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diff --git a/18772.txt b/18772.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d214248 --- /dev/null +++ b/18772.txt @@ -0,0 +1,25994 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Twentieth Century Negro Literature, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Twentieth Century Negro Literature + Or, A Cyclopedia of Thought on the Vital Topics Relating + to the American Negro + +Author: Various + +Editor: D. W. Culp + +Release Date: July 6, 2006 [EBook #18772] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWENTIETH CENTURY NEGRO LITERATURE *** + + + + +Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Richard J. Shiffer +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + +[Transcriber's Note: Every effort has been made to replicate this text as +faithfully as possible, including obsolete and variant spellings and other +inconsistencies. Text that has been changed to correct an obvious error by +the publisher is noted at the end of this ebook.] + + + + + TWENTIETH CENTURY + NEGRO LITERATURE + + OR + + _A CYCLOPEDIA OF THOUGHT_ + ON THE + _VITAL TOPICS RELATING_ + _TO THE AMERICAN NEGRO_ + + + BY + ONE HUNDRED OF AMERICA'S + GREATEST NEGROES + + + EDITED AND ARRANGED + BY + D. W. CULP, A. M., M. D. + AN AUTHOR AND LECTURER, ETC. + + + _COPIOUSLY ILLUSTRATED_ + WITH + _One Hundred Fine Photo Engravings_ + + + PUBLISHED BY + J. L. NICHOLS & CO. + MANUFACTURING PUBLISHERS + ON THE EXCLUSIVE TERRITORY PLAN + + TORONTO, CAN. + NAPERVILLE, ILL. + ATLANTA, GA. + + COPYRIGHT 1902 BY J. L. NICHOLS & CO. + + ALL RIGHTS RESERVED + + SOLD ONLY ON SUBSCRIPTION THROUGH OUR AUTHORIZED + AGENTS AND NOT TO BE HAD IN BOOKSTORES. ANY ONE + DESIRING A COPY SHOULD ADDRESS THE PUBLISHERS. + + + +[Illustration: Dr. D. W. Culp] + + + + + Dedication. + +To all persons of whatever race and of whatever section of our country, + who in any way contributed, in the Nineteenth Century, + to the financial, intellectual, moral and spiritual elevation + of the Negro, + the editor dedicates this book with the ardent hope, + that before this century shall have ended, + the Negro, + through his own manly efforts, + aided by his friends, + shall reach that point in the American civilization, +where he will be recognized and treated as any other American citizen. + + + + +PREFACE + + +The idea of putting this book on the market originated in the +following considerations: + +_First._ There is considerable ignorance, on the part of the white +people of this country, of the intellectual ability of the Negro, and, +as a consequence, the educated Negro does not receive, at the hands of +the whites, that respectful consideration to which his education +entitles him. + +_Second._ At this time, when the attainments made in the nineteenth +century by the other races and nationalities are being paraded, the +friends of the Negro are particularly interested to know something of +the attainments made by him in that century. + +_Third._ There is a strong desire, on the part of those white people +who are deeply interested in the American race problem, to know what +the educated Negroes are thinking on the topics touching this problem, +since it is believed that, if this problem is to be correctly solved, +it will be solved by the combined efforts of the intelligent elements +of both races. + +_Fourth._ A book, in which the aspiring Negro youth of the land can +study the character sketches and the literary productions of the +scholarly men of their own race along with their study of the +character sketches and the choice literary productions of the +scholarly white men of the country, is a desideratum. + +_Fifth._ The majority of the Negroes need to be enlightened on those +vital topics relating to themselves, and on those questions touching +their development in civilization. + +The object of this book is, therefore: (1) To enlighten the uninformed +white people on the intellectual ability of the Negro. (2) To give to +those, who are interested in the Negro race, a better idea of the +extent to which he contributed to the promotion of America's +civilization, and of the intellectual attainments made by him in the +nineteenth century. (3) To reflect the views of the most scholarly and +prominent Negroes of America on those topics, touching the Negro, that +are now engaging the attention of the civilized world. (4) To point +out, to the aspiring Negro youth, those men and women of their own +race who, by their scholarship, by their integrity of character, and +by their earnest efforts in the work of uplifting their own race, have +made themselves illustrious; also, to enlighten such youth on those +ethical, political, and sociological questions, touching the Negro +that will sooner or later engage their attention. (5) To enlighten the +Negroes on that perplexing problem, commonly called the "Race +Problem," that has necessarily grown out of their contact with their +ex-masters and their descendants; and also to stimulate them to make +greater efforts to ascend to that plane of civilization occupied by +the other enlightened peoples of the world. + +Now, among all the books on the Negro, there is none whose object is +so worthy, comprehensive, and specific as that above set forth. In +this the superiority of this book to all others, on the Negro, may be +seen. And the superior value of this book is also apparent from the +following considerations: (1) This is the only book in which there is +such a magnificent array of Negro talent. Other Negro books of a +biographical character are objected to, by the intelligent people who +have read them, on the ground that they contain too few sketches of +scholarly Negroes, and too many of Negroes of ordinary ability. But +such a criticism cannot be made on this book since, as a matter of +fact, all of the one hundred men and women, appearing in it, are among +the best educated Negroes in the world. (2) This is the only book from +which one can get anything like a definite and correct idea of the +progress made by the Negro since his Emancipation along all lines. (3) +There is no book but this one in which there can be found expressed +the thoughts of any considerable number of educated Negroes on so many +political, religious, civil, moral and sociological problems touching +the Negro, which are interesting alike to the politician, the moralist +and the sociologist. + +But it is not to be understood that the one hundred men and women +mentioned in this book are the only Negro scholars in this country. So +far from this, there are hundreds of other Negroes who are as +scholarly, as prominent and as active in the work of uplifting their +race as the one hundred herein given. These one hundred appear here, +rather than others, for no other reason than that they are better +known to the editor. Now, in sending forth this book, the editor +ardently hopes that it will not only accomplish the objects herein set +forth, but that it will also do much towards bringing about a better +understanding between the two races in the South. + + D. W. CULP, Palatka, Fla. + + +[Illustration: W. H. Crogman, A. M.] + + PROF. W. H. CROGMAN, A. M. + + Prof. W. H. Crogman, A. M., who occupies the chair of Greek + and Latin in Clark University, Atlanta, in Christian + character, scholarship in his department, literary ability, + general culture and distinguished services stands, it is + safe to say, among the first four, if not at the head of the + Negro race. In all the particulars mentioned, he would honor + a professorship in any college in the land. + + Prof. Crogman was born on the island of St. Martin, May 5, + 1841. In 1855, Mr. B. L. Boomer, chief mate of the vessel, + visiting the island, became interested in the boy, then an + orphan, and induced him to come to the United States. Mr. + Boomer took him to his home in Middleboro, Mass., sent him + to district school in the winter, and always took great + interest in him. Mr. Boomer's brothers were all seafaring + men, captains or officers of vessels. With one of these the + boy, Willie, began to follow the sea. This beginning + afterward led to a life of eleven years on the ocean. He + visited many lands, and observant and thoughtful, obtained a + wide knowledge of various nationalities and parts of the + world. His visits included especially England, various + points on the Continent of Europe, Calcutta and Bombay in + Asia, various places in South America and Australia. + + In 1866, at the suggestion of Mr. Boomer, that an academic + education would make him useful, Prof. Crogman, then at the + age of twenty-five, began to earn means to attend an + academy. He worked and laid by money till two years later in + 1868, he entered Pierce Academy, in Middleboro, Mass. He + remained there two years, taking an English course with + French and bookkeeping. + + After completing his academic course, in the Fall of 1870, + Prof. Crogman started for the South to give his life to the + Christian education and elevation of his race. He was + recommended by the Boston Preachers' Meeting to the work in + South Carolina, and was employed by Rev. T. W. Lewis as + instructor in English branches, at Claflin University, + Orangeburg, S. C. Here he remained three years. In this work + he became impressed with the need of a knowledge of Greek + and Latin and began the study of Latin by himself. To gain a + knowledge of these branches he went to Atlanta University in + the Fall of 1873. This resulted in his completing there the + full classical course in 1876. Prof. Francis, of Atlanta + University, who was one of his teachers there, was present + at the reception and in a most happy speech paid a high + tribute to Prof. Crogman's manhood, industry, thorough + scholarship and rapid advancement during his college life, + completing as he did the four years' course in three years. + He spoke also of Prof. Crogman's carrying off as his bride + one of their noblest and most gifted and cultured young + ladies, Miss Lavinia C. Mott, of Charlotte, N. C. + Immediately on his graduating from Atlanta University, Prof. + Crogman was called to a position on the faculty of Clark + University, where he has been ever since, having occupied + his present chair since 1880. Letters expressive of their + highest appreciation of him and his work were read from + several of his students, who now themselves occupy prominent + positions. + + Prof. Crogman is author of "Talks for the Times," a book in + which almost every phase of the Race Problem is discussed in + a very practical and fascinating style. Speaking of this + book, the "Independent" says: + + "We notice this collection of 'Talks for the Times' with + unusual pleasure. They are worthy of the strong and + cultivated gentleman who is their author. They deal largely + with Negro education, educational institutions and + educators, but occasionally deal with general topics, such + as 'Life's Deeper Meanings.' The author speaks of his race + and speaks in strong, polished English, full of nerve and + rich in the music of good English prose." + + The "California Christian Advocate" says: + + "We are minded to say, 'here is a volume that must be + intensely interesting to all who are interested in the + culture and continued advancement of the Negro.' But why + should we thus write? It would be nearer our deliberate + estimate to say, 'Here is a book made up of manly and + vigorous addresses by a vigorous, scholarly and independent + thinker.' Whoever values the result of scholarly + investigation will be interested in this volume. We do not + hesitate to say that but for the noble identification of the + author with his own people in such addresses as 'The Negro's + Need,' 'The Negro's Claims,' and 'The Negro Problem,' no one + who reads this book would guess that Professor Crogman was + other than a vigorous minded Anglo-Saxon. And yet to our + thinking, it is much to say that 'Talks for the Times' is + the production of a ripe scholar who is of almost pure + African blood--a man who almost entirely by his own exertion + has climbed steadily up the ladder of scholarship until he + is no mean exponent of the culture of our day." + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + +BY PROF. W. H. CROGMAN. + + +I am requested to write an introduction to this volume of essays, +written by representative men and women of the Negro race and touching +almost every phase of the Negro question. Certainly it is a hopeful +sign that the Negro is beginning, with some degree of seriousness, to +turn his eyes inward, to study himself, and try to discover what are +his possibilities, and what the obstructions that lie in the way to +his larger development. Undoubtedly this is a rational method of +procedure, and the one most likely to reward his effort; for it is +only in proportion as we become interested in ourselves that we enlist +the interest of others, and only in proportion as we respect ourselves +that we command the respect of others. The story is told of a Negro +who, at some time during the War of the Rebellion, being asked why he +did not enlist in the army, replied: "De Norf and de Souf am two dogs +fightin' over a bone. De nigger am de bone and takes no part in de +conflict." That this is not the language of an intelligent Negro is +quite evident, if, indeed, it be the language of a Negro at all. So +common has it been in this country to caricature the black man, to +represent him as a driveler in speech and a buffoon in action, that I +am always loath to accept as his those many would-be-witty sayings +which, too often, originating with others, have been attributed to +him. But be the author of that remark whosoever he may, one thing now +is perfectly apparent--the Negro has reached beyond the "bone" stage. +He is no longer content with being a passive observer, a quiet +looker-on, while his character and interests are under discussion. He +is now disposed to speak for himself, to "take part in the conflict." +Any one desiring evidence of this will find it in the following pages +of "Twentieth Century Negro Literature." + +This book will do good. It will enlighten many of both races on topics +respecting which they seem to be profoundly ignorant. Not very long +ago a Negro delivered an address in one of the largest churches in +Atlanta. It was an occasion in which a goodly number of white people +was present. They expressed themselves as being delighted. One man +said to a colored bishop that he didn't know there was a Negro in the +state that could have delivered such an address. The fact is, both the +good bishop and the writer of these lines might have found him twenty +who could, at least, deliver an address as good, and ten, probably, +who could deliver a better. Well, we don't know each other--we white +and black folk. We are neighbors, yet strangers. Our thoughts, our +motives, our desires are unknown to each other. Between the best white +and black people, in whom alone vests the possibility of a rational +and peaceful solution of the race question, there is absolutely no +communication, no opportunity for exchange of views. Herein lies the +danger; for both people, as a consequence, are suspicious, the one of +the other. Not infrequently, with much uncharitableness, we attribute +wrong motives to those who are truly our friends. Were we acquainted +with one another, as we ought to be, we would doubtless be surprised +to discover how little we differ in our thinking with reference to +many of the vexed questions confronting us. Indeed, it has always been +the belief of the writer, frequently expressed, that neither of the +races is as bad as it appears to the other. May we not hope, then, +that "Twentieth Century Negro Literature" may have the good fortune of +falling into the hands of many white friends. + +On the other hand, the book must be stimulating to the Negro people, +especially to those of the younger generation, now blessed with large +educational privilege. It must awaken in them self-respect, +self-reliance, and the ambition to be and to do. By the perusal of its +pages they will be led to see more clearly the path of duty, and to +feel more sensibly the weight of responsibility resting upon them. The +first generation of Negroes after emancipation exhibited to a painful +degree the spirit of dependence, an inclination to lean on something +and on somebody--now on the politician, now on the philanthropist. The +reason for this, of course, is not far to fetch. The spirit of +dependence is invariably a characteristic of weakness. It was not to +be expected that the first generation emerging from slavery would +possess all the heroic qualities. Gradually, however, the Negro is +realizing the importance of self-help. Good books, among other +agencies, will deepen this impression, and ultimately lead him to +imbibe in all its fulness the sentiment of the poet, + + "Destiny is not about thee, but within; + Thyself must make thyself." + +The contributors to this volume are worthy of notice. They are among +the best we have. Some of them are personally known to the writer. +They are men of experience, scholarly men, shunning rather than +courting notoriety--just the class of men to guide a people, alas, too +easily led astray by pretentious ignorance. From a number so large and +so meritorious it would seem invidious to select any for special +mention. It may not be out of place, however, to say a few words with +reference to the editor and compiler, Dr. D. W. Culp. Born a slave in +Union County, South Carolina, like many a black boy, he has had to +forge his way to the front. In 1876 we find him graduating in a class +of one from Biddle University--the first college graduate from that +school. In the fall of the same year he entered Princeton Theological +Seminary, and at the same time pursued studies in philosophy, history, +and psychology in the university under the eminent Doctor McCosh. His +first appearance in the university was the signal for a display of +race prejudice. To the Southern students especially his presence was +very obnoxious. Several of them immediately left the college and went +home. To the credit of their parents, it should be said, they were led +to return. Before the expiration of three years Mr. Culp, by exemplary +conduct and good scholarship, won the respect and friendship of the +students in both university and seminary, the Southerners included. He +was graduated from the seminary in 1879, and immediately found work as +pastor under the Freedmen's Board of the Northern Presbyterian Church. +He served in the pastorate several years in different states, was for +a time principal of a school in Jacksonville, Florida, the largest +school in the state. Becoming, however, more and more interested in +the physical salvation of his race, he entered upon the study of +medicine in the University of Michigan; but was finally graduated with +honor from the Ohio Medical University, in 1891, since which time he +has followed the practice of medicine. For a passionate love of +knowledge, and for persistent effort in trying to secure it, Dr. Culp +is a noble and inspiring example to the young and aspiring Negro. + + Clark University, South Atlanta, Georgia, + December 16, 1901. + + + + +ALPHABETICAL LIST OF WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. + +The writers of this book are one hundred (one for each year in the +century) of the most scholarly and prominent Negroes of America. + + PAGE +ANDERSON, J. H., D. D., Pastor of the A. M. E. Zion Church, + Wllkesbarre, Pa. 323 +ATKINS, REV. S. G., President of the State Normal and Industrial + College of North Carolina 80 +BAKER, HON. H. E., Washington, D. C. 399 +BIBB, PROF. J. D., A. M., Atlanta, Ga. 449 +BLACKSHEAR, MR. E. L., President of Texas Normal and Industrial + College, Prairie View, Texas 334 +BOWEN, MRS. ARIEL, S. H., Atlanta, Ga. 264 +BOWEN, REV. J. W. E, Professor in Gammon Theological Seminary 29 +BOWSER, MRS. ROSA D., Teacher in Richmond, Va. 177 +BOYD, DR. R. F., Physician and Surgeon, Nashville, Tenn. 215 +BRAWLEY, REV. E. M., D. D., Secretary and Expositor of the National + Baptist Publishing Company 254 +BRAGGS, REV. GEO. F. JR., Rector of Episcopal Church, Baltimore, Md. 356 +BROOKS, REV. W. H., D. D., Pastor Nineteenth St. Baptist Church, + Washington, D. C. 315 +BROWN, REV. S. N., Pastor of Congregational Church, Washington, D.C. 68 +BUTLER, HENRY R., A. M., M. D., Atlanta, Ga. 221 +CARVER, GEO. W., Professor of Agriculture, Tuskegee Institute 388 +CHAPPELLE, REV. W. D., Secretary of Sabbath School Department of the + A. M. E. Church 63 +CHEATHAM, HON. H. P., Recorder of Deeds, of the District of Columbia 57 +CLINTON, BISHOP G. W., A. M. E. Zion Church, Charlotte, N. C. 115 +COOPER, E. E. Editor of the Colored American 464 +COUNCIL, PROF. W. H., President of Alabama Normal and Mechanical + College, Normal, Ala. 325 +COX, PROF. J. M., President of the Philander Smith College, + Little Rock, Ark. 295 +CROMWELL, J. W., Washington, D. C. 291 +CROGMAN, W. H., Professor of Greek and Latin, Clark University 7 +DAVIS, REV. D. W., Pastor of Baptist Church, Manchester, Va. 38 +DAVIS, REV. I. D., Pastor Presbyterian Church, Goodwill, S. C. 124 +DUNBAR, MRS. PAUL LAURENCE, Washington, D. C. 139 +ELLERSON, REV. L. B., Pastor Presbyterian Church, Jacksonville, Fla. 313 +FLIPPER, REV. J. S., D. D., Presiding Elder of North Georgia + Conference, Atlanta, Ga. 257 +FORTUNE, T. T., Editor of The Age, New York City 227 +FRANCIS, DR. J. R., Physician and Surgeon, Washington, D. C. 204 +FRIERSON, A. U., Professor of Greek, of Biddle University 241 +GILBERT, J. W., Professor of Greek in Paine College 190 +GILBERT, REV. M. W. D. D., Pastor of Baptist Church, + Charleston, S. C. 287 +GOODWIN, G. A., Professor in Atlanta Baptist College 132 +GREEN, HON. JOHN P., Government Position, Washington, D. C. 89 +GRIMKE, REV. F. J., D. D., Pastor of Presbyterian Church, + Washington, D. C. 427 +HARLLEE, PROF. N. W., Principal of High School, Dallas, Tex. 299 +HAWKINS, PROF. J. R., Secretary of Educational Department of the + A. M. E. Church 153 +HEARD, REV. W. H., D. D., Pastor of Allen Temple, Atlanta, Ga. 442 +HEWIN, J. T., Attorney, Richmond, Va. 110 +HILYER, ANDREW F., Washington, D. C. 375 +HOLSEY, BISHOP L. H., C. M. E. Church, Atlanta, Ga. 46 +HOOD, BISHOP J. W., of A. M. E. Zion Church, Fayetteville, N. C. 51 +HUNT, H. A., Principal of Industrial Department of Biddle University 394 +JACKSON, MISS LENA T., Teacher of Latin in High School, + Nashville, Tenn. 304 +JOHNSON, REV. J. Q., D. D. 270 +JOHNSON, PROF. J. W., Principal of Grammar School, + Jacksonville, Fla. 72 +JOHNSON, REV. H. T., D. D., Editor of Christian Recorder 186 +JONES, PROF. J. H., President of Wilberforce University 83 +JONES, T. W., Prominent business man, Chicago, Ill. 370 +JORDAN, D. J., Professor in Morris Brown College 129 +KERR, REV. S., Rector of Episcopal Church, Key West, Fla. 320 +KNOX, GEO. L., Editor of the Freeman 454 +LEWIS, PROF. W. I., Reporter for Evening Metropolis, + Jacksonville, Fla. 272 +LOGAN, MRS. WARREN, Tuskegee Institute 199 +LOVINGGOOD, PROF. R. S., President of Samuel Houston College, + Austin, Tex. 48 +MASON, MRS. LENA, The Evangelist, Hannibal, Mo. 445 +MASON, REV. M. C. B., Secretary of the Freemen Board of the + M. E. Church 34 +McCLELLAN, PROF. G. M., Teacher in High School, Louisville, Ky. 275 +MILLER, KELLY, Professor of Mathematics in Howard University 158 +MORGAN, REV. J. H., Minister, Bordentown, N. J. 383 +MORRIS, REV. E. C., D. D., Editor of National Baptist + Publishing Co., Helena, Ark. 259 +MURRAY, HON. G. W., Providence, S. C. 231 +ONLEY, D. W., D. D., Dentist, Washington, D. C. 347 +PARTEE, REV. W. E., D. D., Pastor of Presbyterian Church, + Richmond, Va. 309 +PETERSON, B. H., Professor at Tuskegee Institute 236 +PETTIFORD, W. R., President Alabama Penny Savings and Loan Co., + Birmingham, Ala. 468 +PETTEY, MRS. BISHOP C. C., Newbern, N. C. 182 +PORTER, J. R., D. D. S., Atlanta, Ga. 191 +PROCTOR, REV. H. H., Pastor of Congregational Church., Atlanta, Ga. 317 +PURCELL, I. L., Attorney, Pensacola, Fla. 104 +RICHARDSON, PROF. A. ST. GEORGE, President of Edward Waters College, + Jacksonville, Fla. 330 +ROBINSON, G. T., Attorney, Nashville, Tenn. 108 +ROBINSON, PROF. R. G., Principal of LaGrange Academy 302 +RUCKER, HON. H. A., Internal Revenue Collector for Georgia, + Atlanta, Ga. 202 +SCARBOROUGH, W. S., Professor of Greek of Wilberforce University 414 +SMITH, MRS. M. E. C., Teacher in Edward Waters College, + Jacksonville, Fla. 246 +SMITH, R. S., Attorney, Washington, D. C. 92 +SMYTH, PROF. J. H., President of Reformatory School of Virginia, + Hanover, Va. 434 +SPRAGUE, MRS. ROSETTA DOUGLASS, Washington, D. C. 167 +STORUM, PROF. JAMES, Teacher in High School, Washington, D. C. 75 +TALBERT, MARY B., Buffalo, N. Y. 17 +TALLEY, T. W., Professor of Science, Tuskegee Institute 338 +TERRELL, MRS. MARY CHURCH, Washington, D. C. 172 +THOMPSON, R. W., Associate Editor of the Colored American 351 +TUCKER, PROF. T. de S., Baltimore, Md. 418 +TURNER, BISHOP H. M., D. D., LL. D., A. M. E. Church, Atlanta, Ga. 42 +TURNER, PROF. C. H., Professor of Science in Clark University 162 +WALLACE, W. W., Editor of Colored American Magazine 349 +WALLER, REV. O. M., Rector of Episcopal Church, Washington, D. C. 363 +WALKER, PROF. H. L., Principal High School, Augusta, Ga. 342 +WASHINGTON, PROF. BOOKER T., President of Tuskegee Institute 142 +WHITAKER, REV. J. W., Traveling Agent for Tuskegee Institute 359 +WHITE, HON. GEO. H., Washington, D. C. 224 +WILDER, DR. J. R., Physician and Surgeon, Washington, D. C. 210 +WILLIAMS, REV. J. B. L., D. D., Pastor of M. E. Church, + Fernandina, Fla. 120 +WYCHE, REV. R. P., Pastor of Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, N. C. 123 +YATES, MRS. JOSEPHINE S., Kansas City, Mo. 21 +YOUNG, PROF. N. B., President of Florida State Normal and + Industrial College 125 + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + THE FOLLOWING TOPICS ARE DISCUSSED IN THIS BOOK BY ONE HUNDRED WRITERS: + + TOPIC PAGE + + I. DID THE AMERICAN NEGRO MAKE, IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, + ACHIEVEMENTS ALONG THE LINES OF WEALTH, MORALITY, EDUCATION, + ETC., COMMENSURATE WITH HIS OPPORTUNITIES? IF SO, + WHAT ACHIEVEMENTS DID HE MAKE? 17 + + II. WILL IT BE POSSIBLE FOR THE NEGRO TO ATTAIN, IN THIS COUNTRY, + UNTO THE AMERICAN TYPE OF CIVILIZATION? 42 + + III. HOW CAN THE FRIENDLY RELATIONS NOW EXISTING BETWEEN THE + TWO RACES IN THE SOUTH BE STRENGTHENED AND MAINTAINED? 57 + + IV. SHOULD THE NEGRO BE GIVEN AN EDUCATION DIFFERENT FROM + THAT GIVEN TO THE WHITE? 72 + + V. SHOULD THE IGNORANT AND NON-PROPERTY HOLDING NEGRO BE + ALLOWED TO VOTE? 89 + + VI. IS THE CRIMINAL NEGRO JUSTLY DEALT WITH IN THE COURTS OF + THE SOUTH? 92 + + VII. TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE NEGRO PULPIT UPLIFTING THE RACE? 115 + + VIII. IS IT TIME FOR THE NEGRO COLLEGES IN THE SOUTH TO BE PUT + INTO THE HANDS OF NEGRO TEACHERS? 125 + + IX. WILL THE EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO SOLVE THE RACE PROBLEM? 142 + + X. WHAT ROLE IS THE EDUCATED NEGRO WOMAN TO PLAY IN THE + UPLIFTING OF HER RACE? 167 + + XI. HOW CAN THE NEGROES BE INDUCED TO RALLY MORE TO NEGRO + BUSINESS ENTERPRISES AND TO THEIR PROFESSIONAL MEN? 186 + + XII. WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF THE GREAT MORTALITY AMONG THE + NEGROES IN THE CITIES OF THE SOUTH AND HOW IS THAT MORTALITY + TO BE LESSENED? 199 + + XIII. WHAT SHOULD BE THE NEGRO'S ATTITUDE IN POLITICS? 224 + + XIV. IS THE NEGRO AS MORALLY DEPRAVED AS HE IS REPUTED TO BE? 236 + + XV. IS THE YOUNG NEGRO AN IMPROVEMENT MORALLY ON HIS FATHER? 254 + + XVI. THE NEGRO AS A WRITER 270 + + XVII. DID THE AMERICAN NEGRO PROVE, IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, + THAT HE IS INTELLECTUALLY EQUAL TO THE WHITE MAN? 287 + + XVIII. WHAT PROGRESS DID THE AMERICAN WHITE MAN MAKE IN THE + NINETEENTH CENTURY ALONG THE LINE OF CONCEDING TO + THE NEGRO HIS RELIGIOUS, POLITICAL AND CIVIL RIGHTS? 291 + + XIX. THE NEGRO AS A LABORER 299 + + XX. THE NEGRO AS A CHRISTIAN 309 + + XXI. DOES THE NORTH AFFORD TO THE NEGRO BETTER OPPORTUNITIES + OF MAKING A LIVING THAN THE SOUTH? 323 + + XXII. WHAT IS THE NEGRO TEACHER DOING IN THE MATTER OF + UPLIFTING HIS RACE? 330 + + XXIII. IS THE NEGRO NEWSPAPER AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE + ELEVATION OF THE NEGRO? 347 + + XXIV. ARE OTHER THAN BAPTIST AND METHODIST CHURCHES ADAPTED + TO THE PRESENT NEGRO? 356 + + XXV. THE NEGRO AS A BUSINESS MAN 370 + + XXVI. THE NEGRO AS A FARMER 388 + + XXVII. THE NEGRO AS AN INVENTOR 399 + + XXVIII. WHAT THE OMEN? 414 + + XXIX. WHY THE NEGRO RACE SURVIVES 418 + + XXX. THE SIGNS OF A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR THE AMERICAN NEGRO 427 + + XXXI. NEGRO CRIMINALITY 434 + + XXXII. THE AMERICAN NEGRO'S OPPORTUNITIES IN AFRICA 442 + + XXXIII. THE NEGRO AND EDUCATION 445 + + XXXIV. A NEGRO IN IT 447 + + XXXV. THE NEGRO'S ADVERSITIES HELP HIM 449 + + XXXVI. THE AMERICAN NEGRO AND HIS POSSIBILITIES 454 + + XXXVII. IMPORTANT LESSONS FROM THE AWFUL TRAGEDY 464 + + XXXVIII. HOW TO HELP THE NEGRO TO HELP HIMSELF 468 + + + + +THE EDITOR'S BIOGRAPHY, BY WALTER I. LEWIS. + + Daniel Wallace Culp, compiler and editor of this book, was + born about forty-seven years ago, of slave parents, four + miles from Union Court House in South Carolina. His mother, + Marilla by name, was an excellent type of the devout + Christian woman of her day; she believed firmly in that God, + whose inscrutable wisdom directed the ways of her race + through paths that were truly hard. She hesitated not to + teach her son Daniel to love, fear and obey the God in whom + she trusted, using whatever light she had. + + Christopher Brandon, to whom Daniel and his mother belonged, + was one of those slave-holders in South Carolina who did not + believe in the institution of slavery, but being uncertain + as to whether his slaves would be better off if he freed + them, he held them, establishing a sort of patrimony in + which his slaves were allowed such superior opportunities + and advantages that the less favored neighbors styled them + "Brandon's free Negroes." This distinction carried with it + its disadvantages as well, for on account of the ease and + comfort allowed them, they were despised alike by the + hard-hearted slave-owners and the less fortunate slaves. + Brandon was kind to his slaves, who were made to work enough + to keep a plenty at home to live upon. He also protected + them against whatever ill treatment begrudging neighbors + might be prompted to offer. + + Brandon was a bachelor. He made a favorite and close + companion of Daniel to the extent of having him occupy the + same bed with him. This affection of the bachelor master + lasted until his death, which occurred several years after + the emancipation. + + It is said that in his expiring moments this good man, + Brandon, called for young Daniel, who was then too far away + to be on hand in time to hear what was to have been said + before death ensued. Thus died a man who was brave enough, + in the midst of environments that were exacting to the + extent of active ostracism for his assertion of his belief + that the Negro is a real human being, possessed of a mind, + soul and rights to happiness, and should share in the + community of responsibilities. + + At an early age Daniel became anxious to know what is in + books. This ambition was fed by his former master, who + became his first teacher. This make-shift tutelage continued + until 1869, when this rapid little learner caught a sight of + better intellectual food. Accordingly he left his rural + home, his soul charged with greater things, and entered + Biddle Memorial Institute, now Biddle University, at + Charlotte, N. C. + + As a student Daniel did not attract any special attention + until he had passed the preparatory and entered the regular + classical course of that institution. It was here that he + won great distinction in his faculty for acquiring a ready + knowledge of the languages and the higher mathematics. So + rapidly did he advance in these studies that it was found + necessary to place him in a class alone, none of his mates + being able to keep up with him. This separation was from a + class of about twenty young men from the Carolinas, + Virginia, Georgia and Tennessee. For five years he studied, + making an advancement that was frequently a marvel to the + teachers, some of whom were at times puzzled to sustain + their place of superiority over him. + + In 1876 Daniel Wallace Culp graduated from Biddle + University, being the first graduate from the classical + department of that institution, with the degree of Bachelor + of Arts. + + Having decided to study theology, he, in the fall of the + same year in which he graduated from Biddle, entered + Princeton Theological Seminary. At the same time he entered + Princeton College to study the History of Philosophy and + Psychology under the great Dr. McCosh. + + The presence of a colored student in the classes at + Princeton College (which has no connection with the + Theological Seminary) was particularly obnoxious to the + young men of the South, of whom there were several then in + attendance. This brought on a crisis. The young white men of + the South packed their trunks and left for their homes, + declaring with much emphasis that they would not sit in the + lecture room with a "nigger." But, strange to relate, their + parents showed better sense by requiring them to promptly + return. In the meanwhile efforts were made to have Dr. Culp + discontinue his attendance at these lectures, all of which + he positively refused to do. The young men from the South + finally became friendly, and things moved on smoothly, Dr. + Culp winning the respect of all the students by his + gentlemanly conduct and scholarship. + + In the Theological Seminary he was regarded as one of the + brightest students in his class, excelling in the study of + the Hebrew language and theology. He graduated from this + seminary in the spring of 1879. + + Now came the most trying time in the life of the young man + who had been sated with frequent conquests while in the + pursuit of knowledge. Dr. Culp was assigned to an humble + Presbyterian Church at Laurens, S. C., under the auspices of + the Freedman's Board of the Northern Presbyterian Church. + His work was to preach and teach at that place. He remained + at Laurens one year, when he was called to the pastorate of + Laura Street Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville, Fla. + + In the fall of 1881 he was appointed principal of Stanton + Institute, the largest colored college in the state of + Florida. For a while he filled both the pastorate of the + church and the principalship of Stanton, but finding it + impracticable to hold both he finally resigned the + pastorate, after having served the church for five years. He + was principal of Stanton four years. Rev. F. J. Grimke, D. + D., succeeded Dr. Culp as pastor of Laura Street + Presbyterian Church. + + Desiring to help his people in what is known as the "black + belt" of Florida, he severed his connection with the Stanton + Institute and went to Lake City and established the Florida + Normal and Industrial Institute. There he prepared many + young men and women to teach in the district schools. This + school was operated under the General Congregational + Association of Florida, of which Dr. Culp is a member. + + In 1886 he accepted an appointment from the American + Missionary Association to take charge of the church and + school at Florence, Ala. He did not remain there long before + the same board appointed him to the pastorate of the First + Congregational Church in Nashville, Tenn. It was here that + Dr. Culp became deeply concerned about the physical + salvation of his race. To fit himself to do actual work + along this line, he resigned his pastorate over the + strongest protests of his members, and entered the Medical + School of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor. After + remaining in this college for some time, studying with the + avidity and success of former years, he left and entered the + Ohio Medical College, where he could enjoy the advantages of + the study of the superior hospital facilities. Here he + graduated with honors in 1891, and again came South, + locating in Augusta, Ga. + + Shortly after his arrival in Augusta, Dr. Culp having + demonstrated his high capabilities and fitness, was elected + by the City Council to be superintendent and resident + physician of the Freedmen's Hospital in that city. This + position was coveted by several white physicians, hence the + election of Dr. Culp created no small stir. The excitement + was great for some time. Finally it became apparent that to + continue to hold this position would be hazardous in a + number of ways, and upon the advice of his wife and friends + Dr. Culp resigned, after serving one year. + + Afterwards he built up an excellent practice of medicine in + the city of Augusta, but owing to the fast failing health of + his family he moved to Palatka, Fla., and after two years of + successful practice he moved to Jacksonville to give his + children, a promising girl and boy, the advantages of the + schools. + + After remaining in Jacksonville for about seven years, Dr. + Culp yielded to the entreaties of the people of Palatka and + returned to that city, where he now is, having won the + fullest confidence of the people as a successful physician. + + Dr. Culp married Mrs. Mary Emily Jefferson, of Jacksonville, + in 1884. She was at that time a prominent teacher in the + public schools of that city. His union has been blessed with + two children, a girl, Charlotte Marilla, fourteen years old, + and Julian McKenzie, twelve years old. + + Dr. and Mrs. Culp are both profoundly interested in the + education of these children, hoping to fit them to be useful + to their race. + + Dr. Culp is classed as a thorough race man. Freed from the + monstrous visions which many delight to parade as arguments, + he abides by a strong faith in the destiny of the valuable + elements of his race. That his people are destined to reach + a high point in civilization has been his private conviction + for years, not being very free, however, to say that this + will be attained in America. + + Dr. Culp also seriously believes that if the race problem is + ever solved in this country, it will be done by the combined + efforts of the intelligent elements of both races. His great + interest in the physical salvation of his race has moved him + to both lecture extensively and write books and pamphlets on + health topics during the past seven years. Notable among + these are his books on smallpox and vaccination, + consumption, etc., all of which have done good among the + people whose means of information on the proper care of + health are the poorest. + + Dr. Culp has good standing with the editors of the leading + magazines. By these he has been invited repeatedly to write + articles on the Race Problem. This invitation he has + accepted more than once, and when he writes, he displays a + degree of literary ability that is striking. His purpose in + compiling and editing this book is but one of the several + great plans he has in reserve to publicly demonstrate what + he regards as actual service for the inspiration of his day + and generation. + + + + +TWENTIETH CENTURY NEGRO LITERATURE. + + + + +TOPIC I. + +DID THE AMERICAN NEGRO MAKE, IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, ACHIEVEMENTS +ALONG THE LINES OF WEALTH, MORALITY, EDUCATION, ETC., COMMENSURATE +WITH HIS OPPORTUNITIES? IF SO, WHAT ACHIEVEMENTS DID HE MAKE? + +BY MARY B. TALBERT. + +[Illustration: Mrs. Mary B. Talbert.] + + MRS. MARY B. TALBERT. + + Mary Burnett Talbert was born at Oberlin, Ohio, in 1866, her + father's family having gone there from Chapel Hill, N. C. + She is descended on her maternal side from Richard Nichols, + who compelled Peter Stuyvesant to surrender New Amsterdam + and who for a short while was Governor of the State of New + York. + + She graduated at the early age of sixteen from the Oberlin + High School, and through the generosity of Ex-President + James H. Fairchild was enabled to attend Oberlin College. + + When applying for admission to the class in trigonometry, + the instructor doubtfully admitted her, as so many of the + High School pupils had found the subject very hard and + preferred a review of other mathematics. She entered the + class, however, on trial, and made a term's record of 5 per + cent, with an examination of 5.5 per cent, 6 per cent being + the highest mark for lessons in college. + + During the next term she entered the class of mechanics, and + made a perfect record for term's work and examination. + + While attending school she was well liked by her classmates, + being made Treasurer of Aeolian, one of the two college + societies for young women, and was also one of six + representatives chosen for Class Day Exercises. She was + given the place of honor upon the programme, and recited an + original poem, "The Lament of the Old College Bell, Once + First, Now Second." + + Mrs. Talbert graduated from Oberlin at the early age of + nineteen, being the only colored member of her class after + the withdrawal of the late Lieutenant John Alexander. + + She started out in life equipped not only with a great love + of learning but with all the encouragement which made it + possible for her to follow the inclinations of her mind. + + In 1886 she accepted a position in Bethel University, Little + Rock, Ark. + + Some women make themselves teachers, but Mrs. Talbert was a + born teacher. The late Professor John M. Ellis, in writing + of her, said: "She is a lady of Christian character and + pleasing address. As a student she has an excellent record + and standing in her class, showing good abilities and + industry and fidelity in her work. She has the qualities + natural and acquired to make a superior teacher." + + In January, 1887, she was elected Assistant Principal of the + Little Rock High School, the highest position held by any + woman in the State of Arkansas, and the only colored woman + who has ever held the position. Mrs. Talbert resigned her + place after her marriage to Mr. William H. Talbert, one of + Buffalo's leading colored young men, and was urged after + marriage to reconsider her resignation and take up her work + again. + + Leading educators and literary men, such as Charles Dudley + Warner, Samuel A. Greene of Boston, L. S. Holden of St. + Louis, and others who visited her classes, and, having seen + them at work, registered their names with written comments. + + Professor Albert A. Wright of Oberlin writes as follows: + "Mary Burnett received her education in the public schools + and college of this place, where her parents have resided + for many years. She has won the respect and approval of her + teachers by her successful accomplishments of the tasks set + before her." Mrs. Talbert received the degree granted to + students of the Literary Course in 1894, and is a member of + the Association of Collegiate Alumnae, being the only + colored woman in the city of Buffalo eligible. + +As the hand upon the dial of the nineteenth, century clock pointed to +its last figure, it showed that the American Negro had ceased to be a +thing, a commodity that could be bought and sold, a mere animal; but +was indeed a human being possessing all the qualities of mind and +heart that belong to the rest of mankind, capable of receiving +education and imparting it to his fellow man, able to think, act, +feel, and develop those intellectual and moral qualities, such as +characterize mankind generally. + +Let us glance at the intellectual Negro and see if he has made any +progress commensurate with his opportunities during the nineteenth +century. + +Intuitively we turn to that great historian of our race--who for seven +years worked with such care and zeal to write a thoroughly trustworthy +history of the American Negro, and to-day stands as our first and +greatest historian--George W. Williams. In prefacing his second +volume, he says: "I have tracked my bleeding countrymen through widely +scattered documents of American history; I have listened to their +groans, their clanking chains, and melting prayers, until the woes of +a race and the agonies of centuries seem to crowd upon my soul as a +bitter reality. Many pages of this history have been blistered with my +tears; and although having lived but a little more than a generation +my mind feels as if it were cycles old. + +"A short time ago the schools of the entire North were shut in his +face; and the few separate schools accorded him were given grudgingly. +They were usually held in the lecture room of some colored church or +thrust off to one side in a portion of the city or town toward which +aristocratic ambition would never turn. These schools were generally +poorly equipped; and the teachers were either colored persons whose +opportunities of securing an education had been poor, or white persons +whose mental qualifications would not encourage them to make an honest +living among their own race." + +It will not be necessary to enumerate the various insults and +discouragements which faced the noble pioneers of our race who, seeing +their fellow men denied the opportunities and privileges of securing +an education, scorned by the press and pulpit, in public and private +gatherings for their ignorance, set about to lift the Negro from his +low social and mental condition. + +The Negro turned his attention to the education of himself and his +children; schools were commenced, churches organized, and a new era of +self-culture and general improvement began. + +In Boston we see Thomas Paul, Leonard A. Grimes, John T. Raymond, +Robert Morris and John V. DeGrasse. + +In 1854 John V. DeGrasse was admitted to the Massachusetts Medical +Society, being the first instance of such an honor being conferred +upon a colored man in this country. + +In New York we find Rev. Henry Highland Garnet, Dr. Charles B. Ray, +Charles L. Reason and Jacob Day doing what they could to elevate the +Negro and place him on a higher intellectual plane. + +Philadelphia also added her quota to the list of noble men who were +striving to show to the world that the American Negro, although +enslaved, was a human being. We find such men as Robert Purvis, +William Still and Stephen Smith. + +In Western Pennsylvania and New York were John Peck, John B. Vashon +and Peyton Harris and all through the North, each state held colored +men who were anxious to do what they could to elevate the race, and it +seems as if God gave each one a special duty to perform, which +combined, made one mighty stimulus to the young colored youth to do +what he could to build up the Negro race. + +Do you ask if the Negro has advanced intellectually, I need only to +refer you to the showing made by the men and women of our race to-day. +The works of Frederick Douglass, John M. Langston, Blanche K. Bruce, +J. C. Price, are living testimonials of what the Negro accomplished a +generation ago. + +When we consider the fact that the Negro was of such import that laws +were made making it a misdemeanor to educate the Negro, both before +and after the Civil War; when we consider the Greek text books of +Professor Scarborough of Wilberforce used by one of the oldest +Colleges in America; when we consider the Presidents and Principals of +various Negro schools in our country, such as Livingston, N. C.; +Spellman Seminary, Atlanta, Ga.; Wilberforce, Ohio; Virginia Normal +and Collegiate; Shaw University; when we consider the place that our +honored clergy occupy among the intellectual men of the world; when we +consider the work of Booker T. Washington, we must admit that the love +of knowledge seems to be intuitive. No people ever learned more in so +short a time. + +Every year since the Civil War the American Negro has been taking on +better and purer traits of character. + +The Negro of to-day is materially different from the Negro of +yesterday. He delights in the education of his children, and from +every section of our Southland come letters asking for competent +colored teachers and educated ministers. The young man and woman who +educate themselves in our Northern colleges and normal schools do not +always have to turn their attention to the far South to seek fields of +labor, but in an honest competition, gain places of honor and trust in +the North. + +Think of the scores of young colored women all over our Northern +states teaching the "young idea how to shoot," and not a black face in +the class. We find colored women with large classes of white pupils in +St. Paul, Minn.; Chicago, Ill.; Detroit, Mich.; Cleveland, Ohio; +Buffalo, N. Y.; and other Northern cities. "From the state of +semi-civilization," says Williams, "in which he cared only for the +comforts of the present, his desires and wants have swept outward and +upward into the years to come and toward the Mysterious Future." + +Several hundred weekly newspapers, a dozen monthly magazines, +conducted by Negroes, are feeding the mind of the race, binding +communities together by the cords of common interest and racial +sympathy. The conditions around which the Negro was surrounded years +ago have disappeared and the Negro is as proud of his own society as +the whites are of theirs. Sociological study and laws have given to +our present generation the will power and tenacity to establish and +maintain a social standing equal with any of the races of the world. +Without a question of doubt he has shown moral qualities far in +advance of those which dominated in slave history and under which he +was constantly subjected. + +Has the Negro made any achievements along the lines of wealth? needs +only a review of statistics to answer the above question, for where +once was the rude cabin, and one-room hut, we now see the beautiful +homes with well kept stock and farm, hygienic stables as well as +artistic lawns. The first experiment the general masses of negroes had +in the saving of money was under that institution known as "The +Freedman's Saving and Trust Company." The institution started out +under the most favorable auspices. The depositors numbered among its +rank and file, day laborers, farmers, mechanics, house-servants, +barbers and washerwomen; thus showing to the entire country that the +emancipated Negro was not only working but by industry and economy was +saving his earnings. We know too well of the misplaced confidence in +that bank and how after a short time the bank failed and thousands of +colored men and women lost their earnings. During the brief period of +its existence $57,000,000 were deposited. Although the Freedman's Bank +caused many a colored person to shrink from any banking institution, +yet some were hopeful and again began to save money. Throughout the +entire South we find scores of colored men who have excellent farms, +elegant homes and small fortunes. + +"In Baltimore a company of colored men own a ship-dock and transact a +large business. Some of the largest orange plantations in Florida are +owned by colored men. On most of the plantations, and in many of the +large towns and cities colored mechanics are quite numerous." + +The total amount of property owned by the colored people in all the +states is rated at over $400,000,000. + +In the North, East and West we see many colored men with handsome +estates run high into the hundred thousands. Almost every large city +and town will show among her population a Negro here and there whose +wealth is rated between five and ten thousand dollars or more. + +Rev. A. G. Davis of Raleigh, N. C., in an address at the North +Carolina Agricultural Fair, said, "Scan, if you will, the long line of +eight million Negroes as they march slowly but surely up the road of +progress, and you will find in her ranks such men as Granville T. +Woods, of Ohio, the electrician, mechanical engineer, manufacturer of +telephones, telegraph and electrical instruments; William Still, of +Philadelphia, the coal dealer; Henry Tanner, the artist; John W. +Terry, foreman of the iron and fitting department of the Chicago West +Division Street Car Company; J. D. Baltimore, engineer, machinist, and +inventor, of Washington, D. C.; Wiley Jones, of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, +the owner of a street car railroad, race track and park; Richard +Hancock, foreman of the pattern shops of the Eagle Works and +Manufacturing Company, and draughtsman; John Beack, the inventor, +whose inventions are worth tens of thousands of dollars; W. C. Atwood, +the lumber merchant and capitalist." + +And now in review let me add that the social conditions of the +American Negro are such that he has shown to the world his aptitude +for study and general improvement. + +Before character, education and wealth, all barriers will melt, and +these are necessary to develop the growth of the race. + +From abject serfdom and pauperism he has risen to a plane far above +the masses of any race of people. + +By his industry and frugality he has made himself master of any +situation into which he has been placed, and none will deny that his +achievements along all lines have been commensurate with his +opportunities. + + +SECOND PAPER. + +DID THE AMERICAN NEGRO MAKE, IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, ACHIEVEMENTS +ALONG THE LINES OF WEALTH, MORALITY, EDUCATION, ETC., COMMENSURATE +WITH HIS OPPORTUNITIES? IF SO, WHAT ACHIEVEMENTS DID HE MAKE? + +BY JOSEPHINE SILONE YATES. + +[Illustration: Mrs. Josephine Silone Yates] + + MRS. JOSEPHINE SILONE YATES. + + Mrs. Josephine Yates, youngest daughter of Alexander and + Parthenia Reeve-Silone, was born in Mattiluck, Suffolk + County, N. Y., where her parents, grandparents and + great-grandparents were long and favorably known as + individuals of sterling worth, morally, intellectually and + physically speaking. On the maternal side Mrs. Yates is a + niece of the Rev. J. B. Reeve, D. D., of Philadelphia. + + Mrs. Silone, a woman of education and great refinement of + character, began the work of educating this daughter in her + quiet, Christian home, and both parents hoping that she + might develop into a useful woman spared no pains in + endeavoring to secure for her the education the child very + early showed a desire to obtain; and with this end in view + she was sent to Newport, R. I., in her fourteenth year, + having already spent one year at the Institute for Colored + Youth in Philadelphia, and Mrs. Coppin, then Miss Fannie + Jackson, with her vigorous intellect, aided the inspiration + the mother had begun. In 1877 Miss Silone graduated as + valedictorian of a large class from Rogers High School of + Newport; and although the only Colored member of her class, + and the first graduate of color, invariably she was treated + with the utmost courtesy by teachers, scholars and such + members of the School Board as Thomas Wentworth Higginson, + T. Coggeshall, and others. + + Two years later she graduated from the Rhode Island State + Normal School in Providence, and soon began her life work as + a teacher. During the eight years spent in Lincoln + Institute, Jefferson City, Mo., she had charge of the + Department of Natural Science, and was the first woman to be + elected to a professorship in that institution. + + In 1889 Miss Silone was married to Prof. W. W. Yates, + principal of Phillips School, Kansas City, Mo., and removed + to that city, where since she has been engaged in either + public or private school work. + + From the age of nine years she has been writing for the + press, and her articles have appeared in many leading + periodicals--for a long time under the signature "R. K. + Potter." Mrs. Yates has long been a zealous club worker and + is well known as a lecturer East and West. She was one of + the organizers and the first President of the Kansas City + Woman's League; and in the summer of 1901 was elected + President of the National Association of Colored Women, + which organization she had already served as Treasurer for a + period of four years. + + Mrs. Yates is the mother of two children, whose education + she carefully superintends, and is ever ready to comfort the + sick or to stop her round of duties to give counsel or + render help along any line possible to the many young people + and others who seek her door. + +The measure of the success of a race is the depths from which it has +come, and the condition under which it has developed. To know what the +Negro actually accomplished in the nineteenth century, one must know +something of his life and habitat previous to the year 1619, when +against his will or wish, he was brought to the Virginian coast; must +also know his life as a slave, and his opportunities since +emancipation. + +History shows that the Negroes brought from Africa to this country to +be sold into slavery were at the time in a more or less primitive +stage of uncivilized life; while the methods used to capture and +transport them to this "land of the free and home of the brave," +recently revived through the vivid pen pictures and other +illustrations running in serial form in Scribner's, Pearson's and +other reliable periodicals (accounts which bear the impress of truth, +and are hardly liable to the charge of having been written within too +close range of time and space, or vice versa, to be strictly +truthful), indicate the demoralizing and debasing effects of the +"system" from its initial period, this followed up by the blighting +influences of slave life, even under the most favorable conditions, +for nearly two hundred and fifty years, left upon Negro life and +character just the traits it would have left upon any other people +subjected to similar conditions for the same length of time. + +It may be said, and with truth, that slavery gave to the Negro some of +the arts of civilized life; but it must be added, that, denying him +the inalienable rights of manhood, denying him the right to the +product of his labor, it left him no noble incentive to labor at these +arts, and thus tended to render him improvident, careless, shiftless, +in short, to demoralize his entire nature. + +It is further stated that the system gave him Christianity. Did it +give him piety? Could it give him morality in the highest sense of +these terms? + +Constantine could march the refractory Saxons to the banks of a stream +and give them their option between Christianity and the sword, but the +haughty monarch soon found that a religion forced in this peremptory +and wholesale fashion did not change the moral nature of the soldier; +and we submit that Christianity, language, and the arts of civilized +life, absorbed amidst the debasing influences of a cruel and infamous +bondage could not be productive of a harmonious development of body, +mind and soul; of strong moral and intellectual fiber; or of ideas of +the dignity of labor; of habits of thrift, economy, the careful +expenditure of time and money; or knowledge of the intimate +relationship of these two great factors in the process of +civilization. These are results attained only where the rights of +manhood and womanhood are acknowledged and respected. The lack of +these results or basic impulses to advancement represent defects in +the Negro character, preventing a more rapid development in the +nineteenth century and directly traceable to his enslaved state; and +the origin or cause, the growth and subsequent development of these, +and other defects, must be taken into consideration before the Negro +is stamped as the greatest criminal on earth, wholly irredeemable; +before he is condemned in wholesale manner for not having made more +rapid strides toward advanced civilization in little more than one +generation of freedom. Indeed, it speaks well for the intrinsic merit +of the race, that although public opinion freely admits that the +natural outcome of bondage is a cowardly, thieving, brutal, or abject +specimen of humanity, even in the darkest hours of slavery, there were +many, many, high-born souls who, if necessary, at the price of life +itself, maintained their integrity, rose superior to their +surroundings, taught these same lofty sentiments to others. + +Emancipation and certain constitutional amendments brought freedom to +the material body of the erstwhile slave, but the soul, the higher +self, could not be so easily freed from the evils that slavery had +fastened upon it through centuries of debasement; and because of this +soul degradation the Negro, no less than the South, needed to be +physically, mentally and morally reconstructed. + +Reconstruction, the eradication of former characteristics, the growth +and development of new and more favorable ones, is with any race the +work of time. Generations must pass, and still it need not be expected +that the process will be full and complete; meanwhile, what measure of +success is the Negro achieving? Were his achievements in the +nineteenth century, educationally, morally, financially and otherwise +at all commensurate with his opportunities? + +The year 1863 saw four million Negroes come forth from a state of +cruel bondage with little of this world's goods that constitute +capital; with few of those incentives to labor that universally are +requisites to the full and free development of labor and capital. The +knowledge the Negro had of agriculture, of domestic life, and in some +cases, his high-grade mechanical skill, gave him something of a +vantage ground, but for nearly two hundred and fifty years he had been +so "worked" that it would be expecting too much to demand that he at +once comprehend the true dignity of labor. Nor was it to be expected +that to his untutored mind freedom and work were terms to be +intimately associated. Then there was a certain amount of +constitutional inertia to be overcome, a natural heritage of the +native of a tropical or semi-tropical climate, but quite incompatible +with the fierce competition of American civilization, or with the +material conditions of a people who owned in the entire country forty +years ago, only a few thousand dollars; and among whom education was +limited to the favored few whose previous estate either of freedom, +or by other propitious circumstance, had rendered its acquisition +possible. Organizations for business enterprise or any purpose of +reform and advancement, outside of the Northern cities, was +practically unknown. + +Evidently one of the first things to be done by which the Negro could +be reconstructed and become an intelligent member of society was to +educate him; teach him to provide for himself; making him more +provident and painstaking; teaching him self-reliance and +self-control; teaching him the value of time, of money, and the +intimate relationship of the two. Certainly not a light task. These +lessons could only be learned in the practical school of experience, +then, not in a day. And what has been accomplished? Forty years ago +there was not in the entire Southland a single Negro school; before +the close of the nineteenth century there were twenty thousand Negro +school houses, thirty thousand Negro teachers, and three million Negro +school children happily wending their way to the "Pierian Spring." + +Under the "system," generally speaking, it had been considered a crime +to teach the Negro to read or write; and the census of 1870 shows that +only two-tenths of all the Negroes of the United States, over ten +years of age, could write. Ten years later, the proportion had +increased to three-tenths of the whole number; while in 1890 only a +generation after emancipation, forty-three per cent of those ten years +and over were able to read and write; this proportion before the close +of the century reached forty-five per cent. + +To wipe out forty-five per cent of illiteracy in less than forty +years; to find millions of children in the common schools; to find +twenty thousand Negroes learning trades under the soul inspiring +banner of free labor; to find other thousands successfully operating +many commercial enterprises; among these, several banks, one cotton +mill, and one silk mill; to find Negroes performing four-fifths of the +free labor of the South, thus becoming a strong industrial factor of +the section is to furnish proof of achievements in the nineteenth +century of which we need not be ashamed; and considering the +restrictions of labor unions, the fields or classes of labor from +which the Negro is practically barred regardless of section, quite +commensurate with the opportunities afforded him during the period in +question. + +Within forty years the system of instruction in the American schools +has undergone some radical changes for the better; and if the system +in vogue at the beginning of this period, with the study of the +classics as the pivotal point, did not fit the practical needs of the +average Anglo-Saxon youth, with his heritage of centuries of culture, +it is not strange if some blunders were made in attempting to shape +this same classical education into a working basis for a people +emerging from a state of bondage in which to impart even the elements +of education, was considered a crime, generally speaking. + +Industrial, manual, or technical training had not, forty years ago, +taken firm hold upon the educational system, and school courses for +Negroes were planned after classical models, perhaps better suited in +many instances for students of a more advanced mentality and +civilization; for humanity at large can scarcely hope to escape the +slow and inevitable stages and processes of evolution. Individual +genius, however, bound by no law, may leap and bound from stage to +stage; and we point with pride to Negroes whose classic education in +the early decades of freedom served not only to prove their own +individual ability, but the capacity of the race for, and +susceptibility to, a high degree of culture at a time when such +demonstration was a prime necessity. + +We do not consider that any mistake was made in at once providing for +the classical or higher education of those who were mentally able to +receive it, and as brilliant achievements of the nineteenth century +from an educational standpoint, we refer with a keen sense of +gratification to the two thousand five hundred and twenty-five or more +college graduates who are helping to raise the standard of the race +from all points of view; to the real genius of the race that has given +us Douglass, Langston, Bruce, Washington, Tanner, Scarborough, Page, +Grisham, Miller, Dubois, Wright, Bowen, Crogman, Johnson, Dunbar, +Chestnutt and others too numerous to mention, whose names should be +enshrined in the hearts of present and future generations; to the +forty thousand Negro students pursuing courses in higher institutions +of learning; to the twelve thousand pursuing classical courses; to the +one hundred and twenty thousand taking scientific courses; to the one +hundred and fifty-six institutions for the higher education of +Negroes; to the two thousand practicing physicians; to the three +hundred newspapers and the five hundred books written and published by +Negroes; to a gradually increasing discrimination in all those matters +of taste and form which mark the social status of a people, and give +to the individual, or the mass, the, perhaps, indefinable, but at the +same time, distinctive, stamp of culture. + +These achievements, alone, within less than forty years of freedom, +serve to demonstrate our fitness for civilization, and also, that as +the years pass there is a still greater necessity for Negroes who +possess a broad, a liberal, a well balanced education; and at the same +time a similar need for Negroes possessing shrewd, business ability; a +high degree of mechanical skill; extensive knowledge of industrial +arts and sciences, and of profitably invested capital. + +From the early years of freedom a few leaders, as at Hampton, +realized, that the great mass of Negroes needed first of all +experimental knowledge of the dignity of labor such as could never +result from labor performed under the conditions of slavery; that they +needed to know more of skilled labor in order to be able to meet and +enter the fierce competition of American industrial life, or even to +live upon the plane of American civilization; and in spite of adverse +criticism, these leaders proceeded to establish industrial and manual +training schools for the Negro, with such elementary training as from +their point of view seemed most beneficial. That the methods chosen +have been rich in results, it is only necessary to know something of +the deep and extensive influence of Hampton, Tuskegee, Normal, and +other industrial schools, in directly, or indirectly, improving the +environment and daily life of the masses. + +The insidious and ultimate effect of slavery upon the normal and +spiritual nature of the enslaved is to blunt, to entirely efface the +finer instincts and sensibilities, to take away those germs of manhood +and womanhood that distinguish the lowest savage from the beasts of +the field. Continue this soul-debasement for centuries, deny the slave +the right to home, the right to family--ties which universally prove +the greatest stimulus to courage, patriotism, morality, +civilization--then declare the emancipated slave a brute, for whom +education does nothing, because in little more than a generation he +has not wiped out all of the degradation that the conditions of +generations instilled and intensified! + +Criminologists, discussing the apparent increase of crime in this +country, assert that this apparent increase is largely due to the more +complete records kept of criminals within the last forty years than +formerly, and the better facilities for ferreting out crime and for +subjecting offenders to the penalty of the law; and it may be added, +in the Negro's case, as recently stated by a Kansas City judge, a +native of Georgia, noted for his unprejudiced views and fair dealing, +"It takes less evidence to convict a Negro than it does a white man; +and a longer term in the penitentiary will be given a Negro for the +same offense than will be given a white offender. That is why I have +been so frequently compelled to cut down the sentence of Negroes." The +entire history of the chain-gang system corroborates these +statements--a system that helps to increase the reported number of +criminals; and although race riots, lynchings and massacres may seem +to indicate the opposite to the uninitiated, the Negro is not a +lawless element of society. In the United States a natural +restlessness has possessed him since emancipation, and it requires +time to work out and adjust conditions under which he can develop +normally from the standpoint of morality as well as from other points +of view. Meanwhile, the prime necessity to raise the moral status is +the development and upbuilding of that which in its highest +embodiment, was denied him in the days of bondage--the home. We need +homes, homes, homes, where intelligence and morality rule. And what +was accomplished in this line in the nineteenth century? From owning +comparatively few homes forty years ago, the Negro advanced before the +close of the century to the position of occupying one million five +hundred thousand farms and homes; and of owning two hundred and +seventy-five thousand of these; many of them, as shown by views, +forming a part of the exhibit at the Paris Exposition and elsewhere, +compare favorably with the homes of any people. + +As to the intelligence and morality that constitute the environment of +the great mass of these homes owned by Negroes, the statistics of +education and of crime show that Negro criminals do not, as a rule, +come from the refined and educated classes, but from the most +illiterate, the stupid, and the besotted element; from the class that +has not been reached by the moral side of education, if at all. Says +the compiler of the eleventh census: "Of juvenile criminals the +smallest ratio is found among Negroes." This speaks well for the +general atmosphere of the home life of our youth; while the bravery +displayed by the colored man in every war of American independence has +demonstrated his ability to risk life fearlessly "in defense of a +country in which too many states permit his exclusion from the rights +of citizenship." Such sacrifice presupposes a moral ideal of the +highest type. + +The position of the women of the race, always an index to the real +progress of a people, in spite of slanderous attacks from unscrupulous +members of her own and other races, is gradually improving, and was +materially aided and abetted by the liberal ideas that especially +obtained in the latter half of the century with reference to the +development of women--irrespective of race or color--along the line of +education, the professions, the industrial arts, etc. + +As to the advancement of the Negro from a financial standpoint, it is +possible that his achievements during the period in question might +have been greater; yet both from within and without there have been +many hindrances to overcome in the matter of accumulating wealth. + +One of the greatest crimes of the slave system was that in practically +denying to the slave the right to the product of his labor or any part +thereof; it, to all intents and purposes destroyed his acquisitive +faculty; thus he had small incentive to labor when free; and as the +years went by, accumulated little in the shape of capital; showed +little interest in profitable investment of his savings, if he were so +fortunate as to have any. The great number of secret orders, and other +schemes for the unwary, the main object of which apparently was to +"bury the people" with great pomp and show, drained his pockets of +most of the surplus change. + +The Freedmen's Bureau sought to establish Negroes as peasant +proprietors of the soil on the farms and plantations of the stricken +South, and dreams of "forty acres and a mule" for a long time +possessed the more ambitious only, in many instances, to meet a rude +awakening; but notwithstanding the fact that the system of renting +land, combined with the credit system of obtaining the necessities of +life while waiting for the production and sale of the crop, is not +conducive to the ownership of land on the part of the tenant; +notwithstanding the very natural tendency on the part of the Negro to +disassociate ideas of freedom and of tilling the soil, added to a +desire to segregate in large cities in place of branching out to the +sparsely settled districts of the great West and Northwest, there to +take up rich farming lands and by a pioneer life to mend his fortunes +in company with the peasants of other nations who are thus acquiring a +firm foothold and a competence for their descendants; we repeat--in +spite of the facts mentioned--before the close of the century the +Negro had accumulated farms and homes valued in the neighborhood of +seven hundred and fifty million dollars; personal property valued at +one hundred and seventy millions; and had raised eleven millions for +educational purposes. From these, and such other statistics as are +available, relative to the achievements of the Negro in the United +States during the nineteenth century, bearing in mind our first +proposition--the measure of the success of a people is the depths +from which it has come--we conclude that educationally, morally, +financially, the Negro has accomplished by means of the opportunities +at his command about all that could be expected of him or any other +race under similar conditions. + +That the Negro has made mistakes goes without saying. All races as +well as all individuals have made them, but--"Let the dead past bury +its dead." + +The great problem confronting this and future generations is and will +be, how to surpass or even equal our ancestors in bringing about +results that make for the upbuilding of sterling character; how with +our superior advantages to make the second forty years of freedom and +the entire future life proportionally worthy of honorable mention. + + "Build to-day, then strong and sure, + With a firm and ample base, + And ascending and secure + Shall to-morrow find its place. + Thus alone can we attain + To those turrets, where the eye + Sees the world as one vast plain, + And one boundless reach of sky." + + +THIRD PAPER. + +DID THE AMERICAN NEGRO MAKE, IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, ACHIEVEMENTS +ALONG THE LINES OF WEALTH, MORALITY, EDUCATION, ETC., COMMENSURATE +WITH HIS OPPORTUNITIES? IF SO, WHAT ACHIEVEMENTS DID HE MAKE? + +BY REV. J. W. E. BOWEN, D. D. + +[Illustration: J. W. E. Bowen, D. D.] + + J. W. E. BOWEN, A. M., PH. D., D. D. + + Dr. John Wesley Edward Bowen was born in New Orleans. His + father, Edward Bowen, went to New Orleans from Washington, + D. C. He was a free man, a boss carpenter and builder by + trade, and able to read, write and cipher. He was highly + esteemed, was prosperous in business, accumulated some money + and lived in comfort. Dr. Bowen's mother, Rose Bowen, he + says, was the grand-daughter of an African Princess of the + Jolloffer tribe, on the west coast of Africa. When he was + three years old his father bought him and his mother out of + slavery. When he was thirteen he went to the preparatory + school of New Orleans University for colored people, + established after the war by the Methodist Episcopal church. + When he was seventeen he entered the University proper, and + five years later he was graduated with the degree of A. B. + At the age of seventeen he was converted in a Methodist + revival meeting, and nine months later was licensed as a + local preacher, and has been preaching ever since. + + Soon after his graduation Dr. Bowen became Professor of + Latin and Greek in the Central Tennessee College, at + Nashville, in which position he remained for four years. In + 1882 he resigned his professorship and entered Boston + University, where he studied four years, taking the degree + of B. D. in 1885; and the degree of Ph. D. in 1887 from the + school of all sciences of Boston University. He also did + special advanced work in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Chaldee, + Arabic and German, and in Metaphysics and Psychology. + + He was the first colored man in the Methodist church to take + the degree of Ph. D. and the second colored man to take the + degree in any university in this country. + + Soon after leaving the university, Dr. Bowen joined the New + England Methodist Conference, and was appointed pastor of + the Revere Street Church. While in New England he also + preached acceptably in many white churches--serving one for + a month, and was asked to become their pastor after this + period. After serving St. John's colored church in Newark + three years, he became pastor of the Centennial Methodist + Episcopal church in Baltimore, and at the same time + professor of church history in the Morgan college for + colored people in that city. During this pastorate he + conducted a phenomenal revival in which there were 735 + conversions. + + Dr. Bowen next was the pastor of Asbury Methodist Episcopal + church in Washington for three years, and at the same time + Professor of Hebrew in Howard University for colored people + in that city. He here acquired a national fame as a scholar, + orator and thinker. During this pastorate he pursued the + study of the Semitic languages in the school of + correspondence of Dr. W. R. Harper, then at Yale University. + When he resigned his positions at Washington, he became for + one year a Field Secretary of the Missionary Society of the + Methodist Episcopal church, retaining his Washington + residence. + + Dr. Bowen was next elected Professor of Historical Theology + in Gammon Theological Seminary for colored people at + Atlanta, Ga., which position he still holds. In consequence + of the resignation of the president, the Rev. Dr. + Thierkield, he has been for several months the chairman of + the faculty, and the executive officer of the institution. + He is also the Secretary of the Stewart Foundation for + Africa, a member of the American Negro Academy, and a member + of the American Historical Association, which last society + numbers among its members some of the most learned men in + this and other countries. Dr. Bowen received the degree of + A. M. from the University of New Orleans in 1886, and that + of D. D. from Gammon Theological Seminary in 1892. + + Amid all these engrossing occupations, Dr. Bowen has been a + voluminous writer and an indefatigable lecturer. His + publications include a volume of sermons and addresses, + "Plain Talks to the Colored People of America," "Appeal to + the King," "The Comparative Status of the Negro at the Close + of the War and To-day," "The Struggle for Supremacy Between + Church and State in the Middle Ages," and "The American and + the African Negro." He has now ready for the press a volume + of "University Addresses" and a volume of "Discussions in + Philosophy and Theory;" also "The History of the Education + of the Negro Race." + + Dr. Bowen was voted for at the last General Conference for + Bishop. He stood second on first ballot. His friends predict + that he will be elected at the forthcoming General + Conference. + +Inference and conjecture are the stock methods of argument of the +unintelligent or the superficially informed. Such indisposition or +incapacity leads to erroneous conclusions. Nothing but an appeal to +facts involving careful and painstaking labor and a wise sifting of +facts, that myth and legend be eliminated, should claim the attention +of thinking men. It must be confessed, however, that in any discussion +that relates to the comparative status of the Negro over against his +standing in slavery full and accurate data are lacking. The +statistical science of to-day was unknown then, and it is next to the +impossible to affirm positively the relative superiority or +inferiority of present day growth over those of that day. This +statement is not made to deny the truth of the immense stride of the +latter times, but it is made as a reasonable off-set to those +prejudicial and dogmatic declarations of the superior conditions of +slavery over those of freedom. Dogmatism is the argument of the bigot. +It is not wide of the truth, to say that the claims of certain writers +that the Negro has retrograded physically, morally and socially, lacks +the confirmation of veritable data. It is admitted that the modern +diseases of civilized life have made inroads into his hardy nature, +but the universal declaration of inferiority is not proved. It is also +true that in isolated cases physicians of that day noted the +comparative freedom of the blacks from the maladies of ennui and +bacchanalian feastings, but no half-kept record of that day is before +us to justify the statement that the Negro of to-day is superior to +his mighty sire of ante-bellum fame that stood between the plow +handles all day and danced or shouted all night. The increase of +zymotic diseases is admitted, but there has been a corresponding +increase of power in many lines that will more than counteract this +baleful growth. + +Again, over against this admission may be placed another statement of +fact, not to minify the truth already alluded to, but to illustrate +the futility of basing an entire argument upon one arm of a syllogism, +viz.: the Negro's numerical growth since freedom sung in his ears, is +a clear evidence of physical vitality. This growth has kept pace with +the glowing prophecies of statisticians. + +Let us subdivide the subject, that the facts may be grouped in a +logical order. Let us study the growth of the race under three heads: +Numerical growth, material growth, moral and social growth. + +Growth in numbers is growth in power of resistance, and this is basal +in the life of any people. If there be not found in a people a power +to resist the forces of death and to reproduce itself by the natural +laws of race increase, then such a people should not be counted in the +struggle of races. In other words, race fecundity contains the germs +of intellectual and national existence. + +At the distance of forty years from slavery, the declarations of the +early extinction of the Negro, under the conditions of freedom, are +comical and absurd. It was affirmed with all the authority of divine +prophecy that the Negro race could not exist under any other condition +than slavery, and this concern became a basis for contending for his +continued enslavement. + +The unvarnished facts brought to light by cold mathematicians are now +before us, and a few interesting and startling discoveries are placed +before us. In the next place growth in material productions and the +possession of the fruits of civilized life deserve attention. + +The story of the burdens and disadvantages of the Negro at the +beginning of his days of freedom has not yet been committed to paper. +It will require a black writer to perform this deed. But it is within +the limits of truth to affirm that history can furnish no burdens upon +a race's shoulders parallel to those upon the shoulders of the +untutored black man when he was shot out of the mouth of the cannon +into freedom's arena. A Hindoo poet, of English blood, has written a +beautiful poem upon the "White Man's Burden," but it is poetry. "The +Black Man's Burden" is a burden that rests upon his heart, and, like +the deepest feelings of the human heart, it cannot be reduced to cold +type. Thomas Nelson Page describes the untoward beginnings of the +race: + +"No other people ever had more disadvantages to contend with on their +issue into freedom. They were seduced, deceived, misled. Their habits +of industry were destroyed, and they were fooled into believing that +they could be legislated into immediate equality with a race that, +without mentioning superiority of ability and education, had a +thousand years' start of them. They were made to believe that their +only salvation lay in aligning themselves against the other race, and +following blindly the adventurers who came to lead them to a new +promised land. It is no wonder that they committed great blunders and +great excesses. For nearly a generation they have been pushed along +the wrong road. But now, in place of political leaders, who were +simply firebrands, is arising a new class of leaders, which, with a +wider horizon, a deeper sagacity and a truer patriotism, are +endeavoring to establish a foundation of morality, industry and +knowledge, and to build upon them a race that shall be capable of +availing itself of every opportunity that the future may present, and +worthy of whatever fortune it may bring." + +Slavery did not teach him economy; on the contrary, it taught him +profligacy, and, where he learned to economize, it was in spite of the +system. His wastefulness is not yet a thing of the past, but he has +made commendable advance in learning how to save. What are the facts? +In the state of Georgia alone, the Negro has dug out of the hills more +than $30,000,000 of taxable property. This amount represents more +than five times the entire wealth of all the Negroes of the United +States, North and South, bond and free, taxable and personal, at the +birth of freedom. But when we collect together the wealth of the +entire race, the figures read like romance. + +Some facts for reflection: + +Four millions of slaves were valued at $3,500,000,000. Negroes own 87 +per cent of their homes in fee simple; 89 per cent of their farms are +unencumbered. + + They own, Banks 3 + Magazines 5 + Newspapers 400 + + Value of Libraries $ 500,000 + Drug stores 500,000 + School property 20,000,000 + Church property 42,000,000 + 160,000 farms 400,000,000 + 150,000 homes 350,000,000 + Personal property 200,000,000 + +With these facts undisputed, the question, Has the Negro kept pace +with his opportunities? contains its own affirmative answer. It is an +incomparable achievement that the Negro should have accumulated and +saved this vast amount of wealth within the short space of forty +years. + +In the social and intellectual life the Negro has surpassed all hopes. +There can be furnished by the race a thoroughly equipped man for any +chair of learning for a university. He began with the blue-back +spelling book and has steadily grown in learning and power until he +now occupies a respectable position in the literary world. + +But the pivotal point that is determinative in this discussion, and +that which is considered the conclusion of the whole matter, is the +moral and social question, as well as the domestic virtues of which +woman is the queen. The accumulation of property, and the achievements +in the world of letters, admirable as they are in themselves, and for +purposes of civilization, are secondary and valueless in the final +analysis, if there is no corresponding moral development and social +power. The evolution of the family, based upon monogamy, is one of the +chief glories of Christianity over against the libertinism and +polygamous practices of paganism. + +Speaking of the women of our race, we cannot but speak the things +which we have seen and heard. With Dr. Crummell, "In her girlhood all +the delicate tenderness of her sex has been rudely outraged. In the +field, in the rude cabin, in the press-room and in the factory, she +was thrown into the companionship of coarse and ignorant men. No +chance was given her for delicate reserve or tender modesty. From her +girlhood she was the doomed victim of the grossest passions. All the +virtues of her sex were utterly ignored. If the instinct of chastity +asserted itself, then she had to fight like a tigress for the +ownership and possession of her own person, and oftentimes had to +suffer pains and lacerations for her virtuous self assertion. When she +reached maturity all the tender instincts of her womanhood were +ruthlessly violated. At the age of marriage, always prematurely +anticipated under slavery, she was mated as the stock of the +plantation were mated, not to be the companion of a loved and chosen +husband, but to be the breeder of human cattle for the field or +auction block." + +Has this condition of affairs changed? I answer unequivocally, yea, a +thousand times, yea. A negative answer would be the quintessence of +ignorance. From a recent careful survey of every Southern state +through nearly one hundred trusty observers, I have the testimony that +the young women are pure in large numbers, and are rapidly increasing +in an intense desire and determination to preserve themselves chaste +and pure from the lustful approaches of the sinner, and that the +number of legally and lovingly married families, purely preserved in +the domestic and social virtues among husbands and wives, sons and +daughters, is so far beyond the days of slavery that a comparison +would minify the difference. + +The marvel is, that the Negro has sufficient moral vitality left to +cut his way through the whirlpool of licentiousness to the solid rock +of Christian character. From the harem life of promiscuous and +unnameable sins of slavery, some of which were the natural and fatal +growth of pagan vices, others the fruit of prostitution, to the making +of one clean, beautiful, noble and divine family and home, covers a +period of intense, moral, spiritual and intellectual development, more +significant than the geologic transformation of ages. Be it known that +this one family can be duplicated by a hundred thousand and more. + +The moral and social darkness has not been increased either in quality +or intensity. The splendid results of philanthropic effort have +served only as a small tallow candle which has been brought into the +darkness of this Egyptian night, and the darkness has thickened +relatively only because the light has been brought in. That faint and +flickering light reveals how great the darkness has been, and is. Some +think that the shadows are lengthening into eternal night for the +Negro, but that flickering light within has upon it the breath of God +which will some day fan it into the white and penetrating blazes of +the electro-carbon searchlight, that shall chase away the curse of +slavery. Thus, from every point of view, the growth of the Negro has +more than kept pace with his opportunities. + + +FOURTH PAPER. + +DID THE AMERICAN NEGRO MAKE, IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, ACHIEVEMENTS +ALONG THE LINES OF WEALTH, MORALITY, EDUCATION, ETC., COMMENSURATE +WITH HIS OPPORTUNITIES? IF SO, WHAT ACHIEVEMENTS DID HE MAKE? + +BY REV. M. C. B. MASON. + +[Illustration: Rev. M. C. B. Mason, Ph. D.] + + REV. M. C. B. MASON, PH. D. + + Rev. Dr. M. C. B. Mason, senior corresponding secretary of + the Freedmen's Aid and Southern Education Society of the + Methodist Episcopal Church, was born of slave parents near + Houma, La., March 27, 1859. In 1857, two years before young + Mason was born, his father purchased his own freedom, paying + $1,350. The papers were never legally made out and his + father had to wait with other members of the family for the + Emancipation Proclamation to secure their freedom. + + Young Mason was twelve years of age before he had ever seen + a school-house, having entered school in July, 1871, and + mastered the alphabet the first day. Subsequently he + attended a school of higher grade and in 1888 graduated from + the New Orleans University from the regular classical + course. Two years afterward he entered the Gammon + Theological Seminary at Atlanta. Ga., graduating therefrom + in 1891. Immediately after his graduation he matriculated in + the Syracuse University, at Syracuse, N. Y., taking the + "non-resident course" leading to the degree of Doctor of + Philosophy. + + In July of the same year he was elected Field Agent of the + Freedmen's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, + being the first colored man ever called to such a position. + So successfully did he prosecute his work that at the + General Committee meeting, which met in New York in 1893, he + was elected Assistant Corresponding Secretary, and in May, + 1896, at the General Conference in Cleveland, composed of + 537 representatives, only 69 of whom were colored, he was + elected Corresponding Secretary, with a majority of 104 + votes against 11 competitors, all of whom were white. Four + years later at the General Conference which assembled in + Chicago, Dr. Mason was re-elected and made Senior + Corresponding Secretary, receiving the largest vote ever + given to any General Conference Secretary in the history of + the Methodist Episcopal Church. This is all the more + remarkable when it is remembered that there were 14 + candidates in a body composed of 701 representatives, of + whom only 73 were colored. It will be remembered also that + the salary paid a General Conference Officer of the + Methodist Episcopal Church is the same as that paid to the + Bishops, and Dr. Mason is no exception to the rule. + + The Doctor is quite a success as a money raiser and has + secured hundreds of thousands of dollars during the ten + years he has been connected with this great educational + institution of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The + Freedmen's Aid and Southern Educational Society has educated + hundreds and thousands of men and women of our race, and has + an average attendance of over seven thousand young men and + women of color in its schools every year. Dr. Mason is thus + brought in contact with more young men and women of the race + than any other Negro in America. And the whole race is very + largely indebted to him for the work which, through this + institution, he is accomplishing. + + As an orator the Doctor has no superiors, and few equals. He + is in great demand all over the country, especially in the + North. We are told that he has been offered $6,000 per year + with a guarantee for ten years, if he would resign his + present position and take the lecture platform. This offer + he has constantly refused preferring to remain in the work + where he can be more useful to his own people. + + During a recent trip to Europe he was in constant demand for + lectures in London, Glasgow, Belfast and among the English + colony in France. + +The progress made by the Negro since emancipation has challenged the +admiration and wonder of the world. In all the annals of the world's +history, there is no parallel to it, and this progress, remarkable as +it is, has been in all lines, and in all departments of his life and +activity. Indeed, it would be quite a problem to be able to declare in +what particular line he has made the most progress. To secure some +adequate conception of what he is to-day, we must compare him with +what he was yesterday. In no other way can we come to any +comprehensive idea of the progress which he has made and the work +which he has accomplished. + +A generation ago, he had practically nothing. He started out with +scarcely a name--poor, ignorant, degraded, demoralized, as slavery +left him. Without a home, without a foot of land, without the true +sense of real manhood, ragged, destitute, so freedom found him. He +stood at one end of the cotton row with his master at the other and as +he stepped out into the new and inexperienced life before him his +master still claimed him and the very clothes upon his back. Under +these peculiar circumstances and amid these peculiar difficulties he +began life for himself. He had, however, learned how to work; so much +he brought out of slavery with him; and right royal service it has +rendered him. What is he to-day? From this humble beginning of a +generation ago when he had absolutely nothing he has begun to acquire +something of this world's goods. He has been getting for himself a +home, some land, some money in bank, and some interest in stocks and +bonds. His industry, thrift and economy are everywhere in evidence and +he is bravely and consciously struggling toward the plane where his +vindication as a man and a citizen is what he is and what he has +acquired. In Louisiana he pays taxes on twelve millions, in Georgia on +fourteen millions and in South Carolina on thirteen millions. A recent +statistician, writing for the New York Sun, estimates his wealth North +and South at four hundred millions. During the last few years much of +this accumulation of property is in farm land which everywhere is +rapidly increasing in value. In this matter of securing a home and +some land, the Negro's achievements are certainly commensurate with +his opportunities. + +In education his progress is even more clearly manifest. There are +to-day 2,912,912 Negro children of school age in the United States. Of +these 1,511,618 are enrolled in the public schools and the average +attendance is sixty-seven per cent of the enrollment. In addition to +the 1,511,618 who are enrolled in the public schools 50,000 more are +attending schools under the care and maintenance of the church. In +this work all the leading denominations of the country are +represented. The Freedmen's Aid and Southern Educational Society of +the Methodist Episcopal Church among the first, if not the very first +to engage in this work, has under its care forty-seven institutions of +Christian learning, twenty of which are mainly for the education of +the colored people. These institutions are scattered all over the +sixteen former slave states and have possibly sent out more graduates +as teachers, preachers, physicians, dentists, pharmacists and +industrial workers than any other institution or set of institutions +doing work in the South. In addition to the work of the Freedmen's Aid +and Southern Educational Society there are the American Missionary +Association, under Congregational auspices, the Baptist Home +Missionary Society, the Presbyterian Home Missionary Society, the +Lutheran Evangelical Society--all of which support institutions for +Christian learning for the education of the colored people throughout +the South. These schools are mainly for the higher and secondary +education of the Negro and have accomplished untold good. There are +to-day nearly 30,000 Negro teachers in the United States and a careful +estimate will show that these church schools have sent out over +20,000 of them. And these teachers, prepared by these church schools, +commonly so called, were the first to take their places in the public +schools as rapidly as they were opened and these, in the very nature +of the case, represent a very large per cent of the teaching force +even at the present time. + +Again distinctively Negro bodies of churchmen, especially Baptists and +Methodists, are also carrying forward a commendable work of Christian +education among their own people. Some schools of excellent standing +in the African Methodist Episcopal, the African Methodist Episcopal +Zion and the Colored Methodist Episcopal Churches are doing most +effective work and the results are being felt in all directions. + +The work of industrial education is steadily growing in all sections +of the South, and is destined more and more to occupy a prominent +place in the education of our people. The emphasis placed upon this +line of education at Hampton Institute, Hampton, Va., Claflin +University at Orangeburg, S. C., and Tuskegee Institute at Tuskegee, +Ala., is having its effect in many other places. New Orleans, +Louisiana, Wilmington, Delaware, Nashville, Tennessee, and several +other cities have adopted some lines of industrial education in their +public schools, and in some places it is compulsory. Consequently, +industrial education, which, a few years ago, was mainly confined to a +few institutions, has been, in some form or other, adopted in a large +number of cities both in the North and in the South. The results of +this line of work are already seen. Hundreds of industrial artisans +and trained mechanics are scattered here and there all over the South, +and are practically and effectively solving the problem. + +In addition to the work of general education, Negroes have entered all +the learned professions, and are succeeding beyond the most sanguine +expectations of their friends. This is especially true in medicine, +pharmacy and dentistry. The Negro lawyer has done well. He has had a +difficult field, and the fact that some have acquired sufficient +ability and influence to practice before the Supreme Court of the +United States, speaks well for the race in this difficult field. But, +the success of the Negro physician is perhaps the most remarkable in +any line of professional work to which he has aspired. From the +results of careful study made by an eminent statistician, it was found +that the average salary of white physicians in the United States is +about $700, and the average salary of Negro physicians is $1,444 per +annum. The encouraging feature about this whole matter is that as +physicians among us increase, the greater is the increase in the +average salary. While dentists and pharmacists have not succeeded +quite so well, yet the success of the physician has directly opened an +avenue for the pharmacists, and has indirectly helped the dentist. +Consequently, in nearly every town of any considerable size in the +South to-day, there are four or five prosperous Negro physicians, with +two or three drug stores, where Negro pharmacists carefully compound +their prescriptions, and have the confidence and respect of the entire +community. + +The Negro is progressing morally. From whatever standpoint you view +him he is getting away from the past and wiping the reproach of Egypt +from him. Any careful observer will see at once that in the field of +ethics and morals a veritable revolution has taken place among the +Negroes during the present generation. There is still, however, much +room for improvement, and to this perhaps, more than to any one thing, +the race must now turn its attention. Some questions regarding his +inability to learn have all been settled by the remarkable +achievements which he has made in all lines of intellectual endeavor, +but it must still be confessed that in the field of morals and +manners, the charge is still made, and that not without some semblance +of truth, that evidences of the essential qualities of sturdy and +manly character are not as clearly manifest among us as they should +be. + +Here the problem comes home and the Negro, as ever, is the most +important factor. The pertinent question is not what shall be done +with the Negro, but rather what will the Negro do with himself. This +is the question, and the answer he gives to it will largely depend, in +no small degree, whether he shall continue to be an insignificant +element in this Nation or become more a living factor in its growth +and development. Here I repeat it, is the question and this is the +problem. Intellectual ability is good, but individual purity is +better. Rights and privileges are in themselves good, but to make +ourselves worthy of them is infinitely better. It is encouraging and +gratifying to know that so many are getting a correct interpretation +of life's deeper meanings and are daily coming into possession of +higher and purer ideals. Who can say that the Negro has not made +progress commensurate with his opportunities? + + +FIFTH PAPER. + +DID THE AMERICAN NEGRO MAKE, IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, ACHIEVEMENTS +ALONG THE LINES OF WEALTH, MORALITY, EDUCATION, ETC., COMMENSURATE +WITH HIS OPPORTUNITIES? IF SO, WHAT ACHIEVEMENTS DID HE MAKE? + +BY REV. D. WEBSTER DAVIS. + +[Illustration: Rev. D. Webster Davis] + + REV. DANIEL WEBSTER DAVIS. + + Randall and Charlotte Davis, who were valued servants on a + Caroline County farm, found themselves, March 25, 1862, the + parents of a little black boy, who brought gladness and + sorrow to their hearts. Gladness, because the Lord had sent + them a boy, and he was their boy, bone of their bone, flesh + of their flesh, blood of their blood. Sorrow, because, while + he was their child, he was "_Marster's_" child too; he + belonged to "_Marster_" more than he did to them. + + War was raging. The Negro cabins knew little else but + muffled prayers, stifled songs, unuttered sermons--all for + deliverance. From the cabin to the broad fields of tobacco + these emotions and utterances were carried daily. Father + preached, mother prayed. Singing was but the opening of the + oppressed heart. Those were troublous years, heart-aching + years. Years of consecration, fixed and unceasing, to the + God of Freedom. In such an atmosphere the boy was nurtured + and reared. + + The war was over. The boy over whom mother and father had + prayed had changed from a chattel, a thing of barter, to a + free child, belonging only to mother and father. What a + change! + + Entering the public schools of Richmond, step by step, grade + by grade was passed with honor and public commendation, + until June, 1878, when D. Webster Davis graduated from the + Richmond High and Normal School, receiving at the same time + the Essayist Medal. + + In 1880 the subject of our sketch commenced to teach in the + public schools of Richmond and has taught therein + continuously ever since, and is to-day rated as one of the + best and most progressive in the system. + + September 8, 1893, Mr. Davis married Miss Lizzie Smith, a + teacher in the Richmond public schools. From this happy + union three children have been born. + + In October, 1895, feeling that the time had come for him to + be about his Father's business he was ordained to the + ministry. + + From a child he babbled in verse, and the poetic muse + brought in 1896, "Idle Moments" and in 1898, "Weh Down + Souf." These two books established the name of Rev. Mr. + Davis as a poet and have given him front rank with his + contemporaries in verse-making. + + Guadaloupe College, Seguin, Texas, recognizing the + meritorious work of Rev. Davis bestowed upon him the degree + of A. M. in 1898. + + Rev. Mr. Davis is at present pastor of the Second Baptist + Church of Manchester, where he has an ideal growing church + of young folks, which work he began in 1895. + + In the winter of 1900, the Central Lyceum Bureau of + Rochester, N. Y., engaged the services of Rev. Davis for a + four-weeks' reading tour, reading selections from his own + works. The whole tour was an ovation, showing that texture + of hair and color of skin cannot destroy that aristocracy of + intellect, that charmed inner circle wherein "a man is a man + for a' that." + + The Lord has been good to Rev. Daniel Webster Davis, + blessing him with intellectual force, blessing him with + poetic utterance, blessing him with oratorical ability, + blessing him in domestic felicity. Not yet in his prime, yet + so richly endowed in the gifts which make men strong and + powerful, it is hoped that he may be spared many years to + work in the Master's vineyard, and many years to labor for + the uplift of his race, oppressed and downtrodden. + + May he expand and grow greater, remembering that he is God's + servant, endowed for the benefit of his race, blessed, so + that he may bless his people made strong, so that he may + reach down and lift his people up, growing brighter and + better unto the present day. + +To the superficial observer, it would sometimes appear that the +American Negro did not make achievements commensurate with his +opportunities, during the nineteenth century. Yet, on taking a more +comprehensive view, the student of history and sociology must decide +in the affirmative. + +In deciding upon the comparative progress of a race, along the lines +of a higher civilization, care must be taken as to the standard by +which he is to be measured, and what has been his real opportunities. +Civilization is a plant of slow growth, as evidenced by the history of +all Nations that have accomplished great things in the past. There is +a difference, as wide as the heavens, between the refined and cultured +Englishman of to-day, and the rough, uncouth Norseman of the ninth +century; but more than a thousand years were required to bring about +that transformation. A difference, as wide as the poles, exists +between the ancient Gauls, who were conquered by the Franks in the +tenth century, and the Chesterfieldian Frenchman of to-day; yet the +same time elapsed between these two periods. There is just as marked a +difference, in many respects, between those twenty uncouth savages, +brought to the shores of Virginia in 1620, and the best specimens of +the American Negro of to-day, and yet only 287 years lie between the +former and the latter. + +The next question that naturally rises is, "What have been the real +opportunities of the American Negro?" Brought here a savage from his +native wilds, and thrown into abject, and, in many cases, cruel +slavery, he yet received from this iniquitous institution something of +God. As Dr. Booker T. Washington so well says: "He went into slavery, +practically, without a language, and came out speaking the beautiful +English, the finest language to convey thought, ever devised by the +mind of man. He went in without a God, and came out with the Christian +religion." These are powerful agencies for civilization, and yet, the +debasing influence of slavery has done much to hinder, while it has +done something to help him. Only a comparatively few Negroes came into +direct contact with the best side of American civilization, during +slavery. The housemaids, coachmen, body-servants and, in many cases, +the cooks came in direct contact with the civilization of the "Great +House," and their superiority, and, in many cases, that of their +ancestry, is still apparent. The "corn field Negro" (and they +outnumbered the others 200 to 1) received none of the influences of +this civilization, and none of the opportunities accorded the more +favored servants around the "Great House." + +When we take into consideration all of these circumstances, coupled +with the fact that when "cut loose" from slavery in 1865, it was a +matter of "root hog or die" with him for many years; and that only +thirty-six years have passed away since this happy event, his +achievements have been marvelous. + +Optimist, as I try to be, I am not one of those who believe that the +Negro has reached the delectable mountain, and that he is as good as +anybody else. He is far from perfection, far from comparison with the +more favored Anglo-Saxon, in wealth and culture, yet he has made +progress commensurate with his opportunities. + +It is a well-known philosophical axiom, that "action is equal to +reaction, and in a contrary direction." The American Negro is now +meeting the reaction consequent upon his violent action in the +direction of civilization and culture; but, this reaction is only +temporary, and, even the realization of his condition by the leading +thinkers of his race, is a sign of hope, and an evidence of +substantial progress that must tell for good. + +Now, what achievements did he make? First, as to wealth: According to +the census of 1900 he has forty million dollars in church property, +and twelve millions in school property. He has 140,000 farms, worth +$750,000,000, and 170 million dollars in personal property. This is +the result of thirty-six years of freedom. One noticeable feature is +that the great bulk of his wealth has been accumulated in the South, +where the large majority of the American Negroes live. No one fact is +more startling in history, than that a people, once held as slaves, +have been able to live and thrive among the very people by whom they +were held. This accentuates the fact that, after all, nowhere has the +Negro better friends than can be found among the white people of the +Southland. His property aggregates $75 per capita for every man, woman +and child in this country, which is certainly no mean showing for +thirty-six years of freedom. + +As to education, he has reduced his illiteracy forty-five per cent, +he has written more than 500 books, publishes 300 newspapers, three +of them dailies; he has produced 2,000 lawyers, a still larger number +of doctors and 32,000 teachers. He supports several colleges, +seventeen academies, fifty high schools, five law schools, five +medical schools and twenty-five theological seminaries. It is true +that all of the education he is obtaining is not practical; and also +true that many so-called educated ones are shiftless and trifling; but +this is no more than was to be expected under the circumstances. + +He has built 29,000 churches, and this must mean something. It is true +that in the past, his ministers have in many cases appealed to the +passions, rather than to the intellect; and yet, under these old +preachers, many of them honest, earnest and Godly men, the Negro has +made gigantic strides in morality. He is yet far, very far below what +we would like to see him, but he is coming. The new gospel of work is +striking a responsive chord in the American Negro's heart, and he is +beginning to see that he must be able to _do_ something if he would +_be_ something. + +Happily for him he learned to work, during the dark days of the past, +it only remained for him to learn to put brains in his work. This he +is fast learning under the apostles of industrial training. Since the +fiat went forth, amid the groves of Eden, when man lost his first +estate, "by the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread," God has never +reversed his edict. Work must be his salvation, as it has been the +salvation of all other races. To put into poetry the words of an old +friend: + + I ain't got no edikashun, + But dis, kno', is true: + Dat raisin' gals too good to wuch + Ain't nebber gwine to do; + Dese boys, dat look good nuf to eat, + But too good to saw de logs, + Am cay'in us, ez, fas' ez smok' + To lan' us at de dogs. + +These great achievements have not been accomplished alone. The great +American Home Mission Society, the American Missionary Association the +Freedmen's Bureau, and the various churches and societies of the North +and South have contributed liberally of their time and means to aid us +in an upward struggle. The South itself has contributed its millions +to the aid of their former slaves; they have given for his schools, +they have aided him in building his churches, and there is scarcely a +single home among us, humble or palatial, that has not been erected +largely by the aid of Southern capital. But for the friendly aid of +these people among whom the great bulk of the American Negroes live, +we could never have climbed as far as we have on the ladder of +progress. The Negro is fast learning that, if he would be free he, +himself, must strike the blow, and he is teaching his children the +gospel of self-help. + +The heights are still beyond, but he is slowly rising, and day by day +hope grows brighter. May God continue this progress until he shall +stand shoulder to shoulder with the highest civilization and culture +of the world. + + + + +TOPIC II. + +WILL IT BE POSSIBLE FOR THE NEGRO TO ATTAIN, IN THIS COUNTRY, UNTO THE +AMERICAN TYPE OF CIVILIZATION? + +BY BISHOP H. M. TURNER, D. D., LL. D., D. C. L. + +[Illustration: Bishop H. M. Turner.] + + BISHOP H. M. TURNER, D. D., LL. D. + + Bishop H. M. Turner, D. D., LL. D., D. C. L., was born near + Newbury Court House, South Carolina, February 1, 1833 or + 1834. His mother's maiden name was Sarah Greer, the youngest + daughter of David Greer, who was brought to this country + when a boy and sold in Charleston, S. C. Greer was the son + of an African king. His father, the African king, sent seven + African slaves for the return of his son, but the captain of + the slave ship dying before he returned, the son received + his freedom when South Carolina was still under British + rule, upon the ground that Royal blood could not be + enslaved. Henry McNeal Turner was the oldest son of Hardy + Turner and Sarah Greer Turner. Henry grew up on the cotton + fields of South Carolina, and when eight or nine years old + he dreamed he was on a high mountain and millions of people + were looking up at him for instruction, white and colored. + He then procured a spelling book and commenced to learn to + read and write, to prepare to give that vast multitude + instruction. He got a white boy to teach him his alphabet + and how to spell to three syllables. By this time he was + large enough to wait in a law office at Abbeville Court + House, S. C. The young lawyers took great pleasure in giving + him instruction in their leisure moments for pastime. He + gained a respectable knowledge of history, arithmetic, + geography, astronomy and some other branches, but would not + study grammar, as he thought he could talk well enough + without a knowledge of grammar. + + He made such remarkably rapid progress that by the time he + was fifteen years old he had read the Bible through five + times, and by the aid of Walker's Pronouncing Dictionary and + the young white lawyers he became a good reader, and read + Watson's Apology for the Bible, Buck's Theological + Dictionary and very largely in Dr. Adam Clark's Commentary + and other books. He became acquainted with the African M. E. + Church, joined the same, leaving the M. E. Church South, met + the Conference in St. Louis, Mo., and was admitted after an + examination. Bishop D. A. Payne, D. D., LL. D., appointed + him to a mission in Baltimore city. While he served his + appointment he studied English Grammar, Latin, Greek, German + and the Hebrew languages, and became what was regarded as an + excellent scholar. He studied the rules of elocution under + Dr. Cummings of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and was + regarded as quite an orator. He was appointed in charge of + Israel Church, Washington, D. C., and his fame became so + notable that President Lincoln appointed him Chaplain, the + first colored man that was ever made a commissioned officer + in the United States Army. He served his regiment so + faithfully and gained such a reputation that President + Johnson commissioned him a Chaplain in the regular service + of the United States Army. He resigned in a short time and + commenced the organization of the A. M. E. Church in + Georgia, and was so abundantly successful that the General + Conference elected him manager of the Publication Department + in 1876. He served there four years with headquarters in + Philadelphia, and in 1880 the General Conference sitting in + St. Louis, Mo., elected him Bishop, and on the 20th of May + he was consecrated to that holy office. Bishop Turner has + worked up territory enough as an organiser of the A. M. E. + Church to demand five conferences. He has organized four + conferences in Africa, making eleven conferences that he is + the founder of. + + Dr. Turner was for many years superintendent in the church + for the whole State of Georgia and was the first Bishop of + Africa, which position he held for eight years, while having + his regular conferences in the United States. He says he has + received over forty-three thousand on probation in the + African M. E. Church. He has been a member of the Georgia + Legislature twice, a member of the Constitutional + Convention, Postmaster, Inspector of Customs and held other + minor positions, and was at one time regarded one of the + greatest orators of his race in the United States. + +This interrogatory appears to presuppose that the seventeen or more +millions of colored people in North and South America are not a part +of the American population, and do not constitute a part of its +civilization. But the term "this country" evidently refers to the +United States of America, for this being the largest and the most +powerful government on the American continent, not unfrequently, is +made to represent the entire continent. So the Negro is regarded as a +foreign and segregated race. The American people, therefore, who grade +the type of American civilization are made up of white people, for the +Indian, Chinamen, and the few Mexicans are not taken in account any +more than the Negro is, by reason of the live numbers, and not because +they are regarded wanting in intellectual capacity, as the Negro is. + +The above is an interrogatory that can be easily answered if the term +"American" is to include the United States and the powers that enact +its laws and proclaim its judicial decisions, as we have no +civilization in the aggregate. Civilization contemplates that +fraternity, civil and political equality between man and man, that +makes his rights, privileges and immunities inviolable and sacred in +the eyes and hearts of his fellows, whatever may be his nationality, +language, color, hair texture, or anything else that may make an +external variation. + +Civility comprehends harmony, system, method, complacency, urbanity, +refinement, politeness, courtesy, justice, culture, general +enlightenment and protection of life and person to any man, regardless +of his color or nationality. It is enough for a civilized community to +know that you are a human being, to pledge surety of physical and +political safety to you, and this has been the sequence in all ages +among civilized people. But such is not the condition of things as +they apply to this country, I mean the United States. True, we have a +National Congress, State Legislature, Subordinate and Supreme Courts, +and almost every form of government, necessary to regulate the affairs +of a civilized country. But above these, and above law and order, +which these legislative and judicial bodies have been organized to +observe, and execute justice in the land, we are often confronted +through the public press with reports of the most barbarous and cruel +outrages, that can be perpetrated upon human beings, known in the +history of the world. No savage nation can exceed the atrocities which +are often heralded through the country and accepted by many as an +incidental consequence. Men are hung, shot and burnt by bands of +murderers who are almost invariably represented as the most +influential and respectable citizens in the community, while the +evidences of guilt of what is charged against the victims, who are so +inhumanly outraged, are never established by proof in any court, and +all we can learn about the guilt and horrible deeds charged upon the +murdered victims comes from the mouth of the bloody handed wretches +who perpetrate the murders, yet they are not known according to +published accounts. But enough is known to get from their mouths same +horrible statements as to why this and that brutal murder was done, +and invariably, it is told with such oily tongues, and the whole +narrative is polished over and glossed with such skillfully +constructed lies, that the ruling millions lift up their hands in holy +horror and exclaim "they done him right." + +Why, the very judges surrounded with court officers are powerless +before these bloody mobs. Prisoners are cruelly, fiendishly and +inhumanly dragged from their very custody. Sheriffs are as helpless as +new-born babes. I do not pretend to say that in no instance have the +victims been guilty as a whole or in part of some blood-curdling +crime, for men perpetrate lawless acts, revolting deeds, disgraceful +and brutal crimes, regardless of nationality, language or color, at +times. But civilization presurmises legal adjudication and the +intervention of that judicial authority which civilized legislation +produces. And when properly administered the accused is innocent till +he gets a fair trial; no verdict of guilt from a drunken lawless mob +should be accepted by a civilized country; and when they do accept it +they become a barbarous people. And a barbarous people make a +barbarous nation. Civilization knows no marauders, mobs or lynchers +and any one adjudged guilty by a drunken band of freebooters is not +guilty in the eyes of a civilized people. For the ruthless and violent +perpetrators of lawless deeds, especially when they are incarnate, are +murderers to all intents and purposes, and popular approval does not +diminish the magnitude of the crime. Millions may say, "Well done," +but God, reason and civilization stamp them as culprits. + +I confess that the United States has the highest form of civilized +institutions that any nation has had. Let us take a cursory glance at +the institutions in this country. It has common schools by the tens of +thousands; colleges and universities of every grade by the hundred; +millions of daily newspapers are flying from the press, and weekly +papers and monthly magazines on all imaginary subjects; it has a +Congress and President, Governors and State Legislatures without end, +judges, various courts and law officers in countless numbers. Hundreds +of thousands of school teachers, professors, and college presidents, +and Doctors of Divinity, thousands of lecturers and public declaimers +on all subjects, railroads, telegraphs and telephones in such vast +numbers as stagger imagination itself, churches and pulpits that are +filled by at least a hundred and twenty-five thousand ministers of the +gospel, and Bibles enough to build a pyramid that would almost reach +to heaven; a land of books upon every subject scattered among the +people by the billions, and in short, we have all the forms and +paraphernalia of civilization. But no one can say, who has any respect +for truth, that the United States is a civilized nation, especially if +we will take the daily papers and inspect them for a few moments, and +see the deeds of horror that the ruling powers of the nation say "well +done" to. + +I know that thousands, yea millions and tens of millions would not +plead guilty of having a part in the violent and gory outrages which +are often perpetrated in this country upon human beings, chiefly +because they are of African descent, and are not numerically strong +enough to contend with the powers in governmental control. But that is +no virtue that calls for admiration. As long as they keep silent and +fail to lift up their voices in protestation and declaim against it, +their very silence is a world-wide acquiescence. It is practically +saying, well done. There are millions of people in the country who +could not stand to kill a brute, such is their nervous sensitiveness, +and I have heard of persons who would not kill a snake or a bug. But +they are guilty of everything the drunken mobs do, as long as they +hold their silence. Men may be ever so free from the perpetration of +bloody deeds, personally, but their failure to object to any +outrageous crime makes them particeps crimines. + +I forgot to say in cataloguing the crimes committed in the United +States that persons for the simple color of their skin are thrust +into what are called Jim Crow cars on the public highways and charged +as much as those who are riding in rolling palaces with every comfort +that it is possible for man to enjoy. This is simple robbery on the +public highways and the nine United States judges have approved of +this robbery and said, "well done," by their verdict. + +Such being the barbarous condition of the United States, and the low +order of civilization which controls its institutions where right and +justice should sit enthroned, I see nothing for the Negro to attain +unto in this country. I have already admitted that this country has +books and schools, and the younger members of the Negro race, like the +younger members of the white race, should attend them and profit by +them. But for the Negro as a whole, I see nothing here for him to +aspire after. He can return to Africa, especially to Liberia where a +Negro government is already in existence, and learn the elements of +civilization in fact; for human life is there sacred, and no man is +deprived of it or any other thing that involves his manhood, without +due process of law. So my decision is that there is nothing in the +United States for the Negro to learn or try to attain to. + + +SECOND PAPER. + +WILL IT BE POSSIBLE FOR THE NEGRO TO ATTAIN, IN THIS COUNTRY, UNTO THE +AMERICAN TYPE OF CIVILIZATION? + +BY BISHOP L. H. HOLSEY. + +[Illustration: Bishop L. H. Holsey] + + BISHOP L. H. HOLSEY. + + Bishop Holsey was born a slave near Columbus, Ga., July 3, + 1842. In 1862 he was married to Miss Harriet Turner, a young + girl who belonged to Bishop Geo. F. Pierce, of the M. E. + Church South, who performed the marriage ceremony in his own + house. His early life was spent in Sparta, La. He was + licensed to preach in 1868 in the M. E. Church South, and + served the Hancock circuit for nearly two years. In 1870 he + pastored the church in Savannah, Ga. Early in 1869 he became + a member of the colored conference which belonged to the M. + E. Church South. This conference was composed entirely of + colored ministers. At this conference Bishop Holsey was + ordained deacon by Bishop Pierce and a year later he was + ordained elder. In the fall of 1870 his conference elected + him a delegate to the first General Conference of the + Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, held in America. This + conference was held in Jackson, Tenn., where the first C. M. + E. Church in America was organized. In 1871 he was sent to + Augusta, Ga., as pastor of Trinity Church and served there + until in 1873 he was elected Bishop of the C. M. E. Church. + In 1881 he was sent to London, England, to represent the C. + M. E. Church in the first ecumenical council. In that + council Bishop Holsey represented his church well. He was + also sent as delegate to the same council, which met in + Washington, D. C., in 1897. He is the founder of Paine + College in Augusta, Ga., which is now in a flourishing + condition. Bishop Holsey has always taken an active part in + all that concerns the C. M. E. Church. He has written all + the messages but one to the General Conferences and has + suggested its entire legislation up-to-date. He also wrote + the Manual of Discipline, and composed the hymnal of the + church, and he is the author of a book of Drawings and + Lectures, containing an autobiography. He has written much + for his church and done many other good things, too numerous + to mention here. + +This question is one of pre-eminent importance and interesting alike +to both races. Civilization means culture and refinement. The American +type of civilization is somewhat different from the European and +Asiatic; but, in the main features or characteristics, the world's +great civilizations have always been the same in tone and design. +Patriotism, religion, and a thirst for power are the most prominent +features of all civilizations. All civilizations have their +imperfections. One of the strong features of the American type of +civilization is the widespread and terrible social prejudice, which +seems to be greatly increasing. + +In this country the negro is despised and rejected, simply because he +has a black skin, and social traits that distinguish him from other +races. We cannot see, neither do we believe, that it is possible for +the Negro to attain unto the American type of civilization, while he +lives in the same territory and in immediate contact with the white +people. This, however, applies especially to the former slave states. +Eight-tenths of the Negroes are at present in the old slave states, +and if they remain there, which is very questionable, they will never +be brought into the political, religious and social fabrics. They can +never become full-fledged and free citizens like the white people. As +a race, the Negro cannot enjoy in this country, like the Anglo-Saxon, +the immunities and privileges guaranteed to him by the Constitution. +The civil rights, the ample protection and the broad and liberal +sentiment that protect and inspire the white people, are nowhere in +America accorded to the black man. He is everywhere proscribed, +because he is a Negro. No matter how much culture and refinement he +may possess, he does not receive at the hands of the prejudiced whites +that respectful consideration to which his culture entitles him. If we +enter the field of legislative enactments by the Southern people, we +find the prejudice still more pronounced. + +Every enactment that has found its way to the statutory documents of +the Southern States, where the rights and privileges of the two races +are involved, shows race prejudice; then this thing is getting no +better, but worse. As the Negro rises from the darkness of the past +and approximates the American standard of civilization, the feeling +against him becomes more intense, bitter and decisive, which does not +speak well for the American civilization. + +No Negro, however highly accomplished, can be brought into the social +fabric. The lowest Greek, the dirtiest Jew, the vilest Russian, and +the most treacherous Spaniard can be absorbed and assimilated into the +social compact, but the Negro, because he is black, cannot enter into +this compact. + +Unless the Negro can enter the political and social compacts in some +part of this country, there is no way for him to attain unto the +American type of civilization. Can this be done? We think not, because +as the Negro migrates to the North or to the Northwest, the process by +which he enters the arena of full citizenship annuls and destroys his +social characteristics in a greater or less degree. + +There is, at present, among the majority of Negroes in the South, an +unrest. Millions of them are waiting and wishing for somebody to lead +them from the land of oppression and proscription to some more +congenial clime, outside of the land of their nativity, but they do +not want to depart, unless they can be assured that by so doing, they +can better their condition. As it is, many are going to the North, +East and West, and the time is fast approaching when the Black Belts +of the South will be things of the past, unless the white people +change their way of treating a Negro. The cotton fields and sugar +farms now maintained by the Negroes will eventually be deserted by +them, if the whites continue to oppress them. This, perhaps, would be +beneficial to the South, as it would relieve them of the perplexing +Race Problem. Now, if the Negroes were as free and as safe in their +homes; if they had the same feeling of security of life and property; +if they had the same treatment before the courts and had all the +rights and privileges of a full citizen, as the white man, he would +not be long in attaining to the American type of civilization. All +Southern people, and many Northern people, for that matter, do not +believe that the Negro is capable of as high a degree of civilization +as the Anglo-Saxon. They believe him to be by nature inferior to the +white man. But I contend that the Negro is not by nature inferior to +the white man, but that he is as capable of reaching the American type +of civilization as the white man. This is obvious from the phenomenal +strides made by him within the past thirty-six years along material, +moral and educational lines. + +No one seems to take on and absorb the American civilization more +readily than the American Negro, and if he has the same advantages and +was allowed to enjoy the same full and free citizenship along with his +white neighbor, his advancement in civilization would be as rapid as +that of the white man. + +There are to be found now not a few Negro men and women whose culture +and refinement would not suffer by comparison with that of the best +white people of this country. It is not native incapacity and the want +of vital manhood that limit the Negro's progress in civilization, but +it is the fight made against him on the ground of his previous +condition. Remove this and give the Negro the white man's chance and +he will keep pace with the white man in his march toward civilization. + + +THIRD PAPER. + +WILL IT BE POSSIBLE FOR THE NEGRO TO ATTAIN, IN THIS COUNTRY, UNTO THE +AMERICAN TYPE OF CIVILIZATION? + +BY R. S. LOVINGGOOD, A. M. + +[Illustration: R. S. Lovinggood, A. M.] + + PROF. R. S. LOVINGGOOD, A. M. + + Prof. R. S. Lovinggood was born in Walhalla, S. C., in 1864. + He came to Clark University, Atlanta, Ga., in 1881, and + remained in school nine years, completing the college course + and taking a course in carpentry. Immediately after + graduating, he began to publish the "Atlanta Times," a + weekly paper, which he continued for two years. He sold out + his interest in the paper, and was elected principal of a + city school in Birmingham, Ala., where he taught with great + success for three years. Here he was married to Miss Lillie + G. England, in 1894. In the fall of 1895, he was elected to + the chair of Greek and Latin at Wiley University, Marshall, + Texas, and entered upon his work with enthusiasm. His wife + died in January, 1896, leaving him a boy only ten days old. + He continued his work at Wiley University for five + consecutive years. His success was notable in this position. + He wrote a work which has received favorable mention in + several papers of high grade. The title of the work is "Why + Hic, Halc, Hoc for the Negro?" + + He was married a second time on April 25, 1900, to Miss + Mattie A. Townsend of Birmingham, Ala. In the fall of 1900, + he was elected to the presidency of Samuel Houston College, + Austin, Texas. His success here has been notable. Though + this is a new school, he enrolled 205 the first year. This + is its second year, and the enrollment will doubtless reach + 300. + + Prof. Lovinggood is a good scholar, a fluent speaker, and an + earnest Christian. He was a delegate to the General + Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Chicago in + 1900. He is quite popular with the preachers and the people + wherever he goes. A bright future is before him and the + young school of which he is president. + +I presume it is not necessary to show in detail what the American type +of civilization is, or will be. Whatever that type is, or may be; will +the Negro attain unto it in this country? Of the American type of +civilization this much may be said, that this is a "government of the +people, for the people and by the people; that all men are created +with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty +and the pursuit of happiness;" that governments derive "their just +power from the consent of the governed;" that in such governments each +individual is entitled to all the rights vouchsafed to any other +individual in that government; that every one is entitled to stand on +his merits as a citizen of the government. + +Taking this view of the American type of civilization, will it be +possible for the Negro to attain unto it? Will the time ever come when +the Negro will stand on his merits in our government? Will it ever be +that the Negro will stand the same chance to be Mayor, Congressman, +Senator, Governor, President? That he will be tried for crimes as +other men are tried? No one who believes in the innate capacity of the +Negro to achieve as high a type of civilization as any other race, +will question that it will be possible for him to achieve the +American type of civilization along the lines of invention, commerce, +philanthropy, scholarship, etc. The Negro _can be_ industrious, +patriotic, courageous. He can be useful in the community in which he +lives. He can be as good as anybody else. No one doubts that he can be +as meritorious as any other. Geographical lines cannot prevent the +Negro from being meritorious. Now, if he is meritorious, will he be +treated according to his merits in both church and state? Is it +possible in this country that he will be treated according to his +deserts? I take this to be the gist of the question, and it is a hard +one to answer. The prejudice against the Negro is more severe than +that against any other people, and the prejudice grows stronger. Even +the Christian churches are yielding to it. I remember that the +Plebeians in the Roman Empire, though of the same blood as the +Patricians, were excluded from the Comitia, the Senate and all civil +and priestly offices of the state for several hundred years. Though of +the same color, the statute of Kilkenny prohibited the Irish and +English from intermarrying in the fourteenth century. Prejudice ran +high, and has not ended yet. The wail of sorrowful Ireland continues +to go up before England for justice. I remember the sad story of +Kosciusko and the Poles. The Poles were white. + +Here we are of a different color, ex-slaves, poor, beaten back by +prejudice. Who can tell our future? We can only hope and give the +reason for the hope that is in us. + +I believe it is _possible_ for us to succeed in America. I should +despair if I did not believe this. Why do I believe it? Here is my +ground for hope: First, the Negro is the only race that has ever +looked into the face of the blue-eyed Anglo-Saxon without being swept +from the face of the earth. There is that docility, that perseverance, +that endurance, long-suffering patience and that kindness in the Negro +which rob the pangs of the hatred of the white man of much of their +deadly poison. The Negro thrives on persecution. He never loses faith. +Individuals may lose hope, but the race will never. The Negro does not +run against the buzz-saw of destruction, and this fact should be put +down to his credit. The saw will not whirl forever. + +Second: The success of the last thirty-seven years gives hope of +ultimate triumph. The Negro has increased in intelligence, in wealth, +in moral worth, in population, etc. It is useless to give figures. All +right-thinking men admit this. + +I take no part in that view of a few pessimists, that the Negro race +grows worse; that the "old time Negro" is better than the young "new +Negro." The old Negro was submissive because he was not allowed to be +otherwise. There is no character in slavish goodness. Character must +be developed in freedom of action. Under freedom, a few young Negroes +have gone to excess, but, thank God, under freedom, hundreds of +thousands of young Negroes, in schools and out of schools, are +struggling up the hill of virtue, of industry, of learning, not goaded +on by the lash of the master, but impelled by a holy ambition that +does not halt at temporary defeats. + +Third: So I believe the Negro will be as good as any. He will produce +his poets, historians, philosophers, inventors, his men of commerce, +his humanitarians. His present disenfranchisement will keep him along +these lines. The best people in America are helping him. Besides the +Negro's own efforts in such organizations as the A. M. E. Church, the +American Missionary Association of the Congregational Church, the +Freedmen's Aid and Southern Educational Society of the Methodist +Episcopal Church, the Home Mission Society of the Baptist Church, and +many other organizations are behind him with millions of dollars, with +prayers and with the souls and the flesh and blood of the best men and +women of the world. There are good men North and South--white men--who +desire the Negro's success. Their number will grow. With these helps +the Negro can become noble in character. He can merit the best at the +hands of the American people. If he is as good and useful as any other +class of people, will he be treated as any other class? + +Fourth: Now, I will go a little further and say I know it is +"possible" for the Negro to attain unto the American type of +civilization; but, is it "probable"? I even believe it is probable. + +The Negro is included in the "all men are created with certain +inalienable rights." He is included in the "Our Father." He is +included in the "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do +you even so unto them." Now, if the nation adopts some separate and +unjust manner of treatment of the Negro, it must repudiate the +Declaration of Independence. It must repudiate the Lord's Prayer. It +must repudiate the Golden Rule. Can it do that and survive? Can it +practice injustice upon the Negro and survive? Sin recoils upon the +sinner. Injustice to the Negro will destroy the Nation. For that +reason good white men and women are striving to bring the Nation up to +that high plane of righteousness where justice is meted out to all +alike. These good white men and women ought to conquer. I believe they +will. Not to-day, but to-morrow. Thus the Negro, striving to be the +best in the community, the white men, striving to reduce to practice +the Golden Rule, may it not come to pass that "They shall beat their +swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks," and that +the country of Lincoln shall thus become the "land of the free and the +home of the brave," where all men of all races shall be treated in all +departments of life according to their worth? + + +FOURTH PAPER. + +WILL IT BE POSSIBLE FOR THE NEGRO TO ATTAIN, IN THIS COUNTRY, UNTO THE +AMERICAN TYPE OF CIVILIZATION? + +BY BISHOP J. W. HOOD, D. D., LL. D. + +[Illustration: Bishop J. W. Hood, D. D.] + + BISHOP J. W. HOOD, D. D., LL. D. + + The subject of this sketch was born in Kennett Township, + Chester County, Pa., May 30, 1831. His father's house being + near the line between freedom and slavery was a station of + the Underground Railroad. Hence, the boy was very early + impressed with the evils of slavery and imbibed an intense + hatred toward that institution, and an intense love for his + afflicted race. This sentiment has been a great factor in + shaping his conduct through life. His moral and religious + convictions were fixed in early life. He was sensible of a + call to the ministry, but hesitated a long time because he + felt a lack of necessary qualification. He was licensed to + preach in 1856; ordained a deacon in 1860; elder in 1862, + and bishop in 1872. He entered upon a course of studies soon + after he was licensed, and has been a hard student ever + since. + + His first appointment was to a mission in Nova Scotia. In + December, 1861, he was appointed to missionary work in the + South. Following the army, he reached New Berne, N. C., + January 20, 1864. As a traveling minister he always had + encouraging success, especially in North Carolina, in which + State his denomination has a larger following than in any + other. Two of its most important institutions are located + there, namely, the Publication House at Charlotte and + Livingstone College at Salisbury. Bishop Hood is one of the + founders of the college, and has been President of the Board + of Trustees during its entire history. + + He has been married three times, and has six living + children, all of whom have been mainly educated at this + institution. The Bishop is an untiring worker, and has + traveled as much as 20,000 miles a year. He once preached + forty-five sermons in thirty-one days, driving from five to + twenty-five miles a day. He is a natural presiding officer + and governs his conferences with an ease and quietness that + is astonishing. + + He is an author. His first work was a book of twenty-five + sermons. The second a pamphlet, "Know, Do, and Be Happy." + The third, a history of the A. M. E. Zion Church (625 + pages). + + The fourth a pamphlet, "The True Church, the Real Sacrifice, + the Genuine Membership." His fifth, and most important, is, + "The Plan of the Apocalypse." He has in manuscript, a work + on the Millennium; also the material for a second book of + sermons, and is now writing an Autobiography. + + Bishop Haygood of the M. E. Church South, who wrote the + introduction to the Book of Sermons, says: "Bishop Hood has + traveled the continent to and fro. His ability, his + eloquence, his zeal and usefulness, have commanded the + respect and confidence of the best people of both races." + + As one of the members of the Ecumenical Conference that met + in London in 1881, Bishop Hood made a lasting impression. + + These sermons speak for themselves. Their naturalness, their + clearness, their force and their general soundness of + doctrine, and wholesomeness of sentiment, commend them to + sensible and pious people. I have found them as useful as + interesting. + + Those who still question whether the Negro in this country + is capable of education and "uplifting," will modify their + opinions when they read these sermons, or else will conclude + that their author is a very striking exception to what they + assume to be a general rule. + +The subject of this article is one upon which much thought has been +spent, and yet, excepting the color of the skin and the texture of the +hair, the Negro has more the appearance of the white American than any +other race. A cultured colored woman, with gloves on her hands and a +veil on her face, is hard to distinguish from a cultured white woman a +little way off. + +And the same is true of men when the complexion is not seen. We shall +take the position that the inherent possibility of the Negro is equal +to that of any race. Notwithstanding his environments are against him, +yet he has the inherent power to break through them, and will break +through them and reach the highest plane of Christian civilization. + +This is indicated by the progress he has made in the few years in +which he has had any chance for development as an American citizen. +Almost everything has been against him. Every possible effort has been +employed by his enemies to keep him down; but in spite of all he +rises. Like Israel of old, the more he is oppressed the more he +prospers. + +His possibility is indicated by the stock from which he comes. + +It is the impression of many that the Negro has no history to which he +can point. There could be no greater mistake than this. If it had been +in the power of modern historians of the Caucasian race to rob him of +his history it would have been done. But the Holy Bible has stood as +an everlasting rock in the black man's defense. God himself has +determined that the black man shall not be robbed of his record which +he has made during the ages past. + +The first and most illustrious of earth's historians has left on +record statements which set forth the fact beyond reasonable doubt +that an ancestor of the Negro race was the first of the earth's great +monarchs; and that that race ruled the world for a long period; and +the statements of Moses are confirmed by the testimonies of the +earliest secular historians, whose writings have come down to our +time. Ethiopia and Egypt were first among the early monarchies, and +these countries were peopled by the descendants of Ham, through Cush +and Mizraim. + +Palestine was peopled by Canaan, the younger son of Ham, upon whom the +curse was pronounced; and, notwithstanding the curse, his posterity +ruled that land for hundreds of years. They were in it when the +promise of it was made to Abraham; and four hundred years later, when +Israel came out of Egypt, they were still in full possession of it. +And, although the land was promised to Israel, yet two tribes, the +Jebusites and Sidonians, resisted the attacks of Israel for more than +four hundred years after they entered upon their promised possessions. +Neither Joshua, nor the Judges of Israel, could drive them out. Not +until David became King were the Jebusites driven out from the +stronghold of Zion. (Even David failed to drive out the Sidonians.) It +was from the ancient seat of the Jebusites, Jerusalem, also called +Salem, the seat of royalty and power, that Melchizedek, the most +illustrious king, priest and prophet of that race, came forth to bless +Abraham, as seen in Gen. XIV., 18:19. There have been many wild +notions respecting this personage, for which there is no good reason. +Dr. Barnes, a standard author, whose commentaries have been adopted by +the Presbyterian Board, takes the position that there can be no +question but that Melchizedek was a Canaanite. + +That the Phoenicians, who were the founders of Carthage in connection +with the original Africans, were the descendants of Canaan there ought +to be no question; but, since everything honorable to the Negro race +is questioned, we will simply give the testimony of Rollin. He says: +"The Canaanites are certainly the same people who are called almost +always Phoenicians by the Greeks, for which name no reason can be +given, any more than the oblivion of the true one." Thus it is seen, +that up to Rollin's time there was no question as to the fact that the +Phoenicians were Canaanites. Rollin did not know why this, instead of +the true name, was given; neither do we know; but we may easily +conjecture that, since it was the Greeks that gave this name instead +of the true one, it may have been their purpose to hide the fact that +the people to whom they were so greatly indebted were the descendants +of the accursed son of Ham. This would be in perfect accord with the +conduct of Caucasian authors now. We have also the testimony of Dr. +Barnes that the Phoenicians were descended from the Canaanites. In his +notes on Matt. XV., 22, of the woman of Canaan who met Jesus on the +coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he says: "This woman is also called a Greek, +a Syro-Phoenician by birth" (Mark VII., 26). + +Anciently the whole land, including Tyre and Sidon, was in the +possession of the Canaanites, and called Canaan. The Phoenicians were +descended from the Canaanites. The country, including Tyre and Sidon, +was called Phoenicia or Syro-Phoenicia. That country was taken by the +Greeks under Alexander the Great, and these cities, in the time of +Christ, were Greek cities. This woman was therefore a Gentile, living +under the Greek government, and probably speaking that language. She +was by birth a Syro-Phoenician, born in that country, and descended +therefore from the ancient Canaanites. On the same text Dr. Abbott +says: "The term Canaan was the older title of the country and the +inhabitants were successively termed Canaanites and Phoenicians; as +the inhabitants of England were successively called Britons or +Englishmen." + +Of Carthage we may remark that through all the hundreds of years of +its existence as an independent government, it remained a republic. +Rollin, speaking of the government, says: "The government of Carthage +was founded upon principles of most consummate wisdom; and it is with +reason that Aristotle ranks this republic in the number of those that +were held in the greatest esteem by the ancients, and which were fit +to serve as a model for others. He grounds his opinion on a reflection +which does great honor to Carthage, by remarking that from the +foundation to his time (that is, upward of five hundred years) no +considerable sedition had disturbed the peace, nor any tyrant +oppressed the liberty of the state. Indeed, mixed governments such as +that of Carthage, where the power was divided betwixt the nobles and +the people, are subject to the inconveniences either of degenerating +into an abuse of liberty by the seditions of the populace, as +frequently happened in Athens, and in all the Grecian republics, or in +the oppression of the public liberty by the tyranny of the nobles; as +in Athens, Syracuse, Corinth, Thebes, and Rome itself, under Sylla and +Caesar. It is, therefore, giving Carthage the highest praise to +observe that it had found out the art by the wisdom of its laws, and +the harmony of the different parts of its government, to shun during +so long a series of years, two rocks that are so dangerous, and on +which others so often split. It were to be wished that some ancient +author had left us an accurate and regular description of the customs +and laws of the famous republic." + +While we agree with Rollin in his lament of the want of a more +complete history of that ancient Negro republic, yet, if those +Caucasians who are wont to arrogate to themselves all the excellencies +of the world, and deny that the Negro ever has been great, or ever can +be, would take time to read what has been written with sufficient care +to understand it, they would lose some of their self-conceit and add +much to their store of knowledge. + +That the ancient Egyptians were black, both the Holy Scriptures and +the discoveries of science, as also the most ancient histories, most +fully attest. But as some profess to have doubts on this point, we +shall take some testimony, which, we think, no fair minded man will +attempt to dispute. + +The Psalmist calls to memory the wonders which God wrought for his +people, and celebrates in song his dealings with Israel in Egypt, and +frequently calls Egypt the land of Ham. How can this be accounted for +if Egypt was not peopled by the posterity of Ham? But he goes further +than this; he calls their dwellings the tabernacles of Ham. "He smote +the firstborn in Egypt; the chief of their strength in the tabernacles +of Ham." Psalm lxvii, 51: "Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob +sojourned in the land of Ham." Psalm cv, 23: "He sent Moses, his +servant and Aaron whom he had chosen. They set among them his signs +and wonders in the land of Ham." Psalm cv, 26:27: "They forget their +God their Savior which had done great things in Egypt; wondrous things +in the land of Ham." (Psalm xvi, 21:22.) + +The man who, after reading these passages, can doubt that the +Egyptians to whom Israel was in bondage were the descendants of Ham, +is beyond the reach of reason. The repetition seems designed to settle +this fact beyond question. We might add, if it were necessary, that +the Book of Canticles is an allegory, based upon Solomon's affection +for his beautiful black wife, the daughter of Pharaoh, King of Egypt. + +In the sixty-eighth Psalm we have a prophecy which connects Egypt +with Ethiopia, as follows: "Princes shall come out of Egypt. Ethiopia +shall soon stretch forth her hands unto God." + +Rollin, in speaking of the fact, that all callings in Egypt were +honorable, gives this as a probable reason: "That as they all +descended from Ham, their common father, the memory of their still +recent origin, occurring to the minds of all in those first ages, +established among them a kind of equality, and stamped in their +opinion a nobility on every person descended from the common stock." + +Again, treating of the history of the Kings of Egypt, Rollin says: +"The ancient history of Egypt comprises two thousand one hundred and +fifty-eight years; and is naturally divided into three periods. The +first begins with the establishment of the Egyptian monarchy by Menes +or Mizraim the son of Ham, in the year of the world 1816." On the next +page he says of Ham: "He had four children, Cush, Mizraim, Phut and +Canaan." After speaking of the settlements of the other sons he +returns to Mizraim and says: "He is allowed to be the same as Menes, +whom all historians declare to be the first king of Egypt." + +In speaking of the sons of Ham, Rollin says: "Cush settled in +Ethiopia, Mizraim in Egypt, which generally is called in Scripture +after his name, and by that of Cham (Ham) his father." + +That ancient Egypt was the seat of the arts and sciences, there can be +no doubt; the evidences of this still remain. The cities built by the +early kings of Egypt have been the wonder of all succeeding ages. + +Sesostris stands at the head of the list of the great Egyptian +warriors. Rollin says: "His father, whether by inspiration, caprice, +or, as the Egyptians say, by the authority of an oracle, formed the +design of making his son a conqueror. * * * " (See Rollin, Vol. I, p. +161.) + +The record given by Rollin indicates that Sesostris was among the +wisest, as well as among the most powerful monarchs of the earth. +Napoleon was a great warrior, but he died in exile, a prisoner of war. +Alexander was a great general, but he made a foolish march across a +desert country almost to the destruction of his army, for the foolish +purpose of worshipping at the shrine, and being called the son of +Jupiter Ammon. This so discouraged his forces that he never +accomplished the object of his ambition. + +Sesostris made no such blunders in his campaigns. He went forth +conquering until he met a providential interposition; his climax of +wisdom was displayed in his turning back when he discovered that not +merely mortal beings, but the Great Immortal, opposed his further +conquest. + +He returned to his own country to enjoy in peace and prosperity the +fruits of his unparalleled victories. His conduct toward those cities +which resisted in attacks most stubbornly was in striking contrast to +that of Alexander. As Alexander advanced to invade Egypt, he found at +Gaza a garrison so strong that he was obliged to besiege it. It held +out a long time, during which he received two wounds; this provoked +him to such a degree that when he had captured the place he treated +the soldiers and inhabitants most cruelly. + +Sesostris, on the other hand, was pleased with those who defended +their possessions most bravely; the degree of resistance which he had +to overcome was denoted by him in hieroglyphical figures on monuments. +The more stubborn the resistance, the greater the achievement; and the +more worthy the people to become his subjects. + +If the descendants of the accursed son of Ham could establish and +maintain for five hundred years a republic which was never disturbed +by sedition nor tyranny, and enjoyed a civilization in some respects +better than the boasted American civilization, there is no reason why +any other branch of Ham's family may not attain to the highest and +best civilization. + +Our opinion is, that within two hundred and fifty years the American +Negro will reach that Christian civilization taught by the Son of God +to a degree equal to any race on the face of the globe. He has in him +the elements for such a civilization to a degree not possessed by some +other races. + +But the limit allowed this article has been reached. + + + + +TOPIC III. + +HOW CAN THE FRIENDLY RELATIONS NOW EXISTING BETWEEN THE TWO RACES IN +THE SOUTH BE STRENGTHENED AND MAINTAINED? + +BY HON. H. P. CHEATHAM. + +[Illustration: Hon. H. P. Cheatham] + + HENRY PLUMMER CHEATHAM. + + Men who attain to real leadership and those who lift as they + climb; broad in mental resource, generous, and strong in + manly impulse, they forget self and become the embodiment of + principles that make genuine progress and win the hearts of + their comrades by the compelling force of character and + personal magnetism. Promoting the well-being of a race, + multiplying the happiness of the individual, these captains + of moral thought practically accept the duty marked out by + the Great Teacher and "cause two blades of grass to grow + where but one grew before." + + Such a man as pictured above is Henry Plummer Cheatham, one + of the most successful forces in the public life of the + twentieth century Negro. His career has been visited by + success because he has richly deserved it. Mr. Cheatham was + born in Henderson, N. C., some forty-odd years ago. He was + educated in the public schools of his county and at Shaw + University, of his native state. He was a promising lad, and + with prophetic spirit laid deep the foundation upon which a + brilliant character was to be built. His first public office + was that of registrar of deeds in his native county. So + conspicuous was his work and so worthily did he impress + himself upon the judgment of the people, Mr. Cheatham was + nominated and elected to the Fifty-first Congress, and was + again chosen to sit in the Fifty-second Congress. When + President McKinley reached the White House, one of his + earliest appointments was that of Mr. Cheatham to be + Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia, a post which + has come to be regarded as carrying the insignia of + leadership in the political councils of the race. That he + has performed his duties capably and zealously, goes without + saying. He is an ardent adherent of the merit system, and in + both appointments and promotions the merit system has been + his invariable guide, declining to be influenced by + considerations of person, politics, religion or color. He + has been instrumental in enrolling more Afro-Americans upon + the governmental roster than any other Negro living. + + Mr. Cheatham is a positive race man and is a foremost + champion of the idea that the Negro's best development must + come along natural lines, and that material progress is as + much the result of sensible and persistent individual effort + as of legislation and adventitious aid. He believes in + practical education for the masses, technical education for + the captains of professional thought and industrial + leadership. He is unusually effective upon the "stump," and + has been heard with pleasure and profit in many states + during national campaigns. + +Prosperity to a nation is most secure when all elements and classes of +that nation are at peace, one with the other. Christianity reaches the +height of its sacred mission when the spirit of co-operation and +brotherly love is most conspicuously in evidence. National prestige +and the influence of a people in the councils of the world are +invincible when the contributing forces of the land are happy and +united. The problems of civilization are solved when wars are silenced +and "rumors of wars" are heard no more. + +America, as we have come to call the land of our birth, has not grown +to her present proud proportions upon "flowery beds of ease." Her +strong place among the powers of the earth has not been gained without +resort to martial strife. But, it is a gratifying fact, that up to +this hour every struggle against outside foes has made American people +stronger from within, and every victory, in our long, unbroken line of +successful campaigns, has bred a warmer spirit of homogeneity and knit +us together in closer bonds as a national unit. Foreign foes offer our +country no danger to-day. Our army and navy are without peers upon the +globe, and, despite our marvelous sketch of coast line, we have +nothing to fear from foreign invasion. + +The disease that threatens us _most_ is from within. If salvation be +needed, we must pray to be "saved from ourselves." To "make clean our +hearts"--to face in proper spirit the duty that lies before us--should +be the earnest supplication of every true American citizen. A spirit +of unity is our urgent need at the opening of the 20th century. + +Thanks to the wise economic policies of those intrusted with the reins +of legislation and government, our country is enjoying a period of +unexampled commercial prosperity. Business is booming, money is easy, +crops are abundant and labor is receiving a fair return for energy +expended. But, in our mad rush for the material things of life are we +not forgetting the spiritual wants of the citizen, are we not +neglecting the moral qualities that make nations enduring and the +principles that must live when cities decay and dynasties cease to be? +In fine are we not veering too far from the altruism of our fathers, +in the apparent subordination of human rights to the acquisition of +power and of wealth? This dangerous ambition breeds in our midst +socialism and industrial unrest, exemplified in strikes and lockouts. +It fosters anarchy--a spirit of lawlessness, from which but a few +weeks ago the nation suffered the loss of a beloved chief magistrate. +It stirs up racial antagonisms, and defies the ameliorating influences +of Christian brotherhood. All difficulties surrounding our labor +problems, however, are easy of solution, for while capital and +mechanical industry may be frequently at war for one reason or +another, the outbreaks are merely sporadic and short lived. They are +invariably adjusted, from time to time, either through arbitration or +equitable concessions. Capital and industry are of one color, and the +complications are purely superficial. The one contention, that +"passeth all understanding" and which defies the skill of the +ethnologist, the psychologist, and all who deal with the ancestral or +philosophical aspects of mankind, is the "race-problem." + +I say "race problem" advisedly, because sociologists, in analyzing the +issues growing out of the relations between the white American and the +colored American, have eliminated from the discussion all difficulties +surrounding their settlement--save the impossible effacement of race +or color. All have admitted that the bronzed American may have +character, intellect, capacity, wealth, industry and comeliness--yet +he is a social "Pariah" because of his social identification. A +problem that otherwise would be simple is thus converted into a +perpetual issue by reason of race, and hence we have a "race problem." +The race issue is particularly acute at the South--not because the +Southern Negro differs materially from his Northern brother in +character or attainments--but because in the Southern states the Negro +abounds in the greatest numbers, and because upon her fertile soil he +was once held in bondage. As a slave, the Negro came to be regarded as +one whose inferiority must continue from generation to generation. The +Civil War brought freedom in its wake, and one of its results was to +clothe the emancipated servitor with the full vestments of +citizenship. By proclamation and legislation, the ex-slave was made +the political equal of his white master, and if numbers are to be +counted the slave class became the superior force in the reconstructed +Southland. That the new Negro citizen was honest and well-meaning, no +one doubts. It must be confessed, however, that the masses were +ignorant of the high responsibilities charged to them, and it is but +natural that many mistakes were unwittingly made. Indeed, the wonder +is not that many errors could be laid at the door of the amateur +"statesman," lawmakers and suffragists, but that more grievous +blunders were not made. The result, all things considered, is highly +creditable to the heads and hearts of the leaders of that trying +epoch. The masters did not take kindly to the seeming domination of +their former bondmen. The anomalous situation was made infinitely +worse by the gross frauds and maladministration of Northern white +carpet-baggers, who misled the trusting Negro into false channels and +bred in the minds of the landowners and former slave-magnates a bitter +hatred for all that savored of the Negro and the party that they held +responsible for their humiliation. Readers of history are familiar +with the stirring scenes that went abreast with the efforts of the +whites to free themselves from the consequences of the war. With the +accession of President Hayes came the restoration of the democracy to +local control in the Southern states. All are acquainted with the +"reign of terror" and the depredations of red-shirted adventurers and +night-riders. The instinct of white supremacy solidified that section, +and later came the era of lynchings. General disorder prevailed +wherever the racial problem was brought actively to the fore. + +Of late we have heard much of "constitutional conventions," and the +press has been filled with arguments pro and con as to the necessity +for eliminating the Negro from politics or abridging his right to +vote. There has been going on for years a seething cauldron, with the +Negro as the burning impulse; but evidence is gradually accumulating +to warrant the belief that a healthier atmosphere is coming out of the +storm. Passions cool after full vent is given, and the sober second +thought of races and nations invariably makes for peace, for law and +for justice. Upon this established principle of metaphysics the Negro +must base his hope for happier results in the near future. The South +has awakened to its vast opportunities, and there seems to be a +well-defined and determined effort on the part of the intelligence, +the culture, and the wealth of that section to make the most of its +bountiful resources. The commercial era opening in the South, +gradually bringing into control the conservers of Christianity, of +peace and of civil equity, will develop better conditions for the +Negro; for among the aristocracy--among the landowners and moneyed +classes--the black man has always found his best friends and most +ardent sympathizers. They understand the Negro more thoroughly than +many Negroes understand themselves, and the facts will bear me out in +saying that when our people have needed advice, or have appealed for +aid for churches, schools and for industrial opportunities, the +high-grade white classes of the South have never turned a deaf ear. +They have never been wanting in their approval of the self-respecting, +thrifty and law-abiding Negro, and have always been ready to +encourage him in the acquirement of a home, a farm or other real +property--frequently lending the money for the first large payment. +Many times they have exerted their influence to guarantee fair play +for such Negroes in the courts--even when their causes were laid +against a white man, or where white men had accused them of crime. It +cannot be denied that injustice has been practiced against us in all +sections of the South, and it is also true that the Negro's