THE
Uncrowned Queen
-BY-
C. C SOMERVILLE
SECOND EDITION
25 Cents
Robert W. Woodruff
Library
EMORY UNIVERSITY
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The Uncrowned
Queen
SECOND EDITION
snsmaag
The Uncrowned Queen
A Treatise On The Negro
Woman of America
BY
(ft. <£. &nm*rttUk, A. H, 0. U.
Thy creature here before Thee stands
All wretched and di£tre£t;
Yet sure those ills that wring my soul
Obey Thy high behesft.
But if I mu§fc afflicted be
To suit some wise design;
Then, more my soul with firm resolves
To bear and not repine.
—Burns.
SECOND EDITION
Published by C. C. Somerville,
Portsmouth, Virginia
Priated by
SOMERVILLE PRINTERY
812 Columbia Street
Portsmouth,V«.
19 14
To the consecrated, self-respecting Negro
Woman, who, despite of her circum¬
stances and disadvantages is, trying
to rise by dint of fidelity and per¬
severance to the level of the beft in
womanhood; and who beleives that
God will assi& her in her endeavor;
and who, like a true heroine, clings
to the cross of hope, until deliver¬
ance comes, though the heavens fall,
This pamphlet is affectionately
dedicated.
I.
The Maiden with Poor Opportunities
—Circumscribed with Hurtful Environ¬
ments—Fighting Single-handed—Little or
no Encouragement—A Child of De&iny.
"1 am black, but comely,
O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as
the tents of Kedor, as the curtains
of Solomon. Look not upon me
because I am black, because the
sun hath looked upon me."
Songs 1: 5, 6.
Nothing is plainer to a
easual observer or a student of
human society with its complexity
and manysided needs than the
position that is occupied by the
vast number of colored girls in
this country. Everywhere one may
turn his eyes especially in the
Southland if there is human
habitation, he will find thia
creature struggling under great
disadvantage as compared to the
position of her sex of any other
race. The fact of the whole mat¬
ter is her opportunities are poor,
not because she Ms indolent or
unworthy, not »because she is
unwilling to exert herself to rise,
not because she would prove
unfaithful if she were helped, but
because she is a .member of a
race in this country that were
unfortanately born with black
■kins.
The wealth and business
controlled by members of her own
race do not make openings suf¬
ficiently large to accomodate the
increasing members thac go. to
swell the ranks, and hence the
only alternative left in the strug—
7
The Uncrowned Queen
gle for bread is, to go and angle
wherever she can afford to put
in a sickle.
.If there were no other
inviroments to hinder the am¬
bitious colored girl other than
racial prejudice that alone would
be enough to well nigh break
her heart and cause her to give
up in despair; but she is forced
to confront in the vast majority
of cases her poverty, which hangs
like a pall or a leaden weight;
No girl with a touch of
true womanhood can afford to
look upon her squalid home and
its makeshift of furniture, or
upon her own clothing that is
threadbare and, out of date, for
wear, her equally poor association
without feeling- keenly the song
of her poverty and could with
it were otherwisei Then added
to that is the unwritten law
of costs, that asserts itself when
ever she goes in the public or
is seen beyond the confines of
her own home.. Besides feeling
this sharp cut in her sensitive
nature she must feel the cold
fornure of an unsympathetic
World from every point.toward
which she may turn her eyes.
The law of human society seems
inexorible when it is brought
into play where poverty stands
before it/ and especially does
this seem true when the poor
colored girl is to be considered.
8
The Uncrowned Queen
The things that make for
the education and development
of the average colored girl are
not those which are the best
Suited to that end. She i s
hedged in by those things that
have a tendency to discourage
rather than inspire, those
things which naturally tend to
Modify in their growth end
development. Some of the most
advanced thinkers of today,
when discussing the question
as to which exerts the greater
influence on a child's life, here¬
dity or environments, lean de¬
cidedly in favor of environment
declariug that good books, com¬
petent teachers and healthful
exercises with proper sanitation
have more to do with the
formation of character than
heredity, If that is the true
conclusion, then it must be
allowed that the poor colored
girl, born in a hovel, poorCJT
fed and thinly clad and brought
up in the atmosphere of illeter-
acy, is surrounded with un¬
inviting environments, and
must be above the ordinary
to ever rise above the
mediocre i And that is precisely
the condition io which the
average negro girl finds her
self when she awakes to a
realization of her true state in
this country. Soma girls in the
country have never known a
habitation more royal than the
9
tlie Uncrowned Queen
one room and some'timesjdouble
room cabin, they have been
fed on the ^coarsest and most
poorly prepared diet, and t.heir
clothing of the most ordinary
and in many cases very scanty
while the society into^ which
they have been thrown, and
are forced to keep has nothing
to inspire or elevate. This is
mostly true as it applies to
country life; while a* similiar
condition if not more deplorable
is the case of city life: Except
where the parents are buying
their own D*operty, or are
situated 90 as to pay very high
rents, th« children are born and
bred in vermio infested alleys,
with both miserable sanitary
and lighting provisions, and
because of these cheap and
accnsable quarters, tbey are
forced to grow up in the midst
of the lowest element of soiety,
where blackguard is more the
order than common decency.
