A few years since we thought the Negro problem incapable of solution. We looked at it from various standpoints. Many suggestions as to an estimation in solving this intricate problem have been offered by many of our leaders. Booker T. Washington emphasizes the importance of industrial education as a means to an end of race antagonism, bitterness, and friction. It is a mistaken idea thatProf. Washington's critics have when they affirm that Mr. Washington believes in industrial education to the exclusion of a college or university education. He believes in both; but he especially emphasizes industrial education as a means to an end, and not as ultimatum in solving the race problem. It would pay Mr. Washington's opposers to come here and visit his school. We guarantee that he will receive and treat them kindly. We have no doubt that they will go away from here convinced that Mr. Washington is right. We just wish that you could see what our eyes now behold as we sit in the principal's magnificent residence. There is here an activity not suspected by the outside world. Draw upon your imaginations a moment and see if you can bring to your perceptions the scene: Eight hundred and fifty students at work, like busy bees in a hive, training in twenty-six different industries, and everybody at work; not an idle moment allowed. Here the shrill whistle of the sawmill and brickyard, bringing them in from the farm of six hundred and fifty acres, nearly all of which is under cultivation. How can any sane person say that this kind of education does not benefit the race? We will warrant that very few, if any, of Mr. Washington's students will ever be found in jail, the workhouse, the penitentiary, or on the chain gang. All this industry and activity is controlled by Mr. Washington and his eighty-one assistants, which makes him and his school an aggressive and conquering force in this the black belt of the Southland.It is impossible to estimate the good that this school is doing, and it is equally as difficult to attempt a description thereof. We do not envy the man who deems himself sufficiently enlightened to be able to frown down Booker T. Washington and his great work. We simply turn our heads and smile a great big smile and say in muffled tones: "The fool hath said in his heart that there is no hope for the Negro race in this country." There is hope. Get up and be doing; get religion, education, a trade, and a profession; buy property; "put money in thy purse," and you will be recognized as a full-fledged citizen of this country. Let us say what we believe to be a fact: The disciplined thought that the Negro is receiving at this school will give a freshness, a manliness, a hopefulness, and a faith which will deliver him from the tyranny of his surroundings, widen his views of his own capabilities, make him conscious of belonging to a race that has rich things in store for the world, and glorify his heart with a thousand strange and fruitful sympathies and with endless heroic aspirations. It is something so unique in the history of Christian civilization that wherever the existence of such an institution as that of Tuskegee is heard of there will be curiosity as to its character, its work, and its prospects. An institution suited to the exigencies of this race cannot come into existence all at once. It must be the result of years of experience, of trial, and of experiment. In order that you may form a correct idea as to the magnitude of this school, let us cull thefollowing statement from a speech of Mr. Washington, who, among other things, said: "We have eight hundred and fifty students at Tuskegee from twenty-two states, eighty-one instructors, and a colony of one thousand people, together with literary training. We train in twenty-six different industries. Of the thirty-seven buildings, all except three were erected by the students. They have sawed the lumber, made the brick, done the masonry, carpentering, plastering, painting, and tin spouting. The property is now valued at $280,000, and is the work of students in the past fifteen years." All sound-thinking and unprejudiced-minded persons will agree that this institution is a very able instrument to assist in carrying forward the work so necessary to be done for the race. (J. Francis Robinson, Cambridge, Mass.)
Two little children sit by my side,I call them Lily and Daffodil;I gaze on them with a mother's pride,One is Edna and the other is Will.Both have eyes of starry lightAnd laughing lips over teeth of pearl.I would not change for a diademMy noble boy and darling girl.To-night my heart o'erflows with joy;I hold them as a sacred trust.I fain would hide them in my heart,Safe from tarnish of moth and rust.What should I ask for my dear boy?The richest gift of wealth or fame?What for my girl? A loving heartAnd a fair and spotless name?What for my boy? That he should standA pillar of strength to the state.What for my girl? That she should beThe friend of the poor and desolate.I do not ask that they shall never treadWith weary feet the paths of pain;I ask that in the darkest hourThey may faithful and true remain.I only ask their lives may bePure as gems in the gates of pearl,Lives to brighten and bless the world—This I ask for my boy and girl.I ask to clasp their hands again'Mid the holy hosts of heaven;Enraptured, say: "I am here, O God!And the children thou hast given."
Two little children sit by my side,I call them Lily and Daffodil;I gaze on them with a mother's pride,One is Edna and the other is Will.
Both have eyes of starry lightAnd laughing lips over teeth of pearl.I would not change for a diademMy noble boy and darling girl.
To-night my heart o'erflows with joy;I hold them as a sacred trust.I fain would hide them in my heart,Safe from tarnish of moth and rust.
What should I ask for my dear boy?The richest gift of wealth or fame?What for my girl? A loving heartAnd a fair and spotless name?
What for my boy? That he should standA pillar of strength to the state.What for my girl? That she should beThe friend of the poor and desolate.
I do not ask that they shall never treadWith weary feet the paths of pain;I ask that in the darkest hourThey may faithful and true remain.
I only ask their lives may bePure as gems in the gates of pearl,Lives to brighten and bless the world—This I ask for my boy and girl.
I ask to clasp their hands again'Mid the holy hosts of heaven;Enraptured, say: "I am here, O God!And the children thou hast given."
GEN. ANTONIO MACEO. The great Cuban Negro warrior.GEN. ANTONIO MACEO.The great Cuban Negro warrior.
Gen. Maceo was a born warrior. He came of a race of warriors. Of ten brothers, he was the last survivor who had escaped the bullets of the Spaniards in the ten-years' war, begun in 1868, and the present war. They were all soldiers and patriots, following in the footsteps of their father, and they all died fighting for Cuba.
The distinguishing characteristics of Antonio Maceo were intense love of Cuba, courage that knew no fear, and a natural genius for war. He was of Spanish and African blood, and his enemies often accused him of waging a race war, but this he always denied, and his friends believed him. He fought only for Cuban independence.
Gen. Maceo was the terror of the Spaniards. They feared him as they feared no other Cuban. They put a price of twenty-five thousand dollars on his head, dead or alive. The Spaniards could not capture or defeat him in open warfare, and the work of destroying him fell to the part of an infamous traitor in his camp: his physician, who betrayed him into the hands of the enemy.
Maceo was great in his life, and in the manner of his death he has raised up friends for his beloved Cuba all over the world.