ignorance +and credulity have made him an easy prey to the unscrupulous; but +ignorant whites have suffered likewise, for he that knoweth little, no +matter what his race, is the natural victim of the sharper. With the +keenest of sleuths in our detective departments of the North, and with +courts and juries of unimpeachable integrity, crime stalks boldly in +its greatest cities, and arrogant corruption goes unwhipt of justice. +So, in the Southland, there are crimes and criminals and the law will +be powerless to bring them to book until a nobler sentiment is created +by the supremacy of the better classes, and the relegation of the +riotous element, through the vigorous and constant efforts of the +rightful rulers of the South--the educated and peace-loving citizenry. +In no case has any outrage against Negroes been given the approval of +any responsible officer of the law. Violations of the letter and +spirit of the statutes are committed over the protest of the +authorities, and those who desire the aggressive execution of all the +laws in the future must exercise more care in the selection of men +intrusted with the power of administration. More attention must be +paid to the character and personal fitness of candidates standing for +office. The Negro can and will help to do this. The regeneration of +existing conditions among the whites must come from an enlightened +public spirit and a broader culture, such as are being bred through +the public schools and through the introduction of improved methods in +business and social life. First-class white men must take hold of the +reins of government throughout the Southland. The Negro is an +imitative creature, and he takes on the color of his environment. If +it be charged that he is frequently immoral, dishonest and shiftless, +the dissolute whites with whom he has been closely identified have +furnished a model that he has copied only too faithfully. Let the +Christian element become a more prominent factor in state affairs, and +the Negro will at once grow in character and address by virtue of the +inspiring example thus set for him. + +This phase of the "Negro problem" carried to its logical conclusion +becomes the "white man's problem." Will the Southern American rise in +his majesty, dismiss his prejudice and prove equal to the lofty duty +allotted to him? Will he give the Negro a man's chance in the battle +of life, and depend upon his own natural gifts of mind and heart for +his supremacy? + +The political phase of the race problem I shall touch but briefly. +There is no call for the Negro "to get _out of politics_;" as the term +is popularly used. The fact is the Negro should begin "to _get into +politics_" in the truest sense of the word--that is, to begin at the a +b c of political power and come up by the usual processes of +individual development. The suffrage is a privilege conferred by the +state. States make certain restrictions for their own protection as +sovereign commonwealths. Although it is unfortunately a fact that the +restrictions are enforced more rigidly against black illiterates and +black non-property-holders than against the whites, of similar +deficiencies, the conditions are there and can only be fought down by +intelligently meeting the requirements, whatever they may be. No +educated Negro is refused the right of suffrage by any constitutional +enactment. No property-owner is made to feel himself outlawed by +virtue of suffrage restrictions. + +The moral is plain. Get education. Be thrifty and economical. Get +lands and money. Get character and personal culture. These qualities, +united, pass as good coin in any state North or South. They go far to +minimize the disadvantages of color everywhere. Without them no race +is strong anywhere. They are potent in allaying the race feeling +aggravated by too many of us, through voting under the leadership of +scheming politicians who are opposed to the best interests of the +masters of the Southern soil, and who have no use for black men except +on election day. In the matter of suffrage, I would suggest that the +black voter place himself in touch with his white neighbors. The +interests of each are identical. It is of far greater importance to +the Negro to have the friendship, respect and confidence of his +next-door neighbor than who shall be President of the United States. +It is of more moment to him who shall be sheriff or member of the +state legislature and city council than who shall go to Congress. This +suggests that the Negro use clear judgment in casting his ballot, and +that he use that instrument to identify himself with the law-abiding +and progressive forces about him. The Negro's natural home will ever +be in the South. The careful exercise of suffrage in promoting the +interests of that section, eliminating partisan bitterness and +vengeful spirit, will be one of the most powerful agencies in +maintaining and strengthening friendly relations between the races +there. + +Further, let the Negro make for himself a place in the business world. +Let him develop hotels, groceries, stores and shops of all kinds, thus +affording employment to our competent young men and women. Let him +perfect himself in the useful arts; till the soil, and become an +indispensable factor in the uplift of the community which he calls +home. The farmer, the artisan, and industrious wage-earner form the +backbone of racial progress, for they support the church, are patrons +of the schools, and are steady conservers of public morals. From this +firm center, a lever is furnished which holds up the house of the +minister, the editor, the teacher, physician, the artist, the lawyer, +and all of the so-called "polite" professions. Let the Negro build up +his own social circle, and strive to perfect it through an exemplary +home life. While a part of the general social system the Negro people +can be to the Whites, as Booker T. Washington so well puts it, +"separate as the fingers" in social contact, but "one as the hand" in +all that tends to sustain and improve the State and Nation. + +In short, let the white man be just, if he cannot be generous. Let him +give the Negro what is due him. Weigh him honestly as to character and +manly worth. Let the Negro be patient, persevering, philosophical, +thrifty, self-respecting and far-seeing. Brains and energy will +eventually win their legitimate place in the equation of civic virtue, +and the forces of right will gravitate, the one towards the other, +just as the flowering plant turns to the sunlight. In peaceful +conditions, nurtured by mutual sympathy, mutual suffering and mutual +triumphs, will be forged a bond that shall in due season draw the best +in each of the great races of the South in closer and more friendly +communion. Our beloved America shall throw off the shameful shackles +of racial prejudice. Progress towards a sweeter civilization will be +the watchword for all. Then, there shall be, indeed and in truth, for +every class, color, condition and section in this land, "One God, one +country, and one flag." There is hope ahead. + + +SECOND PAPER. + +HOW CAN THE FRIENDLY RELATIONS NOW EXISTING BETWEEN THE TWO RACES IN +THE SOUTH BE STRENGTHENED AND MAINTAINED? + +BY REV. W. D. CHAPPELLE, D. D. + +[Illustration: W. D. Chappelle, D. D.] + + WILLIAM D. CHAPPELLE. + + Rev. William D. Chappelle was born in Fairfield County, + South Carolina, November 16, 1857. At twelve years of age, + he was sent to the common schools of Winnsboro, S. C., to + Northern teachers. So eager was he to learn that he cut + light wood up at night and carried it to town on his head, + using the money thus obtained to buy his first book. After + finishing the common schools, he entered Fairfield Normal + Institute, and there prepared himself for a teacher, which + vocation he pursued for several years. After his conversion + he felt called to the ministry. Accordingly, he joined the + Columbia Annual Conference in 1881, and feeling his + inability to effectually preach the Gospel of Christ, he + entered Allen University, there taking a collegiate course, + at the same time serving missions near Columbia. + + With a wife and one child, he found that the mission work + was inadequate for his support, having very often to cease + his studies in school and go out and teach for two or three + months to relieve the wants of his family. This was very + discouraging to him, but he courageously worked on until + Bishop Dickerson relieved him of some of his + responsibilities by giving him a room in his back yard. This + he gladly accepted that he might earn some money with which + to buy books and thus sustain himself in his struggle for an + education. + + I know of my own personal knowledge that he had very often + to walk sixteen miles on Sundays and preach twice, getting + back home at 11 or 12 o'clock at night to be enabled to make + recitations on Monday. Nevertheless, he struggled on and + graduated at the head of his class in 1887. + + He was ordained deacon in Bethel A. M. E. Church, Columbia, + S. C., March, 1883, by Bishop Dickerson, and ordained elder + by Bishop James A. Shorter at Greenville, S. C., in 1885. He + graduated from Allen University in 1887, in a class with six + other young men--four preachers and two lawyers. In 1887 he + was elected a delegate to the General Conference which met + in Indianapolis, Ind., and he has been elected to each + successive General Conference ever since. He served eight + years as a pastor, holding three appointments, and ten years + as a presiding elder. He was appointed to the Manning + District in 1889, and after serving there four years he was + appointed, by Bishop Salter, to the Orangeburg District, the + largest district in the State, and served there five years. + Bishop A. Grant appointed him to the Sumter District in + 1898, which district he served until the General Conference + met in Columbus, Ohio, 1900, where he was elected + Corresponding Secretary and Editor of the Sunday School + periodicals of the A. M. E. Church. + + Dr. Chappelle also served two years as President of Allen + University, his alma mater, being elected just ten years + after his graduation from that institution. + + He has had a successful career as teacher, as preacher and, + now, as business manager and editor. He ranks, also, as one + of the leaders of his race, as a scholar and writer of no + mean ability. He is an able debater, having few superiors as + an extemporaneous speaker. Acute in thought and incisive in + speech, he is a fluent talker. + + Unlike most men of a literary turn of mind, he combines fine + business acumen with his intellectual ability, and has + accumulated property, real and personal, to the amount of + ten thousand dollars, situated in Columbia, S. C., and + Nashville, Tenn. + +The subject above assigned me is a momentous one and involves an issue +which is not settled, nor will it be settled until the relation which +now exists between the two races is based upon that moral "ought" +growing out of the ethical rule given by God for the government of +man. For it must be conceded that all friendly relations are based +upon ethical treatment. A relation upon any other basis is forced, +and, therefore, not genuine. The so-called Negro problem which is +being agitated by the public press is forced upon us by fictitious +sentiment, conceived in prejudice, and watered by opportunity, and a +disregard for law, and truthfulness of statements made concerning the +Negro as a citizen. + +When a relation is fixed by such undue advantages, that relation is +NOT, for it is ex-parte, and the party having the public ear creates +the sentiment, and thus forces the party which is _not_ heard to +terms, whether those terms be satisfactory or not. Then, it can be +plainly seen that such relations are not real, for they are not based +upon that law under which all men are created and governed. + +Now, I lay down the following as a general proposition which I think +will stand the test of critics, whether they be of the North or South. +It is the rule of international law to have a friendly relation +between nations, states and individuals, and that relation is made by +representatives of all the parties concerned. The agreement must be +mutual and that mutuality must be based upon righteousness--that +righteousness which makes sacred the rights of all the contending +parties. + +If the friendly relationship existing between the two races in the +South is mutual, then the development of the Negro will fasten and +rivet such a relation. But if it is not mutual, and undue advantages +have been taken of him, his development will make it impossible for +such relations to be strengthened and maintained. + +To perpetuate a relationship, it must first be based upon the +principles of right, guaranteed by the force of all competent power, +that power being common to all parties concerned. This is the sum +maximum of all ethical science and is complete. To add to it, or take +from it, would change the rule. Then, the solution to all ills must +be measured by that sense of conscience unimpaired, emanating from +that innate rule of human duty based upon moral obligation. + +Now, there must be a standard of righteousness, not fixed by man, but +by a superior power; for it is not man's will which he must obey, but +the will of his Maker. This will can be shown in two ways only. First, +by revelation, and, second, by example, both of which have been +verified and demonstrated in the sacrifice made by Christ for the +world of mankind. This relationship can and will be sustained, because +Christ sought to know the nature and power of the second party. He +enters into a covenant fixing that relationship forever, between the +two. Now, if the so-called superior race, with the boasted power of +all the heavy centuries of the past, has given to the inferior race in +its undeveloped condition, that consideration which is necessary to +sustain and maintain the relationship which now exists, then, the +relationship is real and the education and development of the Negro +along economic and commercial lines will but make this relationship +stronger. And the future of the two races in the South, under such +conditions, must be bright and glorious. + +But, I fear we have been hasty in our conclusions when we measure the +relationship which now exists in the South, by constitutional rights +and enactments. The Constitution of these United States makes the +people a compact, and therefore equals in immunities, privileges and +rights, with a common flag as the symbol of our common protection. +Every citizen, then, of these United States--let him be of any race +variety--owes to that flag its protection, and, in return, that flag +is to protect him. So that the relationship of all the citizens of the +United States to the flag is the same; being the same to the flag, +they are the same to each other from a civic point of view. + +I agree that there is such a thing as "State rights," but such rights +must be local and subsidiary and must in no case conflict with, or +counteract, the rights of a citizen growing out of a common +Constitution whose jurisdiction holds the sisterhood of states +together. To sustain and maintain such a sisterhood the compilers of +the Constitution gave the general government the right to summons such +states to protect her in the discharge of her duty. So that it is seen +that the government is exercising a power that was given it by the +sovereign people, acknowledging equal rights to all and special +privileges to none. Among these are life, liberty and the peaceful +pursuit of happiness. These are the rights which are guaranteed by the +Constitution. + +Now, an agreement entered into by the people of any part of these +United States which does not conform to the stipulated rights +mentioned above, is not a contract and can not be considered binding +under the law. Therefore, a relationship based upon privileges of one +and the denied rights of the other, cannot be friendly and must, +sooner or later, be dissolved. I, for one, cannot concede that the +relationship between the races in the South is friendly. It is, for +the most part, peaceful, but that peace grows out of a fear of the law +in the hands of an unfriendly and prejudiced people who feel that the +Negro race has no rights which they are bound to respect. Accepting +this position, the Negro quietly moves on, trying to make for himself +and family a living, but he feels keenly the class legislation which +proscribes him to the "Jim Crow" cars, to the rear seats in street +cars, behind the doors in public restaurants, and a hundred other +indignities heaped upon him. He is also denied the right to vote, +which is the greatest evil done him and the only protection that the +Constitution gives him. + +Now, I ask, "Can there be friendly relations with such environments, +and, if they are friendly, can they be sustained and maintained?" I +assert that the infringement of any right is an unfriendly act, +whether the one whose rights are infringed upon is conscious of the +unfriendly act or not. If he is unconscious of it, it is all the more +unfriendly. I assert further, that whenever existing conditions make +it necessary for one race to suppress another, the suppression affects +both races alike. The stronger race ceases to develop that strength +which is necessary for the growth of a nation, and to prepare it to +meet the great problems which are indispensable in the fostering of a +government such as ours. And the weaker race is deprived of the +opportunities which are necessary to cultivate those innate powers +which are intended by God to be developed in the rounding out of good +citizenship. In fact, the denial of freedom to any race, along any of +the walks of life, has a tendency to teach that race irresponsibility; +for responsibility must rest with the volition of the human family. + +"The Nashville American," in a recent issue, admits that the Southern +white people have made no progress in the great world of thought, +because they had everything their way. The solid South practically +destroyed its opportunities to develop thinkers in the political +world, and the prejudice they entertain and foster by mere sentiment +was not conducive to the production of strong men, or the development +of great thinkers or leaders of distinguished constructive ability. In +some sense the South has for some time lived in an eddy. There has not +been that broad sweep of the current of thought which once made it +strong and powerful. And the reason for this is assigned in their +surroundings, their highest ambition being to suppress the Negro in +the civil walks of life. + +Now, we are confronted with a condition--call it a relation, if you +please--in which the interest of the entire Southland is involved, and +we, as the Negro race, are called upon to express ourselves as to the +basis of this relationship and the perpetuity of the same. The facts +above stated make it extremely difficult for one to conscientiously +concede, first that the relations are friendly; and, second, that they +can be sustained and maintained. As a matter of fact, the subject +assigned me can be easily answered by saying that the friendly +relations which now exist can be sustained and maintained by +destroying the system of public instruction; by making no protest +against the encroachments upon our liberty; by destroying the medium +of the Christian religion, pulling down our altars, demolishing our +churches and hanging crape on the door-knobs of all places of public +instruction. This we are unwilling to do, and, as God gives us +strength and light to see our plain duty, we shall work, watch and +wait for that surrounding which shall be congenial to a healthful +development of a Christian manhood, when the sphinx of this age shall +have passed into the oblivious past; and mankind, transformed from +brutish prejudice to that lordly prince, divested of all racial +prejudice, shall stand upon that plain of reason where all are equals. +We must see that our rights under the Constitution are one thing and +the enjoyment of those rights quite another thing. + +Now, then, shall we, because these rights are denied us, fail to teach +our children that these rights are ours? And can it not be seen that +for us to concede that the relationship, now existing between the two +races in the South, is friendly, is an admission of the righteousness +upon which such relation is based? And even this very book will be +brought in evidence against us. + +A friendly relation grows out of real friendship, so that it is +necessary here to explain friendship. Mr. Webster gives the meaning of +friendship as a state of being friends; a friendly relation or +attachment, to a person, or between persons; affection arising from +mutual esteem and good will; friendliness; amity; good will. + +"There is little friendship in the world," says Bacon. There can be no +friendship without confidence, and no confidence without integrity. + +Dryden says, "Aptness to unite; conformity; affinity; harmony and +correspondence are the signs of friendship." These grow out of that +soil and are the forerunners of that friendship out of which a +relation must be had to be called friendly. + +Now let us analyze this term "friendship." "Amity"--from the Latin, +amare to love, or friendship in a general way between individuals, +societies or nations. "Goodwill"--I wish you well, peace and +prosperity. "Integrity"--moral soundness; completeness; honesty; +rectitude. + +We have given some of the terms which Mr. Webster used in the +explanation of the word friendship. Our purpose for so doing is to see +if it is possible to base the relationship which now exists between +the two races in the South, upon all the synonyms or any one of them. +I confess with candor that I cannot see (nor can any lover of liberty +who holds sacred the rights of the human family, regardless of race, +color or previous condition of servitude) even a semblance of amity in +the treatment which the Negro gets at the hands of the dominant race, +in fact, it is just the opposite, the relationship is forced and also +one sided. + +The seemingly friendly relation is forced from the Negro; that is, he +must show up friendly or be lynched by the first angry mob who becomes +thirsty for Negro blood. + +If we sustain a friendly relation based upon the integrity of the +Southern whites, there could be no lynching; the friendship of the +white man would cause it to cease at once. + +Would to God that they would interpret our actions in the light in +which they are rendered and not make us suffer for what somebody else +has done, simply because we are weak and unable to protect ourselves +against the insanity of the prejudice. + +The Southern white people, in their haste, are making an unenviable +history at which they will blush in the years to come. + +Three innocent people in the State of Mississippi have just been taken +from the officers and lynched, two of whom were women. Can a race of +people said to be friendly towards another race reach such hasty +conclusions? Would not friendship suggest an investigation in order +that the facts in the case may be had? But we are living in the midst +of a people whose civilization is christianized, thus having in it +that friendship which characterised Christ in taking the sins of +mankind upon himself. "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I +command you" (Bible). This text makes friendship conditional and +reciprocal; that is, there can be no friendship without mutuality; so +that the relation which now exists is not based upon friendship, for +the relation which is made to exist is not in accordance with that +moral rule given for the government of man, therefore things are not +what they seem to be in the Southland. + +I tell you that the Negro is not satisfied with his condition and the +more he learns of the common rights of the human family, the more he +sees the great wrongs "perpetrated" upon him and the reasons for the +same. You cannot educate a people and crush them, history does not +narrate an instance. + + +THIRD PAPER. + +HOW CAN THE FRIENDLY RELATIONS NOW EXISTING BETWEEN THE TWO RACES IN +THE SOUTH BE STRENGTHENED AND MAINTAINED? + +BY REV. S. N. BROWN. + +[Illustration: Rev. Sterling N. Brown] + + REV. STERLING N. BROWN, A. M., B. D. + + Rev. Sterling N. Brown was born in Roane County, East + Tennessee, November 21, 1857. He attended the first free + school ever taught in his county. He entered Fisk University + (Nashville, Tenn.) in 1875, and for some years, during his + terms of vacation, taught school to provide the means with + which to pursue his studies. He was converted when quite a + boy and has been able since, almost continuously, to lead + men to Christ. He began to preach early after his + conversion, and many revivals have followed his ministry. + The first great awakening where, under God, he was the + instrument, was at Kingston, Tenn., where every child in + school, of over one hundred in number, became Christians, + and when the whole town was stirred as never before. Many + hardened sinners were brought to Christ in the meeting. + Several of the converts are now actively engaged in the + ministry. Mr. Brown's acceptance as a preacher made it + possible for him to spend the entire vacations of his last + years at college in supplying the pulpits of his + denomination in different parts of the South. + + He graduated from the college course of Fisk University in + 1885, and took the degree of A. M. in 1891. He is also a + graduate from the Oberlin Theological Seminary with the + degree of B. D. He was called, June 1, 1885, to the Mount + Zion Congregational Church, Cleveland, Ohio, and was by that + Church ordained to the gospel ministry. This church was + composed of a few faithful but discouraged members. They + worshipped in a small frame chapel without either attraction + or convenience. + + Soon the membership was increased, the church took new + courage and a great ingathering came, the old building was + torn away and in its place a beautiful and convenient house + of worship was erected. Mr. Brown served Mt. Zion for nearly + four years when he accepted a call from the Plymouth + Congregational Church, Washington, D. C., April 1, 1889. + This church, under his pastorate for eight years, had a + steady and most healthful growth. In January, 1897, he + gathered about him a few leading men and women of the race + and organized a church in Northwest Washington, in the midst + of a large unchurched population. Park Temple, the name of + the new church, at once took an important place in the + community and its influence for good was felt far and near. + For five years the work grew and throbbed with life. Its + lines of work, so practical and successful, awakened such + interest in an older sister church nearby that overtures + were made for a union, and so, October 1, 1901, the Lincoln + Church and Park Temple were merged into a new organization + to be known as Lincoln Temple, with the Rev. Mr. Brown as + pastor. The new Institutional Church with a large main + building and a branch work gives promise of an unusual + church movement. The pastor of this church is one of the + hardest worked men in the city. He was for three years a + most active and influential member of the Washington Board + of Education, and has been for seven years and is yet + Professor in the Theological Department of Howard + University. He is an able minister, a good pastor, and a + practical man of affairs. His long public life in the city + has added to his influence and in every best sense, he is + still a growing man. He is full of sympathy and helpfulness, + and so is continually drawn upon by all classes and + conditions of people. He is regarded highly by public men of + both races for his conservative views, good judgment and + genuine public spirit. + + Mr. Brown is a tireless worker, and one who looks always + upon the bright side of things. He has an ear to hear man, + but keeps also an ear attentive to the voice from the + clouds. When he has settled upon a plan no discouragement + can change him. Once convinced of the righteousness of his + course he pushes ahead with no wavering. Many a time in his + works he seemed headed for a stone wall, insurmountable and + impassable, but he went up to the wall with as much courage + and faith, as if there lay before him a beautiful green + sward, inviting to his sandal. Thus through the years of + school life and the years of his active ministry he has gone + forward. + +Any superficial or narrow view of the present conditions existing +between the Blacks and Whites of this country will surely be +discouraging. It is a time for an unbiased, comprehensive, and +discriminate study of the situation. This, I think, will point to a +basis of a coming final adjustment. + +No people have ever achieved lasting distinction or greatness without +hardships. God's way of development seems to be through trial. The +Negro has not been, and will not be, excepted in this regard. The +tests of life have been well borne by him and he has clearly +demonstrated certain essential elementary characteristics. From +slavery is learned his amiability, vitality and patient endurance, and +from freedom, the spirit of hope, forgiveness, and his ability for the +highest improvement. + +At this time, when the race problem is demanding renewed +consideration, we note with interest the extreme as well as +conservative views. The unfriendly discuss the Negro in the light of +his savagery, his bondage and his mistakes. They read history "with +their prejudices and not with their eyes." + +Just as white men candidly and otherwise hold their individual +viewpoint of the subject, so do colored men differ as to their +opinions. We, too, have extremists and conservatives among ourselves +and friends. This is what ought to be expected. Why should an +intelligent colored man be different in his thoughts and conclusions +from his white brother of equal intelligence? What the American school +and spirit do for the one may be expected for the other. There are +certainly strong grounds for extreme views and for even more extreme +measures. But who can rationally deny the wisdom of moderation and +sensible counsel? Personally I cannot bring myself to accord with +either one of these views. The extremist spits fire, swears vengeance +and talks loudly. He might offer his life as a sacrifice, and yet he +reckons without his host. The conservative builds without hope, is +easily cast down, and thoroughly pessimistic. There is a middle ground +that can and must be taken. + +Were it not that we have unshaken faith in the great heart of our +American government, we might, like the captive Jews, hang our harps +upon the willows, and, as if in a strange land, find no song to sing. + +The fact that the very warp and woof of American institutions are the +eternal principles of right and justice encourages the hope that the +incident of color, race or previous condition can not always be a bar +to preferment. An equal chance and fair play to all the citizens are +absolute essentials to the continued life of a republic such as ours +is to be. It is in this self-evident truth that is found a sure ground +of confidence. Upon this bed-rock of America's boasted pride for +interest in her humblest citizen may be built the superstructure of +the future of the race. + +I do not share in any disparaging view of the ultimate outcome of +conditions. The white man's attitude North and South towards the Negro +is now well defined. There is to be no more special legislation in his +direct interest; he will be expected more than ever "to weed his own +row," and by self-endeavor continue to prove his right to be. + +It would be amusing, if it were not so serious, to find the varied, +strange theories for the black man's future well-being. Deportation, +colonization, and a voluntary political self-effacement have all been +advocated. + +There is much said and written that would imply the need of some +special kind of training suited alone for the Negro. If he has any +special need whatsoever above his brother in white it is due to +mistreatment and not to natural conditions. His phenomenal development +along all lines indicates what is in him and what may be possible for +him. + +The race numbers from eight to ten millions, pays taxes upon property +to the amount of nearly $300,000,000. They have graduated from +universities, colleges, high, normal and professional schools about +forty thousand. There are in all grades from the common school up +about one and a half million pupils. + +Men of the race own and control about three hundred newspapers, +journals and periodicals. This is substantial progress for only +thirty-six years, and yet this is no day for boasting or fine-spun +flattery. As long as the great bulk of the race are in abject poverty +and ignorance, and while more than a million of colored children of +school age are not attending school for want of accommodation, and the +number increasing more rapidly than facilities for education, and so +long as the unsettled race question seriously agitates the American +mind we do well to be deeply concerned. But it is unreasonable and not +helpful to be over alarmed. It is time for the race to be sober and +thoughtful, and if present conditions bring this about a sure blessing +will result. + +Among the mistakes of our years of freedom have been the surface view +of life, and an ever present dependence upon politics and by-gone +friends. The present shock from eliminating certain manhood rights in +the Southland necessarily creates a sensation, but is also sure to +quicken for us new life, purpose and hope. + +The Negro question is only one aspect of America's larger problem. Can +it be truthfully said that every worthy citizen shall have an equally +fair opportunity in the race of life? It seems to me clear that racial +adjustment at the South may be reasonably hoped for when the parties +most interested unite upon the spirit of the golden rule. This and +this alone will insure friendly relationship. The white man must make +up in his mind to be fair, and just, and to recognize the fact that +the Negro deserves a chance for the highest, broadest and best +possible life. Will the Southern white man ever willingly accord this +common right? Yes, I think so. But the alienation is not all on one +side. For thirty-six years the fact has been specially emphasized that +the Southern white man is the black man's enemy. The result is a +natural one. Antagonism and race friction have enlarged rather than +lessened. The time has fully come when the colored pulpit, press and +leadership throughout the country and specially in the South should +seek to make friends of these people with whom the blacks must +necessarily live. We can not over-estimate the value of education and +the getting hold of homesteads in the progress of the race, but these +alone are not sufficient. + +Our churches must mean more for right living. The sacredness of the +home, of the married life, of honesty, of integrity, of uprightness +and of right character must more than ever be impressed. The churches +must be more practical and less sentimental. Instead of encouraging +late hours--thus opening the evil way to our young--and spending long +seasons in mere shouts and gesticulations, let there be training +classes, mothers' and children's meetings, and those within reasonable +hours. Let our pulpits and press rebuke crime among us as well as away +from us. Let us organize and encourage good citizenship committees in +all our churches and in every community. Let us draw the line between +the idle and industrious among us. Let us urge vagrant laws upon that +set of men who will not work but form the criminal class in all our +cities. Let us more than ever show ourselves ready to help rid the +community of objectionable persons and places. Let us not say less--if +well said--for right public sentiment must be made, but let us do +more. There must be a studied use of "Yankee" common sense. It is not +to be expected that the Southern man's training, relative to the +Negro, can be readily displayed. But having been born and reared under +Southern skies and for parts of ten successive years taught there is +one country, and having former slaveholders among some of my warmest +friends, I am prepared to believe that there is no innate hindrance to +a life of peace between the races. + +I can not think that the best people of the South will long endure the +savage methods of avenging their madness. They must have a better +second thought and will ultimately welcome the spirit of maintaining +law and order. + +With all, there is but one way to settle the race question. It must be +squarely and justly met upon the uncompromising basis of right. The +Negro is a human being with clearly demonstrated capabilities, and it +can not be that the world's foremost nation will need to further climb +the ladder of fame by keeping the foot of the strong upon the neck of +the weak. + +When men are possessed and led by the Gospel of Jesus Christ then will +there be peace and harmony and good will among all the people. "They +shall" then "neither hurt nor destroy in all" His "holy mountain;" +"for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the +waters cover the sea." God hasten that better day! Amen. + + + + +TOPIC IV. + +SHOULD THE NEGRO BE GIVEN AN EDUCATION DIFFERENT FROM THAT GIVEN TO +THE WHITES? + +BY JAMES W. JOHNSON. + +[Illustration: Prof. J. W. Johnson] + + J. W. JOHNSON, A. B. + + J. W. Johnson was born in Jacksonville, Fla., and after + finishing the public schools of his native city he went to + Atlanta University, from which institution he graduated with + the degree of A. B. in 1894. The same year he was appointed + principal of the Central Colored Grammar School, which + position he now holds. In 1895 he edited and published the + "Daily American," an afternoon paper. The publishing of this + paper was one of the greatest and most creditable efforts in + journalism ever made by any member of the race. In 1898 he + was admitted to the bar, and in 1899 to the Supreme Court of + Florida. In 1901 he was elected President of the Florida + State Teachers' Association. + + Mr. Johnson is a man of varied talents. He has a reputation + as a pleasing speaker and fluent writer. He has devoted much + of his time to literature, and is a contributor to the + leading magazines. Mr. Johnson is a poet of more than + ordinary talent and ability, and is widely known as the + writer of the words of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," a + national hymn for the Colored people of America. He is also + the author of many songs and ballads, and also of the lyrics + of two comic operas. + +In answering the question involved in the above subject it becomes +necessary to define the word "education"; for the term, "education +given to the whites," is too loose and broad to be easily or logically +handled. If the word is used in its ordinary sense, then it embraces +every known form of education, from instruction in the elementary +English branches on up through to instruction in the most abstruse +sciences; and I can see no reason why the blacks should not receive +the same instruction as the corresponding class among the whites. Mark +you, I say, as the corresponding class among the whites. + +If by the term, "education given to the whites," is meant higher +education as opposed to industrial training, the question can not be +answered in the form in which it is stated; for there is no "the +Negroes" in the unit sense. Since its freedom the colored race has +classified itself into almost as many grades, as regards ability and +capacity, as there are to be found among the whites; it is, therefore, +no longer possible to speak of "the Negroes," meaning that they are +all upon the same mental and moral plain. It is as absurd to say that +every Negro should be made to receive an industrial training as it is +to say that every Negro should be given a college education. + +The question of higher education or industrial training is one that +depends entirely upon the individual; and there should be no limit +placed upon the individual's right of development. I think it a great +folly to educate a colored man beyond his capacity; I think it an +equally great folly to so educate a white man. + +It is needless, and not within the limits of the subject, for me to +make any defense of higher education for Negroes; but, I do say that +every man, be he black or white, should be allowed to make the most of +all of his powers, his possibilities, and his opportunities. I +recognize the fact that the great majority of Negroes must, and, I +hope, will be engaged in agriculture and the trades; that is true of +every race; but there is, and ought to be, no power to say that +this or that individual in any grade of society shall not break +through his environments, and rise above his conditions. And I think +it safe to say that the proportion of colored men and women who have +been given an education beyond their capacity for receiving and using, +is very little larger than the same among the whites; and, in the +years to come, as the race shall more and more fit itself to the +grinding process which it takes to turn out a people, that proportion +will become less and less, and each individual will settle to his +level, or rise triumphant over obstacles and circumstances to the +place for which his ability and aspirations fit him. + +But let us consider our subject in a deeper sense; if by education is +meant that training, those influences by which the habits, the +character, the thoughts, and the ideals of a people are formed and +developed, then, the answer hinges upon the answer to another +question: Is the Negro to remain in this country a separate and +distinct race, or is he to become one of the elements in the future +composite American? + +If, as some claim, the Negro is to remain in this country a separate +and distinct race, then, in this deeper sense of the word, he should +receive an education different from that given to the whites. + +Because the Negro and the white race, although they have the same +inherent powers, possess widely different characteristics. There are +some things which the white race can do better than the Negro, and +there are some things which the Negro can do better than the white +race. This is no disparagement to either. It is no fault of the Negro +that he has not that daring and restless spirit, that desire for +founding new empires, that craving for power over weaker races, which +makes the white race a pioneer; neither is it the fault of the white +race that it has not that buoyancy of spirit, that cheerful patience, +that music in the soul, that faith in a Higher Power, which supports +the Negro under hardships that would crush or make pessimists of +almost any other race on earth. + +There have been given to each race certain talents, and for them each +will be held accountable, and rewarded accordingly as they shall use +them. Two boys in the same family may be gifted differently, one with +an artistic, the other with a scientific, turn of mind; both cannot +become artists, nor both scientists, yet they may each become equally +great in their respective spheres. It is for the Negro to find out his +own best and strongest powers, and make the most of them. He cannot by +merely imitating the white man arrive at his fullest and truest racial +development. He cannot and will not, as an absolutely distinct race, +evolve, along the same lines, the _identical_ civilization of the +white race, but who shall say that along his own lines he may not +evolve one equally as glorious and grand? + +It is true, situated as he is among the most advanced people of the +world in the very height of their power, with almost all of the ideals +before him belonging to that people, the American Negro is greatly +handicapped in distinct racial development; but the task is, perhaps, +not an impossible one. Some of the most accessible means have not yet +been fully employed; for instance, the race has never been made +entirely familiar with the deeds and thoughts of the few men of mark +it has already produced. In this deeper sense of education the knowing +of one Crispus Attucks is worth more to the race than the knowing of +one George Washington; and the knowing of one Dunbar is worth more +than the knowing of all the Longfellows that America will ever +produce. + +If the Negro is to remain in this country a separate and distinct +race, and is, as such, to reach the highest development of his powers, +he ought to be given an education different from that given to the +whites; in that, in addition to whatever other instruction he may +receive, those virtuous traits and characteristics which are +peculiarly his should be developed to the highest degree possible. + +If, on the other hand, he is to become, in time, one of the elements +in the future American race--and this seems the more plausible answer +to the question--his education ought to be purely American and not in +any special way Negro. + +History affords no precedent of two races, distinct yet equally +powerful, living together in harmony; one has always reduced to a +secondary position or destroyed the other, or the two have united. So +it will be a question, if the Negro succeeds in making himself the +equal of the white man in intellectual attainment, wealth, and power, +whether or not what is now antipathy between the two races will +develop into outright antagonism; and if we are to judge from human +experience through all the past we must say that it will. If the Negro +shall succeed in making a new record in history so well and so good; +but if he is to follow the precedents of the past, it will be a far +nobler destiny for him to become an integral part of the future +American type than to drop into an acknowledged and permanent +secondary position. + +And may it not be in the great plan of Providence that the Negro +shall supply in the future American race the very elements that it +shall lack and require to make it the most perfect race the world +shall have seen? + +If the Negro is to become an inseparable part of the great American +nation his education should be in every way the same as that of other +American citizens. + + +SECOND PAPER. + +SHOULD THE NEGRO BE GIVEN AN EDUCATION DIFFERENT FROM THAT GIVEN TO +THE WHITES? + +BY PROF. JAMES STORUM, OF WASHINGTON, D. C. + +[Illustration: Prof. James Storum] + + PROF. JAMES STORUM. + + Prof. James Storum was born in the city of Buffalo, New + York, March 31, 1847. His mother, Mary Cannady, was a native + of Sussex County, Virginia, where she lived for twelve + years, when her father sold his farm and moved to Ohio and + located with his wife and eight children near Urbana. His + mother was a woman of strong character, deep religious + convictions, and piety, and full of energy and enterprise, a + counterpart of which is seen in her worthy son. + + His grandfather, Charles Storum, of Duchess County, New + York, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and did + valiant service for the independence of this Republic. He + died in 1843 at the age of one hundred years. Prof. Storum + began his school life in the public schools of his native + city. He was admired by his associates for his manly + qualities and good fellowship, and was held in high esteem + by his teachers for his studious habit and exemplary + deportment. At the age of thirteen he embraced religion and + united with the Michigan Street Baptist Church, where both + his parents were useful and active members. + + He frequently heard his parents express their purpose to + send him to college, and as he grew older and better able to + appreciate the value of education, the desire grew very + strong within him to fit himself for a larger field of + usefulness. In due time he entered Oberlin College, and + after spending eighteen months in the preparatory department + he entered the college proper, and graduated with the class + of 1870. + + Immediately after his graduation, Prof. Storum came to the + city of Washington to teach in Wayland Seminary, one of the + schools fostered by the Baptist Home Mission Society. He + taught at Wayland thirteen years. Here, as in every walk in + life, he exerted a most wholesome influence over the young + men and women attending the seminary, whose graduates are + found in all parts of this country. They delight to speak of + the inspiration and high incentive they received from Prof. + Storum while under his instruction. + + After leaving Wayland, Prof. Storum taught in the public + schools of Washington one year, whence he was called to the + city of Petersburg, Virginia, to organize the Virginia + Normal and Collegiate Institute, provided for by the + Legislature of the "Old Dominion." He remained here three + years and endeared himself to the pupils of the new school + and to the citizens of Petersburg, irrespective of race, + political bias or denominational creeds. He then returned to + Washington and from that time until the present he has been + teaching in the public high school. + + Prof. Storum has ever been interested in and connected with + the various enterprises whose aim has been the improvement + and elevation of the Colored people. For five years he was + secretary of the Capital Savings Bank of Washington and a + member of the Board of Directors of the Industrial Building + and Savings Company. For three consecutive years Prof. + Storum was president of the Bethel Literary and Historical + Society, the most prominent association of its kind in the + country. Through his influence and by his energy the library + and reading room were established and are now the most + interesting and prominent features of the society. + + In addition to his many and exacting duties, Prof. Storum + has written and lectured on a great variety of subjects, + religious, political, educational and financial. + + He was happily married in 1872 to Mrs. Carrie Garrett + Browne, a teacher in the public schools of Washington. There + are three surviving children. Their domestic life has had + its sunshine and its shadow. The darkest cloud that has + overhung their household was the death of their oldest son, + who died eight years ago at the age of eighteen, and who had + given promise of being an unusually brilliant and useful + man. + +The excuse for presenting this article is the oft repeated declaration +that there should be one kind of education for the more favored class +and another kind of education for the less favored class of our +citizens. This declaration was never mooted until these latter years. +The following incident will serve to illustrate the position taken by +the advocates of this subject: A young man of more than ordinary +ability, having a fine mind, and exceedingly apt and ambitious to +learn, came to one of the schools in the South supported by Northern +friends. He had had some advantages and had proved his capabilities to +learn. He was giving great satisfaction to his teachers. He was +prepared to take up one of the advanced studies, and did so and wrote +to his friend telling him of the studies he was pursuing and the +progress he was making. His friend, a would-be philanthropist, replied +that he would not assist him if he pursued such studies. "You only +need to learn to read, write, and cipher a little to teach your +people." Yet this same man thought it necessary to take the common +school course, a college course, and a professional course to teach +his people. What class of people will have confidence in or give their +support to a teacher, preacher, lawyer, or physician who knows only +the A, B, C's of his profession? It is an historical as well as a +scientific fact that no people have ever risen to influence and power +without a strong intellectual and moral class permeating and leavening +the entire mass. From the very beginning of our educational system the +idea that the system and method of education should be different for +the different classes of our people never entered the mind or thoughts +of our educators nor any part of the body politic. + +In the Southern part of our land the ruling class denied educational +facilities to the colored people, and quite generally throughout the +South it was made a penal offence to teach a colored man, woman, or +child to read. The reason for this was well understood. Education +produces intelligence and unfolds to one his powers and capabilities, +and an intelligent people cannot be enslaved. + +After the close of the war of the rebellion, schools were opened for +the colored people. The newly-emancipated were not entirely oblivious +to some of the advantages and benefits that follow from education, for +they were constantly in touch with the master-class, so that when the +opportunity was offered the colored people flocked to the schools in +numbers far beyond the accommodations given. The colored people showed +such avidity for learning and made such surprising progress that it +seemed almost miraculous. Dr. Mayo says: "No people in human history +have made such progress as the colored people of the United States." I +can see no reason why the colored people should be differently +educated from mankind generally; nor can I understand why persons +should urge a different education unless they are hostile to and +bitterly opposed to the progress of the colored people. + +The aim or purpose of education is, always has been, and will ever be, +preparation for complete living, that is, to be useful in one's day +and generation and to live happily. "To secure this requires the +acquisition of knowledge found in two fields of human endeavor. First, +man and his experience and achievements and external nature; second, +training to intelligent and productive activity in the use of this +knowledge and the proper enjoyment of it." + +What the education of the youth of a nation shall be depends upon the +aim, purpose, and character of the government. + +The history of the education of a people is the history of its +civilization. Its civilization is not to be found in its material +success, nor in its achievements in arms; but its civilization is +manifest in its intellectual, moral, and esthetic development. It +follows, then, that the education of a nation is to be found in the +characteristics of its civilization; this includes religion, politics, +justice, art, and mode of thought. The history of education fully +attests this fact. + +The government of Egypt was monarchical in form. The ruling classes +were educated; the lower classes were not; yet while they were the +beasts of burden and forced to toil under the most exacting +taskmasters they were of a mild and kind disposition, the result of +their religious training. + +The government of the Jews was Theocratic; their civilization was +distinctively religious; their education was along religious lines. +Their poets sing of the love, the power, the majesty, and the +everlasting dominion of "I AM THAT I AM." Through the Jews indeed are +all the nations of the earth blessed, in that they have preserved and +transmitted through the ages the religion of their King and His +Anointed. + +Greece had two distinct ideas of government. The Dorian, as +exemplified by the laws of Sparta, whose fundamental principle was +that the individual existed for the state and must obey the behests of +the state. The Ionian, as we find it in the constitution of Athens, +whose basic principle was that the state existed for the individual +and the individual was a freeman. The educational system of Sparta was +entirely military, in keeping with the aim and purpose of the state. +The boys at the tender age of seven years were taken from their homes +and placed in state schools to be taught the art of war, and how to +endure all of its hardships and privations. The educational system at +Athens reflected the aim and purpose of the Athenian State; it was +humanistic. The intellectual, ethical, and physical powers of the +child were developed. In that little peninsula of Southern Europe +there were two distinct civilizations having very little in common and +always antagonistic. Sparta developed human machines, men of great +physical force, but contributed nothing to the civilization of the +world, nothing for the betterment of mankind. Liberty, patriotism, +love of home and kindred, are the characteristics of the Athenian +civilization. The contributions of Athens for the civilization of the +world and the elevation of mankind are beyond human conception. The +mind of man cannot conceive of the innumerable blessings that have +flowed from Athenian civilization, the great reservoir of thought and +perfected art. The profoundest thoughts of philosophy, the most +electrifying words of statesmen and orators; the grand, sublime and +patriotic strains of the muses, the illimitable beauty and symmetry of +her art have been bequeathed to the world by Athens, "THE EYE OF +GREECE." But above and beyond these is the principle of personal +liberty and popular government that has come down to us from the +Athenian Commonwealth. The aim and purpose of the Athenian Republic in +its educational system was to train the children to become useful +citizens, capable of aiding in the management of the state. Aristotle +says: "Education should be regulated by the state for the ends of the +state; * * * as the end purposed to the State, as the whole, is one, +it is clear that the education of all the citizens must be one and +the same and the superintendence of it a public affair rather than in +private hands." + +The aim and purpose of the Roman government was to bequeath to +humanity moral energy and jurisprudence, the latter of which is the +basis of all modern law. A strong and an abiding faith subsisted +between the Roman State and each of her citizens. "I am a Roman +citizen," was the proudest allusion a man could make to himself, for +he knew that the great Roman power was behind him to protect him in +his rights. The children of the Romans were educated to be of use to +the state. Cicero says: "The fatherland has produced us and brought us +up that we may devote to its use the finest capabilities of our minds, +talents, and understanding. Therefore, we must learn those arts +whereby we may be of greatest service to the state, for that I hold to +be the highest wisdom and virtue." + +The aim and purpose of our government is to maintain and perpetuate +the idea of constitutional liberty and to develop a popular government +in which each inhabitant shall feel a personal interest in all that +pertains to the government, and the government in turn shall feel +itself obligated to protect and defend the interests of the humblest +citizen within its dominion. Our government is "of the people, for the +people, and by the people." + +In this country there must be but one system of education welding all +the people in one aim and purpose. Unity of thought, unity of action, +and sympathy, unity in American life and duty, is and must ever be +maintained in the stratification of American society. The government +must be unique and homogeneous in its aim, purpose, and sympathy. The +entire question of American citizenship is especially important in +harmonizing the elements. Herbert Spencer says: "The education of the +child must accord, both in mode and arrangement, with the education of +mankind as considered historically; or, in other words, the genesis of +knowledge in the individual must follow the same course as the genesis +of knowledge in the race. * * * It follows that if there be an order +in which the human race has mastered its various kinds of knowledge, +there will arise in every child an aptitude to acquire these kinds of +knowledge by the same order. As the mind of humanity placed in the +midst of phenomena and striving to comprehend them, has, after endless +comparisons, speculations, experiments and theories reached its +present knowledge by a specific route, it may rationally be inferred +that the relationship between mind and phenomena, is such as to +prevent this knowledge from being reached by any other route; and that +as each child's mind stands in this same relationship to phenomena +they can be accessible to it only through the same route." + +Man is a trinity in his nature, consisting of mind, soul and body; +these must be developed and the same means must be employed to bring +it about. Intellectual, moral and physical training must characterize +our system of education. The intellectual and the physical is being +emphasized and the moral training must be made more prominent than it +has been in the past. The aim and purpose of the founders of this +Republic was to preserve in the substrata of the government those +noble and lofty principles of the Christian religion for the +maintenance of which they left their native land that they might plant +these principles in the virgin soil of America. + +Manual training is now being made an attractive feature in our +schools, though by no means a new feature. Manual training must be +made to strengthen the intellectual and moral training or it will fail +in its purpose and end as an educational value. Trade schools are one +thing, manual training schools another thing. It is not the purpose +nor the end of manual training schools, as a branch of our school +system, to teach trades _per se_, but rather to aid the pupils to find +out their natural bent and to strengthen the trend of their ambition +along chosen lines; or, in other words, to help the pupil to discover +his powers, capabilities and capacity, to reveal the pupil to himself. +Dr. Mayo says: "The higher education according to the last American +interpretation is just this: The art of placing an educated mind, a +consecrated heart, and a trained will, the whole of a refined manhood +and womanhood, right at the ends of the ten fingers of both hands, so +that whether you eat or drink or whatsoever you do you may do all to +the glory of God." + +There were two distinct civilizations attempted in this country; one +was planted at Jamestown, Virginia, the other at Plymouth, +Massachusetts. They were antagonistic in thought, aim and purpose. The +civilization at Plymouth was an example of the "survival of the +fittest," the errors of the one must be engulfed in the ever abiding +principles of the other. The educational feature of the one must yield +to the educational feature of the other. There must be but one system +of education for all the people, great and small, black and white. +This is essential for the peace, comfort, and prosperity of the +nation. + +This is an Anglo-Saxon country. The thought of this country is +Anglo-Saxon. The progress of this country is Anglo-Saxon. The colored +people of this country, like all others born and reared on our shores, +are Anglo-Saxon in thought, in religion, in education, in training, +and hence it is unsafe and dangerous, not to say impracticable, to +educate them or any other class of our citizens along different lines. +The people of this nation must be one in purpose, one in aim; there +must be a common bond uniting them in a common sympathy and +fraternity. To secure this end all the people must be trained to the +highest wisdom. "The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom." Hence, +says Milton: "To govern well is to train up a nation in true wisdom +and virtue and that which springs from thence, magnanimity and +likeness to God, which is called godliness. Other things follow as the +shadow does the substance." + + +THIRD PAPER. + +SHOULD THE NEGRO BE GIVEN AN EDUCATION DIFFERENT FROM THAT GIVEN TO +THE WHITES? + +BY REV. S. G. ATKINS. + +[Illustration: Prof. S. G. Atkins] + + PROF. S. G. ATKINS, A. M. + + Prof. S. G. Atkins, President and Founder of The Slater + Industrial and State Normal School, Winston-Salem, N. C., + was born of a humble, yet high, because Christian, + parentage, in Chatham County, North Carolina, June 11, 1863. + Through this humble slave, yet Christian, parentage, there + came to this youth principles of industry, morality and + Christianity which formed the broad, deep, and solid + foundation on which has rested his eventful and useful life. + In early life he learned that "the fear of the Lord is the + beginning of wisdom." In the days of youth he remembered his + Creator. + + Like many of the world's noblest and best characters, Prof. + Atkins started life's journey at the plow handles; clearing + the ground of roots and stumps, splitting rails, opening the + furrow, planting and harvesting the crops, constituted the + duty and pleasures of his early life. + + Early evincing an insatiable thirst for knowledge, all the + advantages of the village school were given him. His + progress here was phenomenal. His eagerness to know truth; + his power of mind to perceive, comprehend and analyze; his + retentive memory, soon gave him first place among his + fellows in the school in the village. A few years passed; he + in the meantime having prepared himself, the master-mantle + of the village school falls upon him. His work here caused a + widening of his intellectual horizon. In the year 1880, + therefore, he entered the Academic Department of St. + Augustine Normal and Collegiate Institute, Raleigh, N. C., + and graduated with distinction in 1884. + + Immediately after leaving college, President J. C. Price, + the famous colored orator, invited him to join the faculty + at Livingstone College, Salisbury, N. C. At this post he + proved himself one of the most useful men in the faculty. At + times he filled various positions in the college. The + Grammar School Department, under his management, was a model + department, and was the pride of the college. He taught + here, serving well and at a great sacrifice, six years. + Prof. Atkins retired from the Livingstone College to enter + the public school work in which he had long taken a deep + interest. This interest had been manifested chiefly in + connection with his devotion to the work of building up the + North Carolina Teachers' Association, which body he helped + to organize and of which he was President for three + successive years. His first extended work in this field was + as Principal of the Colored Graded School, of Winston, N. C. + This position of responsibility he held, with increasing + success, for five years, when he gave it up, against the + protest of the Board of School Commissioners of Winston, to + become President of The Slater Industrial and State Normal + School. This Institution had already been projected by him + to meet a want among the colored people in the community + which he soon saw that the public school could not meet, + viz.: a deeper ethical culture and the training of the youth + of the community, not only in books, but also in some useful + handicraft which would the sooner furnish the basis for + strong personal character and sound home-life. His first + step in this direction had been the founding of the + settlement known as "Columbian Heights," to serve as a + background for the Institution, which would do this. The + settlement was founded in 1891, and the Institution + projected in 1892. Prof. Atkins, as the first settler on + Columbian Heights, and as the organizer and both Secretary + and agent of the Board of Trustees, pushed the work of The + Slater Industrial School, encouraged and supported by the + industrious efforts of the members of the Board, until in + 1895 he was called to the Presidency of the Institution. + From that date to the present his labors have been an + inseparable part of the history of the school. + + Hon. C. H. Mebane, Superintendent of Public Instruction for + North Carolina, says of him: "If I had fifty such men as + Prof. Atkins in North Carolina, I could make a complete + revolution in educational work in a short while, a complete + revolution as to moral uplift and general good of the negro + race." + + In addition to his work as an educator, Prof. Atkins has + taken much interest in the work of the American Academy of + Social and Political Science, of which he is a member. He is + also a member of the American Statistical Association, and + has been twice elected Secretary of Education of the A. M. + E. Zion Church. + + The esteem in which he is held by leading men of the nation + wherever he is known is fairly indicated in the following + statement of Hon. J. L. M. Curry, LL. D., ex-minister to + Spain and agent of the great Peabody and Slater Trusts for + educational purposes. Dr. Curry says: "I regard President + Atkins, of The Slater Industrial and State Normal School at + Winston, N. C., as one of the most worthy and capable men + connected with the education of the Negroes in the South. + His intelligence, courtesy, good deportment, high character + and efficiency as the head of a school have won the + confidence and goodwill of the people among whom he lives, + and of all who best know his work and worth." + +"The education of a Negro is the education of a human being. In its +essential characteristics the human mind is the same in every race and +in every age. When a Negro child is taught that two and two are four +he learns just what the white child learns when he is taught the same +proposition. The teacher uses the same faculties of mind in imparting +the truth as to the sum of two and two. The two children use the same +faculties in learning the truth; it means the same thing to them both. +In further teaching and training the methods may vary, but variations +will depend less on differences of race than on peculiarities of the +individual."--Bishop Haygood. + +The above quotation from Bishop Haygood indicates my answer to the +question. This question is simply a revival of the old superstition +concerning the Negro that manifested itself in the inquiry as to +whether the Negro had a soul. Civilization and fraternity have so far +developed that it would be hard in these days to find a person whose +skepticism concerning the Negro would find a doubtful expression as to +the Negro's humanity. The light has become too strong for the +existence of that kind of mist; hence the unsympathetic critic has +been forced to find a new way of putting his wish begotten thought. + +There is still a higher authority for a negative answer to the +question, "Should the Negroes be given an education different from +that given to the whites?" in the following language: "God had made of +one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of all the +earth." + +This declaration of St. Paul goes to the core of the matter, unless it +is proposed to revive the old superstition that the Negro is not +included as a part of the "nations of men." It is a strange fact that +nobody ever proposes a modified or peculiar form of education for any +other nationality. + +It is the glory of the backward peoples of the earth that they are +adopting the forms and methods of education which have made Western +civilization the touch-stone of the world's progress. + +But the implied contention that the Negro should be given an education +of a different kind is not absolute. Most disputants on this +subject--so far as published statements go--allow that after a long +period of adaptation and modified training the American Negro may +reach a stage in his mental evolution that he may assimilate the same +kind of mental food that is admittedly suited to the Caucasian, +Mongolian and others. This view of the matter leaves out of the count +another great fact, viz., that the American Negro is more American +than anything else, that he is not an alien either by birth or blood. +Whatever exceptions might be alleged against Africa can no longer be +made a bar to him. + +But let us recur again to the evolution theory, and I will not +undertake to consider this theory as Darwinian. + +It is not generally advanced as a presumption that the Negro is not +yet a thoroughbred, but it is presented in certain catchy and specious +phrases such as suggest the necessity of beginning at the bottom +rather than at the top, the necessity of giving to the colored +American a kind of colored education, the necessity of making his +civilization earthbound and breadwinning rather than heavenbound and +soul-satisfying--the necessity of keeping him close to mother +earth--as he "is of the earth earthy." + +In those assumptions it is forgotten that education is not a question +of mechanics; it is rather a question of ethics and immortality. +Education is primarily an effort to realize in man his possibilities +as a thinking and feeling being. + +Man's inheritance is first from heaven, from above. That is the +respect in which education differs from all merely constructive +processes. The stimulating and quickening power is from above. +Historically this is eminently true. + +Education has been a process from above. It is not my intention to +enter upon the discussion of the merits of any particular kind of +education. My contention is that because the Negro is a part of +humanity, because he is an American with an American consciousness and +with a demonstrated capacity to take on training after the manner of +an ordinary man he should not be treated as a monstrosity. Bishop +Haygood sets forth the only proper line of distinction in education in +the following sentence: "In further teaching and learning the methods +may vary, but variations will depend less on differences of race than +on peculiarities of the individual." The "peculiarities" here +indicated unquestionably exist. They may be noted even in the same +family, but these peculiarities are found in differences which lie +deeper than the skin. There is no philosopher, unless he "is joined to +idols," so bold as to base his presumption of difference in human +beings upon the skin, for then his judgment might have to depend on +whether the skin is dark, copper-colored, brown, white, yellow, +freckled, red, etc. Human differences, all will admit, are essentially +differences of _individual souls_, and this does not preclude the +importance of environment and other incidental influences. + +The great fact is that mind is mind--of like origin and like +substance--and that it has been found to yield to like treatment among +all nations and in all ages. There is no system of pedagogy that would +hold together for a moment if the idea of the unity of the human race +and the similarity of mind were invalidated. Philosophy itself would +be threatened and all science would be in jeopardy. Investigation and +practice never fail to support this theory of the solidarity of the +human race. In the schools where it has been tried it has been found +not to be a matter of color, nor even of blood--and certainly the +differences have not depended on race affiliation. It has been a +question of the individual and of local environment. + +But so positive and indivisible is the human identity that even the +influence of individualism and environments is overcome by the great +universal processes of education, the great processes of mind +quickening and mind development. In many of our best institutions +there sit side by side the representatives of many nationalities and +races, and it has never been found in the work of these +institutions--as far as I have been able to discover--that any one +color or race could monopolize the benefits, but, on the contrary, it +has been found that the benefits were realized according to individual +temperament and power. + +My position is not one in reference to non-essentials but essentials; +it is not a contention based even so much on degree, but rather on +quality and capability. I would not contend that environment would not +make a whole group of children more or less backward, and I do not +dispute the fact that because of better environments the whites +represent as a whole a higher state of civilization. But I hold that +this is true not because of race identity but rather because of +individual embarrassment. Give a white child and a colored child the +same environment and their progress or backwardness, I hold, would be +essentially the same under the same stimulants and encouragements. +Wherever colored and white children have been put to comparative tests +too little attention has been paid to difference of environment, and +too often there has been a dormant presumption that the same +environment would not have produced the same results upon white +children. Wherever these tests have been made it has been too often +overlooked that the facilities for their education were not equal; +they may have been nominally equal but the fact remains that they were +not really equal. + +Considering the inequalities of environment and educational facilities +the results of most of the comparative tests are complimentary to the +colored child and demonstrate the similarity of his mental +susceptibilities--demonstrate that he is but a normal constituent part +of the great human race with substantially the same limitations and +capabilities as other members of the great human family. + + +FOURTH PAPER. + +SHOULD THE NEGRO BE GIVEN AN EDUCATION DIFFERENT FROM THAT GIVEN TO +THE WHITES? + +BY PROF. J. H. JONES. + +[Illustration: Prof. J. H. Jones, D. D.] + + REV. JOSHUA H. JONES. + + The Rev. Joshua H. Jones was born at Pine Plains, South + Carolina, June 15, 1856. He professed religion at ten years + of age and joined the Shady Grove A. M. E. Church of the + Bull Swamp Circuit, South Carolina. At the age of fourteen + he was made Sunday School teacher, and at the age of sixteen + Sunday School superintendent. By the time he was eighteen he + had served in all the local spiritual offices of the church, + and was then licensed as a local preacher by the quarterly + conference of said circuit. The pastors soon discovered his + usefulness and aid to them. He was a diligent student and an + ardent churchman, and acquired education rapidly. At the age + of twenty-one years he entered the Normal Department of + Claflin University, Orangeburg, South Carolina, and in 1880 + finished the Normal and College Preparatory Courses. He then + taught and preached one year, after which he returned to + Claflin University, and in 1885 graduated with the degree at + A. B. Not daunted nor yet satisfied with his attainments he + came north, studied awhile at Howard University, Washington, + D. C., thence to Wilberforce University, where in 1887 he + graduated from the Theological Course with the degree of B. + D. In 1893 Wilberforce University conferred upon him the + degree of D. D. in recognition of his superior worth and + ability. In June, 1900, he was elected President of + Wilberforce University, and a year later Claflin University + conferred upon him the degree of M. A. + + As a minister of the Gospel he has been pastor in charge of + Williams Chapel, Orangeburg, South Carolina; Branchville + Circuit, South Carolina; Fort Motte Circuit, South Carolina; + Wheeling, West Virginia; The Holy Trinity Church, + Wilberforce, Ohio; Lynn, Massachusetts; Providence, Rhode + Island; Columbus, Ohio; and Presiding Elder of the Columbus + District, Ohio Conference; Pastor at Zanesville, Ohio. In + all an unbroken period of thirty-six years of church work + and twenty-eight years in the ministry he has never known a + failure. His labors have been indefatigable and his + ministrations clean and inspiring. + + In his public services he has been an inspiration to the + race. For fourteen years he has been a Trustee of + Wilberforce University, five years Trustee and Secretary of + the Normal and Industrial Department at Wilberforce, and a + constant and ardent helper in the establishment and + development of the same. For six consecutive years he was + elected and served as member of the Columbus Board of + Education, and through his efforts six colored teachers were + put into the mixed schools of Columbus, Ohio, as teachers. + + In private affairs he has been industrious, frugal, + economical and administrative. He has accumulated a + comfortable estate and stands well with the banking and + business circles of Columbus, Ohio, and pays taxes on a tax + valuation of $10,000. + + He has always been an ardent lover of his race, of his + church, of his country and his God, and has always been a + striking figure in the circles of men wherever his lot has + fallen. Fifteen years ago he was elected Dean of Allen + University, Columbia, South Carolina; eight years ago + Professor of Theology in Payne Theological Seminary, neither + of which he was able to accept because of heavy demands upon + his energy elsewhere. In 1890 he was elected delegate to the + Methodist Ecumenical Conference and has been several times + delegate to the General Conference of the A. M. E. Church, + and in 1900 was a strong candidate for the Bishopric, + receiving fifty or more votes on the first ballot. In his + present position he bids fair to give the church good + service. + +If this question is to be answered affirmatively or negatively, I +emphatically say no. If the question be asked inquiringly, carrying +with it the thought of race experience, race opportunity, race status +and the variations growing out of these, then I would give the dubious +answer, _yes and no_. In the first place, all things are educative +and all forms of education have a definite relation to all other forms +of education, and all educational processes have definite relations to +all other educational processes, so all of these factors make for +unity in education, and the completest education is that which +embraces the greatest number of educational factors. It is perfectly +true that educational processes may be varied so as to suit varying +ideals or they may be varied so as to accomplish certain ends, for +unvarying sequences follow definite antecedents; even so educational +systems may be framed for the accomplishment of varying results or +definite results as the framers of such systems may determine to suit +the conditions of mankind as conceived at any given time. The end in +view in an educational system is everything. What the chosen end of +any system of education may be ought to depend upon the institution of +the country in which a people lives and every educational system +should be framed so as to utilize all of the agencies and involve all +of the processes that make most rapidly for the achievement of the end +in view. + +If the end in view is serfdom for the Negro, then a vast amount of +industrial training by rote, minus the natural sciences and mechanic +arts for the generation of capacity, plus such rudiments in +arithmetic, reading and writing as will enable him to be an efficient +workman under the directions of others is the requisite. If it is the +desire to make the Negro a useful agent in the production of wealth +through the operation of the basal industries, in the largest quantity +or the highest quality for the smallest amount of outlay, then a still +higher class of training would be necessary, whether this production +of wealth be for the good of self or for the common good of society. +But if the end in view is to prepare him for the higher +responsibilities of American citizenship, involving as that +citizenship does the relationships, obligations and duties which +devolve upon freemen and equally binding upon him as upon the whites +in a democratic society or in a country of the people, for the people +and by the people, it is evident that such a system must have +structural affinity with such a system of education carried on by the +whites and for the whites. In other words, such must be his education +that his whole being is developed and in him there is the largest +generation of capacity, insight, foresight, the power to think with +proportions so as to give him that mastery over his environments and +over the questions of common good which will enable him at all times +to do the right things, the wisest things, the best things under any +given circumstances in the midst of which he may be thrown. Any +educational system that has an aim short of this as its end will +certainly fail to prepare the Negro for the high duties which belong +to a free individual in a democratic society. + +Why should the Negro be given an education different from that given +to the whites? Is he not a man? Is he not a free man? Is he not a +citizen? Is he not held responsible by society for the performance of +duties enjoined upon him by law? Is he not a subject of government? As +a subject of government, ought he not participate in the affairs of +the government? I think it will be admitted by all fair-minded men +that all governments are for the welfare of the governed. Now, since +the Negro is more interested in his own welfare than anybody else is +and since to have a thing well done you had better do it yourself, +since also his welfare is shaped by any government under which he +lives, it must necessarily follow that his best good requires that he +participate in the affairs of that government if he is to continue to +be a free man. It is argued--and that not without some degree of +reason--by part of the more favored people in this country, that the +gift of the high privileges of citizenship carries with it the demand +that the recipients of these gifts possess the capacity to exercise +them for the common good of all who belong to the body politic. They +also argue that human conditions for government are grounded in +intelligence, virtue and property. So good, so well. But how is the +Negro to acquire intelligence, virtue and property according to the +American standard if his education is to be according to an +un-American system? There are four fundamental American doctrines that +both experience and philosophy attest as being right: (I) The right of +education is a human right. (II) That the schools furnished by the +state should be open to all of the children of the state. (III) The +safety of the state depends upon the intelligence of our citizens of +that state. (IV) As a matter of self-defense the state should compel +all of its citizens to become intelligent. These doctrines have their +root in the great truth that every individual is a member of society +and that therefore society has an interest in him, in his capacity, in +his intelligence, in his worth, and in turn is injured by his +incapacity, his lack of worth, his ignorance. The great war-cry of +American leadership is "Educate, educate, educate;" yea, more, +"Educate your masters." No man lives unto himself. God has made every +man dependent, associative and co-operative, and hence the good of +every individual is found in the common good of society and the +common good of society is found in the good of the individual. Every +man who is not at his best or not doing his best is to that extent a +failure and a hurt to the common good. + +To me it is perfectly clear that if the Negro is to be in this country +and not of it then his education should be different from that given +to the whites. But if he is to be in the country and of the country it +follows without argument that he must be educated in common with all +of the people of the country so that the nation may have a common +ideal and a common consciousness so that our whole society may have or +feel a common interest in our common country. To be more explicit, +whether or not the Negro should be given the same kind of education +the whites are given depends upon whether or not the whites have the +proper kind of education. I should rather contend that if the whites +have the proper kind of education for mankind, then that given to the +Negro should be exactly like it. If the whites have not the proper +kind of education for mankind, then it follows that the Negro should +be given a different kind, for whether or not one man should have the +same thing as another depends upon whether or not that thing is fit +for mankind in general. This would naturally force upon us the inquiry +as to what kind of education the whites receive. If upon proper +inquiry we find that theirs is the proper kind for man, in this same +finding we should discover that this is the proper kind for the Negro. + +Here differentiation begins, even in the field of education itself. A +careful study of the constitution of man, involving the +fundamentalities that grow out of his intellectual, moral, industrial, +social and political nature will lead us, I think, to see that much of +the white man's education is to be regretted and repudiated; much of +it is to be approved and appropriated. All training given in avarice, +hatred, prejudice, passion, sensuality, sin and wickedness, growing +out of self-conceit and vanity, must assuredly be repudiated. But all +things embraced in their education that make for the good, the true, +the beautiful, the just and the elevation of mankind should be +embraced, seized upon, masticated, digested and +assimilated--transmuted into the elements of Negro character, forming +a part of the very sub-consciousness of his being. In short, whatever +education the whites have had or do get which makes for human +enlargement, for righteousness, and brings man into closer +relationship with God and gives him a fuller conception of the laws of +God made manifest by the operation of His laws throughout the cosmos +enabling him to discover the relationships which he sustains to God, +to his fellow-men, to the lower creatures which inhabit this earthly +sphere in which man lives and the laws that govern the universe, +expressing modes of existence and orders of sequence, together with +the principles of industry, frugality and economy, which determine the +material accumulations necessary for the maintenance of life, these +the Negro should know as largely as possible, for certainly they have +been fields of educational processes found necessary for the white man +through many generations. It is to be noticed that for centuries the +white man has studied in order to get a thorough grasp, first of all, +upon the intellectual tools--so to speak; in other words, to know how +to read, write and cipher in terms of his own language, and at the +same time to lay a foundation broad enough to pursue useful knowledge +in all other directions possible. For instance, having mastered his +own language to a reasonable degree, he takes the Latin and the Greek +that he might acquaint himself with the development of the +institutions out of which his own was evolved as well as to make +double his hold upon his own; he studies Hebrew and the cognate +languages to get mastery of the great truths, philosophy and +institutions of a great people, adding to his own thereby; he studies +the modern languages, German, French, Spanish and Italian, that he may +gather the best fruits of the achievements of these nations and add +them to his own store; yea, he covers the whole field of philology +that he may add to his own store the best that has been garnered by +all of the nations of the earth; he studies the literature, science +and philosophy of all living races of his day and time with the same +end in view and when he has swept the field of historic times he +delves into the mysteries of geology and archaeology and follows the +mute footsteps of man through Neolithic and Paleolithic times to the +very zero of human beginnings and comes back laden with truths to +enrich the thought of his day. + +He studies natural science as God manifested in nature, by observation +and experiment; he commences, with God through the discovery of the +reign of law, classifying and systematizing the same and thus +broadening his own vision and adding to the store of knowledge in our +day and generation. As a preparation for this scientific research, he +studies mathematics from the elementary principles through the largest +elaborations of Euclid, Keppler, Newton and Copernicus, and their +illustrious successors; he studies sociology, biology and mechanics; +he studies civil and sociological laws and principles to the end that +the intricacies of democratic business intercourse might be the more +fully and clearly understood, mastered and applied in civilized +processes. No form of industry has escaped him, no law of frugality +has eluded him; whatever has in it an element of truth or virtue, he +has pursued with a relentlessness that knows no failure. As a student, +he has gone the rounds of the world in search of truth and has come +back rich in the knowledge of the things that God would have us know. + +How the Negro can live in the midst of a civilization created by such +a people, drawing upon such vast resources as we have but faintly +indicated and be given an education different from that of this +people--and yet live among them with any degree of security--for the +life of me, I cannot see. If, to keep up with the requirements +of such a civilization as America furnishes to-day, a white +child--notwithstanding his inheritance--has to go to school from his +earliest days away into the years of his majority and be +systematically trained in all of the subjects as taught in the +kindergarten, the public schools, the secondary schools, the +academies, the universities, and the professional schools, how much +more imperatively necessary must it be that the Negro should have like +training. It seems to me that he should not only have the same +training but that he should have more of it than the white man has. +His education should be physical, moral, intellectual, social, +industrial and political, and his educational processes should have +the highest structural affinity with the educational processes of the +whites so that he may be brought into national and political +assimilation with the white man's institutional life. + + + + +TOPIC V. + +SHOULD THE IGNORANT AND NON-PROPERTY-HOLDING NEGRO BE ALLOWED TO VOTE? + +BY JOHN P. GREEN. + +[Illustration: Hon. John P. Green] + + HON. JOHN P. GREEN. + + Hon. John P. Green was born in 1845 at New Berne, N. C., of + free parents. As a boy twelve years of age, he went with his + widowed mother to Cleveland, Ohio. He was educated in the + Cleveland public schools, graduating from the Central High + School in 1869. + + He was admitted to the bar of South Carolina in 1870. + Returning to Cleveland, he for nine years served as justice + of the peace. In 1881 he was elected member of the Ohio + Legislature, serving three terms. In 1897 he was appointed + to a position in the postoffice department by President + McKinley. + + He was also delegate to the National Republican Convention + in 1872, in 1884 and 1896. + +All citizens who are industrious, honest, brave and patriotic should +vote, without regard to their color; for, a man may possess all these +characteristics and yet be "ignorant." Ignorance is only relative +anyway. + +(a) The Negro is a citizen. See XIV Amendment to Constitution, etc. + +(b) He is industrious, and by his industry has not only helped to +develop the resources of the United States but he has produced much of +the property which is unjustly held by many white voters, and withheld +from him; especially in the South. + +The property of the South is due not more to the capital invested in +the agricultural and manufacturing enterprises of that section than to +the labor of the Negro, who furnishes the foundation of all +wealth--labor--there. + +(c) The untutored Negro has shown himself to be honest; he has never +betrayed a trust imposed in him. During the great Civil War he was +true to the trust imposed in him by his master at the front, who +confided to his care the sustenance and even life of his wife and +little ones. This was the supremest test of his honesty, which he +sacredly discharged. Since the war, he has faithfully adhered to and +followed the fortunes of the Republican party, by the mandate of which +he was emancipated; even though in doing so he has suffered all the +evils which a hostile opponent can invent to plague and swerve him +from what he considers the path of gratitude and honor. + +(d) He is brave; as the records of our wars will prove. His blood has +stained many battlefields where, under "Old Glory," he fought for the +Union and Liberty; not only on American soil, but also in foreign +lands. The Negro, in contending in war, for the life and liberties of +this Republic, has literally covered himself with glory. + +(1) That he is patriotic goes without saying, in the light of what +has been written in the foregoing paragraph. With all his coarse and +homely ignorance, the heart of the American Negro, when yet a slave, +throbbed with patriotic love and loyalty; and this, too, at a time +when his college-bred and intelligent (?) master was doing his +uttermost to destroy this glorious fabric of Union. + +It is only reasonable to assume that a man whose ignorance does not +blind him from shooting right, can, and will, under proper +instruction, which is given in prints and on the stump to all other +voters, vote rightly. + +(2) The first and most potent step in the direction of humiliating the +Negro and relegating him to a condition of mental serfdom, is to +deprive him of the ballot. It is the only token of real power which he +possesses, aside from his brawn, which the white American really +covets; and once shorn of that, he would, like Samson, be passive, in +the hands of the Philistines. + +(3) Another suggestion which may be urged in behalf of the suffrage +rights of the "ignorant and non-property-holding Negro" is, that he is +a hopeless minority; nor could he, by any means, control the destinies +of this country, if the intelligent voters of the land would but be +vigilant and prompt in the exercise of the franchise, imposed in them. +It is a sad reflection that the alleged fraud and corruption which +existed under "carpet-bag rule" in the South during the reconstruction +period could never have existed had the white voters of the South, who +were yet clothed with the elective franchise, given their countenance +and affiliation to the Negro voters, instead of standing aloof from +them and leaving them to be swayed by a set of _educated men_, many of +whom were neither "to the manor born," nor particularly interested in +the welfare of the several communities in which they operated. + +(4) We must never lose sight of the fact that the welfare of the +Republic is not resident altogether in the _brains_ of the voters. The +_heart_ plays a very conspicuous part in the casting of a pure and +salutary ballot. As between a voter possessing a pure, kind and +patriotic heart but an uncultivated mind, and another endowed with all +the learning of the universities, but swayed by ulterior and +unpatriotic designs, one would experience little or no difficulty in +making choice of the former, even though clad in a black skin. + +(5) The fact that a Negro is a "non-property-holding Negro" should not +militate against his right to exercise his rights of citizenship; for, +many of the most useful and valuable of our voters, of both races, +are "non-property-holding" voters. The fact of holding property is +frequently predicated on conditions altogether fortuitous--a reverse +of the wheel of fortune, a large or expensive family--a drought or +flood, as well as many other contingencies all play conspicuous parts +in preventing good and true citizens from accumulating property, even +to the extent of an humble homestead; while fire, cyclone and flood +often reduce a man of great possessions in a day to the conditions of +a "non-property-holding" citizen; and did his right to vote depend on +his property holding, he would be utterly bereft of it. On the +contrary, it is no extraordinary thing to see a man of less than +average intelligence endowed with "worldly goods" through a turn of +the wheel of fortune or the expansion or contraction of a "margin," +where men win or lose all on the casting of a die. + +It does not seem to have occurred to many of those who are exceedingly +anxious to deprive "ignorant and non-property-holding Negroes" of the +ballot, that ignorance in a white man is just as vicious as ignorance +in any other class of citizens; yet they go on eliminating, by laws of +questionable validity, the hard working, wealth producing Negro of the +South, while in most instances the ignorant, dilettante and faneant, +with a white skin, is not only permitted to vote, but even protected +in the exercise of the function. + +Upon the whole, after mature reflection, an affirmative answer would +seem to be the proper one to the foregoing proposition. Under our +present Constitution, yes; the "ignorant and non-property-holding +Negro" ought to vote. + + + + +TOPIC VI. + +IS THE CRIMINAL NEGRO JUSTLY DEALT WITH IN THE COURTS OF THE SOUTH? + +BY ATTORNEY R. S. SMITH. + +[Illustration: Atty. R. S. Smith] + + ATTORNEY REUBEN S. SMITH. + + Reuben S. Smith, attorney-at-law, No. 420 Fifth Street, N. + W., Washington, D. C., was born in Jackson County, Florida, + April 1, 1854. He received his early education in the common + schools of Marianna, in that county, and at Howard + University, Washington, D. C. Before coming to Washington he + taught school for a time and in 1876 served as an alternate + delegate-at-large from Florida to the National Republican + Convention, held at Cincinnati, Ohio. As a resident of the + national capital he served as a clerk in the United States + Treasury Department, in the office of the sixth auditor and + in that of the second auditor. He was also Washington + correspondent of several newspapers, but after graduating + from the law department of the Howard University, in 1883, + was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the District + of Columbia, and has since been successfully employed in the + practice of his profession. He has not only established a + lucrative private business, but has acted as attorney for a + life insurance company and other corporations. In November, + 1899, he was unanimously elected moderator of the conference + of the Congregational churches of Virginia, Maryland, West + Virginia and the District of Columbia, and is Superintendent + of the Lincoln Memorial Congregational Church Sunday School. + + Mr. Smith was a delegate to the National Republican + Convention held at Chicago in 1880, and a special agent of + the eleventh census of the United States (1890), assigned to + the work of collecting the statistics of the recorded + indebtedness of the State of Florida. It is therefore + evident that he is a man of versatility as well as + ability.--_Biographical Encyclopedia of the United States_. + + The subject of this sketch also served as assistant + sergeant-at-arms of the Philadelphia National Republican + Convention of 1900. He has been attorney in several + important cases in the Supreme Court of the District of + Columbia, involving damage suits against large corporations, + and has been generally successful. He has also been retained + in many equity, real estate and contested will cases, + wherein he has been equally successful. He has been almost + exclusively engaged in civil practice during his experience + of fourteen years as a practitioner before the Supreme Court + of the District. + + Mr. and Mrs. Smith are domiciled at No. 715 Second Street, + Northwest, where they have resided for the past twenty + years. Two children survive to them: Master Jerome + Bonaparte, a student at Howard University and Miss Rosa + Virginia, a pupil in the Washington High School. + +At first glance the above question would seem to be fully answered +with one word comprising but two letters, namely, N-o. And yet, upon +second thought, it will be seen that that answer would not apply, for +the reason that the alleged criminal Negro seldom reaches a +court-house in the South before alleged summary justice is visited +upon him by an unreasoning Judge Lynch. + +The fact that the question is asked whether the criminal Negro is +justly dealt with in the courts of the South, would imply that there +is at least a doubt as to the genuineness of the justice meted out to +him there. In legal phraseology, a criminal is one who has been duly +convicted of crime. This being so, it would seem that my first inquiry +should be, whether the Negro who has been legally ascertained to be a +criminal is justly dealt with in the South, in the matter of his +punishment therefor? This line of inquiry leads me into the +investigation of the convict lease system which obtains in certain +Southern states, and other unlawful abuses of colored criminals there. + +It is not my purpose in the limited space allotted to consider this +phase of the subject at great length, but rather to briefly point out +its manifest injustice. + +One of the greatest wrongs of the South is its convict lease system; +and its lynch law, and its disfranchising statutes are like unto it. +Although the emancipation proclamation, written and promulgated by the +immortal Lincoln, has been operative for more than thirty-six years, +yet a species of slavery still exists there, fostered and nurtured by +the statutes authorizing the convict lease system. So vile became this +evil in Anderson county, South Carolina, that the leading officials +there denounced it as brutal and barbarous, a crime against nature and +nature's God--a crime against civilization and humanity. + +Some of the specific charges against the system were that these +unfortunate beings, without regard to sex, were huddled together in +prison quarters like so many cattle. It has been a foul blot upon the +escutcheon of the South, second only to the murderous stains made +thereon by the lynchers. It is a disgrace even to the civilization of +medieval times. For cruelty and outrage it is unparalleled in the +annals of civilized society. Siberia itself is preferable to the +convict camp. Given the worst form of human slavery plus the +barbarities of prison life; add to this the horrors of a Spanish +prison, and you have somewhat of an idea of the iniquitous institution +of the barbarous convict lease system. + +But as if compounding crime, it is asserted with many of the +appearances of truth, that Negro boys and girls, upon trivial charges, +are convicted and sent to the convict camp for the express purpose of +securing to the lessees of convicts the benefit of their unrequited +toil until they reach their majority. Thus confined among confirmed +criminals they naturally partake of the character of their +environments, and conceive and multiply vice and criminology. This +system punishes the real criminal unjustly. The ill-gotten gain it +offers furnishes the incentive to thrust the innocent into prison +pens. + +Then, too, it is claimed with the appearance of truth that +unscrupulous white men in certain Southern localities actually trump +up charges against Negro men and procure their convictions and +sentence to the convict camp for the double purpose of affording the +lessees the comparatively free labor of the alleged criminals and to +deprive them of the right to vote. While heartily approving of such +reasonable punishment as shall deter crime, I can command no language +strong and severe enough to condemn in fitting terms the cruelties and +deviltries heaped upon the Negro in certain sections of the South in +the name and for the sake of those who profit by the convict lease +system. + +It is undisputed that some of those sent to the convict camp have been +properly found guilty; some have been illegally convicted; some +deserve proper punishment, while some, by reason of their tender +years, should have been put into reformatories, where they might have +been rescued from a life of crime and brought up as law-abiding +citizens. Such institutions may have been intended to protect society +from the dishonest and vicious and to repress crime, but they are +really made hotbeds of vice; and where sufficient vitality remains in +the unfortunates, they actually propagate and multiply criminals. + +But if the question should become so varied as to inquire whether the +Negro in the South charged with crime is justly dealt with in the +courts thereof; in other words, is he afforded a fair trial there?--it +could not be fully answered without taking into consideration the +heinous crime with which the Negro is generally charged. There is +nothing more revolting than rape, unless it be mob-rule. There is no +true man, white or black, who would not rejoice to see condign +punishment visited upon the brute legally proven guilty of this most +diabolical crime. + +The South justifies lynching on the ground that it shields the victim +of the crime from the publicity to which a trial of the perpetrator +would expose her. That is to say, the lynchers prefer to violate the +organic law, which provides that no one shall be deprived of life, +liberty, or property, without due process of law. They put the mob +above the judicial system of the country, and arrogate to it greater +power to protect the honor of the outraged female and uphold the +majesty of the law than a court of justice. It is a sad reflection +upon the administration of justice even to intimate that the mob which +ruthlessly defies the law is better qualified to administer justice +than the court established by law to try and determine the guilt or +innocence of persons charged with the commission of crime. + +In the dark ages of English history, it frequently happened that the +person charged with the commission of crime was first executed and +afterward his trial was had, and if a verdict of not guilty was found, +his bones were disinterred and given a state funeral. But the Negro +charged with the commission of crime in the South is frequently not +granted a trial before or after execution; so that the Negro is not +justly dealt with in the courts of the South, even after he has been +hung, drawn and quartered, or burned. + +In some instances where the Negro is fortunate enough to confront his +accusers in a court in the South, the caste prejudice against him too +often reduces his trial to a mere mockery of justice. + +The cornerstone of the Republic is justice, to establish which, under +liberty, its founders set foot upon these hostile shores in the early +part of the seventeenth century. From that time to the present the +slogan of every campaign, the rallying cry of every battle, has been +justice in some form or other. And yet, in the alleged interest of +innocence, justice, in certain localities, is often outraged, law +dethroned, and mob rule exalted. + +Whether or not the Negro charged with crime is justly dealt with in +the courts of the South can only be answered relatively, for in some +localities fair trials are granted even to Negroes charged with the +commission of crime. But for the most part, it must be admitted that +Negroes brought into the courts of the South accused of crime against +white people are not accorded a fair trial. + +The reason of this unjust dealing with the Negro in the courts of the +South is not far to seek; he is looked upon as an alien; then, too, +the doctrine that he has no rights which a white man is bound to +respect is exploded in certain localities only in theory, for in +practice it is still unmistakably prevalent. + +The crying need of the times is a wholesome respect for law and order, +and a righteous condemnation of mob rule everywhere. Every pulpit +North and South should speak out against mob rule and lynch law. The +eloquent divine in Greenville, Miss., who recently denounced with +righteous indignation the damnable outrages of mob violence in that +state, was as a voice crying in the wilderness. For some reason his +brethren of the cloth have not seen fit to join him in a crusade +against this abominable sin. If the Southern clergy could only be +induced to preach against this evil occasionally, there would soon be +created throughout the sin-ridden districts such a healthy public +sentiment and respect for law and order that these crimes against the +state would soon become things of the past; nor could there be found +throughout our broad land a miscreant, who, under the influence of the +spirit of lawlessness, would take the life of our Chief Magistrate; +nor would there be anywhere such an illiberal public sentiment as +would openly criticise our Chief Executive for dining a representative +member of the race whose feasts even Jupiter did not disdain to grace. + +But let us consider the alleged crime for which lynching is attempted +to be justified. L. H. Perkins, Esq., of the Kansas Bar Association, +in an address to its annual meeting, in July, 1901, said: + +"Lord Coke observes: 'There are crimes that are not so much as to be +named among Christians.' It is difficult for us in Kansas to believe +that certain crimes exist; crimes against nature, practiced by force +upon defenseless childhood, disclosed in criminal records of great +cities; but there is one crime in Kansas that we have learned to know. +It ought not to be named, much less permitted in a Christian land. The +crime and its fit punishment, can scarcely be discussed; but how else +can it be expunged? Shall it be by fire? Must he who writes the story +of this new-born age still further shock the world and foul the fair +name of America by pictures of a howling mob, profaning every law of +God and man; with every bulwark of our rights thrown down, the gates +of hell unchained, and passion, loose, unbridled as hurricane, +roaring above the prostrate guardians of the peace, annihilating in an +hour the civilization of six thousand years? + +"Death in flames! Savage, bloodthirsty vengeance! Three things this +savory orgy lacks: salt and sweet herbs and a good appetite. + +"There is a law that in the last extremity, in the presence of +impending death, all barriers are removed, all ranks are leveled, all +rights are equalized. Supreme necessity is supreme law. Can it be +possible that some such overmastering impulse at times dethrones the +public mind, and, while the fit is on, the latent cannibal runs riot +in the land? It seems it must be so; and, if it be, 'twill be until we +rise to the necessity. + +"We may excoriate the cannibal, but which of us will now affirm the +provocation is not great? Poor, helpless woman! Why don't she learn to +shoot? This monstrous crime pursues her like a nightmare. It is an +ever present peril to every woman in the land. Must she shun every +alley and fly from every bush lest lascivious eyes be on her and +unbridled, brutal passion block her way? Of all the hobgoblins abroad +in the night, in fact or fancy or in song or story, there is none so +hideous as the stealthy form of the lecherous brute that leaps forth +out of darkness and drags defenseless woman to her ruin. + +"And can it be that we who make the laws; we who have wives and +daughters and sisters and mothers who are dearer than life itself; we +who honor woman, not for her strength but for the very attributes that +render her the prey of force; can it be that we can make no laws that +will protect her, or satisfy the public that justice will be done? + +"Concede that in the sight of God the crime of rape is worse than +murder, yet is it plain that the punishment should be death? In the +interest of woman herself were it not better that the brutal ravisher +have somewhat more to bear if he do also murder? Else would not the +motive to silence forever the most dangerous witness be complete? + +"I offer the suggestion of three degrees for rape--the first to cover +only ravishment by brutal violence and force; the second all the +intermediate grades save statutory rape, which alone shall constitute +the third degree. I am no firm believer in the justice of our age of +consent, and would leave corporal punishment for statutory rape to the +discretion of the trial court. The terms of imprisonment as now +prescribed are doubtless long enough, but let us add to them the sting +and shame of the ancient whipping post. For the third degree, in the +court's discretion, not more than seven lashes. For the second degree +two floggings of twenty lashes each, soundly administered within +twelve months. And for the first degree, three several floggings of +forty lashes each within twelve months, and then castration. There is +much reason in this ancient penalty, and the time has come when it +should be revived. If, as some say, this morbid and unbridled passion +is disease, then treat it like appendicitis--remove the cause." + +Mr. Perkins is on the right track. I am glad that he neither endorses +lynching nor takes stock in the absurd report from certain sections of +the South that all Negroes are ravishers of white women. I think his +suggested remedy against rape a good one for white and black. + +But to return to the consideration of the other phase of the question, +I desire to say that Mrs. Helen Douglass, the widow of the lamented +Frederick Douglass, is accepted authority on the convict lease system, +and consequently I am indebted to her for most of the data used in +this article touching that subject. In a well prepared lecture on +convict leases, Mrs. Douglass introduces her theme as follows: + +"We know what happens when manufactories are shut down and a vast +amount of accumulated material is suddenly thrown upon the market. For +250 years the South had been manufacturing a peculiar article; had +been literally stamping this article with its own lineaments and +putting it upon a market created especially for it. The war came! The +manufactories were closed; the material was on hand; what should be +done with it? Never in the world, perhaps, has there been a clearer +demonstration of the irrevocable nature of law, as affecting society, +and the awful power of habit as the sum of reiterated choice." + +At the Prison Reform Convention, held in Atlanta in 1888, Dr. P. D. +Sims of Chattanooga, Tenn., said that, the impoverished condition of +the South succeeding the War of the Rebellion, caused it to drift into +the convict lease system, for which there were many excuses, but no +justification. The lessee buys from the State the discipline of +prisoners solely for gain; that neither the State nor the lessee had +regard to the element of reform or consideration of a philanthropic +character; that although many good men were engaged in it, the system +was wrong. He presented the statistics of thirty-nine State prisons, +showing that in the non-leasing prisons, the annual mortality was +fifteen per thousand, while in the leasing, it was sixty-four per +thousand, and that in the former, escapes were but five per thousand, +and in the latter, they were fifty-one per thousand. He appealed to +the South to change the system. + +The lease system was adopted in Georgia in 1869, both Democrats and +Republicans favoring it. The first year there were 350 convicts to be +hired, and the second year the number doubled. An investigation showed +that one company paid nothing to the State for the labor of its +convicts, and that although the law provided for a chaplain, the State +had none; that convicts were worked on Sundays contrary to law, and in +some instances whipped to death. The evils of the system became so +flagrant that a Senator on the floor of the Senate Chamber declared +that the rich and powerful were allowed to go free, while the poor +white person and the ignorant Negro were shown no mercy. It was proved +that even a governor of the State was himself a lessee, working State +convicts for private gain, under a $37,000 bond in force until 1899, +although he was the convict's only protection against the wrongs of +the lessee. + +The ease and facility with which colored persons were sent to the +penitentiary kept a goodly supply of prisoners on hand. While it was +burdensome to taxpayers to keep them within walls, it was unjust to +mechanics to allow them to learn trades; ergo, they were leased out to +grade streets, to work on railroads, in mines and the like, where +their physical powers might be availed of, but where they could learn +nothing, save yes and no, axe and hoe. + +By an act passed in 1876, by the legislature, the Marietta and North +Georgia Railroad Company was leased 250 convicts for three years, to +grade its road where the people were too poor to pay for it. The rest +of the convicts the governor was authorized to lease to three +penitentiary companies for twenty years for $500,000, to be paid in +annual installments of $25,000. In a test case by two of these +companies, in the Supreme Court of Georgia it was decided that the +lessees acquired a vested right of property in the labor of these +convicts, which the legislature could not disregard unless their labor +was required by the State, in which case the lessee demanded +compensation. The Supreme Court consequently granted an injunction +restraining the keeper from delivering said convicts to said railroad +company, thereby securing to the lessees a legal right of property in +the labor of the convicts till the contract is legally terminated. + +In an investigation of 1896, presided over by Governor Atkinson, Capt. +Lowe, a lessee, testified: + +"We do not think ourselves liable for the conduct of whipping bosses. +They are given their commissions by the State, and we insist that they +are answerable to the State alone. We cannot direct the whipping of +convicts; it must be done by the bosses. If all the convicts were +disabled by whipping, we think the State would be liable to us for +loss of time, because the whipping bosses are the agents of the +State." + +Lessee Lowe admitted he was a close corporation, being president, +secretary, treasurer, boss and everything else of the company, which +held no meetings, had no stock, and declared no dividends. + +Attorney-General Terrell held that the convicts were under the care of +the lessees, whose duty it was to see that they were treated humanely, +citing the order of 1887 by Governor Gordon, to prove that while the +whipping bosses were appointed by the governor, they were under the +control of the lessees. Governor Atkinson said that he did not dream +for a moment that the lessees did not consider it their duty to see +that the convicts were properly treated. + +Mr. Huff, addressing the legislature, said, that "any attempt at +reformation of the present system is an absurdity, a swindle and a +fraud. It is a damnable outrage. The lessee contract would not stand +fifteen minutes before a petit jury. I could hang any of the lessees +before a petit jury in two and a half hours," said he. + +One convict testified that in his case the skin came off with every +blow inflicted by a soaked strap drawn through sand; that twenty +bastard children were in one camp. A female convict testified that +during her prison life of fourteen years she had borne seven children. +A lessee testified that such irregularities as bastard children would +occasionally occur as long as women were guarded by men. + +Dr. Felton, addressing the Georgia Legislature, said: + +"I stated ten years ago that the State was acting as a procuress for +convict camps; the legislature is keeping up the supply in accordance +with the demand. I repeat the accusation here and now." + +In 1895 a number of convicts had their feet so frozen that the flesh +and toes rotted off. Governor Atkinson enlightened the legislature of +the deplorable condition existing in the convicts' camps through the +report thereon by Hon. R. F. Wright, showing nearly fifty misdemeanor +camps. In the chain-gangs were twenty-seven white and 768 colored +convicts; generally both races and sexes being together day and night. +Among these were eleven children under fourteen years of age. Some +slept in rude floorless houses; some in tents on the bare ground, and +a few in bunks. The bedding was scant and filthy, and full of vermin. +The camps were poorly ventilated, the sleeping quarters being +generally sweat-boxes, constructed to prevent escapes. There were no +hospitals and no preparations for comfort or medical treatment. Female +prisoners dressed in male attire, worked side by side with men. + +A member of the legislature declared: + +"Most lessees would rather see the devil in their camps than a +Methodist or Baptist preacher. I do not urge the bill for the Negro, +but for the safety of homes and property. Crime has increased in the +United States more than in any other country on the globe. I plead for +the orphan boys and girls of the State. Better send them to a +bottomless hell than to James' camp." + +Said the lamented Colonel Alston: + +"The public knows how hard it is to get testimony in a case like the +lease question. If a guard kills a man, he is not going to tell of it. +If a lessee chooses to whip one to death, who is to know it? If he +starves them, who is the wiser? I never expect to give up the +agitation of this question till I can point to my native State +redeemed, regenerated, and disenthralled from this great sin, and the +finger of shame shall no longer be lifted at her, as a State that is +banking on the crimes and misfortunes of her defenseless and ignorant +population." + +Three months after this Colonel Alston was shot dead in the State +Capitol of Georgia, by a sub-lessee during a controversy arising from +the leasing of some convicts; whereupon Governor Atkinson declared +that, under heaven and by God's help, he meant to lift up the +administration of the laws of the State to that high plane that will +put an end to these things. + +Mr. Byrd of Rome, Ga., by authority of Governor Atkinson, inspected +the misdemeanor camps in 1897, and reported that private chain-gangs +were being operated against law, and in spite of the decisions of the +Supreme Court of Georgia, and that the average penal camp of the State +penitentiary is a heaven, compared to the agony and torture endured by +the misdemeanor convicts in many of these joints. He said that Mr. +Wright did valiant service for humanity by showing that a bondage +worse than slavery was being inflicted upon the convicts, who were +confined in these "hells upon earth." + +In one camp, he said, an ante-bellum residence had been converted +into a prison by removing every window, and closing up every aperture, +leaving not even an auger hole for light or air. In the center of a +room only 18 feet by 20, was an open can, the reeking cesspool of this +dungeon in which sat a sick Negro convict confined in this dark +sweat-box, perishing. + +In another camp, after the visit of Mr. Wright, the guards took turns +at beating a convict to death and buried him in his shackles. A +respectable citizen asserted that they caught the convict by the +shackles and ran through the woods dragging him feet foremost, and +that when these facts were sworn to before the Grand Jury of Pulaski +County, it was thought best to hush them up and keep the matter out of +the newspapers, and out of court, as the superintendent of the prison +camp had friends on the jury. + +Another case sworn to before the coroner's jury was that of a guard +who had whipped nearly all the life out of an old Negro, who said: +"Boss, is ye gwine to kill me?" The guard replied with an oath in the +affirmative, whereupon the convict begged to be shot and thus freed +from his sufferings. He was chained up to a tree where he died in +thirty minutes. + +In another camp a white convict was being boarded at a hotel ten miles +away, and doing a prosperous business at painting, while another white +convict who had been made night guard and given a gun and the keys to +the camp, had it so free and easy that he threw up his job and +decamped. + +Mr. Boies of Pennsylvania, in his instructive work, discusses the +convict lease system, and shows that the sentences of Negroes in the +South are double those of white men for the same offenses; that for +petty larceny a Negro may be condemned to the criminal class for life, +albeit he had to steal or starve. He shows that the criminal machinery +of the South is frequently used to nullify the Negro's right of +suffrage; that no hand is extended to lift him up when he falls, and +no effort is put forth for his reformation, and for this reason the +South turns out one-third of the criminals of the whole country; that +Massachusetts expends $20 per capita upon the children of her public +schools, while Mississippi with a heavier tax, expends but $2 per +capita. + +In the Evening Star of Washington, D. C., of November 16, 1901, an +exhaustive article on the prison camps of Florida appeared. Although +guardedly, it favored the effort to make the criminal self-supporting, +arguing that as he lives on the public when at large, he should not +be permitted to continue to live on the public when in confinement. +But it admits that the convict lease system is faulty. It says: + +"At present, offenders of all grades and ages are thrown together, and +the younger ones learn more evil than they knew at the time of their +arrest, growing daily more depraved and vicious so long as they remain +in bad company. It may be possible, however, to employ most of the +convicts at tasks which will not require their close association, +either at work or in quarters, and if that desideratum can be reached, +the last argument against the leasing of prisoners will be met, and +the system will be continued indefinitely, such minor matters as the +corruption of inspectors, of which Alabama has complained, being +capable of rebuke through legislation. + +"There are now thirteen camps in Florida, each one of which is +technically a State prison, and they are under the watch of a +supervisor, who must visit them at least once in sixty days, examine +the buildings, food, clothes, and bedding, question keepers and +convicts as to work, punishment and health, enforce compliance with +the laws and report to the governor every month. All leases are for +four years, and the only cost of its criminals to the State are the +salaries of supervisors and a sum of $300 a year for chaplain service. + +"The country expends at least $200,000,000 per annum in maintaining +its convicts. In the city of New York alone, the annual assessment for +that purpose is $6 per citizen. + +"Where the labor unions have not prevented it, society has made the +criminal pay his own bills. In the South where the people are +beginning to show a keenness for money that is not surpassed in the +North, but where, as yet, capital is not gathered into such immense +and usable sums as in the central and eastern States, a new policy has +been adopted with regard to the offender. He is generally a Negro, +hence he is sent back to slavery. He is sold to a farmer, a distiller, +a phosphate miner, or a manufacturer, for a term of years, and his +employer pays considerably less to the State than he would otherwise +lay out in wages. + +"In Alabama, if a State prisoner or long-termer escapes from his +employer, he must pay into the public treasury $200, and $100 if a +county prisoner or short-termer escapes. + +"When an inspector is present at a whipping, the turbulent convict may +be given twenty-one lashes on his bare back; in the absence of the +inspector, the whipping boss is limited to fifteen lashes. + +"The guards are of the poor white class, dull and illiterate, and +receive from $20 to $30 per month and their 'keep.' + +"In Florida shackling is seldom practiced except as a punishment for +running away, as it interferes with the work of the convict. Guns and +bloodhounds are much in evidence in the convict camps. Nothing is done +for the betterment of the convicts intellectually or otherwise. +Missionaries are graciously permitted to distribute tracts among them. + +"White convicts are generally assigned to offices and cook shops, or +become gang foremen. For the white prisoner, whatever his offense, +there is always a hope of pardon, but the Negro prisoner, unless he be +a crap-shooter or chicken thief, congratulates himself on being +consigned to open air work in the convict's camps, for he remembers +how dreadfully easy in Florida it is for a Negro to be lynched." + +Judge M. W. Gibbs of Arkansas said he had known white employers in the +South to be in collusion with magistrates to have colored men +committed on the flimsiest pretext, simply that they might obtain more +free labor on their plantations by means of the convict lease system. + +The eleventh census shows that in the United States there were 2,468 +county jails and only 44 reformatories. There were no reformatories in +Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, +South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. + +Great Britain supports over 400 reformatories and inebriate schools, +and they have closed 56 out of 113 prisons and jails in ten years, and +thereby reduced to that extent the amount of material for the +manufacture of criminals. + +Said Judge Calhoun, of a recorder's court in Georgia: + +"I tremble when I contemplate the future of little boys who come +before me for the first time, and are sentenced to the chain-gang. +Some of them are bright-faced and intelligent; some are orphans; many +thoroughly penitent; and, I believe, nearly all could be reclaimed, +could they be sent to a reform school and surrounded with an +atmosphere that would benefit instead of contaminate." + +Mrs. Helen Cook, wife of Hon. John F. Cook, of Washington, D. C., has +established an organization in the District of Columbia, known as "The +Woman's League," which is doing a wonderful work in reducing the +number of those who are brought into the courts to be justly or +unjustly dealt with. Let the good women of the race throughout the +country follow her example and do something to rescue the perishing. + +In conclusion, let us hope and believe with the widow of the Sage of +Anacostia, that "Meanwhile Hampton and Wilberforce, Howard and Shaw +and Fiske and Atlanta and Tuskegee and other like institutions are +silently setting the seal of manhood and womanhood upon a race whose +face, with ours, is set toward a higher and better civilization." + + +SECOND PAPER. + +IS THE CRIMINAL NEGRO JUSTLY DEALT WITH IN THE COURTS OF THE SOUTH? + +BY ATTORNEY I. L. PURCELL. + +[Illustration: I. L. Purcell] + + ISAAC LAWRENCE PURCELL. + + Isaac Lawrence Purcell, the subject of this sketch, was born + July 17, 1857, in Winnsboro, S. C. His father, John W. + Purcell, by occupation a carpenter, was born in 1832 in + Charleston, S. C., being one of the old free families. + + Isaac Lawrence first attended a school provided by the + Episcopal Church for Colored youths. He afterwards attended + the public schools of his city and, in 1871, entered + Brainard Institute, Chester, S. C., where he remained one + term. In 1872 he entered Biddle University at Charlotte, N. C., + where he remained until in the Fall of 1873, when the + color line was removed at the South Carolina University. He + entered the competitive examination for the scholarship in + the South Carolina University from his county, being the + only Colored applicant. In the Fall of 1873 he entered the + South Carolina University, where he remained until the + Spring of 1877, when the act of the Legislature of the State + went into effect again drawing the color line, so he with + the other Colored boys had to leave. + + Mr. Purcell returned home, and under his father's + instructions learned the carpenter's trade. He went to + Palatka, Fla., in 1885, where he studied law, and was + admitted to practice law in the Circuit and inferior courts + October 8, 1889, and at once commenced the active work of + his chosen profession at Palatka, Fla. + + At the first term of the Circuit Court after his admittance + he represented plaintiffs in several large damage suits, two + against the city of Palatka; in both he got verdict for his + clients; one was appealed to the Supreme Court. He was + admitted to the State Supreme Court January 19, 1891, where + he has successfully represented many cases. January 19, + 1897, he was admitted to the United States Circuit and + District Courts, and November 8, 1901, was duly admitted to + the Supreme Court of the United States. He has represented + some of the most important cases coming before the courts of + his State. He came to Pensacola, his present home, in + February, 1899, and has by his energy and ability built up a + fine and growing business. + + In politics he is a Republican, and has attended as a + delegate every State, congressional and county convention + since coming to the State, several times presided over State + and congressional conventions, was for twelve years chairman + of the Republican Executive Committee of his county, Putnam. + For many years an alderman of the city of Palatka, Fla. In + 1895 he was elected as a delegate to the Republican National + Convention which convened in St. Louis, 1896. He has never + held any office of profit, always honest and fearless in his + opinions and his advocacy of right. + + His private life has always been consistent; while not a + member of any religious denomination, always attends the + services of the Episcopal Church; is a temperate man; is + generous and kind in disposition; was married October 24, + 1895, to Miss E. L. Andrews, of Orangeburg, S. C. + +First: What constitutes a court? In the South as in the North and +other parts of the country, to constitute a court, there must be a +judge, whose duty it is to preside over the court, a sheriff and +deputies, and a State's solicitor, who looks after the interests of +the State, and last, but by no means least, comes the jury, whose duty +it is to discharge or pass on the innocence or guilt of the prisoner +according to the law and evidence as offered; it requires all these to +constitute an organized court of law. + +First: The judge should be a man selected on account of his nobility +of character, of heart, of soul and of mind; a man of experience and +training, a man of affairs, learned in the affairs appertaining +strictly to his branch, as also in literature and science; a man +merciful, kind and generous, of a sterling character, temperate, +though positive and unbiased by private opinion, in a word, he should +be a man, the representative of justice, though not usurping that +power as abiding in himself, but as the instrument of that power; +whose moral character ought to be without blemish, a man whose habit, +integrity, shrewd judgment and wise counsel place him above the +average man, making him of the people and for the people. + +Sheriffs and deputies ought to be honest and fearless, having the +highest regard for the life and liberties of the people; they should +be kind and generous, yet positive and fearless, ever ready to defend +the life and liberties of the people, using their office only in +consonance with the prescribed law in aiding the conviction of crime, +but not as a means of revenging personal wrongs or injuries of the +people whose color is their only sin. + +THE JURY: The jury ought to be composed, if possible, of men of +learning, whose moral character, love of truth, unbiased by racial +prejudice or private opinions, being only representatives of the +people, who in the name of the people adjudge, condemn or acquit +according to the evidence, not from any private opinion, but governed +by such law as is made in the statement of the judge bearing upon the +case given previously to their retiring; if these men of learning can +not be found, as in most cases, let others who, for the above +qualifications minus learning, be substituted in their stead. In the +selection of the jury in the most cases they come as the most refined +element of the scum and refuse of the party class, whose labor in the +election of some democratic officer, can only be rewarded under these +terms; being unqualified to fill even the most inferior office of +their party, in a majority of cases, not even one of these is +acquainted with even the lowest element of learning, and if, +perchance, one can be found, he is made foreman. The Negro is never +thought of, but if, perchance, one should be selected, and in such a +manner is he prominent, even his color makes him conspicuous, he also +is on a par with his companions; men of influence are never selected. +Before I conclude with the jury may I say a word of those who select +them? In most States they are selected by the county commissioners, in +some by a jury commissioner. These commissioners, in most cases, are +none other than tools, instruments who have no minds of their own, but +like a reed before a gust of the mighty wind that blows nobody good, +as serfs and pampered menials bend irrespective of that higher +principle, that innate quality of man that places him above the brute +creation, serving in abject slavery for the carrying out of party +crime and cunning as well as subtle devices. + +A court constituted of such elements as described, is an "Ideal One." +One to be desired, and the only one at whose hands justice, and only +that as gold refined, shall be tried, counterpoised and mete out to +every man justice, in the name of Heaven and at the hands of man. + +But may I ask how are our courts of the South constituted? are any two +of the above qualities to be found in the most prominent of our +Southern courts of criminal jurisdiction? If Diogenes of old would +seek in our Southern courts for such a man, hereto, as in Greece, such +an one could not be found, for truth is no longer enthroned on its +sacred altar. + +Having defined the true elements of which the courts of our Southland +are constituted, I shall pass to consider, THE MANNER IN WHICH THE +Negro is dealt with in these courts. Is the criminal Negro justly +dealt with in the courts of the South? is a question that I think is +more frequently asked than words can answer, language describe, or +man's wisdom unravel. Our woes have gone out to the ends of the earth +and, the stagnant waters can no longer contain its contaminating +germs, and now, even on the other side of the globe, we hear the +re-echo of our cries from this damnable cruelty wafted back to us by +the zephyrs that sustain expectations impregnated with hope telling of +some bright future. + +What of the Negro in the sunny South? what of his rights as a citizen? +what of his treatment at the bar of justice? are questions also +propounded on the other side and since the trial cause of the alleged +rape has been made clear, we expect and are looking forth to the dawn +of a brighter future. + +In our civil courts, in other words, our courts where property rights +are tried, I must say, that where tenement rights are concerned, +justice is meted out to the Negro even against the white man when +elevated to our higher courts, this is the only sphere in which a +lenient form of justice is prescribed and given the Negro. The same +cannot be alleged of him when his life, his liberty, or reputation or +citizenship is at stake. + +Against a fellow Negro, he is in some instances protected, as against +a white man, seldom, if ever. In this latter it is not justice that is +the object of our courts, but the impeachment and condemnation of a +fellow man, giving vent to a vindictive racial prejudice. Be the crime +of the Negro ever so trivial, when against the white man, the sheriff, +having to carry out the oath; the jury, their party plans; the judge, +his selfish means; and, therefore, no evidence, however palpable, +however substantial and convincing can shield the Negro under such +instances. The skin of a white man being held sacred, cannot be +violated or polluted by the touch of the Negro's hands, be it in +self-defense, or in defense of his manhood, or in the defense of wife, +daughter or some other female relative. On the other hand, seldom, if +ever, can a white man be convicted when charged with striking a Negro, +or for any insult he may offer to his wife, sister, daughter or +mother; the juries being all white, they consider this no crime for a +white man. + +May we notice the following facts of the records of our courts; may I +here testify and, without a fear of successful contradiction, that by +these, as matter for the criminal statistics of the race serves no +purpose. + +First: Because our best citizens, the better class of our thinking +men and the most virtuous of our people are not tried at the hands of +an impartial jury, and innocence made to bear the stamp of guilt, can +in no way be accounted justice; for instance, in a case of assault and +battery, although the party charged is able and does prove, by legal +evidence, that his actions were prompted only by resistance in +self-defense, however convincing, if a white man can be found, if even +he does not know anything, but can allege a negative, this unjust +evidence counterpoises the balance of justice and the Negro is found +guilty. If, on the other hand, larceny be charged, it is almost an +impossibility even to attempt to defend, if there be a white witness +against you, it being taken for granted that every Negro is a thief. +Now in courts of justice according to my judgment, and according to +the law, every man is presumed to be innocent until his guilt is +proven beyond a reasonable doubt, by legal evidence, and such evidence +must be furnished or obtained by the prosecution. But men are daily +convicted in our courts, simply because they are Negroes. + +In concluding, let me say, that a majority of my people labor under +appalling disadvantages, but I hope that the time is not far distant +when our courts will be constituted as the "Altars of Justice," the +judges and their associates, as its priests, and the American citizen, +be his color what it may, can come and there receive at the hands of +unblemished and unspotted servants redresses for wrongs, compensation +for impeached innocence and justice for his wrongs. + +The time is coming when all racial prejudice shall have passed away, +and when color will no longer impede our obtaining what is due us, and +when the Negro will receive a fair and impartial trial before a jury +of his peers; then will justice and equity rule sublime, and the Negro +being protected in all his rights; his liberty, life and reputation +will be held sacred, and virtue and worth will be considered; and man, +the prince of God's creation will be crowned for doing justice unto +man. + + +THIRD PAPER. + +IS THE CRIMINAL NEGRO JUSTLY DEALT WITH IN THE COURTS OF THE SOUTH? + +BY GEORGE T. ROBINSON, A. M., LL. B. + +[Illustration: Capt. Geo. T. Robinson] + + CAPTAIN GEORGE T. ROBINSON, A. M., LL. B. + + George Thomas Robinson was born in Macon, Miss., January 12, + 1854, of slave parents. An orphan, in 1865, he set out to + fight life's battles with no one to guide and protect him. + He has risen to a place of distinction--a journalist of + note, a lawyer of high standing, a learned professor of law, + an orator of repute, a molder of thought, and a reformer. He + received his first inspiration from a remark which he heard + Hon. C. S. Smith, now a bishop in the A. M. E. Church, make + to a public school of which he was a pupil. It was: "A boy + can make of himself whatever he has a mind to." George said + to himself, "I will make speeches, too." Since that time + Captain Robinson and Bishop Smith have delivered many + addresses together. They spoke at the Emancipation + Celebration in Nashville, 1st of January, 1892, which took + place in the Representative Hall of the capitol. They were + the principal speakers. + + An afternoon paper on the 2nd said: "The ablest address of + the occasion was delivered by Capt. George T. Robinson on + Abraham Lincoln. The speaker electrified the audience." + + "Cap." Robinson graduated from Fisk University in 1885 and + from law in Central Tennessee College, now Walden + University, both of Nashville, Tenn. He is a professor of + law in the university. + + In 1875 he refused a seat in the Legislature of Mississippi, + in order to complete his education. In 1886 he delivered the + commencement address at Lane College, Jackson, Tenn.; the + same year he began the publication of the "Tennessee Star" + in Nashville. In 1887 he was made a Captain in the Tennessee + National Guard by Governor R. L. Taylor, In 1888 he was on + the invitation committee to invite President Cleveland to + Nashville and served on Gen. W. H. Jackson's staff as + commander of a division in the parade. In 1893 he was a + nominee on the Citizens' ticket for the city council. In + 1896 he was appointed a member of the executive committee of + the Negro department of the Tennessee Centennial and was + chairman of the Military Committee. But the entire committee + resigned before the exposition opened. + + Settling in Nashville in 1886, he soon forged his way to the + front and became a champion of Negro rights. Hon. George N. + Tillman says of him: "He is one of the best and ablest men + of his race in the State." Bishop Evans Tyree says: + "Professor Robinson is a giant physically and mentally." Mr. + Robinson's fame rests on his journalistic career. + + The "Star" was regarded as one of the ablest edited Negro + journals ever published. After several years of successful + work for God and humanity, it consolidated with the + "Indianapolis Freeman." + + The "Star" made its advent in the midst of a big social + scandal with a pastor of the most prominent Baptist Church + in the city, the central figure. With the large following + the divine had, it was not only unpopular, but dangerous to + fight him, especially since he had been acquitted by the + courts; and a large majority of his congregation endorsed + the verdicts. The editor routed the opposition. He told the + preacher that he had to quit that pulpit and leave the city. + + This was the beginning of a reformation in colored society + in the city which was far reaching, and brought editor + Robinson into prominence. "He woke up one morning and found + himself famous." His article, "A Pure Ministry," caused the + reformer to be welcomed to Nashville as a Moses. + +I answer this question in the negative. + +There are some exceptions, but proof is too abundant to gainsay the +assertion. + +In the first place, all of the machinery of the law is in the hands of +the white man. He is judge, jury, sheriff, constable, and policeman. + +Race prejudice and antipathy so over-ride reason, that the average +dispenser of justice is blinded to a sense of right, especially when a +white man appears against an accused Negro. What is sop for the white +man, is not always sop for the black man. As a matter of fact, the +black man is discriminated against in everything in the South, and it +would be unreasonable to expect the courts would do otherwise. + +The presumption of law is that the accused is innocent, and that +presumption stands as a witness in his favor until overcome by +credible proof. But in the average court of the South, this applies to +white men only. The Negro is presumed to be guilty, and the burden of +proof is placed upon him to establish his innocence. + +Cases have come under my observation where the accused Negro was not +only tried without being represented by counsel, but on ex parte +evidence, the black defendant not being permitted to testify in his +own behalf or to introduce proof. These cases were not in courts of +record. + +The organic law of the land guarantees not only trial by jury on an +indictment or presentment, but entitles the accused to be heard by +himself and counsel and to introduce witnesses. In some instances, the +accused is not even in court. The matter is prearranged and the +imprisoned wretch is informed afterward and forced into agreeing to +the "sentence," as the easiest way out of trouble. It is a rare thing +now to see a Negro on a jury In the South. + +Even the Federal courts are ignoring him. A white man does not +consider a Negro his peer. Then from a white man's standpoint, a +colored man tried by a white jury is not tried by his peers. + +The Constitution is violated in letter and spirit, in order that the +criminal Negro may not be justly dealt with. The greater the demand +to keep the convict ranks filled up, the more unjustly is the black +criminal dealt with in the severity of the sentence. + +The very fact that Negroes are not permitted to serve on juries, even +when all the parties are black, proves that it is for the purpose of +preventing justice being done the accused Negro. + +One of the most popular courts in the South is the Court of Judge +Lynch. This "court" comes pretty nearly voicing the sentiment of the +section where it thrives and does a large business. Members of this +court are summoned as jurors to try Negroes, in legal courts, and thus +the mob spirit is carried into the very temple of justice and is meted +out to the black criminal in the name of the law. In such cases, who +could expect a just verdict? Again, the professional juror, believing +his job depends on the number and severity of the convictions of +Negroes, is always ready to strain a point in order to convict. + +Instead of giving the accused the benefit of the doubt, he seeks to +ease his guilty conscience by rapping criminal laws. + +The Negro who outrages the person of a female, is worthy of death--a +legal death. His crime is no less heinous because his victim is +colored--the crime in either case is blacker than the hinges of +midnight. + +A mob composed of white men takes the ravisher of a white female and +burns him at the stake or hangs him and riddles his body with bullets +or dismembers his body. + +In such a case the criminal is not only unjustly dealt with, for both +the moral and civil laws are violated, but a great sin is committed +against society, the moral sensibilities are blunted and the crime +intended to be suppressed is given new impetus. + +Mob violence is the violation of every penal law. The victim has no +show whatever. + +A mob is not composed of men who have it in their hearts to respect +the rights of the victim of their fury. + +This is the cause of so many innocent, inoffensive Negro men, women +and children perishing at the hands of mobs. Mob violence leads to the +utter disregard for law and order, and increases crime, making +criminals of "some of the best citizens." + +There can be no such thing as dealing justly with the criminal Negro, +as long as the rule is to deal unjustly with all Negroes. + +For instance, take the black laws, notably the Jim Crow car laws and +the infamous election laws, the most outrageous ever inflicted upon a +free people. The Negro has been legislated out of the legislative +halls, leaving the white man clear sailing in enacting unjust laws +which discriminate against all Negroes alike, regardless of condition, +culture, refinement, wealth, position or station. + +The law places the mark of Cain upon him. His aspirations and +ambitions must be curbed in spite of his fitness by character and +training. The worthlessness of the Negro does not cause the opposition +that the prosperity of the best of the race does. The legislator and +constitution maker aims his darts at the latter class. + +This state of affairs obtains in every Southern State; and the fact +that the ballot, our only safeguard, has been taken from us, shows +that the criminal Negro need not expect to be dealt with justly. + +The nearest approach to fair play is to be had in the larger towns and +cities of the South, and even here the chances are against the Negro. +But it will not always be thus. A change will come sooner or later. +Let us be courageous, do our best and trust in God. + + +FOURTH PAPER. + +IS THE CRIMINAL NEGRO JUSTLY DEALT WITH IN THE COURTS OF THE SOUTH? + +BY ATTORNEY J. THOMAS HEWIN. + +[Illustration: J. Thomas Hewin.] + + J. THOMAS HEWIN. + + J. Thomas Hewin was born in Dinwiddie County, Va., December + 24, 1871. His parents were slaves. He was left an orphan at + the age of thirteen, with no knowledge even of the alphabet. + At the age of seventeen he was seized with a desire for an + education. Finding no opportunity for mental improvement, he + went to Richmond, Va., in 1889, where he found employment in + a stone quarry. He took his books with him and studied at + meal-time. In the fall he became janitor of a business + college. Finding that he could do his janitor work mornings + and evenings, he entered the public school of Richmond and + afterward graduated from the Richmond Normal School as + valedictorian of his class. + + So thrifty was Mr. Hewin, that when he graduated from + school, he had a bank account of $1,375 to his credit. + + He also graduated from the Boston University Law School, and + after returning to his native state was admitted to the bar. + He was especially helpful to the unfortunate of his race. + + He organized in Richmond the Anti-Deadly Weapon League among + the young colored men of the place, for which he received + the commendation of the press and people. He is a member of + the Baptist Church, an ardent worker among his people, a + power as an organizer and an orator of the Frederick + Douglass type. + +For a man of color to approach a subject of this kind, first of all, +he must crucify "self." He must not imagine that he is writing to suit +the whims, fancies and caprices of a single individual, but must +confine himself to the pure and unadulterated truth. To discuss this +question from a lawyer's point of view, that is to say, by detailed +cases, would be unintelligible to an ordinary layman's mind. + +Therefore, we must confine ourselves to the subject from a layman's +way of understanding legal matters. The Negro occupies to-day a +peculiar position in the body politic. He is not wanted in politics, +because his presence in official positions renders him obnoxious to +his former masters and their descendants. He is not wanted in the +industrial world as a trained handicraftsman, because he would be +brought into competition with his white brother. He is not wanted in +city positions, because positions of that kind are always saved for +the white wardheeling politicians. He is not wanted in State and +Federal offices, because there is an unwritten law that a Negro shall +not hold an office. He is not wanted on the Bench as a judge, because +he would have to pass upon the white man's case also. Nor is he wanted +on public conveyances, because here his presence is obnoxious to white +people. + +But let us not lose sight of our subject which is: Is the criminal +Negro justly dealt with in the courts of the South? Permit the author +of this article to say that there is no section in this country where +there is not some prejudice against the Negro. + +Whether the Negro be tried for a crime he commits in the North or +South, he will get as fair a verdict upon the law and evidence as +presented in a Southern court as in the courts of any State in this +Union. When we see such awful examples of brutality and inhumanity as +occur in some sections of our common country against the Negro, we do +not wonder that people who live in distant lands say that there can be +no justice for a Negro in the Southern States. This assertion has been +repeated so often, that now it is a common thing for men to say that a +Negro can get no justice in the South. Yet it is important for us to +note that not one of these miscarriages of justice is traceable to the +partiality of the courts. They are the result of men's prejudices, who +are not willing for the Negro's case to be tested upon its merits, +because they know that in nine cases in ten he would be acquitted in a +court of justice; and for this reason they take the law into their own +hands, rather than submit it to an intelligent, cool and unprejudiced +judicial body as every court is. Is there a man under heaven who would +charge this state of affairs up against the courts of the South? +Certainly, no one can be found who would do it. It has been my +experience in my State in the trial of criminal cases that in nine +cases out of ten, the white juries are in sympathy with the poor, +ignorant Negro. I think the game rule will hold good in other Southern +States. When we approach the subject of criminal law, we must +constantly bear in mind that the object of every criminal prosecution +is twofold: (1) to reform the criminal; (2) to make an example of him, +so that the public will be deterred from the commission of the same +offense. It is not the severity of a criminal prosecution that deters +crime, but it is the certainty of punishment, when crime is committed. +While it is true that the courts of the South as constituted, at +present, give the Negro equal justice upon the law and facts of his +case, yet we must bear in mind that a criminal prosecution is not +ended with judgment in the courts. There are other humane principles +to be put into operation, in order that the criminal may receive the +benefits of his punishment. The relation of the Southern courts +towards the Negro in this respect is particularly weak. Splendid +examples of this may be seen in the "Convict Lease System," prevailing +in the States of South Carolina, Arkansas and other Southern States. +Under this system a Negro may be convicted of a felony calling for a +minimum term of imprisonment, and yet serve out a life-time in prison. +It is a system which, instead of reforming the Negro, gradually +re-enslaves him. It has become such an outrage upon justice and common +decency that the eyes of the civilized world are upon the United +States to see how long a democratic government will tolerate such an +outrage upon common justice and a defenseless people. Yet, when we, at +home, begin to trace the causes of this evil, we invariably ascribe +them to the courts of the South. Wrong! Wrong! The courts of the South +are not legislative bodies, but judicial bodies whose function it is +to interpret the laws made, and not to make laws. That right in a +republic, like ours, belongs exclusively to the legislative +department, and not to the judiciary. The failure on the part of the +public to distinguish between the legislative and judicial branches of +the government accounts in a large measure for the criticism that has +been made upon the courts of the South in their dealings with the +criminal Negro. It is well for us to bear in mind that a court cannot +make a law, but can only confine its opinion to the law as it is. It +is a well-known fact that the United States and the several States +composing the same are governed by written constitutions; also, that +in a constitutional government all laws must be uniform in their +operation. Hence, no law can be made that will operate more harshly +upon a Negro than upon a white man who is guilty of the same offense. +The criminal Negro naturally thinks that he is dealt with unjustly in +the court. I have never seen in my practice a Negro who did not think +that a white judge and a white jury were not his enemies, and that +they were looking for false evidence upon which to convict him, and +were not desirous of passing upon his case on the law and evidence as +presented. This, in a large measure, accounts for the enormous fees +paid by Negroes to white attorneys for the simplest trouble they may +get into. They believe that a white man has more influence in a court +than a Negro lawyer, as though the laws were based upon favors to +individuals rather than upon fixed rules of judicial construction. As +for the judiciary of other States, I cannot speak, but for Virginia, +I can and will say, that for the integrity of her judiciary--a fairer +and more impartial set of men cannot be found in this country. Never, +in my life, has anyone of them treated me amiss in their courts, nor +can I point to a single case where snap judgment was meted out to a +man of color, for the simple reason that he was colored. The +experience of my brother members of the Bar in other States seems to +tally with mine in this respect. Though I did once read of a +Mississippi judge who told some colored men who had assembled in his +court to listen to the trial of one of their race that this was a +white man's country, and that Negroes had no business in a court room, +unless there on business. Lest we forget it, we will say it now that +the greatest of all virtues is charity. The numerous complaints we +hear about the maltreatment of the Negro, do not come from within, but +from without. They come from people who know nothing of the position +we occupy in the South. They tell us that the Southern people are our +enemies, that they are doing us all the harm that can be done to any +people. Worst of all, our people in many instances, are silly enough +to believe them--ignorant of the fact that their success depends upon +making their next door neighbors their friends. The same people take +this charge and lay it to the courts of justice. Shame that in a +democratic government like ours a free people should be slaves to such +tricksters whose only object is to create discord among a poor and +defenseless people! When we hear people charging the Southern courts +with treating the Negro unjustly, it reminds us of an old colored lady +who was once warning a young colored man about dying in his sins. The +young man wanted to know if the fire in hell was hot. The old lady +said, "Hunney de olde sinners fetch their fire wid dem." If the Negro +gets a harsh verdict at the Bar in a Southern court, it is because he +brings his fire with him. Just why it is that the Negro cannot see +things in the same light, I do not know. It is a rule of physics that +action is equal to reaction and in the contrary direction. By the side +of that we can put this statement, that a man is worked upon by that +which he works. The Negro, as a rule, labors under the belief that he +is an object of persecution and proscription, and in turn that insane +belief so works upon him that it is useless for anybody to endeavor to +make him believe otherwise. There is one thing I must say before I +close and that is this, that if the Negro wants to break down the +great undercurrent against him in the courts of the South, he must do +all in his power to establish among his own people the element of +caste--a line between the good and bad. He must frown upon those who +do wrong, and uphold those who do right. He must lay aside the old +adage that you must never do anything against your own color. If a man +is my color, and he is wrong, I am against him. If a man is my color +and he is right, I am for him. Let the Negro adopt this as a maxim, +and justice in the courts of the South is his, now and forever. + + + + +TOPIC VII. + +TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE NEGRO PULPIT UPLIFTING THE RACE? + +BY BISHOP GEORGE WYLIE CLINTON, M. A., D. D. + +[Illustration: Bishop Geo. W. Clinton.] + + BISHOP GEORGE WYLIE CLINTON, A. M., D. D. + + The career of Bishop George Wylie Clinton, A. M., D. D., + furnishes indisputable evidence that merit wins success, and + that industry, joined with native and acquired ability, + cannot be denied pre-eminence. His is a story of a man, who, + starting life with a definite goal in view, has allowed + neither the blandishments of flattery nor the frosts of + discouragement to hinder his progress; but, impressing his + great personality upon all with whom he came in contact, he + moved steadily forward, and is now one of the best examples + of erudition, eloquence and practicability in the Negro + pulpit. + + This remarkable man was born March 28, 1859, in Lancaster + County, South Carolina. As a child he was religiously + inclined and thoughtful beyond his years, and none who knew + him was surprised, when at the age of ten years, he became a + member of the A. M. E. Zion Church. When quite young he was + sent to the public school, and afterwards to a private + school where he remained until 1874, when he entered the + South Carolina University. In 1876 when the Democrats + succeeded in electing Wade Hampton governor, all the colored + students were forced to withdraw from said university and + thus, after finishing the Junior Classical year he went to + Brainard Institute, Chester, S. C., from which he graduated + with very high honors. + + Young Clinton finished his education by taking Theology, + Greek and Hebrew at Livingstone College. Realizing that the + urgent need of his people was education, he became a + successful and conspicuous educator. For ten years, with all + his energy, he was engaged in the public education of his + people, being at one time Principal of Lancaster (S. C.) + High School and Industrial Institute; and he held a similar + position in the Howard Graded School of Union, S. C. Both of + the above schools made marvelous advancement while under his + management. He founded a private school at Rock Hill, S. C., + out of which has come the widely known Clinton Institute. As + a writer, Bishop Clinton is easily among the best which the + race has produced. In his style there is wonderful richness, + energy and variety. His chaste, pleasing and conservative + writings made the leading papers of his State seek his + contributions. + + He founded the A. M. E. Zion Quarterly Review, which he + issued for two years with increasing success; and in 1892 he + transferred it, free of debt, to the General Conference. His + eminence as an editor was so pronounced that said General + Conference elected him editor of the Star of Zion. During + his incumbency in this office he added to his fame as a + thoughtful, versatile writer, and inaugurated the plan by + which the A. M. E. Zion publication was established. + + Naturally, his greatest fame was made in the pulpit, for he + is a most eloquent man, and possesses much magnetism. Added + to a most pre-possessing personality, and a sonorous but + well modulated voice, the Bishop has all the graces of a + finished orator, and all the charms of a deep, earnest + scholar. Like Martin Luther, he intended to study law; but + the Bible overshadowed Blackstone. He began to preach at + twenty years of age and in 1896 was elected Bishop in the A. + M. E. Zion Church. + + In spite of a multiplicity of duties, the Bishop finds time + to serve as President of Atkinson College; and so well has + he supervised and managed its affairs, that it is enjoying + great popularity and is maintaining a high intellectual + standing. + + He was married, February 6, 1901, to Miss Marie Louise Clay + of Huntsville, Ala. His wife is a highly accomplished lady, + and a soloist of national repute. He has one son, George + William, being the issue of his former marriage to the late + Mrs. Annie K. Clinton. The Bishop lives in becoming style at + Charlotte, N. C., where he owns some valuable, and + well-located property. His mother, for whom he has always + manifested the deepest affection, makes her home with her + distinguished son. Bishop Clinton is yet young; and the + church and the race have every reason to hope for many more + years of the distinguished services of this brilliant + leader. + +From the establishment of the gospel system the pulpit has occupied an +important, unique and potential position in all things pertaining to +man's well being along moral, social and spiritual lines. + +It has not failed to concern itself about other affairs that tended to +man's betterment. It may be stated in brief that at one time or +another the pulpit has taken a deep interest and exerted a helpful, as +well as a healthy influence in whatever has tended to man's highest +and best welfare. Speaking of the Christian ministry, Daniel Webster +on one occasion said: "The ministers of Christianity, departing from +Asia-Minor, traversing Asia, Africa and Europe, to Iceland, Greenland +and the poles of the earth, suffering all things, enduring all things, +raising men everywhere from ignorance of idol worship to the knowledge +of the true God, and everywhere bringing life and immortality to +light, have only been acting in obedience to the divine instruction; +and they still go forth. They have sought, and they still seek, to be +able to preach the gospel to every creature under the whole heaven. +And where was Christianity ever received, where were the truths ever +poured into human hearts, where did its waters, springing up into +everlasting life, ever burst forth, except in the track of a Christian +ministry? + +"Did we ever hear of an instance; does history record an instance, of +any part of the globe Christianized by lay preachers or lay teachers? +And descending from kingdoms and empires to cities, countries, to +parishes and villages, do we not all know, that, wherever Christianity +has been carried, and wherever it has been taught by human agency, +that agency was the agency of the ministers of the gospel." + +In the above high tribute from one of the greatest American statesmen +since the Republic began its existence, we have set forth the peculiar +work as well as the grand achievements of the pulpit. But as has been +stated in the previous paragraph the pulpit has ever sought to uplift +man on every line where his uplifting meant his highest good. + +The Negro pulpit has not been an exception in the great work of +uplifting mankind, especially that part of mankind with which it is +ostensibly identified. No other pulpit ever had a more difficult task +or labored under greater disadvantages than the Negro pulpit. In the +very beginning the Negro pulpit had the leadership and the +enlightenment of the race in spiritual and intellectual knowledge +thrust upon it, when it was neither qualified nor regularly organized. +Despite the disability within and the disadvantages without the Negro +pulpit became the pioneer in the first movements to better the +condition of the race by lifting it from the degradation and +disorganized state in which it was left by slavery. + +In almost every effort and successful plan which have been inaugurated +since the race began its life of freedom the Negro pulpit has been the +prime promoter and the advance guard. When other leaders have +faltered, failed or retreated, the Negro pulpit has remained steadfast +and redoubled its efforts. + +As is indicated in the quotation from America's greatest orator, +Daniel Webster, the chief and first work of the pulpit is spiritual +instruction. + +As an evidence of the success of the Negro pulpit along this line the +race may point to a larger percentage of Negro Christians according to +population than is true of any other people in this Christian land. +While it is true the Negro brought the Christian religion over from +slavery as the best heritage which that cruel system bequeathed to +him, it remained for the Negro pulpit to give shape, tone and organic +significance to Negro Christianity. + +In organizing the Negro into separate and distinctly racial societies +for the conduct of religious worship and church government the Negro +pulpit did a work which has given the race greater prestige and more +clearly demonstrated its capabilities and possibilities than any other +work which has been done by or for the race toward uplifting it. When +the Negro proved his ability to organize and conduct successfully a +religious