those principles and ideals which he believed reflect the best interests of all the people of the United States. Moreover, he had one of the most distinguished and outstanding records of public service of any American they knew. This record includes service as an officer in the U.S. Army in World War I, a Member of Congress since 1942, and the Chairman of the House Committee on Government Operations for almost two decades. (1) SCOPE OF STUDY This report is based on a study by the staff, under the direction of the chairman of the Special Studies Subcommittee. The investigation included examination of correspondence and memorandums contained in U.S. Department of Labor files in Washington, D.C.; conferences with key officials in that agency and with a member of the Illinois State Employment Service; and study of the manpower reports of the President and other pertinent documents issued by the U.S. Department of Labor. Essentially, Congressman Dawson's "modus operandi" was one of personal contact, nonetheless his accomplishments are well known. Many persons were interviewed by the staff for this report and, whatever documentation was available was utilized. (2) DISCUSSION OPENING REMARKS Congressman William L. Dawson, had been concerned with the plight of disadvantaged people, especially Negroes, living in our big cities and rural areas as far back as the days of his youth and had strived over the years to alleviate their problems. He was able to work more purposefully for solutions to the many problems of the disadvantaged when he was elected to the Congress. As his stature in the Congress grew and he assumed chairmanship of the House Committee on Government Operations, he was able to take more positive steps toward alleviating those conditions of oppression which he felt were retarding America's forward march. This report does not attempt to relate his vast efforts in behalf of minorities and the poor; it does, however, attempt to outline a few of his major accomplishments. Headstart education for pre-school-age youngsters, Full-time minority groups representatives within the U.S. Local employment programs under his auspices, and Outreach to the disadvantaged by the U.S. Employment Service and the Illinois State Employment Service. Congressman Dawson's concern focused on the above areas early in the 1960's because of the following factors which occurred during the 1950's: 1. The influx into Chicago and other large northern cities of large numbers of undereducated, unskilled, rural-oriented Negroes and their families from the southern States who found it difficult, if not impossible, to find and compete for suitable employment in the cities. 2. Discriminatory practices that had come to his attention which indicated that Negroes were finding it difficult to obtain meaningful jobs. 66* * * 3. The recent public admission that the State Employment Service agencies at that time were employer-oriented agencies, whose mission was one of filling employers' jobs vacancies with applicants who met their specifications. Those who didn't, received little or no attention ***"2 4. The structure of the U.S. Employment Service local offices in large cities at that time. Beginning in 1961, the local offices in the 55 largest metropolitan cities were set up as industrial-occupational offices in the main central employment areas (heartlands) of the cities, and these offices were to serve all employers within and all workers 1 Until March 1969, the U.S. Employment Service was part of the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Bureau of Employment Security (BES). At this time the BES was abolished and the Employment Service became an integral part of the U.S. Training and Employment Service under the Manpower Administration, DOL. 2 Prepared statement of Samuel C. Bernstein, Administrator, Bureau of Employment Security, Illinois Department of Labor, in Hearings before the Subcommittee on Employment, Manpower, and Poverty of the Committee on Labor, and Plblic Welfare, United States Senate, Ninety-First Congress, First and Second Sessions. living in, or habitually working in, these areas. Each office would serve employers in a broad industrial category and all occupations dominant in and characteristic of those industries. This was to bring together the total supply of and demand for labor of a single category. For example, a commercial office would serve all office employers and workers having office skills. In Chicago these large specialized offices were, for the most part, located in the downtown district, which was a considerable distance from the neighborhoods where the disadvantaged and hard-core unemployed were concentrated. Consequently, the residents of these neighborhoods, most in need of the services, had to travel considerable distances to apply for and receive the services of the heartland offices. EDUCATION FOR PRE-SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN To prevent or lessen the problems and difficulties in obtaining suitable employment and other needed services for the future generation in the cities, Congressman Dawson believed that it was necessary to provide the underprivileged pre-school-age