Robert E. Park,William G. Willcox,Jesse E. Moorland,L. Hollingsworth Wood,Carter G. Woodson,Irving Metcalf,Julius Rosenwald,Thomas J. Jones,George Foster Peabody,A. L. Jackson,James H. Dillard,Moorfield Storey,John R. Hawkins,R. E. Jones.Emmett J. Scott,
Dr. R. E. Park, Dr. J. E. Moorland and Dr. C. G. Woodson were chosen as trustees of the Association. Dr. John R. Hawkins, Dr. J. E. Moorland and Mr. L. Hollingsworth Wood were appointed members of the Business Committee.
The reports of the Director and Secretary-Treasurer follow.
The Report of the DirectorThe period covered by the last two years has been the most successful in the history of the Association. It has not yet solved all of its difficult problems and is far from being above want, but the progress it has made during the last two years indicates that the ultimate accomplishment of its purposes is assured. The edition of theJournal of Negro Historyhas reached 4,000. The current circulation, however, is a little less, but the numbers remaining on hand are gradually absorbed by the book trade. Our subscription list shows 1648 subscribers. About 600 copies are sold at news stands and 500 are brought out at the end of the year in bound form. Because of the value of theJournal Of Negro Historyin this form as a source book, the demand has recently been so great that it is necessary to reprint all numbers hitherto published.The achievements of the Association have been various. There has been among the people an increasing interest in the study of Negro life and history as a result of the extension of the circulation of theJournal of Negro Historyand the Negro reading public has been considerably enlarged. This publication is now read by serious thinkers throughout the world and research students find it a valuable aid. The people as a whole are now ready to hear the facts in the case of the Negro. They desire to know exactly what the race has done to be entitled to the consideration given other elements of our population.To supply this need the Director has supplemented the work of theJournal Of Negro Historyby reprinting and circulating a number of valuable dissertations and by publishing several books among which areSlavery in Kentucky,The Royal Adventurers into Africa, andA Century of Negro Migration. In the near future the Association will publish for Mr. Justice Riddell, of the Ontario Supreme Court, a monograph onThe Slave in Upper Canada. The Director has written an illustrated text-book on Negro History which will be published within a few months. These efforts indicate that the Association will soon develop into a nucleus of workers known throughout the world as publishers of authoritative and scientific books bearing on Negro life and history.It is highly gratifying that it is becoming less difficult to find funds to support the work of the Association. A number of persons who made contributions from the very beginning have recently increased their donations. Among these are Mr. Moorfield Storey and the Phelps Stokes Fund. From other sources there have been obtained several substantial contributions such as $100 from Mr. Frank Trumbull, $100 from Mr. William G. Willcox, $200 from Mr. Morton D. Hull, $250 from Mr. Jams J. Storrow, and $400 from Mr. Cleveland H. Dodge, the amount which Mr. Julius Rosenwald has from the beginning annually contributed.The Director has endeavored so to increase these contributions as to secure an endowment making the Association a foundation for a serious scientific study of Negro life and history. Unfortunately, however, philanthropists have not seemed disposed to invest large sums in such an enterprise. The reply to such an appeal is, that while this work is of great value, they have no assurance that should the present promoters find it necessary to retire therefrom, that the work would go on in the way it has been established and maintained.These philanthropists have in mind the dearth of scholarship in this field. When our colleges and universities, therefore, will have developed a serious student body primarily interested in applying science to the solution of the race problem, these gentlemen will consider this appeal more sympathetically.Financial Statement of the Secretary-treasurerWashington, D. C., June 16, 1919.The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Incorporated.Gentlemen:I hereby submit to you a report of the amount of money received and expended by the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Incorporated, from June 30, 1917, to June 16, 1919, inclusive:ReceiptsExpendituresSubscriptions$1,532.14Printing and stationery$5,283.65Memberships483.17Petty cash expenses955.18Contributions4,989.29Rent and light314.03News agents357.94Stenographic services844.49Advertisement202.66Refunds12.20Books22.40Advertising128.00------------Bond10.00Total receipts June, 1917, to------------June, 1919$7,587.60Total expenditures$7,547.55Balance, June 30, 191758.40Balance, June 16, 191998.45------------------------$7,646.00$7,646.00Respectfully submitted,(Signed)J. E. Moorland,Secretary-Treasurer.Washington, D. C., June 16, 1919.Dr. C. G. Woodson, Director, Association for the study of Negro Life and History, 1216 You Street, N.W., City.Dear Sir:In accordance with your request, I have audited the books of the Secretary-Treasurer of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History and find them correct for the period from July 6, 1917, to June 16, 1919.Respectfully,(Signed)C. E. Lucas,Auditor.