denomination of great size and strength, it proved its +capacity to develop and govern itself along any other line. Surely the +words of the prophet in which he speaks of a people "scattered and +peeled," "a nation meted out and trodden down," seem fittingly +applicable to the condition of the Negro just emerged from slavery. + +It was this people, thus situated, that the Negro pulpit took hold of +and formed into church societies and religious denominations, which +now have followings which number up into the hundred thousands and +possess property valued at millions of dollars deeded to, and held by +and for the race. + +Quickly seconding the work of organization followed the work of +education. Before the free school began the Negro preacher became a +teacher of his people to the full extent of his ability. Those who +were sufficiently qualified found employment as public school +teachers, while the more progressive and better qualified began to +plan for institutions of higher grade to better qualify themselves and +prepare teachers and leaders for the future weal of the race. + +Whether we point to Wilberforce at Xenia, Ohio, secured to the A. M. +E. Church through the late lamented Bishop D. A. Payne, D. D.; +Livingstone College, over which that prince of American orators and +foremost of Negro educators, Dr. Joseph Chas. Price, presided, from +its permanent organization to his universally mourned death; the State +University; the Chief Negro Baptist School located at Louisville, +Kentucky, or the scores of other schools of high grade, it is a fact +beyond dispute that the Negro pulpit began the initiative and has +exerted the most helpful and controlling influence since they were +founded. + +A majority of the college, seminary and high school presidents and +principals, as well as some of the strongest members of the several +faculties, are men from the pulpit or men who do double duty by +serving as best they can the pulpit and schoolroom. + +In politics as well as in other spheres some of the most effective +work which has been done for the uplifting of the race has been done +by the Negro pulpit. + +To the writer's personal knowledge some of the ablest, most faithful +and useful men found in the constitutional conventions, legislatures +and county offices during the reconstruction period were men from the +Negro pulpit. + +The Rev. James Walker Hood (A. M. E. Zion), now Bishop J. W. Hood, +D. D., LL. D., in the Constitutional Convention of North Carolina, in the +Legislature, and as Assistant Superintendent of Education for the +State, did a work which contributed not only to the uplift of the race +but to the best interest of all the people of the State. + +Rev. Henry McNeal Turner, D. D., LL. D. (A. M. E. Church), as +legislator in Georgia, exerted an influence which is still felt in +that State. + +Bishop B. W. Arnett, D. D. (A. M. E.), whose efforts in the Ohio +Legislature secured the repeal of the "Black Laws"; Rev. D. I. Walker +(A. M. E. Zion), as school commissioner and State Senator from Chester +County, South Carolina; Rev. J. E. Wilson (M. E.), as school +commissioner and postmaster at Florence, South Carolina; Rev. Wm. +Thomas (A. M. E.), and R. H. Cain (A. M. E.), Legislator, Congressman +and later Bishop; Rev. H. R. Revels (M. E.), United States Senator, +whose deportment in the United States Senate and in other walks of +life called forth the highest encomiums from the Southern press; Rev. +Henry Highland Garnett (Presbyterian), and Rev. M. G. Hopkins +(Presbyterian), and Owen L. W. Smith (A. M. E. Zion), United States +Minister to the Republic of Liberia, each and all have contributed +much to the uplifting of the race in the political sphere. But the +Negro pulpit has not confined its efforts along the line of race +organization to the religious sphere. Knowing, as every thoughtful +leader and man of the race must know, that material possessions, +financial standing and social combination for material well being are +indispensable, the Negro pulpit has not failed to project, foster and +encourage organizations of a character to benefit the race along the +above lines. In Masonry the Negro pulpit has ever held a commanding +influence and served a most useful purpose. The same is to some extent +true in Odd Fellowship and other societies which have been helpful to +the race. But the most substantial organization now operated by and +for the Negro race in this country are the True Reformers, Galilean +Fishermen and Birmingham, Alabama, Penny Savings Bank. + +The well-known and much lamented Rev. Wm. W. Brown (M. E.), C. C. +Steward (A. M. E. Zion), W. R. Pettiford (Baptist), were the chief +factors in founding and firmly establishing these healthy and helpful +race institutions, which are still doing a thriving and widening +business which is not only uplifting the race but benefiting the +community at large. The Hale Infirmary, established by the widow of +the late Elder Hale (A. M. E. Zion), of Montgomery, Alabama, in +compliance with the expressed wish of her husband while living; the +Orphanages of Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina, established and +now being managed by Revs. Jenkins and E. A. Carroll (Baptist), in the +above cities; also the Orphanage at Oxford, North Carolina, +established by ministers of the Baptist Church, according to +information obtained by the writer; the Episcopal Industrial School of +Charlotte, North Carolina, founded by Rev. P. P. Alston (Episcopal), +are but a few of the many ways in which the Negro pulpit is uplifting +the race. In the literary sphere the Negro pulpit has made numerous +and valuable contributions which stand to the credit of the race and +add to American literary productions. + +Bishops Payne, whose "History of the A. M. E. Church" and "Domestic +Education;" B. T. Tanner's several works; Levi J. Coppin's "Key to the +Bible," and "Baptized Children;" W. J. Gaines' "Negro and the White +Man;" Dr. H. T. Johnson's "Logos;" Rev. Whitman's works; Rev. T. G. +Steward's works; Bishop J. W. Hood's (A. M. E. Zion) "Negro in +Christian Pulpit," "History of the A. M. E. Zion Church" and +"Apocalypse Revealed;" Bishop J. B. Small's "Pulpiteer," "Human Heart" +and "Predestination;" Dr. W. J. Simmon's (Baptist) "Men of Mark;" +Bishop Holsey's (C. M. E.) sermons and addresses; Dr. C. H. Phillip's +(C. M. E.) "C. M. E. Church History;" Dr. G. L. Blackwell's (A. M. E. +Zion) "Model Home;" Rev. Geo. C. Lowe's (Congregational) poems; Rev. +J. D. Corrother's (A. M. E. Zion) poems; Rev. W. H. Nelson's (M. E.) +"A Walk With Jesus;" Dr. Alexander Crummell's (Episcopal) sermons and +addresses and papers, with scores of books I can not mention for lack +of space, besides others I have not seen or heard about, are +contributions which cannot help but inspire and uplift the race. The +greatest and most widely known race organization that is endeavoring +to uplift the Negro along social lines and combat the prejudices, +caste regulations and other efforts to crush out race manhood and turn +back the hand in the dial plate of the Negro's progress, is the +Afro-American Council, headed by that born leader of men, the +eminently pious and ever aggressive race leader, Bishop Alexander +Walters, D. D. (A. M. E. Zion), and his most substantial following is +made up of representatives of all the Negro pulpits in America. + +In the Negro Press Association the Negro pulpit is largely and ably +represented and the preacher editors are doing their work well. The +above brief and partial (but partial only for lack of broader +information and of more space) is but a feeble testimony to what the +Negro pulpit is doing toward uplifting the race. + +In the religious sphere the Negro pulpit stands out in bold prominence +as the chief agency in the work of uplifting the race. In organizing +and perpetuating existing organizations the Negro pulpit now, as +before, leads all other agencies. + +In the work of education the progressive pulpit is always a patron and +supporter, as well as a workman which needeth not to be ashamed. + +In the endeavor to constrain the people to a settled condition, +instill the principles of Christianity in all the affairs of life, and +promote peace and harmony between man and man, regardless of race, the +Negro pulpit is doing a work which is ever adding new stones to the +grand building of race progress and influence. I know no single agency +which is accomplishing so much in the task of uplifting the race as +the Negro pulpit. What the great Negro religious and social +organizations are doing, especially in such establishments as the A. +M. E. Zion, A. M. E. and Baptist Publication establishments at +Charlotte, North Carolina; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Nashville, +Tennessee, and Jackson, Tennessee, is due largely to the management +and business skill of the Negro pulpit. Now as in the past the Negro +pulpit constitutes the true leadership of the race. + +Having been the pioneer in almost every race uplifting enterprise it +will ever heartily co-operate with those who have come along in the +paths blazed out by the Negro pulpit until the race shall take its +place among the foremost peoples of the earth in every good work for +the advancement of man and for the glory of God. + + +SECOND PAPER. + +TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE NEGRO PULPIT UPLIFTING THE RACE? + +BY REV. J. B. L. WILLIAMS, D. D. + +[Illustration: J. B. L. Williams, D. D.] + + REV. JOHN B. L. WILLIAMS, D. D. + + Rev. John B. L. Williams, D. D., was born in Baltimore, Md., + November 22, 1853. His parents, John W. Williams and + Elizabeth Williams, were examples of piety, and were of + prominent family connections in Baltimore. At an early age + he was placed in a Roman Catholic School. Later in life he + attended the city public schools and Douglass Institute. At + 17 he was converted and joined the Methodist Episcopal + church. At 18 he was divinely impressed with a call to the + ministry. At 19 he became an apprentice at cabinet work and + undertaking and completing his apprenticeship engaged in + business for three years in Baltimore. In his 22d year he + was licensed to preach by the Quarterly conference of John + Wesley M. E. Church in Baltimore. + + In March, 1876, he abandoned his business and left Baltimore + to accept an appointment at Oak Hill, Ga. The same year he + joined the Savannah Conference in its organization by Bishop + Levi Scott, and he has rendered efficient service in the + leading charges of the Conference: Newnan, three years; Loyd + Street, Atlanta, one year; Presiding Elder Atlanta District, + four years; M. E. Church at LaGrange, five years. He was + honored by his brethren to the election of secretary of the + Conference fifteen successive years. While pastor at Newnan + he was principal of the city public school. At LaGrange he + served two years as a member of the faculty of LaGrange + Seminary and one year its principal. In 1882 he entered + Clark University, taking studies in the college preparatory + course. The same year he entered Gammon Theological Seminary + and graduated in 1885 with honor. In 1891 he was transferred + by Bishop H. W. Warren to the Florida Conference to take + charge of Ebenezer M. E. Church in Jacksonville. He served + Ebenezer Church five years, during which time its membership + was doubled the last year, being marked by a great revival + which lasted two weeks and resulted in the conversion of 130 + persons. His next charge was Trinity Church, St. Augustine, + where he served five years with success. He is now pastor of + Trinity M. E. Church, Fernandina. As a preacher he is + deliberate, convincing, persuasive and instructive. His + sermons are well constructed, choicely worded, rhetorically + polished, full of thought and eloquently delivered. He was + honored with the degree of Doctor of Divinity by Wiley + University of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Marshall, + Texas, May 20, 1895. + +The Christian pulpit has ever been acknowledged to be a great power +for good among all people. Coming as it does divinely commissioned and +bearing to man a divine message, it has a claim upon the attention and +the acceptation of mankind. Its claim to be heard is founded on the +fact that it has something to say--some truth to communicate about +God, His character, His purpose concerning man, His unbounded goodness +and infinite love--about man, his duty and his destiny, and the great +salvation offered to him. The Christian pulpit is peculiarly and +inseparably interwoven in the social life, moral deportment and +religious growth of the people. In its character it is to be the +representation of the highest standard of ethical deportment and the +best example of religious life. From it the people are to receive +their inspiration for that which is pure, exalted and ennobling. To +the Christian pulpit the people look for the loftiest ideals of +life. In this respect the Negro more than any other people has been +largely dependent upon the pulpit. Emerging as he did more than a +quarter of a century ago from a thraldom which fettered his body and +imprisoned his intellect and buried him in ignorance, it was the +Christian pulpit represented at that time by the good old fathers of +those dark and trying days--to whom the good and lamented Bishop +Haygood paid high compliment in one of his addresses--they it was who +saved their people from conditions which would have been vastly more +deplorable but for such moral and religious instruction as they were +able to impart. As a race we have moved an amazing distance from that +period. Schools, seminaries and universities have sprung up as if by +magic. Educated young men and young women have gone forth from these +institutions determined to do their best for God and humanity. The +Negro press has also arisen and swayed a mighty influence for moral +and religious good, but neither the school nor the press has been +recognized as an efficient substitute for the pulpit. What was true as +regards the place and power of the pulpit to uplift the people in the +dark days of the past is equally true now in these days of light and +knowledge. The educated and Christian pulpit is an indispensable +factor in the elevation of the race to-day. + +The extent to which the Negro pulpit is uplifting the race is to be +seen in the gradual but certain and permanent reformation taking place +in the social and moral life of the race. Social distinction, based +exclusively upon moral character, is being clearly defined and rigidly +observed. The moral standard has been elevated and the conceptions of +the race in relation to ethical life has been greatly improved and +beautifully exemplified in the lives of thousands. The home life of +the race is purer and the sacredness of the marriage vow is gaining +pre-eminence over the divorce system. The home life of the masses is +gradually being touched and improved by the far-reaching influence of +the Negro Christian pulpit, and there are signs and indications of +better things and happier conditions. From these pulpits the Gospel +goes forth with simplicity and power. Its truth and teaching is made +to touch, shape and direct the practical side of Christian life. The +evils which exist and which are a menace to the best and purest modes +of life are strongly denounced and openly rebuked by the Negro +Christian pulpit, and the race is being led to understand that sound +moral character is the foundation upon which to build a strong, +symmetrical, well-rounded manhood. + +The religious life of the race is being uplifted by the Negro +Christian pulpit. Sound is being displaced by sense in the pulpit. +Senseless emotion by thoughtful and reverential worship in the pew, +and a clear conception and deep knowledge of divine truth is being +gained by the people. The individual of pessimistic temperament may +say that the masses are not being influenced and lifted up by the +Negro pulpit, but this would be a mere statement and not an actual +fact. The pessimist lives in an unwholesome atmosphere, he will not +see the sunshine because he prefers to stay down in the valley beneath +the cloud of doubt and surmounted with the fog of hopelessness. The +educated Negro pulpit is mainly optimistic and sees beyond its +immediate surroundings. It sees to it that the leaven of sound +doctrine and moral ethics are being put into the meal, and from +personal developments believes that in process of time the whole lump +will be leavened. The Negro pulpit is awake to the gravity of its +responsibility and it is putting forth its best efforts and mightiest +endeavors to uplift the race socially, morally and religiously. +Evidences of this aim and purpose are not difficult to be seen in all +communities. + + +THIRD PAPER. + +TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE NEGRO PULPIT UPLIFTING THE RACE? + +BY REV. R. P. WYCHE, D. D. + +[Illustration: Rev. R. P. Wyche.] + + REV. R. P. WYCHE, D. D. + + Robert P. Wyche was born near Oxford, the county seat of + Granville County, N. C. His father was a carpenter by trade + and early taught his son the use of tools. In his humble + home he was taught the dignity of labor, fidelity to duty, + obedience to God and faith in prayer. These simple lessons + shaped the course of his life probably more than any other + influence. For a while he attended night school, as he + worked in the day in order to earn the means to buy his + books and to pay other necessary expenses. Robert was + ambitious to excel. From the night school he went to a + private school at Henderson, N. C. This school was conducted + by the Rev. J. H. Crawford, a Presbyterian minister. Here + Robert prosecuted his studies with eagerness, fitting + himself to enter the preparatory department of Biddle + University. The President of the university, the Rev. S. + Mattoon, D. D., became interested in Robert, whom he + esteemed as a promising student, and assured him that no + worthy student should leave school for the want of means. + + After graduating in 1877 his first thought was to enter the + medical profession, but afterward he abandoned this idea and + began seriously to consider the call to the ministry. After + teaching school for a short period he returned to the + seminary and took the full course in theology. He was + licensed and ordained by the Presbytery of Catawba and was + called to the pastorate of Seventh Street Presbyterian + Church, at Charlotte, N. C. The degree of A. M. and the + honorary degree of D. D. were conferred upon Rev. R. P. + Wyche by Biddle University. He is at this time Moderator of + the Synod of Catawba. + + He married Miss Belle Butler, a popular educator, who unites + with her husband in every measure for the true elevation of + the Negro. + +The question has been raised as to the part taken by the pulpit in the +uplift of the race. The most casual observer must conclude that there +are influences at work which are elevating the Negro race, and it is +interesting and instructive to trace out the work which is done by +each individual agency. + +The pulpit has long been recognised as a potent factor in the +formation of character, and the Negro pulpit is not an exception to +the general rule. Its influence may be elevating or degrading. The +character and the ability of the man in the pulpit will determine its +nature and extent. + +The office itself implies an active interest in the elevation of man +from the lower to the highest stage of life. But the uneducated +ministry proved itself unequal to the task of teaching and leading the +people along the difficult path to true excellence. + +Some of the most stubborn opposition to the progress of the race was +found in that class who had good reasons to fear the loss of power as +the race advanced in intelligence. All of the higher interests of +the people suffered at the hands of this class of leaders. + +But let us now turn to another and better class of leaders. There are +ministers who have enjoyed the benefits of a Christian education. This +class of men form a strong factor in the elevation of the Negro. The +present attainments of the pulpit are far-reaching in their beneficent +influence upon the race. + +The Negro pulpit is absolutely necessary to the higher moral +development of the Negro. This development should lie at the +foundation of all of his attainments, for men cannot reasonably hope +to rise permanently along other lines while they neglect moral +culture. The moral influence of the pulpit is now creating correct +views of life in the Negro and leading him to good citizenship. The +practical pulpit teaching along this line is having its effect in the +moral uplift of the Negro. In this way the pulpit is serving as an +uplifting force. Moral stability is the only solid foundation of an +enduring elevation. + +Considered from an intellectual point of view, the pulpit is of great +value to the Negro race. The example set by the Negro pulpit in +acquiring its intellectual status is worthy of imitation, and the +youth of the rising generation will profit by it. The positive +instruction and counsel coming from safe and trusted leaders will +certainly yield its fruit. We cannot estimate the worth of the pulpit +as the moulder of the thought, the character and the destiny of the +race. + +The financial status of the pulpit, under existing conditions, may be +considered comparatively good. It has been made what it now is by +industry, economy and self-denial, and stands as an object lesson for +the benefit of those wishing to better their condition. The salaries +paid Negro preachers are usually small, even less than the wages of +mechanics. But these small earnings are carefully saved and wisely +invested. As a result many of the Negro preachers have comfortable +homes, while others of them have small bank accounts. The Negro +minister has learned the dignity of labor and does not hesitate to +labor with head and hands in order to attain to the position of +usefulness and influence in the world. The people are taught in this +practical manner the lessons of industry and economy more forcibly +than in any other way, and they are thus led to secure homes, to enter +into business and to educate their children. + +Our elegant church edifices are largely due to the taste, tact and +business qualities of the pulpit. These beautiful edifices exert a +refining and uplifting influence upon the lives of men. + +The spiritual power of the pulpit--this is the chief power that it is +expected to wield in the world, for its mission is spiritual, and this +great fact should ever be remembered. Our deepest needs are of a +spiritual nature, and the pulpit offers to supply these deep-seated +needs and to assist us to rise to the rank of "the sons of God." + +The Gospel is the divinely appointed means to elevate men in Christian +character. The promulgation of the Gospel and the exhibition of +practical Christianity are the essential elements to an onward and +upward progress. + + +FOURTH PAPER. + +TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE NEGRO PULPIT UPLIFTING THE RACE? + +BY REV. I. D. DAVIS, D. D. + +[Illustration: Rev. I. D. Davis, D. D.] + + REV. I. D. DAVIS, D. D. + + The subject of this sketch was born at Laurens, S. C., in + 1858. His parents were Nelson and Sarah Davis. In 1870 Rev. + Charles Thompson (a Presbyterian Missionary from the North) + came to Laurens and began services in a part of the town + known as "Tin Pot Ally." The first to be enrolled in his + Sunday School was the subject of our sketch. + + After Rev. Thompson left Laurens our little hero went to + school to another veteran, Mr. Wright, who soon learned to + regard him highly. The late Rev. D. Gibbs now took charge of + the church, and our subject was the first to enter his + Sunday School. While the Rev. Gibbs was boarding at his + father's home, the seed of the Presbyterian ministry was + planted. + + He now entered school under Rev. and Mrs. McDowell, and + began the study of the Shorter Catechism. A polyglot Bible + was offered for the most perfect recitation of the + Catechism, and he won the first prize. In 1874 he took the + examination and won the county scholarship for the State + Normal at Columbia. From this examination he was given a + teachers' certificate and taught his first school in the + country; at the close of this school he accompanied Rev. and + Mrs. McDowell to Statesville, N. C., and in November Rev. + McDowell had arranged for him to go to Biddle University, + Charlotte, N. C. + + He returned home every summer and taught. So acceptable were + his services that scholars were offered to him and held + until his return from school. In 1877 on account of failing + health he remained out of school, and was chosen as the + principal of the city school at his native home. He was + always known as the "Mocking Bird" of Laurens. He was the + chorister in Sunday School and church. Returning to Biddle + University in the fall of 1878, was taken under the care of + Catawba Presbytery as a candidate for the ministry, and + graduated with the degree of A. B. in 1881. In October, + 1881, he entered the seminary of Biddle University, was + licensed to preach the gospel in 1883, and was placed in + charge of the Pleasant View Church, Greenville County, South + Carolina, where he served so acceptably that he was desired + as a settled pastor. In 1884 he graduated from the seminary, + and was ordained to the full work of the gospel ministry the + next day after graduating. + + He took charge of the work at Lincolnton, N. C., where he + served six years and six months, conducting both church and + school, and was then re-elected principal of the city + school. + + The new church at McClintock was built under his + administration. He was chosen moderator of the Presbytery of + Catawba at Monroe, N. C., and in 1887 was sent as a + commissioner from Catawba Presbytery to the General Assembly + of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, which met + at Omaha, Neb. In 1888 the degree of A. M. was conferred by + Biddle University. In 1890 he accepted the call to + Winnsboro, S. C., continuing in the church and school work + here for four years very acceptably. In 1892 was sent as + commissioner to the General Assembly at Saratoga, N. Y. In + 1894 he accepted the work at Goodwill, Sumter Co., S. C., + where he now serves the largest Colored Presbyterian Church + in the United States. He administered communion to 2,000 + communicants. + + In connection with the church he has charge of the Goodwill + Academy, with an enrollment of about 100 students. In 1895 + he was chosen stated clerk of Fairfield Presbytery, which + position he fills with accuracy and ability until to-day. In + 1900 the degree of D. D. was conferred upon him by Biddle + University. + + He has been Moderator of Fairfield Presbytery and Atlantic + Synod. He is the secretary of the Sunday School Convention, + chairman of the Committee on Vacancies and Supplies of the + Fairfield Presbytery, and chairman of the Committee on + Foreign Mission, Atlantic Synod. + +The influence of the Negro pulpit on the race is immeasurable. It is +to the race what the lighthouse is to the ship laden with human souls +upon the tempestuous sea. At the close of the war when the Negroes +were in darkness, the Negro preachers were the first to come forward +to lead them to the light, and whatever may be said to the contrary, +the Negro preachers have done more for the Negro's uplift since his +emancipation than any other class of persons. We delight to boast that +the Negroes pay taxes on $400,000,000.00 worth of property, that they +have thousands of well educated men and women, that their illiteracy +has been reduced forty-five per cent, that they have hundreds of +newspapers, that they have four hundred or more skilled physicians who +are making good money, that they have hundreds of men who are engaged +in business enterprises, that they have thousands of honest, sober, +upright Christian men and women. + +Now, to whom are we more indebted for all this than to the Negro +preachers, who have faithfully taught their people to save their money +and buy homes and lands, who have constantly advised them to send +their sons and daughters to the schools, who have urged their people +to patronize Negro business enterprises and Negro physicians and +lawyers, who have shown their people the importance of taking Negro +papers, who have enjoined them to be honest, sober, industrious +citizens? + + + + +TOPIC VIII. + +IS IT TIME FOR THE NEGRO COLLEGES IN THE SOUTH TO BE PUT INTO THE +HANDS OF NEGRO TEACHERS? + +BY PROF. N. B. YOUNG. + +[Illustration: Prof. Nathan B. Young] + + NATHAN B. YOUNG. + + Nathan B. Young was born in Newbern, Ala., September 18th, + 1862. He was educated in the private schools at Tuscaloosa, + Ala., at Talladega College, and at Oberlin College. He has + taught school in Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. + He is now President of the Florida State Normal and + Industrial College, Tallahassee. + +The answer to this question depends upon what is meant by placing +these schools in the hands of Negro teachers. If it means that they +are to be manned and managed by them I answer, no. If, on the other +hand, it means that they should have some hand in managing these +schools, I answer, yes. + +For two reasons I claim that the time has not arrived for the passing +of these institutions into his sole control: the first is a +_financial_ reason, the second is an _intellectual_ or _cultural_ +reason. + +At present the majority of the Negro colleges and institutions of +higher and professional learning are supported by white people, either +directly or indirectly, and the withdrawal of white faculties and +boards of trustees will mean a withdrawal of white supporters. Whether +this withdrawal will be logical or ethical, it will nevertheless be a +fact. Those whose duty it is to collect funds for these schools can +testify to the certainty of such a result if the experiment should be +made. + +The white man is a very careful giver to charitable institutions of +any kind, and he takes every precaution to see that his donations are +wisely expended, and that, too, according to his standards. Hence, +when he makes a charitable contribution he feels safer when one of his +own race is a trustee, or dispenser of the contribution. This explains +the fact that in cases where Negro schools under Negro management make +an appeal for large endowment funds they find it necessary to appoint +a white endowment committee to manage the fund. + +The Negro has no standing in the financial world, because he has made +no financial record. This is not so much his fault as it is his +misfortune. He is without the financial experience that he would need +in order to manage successfully large sums of money such as he would +be called upon to collect and to manage in colleges. Without aid from +the white donors these colleges would be unable to do the work of a +college--in other words, with possibly one notable exception, it +takes a white man to get a white man's money, and since it is +necessary to get a white man's money to support these institutions, it +is also necessary to put their management into his hands. This +condition will gradually change as the Negro race accumulates wealth +within itself. This will naturally bring with it that experience which +will eventually enable him to be a successful manager of these +institutions. + +It is generally known among those who are familiar with college +management that the financial feature is the most difficult feature in +this work. It requires a rare combination of qualities in a man to +carry on successfully this phase of college work. The managing boards +of white colleges find it exceedingly difficult to find white men +fully equal to the task. If this takes place in the green tree, what +may we expect in a dry? + +At present the Negro race, to say the least, is too poor to take on +itself the complete control of its colleges. Such a transfer would be +a calamity, indeed, for under the white management these institutions +are leading only a tolerable existence, are progressing but slowly and +some of them not at all. To take these feeble institutions, then, and +to connect them with a poorer source of supply would be practically to +destroy them--certainly seriously to handicap them. + +Besides, even if their financial support were guaranteed, at present a +more serious obstacle would present itself. It would be impossible +from the present supply of educated Negro men and women to get +faculties for them. I mean, to get faculties every whit prepared for +their progressive management. An up-to-date college must have not only +strong financial backing but it must also have strong intellectual and +moral backing. Each teacher should be so trained, intellectually and +morally as to have a very keen appreciation of the deep significance +of the work in which he is engaged. This means that he must in +addition to a careful formal training, have a sort of intellectual and +culture background to cause him to stand out in clear relief before +his students as an embodiment of what he would have them become. He +should, in very truth, be "a scholar and a gentleman." + +The fact that a man or a woman is a graduate from some of these +misnamed Southern "_universities_" or "_brevet_" colleges does not +argue that he has a liberal education. The fact is that there are no +Negro universities in this country and less than half a dozen "_bona +fide_" colleges. These reputed "universities" and colleges are but +indifferent high-schools for the most part, and their graduates +without additional study, are not prepared to take a place on a +college faculty. Strange to say, very few of these graduates feel the +necessity of doing additional study before becoming anxious candidates +for presidents of colleges or for professorships. + +I stand by the statement that there are not enough really educated men +fully equipped to manage the colleges such as we have, not to say +anything of those that we ought to have. The race is not yet far +enough removed from slavery to have that intellectual and moral +background necessary to the bringing out of college professors and +college presidents. It has taken the white race many generations to +develop an Eliot, a Dwight, a Hadley, and an Angell, not to say +anything about the Butlers, the Harrises, and the Wheelers. These men +are developments--the very cream of the intellectual history of the +Anglo-Saxon race in America. As I have indicated elsewhere, the +trustees find it hard to fill their places when vacant. + +The incipient Negro teacher and educator might as well admit the fact +of their incompetency and with the admission bend themselves with +renewed energy to hard study, laying aside all bogus degrees and +meaningless titles, and acknowledge the fact that they are yet +intellectual pigmies. If they will do this, perchance they themselves +may not only add to their own statures but they may also become the +ancestors of intellectual giants, fully competent to occupy the +positions which they fain would hold in the educational world. + +Although the time has not yet come, as I believe, for the entire +management of Negro colleges by Negroes, yet the time has come when he +should have some hand in managing both as teacher and as trustee. It +would be a sad commentary upon the Negro race and upon its white +teachers to have these schools remain permanently under white tutelage +and management. It would also be a sad commentary upon the Negro to +have an alien race to continue giving its money to educate his +children. He must be brought gradually to see the necessity of his +supporting and managing his own institutions of learning. The only way +to do this is to gradually place the managing of them upon his +shoulders. Every Negro college ought to have one or more Negro +trustees on the board, as well as one or more Negro teachers on the +faculty. The only way to learn how to swim is to go into the +water--the only way for the Negro to learn how to manage his +institutions is for him to have a hand in managing them. + +Of the large number of Negro youth that are graduated every year from +our colleges, there are not a few among them who have in them the +making of fine professors if they were stimulated by the sure hope of +securing a place on the faculty of their "alma mater." It is the +imperative duty of the faculties of these schools to inspire these men +to their best efforts and when they have done so it is the duty of the +trustees to give them a place on the faculty. + +I would not, however, make vacancies for them by moving efficient +white teachers, but, when these white teachers fall out because of age +or other reasons, I would appoint in their places competent Negro men. +This policy would at once keep the support of the white donors and +also the support of the Negro patrons. The Negro must have a larger +hand in managing his institutions of learning even from the lowest to +the highest. + +I answer, then, that the time has not yet come for the complete +transfer of Negro colleges to Negro management because the Negro is +not yet able to assume the financial control of these institutions, +nor the intellectual control; but he is able to have a larger hand in +controlling them as donor, as trustee, and as teacher. This policy is +being pursued by some of the educational agencies now at work in the +South. + +The efforts of the Negro churches, especially of the A. M. E. Zion +church, the A. M. E. church, of the C. M. E. church, and a _wing_ of +the Baptist church, are to be commended in so far as they do not +assume a hostile attitude toward other agencies which pursue a +slightly different policy. There cannot be too much educational +activity among Negroes for Negroes, and there certainly should be no +antagonism among these agencies growing out of differences of opinion +as to policies and methods of work. They should all make "a long pull, +a strong pull, and a pull all together" for the educational, moral, +and spiritual uplift of the masses of the Negro people. + + +SECOND PAPER. + +IS IT TIME FOR THE NEGRO COLLEGES IN THE SOUTH TO BE PUT INTO THE +HANDS OF NEGRO TEACHERS? + +BY PROF. D. J. JORDAN, M. S., LL. B. + +[Illustration: D. J. Jordan, LL. B.] + + PROF. D. J. JORDAN, M. S., LL. B. + + Nature has not been extravagant in her gift of geniuses. + What has come to most of our leading men has come by hard + work. + + Although Prof. D. J. Jordan possesses talents about the + average, he owes his success largely to persistent work. He + was born near Cuthbert, Ga., October 18, 1866. His father + was Rev. Giles D. Jordan who was for twenty-five years a + highly respected minister in the A. M. E. Church in Georgia. + He inherits many of his excellent traits of character from + his mother, Julia Jordan. + + In his early life he was unable to attend school more than + three months of the year, but by close application while in + school and faithful study during vacations, he was always + able to make the next higher class at the beginning of the + following school year. + + After finishing the English branches he attended Payne High + School at Cuthbert. In 1892 he graduated at Allen + University, Columbia, S. C., with the degrees of B. S. and + LL. B. + + His record at this institution was in many respects + remarkable. He was successful in passing the written + examination given by the Supreme Court of South Carolina, + and was admitted to practice in all the courts of that + state, May, 1892. + + After his graduation, he returned to his native city, taught + a term and made preparations to enter upon the practice of + the legal profession, but he was prevailed upon to accept a + position on the faculty of Morris Brown College, in 1893. + + He served here as Professor of Science and Dean of Law until + November, 1895, when he resigned to accept the Presidency of + Edward Waters College at Jacksonville, Fla. + + He was married December 31, 1895, by Bishop A. Grant, to + Miss Carrie J. Thomas, principal of one of the public + schools of Atlanta. Four children have been born to them. + + He was elected as a lay delegate to the General Conference + of the A. M. E. Church which was held at Wilmington, N. C., + in 1896. + + In the spring of '96 he accepted the position of Professor + of Literature at Morris Brown College, which position he + held until September, 1898, when he was appointed Professor + of Mathematics and Vice-President of the same institution. + The degree of M. S. was conferred upon him by Allen + University in 1900. In the Summer school, held at Clark + University in 1901, Professor Jordan was instructor in + mathematics. He has developed with the institution with + which he has been connected, fitting himself for every + promotion which has come to him. + + Professor Jordan has an experience of eighteen years in the + class room and is an excellent disciplinarian. The fact that + he has filled four different chairs with credit is + sufficient argument that he is an able "all-round scholar." + His greatest strength, however, lies in his knowledge of + English. His language is chaste; his diction, pure. + + As one of the best writers and speakers of the race, he has + contributed articles to our leading periodicals, including + the "Atlanta Constitution," "Atlanta Journal," "A. M. E. + Review" and "Indianapolis Freemen," and has delivered + several commencement addresses. + +I am asked to say whether or not it is time for the Negro colleges in +the South to be put into the hands of Negro teachers? The education of +a people is the greatest question that can possibly concern them. It +touches every phase of human interest and holds the key to the +solution of every rational problem arising out of man's duty and +destiny. The foundations of every helpful institution known to our +social system rest upon such conceptions of right and wrong as the +people's intelligence has called into being: for true teaching is not +only the application of methods for the development of one's powers, +but is also a directing or turning of those powers into proper +channels. With any people it will not matter ultimately who now writes +the laws, issues decrees, or enforces judgments if their youth are +kept under wise, efficient instructors. How necessary, then, must it +be to a race so conditioned as is the Negro in America that their +schools should be conducted by only those who are most capable and +worthy! + +However, before we attempt to answer the question propounded, it is +important that we fully comprehend its meaning. As I understand it, +the matter might be stated in other words thus: Should Negroes +exclusively be placed now on the faculties of the several missionary +colleges which Northern philanthropy has established in the South +since the close of the Civil War? There were then not only no schools +for us, but there were no teachers and no money with which to employ +teachers. No night in Egypt in the time of Israel was darker than +those years immediately following the Negro's emancipation. And what +must have been our condition to-day had not those pillars of light +been placed in our starless sky? But what is more, for thirty years +the same spirit and the same people who first made these colleges +possible among us, have continued their aid, and still make them +possible to-day. + +And now let us see what advantages could be reasonably expected from +such a change in management as the subject suggests. So far as I know, +they who advocate the change establish themselves upon this +proposition, namely, "_Negro teachers_ are best for Negro schools." + +And this is true, say they, (1) because being of the same race, there +must of necessity exist such a spirit of sympathy and helpfulness +between teacher and student as we could not reasonably expect were the +teacher and the taught of different races; (2) because placing before +students competent men and women of their own race as teachers sets +before them an example and an object lesson of what the students +themselves may become and do, that cannot fail to be inspiring; (3) +because the employing of Negro teachers in Negro schools furnishes an +honorable vocation to a large number of our own people who otherwise +would possibly be unemployed; (5) because Negro teachers in Negro +colleges, by their presence and work, increase the race pride among +ourselves and win for us greater confidence and respect from others. + +These are weighty considerations, and, _per se_, have my most hearty +approval. But however complete may be our endorsement, we must not +forget that unqualifiedly acting upon them in the matter under +discussion would not be without its losses. Let us now consider what +these might be, and then we shall be prepared to decide whether we +would not-- + + "* * * rather bear those ills we have + Than fly to others we know not of." + +In the first place, if the people who own and sustain these schools +could be induced to sever their connection with them and turn them +fully into the hands of Negroes, although the colleges are already +built, equipped and advertised, yet, chiefly on account of our +poverty, we should have to close the majority of them at once. This +would be a most serious loss. The amount of ignorance and the lack of +trained leaders among us, together with the small pittance done for us +in the direction of even high-school education by the states and +cities in which we live certainly do not suggest the advisability of +ridding ourselves of even one agency for enlightenment. Far better +would it be for us and for the country if they were increased tenfold. + +This view takes into consideration the fact that the great majority of +people who give of their means to support the schools do so because +they have confidence in the ability, integrity and experience of those +who control them. And if any one is so credulous as to believe that +the schools under the management of Negroes could command the amount, +of interest and support as they now receive, I would ask him, why +_have_ Negroes, from Mr. Booker T. Washington down, who are trying to +gain public confidence and assistance for their work, _find_ it +necessary to invite white men to accept membership on their boards of +trustees? One need not go far to find the correct answer. In this +connection, it will be in order to inquire also if there are, under +the control of Negroes, any colleges that receive anything like the +amount of money for their support that is received by similar +institutions under the management of white men? + +Furthermore, the placing of the colleges referred to wholly into the +hands of Negroes would be an unnecessary drawing of the race line, and +would very effectually close our mouths against making protest or +complaint on account of our being discriminated against for similar +reasons. + +Again, at this time, when there seems to be, on the part of certain +persons of influence, a foul conspiracy against the Negro, it is of +great importance that we have among us persons whose knowledge of the +facts, and whose intellectual and social standing with those whose +good opinion we value enable and impel them to speak out in our +behalf. I recall with much gratification several instances where white +persons connected with Negro schools have used the superior +opportunities afforded them by the accident of race to say good things +of us at a time when a spokesman who had the ear of the king was +sorely needed. If, under present conditions, this class of people be +sent from among us, I fear it might in a measure be with us as it was +with a certain people in ancient times when "a new king arose who knew +not Joseph." + +And finally, would it not be highly presumptive and insolent on our +part to demand of others that they deliver into our keeping, without +price, property which they have purchased with their own money, and of +which we have had the use and benefit for a third of a century? Until +we shall be able to buy these colleges and properly support them, even +the serious discussion of the question, it seems to me, is +inappropriate and puerile. When, therefore, you ask me, if in my +opinion the time has come when the Negro colleges in the South should +be put into the hands of Negro teachers, I must answer you frankly, +_no_. + +I would not be understood, however, as placing my approval upon +everything pertaining to the management of the schools under +consideration. I do not deny that in some cases teachers are employed +who are not possessed of the proper spirit for doing the best work +among us. They are sometimes haughty, unsocial, and unsympathetic, and +find themselves among us because there is offered better pay for less +work than was found in their own neighborhoods. But these do not +vitiate the schools; they are exceptions. I think, too, that the +faculties of the several schools, together with the boards of +trustees, should be as largely composed of competent, worthy Negroes +as the interests of the institutions will allow. I am sure that such a +policy would both encourage our people and train them in the +management of such interests, and would be fully in harmony with the +spirit and purpose of the institutions' founders. But we cannot state +this as a demand based on what is justly ours; let it stand rather on +its soundness as to what is best as a policy designed to accomplish +the highest results. Before we find too many faults, though, with +these missionary colleges, we ought to show by our full, loyal support +of the few colleges we do control, that we are both able and willing +to do the proper thing when the time shall come, if ever, for placing +the Negro colleges in the South into the hands of Negro teachers. + + +THIRD PAPER. + +IS IT TIME FOR THE NEGRO COLLEGES IN THE SOUTH TO BE PUT INTO THE +HANDS OF NEGRO TEACHERS? + +BY PROF. GEORGE A. GOODWIN. + +[Illustration: Prof. G. A. Goodwin] + + REV. GEORGE A. GOODWIN. + + George Augustus Goodwin was born at Augusta, Ga., February + 20, 1861, being the eldest son of Mr. George and Mrs. + Catherine Goodwin. His parents taught him until he was old + enough to enter the public schools taught by "Yankee + teachers." Having lost his father at an early age, he + subsequently experienced some difficulty in remaining in + school. However, his now sainted mother, by the assistance + of his uncle, Mr. Charles Goodwin, kept him in school. For + two consecutive years it was necessary for him to walk + twelve miles daily in order to secure proper school + advantages. While yet a lad he attracted the attention of + both races and was several times offered good positions as a + public school teacher. He, however, taught a private school + four miles from the city and was thereby able to attend the + Augusta Institute, now the Atlanta Baptist College. In the + spring of 1879 he united with the historic Springfield + Baptist Church, Augusta, Ga., where, for three generations, + his parents and paternal grandparents had worshiped. May 29, + 1884, he graduated from the Atlanta Baptist College as + salutatorian. + + On leaving school he took up teaching as a profession, in + which he has been eminently successful in developing + hundreds of young people. He has filled with credit and + satisfaction the principalship of Eddy High School at + Milledgeville, Ga., Union Academy, Gainesville, Fla., + Preparatory Department, Livingstone College, Salisbury, + N. C.; also Atlanta Baptist College and Waller Baptist + Institute, Augusta, Ga. He was the prime factor in the + movement which resulted in the organization of the present + Georgia State Teachers' Association, of which he was + secretary for a number of years. In the organization of the + Florida Teachers' Association he was one of the original + members. As an institute lecturer he is helpful in many + ways. + + Having received a call to the pastorate of the Second + Baptist Church at Gainesville, Fla., his church at Augusta, + Ga., ordained him to the ministry, January 6, 1889. He was + very successful in this work in connection with his school + duties. In July, 1895, he was happily married to the + talented Miss Anna Laura Gardner of Augusta, Ga. + +In attempting to answer this question, I do so fully cognizant of the +widely differing opinions which are superinduced by the present +restive state of society. It is a delicate task. In this brief article +it is not possible to be very extensive. Condensation is a necessity. +Taking observations from ancient and modern civilizations as external +evidence, and corroborating the experiences of the present age as +internal evidence, my conclusion is reached. If my judgment is faulty, +let us remember that trite aphorism: "To err is human, to forgive, +divine." + +If this be the question of the fawning element among us, then let us +beware of the leaven of the separatists. If the liberal philanthropist +makes the inquiry, let us demonstrate the wisdom of his investment by +our exhibitions of gratitude and common sense. It cannot be a serious +question with the learned sociologist, for he is too conversant with +the philosophy of history and the laws of psychology. Of the popular +idea of the over-ardent lovers of the race, it may be more comforting +to an oppressed people; but truth is better than fiction--facts +than theories. Therefore, with a conscience void of offence to all, +and with the sincere hope that right will ultimately triumph before +all is lost in the mad rush of the enthusiasts, I venture to express +some of my convictions regarding this question. The proposition +categorically stated would be: it is time for the Negro colleges in +the South to be put in the hands of Negro teachers. Such an +affirmation would imply, at least, that these colleges are elsewhere +than in the South; that the colleges in the South are not wholly nor +partially taught by Negro teachers; that those who teach in them for +some cause, real or imaginary, are not equal to the demands of the +times; that the Negro, exclusively, is superior for educating the +Negro in the South; that a crisis is upon us making it imperative to +man Negro colleges with Negro teachers. These inferences +might be indefinitely multiplied; but they are harsh and +fallacious--implications unworthy of the best thought interested in an +issue involving the destiny of a race and this great republic. The +facts in the case are so potent that I shall not attempt a critical +refutation of the inferences deduced, but will consider the subject +more freely on another line, in this way avoiding what might be a +fearful indictment of those least prepared for it. Critically +considering every contingency I see no valid reason for such a course +as the question suggests. In answer thereto wisdom replies, "_It is +NOT time for the Negro colleges in the South to be put in the hands of +Negro teachers._" + +This is an intensely practical age; in many respects, it is +utilitarian. "The survival of the fittest," is the almost universal +creed of the age. The American civilization is distinctly Anglo-Saxon. +Whatever does not attain to that standard is out of harmony with real +conditions. The Negro is here to stay. Two radically different +civilizations cannot thrive in one country at the same time. One +advances, the other retrogrades. Every chapter in history verifies the +assertion. It is providential that the American Negro is brought into +close touch with the highest ideals of American life through his most +enlightened Anglo-Saxon brother. Only in this way can the Negro meet +the rigid requirements of the ever-advancing standard of the proud, +progressive Anglo-Saxon. The dominant race is naturally the criterion. +Any other alternative would be abnormal and destructive in its +far-reaching results. The ruling people in this country have the +prestige of centuries of culture. Had the Negro's days of enslavement +been years of culture and refinement equal to that of the best people +about him, present conditions would be greatly changed. However +desirable it may be to elevate the Negro to places of dignity, it +should be borne in mind that his color is not a qualification. These +institutions will, in time, be more generally under the management of +Negro teachers, if the future proves the work of the present _regime_ +non-productive of the highest results. Such a change will greatly +depend upon the ability of the Negro to appreciate his real condition +and to utilize, to the best advantage, the means and opportunities now +afforded him. Error now will prove abortive and, perhaps, postpone +indefinitely what might otherwise sooner come in the natural course of +events. Such a transition must not be revolutionary, but evolutionary +if come it must, and come it will. It were better to hope that all +schools in the South were as they are in the North for the most part. +That the Negro himself should so soon contemplate this as practical is +an anomaly. That some evils exist I do not deny. But would separation +and exclusion be a remedy? No. It is praiseworthy in the Negro that +he, in a measure, has kept abreast with the march of this +civilization. He has been responsive to the magic touch and the benign +influences of those who came to rescue him from intellectual and moral +darkness. The Northern teachers and a few Southern heroes began the +work of educating the Negro, at a time, when teaching the Negro was an +extremely delicate innovation--nay, dangerous experiment. Through what +perils, privations, ridicule, and ostracism they passed, only such +pioneers as Drs. H. M. Tupper, D. W. Phillips, C. H. Corey, J. T. +Robert, E. A. Ware, E. M. Cravath, Gen. Armstrong, Miss S. B. Packard, +and others of the immortal galaxy, are permitted to speak from their +high citadel of triumph. Shall these of blessed memory, together with +their associates and workers of less prominence, be forgotten? Shall +they be revered, or shall they be calumniated? Dumb be the lip, and +palsied the hand that would, in any wise, dishonor them and their +efforts to uplift humanity! It will not be remiss on my part to ask +for their successors in spirit and labor, and for their constituency +that consideration which a superior statesmanship and a practical +Christianity dictate. + +These institutions, under their present management, have met the +exigencies of the times. Granting that no human effort is perfect, the +fact remains that these institutions have lived up to the high purpose +for which they were founded, and are still being liberally supported +and endowed. What more could be required by rational beings? This +couplet may be suggestive: + + "He who does as best his circumstances will allow, + Does well, acts nobly, angels can do no more." + +That others could have done better or equally as well remains to be +seen. The history of the country from 1619-20 to 1865 is valid +testimony. It was the influence of the Northern teachers, for the most +part, that the best educated men among us were matriculated at the +great Northern universities. It was by them that Negro schools were +first operated in the South. The needs and magnitude of Negro +education in the South have greatly intensified the philanthropic +spirit of the Northern missionary societies and workers, each year +resulting in a vast expenditure of money and energy. Shall those who +believe "culture is colorless" be affronted; and shall their +representatives be exiled by the beneficiaries? Is the wounded, dying +traveler under the healing ministrations of the good Samaritan +competent to protest against the merciful steward? Is such the +subsequent of all human action? Let justice and reason answer! +Formerly for the Negro literary culture was a sort of forbidden fruit +in the Edenic South. For more than two centuries the cherubim of +social pollution and moral degradation stood at the school-house gate +with sword-like lash in hand, under governmental authority, to defy +the return of the Negro to his pristine eminence in literary culture +and moral probity held many years prior to the rise and supremacy of +his now dominant kinsman. It was the northern missionaries, for such +they are, who threw open the wicket-gate of opportunity unto the +despairing Negro causing him to reach forth his hand unto the tree of +life manifesting itself in the development of the higher faculties of +a being with God's image. The Negro colleges in the South, with +scarcely an exception, were built up by Northern philanthropy. They +are the best institutions available to a great majority of those +seeking the fullest possible development of their intellectual powers. +As a rule, they are superior in equipment, in both standards of +scholarship and discipline at least. This is true by virtue of the +power vouchsafed to their management and teaching force through +superior years of splendid environment. Under such circumstances the +Northern missionary teachers are in their normal condition in +prosecuting the work of Negro education. They are usually dispensers +of exact scholarship, consecrated service, and broad culture. It is +scarcely possible that the Negro, in less than forty years, a creature +of misfortune many years prior to his enslavement, should now be the +equal of his more favored brother in the acquisition of knowledge or +his over-match in teaching ability. Physiologists are quite unanimous +in making the Negro a member of the human race. He, therefore, has the +same faculties and susceptibilities as other members of the human +family. He is governed by the same laws of thought. In what then is +the Negro constitutionally a better educator of the Negro? There is +absolutely nothing in his skin nor sympathies that makes him a +superior teacher of the Negro. Other things being equal preparation is +the only synonym for superiority in teaching. If now the race has +idiosyncrasies entirely different from the rest of the human family, +as some wiseacres would imply by their persistency in making this +demand for a change in the colleges, then maybe it were better to +gratify their wish. + +These colleges are more than so much material and apparatus. Through +them the white brother is best prepared to represent the Negro to +those who are to help in his uplift. The peculiar customs in the South +weaken the authority of the Negro teacher in comparison with the +_fiat_ of the Anglo-Saxon teacher. The Negro teacher in the public +schools, and in the schools distinctly his own, is not more +successful, to be charitable, than the Northern teacher in securing +and holding pupils. Nor has it been shown that the Negro teacher +develops the powers of the child any faster, or in better ways of +thinking and acting than does the Northern teacher. Coming to us as +they do, their ability is rarely questioned. They are never anxious to +advertise their fitness for the place by resorting to that unique +process in promotions which seems so often the _naivete_ of many +another in similar spheres without hereditary influences as his +legacy. At some time, in some way, I have been closely connected with +schools of all grades in the South for the Negro--schools owned by the +Negro, taught by the Negro exclusively, schools taught by the Negro +and the Anglo-Saxon. I have been the pupil of Northern and Southern +white teachers; for a brief while a pupil of the Negro teacher; and at +one time janitor of a leading white academy in which help was mutually +given by the janitor-tutor. I confess that I have yet to see the +slightest difference in the general character of receiving and +imparting knowledge, or in developing character on the principle of +color _versus_ culture. To accept any such doctrine would be +pernicious. + +These colleges are too important to be used as experimental stations +even to gratify the caprice of the most cautious. Such a change in the +work of these colleges, as the question suggests, should be looked +upon with some degree of suspicion and as inimical to the best +interests of the Negro. Without undervaluing the great importance of +the public schools, it were better to try the experiment with them and +the few secondary schools for Negro education connected with the +several Southern States and managed by white trustees exclusively. +What has been the history of the local academies and schools +transferred to the Negro trustees and teachers not many years after +the Civil War? What of those operated in later years as a monument to +the creative genius of the Negro? For the most part, they remind us +that they have seen better days. They speak a mighty truth which +should be borne in mind by every class of inquirers on this subject. +Self-help and worthy ambitions are commendable, but should be +rational. The Negro needs the help of the Anglo-Saxon without regard +to sections of country. He can advance more safely and rapidly as he +walks arm in arm with his brother North and South. Far be it from me +that I should, in any way, underestimate the heroic efforts of +institutions wholly run by the Negro! Many of them are striking +illustrations of what united effort can do; they serve a purpose which +cannot be overlooked. Only in proportion as he is more a producer than +a consumer, and as wealth and intelligence become common factors in +his social life, will the Negro be able to assume entire control of +these great institutions founded for him by the Northern societies. As +to the ability of some members of the race to adorn any position in +the gift of these colleges no one denies. There are men of superior +scholarship, broad culture, sound character, tact, and executive +ability even to grace similar places in white institutions. They are +exceptions; and yet I do not hesitate to say that were their services +in demand they could do so with comparatively more ease and +satisfaction than if at the head of a strictly Negro institution. The +reason is apparent to those experienced in such matters. Ability and +adaptability are not the only requisites for this work. + +If the Negro has not been able to acquire similar institutions by his +own efforts aided by friends North and South, is there any guarantee +that he would properly appreciate them if thus thrust upon him? To ask +such a concession would be an admission of the point at issue. The +South, commercially, believes in free trade; assuming it is right, it +then would not be right to close the intellectual ports of the Negro +against the cultured wares of his time honored benefactors in literary +commerce. The Negro least of all should not ask it. + +In Southern courts, where life and great interests are involved, the +most intelligent Negro finds it to his advantage to employ legal +talent of the opposite race because he is conditioned by the peculiar +circumstances of a white judge and jury who, in most cases, seem to +interpret law and weigh evidence in accordance with the prevailing +opinions of the dominant class. In the work of Negro education vital +interests are involved. The Anglo-Saxon teachers have the culture and +the means at their command. They are actual competitors with the Negro +and every other people in this particular missionary endeavor. They +have given the world its highest civilization. Through them, as +instrumentalities, the torch-light of civilization progresses; +Christianity brightens every prospect in every land. Why should they +be discriminated against in educating the Negro in the South? Should +this service and philanthropy be directed to founding and supporting +similar institutions for the more unfortunate class of the stronger +race, there would be no question about the color of teachers though +they be Indian or Japanese. The means used in maintaining these +institutions is not obtained from the Negro nor by his influence. +Would a change in the policy of the teaching force help or hinder in +securing this aid? This change would establish more rigidly the color +line so objectionable to the Negro himself. It would be a backward +movement. In all probability the color of the darker races is due more +largely to some sort of skin disease, than to other causes, +transmitted through the ages since the flood. That is a very +charitable Negro who wishes isolation to prevent inoculating the +Anglo-Saxon if permitted to teach the Negro. The Negro has ample +opportunity for his individuality in his societies and churches. He +has gained absolutely nothing by completely divorcing himself from the +fostering care of the Anglo-Saxon. Observe the contrast between those +Negro churches wholly separated from the Anglo-Saxon and those +partially controlled by the dominant race. Those who have been +somewhat under the guardianship of the stronger race are usually the +highest types of intelligent Christianity. Both races have suffered +by the separation; but it is needless to say how much greater the +Negro has suffered. The Negro has more to gain by co-operation with +his Anglo-Saxon neighbors. Intelligence must be handed down from +generation to generation, from race to race by contact, from +individual to individual. In the schools of the American Baptist Home +Mission Society, for the year 1898-1899, the annual report shows that +out of 321 teachers employed, 124 were Negroes. It will be borne out +by the report of each succeeding year. In a large measure, the other +missionary societies North and South are about as liberal in +recognizing the Negro teacher. Therefore to mix the faculties and +boards of trustees of all these schools would be ideal in most +respects. This would be a happy golden mean. Let us be patient, +considerate, and faithful. + + +FOURTH PAPER. + +IS IT TIME FOR THE NEGRO COLLEGES IN THE SOUTH TO BE PUT INTO THE +HANDS OF NEGRO TEACHERS? + +BY MRS. PAUL L. DUNBAR. + +[Illustration: Mrs. Paul L. Dunbar] + + MRS. PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR. + + Mrs. Paul Laurence Dunbar (Alice Ruth Moore) was born in New + Orleans, La., July 19, 1875. Attended public schools there + and Straight University, and was graduated from the latter + institution in 1892. Taught in the public schools of New + Orleans until 1896, when she went to Boston and New York for + study, taking a course in Manual Training at the Teachers' + College. Was appointed a teacher in the public schools of + Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1897, and taught there until her + marriage to Mr. Paul Laurence Dunbar, in March, 1898. + + In 1895, Mrs. Dunbar's first book, "Violets and Other + Tales," was published by the Monthly Review Publishing + Company, Boston. The next book, "The Goodness of St. + Rocque," published by Dodd, Mead & Co., New York, in 1899, + was favorably received by some of the best critics. Mrs. + Dunbar has written a number of short stories for some of the + leading magazines and newspapers in the country, among them + McClures, the Smart Set, Ladies' Home Journal, the Southern + Workman, Leslie's Weekly, the New York Sun, Boston + Transcript, and for over a year did regular work on the + Chicago News. + + While teaching in Brooklyn, Mrs. Dunbar was actively + interested in mission work on the East Side of New York, + conducting classes in manual training and kindergarten after + the regular hours of public school work was over. Since her + marriage, Mrs. Dunbar has resided in Washington, and has + done some of her best work in short story writing, as well + as acting as secretary and general helpmeet for her husband. + +It seems a rather incongruous fact that so many of our Negro colleges +in the South, whose purpose is avowedly the insistence of higher +education of Negro youth, should deny that youth not only the +privilege of teaching in the very institutions which have taught him, +but also deny him the privilege of looking up to and reverencing his +own people. For so long have the whites been held up to the young +people as the only ones whom it is worth while taking as models; for +so long have the ignorant of the race been taught that their best +efforts after all, are hardly worth while, that wherever possible, it +behooves us to place over the masses those of their own race who have +themselves attained to that dignity to which the education of the +schools tend. + +It has been my good or ill fortune to number among my acquaintances a +number of young boys and girls who could rattle off with fluency the +names of Greek philosophers of ancient days; who could at a moment's +notice tell you the leading writers of the Elizabethan period, or the +minor Italian poets of the fifteenth century, but who were hopelessly +ignorant of what members of their own race had done. They had, +perhaps, a vague idea of an occasional name here and there, but what +the owner of that name had done was a mystery. Happily these instances +are decreasing in proportion as our schools are filled with teachers +of our own race who can teach a proper appreciation of, and pride in +the deeds of that race. + +It is unreasonable to suppose that any teacher of another race, no +matter how conscientious and scrupulous, is going to take the same +interest in putting before his pupils the achievements of that people +in contradistinction to the accepted course of study as laid down by +the text books. How many young students of history in the white-taught +schools remember being drilled to revere the glorious memory of +Lincoln, and Sumner and Garrison and Wendell Phillips, and how few +remember being drilled to remember Crispus Attucks and the +fifty-fourth and fifty-fifth Massachusetts? How many students of +literature are taught of the first woman writer in America to earn +distinction, Margaret Hutchinson, but how few are reminded of her +contemporary, Phyllis Wheatley? How many students remember the +lachrymose career of Byron and how few know of his contemporary, +Poushkin? The student of natural science is taught about Franklin, but +not of Benjamin Banneker; the elocution classes remember Booth and +Macready, and even how excellent an actor was Shakespeare, but they +seldom hear of Ira Aldridge. How many of the mathematical students +remember that Euclid was a black man? And the elementary classes in +art, how glibly they can discuss Turner and Ruskin and the +pre-Raphaelites and the style of Gibson, but they are likely not to +know the name of the picture that the Paris Salon hung for Henry +Tanner. + +It is unreasonable, of course, to expect any Caucasian to remember +these things, or if remembering them, to be able to point them out +with the same amount of pride and persistence that a Negro in the same +position would. And therein lies the secret of the foundation of a +family, a government, a nation--pride. Pride in what has been done, in +what may be done, in the ability to reach the very highest point that +may be reached. With that quality instilled in the young from the very +first, the foundation for individual achievement is firmly laid; and +what more can we ask of any education? + +It has been said that Negro boys and girls hearing of the deeds of +some great man or woman have exclaimed, "Oh, well, no colored person +could do that!" Fortunately, there are few of these now, but how much +it is to be regretted that such an expression could ever have been +made--at least within the last thirty years? + +By all means let us have Negro teachers in our Negro schools and +colleges. Let the boy who wants to be a farmer carry with him the +memory of successful Negro farmers and of a Negro who knew enough +about scientific agriculture to teach him to compete with the best +white farmers in the country. It will be easier for him to reach his +goal, and he will have more respect for his own ability and less +cringing, servile admiration for his Caucasian rivals. Let the boy or +girl whose inclinations tend to a profession get their instruction +from some one whose complexion is akin to their own. It is a spur to +ambition, a goal to be reached. The "what man has done, man may do" is +so much easier from a successful brother than from a successful, +though supercilious, neighbor. + +Of course, the good effect of Negro teachers upon the youthful minds +is the only point thus far touched upon. The other side of the +question is obvious. What is the use of training teachers, of spending +time and money acquiring college training if there is no place to use +such training? There is room, and plenty of it, for the college bred +man and woman, and for every place filled by our own teachers there is +so much more money saved to our own race. + +The closer the corporation, the wealthier it is. The tighter the lines +drawn about distributing money outside our own great family the more +affluent our family becomes. Every cent is an important item. More +money for ourselves, a better opinion of our own achievements and +ability to do more, higher regard for the raising of Negro ideals, and +a deeper sense of the responsibility imposed on each individual to do +his part towards leavening the lump; these things are dependent upon +our teachers in our own schools. + +By all means let us have Negro teachers in Negro colleges. + + + + +TOPIC IX. + +WILL THE EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO SOLVE THE RACE PROBLEM? + +BY BOOKER T. WASHINGTON. + +[Illustration: Booker T. Washington.] + + PROF. BOOKER T. WASHINGTON, A. M. + + Prof. B. T. Washington, the founder and principal of the + Tuskegee, Alabama, Normal Industrial Institute, was born at + Hale's Ford Postoffice, Franklin County, Virginia, about + 1856 or 1857. At the age of nine he went with his mother and + the rest of the family to Malden, Kanawha County, West + Virginia. Here he attended the common schools until 1872. In + the Fall of that year he left Malden and proceeded to + Hampton Institute, at Hampton, Virginia. His means were + scanty, but he thought he had money enough to reach that + place. Upon his arrival at Richmond, he found himself minus + enough to pay for a night's lodging. He took the next best, + shelter under a sidewalk. Next morning he got employment in + helping to unload a vessel, thus earning a sufficient sum + with which to continue his journey to Hampton. At this + institution the first year he paid his expenses by working, + with a brother helping him some. The two remaining years he + worked out his entire expenses as janitor. Graduating in + 1875, he taught school several years at Malden, the place of + his birth. In 1878 he entered Wayland Seminary and took a + course of studies there. After leaving there he was given a + position in Hampton Institute, which position he held two + years, the last year having charge of the Indian boys. + Meanwhile the Legislature of Alabama passed an act + establishing a Normal School at Tuskegee, Alabama. The State + Commissioners applied to Gen. S. C. Armstrong, principal of + Hampton Institute, to recommend some one for principal. He + recommended Mr. Washington, who went at once to Alabama, and + organized the school July 4th, 1881. The buildings then + occupied were a church and a small dwelling house, with + thirty pupils and one teacher. Since that time it has made + such wonderful progress that, to-day, the site of the + institution is a city within itself. Mr. Carnegie recently + donated to the institution $20,000, with which to build and + equip a library. It is aided by friends both North and + South. Mr. Washington is a splendid example of "grit and + determination," and the history of his life is worthy the + study of every colored youth in our land. + + Professor Washington, in speaking of his experiences at + Hampton, says: "While at Hampton, I resolved, if God + permitted me to finish the course of study, I would enter + the far South, the black belt of the Gulf States, and give + my life in providing as best I could the same kind of chance + for self-help for the youth of my race that I found ready + for me when I went to Hampton, and so, in 1881, I left + Hampton and went to Tuskegee and started the Normal and + Industrial Institute." + + Professor Washington is in great demand as a speaker in all + educational gatherings. For several consecutive years he has + addressed the National Educational Association, where from + ten to fifteen thousand of the cream of the educational + workers of the nation listen to his addresses with rapt + attention. Without question he is the great leader of his + race, and one of the great men of this age. + +"Will Education Solve the Race Problem?" is the title of an +interesting article in the June number of The North American Review, +by Professor John Roach Straton, of Macon, Georgia. My own belief is +that education will finally solve the race problem. In giving some +reasons for this faith, I wish to express my appreciation of the +sincere and kindly spirit in which Professor Straton's article is +written. I grant that much that he emphasizes as to present conditions +is true. When we recall the past, these conditions could not be +expected to be otherwise; but I see no reason for discouragement or +loss of faith. When I speak of education as a solution for the race +problem, I do not mean education in the narrow sense, but education +which begins in the home and includes training in industry and in +habits of thrift, as well as mental, moral and religious discipline, +and the broader education which comes from contact with the public +sentiment of the community in which one lives. Nor do I confine myself +to the education of the Negro. Many persons in discussing the effect +that education will have in working out the Negro question, overlook +the helpful influence that will ultimately come through the broader +and more generous education of all the race elements of the South. As +all classes of whites in the South become more generally educated in +the broader sense, race prejudice will be tempered and they will +assist in lifting up the black man. + +In our desire to see a better condition of affairs, we are too often +inclined to grow impatient because a whole race is not elevated in a +short time, very much as a house is built. In all the history of +mankind there have been few such radical, social and economic changes +in the policy of a nation as have been effected within thirty-five +years in this country, with respect to the change of four million and +a half of slaves into four million and a half of freemen (now nearly +ten million). When all the conditions of the past are considered, and +compared with the present, I think the White South, the North and the +Negro are to be congratulated on the fact that conditions are no +worse, but are as encouraging as they are. The sudden change from +slavery to freedom, from restraint to liberty, was a tremendous one; +and the wonder is, not that the Negro has not done better, but that he +has done as well as he has. Every thoughtful student of the subject +expected that the first two or three generations of freedom would lead +to excesses and mistakes on the part of the Negro, which would in many +cases cause moral and physical degeneration, such as would seem to the +superficial observer to indicate conditions that could not be +overcome. It was to be anticipated that, in the first generation at +least, the tendency would be, among a large number, to seek the shadow +instead of the substance; to grasp after the mere signs of the highest +civilization instead of the reality; to be led into the temptation of +believing that they could secure, in a few years, that which it has +taken other races thousands of years to obtain. Any one who has the +daily opportunity of studying the Negro at first hand cannot but gain +the impression that there are indisputable evidences that the Negro +throughout the country is settling down to a hard, common sense view +of life; that he is fast learning that a race, like an individual, +must pay for everything it gets--the price of beginning at the bottom +of the social scale and gradually working up by natural processes to +the highest civilization. The exaggerated impressions that the first +years of freedom naturally brought are giving way to an earnest, +practical view of life and its responsibilities. + +Let us take a broad, generous survey of the Negro race as it came into +the country, represented by twenty savages, in 1619, and trace its +progress through slavery, through the Civil War period, and through +freedom to the present moment. Who will be brave enough to say that +the colored race, as a whole, has not increased in numbers and grown +stronger mentally, morally, religiously, industrially, and in the +accumulation of property? In a word, has not the Negro, at every +stage, shown a tendency to grow into harmony with the best type of +American civilization? + +Professor Straton lays special stress upon the moral weakness of the +race. Perhaps the worst feature of slavery was that it prevented the +development of a family life, with all of its far-reaching +significance. Except in rare cases the uncertainties of domicile made +family life, during two hundred and fifty years of slavery, an +impossibility. There is no institution so conducive to right and high +habits of physical and moral life as the home. No race starting in +absolute poverty could be expected, in the brief period of thirty-five +years, to purchase homes and build up a family life and influence that +would have a very marked impression upon the life of the masses. The +Negro has not had time enough to collect the broken and scattered +members of his family. For the sake of illustration, and to employ a +personal reference, I do not know who my own father was; I have no +idea who my grandmother was; I have or had uncles, aunts and cousins, +but I have no knowledge as to where most of them now are. My case will +illustrate that of hundreds of thousands of black people in every part +of our country. Perhaps those who direct attention to the Negro's +moral weakness, and compare his moral progress with that of the +whites, do not consider the influence of the memories which cling +about the old family homestead upon the character and aspirations of +individuals. The very fact that the white boy is conscious that, if he +fails in life, he will disgrace the whole family record, extending +back through many generations, is of tremendous value in helping him +to resist temptations. On the other hand, the fact that the individual +has behind him and surrounding him proud family history and +connections serves as a stimulus to make him overcome obstacles, when +striving for success. All this should be taken into consideration, to +say nothing of the physical, mental and moral training which +individuals of the white race receive in their homes. We must not pass +judgment on the Negro too soon. It requires centuries for the +influence of home, school, church and public contact to permeate the +mass of millions of people, so that the upward tendency may be +apparent to the casual observer. It is too soon to decide what effect +general education will have upon the rank and file of the Negro race, +because the masses have not been educated. + +Throughout the South, especially in the Gulf states, the great bulk of +the black population lives in the country districts. In these +districts the schools are rarely in session more than three months of +the year. When this is considered, in connection with poor teachers, +poor schoolhouses, and an almost entire lack of apparatus, it is +obvious that we must wait longer before we can judge, even +approximately, of the effect that general education will have upon the +whole population. Most writers and speakers upon the subject of the +Negro's non-progressiveness base their arguments upon alleged facts +and statistics of the life of Negroes in the large cities. This is +hardly fair. Before the Civil War the Negro was not, to any +considerable extent, a denizen of the large cities. Most of them lived +on the plantations. The Negro living in the cities has undergone two +marked changes: (1) the change from slavery to freedom; (2) the change +from country life to city life. At first the tendency of both these +changes was, naturally, to unsettle, to intoxicate and to lead the +Negro to wrong ideas of life. The change from country life to city +life, in the case of the white man, is about as marked as in the case +of the Negro. The average Negro in the city, with all of its +excitements and temptations, has not lived there more than half a +generation. It is, therefore, too soon to reach a definite conclusion +as to what the permanent effect of this life upon him will be. This, I +think, explains the difference between the moral condition of the +Negro, to which Professor Straton refers, in the states where there +has been little change in the old plantation life, as compared with +that in the more northern of the Atlantic states, where the change +from country to city life is more marked. + +Judging from close observation, my belief is that, after the Negro has +overcome the false idea which city life emphasizes, two or three +generations will bring about an earnestness and steadiness of purpose +which do not now generally obtain. As the Negro secures a home in the +city, learns the lessons of industry and thrift and becomes a +taxpayer, his moral life improves. The influence of home surroundings, +of the school, the church and public sentiment will be more marked and +have a more potent effect in causing him to withstand temptations. +But, notwithstanding the shortness of the time which the Negro has had +in which to get schooled to his new life, any one who has visited the +large cities of Europe will readily testify that the visible signs of +immorality in those cities are far greater than among the colored +people of America. Prostitution for gain is far more prevalent in the +cities of Europe than among the colored people of our cities. + +Professor Straton says that the Negro has degenerated in morals since +he became free; in other words, that his condition in this respect is +not as hopeful as it was during the early period of slavery. I do not +think it wise to place too much reliance upon such a view of the +matter, because there are too few facts upon which to base a +comparison. The bald statement that the Negro was not given to crime +during slavery proves little. Slavery represented an unnatural +condition of life, in which certain physical checks were kept +constantly upon the individual. To say that the Negro was at his +best, morally, during the period of slavery is about the same as to +say that the two thousand prisoners in the State prison and the city +penal institutions in the city of Boston are the most righteous two +thousand people in Boston. I question whether one can find two +thousand persons in Boston who will equal these two thousand +imprisoned criminals in the mere negative virtues. During the days of +slavery the Negro was rarely brought into the court to be tried for +crime; hence, there was almost no public record of crimes committed by +him. Each master, in most cases, punished his slave as he thought +best, and as little as possible was said about it outside of his +little plantation world. The improper relations between the sexes, +with which the black race is now frequently charged in most sections +of the South, were encouraged or winked at, under the slavery system, +because of the financial value of the slaves. A custom that was +fostered for three centuries cannot be blotted out in one generation. + +In estimating the progress of a race, we should not consider alone the +degree of success which has been actually attained, but also the +obstacles which have been overcome in reaching that success. Judged by +the obstacles overcome, few races, if any, in history have made +progress commensurate with that of the colored people of the United +States, in the same length of time. It may be conceded that the +present generation of colored people does not compare favorably with +the present generation of the white race, because of the reasons I +have already given, and the further reason that on account of the +black man's poverty of means to employ lawyers to have his case +properly appealed to the higher courts, and his inability to furnish +bonds, his criminal record is much worse than that of the white race, +both in the Northern and Southern states. The Southern states, as a +whole, have not yet reached a point where they are able to provide +reformatories for juvenile offenders, and consequently most of these +are sent to the state prison, where the records show that the same +individuals are often committed over and over again, because in the +first instance, the child prisoner, instead of being reformed, becomes +simply hardened to prison life. In the North, it is true, the Negro +has the benefit of the reformatories; but the unreasonable prejudice +which prevents him from securing employment in the shops and the +factories more than offsets this advantage. Hundreds of Negroes in the +North become criminals who would become strong and useful men if they +were not discriminated against as bread winners. + +In the matter of assault upon white women, the Negro is placed in a +peculiar attitude. While this vile crime is always to be condemned in +the strongest language, and it should be followed by the severest +legal punishment, yet the custom of lynching a Negro when he is +accused of committing such a crime calls the attention of the whole +country to it, in such a way as is not always true in the case of a +white man, North or South. Any one who reads the daily papers +carefully knows that such assaults are constantly charged against +white men in the North and in the South; but, because the white man, +in most cases, is punished by the regular machinery of the courts, +attention is seldom attracted to his crime outside of the immediate +neighborhood where the offense is committed. This, to say nothing of +the cases where the victim of lynch law could prove his innocence, if +he were given a hearing before a cool, level-headed set of jurors in +open court, makes the apparent contrast unfavorable to the black man. +It is hardly proper, in summing up the value of any race, to dwell +almost continually upon its weaker element. As other men are judged, +so should the Negro be judged, by the best that the race can produce, +rather than by the worst. Keep the searchlight constantly focused upon +the criminal and worthless element of any people, and few among all +the races and nations of the world can be accounted successful. More +attention should be directed to individuals who have succeeded, and +less to those who have failed. And Negroes who have succeeded grandly +can be found in every corner of the South. + +I doubt that much reliance can safely be placed upon mere ability to +read and write a little as a means of saving any race. Education +should go further. One of the weaknesses in the Negro's present +condition grows out of failure, in the early years of his freedom, to +teach him, in connection with thorough academic and religious +branches, the dignity and beauty of labor, and to give him a working +knowledge of the industries by which he must earn a subsistence. But +the main question is: What is the present tendency of the race, where +it has been given a fair opportunity, and where there has been +thorough education of hand, head and heart? This question I answer +from my own experience of nineteen years in the heart of the South, +and from my daily contact with whites and blacks. In the first place, +the social barrier prevents most white people from coming into real +contact with the higher and better side of the Negro's social life. +The Negro loafer, drunkard and gambler can be seen without social +contact. The higher life cannot be seen without social contact. As I +write these lines I am in the home of a Negro friend, where in the +matter of cleanliness, sweetness, attractiveness, modern conveniences +and other evidences of intelligence, morality and culture, the home +would compare favorably with that of any white family in the +neighborhood; and yet this Negro home is unknown outside of the little +town where it exists. To really know the life of this family, one +would have to become a part of it for days, as I have been. One of the +most encouraging changes that have taken place in the life of the +Negro race in the past thirty years is the creation of a growing +public sentiment which draws a line between the good and bad, the +clean and unclean. This change is fast taking place in every part of +the country. It is one that cannot be accurately measured by any table +of statistics. To be able to appreciate it fully, one must himself be +a part of the social life of the race. + +As to the effect of industrial education in the solution of the race +problem, we should not expect too much from it in a short time. To the +late General S. C. Armstrong, of Hampton Institute, in Virginia, +should be given the credit, mainly, for inaugurating this system of +education. When the Hampton Institute began the systematic, industrial +training of the Negro, such training was unpopular among a large class +of colored people. Later, when the same system was started by me at +the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, in Alabama, it was still +unpopular, especially in that part of the South. But the feeling +against it has now almost disappeared in all parts of the country, so +much so that I do not consider the opposition of a few people here and +there as of material consequence. Where there is one who opposes it +there are thousands who indorse it. So far as the colored people are +concerned, I consider that the battle for this principle has been +fought and the victory won. What the colored people are anxious about +is that, with industrial education, they shall have thorough mental +and religious training, and in this they are right. For bringing about +this change in the attitude of the colored people, much credit should +be given to the John F. Slater Fund, under the wise guidance of such +men as Mr. Morris K. Jesup and Dr. J. L. M. Curry, as well as to Dr. +H. B. Frissell, of the Hampton Institute. That such institutions for +industrial training as the Hampton Institute and the Tuskegee +Institute are always crowded with the best class of Negro students +from nearly every state in the Union, and that every year they are +compelled to refuse admission to hundreds of others, for lack of room +and means, are sufficient evidence that the black race has come to +appreciate the value of industrial education. The almost pathetic +demand of the colored people for the industrial education in every +corner of the South is added evidence of the growing intelligence of +the race. In saying what I do in regard to industrial education, I do +not wish to be understood as meaning that the education of the Negro +should be confined to that kind alone, because we need men and women +well educated in other directions; but for the masses industrial +education is the supreme need. I repeat that we must not expect too +much from this training, in the redemption of a race, in the space of +a few years. + +There are few institutions in the South where industrial training is +given upon a large and systematic scale, and the graduates from these +institutions have not had time to make themselves felt to any very +large extent upon the life of the rank and file of the people. But +what are the indications? As I write, I have before me a record of +graduates, which is carefully compiled each year. Of the hundreds who +have been trained at the Tuskegee Institute, less than five per cent +have failed because of the any moral weakness. These graduates, as +well as hundreds of other students who could not remain to finish the +course, are now at work in the schoolroom, in the field, in the shop, +in the home, or as teachers of industry, or in some way they are +making their education felt in the lifting up of the colored people. +Wherever these graduates go, they not only help their own race, but, +in nearly every case, they win the respect and confidence of the white +people. + +Not long ago I sent a number of letters to white men, in all the +Southern states, asking, among others, this question: "Judged by +actual observation in your community, what is the effect of education +upon the Negro?" In asking this question, I was careful to explain +that by education I did not mean a mere smattering, but a thorough +education of the head, heart and hand. I received about three hundred +replies, and there was only one who said that education did not help +the Negro. Most of the others were emphatic in stating that education +made the Negro a better citizen. In all the record of crime in the +South, there are very few instances where a black man, who has been +thoroughly educated in the respects I have mentioned, has been ever +charged with the crime of assaulting a woman. In fact, I do not know +of a single instance of this kind, whether the man was educated in an +industrial school or in a college. + +The following extracts from a letter written by a Southern white man +to the Daily Advertiser, of Montgomery, Alabama, contain most valuable +testimony. The letter refers to convicts in Alabama, most of whom are +colored: + +"I was conversing not long ago with the warden of one of our mining +prisons, containing about 500 convicts. The warden is a practical man, +who has been in charge of prisoners for more than fifteen years, and +has no theories of any kind to support. I remarked to him that I +wanted some information as to the effect of manual training in +preventing criminality, and asked him to state what per cent of the +prisoners under his charge had received any manual training, besides +the acquaintance with the crudest agricultural labor. He replied: +'Perhaps about one per cent.' He added: 'No; much less than that. We +have here at present only one mechanic; that is, there is one man who +claims to be a house painter.' + +"'Have you any shoemakers?' + +"'Never have had a shoemaker.' + +"'Have you any tailors?' + +"'Never have had a tailor.' + +"'Any printers?' + +"'Never have had a printer.' + +"'Any carpenters?' + +"'Never have had a carpenter. There is not a man in this prison that +could saw to a straight line.'" + +Now, these facts seem to show that manual training is almost as good a +preventive for criminality as vaccination is for smallpox. + +We can best judge further of the value of industrial and academic +education by using a few statistics bearing upon the state of +Virginia, where graduates from the Hampton Institute and other schools +have gone in large numbers and have had an opportunity, in point of +time, to make their influence apparent upon the Negro population. +These statistics, based on census reports, were compiled mainly by +persons connected with the Hampton Negro Conference: + +"Taking taxation as a basis, the colored people of the State of +Virginia contributed, in 1898, directly to the expenses of the State +government, the sum of $9,576.76, and for schools $3,239.41 from their +personal property, a total of $12,816.17; while, from their real +estate, for the purpose of the commonwealth there was paid by them +$34,303.53, and for schools $11,457.22, or a total of $45,760.75--a +grand total of $58,576.92. + +"The report for the same year shows them to own 987,118 acres of land, +valued at $3,800,459, improved by buildings valued at $2,056,490, a +total of $5,856,949. In the towns and cities, they own lots assessed +at $2,154,331, improved by buildings valued at $3,400,636, a total of +$5,554,976 for town property, and a grand total of $11,411,916 of +their property of all kinds in the commonwealth. A comparative +statement of different years would doubtless show a general upward +tendency. + +"The counties of Accomac, Essex, King and Queen, Middlesex, Mathews, +Northampton, Northumberland, Richmond, Westmoreland, Gloucester, +Princess Anne and Lancaster, all agricultural, show an aggregate of +114,197 acres held by Negroes in 1897, the last year accounted for in +official reports, against 108,824 held the previous year, an increase +of 5,379, or nearly five per cent. The total valuation of land owned +by Negroes in the same counties for 1897, is $547,800, against +$496,385 for the year next preceding, a gain of $51,150, or more than +ten per cent. Their present property, as assessed in 1897, was +$517,560, in 1896, $527,688, a loss of $10,128. Combining the real and +personal property for 1897, we have $1,409,059, against $1,320,504 for +1896, a net gain of $88,555, an increase of six and one-half per cent. + +"The records of Gloucester, Lancaster, Middlesex, Princess Anne, +Northumberland, Northampton, King and Queen, Essex, and Westmoreland, +where the colored population exceeds the white, show that the criminal +expense for 1896 was $14,313.29, but for 1897 it was only $8,538.12, a +saving of $5,774.17 to the State, or a falling off of forty per cent. +This does not tell the whole story. In the first named year twenty-six +persons were convicted of felonies, with sentences in the +penitentiary, while in the year succeeding only nine, or one-third as +many, were convicted of the graver offences of the law." + +According to these returns, in 1892, when the colored people formed 41 +per cent of the population, they owned 2.75 per cent of the total +number of acres assessed for taxation, and 3.40 per cent of the +buildings; in 1898, although not constituting more than 37 per cent of +the population (by reason of white immigration), they owned 3.23 per +cent of the acreage assessed, and 4.64 per cent of the buildings--a +gain of nearly one-third in six years. + +According to statistics gathered by a graduate of the Hampton +Institute, in twelve counties in Virginia, there has been in the part +of the state covered by the investigation an increase of 5,379 acres +in the holdings of colored people, and an increase of $51,150 in the +value of their land. In nine counties there has been a decrease in the +number of persons charged with felonies and sent to the penitentiary +from twenty-six in 1896 to nine in 1897. + +I do not believe that the Negro will grow weaker in morals and less +strong in numbers because of his immediate contact with the white +race. The first class life insurance companies are considered +excellent authorities as to the longevity of individuals and races; +and the fact that most of them now seek to insure the educated class +of blacks, is a good test of what these companies think, of the effect +of education upon the mortality of the race. + +The case of Jamaica, in the West Indies, presents a good example by +which to judge the future of the Negro of the United States, so far as +mortality is concerned. The argument drawn from Jamaica is valuable, +chiefly because the race there has been free for sixty-two years, +instead of thirty-five, as in our own country. During the years of +freedom, the blacks of Jamaica have been in constant contact with the +white man. Slavery was abolished in Jamaica in 1838. The census of +1844 showed that there were 364,000 Negroes on the island. In 1871 +there were 493,000, and in 1891 there were 610,597. In a history of +Jamaica written by Mr. W. P. Livingston, who spent ten years studying +the conditions of the island, we find that, immediately after +emancipation on the island, there was something of the reaction that +has taken place in some parts of our country; but that recently there +has been a settling down to real, earnest life on the part of a large +proportion of the race. After calling attention to certain weak and +unsatisfactory phases in the life of the Jamaica Negro, Mr. Livingston +says: + +"This, then, is the race as it exists to-day, a product of sixty years +of freedom; on the whole, a plain, honest, Anglicized people, with no +peculiarity except a harmless ignorance and superstition. Looking at +it in contrast with what it was at the beginning of the period, one +cannot but be impressed with the wonderful progress it has made; +and where there has been steady progress in the past, there is +infinite hope for the future. * * * The impact of Roman power and +culture on the northern barbarians of the United Kingdom did not make +itself felt for three hundred years. * * * Instead of dying off before +civilization, he (the Negro) grows stronger as he comes within its +best influences." + +In comparing the black race of Jamaica with that of the United States, +it should be borne in mind that the Negro in America enjoys advantages +and encouragements which the race in Jamaica does not possess. + +What I have said, I repeat, is based largely upon my own experience +and observation, rather than upon statistics. I do not wish to convey +the impression that the problem before our country is not a large and +serious one; but I do believe that in a judicious system of +industrial, mental and religious training we have found the method of +solving it. What we most need is the money necessary to make the +system effective. The indications are hopeful, not discouraging; and +not the least encouraging is the fact that, in addition to the +munificence of Northern philanthropists and the appropriations of the +Southern state governments from common taxation, with the efforts of +the Negro himself, we have now reached a point at which the solution +of this problem is drawing to its aid some of the most thoughtful and +cultured white men and women of the South, as is indicated by the +article to which I have already referred, from the pen of Professor +John Roach Straton. + + +SECOND PAPER. + +WILL THE EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO SOLVE THE RACE PROBLEM? + +BY PROF. J. R. HAWKINS. + +[Illustration: Prof. John R. Hawkins] + + JOHN RUSSELL HAWKINS. + + John Russell Hawkins, the oldest son of Ossian and + Christiana Hawkins, was born in the town of Warrenton, + Warren County, North Carolina, on May 31, 1862. At the age + of six years, he began attending the public school of his + native town and made rapid progress in his studies. + + When old enough to help his father work, he had to stop + attending school regularly and apply himself to work on his + father's farm. In the mean time, he kept up studies by + attending night school and employing private tutors. At the + age of fifteen, he went with four members of the highest + class in the regular graded school to take the public + examination for school teacher. Of the five examined, he + made the highest grades and received an appointment as + assistant teacher in the same school where he had received + his first training. + + In 1881, he left home and went to Hampton Institute, + Hampton, Va., where he spent one year in special study + preparatory for business. + + In 1882, he left Hampton and accepted a position in the + Government service, as railway postal clerk, on the line + between Raleigh, N. C., and Norfolk, Va. Here he soon made a + record that classed him among the best clerks in the + service. In 1885, Mr. Hawkins returned to his native town + and was elected as principal of the graded school. Here he + spent two years teaching and reading law under private + tutors. + + In 1887, he was asked to go to Kittrell, N. C., to fill the + position as business manager and treasurer of Kittrell + College, then known as Kittrell Normal and Industrial + Institute. So acceptably did Mr. Hawkins fill this position + that in 1890 he was elected to the Presidency of Kittrell + College, which position he has filled with credit. + + During the first eight years of his work at Kittrell, he + developed that work so rapidly that the trustees deemed it + wise to accept his recommendations and broaden the work so + as to cover a regular college course. Mr. Hawkins has always + been an ardent advocate of higher education for the Negro + and worked hard to fit himself for giving such advantages to + his students. For five years he spent his summers in the + North, where he could get the best school advantages and + keep himself in touch with best school methods. + + Mr. Hawkins has been one of the most successful educators of + the South and has raised large sums of money by public + canvass among the philanthropists of the country. In his + native State, North Carolina, he is a recognized leader + among his people, and by his ability and standing has won + the confidence and respect of all classes. A ripe scholar, a + deep thinker, a ready writer and a polished orator, his + services are almost constantly in demand. Indeed, it has + been said of him that he is one of the finest public + speakers on the stage. He speaks with such power of + conviction as to touch the heart of his audiences and at + once lead them into the subject under consideration with + interest and profit. + + In 1896 he was elected by the General Conference of the + African Methodist Episcopal Church as Commissioner of + Education and filled that office so acceptably that at the + end of his first term in 1900, he was re-elected by + acclamation. He is regarded as among the strongest laymen in + his church and one of the best financiers of the race. + + One of the finest qualities of Mr. Hawkins is his devotion + to his family and his high ideals in home life. + + In 1892 he married Miss Lillian M. Kennedy, of Sioux Falls, + South Dakota, whose companionship and devotion has been a + most important factor in contributing to her husband's + success. They are the happy parents of two children, a girl + and a boy, and are pleasantly located at Kittrell, N. C., in + a very beautiful home. + +Every nation of recognized merit and ability, chronicled in the +world's history, is proud to revert to some special feature of its +life, and point with pride to some one thing that has given character +to its institutions and added to its national glory. As far back as +history runs, we find nations, classes and races, pointing out +different things as the stronghold, the ground work, the pillars on +which their fame rests. + +The thing to which the Negro can point with most pride, is the +activity and progress made in the development of an ideal home life +and the providing of a liberal education for his people. Indeed, it is +worthy of note, that in both church and state, there is a growing +interest in behalf of extending to all classes the privileges and +benefits of at least a limited education. Nations that once thought of +nothing but war and conquest are throwing their influence in the scale +of popular education. + +Countries that have long wielded the scepter of power, and held +thousands subject to the will and opinion of one man or set of men, +are being aroused to the importance of individual thought and +individual responsibility. Churches and organizations that necessarily +began their work with one or two as leaders, who had to do the +thinking for hundreds of others, are now turning their attention to +the work of training and developing the faculties and character of +each one so as to enable him to think and act intelligently for +himself; this is the spirit of the present age. In this lies the hope +and destiny of all classes and all races. + +Hence, if there be any particular problem as connected with the Negro +race, in my opinion the solution of that problem will come only by +following the rule of action applied to the uplifting and development +of others. + +The Negro is no new specie of nature; he is no new issue in the +category of life; no new element in the citizenship of this country, +and needs no special prescription to suit his needs. His case is one +common to a people whose surroundings and environments have placed, or +caused them to be placed, in a dependent attitude, and his only hope +for rising above the common level of a menial slave is to so husband +his resources as to change these environments and become the master +of, rather than the helpless creature, of circumstances. The faithful +pioneers who carried the torch of knowledge into darkened regions and +cheered the lives of thousands with rays of hope and promise, opened +the way for the liberation of great forces that had long lain dormant +and smothered. Knowledge has been the torch in the civilizer's hand, +and carrying this still we can find treasures still unearthed and +truths still unlearned. + +The glories already achieved in the field of science, art and +literature have but aroused us to seek for still greater honors. The +ray of light that has fallen across our pathway, giving hope and +promise of better and brighter things further on, has but fired the +zeal within us, and there is no way of satisfying this burning zeal +save the feasting on the coveted goal--the riches and beauties of +wisdom. One writer says: "As long as one's mind is shrouded in +ignorance he is but the tool of others, and the victim of foolishness +and gross absurdities. He will never experience those pleasures which +come from a well-directed train of thought and which is akin to the +dignity of a high nature. On the other hand, the person whose mind is +illumined with the light of knowledge, and whose soul is lit up, is +introduced as it were into a new world. He can trace back the stream +of time to its commencement, and gliding along its downward course, +can survey the most memorable events and see the dawnings of Divine +Mercy and the manifestations of the Son of God in our nature." 'Tis +not enough to know that we have faculties. 'Tis not sufficient to say +that there lives in us the power to see, to hear, to feel, to reason, +to think and to act; we must develop these powers until we can feel +the benefit of the blessings that come from their use. We will never +be able to reason for ourselves unless we learn to think for +ourselves. The thinking mind is the active mind, and the active mind +is the growing mind; the growing mind moves the man, and the man that +moves helps to move the world. He moves step by step from the common +level of events to things of greater height. He rises from pinnacle to +pinnacle, never ceasing, never tiring, never stopping, ever growing, +ever moving, ever rising till he finds the fountain head of all truth +and all virtue. We are now face to face with a new order of things. +Under this new regime we witness the foreshadowing of a higher sense +of civilization, a higher standard of morals, a broader field of +culture and a purer realm of thought. + +Indeed, we are only in the shadow of this great light. 'Tis not the +promise alone that brightens our sky. The dawn has appeared. The music +of the morn has already been heard, and nations are awaking and +rushing to crowd around the altar as worshippers at the shrine of +learning. What lover of letters would doubt for a moment that if +Thomas Carlyle could re-enter the world of letters and dignify the +profession with the fertility of his brain, instead of captivating the +world with his beautiful outline of heroes and hero worship, he would +summon all his powers as an agency to do reverence, as a worshipper +at the shrine, not of things material, not of men, but of _ideas_. +This is the school to which we are crowding. In the development of our +educational system we are enabled to find the highest ideals and +center our thoughts on the highest and purest standard of life. + +Only those who think, or those who seek to know the virtues of +intelligence, and to enjoy the beauties of a pure and ideal life, can +enter into the spirit of rejoicing over the approach of the time when +each person will be measured by what is represented in his ability to +exert a potent influence in shaping the destiny of things and helping +to mold public sentiment. The mind can no more be allowed to remain +dormant or inactive than the turf of the field, or the muscles of the +body. It must be stirred up; it must be awakened from its stupor and +quickened into a newness of life. + +The opportunity for this general awakening was denied our parents, who +were the victims of slavery, and they suffered the loss of the +prestige and influence that naturally follows; but what was lost to +our ancestry must be redeemed to posterity. We must center our work in +the youth of our land and give them the broadest, deepest and highest +training. The most liberal education should be provided for all. An +education free from bias, free from proscription, free from any label +that will mark them as Negro laborers, as Negro mechanics, as Negro +scholars, but an education that will mark them as artisans, as skilled +mechanics, as scholars, thinkers, as men and women with master minds +and noble souls. In this will we find the reward for our labors and +the hope of the race. I agree with the writer who says: "There is +nothing to be compared with the beauty of an excellent character and +the usefulness of a noble life. To the unlimited, unfettered spirit of +man's mind that can rise above the mountain peaks and sweep across the +ocean bounds. To that unequaled beauty of a pure and spotless soul. +The whole earth, with all its beauties of art and skill, are counted +as naught in the sight of God, as compared with a living creature, +that represents in his body the image of his Creator, and in his mind +and soul the divine principles of the mystery, the power, and glory of +His Son." + +'Tis not enough to know that schools and colleges exist, and to boast +of the advantages, and opportunities afforded us. We must lay hold +upon them and become a part of them. We must, by our own efforts, out +of our own means, build, own and control our own institutions for the +training of our youths, and then establish enterprises of business for +the practical display and use of the training received. + +The great trouble about our system of education is that the masses +have not yet felt the real good of it. To some it is no good, because +they have simply gotten enough to misuse. You cannot satisfy a man's +appetite by stopping him at the door of your dining room, where he can +get only a smell of the dinner while he sees others eating. Of course +he would turn away in disgust and call it all a farce. You cannot +teach a man to swim by stopping him at the water's edge. You cannot +convince a man that he is at the top of a mountain when you stop him +at the base, where he can look up and see others above him; and you +cannot show a man the virtue of education when you stop him at the +school house door and deny him entrance while others crowd by and pass +through. Let him in. Open the doors wide and let all come in and sit +down to the intellectual feast. We want to bring the people out into +the middle of the stream, into the deep water where they can be borne +up by the strong tide of intellect and follow the current of popular +ideas. + +We must take them up and away from the foot of the mountain, place +them on top, where they can bask in the sunlight of intelligence, +where the atmosphere is pure and the virtue of education beams in +every eye. God made man in his own image, prepared him a body, +arranged for his food and raiment, stretched nature before him, and +then commissioned him to go forth and subdue, replenish and have +dominion over all. Yea more than this. He endowed man with reasoning +faculties and for these faculties fixed no bounds; but left them to +work out their own destiny and achieve their own triumphs. + +I do not believe God intended for man's mind to remain undeveloped. He +did not intend that His creatures should forever remain ignorant and +shrouded in ignorance. Wherever He places talents there he expects to +find evidence of growth and increase. Hence it is our duty to educate +and prepare all for the intelligent use of what God has given them. If +we expect to have a part in shaping events in this life; if we expect +to be numbered among the learned, the strong, the molders of public +sentiment, the masters of things material, free from abject menial +servitude, we must educate the people. + +Let this idea run all through our schools until it permeates the life +of every boy, every girl, every man, every woman; making its influence +felt in every home, every clime and among all nations. + + +THIRD PAPER. + +WILL THE EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO SOLVE THE RACE PROBLEM? + +BY PROF. KELLEY MILLER. + +It is a hopeful sign when those who are vitally concerned in the +outcome of the Negro problem are guided in their discussion by the +light of evidence and argument, and are not impelled to foregone +conclusions by transmitted prejudice and traditional bias. The article +of Professor John Roach Straton in the North American Review for June, +1900, is notable for its calm, dispassionate, argumentative treatment, +and for its freedom from rancor and venom. His conclusions, therefore, +if erroneous, are all the more damaging because of the evident +sincerity and helpful intention of the author. + +With much erudition and argumentative skill Professor Straton sets +forth the proposition that education has failed to check the Negro's +degenerating tendencies or to fit him for his "strange and abnormal +environment." + +There are two leading divisions of the race problem: + +1. The development of a backward race. + +2. The adjustment of two races with widely divergent ethnic +characteristics. + +These two factors are, in the mind of many, antagonistic to each +other. The more backward and undeveloped the Negro, the easier is the +process of his adjustment to the white race; but when you give him +"Greek and Latin and eyeglasses" frictional problems inevitably arise. +Under slavery this adjustment was complete, but the bond of adjustment +was quickly burst asunder when the Negro was made a free man and +clothed with full political and civil privilege. The one great +question which so far remains unanswerable is, can the two be +readjusted on terms of equality? The solution of social problems +belongs to the realm of statesmanship, philanthropy and religion. The +function of education is to develop latent faculties. It was a shallow +philosophy which prophesied that a few years of schooling on the part +of the Negro would solve the race question. If the education of the +colored man has not worked out the fulfillment which its propounders +prophesied, it simply proves them to be poor prophets. The Negro, too, +believed that if he could only learn to read and write, and +especially if he could go to college, that he would be relieved of +every incumbrance that beset him. Education was looked upon as an end +and not as an agency. As his friends were destined to disappointment, +the Negro himself was doomed to humiliation and chagrin. Education +creates as many problems as it solves. It is both static and +dynamical. When Professor Straton says, therefore, that education has +not solved the race problem, he utters a truism. But if he means to +imply that it has not had a wholesome effect upon the life of the +Negro, his conclusion verges upon the absurd. + +We are apt to be misled by the statistics showing the decline of +illiteracy among Negroes. All those who can read and write are set +apart as educated persons, as if this mere mechanical information had +worked some great transformation in their nature. The fact, is a very +small per cent of the race is educated in any practical or efficient +sense. The simple ability to read and write is of the least possible +benefit to a backward race. What advantage would it be to the red +Indians to be able to trace the letters of the English alphabet with a +pen, or to vocalize the printed characters into syllables and +sentences? Unless the moral nature is touched and the vital energies +aroused there would be no improvement in conduct or increase in +practical efficiency. Education has a larger function for a backward +than for a forward race. To the latter it merely furnishes a key to an +existing lock, while to the former it must supply both lock and key. +The pupil who is already acquainted with the nature and conditions of +a problem may need only a suggestion as to a skillful or lucky +combination of parts in order to lead to its solution; whereas to one +ignorant of the underlying facts and factors such suggestion would be +worse than useless. + +Even much of the so-called higher education of the Negro has been only +a process of artificially forcing a mass of refined information into a +system which had no digestive or assimilative apparatus. Such +education produces no more nourishment or growth than would result +from forcing sweetmeats down the throat of an alligator. Of education +in its true sense the Negro has had very little. The great defect of +the Negro's nature is his lack of individual initiative, growing out +of his feeble energy of will. To overcome this difficulty, his +training should be judiciously adapted and sensibly applied to his +needs. Industrial training will supply the method and the higher +culture the motive. + +Professor Straton tells us that $100,000,000 have already been +expended upon the education of this race. Princely as this sum seems +to be, it is nevertheless utterly insignificant when compared with the +magnitude of the task to which it has been applied. The city of New +York alone spends $15,000,000 annually for educational purposes. And +yet if we are to believe the rumors of corruption and the low state of +municipal morality it will be seen that education has not yet done its +perfect work in our great metropolis. Then why should we rave at the +heart and froth at the mouth because a sum of money, scarcely equal to +a third of the educational expenditure of a single American city, +though distributed over a period of thirty years and scattered over a +territory of a million square miles, has not completely civilized a +race of 8,000,000 degraded souls? + +The whites maintain that they impose taxes upon themselves for the +education of the blacks. This is only one of the many false notions of +political economy which have done so much to blight the prosperity of +the South. Labor pays every tax in the world; and although the laborer +may not enjoy the privilege of passing the tribute to the tax taker, +he is nevertheless entitled to share in all of the privileges which +his toil makes possible. And besides children are not educated because +their parents are taxpayers, but in order that they may become more +helpful and efficient members of the community. It would be wisdom on +the part of the South to place the future generations under bonded +debt, if necessary, for the education of its ignorant population, +white and black. This would be far more statesmanlike than to transmit +to them a legacy of ignorance, degradation and crime. Pride in a +political theory should no longer prevent the appeal to national aid +to remove the threatening curse. + +Professor Straton underestimates the effect of culture upon a backward +race when he minimizes the value of individual emergence. The +individual is the proof of the race. The conception of progress has +always found lodgment in the mind of some select individuals, whence +it has trickled down to the masses below. May it not be that the races +which have withered before the breath of civilization, have faded +because they failed to produce individuals with sufficient +intelligence, courage and good sense to wisely guide and direct their +path? What names can the red Indian present to match Benjamin Banneker +or Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglass or Paul Laurence Dunbar? +The Negro has contributed four hundred patented inventions to the +mechanical genius of his country; how many has the aborigine +contributed? The congressional library has collected fourteen hundred +books and pamphlets by Negro authors. These works are, of course, in +the main, commonplace or indifferent. But a people who have the +ambition to write poor books will soon gain the ability to make good +ones. Have any of the vanished races shown such aptitude for +civilization? But these are exceptions. So are the eminent men of any +race. When the exceptions become too numerous it is rather poor logic +to urge them in proof of the rule. It is also a mistake to suppose +that these picked individuals are without wholesome influence upon the +communal life. They are diffusive centers of light scattered +throughout the whole race. These grains of leaven will actually leaven +the whole lump. + +"We take these savages from their simple life and their low plane of +evolution and attempt to give them an enlightenment for which the +stronger races have prepared themselves by ages of growth." There is +in this utterance a tinge of the feeling which actuated the laborers +who had borne the heat and burden of the day when they objected to the +eleventh hour intruders being received on equal terms with themselves. +One answer suffices for both: "Other men have labored, and ye are +entered into their labors." It is true that the Negro misses evolution +and his adjustment to his environment is made the more difficult on +that account. Education, therefore, is all the more essential and +vital. The chasm between civilization and savagery must be bridged by +education. The boy learns in a few years what it took the race ages to +acquire. A repetition of the slow steps and stages by which progress +has been secured is impossible. Attachment to civilization must take +place at its highest point, just as we set a graft upon the most +vigorous and healthy limb of a tree, and not upon a decadent stem. +Must the Negro dwell for generations upon Anglo-Saxon stems and +Cancerian diction before he is introduced to modern forms of English +speech? The child of the African slave is under the same linguistic +necessity as the offspring of Depew and Gladstone. He must leap, +_instanter_, from primitive mode of locomotion to the steamboat, the +electric car and the automobile. Of course many will be lost in the +endeavor to sustain the stress and strain. Civilization is a saver of +life into life and death into death. Japan is the best living +illustration of the rapid acquisition of civilization. England can +utilize no process of art or invention that is not equally invaluable +to the oriental islanders. This has been accomplished by this young +and vigorous people mainly through the education of picked youth. +Herein lies the only salvation of the Negro race. + +In the meantime the dual nature of the solution and its relative +importance to both races is clearly indicated by Voltaire, the great +French savant: "It is more meritorious and more difficult to wean men +from their prejudices than to civilize the barbarian." + + +FOURTH PAPER. + +WILL THE EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO SOLVE THE RACE PROBLEM? + +BY C. H. TURNER. + +[Illustration: Prof. C. H. Turner] + + PROF. CHARLES HENRY TURNER, M. S. + + Charles Henry Turner was born at Cincinnati, Ohio, February + 3, 1867. Both parents were of Negro descent. His mother was + a Kentucky girl and his father a Canadian. Both parents were + temperate and Christian in habits. Neither parent was + college-bred, yet Charles' father was a well-read man, a + keen thinker, and a master of debate. He had surrounded + himself with several hundred choice books and one of the + earliest ambitions of Charles was to learn to read these + books. + + The only education of our subject was obtained in the + excellent public schools of Cincinnati, Ohio. From the + Walnut Hills District School Charles passed to the Gaines + High School, from which he graduated valedictorian of his + class. From High School he passed to the University of + Cincinnati, from which he graduated in 1891 with the B. S. + degree, and in 1892 with the M. S. degree. + + When a youth in college, Charles hoped some day to be the + head of a technological or agricultural school for Negroes, + and much time and money was expended mastering those + essentials that the head of a school should know. That + youthful day dream has never been realized, but Charles has + been an active teacher for years. Even before graduation he + taught one year in the Governor Street School at Evansville, + Indiana, and occasionally taught, as a substitute, in the + public schools of Cincinnati, Ohio. From 1891 to 1893 he was + assistant in Biology at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio. + Since then he has been Professor of Biology at Clark + University, South Atlanta, Ga. In 1901 he was dean of the + Georgia Summer School. + + By training Prof. Turner is a biologist who has contributed + his mite towards the advancement of his favorite science. In + the following list of some of the principal publications of + Prof. Turner, those marked with an asterisk are + contributions to biology. + + *Morphology of the Avian Brain; "Jour. of Comp. Neur." + (1891), 100 pp. 8 pls. + + *A Few Characteristics of the Avian Brain. "Science" + (1891). + + *Psychological Notes on the Gallery Spider. "Jour. of + Comp. Neur." (1892). + + *Notes on the Clodocera, Ostracoda and Rotifera of + Cincinnati. "Bull. Sci. Lab. of Den. Univ." (1892), 17 + pp., 2 pls. + + *Additional Notes on the Clodocera and Ostracoda of + Cincinnati, 18 pp., (1893), 2 pls. _Ibid._ + + *Notes on the American Ostracoda. _Ibid_, 11 pp., 2 pls. + + *Preliminary Note on the Nervous System of the Genus + Cypris. "Jour. Comp. Neur." (1893), 5 pp., 3 pls. + + *Morphology of the Nervous System of Cypris. _Ibid_, + (1896), 24 pp., 6 pls. + + *Synopsis of the Entomostraca of Minnesota, etc., C. L. + Herrick and C. H. Turner (1895), 525 pp., 81 pls. [C. H. + Turner is only part author of this.] + + Numerous abstracts and translations from German and French + published in the Jour. of Comp. Neur. + + Reason for Teaching Biology in Negro Schools. + "Southwestern Christian Advocate" (1897). + + Object of Negro Memorial Day (1899). + + New Year Thoughts About the Negro. "Southwestern Christian + Advocate" (1899). + + *Notes on the Mushroom Bodies of the Invertebrates. + "Zoological Bulletin" (1899), 6 pp., 6 figs. + + *A Male Erpetocypris Barbatus, Forbes. "Zool. Bulletin" + (1899). + + *Synopsis of North American Invertebrates. V. Fresh-Water + Ostracoda. "Amer. Naturalist" (1899), 11 pp. + + Living Dust. "Southwestern Christian Advocate" (1901), + xiii chapter. + + *The Mushroom Bodies of the Crayfish and their + Histological Environment. "Jour of Comp. Neur." (1901), 50 + pp., 4 pls. + +The War of the rebellion is over, Negro slavery in America is no more, +and the days of reconstruction have passed into history. + +Dr. DuBois in speaking of that period wrote: "Amid it all two figures +ever stand to typify that day to coming men: the one a gray-haired +gentleman, whose fathers had quit themselves like men, whose sons lay +in nameless graves; who bowed to the evil of slavery because its +abolition boded untold ill to all; who stood at last, in the evening +of life, a blighted, ruined form, with hate in his eyes. And the other +a form black with the mist of centuries, and aforetime bent in love +over the white master's cradle, rocked his sons and daughters to +sleep, and closed in death the sunken eyes of his wife to the world; +aye, too, had laid herself low to his lusts, and borne a tawny man +child to the world, only to see her dark boy's limbs scattered to the +winds by midnight marauders riding after niggers. These were the +saddest sights of that woeful day; and no man clasped the hands of +these two passing figures of the present-past, but hating they went to +their long home, and hating their children's children live to-day." + +Would some power had clasped the hands of these "two fleeting figures +of the present-past!" Then those "marauders chasing niggers" would +have been subdued and there would not be so many bloody threads in the +weft of the history the New South has been weaving. + +The "gray-haired gentleman" has left a grandson who has all the +culture and education money and thrift can buy. He is thrifty and +enterprising, law-abiding and conscientious. He has inherited +prejudices, yet he is sincere. He loves the South no less than did his +grandfather; but he loves the Union more. He would die to save the +Union; he lives to glorify the South. He is known as the new +Southerner and he is evolving a New South. + +The "marauder chasing niggers" has left a grandson who is illiterate, +uncultured and thriftless. He despises manual labor, but is too poor +and too ignorant to live without doing it. Unfit to be the associate +of the new Southerner, and feeling himself too superior to mingle with +Negroes, he broods over his hardships and bemoans his fate. He is a +Negro hater and thirsts for the excitement of a lynching bee. This +condoned clog to the progress of Southern civilization is known as +white trash. + +The "form black with the mist of centuries" has left two grandsons. + +One is a thrifty, law-abiding gentleman; too thrifty to be a beggar +and too busy acquiring an education or accumulating wealth or +educating his race to be a loafer or criminal. In his home are all the +comforts of modern life that his purse can afford. He loves his +country and his Southland, and is educating his children to do +likewise. He even contributes his mite to the literature, science and +art of to-day. He is modest and retiring and is known as the new +Negro. + +The other grandchild is a thriftless loafer. He is not willing to pay +the price of an education; but he likes to appear intellectually +bright and entertaining. He often works, but merely to obtain the +means for gratifying his abnormally developed appetites. He laughs, he +dances, he frolics. He knows naught of the value of time nor of the +deeper meanings of life. In the main he is peaceable and law-abiding; +but, under the excitement of the moment, is capable of even the worst +of crimes. This thriftless slave of passion, this child-man, this much +condemned clog to the progress of Southern civilization is called the +vagrant Negro. + +Prejudice is older than this age. A comparative study of animal +psychology teaches that all animals are prejudiced against animals +unlike themselves, and the more unlike they are the greater the +prejudice. A comparative study of history teaches that races are +prejudiced against races unlike themselves, and the greater the +difference the more the prejudice. Among men, however, dissimilarity +of minds is a more potent factor in causing prejudice than unlikeness +of physiognomy. Races whose religious beliefs are unlike the accepted +beliefs of our race we call heathens; those whose habits of living +fall below the ideals of our own race we call uncivilized. In both +cases we are prejudiced. When a highly civilized race is brought in +contact with another people unlike it in physiognomy but in the same +stage of intellectual advancement, at first each is prejudiced against +the other; but when they become thoroughly acquainted prejudice gives +way to mutual respect. For an example of this recall the relations of +the nations of Europe to the Japanese. + +The new Southerner is prejudiced against the new Negro because he +feels that the Negro is very unlike him. He does not know that a +similar education and a like environment have made the new Negro and +himself alike in everything except color and features. Did he but know +this he and the new Negro would join hands and work for the best +interest of the South and there would be no Negro problem. At present +he does not and cannot know this, for the white trash and vagrant +Negro form a wedge separating the new Southerner from the new Negro so +completely that they cannot know each other. Every unmentionable crime +committed by the vagrant Negro, every lynching bee conducted by white +trash, every Negro disfranchisement law passed by misguided +legislators, every unjust discrimination against the Negro by the +people drives this wedge deeper and deeper. + +Render this wedge so thin that it will no longer be a barrier and the +Negro problem is solved. This cannot be done by banishing white trash +and the vagrant Negro; for that is neither possible nor practicable. +The only way to accomplish the thinning of this wedge is to transform +a large number into the new Southerners and the new Negroes. Will +education do this? + +In order to transform the majority of white trash and vagrant Negroes +into new Southerners and new Negroes it will be necessary to instill +into them the following regenerating virtues: + +1. The manners of a gentleman. Not the swagger of the dude nor the +cringing of a scapegoat, but the manners of a being permeated with the +Golden Rule. + +2. Cultured homes. Not necessarily extravagant mansions, but +comfortable dwellings, wherein impoliteness, intemperance, slander and +indecent tales have given place to politeness, temperance, intelligent +conversation and refined pleasantries. + +3. Business honesty. Not only punctual in the payment of debts, but +also truthful in making sales. + +4. Thrift. Not the ability to hoard as a miser does, but the ability +to spend one's earnings economically, to purchase property and to lay +by a little for a rainy day. + +5. Christian morality. Not the ability to shout well, and pray well +and testify well, but the ability to live the Christ life. + +6. The ability to do something well that the world desires bad enough +to be willing to pay a good price for it. This includes not only +mechanical but also commercial and scholastic achievements. + +7. Ability to lead in the light of modern civilization. + +8. Love for justice and contempt for lawlessness. + +Experience and thought convince me that the "highest education" is the +only agency that will instill all of these virtues into a people +without detriment to the multitudes that are forced to stop school +before graduation. Highest education is a new phrase; but can we not +truthfully say that there are three system of education in the world +to-day: the lower or industrial education, the higher education and +the highest education? + +In each of these three systems the student begins his education by an +attempt to master the English branches, and in each attention is given +to developing the moral side of the pupil. + +In the lower or industrial education, parallel with the elementally +English training, or after its completion, the student learns how to +work at one or more trades, but he gets no training in the higher +English branches nor in languages nor science. This system may instill +into students the majority of the regenerating virtues mentioned +above, but it is impossible for this system to impart the ability to +lead in the light of modern civilization. Without this virtue one is +not fit to lead in this strenuous age. A race without competent +leaders is doomed, and any system of education which does not furnish +such leaders is defective and doomed. It has been well said that the +advocates of the lower or industrial education are welding a chain +that will bind the race in industrial servitude for ages. + +In the higher education, after completing an elementary English +training, the individual takes a collegiate course in science, +literature, history and language; but no attention is given to +industrial training. Such a course does instill into those who +complete it all of the regenerating virtues mentioned above; but how +about the multitudes that necessity forces to drop out before the +course is completed? It is a sad, sad fact that the taste they have +had of something different renders them not content to be servants, +yet their training is not sufficient to enable them to be anything +else. + +In the highest education a thorough training is given in the common +English branches, but parallel with it instruction is imparted in the +care and practical use of tools. The elementary course is followed by +a secondary course, in which, along with instruction in the elements +of languages, literature and sciences, is given a thorough training in +some trade. Above this come the colleges and technological schools, +wherein the pupil specializes according to his natural tastes. In its +ability to instill into those who complete it the regenerating virtues +mentioned above this highest education ranks with the higher +education. In this respect neither is superior to the other. But when +it comes to fitting those who stop before the complete course has been +mastered to successfully fight the battle of life, then highest +education is infinitely superior to the higher education. Indeed it is +the only education that helps abundantly not only the graduates, but +also those unfortunate legions that drop out while yet undergraduates. + +In attempting to solve the Negro problem, the industrial or lower +education has been tried on the Negro and found wanting; the higher +education has been tried upon both races and has succeeded but little +better than the lower education; if we will cast aside our prejudices +and try the highest education upon both white and black, in a few +decades there will be no Negro problem. + +Clark University, December 1, 1901. + + + + +TOPIC X. + +WHAT ROLE IS THE EDUCATED NEGRO WOMAN TO PLAY IN THE UPLIFTING OF HER +RACE? + +BY MRS. R. D. SPRAGUE. + +[Illustration: Mrs. Rosetta D. Sprague] + + ROSETTA DOUGLASS SPRAGUE. + + The subject of this sketch was born in New Bedford, Mass., + June 24, 1839. She is the oldest child and the only living + daughter of the late Frederick Douglass. At the age of five + years she moved with her parents to Lynn, Mass., where the + first narrative of Frederick Douglass, written by himself, + was published. Its publication attracted widespread notice + and stirred the ire of slaveholders in the vicinity from + which he escaped. His many friends fearing for his safety + arranged to send him abroad. + + His wife has often told of the demonstrative and + enthusiastic young father catching up his infant daughter + and fervently thanking God that his child was born free and + no man could separate them. Among the many friends who were + solicitous for the family were two maiden ladies, Abigail + and Lydia Mott of Albany, New York, who were cousins of + Lucretia Mott, the well-known philanthropist and friend of + the Negro. These women, who conducted a lucrative business + on Broadway, opposite Bleeker Hall, were also staunch + Abolitionists. Being anxious for the welfare of the little + six-year-old daughter of Douglass, they sought the privilege + of caring for her while the father was abroad. The wife and + three sons remained at their home in Lynn during the + father's absence. Mrs. Sprague has frequently spoken of her + stay with the Motts, who were in good circumstances, and + with their one servant lived in comfort. Their little charge + was amply provided for, and was made contented and happy. + She had a time for play and a time for study. Miss Abigail + gave her instruction in reading and writing and Miss Lydia + taught her to sew. + + At the age of seven Rosetta wrote her first letter to her + father, and when her eighth birthday had passed she made a + shirt to give him on his return from England. At this early + age the child was painfully conscious of the trials and + misery resulting from slavery. Many slaves had sought and + obtained shelter with the Motts, and the anxious moments of + their stay made a deep impression on her childish mind. + + After the establishment of the "North Star," by her father + in Rochester, N. Y., in 1847, the family were reunited in + that place, a governess secured and for several months the + children pursued their studies at home. Later the father was + convinced that as he was a taxpayer he ought to avail + himself of the privilege of the public schools: and, + accordingly, sent his sons there. But the little daughter + was sent to a private school but recently opened for girls. + Tuition was paid in advance, the little girl was sent, but + never saw the inside of the school-room nor met any of the + pupils. Finally she with her brothers attended the public + schools until the year 1850, when the Board of Education + decided that Colored children should no longer be permitted + to remain in the public schools. At the next meeting of the + Board Mr. Douglass and some Anti-Slavery friends were + present to debate the question why such distinction should + be made. As the result of that conference the doors were + opened to Colored children in that city. + + Rosetta being the only girl of color in her room was + subjected for a time to such indignities as only the vulgar + are capable of inflicting. Her complaints pained her fond + father, but his counsel was, "Daughter, I am sending you to + school for your benefit; see to it that you are punctual in + attendance, that you do not offend in your demeanor and cope + with the best of them in your lessons--and await the + results." The daughter strove to obey, and soon found + herself appreciated by her teachers, who classed her as one + of their best pupils. Her companions also changed and sought + her aid in the preparation of their lessons. At the age of + eleven years Rosetta became her father's assistant in the + library. She copied for him, wrapped, addressed and mailed + eight hundred copies of the "North Star" each week. + + Rosetta Douglass married December 24, 1863, Nathan Sprague, + who, like her father, had been a victim of the slave-holding + power. + +The problems of life are manifold. Wherever we turn questions of +moment are presented to us for solution and settlement. At no period +in the history of the American Negro has his status as a man and an +American citizen been so closely scrutinized and criticised as at the +present time. + +The galling chain and merciless lash were the instruments used to +accomplish the humiliation and degradation of the African. Avarice was +the factor in the composition of the character of a large number of +the white men of America that wrought such ravishes in the well-being +of the African. + +To-day, after the short space of thirty-six years has passed over him, +from the deep degradation of centuries the descendants of these +Africans are wrestling with the situation as it exists to-day. Through +the avarice of the white man in the past the black man's physical, +moral and mental development was sacrificed. To-day egotism stalks +abroad to crush, if possible, his hopes and his aims, while he is +struggling from the effects of his thraldom. + +This latter process is more subtle in its operation--placing, as it +does, a weapon that can with confidence be used by the most inferior +and degraded ones of the white race--so that _color_ and not +_character_ is made the determining factor of respectability and +worth, and as the target is to the archer, so is the Negro to the +white man. + +Notwithstanding that the presentation of such facts are not flattering +to the white man or pleasurable to the black man, they are facts which +are to be considered. + +Rapid changes have already been wrought in the condition of the +American Negro. His capabilities and possibilities as a factor in the +nation have been marked and encouraging, and yet there are labors to +be performed to further obtain and maintain his position in the land +of his birth. The Negro is but a man, with the frailties that bound +humanity, and cannot be expected to rid himself of them in any way +different from methods adopted for the betterment of mankind +generally. In view of much that has inspired the friends of the Negro +in the years now past with faith in him and the interest and belief in +him of his numerous friends at the present time, he is still an object +of hatred to a considerable number of his fellow citizens. + +Ages of deception, vice, cruelty and crime, as practiced by the +Caucasian upon the African in this land, would in itself produce fruit +in kind. We would submit a suggestion to those who are disposed to +criticise very closely and to condemn in strong terms the +delinquencies of the Negro. Allow the Negro two hundred and fifty +years of _unselfish_ contact to offset the two hundred and fifty years +of Caucasian selfishness, and be as assiduous in his regeneration as +you were in his degradation--then judge him. + +The twentieth century in its infancy is striving to grasp what it +pleases to call the Negro problem, when it is in reality only a +question as to whether justice and right shall rule over injustice and +wrong to any and every man regardless of race in this boasted land of +freedom. The Negro is made the test in everything pertaining to +American civilization. Its high principles of religion, politics and +morals all receive a shock when a Negro's head appears, upsetting all +theories and in a conspicuous manner proving that the structure of +American civilization is built higher than the average white man can +climb. At this stage of Afro-American existence the question is asked, +"What role is the educated Negro woman to play in the uplifting of her +race?" + +As this is unquestionably the woman's era, the question is timely and +proper. Every race and nation that is at all progressive has its quota +of earnest women engaged in creating for themselves a higher sphere of +usefulness to the world--insisting upon the necessity of a higher +plane of integrity and worth--and thus the women of the Negro race +should be no exception in this land of our birth. Feeling thus, this +particular woman, previous to the question above presented, has +already in considerable numbers formed various associations tending to +the amelioration of existing conditions surrounding her race. The most +notable of them is "The National Association of Colored Women," for +several years presided over by Mrs. Mary Church Terrell of Washington, +D. C., but now under the guidance of Mrs. J. Salome Yates, a woman of +refinement, culture and education and an earnest worker in the cause +of the advancement of the race. It is with pride I point to this body +of women, as its scope is far-reaching, being composed of +organizations from every part of the country. + +There is no woman, certainly no woman in the United States, who has +more reason to desire and more need to aspire for better opportunities +for her brothers and herself than the Negro woman in general and the +educated Negro woman in particular. + +Avarice and egotism have done and is doing its work in retarding, but +not entirely subjugating, the advances that a respectable number of +the race are making. + +The task that confronts the thoughtful woman as she surveys the field +in which she must labor is not a reassuring one. It will be through a +slow process that any good will be accomplished. + +Much patient and earnest endeavor on the part of our women--a strong +missionary spirit needs to be exhibited before any appreciable results +may be reached. It will require the life work for many years to rescue +even a fractional part from the condition of to-day. Not only has the +Negro race to be uplifted but the white race need to stand on a +stronger platform than that of egotistical display of virtues which +are not wholly theirs. + +As long as they deny to the Negro the fact of his brotherhood and his +consequent rights as a man, they are false to their God, and to the +nation. Happily for us there have been a considerable number of the +white race who are mindful of what is due to those of a race whose +tendencies are upward and onward. + +It is with feelings of deep gratitude, love and respect when we +reflect upon the great work that was accomplished in the nineteenth +century for the Negro by the truly great and good men and women of the +white race. Now the twentieth century is confronted with the fact that +there is more work yet to do, and the Negro has his part to bear in +it. The progress of the race means much to the Negro woman, and as she +goes forth adding her best energies to the uplifting of her people the +work in itself will react upon her, and from a passive individual she +will be a more alert and useful factor in the regeneration of her race +and to the social system at large. + +How to begin the work in a systematic manner for the further +advancement of a people struggling amidst so much that is +discouraging is puzzling to the would-be reformers within our own +ranks. We would have the Negro, now that the mantle of freedom is +thrown over him, and also as an acknowledged citizen, to fully +understand and appreciate the fact that now that his destiny is in his +own hands that he must make of himself a potential value. + +In order to emphasize himself as a factor of value he must place +himself in touch with the highest and best thought of past and present +times. + +Barring the barriers that avarice has placed in our way in the past or +the growing egotism of our brothers in white at this stage of our +progress, the women of the Negro race should put themselves in contact +with all the women of this land and espouse all worthy efforts for the +advancement of the human race. + +The educated Negro woman will find that her greatest field for +effective work is in the home. The attributes that are necessary in +forming an upright character are each of them facts, the acceptance of +them making or marring the character as they are accepted or ignored. + +In view of this thought I cannot see that any different role should be +adopted by us than by women in general in this land. + +Industry, honesty and morality are the cardinal attributes to become +acquainted with in forming an irreproachable character, and each and +all of them must be dwelt upon in the home. Already the mothers all +over the country are uniting themselves in the one thought--_the +home_. No less should our women esteem it essential to place +themselves in line with the progressive mothers in our common country. +In advancing such a thought we are confronted with the fact that the +development of the homes of this land has not been a day's work, and +the improvement of the character of the homes will test the energies +of the women who preside over them. The home life of the Negro has +taken on a new significance during the past thirty or more years, and +the zeal required to show the parents to-day their duties in the +rearing of their children should be untiring. We have a few among us +that are interested workers for the maintenance of good government in +the home. + +We would that in every city, town and village, where any number of the +race reside, they would form aid societies for the maintenance of +kindergartens and industrial schools, as well as to aid those already +established, and before the twentieth century has reached its quarter +century mark "The Colored Woman's Aid Societies" would have an +astonishing effect on the manners and morals of those who come under +its benefits. + +It is a source of regret and deep concern to a number of our women +that there is so little attention paid to the labors of "The Woman's +Christian Temperance Union," when we reflect that through the medium +of rum, and, I may add, red beads, African homes were devastated. We +wonder at the apathy of our women in the matter of temperance. The +homes of the race can but be humble and poverty-stricken so long as +the men and women in them are intemperate. The educated women among us +need to set the pace in discountenancing the social glass in their +homes. In this transition stage toward a higher plane of civilization +we need every faculty pure and undefiled to do the work that will lift +us to a merited place in our land. Surely our women must see the +necessity of urgent endeavor against a traffic fraught with so much +that is inimical to the promotion of good citizenship and purer and +better homes. + +From the word of God we receive decided instructions against strong +drink, as in the instance of the instructions concerning the character +of John--his work was to be such that all his energies were to be +called in action, and there was to be no weakening of them. "He was to +be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor +strong drink." We have a great work to perform in meeting the demands +of the hour, requiring all the energy possible of a brain +unclouded--pure and unsullied. The motto of the National Association +of Colored Women, "Lifting as we climb," is in itself an inspiration +to great activity in all moral reforms; and with a spirit of devotion +for the welfare of humanity we embrace the work of the Woman's +Christian Temperance Union in their motto, "For God and Home and +Native Land." + +If the educated Negro woman will rally to the support of the +principles involved in the organizations already presented in this +paper, I think they will be amply repaid in the results accruing from +their labors. + + +SECOND PAPER. + +WHAT ROLE IS THE EDUCATED NEGRO WOMAN TO PLAY IN THE UPLIFTING OF HER +RACE? + +BY MRS. MARY CHURCH TERRELL, + +PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COLORED WOMEN. + +[Illustration: Mrs. Mary Church Terrell] + + MRS. MARY CHURCH TERRELL. + + In all matters affecting the interests of the women of her + race, Mrs. Mary Church Terrell, of Washington, D. C., is a + leading spirit. Three times in succession she was elected + President of the National Association of Colored Women by + most flattering majorities. When, according to the provision + of the constitution, which limits the term of officers, Mrs. + Terrell could not be re-elected president, she was made + Honorary President. + + She has twice been invited to address the National Woman + Suffrage Association at its annual convention in Washington. + Her public utterances have always made a profound impression + on her hearers and no speakers associated with her have + received more applause from audiences or higher praise from + the public press than herself. Not many years ago when + Congress, by resolution granted power to the Commissioners + of the District of Columbia to appoint two women on the + Board of Education for the public schools, Mrs. Terrell was + one of the women appointed. She served in the board for five + years with great success and signal ability. + + Mrs. Terrell is the only woman who has ever held the office + of President of the Bethel Literary and Historical + Association at Washington, the foremost and oldest Lyceum + established and controlled by colored people in America. Her + splendid work as presiding officer of this organization had + much to do with her other subsequent success in attaining + similar positions in other bodies of deliberation. + + Mrs. Terrell's life has been an interesting one. She was + born in Memphis, Tenn., of well-to-do parents. + + She graduated at Oberlin College in 1884 with the degree of + A. B. In 1888 she received the degree of A. M. from Oberlin. + She was for a while a teacher at Wilberforce University at + Xenia, Ohio. In 1887 she was appointed teacher of languages + in the Colored High School at Washington. She went abroad + for further study and travel in 1888 and remained in Europe + two years, spending the time in France, Switzerland, Germany + and Italy. She resumed her work in Washington in 1890. In + 1891 she was offered the registrarship of Oberlin College, + being the first woman of her race to whom such a position + was ever tendered by an institution so widely known and of + such high standard. This place was declined because of her + approaching marriage. In 1891 she was married to Mr. Robert + H. Terrell, who is a graduate of Howard College and who was + recently appointed by President Roosevelt to a Federal + Judgeship in the District of Columbia, being one of the two + colored men first to receive this high distinction. Mrs. + Terrell has a daughter whom she has named Phyllis, in honor + of Phyllis Wheatley, the black woman whose verses received + the commendation of George Washington and many other + distinguished men of her time. + + Mrs. Terrell is now engaged by a lecture bureau. She has + traveled extensively in the West, speaking before large + audiences and everywhere her talks have received the highest + praise. The Danville, Ill., "Daily News," speaking of her + address before the Chautauqua of that town, says: + + "Mrs. Terrell's addresses are the pure gold with less dross + of nonsense than any lecturer that has come upon the stage + at this Chautauqua. From the first word to the last she has + something to say, and says it as a cultured lady in the best + of English, which has no tinge of the high falootin or the + sensational. Such speakers are rare. She should be paid to + travel as a model of good English and good manners." + + Mrs. Terrell's eloquent utterances and chaste diction make a + deep impression, which must have influence in the final + shaping of the vexed problems that confront the Negro race + in this country. Her exceptional attainments and general + demeanor are a wonderful force in eradicating the prejudice + against colored women. She is making an opening for her + sisters as no one else is doing or has over done. + +Should any one ask what special phase of the Negro's development makes +me most hopeful of his ultimate triumph over present obstacles, I +should answer unhesitatingly, it is the magnificent work the women are +doing to regenerate and uplift the race. Judge the future of colored +women by the past since their emancipation, and neither they nor their +friends have any cause for anxiety. + +For years, either banding themselves into small companies or +struggling alone, colored women have worked with might and main to +improve the condition of their people. The necessity of systematizing +their efforts and working on a larger scale became apparent not many +years ago and they decided to unite their forces. Thus it happened +that in the summer of 1896 the National Association of Colored Women +was formed by the union of two large organizations, each of which has +done much to show our women the advantage of concerted action. So +tenderly has this daughter of the organized womanhood of the race been +nurtured and so wisely ministered unto, that it has grown to be a +child hale, hearty and strong, of which its fond mothers have every +reason to be proud. Handicapped though its members have been, because +they lacked both money and experience, their efforts have, for the +most part, been crowned with success in the twenty-six States where it +has been represented. + +Kindergartens have been established by some of our organizations, from +which encouraging reports have come. A sanitarium with a training +school for nurses has been set on such a firm foundation by the +Phyllis Wheatley Club of New Orleans, Louisiana, and has proved itself +to be such a blessing to the entire community that the municipal +government has voted it an annual appropriation of several hundred +dollars. By the Tuskegee, Alabama, branch of the association the work +of bringing the light of knowledge and the gospel of cleanliness to +their poor benighted sisters on the plantations has been conducted +with signal success. Their efforts have thus far been confined to four +estates, comprising thousands of acres of land, on which live hundreds +of colored people, yet in the darkness of ignorance and the grip of +sin, miles away from churches and schools. + +Plans for aiding the indigent, orphaned and aged have been projected +and in some instances have been carried into successful execution. One +club in Memphis, Tennessee, has purchased a large tract of land, on +which it intends to erect an old folk's home, part of the money for +which has already been raised. Splendid service has been rendered by +the Illinois Federation of Colored Women's Clubs, through whose +instrumentality schools have been visited, truant children looked +after, parents and teachers urged to co-operate with each other, +rescue and reform work engaged in, so as to reclaim unfortunate women +and tempted girls, public institutions investigated, garments cut, +made and distributed to the needy poor. + +Questions affecting our legal status as a race are sometimes agitated +by our women. In Tennessee and Louisiana colored women have several +times petitioned the legislature of their respective States to repeal +the obnoxious Jim Crow car laws. In every way possible we are calling +attention to the barbarity of the convict lease system, of which +Negroes and especially the female prisoners are the principal victims, +with the hope that the conscience of the country may be touched and +this stain on its escutcheon be forever wiped away. Against the one +room cabin we have inaugurated a vigorous crusade. When families of +eight or ten men, women and children are all huddled promiscuously +together in a single apartment, a condition common among our poor all +over the land, there is little hope of inculcating morality and +modesty. And yet in spite of the fateful heritage of slavery, in spite +of the manifold pitfalls and peculiar temptations to which our girls +are subjected, and though the safeguards usually thrown around +maidenly youth and innocence are in some sections entirely withheld +from colored girls, statistics compiled by men not inclined to falsify +in favor of my race show that immorality among colored women is not so +great as among women in some foreign countries who are equally +ignorant, poor and oppressed. + +Believing that it is only through the home that a people can become +really good and truly great the National Association has entered that +sacred domain. Homes, more homes, better homes, purer homes is the +text upon which sermons have been and will be preached. There has been +a determined effort to have heart to heart talks with our women that +we may strike at the root of evils, many of which lie at the +fireside. If the women of the dominant race, with all the centuries +of education, culture and refinement back of them, with all the wealth +of opportunity ever present with them, feel the need of a mother's +congress, that they may be enlightened upon the best methods of +rearing their children and conducting their homes, how much more do +our women, from whom shackles have but yesterday been stricken, need +information on the same vital subjects. And so the association is +working vigorously to establish mothers' congresses on a small scale, +wherever our women can be reached. + +From this brief and meager account of the work which has been and is +still being accomplished by colored women through the medium of their +clubs, it is easy to observe how earnest and effective have been their +efforts to elevate their race. No people need ever despair whose women +are fully aroused to the duties which rest upon them and are willing +to shoulder responsibilities which they alone can successfully assume. +The scope of our endeavors is constantly widening. Into the various +channels of generosity and beneficence we are entering more and more +every day. + +Some of our women are now urging their clubs to establish day +nurseries, a charity of which there is an imperative