His parents were both "pardos"—that is, light-colored mulattoes—and they were quite well off.Marcos owned and operated a cattle ranch and a pony express between the town and near-by estates. He was worth about forty thousand dollars. Antonio was well trained in contra-Spanish ideas. His father had been quietly interested in the small revolutionary disturbances that took place up to 1868, and Ascenio, his godfather, a prominent lawyer of Santiago City, was one of the most active promoters of the ten-years' struggle that began in 1868.
After a boyhood spent in the best schools of Santiago de Cuba, Antonio's seventeenth year found him engaged in business for his father. The preparations for the war were then secretly going on, and young Maceo, being thought to possess a discretion beyond his years, was initiated into the movement. He labored hard for the cause then, and when the time came for action he promptly took the field, at eighteen years of age, with a few men whom he had organized and armed.
Maceo was really idolized by his men. For one thing, his magnificent personal appearance and the halo of many glorious exploits had great effect; but the real reason for his popularity was the care he took of his men. No soldier was too poorly or too thinly clad to come right in and talk to the General at any time. Maceo talked familiarly with his stalwart men, listened patiently to all complaints, great and small, and settled them in a quick, decisive manner. Particularly was he an object of affection to his men because he was always the first riderin amachetecharge. He was always the closest to the enemy in a mountain fight, and was never to be found in a pitched battle anywhere else but in the first trench when there was any firing going on.
Dispatches were received in this country on Saturday, January 16, 1897, confirming the report of the death of Gen. Antonio Maceo, the valiant Cuban leader, who, with the rest of his staff, was reported to have been brutally murdered through Spanish treachery. Having been invited by the Spaniards to a conference, with a view of bringing the terrific struggle for Cuban liberty to an end, he started for the place of meeting. When nearly there he found himself surrounded by Spanish forces, and received the command to surrender. Instantly realizing that he had been drawn into a trap, he and his followers made a terrible struggle for their freedom, but were outnumbered. As they were fighting, Maceo received his death wound, and shed his life's blood in the defense of his country, which he loved too well to desert by surrender. Thus died brave Antonio Maceo, one of the greatest generals of African extraction that ever lived.
Jose Antonio Maceo was born in the eastern province of Santiago, near the city of Santiago de Cuba, in 1850, being the oldest of eleven brothers. When yet a young man he fought for "Cuba Libre" in the late ten years' war, seeking to throw off the yoke of Spanish tyranny. His service in that war, as well as in the present struggle, showed him to bea born fighter, and earned for him the titles of Second General in Chief of the Forces of Liberty and General in Chief of the Army of Invasion. He had full charge of the civil and military jurisdictions of the western and most important portion of the island of Cuba, the place where the present struggle will either be won or lost to the brave Cubans.
As long as Maceo lived there was no prospect of the blacks and whites of Cuba participating in a race war. He loved his country too well to allow it, and could have easily prevented such a clash, as he had the implicit confidence and respect of the Negroes. He was very reticent in speaking of his wounds, of which he bore twenty-three. With one exception, these wounds were received in the ten years' war.
In the death of Gen. Maceo Cuba loses a man who was without fear, a man of rare intellect, an honest man, and a genuine patriot, whose death will doubtless be avenged by his faithful followers. By Maceo's death Cuba loses one of the most valiant defenders she ever had. After his participation in the ten years' war and his exile to Jamaica, at its unsuccessful termination, his subsequent career has been told in the following interesting sketch:
"Early in 1879 a brown-skinned, weather-beaten man arrived in New York on one of the Jamaica steamers. For a month or more he lived alone, without other companionship than that of books. It was Maceo, and the fire of liberty, still smoldering in his breast, was only seeking a favorableopportunity to burst into flame. In a few months he made his way to West Point, where he obtained employment as a hostler. Nobody in the academy dreamed for a moment that the broad-shouldered, dark-browed man who handled the horses so easily had ever smelled the smoke of battle or heard the song of rifle bullets. Day after day on the parade grounds the taciturn man watched the evolutions of the cadets, listened to the commands of the officers, studied the discipline of the place, pored over volumes of military tactics that he had managed to borrow, and added to his natural genius the knowledge of other great generals. Then the dark-skinned hostler, who was regarded as book mad, gave up his position and returned to New York. From New York he went to Costa Rica, taking a hundred or more weighty volumes with him. Some wealthy Cubans had settled in Costa Rica during the war, and they now offered Maceo a tract of land on which to colonize his brave followers. Here for ten years the exiled Cuban worked and studied and dreamed and instructed his fellow-veterans in the modern theories of war. At times he would lecture them; at other times he would give them practical lessons in drilling and in cavalry evolutions. With each day, each week, month, and year his dream of the freedom of Cuba was brighter than before. Never for a moment did he seem to forget the points of his purpose.
"In 1888, ten years after the close of the war, he began to scheme for another uprising in Cuba. Hetook the former officers into his confidence, and the little band of revolutionists spent almost a year in making plans for the overthrow of Spain. Finally Maceo sailed for Jamaica, and from Jamaica to Santiago de Cuba, disguised as a laborer. Not for a moment, however, during the entire ten years that had elapsed since the war had the Spanish Government lost sight of Maceo. The Spaniards knew him too well. Consequently when he disappeared from Costa Rica there was a hue and cry. 'Maceo has gone,' was telegraphed to Madrid; 'Look out for Maceo,' was the word sent to Havana. Search was made throughout the island. Finally the government got word of him around Santiago. Under torture, a Cuban confessed that he had seen Maceo in El Christo, disguised as a muleteer. In the meantime Maceo had become aware that his whereabouts had been discovered. His schemes were consequently frustrated. A fisherman who had fought under him during the long war sailed with Maceo for Kingston one dark night in his fishing boat. For many weeks thereafter the Spaniards searched in vain for the Cuban leader.
"Maceo returned to Costa Rica disappointed, but not discouraged. He saw plainly that the revolutionary ball must be set rolling by other hands than his. He entered into correspondence with prominent Cuban sympathizers in American cities, and with Gen. Gomez in San Domingo. This was kept up until local juntas were formed in almost every prominent city in the United States. ThenMaceo and his little band of patriots in Costa Rica had nothing to do but possess their souls in patience and wait for events. The years between 1890 and 1895 were passed in hard work and in studying the possibilities of Cuba from a military standpoint. One day in February, 1895, word came that the Cubans had risen. Blood had been shed, and Julio Sanguilly had been arrested and imprisoned. At last, after many years, here was an opportunity to strike once more for Cuba. Freedom, the dream of a lifetime, would come later on. On the following day an emissary of the Spanish Government asked Maceo if he intended to join the movement. 'Join it?' he replied, 'I shall join nothing.' He did not think it necessary to say that he had joined it years ago. This is why the papers of the next morning all over the world published a statement that Maceo was not identified with the revolutionary movement in Cuba.