Born aod bred amid such
environments it is more the
wonder that the colored girl
should ever amount to anything
than otherwise.
If she mu3t ever rise and
take her place among noble
wo to an hood it i3 because she
has the elements af greatness
in her soul, the fire of noble
ambition that will not be quench
ed by the world's adversity.
Hie Uncrowned Qoften
la thifr unfortunate sit—'
u&tion she has little for no
encouragement, No beautiful
flowers spring cp at her 4feet,
no music, of real charm r ever
ravlthes her ear, do apoken
wdrd fit*"food cheer" ever falls
tfyoh li»r heart; To rise above
h6*^o%fr humble surroundings
^he rtiiSet have a vision of the
f71tf#efthat is yet buried in the
dark germ of the embryo, she
must see the brightness of the
sunshine in the far off rift of
the clouds, she must feel the
touch of the unseen Hand that
Is lifting, sustainiag and
translating into higher ex¬
cellences, many jewels of
"purest ray serene".. Should
6he endeavor to put herself
forward in answer to some
force within that night and
is urging her forward, the
will be„told .in.so. many words,
by dseds and action that she
ne«d£not try to be superior to
her companions, for the world
will not tolerate it. She must
be content to remain just
where .she is, for society on a
higher*plain and more exalted
circumstances is not willing to
11
The Uncrowned .Queen
open th^doW vo^het, and if
she m*£l| Ttei* intrusion into
the sa^/'sfie^musfc do" it on her
own . initiative taking the risk
for herjte&lty* An indormit—
able wilr backed up with a
sense of her own worth ^usc
make the place for her that she
must occupyi Very little of
the stimulus which serves to
excite, or advance, looking to
a greater reward ever comes to
the colored girl either from
the rpublic press or books
specially prepared od the sub¬
ject, 60 thai if she ever be¬
comes,; aotable . for anything
she has done or any greatness
she has achieved the credit of
it in a double measure belongs
to herself.
^ Despite of her excellencies
of head and. heart she seems
to be. a child of destiny——a
short life of comparative ob¬
scurity and then fail into the
grave, Mr GAAP Taylor in
his "The'conflict and commin¬
gling ; of the races" when
writing on the chapter: The
"Negro .woman in the nation's
problem" states a very pia}a
vtruth^kou&h"; with rather
The Uncrowned Queen
drastic l&ngaage< wbetfhe says:
Why do white,fiieto-as li^islatoyaJ
at", the South enUct^^tfla Crow
laws, inflicting discrimshinatiog
outrages upon the negrcfjrace;
degrading^botb. their men and
women, and every intent upon
seeking clandestein alliauces
under cover of night ^with the
women? They say it when they
cause to be writien over the
doors "of the Southern Railroad
depot waiting rgoms signs
reading thus: "Ladies' waiting
room" and "Colored waiting
room", Now, be it known that
the 'Colored waiting room'
indicates the waiting room set
apart for all negroes, wkere
cats, doss, white men
drunken, cigar smoking, tobacco
using white men and every
other vile abomination is priv
eledged to enter and'tarry,'
This is an ugly picture we
admit but the logic i s
indisputable the almost
universal edict of America is.
you have answered the enigma,
and here must it rest.
Surely it would rost for¬
ever here if ambition like ^ a
smothering blaze were not steadily
burning in the bosom of The
Uncrowned Queen, She hopes to
13
friie tlnerowned Qaeeii
gee the day come whe the Amerl
can people out of a sense of just
pride and fair play, would be
heartily ashamed of such racial
littleness; and would quickly ad*
just itself in the line of righteous
ness. and that of treating the
fellowman right even if tfhe "sun
"hath looked upon me."
MRS, MARY E. CHERRY,
Windsor, N. C.
Resides on her own premises; con¬
ducts her own farming intereft—prodsc-
ing corn, cotton, sweet potatoes, peanuts
and Japan peas.