need. Thousands +of our wage-earning mothers with large families dependent almost +entirely upon them for support are obliged to leave their children all +day, entrusted to the care of small brothers and sisters, or some +good-natured neighbor who promises much, but who does little. Some of +these infants are locked alone in the room from the time the mother +leaves in the morning, until she returns at night. Not long ago I read +in a Southern newspaper that an infant thus locked alone in a room all +day, while its mother went out to wash, had cried itself to death. +When one reflects upon the slaughter of the innocents which is +occurring with pitiless persistency every day and thinks of the +multitudes who are maimed for life or are rendered imbecile because of +the treatment received during their helpless infancy, it is evident +that by establishing day nurseries colored women will render one of +the greatest services possible to humanity and to the race. + +Nothing lies nearer the heart of colored women than the children. We +feel keenly the need of kindergartens and are putting forth earnest +efforts to honey-comb this country with them from one extremity to the +other. The more unfavorable the environments of children the more +necessary is it that steps be taken to counteract baleful influences +upon innocent victims. How imperative is it then that as colored +women we inculcate correct principles and set good examples for our +own youth whose little feet will have so many thorny paths of +temptation, injustice and prejudice to tread. So keenly alive is the +National Association to the necessity of rescuing our little ones +whose evil nature alone is encouraged to develop and whose noble +qualities are deadened and dwarfed by the very atmosphere which they +breathe, that its officers are trying to raise money with which to +send out a kindergarten organizer, whose duty it shall be to arouse +the conscience of our women and to establish kindergartens wherever +means therefor can be secured. + +Through the children of to-day we believe we can build the foundation +of the next generation upon such a rock of morality, intelligence and +strength, that the floods of proscription, prejudice and persecution +may descend upon it in torrents and yet it will not be moved. We hear +a great deal about the race problem and how to solve it. The real +solution of the race problem lies in the children, both so far as we +who are oppressed and those who oppress us are concerned. Some of our +women who have consecrated their lives to the elevation of their race +feel that neither individuals nor organizations working toward this +end should be entirely satisfied with their efforts unless some of +their energy, money or brain is used in the name and for the sake of +the children. + +The National Association has chosen as its motto: Lifting as We Climb. +In order to live strictly up to this sentiment, its members have +determined to come into the closest possible touch with the masses of +our women, through whom the womanhood of our people is always judged. +It is unfortunate, but it is true, that the dominant race in this +country insists upon gauging the Negro's worth by his most illiterate +and vicious representatives rather than by the more intelligent and +worthy classes. Colored women of education and culture know that they +cannot escape altogether the consequences of the acts of their most +depraved sisters. They see that even if they were wicked enough to +turn a deaf ear to the call of duty, both policy and self-preservation +demand that they go down among the lowly, the illiterate and even the +vicious, to whom they are bound by the ties of race and sex, and put +forth every possible effort to reclaim them. By coming into close +touch with the masses of our women it is possible to correct many of +the evils which militate so seriously against us and inaugurate the +reforms, without which, as a race, we cannot hope to succeed. + +Through the clubs we are studying the labor question and are calling +the attention of our women to the alarming rapidity with which the +Negro is losing ground in the world of labor. If this movement to +withhold employment from him continues to grow, the race will soon be +confronted by a condition of things disastrous and serious, indeed. We +are preaching in season and out that it is the duty of every +wage-earning colored woman to become thoroughly proficient in whatever +work she engages, so that she may render the best service of which she +is capable, and thus do her part toward establishing a reputation for +excellent workmanship among colored women. + +Our clubs all over the country are being urged to establish schools of +domestic science. It is believed that by founding schools in which +colored girls could be trained to be skilled domestics, we should do +more toward solving the labor question as it affects our women, than +by using any other means it is in our power to employ. We intend to +lay the Negro's side of the labor question clearly before our +large-hearted, broad-minded sisters of the dominant race and appeal to +them to throw their influence on the right side. We shall ask that +they train their children to be broad and just enough to judge men and +women by their intrinsic merit rather than by the adventitious +circumstances of race or color or creed. Colored women are asking the +white mothers of the land to teach their children that when they when +they grow to be men and women, if they deliberately prevent their +fellow creatures from earning an honest living by closing their doors +of trade against them, the Father of all men will hold them +responsible for the crimes which are the result of their injustice and +for the human wrecks which the ruthless crushing of hope and ambition +always makes. + +Through our clubs colored women hope to improve the social atmosphere +by showing the enormity of the double standard of morals, which +teaches that we should turn the cold shoulder upon a fallen sister, +but greet her destroyer with open arms and a gracious smile. The duty +of setting a high moral standard and living up to it devolves upon +colored women in a peculiar way. False accusations and malicious +slanders are circulated against them constantly, both by the press and +by the direct descendants of those who in years past were responsible +for the moral degradation of their female slaves. + +Carefully and conscientiously we shall study the questions which +affect the race most deeply and directly. Against the convict lease +system, the Jim Crow car laws, lynchings and all other barbarities +which degrade us, we shall protest with such force of logic and +intensity of soul that those who oppress us will either cease to +disavow the inalienability and equality of human rights, or be ashamed +to openly violate the very principles upon which this government was +founded. By discharging our obligation to the children, by coming into +the closest possible touch with the masses of our people, by studying +the labor question as it affects the race, by establishing schools of +domestic science, by setting a high moral standard and living up to +it, by purifying the home, colored women will render their race a +service whose value it is not in my power to estimate or express. The +National Association is being cherished with such loyalty and zeal by +our women that there is every reason to hope it will soon become the +power for good, the tower of strength and the source of inspiration to +which it is destined. + +And so lifting as we climb, onward and upward we go, struggling and +striving and hoping that the buds and blossoms of our desires will +burst into glorious fruition ere long. With courage born of success +achieved in the past, with a keen sense of the responsibility which we +must continue to assume we look forward to the future, large with +promise and hope. Seeking no favors because of our color or patronage +because of our needs, we knock at the bar of justice and ask for an +equal chance. + + +THIRD PAPER. + +WHAT ROLE IS THE EDUCATED NEGRO WOMAN TO PLAY IN THE UPLIFTING OF HER +RACE? + +BY MRS. ROSA D. BOWSER, OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA. + +[Illustration: Mrs. Rosa D. Bowser.] + + MRS. ROSA D. BOWSER. + + The writer of the subjoined article is a native of Virginia, + and belongs in the front rank of educators of her race in + this grand old commonwealth, which may justly boast of the + eminence to which its black as well as white citizens + attained before and since the war. The first president of + the black republic on the West Coast of Africa, Joseph + Jenkins Roberts, as well as the foremost Baptist leader, + Lott Carey, were Virginians. + + Mrs. Rosa D. Bowser was born in Amelia County, and was + reared in the city of Richmond. She passed through the + grades of the public schools, and completed her school work + at the Normal School of that city under the instruction of + its founder, Mr. Ralza Morse Manly, of Vermont, a + distinguished educator in the North as well as the pioneer + educator in Virginia among the Negro race. Mrs. Bowser + received special training from Mr. Manly, having been + instructed by him in the higher mathematics and Latin. She + early developed a taste for drawing, painting and music, and + made commendable progress in the fine arts. Mrs. Bowser's + work as an educator has not been limited to the school room, + in which she has been so efficient for the last twenty-five + years, but she has been conspicuous in other and wider + fields of usefulness among her people within and without the + State. + + This is evidenced by the following facts: She founded the + Woman's League, which rendered signal service in the + Lunenburg trials; she is President of the Richmond Mothers' + Club; she is a member of the Executive Board of the Southern + Federation of Colored Women; she is Chairman of the + Executive Board of the Women's Educational and Missionary + Association of Virginia; she is Chairman of the standing + Committee of Domestic Economy, for the Hampton Conference; + she is President of the Woman's Department of the Negro + Reformatory Association of Virginia; and is one of the most + conspicuous members of many benevolent organizations in + Richmond. She is an eloquent and fascinating orator, + bringing to that accomplishment, earnestness of manner, + grace of gesture, and a charming personality. + +In all ages of the world woman has been the central figure around +which all joys and sorrows, all inspirations, all aspirations, and all +accomplishments have circled. In all conditions of life, in all +climes, in all Christian epochs, in all countries, she holds this +position indisputable among the nations of the earth. For without her +there would be no home circles, without the home circles there would +be no races nor nations. Her office, of divine institution for the +perpetuation of the human family, should not be lightly regarded by +any class of people. Woman's primary duty is the systematic and wise +ordering of the household. The infant looks into its mother's face and +there receives its first impressions. These impressions are stamped +upon the mind and heart of the child. The mother notices all the +little disorders and griefs of the child from its birth throughout its +life. The conscientious mother is ever ready to console, advise and +sympathize in all grievances and perplexities which may confront her +offspring. Hence there is great need for proper instruction to wives, +mothers, and, in fact, to all women in anticipation of the +responsibilities of a home, and the obligations of motherhood. It has +been well said that the training of children should begin with their +grandparents. The character of the homes of the land, the moral and +immoral bearing of every settlement, town, and city, in a large +measure depend upon the class of women--upon the idiosyncrasies of +wives, mothers, and women in general, who by nature mould the +sentiment of every department of human control. That society is ruled +by women cannot be questioned. The age of complete dependence of women +upon the stronger sex, has so far passed as to be foreign to the minds +of the present generation. Not that the gentler sex is averse to the +protection and tender solicitudes of the father, husband and brother, +but it is of such common occurrence that women are thrown upon their +own resources in the maintenance of the home, that they of necessity +rather than from choice assume a degree of independence in various +avenues of life. + +Christianity is the medium by which woman has been exalted to her +legitimate sphere in the world. The best colleges that a few years +past closed their doors against her, have gradually put the latch +strings on the outside. The coeducation of the sexes and the attendant +results have displaced the old idea of the moral and intellectual +inferiority of women. The learned professions are subject to her +choice. She stands beside her brother as a partner, sharing equally +with him in the world's work for humanity. Of one flesh God made all +men. Hence they have the same general tendencies or inclinations, the +same likes and dislikes, the same sympathies and the same +indifferences, the same joys and the same sorrows manifested in a +greater or less degree as their sensibilities have been cultured and +developed. The Negro is no exception to this general rule. The +centuries of servitude when he dared not of his own volition pursue +courses for intellectual growth now place the Negro as an adolescent +race, yet one that has made wonderful strides in improving its +condition morally, intellectually and financially. The Negro is +grateful for much in past experiences, which experiences have been +rigid disciplinarians, urging him to _think_ and _act_ for himself. +Therefore his hopes and aspirations grow stronger for more glorious +results for the future. Compare the first thirty-six years _of_ the +independence of any civilized race with the progress made by the +Negroes since their emancipation; who can, in a spirit of justice, say +that the Negro has not made a very creditable record wherever the +opportunity to show himself a man has presented itself. The Negro is +grateful that there are many Southern as well as Northern friends in +the dominant race who publicly commend him, and give him due credit +for his energy and perseverance in making the best use of his time and +talents. The fact is generally known that whatever success has been +made was achieved through many difficulties. The best class of Negroes +is not discouraged by the ravings and unjust criticisms of certain +classes of people who do not know the Negro, having had little chance +of intercourse with him even in the years prior to and during the +Civil War. Yet he is far, very far from being contented with his +present condition. The harvest is great, and many sheaves are yet to +be gathered. He knows that the number whose eyes are opened to the +beauties and utilities of life, and whose souls can discern the grand +possibilities of the future, is a great contrast to the masses of the +race that must yet be induced to appreciate the light of day. More +teachers are needed to point out and supply this light. Who can better +perform this duty than the unselfish, humane, intelligent Negro woman? +Who can better feel the touch of sympathy and get out of self to help +by lifting as she climbs? Who can better see the need than one who is +interested in the lowly of her own household? Who but the educated +Negro woman will feel more keenly the stigma of the depravity of her +weak sister who has wearied of the struggle for a higher plane of +living? To whom is the call to this duty more urgent? Will she answer? +She must do so. Her advantages, intellectually and socially, demand +that she should take a front rank in the crusade against ignorance, +vice and crime. She is the lighthouse, giving warning of the hidden +shoals and guiding away from the rocks which are wrecking the lives of +many capable young men and women. These young people are anxious in +many cases to be led into paths of purer man and womanhood. They +incline toward leaders. But they will follow only good leaders in +whichever course they take, whether the straight and narrow path of +integrity and upright Christian character, or the broad road which +leads to shame, degradation and death. They must and will follow +leaders. But they require of leadership a reflection of their ideals. +In other words, they require them to be as leaders all that they would +admonish others to become--models of true, intelligent, morally pure +women and men. Not only must these upright Negro women take their role +as counselors and teachers, but it is highly essential that they be +WITH the element to be uplifted, yet, certainly NOT OF it. It is +impossible to help a fallen or weak sister to rise if the helper, like +the Levite, pass by on the other side, and merely call out, Arise and +stand in the beauty of pure womanhood--rather than like the Samaritan, +she goes to her and lifts her to her feet. The touch of the hand, in +proof of a heart full of sympathy, goes a long way in winning and +holding a living, lasting evidence of the regenerating influence of +charity to the recipient. The alarming death rate among the Negro +population is largely due to ignorance of the laws of health, and the +proper care of children. Such people need instruction in their homes, +for you will reach them nowhere else. They will not attend public +meetings nor church services; they feel out of place in them. Hence +there is no way to reach such people other than by going among them. +This act will not mar the reputation of a true leader, one whom they +can emulate, and in whom they have confidence. It rather increases her +influence; for they know she is NOT OF them, but WITH them in their +efforts to improve. The magnitude of the work may sometimes cause one +to shrink, when the progress seems slow. But all reforms require +deliberation, endurance, and perseverance. Occasionally we get an +encouraging comment which comes like a calm after storms of criticisms +and abuse. Two of the daily papers of Richmond, Virginia, made very +favorable statements in regard to the conduct of the colored people +during the week of the carnival--October 7th-12th, 1901. For +violations of the law there were about two hundred arrests, and not +one colored person of the number. The colored schools came in for a +liberal share of praise for their attendance during said week. All +colored groups of schools were way up in the nineties. Baker School +(colored), of six hundred and twenty-seven pupils, led the city +schools, with 98.9 per cent of attendance. We hailed the announcements +with delight, for they strengthened our belief that "Negro education" +may not always be considered "a failure." We are stimulated to more +earnest endeavor when we find persons of great minds and large hearts +voicing such helpful sentiments as expressed by Mr. Joel Chandler +Harris, in his article to the New York Journal, November 3, 1901, on +"Negro Education," from which I quote: + +"What is called the Negro problem is simply the invention of men with +theories. + +"The spectacle spread out before us is not in the nature of a problem. + +"It is made up of the actual efforts and movements of a race slowly +and painfully feeling its way toward a higher destiny. + +"The conditions and circumstances being without parallel or precedent +in the history of the world, it was inevitable that serious mistakes +should be made; that misunderstandings should arise, that philanthropy +should stretch out full hands in the wrong direction, that partisan +politicians should pour out the vials of wrath. + +"But what of it? + +"The real progress of the race has not been retarded a moment. Nothing +has been lost. And now, at last, the whole conservative and +intelligent element of the race is placing itself under the leadership +of men well qualified to lead it, and is making a new start. + +"If the philanthropists and rich men of the country will hold up the +hands of such Negroes as Booker T. Washington they will be able to +forget in a few years that any serious mistakes have been made. + +"More than that, they will be able to view leniently the mistakes that +are still to be made." + +And, I add, if the hands of such women as Mrs. Booker T. Washington of +Tuskegee, and Miss Georgie Washington of Mt. Meigs, Alabama, be upheld +by friends of the North, South, East and West, many skeptics would, in +a comparatively short time, forget that they had at any time doubted +the ability of the Negro to make for himself a creditable place in +history. Such are the women needed to-day. Women who teach by doing. +Women who can take a basket of soap on the arm, and in a gentle, +winning way present it to homes that need it, while at the same time +extol its merits in a pleasant manner. Women are needed who can teach +the lesson of morality, cleanliness of soul and body, and the hygienic +and economic management of the humble home, by showing them how to +perform these acts, and furnish examples. Women who can arouse their +sense of propriety to such a degree that by frugal habits they may +abandon the one-room cabin in which a family of eight or ten eat, +cook, sleep, wash and iron, for the neat two, three, or four-room well +ventilated cottage. The laundry tub may be an excellent substitute +when no better can be provided, but they will be taught to see the +need of a genuine bath tub in every home. They will be taught that +honest labor is no disgrace; that, however much education one may +acquire, the deftness of the hands to execute the mandates of the mind +tends rather to elevate the possessor, and hastens the day of a full +developed man or woman with mind, heart, and hand trained to the best +service--thereby dignifying labor. Above all, the thought must be +impressed indelibly upon the hearts and consciences of the youth that +the men can be no better than the women. Men are what the women make +them. If a woman is refined, and exhibits a modest, dignified bearing, +men can not fail to appreciate her demeanor and conduct themselves +accordingly. While, on the other hand, boisterous, uncouth conduct +upon the part of women will encourage boldness toward them, disrespect +for them, and win the contempt of the men of a community for such +women. Hence, wherever uplifting influence is needed, the result of +the labor depends upon the compliant nature of the element, upon which +they are working, whose persuasive power is more efficacious in +directing the _upward_ and _downward_ trend of the masses. The women +who can best appreciate this fact have the very grave responsibility +of keeping the lesson constantly before the people--"Lest we forget, +lest we forget." The so-called Negro problem must be solved by the +Negro. The plane to which he must attain is limited by the energy and +persistency of the most competent and sympathetic leaders, in piloting +the followers in such a manner that they may realize that + + "Life is real. Life is earnest, + And the grave is not its goal; + Dust thou art, to dust returnest, + Was not spoken of the soul." + + +FOURTH PAPER. + +WHAT ROLE IS THE EDUCATED NEGRO WOMAN TO PLAY IN THE UPLIFTING OF HER +RACE? + +BY MRS. C. C. PETTEY. + +[Illustration: Mrs. Bishop C. C. Pettey] + + MRS. SARAH DUDLEY PETTEY. + + Mrs. Sarah Dudley Pettey, the brilliant and accomplished + wife of the late Bishop Charles Calvin Pettey, A. M., D. D., + was born in the historic city of New Berne, North Carolina. + + She is the daughter of Hon. E. R. and Caroline E. Dudley. + Her father is a gentleman of great prominence. He was a + member of the General Assembly of North Carolina during the + reconstruction period, and has held important local, state + and national positions, and his services are now in great + demand as a political orator and editor. Her mother, the + lamented Mrs. Caroline E. Dudley, was a lady of refinement + and of natural gifts. + + From environments, contact and association at home, Mrs. + Bishop Pettey always had the instruction and advice of + intelligent parents. At the age of six she could read and + write. She entered the graded school of her native city, and + after finishing her course she entered the State Normal + School and remained three years; then she entered the famous + Scotia Seminary at Concord, N. C., from which institution + she graduated with distinction June, 1883. + + In addition to her inherited gifts, Mrs. Pettey is a woman + of great acquired ability. She reads the classics well, has + a taste for the higher mathematics. She is a student of + current events and a close observer of human nature. Upon + graduating at Scotia Seminary she was, in October of the + same year, tendered the position as second assistant in the + New Berne graded school. Next year she was promoted to + vice-principal, which position she held with credit and + honor until she was married. For two successive summers she + taught in the Craven County Teachers' Institute. + + As a teacher, she was able, brilliant and magnetic. Popular + with her associates, she was loved and honored by her + pupils. She ruled with kindness and love, and punished with + a flash of her eye. Well versed in the theory and practice + of teaching, she soon won the sobriquet "Model Teacher." + + She is a gifted musician; and for several years was the + organist for one of the most prominent churches in her + native city. On the morning of September 19, 1889, she was + married to Bishop Charles Calvin Pettey, A. M., D. D. + Immediately after her marriage she became the private + secretary of her husband; and with him traveled extensively + in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Great Britain and + Continental Europe. She is an able writer and eloquent + speaker. + + For several years she has been General Secretary of the + Woman's Home and Foreign Missionary Society of the A. M. E. + Zion Church. As wife, mother and Christian worker, Sarah + Dudley Pettey is a model woman, endeavoring to lead men and + women upward and Heaven-ward. + +Woman's part in the consummation of any project which has to do with +the elevation of mankind is of paramount importance. With her +influence eliminated or her work minimized failure is inevitable. This +is true regardless of race or nationality. In the civilization and +enlightenment of the Negro race its educated women must be the potent +factors. The difficulties that the Negro must labor under, in his +effort to rise, are manifold and peculiar. The critics of the Negro +have assaulted him at the most vital point, viz., character. In their +onslaught they have assailed the morals of the entire race. To meet +this criticism the Negro must establish a character of high morals, +which will stand out so conspicuously that even his bitterest foe will +acknowledge its reality. In establishing this our women must lead. It +must be understood that their virtue is as sacred and as inviolate as +the laws of the eternal verities. They must not compromise even with +an apparent virtuous sentiment; it must be real. Nothing great is +accomplished without the shedding of blood. To convince the world of +the virtue of the Negro race, Negro blood must be shed freely. Our +young women must be taught that gorgeous dress and fine paraphernalia +don't make a woman. They should dress modestly, becomingly and +economically. + +She is a true woman whose honor must not be insulted; who, though +poorly paid, pursues her honest labor for bread and would scorn the +obtaining of a livelihood any other way, regardless of the magnitude +of the inducement. The foundation for this high sentiment finds its +initiative in the home. Home life is the citadel and bulwark of every +race's moral life. The ruler of home is mother. A faithful, virtuous +and intelligent motherhood will elevate any people. The impress of +mother follows her children to the grave; when her form is changed and +her physical existence extinct the footprints of her noble and pious +life live long after her. Womanhood and manhood begin in the cradle +and around the fireside; mother's knee is truly the family altar. True +patriotism, obedience and respect for law, both divine and civil, the +love and yearning for the pure, the sublime and the good, all emanate +from mother's personality. If mother be good all the vices and +shortcomings of father will fail to lead the children astray; but if +mother is not what she should be all of the holy influences of angels +cannot save the children. I would urge then, as the first prerequisite +for our work, a pure, pious and devoted motherhood. + +Secondly, a firm stand for right and truth in all things. Woman's +power is her love. This pure flame lights up all around her. Her +wishes and desires men love to satisfy. There are many things in +society, politics and religion that ambitious men would seek to obtain +by all hazards, but when woman takes her stand against these things +she invariably wins. Our first stand must be for intelligence. No +woman of to-day, who is thirty years of age, has the right to be +queen of a home, unless she is intelligent. In this advanced day, to +rear up a family by an illiterate woman might well be considered a +crime. As a race, if we would possess the intelligence desired, our +children must be kept in school, and not allowed to roam idly through +the streets when the schoolhouse is open. Since, in most of the +Southern states, countless numbers of our people have been +disfranchised, our educated women should institute a movement which +will bring about compulsory education and a general reform in the +educational system of the South. We need better schools and a higher +standard of education for the masses. In our homes wholesome +literature, periodicals, papers and books must be had. Mother must be +acquainted with these herself. She introduces the little ones to them +by the story form. This catchy method soon engrosses their attention, +and they become wrapped up in them. Great care must be exercised in +the selection of reading matter for our girls. Nothing is more hurtful +than obscene literature. + +When our homes become intelligent, we shall have intelligent +statesmen, ministers and doctors; in fact, the whole regime that leads +will be intelligent. In public affairs woman has her share. She must +speak through husband, son, father, brother and lover. Men go from +home into the world to execute what woman has decreed. An educated +wife formulates the political opinion of husband and son and though +she may remain at home on election day, her views and opinions will +find expression in the ballots of the male members of her household. +The same thing is true in the church. I shall not dictate what woman +should do here or limit her sphere of activity, but this I know she +can with propriety--in her auxiliary work to the church she can become +a mighty power. Woman's Missionary Societies, Christian Endeavor +Societies, Sabbath School work, etc., afford a broad field of labor +for our educated women. Her activity in all things pertaining to +racial advancement will be the motive power in establishing firmly and +intelligently an enlightened racial existence. Thirdly: The educated +Negro woman must take her stand among the best and most enlightened +women of all races; and in so doing she must seek to be herself. +Imitate no one when the imitation destroys the personal identity. Not +only in dress are we imitative to the extreme, but in manners and +customs. When our boys and girls become redeemed from these evils a +great deal will have been accomplished in the elevation of our race. + +There are some noble women among other races whom we may imitate in +virtue, morality and deportment. Those women come not from the giddy +and gay streets of London, Paris or New York; but such women as Queen +Victoria, Helen Gould, Frances Willard and others. These women have +elevated society, given tone and character to governments and other +institutions. They ornamented the church and blessed humanity. I can +say with pride just here that we have many noble women in our own race +whose lives and labors are worthy of emulation. Among them we find +Frances Watkins Harper, Sojourner Truth, Phillis Wheatley, Ida Wells +Barnett and others. Our educated women should organize councils, +federations, literary organizations, societies of social purity and +the like. These would serve as great mediums in reaching the masses. + +I cannot refrain from mentioning public or street decorum here. Woman, +as she glides through the busy and crowded thoroughfares of our great +cities is eyed and watched by everyone. It is here that she impresses +the world of her real worth. She can by her own acts surround herself +with a wall of protection that the most vicious character would not +dare attempt to scale or she can make it appear otherwise. + +Beware then, mothers; accompany your daughters as often as possible in +public. + +In this advanced age, if the Negro would scale the delectable heights +already attained by more highly favored races, our women must unite in +their endeavors to uplift the masses. With concentration of thought +and unity of action, all things are possible; these can effect +victories when formidable armies and navies fail. The role that the +educated Negro woman must play in the elevation of her race is of +vital importance. There is no sphere into which your activities do not +go. Gather, then, your forces; elevate yourself to some lofty height +where you can behold the needs of your race; adorn yourself with the +habiliments of a successful warrior; raise your voice for God and +justice; leave no stone unturned in your endeavor to route the forces +of all opposition. There is no height so elevated but what your +influence can climb, no depth so low but what your virtuous touch can +purify. However dark and foreboding the cloud may be, the effulgent +rays from your faithful and consecrated personality will dispel; and +ere long Ethiopia's sons and daughters, led by pious, educated women, +will be elevated among the enlightened races of the world. + + + + +TOPIC XI. + +HOW CAN THE NEGROES BE INDUCED TO RALLY MORE TO NEGRO ENTERPRISES AND +TO THEIR PROFESSIONAL MEN? + +BY REV. H. T. JOHNSON, D. D., EDITOR CHRISTIAN RECORD. + +[Illustration: H. T. Johnson, D. D.] + + H. T. JOHNSON, PH. D., D. D. + + H. T. Johnson, Ph. D., D. D., educator, minister, author, + journalist, scholar, was born in Georgetown, S. C., October + 10, 1857. Early life was spent in the public schools of his + native town. Apprenticed to learn the printer's trade in his + fifteenth year; worked for three years on the "Georgetown + Planet" and "Charleston Independent." Gave up newspaper + service for school teaching, in which occupation he earned + sufficient means to enable him to enter the State Normal + School in the Capital of his native State and subsequently + the State University, at the same place continuing his + studies with credit until the Fall of 1876, when Colored + students were no longer allowed to enjoy such advantages by + the Democrats who gained control of the State. For a time + checkmated, young Johnson returned to the labors of the + school-room until the autumn of 1878, when, having been + licensed to preach a year earlier, he entered Howard + University as a divinity student, graduating in the Spring + of 1880. + + While at Howard, Johnson took special studies in mathematics + and the classics in the college department of the + university. After preaching and teaching in his native State + for two years, he resumed his student life, this time at + Lincoln University, Chester County, Pa., graduating with + honors in the class of '83. While at Lincoln he engaged in + pastoral labors at Oxford, Kennett Square, Hosanah, Little + Wesley and Morris Brown, Philadelphia; was ordained elder by + Bishop Brown in Bethel Church, Philadelphia, June, 1883, + having won the highest encomium for creditable examination + passed in biblical, classical and metaphysical studies. The + same year, the subject of our sketch was transferred to the + New England Conference: was stationed at Chelsea, + matriculated in the Boston University, where he studied for + three years in the schools of Theology, Expression, + Elocution, Voice Culture and Metaphysics, until from failing + health he was compelled to change climate and sacrifice for + a season at least his ambition for learning. + + Between ministerial and educational services our subject + applied his time in Tennessee until the winter of 1889, when + he transferred to Arkansas and was stationed at Visitor's + Chapel, Hot Springs, where he remained for two years. From + here he was assigned the presiding eldership of the then + leading district in the State, which position he held until + the General Conference of 1892, which elected him to the + editorship of the "Christian Recorder," the leading official + organ of the A. M. E. Church, and the oldest and most widely + known Colored newspaper in the world. + + That the literary and moral worth of Dr. Johnson is + recognized locally and in general is indicated by the place + he holds in the confidence of the church. His two books, + "The Preacher" and "Divine Logos," have been adopted in the + ministerial course of studies of his church. He was the + first course lecturer at Payne Theological Seminary at + Wilberforce and is annual lecturer at Phelps Bible School at + Tuskegee Institute at this writing. Is President of the + National Association of Educators of Colored Youth, + Treasurer of Douglas Hospital, Philadelphia, and Trustee of + the New Jersey Industrial School at Bordentown, prior to its + incorporation by the State Board of Education. + + At the General Conference of 1900, Dr. Johnson was a popular + candidate for the Episcopal honors of his church, and would + have been numbered among the chosen ones had it not been for + the triumph of foul methods rather than fair, as his votes + on the first and only ballot (other ballots being thwarted) + being in evidence. + + As a man of liberal and progressive ideas and striking force + of character, Dr. Johnson has already exerted an abiding + influence in his race and generation. + +Before an opinion uncomplimentary to the colored man's interest in the +professional and business ventures of his race-variety can be of +weight, there are several antecedent facts of primal value to be +considered. If devotion to either class is lacking, it must be +remembered, that shortcoming is traceable to causes which, however +marked may be their effects in the Negro's case, are equally marked +and striking in others of similar condition. Given centuries of +environments and discipline hostile to the development of racial pride +and co-operation, the result will not be unlike, whether the subject +be the Red Man of America, the Yellow Man of Asia, the White Man of +Europe or the Dark Descendants of Africa. + +Time is an all-potential healer in the life of any progressive people +and it is only when races are viewed in the light of extensive +discipline and persistent struggles that achievements gratifying and +reassuring are to be seen. The Rothschilds, Carnegies, Vanderbilts, +and towering lights in the business and professional worlds at large +are but well-favored children of a long-drawn ancestry, men in whose +ancestral veins, the blood and iron of hope, pluck, anticipation and +realization found outlet through the ravines and across the hill-tops +of centuries bygone. However the claims of heredity may be made to +appear in other directions, they carry weight when applied to an +infant race and the traits which distinguish the more advanced +varieties of the human family. + +As it is futile to attempt the solution of any problem by eliminating +any of its salient factors, so it would be well for us to admit the +factor of unfavorable environment while that of an unfriendly heredity +cuts so large a figure in the shortcomings and strivings of a race. +The curse of slavery has so marred the visage of this otherwise comely +and coming race that it will be the work of centuries to completely +eradicate the awful results of its deeply imbedded hoof-marks. The +lack of mutual confidence and inter-race alienation were among the +most cherished tendrils to which the hot-bed of slavery gave birth for +ages. That the sour grapes on which their ancestors fed should set on +edge the incisors of their descendants is no less a deduction of +common sense and history than the unavoidable finding of iron-clad +logic. + +The far-reaching effect of the unwholesome environment and heredity +mentioned, is seen in the business and professional struggles of the +more resolute and enterprising members of the race on every hand. +While these endeavors are in many instances healthy and promising in +character, the greater multitude are skeleton-like in shape and +dwarfish in proportion, indicating to a pitiful degree the lack of +blood to supply and brain to conduct the enterprise, it matters little +whether it be of the professional or business type. The medical +practitioner and undertaker are striking exceptions to the +non-prosperous and unsuccessful class, although the good fortune of +both is due chiefly to giant causes which account for the business and +professional dearth of the race in other directions. While the +physicians and funeral directors of the dominant race will not refuse +service to colored applicants who seek them, the fee they charge, +together with the cruel usages of certain social institutions, almost +invariably drift or drive the trade in question in the direction of +the professionals mentioned. + +To trace the non-support of these classes to the conditions outlined +exclusively will be to ignore other prime factors in the problem under +consideration and render hopeless the remedies which may be applied +toward an improvement of the case. However much in others or in +conditions beyond his control lies the secret of the Negro's +misfortune as a business or a professional venturer, the fact remains +that he is himself responsible for much of the shortcomings which +hamper his success and that in his hands resides the power to improve +upon the disadvantages cited. The success achieved by business +enterprises and professions conducted by men of the race in various +communities of the different sections, clearly demonstrates the +capacity of those who operate and establish their merit of the support +of their peoples beyond the question of a doubt. In Wilmington, Del., +Boston and New Bedford, Mass., Albany and Brooklyn, N. Y., and other +places too numerous to mention, these enterprises and professions +derive support mainly from white patrons, which fact is sufficient to +dissipate every suspicion as to the demerit or inferiority of the +articles handled or the agents patronized. Why Negro dentists, lawyers +and doctors in the professions, merchants, farmers, butchers, smiths, +produce and real estate dealers in the business world can prosper and +succeed without the aid or patronage of their people, as is +demonstrated in numerous instances, is a potential query the answer to +which suggests a reply to the topical question under discussion. + +On the list of sundry answers helpful to a successful investigation of +our inquiry the good offices of the race acknowledged leaders and +opinion moulders occupy a leading place. By constant precept and +continuous example these leaders have it in their power to overcome +the apathy of their followers or those within the range of their +ministrations or influence as is true of no other agents. Chief among +this class are the teachers and preachers of the race. In the contact +of the former with children in the schoolroom and with their parents +elsewhere the spirit of race-pride and race-patronage, if instilled +and stimulated, cannot fail to produce the most gratifying outcome in +the business endeavors of the race. Too much credit cannot be given +the religious guides of the race for the interest and support inspired +by them in this, as in all uplifting services toward their people, yet +to the continuation of this devotion and the removal of their zeal +must the eyes of the masses be directed until the royal harvest of a +more prolific race-loyalty be seen and gathered on every hand. + +But on its face value, may not the inquiry be construed as an +impeachment of the loyalty or confidence of the race toward its +leaders? That the indictment is rather well-founded, "'tis true, 'tis +pity, and pity 'tis, 'tis true." However specious may be the reasons +assigned for this lack of support, the real and underlying cause is +the absence of integrity, intelligence and race-pride on the part of +the people themselves. The practice of constantly aiming to destroy +the credit of those professional and business creditors who refuse to +remain at the mercy of those who would serve only their own selfish +aims, is a notorious failing which, the sooner outgrown or uprooted, +the better. + +In the attempt to solve the problem before us, the duty of business +and professional men of the race toward their customers, clients, +patients and the subjects with whom they severally deal, cannot be +overlooked in the hope of success in our investigations. The duty +which the former owe the latter can best be discharged by the +application of ethical rather than ethnological standards, and this +should be duly borne in mind, since it is the peculiar weakness of +both sides to expect lenience and indulgence where probity and common +sense require allowance for neither the one nor the other. If it be +exacted that promptness and integrity characterize the actions of one +let it be demanded that the same virtues be exercised by the other. If +the race in other words would be induced to more liberally patronize +its business and professional leaders, let the latter make it a point +to furnish the articles and render the service and exercise the +methods and manners which constitute the stock-in-trade of people who +furnish standards in the commercial and professional worlds. + +It may be, however, that after exercising the prerogatives and +applying the principles defined, the results desired are not +forthcoming. In that case it is possible that tact and faith combined +with an enterprising genius may score the victory which surrenders +itself only to the most patient and determined search. If the people +are of mountainous proportions and are unyielding in their attitude of +stolidity or unconcernment in the affairs of their business leaders, +for the latter naught is left but to assume the role of Mohamet and go +to the people. + +In various ways the suggestion can be followed, but in no more +feasible and effective way than by an appeal to their selfish and +individual interests. On the principle that a people's pocket can be +reached before their pride, it is suggested that those who would more +largely secure their trade and patronage, do so by holding out to them +the inducements common to co-operative business enterprises. The +business represented by huge department stores operated by such +merchant princes as John Wanamaker and Siegel & Cooper in their +returns to their employees, and the offering of bargain inducements to +their patrons in general, illustrate to a large degree what can be +done on a smaller scale by business men of the race, provided the +experiment be deemed worth the trial. The True Reformer's Organization +is a purely Negro enterprise, representing interests running up into +the millions, having as its mainspring of success the co-operative and +profit yielding principle indicated. + +The foregoing illustrations, references and suggestions cannot fail, +at least in part, to answer the grave and momentous question on whose +right solution so much of the race's future welfare depends. SECOND +PAPER. + +HOW CAN THE NEGROES BE INDUCED TO RALLY MORE TO NEGRO ENTERPRISES AND +TO THEIR PROFESSIONAL MEN? + +BY PROF. J. W. GILBERT. + +[Illustration: J. W. Gilbert, A. M.] + + PROF. JOHN W. GILBERT, M. A. + + Prof. John Wesley Gilbert, A. B., A. M., was born at + Hephzibah, Ga., July 6, 1864. Young Gilbert was left to the + care of his widowed mother and his uncle John, for whom he + had been named. He usually spent half the year on the farm + and the other half in the public schools of the city of + Augusta. After finishing the public grammar school course, + he spent twelve months, all told, in the Atlanta Baptist + College (then Seminary). + + In January, 1884, Paine College opened in Augusta. He + attended this institution eighteen months and graduated from + it in June, 1886. In September of the same year he entered + the Junior Class of Brown University, Providence, R. I. He + graduated from this historic institution with honor in June, + 1888. For excellence in Greek a scholarship in the American + College, Athens, Greece, was conferred upon him at the end + of his Senior year. In the spring of 1889, he married Miss + Osceola Pleasant of Augusta, Ga. He attended the American + College, Athens, Greece, during 1890-91. Under his + supervision the site of Ancient Eretria, now Nea Psara, on + the island of Enbola, was excavated and in collaboration + with Prof. John Pickard, the only extant map of this ancient + city was made by him. All the places of classic note in + Greece were visited and studied by him. His M. A. degree was + conferred upon him by Brown University upon the presentation + of his thesis, "The Demes of Attica." He also took one + semester of lectures in the University of Berlin, in 1891. + He is author of several archaeological productions and has + contributed articles on this subject to the _New York + Independent_ and other journals of like standing. He is at + present a member of the Philological Association of America, + and membership, which he accepts, in the Archaeological + Institute, has also been tendered him. Ever since the fall + of 1891, he has held the chair of Greek and German in Paine + College, Augusta, Ga. Besides, he is a preacher of the order + of Elder in the C. M. E. Church in America. As + representative of that church, he was a delegate to the + Ecumenical Conference, held in London, England, September, + 1901. During the session he preached and lectured for a + number of the largest and most intelligent audiences in + England. + +By proper education of the patrons, and merit on the part of Negro +business enterprises and professional men, is a summary answer to the +above question. It will be well for our present purposes to +investigate this answer in detail. The natural inference therefrom--an +inference whose justness is easily demonstrable--is that the education +of the Negro race, so far and in such manner as it has already +proceeded, is defective, when it comes to the question of training +Negroes to support their own business enterprises and professional +men. The very text books, not to mention the living teachers, in every +department of education, whether professional or otherwise, are +written by authors and for students other than Negroes. For every +public, and well nigh every private educational institution of the +land, the trustees of education have prescribed books which, besides +suppressing whatever praiseworthy associations the race has had with +the history and literature of our common country, never call the words +of a Negro wise; nor his deeds noble. It is neither a sufficient nor +true answer to the question, to say that Negroes have contributed +nothing of educational or civic value to the literature or history of +this country. Manifestly, then, our young people come out of school +without confidence in the ability of their race to do what members of +other races can do. This, I take it, is the reason why we find +educated Negroes, as a rule, bestowing their patronage upon business +enterprises and professional men of other races rather than upon their +own representatives in the same vocation. This lack of confidence and +race pride, characteristic of the educated as well as of the +uneducated Negro, is the most destructive heritage bequeathed by +slavery days to any once enslaved race in the history of the world. +Hence, as a race, we need a thorough revision of our system of +education which shall encourage the production of Negro authorship, on +the one hand, and the confidence-and-pride-inspiring study of the +worthfulness of the Negro's enviable record, on the other. + +The schools are, however, only one of the agencies of education in the +broadest acceptation of that term. Equally potent with scholastic +training, if not more so, is the cultivation of social sentiment in +the community. Sentiment is higher than law, and the endeavor of all +honest legislation should be to make laws expressive of the mandates +of the highest and best sentiment. Any given community can almost +always be trusted to act upon the impulse of sentiment, whether this +comports with the law or not. Whether expressed or unexpressed, the +social sentiment among Negroes--and it is seemingly often innate--is +not favorable to the support of their own enterprises and professional +men. Were it otherwise, we should now have prosperous wholesale and +retail merchants, successful factories, large real estate agencies, +considerable banks, solid insurance companies, better institutions of +learning, well-paid lawyers, physicians, dentists, etc., and the +reaction on the whole race would have been to change our status in the +nation from that of mendicant denizens, as at present, to that of +influential well-to-do citizens. This mutual helping of each other is +expected of us, if we are to judge from the evidences given us from +time to time by our white fellow citizens. For example, the white +undertakers in Augusta, Georgia, have given up to the colored +undertakers all their Negro patronage. The best white physicians do +not seek Negro patients. Although greed for "the almighty dollar" +keeps most white business men seeking Negro patronage, they do not, as +a rule, try to prevent Negroes from patronizing Negroes except by +striving to make it to their pecuniary advantage to patronize white +men. In a word, it is natural, they allow, for birds of a feather to +flock together. And this is true of the Jew, the German, the Irishman, +of all except the Negro. As it is, the average Negro chooses rather to +be discourteously and carelessly treated by a white professional or +business man, often of inferior ability, than to be properly treated +by a man of superior ability of his own race. Hence, to induce Negro +patronage of Negro enterprises and professional men, there must be +cultivation of the social sentiment of the Negro community by all +possible means. + +From every view-point the pulpit is the strongest factor in the +cultivation of social sentiment. Some few preachers occasionally +"_talk_ on this line," but unfortunately for the influence of their +admonitions, they themselves purchase their groceries and drugs, +employ their physician and undertaker from members of another race. "A +house divided against itself cannot stand," like many another passage +and teaching from the "Book of God and the god of books," might as +applicably be preached to a large number of Negro preachers as to +their congregations. It is no "unholy compromise" of the gospel of +saving grace to teach that the "Man of Galilee" came first unto his +"own," and that to "follow after him" and his apostles in their +doctrine of "first to the Jew," our religion should exemplify Christ +by our acting on the principle, "first to the Negro." I would have +this doctrine promulgated persistently, earnestly, constantly, from +every Negro pulpit as the only hope of the Negro race, as such, and, +therefore, of the perpetuity and progress of their churches. Nor +should the publishing of the doctrine find place only in the +congregations of the laity, but it should be proclaimed in the +clerical conferences, conventions, associations, synods, assemblies, +etc., for I recognize it as a case of "Physician, heal thyself." + +This cultivation of sentiment in the purely religious bodies should be +supplemented by similar efforts in the "thousand-and-one" societies of +one sort and another among us. Let them incorporate it in their +constitutions as a requirement for membership. It would not be amiss +for our national race congresses and conventions to scatter broadcast +and thickly over the whole land literature to this effect. Let that +Negro individual or body be ostracized that does not subscribe to this +doctrine, or fails to live in accord therewith. + +To summarize, this training in the school room, preaching in the +pulpit, proclaiming in social and civic organizations, promulgation +from the rostrum, and broadcast distribution of literature, all +tending toward the same end, it seems to me, would properly educate +the popular mind and be productive of that social sentiment without +which Negro enterprises and professional men are doomed either to +utter failure, or, at most, to the eking out of a miserable +death-in-life existence. + +Now, as to those engaged in these enterprises and professions a few +words may be befittingly said. In order to inspire the confidence and +reasonably expect the patronage sought, there must be merit in the +claims of the seeker. The business enterprise must present no +appearance of hazard or mere adventure; for the mere matter of +sameness of race does not warrant one in taking risks as a partner or +patron in "wild-cat schemes." No man should expect or receive +patronage solely because he is black; for your patron, besides +generally being poor, is also black, and might as justly look for +favors of you upon that score as you of him. The business, let us say +of buying and selling, must show reason for its existence and +firmness in its project. Besides capital, a common sense application +of the economic laws of supply and demand, the principle of "low +prices, quick sales," the proper estimates of the actual and +prospective fluctuations of the market, these all must give evidences +of your _raison d'etre_, your firmness of business, and your claim +upon public patronage. It goes without saying that the quality of your +goods or services must be second to none at the same price. In the +professions Negro practitioners, if there is to be any difference in +point of ability between them and other professional men, must be +_exceedingly_ well prepared for their chosen fields. This is +imperative, because the presumption of the masses of Negroes, to say +nothing of others, is that, on the average, the Negro professional man +is not amply qualified for the pursuit of his profession. I would have +Negro professional men spend much time in the study of their +professions both before and after entrance thereupon. I should like to +know that the average Negro preacher, physician, lawyer, etc., is +better equipped for his work than the average professional man, +whether white or black, who is now receiving the patronage of Negroes. + +Finally, the business or professional man must be of the people and +for the people, interested in their welfare of whatever sort, and +promotive of the same as far as he is able. He must not be "seeking +only what he may devour," but must give himself unreservedly to the +people for their uplift in every good cause. I do not mean that there +should be any "let-down" along moral lines, but I do mean to imply +that a great many failures are due to the exclusive separation of not +a few Negro professional men from the people unless when pecuniary +gain is the sole purpose. + +These principles have made others successful. They are but natural +laws deducible from the philosophy of history. Therefore, if two and +two make four, why should not an application of these laws induce, +nay, compel Negroes to rally to the support of Negro enterprises and +their own professional men? + + +THIRD PAPER. + +HOW CAN THE NEGROES BE INDUCED TO RALLY MORE TO NEGRO ENTERPRISES AND +TO THEIR PROFESSIONAL MEN? + +BY J. R. PORTER, D. D. S. + +[Illustration: Dr. J. R. Porter] + + J. R. PORTER, D. D. S. + + Dr. J. R. Porter was born and reared in Savannah, Ga., among + very pleasant home influences. He is the son of the late + Rev. James Porter, of that city, well remembered as educator + and musician, as one who loved his fellow man, and was eager + to serve his race in any capacity. The son has partaken of + these better qualities, and is earnestly following the + father's footsteps. + + J. R. Porter received his primary education in the West + Broad Street Public School of his native city, and through + assiduous application while a pupil of the public school, + was enabled to enter Atlanta University on a two-year + scholarship won in competitive examination. He graduated in + 1886 with the degree of A. B., and after a year entered the + Dental Department of Walden University, at that time Central + Tennessee College. He received the degree of D. D. S. in + 1889, and the following year was Professor of Operative + Dentistry in his Alma Mater. + + But this field was too narrow for his ambition. An active + practice was more to his liking, and he wanted to get in + touch with the people. With this in view he selected + Birmingham as his field of labor. + + The Doctor soon built up an excellent practice, and became + indispensable both in public and religious affairs. He was + the founder of the Alabama Penny Savings Bank of Birmingham, + Ala., and the first Secretary of its Board of Directors. + Whatever is of public interest has always appealed to him, + and has had his hearty alliance. + + But at that time Birmingham was a place of a few industries, + and their interdependence was so marked, that to tie up one + was to tie up all. In the strike of '92 and '93, the Magic + City slipped from under the influence of the magician's + wand, and was like any other broken and beaten town. The + strike had ruined it, and Dr. Porter, like others, sought a + better country. He chose Atlanta, Ga. He came here in the + spring of '93. By faithfully attending to business, he has + built up an excellent dental practice, and has become one of + our most popular leaders. He is genial, thoughtful and + reliable, and all classes feel very kindly toward him, + because of his deep interest in them and their affairs. He + is very much concerned in the young men and their future, + and is a prominent officer in the Y. M. C. A., established + by the colored men of Atlanta. He is conservative and just + on all public questions, and earnestly desires to give his + best to his people, because he has great faith in the + ultimate adjustment of the abnormal conditions that so + fetter them. + +In discussing questions of race building it is but just that we +recognize the causes that have led up to the condition that may exist. +If we are to suggest methods by which we may correct our weak points, +we should first attempt to make plain what these are and then offer +our remedy. + +We have enterprises innumerable, enterprises of all classes and kinds, +dignified and undignified, humble and pretentious, scattered all over +this broad land. But these do not take on the sturdy growth of +permanency and prosperity that usually attaches to the affairs of +others. On the contrary we are surprised if they exhibit undue +vitality and outgrow their long clothes. + +Some of our businesses are lasting monuments to our commercial and +professional ability, and stand out proudly against a background of +restricted opportunities, while the unnumbered many fade into the +shadow of the horizon and are lost to sight. + +The questions that come to us are: Why is it so, and how may it be +remedied? Are the causes for these economic conditions of commercial +origin or social? Are they extrinsic or intrinsic? Are they the +results of the unbusinesslike methods of our merchants, or the lack of +appreciation of our buyers? + +We glory that we are a full-fledged race. It is a splendid thing to +glory over. But do we realize what we have missed in our sudden +growth? Imagine a man, who has had no babyhood, no childhood, no +youthhood; a man born into manhood, without the pleasures and +experiences of boyhood; who has never fallen into a pond, battled with +wasps, played truant, or done any of those innocent mischiefs that +develop the boy both in body and in mind, and fit him for the +strenuous duties of life. Imagine such a man and you have our race. + +A nation in a day, is our record. We were born into cities, +governments, laws, comforts, pleasures and schools. Aladdin's lamp has +never accomplished anything so wonderful, and we rubbed our eyes and +were amazed because everything had been prepared for us. This very +munificence has hampered us. We have not had that development as +individuals and as a people that would best fit us to grapple with +each succeeding obstacle. Therefore we must patiently though painfully +start from the beginning and travel over the same road, that each race +has traveled, because individuals and races develop alike, and the +same conditions that attach to the growth of one race, attach to that +of all others. + +A nation in a day is a splendid record. But a nation that came out of +the wilderness, constructed its own cities, builded its own roads, +made its own laws, established its own schools, devised its own +comforts and pleasures, and in the contest with nature and poverty, +wrestled until it won a new name, that nation with its scars, its +experiences, and its development has far more to be desired, and has +far more resources upon which to draw in its after contests than the +former. + +We entered the lists with these natural handicaps, and other +conditions imposed upon us. We have made mistakes, and the wonder is +that we have not made more, and that we have shown such splendid +powers of adaptability. Shunted to the right and left, with our path +continually obstructed, and our ambition jeered at, we have kept +quietly and persistently on, until we can now show a very extensive +catalogue of enterprises, that have grown and grown, until they are +sufficiently important to call forth discussions of this character. + +We have no definite figures of the exact amount invested in our +business ventures. Though it is small when compared with the vast +amounts invested by others, yet it is enormous when compared with our +actual resources. The Negro merchant and professional man, have ceased +to be novelties, and in many sections are making serious impressions +on the business of both city and country. + +We may still regard our enterprises as pioneer. We can even see the +visible signs of our endeavors to learn a business while conducting +it. Yet it is quite gratifying to notice an improvement. Our ventures +are taking on more and more the general character of business, and +losing the less desirable ones of race peculiarities. + +What are the causes of so many failures among our enterprises, +especially those that gave promise of great success? This question +like the historic ghost will not down, but walks at unseemly hours, +both by day and by night, calling for an adjustment of our commercial +and economic sins, that it may go to its rest. + +Our men do not have that thorough grasp of business principles, that +comes with years of experience. One cause for our mistakes is that we +do not have the opportunity of apprenticeship. The white youth enters +an establishment, and step by step learns a business before he starts +in it for himself. He thereby places a large factor of success to his +credit. + +The Negro goes into business without that intimate knowledge that is +so essential, and stumbles into success or into failure. But this +condition is gradually changing. We have been in active life long +enough to have somewhat of an apprentice class of our own. Here and +there we find men, who have, through this system gained a knowledge +that gives them a decided advantage. It is through these means that we +hope to improve the personnel of our merchant class, the character of +our enterprises, and increase our patronage because of the excellency +of the service. + +One great need of our enterprises is the freedom of location. +Experience and capital are both seriously hampered by want of proper +place to house business. I have seen a prosperous merchant move across +a street and fail. I have seen a splendid business carried around a +corner and utterly destroyed. + +If this is so with those who have choice of places, how much more must +it be so with us who must take what we can get, and what wonder is it +that we utterly fail, or that we imbibe the squalor and shiftlessness +of the miserable places we must occupy. All life is subject to the +same general physiological influences. Man and plant alike flourish in +the sunshine, and fade and weaken in the damp and dark. Our business +languishes as much from environment as from any other cause. Trade is +a sensitive thing and increases or decreases according to fixed laws, +and there must be more than goods to attract active patronage. Grant +us this freedom of location and our road to success through business +ventures would be much shortened. + +I do not lay our failures to external causes alone. There are other +and as grave ones within. Certain economic exactions must be complied +with before success is ever assured. Some do not choose the pursuits +for which they are best fitted, but strike out boldly and confidently, +forgetful that adaptability is always an essential factor in success. +Some are unable to carry out their plans from lack of capital. This +has also kept many from getting the business training that is so +necessary, and we therefore have less merchants and more storekeepers. +We must know that business is progressive and demands an ideal. The +whole system of Southern commercial life has been revolutionized, but +the revolution is the product of a great evolution. + +Under these conditions, have our business and professional men done +their best to attract and hold the patronage of our people, or have +they been content to drift along and catch whatever may come their +way? Have they realized that they have obligations as well as those to +whom they would sell? They have not done all of their duty, nor have +they been as progressive as they might have been. Yet when we think of +the severe handicaps they have had, we feel that they have done +remarkably well. Life is a continual comparison, to-day with +yesterday, this year with last. In the comparison we see better +merchants, better stores, and higher business ideals among us. These +appeal to us very sensibly, and we give more and more liberally of our +patronage. + +We are apt to forget the terrible handicaps that faced us as a people +not so long ago, and the commercial ones that face our business men of +to-day. We grow impatient with their mistakes and twit them because +they are unable to display as large and as valuable a stock as some +one else, or because of their shabby establishments. We are too +exacting. We are not as generously inclined towards our enterprises as +we should be, and it is only when we put ourselves in places that +require patronage, that we can understand why so many fail. The power +to discriminate between the useful and useless is born of experience +and is of slow growth. The struggle between the right and wrong, the +necessary and unnecessary is the heritage that came to us with our +sudden birth of racehood. All fields of endeavor are new to us, and +even when there are no restrictions, our adjustment must be slow. + +For us to rally to our enterprises simply because they are ours, would +bring temporary but not permanent success. The latter can only come by +normal means. Abnormal conditions are not lasting. They may hold for a +time and even prosper, yet they must ultimately fail, and then affairs +will follow their natural tendency, and seek the normal. The +restrictions that press us so, must in time yield to this law, and all +efforts to rally to our enterprises from pride, and not from reason, +must follow the same fate. There are a hundred cents in a dollar but +no sentiment. Lessen its purchasing value and you lessen the desire to +purchase. + +We may rally to enterprises simply because Negroes are the projectors, +but we soon begin to cast about for reasons for our patronage, and if +we find none to outweigh self-interest we soon drop off. But if we +find good reason for our support, we soon lose the idea of race pride, +in the greater idea that our merchant is a splendid business man. + +The best agents for securing active support for our enterprises are +the attractions that these enterprises hold within themselves. Our +intelligent and thrifty merchants, with their well appointed stores, +and enlarged stock are to settle this problem of patronage, because +they have within their keeping, the means to develop the normal +conditions of trade and to build up a demand for their wares. + + + + +TOPIC XII. + +WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF THE GREAT MORTALITY AMONG THE NEGROES IN THE +CITIES OF THE SOUTH, AND HOW IS THAT MORTALITY TO BE LESSENED? + +BY MRS. WARREN LOGAN. + +[Illustration: Mrs. Warren Logan] + + MRS. WARREN LOGAN. + + Mrs. Warren Logan, whose maiden name was Adella Hunt, was + born in a Georgia village after the close of the Civil War. + When asked for this sketch, she said: "There is little to + tell, as my busy life has been without romantic event. I was + not born a slave, nor in a log cabin. To tell the truth, I + got my education by no greater hardship than hard work, + which I regard as exceedingly healthful." + + It is known that she has an inheritance of blood, tradition + and history of which any American woman might be proud. + + Her early education was of a private nature. In 1881 she was + graduated from Atlanta University as a bright member of one + of its brightest classes. + + Two years of teaching in an American Missionary School in a + South Georgia town, where she was also a city missionary, + prepared her for more advanced work, which opened to her at + Tuskegee, Ala. + + In 1883 Miss Hunt joined Mr. Washington, Olivia Davidson, + Warren Logan and the handful of teachers who were the + originators of the now famous Industrial School. + + From the first she fitted into the activities and spirit of + the school and became Miss Davidson's right hand helper. She + succeeded to the position of Lady Principal when Miss + Davidson became Mrs. Booker T. Washington. In this position + Miss Hunt emphasized the academic side of the school and + also urged the physical development of the girls. Her own + line of teaching was the normal training of student + teachers. Her services were constantly in demand for Peabody + and other teachers' institutes in Georgia and Alabama. + + In 1888 Miss Hunt was married to Warren Logan, treasurer of + the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. Since that + time she has ordered her household, written a little, read + much, completed the Chautauqua Course, and kept abreast with + the times. While she has given her best thought to her + husband and children, she has kept in touch with the school + and has lent a hand to the Woman's Club. + +In these days of specialists among physicians and of specialists among +students of social science it seems rather presumptuous for a teacher +to attempt any formal discussion of causes and remedies for the high +death rate among Negroes in the cities of the South. A few +suggestions, however, may serve to draw more attention to this vital +subject. + +The sections of the cities inhabited by Negroes are generally the most +unsanitary. The house in which the average Negro family lives is +poorly built and too small. Frequently old houses are set aside as too +far gone for any except Negro tenants. In many instances these +dilapidated houses contain germs of disease which it is practically +impossible for the young and the feeble to withstand. The food, fuel, +clothing and general comforts of a family thus housed are +insufficient. Food plays too large a part in the havoc made by death +among Negroes. In many instances, there is great intemperance in both +eating and drinking. With another large class there is actual scarcity +of food and that, too, often of poor quality. Add to this, +irregularity of meals and poor cooking and one can not wonder at the +low state of health nor even at the excessive mortality. + +One of the most serious phases of ignorance is criminal carelessness +in regard to nutrition. Cooking is that part of household work which +almost every woman undertakes and very few understand, and herein lies +the foundation of disease. + +The long death-roll among Negroes contains an excessive number of +infants. Careful investigation shows that this slaughter of innocents +is due in large measure to improper feeding. Some mothers must be away +from their babies earning bread and shelter. Others leave their little +ones for less worthy and less honorable purposes. Others neglect their +offspring because they have a fancied or cultivated dislike of +children. It is a sad day for a people when happy motherhood +declines. Man has devised successful substitutes for natural food for +babies, but these should be used only when the best good of all +concerned can be subserved thereby. Nature's ways are wisest and best, +and parents must try to walk in those ways if they would have their +children have life and have it abundantly. + +Far be it from us here to attempt a technical discussion of +tuberculosis, but in plain simple language, let us cite a few facts in +regard to lung diseases among Negroes. + +The oft repeated statement that the Negro slave did not have +consumption, cannot be verified, for lack of authentic records on the +subject. The Negro free, however, is dying of consumption and kindred +diseases in appallingly large numbers. + +Many theories in regard to consumption have been exploded, but it is +acknowledged by all, to be an infectious disease. As such, ignorant +people do not understand how to escape it; indeed, until anti-spitting +laws are more universal and more rigidly enforced, every one may be +exposed to these deadly germs. They respect neither race lines nor +intellectual grades. The Negro, however, seems to be peculiarly +susceptible to this class of ailments. 1. Because of comparatively +small lung capacity. 2. Because of general low nutrition. 3. Because +of lack of bath rooms and their proper use. 4. Immorality. 5. General +indifference to the incipient stages of the disease. Colds and coughs +are passed by as matters of course with little or nothing done to +prevent or cure them. + +The physical life and death of man has a much more intimate connection +with his moral life than is at first thought apparent. Too many +children are robbed by Sin of a child's first right, viz.: the right +to be well born. If parents have lived lives of shame and thereby +weakened their bodies, the effects of this will be a sad legacy of +weakness in the persons of their children. Men and women given to +social impurity will hardly escape the notice of those about them. +Their characters are imitated and shame and weakness, physical as well +as moral, multiplied. "Sin conceived and brought forth Death." + +Among people of low intellectual development and low moral standards, +family love is below normal. With this defective class, there is much +indifference to the life and death of their dependent relatives. The +young and the aged are shamefully neglected. It is sufficient to be +bereaved--better, the relieved, to say: "The Lord's Will be done." +Remedies for these sad and unfortunate conditions are much more easily +suggested than applied. + +Better environment, greater comfort in the homes, come only as a +return for money. Money will come as a return for labor. Money will +come to those who earnestly desire it, because they will work for it. +They will do whatsoever their hands find to do, accepting the pay such +labor brings, but fitting and aspiring for something better. There is +usually plenty of work for all honest, industrious Negroes in Southern +cities. + +Even money may not cause the old shanty to give place to a good house +nor raise the standard of general comfort very materially, except as +the demands of the family are enlarged as a result of education. No +one factor will have such weight in the decrease of suffering and the +reduction of the high death rate as enlightenment of mind. + +The system of education in vogue in Southern cities will work slowly +because up to the beginning of the twentieth century, school +attendance has not been made compulsory. There are no truant schools, +no reform schools. Idleness tends to vice. Idleness and vice are in no +way conducive to health and longevity. + +Many Negroes do not want education for themselves nor for their +children. These people swell the death lists in Southern cities' +health offices to such distressingly large numbers. They are often +cared for and buried by funds from the city treasury. Would it not pay +to try compulsory education? To try teaching them to help themselves, +to save themselves? + +To say that the home life of the masses must be improved is but +another way of saying they must be educated. + +Among the most potent forces in the uplift of a people are the school, +the press, the courts and the church. + +Under a system of compulsory education, the Negro would much sooner +learn to observe the laws of health and thus to extend his life. + +When newspapers in Southern cities are fairer in their attitude toward +the black citizen, he will become a better citizen. It will increase +his respect for others and greatly increase his self respect. He will +then make more effort to live and to live well, because his life will +seem more worth living. + +Every state included under the "Land of the free and the home of the +brave" should strive to make its criminal laws reformative rather than +revengeful. A very considerable number of Southern Negroes come to +their life's end in the prisons, which in no Southern state are all +that prisons should be. From a health standpoint, most of them are all +that prisons should not be. + +It pays the municipality better to educate and reform its citizens +than to convict and execute them. + +A cultivated, spiritual ministry will emphasize the best teaching of +the schools. + +An active church will sustain a fair press; will uphold law and order; +will supplement the work of the good doctor and in various ways try to +reduce the number of funerals among the Negro population in Southern +cities. + + +SECOND PAPER. + +WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF THE GREAT MORTALITY AMONG THE NEGROES IN THE +CITIES OF THE SOUTH, AND HOW IS THAT MORTALITY TO BE LESSENED? + +BY HON. H. A. RUCKER. + +[Illustration: Hon. H. A. Rucker.] + + MR. H. A. RUCKER. + + Out of the Southland--that awful crucible of prejudice and + proscription,--like steel tempered by fire, and hardened for + the practical uses of mankind, has come numerous valiant + spirits, whose advent was so timely as to have seemed + divinely inspired. Price and Cain, Elliott and Bruce, + Cailloux, and others, who have joined the silent majority, + did noble work and lived to see the race's redemption, but + it has been left for newer and younger men to complete the + structure on the foundation that was furnished by the "Old + Guard." The modern age of politics and business in the sunny + South--the home of nine-tenths of the Negroes--offers no + brighter luminary than the Hon. Henry A. Rucker of Georgia. + Young as years go, but mature in all the attributes that + command success and popular esteem, the life of Henry A. + Rucker is a priceless text-book for the aspiring + Afro-American youth. Guided upward by nothing save the lofty + counsel of a good mother and the inherent qualities of a + true gentleman, he has scaled the heights, and for himself, + has solved the problem of "how the fittest" may survive, and + is giving to the whole race the key by which he wrought out + so clear a solution. No _legerdemain_ has worked his upward + flight. The ingredients that he has utilized are simple, + even if rare, and are within the reach of the least favored + of human beings--honesty of purpose, fidelity to every trust + and adherence to the golden rule. He has always been able to + secure what was justly his without encroaching upon the + sacred rights or legitimate possessions of another. + Harboring no malice in his own bosom he has softened the + wrath of his neighbor and demonstrated how clever diplomacy + and a manly appeal to the finer instincts of a possible + enemy yields richer returns than all the force and invective + that a century could bring to bear. If the battle is to be + fought out on lines of mental competition and personal worth + rather than by balls and bayonets, Mr. Rucker has grasped + the situation and the best evidence of the wisdom of his + policy of inter-racial cooeperation is the results he has + individually achieved, and the commendation freely offered + by the white and colored people who greet him day by day in + the routine of duty. Atlanta owes much to the indefatigable + energy and inexhaustible public spirit of Henry A. Rucker. + He has been active in promoting all of her interests and + that his services have been valuable is cheerfully admitted + in the Board of Trade and industrial circles. He was + conspicuous in advancing the prospects of the famous + exposition of 1895, and is now striving to round out the + work of securing a commodious federal building for the + enterprising Georgian capital. He bore the brunt of the + fight against the "Hardwick bill" and was potent in + defeating both that infamous measure and the "Payne + resolution." He has been repeatedly elected a delegate to + the national conventions of the Republican party. + + Since July 26, 1897, Mr. Rucker has been collector of + internal revenue for the District of Georgia with + headquarters in his own city, Atlanta. The receipts for the + last fiscal year were more than double those of preceding + years and exceeded in the same proportion the revenues + gathered in any single year since the organization of the + state. This marvelous showing is due partially to Mr. + Rucker's prompt, thorough and painstaking plan of operation + and of course in large measure to the national prosperity, + growing out of President McKinley's shrewd financial + policies. Brilliant as has been the past of this progressive + Afro-American, the future holds out the promise of grander + achievements. The race honors Mr. Rucker and holds him close + to its heart, because he has proven himself a leader that + can be trusted. When he commands "close ranks, steady, + march," the Georgia populace goes forward in one conquering + phalanx, determined, aggressive and undaunted, remembering + that enduring power comes not by "fits and starts," but by + clinching with mailed hand the rewards that have been won. + +One who has never been taught to appreciate what health is and to +understand hygienic laws can not become a safe guardian of his or her +physical being. For when this being is attacked, as is constantly the +case, by its millions of enemies, if all of its portholes have not +been properly guarded it easily falls prey to disease and death. + +As a race the Negro has had neither the time nor the opportunity to +inform himself on the principles of health saving or in those of +health getting--if there be such. Both prior to and since his +emancipation his time, except nominally, has been the property of +others from whom he has barely eked out an existence, and, from a +humanitarian standpoint, has had but little interest in caring for his +health. + +During the years of his enslavement, his mortality, in proportion to +his numbers and his environments, was no less than it has been since +he became a free man--and the bald statement that his death-rate +during the past thirty-eight years has greatly increased, may not be +founded on facts. Fair play in discussing this phase of the subject +demands careful and patient inquiry into the past history of a +people concerning whom little or no minute data of a national +character was kept. However, this question may not properly enter into +the subject, the contention being that the mortality among the race is +excessive, which, if true, may be accounted for in part in the +existence of certain acknowledged conditions. + +Wherever the Negro has been cared for either by himself or by others +he has enjoyed the same immunity from disease and death that those of +other races have. And whenever neglected or abused, whether the +failure or fault rests with himself or others, impaired health, decay +of mind and body and death have ensued. + +Compared with the masses but few Negroes at any time within the +history of the life of the race in this country, have been properly +guarded against exposure--the few who in ante bellum days were +selected as house servants and to fill other kindred places, were +measurably protected. And now the same classes and that of the more +fortunate or business classes have limited protection from more than +ordinary exposure. + +The masses have always done the drudgery. And that too without +knowledge or reference to health keeping. A common practice of +employed Negroes is to go or be sent on short quick errands, leaving +warm and, in this respect, comfortable places of employment without +hat or wrap to breast chilling winds or atmospheric conditions many +degrees removed from their places of services. In this practice is the +exposure from sudden changes of temperature without preparation. The +drayman, the cartman, the man in the ditch and others whose employment +is in the open air are exposed not alone by the character of the work +in which they are engaged but also by reason of the fact that six days +of the week, those in which they labor, of necessity, their clothing +is poor and shabby and their persons are ill kept. While the seventh +day finds them as a rule well clad and well shod. Then their +homes--no, their houses, partly because of circumstances beyond their +control and partly on account of their improvident natures, are little +more than shelters or huts. + +These houses are built in what is known or accepted as Negro tenant +districts, and those acquainted with the localities need no evidence +to convince them that they are not sought as either health or pleasure +resorts. They are the city alley ways and the low malarial districts +where the noxious gases and foul vapors rise from emptying sewers. +More than two hundred years' application has made the Negroes +agriculturists; they have been accustomed to labor and to plenty of +nature's fresh, invigorating air; they have, because of conditions not +proper to treat here, drifted from the farms and fields into the +crowded cities, thence into the slums, to be infected with disease. + +They have been thrust into prisons where they were provided with the +poorest of covering and meanest food for their bodies; where scurvy +and other loathsome diseases have made their impress upon them and +where incentive to cleanliness is as distant as the North and South +poles. Freed from prison life they have gone forth mingling with a +class of people infecting them with their scales and spreading disease +and death. + +Then again the race is without proper places to care for its +unfortunate, aged and infirm; without orphanages, reformatories and +homes for its friendless. Institutions which are potent factors in the +efforts of a people to prevent neglect and cure criminal tendencies. + +All of these conditions are breeders of ills and conductors of death +which must be and happily are being abated. + +The remedy suggested is a knowledge coupled with an appreciation of +health. Both to embrace the science of health preserving and of health +getting; better homes and better habits, even to being "temperate in +all things." + +Acquired, accepted and practiced the mortality of the race will be +materially lessened. + + +THIRD PAPER. + +WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF THE GREAT MORTALITY AMONG THE NEGROES IN THE +CITIES OF THE SOUTH, AND HOW IS THAT MORTALITY TO BE LESSENED? + +BY DR. JOHN R. FRANCIS. + +[Illustration: Dr. John R. Francis] + + DR. JOHN R. FRANCIS. + + Dr. John R. Francis, physician and surgeon, was born in + Georgetown, D. C., in 1856. He attended the private and + public schools of Washington, D. C., until his sixteenth + year. His academic education was received at Wesleyan + Academy, Wilbraham, Mass. He began the study of medicine + under the tutorage of Dr. C. C. Cox, at that time dean of + the Board of Health, and one of the foremost men in the + profession of medicine in the District of Columbia. + + His professional course was taken at the University of + Michigan, from which he graduated with high honor in the + class of 1878. Settling in the home of his boyhood, where he + was well and favorably known, and where his parents before + him were honored and respected, it is no wonder that he + succeeded and stands as the leading Colored physician of + Washington, D. C. + + Dr. Francis was appointed in 1894 by the Secretary of the + Interior to the position of first assistant surgeon of the + Freedman's Hospital, with a salary of $1,800. He instituted + several needed reforms in the treatment of patients. He + installed the present training school for nurses, and, + indeed, was so active in his reformation of affairs in the + institution that those who know the facts admit that Dr. + Francis, more than any other man, is responsible for the + opening of the new era of the Freedman's Hospital, which led + to its present flourishing condition. He is now, and has + been for several years past, the obstetrician to the + hospital. + + He is the sole owner and manager of a private sanitarium on + Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D. C. This institution has + proven to be a panacea to the best element of Colored + citizens. + + It is a noteworthy fact that Dr. and Mrs. Francis have both + served as members of the Board of Education of the District + of Columbia. + +In the study of the causes and remedy for the great mortality among +the colored people of Southern cities I shall not waste time and words +in an attempt to prove, by much statistical evidence, that which is +already too well known to us as an admitted fact, viz.: a mortality of +colored people in cities of the South, very largely in excess of that +of the white people of the same communities. + +I am fully justified, in the face of our present enlightenment, in +entering, at once, into the discussion as to its causes. + +If it be true that the animal organism is intended by nature to pass +through a cycle, and that natural death is not a disease, but a +completion of the process of life, it follows that the organism, with +exceptions, as to any particular class of people born in health, is +constructed to pass through this cycle and is not of itself,--that is +to say, by its own organism,--capable of giving origin to any of the +phenomena to which we apply the term disease. We must, therefore, seek +for origins of the phenomena in causes lying outside the body, and +affecting it in such manner as to either render the natural actions +and processes irregular, or to excite actions and processes that are +altogether new. + +Writing out in correct lists all the groups of phenomena that make up +the term disease, we will find that they invariably come from without. +From my point of view all the groups of diseases are in truth +accidents; exposure to some influence or influences that pervert +function or create new motion. I must first refer to the cause to +which at various times has been ascribed the responsibility for this +excessive mortality, viz.: that innate vital weakness exists in the +colored population of this country as a result of amalgamation. On +this theory the black race when mixed with the Caucasian is the only +one which produces with the latter a progeny of weakened innate +vitality. I have never seen this statement supported by any +trustworthy knowledge or information. On the other hand it has always +been accompanied by the most absurd arguments which invariably tend to +expose the mind of the writer as being prejudiced to the intermingling +and the intermarriage between the two races. It is among the +possibilities that physiological peculiarities account for +dispositions to disease belonging to typical classes of the human +family. No one has as yet been able to determine what those +peculiarities are. Whether they are primitively impressed on a race, +or are acquired is a question that can be answered only when the exact +relationships of diseases to race are discovered. My own view is, that +acquired and transmitted qualities and specific existing social +peculiarities are sufficient agencies for the production of all the +known variations of vitality belonging to peculiar races. + +I am now thoroughly convinced that the causes of this great mortality +of the colored people of the cities of the South are _poverty_, +_prejudice_, and _ignorance_. For obvious reasons I will submit them +in the following arrangement: + +1. _POVERTY:_ + +a. Contagious Diseases (close contact).--Diphtheria, scarlet fever, +small-pox, tuberculosis, syphilis, etc. + +b. Unsanitary Nuisances (11,705 abated in the District of Columbia for +year ending June 30, 1900).--Filthy alleys, cellars, bad drainage, +garbage, filthy gutters, hog pens, filthy houses, filthy lots, +stagnant water, filthy privies, leaky roofs, sewers, filthy yards, +filthy streets, wells, etc. + +c. Unsanitary Homes.--Only those houses that are refused or abandoned +by the white people are offered to the colored people for dwellings. + +d. Impure Food.--The large quantity annually condemned in the District +of Columbia is an indication of that to which the poor is subjected. + +e. Impure Air.--Bad design and construction (small rooms) and +unhealthy location. + +f. Impure Water.--Unhealthy sources, cheap, shallow and unhealthy +wells, etc. + +g. Infantile Mortality.--Unusually large from _poverty_ alone. + +2. _PREJUDICE:_ + +a. Idleness and Crime.--Late hours, broken rest, depraved association, +tobacco, alcohol, syphilis, other diseases, etc. + +b. A Destitute Laboring Class.--Prejudiced employers, poor pay, excess +of work, deficient rest, worry combined with physical exhaustion, +unsanitary rooms, etc. + +c. Defective Homes.--Small rooms, poor ventilation, either no water +supply, or a very bad one, neglect of sanitary measures by both +landlord and agent, all the nuisances enumerated above, etc. + +3. _IGNORANCE:_ + +a. Diseases from bad hygiene (public, home, and personal). + +b. Induced diseases from physical strain. + +c. Diseases from combination of physical and mental strain. + +d. Disease from the influence of the passions. + +e. Disease from sloth and idleness. + +f. Disease from late hours and broken rest. + +g. Disease from food. + +h. Disease from water. + +i. Disease from alcohol. + +j. Disease from tobacco. + +k. Disease from errors of dress. + +l. Children of parents diseased or weakened from various causes. + +The space allowed for this article will not permit the discussion of +all the causes mentioned above. There are, however, a few that are +worthy of our special consideration. For the purpose of condensation, +I will attempt the elucidation of the importance of such causes as +demand our most serious attention by incorporating them in the +following discussion of the most important part of this article: "_How +is this great mortality to be lessened?_" + +In my opinion the remedy for this alarming condition exists in +_education_ and _money_. In other words our remedy is the same as that +of other races. The only difference is that the barriers we must +surmount are so very peculiar and so very much greater than that of +other peoples we must do our best to, at once, recognize the fact and +begin the work. I believe the goal is ours and if we will only +struggle manfully and hopefully onward we will soon reach it. With + + _EDUCATION AND MONEY_ + +as the remedy, the colored people must be taught that the first step +towards the reduction of disease is to begin at the beginning, to +provide for the health of the unborn. The error, commonly entertained, +that marriageable men and women have nothing to consider except money, +station, or social relationships demands correction. + +The offspring of marriage, the most precious of all fortunes, deserves +surely as much forethought as is bestowed upon the offspring of the +lower animals. + +It is well that we teach, in the school room and from the pulpit, +about the condition that exists in the parental line, maternal and +paternal. The necessity for such instruction is somewhat indicated, in +the effect upon the prenatal state, of such conditions as scrofula or +struma, of various forms of tuberculosis and syphilis, of epilepsy, of +rheumatism, and of insanity. These are only a few. We have to contend +even with hereditary proclivity to some forms of the acute +communicable diseases, such as diphtheria and scarlet fever and also +to immunity from the same. + +We must furnish, by all available means and through every possible +channel of information, persistent and systematic instruction in +public, home and personal hygiene. We should utilize especially the +power of the pulpit and influence the public school authorities to +institute, in the colored schools throughout the South, special +instruction on these subjects. The importance of such instruction is +evident in the agitation which is now occurring among the educators in +the schools of the Eastern states. If it is needed there then the need +of it in the colored schools of the South must be urgent indeed. + +We must give such education as will tend to a better general +knowledge, especially of the two diseases which, I believe, more than +any, should be the most dreaded as being the most prolific of injury +to mankind and especially to the colored people on account of their +ignorance of the communicability of disease combined with their +poverty. I refer to the contagious maladies tuberculosis and the one +called "specific" or syphilis, the moral as well as the physical blot +on all civilized life. The former is well known nowadays to be one, if +not the worst contagion to which the human family is subjected. In its +various forms it is responsible, probably, for more deaths among the +colored people than any one disease with a definite phenomenon. As +less is known about the latter disease, syphilis, I must mention it a +little more forcibly, however unpleasant and brief the utterance. The +poison of the malady once engrafted into the living body, and +producing its effect there, leaves, according to my professional +experience, and observation, organic evils which are never completely +removed. Various forms of disease of the skin; some forms of +consumption; some phases of struma or scrofula; many forms of +cachectic feebleness and impaired physical build--what are denominated +delicate states of constitution--these and other types of disease are +so directly or indirectly connected with the "specific" taint, it +becomes impossible to be too careful in tracing it out, or in +measuring the degree to which it extends in the field of morbid +phenomenon, in our efforts to improve the vitality of the colored +people and to enlighten them upon this class of diseases. + +The widespread encouragement of thrift, industry and efforts among the +colored people to gain a livelihood or, to put it more boldly, to get +money and keep it, thereby obtaining the means with which to supply +themselves with the necessaries of life, and possibly, with some of +its comforts, will materially wipe out a large percentage of that +class of diseases and death that proceed from such causes as worry, +excess of work, physical and mental strain, late hours, broken rest, +etc. + +Washington, D. C., is considered a very clean city. It is, therefore, +significant that the 11,705 nuisances, referred to in the foregoing, +are an indication as to the great risk, from this source throughout +the South. It is obvious at once that the colored people, who form the +bulk of the poor class, are the principal victims to that which +escapes official inspection. + +Notwithstanding the fact that the colored population of the District +of Columbia is less than one-third of that of the whites, in the year +1899-1900, there died in the homes located in the back alleys of the +city 411 colored persons and eleven white persons, indicating to what +extent these unsanitary homes are occupied by the colored people. + +Space will not permit the further elucidation of the foregoing causes +and remedies, which I have done nothing more than to touch upon. +However, I cannot close without giving further emphasis to my views by +offering in evidence the conditions, as to vitality, of the Jews. The +facts are that this race, from some cause or causes, presents an +endurance against disease that does not belong to any other portion of +the civilized communities amongst which its members dwell. We do not +have far to go to find many causes for this high vitality. The causes +are simply summed up in the term "soberness of life." The Jew drinks +less than the Christian; he takes, as a rule, better food; he marries +earlier; he rears the children he has brought into the world with +greater personal care; he tends the aged more thoughtfully; he takes +better care of the poor; he takes better care of himself; he does not +boast of to-morrow, but he provides for it; and he holds tenaciously +to all he gets. It may be true that he carries these virtues too far, +but I do most earnestly plead that if the colored people will only +emulate the Jew, they, like the Jew, will win, like him they will +become strong, and like him in scorning boisterous mirth and passion, +will become comparatively happy and healthy. + + +FOURTH PAPER. + +WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF THE GREAT MORTALITY AMONG THE NEGROES IN THE +CITIES OF THE SOUTH, AND HOW IS THAT MORTALITY TO BE LESSENED? + +BY JAMES RANDALL WILDER, M. D., PHAR. D. + +[Illustration: Dr. J. R. Wilder] + + JAMES RANDALL WILDER, M. D., PHAR. D. + + James Randall Wilder was born at Columbia, S. C., and is the + son of Charles M. Wilder, who was postmaster at Columbia for + many years. His mother was Marla Coleman, also a native of + the Palmetto State. + + Dr. Wilder is a man of spotless character, and enjoys a + striking appearance, a magnetic personality, and a brilliant + and versatile mind. His early training was received in the + public schools of his native city. He spent a season in the + classical department of Howard University, and from there he + went to Howard Medical College, from which he graduated in + the year 1888. Availing himself of the unrivalled + opportunities afforded by the Freedman's Hospital, he + rapidly acquired both theoretical and practical knowledge, + so that when he stepped into the world he possessed a + preparation seldom equaled by the young practitioner. He has + also the degree of Phar. D. from Howard. + + He located in Washington, the capital of the nation, where + today he enjoys a large and lucrative practice. His modest, + sympathetic nature makes him an ideal man for the sick room. + His ability has won professional recognition not only for + himself but for others. He was for many years physician to + the National Home for Destitute Colored Women and Children, + and is today the examining surgeon for a number of + benevolent and charitable organizations. He has been + prominently connected with many of the business ventures of + the colored people in the District of Columbia for the past + ten years, and is ranked as a broad-minded, solid, + public-spirited citizen--a grand object lesson for what is + best and most progressive in the community. He has invested + his earnings judiciously, so that today he has a competency + seldom attained by a man of his years. The success gained, + the making the most of himself, renders him the best + advocate of truth, and a potent factor in the growth and + development of the race. This plain, honest, earnest young + man is a type of the generation since citizenship came--a + splendid example of worth since the selfhood of the race has + been partially recognized, and the members have been + permitted to add their quota to the sum of human advancement + and achievement. The hour calls for fact, not fancy--for + flesh-and-blood examples of what has been done by the young + manhood of the country. The interest here and now is due to + the fact that he has had somewhat to say on a subject of + vital moment, and has said it vigorously and eloquently. + Here he is the champion of truth, performing a service in a + dignified, scholarly manner, and so winning the praise and + gratitude of all lovers of truth. His article must call a + halt to those inconsiderate ones who persistently repeat + what through haste and insufficient data has been given to + the world as fact--as logical inference from scientific + investigation. + + Dr. Wilder has collected a large library of professional and + literary works, and has never ceased to be a hard student. + His home shows the taste of the scholar and wide-awake + practitioner. He married Miss Sallie C. Pearson of Columbia, + S. C., and to them have been born two children--Charles + McDuffie and Susan Maceo. + + Dr. Wilder belongs to that class of quiet, earnest souls who + pursue the "even tenor of their way" and are doing most to + establish truth, to refute error, content to let the "deeds, + though mute, speak loud the doer." + +The American Negro finds himself, at the beginning of the twentieth +century, seriously embarrassed by the many false and damaging +accusations that have been made against him, not least of which is the +charge of physical inferiority. The charge has been wholesale that the +Negro differs from the white man physically, and that he is ethnically +and strongly predisposed to certain fatal and contagious diseases. +This stigma of disease has been placed upon him and repeatedly +emphasized, but despite the fact that the effort has been made for +years, by men learned in anthropology to find and prove the inherent +inferiority of the Negro, based upon anatomical, physiological and +biostatic peculiarity, to-day the bare statistical fact of his high +mortality alone supports the calumnious fabrication. It is true that +according to official statistics the Negro's death rate in this +country is relatively high, but the causes of disparity are +_extrinsic_ and _remedial_ and he was not stamped thus _ab initio_, +but by the fiat of the Creative-will. + +The Negro, identified as he is with the great human family, is subject +to the same deteriorating influences that affect his fellow-man. Hence +impure air and water, polluted soil from defective sewerage, +adulterated food-stuffs, and the unhealthful conditions imposed during +the school-going period of life--which are questions of public hygiene +and general concern--contribute, in no small degree, to his mortality. +But aside from these influences, common to all people, he is subject +to others peculiar to himself, on account of the environments that +govern him. The proverbial unreliability of statistics justifies the +assumption that the Negro's death-rate is not as great as it is said +to be. The occupations of the Negro tend to keep him in the +back-ground and to encourage a neglect on the part of the census +enumerator to record accurately all of the Negroes in a certain +locality. But the Negro dies faster than the white man, and it is not +my purpose to deny it, but to recite a few of the real causes of the +disparity in the cities of the South, and to show how that mortality +is to be lessened. + +(1) American slavery, with its unparalleled cruelty and bestiality has +injured the Negro, intellectually, physically and morally. It has been +claimed that the admixture of the Negro with the Caucasian has given +us a resulting mulatto, weaker physically than either of the parent +stock, but this statement is based upon hypothesis, and is not borne +out by the facts in the case. It is true, however, that a resulting +lowering of vitality has followed the admixture of "_kindred blood_," +which was almost unavoidable during the days of slavery as the result +of certain well-known procreative practices that obtained on the part +of the master, and on account of the itineracy of the Negro incident +to his chattelism. In "those dark days" it was hard enough for the +Negro to recognize his near kin on his maternal side, and it was +infinitely impossible for him to trace the "family tree" from the +paternal side. The evil effects of this consequent admixture of +"similar" blood cannot be denied, and must bear a modicum of +responsibility for the excessive mortality of the Negro of to-day. + +(2) The fact that the great majority of the Negro women in the cities +of the South are compelled to work steadily even while they are +_enceinte_, doubtless often interferes with the normal development of +the internal organs of their offspring, causing a lack of vitality +which is not apparent to the casual observer, but which must make them +an easy victim to disease. + +(3) The same social and economic conditions that keep the expectant +mother busy with her daily labors, also abbreviate her +"lying-in-period," which not only weakens her physically, but deprives +her newly-born offspring of its natural food--thus consigning it to an +infant's grave, or so debilitating it that it succumbs to the first +disease with which it becomes affected. It is bad enough to be +bottle-fed, physiologists tell us, but it is infinitely worse to be +hand-fed. The majority of the Negroes in the Southland are hand-fed +from birth with food decidedly improper both as to quality and +quantity, thus making defective the very substructure of their being. +Is it any wonder that such a people die faster than another people, +who nurse their young or have it done, or who give them pure cow's +milk modified scientifically, or other artificial infant food prepared +skilfully amid the best sanitary environments? + +(4) The early motherhood of the Negro has its evil effects. The proper +age for a woman to become a mother is at twenty-five years and usually +before that time development is not complete, and the whole organism +is in a transition state. It is equally true that the use of any organ +before it has attained its complete growth or development is damaging +to that organ and interferes with its normal function, and "we cannot +but believe that children developed in immature sexual organs must be +deficient in true vital force and energy. It is often noticeable that +a child apparently strong and vigorous, may have but little power to +resist disease, or may even be strongly predisposed to some +infirmity." The colored women in the section under discussion who +become mothers, are usually multiporae long before the twenty-fifth +year. + +(5) The element of overwork must come in for its increment of +responsibility in the excessive mortality of the Negro. While +deficiency in exercise favors a lack of nutrition conducive to wasting +in size, on the other hand too much work favors hypertrophy of vital +organs and tissue degeneration. The average healthy man should work +about eight hours per day and "should do work to the equivalent of 150 +foot-tons daily." The American Negro's working hours, as a rule, are +regulated, if at all, by the exigencies of the work to be performed, +as it appears to an exacting employer. + +(6) The kind of work performed by the Negroes in the Southern cities +includes all menial occupations, which conduce to accident and +exposure. The death-rate among the laboring class of any community, +irrespective and independent of its nationality, is necessarily +greater than that of the well-to-do leisure class. + +(7) The manner of living of the majority of the colored people in the +cities of the South--which is sometimes the progeny of ignorance, but +oftener the result of necessity--is responsible, in a large measure, +for their high mortality. They are crowded together on back streets, +in lanes and ill-smelling bottoms, near ponds of stagnant water, on +the banks of rivers--wherever their scanty means consign them. The +ignorant among them, like the ignorant among any other people, ignore +the teachings of hygiene, because they are ignorant, and not because +they are black. They do not know the value of fresh air and sunlight +and cleanliness, and hence are ignorant of the fatality attached to +the unholy trinity--darkness, dampness and dirt, which is responsible +for the tuberculosis that is charged to their "inherent tendencies." +The pittance that is paid to the Negro in the name of wages forces him +to crowd together in narrow and ill-ventilated sleeping apartments, +which is decidedly unhealthful and favors the spread of contagious +diseases. Thus smallpox spreads rapidly in a Negro settlement, not +because they are Negroes, but because their manner of living brings +them into the most intimate contact with one another, so that whatever +disease attacks one, rapidly spreads to all of the others who are not +immune. + +The lack of suitable clothing and proper food, as a result of poverty, +weakens the Negro physically. The neglect of the bath through lack of +time, is responsible for much of the heart, kidney and skin diseases +so prevalent among the laboring classes of the colored people. It +takes time to keep clean, and the laborer has no leisure. Ignorance of +the seriousness of certain diseases like syphilis, scrofula and +rheumatism, has played an important role in the drama of his +mortality. + +(8) Another fruitful cause of his excessive mortality arises out of +his _struggle for existence_. The exigencies of life are such with him +that he does not heed the admonitions of nature made manifest in the +early symptoms of disease, so that unwittingly he becomes habituated +to discomfort and pain. When the common Negro laborer lays aside his +implements of labor on account of sickness, the disease with which he +is affected is well founded and passed beyond the abortive and often +the curative stage, and very frequently when medical advice is +obtained, it is of the dispensary or "physician to the poor" type, +which too often savors of unconcern, inexperience and incompetency. + +(9) The prevalent habit among the colored people of taking patented +cure-all nostrums, which contain narcotics that insidiously benumb the +sensibilities and mask the symptoms of disease, would naturally +contribute to the mortality of any people. + +(10) Not the least fruitful of all of the causes of the Negro's +excessive mortality, is a lack of _resistance_ to disease, engendered +by the social conditions that obtain in the Southland. There he is so +oppressed and persecuted that he finds himself not only an easy prey +to disease, but an early victim to death. He has little to live for, +and his religion promises him much after death, which, in a sense, he +welcomes as a relief from his trials and troubles. This statement will +not appear exaggerated when one considers the powerful influence that +the mind has over the body. A cheerful, hopeful, contented mind, +predisposes to a healthy body, and conversely, a discontented and +despairful mind, interferes with the vital functions and invites +disease and death. + +(11) Lastly, in a consideration of the relatively high mortality of +the Negro in the cities of the South, considerable weight must be +given to the _contracted_ death-rate of the whites due to their +superior social and financial condition. Their environments are, as a +rule, as healthful as education can suggest and as money can obtain, +and when disease overtakes them, they combat it not only with the +skill of science, but with the power of will. The incentives of life, +so lacking for the colored people, are theirs in all of their +plenitude. The earth is theirs and the fullness thereof, and there is +no power therein that they may not covet. This feeling, this +knowledge, becomes _vis-a-mente_ that proves a potential factor in +their struggle with disease. Despite this powerful influence however, +and because of it, the _morbidity_ of the white man in this country is +great. I venture the assertion that his morbidity far exceeds that of +the Negro--not because he is more prone to disease, but because he is +enabled to live longer with disease on account of the influences to +which allusion has already been made. The plain fact is, the Negro +dies sooner and the white man lives longer with disease, which +presents the unique question: Is it not more advantageous to the +public good to die of a disease and be buried safely and deeply +beneath the soil than to live with it and thus increase the +opportunities of disseminating it? + +(12) The remedies for the excessive mortality of the Negro in the +cities of the South are self-evident. He is a man and identical with +other men structurally, so that whatever is health-giving and +life-lengthening for other civilized peoples, is health-giving and +life-lengthening for him. To be specific, his greatest need is an +increase of knowledge along the line of hygiene, and a studious +application of that knowledge. He must not only be taught to run the +race of life intelligently, but he must not be hindered in the process +of his running. He must know the life to lead, and then lead it. In +this he must have the liberal co-operation of his employer, and his +brother-in-white generally. He must be paid in accordance with the +labor that he performs and must be allowed an equitable participation +in the every-day affairs of life. Actuated by the hopes and +aspirations that actuate other men, and given a man's chance in the +struggle of life, his industry and genius will soon improve his +condition and bring him material prosperity, upon which depends, in a +measure, the development of moral, intellectual and physical growth. +Leisure and opportunity, comfort and freedom from sordid cares and +anxieties regarding the immediate necessities of life, must be +secured, if a race is to find time for study and thought, and to +develop its best moral and physical life. May not the Negro justly +find some consolation in his excessive mortality of to-day? May he +not believe that "death is the philosophy of life?" May he not feel +that his race is being strengthened by the dying of the weak, just as +a tree is strengthened by losing its unsound branches? If so, then the +future Negro in this country will be the fittest of "the survival of +the fittest," and will represent the grandest type of physical manhood +that the world has ever known. + + +FIFTH PAPER. + +WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF THE GREAT MORTALITY AMONG THE NEGROES IN THE +CITIES OF THE SOUTH, AND HOW IS THAT MORTALITY TO BE LESSENED? + +BY DR. R. F. BOYD. + +[Illustration: R. F. Boyd, A. M. M. D.] + + R. F. BOYD, M. D., D. D. S. + + Dr. R. F. Boyd has clearly demonstrated by energy, pluck, + ability and upright dealing with his fellowman, the + possibility of rising from poverty's hard estate to honor's + golden prize. Dr. R. F. Boyd was born and partly reared on a + farm in Giles County, Tennessee, where he learned to hoe, to + plow, to reap and to mow. When quite a boy he worked for the + famous surgeon, Dr. Paul F. Eve, in Nashville, and attended + as best he could night school in the old Fisk buildings on + Knowles street. He taught his first school at College Grove, + Tennessee. The Doctor would teach a school and at its close + re-enter Fisk University or Central Tennessee College. In + 1882 he graduated from Meharry Medical College, with the + degree of M. D. He went to Mississippi and taught a high + school at New Albany and practiced his profession till the + fall of 1882, when he re-entered the Central Tennessee + College to complete his college course, receiving at the + same time an adjunct Professorship in Chemistry at Meharry + and made teacher of Physiology and Hygiene in Central + Tennessee by which he was able to pay his college expenses. + In 1883 he was made Professor of Physiology in Meharry, + which position, together with a position in the Literary + Department, he held till he graduated from the College + Department of Central Tennessee College, in 1886. In 1887 he + graduated from the Dental Department of Meharry, receiving + the degree of D. D. S., teaching in the school at the same + time. In June, 1887, he opened his office in Nashville, + where so many had tried and failed. In 1888 Dr. Boyd was + made Professor of Anatomy and Physiology in Meharry; in 1890 + he attended the Post-graduate School of Medicine at Chicago, + from which he received a diploma. In 1890 he was made + Professor of Hygiene, Physiology and Clinical Medicine, + which position he held until 1893, when he was made + Professor of the Diseases of Women and Clinical Medicine, + which chair he still holds. In 1892 he took a special course + in the Post-graduate Medical School and Hospital of Chicago, + on the diseases of women and children, among whom the + greater portion of his practice is. One of the greatest + needs of the colored people in the South is well regulated + hospitals, where trained nurses can handle and care for the + sick under skilled physicians. Until Mercy Hospital was + instituted, there was no place of this kind in the South. It + was Dr. R. F. Boyd who established and instituted this the + largest and most complete hospital owned and controlled by + colored people. There surgeons of our race do all kinds of + operations and trained and graduate nurses of the race care + for the sick under their management. + + It is in this institution where the graduates of Meharry in + the Medical and Nurse-Training Departments get their + practical work. It is the great center to which colored + physicians of the South may send cases to be operated upon + by skilled physicians and handled by trained nurses. The + death rate of this institution has been less than three per + cent from all causes. + + Besides this work, Dr. Boyd has taken a great interest in + secret societies. As an Immaculate, he has gained a National + reputation and has filled nearly all of the offices in the + Supreme Lodge. As a Pythian he has served the Grand Lodge as + Grand Medical Register, and has been honored by the Supreme + Lodge as Supreme Medical Register, and is Surgeon General of + the Military or Uniform Rank of that Order. The Ancient + United Sons and Daughters of Africa is a creation of his own + brain and he is at present Supreme Secretary of that Order. + As a business man he ranks among the foremost of the race. + He owns some of the best realty of the city, among which is + the Boyd Building, 417-419-421-423 Cedar Street. This + building has four business fronts, a hotel and restaurant, + offices of various kinds and four large society halls, in + which about forty societies meet. The Mercy Hospital was + purchased by him solely, at a cash value of $6,000. Besides + this he is the owner of other valuable property of Nashville + and suburbs. + +This is a question of vital importance to us as a race and to the +nation as well. Much thought has been given to it by the best thinkers +of both races and many articles have been written by friend and foes. +All kinds of solutions have been proposed and yet the great death-rate +goes on. In the larger cities of the South our people die from two to +three times as fast as the whites. + +The number of premature deaths is on the increase; the infant +death-rate is appalling; and consumption, a hitherto unknown disease +among our people, is credited with one-fourth the victims of all ages. + +All the powers of science and art are being taxed to the utmost to +afford a complete solution to this problem. Every large city in the +South is being awakened to the sense of the importance of this +subject. And well they may; for the ignorance, the vice, the poverty, +the habitation and the food that cause this alarming death-rate effect +the whole community. + +A proper knowledge and observance of the laws of health will give +happiness to all. + +Man is as subject to the organic laws as the inanimate bodies about +him are to mechanical and chemical laws, and we as little escape the +consequences of the neglect or violation of these natural laws, which +affect the organic life, through the air we breathe, the food we eat, +the water we drink, the clothes we wear, and the circumstances +surrounding our habitation, as the stone projected from the hand, or +the shot from the mouth of the cannon can escape the bounds of +gravitation. + +What we need is the gospel of the physical health to be preached from +every pulpit, and in every school room and in every home. All strong +motives of religion and the eternal world are taught from the pulpit +and the Sunday school to enforce certain duties that are no more +important to the well-being of man than the laws of health, which are +so widely disregarded. These laws are God's laws as truly as any +inscribed by Him on the Table of Stones. + +The boards of health of our cities prescribe rules and regulations to +insure the peace and happiness of the individual and the longevity of +life which must apply to all in order that they might live out the +expected term of life. What is the natural term of life? Physiologists +have fixed it at a hundred years. Florens at five times the time +required to perfectly develop the skeleton. David says: "The days of +man's life are three score years and ten; and if by reason of strength +they be four score years, yet indeed is his strength labor and +sorrow." + +Under modern hygienic rules and regulations the days of man have been +increased in civilized countries. Carefully prepared statistics show +that while the maximum age has not increased in many centuries, the +number of persons who survive infancy and reap a ripe old age is +greatly increased. + +According to the Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce of New York +City, civilization largely interferes with the laws of evolution, by +survivorship and by encouraging the waste which arises from it. We +know that a human being soundly constituted continues in good health +until he reaps a ripe old age, provided certain conditions are +observed and no injurious accident befall him. + +We might learn a lesson from the early Jews, or the ancient Greeks or +Romans, if we had at our command statistics of their mortality. +Doubtless they had a small death-rate! For they were strong and +vigorous and observed the laws of hygiene. When these laws are +properly observed, they decrease mortality and bring about greater +health, comfort and happiness to the individual and to the country at +large. Those who would preserve health in themselves and in the +community in which they live, who would reap the greatest benefits of +earth, and live out the appointed time, must strictly conform to these +essentials: + +1. A constant supply of pure air. + +2. Cleanliness of person and surroundings. + +3. Sufficient nourishing food properly prepared and properly taken. + +4. Sufficient exercise of the various organs of the body. + +5. The proper amount of rest and sleep. + +6. Right temperature. + +7. Proper clothing. + +8. Sufficient, cheerful, innocent enjoyment. + +9. Exemption from harassing cares. + +Conform strictly to these rules and all avoidable disease will be +annihilated. On the other hand, where hygienic and sanitary science is +not enforced, filth, decay and putrifying matter is sure to +accumulate. In this we have suitable material for the propagation of +disease germs, which cause all communicable and contagious diseases. +These minute organisms exist in the atmosphere everywhere, and +multiply by their own peculiar method of procreation; such as filth, +heat and moisture. + +A population under the influence of vice, poverty, filth, debauchery, +foul air, poorly prepared food and crowded dwellings, or in low, damp +localities, with no rule regulating their eating or sleeping, clothing +or exercise, is sure to have a great degree of mortality. + +With our thorough knowledge of how to prevent epidemics, most of the +diseases that enter the body through the respiratory, digestive, +cutaneous, circulatory, nervous, and genito-urinary systems should be +less frequent. Taking the facts which I have here given into account +one may see that not only do health and longevity depend upon laws +which we can understand and successfully operate, but man has it in +his power to modify to a great extent the circumstances in which he +lives, with a view to the promotion of his well-being and +preservation. + +We know that the draining of a marsh pond banishes malaria; a change +from the city to the country reinvigorates, and that those who live in +the high, well drained portions of our cities have the smallest degree +of mortality and that the greater comforts possessed by the affluent +secure for them longer life than the poor who are not so favored. To +diminish the mortality in the Southern cities will depend upon both +the individual and social efforts as well as upon the public measures +of the legally constituted authorities. + +The dirty neglected portions of our city where refuse and rubbish, +animal and vegetable matters are deposited and allowed to rest and +send up their poisonous odors from house to house, must be looked +after. The dwellings of our people must be improved. The old, +dilapidated stables, in the narrow, filthy alleys; the low, damp +basements and dark cellars, often below the ground, with an +insufficiency of both light and air; the clusters of homes built in +the bottom and low places, closely pent up, back to back so as to +prevent ventilation with only one entrance to each, and a privy +between; the over-crowded conditions of these uninhabitable quarters +and the quality of the food taken by those who live in these +disgraceful dwellings must be looked after. + +Habits of living must be corrected and a crusade against ignorance and +vice begun by society. I don't think I would miss it very far when I +say that one-third of the colored people in our cities live in just +such dwellings as I have described here; while most of the white +population live in well-built houses in the healthy portions of the +cities. Is there any surprise that there should be so great a +disproportion in the mortality of the races? Compare the statistics of +all the large cities and you will find that under similar conditions, +this same proportion in mortality exists in the Northern and foreign +cities, where the food and dwelling of the poor have the same +difference. But this same difference exists nowhere in the world as it +does in the South. It is almost impossible for a colored man to rent a +respectable house anywhere in the cities; but the dark, low, damp, +confined, ill-ventilated cellars and alley houses are rented for as +much as comfortable quarters ought to bring. I don't wonder that the +mortality of the Negro is so great; but I do wonder that it is not +greater. Any other race of people would have been exterminated in +twenty years. + +The remedy for the high death-rate is the enactment, and enforcement +of laws against allowing the people to sleep in basements, cellars, +old stables, alley houses, in low malarial sections of the cities, and +making the penalty against the landlords so great, that they will not +rent such places for dwellings. Regulate the kind of tenement houses +and the number of persons who shall sleep in one room, the kind of +food and rules for its preparation; break up these late church +meetings in poorly ventilated houses, and the problem will be solved. + +The infant mortality will be reduced one-half when our people learn +that the care of a good conscientious physician is necessary, from +generation to development, and through the entire stage of +adolescence; not so much to cure, as to prevent disease. Our whole +system of medicine is now turning upon prevention rather than cure. +When the public is educated up to the point of paying physicians to +prevent as well as cure diseases, then, there will be less sickness +and fewer epidemics. + +Then sanitary science, under the strict observance of hygiene, will +reach perfection; the rude, gross habits of living will be corrected; +a system of perfect drainage and ventilation will be inaugurated; pure +air and fresh water supply will be furnished to every public and +private house; only pure, unadulterated foods will be on the markets; +every hotel, private and boarding-house will furnish properly prepared +diets, and universal cleanliness will be the law. + +Last, but by no means least, I call your attention to another most +potent remedy for the diminishing of the great mortality of the race +in the South. Besides the city hospitals, the whites have many other +hospitals and infirmaries, supported by church and benevolent +organizations where those that pay are at the hospitals because they +can receive the constant attention of a physician and nurse. We need +and should have such hospitals. The benevolently disposed people, the +churches and societies of the cities could establish and well support +them. In them, there would be pay wards and charitable wards. Each +church and society supporting the hospitals could send their indigent +sick to the charity wards and those who can pay, to the private +apartments. + +These hospitals would afford a much needed opportunity for young women +of the race to prepare for trained nurses and afford better facilities +for the physicians to practice surgery and study remedies. + +We have established in the city of Nashville, the Mercy Hospital under +the care and management of the Board of Trustees, composed of some of +the best citizens and heads of our great universities. Among the +directors are, Hon. J. C. Napier, President; W. T. Hightower, +Treasurer; Dr. G. W. Hubbard, Dean of Meherry Medical College; Dr. P. +B. Guernsey, President of Roger Williams University; Prof. H. H. +Wright, Fisk University, and Dr. R. H. Boyd, President of the National +Baptist Publishing Board. + +The hospital is located at 811 S. Sherry street, Nashville, Tenn., in +one of the most quiet, beautiful and healthful localities of the city. +The site is high and well drained; the building large and commodious +and up-to-date in all its apartments. There are two large wards; one +for male and one for female, and private rooms, to which good pay +patients are assigned where they will come in contact with no one but +their physician and the nurse. + +In this hospital great care is given to surgical work of all kinds and +especially to abdominal surgery and gynecology. Colored physicians +all over the South may send or bring their surgical cases here and +get every advantage that can be provided by the best first-class +hospitals and infirmaries all over the country. We have the best +graduate-trained nurses in constant attendance and the resident +physicians are men of the race who have made marvelous progress for +two decades in all branches of their work. + +Since the establishment of the hospital we have had a record of which +few similar institutions can boast. During the first year we have had +more than 140 surgical cases, including abdominal section and other +major operations and yet the death-rate was less than 3 per cent from +all causes. + +Our operating room is well appointed, with an abundance of sunlight by +day and gas light at night. Many of the physicians of the South have +sent us cases for which we are very grateful. We have had cases from +Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, Kentucky, Missouri, Florida, +and Georgia. Until the other cities of the South are able to afford +the facilities and accommodations and the skill and experience of the +Mercy Hospital we feel that it is the duty and should be the great +pleasure of every colored physician to send his surgical cases to this +hospital. I consider this one of the great factors to solve this vexed +problem. + +The causes of the great mortality among the Negroes of the large +cities of the South are due to ignorance; vice; debauchery; poor food, +illy prepared; unsanitary environments; their habitation in the +over-crowded tenement houses; in old stables; damp cellars; and low, +damp sections and in narrow, filthy alleys, where the foul air, +improper nourishment, poor ventilation and the want of personal +cleanliness, furnish the proper condition for the development of +disease and death. Correct these conditions and educate the people up +to a thorough knowledge of and a strict compliance of the laws of +health and the problem is solved. The death-rate among our people will +not only be lessened, but I believe the Negro will outlive any other +people on earth. + + +SIXTH PAPER. + +WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF THE GREAT MORTALITY AMONG THE NEGROES IN THE +CITIES OF THE SOUTH, AND HOW IS THAT MORTALITY TO BE LESSENED? + +BY HENRY R. BUTLER, A. M., M. D. + +[Illustration: H. R. Butler, A. M., M. D.] + + HENRY R. BUTLER, A. M., M. D. + + Dr. Butler was born in Cumberland county, North Carolina, + April 11, 1862. His early life was spent on the farm, during + which time he received at odd times three months' free + school instruction. + + In 1874 his parents moved to Wilmington; there he worked in + saw mills, lumber yards, with the cotton compresses and as a + stevedore. He spent his nights studying under Prof. E. E. + Green, now Dr. E. E. Green of Macon, Ga. January 3, through + the assistance of his instructor, he entered Lincoln + University, Pa., and was graduated June 18, 1887, receiving + the degree of A. B.; October, the same year, he matriculated + in Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tenn., graduating + with the degree of M. D. February 27, 1890. The same year + the degree of A. M. was conferred on him by Lincoln + University. While at Nashville he won the H. T. Noel gold + medal for proficiency in operative surgery and dissecting. + He arrived in Atlanta March, 1890, and began the practice of + medicine. He was one of the organizers of the first drug + store owned and operated by colored men in Georgia. It was + known as Butler, Slater & Co. He was organizer and first + president of the Empire State Medical Association of colored + physicians. He was appointed surgeon of the Second Georgia + Battalion, colored volunteers, in 1891, with rank of first + lieutenant, by the Honorable W. J. Northern, then governor. + + May 5, 1893, he married Miss Salina May Sloan of Atlanta, a + graduate of Spellman Seminary, who has been a most faithful, + loving and helpful companion. He took a special course in + the diseases of children in 1894 at the Harvard School of + Medicine, Boston, Mass. In 1895, in the same school he took + a special course in surgery. November 1, 1900, H. R. Butler, + Jr. came, adding new blessings and happiness to his home and + life. Dr. Butler is the first and so far the only colored + man to be a regular contributor to the great Southern daily, + _The Atlanta Constitution_. He has held that position since + 1895. He was three years president of the Y. M. C. A. of + colored men. He was four years physician and surgeon in + charge at Spellman Seminary, and is now holding a similar + position in Morris Brown College, and is organizing a nurse + training department to that institution. He owns some + valuable real-estate, besides a beautiful home on Auburn + avenue. He has a large and lucrative practice. He is Grand + Master of Masons of the Jurisdiction Georgia, is grand + Medical Register of the Knights of Pythias. His life is + truly full, every moment of his time is taken. + +The causes of excessive mortality among the colored people in Southern +cities are _said_ to be _many_ and have been discussed from just as +many points of view by students of the social status of this people. + +But after several years of professional service among these colored +people, which service gave me an opportunity to more closely study +them, their faults, habits, needs, methods of living and their +knowledge of hygiene and its laws, I have calmly reached the +conclusion that the want of money is the main cause of the excessive +mortality of this people. It is true that there are several minor +causes, _but all_ have their origin in the one mentioned. + +Among the most prominent of these _minor_ causes may be mentioned +_Ignorance_ and _Poverty_. Let us briefly consider the first of these. + +The colored people have made wonderful progress in the acquirement of +knowledge since emancipation, and this improvement has played no small +part in reducing their excessive death-rate. Yet from this height we +look down and see the great masses of these people still held in the +death-like grip of _ignorance_. To these, education has taken no +knowledge of clean homes, pure air, ventilation, soap and water and +other things conducive to good health. These are they who to-day are +falling so rapidly before the great reaper, _death_. + +It is a truth known to the profession, health departments and students +of this subject that most of the deaths of the great human family +occur between birth and the ages of five years. The children of the +colored race are not an exception to the above statement. + +If the children of the intelligent, good, better and best die fast, it +stands to reason that those of the ignorant, bad and poor would die +even faster, and this is just what I have found to be the case. + +Ofttimes, among the lowly masses, ignorance is the first to take +charge of the babies at birth; it sticks a slice of fat meat in their +innocent little mouths immediately after birth; it rocks the cradle; +it fills their little stomachs with all kinds of decoctions, of teas +and whiskies to bring out the "hives;" yea, ignorance feeds these +little ones on all kinds of solid foods before they are able to digest +them, until it finally feeds the grave with the bodies of its little +victims. + +Even when manhood and womanhood are reached, _ignorance_, +_ghost-like_, stands forbidding the ventilation and cleaning of homes; +it says: "It's too cold to bathe;" it sends men and women to bed in +wet and damp clothes and does many other acts that multiply the graves +in the old church-yard on the hill. + +We come now to consider _poverty_. Oh, what an enemy it is, and has +been, to the human family! It makes its home mostly among the +ignorant, and especially among the masses. In the cities of the South +the great masses are colored people. Hence it is among these that +poverty sits enthroned--a sceptered king ruling amid disease and +death. It retards the masses of the race in their march to the city of +improvement; it prevents them from having larger and cleaner and +better homes; with its bony fingers it points them to the cheap +renting huts in alleys, dens, dives and basements of cities, and +commands them to enter and die; it follows them into the market places +and fills their baskets with cheap adulterated and semi-decayed +food-stuffs; aided by prejudice and man's inhumanity to man, it drives +the colored people from the healthy country districts into the +crowded, sickly settlements of the Southern cities, where they soon +sicken and die. + +Poverty, supplemented by ignorance, and the want of the true Christian +spirit, stands in the doorways of the public hospitals, infirmaries +and libraries where aids to health are to be found and forbids these +people to enter either on account of their color or the "want of +space." Poverty keeps these people from building such institutions for +themselves. + +Again, the colored people of Southern cities constitute the great +labor force, hence most of the diseases that result from exposure are +more prevalent among them than they are among the white race. + +Those diseases that result from improper foods, poor sanitation, want +of pure air, need of better homes and want of public parks and baths, +together with those untimely deaths due to the want of proper medical +attention, good nursing and surgical operations at the right time are +more extensive among the colored masses because they are the ones +that suffer the privations mentioned to a greater extent than any +other people. + +Along with the observations already mentioned on this subject, and +which observations have led me to reach the conclusion that "the want +of money" is at the base of this excessive mortality, is this +encouraging fact--that the colored people are not dying now as fast as +they were even a decade ago. The reason of this is not far to seek. +The truth of the matter is, these people are growing in wealth and +intelligence and in proportion as they have acquired these essential +qualities their mortality has decreased. + +I have observed in my practice that those who live in good, clean, +well ventilated homes have no more sickness and deaths than white +citizens of equal intelligence and wealth. I now call to mind, here in +Atlanta twenty homes of colored citizens which are fitted and +furnished with all modern conveniences, including heating and baths. +The owners are well-educated and spend much time and money in keeping +their homes and yards clean and in good sanitary condition. What I +wish to say is this, in twelve years' time only two deaths have +occurred in that circle of twenty homes, and one of these was a baby +whose death was due to an accident, and the other was an aged person +whose death was the result of Bright's disease. Does not this speak +volumes to prove the truth of my position? What I have observed here +in Atlanta relative to the _real_ causes and prevention of this +excessive mortality is true in other Southern cities. + +It is no doubt plain to the reader that I have not mentioned here a +single cause upon which this excessive mortality rests, but that which +money can remove. That being true, what is the conclusion of the whole +matter? It is simply _this_: + +1st. Pay the masses sufficient wages to remove their ignorance and +poverty, to build better homes and to furnish and equip them with +baths and other things necessary and conducive to good health, to +purchase proper food-stuffs, fuel and comfortable clothing. + +2d. The cities should enlarge their present hospital facilities, or +build others especially for these people, cities and towns that have +no such facilities should provide them at once, parks, public baths +and libraries should be opened by the cities for the poor. + +It is simply a matter of money, before that mighty king, ignorance and +poverty, together with all their allies, take flight. + + + + +TOPIC XIII. + +WHAT SHOULD BE THE NEGRO'S ATTITUDE IN POLITICS? + +BY HON. GEORGE H. WHITE. + +[Illustration: Hon. George H. White] + + HON. GEORGE H. WHITE, LL. D. + + Mr. White was born in a log cabin, located at the confluence + of "Richland Branch" and "Slap Swamp" in Bladen County, + North Carolina, near the line of Columbus County, remote + from cities and towns. His maternal grandmother was + half-Indian and his paternal grandmother was Irish, + full-blood. His other admixture is facetiously described as + "mostly Negro." His early boyhood was a struggle for bread + and a very little butter, his schooling being necessarily + neglected. He usually attended two or three months in the + year. Later, by dint of toil, and saving a few dollars, he + was able to secure training under Prof. D. P. Allen, + President of the Whitten Normal School at Lumberton, N. C., + and afterwards entered Howard University at Washington, + graduating from the eclectic department in 1877. Believing + that he could best serve his race and himself as an advocate + of justice, he read law while taking the academic course, + completing his reading under Judge William J. Clarke, of + North Carolina, and was licensed to practice in all courts + of that State by the Supreme Court in 1879. + + Although Mr. White has won marked success in several walks + of life, as lawyer, teacher and business man, it is his + political achievements that have won for him not only a + national reputation, but have evoked no small degree of + comment from the press and diplomats of many of the + countries of the old world. It is worthy of remark that up + to this time, at the age of forty-nine, he has never held an + appointive office, his commissions coming invariably from + the hands of the sovereign people direct. He was elected to + the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1880, and to + the State Senate in 1884; was elected solicitor and + prosecuting attorney for the second judicial district of + North Carolina for four years in 1886, and for a like term + in 1890; was nominated for Congress in 1894, but withdrew in + the interest of harmony in his party. He made the race for + Congress in 1896 and was triumphantly elected by a majority + of 4,000, reversing a normal democratic majority of over + 5,000--a change of fully 9,000 votes, indicating in no + uncertain tone the confidence and esteem in which he was + held by his friends and neighbors. He was re-elected in + 1898. His services as a legislator were conscientious and + valuable. At the close of his second term, he delivered a + valedictory to the country, which was universally praised as + the best, truest and most timely expression of the Negro's + plea for equality of citizenship that ever rang through the + halls of Congress. The speech was widely circulated, and was + favorably commented upon by the leading newspapers of the + nation. + + Mr. White has accumulated quite a handsome fortune, his + wealth being estimated at from $20,000 to $30,000. His + personal popularity and the respect for his ability are + attested by the fact that several honorary degrees have been + conferred upon him by a number of the noted educational + institutions of the land. + + Mr. White is a thirty-third degree Mason. For six years he + was Grand Master of Masons for the State of North Carolina, + having filled most of the subordinate offices in that body + before his elevation to the Grand Mastership. + + Since his retirement from Congress, Mr. White has been + engaged in the practice of law in Washington, D. C., and so + favorably has he impressed his qualifications upon the bench + and bar of the national capital that one of the judges + publicly, and without precedent, complimented him in open + court and set his methods up as an example for other lawyers + who practice there. Eminent as are his abilities, Mr. White + is proverbially modest. Of strong character, well-balanced + mind and an unswerving sense of justice, liberal in views + upon all subjects, political, social or religious, + companionable in private life, unostentatious in manner of + living or in the bestowal of charity, ready to sacrifice + personal convenience to serve the worthy, Mr. White is + indeed a typical American. The Negro people, in slavery or + freedom, as serfs or citizens, offer no model more + inspiring, no picture more inviting. + +In presenting this subject to the public, I shall endeavor to treat it +from a broad and liberal standpoint, eliminating all selfishness or +individual political bias, and viewing the situation from the +standpoint of an American citizen. + +The first prerequisite to good government in a republic, is purity in +the ballot. No stream can be pure unless its source is pure; neither +can a republic hope for just and fair laws and the administration and +execution of them, unless there is purity and fairness in the sources +from whence these cardinal principles of government spring. Laws +should be enacted for the whole people and not for individuals, races +or sections--thereby securing the support and retaining the confidence +of all the parts of our heterogeneous compact, to the end that a +homogeneous whole may move in the same direction for the good of all +concerned. + +The Negroes ask for--and as a part of this republic--have a right to +demand the perpetuation of these basic principles of our government. +While we are young in citizenship, and admit having made many +political mistakes, yet we are willing that the search-light of reason +be thrown upon our acts, and a fair and impartial verdict rendered as +to our conduct, when all the circumstances surrounding our variegated +political history are taken into consideration. Liberated, +enfranchised and turned loose among our former masters, who could not +take kindly to our new citizenship, we naturally sought friendship and +political alliance with those claiming to be our best friends--those +who had been instrumental in obtaining our freedom. These new friends +came largely from the Federal army, interspersed with many adventurers +who followed in the wake of that army, seeking strange fields in which +to ply their vocations. Many of these new-comers proved to be true +friends to the Negro of the South and led us on and taught us as a +faithful guardian would teach and care for his wards. But the great +majority of them were wholly unscrupulous and worked upon the +ignorance, inexperience and gullibility of the Negro, overtime, to +place themselves into positions where they had unlimited sway. The +result that followed was most natural--the use of public trust for +private gain, the looting of many of the Southern states, the +political degradation of the Negro, and the complete estrangement +between him and his former neighbors. When all these things were +accomplished, these human cormorants betook themselves to their +Northern homes to live in ease and splendor on the results of their +pillage, while the black man was left in the South to endure +disfranchisement, torture and murder on account of the malice and +hatred begotten from his first political experience. + +Surrounded by such environments, the suppression of his right of +franchise, the open and notorious examples of fraud, ballot-box +stuffing and intimidation practiced in every Southern election for the +last thirty years, on the one hand, and the unfaithfulness, +"Jingoism," the free offering of bribes and the continued practice of +duplicity, on the part of those claiming to be his friends, on the +other hand, no fair-minded man would expect to find complete political +perfection among a people thus treated. Thus has the Negro been +obstructed, not only in politics, but his civil rights have been +denied him, and the doors of many industries are closed against him. + +But let us turn our faces away from all the horrors of slavery, +reconstruction and all kindred wrongs which have been heaped upon us, +and stand up, measuring the full statue of an American citizen, upon +the threshold of the new century as a New Man. The slave who has grown +out of the ashes of thirty-five years ago, is inducted into the +political and social system, cast into the arena of manhood, where he +constitutes a new element and becomes a competitor for all its +emoluments. He is put upon trial, to test his ability to be accounted +worthy of freedom, worthy of the elective franchise. After all these +years of struggle against almost insurmountable odds, under conditions +but little removed from slavery itself, he asks a fair and just +judgment, not of those whose prejudice has endeavored to forestall--to +frustrate--his every forward movement; rather those who have lent a +helping hand that he might demonstrate the truth of "The fatherhood of +God and the brotherhood of man." + +In a nation like ours, blessed with peace, plenty and full of +prosperity; filled with the spirit of "Expansion," sound money and a +protective tariff; when there is a disposition to forget all sectional +lines, and to know no North, no South, no East, no West, but having +all to stand out in bold relief as one reunited whole, when one +political party slaps the other upon the shoulder with a knowing look +and a smile indicating the fraternal feeling everywhere present, the +question naturally comes home to every colored American, "What should +be the Negro's attitude in politics?" Constituting as we do, +one-eighth of the entire population of this Nation, the Negro's +political attitude should be a firm stand for the right, the support +of honest men for office, the advocacy of strong, pure American +policies, an unceasing contention for fair elections, a pure ballot, a +complete repudiation of any party or man who seeks to bribe, or in any +way to hamper or degrade him politically. Should he become +self-effaced, politically? No, never! He should, at all times, contend +wisely, firmly for every right accorded to other American citizens +under the organic laws of the nation. He should identify himself with +that political party which proves to be the most friendly towards him. +There is very little in a name. Results should be sought, and the +Negro should never waver until they are obtained. This will +necessitate a division of the Negro vote. No fixed rule can be +established as a political guide for him, any more than it can be done +for any other people. The location, environment, men and measures +sought to be obtained, should guide him. The political pathway for the +future may seem dark and discouraging, but nothing daunted, we should +continue to press forward, contending for every inch of our rights--no +right which man enjoys aside from his own household should be guarded +more sacredly than his right of franchise--a right which makes each +one a sovereign in himself; a right which determines what laws shall +govern us, who shall construe them and execute them. + +I am not unmindful of the fact that the views here expressed, may +sound rather Utopian. But in this age of rush and bustle for place, +preferment and national gain, by individuals and the nation; and in an +age when anarchists, lynchers and murderers set at defiance all law +and government; in an age when, in certain sections of the country, +the ballot-box ceases to stand as an exponent of the registered will +of the people, but stands rather as a political cesspool of reeking +rottenness, impregnating the national atmosphere with germs of discord +that may yet stagnate and throttle the Union; in such an age, it is +quite necessary that a halt should be called; a reckoning had, and +that these small, though dangerous political sores should be lanced +from the body politic before they develop into putrifying cancers that +will destroy the life of the republic. + +From any view that may be taken of the present political situation, it +is apparent that the time is ripe for the colored American to think +and act for himself. If he reasons correctly, he will certainly reach +the conclusion that right must some day prevail; and in order that he +may enjoy the resultant blessings flowing from a pure ballot, the +colored man must set the pace, and thereby place himself in a position +to command respect and proper recognition. "He who would have equity +must first do equity." + +The Negro's loyalty to his friends, his impressionable soul, his +devotion to church, his yearning for education and enlightenment, his +thrift, industry, devotion to country, fidelity to the flag shown upon +hundreds of battle-fields, must be admitted and command the admiration +of all fair-minded men. Let him add to all these attributes, purity in +all things; let him cultivate a love for justice and fair play, live +as an example for his neighbors, ally himself with the best men in the +community or state where he lives, and the day must certainly come +when his rights--political and civil--will be conceded to him. + +Let us learn what is _right_ and then dare to do the _right_; ever +pressing forward to higher and nobler things; never lagging, but +remember, "That constant effort will remove the mountain, and that +continued dripping will wear away the stone." + + +SECOND PAPER. + +WHAT SHOULD BE THE NEGRO'S ATTITUDE IN POLITICS? + +BY T. T. FORTUNE + +[Illustration: T. Thomas Fortune] + + TIMOTHY THOMAS FORTUNE. + + Timothy Thomas fortune, the subject of this sketch, is an + author, a journalist, an agitator and a lecturer. + + Mr. Fortune's grandmother was a mulatto, and his grandfather + a Seminole Indian. Thomas was born of slave parents in + Florida in 1856. His father took an important and active + part in the reconstruction of Florida, being a delegate in + the Constitutional Convention that framed the present + constitution of Florida, and a member of the first five + sessions of the reconstituted Florida Legislature. + + During the Ku Klux Klan period, which followed, the father + of Thomas had to stand for his life, which he manfully did + by preparing his house to receive the night marauders. The + father finally moved with his family to Jacksonville, + Florida. Here young Thomas soon found a position as a + printer's "devil," which was the first step to that high + position which he now occupies. He left his printer's "case" + for two years in order to attend school and to work in the + Jacksonville city postoffice. + + In 1874 he was appointed mail route agent between + Jacksonville and Chattahoochee; but he was soon promoted to + the position of special inspector of customs for the first + district of Delaware. A year later, 1876, young Fortune + entered that school which has been an inspiration to so many + negro youths, Howard University. After two years' study in + this school he returned to the printer's trade. While in + Washington he married Miss Smiley of Florida. + + In 1878 Mr. Fortune returned to Florida to try his hand at + school teaching. After a year's experience at this work, he + again returned to his first love, the printer's trade, but + this time he went to New York City. Of course the other + compositors objected to working with a "Nigger," but by the + manly stand of the publisher, Mr. John Dougall, the "Nigger" + remained, and after a short strike the white compositors + were glad to return. + + Mr. Fortune's real career as a journalist began in 1880, + when, with two friends, he began the publication of the + _Rumor_, which, after two years, was changed to the _New + York Globe_. After four years the paper was forced to + suspend. Mr. Fortune immediately began the publication of + the _New York Freeman_. A year later, 1885, the name of the + paper was changed to the _New York Age_, of which Mr. + Fortune is still editor. + + His writings are, however, not confined to the editing of + his paper. He is the author of several books, but "Black and + White" and "The Negro in Politics" are perhaps the most + noted. + + Mr. Fortune was the first to suggest the Afro-American + League, an organization in the interest of the Negro race. + He was the president of the first convention of this league, + which met in Chicago in 1890. His address as president of + the convention was a scathing arraignment of the South. + + Mr. Fortune was also elected chairman of the executive + committee of the National Afro-American Press Association + which met in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1890. + + The National Negro Business League was the outcome of a + conversation between Booker T. Washington and Mr. Fortune. + Mr. Fortune was elected chairman of the executive committee + of the National Negro Business League which met in Boston in + 1900, and also at its meeting in Chicago in 1901. + + Mr. Fortune is, as might be suspected, a Republican in + politics. In the presidential election of 1900 he took an + active part in the political canvas of that year. He spoke + in Indiana and in Missouri, advocating the re-election of + President McKinley. + + The whole energy of his life is devoted to the interests of + the Negro race in America. He wields a sharp rapier. He is + the complement of Booker T. Washington. Each is doing his + own work in his own way; the one supplements the other's + work. + +There are some questions which, it seems to me, need no discussion, +because the truths in them are self-evident; and yet, so perverse is +the human understanding, that unanimity upon any subject of common +interest is rare in social ethics; and by social ethics I mean the +philosophy of organized government in all of its multifarious life. + +How intricate and perplexing these questions are; even the uninitiated +intuitively understand, although they cannot explain them; while +ignorant and learned alike wrangle and often fight over the means to +reach ends upon which there is no disagreement. There is, therefore, +no phase of the Afro-American problem upon the proper solution of +which there is not a substantial agreement among members of the race. +The processes by which the solution shall be reached are the bases of +the disagreements and discussions, which often defeat the common wish +and aim. + +"What should be the Afro-American's attitude in politics?" is a +sophomoric, rather than a practical, question. What he should do at a +given crisis is answered by what he has done ever since the right to +vote was conferred upon him by the adoption of the war amendments to +the Federal Constitution. Neither threats, fire, rope, nor bullet has +been powerful enough to swerve him from pursuing the course made +mandatory by his self interests. He may have pursued this course by +the intricate process of reasoning employed by educated men, or of +intuition employed by the unlettered. The fact remains that his +attitude has been one of sympathy and helpfulness towards those who +were unmistakably sympathetic and friendly towards him and as +unmistakably antagonistic and troublesome to those who were +antagonistic to him. With him, as with the rest of mankind, +"self-preservation is the first law of nature." What his attitude in +politics should be now will be what it has been--governed absolutely +by his self interests. + +There will be nothing gained in the proper education and comprehension +of the subject under discussion by holding up holy hands of horror at +the statement that selfishness, pure and simple, has governed and will +govern the attitude of the Afro-American in politics. The purists, who +prate of the common interest and loyalty to the flag as the first and +highest duty of the citizen, are entitled to their view of the matter, +but the fact remains and is true of the people of every ancient and +modern government that self-interest will govern the actions of the +voter. One of the components which is discriminated against and +oppressed by legal enactment through popular clamor will invariably +produce substantial unanimity of thought and action on the part of the +pariah against the common interest, and, in the last analysis, against +the flag itself, as the emblem of governmental discrimination and +oppression. The Helots of Sparta and the Jews under the Pharaohs were +of this sort. The Jews in Russia and Germany and the Irish in Great +Britain are modern examples. The first concern of every man and of his +own race is his own concern. He will oppose those who oppose him, +whether as individual or state; he will look to his interests first +and to those of his neighbor afterwards. The Afro-American is just +like other people in this, as well as in all respects, despite the +puerile contention of some, even of his own household, that he is not +as other men. He will not love those who hate him nor pray for those +who despitefully use him, although enjoined to do so in thunderous +tones from every pulpit in Christendom. And, therefore, the +Afro-American's attitude in politics will be governed, as it has been, +by his selfish interests. And, why not? The banker's attitude in +politics is governed by the policy that serves his selfish interests +best; the manufacturer's attitude is the same. The same rule of +conduct governs all men in their social and civil relations to the +state. + +In a republic, government by party is the fundamental basis of it. +There must be parties or there can be no government; this is equally +true of democracies and limited monarchies. The primary is the basis +of party government. His selfish interests, of whatever sort, make it +necessary for every citizen, who wishes to conserve those interests, +to belong to some one party. Unless he is permitted to enjoy the +rights and benefits of the primary, or party referendum, he cannot +hope to enjoy the rights and benefits of the party of his +choice--enjoy them to their fullest extent--for the right to vote, +which does not carry with it the right to be voted for, leaves the +citizen in a voiceless condition as to those specific interests in +which he is concerned, and which can only be secured from the state +through the action of his party. No man can speak for another as he +can speak for himself, hence, in every party, men and special +interests, such as railroad, bank, manufacturing and the like +interests, habitually seek to put in control persons who will +represent them, speak for them and vote for them upon any question of +legislation which arises. It is because of this that there is great +rejoicing among Afro-Americans when any man of theirs is put forward +for his party in any official capacity whatever, and it is because of +this that so few of them have been, and are put forward. + +Wherever an Afro-American is found supporting, by his lung-power and +ballot, a party which denies him participation in its primary (basis +of party) government, then you have found a man who does not know what +his attitude in politics should be; and, whether he should be pitied +or despised, must remain a question for each individual to decide. The +democratic party is the only party in the United States which denies +to the Afro-American this basic right in party government. Logically +enough, it is the only party in the United States which has always +sought to prevent him from enjoying the rights of the elective +franchise, the right to vote and to be voted for, and which has +necessarily, to justify this policy, always sought in every +conceivable way to degrade his manhood to the brute standard. A +voteless citizen is always a social and political outcast; a voteless +race in a composite citizenship will always constitute a problem more +or less dangerous to the state--enemies, fostered in the bosom, as +Cleopatra's asp, only to wound to the death. It has been the way of +the world since the dawn of history. + +It is creditable to the good sense and the manhood of the +Afro-American people that they have constantly recognized and acted +upon the theory I have here laid down, as the consistent one in +politics. Their attitude has been manly and consistent; they have +stood by their friends and defied their enemies, even when their +friends have been lukewarm, or brutally indifferent, and this has been +the attitude of their friends since 1870. + +Through good and evil report they have refused to be seduced from +their allegiance to the party of freedom, and their enemies have +wreaked their vengeance, without hindrance, so that the attitude books +of every Southern state bristle with a code of laws as infamous and +oppressive as the slave code. But that does not affect the principle +in the least, and the principle is the thing; it is the essence of all +life. He who clings to it, though he may die, as the poor Indian has +done, deserves and receives the respect of mankind. When it has been +said of him that he was corrupt, purchasable, unreliable in politics +and that the franchise should be denied to him by fair or foul means, +because of this, by the kuklux klan terrorists, or red shirt +brutalists--sufficient answer to it all, in my mind, has been that if +he could have been seduced from his best interests, from his friends +in party politics, without violence towards him, none would have +molested him or made him afraid. That is a self-evident proposition in +partisan ethics. + +We do not terrorize and shoot and defraud people who vote with us. No, +the Afro-American has instinctively distrusted his political enemies, +even when they came to him bearing grapes in their hands and honey on +their tongues. His attitude has been one of manly protest, wherever he +was allowed to vote, or made to sulk in silence and indignation. And +here has been and here is the rub. When you cannot coax a man against +his will, as Jonathan did David, or purchase his birthright as Jacob +did Esau, if you have the power you terrorize and shoot him into +compliance. That is what the political enemies of the Afro-American +have done and are doing, but patient as the ass and with the faith of +Job, which passes all understanding, he sticks to his principle of +self-interest and waits; and the good proverb says, "All things come +to him who waits." I believe it. And if every man of the race had the +alternative of being shot in his tracks for clinging to his principles +or life eternal for deserting them, the part of manhood and honor +would be to stand up and be shot. As a matter of fact, thousands upon +thousands of Afro-Americans have been shot to death by their political +enemies since 1868, and perhaps thousands more will be shot in the +future in the same way, and for the same reason and by the same +heartless enemies, before the nation reaches the conclusion that an +Afro-American citizen should have as much protection under the Federal +Constitution as any other citizen with a white skin, despite the fact +that the whole matter is largely one of state control and regulation. +When cancers get on the body politic like this of disfranchisement and +debasement of an entire element of the citizenship, they are usually +cut out, as that of slavery, and its exceeding horrors, were. + +Steadfastness, therefore, in the faith that moves mountains and +patience which overcomes a world of wrong and injustice, will bring +the reward as it has so often done with the race in the past. The +reward is perfect equality under the laws of the Federal Government +and of the several states. But our attitude must be one of absolute +fidelity to the priceless sacred trust of citizenship, which comes to +us out of the agonies of the greatest war of modern times. If we be +true to ourselves, the great republic will be true to us "in God's way +and time." + + +THIRD PAPER. + +WHAT SHOULD BE THE NEGRO'S ATTITUDE IN POLITICS? + +BY HON. GEORGE W. MURRAY. + +[Illustration: George Washington Murray.] + + GEORGE WASHINGTON MURRAY. + + George Washington Murray was born September 22, 1853, of + slave parents, near Rembert, Sumter County, S. C. + Emancipation found him a lad of eleven summers, bereft of + both parents. Without a friend upon whom to rely for either + aid or advice in an impoverishing section, he entered upon + the fierce combat then in progress for the indispensable + bread of life. Among the waifs of his neighborhood in 1866, + he learned the alphabet and acquired an imperfect + pronunciation of monosyllables. In efforts to improve his + meager stock of knowledge during the succeeding five years, + he so industriously applied himself that in January, 1871, + he entered a day school, while in session, for the first + time, but as teacher, not scholar. + + He taught until the Fall of 1874, when he successfully + passed a competitive examination and secured a scholarship + as sub-freshman in the reconstructed University of South + Carolina. He was successfully employed as a teacher until + February, 1890, when he secured an appointment as inspector + of customs at the port of Charleston, S. C. + + Entering the political arena in the contest for the + Republican nomination for Congress in 1892, he successfully + won the stake and was placed in the general election against + Gen. E. W. Moise, one of the most brilliant, wealthy and + popular Democrats in the State, whom he finally defeated and + was declared elected to the Fifty-third Congress. + + He was again elected to the Fifty-fourth Congress, and + counted out, but contested and was finally seated. He was + again elected to the Fifty-fifth and Fifty-sixth Congresses, + and counted out, and failed to be seated after strong + contests. + + Since his retirement from congressional contests, seeing the + primary and crying need of his race is a larger per cent of + the ownership of homes, and the impossibility of securing + them in the desired space of time, under the prevailing + circumstances, where the necessaries of life and rents + consume the entire resources year after year, he has applied + himself to the development of a scheme of buying large + estates and cutting them into small holdings, and giving + long periods of time in which to pay for homes, receiving + about the usual rents as payments. + + He now has about 200 families located on about 9,000 acres + of land, and is adding from 2,000 to 3,000 acres to his + territory each year. + + He has already secured twelve letters patent on a multiple + farming machine, that is destined to revolutionize farming + methods. + + Without his request upon the demand of the President + himself, he was recently appointed Division Internal Revenue + Deputy Collector for the district of South Carolina. + +To the casual observer the above query is easy of solution, but it is +at the same time engaging the profoundest attention and thought of the +wisest statesmen, and the greatest philanthropists and humanitarians. + +It is especially difficult to the black victims of present political +environments. + +With a proportionate share of all the elements of strength, +intelligence, wealth, business and character--the Negro's attitude +politically should, and would, be the same as that of the other +members of society. + +The writer presume that in dealing with the question at issue, he is +territorially restricted to the ex-slaveholding portions of the United +States, as the Negro's political status in the rest of the territorial +limits of the country differs so little from that of other members of +society. + +As we see it, the mistake of the nineteenth century was the attempt to +make the ex-slave a governor, before he had learned to be governed. + +It seems that members of the race have not even yet learned that +governments have their origin and growth in the necessities +originating in the business and wealth of mankind, and have attained +their greatest perfection where there is most business and wealth. + +The naked, wandering savage has the lowest order of governments, +because, in that state, he has need for no other, and could not +support any higher. + +It twenty intelligent and progressive men settle down in the midst of +a hundred thousand such savages, they will immediately set about +establishing business, accumulating wealth, and will very naturally +organize in self-defense, and in time rule the ninety-nine thousand +nine hundred and eighty others. + +When just emerging from the shambles of two and a half centuries of +slavery and inforced ignorance, penniless and without experience, it +was a serious blunder to have placed the Negroes in such a position as +to make them responsible for the government. + +They were not only without the necessary intelligence and experience +for its successful operation, but all the resources essential to its +maintenance were in the hands of the minority class, and they were +without the ability to compel any contribution for its support. + +Placed upon the wrong track in the primary stages of emancipation, the +race spent its energy in trying to control the kind of government that +other people's business and resources made necessary, instead of +trying to acquire the elements which would have made it welcome as +part owners and rulers of that government. + +Such conditions as resulted from the plans and policies pursued in the +rehabilitation of civil government, after the War of the Rebellion, +very naturally created great friction between the former master-class, +possessing practically all the business, wealth and experience, though +in the minority in many localities, and the former slave-class, +without business, wealth and experience, on the other hand. + +The master-class determined that in self defense it had to organize to +repossess itself of governmental control, which was then in the hands +of the slave-class, and withheld its support from the government, +which the latter class was helpless to compel without the strong +compelling arm of the Federal government, which the peaceful and +considerate judgment of mankind would no longer sustain in maintaining +such conditions. + +Whereupon all over the South where the ex-slave class controlled +merely, by reason of numbers, its power and influence failed, until +to-day it finds itself absolutely shorn of power, even so much as is +necessary to protect its property, family and life. + +While it may be both unjust and unwise for a class in the condition of +the former slave class to absolutely control a government made +necessary by the resources of others, yet it is a cruel wrong to +deprive it even of that influence that is absolutely necessary for the +protection of family, property and life. + +The paramount issue of Southern Negroes should not be political +office, but the possession of such political influence as is necessary +for the protection of their property and lives. + +While it is desirable that as many Negroes as possible be provided for +at the official pie-counter, the all important issue, in my humble +judgment, is the equality of civil and political rights, without which +we are in some measure worse off than slaves. + +Deprived of that influence, which selfish interests always impel the +master-class to give in defense of his property rights, the +emancipated-class must possess a counter voting power somewhere within +its own personality, which an untrammelled ballot alone affords. + +Wisdom dictates that the Negro should speedily assume the task of +producing such conditions as will give the needed influence. + +This brings us to the question at issue, What should be the Negro's +attitude politically? + +In short, whatever attitude would prove most beneficial to him the +Negro should adapt himself to it, until he shall have acquired +sufficient strength along all lines to occupy and maintain an +independent position, and shape the course of action to suit his fancy +and convenience. + +The difference in the treatment of colored men North and South is not +half so much on account of a difference in the education and customs +of the white people in the respective sections, as from the +difference between the business, intellectual and political status of +the members of the colored race itself in the two sections, coupled +with the fact that the white man possessing practically all the +business, wealth, culture and experience in the North, is divided into +political camps, each controlling influence sufficient to protect each +constituent member, however weak, while in the South he is united in +one political party, which wholly destroys the colored man's influence +and partially his own. + +In fact, in the North, the combined wealth, culture and influence of +the entire party with which he is allied overshadows and protects his +rights, both public and private, and this brings us to the question at +issue, What should be the Negro's attitude politically? + +Upon this question there are as many opinions as there were colors in +Joseph's coat. + +Some advise that we solidly vote the Republican ticket. + +Others that we should all vote the Democratic ticket; still another +class advise us to divide our vote, and another class advise us not to +vote at all. + +There may be a grain of truth in each one of the above theories, but +for all times and occasions each one is essentially false. + +Under present environments it appears that we accomplish nothing by +voting the Republican ticket, and gain no more by voting the +Democratic ticket than we would by not voting at all. + +To us the all important task is to find a way to make our ballot +effective. + +Though, throughout the South, a cruel and savage spirit seems +triumphant, let the Negro take courage, for God is still ruling, and +the very machinery that has been set in motion for his political +destruction is hastening the day of his political regeneration. + +The reduction of the Negro's vote to an insignificant fraction which +does away with the possibility of absolute Negro control, is not an +unmixed evil, as it entirely destroys the foundation of the scarecrow +of Negro supremacy, which has been used as a great welding hammer to +forge the white race, with so many divergent views and opinions, into +one political mass, while the standards of wealth and intelligence +raised as a bar to his progress are causing the Negro, as never +before, to bestir himself in efforts to reach them. + +Thus it is seen that his would-be enemy destroys the welding hammer at +one fell blow; sets in motion irresistible currents that will +inevitably find outlets in the broad ocean of the political freedom +of both races, and arouse in the Negro, by the standards set up, the +very desirable incentive to make preparation for the enjoyment of the +destined freedom which the fates seem bent on bringing him. + +Once more the wonderful hand of Providence is using man's malice and +prejudice as His own marvelous highway of hope to bring good results +from evil intentions. + +Let the poor, desponding Negro, way down in the valley of degradation +and oppression, continue to be industrious, honest and frugal, and +pray, and God will again hitch His own all powerful steeds of hope to +his chariot of despondency and oppression, and, riding over the +mountains of man's folly, manifested in unjust rules and practices, in +defiance of His will, will draw him upon the broad eminence of joy, +gladness and hope. + + + + +TOPIC XIV. + +IS THE NEGRO AS MORALLY DEPRAVED AS HE IS REPUTED TO BE? + +BY PROF. B. H. PETERSON. + +[Illustration: Prof. B. H. Peterson] + + PROF. B. H. PETERSON. + + Butler Harrison Peterson, the subject of this sketch, is a + native of the State of Florida. He was born of slave + parents, just in time to be spared the horrible experiences + of that slave system which swept over this country with such + direful results. + + When the war clouds of the Civil War passed over, he was + sent to an ex-slave for private instruction. Shortly after + the public school system was introduced into the state of + Florida he entered as a regular attendant. Three very + profitable and successful sessions were spent in these + schools. Soon after entering upon the fourth term his mother + moved to another part of the state, leaving him in the care + of an aunt, who, loving money rather than education, took + him out of school and hired him to a law firm as office boy, + for $1.50 per month. This lasted for nearly two years. He + then took a position as porter in a dry goods store, and + then a clerkship in a small grocery store, owned and + controlled by a colored man, the Rev. William Bell. + + During this time Mr. Peterson showed signs of a thirst for + knowledge. He had now become a member of the Baptist Church + and was actively engaged in Sunday-school work. Having + attracted the attention of a few friends, among them Mr. + John J. Montth, an opportunity soon presented itself, which + Mr. Peterson eagerly seized. This opportunity opened the + doors of Cookman Institute, Jacksonville, Fla. at which + place he remained two years. Mr. Peterson next found himself + for three years a student of the St. Augustine Normal and + Collegiate Institute, Raleigh, N. C. In 1883 Mr. Peterson + entered Lincoln University, Chester County. Pa., passing + successfully through the freshman, sophomore, junior and + senior years. He tarried yet three years longer at Lincoln, + taking the full theological course; and in 1889 returned + home to begin work. His first position was as principal of + the Oakland Graded School, Jacksonville, Fla. During the two + years spent here, he was offered the chair of "ancient + languages," Selma University, Selma, Ala., which he accepted + and held for two years to the satisfaction of the President, + Dr. C. L. Purse, D. D., and the Board of Trustees. + + At this time matters over which he had no control so shaped + themselves that this very pleasant and profitable work had + to be given up. In 1893 Mr. Peterson became the first + assistant teacher in the Phelps Bell Bible Training School, + Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, Tuskegee, Ala., + and in connection with this work he is instructor in the + Normal Department of Mental and Moral Science and Primary + Mathematics. He is still here at work. + + He is also a pastor of one of the churches of the town of + Tuskegee and spends a part of his vacations at the Summer + Schools of the Hampton Normal and Industrial Institute and + the University of Chicago. + + In this brief sketch no reference is made to ways or means, + but only the results are announced, the rosebush, however, + has thorns as well as roses. + +The conclusion reached in this discussion will depend in part upon the +viewpoint of the observation, upon the character of the judges and +upon the logic employed. In considering any subject it is always best, +fair and proper, to admit freely and fully the well known facts in the +case. The book of books, which is an infallible code of morals, says +that "there is none good, no not one." But there is none as depraved +as he could be. In either direction, progression is possible. + +Unfortunately, immorality is not a stranger to any people; and that it +is to be found among the Negroes, should not excite wonder and +amazement; for it grows out of their previous condition of servitude. + +The horrible system of slavery, with its direful effects, is still +felt to a greater or less degree by the American Negro. And the +ex-slaveholders, from the very nature of the case, could not make +their escape from its awful consequences. The market still has fruit +from this system. + +There can be little doubt that the arrangement which places one man or +any number of men at the entire disposal and control of another, +subject to his absolute and irresponsible will and power, is a system +of things not the most favorable to moral excellence, whether of the +master or the slave. The exercise of such authority must, from the +very nature of the case, tend to foster the spirit of pride and +arrogance, to make a man overbearing and haughty in temper, quick and +irascible, impatient of restraint and contradiction. The passions of +our nature, the animal propensities, ever ready to assume the mastery, +and requiring to be kept in check with a firm hand, finding now no +barriers to their indulgence but those which are self imposed, will be +likely to break over those feeble barriers, and acquire unrestrained +course and dominion. The tendency of the system to these results in +morals, so far as the master is concerned, is inevitable. There may be +some honorable exceptions, but the tendency is ever the same. It must +and will be so while human nature is what it is. The temptation to the +abuse of power over those who cannot or dare not resist to undue +severity of punishment, where the passions of the master are +aroused, and there is no one to say, What doest thou? to the +gratification of the baser appetites in their various forms, must be +too great for ordinary and unaided human virtue. The tendency of such +a system must ever be, not to progressive self refinement and moral +culture, but to barbarism. We should expect to find in connection with +such a civil polity, a state of society, of religion and morals +somewhat peculiar--acts of violence and barbarity not infrequent, the +street affray, the duel, the murderous assault, the unrestrained +indulgence of the animal appetites. It would be quite natural and +reasonable under such a state of affairs to expect this; and such, +unless all history and experience be false, we find the world over, to +be the general state and tendency of things wherever the system of +slavery prevails. + +Nor is the effect on the morals of the slave more favorable; on the +contrary, it is even more disastrous. In proportion as the feeling of +self respect and self dependence is taken away, and a man is taught to +look upon himself as merely the tool in the hands of another, the +instrument of another's will and pleasure, without responsibility of +his own, just in that proportion the foundation of moral character is +undermined. Nothing can be more demoralizing in its effect upon the +character. Strip a man of all that constitutes manhood; of all self +reliance and self respect; of all the rights which nature has +conferred upon him, and all the faculties with which God has endowed +him; take away from him all control and disposal of himself, all +ownership of himself and all that can stimulate to activity, and +incite to noble attainment and excellence, is gone at once. He sinks +down to the level of the brute. What inducement is there for him to +hope or strive for anything further or better than his present lot, +and enjoyment which the moment may bring with it? He becomes as a +matter of course improvident and reckless, content with the +gratification, so far as may be, of his merely animal appetites; +indolent, for why should he be otherwise? + +Deceptive and dishonest, for what motive has he to be honest? He is +governed only by fear of the lash, with little thought of anything +future, with little knowledge of that hereafter whence are derived the +most powerful motives to present virtue. His mind is shrouded in +ignorance, his moral nature almost wholly uncultivated, his condition +is little above that of the beast with whom he toils, and with whom he +perishes. As in the case of the master, so in the case of the slave; +some will rise above the influence that surround and drag them down, +and, in spite of all these depressing and demoralizing influences, +will maintain their integrity. But such is not the rule, such is not +the tendency of the system. No one who has either reflected on the +matter or observed the actual working of the system can honestly +suppose that it is. It is a notorious fact that, as a general rule, +wherever this system exists, the slave is indolent, deceptive, +dishonest, improvident, not to be trusted away from the eyes of honest +people. + +Such a system having a growth of two hundred and fifty years, would it +be reasonable to expect that thirty-five years could eradicate +entirely the work done during the two hundred and fifty years? While +this is all true, can any one with so many facts and figures all about +him, entertain a doubt as to the Negro's progress along all lines of +human activity and toil? The Negro has either advanced, morally and +religiously, or the proud Anglo-Saxon's standard of morals and +religion is a hopeless failure. Considering the depths from which he +came, the fact that he has come at all, or any part of the way, shows +at least some progress. + +A journey through this country, especially the South, the home of the +Negroes, and an inspection of the homes and surroundings, and coming +into near contact with them, will serve to change a great many +baseless and unfair criticisms found afloat among a certain class of +people, of whom Mr. Wm. Hannibal Thomas' book, entitled "The American +Negro," is the mouthpiece. One room log huts, dirty floor, the home of +the Negro, for large families during the period when slavery existed, +are giving away to neat little cottages, sometimes two-story +buildings, with rooms, furniture and surroundings sufficient to make +each member of the family comfortable, and secluded enough to avoid +the temptation to immoral conduct. And these homes, together with +lands attached, in great many cases are owned by the colored people +whose morals are called in question. Some of the most fashionable +weddings of the day are celebrated among the Negroes. Births out of +wedlock, the plurality of wives and divorced cases, have decreased +among the Negroes 65 per cent. Womanhood, virtue and honor are +defended at any cost, at the proper time and place. + +The Negro got the idea imbedded in him during his servitude that +religion and morality, like the Jews and Samaritans, had no dealings +with each other. To-day this idea has lost its power and influence. +The professors of religion and leaders of the people stand first and +foremost with the people, and are expected to take the lead in all +matters of reform. The church property owned and controlled by the +Negro tells its own story. The Sermon on the Mount is taking a hold of +the Negro as never before. If I should offer an adverse criticism on +the Negro's religion, it would be that, as he understands it, he has a +surplus of religion. But he is surely grasping the idea that God is a +Spirit, and "they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in +truth." There are to be found among the Negroes those whose words are +as good as gold. The true significance of morality is being better +understood and practiced by the Negro. The newspaper gossip and +sophistical reasoning to the effect that some Negroes have been +apprehended for immoral conduct, and therefore all Negroes are +immoral, would astonish all creation if applied to the white race. Let +us be fair and try the Negro by the same logic that the white man is +tried by. + +A very sure and hopeful sign is the fact that the Negro is ashamed of +any immoral conduct which he hears has been committed by any member of +his race. The mere desire of better things is indicative of a better +state of affairs. A straw often shows which way the wind is blowing. +It is a historical fact that any race which has been subdued and ruled +over by another race will imbibe, imitate and copy after the dominant +race, and especially is this true if the conquered race live in and +among the conquering race. It follows, then, that if the Negro is +wholly immoral, his white neighbor needs to move a pace in the moral +world. + +Other causes might have been assigned accounting for the Negro's +previous immorality, but slavery comprehends them all. But for the +sake of emphasis and showing the contrast, let us note the following: +Granting that the Negro as a mass is ignorant. Is he as ignorant as he +was? If he is, then in what light shall we regard the philanthropists +of this country North and South who have done and are doing so much +for the Negro's elevation? The public school system, so well organized +and maintained throughout this country, and patronized so largely by +the Negro youth, either means the Negro's advancement morally or a +lack of wisdom on the part of those who administer the nation's +affairs. I realize that a people could advance intellectually without +advancing morally at the same time. But such is not possible in this +country where the Bible is made the basis of our education. A mere +reference to this topic is all that is needed. + +The Negro is poverty stricken, this needs no demonstration. But is he +as poor as he has been? The banks, county records and business +enterprises of the country are living witnesses to the Negro's +advancement along this line. How could a man wholly depraved come into +such relationship with a moral man and get along so well? "How can two +walk together except they be abreed," asks the faithful prophet. + +The time was when the Negro could not take out a policy in a life +insurance company, because he was regarded immoral, and would soon die +out and bring the company under obligations to his estate. To-day the +Negro can hold a policy in almost any insurance company of whatever +nature it may be. This is a case where the Negro's advancement in +morals is admitted and he himself not a judge in the case. Negro +lawyers consult with white lawyers, Negro doctors consult with white +doctors, Negro teachers consult with white teachers, Negro preachers +consult with white preachers, Negro workmen of whatever kind confer +with the whites of like occupation, and, sometimes, the process is +reversed, the white mechanics go to the Negro mechanics for counsel. +In all of this, the Negro's upward march is admitted. And there is no +advancement worthy of the name of advancement that does not include +moral strength, worth and improvement. + +We hail with joy the rapidly approaching time, under the sunlight of +civilization and Christianity, when the color of the skin and the +texture of the hair will not be badges of reproach, humiliation, +degradation and contempt. True merit will yet be the worth of the man, +under the wise and just government of a beneficent God and Father, who +"of one blood made all nations for to dwell upon the face of all the +earth." The poet Burns labored under no misapprehension when he wrote +the following lines: + + "Is there for honest poverty + Wha hangs his head, and a' that? + The coward slave! we pass him by; + We dare be poor for a' that-- + For a' that, and a' that, + Our toils obscure, and a' that! + The rank is but the guinea's stamp-- + The man's the gowd for a' that. + + "What, though on hamely fare we dine, + Wear hodden pray, and a' that? + Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine; + A man's a man for a' that-- + For a' that, and a' that, + Their tinsel show, and a' that; + The honest man, though e'er sae poor, + Is king o' men for a' that. + + "A prince can mak a belted knight, + A marquis, duke, and a' that; + But an honest man's aboon his might-- + Guid faith, he maunna fa' that! + For a' that, and a' that, + Their dignities and a' that; + The pith o' sense and pride o' worth + Are higher ranks than a' that. + + "Then let us pray that come it may-- + As come it will, for a' that-- + That sense and worth, o'er a' the earth, + May bend the gree, and a' that. + For a' that, and a' that, + Its coming yet, for a' that-- + When man to man, the world o'er, + Shall brothers be for a' that!" + + +SECOND PAPER + +IS THE NEGRO AS MORALLY DEPRAVED AS HE IS REPUTED TO BE? + +BY PROF. A. U. FRIERSON. + +[Illustration: Prof. A. U. Frierson] + + AUGUSTUS ULYSSES FRIERSON, D. D. + + Mr. A. U. Frierson was born in the State of South Carolina a + few years before the Civil War. His parents were slaves, + and, of course, were uneducated. After some preparation in + the public schools, he entered Biddle University, from which + he graduated with honor in 1885. The same year he entered + the theological department of the same university, + graduating therefrom in 1888. + + The Summer of 1885 was spent as teacher and preacher to the + ex-slaves of the Choctaw Indians, Indian Territory. He + worked under the Freedman's Board of the Presbyterian + Church. For several years he acted as pastor of different + Presbyterian churches in North and South Carolina. + + In 1891 he was called to the chair of Greek language and + literature at Biddle University, which position he holds at + this writing. + + In 1893, his alma mater conferred upon him the degree of D. + D. + +A question so pertinent, so comprehensive, so thoroughly charged with +what must give rank and standing to a people in the eyes of the world, +ought not to be superficially considered, nor lightly and rashly +answered. On the surface it would seem to involve a simple yes or no. +But slight reflection reveals the fact that the yes or no fails to +satisfy the conditions. That the answer to this question has long +since been removed from the realm of the simple negative and +affirmative, becomes very evident from what has been, and is still +being, said _pro_ and _con_. + +The moral status of the Negro of the United States has long since +given rise to a debated question. This debate waxes hotter and hotter, +and the lines are more closely drawn as the years go by. For it is +impossible to think of the future of the Negro apart from his moral +status. His future will be bright, gloomy, or blighted, in proportion +as he is able or not able to set to his account true moral worth. I +speak of the Negro by limitations as I feel that only the American +Negro, and that, too, of the United States, can be contemplated by the +query under consideration; hence by the discussion. + +That my answer will be in line of an _emphatic_ negative will appear +from what follows. I know full well the tremendous task I have set +myself by this position. In doing this, I must take up the defensive +as well as offensive alike against a large per cent of people, outside +of the Negro race, who set themselves up as an authority on all +questions affecting the Negro, and, mark you, from their decision +there is no appeal; as also against the _know-alls_ within the ranks +of the race. But I am not deterred by this, since I feel that I owe it +to the friends of the race; to those of the race who honestly strive +to do what is right, and to myself, to utter no uncertain sound in +responding to this important question. + +For the encouragement of a weak and struggling people and their +friends, for the better enlightenment of mankind in general, touching +the moral status of the Negro, I place in evidence and offer in +support of my negative the following considerations: + +First: As far as my knowledge goes, the sum total of the +considerations and discussions tending to show and set forth the moral +turpitude of the Negro, leave out, if they do not ignore wholly, a +most vital element. Any conclusion, therefore, reached, must eliminate +the same, and in the degree that this element is important, the +conclusion will be inconclusive and defective. + +I contend, in the outset, that any just and charitable answer to this +question must take into account the fact that the Negro is not unlike +the other children of Adam, in that he is possessed of an inherent +immoral tendency. Yet how many, speaking to this subject, reckon from +this point? I think all sane people, at least, are agreed that since +the fall, conformity to the moral standard, as set up by our Creator, +is _relative_ and not _absolute_. I think it would be a very light +task to prove this assertion true, on the best authority known to +man--the Bible. A single instance will suffice to put to silence all +dissenters. David, "the man after God's own heart," gives us a life +whose complexity at once presents the elements of _passion_, +tenderness, generosity, and _fierceness_. From this life flowed a +character blackened by adultery and murder. Rather checkered, measured +by a perfect moral standard. + +Grant that the Negro is a child of Adam, and I score one of the most +important points on the side of my negative. Weighed in the balance of +a perfect moral scale, "There is none good, but one, and that is God." + +Second: When talking or writing on this subject, men seem to forget +also that this inherent or natural immoral tendency in the Negro has +had the impetus of the most debasing influences of a baser system of +slavery, covering a period of two and a half centuries. This is not a +defense, nor by any means an apology, for the shortcomings of the +Negro, which are too many by far, but it is a plea for fairness in +making up a verdict which is very far-reaching in its consequences. + +In my humble opinion this thought is sufficient to temper, at least, +the criticisms of the most rabid and reckless assailants of Negro +morals. Let friends and foes alike think, if they can, what two +hundred and fifty years of training means in a system whose principal +tenet was that a Negro had no wish or will of his own--either morally +or otherwise--a mere thing, acting only as it is acted upon. Under +this system the next most natural thing would be and was the breaking +down and beating back of every bar to the baser passions, except when +its observance, perchance, contributed to the physical vigor and +resistance of the Negro, thus rendering him more valuable and +indispensable to his master. Add to this, if you please, the fact that +there were few, if any, formal marriages; the "shanty" system instead +of home; no responsibility in the training of boys and girls that +naturally came to the so-called homes; no safeguard thrown around the +morals of the tender years of boyhood and girlhood, but, on the other +hand, everything most favorable and conducive to the development of +bad morals. Out of this condition, unless the superior--the +master--had a very high moral sense, which was highly improbable, if +not impossible, under the existing circumstances, little could justly +be expected of the inferior--the Negro. Yet, in spite of all this, the +Negro gave the world a very few rapists of whom we hear so much +nowadays, and on whose account we are so often called upon to defend +him from the viewpoint of our question. + +As regards this particular crime, I digress here to say that my faith +is small. For this reason, there was a time when the commission of it +was more opportune and easy than now. For example, during the Civil +War, when it was scarcely, if ever, heard of. I have introduced this +subject here simply to say this, that human nature is one and the same +in mankind, and the argument that natural tendencies do not assert +themselves alike in a slave and a freeman under like favorable +conditions, is open to serious objections, if not in a degree +fallacious. The pertinence of this reference will also appear when +attention is drawn to the fact that the tendency of the rate to +criminality, hence, to moral worthlessness, is more largely +hypothecated upon this than upon any other single crime. By a similar +process of reasoning it would not be difficult to show that all the +races of the world are moral reprobates. For what escape would there +be for any measured by its criminal class? I, therefore, contend, +finally, that the standard by which the Negro is measured is seriously +at fault, if not wholly wrong. Coming out of the most untoward +circumstances, with less than a half century in which to outlive and +unlearn the deadly doings of two hundred and fifty years, who can lay +claim to more or to so much as the Negro? Measure him by the depths +from which he came as well as by the heights which you would have him +attain, when taking his moral pulse. + +Third: I note the work of the press, which is largely in the hands of, +and controlled by, those least friendly to the Negro's progress. +Hence, a magnificent contribution is daily made from this quarter, to +his moral impeachment. I think it is never, perhaps, properly +considered, that the class generally held up by the press is one and +the same with that already noticed under the preceding head--the +criminal. Further, news gatherers are at great pains to ferret out and +dole out to the public daily whatever serves to excite, and especially +whatever shows the moral crookedness of the Negro, and that the years +of freedom already enjoyed by him have simply brought forth a +generation of vipers. Too often, from the lowest to the highest court, +the records are so manipulated as to show the moral obliquity of the +Negro. It is a potent fact that public opinion of the Negro is +largely, if not wholly, based upon press reports, whether it pertains +to religion, politics, morality, or otherwise. I hold, therefore, that +it is largely misinformation that brings the Negro into bad odor in +this regard, and earns for him the opinion that he is on the decline +or "moral lapse," if you please. Then, too, the dying testimony of +what is commonly called the worthless Negro, is given wider publicity +and greater credence than the precept and example of ten thousand +living, straightforward, upright Negroes. I say this because the +opinion obtains so widely that the Negro is growing worse. + +Fourth: That the Negro is not as morally depraved as he is generally +reputed to be, and that those who are foremost to note and proclaim +it do not believe it themselves, I place in evidence the following: +1st. A considerable number of Southern states has passed laws +restrictive, if not prohibitive, of the removal of the Negro from his +holy (?) confines, and this, too, where most is seen and known of him. +What! Make it a misdemeanor to influence to emigrate or to deport a +people whose presence is a standing menace to the good morals of those +who enact measures and those who uphold them? Do not they make +themselves liable to mild criticism? Other countries and sections of +countries seek to rid themselves of all incubus of whatever kind. Of +this we have numerous examples in the scum from Europe and other parts +of the world unloaded upon our shores annually. 2d. Let the Negro with +all his moral depravity initiate any movement looking toward his +withdrawal even from one part of our country to another. The scene of +such activities attracts special attention, and unsought advice is +poured upon his "worthless" head; words of warning flow apace, and +direct steps are taken to defeat the end in view. In view of this +fact, the Negro is seldom allowed to organize, secretly, for mutual +protection and helpfulness, in some sections; and, when organized, he +is always looked upon with grave suspicions. That people should go so +far out of the way to circumvent the legitimate endeavors of the +undeserving, to my mind, is the most unnatural thing to be sure. +"Consistency, thou art a jewel!" + +Fifth: What people regard as a most discouraging sign touching the +Negro of this country, I consider a most portentous and hopeful one. I +refer to it here, because it bears decidedly upon my answer, and is +strictly in line therewith. As shown by the census of 1890 and 1900, +the increase of the Negro has suffered a positive check, if not +back-set. In explanation of this, one theory and another has been +advanced. Some have seen that he, like the American Indian, is on the +road to a kindred fate--final and utter extinction. Others have +consigned him to this or that destiny, according as they have felt +kindly or unkindly towards him. True, he has increased less rapidly, +but more surely, because of his stricter observance and growing regard +for the proper and God-appointed channels to this end. His propagation +by marriage, in which case one man is the husband of one woman, and +one woman the wife of one man, would naturally lend to this. + +I might record and add to what has already been said, a rich and +varied experience, growing out of actual contact with, and work for, +my people covering twenty-four years--a period in which no year has +passed without leaving something done or suffered. But time and space +will not permit. + +Finally, out of the unfavorable moral conditions to which the Negro as +a child of Adam is heir; out of the most untoward circumstances, +surrounding him in the dark days of his enslavement; out of the +traductions to which he is exposed at the hands of a most cruel and +relentless foe--the printing press; out of the mock trials and false +convictions visited upon him by the courts, too often manned by his +oppressors; out of the barriers put in the way of his withdrawal from +the midst of those who pronounce him without moral worth; out of the +glaring inconsistency of all dissenters; out of the pure and spotless +lives of ten thousand women--the wives, mothers, sisters, and +lovers--of as high souled and moral men as the world ever saw or +produced, I here and now once again and forever record my most +unconditioned and emphatic _no_ to the query I have in some measure +tried to answer. + +I have attempted no fine analysis of the case, but simply tried to +point out a few facts more or less familiar to all. + + +THIRD PAPER. + +IS THE NEGRO AS MORALLY DEPRAVED AS HE IS REPUTED TO BE? + +BY MRS. M. E. C. SMITH + +[Illustration: Mrs. M. E. C. Smith.] + + MRS. MARY E. C. SMITH. + + Mrs. Mary E. C. Smith, daughter of Peter H. Day, was a + native of New York city. Her education was provided for by + her energetic widowed mother, to whom she ascribes the + secret of her success. From early childhood she showed + strong power of mind, and inherited from her mother that + force and determination of purpose which prefigure success + in whatever is undertaken. As a pupil, she was prompt and + energetic, and never failed to win one of the Ridgeway + prizes for good scholarship, which were given annually to + successful contestants. She was an excellent Bible student, + and when ten years old was elected a teacher in the + Sunday-school. At this age she was impressed with the idea + that it was her duty to go to the South to instruct her + people, who were just emerging from bondage. + + By a strange coincidence she was led to Florida, when she + had finished her school course, the very place she had named + when in an outburst of childish enthusiasm, while preparing + a geography lesson, she had said: "O, mother, how I long to + go there and teach my people!" The "land of flowers" has + been the principal field of her labors as a teacher. Her + ability as a teacher was soon discovered, and in 1890 she + became principal of the Normal Department of the Edward + Waters College, under the presidency of Prof. B. W. Arnett, + Jr. Hundreds of students are better citizens because of her + faithful teaching and Christian influence. As a church and + Sunday-school worker she has few equals. The earnestness of + purpose with which she performs the slightest duty is an + example worthy of imitation. + +This question is as grave as it is suggestive. There being a marked +difference between _character_ and _reputation_, its discussion +naturally leads to a consideration of the Negro as he really is, and +not as he is represented. The delineation of the Negro's true +character is one of the most effectual means of refuting the +columnious epithets so constantly hurled at him--a veritable blasphemy +against his higher and better nature. + +Has the Negro a higher and better nature? We shall see. + +To separate him from the rest of the human family would be to dispute +the great truth, that has been so long accepted, by all thoroughly +Christianized nations--the Fatherhood of God, and the brotherhood of +man. "Of one blood God formed all nations, for to dwell upon the face +of the earth." Man, in his first estate, was supremely moral, being +created in the righteous image of his Maker; had man continued in +this condition, he would have been perfectly innocent and happy, +favored with the exalted privilege of direct communion with God, +inspired only by Him who is the Great Source, all light and +perfection, from whom emanates nothing dark, unholy or unclean. + +But man fell, and was driven from Eden. Hence, he began to wander away +from God, in spirit and purpose; the tempter had been admitted and +man's heart grew very deceitful and desperately wicked. The command of +God, however, as written in Genesis, 1st chap., 28th verse, was +inviolable. The earth _must_ be peopled; thus man continued to wander, +and his heart became proud and defiant, even to the resistance of the +will and purpose or God. So far did the distance become between man +and his Maker and so greatly abounded his wickedness, that at last God +gave him over to his own evil imaginations. + +The inhabitants of the antediluvian world, as a consequence of man's +first transgression, fell lower and lower in the scale of good morals. +They became so confirmed in wickedness, so totally depraved, that God +destroyed them all, save one man and his family, whom He accounted as +righteous, for the sake of his faithful obedience, and whose seed He +preserved for the repeopling of the earth. The races, whether Semitic, +Hamitic or Japhetic, as springing from the three sons of Noah, all +partook of some of the natural proclivities of their revered and +ancient grand-sire. What Canaan lacked in the line of perfection in +the moral ethics of his day, may be directly attributed to heredity. +The lineage of the Negro has been directly traced through Cush to Ham; +hence, to argue the total moral depravity of the sons of Ham is but to +concede the total moral depravity of the entire human race, as +emanated from Noah in the postdiluvian age. + +To assert that the Negro has no defects, and is morally good, would be +to deny him as one of the legitimate heirs of the family of Noah, and +deprive him of his natural inheritance. On the contrary, the Negro is +joint-heir to _all_ the virtues and _all_ the infirmities of the other +members of the human family. He is just as good and equally as bad as +his fairer-complexioned brothers. + +"Multiply and replenish the earth," was the eternal fiat. The +subsequent confusion of tongues, and the dispersion of the people even +to the remotest parts of the globe, were but links in the chain of +God's design. The entire globe must be peopled, not a portion of it; +hence the sons of man continued their migration until they were lost +to each other. + +The history of civilization discloses to us the land of the Hamites, +as the cradle from whence sprang all learning, literature and arts, +but man's heart still being deceitful, proud and wicked, continued to +wander away from the true God; and, notwithstanding his acquired +knowledge, and the very high state of civilization to which he had +attained, he forgot God, and was allowed to drift into pagan darkness +and superstition. These people were scattered, and their land +despoiled, and they fled for refuge far into the wilderness where they +were left in thick darkness: + + "Grouping in ignorance, dark as the night," with + "No blessed Bible to give them the light." + +Had any other division of the human family been subjected to the +influences of the same depressing climate, for an equal length of +time, as were the Hamites, and surrounded by the same degrading +circumstances, having no light without the assistance of divine +counsel, their degeneration would have been equally as great as these +descendants of Ham, when first began their involuntary migration into +this country. The subsequent training which the Negro received in the +school of bondage, while, in some respects, may have been a very +potent lever in raising them from the pit of darkness and +superstition, was not that which would best serve in the development +of his higher moral nature. + +Prior to the beginning of colonial slave traffic, the Negro, as found +in his original home, the dark continent, was innocent and simple in +his habits, possessed of a very high regard for truth and virtue. And, +though very ignorant and superstitious, the result of his paganistic +worship, vice and immorality was to him almost unknown. He was a lover +of the beautiful, and in disposition easily entreated; and, because of +these _very_ tractile elements in his character, he fell an easy prey +to the machinations of his more wily and crafty brother Japhet. + +A study of the American Negro since his most remarkable advent into +this country, after being decoyed from his fatherland, portrays him as +a mild, impressionable and submissive being--extremely imitative and +very easily led or controlled. Those who speculated upon him, as human +chattel, very often took advantage of his traits of character in order +to further their own interests, and perpetuate the abominable +institution of slavery. + +The Negro was so tractile in disposition and so easily trained for +good or bad that he was frequently developed in the practice of +deceit, hypocrisy, tattling and numerous other weaknesses, as the +result of the course of training which he received from those who were +directly responsible for his physical and moral well being. That +peculiar nature of his education in the school of bondage, which +taught him that his owner's will was supreme, divested him of his very +high regard for virtue; and, wherever resistance was presumed, +coercion soon forced him to yield, and he instinctively bowed to the +inevitable. Thus, the females drifted into the belief that their +bodies were the absolute property of their owners, and that they had +no sacred personal rights which he, their self-imposed master, was +bound to respect. But, like begets like. What wonder, then, that the +seed of unrighteousness, which was implanted in the modern American +Negro, before his birth, should spring up and bring forth abundantly +of the same kind? Whatever is immoral about the American Negro of +to-day was bequeathed to him by his unrighteous ancestors of fairer +hue. + +A closer inspection of the Negro's home life reveals him as an +upright, religious character, and, even under the most adverse +circumstances of his unholy environments, he was in many instances so +tenacious of his preconceived standard of good morals that he defended +his principles even to the extent of yielding his life. + +The Negro's native integrity and fidelity were so thoroughly relied +upon that during the Civil War, which arrayed in fratricidal strife +the two sections of our beloved country, the heroes of the South left +their homes and went forth to battle, feeling perfectly secure in +entrusting their wives, their daughters, and, in many instances, their +fortunes, in the hands of their faithful Negro servants, who remained +true to their trusts, caring for, and defending, their precious +charges, even at the risk of their own lives. To their credit, it may +be inscribed that, although they were aware that victory for the South +and the return of their masters meant the prolongation, if not the +perpetuation, of their unjust bondage, they swerved not from their +posts of duty, and took no advantage of the situation, thus proving +the high standard of their moral character. + +In the darkest days of thralldom the dominant powers relied upon the +Negro's higher moral sense; to the nurse was entrusted almost the +entire care of their offspring, and numerous other duties of great +responsibility were frequently imposed upon their male and female +Negro servants, who invariably proved their high sense of honor, +based upon their highest conception of good morals. + +Notwithstanding the efforts made to keep the Negro ignorant and +degraded, ever and anon, the scintillations from his superior nature +would flash out like a burning meteor and exhibit him as he was +designed by God his Father, who is no respector of persons. In this +connection, we cannot help referring to the beautiful character of +Phyllis Wheatley, whose life was absolutely pure, and who was so +remarkably inspired by the poetic muse that, even in the darkest days +of Negro bondage, she forced the recognition of mankind. Her genius +flashed forth as a beacon light to her benighted brethren as a token +of assurance to them of the fulfillment of the promise, "Ethiopia +shall again stretch forth her hand unto God." Benjamin Banneker, the +great mathematician and astronomer, was another instance, in those +remote days of darkness, that the Great Dispenser of all light, and +truth, imparted His gifts alike to all; and there were others, but for +our purpose, these names must forever stand as exponents of that +higher and better life that was pent up within the Negro's breast, as +a dimly-lighted torch, enshrouded under the mantle of slavery, which +needed only the removal of the garment to be clearly seen; and thus, +surrounded by the igniting influences of the atmosphere of liberty, +would burst forth into all the effulgency of a brilliant light. + +As a rule, the modern Negro of America, since his liberation from the +shackles of his unjust bondage, has put forth strenuous efforts to +uplift himself. And he has succeeded beyond his own most sanguine +expectations; having had so many obstacles to overcome, he should not +be measured by the heights he has attained, but by the depths from +which he came. Out of the depths cried the Negro unto God; and He +heard him! A few have arisen far above the masses, and are by their +noble examples beckoning the others to come on. The general response +is, "We are coming," up out of the cesspool of darkness, ignorance and +immorality to the higher plane of virtue, knowledge, purity, and true +righteousness which exalteth nations. + +That there are dark sides to the picture of the Negro's career since +his emergency from that dreary school of bondage, must be admitted, +but many of his defects are directly traceable to his imitative +propensity. To his own sorrow, he imitates the BAD, as well as the +good. + +Like the Indian, the fire-water which he has learned to imbibe has +divested him of his manhood, and robbed him of his virtue, and it is +a sad truth that he is encouraged in this personal debasement of +himself by his brother in white, who is still, in many instances, +taking advantages of his weak traits, offering him every inducement to +continue in his course of self-degradation. + +Thirty-six years of light and privilege have wrought wonders for the +Negro, but these are scarcely a day, when compared with the long night +of over two hundred years of bondage; it is impossible for him in this +short period to have totally eradicated the evils for which he was not +wholly responsible, but which were entailed upon him at his birth. + +Those deflections in the Negro's practice of his code of good morals, +which are so often exhibited as an argument against the entire race, +are but the results of the development of his weaknesses, by the +methods of former years, which he now, finds it so hard to overcome. +But those who transgress the general rule of uplifting are the +exceptions. To God be the glory for the present Negro, measured, not +by the few, who have overlooked their most sacred rights and +privileges, but by the many who are daily demonstrating, by honest +toil and labor, that they have the highest regard for all that is +pure, ennobling, and virtuous. + +The Negro's inspiration for poetry, music and the fine arts, proves +conclusively that there dwells within him a higher and better nature, +which needs only to be developed to its fullest capacity to convince +the world beyond the possibility of a successful contradiction that +his standard of good morals is as elevated as that of mankind in +general. As it is impossible for any fountain to pour forth pure and +impure water at the same time, so is it impossible for total depravity +to exist in the same mind where dwells that finer sense or +appreciation of the beautiful, which originates music, poetry and the +fine arts. Again, we refer the world to such beautiful examples as our +own dear Edmonia Lewis, B. T. Tanner, now abroad; Paul Lawrence +Dunbar, Frances W. Harper, Madam Salika, Flora Batsen Bergen, Nellie +Brown Mitchell, Virginia Adele Montgomery, Hallie Quinn Brown, and +scores of others; some, perhaps not quite so famous as those +mentioned, but who along the line of the higher inspiration of the +Negro, refute any argument that may be opposed. As an ensign of the +very high standard of Christian ethics attainable by the race, we +mention with heart-felt gratitude our dear Amanda Smith, the leader +among hundreds of other noble Christian women, who have given not only +their lives to God and their race, but feel themselves responsible for +the general uplifting of mankind wherever found, knowing that there +is no difference with Him, for whom they labor, "whether Greek or +Jew." There is no difference, whether high or low, rich or poor, bond +or free, white or black; all have a part in the common salvation of +Him who came to lift the world up to its original standard of morality +by sacrificing His own pure life, and who said, "And I, if I be lifted +up, will draw _all_ men unto me." The essential need of the human +family is charity. Our Saviour said of the Christian graces, "And now +abideth these three, Faith, Hope and Charity, but the greatest of +these is CHARITY." The time was when there was very little, if any, +faith in the Negro's ability to rise and equip himself as a man; +afterwards there came a faint glimmer of hope, which commingled with +the slowly but gradually increasing faith, proved a blessed and +powerful agent in the line of effectual assistance. The Negro began to +rise, and he has, with the omnipotent aid of God, his Father, +continued his rising until the present, with wonderfully good results, +as must be conceded by all minds unbiased by prejudice. + +Still there is much land to be possessed, and one thing is yet lacking +in the attitude of those who scrutinize him daily for the purpose of +rendering an unfavorable judgment. "Charity suffereth long and is +kind." Suffer in this connection means to bear; those who claim to +have attained a higher standard of morality should bear patiently the +infirmities of the Negro, while he is rising, knowing full well that +his inherent weaknesses are not of his own begetting, and that it will +require some time to overcome the inertia of wrong instruction and +practice. But "thanks be unto God, who giveth the victory," to all who +obey Him, the Negro as well, God requires simply the earnest effort on +his part, and then accomplishes the work Himself. + +The highest type of morality is that which generates a disposition on +the part of its possessor to have compassion for the lowly and extend +a helping hand toward the elevation, comfort and restoration of their +inferiors. It has been wisely asserted that "an idle brain is the +devil's work-shop." In view of this truism it is wisdom to keep the +hand and brain well employed. Booker T. Washington comprehended this +fully when he commenced the great work which he is now so successfully +prosecuting at Tuskegee. Like the sainted bishop, Daniel A. Payne's, +Booker T. Washington's standard of true morality was far above the +average of his race. The range of his vision being so extensive, he +saw clearly the situation of his people, and without hesitation +undertook, in his own way, the work of ameliorating the condition of +the masses with the hope of uplifting them to a higher plane of truth +and virtue. His motives being pure, his success has been thus far +commensurate with the scope of his prodigious undertaking. +Notwithstanding his being misunderstood and misinterpreted by many, he +has, with unswerving purpose, pursued the trend of his own honest +convictions, proved his fidelity to the race, and convinced the world +of his unshaken faith in the ultimate success of his enterprise. He is +still practically demonstrating his obedience to the Moral Law, as +summed up in the Divine command, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as +thyself." Many noble women, also of the race, having outrun their +less-favored sisters and reached the highest standard, are now +extending their hands to assist others in making their ascent into the +more etherial atmosphere of that highest sense of good morals. +Thousands, with organization as their watchword, have banded +themselves into associations and federations under the significant +motto, "Lifting as we climb." The Negro race, under the combined +influence of its army of noble workers, both male and female, is fast +journeying the upward way of truth and virtue; new heights it is +gaining every day. + +The little leaven of purity will be unceasingly applied until the +whole lump of Negro humanity is raised upon the lofty plane which will +force the recognition of his antagonistic brother and convince him +that the same high sense of morality governs the Negro as does the +Caucasian, or any other highly civilized race upon the globe. + +God grant that the refining fires of truth may burn until all the +dross of prejudice shall be melted and consumed, when, + + "Man to man united, + The whole world shall be lighted, + As Eden was of old." + + + + +TOPIC XV. + +IS THE YOUNG NEGRO AN IMPROVEMENT, MORALLY, ON HIS FATHER? + +BY EDWARD MACKNIGHT BRAWLEY, A. M., D. D. + +[Illustration: E. M. Brawley, D. D.] + + REV. EDWARD MacKNIGHT BRAWLEY, A. M., D. D. + + Edward MacKnight Brawley was born at Charleston, S. C., + March 18, 1851. His parents, James M. and Ann L. Brawley, + were both free. Before the Civil War, in order that he might + secure good educational advantages, he was sent to + Philadelphia, Pa., where he passed through the grammar + school; then he entered the Colored High School, of which + Prof. E. D. Bassett was principal, and there prepared for + college. In the fall of 1871 he entered Bucknell University, + where he was graduated Bachelor of Arts in the class of + 1875. During his college course he also pursued theological + studies and was ordained for the ministry on the day after + his graduation, by a council composed largely of professors + of the university. He was the first colored student to + attend Bucknell, and in 1878 he secured from his college the + degree of Master of Arts. In 1885 the State University of + Louisville, Ky., conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of + Divinity, and Rev. E. M. Brawley has this distinction, that + he has held this degree for a longer time than any other + living colored Baptist minister. For eight years he was + State Missionary in South Carolina for the American Baptist + Publication Society. + + In 1883 he was called to the presidency of Selma University, + Selma, Ala., and devoted several years to educational work. + He then became District Secretary for the South for the + American Baptist Publication Society, which work he resigned + in 1890 to accept the call to the pastorate of the First + Baptist Church of Petersburg, Va., the oldest colored + Baptist Church in the country, which he subsequently left to + go back to the work of the Society, at its earnest + solicitation. He has also served in the pastorate at + Greenville, S. C., Darien, Ga., and Palatka, Fla. He has + done considerable newspaper work, and has devoted much time + to religious writing, many pamphlets and books along race + and denominational lines having been written by him. He is + now Editorial Secretary of the National Baptist Publishing + Board, of Nashville, Tenn., under the auspices of the + National Baptist Convention. Dr. Brawley's qualifications + and experience well fit him for his present position, for he + has made a specialty of Sunday-school and denominational + literature. + +A generation has come since the passing away of the period to which +the old Negro belonged, and this generation has lived in the period of +the new Negro. Is this new Negro an improvement morally on his father? +Zealous friends of the race stoutly maintain that he is; while enemies +assert that he is not as good. It is the purpose of this article to +present some facts which will prove that the young Negro, in spite of +his dreadful inheritance, has, by the aid of generous friends and the +grace of God, lifted himself to a higher moral plane than that upon +which his unfortunate father stood. + +It is well, however, to note carefully at the very beginning, that we +are not dealing with exceptions in this discussion, but with the race +as a whole. At a river bank the water sometimes appears to run up +stream, while if one will but look in the middle, he will see the +river in full force gliding smoothly on to the ocean. So in all +matters belonging to the realm of morals we must discard the narrow +vision, and, taking the broad view of the Christian philosopher, sweep +the entire horizon. + +Let us first, as an antecedent matter, consider some reasons why the +young Negro should be expected to be better than his father. + +1. His father had no moral training. His very person was the victim of +a prodigious theft, and his labor was daily stolen. Could such a man +be effectively taught honesty? To have taught the slave the elements +of morals meant the quickening not only of his moral, but also of his +intellectual nature; and such a thing would ultimately have developed +resistance on the part of the slave. No true instruction in morals was +possible in a condition of slavery. Look over the entire moral code as +set forth in the Ten Commandments, and the impossibility of teaching +effectively those great truths to slaves--American slaves--becomes +apparent. The old enslaved Negro was destitute of true moral training; +and very much of what was offered to him as such was nothing more than +"sounding brass," and he knew it and could not profit by it. + +2. And while the old Negro did not have true moral training, he did +have positive training in the opposite direction. For the very system +under which he lived was a training in evil. His ancestors had been +stolen; he himself was stolen; his civil liberty was stolen. Could he +form any adequate conception of property rights? And is it now a +matter of surprise to us that the old man sometimes did a little +stealing himself in order to relieve a hungry stomach? He was not +taught the sacredness of the married life. Indeed, he was not taught +to marry at all. He was, as a rule, simply told to live with a woman +whom he might _call_ his wife, and when the good pleasure or the +necessities of his master demanded that she should be sold away, to +take another woman and live with her and call her wife, also. He was +not allowed to develop the idea of fatherhood toward his children, for +they were not his, but rather mere chattel, to be sold at the pleasure +of his master. The two great vices charged against the Negro race are +theft and adultery. Whatever truth there is in this charge is due to +the long training slavery gave. Indeed, slavery was largely a training +in moral evil. Antecedently, therefore, we expect the old Negro to be +worse than his son. + +But, now, what are the positive arguments to prove that the young +Negro is an improvement morally on his father? + +1. Slavery has been abolished, and the young Negro has not felt it. He +has, therefore, missed its direct evil training. It is not denied that +he is damaged because he was trained by a father who was brought up in +slavery; but it is claimed that he has not received from his father, +and cannot receive, as much injury as his father received from the +system of slavery. + +2. The young Negro now has the gospel. The many thousands who came to +Christ in the days of slavery, and are now at rest from their earthly +toils and sufferings, are not forgotten. That they were saved is due +to the fact that, owing to God's infinite goodness and mercy, a little +knowledge and a little faith can save a sinner; and God pitied our +fathers. But the young Negro now has the gospel in its fullness. He +gets it from the pulpit, from the Sunday-school, and daily in scores +of our highest literary institutions. The gospel is the power of God +unto salvation, and our youth, constantly learning it, have in large +numbers been made to feel its power. Their lives having thus been +purified and ennobled, beautiful and strong Christian characters have +resulted. + +3. Many young Negroes have been thoroughly trained for the ministry, +who have led strictly upright lives and have taught others to do the +same; and many others, not ministers, have enjoyed systematic training +in ethics. Is it conceivable that the combined work of this class of +our young people has accomplished nothing in the moral uplifting of +the race? Such work must and does count powerfully on the right side, +or else the gospel is a failure. Just as heathen nations have been +redeemed and regenerated, having put away their savage life and +accepted civilization and Christ because the gospel was preached to +them, even so has our race been saved; and just as no other people +ever received the gospel without being immeasurably blessed and lifted +up, so also is that true of the Negro. And it is further true of all +men that the more gospel privileges they enjoy, the better will be +their condition. For the kingdom of evil is sure to be overthrown, and +the kingdom of Christ established on the earth. And thus the young +Negro cannot help being a better man morally than his father. + +4. The young Negro is living in an age of higher morals and +necessarily partakes of its superior advantages. The age of brute +force is fast passing away. When after our great civil war the +adjustment of our troubles with England was arranged by arbitration +rather than settled by war, an immense stride in civilization, men +say, was made. Very true, but why not say that the men in control of +the two great nations involved were moved to act as they did because +of their strong ethical principles? And from that time until now the +moral advance of the world has been rapid and steady. The new Negro is +living in this higher and better age, and his moral constitution has +been built up and made strong because of it. The principles of +international comity are fast spreading among the nations. And just as +the economic principles of the trust are being applied to religious +organizations, even so the stronger ethical principles that are moving +the nations are inducing Christian white men to come nearer to their +brethren in black, and to treat them more as _men_, _brethren_, than +has ever been done before. And thus both external and internal forces +have combined to make the young Negro morally better than his father. + +5. And, last of all, the young Negro is turning his social and +political disadvantages to his best interest by relying calmly upon +the justice and wisdom of God's moral government. Life is, indeed, but +a conflict of forces, but the intelligent young Christian Negro knows +that the universe does not operate by chance. He feels the full force +of what Charles Sumner said in his eulogy on Abraham Lincoln: "In the +providence of God there is no accident--from the fall of a sparrow, +to the fall of an empire or the sweep of a planet, all is controlled +by divine law." And thus he lives undisturbed by the wrathful elements +that are at play around him. His full confidence in God at this trying +hour, and his firm belief that the wrath of man will yet be turned to +his advantage, are but the evidence that he trusts intelligently; and +the fact that he does so, and does not become an anarchist, is the +proof of his higher moral life. If it be said that his father did not +become an anarchist, the answer may be that slavery had dispirited +him. But the young Negro is not dispirited. He knows enough and has +spirit enough to make this country tremble; but whatever knowledge and +spirit he has which could be used for evil, he has restrained and will +yet further restrain, because he has abiding confidence in God, and +knows that "giant right is more than might;" and this confidence has +aided in making him a better man than his father. + + +SECOND PAPER. + +IS THE YOUNG NEGRO AN IMPROVEMENT, MORALLY, ON HIS FATHER? + +BY REV. J. S. FLIPPER. + +[Illustration: J. Simeon Flipper, D. D.] + + REV. J. SIMEON FLIPPER, D. D. + + The subject of this sketch was among the first to enter + Atlanta University the first day it opened, 1869, and there + remained until 1876. He taught school in Georgia for several + years. He was converted in 1877 and joined the A. M. E. + Church at Thomasville, Ga. He was licensed both to exhort + and to preach. In January, 1880, he joined the Georgia + Annual Conference. In 1882 was elected secretary of the + Georgia Conference, which position he held for five + consecutive years. In this same year he was ordained a + Deacon by Bishop W. F. Dickerson and sent to Darien, Ga., + where he prepared for and took care of the session of the + Georgia Conference. + + In 1884 he met the Georgia Conference at Valdosta, Ga., and + was ordained an Elder by Bishop W. F. Dickerson, and was + stationed at Quitman, Ga., remaining there two years. In + January, 1886, he was transferred by Bishop James A. Shorter + to the North Georgia Conference and stationed at Big Bethel + A. M. E. Church, Atlanta, Ga., the city in which he was + born. His mother had been a member of this church and its + old members knew him when a boy. There he remained four + years with great success, raising the largest amount of + dollar money that had up to that time been raised in the + State: by this he became one of the dollar money kings of + the connection for 1886 and was awarded a gold badge by the + Financial Department of the A. M. E. Church. Thus, in six + years after entering the ministry, he became pastor of the + largest church in the State at the age of twenty-seven + years. In 1889 he was assigned to Pierce's Chapel, Athens, + Ga., and served it three years. In 1892 he was made + Presiding Elder of the Athens District, which place he + filled for three years. In 1893 he preached the annual + sermon to the students of Allen University, Columbia, S. C., + when the faculty and Trustee Board conferred on him the + title of Doctor of Divinity. In 1892 he was a delegate to + the General Conference of the A. M. E. Church, which met in + Philadelphia, and served as a member on the committee on + statistics. + + In 1895 he was stationed a second time in Atlanta, at Allen + Temple, A. M. E. Church, remaining here four years with + great success and entertaining the session of the North + Georgia Conference in his last year. He was elected again to + the General Conference, which met at Wilmington, N. C., in + May, 1896, and served on the committee on revision of + discipline. + + In 1899 he was elected not only a delegate but the leader of + his delegation to the General Conference, which met at + Columbus, Ohio, in May, 1900. Here he was elected without + opposition chairman of the Episcopal Committee, the most + important committee of the church; it is composed of all the + leaders of the delegations from all parts of the church, and + before this committee the Bishops appear for an examination + in their moral, religious and official character; it fixes + the boundaries of the districts and assigns the Bishops to + their fields of labor. + + He is now a trustee of Morris Brown College, Secretary of + the Trustee and Executive Boards, Treasurer of the + Theological Fund, Chairman and treasurer of the dollar money + committee of the Atlanta, Ga., Conference, Book Steward, + Chairman of Committee on Fourth Year's Studies. He is a + prominent craftsman and for one year was Deputy Grand Master + of the Most Worshipful Union Grand Lodge, A. F. and A. M. of + Georgia, Grand Representative of the Stringer Grand Lodge of + Mississippi to the Grand East of Georgia, with the rank of + Grand Senior Warden. He is now a Trustee of the W. E. Terry + Masonic Orphan and Widows' Home and Industrial School, + located at Americus, Ga., Associate Editor of the "Voice of + Missions," the missionary organ of the A. M. E. Church, + published in New York. + + One of the greatest events of his life was the receiving of + Rev. Jas. M. D'wane of the Ethiopian Church from Pretoria, + Transvaal Republic, South Africa, into the A. M. E. Church, + and through him eighty preachers and two thousand eight + hundred members. + +The difficulty of considering this question deepens as we consider the +young Negro from every phase of life. Universally it cannot be +answered in the affirmative, for the Negro is divided into classes as +well as are other races, and as no people are universally, morally +good, so such cannot be expected of the Negro. + +The Negro possesses an upper class, a middle class, and a lower class, +and in a consideration of these classes we shall look for an answer to +the question. The upper class consists of those who have made +extraordinary progress, morally, religiously, mentally and materially; +who have outstripped their fellows in the race of life and attained a +standard of civilization commensurate with their opportunities and +proved to the civilized world that under favorable circumstances the +Negro is as capable of a high development in civilization as any other +race. This class is an improvement, morally, upon their fathers. For +their opportunities have been such as to render them more capable of a +higher conception of morality and of their duties to their fellowmen, +and in proportion as a man is enlightened on morality does he improve +in morality, other things being equal, and reaches a higher type of +manhood. Morality is always affected by one's religious views. The +moral binds us to our fellowmen, and the religious to our God; and a +man may in many respects be better than his fellowman but he can never +be better than his God. If a man has low and meagre ideas of God his +ideas of man will be low and meagre whatever may be his conceptions of +the law, government, and the character of his Creator will be his +ideas of duty to wife, children, neighbors and country. + +The educational qualifications on moral and religious lines must +furnish some of the rules by which the standard can be gauged for the +man who has by liberal and extensive educational facilities gotten the +capacity to know his God and His moral government over His creatures +must rise in moral improvement and stand out as the towering mountain +above the plain that surrounds it. And on this line the upper class of +Negroes, by reason of religious and educational advantages, are an +improvement morally on their fathers, whose opportunities for moral +improvement were very meagre, indeed. + +The middle class of Negroes are not equal to the upper class in +attainments. Their educational advantages have not been so great as +those of the upper class, and yet their moral development has been +correspondingly as great. The moral law of God has been heard as +distinctly by them as by the upper, but they have not that +discriminating judgment that enables them in every instance to +distinguish between the morally wrong and the morally right, and yet +there has been awakened in them a consciousness of certain things due +to their fellowman and to their God that has kept them in a way that +they could not be charged with wilful moral wrong, and their +conservatism has placed them in a manner nearer to the morally right +than to the morally wrong. And the young Negroes of this class are an +improvement morally on their fathers. Solomon hath said, "As a man +thinketh, so is he." Good character cannot arise out of low thoughts, +but it must emanate from pure, noble, God-fearing and elevating +thoughts and ideas. Correct ideas of life practically embodied in +conduct can lift man above the low, sensual, evil walks of life. Now +that there are many young Negroes with correct ideas of life cannot be +denied. Now the lower class of Negroes are those whose ideas are +distorted; who are conscience-seared, and who have no regard for God +nor man; and as the upper and middle classes have ascended in the +scale of moral civilization, so the bad class of Negroes have +descended in the scale, their finer sensibilities having become +blunted by vice and crime, so that education on moral and religious +lines has no charms for them. Sinai's majestic summit and moral law +are as chaff to them, and as freedom has given a greater and better +opportunity for the morally good to improve and rise, so it has given +the same for this class to descend and become more and more corrupt. +Indeed, they have gone lower than their fathers on this line. But the +character of a race is not to be judged by its degraded element, but +by the upper and middle classes, which form the major portion of any +race and give it a standing along the line of moral and religious +civilization. We conclude by saying that the young Negro is an +improvement morally upon his father. + +First, because freedom has given to the young Negro aspirations for a +purer life, which his father did not have. + +Second. The moral atmosphere of the young Negro's home life is better +than that of the old Negro. + +Third. The young Negro's educational advantages give him higher +conceptions of life and duty than those had by his father. + +Fourth. The young Negro has a more enlightened pulpit than his father +had to preach a broader and more comprehensive gospel to him, and to +thus give him more correct ideas of life. + +Now these superior advantages, which the young Negro has, make it +possible for him to outstrip his father in moral accomplishments, and +the arguments of his enemies to the contrary notwithstanding, the +educated young Negro presents a striking contrast in point of morality +to the old Negro. + + +THIRD PAPER. + +IS THE YOUNG NEGRO AN IMPROVEMENT, MORALLY, ON HIS FATHER? + +BY REV. E. C. MORRIS, D. D. + +[Illustration: E. C. Morris, D. D.] + + REV. E. C. MORRIS, D. D. + + On May 7, 1855, near Springplace on the Connesauga, in the + chestnut hills of North Georgia, of slave parentage, was + born E. C. Morris, now the President of the National Baptist + Convention, which is the largest deliberative body of + Negroes in the world, the editor-in-chief of the Sunday + School series issued by the National Baptist Publishing + Board, the President of the Arkansas Baptist State + Convention, and pastor of the Centennial Baptist Church of + Helena, Arkansas. His early education was through the common + school, but practically from nature and necessity. From + earliest childhood he was peculiarly interested in men and + things; hence, now possesses a large stock of knowledge + concerning human nature, is an advocate of prudence, + conservatism and manliness in all affairs bearing upon the + relation of the races in this country. He stands for + self-help and racial integrity and believes that when man + has acknowledged his inability and failure to ameliorate the + ill conditions in this country, God will settle the same and + cause the deserved recognition of all men, black and white. + + He saw with his father the first train that passed through + North Georgia, though the spectacle was quite an amusing + draft on his youthful nerve, for, says he, "Had I been older + than five years, it is questionable that my father, by whose + hand I was led, could have detained me from the urgent + business I felt I had back home when that mysteriously + terrible locomotive came rushing down the track seemingly + intent upon spending its fury upon no one else but me." + + When Elias was ten years old, his parents, James and Cora + Morris, moved into Alabama, settling at the little town of + Stevenson. But Elias had a short while before begun living + with the late Rev. Robert Caver, his brother-in-law, at + Stevenson, and so lived until he arrived at the age of + twenty-one. Mr. Caver taught the young man the shoemaker's + trade and the latter earned his bread upon the shoemaker's + bench until thirty and three years old. He felt a call to + the gospel ministry immediately upon his conversion at the + age of nineteen, which took place just at the time when he + had grown so inimical and impatient toward a revival that + had been going on for several days in the church at + Stevenson that he had plotted mischievous disturbance of the + meeting. + + He grew in grace and general ability, and in 1879 accepted a + call to the pastorate of the Centennial Baptist Church of + Helena, Arkansas, which position he has held continuously to + the present time. His ability as an organizer is fully + recognized among his people. He established and for the + first two years edited the first religious paper published + by the Negroes in the State of Arkansas. In 1884, he + organized the Arkansas Baptist College and for sixteen years + has been Chairman of its Board of Trustees. For nineteen + consecutive years he has been annually elected President of + the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. In 1894 he was + elected President of the National Baptist Convention, whose + constituency numbers about a million and a half, and has + been elected every year since to the same position. Under + his leadership, this society has been firmly unified and has + enjoyed the greatest prosperity in its history. It was his + address before this Convention at Washington, in 1893, that + inspired an indomitable and uncompromising determination in + the minds of the colored Baptists to begin publishing + interests of their own. It was his active brain that + conceived the idea of the National Baptist Young People's + Union Board, which Board is located at Nashville. And so his + progressive acts have multiplied as he has advanced in age + and responsibility. Dr. Morris is an acknowledged adviser of + the colored people of his community, in all matters relating + to their general uplift. He is a friend to humanity and a + lover of his race. He is a possessor and advocate of + wholeheartedness and sincerity, being charitable to a + difference or a fault. His influence begins at home and + spreads abroad, and all distinctions that he bears are borne + with gentlemanly modesty, believing leadership to him a duty + rather than an honor. + +The subject of this article is a very important and delicate one; +important because it forms the base from which all the advancement +made by the race for the last past thirty-six years must be measured, +and delicate because it makes comparison between father and son. If +there has been no improvement in the race, morally, since its +emancipation from slavery, then no real advancement has been made; and +to say that the Negro has made no advancement would be sufficient to +call forth universal derision. + +It must be admitted in the beginning that to do full justice to the +subject, much study and space is required. In the absence of +comprehensive statistics on the subject and the time in which to +compile the same, several standpoints of reasoning must be assumed, +and these will be taken up in no regular order, one being important as +the others. I do not attempt to go upon or set up a system of +scientific theories either, but simply to state and connect obvious +facts. The past and present moral status of the race is involved, but +I shall not go beyond that period in which the race was emancipated, +and will include, as the fathers, such as were the heads of families +at that time and those who were born about that time, constituting +largely the heads of families now, as the respective parties to the +comparison. + +What is here said in comparison of father and son is not intended as +unfavorable criticism even where the language may appear +uncomplimentary, but rather to make a truthful statement of the +virtues found in both. I wish also to be understood as placing myself +with those who have faith in the race, to the extent that I believe a +large majority of the freedmen and their descendants are moral, and +should be counted with the good and upright in heart. Such a decision +cannot be reached, however, from a surface examination or outward +appearances. For it is a notorious fact that in all the years of the +Negro's life in this country, he has been subjected to the most menial +occupations such as would, in a large measure, prejudice the +disinterested observer against any high opinion of his morals. The +subject is by no means a new one, but has been investigated and +discussed for a long time by great writers and thinkers. Opinions have +been expressed which are by no means favorable to the race--by no +means favorable because of the ignorance of the party expressing the +opinion. Many of these opinions have been formed and influenced by +what is seen of the Negro in the crowded streets of great cities, at +railroad depots, or at steamboat landings; or upon the great cotton, +rice and sugar plantations, where thousands of Negroes who are +employed only as day laborers, meet. But these do not represent the +majority of the Negroes. Nor should opinions be formed, of the moral +status of this people, out of what may be seen of them at such places +as above referred to, any more than the morals of a great city like +New York or Chicago should be judged by what is seen of the motley +crowds that gather about the wharfs and in the congested streets and +other places where the lowest element of society is to be seen in the +majority. The Negro fathers of forty years ago were as good as the +circumstances and conditions of that day required, and many of them +showed themselves to be superior to the requirement. It is to be +admitted that environment and teaching have much to do with moral +development, and that neither of these were, as a rule, favorable to +the fathers. The contraband life of the Negroes during the war was +perhaps the best that could be provided at that time. But it was far +from being conducive to good morals, and was not, in a moral sense, an +improvement upon the plantation life prior to the war, when almost all +the slaves were huddled by families in one room cabins of what was +known as "the quarters." It was fortunate for the race and the fathers +that the contraband life was of short duration, and the heads of +families among the Negroes, as fast as they could get their loved ones +together, began to settle in families all over the Southland. The +privilege of being a free man, to come and go at will, had its evil +effect upon the fathers for a few years, but they soon became +enveloped with the desire that their children become educated and +otherwise cultured, as were the children of their white neighbors. + +The desire to educate and accumulate for the good of the children +became the restraining point in the lives of the fathers, and a very +appreciable change for better morals was noticeable in the latter +sixties and early seventies. + +Immediately following the close of the war, a great many missionary +agencies set to work among the Negroes for the purpose of improving +them morally and intellectually. These agencies operated among the old +and young alike, but not with the same results; for it soon became +known that very little change could be wrought among the aged ones +whose superstitious notions of religious worship and peculiar ideas +about "white folks' religion" made it a difficult task to teach them. +Notwithstanding their superstition, the aged Negroes were singularly +kind and respectful to their white neighbors and permitted the white +teachers--for nearly all teachers were white at that time--to have +absolute control of their children both as to home and school life. + +One of the attributes of morality is a happy conscience, or happiness, +for there can be no true happiness where there is no morality. Hence, +there existed an appreciable element of morality among the fathers, +for, as a rule, no happier or more contented people could be found +anywhere. I speak of the whole race. One may be a good servant, or a +good neighbor, and yet not a good man. Opportunities have much to do +with developing the attributes of the soul. Many of those noble +qualities which go to make a good man were latent in the fathers, for +there had been no opportunity for the development of these qualities. + +The home is the foundation place of all that is good and grand in a +race or nation. Wisdom and virtue are inseparable from a good home. +Hence, to make the comparison which my subject calls for, we must +inquire into the home and religious life of the present generation. +The young men from eighteen to twenty-one years of age who are, so to +speak, in embryo with respect to questions affecting the progress of +the race, are not included in the summary we make and should not be +considered directly, in measuring the moral status of the race. As to +the homes of the fathers forty years ago, very little can be said. But +late statistics show that there are over three hundred thousand homes +and farms owned by the Negroes in the United States, which indicates +that nearly two millions of the nine million of our people live in +their own homes. The figures are very significant when it is +remembered that the race started forty years ago, four million and a +half in number of individuals, with practically no homes. The property +value of the homes now owned is conservatively put at one billion +dollars--not a bad showing for a people who commenced forty years ago +at zero in wealth. But the accumulation of wealth does not always mean +that the owner is moral, yet the accumulation and maintenance of good +homes present a better argument in favor of the good moral inclination +of the people accumulating and maintaining these homes than can be +produced in words. These mean more than the mere ownership of a house +and lot, or a sixty acre farm; a respect for the first institution set +up by the Creator is thereby shown and that in that institution (the +family) is one to love and honor; and that there an altar is to be +erected around which all are to kneel and worship God; they mean that +morality, the foundation of all true greatness, is to be enthroned +there. The establishment and maintenance of so many Christian homes +among our people has brought forward a demand which is a barometer of +the moral changes, and shows conclusively that the race is improving +morally. This demand is for the right kind of men as preachers and +teachers. The time was when a man who could read and write, no matter +what his character, could find a place to preach and teach among our +people. This does not obtain now so much as before, and the people are +demanding that their teachers and spiritual advisers be men and women +whose lives and characters are living epistles of virtue. If proof of +this point were necessary, one would need only to refer to the +continued upheavals in various communities, in the schools and +churches, where war has been made upon those persons whose lives have +been such as to arouse suspicion that they were unworthy the offices +held. The fact that these demands are being made for a pure ministry +and a competent and worthy corps of teachers is encouraging. + +In passing judgment upon the moral status of the young Negro, or in +comparing this status with that of the father who has gone from the +stage, we will necessarily have to apply the multiplication process, +for it will require a life fully lived in all its details to +constitute the sum total of a well built character. Therefore, the +_whole_ truth about the morals of the present generation will be known +only to the next. The processes used in the moral development of the +race have been gradual and almost imperceptible in progress, but they +have been in progress, nevertheless, and promise great results. The +man who sowed his seeds yesterday does not expect to reap a harvest +to-morrow. Cultivation is to follow planting. The warm spring rains, +the hot rays of a summer sun are to come and moisten and warm the soil +around the roots, cause the blade to shoot forth and then harden the +stalk and the grain. These are to be followed by the cool winds and +frosts of autumn before harvest comes. The planting of moral +principles in the present generation of Negroes has been done; the +cultivating process is now going on by means of the buying of homes, +entering into business and agricultural pursuits, building churches +and schools and in educating the youth. These facts point to the moral +trend of the mind of the present generation, but perhaps none of them +in the same degree as the religious desire of the colored man. + +A larger per cent of the Negroes in this country are members of the +Christian churches than of any other race of people. Notwithstanding +the criticism to the contrary, they are as practical in their +Christianity as any set of people. The matter of divorce has been a +great problem to many of the most thoughtful men of the race, and the +frequent resort to the courts to obtain divorces has been used as an +argument against the growth of the moral sentiment in the race. But +the very fact that such meets with opposition and is disapproved by +the good people is evidence in favor of the Negro's morals. Then +again, the class of Negroes who have but little respect for the +marriage vow are, as a rule, those who are indolent, worthless and +without a home and making no effort to obtain one. But, happily, this +class form but a small minority. + +Another virtue in the Negro's character which comes only from a moral +sentiment is gratitude. He loves his benefactors and would gladly +repay them for all they have done for him, if he were able to do so. +If the mind was filled with sensuality, deception, hatred and like +vices, there would be no room for that noble characteristic, +gratitude, which is so prominent in the present generation. His +gratitude extends beyond the individual benefactor to the flag of his +country; overlooking present conditions and remembering past favors, +he is always ready to dare and die for his country's honor. We +conclude by saying that the fathers who came up out of slavery, +unlettered and untrained, did well. The present generation of fathers, +or heads of families, by reason of superior advantages, are doing far +better. The race as a whole for the last past thirty-six years has +made a history for itself which will form the apex of its glory when +it has passed through a century of training under its changed +condition from slavery to freedom. + + +FOURTH PAPER. + +IS THE YOUNG NEGRO AN IMPROVEMENT, MORALLY, ON HIS FATHER? + +BY MRS. ARIEL S. BOWEN. + +[Illustration: Mrs. Ariel S. H. Bowen] + + MRS. ARIEL SERENA HEDGES BOWEN. + + Mrs. Ariel Serena Hedges Bowen, wife of Dr. J. W. E. Bowen + of Gammon Theological Seminary, Atlanta, Ga., was born in + Newark, N. J. Her father was a Presbyterian clergyman in + that city. He had graduated from Lincoln University, Pa., + and had organized churches in New York State. Her mother + represents one of the oldest Presbyterian families of that + State. Her grandfather was a bugler in the Mexican war, and + was a Guard of Honor when Lafayette revisited the United + States. Her parents removed early to Pittsburg, Pa., where + she attended the Avery Institute. She completed the Academic + course of this school. Her parents then moved to Baltimore, + Md., where her father became pastor of Madison Avenue + Presbyterian Church, and finally of Grace Presbyterian + Church. She was sent to the High School of Springfield, + Mass., where she remained and graduated with honor in a + large class in 1885. She also took the Teachers' Course and + Examination and passed a creditable examination and was + favorably considered as teacher for one of the schools of + that city. She was then called to teach History and English + Language in the Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Ala., under + Prof. B. T. Washington. + + In the year 1886 she was married to Dr. J. W. E. Bowen. She + became a Life Member of the Woman's Home Missionary Society + of the Methodist Episcopal Church. She removed to Atlanta + with her husband in 1893. She became Professor of Music in + Clark University in 1895. She is the State President of the + Georgia W. C. T. U., No. 2. She has written very largely, + among which may be mentioned, "Music in the Home," "The + Ethics of Reform," etc. She is an accomplished vocalist and + musician with the piano and pipe organ. She is busily + engaged in temperance and reform work, together with + training and fitting her family of one boy and three girls + for life. She is regarded as one of the foremost and best + cultured women of her race. She reads Greek, Latin and + German with facility, and is a superb housekeeper. + +The most important and vital factors in the development of a race are +physical strength, intelligence and morality, these three, but the +greatest of these is morality. + +The individual or the race possessed of either or both of the first +two, and that utterly ignores the third, can never attain to the full +status of man, nor reach the zenith of full racial development or the +pinnacle of civilization. To-day we hear much about the survival of +the fittest and the "superior race and the inferior races." The +earnest, thoughtful student of life and its affairs immediately raises +the question, To whom do such titles "fittest," "superior" and +"inferior" refer, and why? The history of a people shows the advance +and growth of that people. Their development can be traced from the +crude barbarous or semi-barbarous state in which physical prowess +predominated through the period of intellectual development where the +mind begins to grasp new ideas and where new ideals of higher and +nobler purposes are sought after. Then came the greater perfection, +the nobler aspiration, the purer, higher civilization, growing out of +the purer thought and purer life of a purified people. This is true of +all races, therefore the Negro race is no exception, and is entitled +to the same justice that is accorded to every race that has had its +rise and fall. + +The writer takes it that the young "Negro" and his father are to +represent only the ante-bellum and the post-bellum Negro. To go beyond +that, to take him in his earlier state in the native wilds of his +fatherland, before the Anglo-Saxon missionary reached him and gave to +the world a true picture of his morality, would be to present to the +world some startling facts that would not only put to shame the "young +Negro," but also the hosts of men of all nations who glory in the +progress they have made in morals. + +It can be proven by the best authorities that many of the heathen +Africans, though crude in ethics, were pure morally. + +But the discussion resolves itself into two very important questions. +What was the moral condition of the Negro before the war, and what is +his moral condition to-day? Before the war, what a picture comes +before us at these words, what a panorama of deeds passes before our +mind's eye. Years of gross darkness, darkness that deepens into the +blackness of the pit, those days that seem like a hideous nightmare to +the hoary headed, and the story of which sounds to the youth like a +heart-rending and nauseating recital. Yet, it was not all dark, some +would say; perhaps not, but the bright spots only tended to intensify +the darkness. + +What morals were chattels expected to have, and who gave to these +chattels their moral code? It was certainly not of their own making. +What could be the moral condition of a race to whom family rights were +forbidden and whose business, next to labor, was to propagate solely +for the master's gain? The words mother, father, were used only in the +language of the "big house." + +Womanhood, the foundation stone of moral eminence, passed through a +crucial ordeal, and it is to be greatly wondered at that the Negro +woman emerged with even the crudest type of moral capacity. + +Every line on every page of the history of those dark days teem and +reek with the abandon of licentiousness, nor could this be otherwise. +It was the natural sequence of a debasing system. It is no +disparagement upon the noble few whose garments were kept unspotted, +nor upon those who would have reached towards higher ideals, if they +had been masters of themselves, to say that the ante-bellum Negro did +not possess a great degree of morality. There can be no other +conclusion drawn from such demoralizing conditions. + +The moral status of the Negro is to-day an all-absorbing theme, and is +discussed pro and con by friend and enemy in other races, and by the +optimist and pessimist of his own. Comparisons concerning his morals +and moral growth are made as all other comparisons are made concerning +him, not between his present and former condition, nor between his +condition and that of any other people at the same stage of +development, under the same conditions and environments. On the +contrary, inconsistency is ever present in the attempts to show the +world existing facts. Whenever an attack was made upon the system of +slavery, the defenders of the system immediately pointed to the poor +slaveholder and the dearth of Negro criminals as points in favor of a +time when the Negro enjoyed the blessings of a "mild and humane +system." + +When the progress of the black race in America is placed in the +balance, the lowest and most degraded and careless of the masses who +have not come out of a state of inertia are brought into comparison +with the noblest types that have ascended the scale of life. What +wonder then that there is so much adverse criticism; what is needed is +a search for facts and an unprejudiced putting of all that appertains +to the Negro, and a just acknowledgment of the results attained. + +That the American Negro has made an advance along all lines that make +for the higher development of a people cannot be denied. He has +improved morally in a corresponding way. The limit of this paper will +not permit a statistical comparison, but a few points may be noticed +in passing. His moral instinct is quickened and his moral nature +asserts itself in higher forms of life under the new conditions. He +has started at the fountainhead and the purity of his home and +hearthstone is a magnificent memorial to the purity of the black +woman. + +Were it possible to give in numbers the correct estimate of these +beautiful homes and their characters, even the most bitter of his +enemies and the pessimists of his own race would look with doubt upon +the pernicious libels disseminated in the periodical literature of the +day. The dark picture of the Negro's shortcomings is thrown on the +canvas and so familiar has it become that not a few seldom think that +there is another picture which the Negro himself knows to be truer to +life and more prophetic of his real nature, taken from real life, and +one that ought to give inspiration and hope to all seekers after +facts. + +The Negro ministry has made rapid and marked progress in moral +achievements for itself and also for the race in their wide influence +upon the same. There is a constant and ever-increasing demand coming +from the people for a higher and nobler service in the pulpit, and the +demand is being met in a comparative measure. Moreover there are +professional men whose lives prove the possessors' estimate of virtue +and are being spent in bringing others up to these lofty ideals. + +The noble army of teachers, most of whom are women, are not to be +overlooked or underestimated. Next to the faithful mother, these noble +women have lived and worked for the race. They have proved themselves +ever against untoward conditions. Their work and worth should not be +reflected against because of the few whose lives are not up to the +standards of true womanhood. It is undeniably true that the virtues of +Solomon's virtuous women may be duplicated in multitudes of our women +teachers. + +A word concerning the criminal record of the Negro might be worth +considering. It is here that the moral weakness of the race is said to +be most manifest. We are told that figures do not lie, and an appeal +from the records is not to be considered for a moment. Yet, he who +wants facts and is in search of the truth must appeal and must make +personal investigation. + +As yet statistics, the press and history, have not given a truthful, +unbiased record of the Negro of to-day as he really is. One side has +been faithfully followed, and elaborately and painfully portrayed, but +of the other side only here and there an item, a reference and a +charitable surmise rewards the seeker after knowledge. A careful study +of the environments of the so-called criminal class, also the courts +of justice before which the criminals are arraigned, would develop +some interesting, not to say startling, facts; for example, "it has +been shown by Prof. Branson, of the Georgia State Normal School, that +while the illiterate Negro population of the state furnish three +convicts per thousand, the Negroes who have profited by the public +schools furnish only one convict per thousand." Many of the criminals +start from the court-room and are the victims of injustice. + +Such untoward conditions serve rather to stamp out every vestige of +nobility rather than inspire to a reaching out after higher ideals. + +The young or post-bellum Negro is steadily improving morally. In the +face of strong opposition, in his moral development, just as he does +in mental, financial and civil growth, against all the opposing forces +that would hinder his growth and relegate him to the lowest stratum of +mankind, he is forcing his way up the stream. His spiritual and moral +nature is beating under the animal nature which for so long a time +held him as a slave. He now does right for right's sake, and loves the +pure and good. He honors the women of his race and is raising her to +nobler plains in his thoughts and life. + +The Negro woman is asserting herself also and is building for herself +a character that rests upon a foundation of personal purity. This she +is doing not only for herself, but for others. The building up of pure +homes is her chief concern and in them she reigns with womanly +queenliness. + +Social reform receives her attention, and in these walks she may be +found teaching the young the single standard of purity for both sexes. +Her way is the roughest, her path most closely beset with snares, but +her works show for themselves. + +If there had been no advancement along moral lines, the Negro's +material and intellectual attainments would count for very little in +the world of affairs, for he would degenerate to a mere mechanical +factor in human society and become a tool in every case in the hands +of a stronger race. But he has added to his material and intellectual +strength a greater and higher force, viz., that of moral worth, which +at once raises him to higher planes in the social and civil world, and +brings him into contact with his enemies and oppressors. + +The Negro has met and overcome the great barriers to his progress one +by one. Despite the snares that are all about his path, and their +hidden evils that seek to hold him in thralldom, yet he bursts his +chains and marches forward with renewed purpose and greater zeal. + +Yes, the young Negro is embodying nobler ideas in his nature and +reaching forward after higher ideals because of his superior +advantages. He is to face a future pregnant with struggles of a higher +order and of a more diverse character, than the struggles of an +earlier day. He enters into competition, not with one race only, but +with all the races of mankind. As the knowledge of the fierceness of +the battle comes to him, he raises himself from his lethargy and in +the strength of his manhood he goes forward. + +He who doubts not the Negro's growth and development along +intellectual and financial lines cannot gainsay his steady and sturdy +growth in moral and social power. + + + + +TOPIC XVI. + +THE NEGRO AS A WRITER. + +BY REV. J. Q. JOHNSON, D. D. + +[Illustration: J. Q. Johnson, D. D.] + + REV. J. Q. JOHNSON, D. D. + + Rev. J. Q. Johnson, D. D., was graduated from the Collegiate + Department, of Fisk University in 1890; from the Hartford + Theological Seminary in 1893. He taught mathematics at + Tuskegee for one year; the John P. Slater fund published his + report of the fifth Tuskegee Negro Conference in its series + of "Occasional Papers." He has been President of Allen + University, Columbia, S. C. His pastoral work has embraced + some of the strongest and most influential churches in the + A. M. E. connection. Associated with him was his brilliant + and cultured wife--Mrs. Halle Tanner Johnson--the first + woman who ever passed the State Medical Board of Examiners + of Alabama. Her recent death was a loss to the race. + + Dr. Johnson is among the foremost men of his church. He is + among the best read men of the race. He is an able preacher + and a strong, forceful writer. One of his characteristic + points is his ability to say much in little. He goes right + to the point without wasting time with needless _words_. He + received Doctor's degree from Morris Brown College, Atlanta, + Ga. He studied two years as a post-graduate student at + Princeton University. + +It would be extravagant to set up any claims of greatness in behalf of +Negro writers. The Negro has yet his contribution to make to the +literature of mankind. We fully believe that he has a message to +deliver. The making of a writer is a matter of centuries. England was +a long time producing a Shakespeare or a Milton, Italy a Dante, Russia +a Tolstoi, France a Hugo or a Dumas, Germany a Goethe and a Schiller. +America, active in invention and commerce, has not yet produced a name +worthy to stand by the side of those just mentioned. All really great +writers have not only a national or racial, but also a universal +quality in their productions. So far the greater part of our literary +effort has been of historical compilations. We have accumulated a +large mass of material for the future historians. Williams' "History +of the Negro Race" is an example of this kind. In this way we have +recorded the deeds of distinguished Negroes in every avenue of life. +Such works have kept alive the hope and kindled the aspirations of the +race. A most interesting work of this kind is that of Prof. E. H. +Crogman, "The White Side of a Black Subject." In this book we have the +serious and earnest efforts of the race recorded. Here we learn of +educators like Booker T. Washington and J. W. E. Bowen, lawyers like +T. McCants Stewart and S. A. McElwee, women physicians like Halle T. +Johnson and Georgia Washington. Books of this kind are in almost every +Negro home in the land. + +The Negro as a writer of prose is nowhere seen to a better advantage +than in Dr. Blyden's "Christianity, Islam and the Negro Race." Here we +find the Negro in command of the best English style. Whatever may be +said of his opinions, his mastery of a forcible, spirited, nervous +expression reminds one of Macauly and Addison. Probably the best book +from the standpoint of scientific, historical investigation is the +work of Dr. DuBois on "The Suppression of the African Slave Trade." + +Bishop B. T. Tanner, in his "Dispensations in the Church," has made a +real contribution to our race literature. In this he establishes +the Hamitic origin of the ancient Egyptians and shows that Ham is +not one whit behind Japheth and Shem in achievement. Dr. R. L. Perry's +work, "The Cushite," is a very excellent work along the same line. In +this department there is yet much work for the Negro scholar. + +In Paul Lawrence Dunbar, the race has struck its highest note in song. +A high and worthy tribute has been paid this writer by William Dean +Howells. His lyrics have not only a genuine race flavor, but at the +same time they appeal to the universal heart. Dunbar's work is of the +first class. He has made a real contribution to the literature of the +country. His name must now appear in any Manual of American +Literature. The success of this writer is a matter of note. His poems +and stories are in most of the popular magazines and his books on all +news stands. It is clear from this that, whenever a Negro writes +anything worth reading, his productions will be in constant demand. + +Mention must here be made of the commendable work of Chas. W. +Chestnutt, another popular writer of the race. The lamented Dr. A. A. +Whitman and Mrs. Frances W. Harper are two poets well-known to the +public. Some think that Whitman is a greater poet than Dunbar. + +In a short sketch like this, it is impossible to do justice to the +literary achievements of the race. A whole volume might be written on +the great work done by the Negro press. Here we have many strong +writers--men of such mould as Fortune, Stewart, Mitchell and H. T. +Johnson. Then, too, there are noted names as magazine +writers--Scarborough, Kelly Miller, D. W. Culp and B. T. Washington +and H. T. Kealing. + +The Negro has been a failure nowhere. In war, there stands Toussaint +L'Overture and Maceo; in education, B. T. Washington; in oratory, +Frederick Douglas; in art, H. O. Tanner; in letters, Phyllis Wheatley +and Paul Lawrence Dunbar. These and others like them are our prophets +of the future. Being thus judged by our best men, it doth not yet +appear what we shall be. The Greeks are great in a large measure +because they wrote of themselves. So the Anglo Saxon, and any race for +that matter. The Negro must do the same. His story will not be +adequately told till it is done by himself. The Negro poet, novelist +and historian have a vast wealth of material before them. Every +southern city and plantation are vocal with the past history of our +race. From the past and the present, from our achievements and our +suffering, the Negro writer, whether poet, novelist or historian, will +deliver our message to the world. + + +SECOND PAPER. + +THE NEGRO AS A WRITER. + +BY WALTER I. LEWIS. + +[Illustration: Prof. W. I. Lewis] + + WALTER I. LEWIS. + + Walter I. Lewis was born near Chester, S. C. No record + having been kept, it is not possible to determine the date + of his birth. Walter is the third of seven children that + were born to William Charles and Mollie Lewis who were + slaves to a man by the name of W. T. Gilmore. + + He successfully passed from the common schools to the + preparatory department of Biddle University. + + Walter I. Lewis graduated with the second honor of his class + of five from Biddle University, in Charlotte, N. C., and at + once began his life-work, public school teaching, at + Spartanburg, S. C. + + After teaching in that city for three years, two of which he + succeeded in securing a sufficient donation from the Peabody + Fund to have the school term increased from five to nine + months, he accepted an appointment under the Freedmen's + Board of the Presbyterian Church, to take charge of their + parochial school in Columbia, Tenn. + + Special inducements were offered him to take a position in + the newly organized graded schools of that city, and he + resigned the parochial school after serving one year, and + accepted work with the graded school. This he found + congenial and won special distinction in using the phonetic + method of teaching primary pupils, that system being newly + introduced there then. + + Having a turn for political contests he vigorously entered + local political campaigns, generally on the winning side, + and won some distinction as a campaign orator. + + Mr. Lewis came to Florida in 1890, as corresponding + secretary of the Afro-American Chautauqua Association, whose + president was the lamented Dr. J. C. Price. + + The failure of that enterprise was a withering blow to Mr. + Lewis. + + After remaining in Florida for nearly a year, at + Tallahassee, Mr. Lewis became field correspondent and agent + for the Florida Sentinel, then published in Gainesville. + + In 1892, Mr. Lewis got a position as city editor on the + Labor Union Recorder of Savannah. For a time his activity + seemed to be equal to the task of redeeming that paper, but, + the entailments of indebtedness were too great. It went + under. + + He was urged to go to Jacksonville to enter the office of + the Jacksonville "Advocate"; the inducements being + flattering he went. He served the "Advocate" until the + "Daily American" was established. He was on the "Daily + American" as its city editor, and was on deck when that + sheet went down. + + In the winter of 1895-96, necessity demanded a better daily + news for the colored people of Jacksonville. This was + secured at the office of the "Metropolis," one of the most + successful afternoon papers that is published in the whole + South. + + Mr. Lewis was put on as reporter for his race, on the staff + of the "Metropolis," and has held this place continuously + ever since. + + He is a firm believer in the survival of the fittest in all + things, and declares this is the key to the solution of the + race problem. + +On the stage, on the platform, in the pulpit and in conversation, the +Negro has demonstrated a power in the use of speech that has well won +him a merited distinction. This fluency and force of language, so +often found in striking disparity to his other attainments, has armed +critics and students of his racial peculiarities with the opinion that +talking is his peculiar forte. + +Such an opinion does not obtain, however, in the face of noble +examples of this race who have the art of forcibly and correctly +writing great thoughts. + +The great cause of the Christian religion has furnished the field for +more writers of this race than any other. This is noted, not as a +fault, but rather to confirm the fact that since the emancipation, the +training of the Negro, both at school and in his home, has been +largely religious, owing to his inborn susceptibility to religious +impressions, and his well known proneness to abide by the teachings of +his fathers; it is no marvel that the major portion of his written +thoughts should be deeply tinged with religious ideas. + +Even in his occasional contributions to current literature, and when +he is making an attack or a defense, right often does the religious +effusion predominate. + +Until about twenty years ago, rare were the instances where Negro +writers had produced books and other productions on other than +religious subjects. And even at the present the number of secular +writers is not large, considering the opportunities for writers of +this class and the profits available. There are certain advantages, +strange to relate, that the Negro has, that might be called natural. +The great realm of thought, through which fiction and mental analysis +holds undisputed sway, is not circumscribed by caste and other +invidious discriminations as are most other avenues, through which the +bravest souls essay to traverse, but are either crushed down or are +ejected. Perhaps this is why, in cases that have doubtless come under +the observation of all readers of the productions of Negro writers, +there is a tendency toward recklessness. + +But it will be equitable and fair to take under consideration only +those Negro writers, who have won more or less distinction as such, +while discussing the Negro as a writer. + +From Alexander Dumas to the latest celebrity among Negro writers, the +close observer of racial traits is furnished with vivid evidences of +methods of thought that are peculiar to this people. In imagery, there +is that floridity that goes dazzling to the sublime with a brilliancy +that is captivating. If sorrow is depicted, his course through its +horrible depths brings a shudder over the most listless reader. If +happiness is to be portrayed, the coziest nook in Elysium is laid +bare. If anger pleads for expression, no bolt from Vulcan's anvil has +ever fallen with so crushing a clang. + +The Negro writer is prolific in detail. Situation follows situation in +rapid success, demanding close attention to keep clear of the meshes +of involvement. The writings of the Negro are full of soul. If, at +times, there is a lacking of aptness in conventional adjustments, the +hiatus is beautifully abridged with a freshness and wealth of +expression that fully atones. + +The Negro writer has it largely in his power to demonstrate the higher +possibilities and capabilities of his race. As long as there is a +Charles W. Chestnut, or a Paul Lawrence Dunbar, a T. Thomas Fortune, +and others, whose writings are read by the thousands of literary +people of this country and England, so long will there be an +irrefutable argument for the intellectual worth of the Negro race. + +It is within the power of the Negro writer to practically and +profitably demonstrate the oft repeated aphorism, "Genius is not the +plant of any particular soil." + +It should be a matter of some congratulation to the Negro that the +great publishing houses of this country are not, and never will be, +located at the great centers of race prejudice. A manuscript of merit +can easily find publication. Within recent years it has been noticed +that the vein of seriousness that has run through the writings of +Negro authors is fading away, and a jollity that is his own is taking +its place. Most of the men and women of the race, who have written +enough to win public notice, are known to be persons of a cheerful and +jovial disposition. For such a person to live in the role of the +miserable is at least a misrepresentation. + +The Negro's aptness in detecting the facetious, even in things that +are serious; his laughing soul that places a bouquet of joy and +sunshine where the somber draping of woe would so often be found, is +his God-given stock in trade upon which he can do business for +generations to come. This secret is being discovered by him. This +discovery will yet furnish the great world of letters with men and +women of this race, who will place millions under tribute to +graciously acknowledge the beneficence. + +The way to favor and preferment for the Negro writer is to be made by +himself. The epic of his race awaits a writer. The drama of an +unwritten history covering about four centuries will welcome the +facile pen of some gifted son or daughter. The well nigh inexhaustible +field of folk-lore of his own people is ready to be told to the world, +whether in the crude dialect of the race, or in Americanized English, +it matters little. It will make no difference. The English speaking +people of both continents will read it if it is written by a master. +It is not at all taken for granted, admitted, or intimated, that the +Negro writer of the present century is oblivious to any of these +facts. Just as the "coon" melodies have captured the musical realms of +this country, and will remain in the saddle for some time yet; just as +Negro singers and actors are honorably invading the progressive end of +the American stage, so will Negro writers swarm in the great field of +writers, bringing with them a supply of freshness of genius, that will +rejuvenate and give fresh life to the literature of this country. + +This is a domain that mocks at legislative restrictions, caste, +exclusionism and what not. Those who will enter and maintain their +ground will be few. All of the stars in the heavens are not fast +flying meteors. There never was such a thing as an army of sages. + +Mindful of the fact that his antecedence is small in the world of +letters, the Negro writer is the more ardently inspired when he looks +beyond and catches sight of golden fields into which no swarthy hand +has thrust a sickle. + +The world wants more joy; the world cries for more sunshine; the world +begs for a laugh. Mankind gloats over the depiction of deeds both +noble and ignoble. The world delights in that which is novel. The +Negro is a son of caloric. His presence is sunshine. He tells a story +leaving nothing out. He is himself a novelty, and it will not be too +far in the twentieth century before he will take pity on the world and +mankind and write them what they like. + + +THIRD PAPER. + +THE NEGRO AS A WRITER. + +BY G. M. McClellan. + +[Illustration: Prof. G. M. McClellan] + + GEORGE MARION McCLELLAN. + + The objection is often raised against schools of higher + education for the Negro race that these people need + instruction, not in Latin, history, geometry and moral + science, but in scientific farming and geometric bed making. + The leaven of truth in this assertion makes a plump denial + hard to return; while its leaven of error is a reminder of + the old antislavery assumption that till the end of time the + Negro must be a hewer of wood and drawer of water, with no + mental life to speak of. This error is best confuted by + proof of the race's actually wide range of intellectual + demands, imaginative sympathies, moral questionings; and for + this reason, if for no other, one thanks Mr. George Marion + McClellan for venturing on the publication of his verses. + This gentleman is a graduate of Fisk University, as he tells + us in the interesting and modest preface to his volume. Thus + he belongs to the first generation since the War. His + parents, he indicates, were slaves, and his early home was + upon the "Highland Rim" of Tennessee, amid the poverty of a + freedman father's little farm. These things well weighed, + the refined love of nature, the purity of sentiment, the + large philosophy, the delicacy of expression which his poems + display, are sufficiently marvelous. One must, perhaps, deny + him the title of "poet" in these days when verse writers are + many. His ear for rhythm is fatally defective, while, so far + as one may judge from the few dates appended to the poems, + the later productions seem not to be the best. Nevertheless, + his little volume stimulates to large reviews and fair + anticipations. It is a far cry from "Swing low, sweet + chariot"--an articulate stirring of poetic fancy, but hardly + more than that--to Mr. McClellan's "September Night, in + Mississippi": + + "Begirt with cotton fields, Anguilla sits, + Half birdlike, dreaming on her summer nest + Amid her spreading figs and roses still + In bloom with all their spring and summer hues. + Pomegranates hang with dapple cheeks full ripe, + And over all the town a dreamy haze + Drops down. The great plantations stretching far + Away are plains of cotton, downy white. + Oh, glorious is this night of joyous sounds. + Too full for sleep Aromas wild and sweet + From muscadine, late-booming jessamine + And roses all the heavy air suffuse. + Faint bellows from the alligators come + From swamps afar where sluggish lagoons give + To them a peaceful home. The katydids + Make ceaseless cries. Ten thousand insects' wings + Stir in the moonlight haze, and joyous shouts + Of Negro song and mirth awake hard by + The cabin dance. Oh, glorious is the night! + The summer sweetness fills my heart with songs. + I cannot sing; with loves I cannot speak." + + If many thoughts and feelings such as these lie folded in + Southern cabins, let us not deny, for their unfolding, the + genial influences of literature and history and the + sciences. The race that possesses such powers, even though + undeveloped in the great majority of its members, needs Fisk + and Atlanta educated pastors and teachers. + +"The pen is mightier than the sword." It would have seemed idle to +have said this at the mouth of the mountain pass at Thermopylae with +Leonidas and his immortal Spartan heroes all lying dead amid the wreck +made by the mighty host of Xerxes. A century afterward, at Cannae, one +sixth of the whole population of Rome lay dead on the battlefield by +the sword thrust. Where was the might of the pen to compare with this? +The might of the sword at Thermopylae, together with the concluding +events at Salamis, turned back the Persian hordes and thereby saved +the Greek civilization for Europe. Again, after the blood of Cannae, at +Zama, Hannibal was utterly broken and Carthage, with her attending +civilization, was doomed to everlasting death, while Rome, her mighty +adversary, with her eagles and short sword, carried her dominion and +her splendid civilization from England to India. One more great +movement in the world illustrating the power of the sword is too +tempting to pass by in this connection. From the deserts of Arabia a +fanatical dreamer came forth claiming a new revelation from God and as +a chosen prophet to give the world a new religion. His pretentions at +first caused his expulsion from Mecca, together with a small and +insignificant band of followers. Yet because of these it was not long +until there came from out the desert the sound of the marching of a +mighty host, heralding the approach of the Arab, the despising and +despised. Before these barbarous hordes the principalities of the East +were doomed to crumble and yield up their accumulated treasures of the +ages, and so triumphant were these invaders from the desert they +decided to appropriate for themselves the whole world, and from this +they were not _dissuaded_ until Charles Martel sent them back from +Tours and out of Europe, together with their hateful civilization. So +it would seem from these and all other mighty movements of races and +tribes, men and nations, the sword has ever been the arbiter. Yet over +all the mighty sweep of events and the _stupendous_ results of the +sword-thrust throughout the ages, comes this insinuating claim, "The +pen is mightier than the sword." And when we consider the whole of +accumulated philosophy, the onward march of science and human thought, +and the consequent development of the human race, the comparative +might of the sword becomes insignificant before the less demonstrative +power of the conquering pen. And here comes the question, which in +some phase or other comes up in all great questions of America, "What +part has the Negro in the might of the pen?" Nobody doubts that the +great movements of the world at present, let their primary +manifestations be military or political, scientific or industrial, +have any other great lever than knowledge and sentiment brought into +notice and activity by writers. + +The chief agencies for the dissemination of thought and discoveries +are the newspapers, magazines, literary journals and books of fiction. +The newspapers have the most immediate and controlling influence over +the action of men in the business and political world. To undertake to +estimate with anything like exactness the part the Negro has in +molding sentiment through the press and giving the consequent +direction to the action of men would be a task impossible in the very +nature of the case. + +It shall be, then, the purpose of this article to discuss in a general +way the Negro as a writer in all lines in which he has essayed to +express thought. It would be easy to dispose of the question in two +ways. One would be to separate all that he has done as far as that +would be possible, and put it over against the production of the white +race and thus so minimize it by comparison that its power would likely +to be _underrated_. Another way would be to magnify all that has been +done as especially praiseworthy, because the production comes from the +Negro, thus overrating its significance, forgetting that whatever +power any writing can have can only be in proportion to its real merit +in the thought-world, regardless of all source from which it came. +Overrating the Negro as a writer is more likely to be done in passing +on his attempts in _literary_ art than in any other field. But in +literary lines the number who can command attention and be worthy of +notice is very small. One does not have to go far to see that the most +effective work, so far as creating sentiment is concerned, and thereby +_wielding_ power in the great moving forces of this age, the Negro as +a writer is best evinced by the Negro press. We have many newspapers, +and after thirty years we have not been able to produce one single +great newspaper, nor for many good reasons one single great editor who +is a power in the land. Indeed, the most of the many papers of ours +that come from the press have but little in them that can attract the +intelligent minds of the race. There is, however, among us too great a +tendency to ridicule the Negro press unreservedly, and though much of +the ridicule may be deserved it remains true that the accumulative +power of the Negro press is hardly appreciated as it deserves to be. +They who write for us and fight our battles are essentially our only +spokesmen, and as ignored as our articles and editorials would seem to +be by the white press, it is true nevertheless that the white +newspapers take close notice of what the Negro writers have to say. +They may not ordinarily deign to appear to take notice, but let any +publication be made in our most humble sheets that seems to them to be +dangerous or too presumptuous to let pass, and it will be seen then +that the white press takes notice and the power of the colored press +will become apparent. I have said that we have not yet produced one +single great paper, nor one great editor, as white papers and editors +are great, and to this I think there can be justly no exceptions +taken, for we are lacking in nearly all the accessories to make such +greatness possible, but we do have a few papers and editors of marked +power. The two most exceptional papers of power that have come under +my notice are the New York Age, edited by Mr. T. Thomas Fortune, and +the Richmond Planet, edited by Mr. Mitchell. These two papers and +their editors have been, and are yet, valiant warriors for the race +and of incalculable benefit to the race. As a terse, caustic and +biting editorial writer Mr. Fortune is hardly surpassed by any one, +and his paper for years has been uncompromising in fighting all +adverse issues in the race question. Almost the same thing can be said +of the Richmond Planet, and more than any other, perhaps, has this +paper been valiant in waging war against lynching. These two papers, +together with a host of others, have set forth the power of the pen +and have accomplished far more to offset the adverse sentiment created +by the white press than can ever be fully determined. There is another +class of Negro writers than those I have mentioned that gets an +occasional hearing in the white papers of the South and is of great +value to the race. Any one familiar with the strictures of the South, +knows that the Negroes themselves have essentially no chance to +discuss through the white newspapers the great questions which are +ever to the front concerning them, and their position in the South, +and also but very little more in the newspapers of the North, unless +in the South the Negroes write some articles to say amen, and highly +sanction the white man's dictums and positions on the Negro questions +that happen to be up. But there are a few who are able to write on +some questions in our defense without compromise, and yet so +skillfully as not to offend. In speaking of the attitude of the white +press, and its representations, it is not assumed that there is no +disposition of fairness on the part of the writers of the white press. +Many of the great editors mean to be fair from their standpoint. The +Southern white people are prejudiced and supersensitive on some points +beyond all reason, and in all questions between the Negro and the +white man, as man to man, the assumptions, without an exception, are +arrogant beyond all naming, so that it comes about at any point of +issue, where men differing, usually would permit the opponent his +views as fitting from his side of the question, what the Negro has to +say, if he is emphatic and decided, is called impudence. The writer +must be skillful, then, to write uncompromisingly and yet not be of +the "impudent." There are a few men among us who are able to write for +the Southern white papers with reserve, yet without compromise, +greatly to our advantage. Among those few, prominent are Prof. G. W. +Henderson, of Straight University, New Orleans, and President W. H. +Councill, of the College, Normal and Industrial School at Normal, +Alabama. Prof. Henderson is a graduate of Middlebury College, Vermont, +and Yale Theological Seminary, having taken the fellowship from that +institution and studied in Germany two years. His writings show his +scholarship and refinement. He has been persistent and valiant in all +race matters, especially in educational lines in Louisiana, and his +articles, though uncompromising, have from time to time found a +hearing and forced respect from the great dailies of New Orleans. +President Councill is the most widely accepted in the Southern white +press of all Negroes. On some points of disagreement between the +Negroes and the white people he concedes more to some of the white +man's claims than any other Negro who writes. Secondly, he is truly a +great man, and has gained his right to a hearing in intelligent +sources. As a writer, pure and simple, he is forcible; and while the +whole of his attitude may not be accepted generally by his own race, +there is no doubt about his uncompromising attitude and loyalty to his +own race first and last, and any one who has followed his articles in +newspapers and leading magazines have surely seen that the apparently +sometimes too generous bouquet throwing to the white brother is fully +offset by the terrible blows given that same white brother for his +sins against the Negro race. This is especially seen in his symposium +article in the April number of the Arena, 1899. It would be impossible +in the limitation of this article to mention the many Negro writers +who are acceptable in leading magazines, and to a greater extent in +the great weekly journals of this country. Only one or two can be +mentioned: Rev. H. H. Proctor, pastor of the First Congregational +Church at Atlanta, Ga., is a graduate of Fisk University and Yale +Theological Seminary, and he is a young man of exceptional ability as +a writer on timely questions, but as an article writer is often seen +in the Outlook, the New York Independent, and such papers. Above them +all is Bishop Tanner, of Philadelphia. For diction, fine style, +conciseness and logical conclusions, one must go far to find his +superior. In the way of history, text books on various subjects, and +scientific presentation, not much has yet been done among us. Mr. Geo. +W. Williams, the Negro historian, has done more in that field than any +other. Dr. D. W. Culp has written a treatise on consumption and other +medical subjects that have attracted attention and favorable +criticism. + +It now remains to speak of the writers in literary art. In this field +there are many who have certainly made praiseworthy attempts, and of +the ladies who cannot be classed with those who have truly made a +place among successful literary artists, but whose writing has +attracted attention and in character is literary, most complimentary +things can be said of Mrs. Frances E. W. Harper, of Philadelphia; of +Mrs. Fanny Barrier Williams, of Chicago; of Miss Edna Matthews, of New +York, and of Mrs. Cooper, Washington, D. C. Mrs. Cooper's book, "A +Voice from the South," is a work in purpose and execution of decided +merit. In real literary art, perhaps there are only two in the whole +race who have reached a place of genuine high rank among the critics, +namely, Dunbar and Chestnut. There are four poets, however, who have +attracted much attention and favorable criticism, and of these I will +speak in turn. It is in order to speak of Mr. A. A. Whitman first, +because he appeared first of all and in one particular of excellency +he is first of all four. His "Rape of Florida" is truly poetry and as +a _sustained effort_, as an attempt _in great lines_, it surpasses in +true merit anything yet done by a Negro, and this assertion without +one qualifying word. He failed as a poet? Certainly. Mr. Whitman made +attempts in lines in which Shelley, Keats and Spenser triumphed, and +with such mediocrity only possible to him in such a highway, what else +could follow beyond a passing notice, though his "Rape of Florida" is +a production of much more than passing merit. Aside from the +mediocrity of the work attempted in Spenserian lines the man himself +in his lack of learning, in his expressible egotism, was derogatory +to his ultimate success, and his styling himself as the William Cullen +Bryant of the Negro race was sickening in the extreme. Mr. Whitman +died recently, but not before he had done all in literary excellence +that could be hoped from him. It remains true, however, that he was +worthy of a much better place than is accorded him as a Negro poet, +and it is to be regretted that his work is so little known among us. + +Ten years after Mr. Whitman, Paul Dunbar came forth as a new singer, +and got the first real recognition as a poet. As a poet, pure and +simple, as a refined verse maker in all directions, Mr. Dunbar +surpasses Mr. Whitman by far in the truest significance in the term +poet, and he is justly assigned the first place among Negro poets. For +many reasons Mr. Dunbar is famous, and to enter into any extended +discussion of his work in this connection is needless. Mr. Dunbar is +the first Negro to attempt poetic art in Negro dialect. To speak the +truth, however, it must be said that there is no such thing as a Negro +dialect, but in the bad English called Negro dialect Mr. Dunbar has in +verse chosen to interpret the Negro in his general character, in his +philosophy of life, in his rich humor and good nature, and the world +knows how well he has succeeded. Robert Burns has shown how the +immortal life of all beautiful things can be handed down for all time +in dialect, but it can scarcely be believed by any one that great +poetry can ever be clothed in the garb known as Negro dialect. But for +some pathos and to put the Negro forward at his best in his humorous +and good natured characteristics the so-called dialect is the best +vehicle, and in these lines, and these lines only, is Mr. Dunbar by +far greater than all others. Out of those lines he is still the first +poet, Whitman not excepted, but he is first with nothing like the +difference in real merit and the fame he has above all others. But in +passing from him, here is Dunbar at his best, dialectic and otherwise: + + "When de co'n pone's hot-- + Dey is a time in life when nature + Seems to slip a cog an' go, + Jes' a-rattling down creation, + Lak an ocean's overflow; + When de worl' jes' stahts a-spinnin' + Lak a pickaninny's top, + An' you feel jes' lak a racah, + Dat is trainin' fu' to trot-- + When yo' mammy says de blessin' + An' de co'n pone's hot. + + "When you set down at de table, + Kin' o' weary lak an' sad, + An' you's jes' a little tiwhed + An' purhaps a little mad; + How yo' gloom tu'ns into gladness, + How yo' joy drives out de doubt, + When de oven do' is opened, + An' de smell comes po'in out; + Why, de 'lectric light o' Heaven + Seems to settle on de spot, + When yo' mammy says de blessin' + An' de co'n pone's hot. + + "When de cabbage pot is steamin' + An' de bacon good an' fat, + When de chittlins is a-spuller'n' + So's to show you whah dey's at; + Tek away yo' sody biscut, + Tek away yo' cake an' pie, + Fu' de glory time is comin', + An' it's 'proachin' mighty nigh, + An' yo' want to jump an' hollah, + Dough you know you'd bettah not + When yo' mammy says de blessin', + An' de co'n pone's hot. + + "I have hyeahd o' lots o' sermons, + An' I've hyeahd o' lots o' prayers, + An' I've listened to some singin' + Dat has tuck me up de stairs + Of de Glory-lan' an' set me + Jes' below de mahstah's th'one, + An' lef' my hea't a-singin' + In a happy aftah tone; + But dem wu'ds so sweetly murmured + Seemed to tech de softes' spot, + When my mammy says de blessin', + An' de co'n pone's hot." + +This is not so great a poem as the "Cotter's Saturday Night" by Burns, +because the spiritual element and the whole scope of the tenderest +concerns of the family and of life in that poem are left out of this. +But in Dunbar's poem, where only the festival is pictured, the scene +is so intensified that one feels the warmth and sees the glow of the +evening fire and inhales the appetizing odors of the coming homely +cheer, and can see back of these the tender care and ineffable love of +the "Mammy," who puts the crowning touch upon her love with the +blessing. As far as it goes, "When the co'n pone's hot" is great +precisely in the same lines that the "Cotter's Saturday Night" is +great. + +Mr. Dunbar has also written a number of novels and short stories. It +has not been my good fortune to see "The Stories from Dixie;" but the +novels I have bought and read. If there were no Charles Chestnut, Mr. +Dunbar's novels would have to be discussed in this connection, and he +would have to be put down as the very first Negro novel writer, +mainly, however, because there would be no other; but with Mr. +Chestnut in the field, no true admirer of Mr. Dunbar will ever discuss +the prolific diffusions of his, bearing the name novels, in any +connection with Dunbar, the poet. There is only enough space left in +this article for the poets, to barely mention the names of Mr. Daniel +Webster Davis, of Manchester, Virginia, and Mr. James D. Corrothers of +Red Bank, New Jersey, and to give a selection from each and let their +poems speak for them as writers. Both of them have received notice in +the best magazines and favorable criticism elsewhere. Both owe their +distinction mainly to their work in dialectic verse which, I fear, is +too much like the "ragtime" music, considered quite the proper +dressing for Negro distinction in the poetic art. + +Here is to "De Biggis' Piece ub Pie," by Mr. Davis: + + "When I was a little boy + I set me down to cry, + Bekase my little brudder + Had de biggis' piece ub pie. + But when I had become a man + I made my min' to try + An' hustle roun' to git myself + De biggis' piece ub pie. + + "An' like in bygone chil'ish days, + De worl' is hustlin' roun' + To git darselbes de biggis' slice + Ub honor an' renown; + An' ef I fails to do my bes', + But stan' aroun' an' cry, + Dis ol' worl' will git away + Wid bof de plate an' pie. + + "An' eben should I git a slice + I mus' not cease to try, + But keep a-movin' fas' es life + To hol' my piece ub pie. + Dis ruff ol' worl' has little use + Fur dem dat chance to fall, + An' while youze gittin' up ag'in + 'Twill take de plate an' all." + +The one more selection from Mr. Davis will show him as a poet outside +of dialect: + +A ROSE. + + "The rose of the garden is given to me, + And, to double its value, 'twas given by thee; + Its lovely bright tints to my eyesight is borne, + Like the kiss of a fairy or blush of morn. + + "Too soon must this scent-laden flower decay, + Its bright leaves will wither, its bloom die away; + But in memory 'twill linger; the joy that it bore + Will live with me still, tho' the flower's no more." + +Mr. James D. Corrothers writes: + +"A THANKSGIVIN' TURKEY. + + "Cindy, reach dah 'hine yo' back. + 'N han' me dat ah Almanac; + W'y, land! t'morrer's Thanksgivin'! + Got to git out an' make hay-- + Don't keer whut de preachah say-- + We mus' eat Thanksgivin' day, + Uz sho' uz you's a-libbin. + + "You know whah Mahs Hudson libs? + Dey's a turkey dah dat gibs + Me a heap o' trouble. + Some day Hudson g'ine to miss + Dat owdashus fowl o' his; + I's g'ine ober dah an' twis' + 'At gobbler's nake plumb double. + + "Goin' pas' dah t' othah day, + Turkey strutted up an' say, + 'A-gobble, gobble, gobble,' + Much uz ef he mout remahk, + 'Don' you wish 'at it wuz dahk? + Ain't I temptin'?' S' I, 'you hah'k, + Er else dey'll be a squabble. + + "'Take an' wring yo' nake righ' quick, + Light on yo' lak a thousan' brick, + 'N you won't know whut befell you.' + 'N I went on. Yet evah day + When I goes by that a-way, + 'At fowl has too much to say; + 'N I'm tiahd uv it, I tell you. + + "G'ine to go dis bressed night + An' put out dat turkey's light, + 'N I'll nail him lak a cobblah. + Take keer, 'Cindy, lemme pass, + Ain't a-g'ine to take no sass + Off no man's turkey gobblah." + +And now for the last and the greatest Roman of them all in literary +art--Mr. Charles W. Chestnut, of Cleveland, Ohio. I have never seen +him, and at present the only personal acquaintance I have with him, is +a brief letter of a dozen or more lines; but Mr. Chestnut, revealed by +his novels, I know well. The chief distinction one finds in reading +Mr. Chestnut from all other Negro story-writers, so far as there are +such, is that he is truly an artist and that his art is fine art. +Secondly, and this is of the greatest concern to Negroes in any +thought of the Negro as a writer, he is the best delineator of Negro +life and character, thought and feeling, of any who has attracted +notice by writing. It is not possible to give in this connection any +quotations from Mr. Chestnut's work that may speak for him, but it is +fitting in this article to speak of the character of some of Mr. +Chestnut's stories, and, as far as possible, suggest the ground and +purpose of his fiction. Perhaps, to mention the stories, "The Wife of +His Youth," "The Wheel of Progress," and "The House Behind the +Cedars," would serve best for this occasion. There are some situations +of the Negroes too full of ineffable pity for utterance. Who has not +sat at some time in a Negro church and heard read the pitiful inquiry +for a mother, or a child, or a father, husband or wife, all lost in +the sales and separations of slavery times--loved ones as completely +swallowed up in the past (yet in this life they still live) as if the +grave had received them. At such a reading, though it was given with +unconcern, one heard the faithful cry of faithful love coming out of +the dark on its sorrowful mission. + +And in this realm Mr. Chestnut tells us of a mulatto boy who marries a +woman of Negro type, and who was old enough for the boy's mother, but +had, at that time, youth enough left to make the disparity of age at +the time of little objection, especially in the times and situation +where there was little objection to marriages of any sort. But the +youth escapes from slavery and in the far North receives education, +development and culture, and in time earns a competence that makes +life desirable and opens up vistas to new happiness, for the old life +is now only a memory of what the new man once was, and the new man is +on the borderland of new love and marriage befitting all his +advancements, while the mulatto slave boy, the slave girl, the black +slave-wife and the slave connections are left forever behind. But in +all these twenty-five years the black slave wife is still living, +still ignorant and yielding all the while to age until she is an old +woman. But there was one thing that did not yield to age and time, and +that was her love for her boy husband, and, what was more, her sublime +and unwavering faith in the constancy of her "Yaller Sam," after whom +she sends inquiry after inquiry, and year after year tramps from place +to place in her search, with faith and love divine ever leading her +on, until one day in a Northern city, to which place she had finally +traced him, she stopped at his very door to humbly inquire of the +strange gentleman she saw for her "Yaller Sam," never dreaming that it +was he to whom she spoke, though he knew her and had to face the +bitter tragedy of it all. But Mr. Chestnut's art enables him to take +care of so sorrowful a case satisfactorily. + +"The Wheel of Progress" touches another phase of pathetic situations +arising out of the mixture of people and sentiments in the South. The +story tells of an ostracized Northern white teacher who, from young +womanhood, labors away her life for the Negroes, until her age and +health reach that degree of disadvantage that her position as teacher, +once her medium of charity, becomes her only means for a living. In +the meantime the Negroes whom she and others helped to uplift and +develop, and to whom, because of race distinction, most all avenues +outside of menial labor are closed, except preaching and teaching, had +become her competitors. In the conflict that arose over the +reappointment of the white missionary teacher and a young Negro to the +place the pitiful situation is again taken care of by Mr. Chestnut's +fine art. "The House Behind the Cedars," until his latest, "The Marrow +of Tradition," was his most ambitious attempt. In this book the story +of an Octoroon family is put forth in all the pathos and tragedy that +is the lot of so many Negroes who belong wholly to neither race. + +Mr. Chestnut's latest book, "The Marrow of Tradition," is a strong and +vigorous presentation of the colored man's case against the South in +the form of a dramatic novel. This book especially deserves a wide +reading among the Negroes, who have none too many friends to plead +their cause. Mr. Chestnut, as one truly high-rank novelist among us, +ought to have such a hearing among the eight millions that would give +him all the advantages of a successful novelist from a financial +standpoint as a return for his labor, which is by no means for himself +alone. + +In closing, it is but fair to say, while the artists of high rank +among us are few in number, in an article discussing the Negro as a +writer, in mentioning names at all, it must necessarily follow that +there are very many names not here mentioned that would deserve to be +if in such an article as this there were any intention or necessity to +mention the whole list of Negro writers who write well and with power +in every department of letters. + + + + +TOPIC XVII. + +DID THE AMERICAN NEGRO PROVE, IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, THAT HE IS +INTELLECTUALLY EQUAL TO THE WHITE MAN? + +BY M. W. GILBERT, D. D. + +[Illustration: M. W. Gilbert, D. D.] + + REV. M. W. GILBERT, D. D. + + The subject of this sketch was born July 25, 1862, at + Mechanicsville, Sumter County, South Carolina. His parents + were slaves and his father, a Baptist minister, is still + alive. Mr. Gilbert began his early school life during the + reconstruction period, at Mechanicsville, and continued it + at Mannville, in an adjoining township, until 1879, when he + entered Benedict College (then Benedict Institute) at + Columbia, South Carolina. He remained in Benedict till the + spring of 1883, when he graduated from a classical course + specially designed to fit him for a Northern college. In the + fall of 1883, after a searching examination, he entered the + freshman class of Colgate University and remained in that + institution four years, until his graduation in 1887 with + the degree of A. B. During his college course Mr. Gilbert + particularly distinguished himself in the languages and + oratory. During his sophomore year he won in an oratorical + contest the First Kingsford Prize. Although the only colored + man in his class, yet he was so highly esteemed by his + classmates that he enjoyed the unique distinction of being + elected every three months for four years as Class Secretary + and Treasurer. In addition to this he was elected Class + Historian in his senior year. His alma mater conferred on + him the degree of A. M. in 1890. Immediately after his + graduation Mr. Gilbert was called to the pastorate of the + First Colored Baptist Church at Nashville, Tenn. He remained + in this position three years and a half and then he accepted + the call of the Bethel Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Fla. + He was not permitted by his denomination to remain long in + this pastorate; for after one year in it, on the nomination + of the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York, he + was elected to lead in the educational work among the + colored Baptists of Florida. He presided one year over the + Florida Institute at Live Oak, and he led in 1892 in the + founding of the Florida Baptist Academy (now college) at + Jacksonville, Fla. The cares and anxiety involved in this + work threatened his health and in 1894 he resigned this + position to accept the pastorate of a young church + organization in Savannah, Ga., having in the meantime + declined an election to the presidency of State University + at Louisville, Ky. In 1894 he was elected Vice-President and + Professor of History, Political Science, and Modern + Languages, in the Colored State College at Orangeburg, S. C. + He served in this capacity two years and after re-election + for a third year he resigned to re-enter upon his life-work + in the gospel ministry. He served a few months after this in + the office of General Missionary and Corresponding Secretary + of the Baptist State Convention of South Carolina, but this + work militating against his health he gave up to enter upon + the pastorate of the Central Baptist Church at Charleston, + S. C., where he now is. Mr. Gilbert received three years ago + the degree of D. D. from Guadalupe College of Seguin, Tex. + In 1883 Dr. Gilbert was married in Columbia, S. C., to Miss + Agnes Boozer. Seven children have been born to them, five of + whom are still living. Dr. Gilbert is much in demand as a + public speaker on great occasions and his services are + frequently sought by some of the best churches of his + denomination. + +The necessity for asserting and maintaining the affirmative of the +above question is due to the deep-seated prejudice against the Negro, +which prejudice is the unfortunate fruit of the Negro's past +enslavement. It is not surprising that those who for centuries held +the Negro as a chattel should regard him as a being essentially +inferior to themselves, and time is required, in the changed condition +of affairs, to completely eradicate this idea. Even now, despite the +remarkable development of the Negro since his emancipation, +occasionally some Rip Van Winkle, awaking from a long sleep, essays to +deny the complete humanity of the Negro race. A true believer in the +Scriptures must be equally a believer in the fatherhood of God and the +brotherhood of all men. For the divine record declares that God "hath +made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of +the earth." Language, physiology and psychology confirm the +truthfulness of Scripture on this issue. The mission of Christianity +to preach the gospel over the inhabited world is based upon this great +idea. Science and Holy Writ assert the intellectual equality of all +men of whatever race or color, so far as real capacity and +possibilities are concerned. + +The position and relative importance of a race or nation in the +world's history are determined more by its antecedents and +environments than by the original endowments of each individual that +constitutes it. Two different races, having the same antecedents and +subject to the same environments, will produce the same results. In +answering the question as to whether the Negro has demonstrated his +intellectual equality with the white man during the century just +closed, our inquiry must necessarily be confined to the closing third +of that century; for prior to the emancipation of the race the colored +people were generally in an enslaved condition. Opportunities for +education, citizenship, and the development of manhood, were few, and +at best could apply to but few of the race. Although our inquiry is +limited to only one-third of the century just closed, nevertheless we +can safely assert that in that short period the Negro has demonstrated +by actual results his intellectual equality with the white man. + +1. The Negro has demonstrated in thirty-five years a capacity for +education equal to that of the white man. This remark does not apply +alone to his primary education, but also to the highest. He has +entered already every intellectual field that is open to him, and he +is achieving success in every one that he has entered. Within a third +of a century one hundred and fifty-six institutions for the higher +education of the Negroes have been founded, and from these and +Northern colleges there have been more than seventeen thousand +graduates. These colleges are located chiefly in the South, and their +courses of studies are as high as their neighboring white colleges; in +some instances they are higher. Some of these graduates have evinced +great ability and brilliancy in mastering the most difficult studies +included in the curriculum. The existence of Negro colleges and the +successful graduation of Negroes therefrom is a strong argument for +his intellectual equality. Nor has the Negro simply demonstrated his +ability to master the literary courses of the college, but also his +capacity to acquire the knowledge and training to fit him for life in +the various professions. Within a third of a century the race has +produced thirty thousand teachers, five hundred physicians, two +hundred and fifty lawyers, and a large number of others who have +entered the ministry, politics, and editorial life. If there is doubt +on the demonstration of the Negro's ability to acquire education in +his own colleges, we need only to mention the fact that his ambition +has led him to some of the leading Northern universities where he +studied at the side of white men, and even there he has demonstrated +his essential intellectual equality with the white man by winning, in +several well-known instances, some of their highest honors for +scholarship, proficiency and oratory. + +2. The Negro has demonstrated his capacity for imparting an education +to others after he has himself received it. He is an essential and +established factor in the public school system of the South. It is he +that is intrusted with the primary education of his people, and it is +due largely to him that his people in thirty-five years have reduced +their illiteracy 45 per cent. During those thirty-five years he has +become professor of law, medicine, theology, mathematics, the +sciences, and languages. In the colleges devoted to the education of +the colored men, there are colored professors who have become eminent +in their departments and who would fill with credit similar chairs in +white institutions of learning. All of the colored state colleges of +the South are under the management of Negroes as presidents and +professors. + +3. The Negro has also demonstrated his productivity in the field of +_authorship_. In this particular he has shown a white man's capacity. +In calling attention to the Negro's achievement in this particular, it +may be well to note the fact that the Negro's white neighbor, although +he lives in a clime similar to that which produced in Greece, +philosophers like Plato and Aristotle and poets like Homer, Euripides, +and Sophocles, and in Italy poets like Virgil and Horace, has not +produced a philosopher or a first-class poet, with all the leisure he +enjoyed while the Negro has been engaged in enforced labor for him. In +the highest field of thought as in philosophy and the works of +imagination the South presents a barren field. In the sphere of +authorship usually entered by white men the Negro has already worked +his way. He has already produced meritorious books on mathematics, +sociology, theology, history, poetry, travels, sermons, languages, and +biographies. There have been three hundred books written by Negroes. + +4. Nor has the Negro's mind followed slavishly in the beaten path of +imitation. He has demonstrated that he possesses also a high order of +intellect by his inventive genius. The "lubricator" now being used on +nearly all the railroad engines in the United States was invented by a +colored man, Mr. E. McCoy, of Detroit, Michigan. Eugene Burkins, a +Negro, was inventor of the Burkins' Automatic Machine Gun, concerning +which Admiral Dewey said it was "by far the best machine gun ever +made." Many other useful inventions in the country are credited by the +Patent Office to the Negro. + +5. The Negro has also demonstrated in thirty-five years his capacity +for organizing, controlling, and directing great and diversified +interests. Capacity to organize, maintain, and direct presupposes a +high order of mind. Executive ability requires accompanying +intellectual ability and not mere brilliancy. Unaided and alone the +Negro has set on foot great ecclesiastical organizations which he is +maintaining and developing with much credit to himself. In all these +organizations, leadership to the few has been cheerfully conceded by +the masses. As a church builder, with little means at his command, the +Negro stands without a peer. Within the last thirty-five years of the +nineteenth century the Negro has founded high schools, academies and +colleges, and he is successfully supporting and managing them. If it +is fair to estimate the ability and worth of men by real achievements, +then it must be conceded that the foremost man for real ability +throughout the entire South is a Negro, and we refer to the eminent +founder and developer of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. It is +unquestionable in our mind that the greatest enterprise conceived and +executed by any one mind, in the entire South, during the past forty +years, was that conceived in the brains of a single Negro, the child +of a slave mother, that resulted in the world-renowned Tuskegee +Institute. The results at Tuskegee will demonstrate that the highest +order of mind in the South, as well as the most famous, is in the +keeping of the Negro. The leading Presbyterian institution of learning +in the South for the education of colored men is now managed +successfully by Negro scholars. We refer here to Biddle University. + +6. In business and politics the Negro, despite the odds arrayed +against him, is succeeding reasonably well. He is constantly +undertaking new business enterprises, and wherever the government or +state has intrusted him with official position the intelligent Negro +has discharged his public functions with credit to the government and +glory for himself. Whenever failure is recorded against the Negro it +is not due to his lacking the mental endowments equal to that of the +white man, but because he was denied the white man's favorable past, +and because a white man's opportunity is denied him. Equality of +opportunities and equality before the laws should be cheerfully +granted him. Criticism against him is savage and un-Christian, if +these doors are closed against him. + + + + +TOPIC XVIII. + +WHAT PROGRESS DID THE AMERICAN WHITE MAN MAKE, IN THE NINETEENTH +CENTURY, ALONG THE LINE OF CONCEDING TO THE NEGRO HIS RELIGIOUS, +POLITICAL, AND CIVIL RIGHTS? + +BY JOHN W. CROMWELL. + +[Illustration: J. W. Cromwell] + + JOHN WESLEY CROMWELL. + + John Wesley Cromwell, the twelfth child and seventh son of + Willis H. and Elizabeth Carney Cromwell, was born at + Portsmouth, Va., September 5, 1846. In 1851 the family moved + to Philadelphia, where he entered the public schools and + subsequently the Institute for Colored Youth, graduating in + 1864. + + He taught at Columbia, Pa., after which he established a + private school in his native town. Under the auspices of + Northern charitable associations he taught at Spanish Neck + and Little Gunpowder in Maryland, Providence Church, Scott + Farm, Charlotte County and Wytheville, Va. On the + inauguration of the public school system he became principal + of the Dill's Bakery School in Richmond, Va., and in the + following summer taught near the scene of the Nat Turner + Insurrection in Southampton County in the same State. + + Mr. Cromwell took an active part in the reconstruction of + Virginia, was delegate to the first State Republican + Convention, did jury service in the United States Court for + the term at which the case of Jefferson Davis was + calendared, and was a clerk in the reconstruction + Constitutional Convention. A shot, fired with deadly intent, + grazed his clothing while at Spanish Neck, Md., where the + church in which the school was taught was burned to the + ground, and he was twice forced to face the muzzles of + revolvers in Virginia, because of his work as an educator. + + In 1871 he entered the law department of Howard University, + graduating therefrom in 1874. In 1872, after a competitive + examination, having distanced two hundred and forty + applicants, he received a $1,200 appointment in the Treasury + Department, in which he was twice promoted, by the same + method, within twenty months. In 1885, in the early days of + the Cleveland administration, he was removed as an offensive + partisan, having established and conducted since 1876 "The + People's Advocate," a weekly journal of more than local + influence. He then began the practice of law in connection + with his journalistic work. In 1889 he was tendered and he + accepted a principalship of one of the grammar schools of + Washington, D. C., the position he still holds. + + In 1875 he was chosen at Richmond the president of the + Virginia Educational and Historical Association and was four + times re-elected. He has served two terms as the president + of the "Bethel Literary," with which he has been officially + connected for twenty years. He was one of the original + members of the American Negro Academy founded by Rev. + Alexander Crummell, and is its corresponding secretary. + + In 1873 he was married to Miss Lucy A. McGuinn, of Richmond, + Va. Six children survive of that marriage, the eldest being + Miss Otelia Cromwell, the first Colored graduate (1900) of + Smith College, Mass. In 1892 he married Miss Annie E. Conn, + of Mechanicsburg, Pa. + + In 1887 he became a member of the Metropolitan A. M. E. + Church under the pastorate of Rev., now Chaplain, T. G. + Steward. + + Among his addresses and papers are "The Negro in Business," + "The Colored Church in America," "Nat Turner, a Historical + Sketch," "Benjamin Banneker," "The Negro as a Journalist," + and other historical and statistical studies. The first + named, published for a syndicate of metropolitan newspapers + in 1886, found its way in one form or other in nearly all + the representative papers of the land. + +The status of the Negro at the close of the eighteenth and the opening +of the nineteenth centuries was substantially the same, North and +South. These well-defined geographical sections on both sides of Mason +and Dixon's line were not as extensive then as now. Ohio, Kentucky and +Tennessee were the only states west of the Alleghanies; Florida was a +foreign possession, Alabama and the region beyond were to be numbered +with the United States at a subsequent period. + +The colored population in 1800 was 1,001,436, free and slave, or 18.88 +per cent of the entire population; 893,041 were slaves, of whom there +were in round numbers 30,000 in the states of New Hampshire, Rhode +Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware; 20,000 were +in New York alone. In 1900 the total population is 76,303,387, with +8,840,789 persons of Negro descent, or 11.5 of the aggregate +population. + +The year 1800 marks the beginning of an epoch of increasing hardship +for the Negro, both in church and state. It was also characterized by +fierce aggressiveness by the slave power, stimulated by the invention +of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney and the impetus which it gave to the +growth and importation of cotton. The acquisition of the Louisiana +Purchase from France added to the possible domain of slave territory +and affected the current of political action for more than half a +century. + +During this period the Negro was a most important figure, both in +church and state, the occasion if not the cause of perplexing +problems. In the field of religion and politics, especially, has his +status attracted world-wide attention. + +At a very early day the Methodist and Baptist churches had the largest +number of colored followers in both town and city; but these as yet +were not assembled in distinctive organizations. The right of the +Negro, not only to govern but to direct his religious instruction, was +bitterly contested, sometimes by force, at other times by law. The +high-handed manner in which the ordinary rights of worship were +denied the Negro led to the withdrawal of the majority of colored +Methodists in Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland and South Carolina, and +ultimately to the formation of the two denominations, the African +Methodist Episcopal and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Churches, +that became independent before the end of the first quarter of the +last century. + +As to the recognition of the right of colored Baptists to church +fellowship, the white Baptists were more liberal, for we find an +association of white churches recognizing the existence of a colored +Baptist church at Williamsburg, in 1790. + +The first colored Episcopal society was received into membership on +the express condition that no delegate was to be admitted in any of +the diocesan conventions.