"A week later Maceo, his brother Jose, Flor Crombet, Cabreco, and sixteen other veterans sailed from Costa Rica for San Domingo. From this point, a week or so later, they slipped away for Cuba. They landed on the morning of March 30 at a point near Baracoa, where many times in years gone by Maceo had seen the flash ofmacheteand bayonet. True to the traditions of the place, hardly had he touched his foot on Cuban soil before Spanish rifles were cracking and bullets were singing all about him. The force of Spaniards numbered about fifty. Maceo had with him only nineteenmen in addition to his brother Jose, Crombet, and Cabreco. There was a running fight along the road in the direction of an old log house, where the Cubans finally took refuge. In this skirmish Crombet was killed. In the log house, surrounded by Spaniards, the Cubans fought for days. In the meantime word had been sent out that Antonio Maceo had been captured immediately upon landing on the island, and that Flor Crombet had been killed. This was Maceo's first death during the present war. On the night of the third day Maceo called the men together and told them that their only hope was in making a rush for the woods. The door had hardly been opened before the Spaniards discovered the movement. Then ensued a fierce running fight, in which several of the Cubans were killed, and Maceo received a bullet through his hat. Separating from the rest of his companions, Maceo wandered through the pathless forest for two weeks alone, living on plantains, guavas, and other fruits. One day he stumbled upon the band of insurgents led by Rabi. He was taken to the hut occupied by the leader.
"'Who are you?' he was asked.
"'One who will fight to the death for Cuba Libre,' was the reply.
"'Your name?'
"'Antonio Maceo.'
"At first Rabi was incredulous. When he finally recognized in the haggard and hungry man the dashing leader of the ten years' war the joy of theinsurgent was boundless. In a few days all his old-time vigor returned. He was more of a leader than ever. His ten years of exile had only served to make him more cautious and calculating. He knew that he was a better soldier than when he was banished. In a fortnight he made his way to Guantanamo, to the spot where he had disbanded his men years before. The big tree was still standing, taller and grayer with age, rotted in spots, but quite as sturdy as ever. Under this tree he had sheathed his sword. Under its branches he once more drew it from its scabbard against the Spanish oppressor. In a few weeks he had recruited almost a thousand men. Starting out with this nucleus of a future army, he swept everything before him."
A good wife is the greatest earthly blessing. A wife never makes a greater mistake than when she endeavors to coerce her husband with other weapons than those of love and affection. Those weapons are a sure "pull," if he has anything human left in him. Forbear mutual upbraidings. In writing letters during temporary separation let nothing contrary to love and sincere affection be expressed; such letters from a wife havea most powerful emotional effect, sometimes little understood by those who write them. It is the mother who molds the character and destiny of the child as to the exteriors; therefore let calmness, peace, affection, and firmness rule her conduct toward her children. Children are great imitators; whether they have scolding or peaceful mothers, they are generally sure to learn from the example set before them, and thus the consequent joy or sorrow is transferred to other families. Therefore let mothers take heed to their conduct. It is not possible to exercise judgment and prudence too much before entering on the married life. Be sure that the affections on both sides are so perfectly intertwined around each other that the two, as it were, form one mind. This requires time and a thorough mutual knowledge on both sides. Marry into your religion and into a blood and temperament different from your own. Bend your whole form, and especially avoid everlastingly dishing up any unsuccessful past action that was done from a good motive and with the best intentions at the time. Let nothing foreign to the spirit of love and mutual affections intervene to cause distance between husband and wife. To this end let self-denial and reciprocal unselfishness rule over each. Avoid habitual fault-finding, scolding, etc., as you would perdition itself. Many men tremble as they cross their threshold into the presence of scolding wives. Let husband and wife cultivate habits of sobriety, and specially avoid drunkenness in every form. What a dreadfulspectacle it is to see a husband transformed into a demon, tottering homeward to a broken-hearted wife, whose noble, self-sacrificing devotion to him seems to partake more of the nature of heaven than of earth! Never part, even for a journey, without kind and endearing words; and as a kiss symbolizes union from interior affection, do not dispense with it on such occasions, repeating it when you return. In one word, let love rule supreme.
In all your dealings with women take a lesson from the cooing dove. Speak softly, deal gently, kindly, and considerately with her in every way. Let every husband and every wife cherish for each other the heavenly flame of affection, and let no rude, harsh, or embittered expression on either side chill the sacred fire. If every adoration of the creature may hope for pardon, surely the worship rendered by man to a kind, pure, affectionate, and loving wife—Heaven's best gift—may invoke forgiveness. What countless millions of women have sacrificed health, strength, and life in attendance on sick and dying husbands, children, and strangers! How many have perished by rushing through fire and water to save their children, and starve themselves that they might live! In how many hospitals has she proven herself an angel of mercy, and her sweet voice uttered words of comfort and cheer! Therefore let woman have her full rights, even that of voting, if she desires it, for a good woman's influence will ever be used for a good purpose; but let woman act toward man as indicated in the aboveadvice for man to act toward woman, and she would be all but omnipotent; for man, in a manner, would move heaven and earth to serve her, and would do unspeakably more for her than can ever be done by all the fussy croakers, old maids, and woman's rights associations and lectures in creation. Love in the family is the one thing needful to regenerate the earth and cause the wilderness to become as Eden and the desert to blossom as the rose. Reversed, love and discord have broken more hearts, caused more sorrow, estrangement, and downright death than war, pestilence, and all other causes combined. It palsies energy and ambition, engenders gloom and despair, and transforms manhood into an icicle. Statistics prove that the married live longer, on the average, by several years than the unmarried, a most satisfactory proof that the married state is pre-eminently the life designed for man. Therefore let all interested do their utmost to make it the happiest. (The Budget.)
Intemperance has so rapidly grown to be the crowning curse of all nations and has taken so deep root in the heart of many influential countrymen as to cause the impediments that are thrown in the pathway of those who try to promotethe cause of "God, home, and native land" to appear to be legions.