The Report of the Director
The period covered by the last two years has been the most successful in the history of the Association. It has not yet solved all of its difficult problems and is far from being above want, but the progress it has made during the last two years indicates that the ultimate accomplishment of its purposes is assured. The edition of theJournal of Negro Historyhas reached 4,000. The current circulation, however, is a little less, but the numbers remaining on hand are gradually absorbed by the book trade. Our subscription list shows 1648 subscribers. About 600 copies are sold at news stands and 500 are brought out at the end of the year in bound form. Because of the value of theJournal Of Negro Historyin this form as a source book, the demand has recently been so great that it is necessary to reprint all numbers hitherto published.
The achievements of the Association have been various. There has been among the people an increasing interest in the study of Negro life and history as a result of the extension of the circulation of theJournal of Negro Historyand the Negro reading public has been considerably enlarged. This publication is now read by serious thinkers throughout the world and research students find it a valuable aid. The people as a whole are now ready to hear the facts in the case of the Negro. They desire to know exactly what the race has done to be entitled to the consideration given other elements of our population.
To supply this need the Director has supplemented the work of theJournal Of Negro Historyby reprinting and circulating a number of valuable dissertations and by publishing several books among which areSlavery in Kentucky,The Royal Adventurers into Africa, andA Century of Negro Migration. In the near future the Association will publish for Mr. Justice Riddell, of the Ontario Supreme Court, a monograph onThe Slave in Upper Canada. The Director has written an illustrated text-book on Negro History which will be published within a few months. These efforts indicate that the Association will soon develop into a nucleus of workers known throughout the world as publishers of authoritative and scientific books bearing on Negro life and history.
It is highly gratifying that it is becoming less difficult to find funds to support the work of the Association. A number of persons who made contributions from the very beginning have recently increased their donations. Among these are Mr. Moorfield Storey and the Phelps Stokes Fund. From other sources there have been obtained several substantial contributions such as $100 from Mr. Frank Trumbull, $100 from Mr. William G. Willcox, $200 from Mr. Morton D. Hull, $250 from Mr. Jams J. Storrow, and $400 from Mr. Cleveland H. Dodge, the amount which Mr. Julius Rosenwald has from the beginning annually contributed.
The Director has endeavored so to increase these contributions as to secure an endowment making the Association a foundation for a serious scientific study of Negro life and history. Unfortunately, however, philanthropists have not seemed disposed to invest large sums in such an enterprise. The reply to such an appeal is, that while this work is of great value, they have no assurance that should the present promoters find it necessary to retire therefrom, that the work would go on in the way it has been established and maintained.These philanthropists have in mind the dearth of scholarship in this field. When our colleges and universities, therefore, will have developed a serious student body primarily interested in applying science to the solution of the race problem, these gentlemen will consider this appeal more sympathetically.
Financial Statement of the Secretary-treasurer
Washington, D. C., June 16, 1919.
The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Incorporated.
Gentlemen:I hereby submit to you a report of the amount of money received and expended by the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Incorporated, from June 30, 1917, to June 16, 1919, inclusive:
ReceiptsExpendituresSubscriptions$1,532.14Printing and stationery$5,283.65Memberships483.17Petty cash expenses955.18Contributions4,989.29Rent and light314.03News agents357.94Stenographic services844.49Advertisement202.66Refunds12.20Books22.40Advertising128.00------------Bond10.00Total receipts June, 1917, to------------June, 1919$7,587.60Total expenditures$7,547.55Balance, June 30, 191758.40Balance, June 16, 191998.45------------------------$7,646.00$7,646.00
Respectfully submitted,
(Signed)J. E. Moorland,Secretary-Treasurer.