[1] As early as 1801 Rev. John Chavis, a +Negro of North Carolina, was licensed by the Hanover Presbytery of +Virginia as a missionary to his own people.[2] The incompatibility of +an ordained minister of the same denomination being a slave was +recognized in the manumission of Rev. John Gloucester, the slave of +Rev. Gideon Blackburn, of Tennessee, on the organization of the first +colored Presbyterian church of the country, at Philadelphia, in 1807, +and the subsequent settlement of Rev. Gloucester as its pastor.[3] + +That the white Baptists really manifested greater liberality in this +period is obvious, because we also find Jacob Bishop, a Negro, the +pastor of the First Baptist church of Portsmouth, Virginia, for a few +years.[4] The church was a large and influential one, and the +predecessor of Bishop, Rev. Thomas Armistead, had served with +distinction as a commissioned officer in the Revolutionary War. + +To-day at all the general conferences of the M. E. and M. E. +South--both white--and of the A. M. E., A. M. E. Zion, and C. M. E. +denominations--all colored--fraternal delegations are exchanged with +all the courtesies bestowed by the two former on the two latter that +should prevail among brethren. A further concession is seen in the +fact of the elections of colored ministers of recognized scholarship +and fitness to important secretaryships and an editorship by the +powerful M. E. Church. Another illustration is the organization about +thirty years ago by the M. E. Church South of its colored membership +into the C. M. E. denomination and the liberal provision made by the +former connection for secondary education in the Payne Institute, at +Augusta, Georgia. + +The Protestant Episcopal Church that forbade St. Thomas, Philadelphia, +and St. Phillips, New York, to aspire to membership in diocesan +conventions repealed this resolution after the breaking out of the +Civil War and delegates from these and other colored parishes +throughout the North and West, at least, find free admission. + +Sixty years ago the application of so promising and talented a young +man as Alexander Crummell to be matriculated as a student in any of +the Episcopal divinity schools created a great shock in church +circles, and his rejection is set forth at length in Bishop +Wilberforce's History of American Episcopalianism; yet both at the New +York and Philadelphia theological seminaries numerous colored +clergymen, Episcopalian and others, now graduate with honor and +distinction. + +To-day in the House of Bishops there are two colored prelates of +African descent, Rt. Rev. S. D. Ferguson, the Bishop of Africa, and +the Rt. Rev. James Theodore Holly, the Bishop of Hayti; the former a +native of South Carolina, the latter of the District of Columbia. +Their welcome to the pulpits of many of the most exclusive Episcopal +Churches and to the homes of their parishioners is in marked contrast +to the greeting of the Negro by the same communion only two +generations previously. + +In the general assemblies of the Presbyterian Church to-day the +presence of colored commissioners is no novelty, and the faculty of +Biddle University, composed of colored professors, by the will of the +Presbyterian Board of Education, shows what this conservative body has +done in the recognition of Negro scholarship. + +The conventions and associations of the Baptist Church in the South, +where the bulk of the black race dwell, are still on the color line, +yet there is progress towards true fraternal feeling here. Some years +since "The Religious Herald," of Richmond, Virginia, the leading +journal of that denomination in the South, announced among its paid +contributors the name of a prominent colored divine. + +It must be said, nevertheless, that during the first half of the +nineteenth century the record of the white church on the Negro shows +not only a temporizing, but a cowardly spirit. This was true in some +respects of the Congregational Church;[5] instead of leading, the +church followed the state. The anti-slavery sentiment which was +unmistaken in the later years of the eighteenth century became with +the growth of commercialism and national expansion, quiescent and +subservient to the slave power. The right to vote, which in colonial +days was generally exercised by colored freeholders, was subsequently +either restricted or wholly denied. North Carolina, Maryland and +Tennessee in the South, and Pennsylvania in the North, disfranchised +their colored suffragists. The wave of disfranchisement then, as on +the threshold of the twentieth century, dashed from one state to +another. In the North repeated efforts were made to concede to the +Negro his complete political and civil rights. Though the sentiment in +his behalf became stronger at every trial of strength, yet with a +single exception--Wisconsin--each result was decisive against the +concession of the franchise to the Negro. It was only after a bloody +civil war, in which thousands of lives were sacrificed and billions of +treasure were expended, that the nation conceded to the Negro, first, +his freedom, next his civil rights, finally his political franchise. + +One hundred years ago there were but few colored schools, even in the +free states, and these only in the larger towns and cities. +Philadelphia was in the lead, with New York a second and Boston a +third. + +Connecticut, in the third decade of the nineteenth century, would not +permit Prudence Crandall to maintain a school of colored girls. The +means employed to break it up stands a blot on the name of the +commonwealth. A resolution of the National Convention of Colored Men, +held at Philadelphia, to establish a college for the education of +colored youths, at New Haven occasioned both fierce excitement and +bitter hostility. + +Negroes could ride only on the top of the stagecoach when traveling, +and Jim Crow cars prevailed on the introduction of railroads. Angry +mobs were frequent. Churches and schools were the common target of +attack. In the opening of the West to settlement public sentiment +there against the Negroes found emphatic expression in Black Laws +forbidding with heavy penalties their permanent abode in that section. +These laws have only been removed in the memory of men still living. +In many communities, however, these laws were a dead letter, just as +to-day there are isolated localities in Indiana and Illinois, as in +Georgia and Texas, where no Negro is permitted to permanently abide. + +Through the Anti-Slavery and Abolition agitation, carried on by such +reformers as William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, Frederick +Douglass, John G. Whittier and Horace Greeley, the organizations of +the colored people themselves, and their appreciation of the meager +educational advantages afforded them prior to Appomattox, the +sentiment of the country yielded one by one the rights and privileges +of citizens, until colored members of state legislatures in more than +half a dozen Northern states, delegates to city councils, a judgeship +each in Massachusetts and Michigan, and state elective officers in +Kansas--in none of which communities was the colored voting population +of itself sufficiently numerous to elect--evidences the remarkable +revolution in public opinion towards the Negro throughout the North. + +In the South, since 1867, there have been more than a score of +congressmen, including two senators, state legislators by the +hundreds, councilmen, police officers, city and county officials +without number; but nearly all of these were obtained by the numerical +preponderance of the Negro rather than any liberalizing of dominant +white sentiment. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] History of the Protestant Episcopal Church in America. Samuel +Wilberforce. + +[2] History of Education in North Carolina.--United States Bureau of +Education. + +[3] Semi-Centenary Discourses.--Rev. William T. Catto. + +[4] Rise of the Baptists.--R. B. Semple. + +[5] Slavery and Anti-Slavery.--Wm. Goodell. + + +SECOND PAPER. + +WHAT PROGRESS DID THE AMERICAN WHITE MAN MAKE, IN THE NINETEENTH +CENTURY, ALONG THE LINE OF CONCEDING TO THE NEGRO HIS RELIGIOUS, +POLITICAL, AND CIVIL RIGHTS? + +BY REV. J. M. COX, D. D. + +[Illustration: J. M. Cox, D. D.] + + JAMES MONROE COX. + + James Monroe Cox was born in Chambers County, Alabama, + February 26, 1860. While he was yet a boy his parents moved + to Atlanta, Ga., and in the public schools of that city he + received his first educational training. Having a desire to + go to college and receive the best training possible for + life's work, he entered Clark University. He took high rank + in his studies, completing the classical course in 1884, and + graduated from Gammon Theological Seminary in 1886, being + the first student to receive the degree of B. D. from that + institution. The year following his graduation from Gammon + he was appointed teacher of ancient languages in Philander + Smith College, Little Rock, Ark. In the fall of 1887 he was + married to Miss Hattie W. Robinson, a young woman of culture + and refinement, who after graduating from Clark University + in 1885, taught two years in the public schools of Macon, + Ga. They have five interesting children, and their married + life has been singularly happy and helpful. After a + professorship of eleven years in Philander Smith College he + was appointed president of the institution. As president he + has served for five years, and under his administration the + school has had a strong, healthy growth, until now it + numbers almost five hundred students. A much-needed addition + to the main building has been completed at a cost of + fourteen thousand dollars, the faculty has been increased, + and through the efforts of the students he has raised some + money, which forms the nucleus of a fund for a trades + school. He is a member of the Little Rock conference of the + M. E. Church, and has twice represented his brethren as + delegate to the General Conference,--at Omaha, Neb., in 1892 + and at Cleveland, Ohio, in 1896. His influence over the + young people committed to his care is great, and he is + striving to send out strong, well-rounded, Christian + characters, and thus erect monuments more enduring than + granite or marble. Last year Gammon honored him with the + degree of D. D. + +The very language of our subject assumes that the Negro is entitled to +religious, political and civil rights, and limits our task to showing +the extent these rights have been conceded to him by the American +white man. In considering this, as well as other subjects that concern +the race, it is well to bear in mind the fact that men make conditions +and conditions also make men. The truth of this statement is +strikingly demonstrated in the reactionary influence which slavery had +upon the American white man. The chains that bound the Negro and made +him a chattel, also fettered the mind and soul of the white man and +caused him to become narrow and selfish. Lincoln's proclamation gave +freedom alike to slave and master, and now the progress made by each +along all lines of human development will depend upon the extent he +leaves behind slavery conditions and thinks on purer and higher +things. Living in the past, meditating upon the time when he was owner +of men and women, the white man must still be a slaveholder. If he can +not hold in subjugation human beings, he will arrogate unto himself +the rights of others and use them to further his own selfish ends. The +Negro also must get away from slavery conditions, if he hopes ever to +be a man in the truest sense of the word and have accorded him the +rights of a man. Time and growth are determining factors in what is +known as the Negro problem. The white man must grow out of, and above, +his prejudice, learn to measure men by their manly and Christian +virtues rather than by the color of their skin and the texture of +their hair. The Negro must devote himself to character-making, +wealth-getting, and to the faithful performance of all duties that +belong to him as a man and a citizen, for, he may only hope to receive +his rights to the extent that he impresses the white man that he is +worthy and deserving of them. We repeat, it will take time to +accomplish these things, but when they are accomplished, rights which +now the white man withholds, and which it seems he will never concede, +will, like Virgil's golden branch, follow of their own accord. Viewing +the subject in the light of the above stated facts, we believe that +much progress was made by the American white man in the nineteenth +century along the line of conceding to the Negro his religious, +political, and civil rights. + +In fact, the progress made in this direction stands without a parallel +in the annals of history. It surpasses the most sanguine expectation +of the Negro's friends, and even of the Negro himself. Although the +white man is not entirely rid of his prejudice in religion and the +color line is written over the entrance to many of his temples of +worship, yet he recognizes the Negro as a man and a brother and +accords to him religious rights and privileges. The Negro worships God +according to the dictates of his own conscience, and the laws of the +land protect him in this worship. He is a potent factor in all +religious and reformatory movements and works side by side with his +brother in white for the overthrow of vice and sin and for the +hastening of the time when man and nations shall live and act in +harmony with the principles of the Christian religion. He sits in the +councils of the leading denominations of the country and assists in +making their laws and determining their polity. He is accorded a place +on the programs of the different young people's gatherings and is +listened to with the same attention which other speakers receive. He +bears fraternal greetings from his to white denominations, and is +courteously received and royally entertained. In international +assemblies and ecumenical conferences he enjoys every right and +receives the same attention that others enjoy and receive. + +But this progress is further evidenced by the profound interest +manifested by the white man in the Negro's religious and moral +development and by the strong pleas on the part of the nation's best +and ablest men for the complete obliteration of the color line in +religion and for dealing with the Negro as with any other man. +Millions of dollars have been given for the building of churches and +schools and hundreds of noble men and women have toiled and suffered +that the Negro might be elevated. The bishops of the Methodist +Episcopal Church, representing two and a half million members, said in +their address to the General Conference, at Omaha, in 1892: "We have +always affirmed them (the Negroes) to be our brothers of the same +blood and stock of all the races which compose one common humanity. As +such, we have claimed for them the same rights and privileges which +belong to all other branches of the common family." + +His political rights. He, who but yesterday was a slave, is now a +citizen, clothed with the elective franchise. This is marvelous, and +all the more so, because the ballot is a wonderful force. It is the +ground element of our American civilization. In its exercise the poor +man counts as much as the rich, the ignorant as much as the learned, +and the black as much as the white. Indeed, the free and untrammeled +use of the ballot makes its possessor a veritable sovereign and gives +him power over men and their possessions. Opinion is divided as to the +wisdom of giving the Negro citizenship at the time it was given him. +We think no mistake was made. It came at the time the Negro needed it +most. It was the weapon with which he defended himself when he had but +few friends. The Negro has not been a failure in politics. The very +leaders who urge our young men to let alone politics, will, on the +other hand, point out Bruce, Douglass, Pinchback and others as the +most worthy and conspicuous characters of the race. That a reaction +has set in, and the Negro is being deprived of the ballot, should +occasion no alarm and little surprise. + +The grandfather clause in the different state constitutions will serve +as a check to the white man's progress along educational lines, but a +spur to urge us on. These seeming setbacks in the concession of +political rights I count as progress, and place it to the white man's +credit. + +The decision of the Supreme Court at Washington against the +constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 has had its effect, +and to-day we find the Negro more discriminated against in his civil +than in any other class of rights. Then, too, the social bugbear has +had much to do with this discrimination. However, progress has been +made. It has been slow, of course, because of the channel (public +opinion) through which it has been compelled to come. In many sections +of the country the Negro enjoys the most of his civil rights. He is +admitted to the hotels, theaters, and other public places, and on +public conveyances he is furnished fair accommodations. We believe in +the ultimate triumph of right. Let us be patient. There is a +disposition on the part of the better class of white people to do the +fair and just thing by the Negro. This class will continue to +increase, and some day the Negro will enjoy all of his rights, and our +fair country will indeed be the land of the free, as well as the home +of the brave. + + + + +TOPIC XIX. + +THE NEGRO AS A LABORER. + +BY N. W. HARLLEE. + +[Illustration: Prof. N. W. Harllee] + + N. W. HARLLEE, A. M., A. B. + + The subject of this sketch was born a slave in Robeson + county, near Lumberton, North Carolina, July 15th, 1852. His + father was a Methodist preacher who exhorted the plantation + slaves, and was noted as "a natural mathematician." His + mother was deeply religious. + + Mr. Harllee is a self-made man, for he taught himself to + read and write after being taught to spell about a third + through Webster's blue-back spelling book, and with this + small beginning he laid the foundation for a collegiate + education and for the active work of life. + + In 1881 he was elected register of deeds in Richmond county, + N. C., where he had taught school for a number of years, and + in 1882 was appointed United States postal clerk on the + Carolina Central Railway and transferred to Charlotte, + Columbia and Augusta Railway, which position he held till + 1885. In 1879 he was graduated at the Biddle University, + Charlotte, N. C., with honors. In 1885 he went to Texas and + engaged in the profession of teaching, and served for a + number of years as principal of the Grammar School No. 2 of + Dallas, Texas. Afterward he was promoted to the + principalship of the Colored High School of the Dallas City + Public Schools, which position he now holds. + + Professor Harllee has taken an active part in the + educational work of his state, and has served as president + and secretary of the Teachers' State Association of the + state of Texas; he has also held the position of + Superintendent of the Colored Department of the Texas State + Fair for eight years, and still holds that position. He is a + practical staff reporter on the Dallas Morning News, Dallas, + Tex. + + Mr. Harllee was married to Miss Florence Belle Coleman of + Dallas, Tex., 1891, and has three children, Lucretia, + Chauncey Depew and Norman W., Jr. + + He is author of "Harllee's Tree of History," a new and + graphic method of teaching history; also Harllee's + "Simplified Long Division," a new graphic method of teaching + long division; also Harllee's "Diagram System of Geography." + + He has for a number of years advocated the establishment of + a State University for the youth of Texas, and is also + working with the Rev. W. Lomas and D. Rowens to establish an + industrial school for his people at Dallas. + + He is also chairman of the Y. M. C. A. board of education of + Dallas, and along with Messrs. Rice, Darrell, Polk, Weems + and Anderson is conducting a successful Y. M. C. A. night + school for all ages and sexes. + +For two hundred and fifty years the American Negro has been a drawer +of water and a hewer of wood. He felled the trees and turned the +forest into fields of cotton and corn; he drained the swamps and +turned them into fields of rice; he graded the highways and made them +possible for railroad transit and traffic. In summer he was to the +white man, his owner, an umbrella; in winter, to the same owner, he +was his winter wood, and always a ready servant with hand and brawn, +as bread and meat and shelter. + +The question of labor is one of bread and meat. To the bread-winner it +means much; to the unemployed it often lends a charm for crime; for +after all, the unemployed needs food, clothing, medicine, a shelter +and employment alike for body and mind. + +But the subject of labor is not a new one, and, indeed, it has been +made a question of many complex phases introduced by prejudice from +white trade unions. Also, climate makes an important factor, hence the +different sections of our country employ to a large extent different +kinds of labor, suited to the prevailing industries, thrift and +enterprises. + +We may consider at once the two general classes of labor, the crude +and the skilled. For generations the black man, as a crude laborer, +raised "King Cotton" in the cottonfields of the South. He has had no +competition as a crude laborer; he still holds a trust on the fleecy +staple; his right there is none to dispute. + +But to-day a new and brighter era opens before us. We are to +manufacture cotton as well as raise it. We are to advance and keep +pace with the mental training of our children and provide employment +for them in every avenue. As the Turk weaves his carpet and darns his +shawl and as the Chinese prepares his silk, so the black youth must be +trained to change cotton into cloth. + +Trained hands and trained minds are inseparable companions. If we +educate our boys and girls, we create in them a desire, we thrust upon +them a stimulus which pushes them out into the active world, and, if +only with polished brain and soft hands, they wander from place to +place seeking the shady side of active, stern reality. + +Since we, by educating our boys and girls, create new appetites, new +desires, new activities, we set in motion new forces; then we ought +the more to create new enterprises, open new avenues, establish new +business or improve the old so as to meet the new relations, the +awakened appetites, the growing activities and the employment of the +new forces in the culture of cotton and the establishment of cotton +mills. + +We commit a crime by creating appetites and then failing to appease +them. + +The education of our children should no longer be a mere theory, but a +matter of real practical nature, such as will benefit the +bread-winner, the home-seeker, the higher citizenship, the welfare of +the greatest number. + +While I favor the higher education of the youth of the nation, I also +think the youth ought to learn trades, to wear the overalls at the +forge, at the work-bench, to adjust the machinery in the work-shop and +the factory. I would have the youth able to design and build a house +as well as to live in one, to raise potatoes as well as to eat them, +to produce as well as consume. For many years the great majority of +the youth must be common laborers, whatever their education, whatever +their social condition or station; then it follows as the day follows +the night that they should be educated with the trend of the mind and +in connection with environment. + +In the days of slavery many of our young men and women were trained +along certain lines; the young men such as skilled carpenters, +blacksmiths, stone masons, bricklayers, and the like, and the young +women were trained in dressmaking and the like, and these boys and +girls grew up having a kind of monopoly in their respective lines, +although controlled by their owners. But for a quarter of a century +very little attention has been paid to trade learning in many sections +of the South. + +This condition confronts us to-day; however, it is claimed that it is +no fault of the children that they do not learn trades, and it is +further urged by many parents that the blame does not lie at their +hands; but that it is the fault of the times, of conditions and +circumstances; and still others claim that the trade unions are the +main cause. Many claim that, if their children are trained along +certain lines, they will be debarred by the opposition of the trade +unions. But these excuses seem too trivial. The opposition of the +labor organizations should urge greater activity in superior trade +learning in every pursuit, so that when the white striker walks out of +the shops the black man, skilled, trusted and tried, should walk in +and demonstrate his ability to do better and more work than the +outgoing striker. + +We are to take no steps backward in industrial and intellectual +progress in the opening days in the dawn of the new century. A +thinking people is a prosperous people. We are to be measured by what +we can accomplish, not by the color of the skin, the texture of the +hair, the color of the eye or the contour of the head. But we are to +be measured as skilled farmers, mechanics, printers, artists and +scholars. + +This age demands substantial progress in every department of industry, +in the home, at the fireside, in the shop and on the farm. To labor +with skill, to facilitate and hasten its benign results with trained +hands and cultivated brain, must ever be the fiery incentive of our +people, in order that they may keep abreast of the times in all +practical operations as skilled laborers, and, as such, vindicate +their usefulness as citizens. + +As laborers and citizens, the black face must stand for integrity in +the community, the emblem of sterling worth, the black diamond +intrinsic in value. + +The time has come when one person ceases to employ another because he +is of color, but he employs the one who can give more than value +received. The race needs to bring the hand and the head nearer +together. + +The boy who has completed a college education should, in the course of +time, raise more corn to the acre, if he be a farmer, than his +uneducated father; for his knowledge of geology should better fit him +to know the condition and nature of the soil; if a mechanic, his +knowledge of geometry and of physics should enable him to be an adept. + +The question of labor during the last few years has become, in many +respects, intensely sectional. North of Mason and Dixon's line, the +color of the skin has to do with the employment of the colored man +along certain lines of skilled labor. While this is true in the South, +the prejudice is not so rank as in the North, except where the colored +laborer comes in contact with the Yankee or the foreigner. + + +SECOND PAPER. + +THE NEGRO AS A LABORER. + +BY PROF. R. G. ROBINSON, B. L. + +[Illustration: Prof. R. G. Robinson, B. L.] + + PROF. R. G. ROBINSON. + + Prof. R. G. Robinson, B. L., the subject of our sketch, was + born in Hamilton, Bermuda Islands, B. W. I., February 16, + 1873. In pursuit of education he came to the United States + at the early age of eleven, going directly to New Hampshire. + In the fall of '85 he entered Dow Academy in Franconia, N. + H. By economy and thrift he maintained himself in this + institution for eight years, graduating in 1893, second in + his class. During this course he was several times elected + president of the Autonomation Literary Society. His conduct + and standing was very tersely stated by one of his + professors, when he said that "he was courteous and obliging + under all circumstances, clear and logical in his deductions + and conscientious as a Christian." + + He immediately entered Dartmouth College in the class of + '97. During his college course he was prominent in + athletics, at the same time holding a good position in his + class. Despite the fact he was one of the two colored men in + a class of a hundred and twenty-eight, yet at the close of + Freshman year he was unanimously elected class auditor for + the ensuing year. He was a charter member of the Ruskin + Society, a society for the cultivation of the histrionic art + in Dartmouth College. In 1897 Dartmouth gave him the degree + of Bachelor of Letters. Says President Tucker of Dartmouth: + "He is a man of clear and earnest purpose, possessing tact + and good executive ability." + + After graduation he was elected to the chair of English + language and literature in the Tuskegee Institute, but + resigned at the close of the year and was elected principal + of one of the city schools of Montgomery, Ala., which + position he held until elected by the Freedmen's Aid and + Southern Educational Society as principal of the La Grange + Academy, La Grange, Ga. + + In 1899 he was married to Lily Belle, the daughter of Wm. + Hill, the wealthy truck gardener of Montgomery. Mrs. + Robinson is a graduate of the A. & M. College at Normal, + Alabama. They have a son, Mason Francis. + + Prof. Robinson has a brother who is a member of the Boston + Bar. He graduated from Dow Academy in Franconia, N. H., in + 1893; attended Oberlin College and received the degree of + LL. B. from Boston University. In 1898 he was a member of + the Boston Common Council. + +So artful is nature that she does not permit man to break one of her +laws for his pleasure without a sacrifice on his part; that for every +action there is a corresponding reaction; and so the laws of +compensation hold good in the dealings of man with man, races with +races, and nations with nations. Slavery, as ignominious as it was, +had a dual effect. The master race, forming what might be termed a +landed aristocracy, looked upon manual labor as degrading; while it of +necessity became the natural sphere of the weaker. Thus the spirit of +work became engrafted into the very being of the Negro. This is the +path all races have trod. + +The basis of the South's industrial system was Negro labor; and +although the Emancipation Proclamation changed the whole structure +from a base of slave labor to that of free labor, nevertheless the +Negro remained virtually in the same position, but with enlarged +opportunities. This was a legacy greater than the ballot, for it is +vastly more important to a man to be able to earn an honest living +than to be privileged to cast a ballot, and doubly so if the element +of doubt as to its being counted enters into the privilege. It was a +cruel change from that of an irresponsible creature to that of a man +clothed with the responsibility of self-support and of American +citizenship--a change that would have staggered any race, but the +Negro has acted nobly his part. + +To say that the Negro is a valuable citizen, and a necessity in the +development of the South, is to put it mildly. It can best be +appreciated when we remember that since the war the Negro has earned +seventy-five billions of dollars, and out of this vast amount he has +saved the pitiful sum of five hundred millions; thus contributing to +the wealth of the South seventy-four billions and a half of dollars. +It is estimated that four-fifths of the labor done in the South is +done by the Negro. The theory advanced by those who claim themselves +to be immunes from that dreaded disease of Negrophobia is, that the +industrial education of the Negro will inevitably inspire a similar +movement for the industrial training of the poor whites, and the +resultant competition means a further complication of the race +problem, which will only be solved by the ultimate separation of the +races. This theory is as unique as it is original, and bids fair to +revolutionize the laws of economics. But to the contrary the laws of +trade and labor are as imperious as all the enactments of necessity. +The South is fast regaining her lost treasures and bids fair to become +not only an agricultural section, but with her wonderful oil and +mineral resources to be the rival of the North. Coupled with her +wonderful resources is the free Negro labor, which is the cheapest in +the world outside of Asia, and will not only be in demand but will +ultimately enter into all industries, driving all before it. It is a +certainty that capital will inevitably seek and secure the cheapest +labor. Besides cheapness, other qualifications have made, and will +continue to make, him indispensable to the South's development and +make him far superior to the foreign element for which a few seem to +clamor. + +Coming out of slavery ignorant, irresponsible, no name, no home, no +"mule," there is no better way to measure the influence of Christian +education than by the increased ability to earn, to save and to wisely +invest money. The spirit of home-getting and the eagerness for +education are very hopeful signs. We proudly quote from a lengthy +editorial in a recent issue of the Atlanta Constitution: "The building +up of wealth follows a sharpening of intellect. If the untutored +colored man of the past quarter of a century could amass nearly a half +a billion of dollars, why may not the educated Negro, during the next +quarter of a century, quadruple the amount?" + +As a skilled laborer it will take time for the race to make a mark, +because here he will meet with sharper competition. This is the +opportunity of the industrial school. The lack of sufficient numbers +of skilled colored mechanics and because of the existence of +prejudice, the employer shows timidity in attempting to supplant white +labor with Negro labor. This fear will decrease as the supply +increases. We indorse industrial training for the masses, but as +efficient as it is, it is not sufficient. The tendency of these +schools is to make the training of the hand of primary importance and +that of the brain secondary. This might suffice for a while, but in +this age of progress, of invention, when the genius of the age seems +to have directed all its power to the invention of labor-saving +machines, the demand for brainy mechanics is increasing so rapidly +that the industrial school of to-day will wake up to-morrow only to +find itself behind the times. + +The Northern section of our country, with its large manufacturing +interests and the constant demand for skilled labor, has encouraged +the combining of labor into trades unions as a means of protection +against the encroachments of capital. Because of the social side of +these organizations the Negro has been debarred, with some exceptions. +The unions will operate against him just as long as the interests of +the unions are not in jeopardy and the supply of skilled colored +mechanics is insufficient. But in the South, where Negro labor is +plenty and agriculture is the chief occupation, the Negro will always +have a practical monopoly, and his opportunities in all the trades in +the North, as well as in the South, will increase in proportion as he +becomes an educated, thrifty, law-abiding land-owner. The time has +come when the Negro can no longer afford to play upon the sympathies +of his friends, but as a man among men he must be pre-eminently fitted +for his place; fitted in intellect, in the knowledge of his craft and +in sobriety. + +As a common laborer the Negro in his ignorance has had to battle +against great odds. Too often his employer, who built the courts, run +them and owns them, but who made the Negro shoulder the expense, +feeling that he has the right of way and in his eagerness to get +something for nothing, has forced the Negro through necessity to do +the very thing for which he condemns him. Despite these great odds, +industry and uprightness in any man, be he white or black, makes him a +valuable member of any community. + + +THIRD PAPER. + +THE NEGRO AS A LABORER. + +BY MISS LENA T. JACKSON. + +[Illustration: Lena T. Jackson] + + LENA TERRELL JACKSON, M. A. + + Lena Terrell Jackson was born December 25, 1865, in + Gallatin, Sumner County, Tenn. Her father died in her early + childhood; hence the responsibility of her support and + education fell upon her mother. + + This mother determined to give her daughter the advantage of + a good education. Accordingly at the age of seven years the + daughter was placed in a private school and remained there + until the autumn of 1876, when, having finished the course + of study in the private school, she was entered as a pupil + in the Belle View City School and remained there three + consecutive years. + + She completed the course of study in the Nashville City + Schools in June, 1879. In September, 1879, she entered the + Middle Preparatory Class of Fisk University and remained at + Fisk six years, graduating from the Collegiate Department in + 1885. + + During the six years spent at Fisk she taught school during + the summer months in the rural districts and with the money + thus earned helped to support her mother and maintain + herself in school. She also assisted her mother in her + family work after school hours. + + After graduation, in 1885, she was elected as a teacher in + the Nashville Public Schools, having resigned two similar + positions, the one at Birmingham, Ala., and the other at + Chattanooga, Tenn., to accept the Nashville appointment. + + In 1894 she was assigned to the Junior Grade in the colored + High School and two years later to the Chair of Latin in the + High School, which position she is still filling. + + Following out the principles of economy that are so + thoroughly inculcated in the minds of Fisk students, her + first thought after completing her course of study was + turned towards the acquisition of real estate and the + purchase of a home for her mother, who through so many + struggles and sacrifices had made it possible for her to + obtain a college education. + + Her hopes in this direction have been realized to some + extent; and she has secured not only a home, but + considerable other real estate. + +The wide scope of this subject, and the limited time given for +research, together with the absence of statistics, make it impossible +at this time to present more than a brief sketch. I propose to +continue my research and investigation and at some later date to +present the subject in a very much enlarged form, giving the condition +of the Negro as a laborer in all the leading cities of the United +States. In the present sketch mention will be made of only a few +cities. + +The Southern cities, with their stately residences and business houses +that were constructed in ante-bellum days, bear emphatic testimony to +the skill of the Negro in the mechanic arts. All of the labor of the +South at that time was done almost exclusively by the Negro. +Plantation owners trained their own blacksmiths, wheelwrights, +painters and carpenters. The Negro was seen as a foreman on many +Southern plantations during ante-bellum days. Education has greatly +improved his ability to labor, and to-day in every vocation he is +found as a laborer, competing successfully with other laborers. +Notwithstanding the fact that prejudice and labor organizations are +arrayed against him, the character of his work is such, and his +disposition as a laborer such, that his services will always be in +great demand. + +Negro laborers are given employment on large buildings alongside of +white laborers, and generally give entire satisfaction. In the city of +Nashville, Tenn., during the present year, in the construction of the +Polk Flats, two Negro laborers were employed with a number of white +laborers; a strong pressure was brought to bear upon the foreman to +displace the two Negro laborers and fill their places with white men. +The request was promptly denied. This is conclusive proof that had the +character of the Negroes' work not been eminently satisfactory the +reverse would have been the result. + +The Negro is found in all the occupations that are characteristic of a +progressive people, namely, barbers, blacksmiths, brick and stone +masons, carpenters, coachmen, domestic servants, firemen, farm +laborers, mail carriers, merchants (grocers), millers, shoemakers and +repairers, waiters, nurses, seamstresses, housewives, washerwomen and +milliners. + +_Trades and Industries._--As stone and brick masons the wages range +from $2 to $3 per day. Huntsville, Ala., has a brickyard that is owned +and controlled by Negroes. This firm secures the contract for a large +number of houses in Huntsville and the adjoining towns. + +There is a town in the northern part of Virginia in which the entire +brickmaking business is in the hands of a colored man, a freedman, who +bought his own and his family's freedom, purchased his master's +estate, and eventually hired his master to work for him. He owns a +thousand acres or more of land and considerable town property. In his +brickyard he hires about fifteen hands, mostly boys from sixteen to +twenty years of age, and runs five or six months a year, making from +200,000 to 300,000 brick. Probably over one-half the brick houses of +the place are built of brick made in his establishment, and he has +repeatedly driven white competitors out of business. + +As firemen the Negro has shown himself courageous and faithful to his +trust. During a great fire in Nashville, Tenn., a few years ago, it +was conceded by all that the progress of a disastrous fire was checked +and much valuable property saved by the heroic efforts of the colored +fire company. Unfortunately, however, the captain of the company and +two of his comrades were sacrificed. In all the large cities colored +fire companies are to be found, and in every case they are making a +good record. + +In some sections of Texas and Mississippi Negro plantation owners are +often found. + +Just after the close of the war the highest ambition of the Negro was +the ministry. But there has been a remarkable change in that direction +and Negroes are now found in all the professions. The Negro physician +has made an enviable record. One of the leading surgeons in the West +is a colored physician. He is the founder of a large hospital in a +western town, and is also surgeon-in-chief of one of the largest +hospitals in the country. The Negro has also gained some distinction +at the bar. A large number of Negroes are teachers, and an increasing +number of these are young women. + +_Clerical Work._--Negroes are given employment as clerks in the +government service at Washington, D. C. There is a large number of +railway-mail clerks, with salaries ranging from one thousand to +fifteen hundred dollars a year. Nashville, Tenn., has three mail +clerks who have held their respective routes for more than ten years. + +_Common Laborers._--This class includes porters, janitors, teamsters, +laborers in foundries and factories. The usual wages paid for this +class of work is $1 a day. + +The barbering and restaurant businesses, toward which the Negro +naturally turned just after emancipation, for which their training as +home servants seemed especially to fit them, are not so largely +followed now owing to the fact that the best talent of the race have +entered the professions. Yet, however, in some places the Negro +restaurant keeper does a thriving business. In Chicago, Illinois, +there were two fine up to date restaurants which did a good business. +One of these employed white help exclusively. + +The Negro blacksmiths and wheelwrights do a good business, sometimes +taking in from $5 to $8 a day. + +As shoemakers and repairers, and furniture repairers and silversmiths, +the Negro is successful, and is kept busy. In painting there is a +colored contractor in Nashville who does business on a large scale. He +is proprietor of his own shop, employs a large number of men, and +secures the contract for a large number of fine dwellings. His +patronage is confined mostly to white people. + +Nashville has a steam laundry owned and operated entirely by colored +men, and it has a large white patronage. In the rural districts most +of the Negroes devote themselves to farming, either working on the +farms of others or are themselves proprietors of farms. + +_Domestic Service._--In this field of labor both men and women are +found. The average wages paid the men is $15 a month and board. The +women receive from $5 to $12 a month, according to age and work. In +addition to their wages they also receive lodging, cast-off clothes, +and are trained in matters of household economy and taste. At present +there is considerable dissatisfaction and discussion over the state of +domestic service. Many Negroes often look upon menial labor as +degrading and only enter it from utter necessity, and then as a +temporary make-shift. This state of affairs is annoying to employers +who find an increasing number of careless and impudent young people +who neglect their work, and in some cases show vicious tendencies. + +The low schedule for such work is due to two causes: One is, that from +custom many Southern families hire help for which they cannot afford +to pay much; another reason is that they do not consider the service +rendered worth any more. This may not be the open conscious thought of +the better elements of such laborers, but it is the unconscious +tendency of the present situation, which makes one species of +honorable and necessary labor difficult to buy or sell without loss of +self-respect on one side or the other. + +_Day Service._--A large number of single women and housewives work out +regularly in families, or take washing into their homes; and, like +house servants, are paid by the week, or if they work by the day from +30 to 50 cents a day. This absence of mothers from home not only +occasions a neglect of their household duties but also of their +children, especially of girls. Aside from house servants and +washerwomen, many of the women are seamstresses and readily find +employment in white families. Some do a remunerative business in their +own homes. The Negro woman is especially successful as a trained +nurse, and a considerable number of the brightest and most intelligent +among the young women are entering upon that calling. +_Conclusion._--The closing years of the nineteenth century indicate +remarkable advancement on the part of the Negro in all industrial +lines; but the twentieth century will doubtless furnish opportunities +which will enable him to carry these beginnings to their legitimate +fruition. + + + + +TOPIC XX. + +THE NEGRO AS A CHRISTIAN. + +BY REV. WILLIAM E. PARTEE, D. D. + +[Illustration: W. E. Partee, D. D.] + + WILLIAM E. PARTEE, D. D. + + Rev. William E. Partee, D. D., was born at Concord, N. C., + of Christian parents in the year 1860 and at an early age + placed in the common schools of his native town. He was left + an orphan at the age of ten, but by determination and the + help of friends he gained an education. When but sixteen + years of age he taught a country school. He was graduated + from the collegiate and theological departments of Biddle + University and was licensed to preach in 1883 and ordained + in 1884 by the Presbytery of Catawba and entered upon his + life work by serving as pastor of Westminster Presbyterian + Church at Concord, N. C., for more than three years, among + his early playmates and companions. + + In the year 1887 he took charge of a mission church and + school at Gainesville, Fla., serving acceptably in that work + for more than four years and standing faithfully by his + people during that memorable epidemic of yellow fever in + 1888. In 1892 he was called to the pastorate of Laura Street + Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville, Fla., which position he + occupied for nearly seven years. During two years of that + time he was also principal of one of the city graded + schools. In 1896 he was sent as commissioner from the + Presbytery of East Florida to the General Assembly of the + Presbyterian Church at Saratoga. + + In 1898 he resigned from his work in Jacksonville to take + charge of the First Presbyterian Church of Richmond, Va. + Thus he has been engaged for many years in the active work + of the ministry, always doing earnest and faithful work and + held in high esteem by the people of every community in + which he has labored. + + He was married in 1886 to Miss Edith I. Smith, of Lynchburg, + Va., who proved a worthy and efficient helper in his work, + and uncomplainingly shared with him the trials and + vicissitudes which fall to the preacher's lot in life for + fourteen years. Then the Master called her to rest from her + labors. + +To form a correct estimate of the Negro as a Christian we must take +into account the "depths from which he came." + +Back of his forty years of freedom lie more than two hundred years of +bondage, in which he was forced to obey the will of another absolutely +and kept in ignorance. All real manhood was repressed and every +ambition curbed. Though under the control of the Christian Church and +people of the South, and living on the farms and in the homes and +families of their masters, mingling in their lives and their society, +and subject to their moulding influence, yet, as a rule, the moral +principles and qualities necessary to a religious life were not taught +him, neither was he encouraged to cultivate them. + +There was no lawful marriage, no true home, but husband and wife were +the property of a master who used or abused either as he chose; their +children grew up under the same conditions and were encouraged or +forced into unchastity, lying, stealing and betraying of one another +under the teaching that there was no moral wrong to them since they +were the property of another who was responsible for their acts. There +could be no growth in morals, and there can be no true religion +without morals. To say the least they came out of bondage with a +dwarfed moral nature, and to this day suffer more or less from the +effects of it. The carnality of slavery has not yet ceased to bear +fruit, as we all know. Ever and anon it shows itself in those horrible +acts which the newspapers report in full. + +It takes long and weary years to root out of a race or nation evils +that have become fixed in its nature. But while there is much to be +deplored as to laxity in morals among the masses there has been +constant and steady improvement in this regard. It is no doubt true +that any race, kept in bondage under similar conditions, and for the +same length of time as the Negro was, would come out of it in no +better condition, and would, perhaps, show no better record in forty +years than this race has shown, and especially so if that bondage were +preceded by heathenism. + +Dr. Haygood has said, "The hope of the African race in this country is +largely in its pulpit. No people can rise above their religion; no +people's religion can rise above the doctrines preached and lived by +their ministry." + +The Negro began almost unaided and alone in this particular. As to +their religion they were very largely left to themselves during +slavery. Their ministers were ignorant and unlettered. Many of them +were pious, but many were ungodly and unscrupulous. So theirs was a +religion largely without the Bible. It consisted of bits of Scripture +here and there, of glowing imaginations, of dreams and of +superstitions; yet it was the best they knew. + +Then many years of freedom had passed by before fully equipped +ministers could be provided them. During those years faithful servants +of God, unlettered, did their best to be the true religious leaders of +the people (all honor to them), but they necessarily came short in +many respects and could not carry the people up to the higher plane of +religious life. + +With these things before our minds we say that the race has shown a +remarkable growth in the essentials of true Christian manhood. Their +notions may, in some things, be crude; their conceptions of truth may +be realistic; they may be more emotional than ethical; they may show +many imperfections in their religious development; nevertheless is it +true that their religion is their most striking formative +characteristic. So susceptible are they that no other influence has +had so much to do in shaping their better character, and what they are +to become in their future development will be largely determined by +their religion. + +While in their church and social life there are some elements of evil +and superstition, some of which are the inheritance of past ages in +the fatherland, while others have been developed in this country by +the conditions of life during the years of slavery, still any +fairminded person who takes the pains to correctly inform himself will +acknowledge that these are being gradually but surely eradicated. + +As a Christian he commends himself in his faith and devotion. Though +his religion may sometimes be defective in its practical application +to the principles of right conduct and living, God, heaven, hell and +the judgment day are realities to him. He believes the truths of the +Bible to be real, and thus he is sound in the faith so far as he +understands it, and that is more than can be said of many who are +better informed than he. What a rare thing to find one an infidel! +Where can you find a people more susceptible to religious teaching? + +The emotional nature is highly developed, and they are quick to +respond to whatever appeals to their sympathies and affections. +Emotion has its place in religion and is not to be ignored, but to be +properly used and controlled and directed. To move any one we must +first reach the feelings; if these can be aroused they may develop +into a conviction that the subject of them should adopt a given course +of action, and he accordingly does so. I am not sure after all that we +should seek to repress such to any great extent. It may be a point in +his favor, for since he is easily and powerfully impressed by strong +appeals, he is the more readily brought under the influence of the +wise teacher or leader. It is true in some cases that mere physical +excitement is mistaken for being "filled with the spirit," and thus +some swing to the extreme in this direction. It is noticeable, +however, that this is being rapidly outgrown and more self-control is +being practiced. After all it does seem that being easily moved and +swayed may furnish the lever by which the wise and prudent may begin +to lift them to the higher ground of religious life. No doubt in most +cases there is deep down beneath the easily overwrought feelings a +true religious disposition, with much spirituality and divine energy. + +Benevolence is rightly regarded as an important matter in Christian +living. In proportion to his means the Negro excels in this. Hundreds +of churches, and many schools and colleges have been built out of +their poverty. To sum up and place on record their gifts for the +extension of Christ's kingdom would perhaps show to the world an +unequalled record of self-sacrifice and devotion to a cause. Show that +a cause is a worthy one and they are ready to give according to their +ability to help that cause. To give help to ministers of the gospel +and other Christian workers is not only regarded as a duty but as an +honor and a pleasure. On the whole they are kind at heart, generous to +the distressed, obliging and considerate. Love to friends and +forgiveness of enemies are marked characteristics. + +The statement has been often made that loose notions as to morals are +held. To some extent this may be true. Let us bear in mind that the +large majority are poor and are common laborers, and more than half +the race are illiterate. Compare them with this class of any race in +this or any other country and I dare say they will suffer but little +by the comparison. Some have made much of the fact that in many +places whole families by necessity live in one or two-room cabins. +While this is unfortunate and to be regretted, it is nevertheless true +that you can find even in such conditions in the majority of instances +that purity and virtue are as much respected as among those who live +in roomy homes where every privacy is afforded. They are not any +worse, certainly, and, perhaps, are better in this respect than the +multitudes of other races who live in the cellars and attics of +crowded tenements in our great cities. + +Let us not make the mistake of including all in one general class, and +_that_ the worst, but while acknowledging that there is great room for +improvement, let us recognize in the vast mass of multitude who, in +education, morals and religion, are the equals of any people. + +The correspondence between the profession of the heart and the outward +life is often not what it should be, but is not that true also of many +Christians of any race? There are Christians of highest education who +enjoy abundant and varied opportunities of enlightenment and culture +who fail to show in all their outward life what they profess in their +heart to be. Some do fall into the error of trying to separate between +the religion of the heart and that of the life, but generally they are +learning the better way. Where so large a percentage of the people +cannot read and write, how can you expect of them the highest degree +of moral and religious life? Taking into account the disadvantages and +limitations under which they labor, you rather wonder that they have +reached so high as they have in Christian living. We must consider the +past history of the race, its present disadvantages, environment and +opportunity, if we would justly estimate its Christianity. We must +base our judgment upon the developed Negro if we would be fair. +Education helps us to be better Christians just as it helps others +and, and as we get more knowledge of Bible truths such as education +can give us we will be better Christians. Educated ministers are fast +displacing the uneducated, and those whose moral and Christian +character fall below the standard are being crowded out, and schools +and colleges are sending out every year hundreds of educated Christian +men and women who raise the standard of right living in any community +where their lot is cast. + +The material prosperity of the Negro may be placed in evidence as to +his Christianity. With all the odds against them and starting up from +absolute poverty, the race now owns farms, homes, schools, churches, +bank accounts and personal property amounting to five hundred and +fifty million dollars. It is remarkable that this has been acquired +in forty years. God's word teaches that nations prosper in material +things as they get close to God. + +Thus looking upon the brighter side we are led to commend in many +things the Christianity of the Negro race and to believe that as a +people higher ground is aimed at. Though yet a long way off from +perfection, yet ever onward and upward are they tending. + + +SECOND PAPER. + +THE NEGRO AS A CHRISTIAN. + +BY REV. L. B. ELLERSON, A. B., A. M. + +[Illustration: Rev. L. B. Ellerson] + + REV. L. B. ELLERSON. + + Rev. L. B. Ellerson, A. M., was born at Cheraw, S. C., in + 1869. Mr. Ellerson's father having died when the son was but + an infant, Mr. Ellerson was left to be reared under the + fostering care of his mother alone. He spent his youthful + days in the public schools of his native town until he was + sixteen years old. At that time he was happily converted to + Christ and received the impressions that he was called to + the gospel ministry. At the same time he united with the + Presbyterian Church. In 1886, Mr. Ellerson entered Biddle + University at Charlotte, N. C., to pursue such a course as + would prepare him for the ministry. He remained at Biddle + University until 1893, when he graduated from the classical + course with honor, taking the Philosophical Oration. In '92 + Mr. Ellerson was the successful contestant for the medal + given by the Alumni to the Junior Class. During his course + at Biddle, Mr. Ellerson spent his summer vacations, teaching + in the district schools of North and South Carolina. In + June, 1893, Mr. Ellerson was employed to do missionary work + near Asheville, N. C. He continued in this work until + September, 1893, at which time he entered the Theological + Seminary of the Presbyterian Church at Princeton, N. J., for + the purpose of completing his course for the ministry. + During the first two years of his course of Theology at + Princeton he continued to come South in summer and engage in + teaching during vacations. He graduated from Princeton + Theological Seminary in 1896. He and two others being the + only colored students in a class of sixty-nine young men. + Besides keeping up the studies of the last year, Mr. + Ellerson supplied the pulpit of Dwight's Chapel at + Englewood, New Jersey. Here he remained until September, + 1896, when he came to South Carolina and was ordained to the + full work of the gospel ministry by the Fairfield + Presbytery, the same Presbytery having licensed him the + preceding year. + + During Rev. Ellerson's course at Princeton he was at one + time engaged to supply the pulpit of Siloam Presbyterian + Church at Elizabeth, N. J. At another time he was employed + to assist the Rev. H. G. Miller, pastor of Mt. Taber + Presbyterian Church, in New York City, during the illness of + the pastor. Upon his ordination by Fairfield Presbytery in + 1896, Rev. Ellerson was placed in charge of the church and + school work at Manning, S. C. Here he worked very + successfully preaching and teaching until November, 1898, + when he was called to the pastorate of Berean Presbyterian + Church at Beaufort, S. C. At the same time he was made + principal of Harbison Institute. Rev. Ellerson labored with + a marked degree of success on the Beaufort field from + November, 1898 to April, 1901, when he was urged to accept a + call from the Laura Street Presbyterian Church at + Jacksonville, Fla., where he is at present prosecuting the + work of his church with success. For a young man of his age, + Rev. Ellerson evidently stands high in the estimation of his + fellow Presbyters. This is evinced by the fact that he has + already filled some of the highest offices in the gift of + his brethren. In 1898 he was unanimously chosen moderator of + Fairfield Presbytery at Camden, S. C. In 1899 he was made + the choice of Atlantic Synod for moderator at Columbia, S. + C., and in 1900 he was unanimously elected to represent the + Presbytery of Atlantic in the General Assembly which met in + St. Louis, Mo. + + He has filled each of these offices with credit and ability. + The degree of A. M. was conferred upon him by Biddle + University, his Alma Mater in 1900. + +If it is true that man is naturally a religious being, then it is +pre-eminently true in the case of the Negro. If the Negro is anything +at all he is religious. It matters not in what walk of life you find +him or what may be his personal or individual character, it is a very +rare case indeed when you find a Negro who indulges in doubt as to the +existence of a supreme being or the existence of a future state of +rewards and punishments. With him these are fixed points of belief. +But as much as may be justly said regarding the Negro's natural piety, +it must be observed and admitted by all who know the Negro best that +his religion is very much defective in its practical application to +the principles of right conduct and living. And this, we perceive, is +the main point at issue, for when we discuss the Negro as a Christian +we must of necessity feel called upon to distinguish between his +native piety and his applied Christianity. We wish it understood, too, +that the general observations made here refer to the masses of Negroes +rather than to the individual. + +We unhesitatingly affirm that individuals of our race have risen to as +true and as high a Christian status as has mankind anywhere. And +although we know and confess that the masses of our race have not yet +come up to the genuine standard of the New Testament +Christianity--even in apprehension--yet it must be observed that their +religion contains many features that are highly commendable. Chief +among these features are, first, his simple, child-like, unwavering +faith in God. Nor can this condition be wholly attributed to ignorance +or thoughtlessness, as some might hold; for, indeed, we have produced +some men of as rare ability as move among the human throng; yet it is +almost as difficult to find an atheist, an agnostic, or an infidel of +any sort among us as it is to find a "needle in a haystack." The Negro +believes in the God of the Bible. + +Second. Because the Negro is naturally emotional he is usually earnest +and fervent in the exercise of his religious worship, as far as that +goes. He likes the strong, passionate appeal which for the time being, +at least, tickles him into laughter or moves him to tears and sweeps +him off his feet in its flight. The earnestness and fervency are all +right but too often these run to the extreme and so constitute by far +too large a portion of his Christianity. + +Third. Again, the Negro's religion is characterized by benevolence. I +believe that history has no record of a people who, out of their want +and poverty, have given so much to benevolent causes as have the +Negroes in this country. Is it not wonderful to reckon the millions of +dollars that have been given by us for erecting and maintaining church +edifices, schools and other benevolent institutions since +emancipation? It is perfectly safe to affirm that no people have +exceeded us along this line. But with all of these good things that +can be justly said to the credit of our religion, the fair-minded must +still admit that when we come to the daily application of the +principles and practices of Bible Christianity we are lacking. If this +be true, there is a cause. What is it? We believe that the cause was +stated in part when we referred to the natural emotional element in +our makeup. That element too often causes us to run off with the +sentiment, having left the substance behind. Another cause, and, +perhaps the main one, is to be found doubtless in the same way in +which we find the causes of defects in our race along other lines, i. +e., from defective leadership and instruction along this particular +line. We would be understood. The crying need of our race to-day _is_ +and has been a _competent_ ministry to lead and instruct the masses in +the application of the principles of right life and conduct from the +standpoint of Bible Christianity. To-day the church, especially in our +race, is the center of both our social and Christian life. Like +priests, like people. All honor to the pioneers who did their best in +their circumstances and who served well their day and generation. But +this is another age; this, a brighter day--one that demands +improvement along all lines, and especially in the pulpit of my race. +The pew is advancing, hence the pulpit had better push on. The key to +the situation, then, is nothing more nor less than a more +consecrated and intelligent Christian ministry for our race throughout +the length and breadth of this land. And we are hopeful; for the +"signs of the times" portend the coming of better things. Already +bright streaks of gray high up upon the eastern horizon herald the +dawn of a new and brighter day. Every branch of the Christian church +in our race is putting forth strenuous efforts to supply the pulpits +of the race with competent ministers. Let this glorious day be +hastened and soon Ethiopia will stretch out her hands to God. + + +THIRD PAPER. + +THE NEGRO AS A CHRISTIAN. + +BY REV. WALTER H. BROOKS, D. D. + +[Illustration: Rev. W. H. Brooks, D. D.] + + REV. WALTER H. BROOKS, D. D. + + Rev. Walter H. Brooks, D. D., has a very unusual and + interesting history. He was born a slave in Richmond, Va., + August 30, 1851, his parents belonging to different masters. + In 1859 his mother's master died, and arrangements were made + to sell her and her six children, she being allowed to + select a purchaser if she could find one. Through a white + friend his father bought Dr. Brooks' mother, together with + two of the youngest children. Walter H. Brooks and an elder + brother were bought by a large tobacco manufacturing firm in + Richmond. In 1861 the breaking out of the war affected the + tobacco trade, and many of the tobacconists were obliged to + sell or hire out their slaves. Walter and his brother David + were hired by their mother, who, each quarter of the year, + managed to pay the amount agreed upon. For the next three + years both of the boys worked, thereby aiding their mother + in paying their hire. After the war Walter H. Brooks, for a + short time, attended a primary school in Richmond, taught by + a young lady from the North. + + In October, 1866, he had received one year's instruction + when he went to Lincoln University, Chester County, Pa. He + remained there seven years, graduating in 1872, and then + entered a theological class for one year. During the second + year of his seminary life he was converted and became an + elder in the Presbyterian Church. He expected to become a + Presbyterian preacher, but in 1873 his ideas having made him + a subject to baptism, he joined the First African Baptist + Church of Richmond, Va. + + For a short time he was a clerk in the postoffice at + Richmond, Va., but in 1874, having resigned his position, he + entered the service of the American Baptist Publication + Society in the State of Virginia. Having been ordained in + December, 1876, in April, 1877, he accepted the pastorship + of the Second Baptist Church of Richmond, Va., where he + succeeded in paying off the entire debt of the church. In + June, 1880, he was sent as a delegate for the Virginia + Baptist State Convention to the Baptist General Association + in session at Petersburg, and he was the first Colored + delegate received by that body. In September, 1880, he + resigned the charge of the church and went to New Orleans, + La., to commence work in the American Baptist Publication + Society's employ, but his wife's failing health caused him + to return to Virginia in 1882. + + In November, 1882, he was called to the pastorship of the + Nineteenth Street Baptist Church of Washington, D. C., where + he has been ever since. + + Roger Williams University, Nashville, Tenn., and State + University, Louisville, Ky., both honored him with the title + of Doctor of Divinity; while his alma mater, in June, 1883, + conferred upon him the degree of M. A. + + Recently he was elected a trustee of the United Society of + Christian Endeavor, to represent the Colored Baptists of the + world. + + Dr. Brooks has distinguished himself as a temperance + advocate, and for a number of years has been the Chaplain of + the Anti-Saloon League of the District of Columbia. + + His article, printed some years since in the "National + Baptist" of Philadelphia, Pa., on "George Liele, the Black + Apostle," and his more recent paper on the "Beginnings of + Negro Churches in America," have won for him many praises. + + For twenty-eight years Dr. Brooks has been in public life, + and his power as a speaker still gives him a commanding + influence in the pulpit and on the platform. + + Dr. Brooks married Miss Eva Holmes, of the family of Rev. + James H. Holmes, of Richmond, Va., and this union resulted + in the birth of ten children--eight of whom are living, four + boys and four girls--the oldest born being 27 years of age, + the youngest four years. + +The Christian religion is eminently adapted to the wants of humanity. +It has always had a charm for lowly and oppressed peoples. It was, +therefore, the one thing, above all others, which gave comfort and +hope to the American Negro during the night of his long bondage. + +The story of the enslavement and marvelous deliverance of God's +ancient people; of Daniel, the prophet, and the Hebrew youths, whom +God protected and honored in the house of their bondage; the psalms of +David, the sweet singer of Israel; the inspired narratives of Jesus of +Nazareth, the Christ of God; the Biblical account of the faith, +sufferings and triumphs of the apostles; and the manifold promises of +God, made to all who served Him in truth, and patiently wait for their +fulfillment, could not fail in influencing the conduct and life of +America's Negro slaves. It was in circumstances like these the +Christian Negro, many years ago, sang out his hopes, his sorrows, and +his soul-yearnings in melodies peculiarly his own, whose plaintive +strains have been echoing around the globe for a generation and more. + +The balm of Gilead was never so soothing to the wounds of an Israelite +as the Gospel of Jesus Christ was, in the dark days of slavery, to the +oppressed and sorrowing soul of the unfortunate Negro. It is not +surprising, therefore, that at least one-fourth of the entire Negro +population of the country was devout Christians forty years ago, while +the entire Negro population was nominally believers in the living and +true God, and in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. + +Whether the Negro Christian has lost some of his old-time love for +Christ, and his zeal for the sanctuary, is, in the minds of some, an +open question. We, however, believe that the Savior and the sanctuary +are dearer to the Negro than ever. Indeed, so far as the census, which +was taken by the United States in 1890, proves anything as to the +matter of religion, the Negro is the most religious citizen of the +country. Here is an extract from that report: "The Negro population of +the country, exclusive of Indian territory and Alaska, according to +the census of 1890, is 7,470,040. As the churches report 2,673,197 +Negro communicants, exclusive of Indian territory and Alaska, it +follows that _one_ person in every 2.79 of the Negro population is a +communicant. Excluding Indian Territory and Alaska, the total +population is 62,622,250, and the total of communicants 20,568,679. +The proportion here is 1 communicant in every 3.04 of the population. +In other words, while all denominations have 328.46 communicants in +every 1,000 of the total population, the colored organizations +reported have 357.86 communicants in every 1,000 of the Negro +population." According to this showing, _more than a third_ of the +entire Negro population of the country was enrolled as active members +of the churches, ten years ago. At the same time, _less than a third_ +of the white population was connected with the churches of the land. + +It remains to be seen whether the census of the United States, which +is now in process of completion, will show any change in the relative +strength of the Negro and white churches of the country. + +It is certain that the Negro Christian is displaying commendable zeal +in erecting spacious houses of worship; in acquiring school property; +in giving the Gospel to the heathen in Africa, and in other parts of +the world; in raising funds for the cause of education, and in +providing himself with a religious literature of his own making. + +In the quality of his religion, we dare say, there is room for +improvement. But the changes mostly needed for his highest good are +intellectual, material, social, commercial and political in nature, +rather than religious. + +The Negro Christian is as a rule as good as he knows how to be. He +often errs, _not knowing the Scriptures_. He sometimes plunges +headlong into the ditch of shame, because his spiritual adviser and +instructor is a "blind leader of the blind." + +Christian schools, however, are giving us better leaders every +year, and the time is hastening when the Negro Christian of America +shall be respected and loved because of his intelligence, his +Christian piety, his zeal for God's cause, his manly bearing, his +general worth as a moral and material contributor to the well being, +both of the state and of the country which claim him as a citizen, and +because of his excellent spirit and gentlemanly deportment. + + +FOURTH PAPER. + +THE NEGRO AS A CHRISTIAN. + +BY REV. H. H. PROCTOR. + +[Illustration: Rev. Henry H. Proctor] + + REV. HENRY H. PROCTOR, B. A. + + Henry Hugh Proctor was born near Fayetteville, Tennessee, + December 8, 1868. After completing the public school course + of his native town he studied in Fisk University, Nashville, + Tenn., from which school he was graduated with the degree of + Bachelor of Arts, June, 1891. That fall he entered the + Divinity School of Yale University, graduating three years + later. He was assigned by the faculty to the post of honor + among the chosen orators of the class. He at once entered + upon the pastorate of the First Congregational Church of + Atlanta, Ga. + + Mr. Proctor has lectured extensively in many parts of the + country, his best-known lecture being "The Black Man's + Burden." He has been active in preventing legislation in + Georgia adverse to the colored race, especially measures + designed to restrict the franchise and cut down public + school facilities of the Negro. He is correspondent for a + number of Northern periodicals, and extracts from his + sermons are published weekly in the "Atlanta Constitution," + the leading daily of the South. At his recent seventh + anniversary as pastor many letters of congratulation came + from all parts of the country, one being from Principal + Booker T. Washington, whose esteem and friendship he enjoys. + +In the historic development of Christianity race and religion have had +a reciprocal relation. Conversion has involved a mutual conquest. The +religion has modified the race, and the race has modified the +religion. Every race that has embraced Christianity has, by developing +that element of truth for which it has affinity, brought to the system +its own peculiar contribution. + +In the Semitic race, the high priest of humanity, Christianity, was +born. "Salvation is of the Jews." Israel's code of ethics was the +highest known to antiquity. It was but natural that the Hebrew should +leave upon the new-born system the impress of his genius for ethics. + +Hellenism may be regarded as the complement and contrast of Hebraism. +Hebraism revealed the transcendence of Jehovah. Hellenism declared the +divinity of man. The Greek, pre-eminent, in philosophy as a pagan, +became, as a Christian, pre-eminent in theology. He blended the +complemental conceptions of divinity and humanity. If the contribution +of the Hebrew was ethical, that of the Greek was theological. + +The Latin mind, practical rather than speculative, political rather +than theological, established the _Civitas Dei_ where once stood the +_Civitas Roma._ This ecclesiastical masterpiece of human wisdom "may +still exist in undiminished vigor," says Macaulay, "when some traveler +from New Zealand shall, in the midst of a vast solitude, take his +stand on a broken arch of London Bridge to sketch the ruins of St. +Paul's." Truly the Church of Rome has left upon Christianity an +ineffaceable political impress. + +The Teutonic mind--fresh, vigorous, even childlike in its simplicity +and love of reality, accustomed to enjoy the freedom peculiar to lands +where the national will is the highest law--would not brook the +inflexible dogmatism of the Greek nor the iron ecclesiasticism of the +Roman. The Teuton loved liberty in religion as well as in other +things, and asserted his right to stand before his God for himself. +The free spirit revealed in Christianity through Luther can never die. +"Christianity as an authoritative letter is Roman; as a free spirit it +is Teutonic." + +The Saxon, pre-eminent in capacity for developing ideas, has so +assimilated Christianity as to become its noblest representative. +Enterprise and energy, vigor and thrift, striking characteristics of +this great race, are becoming part and parcel of our Christianity. +This is the missionary age, and it is the enterprising Saxon, +unchecked and undaunted by sword, flame or flood, that is encircling +the globe with a girdle of divine light. + +And yet our Christianity is not complete. Notwithstanding its moral +stamina, its philosophic basis and its organic solidarity, its free +spirit and its robust energy, do we not feel there is something +lacking still? Does not our Christianity lack in its gentler virtues? +To what nation shall we look for the _desideratum_? Shall it not be to +the vast unknown continent? If the Jew has modified our religion by +his ethics, the Greek by his philosophy, the Roman by his polity, the +Teuton by his love of liberty, and the Saxon by his enterprise, shall +not the African, by his characteristic qualities of heart, bring a new +and peculiar contribution to Christianity? + +The Negro is nothing if not religious. His religion touches his heart +and moves him to action. The result of his peculiarly partial contact +with Christianity in America is but an earnest of what his full +contribution may be confidently expected to be. The African's mission +in the past has been that of service. "Servant of all" is his title. +He has hewn the wood and drawn the water of others with a fidelity +that is wonderful and a patience that is marvelous. As an example of +patient fidelity to humble duty he stands without a peer. + +His conduct in the late war, which resulted in his freedom, was as +rare a bit of magnanimity as the world ever saw. The helpless ones of +his oppressor in his power, he nobly stayed his hand from vengeance. +And at last, when he held up his hands that his bonds might be +removed, his emancipator found them scarred with toil unrequited, but +free from the blood of man save that shed in open, honorable battle. + +His religious songs are indicative of his real character. These songs +embodied and expressed the only public utterance of a people who had +suffered two and a half centuries of unatoned insult, yet in them all +there has not been found a trace of ill will. History presents no +parallel to this. David, oppressed by his foes, called down fire, +smoke and burning wind to consume his enemies from the face of the +earth. But no such malediction as that ever fell from the lips of the +typical American slave; oppressed, like the Man of Sorrows, he opened +not his mouth. + +Truth is stranger than fiction. Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom" +was more than a character of fiction. He was a real representative of +the Christian slave. Recall that scene between Cassy and Uncle Tom. +Unsuccessful in her attempts to urge him to kill their inhuman master, +Cassy determines to do it herself. With flashing eyes, her blood +boiling with indignation long suppressed, the much-abused Creole woman +exclaims: "His time's come. I'll have his heart's blood!" "No, no, +no," says Uncle Tom; "No, ye poor lost soul, that ye must not do! Our +Lord never shed no blood but his own, and that he poured out for us +when we was his enemies. The good Lord help us to follow his steps and +love our enemies." Uncle Tom's words are not unworthy of immortality. + + "Howe'er it be, it seems to me, + 'Tis only noble to be good; + Kind hearts are more than coronets, + And simple faith than Norman blood." + +Humility, fidelity, patience, large-heartedness, love--this is +Africa's contribution to Christianity. If the contribution of the +Saxon is Pauline, that of the African is Johanine. Paul, with his +consuming energy, carrying the Gospel to the uttermost parts, stands +for the white man; John, the man of love, leaning on his Master's +bosom, is typical of the black. The white man and the black are +contrasts, not contraries; complementary opposites, not irreconcilable +opponents. + +The Jew has given us ethics; the Greek, philosophy; the Roman, law; +the Teuton, liberty. These the Saxon combines. But the +African--"latest called of nations, called to the crown of thorns, the +scourge, the bloody sweat, the cross of agony"--the African, I say, +has the deep, gushing wealth of love which is yet to move the great +heart of humanity. + + +FIFTH PAPER. + +THE NEGRO AS A CHRISTIAN. + +BY REV. S. KERR. + +[Illustration: Rev. S. Kerr] + + REV. S. KERR. + + To give anything like a true sketch of Mr. Kerr's life and + labors both in and out of the ministry would fill a + good-sized volume rather than a page of this book, as his + life has been replete with thrilling, romantic incidents. + The Rev. Mr. Kerr graduated with honors, having received the + degree of A. B. from Rawden College, Leeds, England. He + returned at once to the West Indies, where he labored three + years. + + In 1859 he did extensive missionary work in the Turks and + Caicos Islands, where, in 1860, he accepted the appointment + of Registrar of Births and Deaths. In 1863 he accepted the + appointment of Assistant Master of the Government Schools at + Grand Turk, and was afterwards appointed Head Master. In + 1864 he filled the dual role of Inspector of Schools and + missionary, and he passed unscathed through the great + hurricane of 1866 which devastated the whole colony, + destroyed all the schools and public buildings, as well as + 2,500 dwelling houses, including Mr. Kerr's personal + property. In 1867 he was sent as missionary to Hayti, where, + as everywhere, he did good work. In 1873 he was appointed + professor in the National Lyceum College for boys and young + ladies, where he did effective and extensive missionary work + in Cape Hatien, Grande Riviere and Dondon, and maintained + considerable influence with the Haytien officials and + authorities. + + In 1880 he was advanced to the Priesthood of the Episcopal + Church of America, by the Rt. Rev. J. Th. Holly, D. D., LL. + D., Bishop of Hayti. In 1882 he was delegated to represent + the Episcopal Church in the United States, and to collect + funds for the building of the same in Hayti. On landing in + New York, his reception by Bishop Horatio Potter was cordial + in the extreme--the same by Bishops Littlejohn, of Long + Island; T. A. Starkey, of Northern New Jersey; T. M. Clark, + of Warwick, R. I.; M. A. De Wolf Howe, Central Pennsylvania; + William C. Doane, Albany; Alfred Lee, Primate, Delaware; W. + B. Stevens, Pennsylvania; H. A. Neely, of Maine; A. C. Coxe, + Western New York. He occupied the pulpits of the leading + Episcopal Churches in New York--Old Trinity, Grace Church, + St. Chrysostom's, St. Paul's, St. Philip's and others. The + leading churches in Brooklyn, Yonkers, Newport, R. I., + Newark, N. J., Orange, N. J., Syracuse, Saratoga Springs, + Utica, Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, Newburg, Poughkeepsie, + Sing Sing, Barrytown, Tarrytown, Philadelphia, Germantown, + Ashebourne, Reading, Cheltenham and many others. + + In 1883 be was sent to Jamaica, W. I., and the following + year he was appointed by the Provincial Synod (under the + auspices of the Society for the Propagation of the + Gospel--London. Eng.) Rector of the Panama Railroad Church + and Arch-deacon of the Church of England Mission, and + Chaplain to the Panama Canal Company. In 1889 he made an + extensive missionary tour through Central America, where he + performed religious services at the opening of the Nicaragua + Canal, coming in touch with several Indian tribes, and + gaining considerable knowledge of their manners and customs + in their crude condition. + + In 1890 he returned to the West Indies and was transferred + to the Diocese of Florida and made Rector of St. Peter's + Episcopal Church in Key West, where he has a large parish + and congregation and where he is highly esteemed by all + classes, white and colored. + +My purpose in writing upon this subject is to investigate God's +disciplinary and retributive economy in races and nations, with a hope +of arriving at some clear conclusion concerning the Negro as a +Christian. + +First, it may be just and proper to view the races of mankind in +respect to growth and mastery. The principles of growth and mastery in +a race, a nation, or a people, are the same all over the globe. The +same great agencies needed for one quarter of the globe, and in one +period of time, are needed for all quarters of the globe, for all +people and for all time, and consequently needed for this American +nation. + +The children of Africa in America are in no way different from any +other people in respect to Christianity. Many of the differences of +races are accidental and oftentimes become obliterated by +circumstances, position and religion. + +Go back to a period in the history of England, when its rude +inhabitants lived in caves and huts, when they fed on bark and roots, +when their dress was the skins of animals. Then look at the eminent +Englishman of the present day--cultivated, graceful, refined, +Christianized. When we remember that his distant ancestors were wild +and bloody savages, and that it took centuries to change his +forefathers from rudeness and brutality into enlightened, civilized +Christians, there is no room to doubt the susceptibility of the Negro +to Christianity. + +The same great general laws of growth continue unchangeable. The +Almighty neither alters nor diminishes these laws for the convenience +of a people, of whatever race they may be. The Negro race is equally +susceptible of growth in Christianity as in civilization. + +At once the question arises--Is the Negro race doomed to destruction? +Or, does it possess those qualities which will enable it to reach a +high degree of moral and Christian civilization? To the first of these +questions I reply that the Negro race is by no means doomed to +destruction. It is now over five hundred years since the breath of the +civilized world touched powerfully, for the first time, the mighty +masses of the pagan world in America, in Africa and the isles of the +sea, and we see everywhere that the weak heathen tribes of the earth +have gone down before the civilized world; tribe and nation have +dispersed before its presence. The Iroquois, the Pequods, the brave +Mohawks, the once refined Aztecs and others have gone, nevermore to be +ranked among the tribes of men. In the scattered islands of the +Pacific seas, like the stars of the heavens, the sad fact remains that +from many of them their populations have departed like the morning +cloud. They did not retain God in their knowledge. Just the reverse +with the Negro. Destructive elements, wave after wave, have swept over +his head, yet he has stood unimpaired. + +Even this falls short of the full reality of the Negro as a Christian, +for civilization at numerous places has displaced ancestral +heathenism, and the standard of the cross, uplifted on the banks of +its great river, showing that the heralds of the cross have begun the +glorious conquests of their glorious King. Vital Christian power has +become the property of the Negro. Does God despise the weak? No, the +Providence of God intervenes for the training and preservation of such +people. + +But has the Negro race any of those qualities which emanate from +Christianity? Let us see. The flexibility of the Negro character is +universally admitted. The race is possessed of a nature more easily +moulded than that of any other class of men. Unlike the Indian, the +Negro yields to circumstances and flows with the current of events, +hence afflictions, however terrible, have failed to crush him; his +facile nature wards them off, or else through the inspiration of hope +their influence is neutralized. These peculiarities of the Negro +character render him susceptible to imitation. Burke tells us that +"imitation is the second passion belonging to society, and this +passion arises from much the same cause as sympathy." This is one of +the strongest links of society. It forms our manners, our opinions, +our lives. Indeed, civilization is carried down from generation to +generation, or handed over from a superior to an inferior, by means of +imitation. A people devoid of imitation is incapable of progress or +advancement, and must retrograde. If it remains stagnant, it must of +necessity bring its own decay. The quality of imitation has been the +grand preservative of the Negro in all lands. Indeed, the Negro is a +superior man to-day to what he was three centuries ago. + +I feel fortified in the principles I have advanced by the opinions of +great, scrutinizing thinkers. In his treatise on Emancipation, written +in 1880, Dr. Channing says: "The Negro is one of the best races of the +human family; he is among the mildest and gentlest of men; he is +singularly susceptible to improvement." Kinmont declares in his +"Lecture on Man" that "The sweet graces of the Christian religion +appears almost too tropical and tender plants to grow in the soil of +the Caucasian mind; they require a character of the human nature of +which you can see the rude lineaments in the Ethiopian, to be +implanted in and grow naturally and beautifully withal." Adamson, the +traveler who visited Senegal in 1754, said: "The Negroes are sociable, +humane, obliging and hospitable, and they have generally preserved an +estimable simplicity of domestic manners. They are distinguished by +their tenderness for their parents, and great respect for the aged--a +patriarchal virtue which, in our day, is too little known." Dr. +Raleigh, also, at a great meeting in London, said: "There is in these +people a hitherto undiscovered mine of love, the development of which +will be for the amazing welfare of the world. * * * Greece gave us +beauty; Rome gave us power; the Anglo-Saxon unites and mingles these, +but in the African people there is the great gushing wealth of love, +which will develop wonders for the world." + +I feel that the Almighty, who is interested in all the great problems +of civilization, is interested in the Negro problem. He has carried +the Negro through the wilderness of disasters, and at last put him in +a large open place of liberty. There is not the shadow of a doubt that +this work which God has begun, and is carrying on, is for the mental +and spiritual elevation of the Negro. + + + + +TOPIC XXI. + +DOES THE NORTH AFFORD TO THE NEGRO BETTER OPPORTUNITIES OF MAKING A +LIVING THAN THE SOUTH? + +BY REV. J. H. ANDERSON. + +[Illustration: Rev. J. H. Anderson.] + + REV. J. H. ANDERSON, D. D. + + Rev. J. H. Anderson was born June 30, 1848, in Frederick, + Md. Dr. Anderson is what is called a self-made man, he + having attended school only six months in his life and + studied a short time under a private tutor. By hard, + persistent efforts and close application to books, Dr. + Anderson has risen to a point in scholarship and prominence + that only a few college Negroes have reached. He is noted as + a pulpit orator and platform speaker. He has attained to + some prominence as a writer and takes front rank as a + preacher in his denomination. For his scholarly attainments + and usefulness as a minister of the gospel, Livingstone + College conferred upon him, in 1896, the degree of doctor of + divinity. Dr. Anderson was one of those heroic + liberty-loving souls who went to the battlefield in the + Civil War to fight for their and their race's freedom. + +Colonization is a condition of cosmopolitan society as it is of races. +As "birds of a feather flock together," so the different races in the +American civilization form settlements or colonies, as far as +possible. The truthfulness of this statement is seen in the +thickly-settled German, Irish, Jewish and Italian communities in the +North. Their race affinities produce natural and social relations +promotive of their varied interests. The Negro's civil and social +privileges are more restricted in the South than in the North, owing +to which fact the Negroes of the South are more united than the +Negroes of the North. In the North a few individuals may rise to +intellectual, professional, business and mechanical distinctions, but +from general employment in the skilled industries, business +enterprises and political preferment he is debarred, and, being +cheaply and conveniently accommodated in almost every respect by the +whites, he is not under the same necessity as the Southern Negro to +establish and operate business enterprises. It is rather inconvenient +to establish and maintain Negro business enterprises and schools in +the North, for the reason that there are no thickly settled +communities. A Negro lawyer, doctor, dressmaker, music teacher, hair +dresser and mechanic do well in some instances, because they receive +patronage from the whites. It is not so much the prejudice of the +whites nor the indifference of the Negro as it is the peculiar +conditions of the North that prevent the Negro from enjoying the +business enterprises and founding race institutions. The few new +institutions and even churches in the North are largely sustained by +donations from the whites. Renting houses and purchasing property and +living in the North are commensurate with the large scale and +competition along all lines of industry, and social life is so active +that the most rigid economy and business tact are essential to success +in any kind of business in the North. + +The Negro who embarks in business in the North has not only to compete +with his own people, but with the shrewd Yankee, who seeks to +monopolize all interests that have money in them. The Negro of the +North for the most part appears to be content with his superior civil +and social privileges. He breathes the air with more perfect liberty, +enjoys life free from violence, is vindicated and redressed at law and +recognized in his citizen rights, and, like the Pharisee, thanks God +that he is not like the ex-slave of the South, and this is the height +of his ambition. Three-fourths of the freeholding and tax-paying +Negroes in the North are from the South, and Southern Negro labor is +preferred in the North as in the South. Waiters, domestic servants, +janitors, teamsters, laundry men and coachmen from the South can find +employment in the North. Any industrious Southern Negro can find +common labor to do in the North. + +Before the formation of labor unions and federations in the North, the +Negro skilled laborer found employment, but after deciding to exclude +the Negro from membership these unions became an effective dictating +power to employ when Negroes applied to them for work. + +The tax-payers in many Northern sections favor mixed schools because +it is less expensive to have them. They would not be justified in +maintaining separate schools for the few Negro pupils. Of course, race +favoritism, competition and prejudice, combine to exclude Negro +teachers, and yet a few Negro teachers are employed to teach in the +mixed schools. That Negro children, procuring their education by Negro +teachers in the Negro schools, can better appreciate race efficiency +and dignity there can be no question. The Northern Negro is ill fitted +for living in the South, it being difficult for him to adapt himself +to the conditions of the South, yet it is quite easy for the Southern +Negro to adapt himself to the North where full and free expression is +equally accorded to all, and where no legal discriminations are made +and where the social question is left for adjustment by the parties +nearest concerned. In the North the Negro has the opportunity of +advocating the interests of his Southern brother in a way that would +not be tolerated in the South, and thus the Northern Negro can assist +in the formation of a proper sentiment in his favor. The Northern +Negro is, therefore, a necessity to the Southern Negroes, and vice +versa. The Negro's destiny is to be worked out in the South because he +has greater numerical strength and superior advantages in the South, +notwithstanding the civil, social and legal restrictions upon him. The +lesson of self-dependence and self-effort is forced upon the Southern +Negro as not upon the Northern Negro. + +When the Southern Negro was emancipated, his first thought was +education, and, adhering steadfastly to this idea, he has made a +progressive education since his emancipation that has astounded the +civilized world. No school-loving race can be kept down or back. +Brought here a heathen, the Negro soon exchanged fetichism for +Christianity, and, having been trained in the school of servile labor +for centuries, he learned how to labor so that when his emancipation +came he was prepared to strike out on lines of self development, and +he has made in thirty-six years a progress in the acquisition of +wealth that is without a parallel in history. + +The prejudices of the whites against the Negro have rather helped him, +in that they have stimulated him to make greater efforts to reach the +independence of the white man. + +Having lived in both sections of our country, I am prepared to say +that the Negro can do better towards working out his destiny in the +South than in the North. + + +SECOND PAPER. + +DOES THE NORTH AFFORD TO THE NEGRO BETTER OPPORTUNITIES OF MAKING A +LIVING THAN THE SOUTH? + +BY PROF. W. H. COUNCILL. + +[Illustration: Prof. W. H. Councill] + + PROF. W. H. COUNCILL, PH. D. + + W. H. Councill was born in Fayetteville, N. C., in 1848, and + was carried to Alabama by the traders in 1857, through the + famous Richmond Slave Pen. In Alabama he worked in the + fields with the other slaves. He is a self-made man, having + had only few school advantages. He attended one of the first + schools opened by kind Northern friends at Stevenson, Ala., + in 1865. Here he remained about three years, and this is the + basis of his education. He has been a close and earnest + student ever since, often spending much of the night in + study. He has accumulated quite an excellent library, and + the best books of the best masters are his constant + companions, as well as a large supply of the best current + literature. By private instruction and almost incessant + study, he gained a fair knowledge of some of the languages, + higher mathematics, and the sciences. He was Enrolling Clerk + of the Alabama House of Representatives in 1872-4. He was + appointed by President Grant Receiver of the Land Office for + the Northern District of Alabama in 1875. He was founder and + editor of the "Huntsville Herald" from 1877 to 1884. He + founded the great educational institution, Normal, of which + he is president, and has been for a quarter of a century. He + read law and was admitted to the Supreme Court of Alabama in + 1883. But he has never left the profession of teaching, + although flattering political positions have been held out + to him. He has occupied high positions in church and other + religious, temperance, and charitable organizations, and has + no mean standing as a public speaker. + + Prof. Councill has traveled quite extensively in Europe, and + was warmly received and entertained by the Hon. W. E. + Gladstone and His Majesty, King Leopold, of Belgium. + + And thus by earnest toil, self-denial, hard study, he has + made himself, built up one of the largest institutions in + the South, and educated scores of young people _at his own + expense_. + + Prof. Councill is proud to be known as a friend to Africa. + He is co-operating with Bishop Turner in the redemption and + civilization of that continent. Normal, under Prof. + Councill, is educating native Africans for this purpose. He + has received the degree of Ph. D. from Morris Brown College. + + Prof. Councill is author of "The Lamp of Wisdom." He writes + extensively for the leading magazines and newspapers of the + country. + +A comparison of the opportunities which different sections hold out to +any class of our fellow citizens should not be regarded as hostile +criticism. No man, no country suffers by the truth. + +We cannot answer this question by yes or no. The North affords the +better opportunities in some things, while in others the South gives +the Negro the better opportunity for making a living. If we are +correct in putting a broad and educated mind as the foundation for +every useful superstructure, we are forced to admit that the +opportunity for laying this foundation is better in the North, where a +century of thought on popular education has developed the finest +public school system in the world. While this brings the Northern +Negro in contact with the great Anglo-Saxon mind, and fits him for +making a living and for business in that atmosphere, he has to undergo +a kind of mental acclimatization before he can effectively and +usefully enter into work in the South, where the atmosphere at every +turn is different from that in the North. For twenty-five years I +have been brought in direct contact with Negroes reared or educated in +the North, and I do not recall one who did not have to un-Northernize +himself in many respects before he could harmonize to usefulness in +the South. It is to the credit of our Northern brethren that they are +thus willing to sacrifice a part of their individualism in order to +serve their race in the South. In my long experience I have not met a +quarter dozen who have not cheerfully put aside their selfishness for +the common good of their associates and their work. Indeed, I have +found my Northern brethren more willing and helpful in this regard, +perhaps, than Southern Negroes, who are more self-assertive and +persistent in their make-up, a spirit imbibed from the general +character of independence and domineering found in the South. But the +Southern Negro, reared in harmony with Southern institutions, having +assimilated prejudices and counter-prejudices, can use to greater +advantage his small amount of education and training. + +In a country where competition is sharp, as in this country, and where +any kind of excitement is resorted to in order to give advantage to +the competitors, the minority race, especially in inferior +circumstances, must suffer along lines of battle for bread in which, +the masses engage. Thus it is, while the Northern Negro enjoys high +privileges of an intellectual character among the classes, he is +bumped, shunned, and pushed to the rear among the quarreling, +scrambling masses. + +There are scattered far and wide a few Negroes in the North who are +doing well in business. They get the patronage of their white +neighbors. There are few communities in the North where the Negro +population is strong enough to support a Negro in business, if the +race lines were drawn in business. I think the voluntary collections +of like tribes and races of men, as Italians, Jews, Chinese, Poles, +Norwegians, Swedes, and the like, in settlements in our large cities +and some country districts, show clearly the gregarious disposition of +like peoples; and from time out of mind each tribe, clan or race, has +depended upon itself for patronage and support. In order for the Negro +to succeed in any considerable degree in business in the North, it +would be necessary to increase the Negro population in that section. +As I have intimated above, there are few fields for operation in the +North for Negroes, regardless of their ability to succeed, for there +are few cases where Negro patronage is not limited to the Negro +population. While occasionally a few Negroes may get patronage from +the other clans and tribes it is nevertheless true that as a general +rule the aim is to keep the trade in the family, as it were. Every +whip of tribal differentiation and prejudice is applied to enforce a +rigid observance of this general rule. I think that we may logically +conclude that the opportunity for that training and education which +could make the Northern Negro immediately useful to the mass of the +race, and the opportunity to gather material wealth, are not ideal in +the North. + +Ninety-two per cent of the Negro population reside in the South, where +slavery left them. Under normal conditions there should be ninety-two +per cent of Negro wealth, thrift and energy in the South. The +opportunity to accumulate wealth and the accumulation are different. +The Southern Negro is a wealth producer. He does four-fifths of the +agricultural labor of the South and thereby adds four-fifths to the +wealth of the South derived from agriculture, the leading Southern +industry. If the whole of the billion dollars to the credit of the +Negro race were placed to the credit of the Southern Negro alone, it +would be less than half of what he should have saved since the war. +The Negroes of the South handle more money than New England did one +hundred years ago, and yet New England would be glad to place her +barrels of gold and silver at nominal interest--so rich has she grown, +although in the chilly winds of the Northeast. + +The opportunities for the Southern Negro are as good for material gain +as are enjoyed by any other people in this country. The census of 1890 +shows two hundred and twenty-four occupations followed by the +wage-earners of the United States. The Negroes are represented in +every one of these occupations--grouped under five heads: +Professional, Agriculture, trade and transportation, manufactures and +personal service. The Southern Negro, while not in all of them, +occupies in the South the vantage ground in those that bring the most +independence in living. We must not forget that agriculture is what we +might call the staple industry of the South. + +I am indebted to Hon. Judson W. Lyons, register of the United States +Treasury, for the following statistics, showing the wonderful +influence of Negro labor in the commercial industries of the world: +More cotton is exported from the United States than any other article. +In the last ten years, 30,000,000,000 pounds of cotton, valued at +$225,000,000 have been exported. The United States produces more +cotton than all the balance of the world. The cotton manufactories of +Great Britain, Germany, France, Belgium, and Italy depend upon our +cotton exports. Ten years ago, $354,000,000 were invested in cotton +manufactories, employing 221,585 operatives, who received for wages +$67,489,000 per annum. The South produced from 1880 to 1890, +620,000,000 bushels of corn, 78,000,000 bushels of wheat, and +97,000,000 bushels of oats. The Negro performed four-fifths of the +labor of the South, as we have seen. Therefore, his share in the +average annual production in the last ten years would be 6,988,000 +bales of cotton, valued at $209,640,000. In the last ten years the +Negro's part of the production of corn, wheat, oats and cotton was +$431,320,000 per annum. The entire cotton acreage of the South would +form an area of 40,000 square miles. Negro labor cultivates 32,000 +square miles of this space. + +Fifty-seven per cent of the Negro race are engaged in agricultural +pursuits, and 31 per cent are engaged in personal service. Therefore, +88 per cent of the wage-earners of the race in the South are engaged +in these two pursuits, or, in other words, 88 per cent of the +wage-earners of the race have opportunity for profitable employment. + +Where the masses of the Negroes are found and can get paying work, as +they can in the South, there we must expect the greatest prosperity +among Negroes. Our expectation is highly gratified in this case in the +South. No doubt if the ninety-two per cent Negro population were to +exchange places with the eight per cent, the opportunities now held +out in the South would be transferred to the North. Our opportunities +over those enjoyed by our Northern brethren are the creatures of +accidents rather than of our meritorious invention. + +The opportunities to win character and wealth afforded the Negroes of +the South by agriculture and domestic service are probably better than +are enjoyed by any other class of people in the world. The field is +broad and ripe and the Negro must now see and seize these +opportunities or they will pass from the race forever. No peasant +population ever had more favorable environments. The Negro does not +only do four-fifths of the agricultural labor of the South, but he has +the opportunity to own four-fifths of the land he cultivates. This +opportunity is not enjoyed by any other peasant class in the world. As +I see it, the greatest success for the Negro race in America lies in +the farm. There he meets the least resistance and obtains the greatest +sustenance. There color prejudice is almost unknown, while everywhere +in the mechanic arts, prejudice is bitter, competition is sharp, and +the chances for success are small. This is a matter which the Negro +must seriously consider now, or weep over his procrastination. The +drift to the cities to exchange the free, honest, healthful, plenteous +conditions of farm life for the miserable slums, sin, and squalor of +city life must be checked. Our boys and girls must be educated for the +farm. + +It would be hard to find a people better suited for domestic and +personal service than the Negro. In all the elements which are +necessary for personal and domestic service, the Negro cannot be +excelled. He is not treacherous. He forms no plots and schemes to +entrap his master. He resorts to no violent incendiary measures of +avenging himself against his master, but he humbly and tamely submits +to the conditions, ever looking for betterment through superhuman +agencies. If the South would only look this matter squarely in the +face, it would admit that it has the best service on earth, and would +vote liberal appropriations for the development of Negro education of +every character. + +It may seem to persons not informed incredible, but it is no less a +fact that where racial prejudice runs highest in the South and the +demarcation between the races is most distinct along social lines, +there the Negro is most prosperous, and, strange to say, advances most +rapidly in material wealth. Self-help, self-dependence, faith in self, +seem to spur to success as nothing else does. The drug store is the +creature of Anglo-Saxon prejudice in denying Negroes accommodations at +the soda-water fountains run by white men. In a score of channels the +Negro is pushed on to success by Anglo-Saxon discrimination. What +seems a curse is in reality a blessing to the race. Anglo-Saxon +prejudice forces the Negro to take advantage of his great opportunity +to get rich. + + + + +TOPIC XXII. + +WHAT IS THE NEGRO TEACHER DOING IN THE MATTER OF UPLIFTING HIS RACE? + +BY PROF. A. ST. GEORGE RICHARDSON. + +[Illustration: Prof. Arthur Richardson.] + + PROF. ARTHUR ST. GEORGE RICHARDSON. + + Far out in mid-Atlantic ocean about 700 miles east of New + York lies the group of sunny isles known as the Bermudas. On + one of these beautiful coral formations called St. Georges + was born, July 5, 1863, the subject of this writing. Arthur + was sent to Canada in 1878 to attend the public schools of + St. Johns, N. B. Being an apt pupil he soon finished the + curriculum of studies of the grammar schools and in 1880 + entered the high school from which in three years' time he + was graduated. + + Not considering his education complete at this point, Arthur + matriculated at the University of New Brunswick at + Fredericton, in the fall of the same year, being the first + and only colored young man to enter this institution of + higher learning. As in the high school so now in college + young Arthur distinguished himself among his classmates by + winning a scholarship and at times leading his class in + Greek. He was graduated from the university with honors in + classics, June, 1886. + + He was then elected principal of the Wilberforce Collegiate + Institute at Chatham, Ont., where he served one year, + increasing the attendance, and greatly improving the work of + the school. The following year, 1887, he returned to his + native home and visited his parents from whom he had been + separated nine years. The next year after his return to + Canada he was invited by Bishop W. J. Gaines to come to + Georgia and assume the principalship of Morris Brown College + in Atlanta. After much hesitancy, Mr. Richardson accepted + the invitation and took charge of Morris Brown College when + it was a school of small proportions and modest pretensions. + Here Professor Richardson served ten successive years, each + year adding something to the fame and increasing popularity + of the school. + + In 1898 he was offered the Presidency of Edward Waters + College in Jacksonville, Fla., by Bishop W. J. Gaines, who + felt that the educational work in Florida then needed just + such a person as Professor Richardson had proven himself to + be in Georgia. Resigning his position in Atlanta he came to + Florida and at once set to work to restore Edward Waters + College to the confidence of the people. In a year's time + the school was again assuming the flourishing condition that + it once had. + + The great fire of Jacksonville, May 3, 1901, caused him to + lose all his possessions in the destruction of the college + buildings, nevertheless he has held on unflinchingly to the + work and at great sacrifice and loss has kept the school + together, and is now serving his fourth year at the head of + this institution. + +An examination into the earliest records of history will reveal a fact +that is not observant to the casual reader--that man, as an +individual, has ever been groping in darkness, seeking hither and +thither to find a ray of light that would safely guide him and lead +him through the mystic vale of doubt and uncertainty--be a "light to +his pathway, a lantern to his feet." + +To this end he has lent all his energies and directed all his forces. +Long and tedious have been the ways and the journeys, yet onward and +upward has he continued to travel, through storm and tempest, amid +trials and vexations, until finally, after many centuries of +progressive endeavor and honorable achievements, he has reached the +loftiest pinnacle of fame, and there, on its rugged summit, has +inscribed in letters of gold the result of his many conquests in +literature, science and art, in religion, philosophy and commerce. + +We use the generic term man as embracing all the various descendants +of the sons of Noah. For each race-variety has in its turn played its +part in producing the high degree of civilization that it is now our +heritage and privilege to enjoy. Each has been an important factor in +the development of some element that is essentially its own. + +In thus reviewing the early history of the world we also find that the +peoples who sat in darkness were brought to the light only through the +agency of the teachers of the times in which they lived. Who made +Egypt renowned? Were they not her great teachers, whose pupils came +from far and near to learn, as it were, the foundation steps of our +great civilization? Who in China is better known to the world than the +great teacher Confucius? Who gave to Greece her renown for philosophy +and art? Was it not Aristotle and Plato? Mention Rome, and the names +of Quintilian and Cicero are recalled to our minds as the foremost +educators. The Israelites had their prophets to instruct them, until +the Great Teacher came to earth to enlighten all mankind. What was +best and noblest in the systems of the famous teachers before the +advent of Christ was crystallized into the method adopted by the Son +of Man. He came to elevate the whole man, to shed light into his whole +being--his mind, his body, and his soul. + +Many and various have been the devices of mortal man to imitate the +plan of the Master; and yet, after centuries of earnest endeavor, we +have but recently begun to recognize the fact that complete success in +the education of man lies in the secret of training the whole +man--mind, body and soul. + +Passing over the long period of scholastic apathy in European history, +we come to a more recent epoch of intellectual awakening in the +founding of great universities and stately colleges. These several +institutions, through the instructions given by their most eminent +teachers, have of themselves made the respective places of their +establishment famous in both hemispheres. + +Between the periods of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars in America, +educational interests seemed to be centered mainly in the cultivation +of the intellect as the only part of man that required special +training. + +The abolition of slavery and the consequent endeavor to enlighten the +freedmen gave rise to a new phase of educational activity. This new +ideal was the training of the body and the soul along with that of the +mind. This system naturally reduced the length of time usually devoted +to mind culture in proportion as time was required for the training of +the hand and the cultivation of the moral side of man. + +Foremost among the early teachers to inaugurate this system were Mrs. +Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Mrs. Sarah J. Early, and Bishop John M. +Brown. As a result of their efforts in this direction we have +Wilberforce University, the first school by Negro teachers to follow +the plan of the Great Teacher. Since the establishment of Wilberforce +in the North, many similar institutions have been founded in order to +give the "brother in black" an opportunity to show to the world what +the Negro teacher is doing and can do towards uplifting his race. + +It is a difficult matter to estimate the good that a true teacher can +do, be he of whatever race-variety. But to calculate on the noble work +of the majority of the self-sacrificing and virtuous Negro teachers is +a task beyond the ability of man. Bishop Daniel A. Payne, the apostle +of an educated ministry, is known throughout the country for the noble +work he did in teaching the people at large as well as his immediate +pupils both how to live and how to die. Almost every educated Negro +preacher has at some period of his scholastic career served in the +capacity of a teacher, and therefore, after his advent to the gospel, +ministry has continued to instruct the people under the same +principles of teaching. + +To be a teacher in the strict sense of the word requires the +possession of certain qualities of mind and soul, and the power to +exercise these qualities in such a manner as to awaken in the mind of +another thoughts similar to those of the person assuming to teach, and +thereby causing the mental activity on the part of the learner to +become knowledge and power. We, therefore, hold that the Negro teacher +has acted along the method here described, and has thus been the means +of enlightening the masses of the colored people that lay claim to any +degree of education whatever. What the Negro teacher has accomplished +has been done not from a selfish motive or a mercenary point of view, +but primarily because he has endeavored to do his part toward +elevating the race with which he is identified. If it is true that the +salvation of the Negro lies in his being educated, then to the Negro +teacher must be attributed the greater portion of his salvation. + +Again, the majority of the Negro teachers are Christian men and women +of high moral character, and as such are shining lights in the +community in which they may be engaged in teaching. The good they thus +do is not confined to the school or class-room, but permeates every +sphere of society, ennobling and enriching the thoughts and minds of +all with whom they may have dealings, both by their chaste +conversation and by their upright and godly lives. The Negro teacher, +therefore, wields an influence for good, not only by precept, but what +is considered far better, also by example. Furthermore, the Negro +teacher in the day school invariably becomes a teacher in the +Sunday-school of the town where he happens to be living. And here +again he exerts a power for good, confirming and strengthening the +teachings of the past week. + +Aside from his professional duties, the Negro teacher is often called +upon to decide on matters of grave importance. In many cases he is the +attorney for individuals who are unable to secure the services of a +competent lawyer. In this capacity he often acts as justice of the +peace, as well as a peacemaker, thereby allaying strife and +contention. From early morn till late at night the Negro teacher is +besieged by questions of every sort and kind, which he must +satisfactorily answer to the benefit of the inquirer, be he farmer or +blacksmith, preacher or vagrant. In fact, the Negro teacher in the +rural districts answers the purposes of a bureau of information. + +Such is the lot of the average Negro teacher. That there are +exceptions need not here be stated. From what he has done on a small +scale may be inferred what is being done on a larger basis of +operation by the best and most renowned of the Negro teachers. + +In nearly every Southern state of the Union may be found some one or +two famous educators and teachers of Negro descent. Prof. Jno. R. +Hawkins of North Carolina, Commissioner of Education of the A. M. E. +Church, has established Kittrell College. Prof. J. C. Price gave us +Livingston College in North Carolina. Prof. E. A. Johnson of Virginia +has written a worthy history of the Negro race, now in use as a +text-book in many public schools. In South Carolina we find results of +the great work in science by Prof. J. W. Hoffman. Georgia is proud of +Prof. R. R. Wright, President of the State Industrial College at +Savannah, orator and historian; also Prof. W. H. Crogman, scholar and +author. In Florida the names of Prof. T. de S. Tucker, Prof. T. V. +Gibbs, and Prof. T. W. Talley stand high as eminent scholars and +professional teachers. Alabama is rich in having the foremost men of +the race as her great teachers--Prof. B. T. Washington, founder and +principal of Tuskegee Institute, and Prof. W. H. Councill, President +of the State Normal and Industrial College at Normal. And thus we +might mention each state and her eminent Negro teachers; but it is not +necessary; the above suffices our purpose. And yet we would not +conclude without referring to the noble work of Prof. W. S. +Scarborough, of Wilberforce, Ohio. He has gone a step beyond the +ordinary and given us a Greek text-book that has been adopted in many +schools. Moreover, his contributions to the leading magazines and +periodicals are eagerly sought and read by the best scholars of the +day, without reference to race. + +With this accumulated force of intelligence, radiating its numerous +beams of light in every section of the land, one need not seek far to +find an answer to the query: "What is the Negro teacher doing in the +matter of uplifting his race?" + +As we endeavored to show in the beginning that it was through the +instrumentality of their teachers that many countries acquired fame +and gave to posterity a name honorable and glorious, so now the Negro +teacher in his weak strength is laying the foundation for successive +generations to build upon--a foundation more durable than stone or +granite, more valuable than rubies or diamonds--the cultivation of +the morals, the training of the hand, and the enlightenment of the +mind. With an informed mind, a skillful hand, and an upright conduct, +there is no reason why the Negro should not take his place upon the +stage of action; play well his part in the drama of life, and +meritoriously receive the plaudits of the gazing nations of the world. + + +SECOND PAPER. + +WHAT IS THE NEGRO TEACHER DOING IN THE MATTER OF UPLIFTING HIS RACE? + +BY PROF. E. L. BLACKSHEAR. + +[Illustration: Prof. E. L. Blackshear.] + + PROF. E. L. BLACKSHEAR. + + Prof. E. L. Blackshear was born in Montgomery. Ala., in + 1862. He was educated in the negro public schools of + Montgomery. So rapid had been his progress that he graduated + from Tabor College at the age of eighteen. + + Prof. Blackshear is now principal of Prairie View State + Normal School and Industrial College of Texas. + + The following is the testimony of Prof. Blackshear + concerning his grandmother. These words give us a glimpse of + the bright side of slave life, and of the ideal "mammy" of + the ante-bellum Southern plantation home. + + "My grandmother was a remarkable woman. She idolized my + mother, the only child that slavery had allowed her to keep. + When grandma was sold from Georgia to Alabama, the humanity + of her Georgia owners caused them to sell mother and child + to the same people. + + "My grandmother, although ignorant, had a profound belief in + education. But if she knew absolutely nothing of the world + of letters, she had something as good, perhaps better--a + warm, honest, loving heart and Christian principles. She had + genuine hatred for dirt and disorder, a regard, amounting to + a fearful reverence, for white people of 'quality,' and a + great and ill-disguised contempt for common, shiftless, + 'darkies,' and low-bred whites. She was the best type of the + faithful and efficient slave. But it was as a cook that + 'Grandma's' reputation was known in two States. To my + youthful imagination she was a magician; things she cooked + for the white folks seemed so good to me. I think now of the + batter-cakes, the light rolls, the syllabub, the sally-lunn, + the ship-ships and the wafers grandma made. The light-bread + she made is made no more. It is a lost art, an art that died + with grandma." + +When the Negroes were set free the first aim of thousands was to learn +to read and write. Gray-haired veterans of the plantations sat side by +side in the day schools as well as in the night schools with the +smallest pickaninnies. And all seemed eager to learn the mysterious +arts of the schoolroom. The school-book, in the eyes of the unlettered +slave, was a sort of fetich to which he attributed the power of the +white man. The young slave could follow his master to the door of the +schoolhouse, but thus far and no farther. The mysterious rites and +ceremonies which went on within were forbidden him. Human nature has +ever been curious to know that the knowledge of which is prohibited, +and so the slave had a great curiosity to master the printed page and +to be admitted to the privileges of the schoolroom. It was not +surprising that the whole race tried to go to school, and it need not +surprise us if, in the enthusiasm for book-learning, from which the +race had been so strictly debarred, too much stress may have been +placed on mere book learning and too much confidence placed in the +formal processes of the schoolroom. But, better even this exaggerated +enthusiasm than indifference to all education of the schoolroom. The +race would soon learn that the blue-back Webster's Speller was not the +magic wand that would turn all troubles and difficulties into success +and prosperity; that the ability to spell B-a-Ba, k-e-r-ker, baker, +would buy no bread of the baker; while the power to read, "Do we go up +by it!" with painful praiseworthy effort, would help the ex-slave but +little as he strove to "go up by" the dangers ahead of him. + +But they went to school, all of them at first, or all that could +possibly do so, either by day or by night. It is not recorded that +the chickens of that time had rest, but it must be that they did, for +verily, in the first mad rush of letters, even chickens must have been +forgotten by a race whose predilection for them has furnished the +point for many a joke, as well as the occasion for painful if not +indignant regret on the part of those whose fowls may have been +abstracted. And it is a hopeful sign for the future of the Negro that +while his first wild enthusiasm for the school-house has been +moderated, his real desire for educational improvement continues +strong and steady. He will go to school--the public school--when he +can, and the higher institutions for his race are all filled to their +capacity and are expanding. Will not this thirst for knowledge on the +part of a so lately savage race bear good fruit both for the Negro and +for humanity? + +But who were to teach these black fanatics, seeking initiation for the +first time, in the long and gloomy history of their race, into the +mysteries, elusinian, of a modern, and, to them, totally foreign cult? +A faithful band of Christian missionary white women gave answer by +coming in the face of an inevitable social ostracism to light the +torch of thought in a region hitherto unblessed by a single ray of +education's light. The first Negro schools were taught by these white +ladies at Charleston, at Atlanta, at Montgomery, at New Orleans, at +Austin, and at the other great centers of the South's Negro +population. The success of the first labors of this devoted band led +to the foundation of permanent institutions for the elementary and +later for the normal and collegiate instruction of the Negro youth. At +Nashville, at Atlanta, at Raleigh, at Memphis, and at New Orleans +institutions were founded which have become great schools and have +contributed beyond measure to the process of civilizing the Negro as a +mass--a process confessedly still far from completion. Complicated and +annoying as the race problem assuredly is and will be for years to +come at the South, it would be far worse--much farther away from even +a hopeful degree of solution--but for the work done by the missionary +colleges. + +The missionary schools, of which Fisk, Atlanta, Straight, Roger +Williams and Central Tennessee may be taken as types, furnished the +first Negro school teachers and the Negro owes to these schools, +founded and maintained in the spirit of the purest Christian +philanthropy, a debt he can never repay in either kind or equivalence. +The nearest like payment he can make is to imitate the beautiful, +pure, devoted, lives of the missionary teachers. Too much cannot be +said in praise of their labors. Perhaps if only the missionary +Christian teachers had come and the political missionaries had +remained at home, all might have been better. + +But the missionary schools could reach but few. How was the great mass +of the colored population to be educated? This was the question, and +it was a most serious one. But the answer came not from the federal +government, as some expected--that source from which so many had +looked to get the mythical "mule" and the legendary "forty acres"--it +came from the South, from the wasted resources of the former master. +History furnishes no precedent as it affords no parallel to the action +of the ex-slaveholders--a dominant race--in entering at once--before +any opportunity had been afforded for recuperation from the losses of +the Civil War--on the expensive work of giving a public school system +to their former slaves--now technically, at least, their political +equals. And nothing can be gained by the Negro in refusing gratitude +to the South for this most magnanimous act and policy. An instance of +this unselfish policy of the South in its attitude toward Negro +education is seen in the history of Texas, the most liberal as well as +the most progressive of the Southern commonwealths. The Constitutional +Convention of 1876, which of course was Democratic, framed the present +state constitution of Texas, and in it absolutely equal provision is +made for both the elementary and the higher education of the Negro +youth of Texas. And it is to the credit of Texas as an enlightened +state as well as fortunate for her Negro population, that in the +distribution of the magnificent school fund of the state, no +discrimination is made between the races. + +The Negro public schools are doing a great work for the elevation of +the colored people. In a silent, unobtrusive way, these schools are +leavening the thought and life of the race. The status and progress of +the Negro are too commonly gauged by the deeds of the loafing and +criminal element. The honest, law-abiding Negro who has a home, is +getting a little property, has a small bank account, and is educating +his children to useful citizenship, attracts little or no attention. +But a race that has in a generation since chattel slavery gotten +property worth by reliable estimate upward of $400,000,000 has been +doing something. All of such a race are not either lazy, vicious, or +immoral. The public school is doing effective work for the Negroes of +the South in awakening in them a desire for better ways of living and +higher ideals of conduct. Much remains to be done but that already +accomplished is an earnest of better work yet to be done. + +The Negro public school teacher has been more than a mere +schoolkeeper. No class of educators in any race has done more, all +things considered. The colored teacher has been a herald of +civilization to the youth of his people. His superior culture and +character have acted as a powerful stimulus to the easily roused +imagination of the colored youth, and the black boy feels, in the +presence of the black "professah," to him the embodiment of learning, +that he too can become "something." At first he does not know what +that something is, but he determines to be "somebody" and to make a +place and a standing for himself in the world. In this way the colored +school teacher is leading his race "up from slavery;" that is from the +slavery of ignorance and superstition, of intellectual and moral +inertia, of aimlessness and shiftlessness, into the freedom of +intelligence, of energy, ambition and industry. Lincoln removed the +formal yoke of a legal bondage, but the colored teacher is helping his +race to get free a second time from a bondage just as galling--the +bondage of intellectual and moral blindness and of industrial +independence. Booker T. Washington is such a teacher--a teacher, +indeed, and the leader of a race. And what Mr. Washington, himself a +product of the missionary schools, is doing in a large way as the +teacher and leader of the entire Negro race in America, hundreds, yea, +thousands, of colored teachers in city and village, in the malarial +river bottoms and among the pine-clad hills, are doing in a local but +no less effective, though less comprehensive way. These colored men +and women, many of whom are people of genuine culture and character, +are giving their lives to the upbuilding of a race. And it is for them +a labor of love. + +These teachers teach by example as well as by precept. Their homes are +models in neatness and refinement that are readily imitated by the +other colored people of the community. It is to the credit of the +colored teacher that he is, with rare exceptions, a model in his moral +conduct and home life, and sets a high standard for his race, which +they invariably--some of them--seek to follow. The colored teacher, +too, has always been conservative and has been the wise adviser of his +people. Himself dependent on the sentiment of the best white people of +the community, he has usually won the confidence and respect of the +white people, and they in turn have given him their moral support in +the work of improving the minds, morals, and habits of the Negro youth +of the community. In this way it is throughout the entire South--the +best white people of the community by maintaining public schools for +the Negro youth and by co-operation with the colored teacher, and +often by personal interest in the work of both teacher and pupil, are +actually aiding most effectively if not really directing the +educational development of the colored race. + +It is also greatly to the credit of the colored teacher in the South +that he has not gotten above his race or tried to leave them, but has +remained at his post and in his place doing the duty Providence has +assigned and content to leave results to God and the future. + + +THIRD PAPER. + +WHAT IS THE NEGRO TEACHER DOING IN THE MATTER OF UPLIFTING HIS RACE? + +BY T. W. TALLEY. + +[Illustration: Prof. T. W. Talley] + + PROF. THOMAS WASHINGTON TALLEY. + + Thomas Washington Talley is a native of Bedford County, + Tenn. His boyhood was spent upon his father's farm where he + imbibed a love for nature. Some of the experiments made by + him, as a child, with some of the lower animals, have proven + most valuable aids in answering scientific problems + encountered in later years. + + In 1883 he entered the preparatory department of Fisk + University, and after three years of study was admitted to + college. + + He began teaching in the public schools of his native state + at the age of twelve. By teaching during his summer + vacations, and by obtaining state scholarships through + competitive examinations, he secured the larger portion of + the means necessary for his support in college. He graduated + from the classical course of Fisk University in 1890, + receiving the degree of A. B. From 1890 to 1891 he was a + member of the Fisk University Jubilee Singers, who raised + funds for the building of the Fisk Theological Seminary. In + this company it was his duty aside from singing, to present + the needs of the school. This he did with much eloquence and + his appeals were always answered by liberal contributions. + + In 1892 he received the degree A. M. from his alma mater for + special work done in Natural Philosophy, Latin and German. + + On October 1, 1896, he matriculated in the Graduate + Department of Central Tennessee College (now Walden + University), having spent the two preceding summers in + resident work along the lines indicated by his courses of + study in the institution. He selected courses leading to the + degree of Doctor of Science. + + He has been chiefly engaged in educational work and has held + the following positions: Instructor in Mathematics and + Music, Alcorn A. & M. College, Westside, Miss., two years; + Professor of Natural Sciences, five years, and + Vice-President two years in the State N. & I. College, + Tallahassee, Fla. He at present occupies the chair of + Natural Philosophy and General, Analytical and Industrial + Chemistry in the Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Ala. + + He is a member of the American Ornithologists Union, the + Michigan Ornithological Club, a Vice-president of the + Florida Audubon Society, and a Fellow of the American Negro + Academy. He is considered an authority in Biology and + Chemistry. + +As soon as the clouds of the Civil War had cleared from our country +and the Negro had become a free man, the question immediately +presented itself as to how he could be made worthy of citizenship and +capable of exercising the rights and privileges of free government. + +Free government exists through intelligence and integrity in citizens. +The whole system of slavery in which the Negro had been schooled was +such as to leave him without either intelligence or integrity. It +rather taught him that deception was a better way to recognition than +decency; and that whatever supplied his wants, regardless of its +nature, was the means to be used. As the Negro stepped forth from the +darkness of bondage into the light of freedom, the eye of his mind +accustomed to the blackest and lowest was not ready to exercise the +function thus suddenly thrust upon it. It was blinded and needed +treatment that it might be so reconstructed as to guide and lead +aright in this new atmosphere to which it had suddenly gained +admission. The Negro came from slavery in want of training, and +training is requisite to citizenship. + +A man, to be trained symmetrically, must be trained mentally, morally +and physically. Although this symmetrical training is much a result of +personal effort, the effort must be directed by an intelligent, +interested teaching. It is to such teaching that the Negro school +teacher has directed and is directing his efforts. + +The first schools established distinctively for Negroes in our country +were supported and taught by philanthropic white people of the North. +At the date of the founding of these schools there were practically no +Negro teachers, but in these institutions, fostered by consecrated +white men and women, Negro boys and girls began to receive training +through which they developed into the first teachers of the race. + +These schools, begun by philanthropy (although at first they did +primary work) have developed into the Negro colleges, normal schools +and industrial schools of the South. These schools of higher learning +are still manned largely by white men and women. Thus the work of the +Negro teacher is almost entirely limited to a few state colleges and +to the public schools of the Southern cities and of the country +districts. The especial point of excellence which characterizes the +work of the Negro teacher is its interestedness. Whatever may be the +sentiment in other sections, in the South--the real home of the +Negro--every Negro's standing is gauged by the standing of the whole +race in case of those who are most kindly disposed to him, while those +who are illy disposed judge all by the lowest of the race. There is +little or no recognition of individual merit except in so far as it +meets the approval of his Southern white neighbor. Such being the +case, the Negro teacher, realizing that their own elevation comes only +through and in so far as the whole race is elevated, have a double +stimulus for zealously doing their best work; first their love for the +race which naturally springs up between those of the same blood and of +the same descent, and second a selfish reason--their personal +elevation, which only comes through the elevation of the whole race. +Such interested teaching is not without its effect. Illiteracy is +disappearing from day to day. A consultation of the latest census +reports, and a contrasting of them with those previously taken, will +show that the Negro has wiped out some of his illiteracy and is +increasing in wealth, intelligence, etc.