The horrors of intemperance have never been fully portrayed. No pencil is black enough to paint the picture and do it full justice. No tongue is eloquent enough to tell the sad, sad story in all its details. It has so spread itself as to compel us to style it a wide and verily a withering curse. It is the parent of many physical disorders, that begin with bleared eyes, a blistered tongue, general derangement of the stomach, paralysis of the nerves, and hardening of the liver; and to so great an extent it poisons the blood as to cause coagulation of the brain. All of which, as a natural consequence, induce and aggravate many diseases, ending with causing to be dug a myriad of premature graves.
Intemperance is a mental curse, and it clouds the judgment, dethrones reason, promotes ignorance to the extent that to approach the unenlightened upon the subject of temperance is the means of incurring the displeasure of many, and in numerous instances causes vile epithets to be applied to those who are advocates of the cause of temperance.
MRS. M. A. M'CURDY, ROME, GA.MRS. M. A. M'CURDY, ROME, GA.
Another great and startling reason why all persons should abstain from the use of intoxicating liquors is that it is a mental curse, because it produces imbecility and transforms its unhappy victims into maniacs and fools. Intemperance or the use of alcoholic liquors brings a curse upon the morals of all nations, and thereby proves to be a moral curse. It weakens the will and so influences thepassions as to hush the voice of conscience and prepare the way for every vice and crime. Then, with all that, let us briefly review a few of the attendant miseries of intemperance that are about us like a swarm of locusts coming as a plague: In the slimy trail of this alcoholic serpent can be found everything that is dark and dreadful—yea, everything that is ruinous. In it can be found men without manhood, women without womanhood, infancy without hope, want and woe, rage and wretchedness, disease and death; and, furthermore, in the trail of this venomous serpent can be found broken vows and broken hearts, bad manners and bad morals, bad words and bad actions, bad parents and bad children, a bad beginning and a bad end. Then surely intemperance is the crowning curse of American society; and as such the traffic is, as has been often said, a gigantic crime. It came and continues to be an unwelcome intruder. It erects in our midst distilleries or dramshops. Everywhere we need the church and schoolhouse, these being uplifting and elevating forces, while the distilleries and dramshops are mediums through which distress and want, sorrow and death, are brought into our midst in an inconceivably short time, carrying to untimely graves and everlasting woe hundreds—yea, thousands—who otherwise might be saved.
The traffic is a temptation and a snare, a man trap and a woman trap, luring ever its victims to death and damnation. No wonder that Lord Chesterfield, in words as eloquent as they were burning,should say of rumsellers: "Let us crush out these artists in human slaughter who have reconciled their countrymen to sickness and ruin and spread over the pitfalls of debauchery such baits as men cannot resist." And his suggestions continue to be repeated, serving as a nucleus to which many cling and receive strength for present and future action. Yet there is room for more, as the battle is fierce and will possibly be long.
The traffic is a monster of cruelty. It has ever been one of tears and groans and blood, in vice, crime, and misery; ever conscienceless, unprincipled, and as cruel as the grave, while the trafficker is rarely ever moved by widows' woes, though they swell into rivers of tears. His heart seems to be incased in stone, while he applies his infamous trade and hoards his unhallowed wealth, regardless alike of the claims of God and the cries of his murdered victims.
For heartless cruelty and desolating results, the highway robber is not to be compared with the vender of alcoholic beverages, because the robber simply demands your money or your life, while the liquor seller demands your money and your life; and there being more than half a million of them, they seem to be determined to rule the remaining faction of sixty millions with worse than a rod of iron, even proving insolent and defiant to the last degree. Sitting supreme in our national Congress and walking with a swing of conscious triumph up and down our legislative halls, monarchs of all theysurvey, succeeding in every effort made to muzzle ministers, bribe lawmakers, control officers and business men of our country, and place the nation in great peril. The traffic is an intolerable burden to the state, a burden on every back, a blight on every industry, sapping the heartblood out of all concerned. Think of $900,000,000 as a direct annual drink bill, and an equal sum to cover the sad consequence. Two-thirds of this amount is expended by laboring men at the sacrifice of personal comforts and family necessities. Then why, O why, will not a greater number of our male relatives assist in striking every saloon until they are all crushed into hopeless flinders? and why will not a greater number of our women unite with those who are making efforts to raise up many who have fallen through and by the use of intoxicating liquors, and in many ways assist our husbands, brothers, and fathers in laying plans that will in the near future annihilate the demon rum? Last, but not least, the liquor traffic is a deadly foe to the Church. Well and truly did Charles Buxton say that "the struggle of the Church, school, and the library all united against the beer shop and the gin place is but one development of the war between Heaven and Hades." The traffic paralyzes the pulpit, hardens human hearts, alienates men and women from the Church of God, and in so doing rises like a mountain in the path of Christian civilization, and we agree with Rev. A. A. Phelps in saying: "It is a terrible fact, sad enough to make angels weep, that thetwo hundred thousand grogshops of this nation are doing more to damn the people than all the Churches are doing to save them." Then, in conclusion, let us rally to the cause of temperance and apply the prohibition as to the deadly upas tree of intemperance, taking God and his word for ourguide, adopting our Creator's philosophy, imitating his example, and thereby build on those basic principles that underline the eternal throne, ever remembering that there is work for all to do, and that in God's universal system
None fall back or slip aside;Each of all the mighty forcesServes with dignity and pride.There are evils we must strangle,There are enemies we must fight,Cruel foes most fierce and activeKeeping back the good and right.We must all be up and at themMeet them here and meet them there;Brothers, fathers ever active,Women diligent in prayer.
None fall back or slip aside;Each of all the mighty forcesServes with dignity and pride.
There are evils we must strangle,There are enemies we must fight,Cruel foes most fierce and activeKeeping back the good and right.
We must all be up and at themMeet them here and meet them there;Brothers, fathers ever active,Women diligent in prayer.
EDWARD SEABROOK, SAVANNAH, GA. Steamship pilot, Atlantic CoastEDWARD SEABROOK, SAVANNAH, GA.Steamship pilot, Atlantic Coast
The controversy going on regarding the particular term by which to designate the race is important and of general interest. After reading all that has been said upon the subject up to date, I must conclude that the logic and the facts are with the "Colored American."
The word "Afro-American" is simply an individual fad of recent construction, which has been generally used by some to designate the race withoutstopping to think that it is really out of place and can have no significance at all as far as the race is concerned in this country. The word "African" or "Negro" may be applied in a general way to the native-born African and his descendants or to the Negro of Africa, because of the intense blackness of color, but the "Afro-American" race does not now nor ever did exist. It is argued that the German-American, the Irish-American, and the Anglo-American are distinctly racial lines, and for that reason the "Afro-American" must be applied to the race of African descent in America.