youngsters with an earlier (head) start in educational discipline, in competitive learning, and in wholesome play activities. He believed that in this way children in economically-impoverished homes who may feel, and suffer from, the strains and tensions which adults often build up within themselves, and who may be at a loss for ways to keep entertained or occupied, would find wholesome release and fulfillment in the give-and-take among children of their own age through carefully planned activities under trained supervision. In addition to the emotional, intellectual and social development which such a program could provide, he felt it could also furnish these youngsters with nutritious luncheons and with regular medical and dental checkups, which would assure their best possible early develop ment. In 1963, Congressman Dawson succeeded in persuading the then Chicago school superintendent to inaugurate a very limited program which was in effect only during July and August. This limited effort was slightly expanded in 1964 to make a total of three classrooms, again for the summer months only. With this limited start, Congressman Dawson in May 1964 wrote to Commissioner of Education, Mr. Francis Keppel, urging his consideration of a grant to the Chicago Board of Education for such a demonstration project on a full-year basis, encompassing his whole preschool education and health care program. In September 1964, the Chicago Teachers College North received a ↑ grant from the U.S. Office of Education for a cost survey of the preschool educational plan proposed by Congressman Dawson for the Chicago area. The grant was to be used to determine the cost of the "Dawson Plan" on an 11-month yearly basis for a period of at least 4 years and the availability of special personnel, buildings, and equip ment. Congressman Dawson's idea had its fulfillment in 1965, when a major experiment in the prevention of educational failure was launched as part of the "War on Poverty"-Project Headstart. In 1965, Project Headstart signed contracts with agencies in all 50 States to bring some 560,000 children into Headstart classes for a 6-to 8-week session during the summer. Integrated classes, no more than 15 children per class, and classes made up of at least 85 percent of very poor children were required in each project. Sponsors of the projects also had to provide medical, social, psychological, and other services. Many children were helped who had never before seen a doctor or dentist, and who were in need of glasses, hearing aids, and prosthetic devices. It was contemplated in 1965 that full use would be made of yearlong projects to train additional staff, so that the operation could be broadened as rapidly as possible. During 1966, nearly 575,000 youngsters were enrolled in Headstart summer programs and 160,000 in full-year programs which, in some cases, provided all-day care so that mothers could work. TEACHER-TRAINING PROGRAM AT THE CENTER FOR INNER CITY STUDIES Implicit in Congressman Dawson's suggestion to the U.S. Commissioner of Education for the demonstration program for preschool-age children was the need for a program which would have as its goal the training of teachers who would concern themselves with the social, cultural, and educational problems of those who lived in, or on the fringe of, poverty. As a result of a proposal to the Commissioner of Education by Congressman Dawson, the U.S. Office of Education made a grant of $250,000 to the Illinois Teachers College, Chicago-North, in early 1966, for pilot work on a teacher-training program. The program was in connection with a Center for Inner City Studies which was being planned for the South Side of Chicago. The stated purpose of the Center was to train high school graduates and teachers from among Chicago's minority groups-Negroes, Cubans, southern white migrants, Mexicans, American Indians, and Puerto Ricans-to work more effectively among those persons who were economically disadvantaged. The teachers and trainees from the Center were to be sent into all areas of Chicago to work with minority groups in a manner designed to upgrade their chances for obtaining employment. In his remarks at the official opening of classes at the Center for Inner City Studies on September 9, 1966, Congressman Dawson stated that he hoped the program would, in the long run, prove to be the remedy that so many have sought to the complicated problem of poverty. He further mentioned that "*** we must provide the schools in our poor neighborhoods with teachers who take into account the backgrounds of the poor-teachers who know that the cultural values and the verbal patterns of more affluent neighborhoods may be beyond the beginning reaches of the poor child raised among other poor children in poor neighborhoods." In closing, Congressman Dawson provided his philosophy regarding the educational needs of the disadvantaged when he stated: ***The educated person is a free person. The way out of the ghetto is through the door of a school. Congressman Dawson had, on many occasions, stated this philosophy more succinctly when he said to his people: "Don't get mad, get smart." 52-401-70- -2 |