II.
Hope like the glimm'ring taper's light.
Adorns and cheers the .way;
A ud still, as darker grows the night.
Emits a brighter ray.
We here get our introduction
to the poor school girl.
In not a few cases fond
parents anxious to do the best
things to assist their girls into
prominence and to fiit them for
the best society, will make all
kinds of sacrifices to giye them
an education.
Out of their scanty means
and poor income, they endeavor
to provide decent clothing and
sufficient books, besides paying
the transportation to school and
obligating themselves to meet the
bills monthly while the child is
in school.
And after a mostx,rstrenous
!I?Le?act'?g e^ort to send this
cnila to school, they discover that
her attire will hardly suffice to save
her from criticism.
.pend?4'XPwkh^1rm~
be fortunate enough to have
hardly amounts to $5.00
being as economical with t
saay be, it quickly passes
her fingers, leaving her t r°lgh
of its dir. and.unrelentins cr™Uy'
THE UNCROWNED QUEEN
She is called upon to face
in stein reality this hard fate,
to meet daily those who read
her poverty through her attire,
to associate in the school room
often those who are better cir
cumstanced, and in face of it
all she must stand or fall.
She has feelings and must
keenly feel the cutting sting of
her misfortune. So grave is the
situation of the poor school
girl, fighting against tremend¬
ous odds, that a writer to the
Golden Age a few days ago, not
Only wrote a strong and sen¬
sible article on free school
books, but went far enough to
say that the State ought not to
furnish them gratis only, but
ought to furnish FREE uniform
suits for the poor children as
welh
Now if in the mind -of
this humanitarian the embar¬
rassment to the poor child is
such as would justify this pro
vision, a child whose ancestry has
had all the advantages in life's
race, what should be the feeling
of the child that springs from an
unfortnnate race, and one who
has never bad£half a chance in
the cont9st?
The condition that awaken
ed the emotion of pity, sympathy
and benefaction for the former
ought to be intensified when the
latter is considered.
And as to the comparison is
19
THE UNCROWNED QUEEN
seen between David and
Arc as is portrayed so graphic y
by DeQuincy; 'What is to
thought of the poor shepherd gi 1
from the hills and forests of Lor¬
raine, that—like the Hebrew
shepherd boy from the hills and
forests of Judea— rose suddenly
o«t of the quiet, out of > safety,
out of religious inspiration, rooted
in deep pastoral solitudes, to a
station in the vam of armies, and
to a more perilous station at the
right hand of kings?"
The Hebrew boy inaugur¬
ated HIS patriotic mission by an
ACT, by a victorious ACT, such
no man could deny.
But so did the girl of
Lorraine if we read her story as
it was read by the one who saw
her nearest. Adverse armies bore
witness to the boy as no protend
er; but so they did to the gentle
girl, judging by the voices of all
wh« saw them from a Station Of
Good Will both were found true
and loyal to any promise invol —
ved in their first acts.
Enemies it was that made
the difference between their sub
sequent fortunes.
The boy rose to a splendor
and a noonday prosperity both
personal and public, that race
through the records of his people
and became a byword among his
posterity for a thousand years
uotil the sceptre was departed
THE UNCROWNED QUEEN
from Judah.
The poor, forsaken cirl,
on the contrary drank not her
self from that cup a rest whieb
she had secured for France,
She never sang together
with the songs that rose io her
native Domeremy, as echoes to
the departing steps of invadersi
She mingled not in the festal
dances of Vaucoulear, which
celebrated in rapture the re¬
demption of France.
No! for *her voice w»s
then silent; No! for her feet
were dust. Pure, innocent,
noble-hearted girl! whom from
her earliest youth, ever
I beleived in as full of truth
and self sacrifice) this was
amongst the strangest pledges
for THY side, that never once
— no, not for a moment of
weakness—didst thou revel in
the vision of coronets and
honor from man."
Under this splendid cem
parisonjit is very evident 'that
the thing that made the differ*
ence between these distinguish
ed characters was »ot inferior
quality in either; bgit the con¬
ditions in which they found
21
MRS. L. J. JONES, NYACK, N. Y.,
Conducts a successful Dyeing and Pres¬
sing Establishment on the main
thoroughfars and serves both races in
her business.
T&E UNCROWNED QfcEEN
themselves, and for which
neither was responsible!