The conditions are not the same and the facts are against the argument. Let us analyze the different thousands of German, Irish, French, Dutch, and Italian nationalities who come to our shores annually. They form a distinct nationality within themselves, and as long as they retain their nationality they are German, French, and so on; but as soon as they become naturalized they become German-American, French-American, and so on; but their descendants born here are not German-Americans or French-Americans or Dutch-Americans; they are simply Americans, and nothing more. This is not the condition of the colored race in this country. I am of the opinion that it would be difficult to find a hundred native-born Africans in the United States; hence nationality is extinct. The ten millions of colored people in this country are native-born Americans, who never have had any other nationality, and cannot, therefore, be classed asanything else but Americans. If you wish to designate them because of their color, you cannot use a false term. They are not Africans nor Negroes, and there is no such a race as the Afro-American race known in the world. The particular race cannot be known otherwise than the "colored race," or, if you apply the nationality, the "Colored American." I don't think that the matter admits of argument, and the intelligent gathering of colored women who assembled in Washington knew exactly what they were doing and applied the correct term to themselves.
The editor of the "Colored American" is correct in the stand taken, and is supported by the well-thinking colored people of the entire country. The word "Afro-American" grew out of a freak at Chicago, and is only generally used by the "Age" and a few others; and as far as its application is concerned, it can never be acceptable, and will die a natural death, without even a struggle to smother. I am sure that this will elicit a storm of ridicule; but be this as it may, the word "Afro" and the word "Negro" can never be forced upon an American, regardless of his color, without his consent, and I stand ready to maintain my position in the premises based upon sound reason and common sense.
I invariably use the term "Afro-American" to designate our race residing in the United States.No stronger article has come under my eyes than the one which recently appeared from the pen of Prof. DuBois, showing that our term "Afro-American" can only be adhered to as an ark of refuge from the term "Negro," which is too apt to be written with a small "n" and too frequently with two "g's."
We are seeking by our term to designate a race, not a locality, and therein lies the difficulty. If a person should refer to Lobengula's son as an African, he would be correct, so far as fixing his habitat; but if an inquirer should be as great an interrogation point as Li Hung Chang, and should desire to know more about Lobengula, he would properly ask: "But to which one of the African races does he belong?" And the answer would be: "He is a Negro." Now if Lobengula should come to reside in the United States, he could be properly called an "Afro-American" (but this is a very indefinite designation), meaning a native of Africa residing in America. To be strictly accurate, we would call him a Negro Afro-American. We have Italo-American, Franco-American, German-American, Russo-American, Spanish-American, but each of the terms covers an individual who is of foreign birth. These terms are not applied to the children of immigrants; at any rate, these children do not so describe themselves. Even where there is amalgamation between any two of these race varieties, no name is sought to cover the mixture of blood. These children call themselves Americans, and ifyou press for a blood analysis, you will be told that they are Americans of English and French descent, or some other descent, and if you ask for the name of their race, they will say: "We are Caucasians."
There goes an Italo-American. He is an Italian (born in Italy) who now resides in America. That is the limit of this term. If two or more distinct races were inhabiting Italy, that would be a very indefinite term; but as only one race covers that land, the term is definite. There goes an Afro-American. When such a man is pointed out he should be a native of Africa residing in America; but the term as applied to him does not convey conclusive information to the scientist. He desires to know something more definite; and if the person is of black complexion and woolly hair, we say that he is a Negro Afro-American. No escape from this logic. But if one should say, "I am not a Negro; I have the blood of both races in my veins. What will you call me?" I answer: "Why, you are an American." If you push me for a scientific term to fix your blood relationship to other American race varieties, and if you spring from the blood of a black and the blood of a white person, I would call you a "Negro-American," since your blood is a mixture of that of those Africans called Negroes and that of the white Americans; but if, like the great Bishop Payne, the blood of three races (including the Indian) courses through your veins, then you are a Negro Indo-American.
It is difficult for us to get a scientific name. Weare a mixed-blooded animal; we have no distinct race, no race name. The only people who have any right to establish race names and define them are the ethnologists. They have the human race divided into several distinct classes. If there is no houseroom in any class for the man of several different bloods, then we must get a new name. But certain principles must guide us. We cannot escape them without incurring the censure of such scientific minds as Prof. DuBois.
While I agree with Prof. DuBois that our term "Afro-American" lacks precision and is somewhat high sounding, yet I prefer it, because it rids us of the word "nigger," and it has within itself an element of dignity and solidity which helps to promote aspiration in ourselves and to command respectful mention from others. And I think that the name is growing in use. I find it in a late standard dictionary and I notice that public speakers and writers in our best American publications are using it. But, although I rejoice in the fact, I cannot stand against the logic of the scholar who argues that the term cannot be defended upon scientific principles.
In the last edition of the "Age" Prof. DuBois argues at considerable length why we should be called "Negroes," and not"Afro-Americans." I read his article with much interest, because the Professor advanced the best reasons why we should be called "Afro-Americans." He admits that the term "colored" is a misnomer, and therefore meaningless.
The term "Negro" was not broad enough even to include all the inhabitants of Africa. All three of the great races were, from days immemorial, represented in Africa; but these were not then, nor are they now, known as "Negroes," but "Africans," subdivided into families and tribes. Those families that were known as true Negroes dwell between the Tropic of Cancer on the north and the equator on the south, and between the Nile (extremely north) and the Atlantic Ocean. These were divided into three classes—viz., true "Negroes," "Negroids," and the "Negrillos." What say we of that other part of the great Hamitic family not known as "Negroes?" Were all of the slaves deported to America from that particular territory? If not, can we say that they were all Negroes? Nay, but they were all Africans.
The Professor next hastens into the middle of his subject. "Where does 'Afro-American' come in?" he asks; and then replies: "Awkwardly." In reply, let me say that nothing is "awkward" that is right; the user may be awkward. Says he: "It may not be so objectionable when applied to some national gathering." We have in America one great national gathering of Afro-Americans numbering some ten million or more. The Professor knows very well that it is not fair to argue from the general to the particular. The "Old Auntie in Hackensack" is not the subject. She is a member of theAfro-American family. Children generally take the name of their parents by birth or by adoption. Don't refuse to call a thing by its right name because it is "awkward," for the name is not "awkward," but the tongue that handles it. We have a similar case in God's Word. The Gileadites took the passage of Jordan and adopted a distinct watchword by which everyone of their number could be known. The Ephraimites, who desired to pass over the river, were required to say the word "Shibboleth," which, if said properly, would signify that they were Gileadites. The Ephraimites could not pronounce it correctly, so they could not pass over, but were slain. This word "Shibboleth" was "awkward" to the Ephraimites; but not to the Gileadites, because they had trained themselves to say it. So must we train ourselves to say the right name, "Afro-American."