Washington, D. C., June 16, 1919.
Dr. C. G. Woodson, Director, Association for the study of Negro Life and History, 1216 You Street, N.W., City.
Dear Sir:
In accordance with your request, I have audited the books of the Secretary-Treasurer of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History and find them correct for the period from July 6, 1917, to June 16, 1919.
Respectfully,
(Signed)C. E. Lucas,Auditor.
The constitution as amended at the business session follows.
Constitution of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and HistoryI. The name of this body shall be the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History.II. Its object shall be the collection of sociological and historical documents and the promotion of studies bearing on the Negro.III. Any person approved by the Executive Council may become a member by paying $1.00 and after the first year may continue a member by paying an annual fee of one dollar. Persons paying $2.00 annually become both members of the Association and subscribers to theJournal of Negro History. On the payment of $30.00 any person may become a life member, exempt from assessments. Persons not resident in the United States may be elected honorary members and shall be exempt from any payment of assessments. Members organized as clubs for the study of the Negro shall gratuitously receive from the Director such instruction in this field as may be given by mail.IV. The Officers of this Association shall be a President, a Secretary-Treasurer, a Director of Research and Editor, and an Executive Council, consisting of the free foregoing officers and twelve other members elected by the Association. The Association shall elect three members of the Executive Council as trustees. It shall also appoint a business committee to certify bills and to advise the Director in matters of administrative nature. These officers shall be elected by ballot through the mail or at each annual meeting of the Association.V. The President and Secretary-Treasurer shall perform the duties usually devolving on such officers. The Director of Research and Editor shall devise plans for the collection of documents, direct the studies of members and determine what matter shall be published in theJournal of Negro History. The Executive Council shall have charge of the general interests of the Association; including the election of members, the calling of meetings, the collection, and disposition of funds.VI. This Constitution may be amended at any biennial meeting, notice of such amendment having been given at the previous biennial meeting or the proposed amendment having received the approval of the Executive Council.
Constitution of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History
I. The name of this body shall be the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History.
II. Its object shall be the collection of sociological and historical documents and the promotion of studies bearing on the Negro.
III. Any person approved by the Executive Council may become a member by paying $1.00 and after the first year may continue a member by paying an annual fee of one dollar. Persons paying $2.00 annually become both members of the Association and subscribers to theJournal of Negro History. On the payment of $30.00 any person may become a life member, exempt from assessments. Persons not resident in the United States may be elected honorary members and shall be exempt from any payment of assessments. Members organized as clubs for the study of the Negro shall gratuitously receive from the Director such instruction in this field as may be given by mail.
IV. The Officers of this Association shall be a President, a Secretary-Treasurer, a Director of Research and Editor, and an Executive Council, consisting of the free foregoing officers and twelve other members elected by the Association. The Association shall elect three members of the Executive Council as trustees. It shall also appoint a business committee to certify bills and to advise the Director in matters of administrative nature. These officers shall be elected by ballot through the mail or at each annual meeting of the Association.
V. The President and Secretary-Treasurer shall perform the duties usually devolving on such officers. The Director of Research and Editor shall devise plans for the collection of documents, direct the studies of members and determine what matter shall be published in theJournal of Negro History. The Executive Council shall have charge of the general interests of the Association; including the election of members, the calling of meetings, the collection, and disposition of funds.
VI. This Constitution may be amended at any biennial meeting, notice of such amendment having been given at the previous biennial meeting or the proposed amendment having received the approval of the Executive Council.