--yes, in all that which will +finally force his recognition as a full-fledged American citizen +without any "ifs," except that he be as any other man in possessions, +in mind, and in character. + +The Negro teachers are more and more studying the needs of their race +and are shaping their work to meet the demands of the times. The Negro +race formerly sang, and still sings, with much fervor of spirit: "You +may have all this world; Give me Jesus." In the days of its ignorance, +the Negro race observed this beautiful song in letter, but not in +spirit. The Negro teachers have caught the spirit and are beginning +to spread it among the ignorant masses. These teachers go into the +Sunday schools and there teach the race to keep the spirit, "You may +have all this world; Give me Jesus." They teach them that Christ is +far above and is to be preferred to the whole world, but they also +teach them that which is equally good, and that is, getting a hold on +a portion of the goods of this world is a splendid preparation for +getting a hold upon the things which lead up to heaven. In other +words, the Negro teachers have become the great preachers of wealth +getting, not because they would have the race carnally-minded, but +because they know that no race of paupers can ever amount to anything +or enjoy the full rights of citizens. + +To the end of replenishing the empty treasury of the race the Negro +teachers are encouraging their fellows to gain a skillful use of the +hand. Many of them are enthusiastic to the extent that they would see +every Negro school in the land teaching skill in the trades and in the +tilling of soil. In this movement for the education of the hand the +Negro teacher is meeting with encouragement on all sides. Such an +education cannot fail to work great benefit for the race, and help to +give it standing. Given an intelligent Negro mass, masters of the +trades and of science of agriculture, there need be no fear for the +Negro's future. The only mistake which it seems that the Negro +teachers may possibly make at this time is, that having pictured in +their minds the benefit of having a mass skilled in industry, and +noting the present popularity of industrial training, they may lose +sight of the fact that the skilled hand must be backed by and rest +upon a mind trained to logical thinking. Industrial training does much +indeed toward mental training, but by no means does it, nor can it, do +all. There is quite a tendency at present aside from industrial +training to limit the mental training of the race to the "3 r's," +viz., reading, writing and arithmetic. The highest industrial +attainment is not possible with such a limitation. The making, the +repairing and the manipulation of machinery calls for a knowledge of +natural philosophy and higher mathematics. The masterly tilling of the +soil demands one learned in chemistry and botany--botany, which we +know is not even a stranger to Latin. So we might go through every +industry and point out that its perfection is conditioned on the +highest mental training. Let the Negro teacher, while loving +industrial training for his race, not learn to despise that which +appears on the surface to be merely a mental gymnastic, but which, +when examined more carefully, proves to be that only which furnishes +a condition for the best and the highest even in that which he may +most love. + +Since social conditions in the South are such as to necessitate a +system of separate schools for whites and Negroes, and since this +necessitates the establishment of a large number of extra schools, it +inevitably results in the shortening of school terms and the cutting +down of the salaries of teachers. I have found some Negro country +schools in Alabama paying the teachers from twelve to fifteen dollars +per month, and the length of the school term was only four months. In +these cases I did not find the teachers worrying over the small +salary, but they were working to have the Negro patrons, from their +own scanty purses, lengthen the school term. In not a few cases the +Negro teachers observed were thus lengthening out the school term from +one to two months every year. + +The Negro teacher is also here and there founding institutions of +higher learning. He is getting a hold on the churches, the state, +benevolent societies, and individuals, and is causing them to +contribute money and goods to educational centers which are to prove +most potent levers in lifting the race to a higher level. + +The fact that at present a large number of the states of the Union are +basing suffrage upon an educational qualification enhances the value +of the literary work to be done by the Negro teacher. In some states +in the South the educational qualification is avowedly adopted by the +whites to eliminate the Negro from the body politic. The Negro +teachers are not sleeping over the interests of their race in this +matter. They are working quietly, but earnestly. Most of them have the +resolution which I heard expressed during the past summer by a Negro +country school teacher, viz.: "I intend that all my pupils shall learn +to read, write, and have the qualifications for voting if nothing +more." + +This, then, is what the Negro teacher is doing in the matter of +uplifting his race: he is giving to it literary training, teaching it +to skillfully use the hand, and encouraging it to accumulate property. +He is lengthening school terms and founding institutions of learning. +He is entering into the inner life of his people; and is implanting +ideas and ideals there which will make them strong and respected by +all the races of mankind. + + +FOURTH PAPER. + +WHAT IS THE NEGRO TEACHER DOING IN THE MATTER OF UPLIFTING HIS RACE? + +BY PROF. H. L. WALKER. + +[Illustration: Prof. H. L. Walker] + + PROF. H. L. WALKER, A. B. + + Prof. H. L. Walker was born near the city of Augusta, Ga., + in the year of 1859. His parents, Wesley and Adline Walker, + were the property of slave owners to whom they rendered + allegiance until 1864 and 1865, when Sherman took his + triumphal march through Georgia and the Carolinas. At the + fall of the Confederacy young Henry went with his parents to + Wilmington, N. C., where they spent about a year, during + which time young Henry for the first time saw the inside of + a school, taught by those pioneering teachers from the + North. At the close of this year the family left Wilmington + and went to Augusta, Ga., which city has been the scene of + our subject's boyhood and the basis of his literary career. + The public schools of Augusta were completed by 1874 and + upon the recommendation of all of his teachers young + "Henry," as he was familiarly called, was matriculated at + the Atlanta University, one of the most noted of Negro + colleges in the South. In this institution he studied for + eight years, coming out in 1882 with the class honor and the + degree of A. B. His parents died during his early boyhood, + even before he had entered the Atlanta University, so that + in his efforts to complete his collegiate career he had to + rely largely upon his own resources, and the very kind + assistance of his foster parents, and other friends whose + protege he was. + + Prepared for his life work, he left school in June, 1882, + and was immediately elected principal of the Mitchell Street + Graded School, Atlanta, Ga., his examination papers being + the best offered for this position. In the following + month--July--he was also elected President of the Georgia + State Teachers' Association for Colored Teachers, of which + body more will be said later. As a student at College our + subject was studious, popular with professors and students, + and acquired that assiduity and strict adherence to business + that has since characterized all his subsequent life. In the + profession of teaching he continued to rise higher and + higher each year, holding positions of trust and honor under + each of the State's superintendents of education down to the + present incumbent. For eighteen years he has held sway in + the public school of the city of Augusta, during which time + Mr. Walker has officered the Second Ward Grammar School, the + famous Ware High School and at present the First Ward High + School, which position he still fills with dignity and + credit to himself and race. As Peabody expert, Mr. Walker, + by appointment of the successive State superintendents of + education, has occupied the lecture platform in all parts of + the State, with the best lecturers, white and Colored, that + money could command, and they have all cheerfully conceded + his ripe ability to master and handle successfully such + subjects as have been assigned him from year to year. As a + practical school man and well-informed scholar, Mr. Walker + is always at home. As a Peabody lecturer he has often been + pronounced one of the best in the State. Every Summer his + services are in demand in various parts of the State. For + ten years Mr. Walker was the honored President of the + Georgia State Teachers' Association, Colored, and no man has + since filled that honored chair whose administration has in + any way rivaled the success of Mr. Walker. During his ten + years the association was built up as it has never been + since. The intelligence of the State--white and + Colored--came together in these annual meetings and made + this gathering of educators and leaders the most + representative body in the State. + + Mr. Walker is easy of address and modest in all things, + never contending for honors. Several years ago, at its + annual exercises, his alma mater conferred upon him the + degree of A. M. as a deserved tribute and recognition of the + literary work he has accomplished. As a polished orator Mr. + Walker has been heard with profit and delight in all parts + of the State. Some of his addresses before the State + Teachers' Association are considered real gems of + literature. + +After a lapse of some thirty-eight years, or a little better than a +generation, we are asking the question, "What is the Negro Teacher +doing in the matter of uplifting his race?" In so brief a period of +years it would seem to savor of arrogance to ask a question so +seemingly fraught with significance, so inopportune and, too, about a +people so recently freed from bondage that they have not yet had the +time to grow a generation of teachers. It took England more than a +generation to grow an Arnold at Rugby. It took France more than +several generations to produce a Guizot, and Pestalozzi, whose +reputation as a teacher widens with the universe, is the product of +years of experimental accumulations of Swiss ingenuity. And yet it may +be pardonable arrogance on our part to say that at this first +milestone in our educational career we pause here long enough to take +an inventory of what the Negro teacher has done and is still doing in +the matter of uplifting his people. In the pioneering or experimental +period of Negro education there were no Negro teachers, but it is safe +to say that as early as 1875 a few Negroes, daring to rush in where +angels would fear to tread, began the profession of school teaching. +It is from this date that we may safely begin to reckon the services +of the Negro teachers as a class. I make bold to lay down the +proposition that wherever God has ordained intellect that intellect is +capable of the highest development; for mental ability is a divine +endowment. The intellect may be the possession of an Indian, a +Mongolian, an Arab, a Negro, a Hindoo or a Caucasian. Textures may +differ, but all mental organisms are the same in color, fiber, and +mode of operation and development. It must then follow that the proper +training of the intellect must produce the same results upon all races +when properly applied. That training which has made the Mongolian, or +the German, or the Caucasian race great and powerful will of +necessity, under similar conditions, produce like results in the Negro +race. Let us now see what the facts show. It is largely through the +instrumentality of our schools that Negroes have been taught to place +a higher and a proper valuation upon their citizenship, and the +importance of the ballot when it is wielded for the maintenance and +perpetuation of good government. As a class of citizens Negroes are +peaceable and law-abiding, and must not be reckoned with the migratory +hordes of anarchists, nihilists, and the wreckers of law and order +that infest our Eastern and Western shores. In our schools, too, +Negroes have learned that it is theirs to petition respectfully for +the enjoyment of their rights, and the redress of grievances so often +unjustly imposed upon them. In the last two decades the influence of +the schools, colleges and industrial institutions and seminaries of +all kinds has wrought wonderful changes in the home life of the Negro +race. Purer homes now abound; intemperance is giving way to sobriety +and economy; love and order have driven out hate and confusion; the +golden rule and the Bible are taken as the measurement of conduct; +and, where-ever Negro communities are found, cozy little cottages, and +often palatial homes with thoughtful and convenient appointments, have +taken the place of the very many little one-room huts in which all the +whole range of domestic life was wont to be performed. In these new +homes a better and more intelligent class of children is being reared +to fit in the scheme of our advancing civilization. These are very +hopeful signs of a better generation and a brighter day for the +American Negro. + +Our Negro teachers and leaders have instilled into the race a desire +for the accumulation of property and wealth, and the keeping of bank +accounts. "Put money in thy purse," "Put money in thy purse." This +advice from Shakespeare is ripening in the minds of all thoughtful +Negroes, and the results are being universally manifested. In the +United States the valuation of Negro property runs far into the +millions. In the state of Georgia alone Negroes are paying taxes on +$15,629,811 worth of property; of this amount $1,000,000 represents +the increase of a single year--1900 to 1901. + +In the domain of literature and the varied professions the education +of the Negro has furnished us as lawyers, Hon. D. Augustus Straker, +Detroit, Michigan; Hon. R. B. Elliott, late of Columbia, South +Carolina; Hon. Jno. R. Lynch, Washington, D. C., paymaster United +States Army; Hon. J. W. Lyons, Augusta, Georgia, register Treasury, +Washington, D. C.; Hon. H. M. Porter, Augusta, Georgia, lawyer at the +bar. + +As statesmen Negro education has produced Hon. Frederick Douglass, +"The old man eloquent," late of Washington, D. C.; Hon. B. C. Bruce, +ex-registrar Treasury, late of Washington, D. C.; Hon. Geo. W. Murray, +ex-member Congress, Columbia, D. C.; Hon. Geo. H. White, ex-member +Congress, North Carolina. + +As poets, Mrs. Frances E. N. Harper and Paul Lawrence Dunbar are +samples of a splendid class. + +As musicians it might suffice to say that Blind Tom, Black Patti and +Madam Selika are only samples of a large class. + +Negro education has furnished us pulpits better filled with +intelligent men, devout and pious; and with modern churches that are +in harmony with the Christian demands of the age. In the Ecumenical +Conference recently held in London, the Negro clergy represented there +were from all parts of the civilized world, and the high tribute paid +to their ability and ecclesiastical character was the comment of all +the English papers. Our bishops and eminent pulpit divines are largely +young men, the product of our Negro schools. Dr. C. T. Walker, now of +the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, New York, and the foremost pulpit +orator in all the Baptist ranks, perhaps, is a native of Georgia soil, +and a product of our Georgia schools. But I must not prolong this +account with a long list of bishops, D. D's., LL. D's., M. D's., +diplomats, artists, painters, mechanics, inventors, and successful +business men, who are the product of Negro education, but before +closing this humble effort it is but proper that we should make +mention of some of the men who are universally regarded as masters in +the profession of teaching, and who in themselves are great +benefactors of the Negro race. The following educators have wrought +much in the matter of elevating their race in all the essentials of +right-living. The most conspicuous figure just now in the firmament of +Negro educators is President Booker T. Washington, who has at his +command both the hand and the heart of the American people. The +far-reaching influences of his work at Tuskegee, Alabama, where, +perhaps, more than 1,300 Negro youths are taught all the useful and +honorable methods of labor, are too well understood to merit further +comment here. President J. H. Lewis, president of Wilberforce +University, Ohio, has and is still doing a work that will tell on ages +and tell for God in the matter of developing Negro ability along the +lines of higher intellectual manhood. Prof. R. R. Wright, president of +the State Industrial College, Savannah, Georgia, is a pioneer in the +work of uplifting the Negro youth, and his excellent work recently +begun at the state college is already teeming with fruit. Miss Lucy C. +Laney is a woman of rare and well-developed intellectual attainments. +The Haines Normal and Industrial School, with all of its influence for +good, will ever be an imperishable monument to her memory. Her +reputation as a woman of ability and culture is universal. Prof. W. +H. Council, of Alabama, is hardly second to President B. T. Washington +in his noble work in Alabama of uplifting Negro youth. + +In professors, W. S. Scarborough, who holds the chair of Latin and +Greek in Wilberforce University, Ohio; Prof. W. H. Crogman, chair of +Latin and Greek, Clark University, Atlanta, Georgia; Prof. Kelly +Miller, chair of mathematics, Howard University, Washington, D. C.; +Prof. J. W. Gilbert, chair of Latin and Greek, Paine College, Augusta, +Georgia; and Prof. W. E. B. DuBois, chair of science and economics, +Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia, we have the ripest examples of +high-class scholarship. These men, steeped in the love and sciences of +all ages and people, have won respect and recognition in all the +institutions, and among all educators of world-wide reputation, both +European and American. They are only samples of a large class of +educated Negroes who have given a very high literary tone to Negro +intelligence. In an account like this, which necessarily must be +brief, it must not be expected that we could elaborate into details +about any one of the features above mentioned. In mentioning them thus +briefly it is only our purpose to call attention to the great work now +being accomplished by the Negro teachers. + +In closing these brief lines it might be well to consider several +charges made against the educated Negro. It is charged that education +teaches Negroes how to commit crime, etc. Because some educated +Negroes commit crime and do wrong that is no more of an argument +against the education of the Negro race than it would be an argument +against the education of the Caucasian race, because some educated +white men commit crime and do wrong. If a man has indigestion from +eating the wrong kind of food that ought not to be taken as an +argument against eating. Educated Negroes as a class are among our +best American citizens. + +Again, there are still some "back numbers" belonging to the old school +of thought who still charge a lack of ability on the part of Negro +scholars to absorb and assimilate the same amount of intelligence that +the Caucasian race does. + +In our humble school career in the state of Georgia we have sat on the +same seat with the boys and girls of the Caucasian race, and, often, +in the recitation room, under the same professor in the higher +classics and sciences, we have shared the same book with them, and yet +at the time of reckoning term standing we have seen those white +professors give the members of these mixed classes their class rating +in their various subjects, and the average percentage of Caucasian and +Negro pupils in all these subjects would be a matter of significant +comment. + +In many instances like these, both in the North and South, the ability +of our Negro scholars is so forcibly demonstrated; and what the Negro +teachers may yet do for their race and for civilization will be left +as a rich inheritance for the enjoyment of an advancing civilization. +Of all teachers it may be said that he who shapes a soul and fits it +for an eternal habitation in the blissful Beyond has erected for +himself a monument that eclipses in grandeur and architectural beauty +all the conceptions of a Solomon, though Solomon was the wisest of +men. + + + + +TOPIC XXIII. + +IS THE NEGRO NEWSPAPER AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE ELEVATION OF THE +NEGRO? + +BY DR. D. W. ONLEY. + +[Illustration: Dr. D. W. Onley] + + DR. D. WATSON ONLEY. + + Dr. D. Watson Onley, the eldest child of John E. and Mary J. + R. Onley (nee Wheele), was born in Newark, N. J. When but + two years old his parents moved to Brooklyn, N. Y. He was + early taught to read and write by his mother, afterward he + was sent to the Raymond Street public school, Prof. Chas. A. + Dorsey, principal. Here he showed a capable mind, by his + easy mastery of all the subjects assigned him, and by his + standing among his fellows. + + At the age of thirteen, by force of circumstances, his + progress in school was checked, his parents having changed + residence, going to Florida, transferred him to entirely new + scenes, environments and conditions. After attending school + in Jacksonville, Fla., for three years, he entered the + college preparatory course of Atlanta University. + + In 1876, returning North, he entered and took a collegiate + course in Lincoln University, after which he took two years' + technical course in Boston, Mass. + + In 1880 he married an accomplished young lady of one of the + first families of Charleston, S. C., Miss Ella L. Drayton. + Two charming and accomplished daughters of this happy union + are Charlotte E. and Mary M., the elder one a graduate of + the Normal school at Washington, D. C., and a teacher in its + public school. The younger daughter is at present a pupil in + Normal School. + + In 1885 he returned to Jacksonville, Fla., began business as + architect and builder. After three years of prosperous + business, he launched upon the world the first steam saw and + planing mill, owned and operated entirely by colored men to + manufacture lumber in all its forms for house building. The + plant grew rapidly, increasing in facilities and continued + prosperous until by the hand of an incendiary it was swept + by fire. The State Normal and Industrial College of the + State needing a practical and efficient man to take charge + of their technical department, solicited his services, where + he taught all branches of architectural and mechanical + drawing, manual training, uses and care of wood-working + machinery and steam engine. + + Not being thoroughly satisfied with his surrounding + conditions, he struck out for a new line of work, that of + dentistry, which, after three years of hard study, struggle + and sacrifice, with the cares and responsibilities of a + family upon him all the while, he finished at Howard + University, dental department, and immediately opened an + office in Washington, D. C. where he enjoys a lucrative + practice. His life has been a busy one, and his success only + represents what many have accomplished who have on hand a + good stock of push. + +In answer to this question I would say that the press next to the +school has done more for the intellectual advancement, hence, +elevation, of the Negro, than anything else. When I say press, I mean +specifically the Negro press, which is an integral part of the +American press of the country. It is his positive mouthpiece, +effective when other audiences are denied him. Before Negro +newspapers, the Negro had nothing to set forth his claims and true +status. The race consequently speaks through the press to plead its +cause. + +Reviewing the history and growth of the Negro press of this country +since it was launched by John B. Russwurm in New York City, March 30, +1827, to the present, comparing style of form, character of matter, +increase of circulation, widespread and universal interest, the great +host of contemporaries that have joined in making a vast throng of +channels through which we can advocate our cause without fear of +having it misrepresented or smoothed over, but bringing forth our +opinions to truly enlighten the world. The general support given +speaks volumes for the good it has done in elevating the Negro. + +In conducting the Negro newspaper of to-day as compared with fifteen +years ago there is a marked change. The success then in maintaining +and increasing the circulation depended largely in appealing to the +vanities of the subscribers in parading their name in print, calling +attention to many things of no consequence to the public, less to +themselves; but to-day in a very large degree that is changed; it has +become distasteful, which is a very healthful sign along the lines of +improvement of taste. + +While it is true the majority of Negroes care little but for local +news, doings of their own race, care but little for the news of the +great wide world, it must be conceded a step far in the right +direction if they can be interested at all. The Negro press, like all +others, had to begin at the bottom and grow, not patterned +particularly after any other paper, but fashioned to suit the tastes, +conditions and interests of its customers. It is the privilege of the +editor, not only to shape public opinion, pointing out the policy that +alone will conserve to our best and lasting interest, but to develop +the tastes, and so elevate the race which he serves. Through the press +the editor sees that the interests, as far as our freedom and rights +are concerned, are in no wise abridged, circumscribed or destroyed. In +a large measure this has been one of the great benefits to the race; +through the medium of the press we have been awakened to our +condition, and our rights, and we jealously guard and clamor for their +enjoyment and recognition. Although dark clouds of prejudice and +lawlessness obscure our pathway, yet we are surely though slowly +moving on in the pathway already blazed before us. + +In the hands of the Negro, the press has been an educator to the +whites as well as to the Negro, reflecting his manhood and capacity; +this, too, has elevated the Negro's appreciation of manhood and +appreciable standing among men. + +Before Negro newspapers we were unknown in history, art and science. +Like the Negro exhibits at all the great fairs, they have served to +open the eyes of the blind, and to remove an ignorant prejudice which +was against us. + +To-day we find the leading journals of this country clipping and +editorially commenting upon topics discussed and articles appearing +originally in Negro newspapers, and more than this, find the Negro +newspapers for sale on the principal stands where newspapers are to be +had, indicating the demand. In this city it would be hard not to find +the "Colored American" and "Washington Bee" at the newsdealer's. "Yes, +we keep them," I have heard to the query about the above papers; "they +are good sellers." Now what is true in this city is no doubt true in +other places where the local papers have secured recognition from +their standing and worth. + +The Negro newspaper has taken such a stand that its columns are read +by white patrons, many of whom take pride and interest in noting the +advancement of their brother in black. + +Many newspapers published by whites have taken advantage of this +condition, and the Negro's interest in the press, and have set aside +columns devoted to his individual interest; have procured competent +Negro reporters to gather all facts and doings of the race of special +interest to it, and are published daily. + +This has increased the circulation by thousands of new subscribers who +eagerly seek to know just what is going on among them. The causes of +non-support of the Negro press is no argument that the press has not +been elevating, nor any argument against its possibilities. This is +largely a condition due to poverty, illiteracy and inferiority of +paper, but time will bring about a change. In the hands of the Negro +the press has been a success. Failure in management and poor financial +profit have been to one and all engaged in the pursuit, yet the net +result shows success, not failure; and its success demonstrates the +possibilities of the race, notwithstanding the lack of encouragement. + + +SECOND PAPER. + +IS THE NEGRO NEWSPAPER AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE ELEVATION OF THE +NEGRO? + +BY WALTER N. WALLACE. + +[Illustration: Walter N. Wallace.] + + WALTER N. WALLACE. + + Walter N. Wallace, the organizer of the Colored Co-operative + Publishing Company, of Boston, Mass., publishers of the + "Colored American Magazine" and many other race + publications, was born at Boydton, Mecklenburg County, Va., + in 1874. + + His mother was Nannie J. Ellerson, who has the distinction + of being one of the first graduates of the Hampton Normal + School. Mr. Wallace is the oldest grandchild of that + institution. His father Merritt Wallace was also a student + of Hampton, and after leaving that school he settled in + Boydton, in educational work, where he became one of the + most prominent and energetic citizens of his community. He + was at one time Deputy Treasurer and Commissioner of Revenue + for the county. + + At nine years of age Mr. W. Wallace was sent to school in + Richmond, where he completed the grammar course, then + spending two years preliminary training at the High, before + entering the State College (Virginia Normal and Collegiate + Institution, at Petersburg), where he spent another two + years. While at this college he was prominent in athletics + and a member of the institute band. + + Later, determining upon the study of medicine, he entered + the Leonard Medical College, where he spent two years in + theory, then turning his face northwards he came to Boston + in 1896, where he secured a position as prescription clerk + in a prominent drug store, there becoming more practically + acquainted with medicines. + + In May, 1901, he launched his pet scheme, the "Colored + American Magazine," and under his editorial care there is + now no question of its future, as it has passed far beyond + the experimental stage, and is now an assurity. + + The confidence which has been displayed by him and his + associates in the belief "that a man is what he makes + himself," is wonderful, for they have, through strenuous + effort, brought the magazine up to an actual circulation of + over twenty thousand copies per month, with a steady + increase each month, besides publishing many Race books, + which are the equal of any in merit and mechanical makeup. + + Personally, Mr. Wallace is of a kind and modest disposition + and hardly realizes that he has accomplished within such a + short while a thorough new departure in Negro journalism. If + ever persuaded to forget for a moment, and be drawn from his + business cares, you will find him a pleasant entertainer, + both in music and conversation, for beneath his seeming + austere countenance there lies an urbane streak of humor, + piquant with wit and pleasant cynicisms, much to be enjoyed. + +In its entirety, yes. The power of the press is indisputable. To the +Negro youth of the land it should be put, as a beneficent educator, +next to our schools. In its pages they should be able to read the good +being accomplished by our prominent race-men in this glorious fight +now on; this will cultivate a desire to emulate them. They will read +of the bad being daily done and will learn to abhor such dastardly +actions. With such a mission to perform our newspapers should contain +the essence of truth and good and sensible instructions; for its power +of assimilating bad influences is equal to the good which would +accrue. + +The Negro journal is an important factor, because it is a source +through which the younger generation should and must become acquainted +with the good accomplished by members of the race, with the possible +exception of a favored few whom the ordinary press seems to think is +all that is worth speaking of. Important because the rank and file is +utterly ignored and positively unnoticed by the American white press +(except as an example of the demonstrative inability to be an +intelligent and thrifty citizen), and from which they pick from day to +day the lowest as a type of Negro capabilities. + +In order to fully explain the position taken in this matter we will be +compelled to deviate from the main question. + +To rightly diagnose the cause, for the seemingly apathetic manner in +which the race appreciates its journals we must place the blame upon +the right parties. + +A few hundred dollars, a set of type and a press do not make a +newspaper. A man with an education does not always make an editor. +Many of our editors grow discouraged over their failure to arouse a +support to their journals, blaming the race for non-appreciation, when +the fault lies with themselves. Do they give their readers news? If a +local sheet, they deal in stale generalities. If a general sheet, they +confine themselves to locals of no general interest. + +Let our journals arise, procure competent help, give the news, +regardless of class, as the newspaper is for the masses. Make a +business of the paper, run it on strict business plan, have good +printing, be careful with proofs, avoid all mistakes as nearly as +possible; study their patrons' tastes and cater to them, for it is not +dealing fairly to require the masses to purchase for race pride when +they should receive the worth of their money. + +Petty animosities should not fill their pages with vituperation, which +is shocking to refined sensibilities; neither should the reading +public be forced to search for original matter with a microscope. He +should ever be on the alert to champion the Negro's cause and never +wholly sink his originality within the narrow confines of party +bounds. Stand up for truth, and censure wherein, in his wide judgment, +he feels it necessary so to do. Never let his paper travel in a rut, +plenty of room for expenditure of gray matter. + +We have many Negro journals which should be a source of pride to the +race at large, others, we are sorry to say, do not deserve support and +should make room for those which do. + +A press association should be formed and the happenings sent from one +to the other and used in brief by out-of-town journals and be fully +detailed by local journals. More unity is needed and is a thing to be +encouraged and maintained. Our journals depend too much upon chance +MSS. than upon active reporters for their news. + +Much could be said of the many sacrifices and labors of many of our +editors, but we believe that the most good can be accomplished by +fewer and better newspapers, than with "quantity without quality." + +In our article we place great stress upon truth; we believe the goal +for which all the Negro journals are laboring is to find "the means +for the best good of the race," and way waste energy in useless +toil? + + +THIRD PAPER. + +IS THE NEGRO NEWSPAPER AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE ELEVATION OF THE +NEGRO? + +BY RICHARD W. THOMPSON. + +[Illustration: Richard W. Thompson] + + RICHARD W. THOMPSON. + + Richard W. Thompson stands in the front rank of those who + are making history for the Negro race in this century. A + native of Kentucky, he has spent most of his life in Indiana + and was educated in the common and high schools of + Indianapolis. His career of thirty-five years is quite an + interesting one, abounding in well-directed efforts that + have done much to give character and dignity to the + Afro-American youth of the land. At an early age he evinced + a remarkable aptitude for public affairs, and at school + showed proficiency of the highest order in such studies as + political economy, civil government, history, literature. He + was especially happy in the art of English composition, his + papers on current problems attracting wide attention in his + home community. Losing his father when very young, he was + largely dependent upon his own exertions for a livelihood + and throughout his school days worked at a variety of + pursuits. + + In 1879 he became associated with Messrs Bagby & Co., in the + publication of _The Indianapolis Leader_, the first + journalistic venture launched in the Hoosier State, and + later on mastered the trade of printing. Taking as naturally + to newspaper work as "a duck to water," he made himself an + indispensable quantity on the _Leader_ staff and at + seventeen, was city editor. At the same time in connection + with his school duties, he kept books for Dr. F. M. Ferree, + secretary of the Marion County Board of Health. When _The + Indianapolis World_ was launched in 1883, Mr. Thompson took + charge of the city department and at different times during + the palmy days of that sheet, held nearly every position on + it from work at the case to foreman of the mechanical + department and managing editor. He was the first managing + editor of _The Indianapolis Freeman_, in which position he + was a marked success. Later, as editor of the _Washington + Colored American_, he won national fame as an accomplished + journalist, a graceful, versatile and forcible writer and a + clear and courageous thinker upon all questions that affect + the Negro's social, political and industrial development. He + leads rather than follows popular sentiment, and at no time + while the editorial tripod was in his hands did he take a + stand upon any issue that failed to meet the hearty + endorsement of the race and which was not accepted as the + expression of the best thought and principle of our people. + In argument his style is logical and conservative. As a + spicy paragrapher, originator of attractive news features, + and as a keen observer of popular tastes, he has few equals + and no superiors in the army of Afro-American journalists. + He has done special work for prominent papers of both races, + and furnished much "copy" for private individuals, always + giving complete satisfaction. + + Mr. Thompson has been fortunate in the matter of official + recognition. At the age of fifteen he served as page in the + Indiana Legislature, being the first colored boy so + appointed. After attaining his majority he became a clerk in + the Marion County Auditor's office, and in 1888 he led a + class of seventy-five in a civil service examination, + earning an appointment as letter carrier. He came to + Washington in 1894 and was appointed clerk in the counting + division of the Government Printing Office, enjoying the + distinction of being the first colored man to be assigned to + a clerical position in that department. Mr. Thompson is now + connected with the United States Census Bureau and is + regarded as a faithful and efficient assistant. + + Busy as Mr. Thompson must necessarily be, he has time to aid + in promoting race movements and organizations, being an + active spirit in the National Afro-American Council, the Pen + and Pencil Club, and St. Luke's P. E. Church. He is now + serving his third term as President of the Second Baptist + Lyceum, a cosmopolitan debating forum that has won a + national reputation. + +The question is both pertinent and timely. In the past two decades the +necessity for the preacher, the teacher, the lawyer, and the doctor +has not been open to dispute. Every father and mother, no matter what +their social standing or their worldly means, have striven honestly, +faithfully and persistently to enroll their favorite boy in the ranks +of one or the other of these callings, as if they were the only open +highways toward distinction, or the goal denominated "success." + +In contemplating the professions which make for racial grandeur, +racial opportunities, and protection from assault, many of us forget +the importance of the Negro _press_ as a factor in the elevation of +the masses. It is not too much to say, in this connection, that of the +primary levers to which the race must look for support, none +contribute more toward endurance, permanency, and virility than the +press. We have the pulpit, the schoolhouse, the field of politics, and +the arena of business. Each has its bearing in the development of a +larger life and a more perfect manhood for the Afro-American; but, +conceding all due respect to the noble men and women who stand in the +vanguard of each of these missions, no one of them is more potent or +far reaching in its effect than the press. From the pulpit comes the +precepts that direct moral and religious thought; the schoolhouse +stands for a broader intellectual culture; the field of politics gives +us our practical experience in the science of government, affording us +an opportunity for actual participation in the shaping of legislation +and in giving vitality to public policies. The press, however, +occupies a most unique position with reference to all of them. It is +the fulcrum upon which all these activities must depend for useful +service. The press is the concentrated voice of the masses; the +mouthpiece of the age; the universal censor--directed by popular +opinion--from whose verdict there is no appeal. The press is the +medium through which the great work of the church is disseminated over +land and sea, and gives to the world the sweetening influence that the +spoken word offers only to a single parish. It magnifies the labors of +educational leaders and is itself an indispensable adjunct to the +growth of intelligence. In the political field the press has long been +recognized as an institution more powerful than any individual, and +from the post of messenger or handmaiden of the people--a mere +purveyor of current happenings--it has come to be the master mind in +the economy of nations. To the business world it is a "guide, +counselor and friend," and correctly analyzes the ingredients that +bring material prosperity to the civic organization, of which all of +us are a part. That distinguished autocrat of autocrats, Napoleon, +once exclaimed, with a bitterness born of impending destruction: +"Hostile newspapers are more to be feared than bayonets." And why not? +It holds in its grasp the power of life and death, success and +failure, happiness and misery. + +These facts amply justify the assertion that the Negro newspaper is an +all-important factor in the elevation of the race. Caucasian journals, +while general in their news features, too often lack breadth in their +opinion department, when the race question is a burning issue, just as +religious denominations, the trades and political parties require +"class" papers for the exploitation of their particular lines of +thought, the Negro has found that only through his own "class organ" +can he obtain a sturdy defense of his character, the record of his +laudable achievements, and the advocacy of his rights as a man and a +citizen. So the Negro journal came, and it is here to stay. The Negro +journal had its origin in the direst necessity, and that necessity was +never more apparent than at the opening of the twentieth century when +the Declaration of Independence seems not broad enough to include the +colored American, when the Constitution of the United States is +perverted from the sacred intent of its framers and the spirit of +disfranchisement is rampant throughout the land. + +This demand for a Negro journal was first met between 1827 and 1834 by +unpretentious sheets in and about New York City. But it was not until +1847 that race journalism became a positive factor, when that intrepid +spirit, Frederick Douglass, launched "The North Star." This great man +built up a circulation upon two continents and wielded an influence +not exceeded by any subsequent race venture. That paper blazed a wide +path, and in its path followed enterprise after enterprise, developing +the sentiment for liberty and keeping in touch with the newer +requirements of the hour. No reliable census of the many race journals +has been kept. They have sprung from every state and section, but +their span of life in most cases has been so brief and sporadic that +only rough estimates have been attempted. To-day, perhaps, three +hundred are in existence, a few taking high rank in literary +quality--others struggling desperately for maintenance. The majority +are printed at a positive loss, as regards dollars and cents. It is +doubtful if any of the survivors are supported exclusively from +revenues derived from subscriptions and advertising. It is a stinging +indictment of our much-lauded "race pride" that the greater proportion +of our Negro journalists are compelled to depend for a living upon +teaching, preaching, law, medicine, office-holding, or upon some +outside business investment. In character and make-up, these papers +are as widely varied as the localities and environments from which +they spring. Many are crude specimens of the "art preservative," +dealing heavily in "boiler plate"--to use a professional term--and +very lightly in original matter. A few have taken steps out of the +beaten path and are giving striking evidence of what the resourceful +and energetic Negro journalist could do under circumstances more +encouraging. Our editors are, for the most part, men of strong +personality, with standing and influence in their respective +"bailiwicks." Without notable exception they speak for manhood, for +race elevation, and for material development in every avenue of +industry. + +How many of us have paused and candidly considered just what Negro +journalism is doing for the uplift of the masses? Notwithstanding the +hard fact that the editorial work of many writers is done late at +night, after protracted hours of labor in other fields; and +notwithstanding that where a journalist is able to give his entire +time to the business, he is often sole solicitor, clerk, compositor, +pressman, collector, office boy, and editorial staff combined--despite +all these disadvantages, the beneficent effect of the Negro press is +felt all over the land. The dozens of able men and women who are +engaged in this noble work, most of them doing so at a tremendous +sacrifice, are true patriots, bearing burdens from which the timid +shrink, leading cheerily where none but the brave dare follow, +contending with malicious opposers, every inch of ground, this sturdy +band struggles on year after year, hoping patiently for the "joy that +cometh in the morning." Through their efforts Negro writers have been +given a fair hearing, and, while the Caucasian journal is giving space +to the police court episodes of our lower orders, the alert Negro +sentinel finds in the church, the schoolroom, the inventor's studio, +the author's desk, and in honorable political or social station, a +most fertile field for his operations. Negro newspapers have aroused +in us the commercial and industrial spirit, and are giving employment +to hundreds of young colored men and women as bookkeepers, +stenographers and canvassers. They are lending practical aid in +solving the race's labor problem by yearly instructing and providing +employment to printers, book-binders, pressmen and other artisans. +They are building up a market for Negro labor, and neutralizing to a +great extent the baleful influence of the trades unions' hostility. +The Negro editor has increased the self-respect of the race by +collating and publishing the creditable achievements of our people, +furnishing a periodical compendium of history and placing the Negro in +his most favorable light before the critics of the world. The truly +representative Negro journal reflects the sober judgment of the race +upon topics of general interest. It largely fixes our status as +thinkers and philosophers of the times. The rights of no people can be +ruthlessly invaded whose press is fearless, pure, upright, and +patriotic. No people can forever be denounced as ignorant, vicious, +and shiftless who support a press that is intelligent, moral, and +thrifty. + +Let it be remembered here, however, that the picture has its somber +tints. Negro journalism, speaking generally, is not a paying +investment. The fault does not lie wholly with either the public or +the publisher. As a mass we are not a reading people and the bulk of +us neither know nor appreciate the value of the work that the race +paper is doing. Some of us take and pay for Caucasian journals for +their news features--which is eminently fitting and proper--but the +Negro journal should not be made to suffer in the unequal competition, +for the latter fills a want which the former cannot or does not reach. +One dollar to the race paper is often worth as much as ten to the +wealthy corporation behind our great metropolitan dailies. It is not +alone our illiterates who fail to support our journals. The educated +classes are not as loyal to the cause as their means, learning, +political interest and race pride suggest that they should be. True, +it frequently happens that our papers fall into the hands of +characterless adventurers who are "anything for a dollar," and it is +felt that the best method of rebuking their self-constituted and +erratic leadership is to treat them with silent contempt. To this no +thinker can offer a reasonable objection. A journal that does not +represent the highest impulses of a community does not deserve +support. The personal organ, the scandalmonging sheet, the political +and social blackmailer, the confidence-destroying campaign dodger, and +the subsidized traitor to racial manhood are all under a ban, and +should have no place in the homes of self-respecting Negroes. In this +category should also be classed the colorless journal, that smirks in +the recesses of cowardice. We should be faithful, however, to those +that are honest and straightforward. We should strengthen their arms +by our moral and financial resources. Booker T. Washington aptly +points out how difficult it is for a needy man to resist the +temptation of the bribe-giver, and tells pathetically of the uphill +work of making a Christian out of a hungry mortal. Support the right +kind of editors and the result will be a press that is progressive, +healthful, and fearless--an institution of which all may justly be +proud. + +Is the ideal race journal attainable? I say, YES--when the two +elements necessary to the transaction--the public and the +publisher--are able to meet on a common ground, in the spirit of +co-operation and fair dealing. The chasm between the journalist and +his rightful constituency must be bridged by mutual confidence and +mutual sympathy, or neither can reap the great benefits that lie in +concentration of forces. + +The ideal journal is that one which places racial weal above private +gain--which exalts patriotism above pelf. It is controlled by men big +enough and broad enough to eschew petty personalities and to avoid +cheap sensationalism. It is piloted by men who breathe the atmosphere +of freedom, whose inspiration is not drawn from the committee rooms of +political parties, and whose course is not dictated by scheming +politicians. It is the antithesis of sycophancy. The ideal journal is +backed up by men who are far-sighted enough to perceive that success +through trickery is short lived, and that character is the only +foundation upon which an enduring structure can be built. It is +conducted by men who know by experience that genuine worth will +ultimately be appreciated, and that refined taste, sound judgment, and +a saving sense of proportion will produce a newspaper that may stand +as a model to posterity. + +Journals of this type, sincere, earnest, and consistent--and in the +future their names will be legion--are without question the key-stone +in the arch of those forces which make for the permanent elevation of +the Negro people. Such journals are prime factors in the race +problem. + + + + +TOPIC XXIV. + +ARE OTHER THAN BAPTIST AND METHODIST CHURCHES ADAPTED TO THE PRESENT +NEGRO? + +BY REV. GEORGE F. BRAGG, JR., + +[Illustration: Rev. Geo. F. Bragg, Jr.] + + REV. GEORGE F. BRAGG, JR. + + George Freeman Bragg, Junior, Priest and Rector, was born in + Warrenton, N. C., January 25, 1863. Shortly after his birth + his parents, George F. and Mary Bragg, removed to + Petersburg, Va. It was in this latter place that their son + was reared and educated; remaining there until ordained to + the Episcopal Ministry, he left to take charge of his first + work in Norfolk, Va. Mr. Bragg was educated, first, in the + Episcopal Parochial School, then in the St. Stephen's Normal + School, and in the Bishop Payne Divinity School, all of + Petersburg, Va. His education, however, was supplemented by + private tuition by a master in languages, under whom he + studied Latin, Greek, Hebrew and philosophy. In 1881 he was + appointed a page in the Virginia Legislature, and a little + later, by the Speaker, promoted as the postmaster of that + body. In 1882, though not of age, he founded and edited the + "Virginia Lancet," the first Colored weekly published in the + "Black Belt" of Virginia. This newspaper he conducted for + some four or five years, and on January 12, 1887, in St. + Stephen's Church, Petersburg, Va., he was ordained Deacon by + Bishop Whittle of Virginia. He immediately left for Norfolk, + Va., where he began his ministry at the head of the little + Episcopal Mission of that city. He remained in Norfolk for + nearly five years, and during that time formally organized + Grace Church, secured the lot, built a new church and + rectory and improved the old school building. A very large + day Industrial School was carried on by Mr. Bragg in + connection with his work. While here, in June, 1887, + Governor Fitzhugh Lee, of Virginia, appointed him one of the + State's Trustees of the Hampton Normal and Agricultural + Institute, where he served for four years, resigning only + because of leaving the State. + + In December, 1888, he was advanced to the priesthood by + Bishop Whittle in St. Luke's Church, Norfolk, Va. In the + Fall of 1891 he accepted an invitation to become the Rector + of St. James' Church, Baltimore, Md. The church, although + one of the oldest of the connection, had been very much run + down. During a ministry there of ten years, he has wrought + remarkable improvement. He has increased the communicant + list from sixty-three to nearly two hundred, and advanced + the church well-nigh to complete self-support. The old + church, which was in a Jewish neighborhood, has been sold + during the present year, and a handsome brick structure + erected in another section of the city. Mr. Bragg, during + his residence in Baltimore, has founded a splendid + charitable institution, the Maryland Home for Friendless + Colored Children, and two young men have been sent into the + ministry of the church directly through his efforts. For + many years the Rev. Mr. Bragg was Secretary of the Annual + Conference of Episcopal Church Workers among the Colored + people. And in addition to his many other arduous labors he + has found time to edit the "Afro-American Ledger," a weekly + of this city, the "Church Advocate," and the "Maryland + Home," monthly publications. + + Mr. Bragg is a well known figure in all public movements for + race amelioration, and is a veteran newspaper man, having + been Secretary of the National Press Convention for four + years, beginning with the presidency of the late Rev. Dr. W. + J. Simmons. + +At first the asking of this question is a most natural one, seeing +that the great body of Negroes are attached to either one of the above +churches, and it would seem at a first glance that these religious +organizations are pre-eminently suited to the Negro race. But, we hope +to show that not only are other churches adapted to the "present +Negro," but one of these other churches meets the Negro's need better +than either one of those above mentioned. Of course it is hardly +necessary for me to state that our showing is conceived in the very +best spirit, and with the fullness of Christian love towards our +Baptist and Methodist brethren. Did I not believe that the church of +which I am a member is best suited for the Negro, I would at once +renounce attachment thereto and embrace most lovingly the one which I +thought more efficiently equipped to minister to the complexed and +diversified needs of my race. On account of a multitude of reasons, +not necessary to state here, Negroes naturally drifted into that form +of Christianity presented by the Baptist and Methodist churches. With +the innate feeling and strong tendency to warmth, fervor, animation +and excitement, it is not at all surprising that people so strongly +emotional should gravitate in that direction. Whatever may be my own +criticisms with respect to the defects in these two systems, which +render them inferior to the church of which I am a member, and +therefore less suitable to the needs of the race, I much prefer +stating my side of the question and leaving my readers free to draw +their own conclusions. That portion of the Universal Church, known in +this country as the Episcopal Church, to my mind, is better suited and +equipped for the amelioration of the condition of the Negro than any +other. + +The Negro is specially fond of "regularity" in religious as well as +political affairs. In this respect the Episcopal Church comes to him +not as something new but as the living exponent of the old-time +religion and the old church which has actually descended to him, +through all the ages past from the very hands of Christ down to +this present time. It has historic continuity and claims none less +than the Blessed Master as its founder. She is not founded upon the +Bible, for she gave to the world this blessed book. Her sons inspired +of God wrote it. And the claim of historic continuity can be +established and proven in the ordinary way that we attest other +historical facts. The church, then, that Jesus Christ founded and +concerning which He said the "Gates of hell should not prevail against +it," must of necessity be "adapted to the present Negro." + +The Negro needs the faith once delivered to the saints, not in shreds +or left to pick it out for himself, but the whole faith. This the +Episcopal Church offers him. A complete faith, naturally, is to be +found in a comprehensive church. The Episcopal Church is most +comprehensive. She believes more in turning in than in turning out. +Men are not brought into the fold to be "turned out" for every little +thing, but they are brought in to be built up, established and rooted +and grounded in Him. The church, then, is adapted to the present Negro +because she gives him not opinions and theories, but the living faith +of the ages and a living Christ as potential to-day as when He trod +this earth clothed in flesh. And this church is most comprehensive, +taking in all sorts and conditions of men, and by grace dispensed +through sacraments, ordained by Christ Himself, seeks to bring to the +fullness of stature as realized in Jesus Christ. + +The Episcopal Church is pre-eminently adapted to the present Negro, +for the present Negro is most eager to learn, and, above all other +religious bodies, she is a _teaching church_. More Scripture is read +at one Episcopal service than is ofttimes read in a month in the +services of other churches. She has a liturgy which is the sum total +of all that is good and grand in the ages past, and the constant and +almost imperceptible influence of her most excellent system of public +worship, as indicated in the Book of Common Prayer, silently but +effectively issues, in moulding and mellowing good Christian +character. She teaches not only through the prayer book, but by the +yearly round of feast, festival and fast, of which, like a great +panorama the acts and incidents in the life of her Lord are constantly +set forth before those who have ears to hear and eyes to see. More +than that, she teaches through symbolism. Many persons, and a +considerable number of Negroes are here included, are endowed with but +little brain. But they have eyes, and what they take in with their +eyes help to rivet and fasten in their memories what they seize upon +with what brain they possess. Our children begin to take in the +surrounding objects with their eyes long before their minds are +sufficiently developed to act, and the same is true in the present +matter. The Episcopal Church, therefore, is especially adapted to the +present Negro because she is adequately and sufficiently equipped to +touch him at that portion of his being which will respond in unison +with what she has to offer for his improvement. Her service addresses +itself to his natural senses, as well as to his mental powers, however +strong or weak they may be. + +The Episcopal Church is adapted to the Negro because her worship is +hearty, beautiful, uplifting and inspiring, though simple and easy, +furnishing the greatest opportunity for active participation therein +by the ignorant as well as the learned. The worship of the Episcopal +Church harmonizes most beautifully with the strong religious fervor of +the Negro, and as a vehicle for offering up those intense longings and +aspirations of his heart, is without an equal. + +The Episcopal Church is adapted to the Negro because she believes so +persistently and thoroughly in "a change of heart." Of all religious +bodies not one lays such emphasis on the absolute necessity of "a +change of heart" as does the Episcopal Church. Stamped upon every page +of her divine liturgy, and permeating the beautiful prayers of her +offices, and inwrought in her hymnology, is this deep and firm +recognition and teaching with respect to a change of heart. All her +sacraments, disciplinary offices, instructions and the like, are with +the design of helping her children, through the aid of the Divine +Spirit, in proving the genuineness of their change of heart by a +conspicuous, powerful and beautiful change of life. + +The Episcopal Church is adapted to the Negro because she offers a +government that is congenial and pleasant to his sunshiny nature, and +which, while it amply protects him in the enjoyment of all the blessed +privileges of religious culture, saves him the disaster and confusion +of a democracy, which, when realized, is but another name for anarchy +and confusion. + +The government of the Episcopal Church is jointly shared by her +clergymen and laymen, and the stability and security of its government +is firmly attested by the past ages of experience and notable +achievements. + +In conclusion the Episcopal Church is the church for the Negro, +because she is both willing and able to supply his every need, and +under her loving nurture and constant training in the end will +graduate him into a well-rounded Christian man of symmetrical +character and beauty. + + +SECOND PAPER. + +ARE OTHER THAN BAPTIST AND METHODIST CHURCHES ADAPTED TO THE PRESENT +NEGRO? + +BY REV. JOHN W. WHITTAKER. + +[Illustration: Rev. John W. Whittaker] + + REV. JOHN W. WHITTAKER. + + Rev. John W. Whittaker, A. M., a prominent Congregational + pastor, was a poor boy who made his way up through many + hardships. He was born at Atlanta, Ga., December 23, 1860. + Of his father he knows very little. His mother was a devoted + Christian whose life greatly influenced his character. When + old enough, he was put to work to help support the family. + While an office boy at Atlanta he met a young man, Lewis G. + Watts, a thorough Christian and fond of reading, who + cultivated Mr. Whittaker's friendship and took a great + interest in him. Whenever with Mr. Whittaker he questioned + him in arithmetic, grammar and the news of the day. + + In this way a desire for an education was awakened in Mr. + Whittaker. He decided to go to school. He began his + education in the summer of 1876 in a country school in a + suburb of Atlanta. From here he went to the Starr's Grammar + School. His examination revealed the fact that he had + considerable general information, but it was so unsystematic + that it was very difficult to tell to what grade he + belonged. He was, however, classified as a senior with + conditions and was graduated with honor at the close of the + school year. Then he matriculated in Atlanta University, + where he studied seven years, completing the college course + in 1884. He studied theology at the Hartford Seminary, + graduating in 1887. + + During these years of study Mr. Whittaker partly supported + himself by teaching in the summer and working out of school + hours, which was an immense drain upon his strength, and + once he broke down under it. Through the kindness of friends + he was enabled to spend two summers in the North farming. + This change, he feels, was the saving of his life. June 1, + 1887, at Springfield, Mass., where he held his first charge, + he was ordained. In 1888 he was married to Miss Anna J. + Connover, of Hartford, Conn. + + Mr. Whittaker educated himself to labor for his people in + the South. He was not content to remain in the North. After + a very successful year at Springfield, he resigned to accept + a call to the Knowles Street Congregational Church of + Nashville, Tenn. For three years he was chaplain of the + Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. For seven years + and four months he was pastor of the First Congregational + Church of New Orleans, La., and three years he had charge of + the First Congregational Church of Savannah, Ga. Recently he + has been recalled to Tuskegee to be the Financial Secretary + of the Tuskegee Institute. + + Mr. Whittaker is a preacher of force and power. In every + place he pastored he was remarkably successful. He has often + been honored by his church with positions of trust and + responsibility. He was one of the Louisiana Commissioners of + the Negro Department for the Atlanta and Cotton States + Exposition. + +It would seem from the immense following of these churches that this +question would require a negative answer, but it is only in appearance +and can be accounted for. + +In the days of slavery the Methodist and Baptist churches predominated +in the South. The great mass of the slaves attended these churches +with their masters and there they were converted and became members. +They were thoroughly indoctrinated in the teachings of these churches. +At the same time, there were other denominations existing among the +slaves: Catholic, Episcopalian, and Presbyterian. In some portions of +the United States, where these denominations were in the lead, they +have a very large Negro following, whose attachment to these religious +sects is so strong that they could be satisfied in no other. They +belong to these denominations by birth and training. All that is +sacred and dear to them is wrapped up in the history of these bodies. +At the present time, it is a fact that the Negro is found in every +religious denomination known among men. So it can not be said with +truth that no other than Baptist and Methodist churches are adapted to +the Negro. The needs of the Negro, from a religious point of view, +demand all sects. + +How does it come about then that the Baptist and Methodist so largely +predominate to-day? These denominations, just after the War of the +Rebellion, required no educational qualification for the ministry; and +missions were opened by them everywhere an opening was to be found, +and every man, learned or ignorant, who felt himself called to preach, +was licensed and sent forth to preach in his way and to build up +churches. These men were for the most part ignorant and superstitious, +with very vague ideas of religion. Their chief object was to draw the +people and every other consideration was sacrificed to that end. They +pandered to the ignorant and superstitious notions of the Negro, +ridiculed intelligence, and prejudiced their followers against it. +They had no thought of progress, but taught the people to be satisfied +with what their fathers before them did and had; not to believe in +this Bible religion which has sprung up since the war; to prefer the +old-time preacher who, without any learning, gets up and opens his +mouth and lets God fill it with words to utter. + +Back of all this there was one ever present motive--the pastor's +support, the running expenses of the church, and the keeping up of a +house of worship. All this had to be collected from the congregation. +Hence the preacher's position hung upon his getting and holding a +congregation. In the Methodist Church, a clergyman's advancement +depends chiefly upon his ability to increase his membership and to +raise money. Therefore, every Baptist and Methodist pastor felt the +very great necessity there was upon him of getting as great a crowd as +possible and gathering all the finance he could from it. This many +did, regardless of the method employed. + +Thus it was that these two denominations got hold of the masses and +preoccupied the field. + +The other denominations went to work in an entirely different way. +They did not seek in the first place the spread of their sects, but +the _elevation_ of the Negro. They realized that the Negro needed to +be developed into strong, self-reliant, and independent characters; +that the masses were not moved by duty and did not appreciate the +obligation of duty. They are a prey to their feelings, which sway them +to the right hand and to the left. They live on their feelings. So +engrossed are they in their feelings that they neglect duties and +ignore obligations. That is why the religion of so many is such sad +rubbish. God gave man reason to rule over his actions. But it was +plain that, in the great mass of the Negro, reason is yet a child, +ruled over by its playmates--the feelings, passions, and appetites. +This is not the kind of foundation upon which to build a true +religious life. + +Therefore, these denominations went to work to educate the Negro. They +put the emphasis on education. Schools instead of churches were +established. Their theory was that men should not only be converted, +but they also should be educated and made intelligent Christians. They +did not discount brains, did not consider ignorance in itself a mark +of virtue, nor that learning disqualified a disciple of God for the +best service of his Lord and Master. In their polity, the school and +the church stood side by side. In their view, an example of higher and +better things must be set. Men of intelligence, power, thought, and +strong characters, filled with the spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, +must be raised up from among the people to lead them and to teach +them. + +They were slow in establishing churches. Whatever churches they set up +were pastored by men of learning and character. They were unwilling to +stoop to the people, but sought to bring the people up to them. +Everything was done according to the custom of the most intelligent +and cultured. The preaching was of a high order, yet adapted to the +needs of the people. The music was the very best. Thus a model church +was set up, suited to the needs of its communicants. As fast as men +were trained and prepared for the work of the gospel ministry, they +were sent forth to take charge of newly-organized fields. This work +went on with considerable opposition, but the influence that went out +from these churches and schools was felt in the whole community. They +were centers of light and wholesome Christian instruction. They were +Mt. Sinais from which the laws of liberty, education, and progress +were sent out to the people far and near. + +These churches were, in intelligence, far removed from the masses. +There was very little effort put forth to reach them. That was not the +object now. That work was to come on later. The members of, and the +attendance upon, these churches were mainly those who had been +sufficiently taught to appreciate them. + +The ignorant and prejudiced dubbed these churches high-tone. They +said: "Only the educated and well-dressed can go there. The people in +that church have no religion. They have only book religion. You must +know how to read to go there. Why, you can't shout or say amen. I +don't want anything to do with that church. It's too cold for me." +Thus there grew up in the minds of the masses generally a prejudice +against these denominations. And the fact that these churches were for +a long time in the hands of white pastors was used to stir up +opposition to them. The clergymen of the Methodists and Baptists made +much of it to tear them down and to build up themselves. + +Then, again, the members of these educated churches did a great deal +to widen the breach by such remarks as this: "We do not want any head +handkerchief people in our churches." They often spoke in a way which +gave the impression that they felt themselves better than the +commonality of their brethren; and whenever visitors came to these +churches, the members did not extend them that cordial welcome which +makes one feel at home and want to come again. This was often done +unconsciously. These members had been apt students, who faithfully +copied their instructors. The very atmosphere of these churches was +New England, which was cold and formal as compared with our Southern +ways. Thus our untrained brethren did not feel at home in their midst. + +As time goes on and education becomes more general, these hindrances +and difficulties to the progress of the other denominations begin to +pass away. The prejudice against them wanes. The Baptist and Methodist +are forced to change their tactics; their people begin to clamor for a +more intelligent ministry. The churches of the other denominations +fell into the hands of young colored men who had been educated and +trained to take these places. + +The passing of these churches into the hands of the native pastors was +the beginning of a new era in our Southern church history. The North +had set the standard and carried out its purpose to raise up educated +men and women to take up the work. The labor of these churches +heretofore was one of education and preparation. Now it becomes one of +development and expansion. Up to this time, they cared for the few. +Now they are to reach out for the masses. Previously these churches +had been in great measure supported by Northern aid, but now they have +to deal with all the problems connected with running a church, such as +gathering and holding a congregation, securing pastor's support, and +all the expense of keeping up and maintaining a house of worship. +Hence the necessity is upon them to reach the masses if they expect to +exist, not only to save souls, but also that their forces may be +strengthened and made more efficient; and they stand to-day as good a +chance in this race as do the Methodists or Baptists. Their past work +in an educational line in behalf of the Negro in general has given +them a lasting hold upon the hearts of the people, who feel that they +owe these denominations a debt of gratitude which can never be paid. +Most of the Methodist and Baptist leaders of to-day were trained in +the schools of these denominations. So they enjoy the best wishes of +the communities in which they exist, with very few exceptions. The way +is open to them to grow if they will only seize it and use it for all +it is worth. + +[_Note by the Editor._--We assume that the membership of neither the +Baptist nor the Methodist churches would claim for a moment that +theirs is the only church suitable to the Negro race. But we think it +would be unfair to leave the discussion of this topic without +correcting an erroneous impression given by the Rev. J. W. Whitaker in +the paper above. Perhaps not more than one other church has done more +for the education of its Negro ministers and membership than has the +Methodist Episcopal Church through its Freedmen's Aid Society and by +other methods. This education commenced immediately after the war. We +have reason to believe that the Baptist is a close second to the +Methodist Church in this matter of educating the Negro. It is possible +that some of the Negro Baptist and Methodist Churches that are +entirely separated from the white churches of the same denomination +may come under the category of especially ignorant ministry and +membership; but even these exclusively Negro churches began the work +of education soon after emancipation. We suspect that the two churches +under criticism as given above preferred not to wait until the +freedmen became cultured before attempting to save them.] + +THIRD PAPER. + +ARE OTHER THAN BAPTIST AND METHODIST CHURCHES ADAPTED TO THE PRESENT +NEGRO? + +BY REV. O. M. WALLER. + +[Illustration: Rev. O. M. Waller] + + REV. OWEN M. WALLER. + + Rev. Owen Meredith Waller, rector of St. Luke's P. E. + Church, Washington, D. C.; Associate of Arts of Oxford + University, England; Graduate of the General Theological + Seminary, New York, was born in Eastville, Va., in 1868. + When but five years old his parents settled in Baltimore, + where he was sent at an early age to the St. Mary's Academy. + In 1881 he went to Oxford, England, where he entered St. + John's Classical School, pursuing studies there until 1889, + when he returned to New York city. He graduated from the + General Episcopal Theological Seminary in 1892, and was + ordained to the Deaconate by Bishop Potter, after which he + accepted a call as assistant rector to St. Phillip's Church, + New York. + + He declined the principalship of Hoffman Hall of Fisk + University, Nashville, Tenn., to accept a call to St. + Thomas' Church, Philadelphia. Having passed all examinations + before reaching the required age to enter the priesthood, it + was only after his election to St. Thomas' that he became + eligible for advancement. + + Bishop Potter arranged for the ordination to take place in + the Colonial Church of St. John, Washington, D. C. Here in + the presence of the Chief Justice, Cabinet Officers, + Senators and other men of national note, Mr. Waller was + formally elevated to the priesthood. After a rectorship of + three years' successful work in this historic parish, during + which its centennial was celebrated, Mr. Waller was elected + rector of St. Luke's Church, Washington, D. C., in + succession to the Rev. Dr. Crumwell. + + In size he is above the medium and of athletic build. He is + a perfect type of the physical manhood of his race, graceful + in manner and address and is clear and eloquent in his style + of oratory. + + Success has crowned his work from the beginning. Mr. Waller + combines all the essentials necessary of a leader of men + along religious lines. He understands humanity. His methods + inspire the confidence of men, and they reverence his + gospel. He appeals to the intelligence and reason, never to + passion and prejudice. He has the faculty of saying much in + little, and saying it with directness and force. + + Mr. Waller was married in 1893 to Miss Lillian M. Ray, of + Brooklyn, N. Y. Three bright boys have blessed this union by + their advent into the home. + +I have no hesitancy in saying that not only are there other churches +adapted to the training of the Negro than the Methodist and Baptist +churches, but, in my opinion, some are better suited to the present +needs of the Negro, and chief, if not indeed the first, among these is +that branch of the Apostolic Catholic Church known as the Protestant +Episcopal Church. I advance the following arguments to sustain this +statement: + +First, the Negro is under a spell of religiosity; a conception of +religion that freely recognizes and imbibes its sentiment, but just as +frankly rejects its stern practical duties and obligations. The +Negro's religion is a poem--a sentiment--indeed, a velvet-lined yoke. +He, therefore, stands sadly in need of an influence that will regulate +his super-emotional nature, and not one that adds fuel to an existing +conflagration that threatens to forever consume the only power in the +human being that can ultimately work out his salvation, viz., the +human will. + +His religiosity needs to be directed to the deep channels of true +religion, and there harnessed as a mighty Niagara to produce +practical righteousness in daily living. No church is better adapted +to this end than the Protestant Episcopal. (a) She seeks after the +example of her Master's method to develop the permanent power of the +will, rather than the unstable prop of emotionalism. This is evidenced +in her majestic liturgies and dignified but helpful services. (b) In +doctrine, discipline and worship the Protestant Episcopal Church is +the school of mental, moral and spiritual training, that a people but +now coming to the light from the darkness and degradation of bondage +so terribly need. (c) Again, her ministry, bishops, priests and +deacons are her people's leaders; secure in the tenure of their office +from factional machinations, they are fearless in the advocacy of +righteousness; not with their ears to the ground, but with eyes +looking upward, their pulpits speak plainly "Things pertaining to the +Kingdom of God." Nothing at this stage does the Negro stand in greater +need of than fearless and positive guidance in the "ways of +righteousness." + +Second: The present Negro needs opportunity and latitude for +self-development in a church where he must measure himself with the +highest standard of Anglo-evolution. As long as the Negro is content +to compare himself, in Negro associations, with himself, he must be +satisfied to know only that things equal to the same thing are equal +to one another. But, both in the lay membership and in the ministry of +the Protestant Episcopal Church, the Negro coming into contact with +the best results of modern forces, not only rises up to higher +standards, but is saved from the insidious evils of conceitedness by +ever seeing the vistas beyond him. Withal, the doors are open to the +Negro, here more truly so than in any church of like prestige and +heritage. Two Negroes are on the bench of the Protestant Episcopal +Church. Nearly a hundred have been elevated to the diaconate and +priesthood, meeting all requirements and thereby teaching the same +level as other men. Such a showing cannot be made by any church of +like history. + +Third: We have been told of late to teach the Negro history, and I add +that no lesson will be so potent as identification with a historic +church that has come down the centuries to us, in unbroken integrity, +from the hands of Christ through the spiritual loins of the Apostles. +I advance the following argument to show that the Protestant Episcopal +Church will meet this need of the Negro: At Acts 11:42, we read as +follows: "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and +fellowship and in the breaking of bread and in prayers." + +It may be readily seen from these words, drawn as they are directly +from the scholarly Greek of St. Luke, that the Apostolic Church was +distinctly marked by four observances or characteristics: + +(a) Their steadfastness in the Apostles' doctrine. + +(b) Their steadfastness in the Apostles' fellowship, dealings, doings, +ministry or form of government. + +(c) Their steadfastness in the breaking of the bread, or the Holy +Communion; Holy Baptism being included in the Apostolic doctrine. + +(d) Their steadfastness in the Apostles' manner of praying or in the +set forms of prayer, at first, for twenty-five years in the Temple and +the synagogues of the Jews. + +These being the four marks of the church at that time, is there now in +existence any church having these selfsame marks? Without any doubt, +Christ was the founder of that visible body of Christians, the church +in Acts II. Does that church exist to-day? It must, because Christ +said: "The gates of hell shall not prevail against it."--Matt. 16:18. + + THEN WHICH IS IT, AND WHERE IS IT? + +The church is certainly a visible body of Christians, not founded by a +man or men, but by Jesus Christ. Having a divine founder it is then a +divine society, seeking men to save them from the degrading power of +sin and everlasting punishment in hell. It is not then, as is so +commonly and popularly thought, a human society founded by Luther, +1530; Calvin, 1541; Knox, 1560; Robert Brown, 1582; Roger Williams, +1639; John Wesley, 1739; or Swedenborg, 1783. In brief, the church +founded by Jesus Christ is the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, as Christ +so often described it (Matthew 13:47, 5:19, 13:44); endowed with power +from on high transmitted through her unbroken line of the Apostolic +ministry, but obedient to her Divine Founder, who is at the right hand +of God in heaven. + +This church of four distinct marks in the Acts existed before the +completion of the New Testament at least some sixty years, and it was +the church that by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit pronounced the +New Testament inspired, and rejected other books claiming to set forth +the life of Christ, three hundred years after it was founded. The Old +Testament is the document of the Jewish Church, that church having +been in existence for a thousand years before its document was +completed. Therefore, this church of the Acts cannot be set aside for +one claimed to be founded upon the Bible. + +For three hundred years then, this Apostolic Church existed with +Apostolic doctrine, ministry, sacraments, and prayers before she gave +the New Testament to the world with her certificate that it was the +Inspired Word of God. + +The Protestant Episcopal Church of America as the daughter of the +Church of England, has ever possessed, and does now possess and hold +more sacred, these four marks that identify her unmistakably with the +primitive and Apostolic Church, as a true branch of the same. + +First, as to doctrine this church holds and defends the pure teaching +of the early church, without taking from or adding to the same. There +are few, indeed, who would question this. + +The Holy Trinity (John 14:16, 26; Acts 2:33; Gal. 4:6). + +The Incarnation of God's Son (Luke 1:35; John 1:14; Matt. 1:23). + +The Redemption of Man by Christ Jesus (Matt. 1:21, 20:28; Gal. 1:4). + +Regeneration and Holy Baptism (Titus 3:5; Rom. 6:4; Gal. 3:27). + +The Holy Communion (Matt. 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20). + +Confirmation (Acts 8; Heb. 6:2). + +The Resurrection of the Dead (Luke 14:14; John 11:23). + +The Judgment (Acts 17:31; Heb. 9:27). + +Belief in these statements and other fundamental teaching of Holy +Scripture is in accord with the mind of the Apostolic Church. + +Secondly, as to the unbroken line of bishops, priests and deacons, who +have succeeded for more than eighteen centuries other ministers +Apostolically ordained, that has been most jealously guarded and +maintained by the Episcopal Church. + +There may be some who have never given any study to the Apostolic +succession of ministers in the church founded by Christ. No one could +well doubt the fact or deny the doctrine who had patiently +investigated the matter. The New Testament is itself witness to the +fact that the Apostles appointed others to do Apostolic work and to be +their successors; at least thirty Apostles are mentioned in the New +Testament. Among them were Paul, Matthew, Barnabas, Andronicus, Silas, +Luke, Titus, whom St. Paul appointed Bishop of Crete, and Timothy, +whom he appointed Bishop of Ephesus. There were also at least ten +others whose names are recorded, space does not permit us to mention. + +Now, if the original twelve could have eighteen successors, certainly +they could, and have had a continual line of successors down the +centuries. The titles of the three orders of the ministry may, at +first, mislead the unlearned. + +(1) In the New Testament the highest order was Apostles. The second, +"ordained in every city," were Presbyters (Presters or Priests), also +called Bishops and the lowest order Deacons. + +As the Apostles began to die off, the title "Apostle" was limited to +them and to their successors who had probably seen Christ, at the same +time the title "Bishop" was set apart to denote the highest order +which succeeded the original Apostles. This is stated by Clement of +Alexandria in the second, and Jerome in the fourth century. While +Theodoret, writing in 440, says: "The same persons were in ancient +times called either presbyters or bishops, at which time, those who +are now called bishops were called Apostles. In process of time, the +name of Apostles was left to those who were sent directly by Christ, +and the name of Bishop was confined to those who were anciently called +'Apostles.'" From Palestine the church spread to Asia Minor, Greece, +Rome, Gaul, Spain and England, carrying with her the Apostles' +doctrine, ministry, sacraments and prayer. + +In 597, when Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, sent Augustine to +England, he found there the church with the four marks. After awhile +the Bishop of Rome, by political methods, gained great influence over +the English Church in so much that he was receiving from England +greater revenues than the king. When the tremendous revolt against the +papacy came about in Europe in the sixteenth century the English +people simply ejected the pope's emissaries and with them, Italian +influence and corruption from England and the English Church, the +church remained essentially the same she had been for centuries. + +The word "Reformation" signifies the footing of something into a new +shape. It is therefore not the destruction of the old and the +substituting of the new, but rather the reshaping, cleansing and +revivifying of the old. The melting down of the family silver and the +reshaping it on new models is not to acquire new silver. Perhaps it +was so distorted by abuse that it required new shaping. This was very +much the case with the Church of England. + +The reformation in England was effected on very different lines from +that on the continent of Europe. Luther, Calvin, Melancthon, and +others were individuals attracting to themselves multitudes of other +individuals and together they establish societies of Christians. The +Apostolical churches on the continent did not, as such, participate in +the reformation movement. In England the reformation, i. e., the +reshaping, restoring and cleansing, was more wisely conducted. The +church there had existed since the days of the Apostles. For six +hundred years it remained independent of the Roman world power, and it +was only after the Norman Conquest that the papal authority became +well established in England. When a reformation seemed necessary, it +was conducted, not by individuals leaving the national church, but by +the whole Church of England. In A. D. 1532 the quarrel of Henry the +Eighth with the pope led to the overthrow of the Roman power in +England. Henry is not to be credited as a reformer, much less as the +founder of any church. He never made any attempt to found a church. +When he was born, in 1491, he found the church existing in England, +and when he died, in 1547, he left the same church, but cleansed and +independent. The ancient church was not changed, and the old religion +did not give place to the new. The papacy was opposed to the +independence of the national churches for which the Church of England +had always contended. + +Accordingly, when the power of the pope was broken and thrust out of +England, the church was at liberty to restore Apostolic purity and +freedom to the nation and the individual. + +Parliament prohibited the payment of money to the pope and appealing +from English to papal courts. In 1539 the Bible was given to the +people to read in their native tongue. The services were read in +English instead of Latin. The chalice was given to the laity. The +worship of the Blessed Virgin Mary was abolished and praying to +departed saints forbidden. These reforms were conducted by the +archbishops, bishops, priests, and deacons and laity, i. e., by the +whole church. The pope was not without his adherents during this +period, who opposed these changes most vehemently. But these traitors +to the Church of England found they could not stem the tide for an +open Bible and pure religion. In 1569 Pope Pius Fifth created the +great sin of schism by commanding all in favor of papal power in +England to withdraw from the English Church and form an Italian +party. In 1685 the Italian Church supplied this party with a bishop. +To-day the Italian mission in England is doing all in its power to +make headway against the Church of England, but in vain. + +We can now come briefly to the Episcopal Church in America. She was +established in the American Colonies under the oversight of the Bishop +of London. In 1609 the Church of England planted her first church on +American shores at Jamestown, Virginia. After the Revolution, the +church in this country became the American Episcopal Church, receiving +the Apostolic ministry from the ancient Apostolic Church of England. +Samuel Seabury of Connecticut, was consecrated at Aberdeen in 1784 and +William White of Philadelphia, and Samuel Provoost of New York were +consecrated at Lambeth Palace in 1787. These were the first three +bishops with jurisdiction, and thus was the Apostolic Succession +maintained in the Episcopal Church in unbroken line from the days of +the Apostles. + +In conclusion, the Protestant Episcopal Church has ever continued +steadfast in the sacraments of prayers, and by these four undeniable +and unmistakable marks shows that she is a true branch of the same +church described in Acts 2. + +The question for the Negro now becomes, not which church do I like or +prefer, not to which church did my parents belong, but which church +did Christ found for me to be trained in. + + + + +TOPIC XXV. + +THE NEGRO AS A BUSINESS MAN. + +An Address Before the National Negro Business League. + +BY T. W. JONES. + +[Illustration: T. W. Jones.] + + HON. THEODORE W. JONES. + + The Hon. Theodore W. Jones was born during the temporary + residence of his parents in the beautiful city of Hamilton, + Ontario, September 19, 1853. His parents soon returned to + New York, their native State, and there remained until he + was twelve years old. In 1865 this family decided to make + Illinois their home and settled in Chicago. + + Mr. Jones was one of a very large family; his parents were + poor and unable to give him even a common school education. + Compelled to support himself, at the age of fifteen years he + was driving an express wagon. He was an industrious boy, + full of pluck and energy. Without money and by his own + unaided efforts, step by step, he pressed on and soon built + up a most successful express and moving business. + + Discouraged by no difficulty, the ambitious young expressman + turned his attention toward acquiring an education. He was a + diligent student. Through the aid of private tutors and the + "midnight oil," he was able, when twenty-five years of age, + to enter Wheaton College, Wheaton, Ill., where he remained + three years. Leaving college, he returned to his business in + Chicago and has been exceedingly prosperous. + + Mr. Jones is the owner of a large brick storage warehouse, + Twenty-ninth Street and Shields Avenue, and other valuable + property in this city. In his employ are three lady clerks + and about fifty men, all colored. + + In 1894, Theodore W. Jones was elected on the Republican + ticket to the responsible position of County Commissioner of + Cook County, Ill. He ably and well performed the duties of + this office. + + That he labored earnestly and unselfishly to advance the + interests of the colored people we need relate only the + following fact: During Mr. Jones' term of office the colored + people of Cook County drew $50,000 yearly salary. This was + about seven times the amount paid into the county treasury + by our race. + + He is a valued member of the National Negro Business League. + He was present in Boston at the organisation and has + organised a branch league in Chicago, known as the Business + Men's League of Cook County. This league entertained the + National League in Chicago, August 21, 22, 23, 1901. + +There has been so much controversy concerning the Negro, so much said +and written about his alleged inferiority, such an attempt made to +establish relationship between him and the monkey, that even in this +new century there exists, in some quarters, grave doubts as to his +origin, and a general misapprehension as to his nature, capabilities +and purposes. But research into the primeval history of man evinces +the fact, beyond the possibility of skepticism, that mankind had only +one common origin. We are taught that in the beginning God created man +in His own image, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, +and that man became a living soul. The closest and most thorough +analysis of the blood of different races fails to detect the slightest +difference in the color, size, shape or quality of its corpuscles. The +fact that one people are white, another yellow, another red, another +brown, and yet another black has its cause in the workings of a law of +nature which we do not fully understand. Sacred history plainly +teaches that the Negro is a man like other men and that of one blood +God created all nations; hence there can be no racial barrier to a +successful business career, in the general constitution of a black +man. + +What was the business of the Negro in the land of his nativity, or at +the time of his emancipation in this country, does not so much +interest us now, except as it may help us to appreciate his capacity +for business at present. + +Life for our forefathers in Africa was very plain and very simple. The +multitude was engaged with problems little more difficult than the +acquirement of food and drink and rest, raiment not being a necessity; +hence their only business, aside from frequent wars with kindred +tribes, was to explore a way to the fruit tree, the water brook and +the shade, and so their years were principally filled up with the +business of merely satisfying those three physical wants--hunger, +thirst, and rest. + +When human slavery was established in the colonies, those of our race, +either fortunate or unfortunate enough to be brought to these shores +were instructed mainly in the care of cotton, tobacco and rice crops; +and from these few Southern industries we could not turn aside. +Slavery deprived the Negro of the little responsibility devolving upon +him in his savage state--that of providing food and drink and finding +rest. No responsibility was allowed to devolve upon him, other than to +perform allotted work, not even the selection of his wife; and when +children were born to him, he was not confronted with the problem of +how he should provide food and shelter for them, nor wherewith they +should be clothed. He and his issue being the property of his master, +like swine or cattle, their issue were alike stalled and fed by the +owner. With but few exceptions, this was the condition of the Negro +when the Proclamation of Emancipation was issued, thirty-eight years +ago. + +From that eventful day onward, the mighty aspiration of the ex-slave +for education and material development has written a new page in the +history of the world's progress. Let us now examine the record made, +and call to our assistance the statistics of the Government that we +may truthfully answer the question, can the Negro succeed as a +business man? We are indebted to ex-Congressman George H. White for +the information that since the dawn of our freedom the race has +reduced its illiteracy at least 45 per cent; that we have written and +published nearly 500 books; have edited fully 300 newspapers; have +2,000 lawyers at the bar, a corresponding number of practicing +physicians, and 32,000 school teachers. We own 140,000 homes and have +real and personal property valued at $920,000,000. The census of 1890 +shows that 20,020 persons of African descent were engaged in business, +and there were more than 17,000 barbers not included in those figures; +and be it remembered that this showing was made more than ten years +ago. + +It is true that we have produced no skilled master mechanics or great +speculators; no commercial princes or merchant kings. These are beyond +our immediate reach and reserved for later growth. But we have today, +on the floor of this convention, colored men who represent nearly +every business enumerated in the census reports--wagon-makers, +watch-makers, grocers, druggists, bankers, brokers, bakers, barbers, +hotel keepers, caterers, undertakers, builders, contractors, printers, +publishers, decorators, manufacturers, tailors, insurance agents, coal +dealers, real estate agents, collectors, the proprietor of a brick +yard, the owners of a cotton factory, and the president of a coal +mine. The number engaged, and the capital invested, may not reach very +pretentious figures, but the beginning has been made. Aside from the +above, we have produced soldiers whose valor has reached world-wide +reputation, poets, artists, teachers and professional men and women of +recognized ability. There are hordes of others pursuing the humbler +walks of life eager to acquire by education a higher ideal of +manliness and womanliness, and to learn the ways of advanced +civilization and approved citizenship. These achievements have been +wrought by us under the most adverse conditions. We have wearily +toiled by day and by night; have made bricks without straw; helped +ourselves and taken advantage of small opportunities; though these are +days of increasing combinations of capital, growing corporations and +gigantic trusts, which greatly lessen the possibilities of individual +success. Surely there is in the black man the same capacity for +business, the self-same spirit, purpose and aspiration that there is +to be found in the white man, and he is as much entitled to the +blessings of life, and to share its honors and rewards, as the +descendants of other races, notwithstanding Senator Tillman's recent +plea for lynching Negroes, and the plaudits and acclaim of a Wisconsin +audience. + +Despite the fact that the door of nearly every large factory, shop and +department store is closed against us, despite the fact that prejudice +stalks our business streets with unblushing tread and dominates in all +the commercial centers of our common country--yet we are not here +today pleading for special legislation in our behalf; we are not here +whining to be given a chance; we are not here, even to complain of our +hard lot, or to find fault with conditions which we cannot change. +This, we conceive, would be a very poor programme to attract the +attention of the business world, but we are here, representing +hundreds of thousands of dollars, thus demonstrating that we have +achieved, at least in a small measure, one of the things which, by +common consent, is taken as evidence of progress, ability and worth. +We have made money, have saved money, and are succeeding in many +profitable business enterprises which require the possession of skill +and executive ability to direct and control. + +The Jew traces the industrial strides of his people from the first +footsore peddler to their present position of affluence in the +financial world, and so without reciting further the early struggles +and hindrances experienced by our pioneers in business, sufficient is +it to say that we have men who should be placed in the class with +Nelson Morris, A. M. Rothschild and Mandel Bros. Not that they can +compare with these men in the sum total of their wealth; no one +expects this. But that they began life without a dollar, have +accumulated property and acquired influence, and are today men of +public affairs, able to stand, persevere and prevail in the fierce +struggles and competitions of business life. These mercantile strides +the members of our race are taking in the face of proscription and +oppression, in the face of the administration of unjust laws and in +the face of disfranchisement and barbarous lynchings, such as no other +men ever had to face. In fact we are prospering under conditions which +would not only fill other business men with hopelessness and despair, +but would surely drive them into bankruptcy. + +It is not true that the business patronage of the Negro is confined to +his own race, nor is it true that he is a cringer, and solicits +patronage among the whites because of the fact that he is a colored +man. We have long since learned that we are entitled to no more +consideration because we are black than other men are who chance to +have red hair, big mouths, or mis-shapen feet. If you will pardon +personal mention, I would say that in my business as a furniture +mover, few customers, indeed, have I among my own people; nor do I ask +to remove any man's goods because of the color of my complexion or the +texture of my hair; but because I have put brains into my humble +calling and made the business of moving furniture a science. What is +true in this instance is true in all others, where progress is made. +We are grasping opportunities and compelling adverse circumstances and +forces to work together for our profit. Under the wise leadership of +Booker T. Washington, we are finding our bearings and casting anchor +in the dark and muddy waters of industrial conditions in which we were +sent adrift without rudder, compass or means of existence less than +thirty-eight years ago. + +It is not strange that, as business men, we have made some failures. +It is a long way from the depth of the valley to the summit of the +mountain; from a barbarian to a master mechanic; from the jungles of +Africa to a successful business career, and from the slave cabin to +the professor's chair. We have not all outgrown the feeling of +dependence instilled in us by more than 250 years of chattel bondage; +many of us yet shrink from responsibility, and lack the requisite +amount of ambition. We recognize our shortcomings, our peculiar +environments and the limitations of our experience and powers. We are +beginning to learn that if the Negro is to become more and more a +factor in the business world he must take a more active part in all of +the trades, competitions, industries and occupations of life. Again, +he is learning, slowly perhaps, but surely, that he must outgrow the +weakness and confusion resulting from distracted purposes; that he +must have one aim, and be one thing all the time. He must stop doing +things in a slipshod and half-way manner and become more thorough. He +must put the force of a strong character and a determined will power +into whatever he undertakes, and he must stop stumbling and falling +over impediments, especially of his own placing. + +The Negro is, however, affected by nothing now which education and +personal endeavor will not in time remove. For example, we take the +liberty to refer to our honored President, Booker T. Washington, who +about forty-two years ago was born a slave in Virginia. At an early +age he began the battle for himself untutored and untrained in all the +ways of life. What he has since accomplished is a sufficient answer to +those who claim that the Negro is void of any capacity for doing +business, and that his offspring has no chance to rise in the world. +For twenty years Booker T. Washington has not only been president of a +great industrial institution, but has had very largely the +acquisition, management, investment and expenditure of its finances. +In recent years there has scarcely been a month in which he has not +been offered positions in important and influential business +enterprises, as well as in the affairs of government. His career is +evidence that there is plenty of room at the top for Negro boys who +have sense enough to rise to the level of their opportunities. The +lack is not so much of opportunities as of men. It is a fact which +cannot be gainsaid that success still is, and most likely always will +be, a question determined very largely by the individual. For the man +or woman who has made thorough preparation and is willing to do hard +work a place will always be waiting, irrespective of race or color. + +The tone of this convention clearly indicates that the Negro will +succeed as a business man in proportion as he learns that manhood and +womanhood are qualities of his own making, and that no external force +can either give or take them away. It demonstrates that intelligence, +punctuality, industry and integrity are the conquering forces in the +business and commercial world, as well as in all the affairs of human +life. Permit me, in closing, to quote the language of President +McKinley addressed to the students at the Tuskegee Institute, +"Integrity and industry," he said, "are the best possessions which +any man can have, and every man can have them. No man who has them +ever gets into the police court or before the grand jury or in the +work-house or the chain gang. They are indispensable to success. The +merchant requires the clerk whom he employs to have them; the railroad +corporation inquires whether the man seeking employment possesses +them. Every avenue of human endeavor welcomes them. They are the only +keys to open with certainty the door of opportunity to struggling +manhood. If you do not already have them, get them." + +For our encouragement, reference has been made to a portion of the +history of the distinguished President of this convention, and also, +for the same purpose, quotation has been made from a speech of the +honored President of his country. We thus have before us the example +of the former and the precept of the latter--each a leader in his own +sphere, the one black and the other white. By following the example of +the one and the advice of the other, the Negro will not only succeed +as a business man, but the early dawn of the present century will yet +witness the best achievements and the loftiest conceptions of a once +enslaved race. + + +SECOND PAPER + +THE NEGRO AS A BUSINESS MAN. + +BY ANDREW F. HILYER. + +[Illustration: Andrew F. Hilyer] + + ANDREW FRANKLIN HILYER. + + The subject of this sketch was born in slavery near Monroe, + Walton county, Georgia, August 14, 1858. In the early + fifties his maternal grandfather, Overton Johnson, was set + free, given some money and sent North. He went to Cincinnati + and began a free man's life as a cook and steward in a + hotel. In a short time, by strict economy, he had saved some + money from his earnings. This, with the money brought from + the South, enabled him to open "The Dumas House," well known + to the older residents of Cincinnati. In 1862 he sold this + business, moved to St. Louis and opened a hotel in that + city, where he was at the close of the war. In 1866 he sent + for the remainder of his family in the South, consisting of + his youngest son and a daughter and her four children, the + eldest of whom was Andrew Franklin Hilyer. + + About the time of their arrival in St. Louis business + reverses threw the now enlarged family upon their own + resources, and young Andrew, though but eight years old, was + "hired out." He early developed a burning desire for an + education, and took advantage of every opportunity that he + could find to study and to learn. He soon learned to read. + With this key he opened up to his enquiring mind a wide + vista of knowledge and saw through many things which before + had seemed dark. The family remained in St. Louis two years, + but in very poor circumstances. During this period Andrew + was able to attend school but little, yet he was so anxious + to learn several persons gladly gave him instruction. It was + during these struggles that he formed his purposes in life. + He solemnly resolved to make a man of himself and to + graduate from college. + + In 1868 the entire family moved to Omaha, Neb., where their + circumstances gradually improved and Andrew was enabled to + attend school a part of each year. His mother died in 1871, + and the next year he went to Minneapolis, Minn. Here was + located the State University, and his opportunity to go to + college had now come. To make this possible he learned the + trade of a barber and pursued his studies, graduating from + the Minneapolis High School in 1878 and from the University + of Minnesota in 1882. + + He soon came to Washington, entered the service of the + Government and took up the study of law and in 1885 + graduated from the Howard Law School. + + Mr. Hilyer takes an active interest in the progress of his + race along all lines, but he has especially urged upon their + attention skilled labor and business as very important + factors in the progress of the race. + + In 1886 he married Miss Mamie E. Nichols, a descendant of + one of the older Washington families, who graces a happy + home. They have been blessed with two boys, whom they are + trying to rear and educate to become good men. + +The resistance of the white people to the progress of the colored +people is least along the line of business. The colored people +themselves have only to develop a larger spirit of race help in +business and a magnificent future is just ahead for them. + +In addition to little capital and much inexperience the colored +merchant has to contend against a hostile public opinion, which seems +to resent his efforts to improve his own condition and that of his own +race, when he assumes to tear himself away from the mass of his fellow +laborers and attempts to keep store like a white man. + +Strange enough this hostile feeling is shared in, more by the colored +than by the white people, especially along certain lines of business +not of a semi-social nature. It is a matter of common complaint by +colored business men in those classes of business in which they must +compete with white merchants that they do not get their share of the +trade of their own race and that their patronage comes very largely +from the white race. At present the pathway of the colored man to +success in business is very much handicapped by this unfriendly public +opinion. His problem is to win the confidence of the public in his +ability and purpose to serve them as well as or better than his +competitors. + +Individuals, here and there, have won this public confidence to a +surprising degree and are demonstrating day by day the ability of men +and women to do business according to approved business methods. The +hostility of the whites is but another manifestation of the general +feeling of race prejudice; but the hostility of the masses of their +own race can only be attributed to envy and ignorance. For every +colored man, woman and child should rejoice in the success or upward +step of any colored person, because it is an inspiration and a hope to +thousands of others to follow his example. Only the strongest and most +progressive few of any race can be successful pioneers. The masses of +all races are LED to attempt only what they see persons of their own +kind doing. Every community of colored people needs, as a powerful +uplifting force, a few captains of industry who will lead his people +along the pathway of home-getting and the undertaking of business +enterprises. For business will develop their sense of independence and +personal responsibility and give strength and symmetry to character. +No better service can be performed for the race at this time than to +turn the light upon those successful business men and women of the +colored race in every community, so that our youth may see them, know +them, and take inspiration and courage from their example. + +The real leaders of the race are those who lead in doing. It has been +said that ninety per cent of all business enterprises among the highly +favored white race finally fail in the lifetime of their promoters. +The conditions of success in business for the white race are so +exacting, uncertain, changeable and inscrutable that only ten per cent +retire from the contest victorious. When we recall the fact that the +colored people have come so recently from savagery, through the +barbarism and debasing effects of American slavery, into the light of +the present-day civilization, we should expect them to be slow in +getting a footing in the shifting and ever-changing sands of the +business world, while in slavery they were deprived of every +opportunity to learn anything about the art of business or even to +drink in its spirit. It was one of the essential conditions of the +slave system that they should be taught to distrust each other; and +they learned this lesson well. We must expect that it will take some +time to unlearn it. Along with this blighting feeling of distrust the +seeds of envy and jealousy were carefully sown. These seeds must have +fallen in good soil, for they sprang up and increased wonderfully, and +now constitute the thorns and weeds in the pathway of the colored +man's success in business. + +In view of their economic, educational and political history, we +should naturally expect the colored race to make in the first +generation of their freedom more progress in education and general +culture, more progress in the building of churches and in the +acquisition of homes and lands than in the exacting arena of business. +At any rate such has been the fact. The entire race is passing through +a hard and severe economic struggle. The whole nation is in the throes +of a great social distress, on account of the presence of this colored +race with physical aspects so different from the main body of the +people. The colored people are being put to a severe test. They are +being tried as it were by fire. They are face to face and in +competition with the most efficient, the most exacting people the +world has ever seen. The dross is being driven off. The race is being +purified and strengthened for the contests which are to follow. The +colored man or woman who would succeed in business must meet not only +the competition of his white neighbor with his superior capital and +training, but also the blight of distrust and the jealousy and envy of +many of his own race. His course is by no means plain sailing. He has +foes within his race as well as foes without; enemies in front and +enemies in the rear. And yet, in spite of all these adverse conditions +a very creditable beginning has already been made in the business +world--a beginning that promises well for the future. The business +movement among the colored people has not as yet attained great +volume, but its foundations have been laid broad and deep. The number +of persons engaged in business is quite large, and the classes already +invaded by individuals of the colored race cover almost every class of +business in which persons of the white race are engaged. + + +THE CAPITAL OWNED BY NEGROES. + +The colored people are rapidly acquiring property. This is a matter of +common, every-day observation. The value of property owned by them is +no less than five hundred millions of dollars. In Georgia alone, where +separate records are kept, their assessed valuation exceeds fifteen +millions, one million of which was added in the past year. The +assessed valuation is only about forty per cent of the actual value. +From all over the country equally encouraging reports are sent out of +the steady progress of this people in the acquisition of landed +property. Although tens of thousands are shiftless, thousands are +saving money. It is being stored up slowly but surely for future use. +Much of it is already invested in business. A larger part of this +property and money will be turned into business channels as fast as +the race, by its patronage and support, evidences its desire to +advance this business movement. + + +THE EXTENT OF THE BUSINESS MOVEMENT AMONG THE NEGROES. + +In order to obtain reliable data for a study of the progress of the +colored people in the skilled trades, in business, in getting homes +and in building churches and other institutions, the United States +Commission to the Paris Exposition of 1900 sent out the writer in +February of that year as an expert agent to visit the chief industrial +centers of the South and secure the data for the purpose of making the +facts collected, a feature of the Negro exhibit. In every city or town +visited the colored people took great pride in showing their +successful business establishments; and they all had some to show. In +every place a beginning had been made. The writer personally visited, +inspected and collected data from one hundred and forty-three business +establishments of considerable importance owned and conducted by +colored men and women. They range from a grocery store, with stock and +fixtures of the value of five hundred dollars, to a bank, which, on +the day of my visit, had a cash balance in its vault of $82,000. Only +the best business places were visited. There were hundreds of small +shops in the cities and towns visited, all of which evidenced the +breadth of the business movement of the people. + + +THE ATLANTA UNIVERSITY CONFERENCE. + +The results of this hurried trip corroborates in a remarkable degree +the report of the Atlanta University Conference. "The Report of the +Negro in Business" was made in 1899. In that year the conference made +an investigation of this subject under the direction of Prof. W. E. B. +DuBois, professor of sociology in that university. This report is a +most valuable contribution to the study of the race problem. Prof. +DuBois has shown commendable zeal in studying the race problem, while +so many others are content to discuss it. The data for his study were +collected principally by the alumni of Atlanta University and are thus +entitled to a high degree of credibility. + +Reports were received from one thousand nine hundred and six colored +men and women in business, showing the kind of business, time in +business, and the amount of capital invested. Almost every kind of +business carried on by white people was represented, thus evidencing a +desire and a reaching out on the part of the Negro that will produce +great results in years to come. Only establishments of considerable +importance were solicited and reported. + +Time in business: Four-fifths had been established five years or more; +one-fifth more than twenty years. Sixty-seven more than thirty years. +This shows a remarkable longevity in business that is highly +gratifying. + +Capital invested: Complete returns were not received from all; only +1,736 establishments reported capital. Their aggregate capital was +$5,631,137. Prof. DuBois estimated that the total amount invested by +American Negroes in business managed by themselves in 1899 was +$8,784,000. Compared with the immense sum of money invested in +business in the United States, this seems meager enough; but when we +consider the poverty of the colored people at the beginning of their +freedom, the saving and investment of nearly $9,000,000 in business +enterprises conducted by themselves in one generation is a most +creditable showing. + +By far the larger part of the capital of the colored people is as yet +invested in enterprises conducted by white persons. In the city of +Washington, where the idea of the advantage to the race in having a +number of successful business enterprises has been very much agitated, +only about one-fifth of its wealthy colored people have any +investments in enterprises conducted by colored men, as shown in the +report of the Hampton Conference for 1898. A like proportion will +doubtless be found in other cities. + + +THE CENSUS OF 1890 ON NEGRO BUSINESS. + +According to the census of 1890 (the returns from the census of 1900 +on this subject not being available at this writing), taken +twenty-five years after the war, the colored people had +representatives engaged in every business listed in the census +schedules. It is true that the number of persons engaged and the +capital engaged in some branches of business were not imposing, yet an +effort had been made--a start, a beginning had been made in every +branch of business carried on in this country. The census of 1890 does +not in all cases make a distinction between "proprietor" and +occupation. Hence, it is not always easy to pick out the +"proprietors." The tables have been gone over very carefully. Only +those occupations have been selected about which there can be no doubt +that the persons listed are "proprietors." The total number of persons +of Negro descent engaged in business in 1890 was 20,020. + +It is obvious to any one who has paid even a little attention to it +that there has been a considerable increase since 1890, in the number +of such business ventures and in the capital employed. + + +THE NATIONAL NEGRO BUSINESS LEAGUE. + +As an evidence that the race is rapidly advancing along business +lines, a conference or convention of colored business men was called +by Mr. Booker T. Washington to meet in Boston August 23-24, 1900, for +the purpose of making a showing of the progress of the race in +business and to give encouragement and impetus to the business +movement. The success of this convention was a pleasant surprise to +many persons. Over two hundred delegates reported in person, and +nearly two hundred additional reported by letter. The tone of the +reports they brought from their several localities was uniformly +hopeful. Most of the delegates present lived outside of New England, +some coming from as far south as Florida and Texas, and as far west as +Nebraska. A permanent organization was formed, called The National +Negro Business League, the purpose of which is to keep its members in +touch with one another. Their "Proceedings" were published by Mr. J. +R. Hamm of No. 46 Howard street, Boston, in a handsome volume of two +hundred and eighty pages, and constitutes one of the most valuable +contributions to the study of the progress of the colored people. + +This business league held its second annual convention in Chicago in +August, 1901. This meeting also was a great success in every way, and +received, if possible, more attention and space from the public press +than the previous meeting in Boston. + +A recent study of the colored business enterprises of Washington, +published by the writer, shows that there are in the National capital +1,302 colored "proprietors" in all kinds of business and professions. +Their capital exceeds seven hundred thousand dollars, and they +transact more than two million dollars worth of business annually, +affording employment to 3,030 persons. + +Among the more conspicuous examples of successful enterprises +conducted by colored men in the United States may be mentioned the +following: Thirteen building and loan associations, seven banks, about +one hundred life insurance and benefit companies, several mining +companies, one street railway company, one iron foundry, one cotton +mill, one silk mill, three book and tract publication houses, one of +them having a plant valued at $45,000; over two hundred newspapers and +three magazines. One of these newspapers has 5,000 subscribers and a +plant costing $10,000. One firm of truck gardeners, near Charleston, +South Carolina, over 500 acres under cultivation, has been in the +business over 30 years and ships several carloads of garden truck to +Northern markets every week. The railroad company considers its trade +of such importance that it has built a siding to their farm and the +cars are loaded directly from their warehouses. This is probably the +most extensive individual or partnership business carried on by +colored men anywhere in the United States. Noisette Bros. is the name +of the firm. Near Kansas City, Kansas, there is a colored man, Mr. J. +K. Graves, who owns and cultivates over 400 acres of land. He has been +engaged principally in raising potatoes. His crop last year was over +75,000 bushels, which, with the other things raised and sold, was +worth about $25,000. Within a radius of thirty-five miles of his farm, +he says that there are 312 Negro farmers, horticulturists, gardeners, +truckers, potato growers and dealers, most of whom are up to date and +have all modern appliances necessary to carry on their business. + +Mr. C. C. Leslie, a dealer in fish in Charleston, South Carolina, has +$30,000 invested in the business, in nets, boats, ice-houses, real +estate, etc., and ships to Northern markets from three to five +carloads of fish per week during the busy season. + +In Charleston the most prosperous butchers are colored men. In +Columbus, Mississippi, there is a colored butcher who owns his +abattoir and supplies the best trade of his town with meat. Some of +the most prosperous fish, produce and poultry dealers in the markets +of Washington are colored men. One firm has been in business +continuously over thirty years, the sons succeeding the father in the +business. Several have maintained their stands over twenty years. + +A pawnbroker in Augusta, Georgia, has $5,000 capital. The largest and +best equipped drug store in Anniston, Alabama, is owned by a colored +physician. He has a considerable wholesale trade in patent medicines +and druggists' sundries. + +One of the best equipped ready-made clothing stores in Columbia, South +Carolina, is owned by a colored man. He carries a stock of ten +thousand dollars. + +A stock breeder in Knoxville, Tennessee, is worth $100,000, and has +$50,000 invested in blooded horses. + +A photographer in St. Paul, Minnesota, does a business of $20,000 a +year. Another in New Bedford, Massachusetts, began as an errand boy, +learned the photographic art thoroughly, saved his money, bought out +the white proprietor, and now conducts the leading studio in that old +and aristocratic city. + +The caterers of Philadelphia and Baltimore have long been noted for +their success in business, although they have lost some ground from +white competition during the last few years. There are yet several +with capital above $5,000. + +The caterer at the great naval banquet at Newport in honor of Admiral +Sampson and our navy upon its return from the victories in the war +with Spain, where the very unusual task was accomplished of serving +one thousand men in a very satisfactory manner, was a colored man. + +The foregoing are only a few of the many examples of success that +individuals of the colored people have achieved in business. They are +cited by way of "a bill of specifications." They show conclusively +that, in spite of many adverse conditions, it is possible for a +colored person, by perseverance and honesty, to succeed in +business. + + +THIRD PAPER. + +THE NEGRO AS A BUSINESS MAN. + +BY REV. J. H. MORGAN. + +[Illustration: Rev. J. H. Morgan.] + + REV. J. H. MORGAN. + + Rev. J. H. Morgan was born in Philadelphia, Pa., November + 15, 1843. His father was Rev. John R. V. Morgan. His + mother's maiden name was Mary Ann Harmon. At his mother's + death, which occurred when he was fourteen years old, he was + adopted into the family of James T. Robinson of + Philadelphia. Becoming dissatisfied at some fancied slight, + he left without authority, determined to provide for + himself, and be his own man. He soon found that the job was + not so easily done, as thought about, nevertheless he was + determined to win out, so he kept at it, and being of a + jovial disposition he soon made friends, and had the happy + faculty of keeping them. He started in the business of + selling home-made pies and cakes along the wharves. After a + short time he gave up this business for that of cabin boy on + a passenger boat plying between Philadelphia and Bristol, + Pa., making Bristol his home. At the breaking out of the + Civil War he was very anxious to enlist as a soldier, but + they informed him at Trenton, that it was a white man's war + and they were not taking colored men, as their ankles set so + near the middle of their feet, that when they said forward + march, they would be as likely to go backward as forward, so + he hired as a cook in an officers' mess and went to the + front with Company C First Regiment N. J. V. six months' + men. He was not down there long before he lost all his + desire to become a soldier, when the opportunity came for + him to enlist. While in Alexandria, Va., he started in to + learn the barber trade, and on his return home worked as a + journeyman at his trade until he set up in business for + himself. + + In 1876 he organized a mission at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and + being young and enthusiastic, he requested at the next + conference to be sent to the mission to build it up. Bishop + Payne demurred, but after his persistence in the matter, he + consented, saying, "Well I will let you make your own + appointment this time, but will be expecting to hear from + you before the year is out, asking for a change." So after + ordaining him an Elder in Sullivan Street Church, May 12, + 1878, he was stationed at Poughkeepsie. There he had some + misunderstanding with the people, which caused them to + promise to "cut his bread and butter short," which promise + he says was the only one that they made, that they + faithfully carried out. One day they fed his family on wind + pudding, air sauce and balloon trimmings, and right here + Bishop D. A. Payne became a prophet, because he heard from + him, and his time was short, as in a few days after he + received an appointment to Albany, N. Y., and was returned + the following year on account of effective service done. At + the following conference he was elected as delegate to the + General Conference at St. Louis with Rev. W. F. Dickerson, + John F. Thomas and C. T. Shaffer. On his return from the + conference he was transferred to N. J. Conference and + stationed at Princeton, N. J., and with the exception of + four years spent in the N. E. Conference, one in the N. Y. + Conference, he has remained in the N. J. Conference. Rev. + Morgan is the recognized historian of the conference, and + was its secretary for a number of years, and was the + Vice-President of the first Board of Church Extension. The + Reverend is known in his conference under the cognomen of + "The Only Morgan"--his description of things and events + gaining for him this title. He was made Presiding Elder by + Bishop H. M. Turner, and he thus describes his return from + the Presiding Eldership to one of the weakest appointments + in another conference: "Milton, or some one, says that the + devil was nine days falling from heaven to hell; I made the + trip in less than twenty minutes." Bishop H. M. Turner's + second wife and the subject of this sketch were converted in + and became members of the same church at Bristol, Pa. He was + considered an exceptionally good superintendent of the + Sabbath school before he was a member of the church. It was + during the time that he was a local preacher at this church + that he learned the lesson of his life. "I had a fair + smattering of an education and, being in business, I was + always consulted in the affairs of the church." + +It becomes more and more evident every day of our existence, as +individuals, and as a race, that a grave mistake has been made by +those who have heretofore, or may be now, making claim to leadership +of making higher education the main and only route to the full +development of the race. The higher education is in the order of +specials. It is true that we need the artistic structure, but we need +first a foundation upon which to rest it. We seem to have started with +the idea that the structure has already been laid, which is true as +concerns the other man. But we have not laid one foot ourselves, but +are endeavoring to build upon another's, and as often as we build and +finish the structure, the other man, by virtue of owning the +foundation and that upon which it rests, claims and takes all (under +the fixed rule that the people who own the land will rule it), and the +last state is worse than the first, unless this happens at a time of +life when the experience will become a lesson, well learned, and time +allotted for a new start along the proper lines. It is, therefore, +very evident that the essential thing in the line of individual and +race development, is business. Business, we discover, when properly +defined, leads in its various ramifications to all roads to success. + +Business defined.--"The state of being anxious; anxiety; care. The act +of engaging industriously in certain occupations. The act of forming +mercantile or financial bargains, more generally an abundance of such +acts done by separate individuals." + +Crabb thus distinguishes between business, occupation, employment, +engagement, and avocation: "Business occupies all of a person's +thoughts, as well as his time and powers; occupation and employment +occupy only his time and strength; the first is most regular--it is +the object of his choice; the second is causal--it depends on the will +of another. Engagement is a partial employment; avocation a particular +engagement; an engagement prevents us from doing anything else; an +avocation calls off or prevents us from doing what we wish. A person +who is busy has much to attend to, and attends to it closely; a person +who is occupied has a full share of business without any pressure; he +is opposed to one who is idle; a person who is employed has the +present moment filled up; he is not in a state of inaction; the +person who is engaged is not at liberty to be otherwise employed--his +time is not his own--he is opposed to one at leisure." + +Business, trade, profession, and art are thus discriminated: "The +words are synonymous in the sense of a calling, for the purpose of a +livelihood; business is general; business, trade and profession are +particular; all trade is business, but all business is not trade. +Buying and selling of merchandise is inseparable from trade; but the +exercise of one's knowledge and experience, for the purpose of gain, +constitutes a business; when particular skill is required, it is a +profession; and when there is a particular exercise of art, it is an +art; every shopkeeper and retail dealer carries on a trade; brokers, +manufacturers, bankers, and others, carry on a business; clergymen, +medical or military men follow a profession; musicians and painters +follow an art." + +The distinction between business, office, and duty: "Business is what +one prescribes to one's self; office is prescribed by another; duty is +prescribed or enjoined by a fixed rule of propriety; mercantile +concerns are the business which a man takes upon himself; the +management of parish concerns is an office imposed upon him, often +much against his inclination; the maintenance of his family is a duty +which his conscience enjoins upon him to perform. Business and duty +are public or private; office is mostly of a public nature; a minister +of state, by virtue of office, has always public business to perform; +but men in general have only private business to transact; a minister +of religion has always public duties to perform in his ministerial +capacity; every other man has personal or relative duties which he is +called upon to discharge according to his station."--Crabb: Eng. +Synon. + +There has been a vast number of theories advanced as regards the +solving of the Negro problem. But the idea of business seems to have +only a minor place, which, to our mind, should be one of the leading +factors. It seems that the race has been educated away from itself. It +is not an uncommon thing to see young men who have splendid +educational abilities, versed in the languages, with check aprons on, +scrubbing marble steps, and doing other menial labor. Their plea is, +when questioned along this line, "I cannot get anything else to do." +To what advantage then, has the hard earned money of their parents and +friends been expended to educate them? Their fathers did as well as, +if not better, than they without it, and cannot this man, with the +advantage of education, "turn up something"? There is something +radically wrong with the plan of education. The old man could plod +over the farm in his antiquated way, and earn money enough to keep +things going, and educate his son, but when that son's education has +been completed, he has not the ability, or business tact, with modern +improvements, to build upon the foundation laid by his less cultured +father. Let this cultured boy get down to business. For him, here is +the route laid down. + +Secretary of Agriculture, Hon. Mr. Wilson, in discussing the +productive possibilities of the South and the problem of Negro labor, +makes the following observations: "The pressing question is, what is +the laborer down South who has been growing cotton, and is not getting +enough for his product, to do in the future to enable him to live +comfortably, not to speak of the improvement of his condition, +education, and all that?" + +The cotton crop leaves very little that is valuable for domestic +animals after the picking is done, thus differing from the corn crop +of the Northwestern states. There is a by-product, the cotton seed, +that is exceedingly valuable, and much good work is being done by +scientists at experiment stations to show how valuable cotton seed is +for feeding purposes. + +The nitrogen element in cotton-seed is greater than that of any of the +grains; it is richer in nitrogenous matter than peas or beans; richer +than gluten, meat or oil cake. The Northern feeder and the European +feeder have been using this by-product of the cottonfields with great +advantage, while the loss of its fertilizing qualities to the South +has been very great. + +The South has more marked advantages over the North with regard to +production. It has heat and moisture, the two great factors of +production, and if the cotton grower is to diversify his crops, he +must use those natural advantages. The dairy cow and mutton sheep +would succeed admirably in the South, but something for them to eat +must be provided first. The winters in the South are mild, grasses, +grains, legumen can be sown in the fall and grow abundantly in the +winter, upon which the dairy cow and mutton sheep may thrive and +prosper. From one-fifth to one-fourth of all the fat of the milk on +the farms of the United States is lost because people do not +thoroughly understand when to churn cream. The churning process is an +art, having much science underlying it. But the cotton grower of the +South only needs to learn the way, while the man who teaches him can +understand the science. Much yet remains to be discovered in the art +of breeding animals, but enough is known to indicate to the instructor +of the colored cotton grower of the South, who is to be diverted into +work of this kind, to enable him to breed his herd intelligently. The +South can prepare the spring lamb much earlier than the North can. The +Southern land owner understands horse raising. There is always a +greater demand for saddle horses than is supplied. The world wants +carriage and draft horses, and good roadsters. Early spring +chickens--the broilers--can be produced down there because of the +milder winters, and milder springs than we have, and the Northern +market can be supplied. Should the market be over supplied we can send +this product abroad in the refrigerating compartments of steamships. + +The colored man is learning the trades at Tuskegee; he is mining coal, +and working the manufacture of iron at Birmingham. We quote this +gentleman, who is without doubt authority on this special line, and +therefore worthy of serious and careful consideration, to support the +point we make, that this problem must be worked out along lines, +especially along business lines. + + +BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES. + +Hawaii, Porto Rico, and the Philippines are absolutely ours. The +Philippines are said to be as large as the New England States, +including New York and New Jersey; Hawaii about the size of New +England; Porto Rico the size of Connecticut. Hawaii, with a population +of 109,000; Porto Rico, 900,000; Philippines, 8,000,000, and very few +whites; a climate in which the Anglo Saxon, it is said, cannot stay +for any great length of time. And it is rich in all those thing which +are desirable by the white man. These acquisitions must be developed +by American genius and capital, and as the white American cannot stay +there the year round to develop the same, what better agent to do this +work than the Afro-American who has been schooled in American ideas +and customs and usages. Is not this an opportunity given by Providence +to commence business building? The race should cease pleading to be +"The Wards of the Nation;" cease waiting for something to turn up, or +have somebody to do something for them, but should unite their forces +and turn up something for themselves. The people who own the country, +if intelligent and thrifty, will rule and run it. What Coleman has +done in North Carolina in a business way, could be done in a majority +of the states to a greater or less extent. Small factories could be +arranged for, where our people could be employed in producing the +commodities of life. Some time ago it was said that a large tract of +land had been arranged for, backed by a number of Tammany Hall +capitalists; factories were to be built to give employment to the +settlers, deeds for lots were to be given at a nominal cost. The +project was opposed by some of our so-called leaders, because it was +backed by Tammany; but it is the very thing needed, no matter who +backs it up; it is the business men who run the country; it is they +who put the millions to work and keep the mighty dollar in +circulation; we must enter the business world and by pluck, tact and +thrift, live while we are living, and die when we cannot do otherwise. +The man who thanks Almighty God when the news of disaster comes from +land or sea that no loss comes to him is not so wise in the sight of +God, or man, as he who can thank God that the interest on accrued +stock had advanced an hundred fold before the crash came. + + + + +TOPIC XXVI. + +THE NEGRO AS A FARMER + +BY PROF. GEORGE W. CARVER. + +[Illustration: Prof. Geo. W. Carver, M. Ag.] + + PROF. GEORGE W. CARVER, M. AG. + + A few years ago there was graduated at the Iowa Agricultural + College a young colored man of unusual promise. His name was + G. W. Carver, and his specialty the care and production of + plants. Not long after graduation he was engaged by Booker + T. Washington as a teacher and assistant in his famous + industrial school, and to-day the young man is Mr. + Washington's most trusted adviser, while his reputation has + gone abroad as a scientist and an original investigator of + no mean order. + + Born during the period of the Civil War, he was separated + from his parents when but six weeks old, they having been + sold to some distant slaveholders. The infant was puny and + ailing, and his master regarded him as worthless. A family + named Carver took the babe and his brother, a little older. + It was with them the child had a home for nine years. About + that time the little black boy developed a remarkable love + for plants, and so much knowledge of their structure and + life, that he was given the name of "the plant doctor." Mr. + and Mrs. Carver were proud of the boy's talents and made + much of him, and it was their evident satisfaction in him + that aroused the jealousy of their own children, who at last + drove the two colored boys away from home. Northward they + turned their faces, to the land where white and black have + equal chances in life, as they fondly believed. The little + "plant doctor," who had picked up the elements of an + education, wanted, above all else, to enter some good + school. The boys were driven from pillar to post, but, being + devotedly attached to each other they held together, until + in Kansas they thought best to separate. + + During these years, young Carver had tried many kinds of + work. At length he found himself at Winterset, Iowa. It was + there the wife of a physician encouraged him to go to + Indianola where she thought he could enter college and earn + his way by doing laundry work. He went there, but didn't get + the work, and it was while there that a young lady, a well + known Iowa artist, became interested in him. Under the + pretext of securing his help in correcting some drawings, + she went to the mean quarters he occupied and found him + starving to death. There was no work for him, no money. For + weeks, he had subsisted upon corn bread and tallow. She then + arranged for him to go to the Iowa Agricultural College, + where she had influential friends and where she believed he + would have a chance. + + But, even at the Agricultural College of Iowa the color line + was sharply drawn by the students. Persecution and + ill-treatment were resorted to. But young Carver said, "I + will bear it. I must get an education. Here I can get work + and I will suffer anything rather than give up the one + chance of my life to obtain a schooling." His old and + intimate knowledge of plants stood him in hand, and he was + given charge of the greenhouses. True, he was shunned by + many, his place at table was with the servants, but he had + warm friends and he was, by force of character, winning the + good will of all. One day an Indianola lady, who had come to + know him before he left that place, went to visit him at his + college. Dressed in her best, she accompanied him, though + against his protestation, to dinner, taking a seat at the + servants' table. + + The next time this lady visited the college the colored + student sat at the table with the faculty. In the military + drill he had taken the highest honors. When he was graduated + it was with distinction. He wrote the class poem. He had + succeeded in winning and holding friends. + + Some time ago he spent several weeks in Washington, D. C., + and there the most kindly attention was extended to him by + Secretary Wilson, who never fails to recognize merit + wherever he may find it. + + The name of G. W. Carver is now enrolled on the fellowship + list of more than one scientific Institution. + +The above subject is by no means an easy one to discuss, as reliable +data are fragmentary and widely scattered; yet I am sure that I have +been able to collect some interesting and valuable facts and figures +bearing upon this important question. There is no doubt that the Negro +as a tenant farmer is a failure; this we are forced to admit, but we +do so with a justly proud feeling that it is not an inherent race +characteristic, but the result of conditions over which we had little +or no control. Failure is inevitably and indelibly stamped in the +foreheads of any class of average tenant farmers, regardless of race +or color. + +In American agriculture the Negro has always held, and is yet holding, +an important place; in fact, far more, as a rule, than has been +accredited to him. Lest our judgment be too harsh in this particular, +I have thought it wise to briefly scan the beginning and development +of agriculture in the United States. In 1492 the first settlers found +the Indians carrying on agriculture in a crude and limited way, by the +women; their farm machinery consisting of their fingers, a pointed +stick for planting, and the bones of animals and the shell of the clam +for a hoe; with nothing more than a squatter's right as a voucher for +the ownership of their farms. Prof. McMaster's History of the People +of the United States, George K. Holmes, assistant statistician of the +United States Department of Agriculture, in his "Progress of +Agriculture in the United States," and other high authorities, tell us +that the white man came, poor in the materials of wealth, a stranger +in a strange land with a strange climate. His tools were but little, +if any, improvement on those of the Indians, and agriculture as we +know it to-day was an idealistic dream. The plow was an exceedingly +crude thing and but little used, the hoe forming the principal +implement of industry. After a piece of land had been continuously +"cropped" until worn out, it was abandoned, or the cows turned upon it +for a while. It is further said that the poor whites, who had formerly +been indentured servants, were the most lazy, the most idle, the most +shiftless and the most worthless of men. Their huts were scarcely +better than Negro cabins, the chimneys were of logs, the chinks being +filled with clay. The walls had no plaster, the windows had no glass, +and the furniture was such as they themselves made. + +The grain was threshed by driving horses over it in the open field. +When they ground it they used a rude pestle and mortar, or placed it +in the hollow of one stone and beat it with another. Beef or pork, +generally salted, salt fish, dried apples, bread made of rye or Indian +meal, milk, and a very limited variety of vegetables, constituted the +food throughout the year. When night came on his light was derived +from a few candles of home manufacture. The farmer and his family wore +homespun. If linen was wanted, the flax was sown and weeded, pulled +and retted, then broken and swingled, for all of which processes +nearly a year was required before the flax was ready for the spinners, +bleaching on the grass, and making and wearing. If woolens were +wanted, sheep were sheared and the wool was dyed and spun and woven at +home. + +It was almost invariably true of all the settlers that the use and +value of manures was little regarded. The barn was sometimes removed +to get it out of the way of heaps of manure, because the owner would +not go to the expense of removing the accumulations and putting them +upon his fields. Such were the dreary conditions of the farmer's life +in colonial days, living all the time very closely upon the margin of +subsistence. Those conditions continued for some time after the +Republic had been established, and were not measurably ameliorated +until the present century had well advanced, until an improved +intelligence--the dissemination of information, and the work of the +inventor, had begun to take effect. + +From the above we see how strikingly similar were the life, methods of +agriculture, and the results obtained from the sturdy New Englander, +who represented the best blood, bone and sinew of the old world, with +its almost prehistoric civilization, to that of the American Negro, +whose intellectual star is just beginning to rise above the horizon. +Over two centuries and a half ago the Negro found his way as a slave +to America, in a little Dutch trading vessel, cheap labor being the +chief motive which prompted such a gigantic scheme. The experiment +flourished and grew, and at about the close of the eighteenth century +six million slaves had been brought to this country. The major part of +all the cotton, corn, cane, potatoes, tobacco, and other agricultural +products, were planted, cultivated, harvested and prepared for, and, +not infrequently, marketed by, the slaves. In fact, they were the +agricultural backbone of the South. Since cotton forms the largest, +and has been the most important agricultural product in the South, I +think a hundred and nine years of its production will prove +interesting and valuable: In 1791, 8,889 bales were produced, and the +second cotton mill built at Providence, Rhode Island! the first one +being built at Beverly, Massachusetts, in 1787. From this time on the +acreage planted, the output and the number of cotton mills and +spindles increased. The estimated area planted in cotton alone in +1852, 6,300,000 acres, and the census report of 1860 showed 1,262 +cotton mills and 5,235,727 spindles in the United States, with an +output of 4,861,292 bales. Despite the depressing effect of the four +years of civil strife, it took only five years to almost completely +regain the highest point reached in previous years. In 1889 and 1890 +we find in the United States 19,569,000 acres planted, giving an +output of 7,311,322 bales, with 905 cotton mills operating 14,088,103 +spindles. In 1898-99 the acreage increases to nearly 25,000,000, with +an output of 11,189,205 bales, representing a money value of +$305,467,041. Such is the history, production and growth of the cotton +industry in the United States, and were we to trace the other staple +products we would find them none the less interesting, since they were +produced largely by Negroes as slaves before the war, and as freedmen +after the war. This applies especially to Southern products. + +Whatever of truth there is in Mr. Van de Graff's grave apprehensions +for the Negro, he with us must admit that the ills of the black tenant +farmer are simply the ills of the Southern farmer in a more or less +aggravated form. It is also true that the curse of such a system falls +the heaviest on the smallest and most ignorant tenant farmer, who is +the least capable of self-defense. For years we have been content to +let the preachers preach, the lawyers argue, the philosophers predict, +the teachers and the doctors practice with scarcely a question as to +our priority of right. We have, in the face of the many oppositions +which come to every race similarly situated, labored with endurance, +patience and forbearance, until the birth of the twentieth century +dawns upon us, steadily marching on, with something over $263,000,000 +worth of unencumbered property to our credit. Now as to the number +owning farms and following agricultural pursuits as a livelihood, we +are pleased to submit some figures from the last census report, from +Crogman, in his "Progress of a Race," and from other authorities. +Beginning with the little District of Columbia, with an aggregate +area of 8,489 acres and 269 farms, there are seventeen Negro farmers, +five of which own their land in whole or in part. Their farms contain +29 acres, of which 25 are improved. The total value of the land is +$23,300, and the appurtenant buildings are worth $390; live stock to +the value of $489; and farm incomes for 1899 amounting to $4,244. Ten +farms, aggregating 258 acres, are operated by Negroes as cash tenants. +The reported values are, land, $114,600; buildings, $9,200; implements +and machinery, $1,200; and live stock, $1,383. The total incomes for +these farms in 1899 were $10,300. Two farms, together consisting of 21 +acres, valued at $149,630, are operated by Negroes as salaried +managers. Of the 17 farms operated by Negroes, only 1 contains less +than three acres; 7 contain from 3 to 9 acres; 5 from 10 to 19 acres; +2 from 20 to 49 acres; and 2 from 50 to 99 acres, giving an average +size for all of 18.1 acres. + +In the state of Delaware the farms constitute 85 per cent of the total +land surface of the state, which is divided up into 9,687 farms, of +which 8,869, or 91.6 per cent, are operated by whites, and 818, or 8.4 +per cent, by Negroes. Of the latter class 297 are operated by owners, +and 35 by part owners. The value of their farms, including implements, +machinery and live stock, together with the value of implements, +machinery and live stock on the farms which other Negroes operate as +tenants, is $495,187. + +In Arizona we find that three Negro farmers operate their farms as +salaried managers. Twelve own farms containing 1,511 acres, with farm +property valued at $60,422; one leases a 39-acre farm for cash, and +has implements and live stock worth $130. The total investment by +Negroes in agriculture, exclusive of farms owned by them and leased to +others, is, therefore, $60,552, which is a rather encouraging showing +for Arizona. + +Messrs. Walker and Fitch, graduates of Hampton Institute, in 1896, +made a careful canvass of one congressional district in Virginia, and +found as follows: Out of a total acreage of 1,944,359 acres, one +fifteenth, or 125,597 acres, is owned by the Colored people, roughly +estimated at $1,000,000. These figures mean farm owning chiefly, as +$79,611 represent the total city property. They also report that in +Gloucester county, 25 years from the above date, the Colored people +owned less than 100 acres of land. To-day they own 13,000 acres of +land free from any encumbrance. Mr. Fitch further adds that he has +traveled quite thoroughly through more than ten counties of Virginia, +with horse and buggy, during the present year (1896), and that in no +county through which he traveled did the Colored people own less than +5,000 acres of land. He found also that much of the improved farming +was being done by Colored men, and that the strong public sentiment +against moving to cities was having the desired effect. + +Again, the statistician reports, in 1890, 12,690,152 homes and farms +in the United States, and of this number the Negroes own 234,747 free +from all encumbrance, and 29,541 mortgaged; giving the percentage of +mortgaged property owned by Negroes as 10.71, while the whole +percentage of mortgaged property for the whole country is 38.97. It is +further stated that of all the property held by Negroes, 88.58 per +cent is owned without encumbrance. Since so much has been accomplished +in the Negro's pioneer days of freedom, may we not predict with a +considerable degree of assurance that the next decade and a half will +far exceed our most sanguine hope? The virgin fertility of our soils, +and the vast amount of cheap and unskilled labor, have been a curse +rather than a blessing to agriculture. This exhaustive system of +cultivation, the destruction of forests, the rapid and almost constant +decomposition of organic matter, together with the great multiplicity +of insect and fungus diseases that appear every year, make the +Southern agricultural problem one requiring more brains than that of +the North, East or West. The advance of civilization has brought, and +is constantly bringing, about a more healthy form of competition. The +markets are becoming more fastidious, and he who puts such a product +upon the market as it demands, controls that market, regardless of +color. It is simply a survival of the fittest. + +We are also aware that the demands upon agriculture were never so +exacting as they are now. All other trades and professions are holding +out their inducements to the young men and women who are ready and +willing to grapple with life's responsibilities. One says, "Come and I +will make you a Gould." Another, a Rockefeller; still another, an +Astor--with all the luxuries their names suggest. Too many of our own +farmers illy prepare their land, cultivate, harvest and market the +scanty and inferior crop, selling the same for less than it cost to +produce it. I need not tell you that the above conditions imperatively +suggest the proverbial mule, implements more or less primitive, with +frequently a vast territory of barren and furrowed hillsides and +wasted valleys. Instead of the veritable Klondyke, of which their +dreams are made sweet, another mortgage has been added as an +unpleasant reminder of the year's hard labor. With this inevitable +doom staring them in the face, is it any wonder that so many of the +youth of our land flock to the cities with the hope of seeking some +occupation other than farming? The above conditions, together with the +seemingly higher civilization of the city folk, I claim, are largely +responsible for this. But be this as it may, in the light of what has +been accomplished, I see for us a very bright star of hope in the +education of two-thirds of the brightest and best of our youth in +scientific agriculture. + +The many excellent schools, colleges, nature study leaflets, farmers' +bulletins and reading courses, conferences, convocations, congresses, +fairs, and the like, are all powerful educational factors designed to +lead the race into higher agricultural activities. The agricultural +schools, and higher institutions of that character, are wisely laying +much stress upon stock raising, dairying, horticulture, landscape +gardening, poultry raising, and every manipulation incident to the +successful operation of this great industry. These subjects have been +taught almost wholly to young men, but recent experience has taught, +not only in this, but in other countries, that many of these studies +seem especially suited to women; and many are taking the advantages +offered by schools in the matter of learning the technique of poultry +raising, dairying, horticulture, landscape gardening, and the related +sciences, along with their academy or college work, and as a reward +are finding pleasant, profitable and healthful employment. Nature +study, with the first principles of agriculture, is compulsory in many +of the primary schools, and ere another decade is indelibly placed +upon the historical records of the greatest events of the greatest +century, it will find us wonderfully in advance in this particular. + +Every year we see a perceptible increase in the funds for public +education, and magnificent schools and colleges, with better paid +professors, springing up here and there, stand out as beacon lights to +this new and wonderful epoch. The wisdom of spending these +ever-increasing millions upon the youth of our land becomes from year +to year a matter of less concern as we seek to give our boys and girls +a broader education than that of a pure scientist. It is very +encouraging to note the course taken by our young men and women who +have gone out from those institutions--the way they have acquired +land, built homes, and are devoting their entire time and talent in +that direction. I have no fears but what we, in the course of time, +will do our part both nobly and well in the matter of feeding a hungry +world. + + +SECOND PAPER. + +THE NEGRO AS A FARMER. + +BY H. A. HUNT. + +[Illustration: Prof. H. A. Hunt] + + PROF. HENRY A. HUNT. + + Henry A. Hunt was born in Hancock County, Ga., in 1866. He + attended the public schools of Sparta, the county seat, + until 1882, when he entered Atlanta University and was + graduated from the college course in 1890. He also completed + the course of instruction given in the Industrial Department + of that university. He kept up his expenses, in a measure, + by working as a carpenter during his vacations and during + his spare hours while in school. He was considered a most + promising young man and a thorough scholar by his professors + and schoolmates. He became a professing Christian while + pursuing his college course. In all of the athletic sports + of the university he took an active part and served as + captain of the base ball team for several years. He + graduated with the highest honors of his class. Through a + most flattering recommendation from the Superintendent of + the Public Schools of Atlanta, Ga., he was called, in 1891, + to the principalship of the Charlotte Graded School, which + position he filled acceptably, until he resigned, during the + same year, to accept the superintendency of the Industrial + Department of Biddle University, Charlotte. N. C. In 1896 he + was given, in addition to his industrial work, the + superintendency of the Boarding Department of Biddle + University. These two positions he is now filling in a most + acceptable manner. Mr. Hunt's work and close touch with the + young men of the university have been most gratifying. He + encourages and takes part with them in all of their sports, + being the leading spirit in their athletic association. He + is a noble example of the manly man and his influence over + the students for straightforward and manly endeavor has been + truly helpful. The respect and esteem in which he is held by + the graduates and undergraduates are most noteworthy. In + August, 1900, Mr. Hunt called together the farmers of + Mecklenburg and surrounding counties for the purpose of + holding a farmers' conference. A permanent organization was + effected, of which he was made president. The influence of + these annual conferences is far-reaching and will no doubt + result in great good to the farming class of western North + Carolina. He was for several years the president of the + Queen City Real Estate Company of Charlotte, N. C., an + organization designed to help those wishing to obtain homes. + He was forced to relinquish this work because of other + duties. Mr. Hunt is a strong and courageous young man, he is + firm in his convictions and believes the royal road to + success is attained through the faithful performance of each + day's duties. His sympathies are near to the interests of + the working classes. As a college-bred man he urges his + people to become skilled artisans and to build up reliable + business enterprises and thus become independent. His + kindness of heart and plain honest dealing with his + fellow-man, along with his intellectual attainment, have won + for him a host of friends and made him a popular man with + all the people. + + While attending Atlanta University, Mr. Hunt met the + girl--Miss Florence S. Johnson, of Raleigh, N. C.--who in + the year 1893 became his wife and to whom much of whatever + success he has attained is attributable. To them there have + been three bright and beautiful children born--two girls and + a boy. + +In a chapter on this subject it may not be out of place to give some +little attention to the early history of the Negro as a farmer in +America. + +Without stopping to discuss the motives of the sea captain who brought +over the first load of Negroes to America, or why the Northern +colonists discontinued, at a comparatively early date, the use of +slave labor, let us note a few things about the Negro in the South. + +The fact that they could easily endure the summer sun of the cotton +belt; that they learned quickly the simple methods of farming used in +the cultivation of cotton, rice, sugar-cane, and tobacco; that they +required but little in the way of food, clothing, housing and medical +attention, and the further fact that they possessed a peculiarly happy +and light-hearted disposition, all tended to make them especially +valuable to the Southern planters. + +It seems that slave labor was looked upon, at a comparatively early +date, as being not only desirable, but absolutely necessary to the +growth and development of the Southern colonies. + +For several years after the settlement of Georgia no slaves were +allowed to be used in that colony, but, finding that the colony seemed +to be doomed to failure, the "trustees" permitted the introduction of +slaves and the colony began immediately to prosper. + +The following lines attributed to George Whitefield--the famous +minister--in referring to his plantations in Georgia and South +Carolina, give a fair idea of the feelings of the Southern colonists +on the subject of slave labor at that time. He speaks thus about his +Georgia plantation: "Upward of five thousand pounds have been expended +in the undertaking, and yet very little proficiency made in the +cultivation of my tract of land, and that entirely owing to the +necessity I lay under of making use of white hands. Had a Negro +been allowed I should now have had a sufficiency to support a great +many orphans, without expending above half the sum which has been laid +out." How different are his expressions concerning his South Carolina +plantation, where slavery existed: "Blessed be God! This plantation +has succeeded; and, though at present I have only eight working hands, +yet, in all probability, there will be more raised in one year, and +without a quarter of the expense, than had been produced at Bethesda +for several years past. This confirms me in the opinion I have +entertained for a long time that Georgia never can or will be a +flourishing province without Negroes are allowed." + +With the invention of the cotton gin slave labor became still more +valuable, the South more prosperous, and the planters verily believed +that cotton was king and South Carolina the hub of the universe. + +But, while it is true that the Negro became an indispensable factor in +the material prosperity of the South by his work on the plantations, +yet he did not at that time occupy a position that could be dignified +with the name of farmer. During the days of slavery the Negro occupied +a position more closely akin to that of a farm animal than that of a +farmer. Of course there were exceptions but we are speaking now of the +masses. + +The Negro having been looked upon by his master and schooled to look +upon himself and his fellow bondmen as possessing none of the +intelligence and virtues essential to success in life, there is little +wonder that a comparatively small number of freedmen took advantage of +the opportunities offered immediately after the close of the Civil War +to become land owners. Indeed, when we take into account the fact that +there was a sort of caste feeling among the slaves, with the "field +hands" as the "mud sill," and all glad of any opportunity offered to +rise above the despised position, the great wonder is that so many +were willing to continue an occupation considered so degrading. The +fact is, that it was to a very great extent simply a matter of +accepting cheerfully the inevitable that held so many of the freedmen +to the farms and to farm life. + +Among the positive forces that operated in taking the Negro from the +farm there was, perhaps, none stronger than the desire to have his +children educated--the opportunity for which being very poor in the +country districts--many of the very best and most thrifty among them +left the farms for the towns and cities. + +But whether on the farm or in the city, only a few years of freedom +and its attendant responsibilities were necessary to enable the more +intelligent ones of the ex-slaves to see the importance of not only +knowing something, but owning something as well, if they were to +entertain any hopes or aspirations above those of the "field hand," +and it was from this class of Negro farm hands that the real Negro +farmer came into existence. While there were many who showed decided +intelligence, sound judgment and shrewd business sense by the manner +in which they managed their affairs, still the great masses had +arisen, if at all, only from the position of the master's farm animal +in slavery to that of his less cared for farm hand in freedom. + +The condition just described represents the state of affairs during +the first few years after the war, as indeed it does present +conditions, except that the number of those who may be called farmers +is constantly increasing and the number of mere farm hands is growing +proportionately smaller. We should keep constantly in mind the +distinction between the man who tills his own land and the one who +works the land of another, the former is the farmer, the latter the +farm hand. + +The distinction just noted would seem to be entirely justifiable as +ownership of the land is the first requisite for the proper interest +in, and love for the work being done, to entitle a man to the name of +farmer. + +In order to properly appreciate the opportunities and advantages of +farm life to himself and his children, there must be that love for the +farm itself, its rocks, its woods, its hills, its shady rills and its +meadows that can come in no other way than through the proud sense of +ownership. There must be the feeling of kinship for the very soil +itself; the birds, the bees, the flowers must all be held dear to the +heart of him who would know nature's choicest secrets and reap rich +harvests from her beautiful storehouse. + +In no field are the prospects brighter for the negro than in that of +agriculture. There are thousands of acres of land in the South and +Southwest that may be purchased upon terms so favorable that the land +being purchased, may, by proper management, be made to yield +sufficient income to meet the payments. + +In the combination of a mild climate, cheap land, with easy payments, +ready markets and previous training of the Negro, God seems to be +offering special inducements for him to come out from the condition of +a landless tenant--that may grow into a serfdom worse than slavery--to +that of worthy, independent and self-respecting land owners. + +There is no field in which he meets so little of the unreasoning and +unreasonable prejudice as in farming. + +The products of the farm are the necessaries of life and people do not +stop to question too closely as to whence they come or by whom +produced. + +Owing to the growth of manufacturing in the South, especially of +cotton goods and the consequent removal of large numbers of the poor +whites into the cities and towns, just now would seem to be the high +tide of the Negroes' opportunity to become an independent class of +citizens; and we should be careful to seize it at its flood, or all +the rest of our life's voyage may be bound in shallows and miseries +more distressing than those already passed. + +The opportunity for buying land, becoming independent and even +wealthy, are, indeed, grand, but the fact must ever be kept in mind +that the present favorable conditions will not obtain indefinitely. +Let the tide of European immigration once turn southward and +competition immediately becomes sharper, and the further progress of +the Negro decidedly more difficult. + +If the Negro would put himself in position to successfully withstand +this competition that will inevitably come, let him begin now by +purchasing his stronghold--the farm--and fortify himself, or he may +awake, when it is too late, to find himself without a home or the +means with which to secure it. + +Let us note just here one of the most solemn obligations resting upon +those who stand as leaders of the Negroes, viz.: The duty of +impressing upon the masses the absolute necessity for purchasing land +and the great need, yes, the absolute necessity of doing so _now_. + +It is not the purpose of the writer to create the impression that the +leaders of our people are neglecting their duty, or that the masses +are letting their opportunities for material betterment pass +unimproved, but rather to arouse both leaders and followers to the +necessity for greater activity in their work. Indeed when all things, +favorable and unfavorable, are taken into account, there is much to be +thankful for and hopeful over in the present condition of the Negro +farmers. + +In almost every community in the South there are to be found Negro +farmers who are not only making a decent living, but buying land and +improving it, building comfortable dwellings, improving the grades of +their farm animals, giving liberal support to their schools and +churches and bringing up their children in a manner that is +altogether creditable and calculated to make of them good citizens. + +It is encouraging to note the increased interest on the part of many +young men on the subject of farming, as evidenced by the increasing +popularity of the agricultural and mechanical colleges, and the lively +interest taken by them in the farmers' conferences held in various +parts of the South. The number of Negro farmers who read agricultural +journals and make intelligent use of the bulletins issued by the +agricultural departments of the various states and the United States, +is constantly increasing. + +Lest there be some doubt as to the truthfulness of the favorable +conditions just mentioned, let the figures speak. Since last year the +Negroes of the single state of Georgia have purchased 66,000 acres of +land and added $380,000 to the value of farm lands. (Prof. W. E. B. +DuBois in The Independent, Nov. 21, 1901.) + +Indeed it seems that if in one particular line of work more than any +other the Negro has won for himself a place in the history of this +country's progress that work has been upon the farm. If one section of +the country has profited more than another by his toil, that section +is the South, whose forests he has felled, whose roads he has built, +whose soil he has tilled, whose wealth he has created, and whose +prosperity he has made possible. Then let us not be discouraged, but +turn our faces to the sunlight of heaven and put forth our very best +endeavors, confidently expecting to reap the full rewards for our +labors and attain the full measure of manhood as a race in this "the +land of the free and the home of the brave." + + + + +TOPIC XXVII. + +THE NEGRO AS AN INVENTOR. + +BY H. E. BAKER. + +[Illustration: H. E. Baker] + + HENRY E. BAKER. + + Henry E. Baker is one of the most useful men in Washington. + His life stands out in strong contrast to that of so many of + our educated colored men who have come to Washington, + obtained positions in the government service, and shriveled + up so far as public usefulness is concerned. He is an active + member of the Berean Baptist Church, being its treasurer, an + office he has held for several years. For ten years he has + been secretary, the executive officer of the Industrial + Building and Savings Company, and a director of the Capital + Savings Bank. His most notable characteristic is his public + spirit, having been connected with almost every + well-directed movement in this city for the last fifteen + years, looking to the betterment of the condition of his + race, especially in the matter of opening up business + opportunities for them. The estimation in which he is held + by those who know him best is attested by the fact that he + is almost invariably called to the position of treasurer in + every organization of which he is a member. Born just before + the War in Columbus, Miss., he attended the public school of + his home and also the Columbus Union Academy. He passed the + entrance examination at Annapolis, and was admitted into the + Naval Academy as cadet midshipman in 1875, where he remained + nearly two years. In 1877, he was appointed "copyist" in the + United States Patent Office, where he is at present + employed, and where he was promoted, through the several + intervening grades, to the position of Second Assistant + Examiner at $1,600 per annum. He attended the Ben-Hyde + Benton School of Technology in this city from 1877 to 1879; + entered the law department of Howard University in 1879, + graduating in 1881, at the head of his class, and from the + post-graduate course in 1883. + + He was married in May, 1893, at Lexington, Ky., to Miss + Violetta K. Clark, of Detroit, Mich., who graces a cozy home + at 2348 Sixth Street, N. W. + +It is quite within the mark to say that no class of men of modern +times has made so distinct a contribution to what is popularly called +"modern civilization" as have the inventors of the world, and it is +equally within bounds to say that the American inventor has led all +the rest in the practical utility as well as in the scientific +perfection of his inventive skill. Within the century just past the +inventors of America have done more than was done in all the preceding +centuries to multiply the comforts and minimize the burdens of +domestic life. What Washington and Grant, Sherman and Sheridan did for +the glory of America was done, and more, by Whitney, Morse, Thompson, +Howe, Ericsson, Colt, Bell, Corliss, Edison, McCormick, and a host of +other Americans, native and naturalized, to promote the progress of +American inventive skill, and thus firmly to establish this country in +the front rank of the enlightened nations of the world. + +The true measure of a nation's worth in the great family of nations is +proportionate to that nation's contribution to the welfare and +happiness of the whole; and similarly, an individual is measured by +the contribution he makes to the well being of the community in which +he lives. If inventions therefore have played the important part here +assigned to them in the gradual development of our complex national +life, it becomes important to know what contribution the American +Negro has made to the inventive skill of this country. + +Unfortunately for the seeker after this particular information the +public records of the United States government offer practically no +assistance, since the public records distinguish only as to nations +and not as to races. The Englishman and the American may instantly +find out how each stands in the list of patentees, but the Irishman +and the Negro are kept in the dark--especially the latter. + +The official records of the United States Patent Office, with a single +exception, give no hint whatever that of the thousands of mechanical +inventions for which patents are granted annually by the government, +any patent has ever been granted to a Negro. The single exception was +the name of Henry Blair of Maryland, to whom the public records refer +as "a colored man," stating that he was granted a patent for a corn +harvester in 1834 and another patent for a similar invention in 1836. + +It is altogether safe to assume that this Henry Blair was a "free +person of color," as the language of those days would have phrased it; +for the government seemed committed to the theory that "a slave could +not take out a patent for his invention." And this dictum gave rise to +some rather embarrassing situations on more occasions than one. For +instance, in 1857, a Negro slave, living with his master in the state +of Mississippi, perfected a valuable invention which his master sought +to have protected by a patent. Now, in law, a patent is a contract +between the government and the inventor or his assignees. The slave, +although the inventor, could not under the law be a party to a +contract, and therefore could not secure the patent himself. His +master applied for the patent, but was refused on the ground that +inasmuch as he was not the inventor and could not be the assignee of a +slave, he could not properly make the required oath. The master was +not satisfied with this interpretation of the law by the Commissioner +of Patents, and at once appealed from the latter's decision to the +Secretary of the Interior, who, in 1858, referred the case to the +Attorney-General of the United States. This latter official, who was +Hon. Jeremiah S. Black, of Pennsylvania, confirmed the decision of the +Commissioner of Patent, and neither master nor slave was ever able to +get a patent for the slave's invention. This case reported on page 171 +of volume 9, of "Opinions of Attorneys-General, United States." + +Another instance of a similar character occurred a few years later, in +1862, when a slave belonging to Jefferson Davis, President of the +Confederacy, invented a propeller for vessels. He constructed an +excellent model of his invention, displaying remarkable mechanical +skill in wood and metal working. He was not able to get his invention +patented, but the merits of his invention were commented upon +approvingly by a number of influential Southern newspapers, and his +propeller was finally put in use by the Confederate navy. With the +barrier of slavery cast aside, a new opportunity was opened to the +Negro inventor, and the purpose of this article is to show what use he +has made of that opportunity. + +It must still be borne in mind that the records of the United States +Patent Office do not show whether a patentee is a Negro or a +Caucasian, and that to ascertain what the Negro has accomplished in +the field of invention other sources of information had to be +utilized; and finally, that the very omission from the public records +of all data calculated to identify a given invention with the Negro +race completely destroys the possibility of arriving at any definite +conclusion as to the exact number and character of negro inventions. + +Judging from what has been duly authenticated as Negro inventions +patented by the United States, it is entirely reasonable to assume +that many hundreds of valuable inventions have been patented by Negro +inventors for which the race will never receive due credit. This is +the more unfortunate since the race now, perhaps, more than ever +before, needs the help of every fact in its favor to offset as far as +possible the many discreditable things that the daily papers are all +too eager to publish against it. + +It appears that no systematic effort was ever made by the government +to collect information as to the number of inventions by Negroes until +January, 1900, when the then Commissioner of Patents, Hon. Charles H. +Duell, undertook the task. Previous to that time the United States +Patent Office had received numerous requests from all parts of the +country for information on that point, and the uniform reply was that +the official records of the Patent Office did not show whether an +inventor was colored or white, and that the office had no way of +obtaining such information. + +Notwithstanding this fact, however, an employee of the Patent Office +had undertaken to collect a list of such patents, and this list was +used in selecting a small exhibit of Negro inventions. First, for the +Cotton Centennial at New Orleans, in 1884; again for the World's Fair +at Chicago, in 1893; and, lastly, for the Southern Exposition at +Atlanta in 1895. But it was reserved for the United States Commission +to the Paris Exposition of 1900 to make the first definite effort to +obtain this information, and at its request the following letter by +the Commissioner of Patents was addressed to hundreds of patent +lawyers throughout the country, to large manufacturing establishments, +to the various newspapers edited by colored men, and to prominent men +of the race: + + + DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, + United States Patent Office. + Washington, D. C., Jan. 26, 1900. + + Dear Sir: + + This Office is endeavoring to obtain information concerning + patents issued to colored inventors, in accordance with a + request from the United States Commission to the Paris + Exposition of 1900, to be used in preparing the "Negro + Exhibit." + + To aid in this work, you are requested to send to this + Office, in the enclosed envelope, which will not require a + postage stamp, the names of any colored inventors you can + furnish, together with the date of grant, title of + invention, and patent number, so that a list without errors + can be prepared. + + You will confer a special favor by aiding in the preparation + of this list by filling in the blank form below, and sending + in any replies as promptly as possible. Should you be unable + to furnish any data, will you kindly inform us of that fact? + + Very respectfully, + + C. H. Duell, + _Commissioner of Patents._ + +======================================================================== + NAME. | NUMBER. | DATE. | INVENTION. +---------------+------------------+----------------+-------------------- + | | | + | | | + | | | + | | | +---------------+------------------+----------------+-------------------- + + + +The replies to this letter showed that the correspondents personally +knew of and could identify by name, date and number more than four +hundred patents granted by the United States to colored inventors. The +letters also showed that nearly as many more colored inventors had +completed their inventions, and had applied to patent lawyers +throughout the country for assistance in obtaining patents for their +inventions, but finally abandoned the effort through lack of means to +prosecute their applications. The list of the patented inventions as +furnished mainly by the letters above named is printed below, and +shows that, beginning first with agricultural implements and culinary +utensils, which circumscribed the character of his earlier employment, +the Negro inventor gradually widened the field of his inventive effort +until he had well nigh covered the whole range of patentable subjects. + +A study of the list will disclose the fact that the Negro inventor has +very often, like his white brother, caught the spirit of invention, +and not being contented with a single success, has frequently been led +to exert his energies along many different lines of inventions. + +Elijah McCoy, of Detroit, Mich., heads the list with twenty-eight +patents, relating particularly to lubricating appliances for engines +both stationary and locomotive, but covering also a large variety of +other subjects. The next is Granville T. Woods, of Cincinnati, whose +inventions are confined almost exclusively to electricity, and cover a +very wide range of devices for the utilitarian application of this +wonderful force. Mr. W. B. Purvis, of Philadelphia, comes next with +sixteen patents relating especially to paper bag machinery, but +including a few other subjects as well. Mr. F. J. Ferrell, of New +York, has ten patents on valves adapted for a variety of uses. Then +comes ex-Congressman Geo. W. Murray of South Carolina, with eight +patents on agricultural implements. Mr. Henry Creamer has seven +patents on steam traps, and more than a dozen among the number have +patented as many as five different inventions. + +Time and space will not admit of any extended notice of many +individual patentees, but mention should be made of a few of them. + +Granville T. Woods is called the "Black Edison" because of his +persistent and successful investigations into the mystery of +electricity. Among his inventions may be found valuable improvements +in telegraphy, important telephone instruments, a system for +telegraphing from moving trains, an electric railway, a phonograph, +and an automatic cut-off for an electric circuit. One of his telephone +inventions was sold to the American Bell Telephone Company, who is +said to have paid Mr. Woods handsomely for his patent. Mr. Ferrell's +inventions of valves laid the foundation for a large and highly +successful manufacturing and commercial enterprise which he now +conducts in the city of New York. + +Mr. Elijah McCoy succeeded in placing his lubricators on many of the +steam car and steamboat engines in the northwest and also on some of +the ocean steamers, and from these he receives a valuable annual +royalty. + +Mr. Matzeliger, of Massachusetts, is credited with being the pioneer +in the art of attaching soles to shoes by machinery; and Mr. Joseph +Lee, of Boston, is said to have placed his kneading machine in many of +the first-class bakeries and hotels in Boston and New York, from which +he receives a substantial royalty. + +So far as is known to the writer Miss Miriam E. Benjamin, of +Massachusetts, is the only colored woman who has received a patent for +an invention, and the principle of her invention, that of a gong +signal, has just been adopted in the United States House of +Representatives in signalling for the pages to attend upon members who +want them for errands. Formerly the pages were signalled by members +clapping their hands, and the noise incident to this method was +frequently a great disturbance of the House proceedings. The new +system just adopted involves merely the pressing of a button on the +member's chair, and this rings a small gong while displaying a signal +on the back of the chair. + +Another invention by a young colored man which has attracted +considerable attention is the rapid-fire gun by Mr. Eugene Burkins, of +Chicago. This gun has been examined by officers of the War and Navy +Departments, and has been pronounced a valuable contribution to the +scientific equipments for military and naval warfare. + +The following description of Mr. Burkins' gun appeared in Howard's +American Magazine some months ago: + + "A brief description of the gun is not exactly out of place, + although the Scientific American and other technical + journals have long since given it to the world. It is an + improvement upon all that has yet been done in the way of + ordnance, and the principles involved in its construction + can be applied to any size of gun, from a one-inch barker to + a thirty-six-inch thunderer. The model as it now stands + weighs 475 pounds, measures four inches at breech, and is + constructed of the finest of gun brass at a cost of $3,500. + There is a magazine at the breech in which a large number of + heavy shells can be held in reserve, and in the action of + the gun these slip down to their places and are fired at the + rate of fourteen a minute, an improvement on the Maxim gun + of four shots. The gun is elevated upon a revolving turret + with electrical connections, enabling the gunner to direct + the action of the machine with a touch of his finger. + Firing, reloading and ejection of shells are all effected by + electricity, and a child could conduct the work of manning + the gun as easily as anyone." + +These inventions show how completely in error are those who constantly +assert that the Negro has made no lasting contribution to the +civilization of the age, and they prove conclusively that under +favorable environment he is capable of performing his whole duty in +the work of mankind whether it be tilling the earth with his hoe or +advancing the world by his thought. + + +LIST OF COLORED INVENTORS IN THE UNITED STATES AS FURNISHED FOR THE +PARIS EXPOSITION, 1900. + +Inventor. Invention. Date. Number. + +Abrams, W. B. Hame Attachment Apr, 14, 1891. 450,550 +Allen, C. W. Self-Leveling Table Nov. 1, 1898. 613,436 +Allen, J. B. Clothes Line Support Dec. 10, 1895. 551,105 +Ashbourne, A. P. Process for Preparing Cocoanut + for Domestic Use June 1, 1875. 163,962 +Ashbourne, A. P. Biscuit Cutter Nov. 30, 1875. 170,460 +Ashbourne, A. P. Refining Cocoanut Oil July 27, 1880. 230,518 +Ashbourne, A. P. Process of Treating Cocoanut Aug. 21, 1877. 194,287 +Blair, H. Corn Planter Oct. 14, 1834. +Bailey, L. C. Combined Truss and Bandage Sept. 25, 1883. 285,545 +Blair, Henry Cotton Planter Aug. 31, 1836. +Bailey, L. C. Folding Bed July 18, 1899. 629,286 +Bailes, Wm. Ladder Scaffold Support Aug. 5, 1879. 218,154 +Bailiff, C. O. Shampoo Headrest Oct. 11, 1898. 612,008 +Ballow, W. J. Combined Hatrack and Table Mar. 29, 1898. 601,422 +Barnes, G. A. E. Design for Sign Aug. 19, 1898. 29,193 +Beard, A. J. Rotary Engine July 5, 1892. 478,271 +Beard, A. J. Car-coupler Nov. 23, 1897. 594,059 +Becket, G. E. Letter Box Oct. 4, 1892. 483,525 +Bell, L. Locomotive Smoke Stack May 23, 1871. 115,153 +Bell, L. Dough Kneader Dec. 10, 1872. 133,823 +Benjamin, L. W. Broom Moisteners and Bridles May 16, 1893. 497,747 +Benjamin, Gong and Signal Chairs + Miss M. E. for Hotels July 17, 1888. 386,286 +Blackburn, A. B. Railway Signal Jan. 10, 1888. 376,362 +Blackburn. A. B. Spring Seat for Chairs Apr. 3, 1888. 380,420 +Blackburn, A. B. Cash Carrier Oct. 23, 1888. 391,577 +Blue, L. Hand Corn Shelling Device May 20, 1884. 298,937 +Binga, M. W. Street Sprinkling Apparatus July 22, 1879. 217,843 +Booker, L. F. Design Rubber Scraping Knife Mar. 28, 1899. 30,404 +Boone, Sarah Ironing Board Apr. 26, 1892. 473,653 +Bowman, H. A. Making Flags Feb. 23, 1892. 469,395 +Brooks, C. B. Punch Oct. 31, 1893. 507,672 +Brooks, C. B. Street-Sweepers Mar. 17, 1896. 556,711 +Brooks, C. B Street-Sweepers May 12, 1896. 560,154 +Brooks, Hallstead + and Page Street-Sweepers Apr. 21, 1896. 558,719 +Brown, Henry Receptacle for Storing and + Preserving Papers Nov. 2, 1886. 352,036 +Brown, L. F. Bridle Bit Oct. 25, 1892. 