In the second place, the Professor objects to the appellation "Afro-American" because, says he: "The adjectives 'Irish' or 'German' or 'Swedish,' which are sometimes used to designate certain classes, refer always to race rather than to country, and never to either of the great world divisions." This may be true in a sense, but we beg to offer an alternative. There were many of us brought from those families or tribes in Africa which were not known as "Negroes," for the Negroes, as we have shown, were only a remnant of the great African, or Hamitic, race.
In the third place the Professor objects to theterm "Afro-American" because, says he: "This name would seek to separate us from our kindred in the land of our fathers." This kind of reasoning is what we callreductio ad absurdum, for just the reverse of what he says is true. To say "Afro-American" is to reunite us to our forefathers, both by blood and language. It tells, whence we came and where we are. There is no other term in language, thought, or reason that fits in and at the same time covers the ground so completely as "Afro-American." "Let us be Negroes, let us be one in blood," says he. We can't be what we are not. How can we be one in blood when our blood has been crossed a thousand times?
But we all can be Afro-Americans, because we all were of Africa and now are of America. In other words, our forefathers were Africans by birth and became Americans by adoption. We are Africans by descent and Americans both by birth and adoption. This addition, Africans plus Americans, equals Afro-Americans. We conclude, therefore, that the term "Negro," although honorable and significant, is too narrow to be adopted as a national appellation. We need a name that will include every man that came from Africa, regardless of the section or territory from which he came, and that name is "African." We want a name that will include every American citizen who has a drop of Negro blood in his or her veins, let them be as white as snow or as black as soot, and that name is "Afro-American."
In order to define the duty of the nation to the Negro we must first notice the relationship existing between the Negro and the nation. For two hundred and seventy-six years we have inhabited this country, and, whether as slaves or as freemen, I say here, without fear of successful contradiction, that we have done more to enhance the wealth of this country, in proportion to our numbers, than any other race in America. The Negro as a slave was docile and obedient. He was harmless to his master—yea, one white woman was not afraid to live alone on her farm with a hundred Negro men as her servants. They frequently did so, and were never harmed, notwithstanding the number of Negroes who have been lynched since under the accusation of unbecoming conduct. In other words, he made a good slave, if such a thing as a good slave be possible.
As for this great Southland, the largest portion of her wealth is but the product of the black man's labor. Cotton is the chief staple of America, and when to this we add sugar and iron we have the heft of Southern wealth—and the brawny hand of the Negro produces at least three-fourths of thesecommodities. It was his hand chiefly that felled the mighty forest of this Southland; it was his hand that dug out and laid these railroads, taking away the old stagecoach and making pleasant and rapid transit possible; it was his shoulder that carried the mortar hod to erect these palatial cities; it was the sweat from the Negro's brow that has made Georgia the Empire State of the South; it was Negro labor that made it possible for the Exposition to be held in Atlanta. Go where you will, from Washington to the gulf, and from the Atlantic to the Ohio River, and almost every acre of land and object of interest you behold bears the impress of Negro labor, industry, and skill. Looking from your car window on either side most of the beautiful farms that you see were cleared and are tilled by the Negro; and most of the beautiful residences you have passed were built, painted, and kept in order by Negroes. All of those beautiful, flowered lawns show Negro industry. The glittering iron rails which led you on lightning express to this city were laid by Negro hands after he had tunneled the mountains, leveled the hills, and filled the hollows. And if those iron rails were made South and the Negro did not forge them, it was because the boss had an acute attack of colorphobia and gave the job to some nondecitizenized, ready-to-work emigrant. Some people used to say that the Negro was lazy, and that if freed he would perish. I have traveled all over this country and through many others, and I have seen thousands of tramps, but I have as yetmet but one first-class Negro tramp, and he was in London; therefore I concluded that he had strayed from his race, and had learned the trade from the white people. I have also learned that at the great national tramp convention recently held in New York not a single Negro was present. True it is that we find too many idle Negroes in the towns and cities "holding up the corners." Well, Dr. Price once said that the Negro had to work so hard in the hot sun during slavery that a great many of them promised themselves that if ever they got free they would take a good rest. The Doctor concluded that this idle class were making good their promise. But the true cause of this apparent idleness lies far back of this. It arises partially out of the very distressing condition of the cotton planters of the South. The Negroes have been so industrious for the last decade that they have overflooded the cotton markets of the world, and consequently so reduced the price of this staple that the landlords are not disposed to feed hirelings through the winter, and the colored people, who have been fed from the stores under the mortgage system, getting all their food on time at two prices, and paying for the same in cotton in the fall at half price, find themselves in the end in debt and greatly discouraged. Hence thousands of would-be industrious young men float into the cities and towns looking for jobs, in order to clothe themselves for the winter. They find every position occupied, and float on as apparent idlers.
One other cause of the seeming laziness on the part of the Negro is that, as a rule, the cruel sentiment of the country has closed the doors of every machine shop, cotton mill, and similar factories to all persons of color. Again, almost every class of labor which once was done by hand is now being turned off by the crank of invention. The old-fashioned washboard has been turned into a steam laundry and the old spinning wheel has given place to the American cotton mills. The same is true along all lines of common labor. The Negro, however, either by contact or in the schools of theory, has learned something about applied science, and as his old trades have been elevated and dignified by machinery, he would like to be elevated with them. The washerwoman would like now to enter the steam laundry, since it has captured her business; the blacksmith would like to enter the foundry, where they are now molding the plowshares he once made with his hammer; and where the Negro is capable of following his old trade to a more elevated station we believe it the duty of the nation to allow him to do so. While we entertain no feelings against foreigners, we believe these to be the birth-right of American citizens, and therefore appeal to the sentiment of this nation and ask that every door to foundries, factories, and machine shops of every kind be opened alike to Negroes and whites. We ask that you give us a bench, an anvil, or a loom by the side of our white brother, with equal wages; then, if we do not prove to be as skillful workmenas they, after a fair trial, turn us away. This is the duty of the nation to the Negro. I have always been a protectionist, but if every cotton mill is to be run by immigrants from across the sea, while our sons and daughters, who are black and poor, but to the manner born—true and patriotic American citizens—are to be refused employment in the factories of this country, I would advise the Negroes to vote for whatever party may represent low tariff or free trade for all fabricated material.