The last session of the Association was held Wednesday evening at the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church. In the absence of Dr. J. E. Moorland, Professor John R. Hawkins presided. The first address was delivered by Mr. Charles H. Wesley on "The Negro Soldier in the Confederate Army." Mr. Wesley's address was scholarly and illuminating. He showed that he had made extensive research in this field in that he was well acquainted with his subject and he had it well outlined. It was presented in topical form and made so clear that it was almost impossible not to understand the extent to which the Negro figured as a soldier in the Confederate Army. He took occasion to show the difference between the Negro's loyalty to his country and that to the master class and explained how an attachment to the soil on which one lives is inevitable. The whole address tended to bring forth the thought that the Negro is so closely connected with all the great movements of this country that it is impossible to treat him as an alien.
Dr. George E. Haynes, the next speaker, discussed "Some Economic Problems of the Negro." As the Director of the Bureau of Negro Economics in the Department of Labor, Dr. Haynes has done considerable investigation which enables him to speak with authority in this field. His discussion was largely statistical, treating the Negro laborer as compared with the white laborer with respect to absenteeism, turn-over and general efficiency. On some points his investigation had not gone sufficiently far to reach definite conclusions. In most cases, however, he had facts to warrant conclusions as to the main deficiency from which the Negro laborer suffers and the respects in which he excels the white laborer.
Mr. John W. Davis, Executive Secretary of the local Young Men's Christian Association, undertook to explain "How to Promote the Study of Negro Life and History." In the first place, he answered the questions whether or not the Negro had any history, whether this history is worth saving, and how the movement should be promoted. Basing his remarks on the achievements of Africa to show that the Negro has a history worth while, Mr. Davis supported the contention that the race has a tradition which should be passed on to generations unborn. He then endeavored to show briefly exactly how there can be constructed the machinery adequate to interesting every individual having pride in the achievements of this large fraction of the population of the country.
Transcriber's Notes:Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as possible, including obsolete and variant spellings and other inconsistencies. The transcriber made the following changes to the text to correct obvious errors:1. p. 15, No footnote marker for footnote #18 in original text.2. p. 15, No footnote marker for footnote #19 in original text.3. p. 15, Footnote #19, "Attiude" --> "Attitude"4. p. 18, "thereupon he suffered" --> "thereupon be suffered"5. p. 30, Footnote #12, "skteches" --> "sketches"6. p. 61, "intellignce" --> "intelligence"7. p. 69, "about what time" --> "About what time"8. p. 103, "depneded" --> "depended"9. p. 109, "Ilinois" --> "Illinois"10. p. 115, "expeience" --> "experience"11. p. 273, No footnote text for footnote #58.12. p. 288, "daugther" --> "daughter"13. p. 291, "Apirl" --> "April"14. p. 306, "Apri" --> "April"15. p. 380, Footnote #16, "salvery" --> "slavery"16. p. 410, "uusal" --> "usual"17. p. 421, "supoprt" --> "support"18. p. 429, "Apirl" --> "April"Also, many occurrences of mismatched single and double quotes remain as published.
Transcriber's Notes:
Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as possible, including obsolete and variant spellings and other inconsistencies. The transcriber made the following changes to the text to correct obvious errors:
1. p. 15, No footnote marker for footnote #18 in original text.2. p. 15, No footnote marker for footnote #19 in original text.3. p. 15, Footnote #19, "Attiude" --> "Attitude"4. p. 18, "thereupon he suffered" --> "thereupon be suffered"5. p. 30, Footnote #12, "skteches" --> "sketches"6. p. 61, "intellignce" --> "intelligence"7. p. 69, "about what time" --> "About what time"8. p. 103, "depneded" --> "depended"9. p. 109, "Ilinois" --> "Illinois"10. p. 115, "expeience" --> "experience"11. p. 273, No footnote text for footnote #58.12. p. 288, "daugther" --> "daughter"13. p. 291, "Apirl" --> "April"14. p. 306, "Apri" --> "April"15. p. 380, Footnote #16, "salvery" --> "slavery"16. p. 410, "uusal" --> "usual"17. p. 421, "supoprt" --> "support"18. p. 429, "Apirl" --> "April"
Also, many occurrences of mismatched single and double quotes remain as published.