484,994 +Brown, O. E. Horseshoe Aug. 23, 1892. 481,371 +Brown & Latimer Water Closets for Railway Cars Feb. 10, 1874. 147,363 +Burr, J. A. Lawn Mower May 9, 1899. 624,749 +Burr, W. F. Switching Device for Railways Oct. 31, 1899. 636,197 +Burwell, W. Boot or Shoe Nov. 28, 1899. 638,143 +Butler, R. A. Train Alarm June 15, 1897. 584,540 +Butts, J. W. Luggage Carrier Oct. 10, 1899. 634,611 +Byrd, T. J. Improvement in Holders for + Reins for Horses Feb. 6, 1872. 123,328 +Byrd. T. J. Apparatus for Detaching Horses + from Carriages Mar. 19, 1872. 124,790 +Byrd, T. J. Improvement in Neck Yokes for + Wagons Apr. 30, 1872. 126,181 +Byrd, T. J. Improvement in Car-Couplings Dec. 1, 1874. 157,370 +Burkins, Eugene Rapid-Fire Gun 649,433 +Campbell, W. S. Self-Setting Animal Trap Aug. 30, 1881. 246,369 +Cargill, B. F. Invalid Cot July 25, 1899. 629,658 +Carrington, T. A Range July 25, 1876. 180,323 +Carter, W. C. Umbrella Stand Aug. 4, 1885. 323,397 +Certain, J. M. Parcel Carrier for Bicycles Dec. 26, 1899. 639,708 +Cherry, M. A. Velocipede May 8, 1888. 382,351 +Church, T. S. Carpet Beating Machine July 29, 1884. 302,237 +Cherry, M. A. Street Car Fender Jan. 1, 1895. 531,908 +Clare, O. B. Trestle Oct. 9, 1888. 390,753 +Coates, R. Overboot for Horses Apr. 19, 1892. 473,295 +Cook, G. Automatic Fishing Device May 30, 1899. 625,829 +Coolidge, J. S. Harness Attachment Nov. 13, 1888. 392,908 +Cooper, A. R. Shoemaker's Jack Aug. 22, 1899. 631,519 +Cooper, J. Shutter and Fastening May 1, 1883. 276,563 +Cooper, J. Elevator Device Apr. 2, 1895. 536,605 +Cooper, J. Elevator Device Sept. 21, 1897. 590,257 +Cornwell, P. W. Draft Regulator Oct. 2, 1888. 390,284 +Cornwell, P. W. Draft Regulator Feb. 7, 1893. 491,082 +Cralle, A. L. Ice-Cream Mold Feb. 2, 1897. 576,395 +Creamer, H. Steam Feed Water Trap Mar. 17, 1885. 313,854 +Creamer, H. Steam Traps Mar. 8, 1887. 358,964 +Creamer, H. Steam Traps Jan. 17, 1888. 376,586 +Creamer, H. Steam Trap Feeder Dec. 11, 1888. 394,463 +Creamer, H. Steam Trap May 28, 1889. 404,174 +Creamer, H. Steam Trap Aug. 18, 1891. 457,983 +Creamer, H. Steam Trap Nov. 21, 1893. 509,202 +Cosgrove, W. F. Automatic Stop Plug for Gas + Oil Pipes Mar. 17, 1885. 313,993 +Darkins, J. T. Ventilation Feb. 19, 1895. 534,322 +Davis, I. D. Tonic Nov. 2, 1886. 351,829 +Davis, W. D. Riding Saddles Oct. 6, 1896. 568,939 +Davis, W. R., Jr. Library Table Sept. 24, 1878. 208,378 +Deitz, W. A. Shoe Apr. 30, 1867. 64,205 +Dorticus, C. J. Device for Applying Coloring + Liquids to Sides of Soles + or Heels of Shoes Mar. 19, 1895. 535,820 +Dickinson, J. H. Pianola Detroit, Mich., 1899. +Dorticus, C. J. Machine for Embossing Photo Apr. 16, 1895. 537,422 +Dorticus, C. J. Photographic Print Wash Apr. 23, 1895. 537,968 +Dorticus, C. J. Hose Leak Stop July 18, 1899. 629,315 +Downing, P. B. Electric Switch for Railroad June 17, 1890. 430,118 +Downing, P. B. Letter Box Oct. 27, 1891. 462,093 +Downing, P. B. Street Letter Box Oct. 27, 1891. 462,096 +Dunnington, J. H. Horse Detachers Mar. 18, 1897. 578,979 +Dorsey, O. Door-Holding Device Dec. 10, 1878. 210,764 +Edmonds, T. H. Separating Screens July 20, 1897. 586,724 +Elkins, T. Dining, Ironing Table and + Quilting Frame Combined Feb. 22, 1870. 100,020 +Elkins, T. Chamber Commode Jan. 9, 1872. 122,518 +Elkins, T. Refrigerating Apparatus Nov. 4, 1879. 221,222 +Evans, J. H. Convertible Settees Oct. 5, 1897. 591,095 +Faulkner, H. Ventilated Shoe Apr. 20, 1890. 426,495 +Ferrell, F. J. Steam Trap Feb. 11, 1890. 420,993 +Ferrell, F. J. Apparatus for Melting Snow May 27, 1890. 428,670 +Ferrell, F. J. Valve May 27, 1890. 428,671 +Ferrell, F. J. Valve Apr. 14, 1891. 450,451 +Ferrell, F. J. Valve Nov. 10, 1891. 462,762 +Ferrell, F. J. Valve Jan. 26, 1892. 467,796 +Ferrell, F. J. Valve Feb. 2, 1892. 468,242 +Ferrell, F. J. Valve Feb. 9, 1892. 468,334 +Ferrell, F. J. Valve Jan. 17, 1893. 490,227 +Ferrell, F. J. Valve July 18, 1893. 501,497 +Fisher, D. A. Joiners' Clamp Apr. 20, 1875. 162,281 +Fisher, D. A. Furniture Castor Mar. 14, 1876. 174,794 +Flemming, + R. F., Jr. Guitar Mar. 3, 1886. 338,727 +Goode, Sarah E. Folding Cabinet Bed July 14, 1885. 322,177 +Grant, G. F. Golf-Tee Dec. 12, 1899. 638,920 +Grant, W. S. Curtain Rod Support Aug. 28, 1894. 525,203 +Gregory, J. Motor Apr. 26, 1887. 361,937 +Gray, R. H. Cistern Cleaners Apr. 9, 1895. 537,151 +Grenon, H. Razor Stropping Device Feb. 18, 1896. 554,867 +Griffin, F. W. Pool Table Attachment June 13, 1899. 626,902 +Gunn, S. W. Boot or Shoe Jan. 16, 1900. 641,642 +Haines, J. H. Portable Basin Sept. 28, 1897. 590,833 +Hammonds, J. F. Apparatus for Holding Yarn + Skeins Dec. 15, 1896. 572,985 +Harding, F. H. Extension Banquet Table Nov. 22, 1898. 614,468 +Hawkins, J. Gridiron Mar. 26, 1845. 3,973 +Hawkins, R. Harness Attachment Oct. 4, 1887. 370,943 +Headen, M. Foot Power Hammer Oct. 5, 1886. 350,363 +Hearness, R. Sealing Attachment for Bottles Feb. 15, 1898. 598,929 +Hearness, R. Detachable Car Fender July 4, 1899. 628,003 +Hilyer, A. F. Water Evaporator Attachment + for Hot Air Registers Aug. 26, 1890. 435,095 +Hilyer, A. F. Registers Oct. 14, 1890. 438,159 +Holmes, E. H. Gage Nov. 12, 1895. 549,513 +Hunter, J. H. Portable Weighing Scales Nov. 3, 1896. 570,553 +Hyde, R. N. Composition for Cleaning and + Preserving Carpets Nov. 6, 1888. 392,205 +Jackson, B. F. Heating Apparatus Mar. 1, 1898. 599,985 +Jackson, B. F. Matrix Drying Apparatus May 10, 1898. 603,879 +Jackson. B. F. Gas Burner Apr. 4, 1899. 622,482 +Jackson, H. A. Kitchen Table Oct. 6, 1896. 569,135 +Jackson, W. H. Railway Switch Mar. 9, 1897. 578,641 +Jackson, W. H. Railway Switch Mar. 16, 1897. 593,665 +Jackson. W. H. Automatic Locking Switch Aug. 23, 1898. 609,436 +Johnson, D. Rotary Dining Table Jan. 15, 1888. 396,089 +Johnson, D. Lawn Mower Attachment Sept. 10, 1889. 410,836 +Johnson, D. Grass Receivers for Lawn + Mowers June 10, 1890. 429,629 +Johnson, I. R. Bicycle Frame Oct. 10, 1899. 634,823 +Johnson, P. Swinging Chairs Nov. 15, 1881. 249,530 +Johnson, P. Eye Protector Nov. 2, 1880. 234,039 +Johnson, W. Velocipede June 20, 1899. 627,335 +Johnson, W. A. Paint Vehicle Dec. 4, 1888. 393,763 +Johnson, W. H. Overcoming Dead Centers Feb. 4, 1896. 554,223 +Johnson, W. H. Overcoming Dead Centers Oct. 11, 1898. 612,345 +Johnson. W. Egg Beater Feb. 5, 1884. 292,821 +Jones & Long Caps for Bottles Sept. 13, 1898. 610,715 +Joyce, J. A. Ore Bucket Apr. 26, 1898. 603,143 +Latimer, L. H. Manufacturing Carbons June 17, 1882. 252,386 +Latimer, L. H. Apparatus for Cooling and + Disinfecting Jan. 12, 1886. 334,078 +Latimer, L. H. Locking Racks for Hats, Coats + and Umbrellas Mar. 24, 1896. 557,076 +Lavalette, W. A. Printing Press Sept. 17, 1878. 208,208 +Lee, H. Animal Trap Feb. 12, 1867. 61,941 +Lee, J. Kneading Machine Aug. 7, 1894. 524,042 +Lee, J. Bread Crumbing Machine June 4, 1895. 540,553 +Leslie, F. W. Envelope Seal Sept. 21, 1897. 590,325 +Lewis, A. L. Window Cleaner Sept. 27, 1892. 483,359 +Lewis, E. R. Spring Gun May 3, 1887. 362,096 +Linden, H. Piano Truck Sept. 8, 1891. 459,365 +Little, E. Bridle-Bit Mar. 7, 1882. 254,666 +Loudin, F. J. Sash Fastener Dec. 12, 1892. 510,432 +Loudin, F. J. Key Fastener Jan. 9, 1894. 512,308 +Love, J. L. Plasterers' Hawk July 9, 1895. 542,419 +Love, J. L. Pencil Sharpener Nov. 23, 1897. 594,114 +Marshall, W. Grain Binder May 11, 1886. 341,589 +Marshall, T. J. Fire Extinguisher May 26, 1872. 125,063 +Martin, W. A. Lock July 23, 1889. 407,738 +Martin, W. A. Lock Dec. 30, 1890. 443,945 +Matzeliger, J. E. Mechanism for Distributing + Tacks Nov. 26, 1899. 415,726 +Matzeliger, J. E. Nailing Machine Feb. 25, 1896. 421,954 +Matzeliger, J. E. Tack Separating Mechanism Mar. 25, 1890. 423,937 +Matzeliger, J. E. Lasting Machine Sept. 22, 1891. 459,899 +McCoy, E. Lubricator for Steam Engines July 2, 1872. 129,843 +McCoy, E. Lubricator for Steam Engines Aug. 6, 1872. 130,305 +McCoy, E. Lubricator May 27, 1873. 139,407 +McCoy, E. Steam Lubricator Jan. 20, 1874. 146,697 +McCoy, E. Ironing Table May 12, 1874. 150,876 +McCoy, E. Steam Cylinder Lubricator Feb. 1, 1876. 173,032 +McCoy, E. Steam Cylinder Lubricator July 4, 1876. 179,585 +McCoy, E. Lubricator Mar. 28, 1882. 255,443 +McCoy, E. Lubricator July 18, 1882. 261,166 +McCoy, E. Lubricator Jan. 9, 1883. 270,238 +McCoy, E. Lawn Sprinkler Design Sept. 26, 1899. 631,549 +McCoy, E. Steam Dome June 16, 1885. 320,354 +McCoy, E. Lubricator June 16, 1885. 320,379 +McCoy, E. Lubricator Feb. 8, 1887. 357,491 +McCoy, E. Lubricator Attachment Apr. 19, 1887. 361,435 +McCoy, E. Lubricator for Safety Valves May 24, 1887. 363,529 +McCoy, E. Lubricator May 29, 1888. 383,745 +McCoy, E. Lubricator May 29, 1888. 383,746 +McCoy & Hodges Lubricator Dec. 24, 1889. 418,139 +McCoy, E. Dope Cup Sept. 29, 1891. 460,215 +McCoy, E. Lubricator Dec. 29, 1891. 465,875 +McCoy, E. Lubricator Mar. 1, 1892. 470,163 +McCoy, E. Lubricator Apr. 5, 1892. 472,066 +McCoy, E. Lubricator June 6, 1893. 498,809 +McCoy, E. Lubricator Sept. 13, 1898. 610,634 +McCoy, E. Lubricator Oct. 4, 1898. 611,759 +McCoy, E. Lubricator Nov. 15, 1898. 614,307 +McCoy, E. Lubricator June 27, 1899. 627,623 +McCree, D. Portable Fire Escape Nov. 11, 1890. 440,322 +Mendenhall, A. Holder for Driving Reins Nov. 28, 1899. 637,811 +Miles, A. Elevator Oct. 11, 1887. 371,207 +Mitchell, C. L. Phoneterisin Jan. 1, 1884. 291,071 +Mitchell, J. M. Cheek Row Corn Planter Jan. 16, 1900. 641,462 +Moody, W. U. Game Board Design May 11, 1897. 27,046 +Morehead, K. Reel Carrier Oct. 6, 1896. 568,916 +Murray, G. W. Combined Furrow Opener and + Stalk-knocker Apr. 10, 1894. 517,960 +Murray, G. W. Cultivator and Marker Apr. 10, 1894. 517,961 +Murray, G. W. Planter June 5, 1894. 520,887 +Murray, G. W. Cotton Chopper June 5, 1894. 520,888 +Murray, G. W. Fertilizer Distributer June 5, 1894. 520,889 +Murray, G. W. Planter June 5, 1894. 520,890 +Murray, G. W. Combined Cotton Seed June 5, 1894. 520,891 +Murray, G. W. Planter and Fertilizer + Distributer Reaper June 5, 1894. 520,892 +Murray, W. Attachment for Bicycles Jan. 27, 1891. 445,452 +Nance, L. Game Apparatus Dec. 1, 1891. 464,035 +Nash, H. H. Life Preserving Stool Oct. 5, 1875. 168,519 +Newman, Miss L.D. Brush Nov. 15, 1898. 614,335 +Newson, S. Oil Heater or Cooker May 22, 1894. 520,188 +Nichols & Latimer Electric Lamp Sept. 13, 1881. 247,097 +Nickerson, W. J. Mandolin and Guitar + Attachment for Pianos June 27, 1899. 627,739 +O'Conner & Turner Alarm for Boilers Aug. 25, 1896. 566,612 +O'Conner & Turner Steam Gage Aug. 25, 1896. 566,613 +O'Conner & Turner Alarm for Coasts Containing + Vessels Feb. 8, 1898. 598,572 +Outlaw, J. W. Horseshoes Nov. 15, 1898. 614,273 +Perryman, F. R. Caterers' Tray Table Feb. 2, 1892. 468,038 +Peterson, H. Attachment for Lawn Mowers Apr. 30, 1889. 402,189 +Phelps, W. H. Apparatus for Washing Vehicles Mar. 23, 1897. 579,242 +Pickering, J. F. Air Ship Feb. 20, 1900. 643,975 +Pickett, H. Scaffold June 30, 1874. 152,511 +Pinn, T. B. File Holder Aug. 17, 1880. 231,355 +Polk, A. J. Bicycle Support Apr. 14, 1896. 558,103 +Pugsley, A. Blind Stop July 29, 1890. 433,306 +Purdy & Sadgwar Folding Chair June 11, 1889. 405,117 +Purdy, W. Device for Sharpening Edged + Tools Oct. 27, 1896. 570,337 +Purdy, W. Device for Sharpening Edged + Tools Aug. 16, 1898. 609,367 +Purdy, W. Device for Sharpening Edged + Tools Aug. 1, 1899. 630,106 +Purdy & Peters Design for Spoons Apr. 23, 1895. 24,228 +Purvis, W. B. Bag Fastener Apr, 25, 1882. 256,856 +Purvis, W. B. Hand Stamp Feb. 27, 1883. 273,149 +Purvis, W. B. Paper Bag Machine Feb. 12, 1884. 293,353 +Purvis, W. B. Fountain Pen Jan. 7, 1890. 419,065 +Purvis, W. B. Paper Bag Machine Jan. 28, 1890. 420,099 +Purvis, W. B. Paper Bag Machine June 24, 1890. 430,684 +Purvis, W. B. Paper Bag Machine Aug. 19, 1890. 434,461 +Purvis, W. B. Paper Bag Machine Sept. 2, 1890. 435,524 +Purvis, W. B. Paper Bag Machine Sept. 22, 1891. 460,093 +Purvis, W. B. Electric Railway May 1, 1894. 519,291 +Purvis, W. B. Paper Bag Machine May 8, 1894. 519,348 +Purvis, W. B. Paper Bag Machine May 8, 1894. 519,349 +Purvis, W. B. Paper Bag Machine Dec. 11, 1894. 530,650 +Purvis, W. B. Magnetic Car Balancing Device May 21, 1895. 539,542 +Purvis, W. B. Paper Bag Machine Mar. 9, 1897. 578,361 +Purvis, W. B. Electric Railway Switch Aug. 17, 1897. 588,176 +Queen, W. Guard for Companion Ways and + Hatches Aug. 18, 1891. 458,131 +Ray, E. P. Chair Supporting Device Feb. 21, 1899. 620,078 +Ray, L. P. Dust Pan Aug. 3, 1897. 587,607 +Reed, J. W Dough Kneader and Roller Sept. 23, 1884. 305,474 +Reynolds, R. R. Non-Refillable Bottle May 2, 1899. 624,092 +Reynolds, H. H. Window Ventilator for R. R. + Cars Apr. 3, 1883. 275,271 +Reynolds, H. H. Safety Gate for Bridges Oct. 7, 1890. 437,937 +Rhodes, J. B. Water Closets Dec. 19. 1899. 639,290 +Richardson, A. C. Hame Fastener Mar. 14, 1882. 255,022 +Richardson, A. C. Churn Feb. 17, 1891. 446,470 +Richardson, A. C. Casket Lowering device Nov. 13, 1894. 529,311 +Richardson, A. C. Insect Destroyer Feb. 28, 1899. 620,362 +Richardson, A. C. Bottle Dec. 12, 1899. 638,811 +Richardson, W. H. Cotton Chopper June 1, 1886. 343,140 +Richardson, W. H. Child's Carriage June 18, 1889. 405,599 +Richardson, W. H. Child's Carriage June 18, 1889. 405,600 +Richey, C. V. Car Coupling June 15, 1897. 584,650 +Richey, C. V. Railroad Switch Aug. 3, 1897. 587,657 +Richey, C. V. Railroad Switch Oct. 26, 1897. 592,448 +Richey, C. V. Fire Escape Bracket Dec. 28, 1897. 596,427 +Richey, C. V. Combined Hammock and Stretcher Dec. 13, 1898. 615,907 +Rickman, A. L. Overshoe Feb. 8, 1898. 598,816 +Ricks, J. Horseshoe Mar. 30, 1886. 338,781 +Ricks, J. Overshoe for Horses June 6, 1899. 626,245 +Robinson, E. R. Electric Railway Trolley Sept. 19, 1893. 505,370 +Robinson, E. R. Casting Composite Nov. 23, 1897. 594,286 +Robinson, J. H. Life Saving Guards for + Locomotives Mar. 14, 1899. 621,143 +Robinson, J. H. Life Saving Guards for + Street Cars Apr. 25, 1899. 623,929 +Robinson, J. Dinner Pail Feb. 1, 1887. 356,852 +Romain, A. Passenger Register Apr. 23, 1889. 402,035 +Roster, D. N. Feather Curler Mar. 10, 1896. 556,166 +Ross, A. L. Runner for Stops Aug. 4, 1896. 565,301 +Ross, A. L. Bag Closure June 7, 1898. 605,343 +Ross, J. Bailing Press Sept. 5, 1899. 632,539 +Ross, A. L. Trousers Support Nov. 28, 1899. 638,068 +Ruffin, S. Vessels for Liquids and Manner + of Sealing Nov. 20, 1899. 737,603 +Russell, L. A. Guard Attachment for Beds Aug. 13, 1895. 544,381 +Sampson, G. T. Sled Propeller Feb. 17, 1885. 312,388 +Sampson, G. T. Clothes Drier June 7, 1892. 476,416 +Scottron, S. R. Adjustable Window Cornice Feb. 17, 1880. 224,732 +Scottron, S. R. Cornice Jan. 16, 1883. 270,851 +Scottron, S. R. Pole Tip Sept. 21, 1886. 349,525 +Scottron, S. R. Curtain Rod Aug. 30, 1892. 481,720 +Scottron, S. R. Supporting Bracket Sept. 12, 1893. 505,008 +Shorter, D. W. Feed Rack May 17, 1887. 363,089 +Shanks, S. C. Sleeping Car Berth Register July 21, 1897. 587,165 +Smith, J. W. Improvement in Games Apr. 17, 1900. 647,887 +Smith, J. W. Lawn Sprinkler May 4, 1897. 581,785 +Smith, J. W. Lawn Sprinkler Mar. 22, 1898. 601,065 +Smith, P. D. Potato Digger Jan. 21, 1891. 445,206 +Smith, P. D. Grain Binder Feb. 23, 1892. 469,279 +Snow & Johns Liniment Oct. 7, 1890. 437,728 +Standard, J. Oil Stove Oct. 29, 1889. 413,689 +Standard, J. Refrigerator July 14, 1891. 455,891 +Stewart, T. W. Mop June 13, 1893. 499,402 +Stewart, T. W. Station Indicator June 20, 1893. 499,895 +Stewart & Johnson Metal Bending Machine Dec. 27, 1887. 375,512 +Stewart, E. W. Punching Machine May 3, 1887. 362,190 +Stewart, E. W. Machine for Forming Vehicle + Seat Bars Mar. 22, 1887. 373,698 +Spears, H. Portable Shield for Infantry Dec. 27, 1870. 110,599 +Sutton, E. H. Cotton Cultivator Apr. 7, 1874. 149,543 +Sweeting, J. A. Device for Rolling Cigarettes Nov. 30, 1897. 594,501 +Sweeting, J. A. Combined Knife and Scoop June 7, 1898. 605,209 +Shewcraft, Frank Letter Box Detroit, Mich. +Taylor, B. H. Rotary Engine Apr. 23, 1878. 202,888 +Taylor, B. H. Slide Valve July 6, 1897. 585,798 +Thomas, S. E. Waste Trap Oct. 18, 1883. 286,746 +Thomas, S. E. Waste Trap for Basins, + Closets, etc. Oct. 4, 1887. 371,107 +Thomas, S. E. Casting July 31, 1888. 386,941 +Thomas, S. E. Pipe Connection Oct. 9, 1888. 390,821 +Toliver, George Propeller for Vessels Apr. 28, 1891. 451,086 +Tregoning & + Latimer Globe Supporter for Electric + Lamps Mar. 21, 1882. 255,212 +Walker, Peter Machine for Cleaning Seed + Cotton Feb. 16, 1897. 577,153 +Walker, Peter Bait Holder Mar. 8, 1898. 600,241 +Waller, J. N. Shoemaker's Cabinet or Bench Feb. 3, 1880. 224,253 +Washington, Wade Corn Husking Machine Aug. 14, 1883. 283,173 +Watkins, Isaac Scrubbing Frame Oct. 7, 1890. 437,849 +Watts, J. R. Bracket for Miners' Lamp Mar. 7, 1893. 493,137 +West, E. H. Weather Shield Sept. 5, 1899. 632,385 +West, J. W. Wagon Oct. 18, 1870. 108,419 +White, D. L. Extension Steps for Cars Jan. 12, 1897. 574,969 +White, J. T. Lemon Squeezer Dec. 8, 1896. 572,849 +Williams, Carter Canopy Frame Feb. 2, 1892. 468,280 +Williams, J. P. Pillow Sham Holder Oct. 10, 1899. 634,784 +Winn, Frank Direct Acting Steam Engine Dec. 4, 1888. 394,047 +Winters, J. R. Fire Escape Ladder May 7, 1878. 203,517 +Winters, J. R. Fire Escape Ladder Apr. 8, 1879. 214,224 +Woods, G. T. Steam Boiler Furnace June 3, 1884. 299,894 +Woods, G. T. Telephone Transmitter Dec. 2, 1884. 308,817 +Woods, G. T. Apparatus for Transmission of + Messages by Electricity Apr. 7, 1885. 315,368 +Woods, G. T. Relay Instrument June 7, 1887. 364,619 +Woods, G. T. Polarized Relay July 5, 1887. 366,192 +Woods, G. T. Electro Mechanical Brake Aug. 16, 1887. 368,265 +Woods, G. T. Telephone System and + Apparatus Oct. 11, 1887. 371,241 +Woods, G. T. Electro-Magnetic Brake + Apparatus Oct. 18, 1887. 371,655 +Woods, G. T. Railway Telegraphy Nov. 15, 1887. 373,383 +Woods, G. T. Induction Telegraph System Nov. 29, 1887. 373,915 +Woods, G. T. Overhead Conducting System for + Electric Railway May 29, 1888. 383,844 +Woods, G. T. Electro-Motive Railway System June 26, 1888. 385,034 +Woods, G. T. Tunnel Construction for + Electric Railway July 17, 1888. 386,282 +Woods, G. T. Galvanic Battery Aug. 14, 1888. 387,839 +Woods, G. T. Railway Telegraphy Aug. 28, 1888. 388,803 +Woods, G. T. Automatic Safety Cut-out for + Electric Circuits Jan. 1, 1889. 395,533 +Woods, G. T. Automatic Safety Cut-out for + Electric Circuit Oct. 14, 1889. 438,590 +Woods, G. T. Electric Railway System Nov. 10, 1891. 463,020 +Woods, G. T. Electric Railway Supply + System Oct. 31, 1893. 507,606 +Woods, G. T. Electric Railway Conduit Nov. 21, 1893. 509,065 +Woods, G. T. System of Electrical + Distribution Oct. 13, 1896. 569,443 +Woods, G. T Amusement Apparatus Dec. 19, 1899. 639,692 +Wormley, James Life Saving Apparatus May 24, 1881. 242,091 +Williams, P. B. Electro-Magnetic Electrical + Railway Track Switch Apr. 24, 1900. 648,092 +Williams, P. B. Electrically Controlled and + Operated Railway Switch Jan. 15, 1901. 666,080 + + + + +TOPIC XXVIII. + +WHAT THE OMEN? + +BY PROF. W. S. SCARBOROUGH. + +[Illustration: Prof. W. S. Scarborough.] + + PROF. WILLIAM S. SCARBOROUGH, A. M., LL. D. + + William S. Scarborough, now Vice-President of Wilberforce + University, Wilberforce, Ohio, and Professor of Greek and + Latin in the same institution, was born in Macon, Ga., + February 18, 1852. He received his early education in his + native city before and during the Civil War. In 1869 he + entered Atlanta University where he remained two years in + preparation for Yale University, but, instead, entered + Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, in 1871, and was graduated + from the Department of Philosophy and the Arts with the + degree of A. B. in 1875. He spent a part of the following + year in Oberlin Theological Seminary in special study of the + Semitic languages and Hellenistic Greek. + + In 1877 Professor Scarborough was elected as head of the + Classical Department in Wilberforce University. In 1881 he + published through A. S. Barnes & Co. (New York) a Greek text + book---"First Lessons in Greek"--the first and only Greek + book ever written by a Negro. This book was widely used by + both the white and colored schools of the country, + especially in the North. Professor Scarborough has also + written a treatise entitled "The Birds of Aristophanes--a + Theory of Interpretation"--aside from numerous tracts and + pamphlets, covering a variety of subjects--classical, + archaeological, sociological and racial. He has written many + papers for various societies to which he belongs. In 1891 he + was transferred to the chair of Hellenistic Greek, Payne + Theological Seminary. In 1897 he was again re-elected as + Professor of Latin and Greek in the University and + Vice-President of the same. + + He has contributed largely to the press of the country, + including the leading magazines. He is one of the editors of + the A. M. E. Sunday-school publications, having filled that + position for a number of years. He is a member of a number + of associations: American Philological, American Dialect, + American Social Science, Archaeological Institute of + America, American Spelling Reform, American Folk-Lore, + American Modern Language, American Political and Social + Science, the Egyptian Exploration Fund Association and the + American Negro Academy, of which he is First Vice-President. + He has several times been one of the orators at the Lincoln + League banquet of the State of Ohio. At a conference held by + the leaders of the race in the city of Columbus, Ohio, he + was elected President of the Afro-American State League + designed to further the interests of the Negro throughout + the country. Professor Scarborough has traveled extensively + in Europe. He was a delegate to the Ecumenical Methodist + Conference held in London in 1901, representing the African + Methodist Episcopal Church. + + We take the following from the "New York Age" of July 18: + + "While in Boston Prof. W. S. Scarborough of Wilberforce + University was delightfully entertained by the colored + graduates of Harvard University and Amherst College at + a reception given in his honor at the home of Mr. G. W. + Forbes, a graduate of Amherst. Speeches were made by + Messrs. Forbes, Morgan, Trotter, Lewis, Williams and + others eulogistic of the life and services of the + professor in behalf of his race. The professor replied, + thanking them for the honor conferred upon him. Next + year it will be twenty-five years since Professor + Scarborough first became connected with Wilberforce + University as its classical professor and he intends to + mark the event by publishing a volume of his + philological papers. These papers have all been read + before the American Philological Association at its + various annual sessions. Twenty years ago Professor + Scarborough was first elected to membership in this + body at Harvard University. This year the association + again met at this venerable seat of learning and by way + of commemorating the event Professor Scarborough read a + paper on Thucydides. It is some of these papers that + the professor intends to put into more tangible form + for future use." + +The all-absorbing question now before the American people seems to be +the race question. Our magazines and papers generally--dailies and +weeklies as well as monthlies--are deluged as it were with articles on +the Negro people--the Negro as a citizen--his status, his future, the +sort of education best adapted to his needs as a man and a citizen, +and kindred subjects. In fact no phase of the Negro's life fails of +discussion at the hands of the most flippant penny-a-liner as well as +the gravest thinker. All have theories of some sort and they do not +hesitate to express them--whether they are visionary or practical. + +If theories alone could have solved this problem, long ere this would +race friction have been removed; it would have been a question of the +past, but unfortunately for the race, unfortunately for the people at +large, many of those who knew least about the subject and who had no +remedy for the troubles complained of--have had most to say and they +have generally said it in the most reckless way, regardless of facts. +Only now and then do we have a calm view of the situation with +reasonable suggestions as to the best course to follow. + +As we enter upon the twentieth century, it will be well for black and +white to get together and understand one another and ascertain as far +as possible what is best to do in the light of facts before us. + +One thing is certain--the white man does not yet know the Negro. +Strange as it may seem, the Northern white man does not know him after +many years of close observation, neither does the Southern white man, +for all the years gone by in which the Negro has lived in his midst. +The observations of both in fact only leave the Negro largely an +unknown quantity to either. I have claimed heretofore that there is a +life that the white man knows nothing of. It is found in the hovel as +well as in the cultured home, in the school and the church. It is a +life in the bud-time of race pride and another race prejudice; and it +is swelling to the blossoming. _What will be the fruit?_ + +To know the race one must do more than occasionally to visit it +here and there, must see more than even a close examination of +schools and churches, instructed, aided and supported by white +philanthropy, will disclose. The toadying, the servile representatives +of the race, the politicians, the dependent ones--all must be passed +by and the people found. _To know the Negro one must be with him and +become a part of his life--see what he is doing, and above all, to +know what he is thinking._ + +Go into the schools and churches where there is not a shadow of white +influence to check freedom of speech or tinge thought and what do we +see and hear? In every case we find those from the oldest to the +youngest with some ideas upon the race question and ready to express +them. Not so with white children. They are not thinking about the +color of their skin or the texture of their hair or their rights and +privileges or the deprivation of these rights, the contempt and +ostracism following them everywhere; but the Negro child, on the other +hand, of every shade of color has these almost constantly in mind, for +they are thrust upon him. _He can think of little else._ + +In such schools, in such communities, the field work, the social +gathering, the literary society, the routine of school or church or +community life, the platform--all are tinctured deeply with these +ideas and these are expressed in some form on every possible occasion. +All these questions are in a large degree to the race, as far as +interest is concerned, at least, the momentous, the ever-present, +ever-burning topic. + +No youth of the white race feels the weight of any subject agitating +the mind of the public as these colored youth feel this one. What is +the omen, when boys and girls alike make it a common question, in some +form or other for all their daily work? It has been said that the two +races are growing apart, that there is as much race prejudice in the +one as in the other. In many respects this is true, though the +prejudice on the part of the Negro is a thing of natural growth from +certain causes, not an inherent quality. The fact that the Negro is +rising without anything like adequate recognition--at least other than +a patronizing one--is one of these causes. As here and there the Negro +comes, to the white man's higher level, among the best he is +confronted with that "Ah-you-are-here." Ah, which means more than +words can express and he straightway feels his pulses stirred to the +defensive counter spirit of +"I-am-and-what-are-you-going-to-do-about-it?" The result is the two +mutually draw back from each other. + +Among the middle classes where the level of the whites intellectually +and financially is more readily and more rapidly being reached by the +greater number of Negroes there is still more prejudice to be found. +It is here where the Negro has his fiercest battle ground; it is here +where he finds his greatest opposition. It is only following out the +idea of the French writer who said, "Mediocrity alone is jealous." The +constant desire of this class of white people to rise to the highest +level aggravates them upon seeing a Negro reaching out for or +obtaining in any way that which they may have or may be seeking, and +they "take it out" by greater assumption of superiority especially +over those of the race who have reached their own plane of living, and +here again is a creation of a counter prejudice. + +Growing refinement brings with it to the Negro all that sensitiveness +which is accorded to refined people wherever found, and naturally he +recoils from rebuffs, insults, and contumely, and holds himself aloof +more and more only as business demands contact. He has no growing +reason to revere the whites as a mass, and if nations are proverbially +ungrateful, what more can be expected of individuals, no matter how +much fine theorizing there may be upon the subject of what the Negro +owes to the white man. + +With this increasing prejudice, for reasons named, there is a growing +race pride. This is taking firm root among the young people of the +Negro race who are being taught to respect those of their own number +who have obtained honor and distinction through merit. The school-boy +and school-girl are studying the history of their own race with +eagerness. They are finding out that it is not an altogether degraded +people from which they have sprung, and with the gathering evidences +about them of education, refinement, even wealth, and high character, +they see no good reason why they should be despised for mere color or +the possession of some imperceptible drops of Negro blood, as in many +cases. This is a laudable pride based upon both the past and present +and, as we have said, they are more alive to all that pertains to race +matters than any other set of young people whom we are able to +mention. + +What is the omen? Think you that the growing generation will tamely +submit to the endless continuance of present and past grievances? +Think you that this thoughtfulness of the Negro youth will be without +some sort of fruit? Will these not have as much influence upon their +ignorant brother masses as have the whites over the ignorant masses of +their own color? I repeat, the white man does not thoroughly know the +Negro. He does not begin to see all that boils and seethes and +ferments in the brains of this growing class. It is well for the +nation to learn wisdom from the mouths of babes and sucklings. And +when these prattle of race issues it is an omen not to be unheeded. + + + + +TOPIC XXIX. + +WHY THE NEGRO RACE SURVIVES. + +BY PROF. T. DE S. TUCKER. + +[Illustration: Prof. T de S. Tucker.] + + THOMAS de S. TUCKER. + + Thomas de S. Tucker first saw the light of day at Victoria, + in Sherbro, Sierra Leone, West Coast of Africa, on the 21st + day of July, 1844. His mother was the youngest daughter of + James Tucker, hereditary chief of Sherbro. The founder of + the family, about two hundred years previous, was an + Englishman, from whom the surname is derived. + + On the paternal side, Tucker comes of an ancient noble + family in the east of France, the de Salieres, of + Marseilles. His father, Joseph, although descended from this + noble lineage, was an ardent admirer of Napoleon Bonaparte, + whose checkered fortunes he followed to the disastrous field + of Waterloo. + + In accordance with the custom of the country, the wife being + deemed of higher social standing than the husband, the son + took the maternal surname. Tucker was sent, at a tender age, + to a school located in the family territory. Such was his + rapid progress that in a few years he had acquired English + sufficiently enough to read and write it about as well as + the average child of his age in this country. + + In the summer of 1856 he came to the United States to + complete his education. Having just completed the English + course in the public schools of Oberlin, Ohio, he entered + college and completed the course in 1865. He then crossed + over into Kentucky and opened day and night schools for the + education of the newly freed race. + + From Kentucky he removed to Louisiana, where the climate was + more congenial to his tropical constitution. During his + residence of many years in that State he was employed most + of the time in the customs service with chances of + preferment to higher and more lucrative posts, which he + never sought nor cared for. His tastes have always inclined + him to the more quiet and private walks of life, where he + can promote the welfare of his fellow men, without show and + the applause of the giddy crowd. + + President Grant once advised him that he intended to offer + him the Liberian Mission, but Tucker was so indifferent in + the honor that he made no effort to be commissioned. + + Anxious to pass away from official duties, he studied law + and entered on practice in New Orleans. This profession was + so fully in keeping with his tastes he hoped to pursue it + the rest of his days. Finding that his legal training + practically restricted him only to Louisiana, he removed to + Florida and located at Pensacola. He was admitted to + practice, and with it he rose rapidly both in knowledge of + the common law and in securing a paying clientage. He stood + high with the bar, from judge and attorneys to officials. He + saw every prospect of realizing the fond dream of his + ambition when once again a call of duty to serve God's + humble children came in stentorious tones. The State in 1887 + had founded a Normal and Industrial School for the training + of Colored teachers. A telegram unexpectedly announced that + Tucker had been elected by the State Board of Education to + take the management of it. He demurred, he objected; but + leading Colored men and the Chief Executive importuned and + requested his acceptance of the place. By patient + perseverance and tact he succeeded in enlisting the hearty + good will of all classes to the maintenance of the + institution. The history of his work is a part of the + educational records. Many men and women of worth and saving + influence in their respective communities in Florida owe + their training to the devoted consecration to duty of this + native of the "Dark Continent." The school itself will ever + remain a lasting monument to his tireless, efficient + devotion to the welfare of his race. + + He retired from the field of his labors at the close of the + fourteenth year, carrying with him universal regret for his + departure, and the esteem and respect of the whole State and + the acclamations of good will, especially of the people of + the capital in which the Normal School is located. + +It requires no stretch of thought to understand our constant and +earnest interest in everything which concerns our environments. Every +question and issue of national significance have for us a vital +consideration for weal or woe. We scan with greedy eagerness the +expressed policy of the statesman, we hang with bated breath on the +eloquence of the sentiment moulder, we probe with tremulous care the +feelings of the community to find out if we have been pushed to the +rear or given a fair chance in the race to a higher life--our final +place in American life. + +While we are not, and should never be, unmindful of all interests +which appertain to others in this vast country of which we form such a +necessary part, it is natural and right that our first thought should +be of our own welfare. + +The position we are to definitely assume and maintain in the +distinctive American civilization now in process of formation, is yet +concealed in the womb of futurity; we can neither anticipate nor force +it against the period of its advent. While we are passing through this +slow process of development, it is well at times to take a reckoning +of our race powers by way of encouragement to such as may become faint +and weary in the combat. All are not strong, all are not determined, +all are not forceful. The fiercest courage will now and then lose its +force when battling against steady odds. Moreover, our shortcomings, +like the shirt of Nessus, are not only with us ever, but they are on +constant exhibition to shame, mortify and humiliate us. While it is +not sensible to shut our eyes to these painful reminders of the +obstacles to our progress, while it is even best to invite a searching +scrutiny of them to the end that they may be torn off by heroic +methods, if need be, after all an occasional study of our strong parts +is a help in the struggle. + + +DISCARD SELF GRATULATION. + +In the attempt to reflect on the staying powers of the race, I have +not the remotest idea of pandering to conceit or vanity, to the +contrary, I decry any disposition to extol and magnify whatever we +are subjectively, and whatever we have achieved. The fierce conflicts +we have undergone and the terrible crucible through which the cruel +hand of fate promises to pass us, dispel the idea of self gratulation. +Life for us in the conflict ahead is all stern and serious. Wounds and +scars will for generations yet to come be the decorations for our +leaders in thought and action; there is no niche in the edifice +consecrated to our present and coming heroes for fulsome, windy +flatteries airing their importance to the galleries. Hearts true and +stout charged with big emotions to raise and elevate their suffering +kind to a higher plane, should be the only thinkers to claim our +considerate attention and command our homage. + + +THEME UNDER CONSIDERATION. + +In the theme I have chosen for this paper, I shall endeavor to show +that the latent and active attributes of the negro eminently adapt him +to be classed among the survivals of the fittest in the family of +races. Before proceeding, however, to a formal discussion of the +subject, it might not be amiss for a minute or two, to take a running +retrospect of the race since its advent into its present civil life. + +The three decades which mark the close of our Civil War have perhaps +not only written history more broadly in the behalf of humanity in +general as interpreted by Christian civilization, than any other +similar period, but they have been the most momentous in shaping the +national life by moulding and settling policies of a lasting nature. +The admission of millions, of what is termed an alien race into the +solution of an untried problem of government by the people, rendered +that problem still more difficult, hence, wild and extravagant +speculations bearing on the future of the Negro and the questionable +influence of his changed relations on American life, became the +current literature of the country for two decades. Friends spoke in +fulsome praise or doubtful measure, according to conviction, while +enemies protested in exultant tone that a generation or two hence +would suffice to write the Negro's epitaph. But even in that early +period of his infancy, had the nation been disposed to study him with +other than preconceived, erroneous views, it might have perceived +traits which justified the wisdom implied in his changed condition. +Thus far, if he has not risen to the dizzy heights to which the hopes +of ardent enthusiasts invited him, he has at least, not only belied +the gloomy fate of inglorious extinction, but he is going forward with +steady strides to realize an honorable destiny in common with the many +other people of the Republic. + + +ORIGIN OF A STRONG RACE. + +A strong race, like marked personality, is the product of varied and +opposing agencies. As in nature when conflicting elements struggle for +the mastery and bear the impress of the strongest, so in the evolution +of a forceful people, its character takes on the form of the means +that has been most efficacious in moulding it. There is no instance in +the authentic annals of the human family where a masterly people has +emerged into greatness from the tame school of gentle methods. Trials +keen and severe, have first slashed, cut and tortured the entire being +in mind and soul to fit it for the new life it is to enjoy in +accordance with its destined end. What has ever been thus will always +be so. + + +QUALITIES INDICATING THE NEGRO'S SURVIVAL. + +In this law of nature, in the formation of dominant powers, the Negro +has no favor to expect. He must pass through the fiery furnace and be +shorn of dross to leave the solid matter which is to constitute the +framework of his strength. First among the many qualities of survival +which distinguish him as an enduring race, is patient endurance and +fortitude under affliction. The elastic temperament of the race in the +ability to adapt itself to varying conditions, in swaying with the +force of the tempest until the fury of it is spent, in seizing with +instinct on circumstances that tend to save, is something not only +amazing, but marvelous. No oppression however heavy, no ebullition of +wrath however fiery, can swerve him from the road he has chosen to +attain his purpose as a part of the pulsating life of this nation. +From a dogged determination to butt aside forces which contained the +elements of his salvation, the Indian has passed into a retreat closed +to contact with the active life of the dominant power of the land. On +the other hand, the future of the parent race of the American Negro in +the dark continent is bright with hope from its ready assimilation of +the civilizing agencies of European civilization. In obedience to this +self-evident law of survival, Japan has entered on a new existence, +while its neighbor, China, the home of a kindred race, bids fair to +become the easy prey of Western greed. + + +STRENGTH, NOT WEAKNESS. + +Now this easy swaying to conditions, when his welfare is in hazard, +and for which the superficial thinker twits the negro with lack of +manliness, is one of the strongest elements of his being. Were he less +malleable than he is, less ready to concede where contention can only +work him woe, were he wont to resent in wild and reckless fury, real +or fancied wrongs, were he too obtuse to perceive and profit by the +passing advantage, were he to remove his cause from the bar of reason, +and the verdict of a calm judgment he would neither be imbibing the +civilization of his native land, nor would he have achieved a tithe of +the wonderful progress which is to-day the vindication of his freedom, +and at the same time the shame and confusion of those who foretold his +ignominious passing away. Patience pure and simple, coupled with, and +gracing a quiet heroism, has enabled him to bridge over the earlier +days of his trials, and confirm his status in the body politic to the +general acceptance of the American people. + + +THE NEGRO'S WARFARE, MORAL AND MENTAL. + +The honor which waits on material contest counts for little to the +Negro's advantage. Indeed, if the strife with which he is confronted +were to be waged on such an issue, the result could be foretold in +advance. His warfare is moral and mental, and by the arts of peace he +is to be left a cipher or rise in triumph to honorable destiny. +Physical courage which the negro shows largely in common with other +races has its trophies blazoned in marble and brass only to crumble +beneath the corroding tooth of time. The warfare of mind and heart +which ever calls in evidence only the highest courage of man's nature +leaves its achievement to immortal fame to grow with the ages till +time surrenders it to Eternity. + + +WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED. + +By the exercise of this gentle but potent virtue of learning to labor +and to wait, we have mined our way into the heart of educational +authorities to grant such of our sons and daughters as are competent +the privilege of becoming preceptors to the youth of the race. By the +nurture of the same virtue, our slender means have tickled the greed +of capital to call us away from obscure streets and narrow lanes that +we may enjoy a wider range of selection of homes befitting higher +tastes and growing ambition. Go, if you will, into the Southern +section of our country where the bulk of our race resides, and there +you will find by this same sturdy persistence to wait on time for a +reward that schools, colleges, churches and business enterprises are +being built and maintained. Prejudices which retard our progress are +crumbling to pieces. + + +THE OPTIMISTIC TEMPERAMENT. + +The cheerful sunny temperament of the Negro is another of the many +sturdy qualities which declare his fitness to withstand the blows of +adverse fortune. His long training in the school of mental and moral +darkness wherein he had need to cultivate a sanguine temperament to +buoy him up, stands proof against dark forebodings and pessimism. The +grotesque and the ludicrous find in him a joyous patron. Where others +count and bewail their woes, he sees only sunshine. Gloom and sorrow +melt away at his approach, while his features are ever radiant with +mirth and joy. His head is up and erect with every sense attuned to +the bright, and dead to the doleful. He thanks God that the lot +apportioned him is fashioned by infallible wisdom, while he munches +with contentment the humble crust that honest toil has brought him. +Malevolence towards his fellow men is at the most a passing emotion. +Wealth and the happiness attendant on it, he neither envies nor mars. +He asks a chance to live, no matter how sumptuously others may fare +beyond his condition. Such a being is forever beyond the pale of +anarchy, and other tendencies which work to the detriment of society. +In this portraiture I have drawn no ideal, but the average Negro as he +is known of all men. + +In peace and in war such a being is an invaluable factor in a nation's +well being. As he does not envy the class which fortune has blest with +good things of this world, he therefore breeds no feeling of ill will +by which he might seek to level conditions, while he is equally ready +to assume his share of the dangers consequent on the maintenance of +the existing order of affairs. + + +PATRIOTISM OF THE RACE. + +Another marked characteristic of race strength is love of country. The +only race in this country which has more than a shadow of excuse to be +indifferent to the nation's welfare is the Negro. Not unlike the dog +in the fable whose devotion to his master's interest was recognized +only after the sacrifice of life in that master's service, the Negro's +love for his country in the civil service, on the tented field, and +wherever sincere devotion should command the highest commendation, is +commonly rewarded with cold indifference, or at least with damnable +praise, and yet when driven, as it were, with brutal kicks and cuffs +from the service and defense of his country's honor, he hangs on to +the outer folds of its flag with a grim determination to maintain its +glory as though that duty had been specially entrusted him by heaven. +And herein again he shows the instinct of self-preservation, as people +who would seek to become an appreciable power in the public affairs of +their country, must be alive to every vital interest pertaining to it. +To become rooted it must maintain an unyielding grasp. That the Negro +is to-day only a passive member in the affairs of government, does not +argue that his unflagging patriotism will not finally gain its reward. +That he is quietly working now at long range to prepare himself for +citizenship, means that he will in due time enter into that rich +inheritance. The foaming stream is not the water carrying most matter +into the ocean; the deep current which gives no evidence on its +surface is the hydraulic force which forms the Delta. And so it is +with the latent influence of Negro patriotism. In every essential +matter pertaining to national welfare, however keen his grievance, +fancied or real, his regard for the honor of the government and the +maintenance of its power, induces him to throw his head-gear in air, +out-yell the lustiest lung in the crowd and attest his enthusiasm by +demoniac courage on the field of battle. + +The chief magistrate of the nation is stricken down in the vigor of +manhood and in the fullness of power. In the exercise of his great +office morally and otherwise, without going out of his way, he might +have benefited the race. But although he had no special claim to the +Negro's regard, yet his untimely taking off has been lamented by none +more sincerely than by our race. In country, in town, in state, in +every section, the Negro is broadly American. Nothing that concerns +this country is foreign to him, but with all there is to discourage +him, what is the outcome of such steady, magnificent devotion to duty? +Geologists affirm that the wondrous chasm of Niagara is the creation +of trickling drops of water during myriads of ages. In like manner, +the fervent, unflagging patriotism of the Negro is slowly but surely +crumbling away the granite of American prejudice to give him a +permanent place in the national life of this country. A nation, the +bulb of which comes of a race whose love of fair play is proverbial +and goes with them into every land and clime, will be constrained in +the end to recognize and confirm the merit the race is developing as a +strong pillar in the edifice of state. + +In the heat of that terrific contest at Waterloo where charge after +charge of the imperial guard seemed likely to consign the fate of +Europe to the absolute sway of the little Corsican, Wellington +exclaimed, to such of his staff as still remained around him, "Hot +pounding this, gentlemen." But the day was at last won, and the +endangered constitutional liberty of Europe leaped forth from the sea +of blood, to inspire man with new hope and aspiration. As a race, we +are struggling for life. Our hopes and fears are trembling in the +balance against might, power, and moss-covered prejudices. A +continuous pounding, directed by the impulse of a will to do, dare and +succeed, will bring us victory. + +But, says the carping critic, if the Negro were less patient, +forbearing and more combative, if he risked less for country, and +gloried more in deeds of heroism for his personal defense, he would +lie truer to his self-preservation. Other races placed in condition +quite similar to the Negroes have tried the experiment, and failed. +They opposed simple brute force to intelligence, and they went down in +the contest either to extinction or to servitude. The Britons gave way +to Saxon numbers and tougher sinews, the latter bent the neck to +Norman intelligence, bided their time and brought the victor down to +an equality of rights and privileges. If the Negro should attempt +another way, he would soon be undone. + + +ADAPTABILITY TO ENVIRONMENTS. + +Again the adaptability of the race to environments constitutes one of +the means of his endurance. In servitude as in freedom, no conditions +have yet been so vigorous that the negro has not been able to adjust +himself with ease. Indeed, it is not a figure of speech to assert that +wherever he has suffered the most, there he has given the best proof +of his vitality. His acquisition of wealth, his possession of material +means in general, has been most rapid in parts where he has most +obstacles to confront and encounter. He not only laughs at his +misfortunes, but turns them to account. When he is ground down beyond +the point of greatest resistance, he leaves for new and untried +regions, with a radiant hope for a better fate. He goes to the +semi-arctic lands of the West, readily becomes domesticated, and so +insinuates himself into the hard, prosaic customs of the country that +he at once becomes, in so far as he is not debarred from the rules of +labor organizations, a sharp competitor with the wage-earner in the +strife for bread. His blood has no lazy microbes to dam the current of +its movement. Assure him of reasonable compensation, and his brawny +arm is bared to the pick and the mattox. His ax and hoe and plow drag +out wealth from mine and soil. + + +ACTIVE EVERYWHERE. + +Wherever his lot is cast, there he enters with zest into the live +sentiment of the community. No thought born of enterprise within the +scope of his comprehension, no undertaking to enhance the common +wealth fail to enlist his good will. He will at least talk for it and +praise it, even if he has not a cent to invest. However limited by +industrial conditions to few and humble ways of acquiring a +livelihood, his scanty earnings are on the market to give healthy +circulation to the arteries of trade. Merchants welcome him to open +doors, and small dealers meet him with graceful smiles knowing he has +come to apply the move-on ordinance to the jingling coin in his +pocket. In church and school, in the pulpit and on the rostrum, his +desire to fall in with the prevailing spirit to promote the betterment +of the community, is equally pronounced. + +Take as a sample the spirit of the race to absorb elevating influence +from the dominant class. The African Methodist Episcopal Church is a +race organization which justly challenges the admiration of every one +of us no matter of what creed or sect. A race which in about one +generation from a condition of base servitude can be so lively to a +sense of its spiritual wants and the public weal as to advance enough +to create such an organization is no mean factor in any age or +country. In the show of this receptive capacity, it declares its +eternal fitness to live and thrive under the blaze of the most +searching civilization in the history of the world. + +Take moreover, the many worthy bodies founded in the last quarter of a +century for moral, mental and social elevation. All these have been +inspired by the thought that if the race would hold its own, it must +emulate the spirit of the country and age in which it lives. + +Truly, if our coming to this land was involuntary, the genius of our +being has built a home which can only be abandoned at our own will. + + +THE END. + +I am admonished that this paper must come to a close. I am compelled +to omit even by mere mention many of the exemplary virtues of the +race. I have, however, touched on just enough to furnish the enquiring +mind with deductions. Even the pessimist is constrained to admit that, +under the circumstances, as a whole, the race has made a remarkable +record, and that chiefly, because of the qualities with which he is +endowed. Many historic races who have dominated mankind, made less +rapid progress than we, at the point we have reached. This remarkable +advancement may be ascribed in the main to the superior attributes +which give us a flexible and well balanced temperament. + +The hardships the race undergoes in this period of development +constitute the necessary training school and the virtues which spring +thence are intended as much for the betterment of the other race as +for our own. We are to soften their stern qualities, while our life is +to take on some of the iron of their soul. + +That our nature will be largely modified by the necessities of our +growth must be an accepted fact, but our merit, worth and fitness in +American life will substantially be the product of our qualities as +they are to-day. The past gives us assurance of glorious possibilities +to come. Just how far and to what extent we are to realize the +fruition of our cherished dreams of rising to the full height of +honorable manhood vests chiefly with us. God has endowed us with the +capacity to suffer and undergo the trials incident to race +development. If we can recognize the need for this training, severe +though it be, if we do not chafe and fume and fret and get angry +because our deliverance has not come, we may well be comforted in the +meanwhile that any device of man to deny us a share in the government +of a common heritage in this land consecrated by heaven to suffering +humanity, will prove a complete failure. + + + + +TOPIC XXX. + +THE SIGNS OF A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR THE AMERICAN NEGRO. + +BY REV. F. J. GRIMKE, D. D. + +[Illustration: Rev. F. J. Grimke, D. D.] + + FRANCIS J. GRIMKE, D. D. + + Francis J. Grimke, clergyman, was born near Charleston, S. + C., November 4, 1850. Son of Henry and Nancy (Weston) + Grimke; attended school in Charleston; entered Lincoln + University, Chester County, Pennsylvania, in 1866, and + graduated in 1870 (A. M., D. D.); graduated from Princeton + Theological Seminary in 1878. Ordained pastor of the + Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church the same year. Remained + until 1885. Took charge of Lama Street Presbyterian Church + 1885-1889. Returned to Fifteenth Street Church, Washington, + D. C., in 1889, where he is still. Has published articles in + the New York Independent and New York Evangelist. Wrote + monographs on "The Negro: His Rights and Wrongs; The Forces + For and Against Him." In 1898, "The Lynching of Negroes in + the South: Its Causes and Remedy;" "Some Lessons from the + Assassination of President William McKinley," 1901; "The + Roosevelt-Washington Episode; or, Race Prejudice," 1901. + Address, 1526 L Street, Washington, D. C. + +Extracts from his sermon on the race problem. + + "Some of these days all the skies will be brighter, + Some of these days all the burdens be lighter, + Hearts will be happier, souls will be whiter, + Some of these days. + + "Some of these days, in the deserts uprising, + Fountains shall flash while the joybells are ringing, + And the world, with its sweetest of birds, shall go singing, + Some of these days. + + "Some of these days: Let us bear with our sorrow, + Faith in the future--its light we may borrow, + There will be joy in the golden to-morrow-- + Some of these days." + +That is my faith; I am no pessimist on this Negro problem. Terrible as +the facts are, cruel and bitter as is this race prejudice, and +insurmountable, almost, as are the obstacles which it sets up in our +pathway, I see a light ahead, I am hopeful, I look forward to better +times. And I want to tell you this morning what the ground of this +hope is. + +(2.) I am hopeful, because of the progress which the Negro is making +in intelligence and in wealth. Think of what our condition was at the +close of the war, and of what it is to-day, in these respects. That we +are progressing, there can be no doubt; indeed, in view of all the +circumstances, our progress has been marvelous. + +Take the matter of wealth. Since freedom, hundreds and thousands of +our people have become property owners in the South. Many of them are +prosperous and successful farmers; thousands and hundreds of thousands +of acres of land have come into their possession, hundreds and +thousands of them in the cities own their own homes, and are engaged +in small but lucrative business enterprises of one kind or another. +They are now paying taxes on some three hundred million dollars' worth +of property. That is not a very large sum, I admit, considered as the +aggregate wealth of a whole race, numbering some seven or eight +millions; but whether much or little, it indicates progress, and very +considerable progress, and that is the point to which I am directing +attention. The acquisitive faculty in the Negro is being developed; +his eyes are being opened more and more to the importance of getting +wealth; and slowly, but surely, he is getting it. + +Educationally, the same is true. Thirty years ago there were but few +educational institutions among us, but few professional men--doctors, +lawyers, ministers--ministers of intelligence--teachers; but few men +and women of education. Now, there are thousands of well-equipped men +and women in all the professions, and thousands upon thousands of men +and women of education in every part of the country. Not only are +there institutions, founded especially for our benefit, crowded with +students, but all the great institutions of the land are now open to +us, and in all of them, with scarcely an exception, are to be found +representatives of our race; and the number in such institutions is +steadily increasing. The last report of the Commissioner of Education +shows that in the common schools of the sixteen former slave States +and the District of Columbia, there are enrolled 1,429,713 pupils, and +that in these schools, some twenty-five thousand teachers are +employed. It also shows that there are 178 schools for secondary and +higher education, with an enrollment of over forty thousand pupils. +There are, of course, thousands of our people who are still very +ignorant, but that there is vastly more intelligence in the race now +than at the close of the war, no one will pretend to deny. The +colleges and universities, the high and normal schools, are turning +out hundreds of graduates every year. The educational outlook for the +race is certainly very encouraging. + +In view of these two factors--the growing desire on the part of the +Negro for material possessions, the fact that he is actually acquiring +property, and his growing intelligence--I see signs of a brighter +future for him. These are elements of power that will make themselves +felt. You may deprive a poor and ignorant people of their rights, and +succeed in keeping them deprived of them, but you can't hope to do +that when these conditions are changed; and the point to which I am +directing attention here, is that this change is taking place. All +that has been done, and is being done to stimulate in the Negro this +principle of acquisitiveness, and to increase his thirst for +knowledge, is a harbinger of a better day. Every dollar saved, or +properly invested; every atom of brain power that is developed, is a +John the Baptist in the wilderness, crying, Make straight the pathway +of the Negro. In proportion as the race rises in intelligence and +wealth, the valleys will be filled and the mountains will be leveled, +that now stand in the way of his progress, in the way of the complete +recognition of all of his rights. Ignatius Donnelly, in that +remarkable book of his, "Doctor Huguet," which some of you, doubtless, +have read, would seem to teach the opposite of this. He attempts to +show that never mind what the intellectual attainments of the Negro +may be--he may be a Doctor Huguet, learned with all the learning of +the schools, and cultured with all the culture of the ages--still +there is no chance for him, there is no hope of his being recognized. +The story as told by him is, at first, quite staggering and terribly +depressing. But when we remember that, according to the story, there +was but one Doctor Huguet with a black skin, and that he was poor, and +that all the rest of his race were poor and ignorant, light breaks in +upon the darkness, the awful pall which it casts upon us, is at once +lifted. How will it be when instead of one Doctor Huguet there are +hundreds and thousands of them, scholarly men and women, cultivated +men and women, men and women of wealth, of large resources? It will be +very different. If the Negro was indifferent to education; if he was +actually getting poorer, then we might lose heart; but, thank God, the +very opposite is true. His face is in the right direction. He may not +be pressing on as rapidly as he might towards the goal, as rapidly as +some of us might wish to see him, but it is a matter for +congratulation, that he is not retrograding, nor even standing still, +but is moving on. Poor? Yes, but he isn't always going to be poor. +Ignorant? Yes, but he isn't always going to be ignorant. The progress +that he has already made in these directions shows clearly what the +future is to be. Knowledge is power; wealth is power, and that power +the Negro is getting. He is not always going to be a mere hewer of +wood and a drawer of water; he is not always going to be crude, +ignorant. American prejudice is strong, I know; it is full of infernal +hate, I know, but in the long run it will be found to be no match for +the power which comes from wealth and intelligence. + +(3.) I am hopeful because I have faith in the ultimate triumph of +right. You remember what Lowell says in his "Elegy on the Death of Dr. +Channing:" + + "Truth needs no champions: in the infinite deep + Of everlasting Soul her strength abides, + From Nature's heart her mighty pulses leap, + Through Nature's veins her strength, undying tides. + + * * * * * + + "I watch the circle of the eternal years, + And read forever in the storied page + One lengthened roll of blood, and wrong, and tears-- + One onward step of Truth from age to age. + + "The poor are crushed; the tyrants link their chain; + The poet sings through narrow dungeon-grates; + Man's hope lies quenched;--and, lo! with steadfast gain + Freedom doth forge her mail of adverse fates. + + "Men slay the prophets; fagot, rack, and cross + Make up the groaning records of the past; + But Evil's triumphs are her endless loss, + And sovereign Beauty wins the soul at last." + + * * * * * + + "From off the starry mountain-peak of song, + The spirit shows me, in the coming time, + An earth unwithered by the foot of wrong, + A race revering its own soul sublime." + +And in the "Ode to France," from which I quoted on last Sabbath, the +same glorious thought is expressed:-- + + "And surely never did thine altars glance + With purer fires than now in France; + While, in their bright white flashes, + Wrong's shadow, backward cast, + Waves cowering o'er the ashes + Of the dead, blaspheming past, + O'er the shapes of fallen giants, + His own unburied brood, + Whose dead hands clench defiance + At the overpowering good: + And down the happy future runs a flood + Of prophesying light; + It shows an Earth no longer stained with blood, + Blossom and fruit where now we see the bud + Of Brotherhood and Right." + +That is my faith. The wrong may triumph for the moment, but in its +very triumph is its death-knell; it cannot always prevail. God has so +constituted the moral universe, has so planted in the human heart the +sense of right, that ultimately justice is sure to be done. "Ever the +Right comes uppermost," is no mere poetic fancy, but one of God's +great laws. In the light of that law, I am hopeful. I know that things +cannot go on as they are going on now, that the outrageous manner in +which we are at present treated cannot always continue. It is bound to +end sooner or later. + +(4.) I am hopeful, because I have faith in the power of the religion +of the Lord Jesus Christ to conquer all prejudices, to break down all +walls of separation, and to weld together men of all races in one +great brotherhood. It is a religion that teaches the fatherhood of God +and the brotherhood of man, a religion in which there is neither Greek +nor Jew, barbarian, Scythian, bond or free. And this religion is in +this land. There are, according to the statistics of the churches for +1898, excluding Christian Scientists, Jews and Latter Day Saints, +135,667 ministers in the United States, 187,075 churches, and +26,100,884 communicants in these churches. This would seem to be a +guarantee that every right belonging to the Negro would be secured to +him; that in the struggle which he is making in this country for +simple justice and fair play, for manhood recognition, for such +treatment as his humanity and citizenship entitle him, back of him +would be found these 135,667 ministers, 187,075 churches and +26,100,884 church members. But, alas, such is not the case. These +professed followers of the Lord Jesus Christ who came to seek and to +save the lost, who was the friend of publicans and sinners, whose +gospel was a gospel of love, and who was all the time reaching down +and seeking to befriend the lowly, those who were despised and who +were being trampled upon by others;--the Christ of whom it is written, +"And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove +after the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness shall he judge +the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth;" and who, +in speaking of himself, said, "The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; +because he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim +liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that +are bound; to comfort all that mourn; to give them a garland for +ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the +spirit of heaviness;"--these professed followers of this wonderfully +glorious Christ, instead of standing back of the poor Negro in the +earnest, desperate struggle which he is making against this damnable +race-prejudice, which curses him because he is down, branding him with +vile epithets, calling him low, degraded, ignorant, besotted; and yet +putting its heel upon his neck so as to prevent him from rising; +despising him because he is down, and hating him when he manifests any +disposition to throw off his ignorance and degradation and show +himself a man;--in this struggle, I say, against this damnable +race-prejudice, these professing Christians are often his worst +enemies, his most malignant haters and traducers. + +In saying that the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ is in this land, +I do not therefore, base my assertion upon the fact, that there are +135,667 ministers in it, and 187,075 churches, and 26,100,884 +professing Christians. No. The American Church as such is only an +apology for a church. It is an apostate church, utterly unworthy of +the name which it bears. Its spirit is a mean and cowardly and +despicable spirit. "One shall chase a thousand," we are told in the +good Book--and "two shall put ten thousand to flight." And yet with +135,667 preachers, and more than 2,000,000 church members in this +land, this awful, black record of murder and lawlessness against a +weak and defenseless race, still goes on. In the presence of this +appalling fact, I can well understand the spirit which moved Theodore +Parker--that pulpit Jupiter of his day--when in his great sermon on +"The True Idea of a Christian Church," he said, "In the midst of all +these wrongs and sins--the crimes of men, society and the state--amid +popular ignorance, pauperism, crime and war, and slavery, too--is the +church, to say nothing, do nothing; nothing for the good of such as +feel the wrong, nothing to save them who do the wrong? Men tell us so, +in word and deed; that way alone is safe! If I thought so, I would +never enter the church but once again, and then to bow my shoulders to +their manliest work, to heave down its strong pillars, arch and dome, +and roof, and wall, steeple and tower, though like Samson I buried +myself under the ruins of that temple which profaned the worship of +the God most high, of God most loved. I would do this in the name of +men; in the name of Christ I would do it; yes, in the dear and blessed +name of God." And I would do it, too. + +But, in spite of the shallowness and emptiness and glaring hypocrisy +of this thing which calls itself the church; this thing which is so +timid, so cowardly that it dares not touch any sin that is unpopular, +I still believe that Christianity is in this land. To-day it is like a +little grain of mustard seed, but it has entered the soil, has +germinated, and is springing up. It is like the little lump of leaven +which the woman hid in three measures of meal; but it has begun to +work, and will go on working, diffusing itself, until the whole is +leavened. God has promised to give to his Son the heathen for his +inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession; +and in that promise this land is included. Christianity shall one day +have sway even in Negro-hating America; the spirit which it +inculcates, and which it is capable of producing, is sure, sooner or +later, to prevail. I have, myself, here and there, seen its mighty +transforming power. I have seen white men and women under its +regenerating influence lose entirely the caste feeling, to whom the +brother in black was as truly a brother as the brother in white. If +Christianity were a mere world influence, I should have no such hope; +but it is something more than a mere world influence; it is from +above; back of it is the mighty power of God. The record is, "To as +many as received him to them gave he power to become children of God, +even to them that believed on his name, which were born, not of blood, +nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." It can +do what no mere human power can do. Jesus Christ is yet to reign in +this land. I will not see it, you will not see it, but it is coming +all the same. In the growth of Christianity, true, real, genuine +Christianity in this land, I see the promise of better things for us +as a race. + + + + +TOPIC XXXI. + +NEGRO CRIMINALITY. + +BY JOHN HENRY SMYTH. + +[Illustration: Prof. John H. Smyth] + + JOHN HENRY SMYTH, LL. D. + + John Henry Smyth, LL. D., ex-U. S. Minister Resident and + Consul-General to Liberia, was born in the city of Richmond. + His parents were Sully Smyth of Lynchburg, Campbell County, + Va., and Ann Eliza, formerly Goode of Chesterfield County, + Va. He received his first instruction from a lady of his own + race, at a time when the laws of Virginia made it a penal + offense to teach Negroes any other thing than manual labor. + At the age of seven years he was sent to Philadelphia to be + educated. He attended the public schools of that city four + years and two private schools under the control and + direction of friends or Quakers. He graduated from the + Institute for Colored Youth, May 4, 1862. He displayed a + decided taste and aptitude for the fine arts early in life, + and at the age of sixteen years he became a student of art, + and was admitted a member of the Life School of the Academy + of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, a year before graduation. In + 1870 he graduated from the Law School of Howard University. + The same year he married the daughter of Rev. John Shippen, + of Washington, D. C., Miss Fannie Ellen, a lady whom he had + the pleasure of instructing in the first elocution class of + Howard University. + + For eighteen years he was in the service of the United + States, beginning as a first-class clerk and ending as + United States Minister and Consul-General. For seven years + he taught in the public schools of Pennsylvania, practiced + law in the District of Columbia, North and South Carolina. + On retiring from the diplomatic service in Liberia, two + distinctions were conferred upon Mr. Smyth, by Liberia + College, the honorary degree of LL. D., and by the President + of Liberia, the Honorable Hilery Richard Wright Johnson, the + order of Knight Commander of the Humane Order of African + Redemption. There were only two Americans so honored by the + Black Republic. At present Mr. Smyth is at the head of the + Negro Reformatory Association of Virginia, a corporation + resident in Virginia, with authority to establish reform + schools for delinquent Negro minors of both sexes in + Virginia. + + The first school of the association is the Virginia Manual + Labor School, Hanover, Va., with 1,800 acres of land, 800 of + which is under cultivation. The good people of Mr. Smyth's + native city, Richmond, and friends in Massachusetts, + Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York have made possible + the purchase of the plantation known as Broad Neck, Hanover. + + The principal benefactor was Mr. Collis P. Huntington of New + York, who was pleased to make a contribution of $12,000 + toward this worthy and necessary charity. + +We have need to felicitate ourselves as members of a great though +oppressed race, that an Armstrong, the founder and promoter of this +institution of practical learning, was given to us and to the nation, +and that through his influence and example, Tuskegee and other similar +institutions have grown into vigorous youth. Two of these seats of +industrial education, through a system of race conferences, have given +to us who are deprived of a popular press an opportunity to be heard +in our own behalf upon subjects, the public discussion of which, +through literary mediums, has been monopolized by members of the other +race. Our moral delinquencies have been discussed recently at the +North and in the South--at times in a sensible and at other times in a +nonsensical way; arguments have been made to the world by orators and +writers seemingly more interested and concerned in making the worse +appear the better reason than in philosophically looking into facts or +honestly seeking to discover truth. From much that has been said, it +would appear to one unacquainted with the American branch of the Negro +race that within thirty-five years it has become criminal, although +for nearly three centuries it has been a stranger to wrongdoing, law +abiding and not law breaking. Such radical change, if change there has +been, in individuals or classes of people, is rare, abnormal, and must +be accounted for in some other way than by the wholesale charge of +inherited savagery and innate moral obliquity. Crime from an +hereditary standpoint may not justly be chargeable to one race of men +to the exclusion of another, to the black race more than to the white, +to the yellow races more than to the white or black. + +The first crime was in the first family. The sacred writings teach +that God gave, mid the thunderings of the heavens, the smoking of the +mountain, and the consternation of the people, the criminal code in +the ten commandments, which may be found in the traditions of heathen +peoples, somewhat modified, just as in the written laws of all +Christian nations. Had crime not existed prior to this heavenly edict, +there would have been little apparent reason for this ancient +pronouncement through a Hebrew medium. The conclusion seems then to be +irresistible--that mankind coveted, stole, lied, were disobedient to +parents, were adulterers and murderers from the earliest times, and +only ceased to be so, measurably, in proportion as the sanctions of +law were strong or weak. The Christian religion and civilizations +other than Christian, with their religions, growth, and development +under the influence of good, wise, and godly men, have contributed +more than all else, to the decrease of crime and among all classes and +conditions of men. "Thou shalt not" stays the course of crime. + +The history of the black or African race, since the decadence and +destruction of the cities of North Africa and the Nile Delta and the +loss of prestige of the peoples who held sway in them, has been +shrouded and obscured, and hence gratuitous arguments are made in +regard to the savagery and bestiality (which it is claimed we inherit) +of the progenitors of Negro Americans that are wholly unsupported by +reliable data. The acts of the Puritan fathers of New England and of +the cavaliers and Huguenots of the South, toward Indian and Negro +heathen in the New World--men of whom it has been facetiously said +that, "they fell first upon their knees and then upon the +aborigines,"--these acts, together with the horrors of the middle +passage and the unrequited toil of centuries, of which the blacks were +victims, must be taken into account in considering the matter of crime +in connection with this race, and go far to explain a condition which +otherwise would be abnormal. The baleful influences of a dead and +buried past account for crime among the old and the young Negro +Americans, the responsibility for which rests upon the United States +rather than the Southern states, upon this nation rather than any part +of it. + +In Virginia and Maryland there were indentured white slaves. When the +system was abolished the same conditions plagued the colonists that +annoy us now. Mr. Doyle, in his work entitled _English Colonies in +America_, says, "The liberated servant (white) became an idler, +socially corrupt and often politically dangerous." The whites became +an irresponsible, shiftless, and criminal class, just as the Negroes +have become to an alarming extent since freedom. There are to-day in +certain sections of the South whole neighborhoods of whites almost +without moral sense and near to barbarism. It will not be pretended, +however, that there has not been and is not now, criminality among the +Negro race just as there was during the years of its oppression; but +a condition upheld and approved by the constitution, laws, and public +sentiment of the nation cannot do other than plead guilty to having +contributed to this result which has so greatly affected the +estimation in which good men, equally with bad men, the innocent as +well as the guilty of our race, are held by the whites. I am not +clanking my chains as a Negro in remembering the past, and only do so +in accounting for what the unreasoning and unsympathetic are disposed +to regard as abnormal criminality in the American Negro. + +Negro parents under the old regime were parents physically only. The +government of their children was in the hands of others. Obedience to +parents enjoined by the decalogue was not rendered by children, was +not encouraged by others, nor could it have been enforced by parental +authority. Filial affection in the slave-child existed to an +appreciable degree notwithstanding these disadvantages. Parents and +children came into the possession of freedom not sufficiently +understanding nor appreciating the relation of each to the other. +While I am clearly of opinion that it may not be successfully shown +that Negro children are more criminal in inclination than other +children, their home-training, or, rather, their lack of +home-training, is greatly responsible for what of criminality there is +among them. Negro parents, as a rule, seem disposed not only to give +larger liberty to their children than they ought, but they give +absolute license in too many instances. In illustration of this fact, +in cities particularly, children are allowed to go from their homes in +the night-time and wander the streets amid their baleful associations +until nine, ten, eleven o'clock and longer. And when they return home +they do so unattended. The accounts given by them as to where they +have been cannot be relied upon. Further, children are not required to +be respectful to their elders of either sex. This condition does not +obtain alone among children of ignorant and poor parentage, but +absence of good manners is also often found among children and youths +who have had fair common and high school advantages. This license has +led directly and unerringly to the formation and cultivation of habits +more likely to debase than elevate them. To venture criticism of +parental laches or of the conduct of the young, to admonish or advise +different manners and conduct from that which the inclination of the +young seems to suggest, would be to run the risk of being regarded as +officious or meddling, and thereby of inviting insult. Parents whose +children are known to be of the class pictured are themselves timid +and indisposed to insist upon obedience from them, for fear of +offending them and causing them to go away from home. The inexperience +and ignorance of childhood and youth, coupled with the grant of too +great liberty, are responsible for the too general tendency to wrong +doing. + +Negro parents who were themselves victims of oppression as well as +those who were born under the benign influences of freedom, have crude +and unwise notions about the duty of requiring their children to do +some kind of work. Too many Negro children are guarded from soiling +their hands and developing their muscles with necessary and useful +toil. The struggling, industrious widow as well as the +well-conditioned housewife whose husband has a good home and makes a +good living, seeks to relieve her children of work. This encouragement +of laziness can have but one outcome--the living in the sweat of +others' faces than their own. Under conditions such as these, parents +possessed of radically ignorant and wrong notions about rearing their +children, unconsciously cultivate tendencies which lead to +criminality. To the extent that a child's mind becomes familiar with +higher conditions and mind-work, to that degree does physical exertion +in the way of mere muscle-work become distasteful, and as a result the +child becomes less efficient as a mere bread-winner by the sweat of +his brow. Education is chargeable with producing a condition for which +parents and not school teachers are responsible. Complete and entire +reform in our system of home-training of our boys and girls will go +far to relieve youthful Negroes of just censure for ill-breeding. How +far all these reflections are applicable to the rearing and training +of white children is for white parents to consider. + +Mr. Philip Alexander Bruce, in a recent publication in the +_Contemporary Review_,[6] accounts for moral delinquencies in the +young of the race by the very natural and normal disposition of +Negroes, where numerically strong, to segregate themselves from the +whites. In London one finds a French settlement. In nearly every large +city in the United States, Germans live together. Italians, Swedes, +and Norwegians settle among their congeners. It is not contended that +they are less law-abiding and loyal citizens as a consequence of +their nearness of living and association. Mr. Bruce enlarges upon the +thought thus: "The worst impression made by that society (a Negro +community) is seen in the temper of the children. Whatever may be said +in condemnation of the old system, it at least not only compelled the +parents to restrain, and if needful to punish their offspring for bad +conduct, but it also created an atmosphere of order and sobriety in +the plantations which had a more or less beneficial influence on the +character of the young. As the case now stands the only discipline to +which the little Negro is subject is that exercised by parents too +untrained themselves to understand how to govern him properly, and in +most instances too ignorant to have any just idea as to the difference +between right and wrong in the ordinary affairs of life. What is the +result? The child grows up without any lessons in self-control and +self-improvement, or any intelligent appreciation of the cardinal +principles of morality. If the child is a boy, he leaves his parents +almost as soon as he can earn his own support and only too often leads +for years the life of a vagabond. All the worst impulses of his nature +are further encouraged by this wandering and irresponsible existence. +Is it strange that, under the operation of this influence alone, the +number of black criminals in the Southern states is increased to an +alarming degree?" + +What good effect could result from restraint exercised or punishment +inflicted by parents whose judgment and will were dormant? It is only +when a parent governs and controls, ignorant though he may be, that +the best results can be expected to follow. Judgment, affection, and +concern for the child must enter into the method of his training if +the rearing is to be beneficial and helpful. + +To my mind but one merit can be claimed for the old system of +enslavement--a discipline as to labor which produced the best results +to the master class and made the slave orderly and systematic in the +performance of his tasks. Though smarting, even now, under the +resultant influences of a destroyed system, we can afford to do +justice to the good men and women of the white race who constituted a +part of the system. Slavery as it has been known in the outside world, +is not slavery as it was in the genteel and pious homes and households +of the South. Here the "people" were treated almost as members of the +family, "uncles" and "aunts" and "mammies" and playmates. They were +necessary supplements, sharers of all great occasions of joy or +sorrow, of feasts and sufferings. And the tenderest and most watchful +care was bestowed on them. Consideration for the servants was the test +of the "quality." Mutual influences went to make as pure, high and +beautiful a civilization as the system was capable of. And no +philanthropist on earth has ever had a deeper horror for the evils +that have been represented as slavery in the South than many of the +"quality." Nor anywhere was the wise abolition of slavery more +earnestly studied and desired than by the good people of the Southern +states. + +In the discussion of the criminality of the Negro, too much importance +is attached to mere statistics. In any discussion of an ethical +character mere statistics may not be relied upon. I shall present a +few which are entirely authentic but which prove little, in my +opinion, prejudicial to the Negroes of to-day as compared with the +Negroes of the past, and could not unless figures could be adduced, +alike authentic, showing the criminality of the Negroes as bondmen; +neither can comparison between the criminality of the blacks and +whites be cited to the Negroes' prejudice in the light of the +disparity between the races in every essential element of race growth. +The foregoing facts greatly detract from any comparative criminal +exhibit in which Negroes of to-day are made to figure. + +The last United States census furnishes some figures which seem to be +more in the Negro's favor than against him. Persons of all races in +the penitentiaries of the United States in 1890 were 45,233, of which +number 14,687 were colored. Prisoners in county jails, 19,538, of +which number 5,577 were colored. Inmates in juvenile reformatories, +14,846, of which 1,943 were colored. Of a total of 73,045 almshouse +paupers, only 6,467 were Negroes. Of murderers there were 2,739 +Negroes out of a total of 4,425. In 1850 there was one criminal to +3,500 of population; in 1890 one criminal to 645 of population; +whites, one to every 1,000, and blacks, one to every 284. Take the +ignorance of the Negro as to secular matters, the moral torpor in +which he necessarily exists, his poverty, the presumption of guilt +when charged with crime, his inability to defend himself, his being +forced to plead to an information or indictment _in forma pauperis_; +could crime charged and established against him be less than it is? +Ought not the record to be worse rather than better? Of the 14,846 +juvenile delinquents given an opportunity to re-enter society and walk +in the straight path through reformatories, only 1,943 were Negroes. +With the doors of almshouses swung wide to 73,046 paupers, racial +pride prevented poor Negroes entering these homes of mercy, and only +6,467 allowed themselves to become objects of public charity. With a +larger percentage of unskilled than skilled Negro laborers in 1890, +only 2,253 of 6,546 convicts whose employments were known were in the +penitentiaries of the land. Of 45,233 criminals but 253 were persons +who had enjoyed higher educational advantages, and not a single +educated Negro figures in the enumeration. + +What are the remedies for existing criminality, and how may its +increase be checked? Popular secular education for whites and blacks, +compulsory, if possible, erected on a broad basis of Christianity, is +the only safe, enduring, moral, and economic remedy. Mere secular +education may not be relied upon to restrain crime, and we must +honestly own that our only hope is in the diffusion of true religion. +The church should take the initiative in this matter, the state, aye, +the nation should come to the assistance of the church, and of those +states in which the burden is too great for them to bear it +successfully. If the Holy Scriptures be not the basis of all worthy +knowledge our civilization is a fraud. Individual philanthropy has +done much towards aiding in the matter of education, particularly +so-called higher education. May not individual wealth help to minimize +ignorance, dissipate poverty, help the feeble in mind and morals of +the race to robust Christian manhood? "For many men of great +possessions, the voice of conscience is effective, as the contemplated +grasp of the tax-gatherer could never be. Around them they see +ignorance to be banished, talent missing its career, misery appealing +for relief. They know that the forces of the times have brought them +their large fortunes, only through co-operation and the protection of +the whole community; so with justice in their hearts, as well as +generosity, they found the benefactions which are doing so much to +foster the best impulses of American life; and in this response to +public duty they find conferred upon riches a new power and +fascination." + +The reform schools for juveniles throughout the North and West, and +those in Virginia, represent Christian agencies for the reduction and +destruction of crime in its germinal state, and are a display of wise +and humane statesmanship on the part of legislators. The white people +of Virginia, ever responsive to appeals in behalf of human need, made +possible the Virginia Manual Labor School at Broad Neck Farm, Hanover, +Virginia. It was this sentiment in behalf of moral reform among Negro +children and youths that brought to the aid of this institution the +interested concern of a man of wealth and national influence, whose +sympathy for the poor and ignorant of his countrymen, white and black, +is as broad and far-reaching as ignorance and human suffering.[7] This +reformatory, opened September 12, 1899, and aided by the state +February 5, 1900, began with a nucleus of five Negro boys, and has now +under its guardianship fifty-two children. It has thus early +demonstrated conclusively that saving and redemptive elements of +character exist in Negro children no less than in those of other +races; also that for tractableness and responsiveness to kindly +influences, delinquent Negro children show themselves of legitimate +kinship to that race among whom, as the classic writer tells us, "the +gods delighted to disport themselves--the gentle Ethiopians." + +I know how disposed as a race we are to wilt, to lose heart, and +complain, in the glare of new exhibitions of prejudice, such as harass +us in our native Virginia, and our brethren in other parts of the +country. To such, I put the question: "By courage can we not lessen +misfortune? Yes! A thousand times yes! Courage turns ignoble agony +into beautiful martyrdom. Its alchemy is universal. Is the stake a +misfortune to the martyr? It is his dearest fortune. Is oppression, +prejudice, or ignorance, a misfortune to the reformer? It is the very +condition of his reform. Is misunderstanding, injustice, suspicion, or +contempt a misfortune to the earnest man or woman anywhere who is +trying to guide his life by a more celestial trigonometry than petty +minds can conceive? In one sense these things are to be deplored but +in another and deeper sense nothing is to be dreaded that can be faced +and known by an unfrighted human spirit. A misfortune bravely met is a +fortune, and the world is full of people happy because bravely +unhappy." + +FOOTNOTES: + +[6] _The American Negro of To-day._ Contemporary Review, February, +1900. + +[7] The late Mr. C. P. Huntington of New York. + + + + +TOPIC XXXII. + +THE AMERICAN NEGRO'S OPPORTUNITIES IN AFRICA. + +BY WILLIAM H. HEARD. + +[Illustration: W. H. Heard, D. D.] + + DR. WILLIAM H. HEARD. + + Dr. William H. Heard, ex-Minister Resident and Consul + General to Liberia, was born in Elbert County, Georgia, of + slave parents and therefore was a slave himself until Lee + surrendered to Grant in April, 1865. He was only fifteen + years of age at this period. He began his education at this + age, attended South Carolina University, Clark University + and Atlanta University at Atlanta, Georgia; taught school + twelve years, was elected to South Carolina Legislature from + Abbeville County in 1876, appointed railway postal clerk in + 1880, but resigned this position in 1883 and entered the + ministry at Macon, Georgia. He pastored churches in Athens + and Atlanta, Georgia; Aiken and Charleston, South Carolina; + Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Wilmington, Delaware; + Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and was appointed Minister + Resident and Consul General to Liberia by President Grover + Cleveland February, 1895. He served this position with honor + to his race and to himself. He is one of the most successful + ministers in his denomination, and has served the best + appointments, both as pastor and as presiding elder. He is + now the pastor of Allen Temple, Atlanta, Georgia; has + written a book called the "Bright Side of African Life," + which has a large circulation. He is now President of the + Colored National Emigration Association. + +The Liberian government takes charge of all persons landing as +emigrants and looks after their comfort preparatory to their settling; +but if one prefers he may secure board in the best of families at a +cheap rate until settled. As the government gives each settler from +fifteen to twenty-five acres of land, and allows him to choose his own +plot, it takes a little time to settle. He must locate and survey his +land and build his hut. All new-comers build the hut, as it is cheap +and quickly built. From fifteen to fifty dollars will put up a good +thatch hut which will answer all purposes for at least three years. +The land cleared, coffee, ginger, sugar-cane, edoes, cassada, oranges, +limes, plums, bread-fruit, pawpaws, can be planted. It takes three +years for coffee to yield; five to six for oranges, limes, +bread-fruit, etc. Edoes, cassadas and such bread-stuffs yield in three +or four months, and ginger and sugar-cane once a year. From these two +commodities an income at once is had. All of the above fruits and +products are obtainable from neighbors while yours are maturing. This +is the condition of the farmer. But should you go out as a +professional or business man you have a wide field and little +competition. Any educated person will find ready employment by +individuals or the government and a remuneration in keeping with the +vocation. Citizenship is the result of a deed to your land and this is +obtained at your option; and citizenship means an election to any +office save that of President and Vice-President. It requires a +residence of five years to be elected to one of these offices. +Attorney Wright, Professor Stevens, Rev. Frazier and others filled +national positions before they had been citizens five years. The +government needs strong men to assist in running the Republic, and +such, if loyal, are always welcomed. The merchant of Liberia receives +the greatest profit of any merchant on the face of the globe--not less +than one hundred per cent on the purchasing price--and a hundred and +fifty per cent on the selling price. Rent is cheap, taxes low, and +duties moderate, so that everything is in favor of the merchant. + +The scientist finds the widest field imaginable--silver, gold, +precious stones, herbs, coal, iron and such articles are as plentiful +as the leaves on the trees--they never fall. All that is needed is a +scientific eye to see these things. + +The zoologist could make a fortune in one year catching insects and +shipping them to colleges in America, England, Germany and France. + +Why so many of our young people, educated and refined, will don white +aprons and stand behind chairs and watch other people eat is a +problem, if there is one, that needs to be solved. Many of our +educated girls, when they can work on people's heads and feet, and +present a card with some big word on it, as "chiropodist," which means +foot-cleaner, are perfectly satisfied. All of this must be done, but +it does not require a knowledge of Latin, Greek, French, German, and +all the sciences to do this successfully; yet it is the highest +ambition of many of our young people, while Africa invites them to +higher walks. + +In America cotton is the staple in many of the Southern states. The +farmer plants and grows this staple to obtain clothing and the +necessaries of life, and, if possible, lay by a dollar for a rainy +day. In Liberia coffee holds the same relation to the farmer as cotton +in America; yet it is planted like the peach tree or apple tree. It +takes about five years to yield, but when it begins to yield it +increases yearly, costing about five cents a pound to clean, hull and +ship to market, giving a clear profit of from two to five cents on the +pound, while there is no real profit in cotton growing. Liberia would +yield cotton as prolifically as Arkansas or Mississippi, if +cultivated. The Englishmen are turning their attention to cotton +growing in West Africa. + +Cassadas takes the place of the American sweet potato, but is much +easier produced, as the greatest cost is the labor of planting. It +produces without cultivation, and, as there is no frost in West +Africa, once planted it will produce for twenty years. It is a root as +is the sweet potato. + +The upland rice of West Africa grows anywhere and everywhere it +chances to fall upon the ground. Very little attention is given to +cultivation, yet it could be made an export which would yield the +farmer a most valuable income. Corn grows as prolifically in Africa as +in the bottoms of Georgia and Alabama. Planting is the hardest task. + +The palm tree grows as the pine in Georgia or North Carolina, and the +nut which it produces is as large as, or larger than, a horse +chestnut. These nuts contain an oil that answers all the purposes of +bacon, lard and butter in America. The greatest task is to have a boy +climb the tree and cut them down. This oil fries your fish, seasons +your greens, shortens your bread and answers all the purposes of lard +or butter. + +There are hogs, cows, sheep and goats in West Africa, but no meat can +be cured, therefore all bacon is shipped from abroad. + +Rubber farms are much more profitable than turpentine farms, for the +reason that it costs so much less to produce rubber and the profit is +so much greater. Rubber is produced at from fifteen to twenty cents +per pound and sold at from seventy-five cents to one dollar per pound. +While all of these products are used on the ground, with a few +exceptions, yet all of them are profitable commodities for export. + +We have presented this array of facts to sustain our position that the +Negro will be benefited by returning home to Africa as fast as he is +self-reliant and independent. But he must be a man; boys cannot stand +the hardships of pioneer life. + + + + +TOPIC XXXIII. + +THE NEGRO AND EDUCATION. + +BY MRS. LENA MASON. + +[Illustration: Mrs. Lena Mason.] + + MRS. LENA MASON. + + Mrs. Lena Mason, the Evangelist, was born in Quincy, Ill., + May 8th, 1864. Her parents, Relda and Vaughn Doolin, were + devout Christians, and they brought up their daughter Lena, + as far as they knew how, in the nurture and admonition of + the Lord, so that Lena became a Christian at a very early + age. She attended the Douglass High School of Hannibal, Mo. + She also attended Professor Knott's School in Chicago. She + married March 9th, 1883, to George Mason. Of this union six + children were the result--four boys and two girls; of these + only one, Bertha May, survives. + + At the age of 23 Mrs. Mason entered the ministry, preaching + for the first three years to white people exclusively, and + later preaching to mixed congregations. She now belongs to + the Colored Conference. Mrs. Mason has preached in nearly + every state in the Union, and the preachers are few who can + excel her in preaching. She has, since she has been + preaching, been instrumental in the conversion of 1,617 + souls. Her five months' work in colored and white churches + in Minneapolis will never be forgotten by those who were + greatly benefited by her services. Mrs. Mason possesses + considerable ability as a poet, and has written several + poems and songs that do not suffer by comparison with poems + by the best poets. Mrs. Mason is powerful in argument and + picture painting. Rev. C. L. Leonard, pastor of the Central + German M. E. Church, in speaking of Mrs. Mason, says: "I + desire to express my highest appreciation of Mrs. Mason's + church and effective evangelical work in my church and in + many others. Mrs. Mason is now making a tour of the South, + and by her lectures and sermons is doing a work among the + colored people that will bear good fruit in the future. One + only needs to hear Mrs. Mason lecture and preach to + understand how it is that one never tires listening to her." + + 1. Said once a noble ruler, + Thomas Jefferson by name, + "All men are created equal. + All men are born the same." + God made the Negro equal + To any race above the grave, + Although once made a captive + And sold to man a slave. + + 2. Of all the crimes recorded + Our histories do not tell + Of a single crime more brutal, + Or e'en a parallel. + It was said by men of wisdom (?) + "No knowledge shall they have, + For if you educate a Negro + You unfit him for a slave." + + 3. Fred Douglass' young mistress, + Moved by a power divine, + Determined she would let the rays + Of knowledge on him shine, + But her husband said, "'Twill never do, + 'Twill his way to freedom pave, + For if you educate a Negro + You unfit him for a slave." + + 4. But there is no mortal being + Who can the wheels of progress stay; + An all-wise God intended + He should see the light of day. + God drew back the sable curtains + That shut out wisdom's rays, + He did give unto him knowledge + And unfit him for a slave. + + 5. But God's works were not completed, + For he had made decree, + Since all men are born equal, + Then all men shall be free. + He removed the yoke of bondage, + And unto him freedom gave; + He did educate the Negro + And unfit him for a slave. + + 6. When the Negro gained his freedom + Of body and of soul, + He caught the wheels of progress, + Gave them another roll. + He was held near three long centuries + In slavery's dismal cave, + But now he is educated + And unfitted for a slave. + + 7. He's able to fill any place + On this terrestrial ball, + All the way from country teacher + To the legislative hall. + He has proved himself a hero, + A soldier true and brave, + And now he's educated + And unfit to be a slave. + + 8. We have lawyers and we've doctors, + Teachers and preachers brave, + And a host of noble women, + Who have safely crossed the wave. + We are pressing on and upward, + And for education crave, + For it's written now in history, + We shall never more be slaves. + + + + +TOPIC XXXIV. + +A NEGRO IN IT. + +BY MRS. LENA MASON. + + 1. In the last civil war, + The white folks, they began it, + But before it could close, + The Negro had to be in it. + + 2. At the battle of San Juan hill, + The rough-riders they began it; + But before victory could be won + The Negro had to be in it. + + 3. The Negro shot the Spaniard from the tree, + And never did regret it; + The rough-riders would have been dead to-day + Had the Negro not been in it. + + 4. To Buffalo, McKinley went, + To welcome people in it; + The prayer was prayed, the speech made, + The Negro, he was in it. + + 5. September sixth, in Music Hall, + With thousands, thousands in it, + McKinley fell, from the assassin's ball, + And the Negro, he got in it. + + 6. He knocked the murderer to the floor, + He struck his nose, the blood did flow; + He held him fast, all nearby saw, + When for the right, the Negro in it. + + 7. J. B. Parker is his name, + He from the state of Georgia came; + He worked in Buffalo, for his bread, + And there he saw McKinley dead. + + 8. They bought his clothes for souvenirs, + And may they ever tell it, + That when the President was shot + A brave Negro was in it. + + 9. He saved him from the third ball, + That would have taken life with it; + He held the foreigner fast and tight, + The Negro sure was in it. + + 10. McKinley now in heaven rests, + Where he will ne'er regret it; + And well he knows, that in all his joys + There was a Negro in it. + + 11. White man, stop lynching and burning + This black race, trying to thin it, + For if you go to heaven or hell + You will find some Negroes in it. + + 12. Parker knocked the assassin down, + And to beat him, he began it; + In order to save the President's life, + Yes, the Negro truly was in it. + + 13. You may try to shut the Negro out, + The courts, they have begun it; + But when we meet at the judgment bar + God will tell you the Negro is in it. + + 14. Pay them to swear a lie in court, + Both whites and blacks will do it; + Truth will shine, to the end of time, + And you will find the Negro in it. + + + + +TOPIC XXXV. + +THE NEGRO'S ADVERSITIES HELP HIM. + +BY PROF. JOSEPH D. BIBB, A. M. + +[Illustration: Joseph D. Bibb, A. M.] + + PROF. JOSEPH D. BIBB, A. M. + + Prof. Joseph D. Bibb comes from the city of Montgomery, + Ala., of excellent parents. His early life was spent among + pleasant surroundings and he received his primary education + at the Swain Public School of that city. While quite young + he entered Fisk University, where he was prominent because + of his splendid scholarship and original ideas. Being + impressed with the idea that Negroes were the natural and + best teachers for the Negro youth, he left that institution + and entered Livingstone College at Salisbury, N. C., at the + head of which was the justly celebrated Dr. J. C. Price. + Here he received the degree of A. B. in 1886. + + He was not contented with his academic attainment, but + completed the courses of law and theology, and has + constantly applied himself to the fulfillment of his high + ideal. + + After graduating he spent his first year as instructor in + the State Normal at Montgomery, ten years as principal of + the public school, in which he received his training, and + two years as professor of Hebrew and Bible history at Morris + Brown College, Atlanta, Ga. Neither of these nor the minor + fields of usefulness satisfied his ideal, and it was not + until he entered the active ministry that he felt that + satisfaction that comes with fitness. He is now laboring + acceptably as a minister in the A. M. E. Church and is + recognized as one of its most scholarly divines. + + The world needs men who will use all of their cultivated + powers to bless and to lift up their fellowmen, who will + dedicate themselves to their fullest energies and their + energies to their people. Such a man is the subject of our + sketch. + +In this hour when the sun is just beginning to climb the horizon of a +new day in the life of the Negro race, there is an imperative need for +close observation and serious, earnest thought. We cannot content +ourselves with appearances. We cannot trust the decision reached +mainly through our emotional nature. We must bring the whole personal +conscious man into our meditation in order that we may see and +comprehend that hand of God laid in love upon the Negro of this +country. + +All problems in a nation's life must be unraveled and solved by that +nation. It may take advantage of foreign influences and examples, +incorporate and utilize them, but the real work must be done by the +nation itself. The same principle obtains in problems affecting +individual life or the life of a race. To adjust the Negro in +harmonious relationship to American civilization is a question that +depends for solution not so much upon the nation as upon the thought +and life of the race itself. The Negro seen through the refractory +medium of fear and prejudice is regarded as an unhealthy member, yet +it is evident that he is a vital member and cannot be removed by the +surgeon's scalpel. It is necessary, therefore, that this unhealthy +member should be toned up to harmony with the great organism of which +he is a part. + +"No cross, no crown," is a trite saying, yet it has lost nothing of +the beauty of strength of originality, but, rather, it has grown to be +the sustaining, inspiring motto of all men as they plod up the hill of +life. Great souls do not whine and fret in adversity. The men and +women who lay the foundation of great institutions that bless mankind, +that fling rainbows on the black bosom of the tempest, do not tremble +and falter because of the clouds and mountain peaks, but onward and +upward they go until the victory is won. The church came up by the way +of the cross. If you would know the path of civilization, look for the +great battlefields in the world's history. The greatest battles of +reform in church and state have been fought, and the right has +conquered. The Negro to-day reaches his hand out and plucks the best +fruitage of the highest and grandest age known to man. Even liberty, a +plant that grows luxuriantly only when watered with human blood, and +rooted in the hearts and affections of a free people, is within the +very grasp of the American Negro. + +The history of the free American Negro is one continuous and unbroken +chain of success. I shall lay the proof of the statement before you as +we advance. Did you ever consider the agencies at work for the +amelioration of the condition of the Negro in this country? Here and +there counter-forces may appear to hinder the too rapid advance of the +Negro, but such is the inevitable law of growth. Life is conditioned +upon its ability to absorb and assimilate the good and reject and +expel the bad. What are these counter-forces, these hostile external +relations? Do they tend to destroy the equilibrium of the race, or, +rather, do they conduce to its stability and strength? The answer is +obvious. The Negro is being sharpened and fashioned here under +Providence into a better and nobler manhood. He is suffering no more +than all infant races suffered. Slavery and oppression is the school +in which races are trained for the enjoyment of the fullest life. God +has a purpose in thus dealing with the Negro. The power of his +individuality, his highly developed religious nature, his disposition +to linger in peace in whatever condition he finds himself; his +preserving a truly magnanimous spirit in the very face of an +unwarranted and violent opposition, foretell his future history. He is +contributing his part toward the industrial development of the South +and the religious elevation of the nation. Many of his redeeming +qualities are often regarded as evidences of puerility and barbarism. + +Character cannot be built in a day, neither in an individual nor in a +race, but the Negro is old enough now to be an American citizen. He +has reached the years of maturity; his character is formed, and what +is good for the most advanced citizen is good for him. He demands +equal and exact justice; he will content himself with nothing less. +There are divine purposes in each life, in each race and nation. How +well these purposes are subserved is left with the individual, the +race or the nation. + +Afflictions are a wholesome discipline, and the people who would +survive the wreck of nations must fight their way up under the +inexorable law of God, through trials, through tribulations, through +persecution and through blood. I do not wish in any way to condemn the +agitation of the hour in the name of justice, and civil political +liberty, but rather to urge it in a reasonable way. Agitation, says +Wendell Phillips, is the method that puts the school by the side of +the ballot box. Agitation prevents rebellion, keeps the peace and +secures progress. Every step she gains is gained forever. Muskets are +the weapons of animals. "Agitation is the atmosphere of brains." Sir +Robert Peel defines it as the marshaling of the conscience of a nation +to mold its law. Injustice cannot stand before exposure and argument +and the force of public opinion. No sharper weapon of defense will be +required against the wrongs which afflict the South." No race can rise +higher than its ideal. To teach the Negro that the evils of his +environments will crush him forever, that a servant is and must be +servile in disposition and in general habit of mind; that hair and +skin and the shape of the head stamp him an inferior, is a doctrine of +creation without God in it. + +No, let him know and feel that he is a man with the great +ever-expanding capacity of a man, and that a step beyond him is Deity. +Let him see himself mirrored in Hamlet's sublime outbursts of +admiration: "What a piece of work is man, how noble in reason, how +infinite in faculties, in reform, how express and admirable; in action +how like an angel in apprehension how like a god." Let him know that +he has and will yet realize in his racial life the loftiest ideal of +civilization. The Negro has profited immeasurably by the lessons, +stern and severe--taught him in this country. + +Yet these adverse forces are but ministers of Heaven, awakening his +sleeping energies and accelerating his motion towards racial unity and +organization. They are stern, at times, inhuman teachers, but so long +as the Negro considers himself inferior, so long as a barber +discriminates against his father and brother, so long as a waiter +feels himself disgraced if he waits upon one of his own race, and the +washer-woman if she washes for her sisters, so long as we loathe to +serve only our own kith and kin these rough and severe teachers are +absolutely indispensable. + +The power that permanently lifts a people is within that people, so +also the forces that degrade them. You cannot change public opinion by +drifting with its current. You cannot present yourself in a slavish +attitude and then demand a free man's portion. In that attitude you +are neither feared nor loved, but tolerated. You are regarded an +excrescent growth on the body of civil society. But it cannot always +be thus. + +How can this race fail? In this day a million new homes, comfortable +homes of cultured black men, are built above the ruins of the slave's +log cabin of yesterday. Wilberforce and Morris Brown, Tuskegee, +Biddle and Livingstone, each gallantly manned by black men, and +thousands of schools dotting the South--all immortalizing Christian +philanthropy--are sending forth annually torch-bearers of truth to +light the paths the race must pursue in the great civilization of +to-day. How well these advantages will subserve his progress, his +interest--depend upon the confidence and faith which they will inspire +in him toward himself. Responsibility alone educates. Skill comes by +constant practice. Any reason alleged that the Negro is not yet +prepared for the leadership of his people, whether in the church or +institutions of learning or in politics, or whether in any of the +various avenues of business or of life, weakens the character of the +race, and augments and quickens the prejudice of the enemy both within +and without the race. + +Our rightful leaders may be comparatively inexperienced, but +experience is not acquired by inactivity. It took the Civil War to +make Grant. The Northern missionary at the time when it tried the +souls of men following in the wake of battle came to break the long +night of ignorance that had settled down upon the Negro; but they have +done their duty and gone to their reward. God bless them. The Negro is +now prepared to take care of himself. Let the child crawl, he will +learn to walk. Lift up the men and women of your own race. Let some +great, towering example of Negro manhood and thrift and virtue and +wisdom point the youth to the pole star of redemption. Trust the Negro +now, and the future will take care of itself. + +I repeat, if this and coming generations are taught to believe the +crushing and slanderous dictum of natural inferiority, what hope is +there for the salvation of the race, for a man can rise no higher than +his ideal? These great, honest, sincere souls in the race, who show +their love as do fathers to their children, rebuke because they love. +Moses, the great leader of and lawgiver to the Israelites--a people +who gave to the world its noblest song, its widest proverbs, its +sweetest music--throws down the Table of the Ten Commandments in +righteous indignation when he found them worshiping idols, but the +next day his heart, gushing forth love for his people, he found his +way in prayer to God, seeking forgiveness for his idolatrous people. +This was but an expression of his burning zeal for the safety and +progress of his people. So do I regard the scathing criticism given +within the race by its own men. All other criticisms are questionable. +But grant that the negro likes the idea, worships the idea of white +supremacy, with its institutions and customs, vitalized apparently +with the energy of violent opposition to his moral and industrial +development; I cannot believe that he will always be thus. + +Necessity is not merely the mother of invention, but the soul of the +law of progress--the genius of civilization. It is here in the closing +period of the Nineteenth Century effulgent with the light of all the +historic past and marvelous achievements that the Negro must stand or +fall. Here in the wilderness where peaks of cultivated mountain-tops +in the near distance invite him onward and upward; here under the full +ordered sun of the brightest day the world has seen he must work out +his salvation with fear and trembling. + + + + +TOPIC XXXVI. + +THE AMERICAN NEGRO AND HIS POSSIBILITIES. + +BY GEO. L. KNOX. + +[Illustration: George L. Knox] + + GEORGE L. KNOX. + + The subject of this sketch, George L. Knox, was born in + Wilson County, Tenn., September 16, 1841. He was a slave, + spending his early life on the farm and in following the + vocation of shoemaker, which he learned while serving a + master. + + In 1862 he joined the Union forces in the Civil War; after + the termination of that terrible crisis he went to + Indianapolis, where he learned the tonsorial art. He did not + stay any great while in that city, but went to Greenfield, + Ind., not many miles away, where he concluded to make his + home. He established himself in business in a small way, and + by dint of persistency, thrift and integrity, such as has + marked his course ever since, he, in a few years, succeeded + in gaining a competence. He took an active part in politics + as a Republican, of which party he has been an unswerving + member up to this time. He won great respect for himself and + family among the whites, and the older Greenfieldians never + visit Indianapolis without dropping in to see George, as + they so familiarly call him. + + In 1895 he moved to Indianapolis and finally became the sole + proprietor of the Bates House barber shop, said to be the + most elegant shop in the country. He is a member of the M. + E. Church, which has greatly honored him by sending him as a + delegate-at-large to the general conference in New York in + 1888, and to Omaha, Neb., in 1892. He has filled numerous + offices in the local church. + + He has been very active and prominent in Republican councils + in his new home. Has served as delegate-at-large to the + National Convention that met in Minneapolis, Minn., 1892, + where Benjamin Harrison was nominated for the Presidency. He + was selected as an Alternate Delegate-at-large to St. Louis, + Mo., in 1896, when President McKinley was nominated. His + voice has been heard all over the state in advocacy of the + principles of his party. + + In 1892 he look charge of the Freeman and since that time he + has given the publication considerable attention, the + results of which are shown by its very large and very wide + circulation. The active management of this well-known paper + is in charge of his son, Elwood C., who is rapidly + developing as a man of business and affairs. + +History has, since time begun, shown the rise, decline and fall of +empires, nations, races and individuals. It is but fair to say that +the fate of the Negro has been cast along these lines that were as +fixed as the stars in their courses. There have been exceptions to the +laws of civil and political change. We have read with joy the triumph +of the black man of ancient times, his power in battle, his eminence +in letters, his skill in science, his genius as an agriculturist, his +patience as a herdsman. In the great cycles of changes, it stands to +reason that the wheel of civil and political fortune will again +revolve in the Negro's favor. + +The history of the black man's past in no wise serves to usurp the +functions of present duties. Notwithstanding the fact that there are +lowering clouds and muttering thunders, yet there is every indication +of a day, to express it boldly, that is coming that will outshine the +glittering sun. + +'Tis not much that the American Negro asks in this racial warfare; his +aid has always been scant and rare; he has been thrown on his own +resources, buffeted about until he has become hidebound, as it were, +to those circumstances which have been so hurtful to the progress of +other nations. + +Slavery, while a curse, has been a redeeming institution to the +American Negro. + +It was that purgatorial step between African slavery and American +wealth. It was a necessary evil to prepare us for this most advanced +civilization of the world. Since that refining period, the Negro has +proven that he has the elements that make him a fit part of this great +country. There are those among us who have reached fame in nearly all +of the avenues of life. I take this as an index to the total +possibilities of the race. The masses, however, are to be reached. The +abilities of the few will not answer for the sins of the many. Crispus +Attucks, whose blood stained Boston Commons, the black soldiers of the +wars of our country down to that memorable engagement at El Caney, +will stand for Negro patriotism. Professors Washington, Councill and +thousands of others who are holding up the torch of learning will +stand for Negro intellect and citizenship, but behind all of these +stand the Negro masses that are not sufficiently quickened. These must +be prodded up, that they reach the front ranks of the procession. It +is but justice to the Negroes, however, to say that the doors of +opportunity do not swing wide for them. It ought to be otherwise, and +I believe it will be otherwise when a better understanding exists +between the races as to their aims and objects. The white man is quick +to judge the Negroes by those he meets in his every-day life. +Unfortunately, these are too much in evidence, giving color to the +charge that all Negroes look alike. The better Negro is not, as a +rule, seen; his works, as a rule, are not known; his refinement, his +morals and industry are not advertised--hence a wrong notion as to the +bent and intent of the race is noised abroad. Prejudice is not +confined to one side alone; both races show it to a hurtful extent. + +Hon. Robert Allen, one of the most noted criminal lawyers of Texas, +said to a jury: "While it is true that we all have some trace of race +prejudice against the Negro, which makes it hard for us to do him +justice, I can not see why it is so; I know it should not be so. If +the Negro owes us something, we also owe the Negro something. It is a +mutual debt of gratitude that we owe each other. We as a race are +inclined to think that the white man is against us naturally. It is +true to a great extent, but we have reasons for thinking that the +white man thinks more of the law-abiding, intelligent, taxpaying +Negroes than he does of that set that turn up on election day, looking +for something. It may be that the white man is jealous of the Negro's +success, but I rather think that it is a mistaken notion. It is not +toward the better class that he hurls his hatred, but against that +class that the Negro himself is learning to fear. Until the colored +man changes his position and conditions it will be useless for him to +look for that consideration and respect that is accorded his more +fortunate brother and fellow-citizen. The Negro must not conceive the +idea that he has no friends among those now in supremacy; neither must +he entertain the belief that fortune will come to him without effort +on his part, or that citizenship will receive the proper recognition +without improvement in his morals and political attitude. These are +the days of newer and greater things in every conceivable direction. +The Negroes are taking but a small part in their creation, glory and +profit. If there are men among us who can be the means of bringing +better conditions to the great Negro masses, and who can weed out the +slow, dull, plodding process of evolution, they should not be denied +the opportunity. The masses seem to be hedged about by a wall of +indifference. Negroes have such little respect for their own kind that +the thing is becoming proverbial. Now they pretend otherwise in +self-defense. + +You think of some little device for testing race love; try it--it will +do the rest. The white people have found that nothing is to be feared +of colored people when it comes to helping racial cause. The +individual who is loudest in defense of his race generally gets the +most generous cursing from Negroes. Newspapers are often held in +abomination by Negroes. A Negro editor would be mobbed if he told the +truth about Negroes; they say, let the white people do it. Negroes who +engage in business of any kind are usually criticised most severely by +Negroes who are incapable of engaging in any kind of business for +themselves. They are always full of suggestions as to how Mr. "A" and +Mr. "B" should conduct or run their business; still they have nothing +substantial to offer. Criticisms coming from such a source simply +amount to nothing. It is about time for all of us to stop going out of +our way, and making occasion, where none exists, to blackguard the +Negro, and instead encourage him to industry and correct living and +increase our efforts to make him a steadier laborer and better +citizen. It is hardly fair to place the whole race under a common +condemnation because of the slothfulness and lawlessness of some of +its members; it would hardly be fair even if this percentage were +larger than it is, and it is hardly worthy of a people to continue +nagging at, and seeking to arouse further prejudice against its own +race. No man can reach the elevated plane of good character and worth +who drags behind him a great load of little and mean dislikes for his +fellowman. The possibilities of higher professional standing of +colored men and women depend upon the unity and determination of the +colored people to push their professional and business men to the +front. I appeal to you as a race to cultivate race pride, not race +prejudice. Stand up like men and women and cultivate unity and protect +and defend each other's interest. Let the elevation of one be the joy +of the other, instead of pulling down those who are trying to elevate +themselves and the race. The possibilities of colored professional men +will be great to the extent that the colored people will allow their +greatness. Their destiny is with the colored race. This world is not +a place of peace and unmixed happiness. There has always been a +struggle of individuals and races for existence and mastery. + +It is beginning to dawn on the Negroes generally, that if they would +be saved, they must save themselves. The idea that they were to enter +at once into all the walks of American life without violent protest +has been dissipated through the actual occurrences of the last four +decades. It would be too long a story to rehearse the reasons for the +seeming undiminished prejudices. + +In the interest of truth, the exact truth, we feel free to say, +however, that the reasons are not to be charged altogether to one +race. There is much that can yet be done on the Negro's side that +would tend to put a better face on the matter. There has been +undergoing a gradual change in the minds of the thoughtful of both +races concerning education and politics as it concerns the Negroes, +which has, indeed, upset the first calculations of many, but which, +after all, has a tendency to broaden the foundation on which racial +progress must rest. The Booker T. Washington theory of education has +come to stay; not because he advocates it; not because rich men are +sustaining his school, but because he has an institution that meets +the requirements, the demands of the day. It is a pity, but true, that +the race as a rule has entertained inflated notions about the matter +of education. It rather looked forward to an education that vied with +the whites, with their centuries of leisure and their myriad routes +for employment. Education that unfits the individual to grapple with +his surroundings, his environments, is a misfit. The masses of any +race do not hope to be educated as its classes do. Those who oppose +Mr. Washington's theory advance the argument, but those intimately +acquainted with the race must admit that the Negro parent slaves +himself to make a fine lady or gentleman out of the daughter or son, +whereas the poor white parents hope and endeavor to turn out +breadwinners, notwithstanding they have no color conditions to +overcome. The lady and gentleman idea, doubtless, was born of the +slavery period, when the so-called "great" received flattering +attention from master and slave. The desire to be the recipient of +such attention, or to have it bestowed on their kind, was the result +of association and infantile minds, which have not as yet left the +will free to have the children taught to feel that the conditions must +determine the education. Happily, we may say that the notion of +turning out ladies and gentlemen instead of women and man is on the +wane. The trades, the fields, the shops are, as they should now be, +given greater consideration. Mr. Washington eternally dwells on the +theory of doing something, producing something, and especially do we +recommend the field, with its thousand-avenued opportunities. +Competition in the products of the field is fair. The school prepares +the farmer as well as it does the classic. A company of Negroes, +equipped to make a wagon throughout, will at least make living wages, +even should the article be sold for a few dollars less in order to +make it go. Material is always the smaller item of expense. The public +will not question the nationality of the makers. Reputation for good +work is always understood to be a condition. + +Other enterprises, with a small output of capital, would insure wages +if no more. Do Negroes receive fair wages generally? If the Negroes +have dreamed that they were to move unscathed in the industrial +procession as they found it existing when they obtained their freedom, +they have long ere this been rudely awakened. It is not always +prejudice with shop owners and proprietors that prevent them from +employing Negroes; it is that general mass prejudice that puts an +emphatic veto on any such intentions. It resolves itself into a +business proposition with him. The store owner allows no philanthropy +in his business. He is dictated to by that course which insures him +the greatest prosperity. He may not be wholly free from prejudices, +but it is not that which determines his actions, it is the prejudice +of the masses. He will not sacrifice his existence by opposing it. It +is a mistake to wail at the class who is at the mercy of the masses. +It is more than probable that they would do different if free to do +so. + +The question is often asked, can the Negroes work out their own +salvation? Will they do it? The answer is: they have it to do or reap +the very bitter consequences. The wardship idea is not the part of the +American institution as it concerns them. Competition, deadly +competition, is the pass word. The white man gives no quarter nor +takes any; nothing but sheer force, absorption, extinction, +annihilation, or what not in the commercial, industrial competitive +sense. Nothing is longer conceded; no special place for the white man, +for the black man, but for the man with the greatest pull. White +barbers, white waiters, white coachmen, are no longer "curios;" they +are persistent in their efforts to establish themselves, having no +regard for peculiar races with peculiar occupations. It means that the +Negroes must hustle and rustle, create avenues, open new vistas, +announce new projects, and thus avoid alms-seeking and poor houses in +the end. + +Politics has played an undue part in perpetuating prejudices. It has +contributed much in the way of wealth to many of the race. It has +honored thousands by places of trust, honor and profit; it has been +the means of developing the latent abilities of the village Hampdens, +Pitts, Gladstones, Websters, Clays and Calhouns. It has been the means +of demonstrating fealty to party, and to country. For this a glorious +apostrophe is due those who have proven no cravens at any stage of the +race's career. If there were but that picture on which to look, the +occasion of this very lecture would not be necessary. The triumphs in +political, civil, church, scholastic, and army life have been attested +by such men as Douglass, Bruce, Washington, Langston, Revels, Walters, +Turner, Derrick, Grant, Pinchback, Councill, Lyons, Cheatham, White +and Dancy, not to speak of a host of younger men of journalistic +careers, that, according to opportunity, compare favorably with those +of greater reputations. But beyond all of this stands that grim +complement in the way of civil depression, political stagnation, if +not utter palsy. The courts have rendered their functions to the mobs +in some localities, and all but anarchy sits enthroned. The white man +has been held to blame altogether for the reversed picture. It is not +quite the case. Slavery left a legacy of hate when it gave away to +freedom. The older Negro, better groomed in the art of preserving +peace, did not forget the depth from which he sprang. He was ever +pouring oil on the troubled water, trying to bring peace out of +confusion; as a consequence that period immediately subsequent to the +war period was eventful, as it concerned the prospective peace of the +races and general prosperity. It is the new Negro, the latter day +product, who knows nothing but freedom, freedom modified by native +propensities, idleness and a groveling disposition, that is causing +the trouble. He does not understand the philosophy of the situation, +and cares less--like the Andalusian, his mule, his guitar, and it ends +right there. This strenuous American life demands work of every +individual in some form; it revolts at the idler. + +Disfranchisements owe their rise as much to the indolence and vice of +too large a class of Negroes as they do to prejudice on the part of +the whites. No respectable class of men, white or black, is going to +be governed by a hoodlum element whose bellies are the main objects of +their existence. The Indianapolis _Journal_, one of the most +influential northern dailies, is right when it says that Booker T. +Washington will not be disfranchised; it means further that his class +will not be disturbed. + +It will concern us but little as to what this country may do to the +whites to spur them up to their duties, providing that is their +object. The whites are not on trial; it is the Negroes. If the +disfranchisements are the means of creating better Negroes they will +have builded better than they knew. If they reduce hoodlumism, +creating Washingtons, we will not be concerned about the hoodlums of +other races. The decline and fall of disfranchisement are the two last +acts of the great political drama. The Negroes have it in their power +to hasten or prolong the day. What will they do with it? Our lives are +measured by that which we are and that which we do. The two elements +most essential to a successful life, are character and achievement. +Character is the excellence of spirit. It consists not in external +deeds, but in the thought, feeling and purpose enshrined in our +character. In the sight of God and in the eyes of our own spirit it +depends not so much upon the words we speak or the things we do, but +the thoughts we think and the feelings we cherish are the purity, +power and integrity of our spiritual nature. The first and best object +of life is character; what we do may command the admiration of +mankind, but to be is better than to do. The measure of our spiritual +excellency lies within us. It is in the heart rather than the deed. +Beauty, purity and generosity may appear in the external act, while +the motive prompting it may be mean, ignoble and selfish. Sweet truth, +purity and noble traits of character may be enshrined within the soul +and the life be so modest that they may not manifest themselves to the +public gaze. + +When asked why Antipater was not dressed in purple, Alexander, +replying, said: "These men wear their purple on the outside, while +Antipater is royal within." It is the soul throbbing with a generous +feeling and a noble impulse. The soul is loyal to the claims of truth +and virtue. So you can see it is better to be loyal from within than +to make a display from the outside. If our race expects to meet the +possibilities we must learn what it takes to make true characters. It +is not the exhibit from the outside, it is what we are, as we are +judged from our actions, by the fruits we bring forth. + +Character is the cultivated power; shun the examples of the world. How +many persons ever made a careful analysis of their own character or +labored to develop the good and suppress the evil? The first object of +life is character, but an object no less important is achievement. +Character is power, but power is of no use only when it is applied. A +cistern of water may contain a latent force enough to do the work of a +thousand men or overturn mountains, but only when its latent powers +are developed into the form of steam and applied to the arm of iron +for the accomplishment of a purpose is it of any good to the world. A +man of moral force must apply his power to become a blessing to +mankind. Character must go forth into the deed if it accomplishes that +whereunto it was sent. Public sentiment is beginning to measure a man, +not so much by his culture as what he can do with his culture. It +demands efficiency as well as scholastic acquirement. We must +understand that the demands are different now from what they were in +times gone by. A man must accomplish something if he expects to meet +the possibilities that await him and his race. I do not object to +education; I rather love education; but how must a man be educated? +His feet, his eyes, his hands, his head, must all be educated; and +when he is thus educated he is prepared to meet the emergencies that +await his race. As a race, thus educated, we can not be hindered from +taking position in life as American citizens. We often say that +everything is against us, and it seems so; but while this seems the +case we must be doing something individually and as a race. The +conditions of successful achievements are a correct idea of +intelligence, persistence and courageous labor. First we must have +purpose in life or, in other words, an object in view. A life that is +aimless is a sad spectacle, not so bad perhaps as a ruined life, but +not much more admirable. The Hindoos believe that the destiny of +mankind was lost in the personality by absorption in the Brahma, and +most persons are so aimless in life and so devoid of any higher or +nobler purpose that they lose their individuality in the great Brahma +of society. A man is an individual, not a mere unit in a mass; a +personality, not a mere member of a body politic. Did you ever think +what a fearful lack of that which is noble in humanity is contained in +the world? It ignores that which is highest and best in human +nature--man's freedom and power of self-organization and +self-determining influence in the masses of men. We are too apt to +fall in the same line or take on the same personalities of those +around us for the emancipation from bondage of social errors, evils, +spiritual freedom and individual aims. To float with the current is +easy; a chip can do that, but a man ought to be able to stem the tide +when necessary. Put manhood, womanhood into the world as a spiritual +force to mold, purify and elevate. Go forth into an active life with a +noble purpose, and attaining it achievement will be of the highest +success. The greater issue of the day and the demands of the hour have +not been made fundamental in our homes; the duties of the home have +not been pressed on the youth until they stand out erect in the +possession of a sterling womanhood and manhood, respecting and +respected in whatever sphere they find their vocation. +Character--character, resting upon the foundation of integrity, has +not been as it ought the burning theme of every day's instruction, +until it becomes the very soul of every boy and girl. Without +character a man had better be as dumb as a fish and as ignorant as a +snail. Intelligence, skill, industry, economy, endurance, courage and +power will be so many elements of destruction unless character shall +dominate the life and be expressed in the actions. My hands and yours +have a work to do; my head and yours have a duty to perform. Here is +the only solution for the Negro problem. It may not be out of place +for me to here emphasize the need of our working in harmony with our +environments. Our destiny is American in place and American in spirit. +It is nonsense to talk of emigration of the masses. We endured slavery +243 years and stayed here, and we shall still be here when lynch law +shall have spent its force, and with us shall be our white brother. + +It is the dictate of wisdom to develop friendship, to teach unity, to +rivet the ties of fraternal love. It is the policy of annihilation to +deepen the chasm between the races. God forbid the day when the white +educators of the land shall no longer be willing to spend and be spent +for the moral and intellectual uplift of our masses. Let us be done +with sowing the seed of bitterness; we can only reap the whirlwind of +destruction. Because an inflamed sentiment drove black miners from +Pana, Illinois, every community is not repellent. Because a man rose +in the Christian Endeavor meetings in Detroit and tried to cast bad +reflections on our race, every Christian Endeavorer is not our enemy. +We shall be wise when we find our friends of whatever locality, of +whatever faith, of whatever rank, or of whatever race, and pour into +their open bosoms the full measure of our confidence. So shall we +hasten the day of our final disenthrallment There is one thing the +Negro must be proud of before he can reach the height and +possibilities that await him, he must learn to be proud of his race +and color. No race can be successful until it does these things. I +would not change my color, because I am proud of it. If there is any +one thing that will clog the wheels of our material progress, it is +the fact that some of us try to overreach ourselves. We should not +become dazzled at the splendor and magnificence of those who have had +hundreds of years to make this country what it is to-day. No man is a +success who has not a fixed sign post, an aim in life to attain unto. +A man should get that amount of education that will best fit him for +the performance and attainment of his object in life. Too much Greek +will do you no good with a white apron on. I do not say that you +should not study Greek if you intend to fill a chair in some +institution of learning. I do not say that you should not read +medicine if you intend to become a physician, or law if you desire to +follow the profession. If we watch our chances, and take timely +advantage of the opportunities offered us, our race will greatly +improve and we will be wage workers, skilled artisans, and eventually +land owners and a wealthy class of citizens of this country. I advise +you to learn trades; learn to become mechanics. We have the ability +and capacity to reach the highest point, and even to go further in the +march of progress than has been made by any people. + + + + +TOPIC XXXVII. + +IMPORTANT LESSONS FROM THE AWFUL TRAGEDY. + +BY E. E. COOPER. + +[Illustration: E. E. Cooper.] + + EDWARD E. COOPER. + + For twenty-five years following Emancipation and the new + opportunities which that great event brought, many of the + brightest minds the colored race has produced had been + endeavoring to solve the perplexing and important problem of + how to make a newspaper, published in the interest of the + colored people, a profitable business enterprise. The number + of such newspaper ventures whose managers failed to solve + the problem mounts well up into the hundreds. + + In the early spring of 1893, Mr. Edward E. Cooper, fresh + from conquests in race journalism in Indianapolis, came to + Washington and established "The Colored American," a weekly + newspaper whose circulation last year was put down at 12,000 + copies per week, and numbers among its readers residents in + every clime where our flag floats. Mr. Cooper interpreted + the "want" for such a newspaper. + + His first venture in journalism was "The Colored World," + published at Indianapolis. This was quite a success, but he + gave it up to accept a position in the Railway Mail Service. + On leaving the Mail Service be again embarked in journalism + and established "The Indianapolis Freeman," an illustrated + weekly. This was a new feature. "The Freeman" quickly jumped + into great popularity and soon gained national fame. Having + made "The Freeman" a success, he decided to go to Washington + for a larger field of endeavor. Mr. Cooper is undoubtedly + the best all-around newspaper man the colored race has yet + produced. + + Edward E. Cooper was born near the little town of Smyrna, + Tenn., and attended the old barracks school for colored + children on Knowles Street, Nashville, south of the + Nashville and Chattanooga depot; which school afterwards + became the nucleus of Fisk University. He began life selling + papers, etc., on trains; then worked on a farm two years. He + next went to Indianapolis, attended the public schools and + graduated from the high school. In 1883, he married Miss + Tenie Jones, one of the most cultivated young ladies of + Paris, Ky. + + Mr. Cooper freely acknowledges that his wife has been the + balance-wheel in his life that has brought him what success + he has gained. + +We stand in the shadow of a national sorrow. + +In an hour of national pride and jubilation, with the eyes of the +world upon the greatest republic since the eagles of Rome overspread +the earth, in the fullness of his powers and the prime of his +usefulness, the Chief Magistrate of the Republic was stricken down by +the hand of an assassin. It is meet here that I should refer in the +opening of my address to this third assassination in the history of +our country, for the purpose of illustrating the short story that I +have to tell you and to point a moral and adorn a tale which may not +be without value to us. For it is true that + + "Lives of great men all remind us + We may make our lives sublime, + And departing leave behind us + Footprints on the sands of time." + +William McKinley was the incarnation, not only of the possibilities of +the humblest American boy who, by diligence, integrity and devotion to +the best interests of the country, rose by steady strides to the +highest dignities in the gift of the people, but he was also the +embodiment of that grand sweep of American business genius which has +spread over the world, and promises to predominate it. If this man who +now rests from his labors with his honors full upon him represented +anything, it was the logic of business development in its largest and +best sense, for, as Governor of Ohio and member in Congress and +President of the United States, his name is indissolubly associated +with the commercial promotion, protection and expansion of American +trade. + +He was not only a great executive and a great legislator, but, when +yet a youth, when the great Republic was in the agony of possible +dissolution, he heroically shouldered a musket and went to the front +as a private to preserve the union of the states bequeathed to us by +the noble fathers and the heroism of the American revolutionary +soldier in that memorable struggle, the first victim of which was +Crispus Attucks, the lineaments of whose personality have been +chiseled in marble and will stand a monument upon Boston Common, to +show a "Man's a man for a' that and a' that," and that the rank is but +the guinea's stamp. + +Ah, well, we faithful hearts and true, who were never false to a +friend, who have always loved the flag, even when the flag waved not +over us, who fought with Washington at Valley Forge and with Perry at +Lake Erie, with Jackson at New Orleans, with Shaw at Fort Wagner, and +with Butler at New Market Heights, who went up San Juan Hill with +Theodore Roosevelt and the immortal Rough Riders and followed little +Joe Wheeler in Luzon, who, although a Southern brigadier, as a +reconstructed unionist in a reunited country showed in Cuba and Manila +that he had the same regard for a black soldier as for a white one +when he was loyal to the flag and faithful to his country, are here to +mourn our loss. This great heart that loved his country and gave his +life to it and for it is stilled in death! + +The assassin! What of him? It is a matter of notorious fact that he +was so obscure in the life that he had led and had contributed so +little to the public weal in the place where his hands found labor +that he was utterly unknown and went down to the quicklime that +consumed his miserable remains, to the chaos from which we all spring, +stigmatized with at least two cognomens and with the reputation of +having contributed nothing to the wealth of the Republic or the +happiness of mankind. There are millions of him in Europe and America +who keep in perpetual jeopardy the splendid civilization evolved out +of the tumult of Egypt and Rome and the Dark Ages. And the very genius +of logical business development sprung out of the bosom of Moroe on +the Nile and of Tyre where ancient Afro-Phoenicians ruled the blue +waters of the adjacent seas and of the lordly Egyptians, who were +African in their fiber, historians to the contrary notwithstanding, +were the founders of the commercial spirit that dominates the world +to-day. More than that, they laid the basis of our literature and of +our philosophy. As Lord Byron hath beautifully said: + + "Ye have the Pyrrick dances yet-- + Where has the Pyrrick phalanx gone? + Of two such lessons, why forget + The nobler and the manlier one? + Ye have the letters Cadmus gave; + Think ye he meant them for a slave?" + +Now, Cadmus was a black African slave captured in war; so was Aesop, +the world's greatest fabulist; so was Terence, among the grandest of +Rome's lyric poets; so was Pushkin, the national poet to-day of +Russia; so was Alexander Dumas the first, the greatest, not only of +French novelists, but of novelists of all times and the infinite +storehouse from which all novelists draw, Honore De Balzac and Charles +Dickens to the contrary notwithstanding. + +But of this vile assassin, Leon Czolgosz, why do I make this exordium +here upon the violent taking off of the President beloved by all the +people, and my animadversion upon the character of the man who lifted +his hand against the supreme representative of the greatest Republic +upon earth and the most prosperous nation? It is an incident in the +life of government that the supreme head of it shall be subject to the +vicissitudes of its maniacal, fanatical and criminal classes, those +who live by their wits or those who dream of a condition of society +unattainable, as human nature is constructed, such as Edward Bellamy +has pictured in "Looking Backward." I wish it distinctly understood +that I refer to this matter simply to draw attention to the fact that +Czolgosz, the obscure assassin of the highest representative of the +logic of business development in this country, is inseparably linked +as the Siamese twins to the mobocrat, and that any effort made to root +out the anarchist in this country will fail, and should fail, unless +the mobocrat is rooted out at the same time. + +It is written in the stars. God has said, "Righteousness exalteth a +nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." + +And what business development can we have when the dark shadow of +anarchism and mobism overshadows the land like the dark cloud that +covered the children of Israel in their confusion, when in their +perversion they had turned their faces from the God of their destiny? +No, there can be no business development in this country while our +laws are so lax as to allow irresponsible individuals or organizations +to clog the wheels of industry or to waste unnecessarily the red blood +that gives life to a virile human form. I say, with our grand +President, throttle the anarchist that would shoot a President or a +successor to a President. Yes, but if you leave the Southern mobocrat +to shoot John Jones, an unknown entity, the element of anarchism +remains pregnant in the body politic and is liable at any time to show +its venomous head. + +Who could have told when the whole nation was hopeful that a John +Wilkes Booth lurked reluctant in the body politic to cut down the +wisest and the most humane and the most lovable of all the Presidents? +Ah, my friends, you can't protect the President of the United States +from the assassin, and leave unprotected in any corner of the republic +its meanest citizen, because, as Alexander Pope has wisely said, "We +are all but links of one stupendous chain. Break a link of that chain +and the power of that chain is destroyed." + + + + +TOPIC XXXVIII. + +HOW TO HELP THE NEGRO TO HELP HIMSELF. + +BY W. R. PETTIFORD. + +[Illustration: W. R. Pettiford, D. D.] + + REV. WILLIAM R. PETTIFORD, D. D. + + It is difficult to present a life's record so as to furnish + a correct estimate of the man in question. Particularly is + this true if we attempt to give upon a page the account of a + long life of active and useful service. + + Among the leaders in Christian work in the state of Alabama, + Dr. W. R. Pettiford ranks very high, having but few, if any, + superiors. As a business man he is unexcelled. Twelve years + of unremitting toil and unbroken success in the banking + business demonstrate the truth of this assertion. + + In presenting this sketch we could not do better than quote + from the Cyclopedia of the Colored Baptist of Alabama, by + Rev. C. O. Boothe, D. D.: + + Rev. W. R. Pettiford, D. D., son of William and Matilda + Pettiford, was born in Granville county, North Carolina, + January 20th, 1849. He was, when a boy, of an industrious + turn of mind, working faithfully at whatever his hands found + to do. At one time he was with the tanner, and at another + time he was running his father's farm. + + At the age of 21 years he united with the Baptist Church of + Rocksboro, Person county, North Carolina, and was immersed + by the Rev. Ezekiel Horton of Salisbury. While he was + serving this church as clerk he told his mother the secret, + which he greatly desired that she would not reveal, that he + felt called to the gospel ministry. Brother Horton often put + up at their home, hence soon got possession of the secret. + + Dr. Pettiford now says: "When I was called into an examining + council and learned that my secret was out, I was very much + frightened, but the advice given upon this day has ever been + helpful to me." + + At the commencement of Selma University, 1877-78, he joined + Brother Woodsmall, becoming a member of the pioneer faculty + of the school. It was here that he was seen as the patient, + studious, industrious man--loved by tender youth and trusted + by those of riper years. + + He was called to ordination by the Berean Baptist Church, + Marion, Ala., and dedicating hands were laid upon his head + in Marion, Ala., in the midst of the Conventional Session + held there in November, 1880. After this he severed his + connection with Selma University to enter the pastorate in + Union Springs. + + As teacher and financial agent he made such a record that + unprecedented prestige was given to his work at Union + Springs, where for two years, by his labor of love and + sacrifice, he laid the foundation for permanent Christian + work that shall stand throughout all time. + + For a brief period Dr. Pettiford worked under joint + appointment of the American Baptist Home Mission Society and + the Home Mission Board of the Alabama Baptist State + Convention as lecturer for ministers. In this capacity he + accomplished a great work. Many ministers to-day look back + to those days when they sat in institutes conducted by him + as the times of their greatest inspiration for mental and + spiritual development. + + As president of the Alabama Penny Savings Bank he has a + reputation as extensive as the country of which he is a + citizen. There is no city of importance where this bank has + not done business. It has gained the reputation of being a + safe business, having survived several panics to which many + other similar institutions have succumbed. + + Dr. Pettiford has managed to find some time to write. He is + the author of the following treatises: "Divinity in + Wedlock," "God's Revenue System" and "The Centenary," all of + which do him honor and his fellow man service. But this + sketch would be incomplete if it were closed without stating + this truth: That much of the Doctor's success is rightly + attributed to the sympathy and help of his life companion, + formerly Miss Della Boyd, to whom he was joined in bonds of + wedlock November 22, 1880. Three children have graced their + home, being systematically trained for usefulness in life. + +Since the emancipation of the Negro in this country philanthropists +have contributed largely to the establishment of schools and colleges +for his education. Some of these institutions have been the means of +affording the Negro literary instruction, and others have given him +more practical benefits in industrial training. These methods of +helping a race that was necessarily groping in the darkness of +illiteracy are not only commendable from the viewpoint of +humanitarianism and sound philanthropy, but it must be conceded that +some such help was indispensable to any real advancement of the Negro +in the matter of education. For all such assistance it can be said +that the Negro is truly appreciative and, for the most part, has +earnestly striven to demonstrate his profound gratitude by eagerly +taking hold of the opportunities thus afforded for his enlightenment. +The industrial schools, Hampton, Tuskegee, and others, have done much +in a practical way for the Negro in giving him a knowledge of +trades--a class of training that must prove of inestimable value to +him in his endeavor to earn a living honestly and honorably. That +person who has been taught how to do something well, who has been so +equipped as to be able to do with skill what the world is willing to +pay a desirable price for, has been done an incalculable service, and +one for which society as well as the individual himself has occasion +to feel grateful. + +So generously have the Negro's friends contributed toward his +education and so marked are their continued efforts in this direction +that it would appear somewhat bold for anyone to offer a suggestion at +this time looking to any additional contributions from this source for +the purpose of materially advancing the masses of that race along +other lines. On the other hand, when it is remembered with what +avidity the beneficiaries of these funds have seized the opportunities +offered, and the splendid results so far realized; and when the +further facts are borne in mind that the improvement of one class of +the population never fails to inure to the benefit of the entire +community, it may not, after all, require unusual temerity in one +to venture upon the suggestions which are to follow in this article. +When it is noted, too, with what care, discrimination and rare +judgment such contributions have been directed in the effort to lift +the Negro out of his unfortunate condition, and with what earnestness, +consistency and sincerity of purpose such aid has been given, the +conclusion is irresistible that any other needed help will come if the +method suggested is shown to be practicable and gives promise of +beneficial results. + +While the school has wrought wonders for the Negro, as it has for all +civilized races, it cannot be hoped or expected that all desirable +improvements in the development of a people can be accomplished +through this agency. All the virtues may be taught in the school-room, +but the student gets only a theoretical idea of what is intended to be +conveyed to his mind, and necessarily so. He has not yet learned to be +practical and cannot, until he is brought in contact with the actual +and serious responsibilities of life, see the real, practical phase of +things as they actually exist. He needs to learn the practical value +of economy and thrift, of constant industry and frugality. If he would +build on a certain and safe foundation, he must do so by honestly +earning every dollar he can and wisely saving as much of it as his +actual necessities will permit. Nothing so strongly encourages this +spirit in the Negro as a savings bank operated in his community by +persons of his own race. The powerful influence exerted in this +direction by such institutions may be shown by some impressive figures +which have been secured from reliable sources: Atlanta, with no such +institution to stimulate its colored population to save, has only +1,000 colored depositors in the associated banks of that city out of a +total colored population of 30,000; or one out of every thirty. +Richmond, with a thriving institution of this character, has 5,000 +colored depositors out of a total colored population of 45,000; or one +out of every nine. Birmingham boasts of 5,000 colored depositors +(4,000 of whom deposit with the bank with which the writer is +connected) out of a total colored population of 20,000; or one out of +every four. These three thriving Southern cities, blessed with equal +prosperity and promise, furnish convincing proofs of the great power +for good exerted by such institutions. If Atlanta, which in other +respects equals either of these two cities, were favored with the +presence of a bank of the kind mentioned, a much larger percentage of +its colored population would be filled with the spirit of economy and +the desire to save. + +If such institutions are materially helpful to the Negro, if they tend +to inculcate right principles and encourage habits of industry and +frugality; and if it be true that the uplifting of one class benefits +the entire community, is it not within the bounds of legitimate +reasoning and fairly good common sense to suggest that it would be +well to have these beneficial agencies established, as far as +possible, in cities containing a large Negro population; taking care, +however, that none is established until it becomes apparent in each +instance that such an institution can be wisely, safely and +successfully conducted in the proposed community? + +The writer has had a great many inquiries in the last few years for +information and advice looking to the organization of savings banks by +colored men; but it has been noted that in nearly every case the +element of doubt, fear and backwardness developed when the promoters +were brought face to face with the problem of how to begin such a +business and conduct it successfully. They found the problem a +difficult one, just as all problems are difficult until they are +understood. Here then is where the wealthy friends of the Negro, the +Northern and Southern philanthropist, can be of invaluable help. It +would be well if a few such friends would become interested in the +work of assisting in the establishment of such banks, to be conducted +by competent colored men in such cities as offer favorable conditions +for institutions of the character mentioned. They could form +themselves into a board for the general supervision of the work, and +then engage the services of an experienced and thoroughly competent +man to give personal attention to it. This man should comprehend every +detail of the banking business, and he should be willing to meet and +advise with those who are to have in hand the conduct of the +institution and instruct them in all the details of its proper +management before the doors are thrown open to the public. He should +then give daily attention to the operation of the bank for two or +three months, or until the officers are able to proceed safely without +him. By this time a similar work should await him in another locality. +He should, however, keep in constant communication with the president +of the newly established bank and so arrange his engagements as to be +able to return to it from time to time, as the work elsewhere will +permit, in order that he may oversee the management and give such +helpful counsel as the situation may demand. With the right kind of +men at the helm, educated, popular with their people and possessing +unquestioned integrity, it would not be unsafe at this stage to trust +the management to their hands for a few days at a time, after it has +been ascertained that all departments of the business are being +conducted intelligently and without friction. + +So that instead of having only three or four communities in the +country reaping the good results of such forceful agencies for the +moral and material elevation of their citizens, we will have at least +a few more to assist in spreading the gospel of economy and thrift. +The expense attached to such an undertaking would be represented in +the salary paid the organiser, and perhaps a stenographer, and the +traveling and other necessary expenses of both. Their services would +not be required for a longer period than five years, at most, and the +real good accomplished would be incalculable. + +The plan is not impracticable. The few savings banks now being +operated by colored men had no such help. They overcame the +difficulties under which they necessarily began, and they have +succeeded admirably. Cannot others succeed as well, especially after +such difficulties are effectually removed? New Orleans, Memphis, +Nashville, Louisville, Montgomery, Atlanta, Charleston and other +cities offer fruitful fields for this work. But let it be understood +that such assistance as is here suggested should in no case be +attempted until the citizens of a given community have first evinced a +proper interest in the enterprise, such interest, indeed, as would +leave no doubt of their earnestness in the matter. The only real +danger, in any instance, or, perhaps, it may be better to say the +chief danger, lies in an unwise selection of a locality for the +establishment of this kind of business. But this question might be +safely determined, after proper investigation, by those who furnish +the funds. + +Lest there be persons in the North, who, not being altogether familiar +with conditions as they exist between the races in the South, should +doubt the wisdom of the undertaking because of a fear that the idea +might meet with disfavor on the part of the dominant race, it may be +well to suggest that the writer's personal experience in connection +with the conduct of a similar institution for nearly twelve years in +an extreme Southern community, has justified the opinion that the very +reverse is true. The bank referred to has enjoyed ever since its +establishment the moral support and cordial good wishes of the white +people of that section. And the reason for this is apparent. Perhaps +the true reason is nowhere more aptly and succinctly given than by the +editor of the Charleston _News and Courier_, who, in commenting on an +address delivered by Mr. Booker T. Washington, said: "The Negro with a +bank account, with houses and lands, with education in the practical +things of life, is a far better citizen and a safer and more desirable +neighbor than the Negro who is steeped in ignorance and who has really +no part in the life of his country." The wise, progressive, far-seeing +citizens of the white race recognize and admit the influence for good +exerted upon the colored population by banking institutions operated +by members of that race, and they welcome and encourage the +establishment of them in any community. + +It is hoped that some little grain of merit may be found in these +suggestions. There has been no desire in the preparation of this +article to aspire to any literary effort. That would not be possible +in one who makes no pretensions in that direction. It is submitted +with the hope that the ideas here sought to be expressed may find +favor with those who practice the doctrines of true philanthropy--that +class of Americans who find genuine happiness in doing good wherever +good can be done, and who believe that no harm can come of helping the +Negro to help himself. + + + * * * * * + + +[Transcriber's Notes: + +The transcriber made the following changes to the text: + + 1. before p. 51, add quote at end of paragraph starting + "Bishop Haygood of the M. E. Church" + 2. p. 53, remove extra quote in paragraph beginning + "Anciently the whole land," after text + "from the ancient Canaanites." + 3. p. 55, add quote at end of paragraph beginning + "Rollin, in speaking of the fact," after text + "descended from the common stock." + 4. p. 72, "educacation" changed to "education" + 5. p. 80, add quote at end of paragraph beginning + "This is an Anglo-Saxon country." after text + "shadow does the substance." + 6. before p. 83, "were" changed to "where" + 7. p. 120, "massage" changed to "message" + 8. p. 121, "vestly" changed to "vastly" + 9. p. 161, "aborigne" changed to "aborigine" +10. before p. 163, "wth" changed to "with" +11. p. 191, "form" changed to "from" +12. p. 274, "swathy" changed to "swarthy" +13. p. 277, "many" changed to "may" +14. p. 278, "many" changed to "may" +15. p. 279, "Chestnut" left as it appears in text +16. p. 297, add quote at end of paragraph beginning + "But this progress is further" after text + "branches of the common family." +17. before p. 349, "Walter W. Wallace" changed to "Walter N. Wallace" +18. p. 349, "By Walter W. Wallace" changed to "By Walter N. Wallace" +19. p. 396, "nego" changed to "negro" +20. p. 426, "heighth" changed to "height" + +The following paragraphs have mismatched quotes that the transcriber +did not correct: + +1. p. 53, paragraph starting + "Anciently the whole land, including Tyre and Sidon," +2. p. 455, paragraph starting + "Hon. Robert Allen, one of the most noted criminal + lawyers of Texas," + +End of Transcriber's Notes] + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Twentieth Century Negro Literature, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWENTIETH CENTURY NEGRO LITERATURE *** + +***** This file should be named 18772.txt or 18772.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/8/7/7/18772/ + +Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Richard J. 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