From the days of Washington to the days of Grant there was scarcely a decisive battle fought upon American soil in which the Negro did not participate in the defense of the stars and stripes. Though much of his heroism has been forgotten because it was not published and commented upon in American history, yet a few great men, such as Gens. Lee, Jackson, Sherman, and Grant, have been generous enough to hand down to us in their private diaries the valuable service rendered the government by these black soldiers on the bloody field of battle. Especially in the late war did the government learn to recognize the Spartanlike heroism of the Negro. He was always ready to charge and the last man to retreat. He was the first to lift his hand and shed his blood when the colonies were attacked by the British in Boston; and Gen. Sherman, in his "History of the War," says that the last man wounded in the late rebellion wasa Negro, and the last man who fired a gun to close the unfortunate war was a Negro, upon the banks of the Rio Grande. Hence the Negro has a record that any race might envy.
As a citizen, the Negro is peaceable, unassuming, and friendly toward all races. He has studied to know his duty as a constituent of the government, and does all in his power to perform the same. He is always looking and praying for better times, but he never organizes a labor union and goes out on a strike to make times better.
He is rapidly gaining wealth and intelligence. He is making every effort to keep pace with the advancing tide of Christian civilization, and the census of this country shows that he is making progress on every line. Remember, too, that the most of these men were born slaves and started out with nothing, not even good advice, but with all odds—even their color, their previous condition, and public sentiment—against them. Remember also that only one Negro out of a thousand has had as yet an equal chance in the race of life, for freedom of body, with every avenue leading toward the heights of unqualified freedom of will and of purpose closed, and he left standing uncovered and exposed to the worst elements of a superior race, is worse (if anything can be worse) than slavery. And yet, with all that, the Negro has proven to be equal to all occasions as a citizen, and, with superiorzeal to any race, he has seized every opportunity and entered every door of usefulness that opened to him. Come walk with me through these halls and let us see his higher life and aims. See the walls bedecked with pictures of Negro homes and other real estate that would compare very favorably with a majority of the homes of the white men of this country; and this is not a fair exhibit of the progress of the race, for not one-thousandth part of the Negro wealth is on exhibition here. You find him an inventor, a painter, a sculptor, and no mean artist. He can make tools, invent machinery, and knows how to use them. He understands the sciences, and can apply them in the daily vocations of life. He has made an earnest effort to prepare himself for the responsibilities of citizenship. Having been on probation for thirty years and proved our worthiness, we now feel that we ought to be permitted to enjoy to the fullest extent all of the rights guaranteed American citizens. Since we assume the attitude of petitioners, I am sure that I speak the sentiment of the American Negro when I say that we do not ask to be made white, for had it pleased God, we would have been white. We do, not ask the liberty of any man's power; but we would ask the liberty to have and to occupy our own in peace and safety. I am sure the Hon. Hoke Smith voiced the sentiment of every intelligent colored man in America when he said that the Negro had no desire to mix with the whites—that is, to impose himself upon them. The Negro neverwanted social rights in the sense of the common interpretation, but has and will ever contend for civil and religious rights. I am not sorry that the white people have been clannish enough and have had race pride enough to protect their own society. The Negro has formed his own society, and now there is but one favor on this line that we would ask of our white brethren, and that is that any white man who is so unworthy of his ancestry and unconscious of race pride as to attempt to corrupt Negro society be punished as Negroes are (save the lynching) by the just laws of our country. This we believe to be another duty of the nation to the Negro. As citizens, we would not ask any state or the Federal government for a single legislative act for our special benefit, but we do ask that no special acts be passed by either to impede our progress. All that we ask as citizens is that the several states and general government legislate for the common good of all citizens, regardless of races, and we are willing to take our chances. What more can we ask and what less can be given by an honest Christian nation? And may God have mercy upon any nation or people that would not grant this! The white people of this country proudly boast of their superiority as a race, and I grant it when considered en masse. Their opportunities have made them thus. Then why should the stronger refuse the weaker an equal chance in the race of life? Can it be possible that the stronger fears the weaker?
The question has often been asked: "What must we do with the Negro?" If you will allow, I would say: "Do nothing with him, but respect him as a citizen at his home in the South." For the Negro is at home in this Southland. He knows and loves no other country. He was born here. Our fathers died here. We helped to make this Sunny South glorious, and we desire to enjoy the fruit of our labors. The Negro understands his white neighbors and they understand him. We are all Southerners together, and whatever is of interest to one is a blessing to the other. The greatest enemy to either race is he who would break our peace and generate strife. The Negro is an indispensable factor of the South. No race could fill his place. We know of no other clime where the Negro, if transplanted, could better his condition. The interest of the South is common to both races alike. We are inseparable in all that concerns this Southland. One race cannot suffer without the other proportionately being affected in the end. The sooner we all learn this lesson the better for all concerned.
I have never discussed politics publicly in my life. When called upon to represent the sentiment of my Church I feel it to be pardonable for daring to speak my sentiments touching the vital issues of to-day. If low tariff or free trade on certain commodities is to the best interest of the white South, it certainlyis to the best interest of the black South, who produce the raw material, manufacture nothing, but are all-round consumers; and if free silver, as it is now termed, is to the best interest of the laboring classes of this country, especially of the South and West, it must be doubly so to the Negro. I have thought for twenty years whether or no the Negro is doing right in voting solidly for any one national party. I would advise the race to be slaves to no political party because of public sentiment or misguiding politicians, but would call upon every man of the race to be a freeman at the polls and vote his individual sentiments, looking well to the best interest not only for the common country, but to the best local and sectional interest as well, and for the best men to represent that interest. And it also becomes the duty of the white citizens of the South not only to protect the life and property of the colored man, but to see that the Negro obtains a proportionate patronage of the offices of the local and Federal government.
What is the black population of the world?
The black people of the human race are estimated at 250,000,000 souls.
What is the African population of the United States?
The census of 1890 places the colored population at 7,470,040, and it is believed that they have increased to nearly 10,000,000.
How many states in the United States have a majority of Negroes?
Three—South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
How many more Negroes than whites in each of these states?
The latest census gives the Negroes of Louisiana a majority of 798; Mississippi a majority of 197,708; and South Carolina a majority of 226,926.
What state is having the greatest increase of population?
Arkansas.
What state has the greatest wealth among colored people?
Louisiana.
How many Negroes on the island of Cuba?
There are 480,000 Negroes on the island of Cuba.
What does Dr. Palmore, editor of the St. Louis Christian Advocate, say of the Negro as a race?
He says: "Possibly no race that God has created has made such rapid progress in the same length of time as the Negro. As a rule, they should not be judged by the criminals among them who have become conspicuous in the newspapers for their evil deeds, but they should be judged from the honest, hard-working men and women, who, beginning with nothing, have in the course of one generationaccumulated over $650,000,000 worth of real and personal property."
How many Negroes in the 55th Congress of the United States?
Only one—Hon. George H. White, of North Carolina.
How many colored people own their own homes in this country?
According to the census of 1890, there were 234,747 homes and farms, free from all incumbrance, owned by Negroes; and since that time the number has probably doubled.
How many books have been written by Afro-Americans?
More than 300 books written by Negro men and women have been published, while probably not more than fifty have had an extensive circulation. The "Afro-American Encyclopedia" has had the largest sale.
How many newspapers are edited and published by Afro-Americans?
Over 400.
Name one of the leading papers in each of the several states.
The "Colored American," Washington, D. C.; the "Age," New York, N. Y.; the "Freeman," Indianapolis, Ind.; the "Gazette," Cleveland, O.; the "Courant," Boston, Mass.; the "Planet," Richmond, Va.; the "Gazette," Huntsville, Ala.; the "Southern Age," Atlanta, Ga.; the "Progress," Helena, Ark.; the "Elevator," San Francisco, Cal.;the "Statesman," Denver, Colo.; the "Sentinel," Pensacola, Fla.; the "Appeal," Chicago, Ill.; the "Herald," Leavenworth, Kans.; the "Standard," Lexington, Ky.; the "Afro-American," Baltimore, Md.; the "Enquirer," Charleston, S. C.; the "Woman's Messenger," Memphis, Tenn.; the "Republican," New Orleans, La.; the "American Citizen," Kansas City, Mo.; the "Progress," Omaha, Neb.; the "Gazette," Raleigh, N. C.; the "Tribune," Philadelphia, Pa.; the "Freeman," Houston, Tex.; the "People's Defender," Jackson, Miss.
By whom were Negroes first called contrabands?
By Gen. B. F. Butler, on the 22d of May, 1861, at Newport News, Va.
When did Hon. Frederick Douglass die?
On the 20th of February, 1895, at seven o'clock p.m., at his home in Washington, D. C.
Who is the greatest poet of the race?
Paul Lawrence Dunbar.
Whose blood was the first spilled in revolution?
Crispus Attucks, a Negro, was the first to lay down his life in the defense of his country.
What does the Washington Post say of G. W. Bryant, editor of the Race Standard, of Baltimore, Md.?
"He is one of the most gifted orators of natural compass, white or black, in the United States. He has a voice that reminds men of Henry Grady, and controls an almost inexhaustible vocabulary."
How many building and loan associations are conducted by Negroes?
At least forty building, loan, and co-operative associations are doing business on a substantial basis, having conformed to the laws of the various states in which they are operated.
John Q. Adams, Chicago Ill.JOHN Q. ADAMS, CHICAGO ILL.
Who wasthe first President of the Afro-American Press Association?
John Quincy Adams, editor of the "Appeal," was the first President of the Afro-American Press Association.
When did the Negro exodus take place?
In 1879-80, when about 7,000 colored people left the Southern States and settled in Kansas.
When did the last sale of slaves lake place?
In October, 1859, Pierce Butler, of Philadelphia, sold 988 slaves at the race track, Savannah, Ga., for $303,850.
How many Negro colleges in Mississippi?
There are ten colleges in Mississippi for the education of Negro youths, and they are all well filled with bright, progressive students, who are fitting themselves for intelligent, worthy leadership of the race.
When was the Freedman's Bank established?
In March, 1865. It was established in Washington, D. C., and had thirty-four branch banks in different parts of the United States.
How long did this bank live?
Nine years, during which time it handled no less than $56,000,000.
How many colored Catholics in the United States?
Colored Catholics have two priests and over 200,000 communicants.
Who are among the leading poetesses of the race?
Mrs. Francis E. W. Harper, Mrs. Charlotte F. Grimke, Mrs. M. E. Lee, and Mrs. Josie Heard.
Who is the highest colored Mason in the United States?
John G. Jones, who was recently elected Third Vice President of the Cook County Lawyers' Association, a new but strong organization composed of those admitted to practice by the Supreme Court of Illinois. He is a thirty-third degree Mason, the highest in the United States.
JOHN G. JONES, CHICAGO, ILL.JOHN G. JONES, CHICAGO, ILL.
How many colored lawyers in Chicago?
There are thirty colored lawyers in Chicago, Lloyd G. Wheeler being the first, and was admitted in 1869. Miss Ida Platt is the only colored lady lawyer in Chicago. She was admitted to the bar about two years ago, and sought to make herself a first-class lawyer in every respect.
How many colored councilmen has Philadelphia?
Six.
Who is the richest negro bootblack in the United States?
Thomas Gleason, of Baltimore, Md., is said to have accumulated $15,000 polishing boots and shoes.
Who is considered the best colored mathematician?
Prof. Kelly Miller, of Howard University, Washington, is the finest mathematician of which the race can boast. He is the author of a text-book on geometry, which is taught at Howard University.
How many colored public schools in Washington?
In his annual report of the colored public schools of Washington, D. C., Superintendent G. F. Cook accounts for 242 schools; 297 teachers, of whom 252 are females and 45 males; 12,876 pupils, with an average daily attendance of 9,767.
How many Negroes on the police force in Chicago?
Twenty-seven.
Can you tell how many colored troops there are in the United States Army?
The Negro soldiers in the United States Army number 2,400.
When was the National Baptist Publishing Board organized?
This institution was organized at St. Louis, Mo., on the 16th of September, 1896, and the Publishing House established in Nashville, Tenn., January 1, 1897, with Rev. R. H. Boyd, D.D., as Secretary.
REV. R. H. BOYD, D.D., SAN ANTONIO, TEX.REV. R. H. BOYD, D.D., SAN ANTONIO, TEX.
Of what is this organization composed?
This organization is composed entirely of NegroBaptists, and is said to be the largest Baptist organization in the world.
How many colored men and women are employed by the city of Pittsburg, Pa.?