There is something how
ever that is not always men-
tioned that causes the girl of
color to cling to* her purpose
arid to struggle onward and
and upward, it matters not
how rough and thorny the road
over which Bshe is called to
travel poverty, dwk skin«
race prejudice, something dis¬
tinctly divine that whimpers in
her soul the cheering words:
'Go Forward!' a nameless some
thiug here, bat we shall call it
Womaahood's Ideal.
Jn the tiying and un¬
pleasant journey she is making
in the pursuit of an education*
she doubtless has a vision of
some of the nob e women whose
lives of unselfish disinterested¬
ness and gacuine altruism, have
made them the real queaas of
all generations.
In the galaxy of these
noble females, appear Sarab,
the differential wife;" Jucobed,
the faithful mother, Sheba's
queen, the wise woman; Esther
the restless petitioner; or Mary
the mother of Jesus i
2*
THE UNCROWNED QUEEN
Who knows that but
that from the story of the life
of one or^all of these; she docs
not catch one inspiration that
can not be snuffed out with all
the trials to whiich poverty
ha9 ever made heir.
At the door of knowledge
shd stands and knocks, await¬
ing an opportunity to drink
from the pierian springs..
Despite of her circum.
stances she see3 something
better than pushing a baby car
riage through the streets, o r
following the humble occupa¬
tios of a scrub woman or an
ordinary menial.
While she does not look
upon these with contempo,
neither those who follow them
as an honorable means of a
livelihood, yet she feeU the
thrill of something mora ele¬
vating; she hears the call of
something more noble.
And in response to this
call ehe endeavors to answer
by her action. Faithful, Blert
and watchful, she moves ever
forward toward her ideal.
Enemies all about her
never cease to discourage* and
if possible, make her decide
that after all it is not worth
while.
24
THE UNCROWNED QUEEN
The dark pictures of unfortunate wo¬
men wbo loft in the race of life, loom np
before her; pictures of unemployed, but
educated colored girls are thrown on the
canvass; another "Bridge of Sighs," with
its wail of pathos rings through her soul;
and more than all, an iniquitous pro¬
scription not written in the organic law
of the land, but a tradiion for many
generations which says NOT WANTED,
meets her at every turn of her ambitious
struggle, to smother the little flame of
celestial Are in her soul that says: "They
that go forth weeping, bearing precious
seen, shall doubtless come again rejoic'nU»
bringing their sheaves with them,"
If the Negro girl was not possessed of
a worthy ambition and carried within the
elements of her very being qualities of
greatness, honor and the best in woman¬
hood, with all the drawbacks, knocks and
discouragements she is forced to over¬
come ; if in her veins there flowed n o
the currents of a queen and hope that
can never die; not one fourth who now
reach the high schools would ever enter
its walls or one-tenth of the present mem¬
bers would ever graduate from our col¬
leges. As they slowly climb the ladder,
they measure the diftance from which
they came and pant for the goal that is
•t the top.
Coronation with them is not in the
beginning, but in the ending; not when
they half clad and half fed, make up the
regi&er of the little 'red school-house' on
the hill; but after sacrifice, and toil, and
suffering, the master says on commence¬
ment day, "she is awarded this diploma
EXCELENTIUM."
It "was in her mind from the very
beginning that ' 'crowning day ";'was com-
ming, toward which she steadily moved
during the years. Having won a crown
in her liteiary struggle, she begins with
renewed energy to win a £till greater
crpwn that awaits the close of any success¬
ful woman's life, it matters not what may
be the attitude of the community into
THE UNCROWNED QUEEN
which she may be ca 11 ed to play a vo-
inn'ij part, or achieve a woman's vi<5tory.
She pants for the crown, and the
crown she mu£t have, if to win it she
falls clutching tightly in her embrace the
banner on which is written ''Excelsior."
III.
Leaving old alma mater—Looking an un¬
charitable world in face-Knocking on
the door of business only to be turned
away—Trying to ftand on professional
feet—Target for the shaft of woman's
worse enemy.
"Thus ready for the way
of life or death, I wait for the
sharpest blows".
When the time comes
or our fair daughter to leave
he classic shades. of her dear
old alma mater, a feeling of
Badness comes over her it
matters not how trying has
been her life there, and all the
more painful becomes the
parting if association has been
congenial and tne instructors
parental. The thought of saying
goodbye is like the parting
with a friend whom we may
never expect to meet again i
Leaving school at commence—
menu times, brings to our mind
Milton's fine picture of Eve's
lament when the lime came to
leave paradise; "Must I leave
thee paradise? thus leave thee
native soil, these happy walks
and shades, fit haunt for gods?
where I had hope to spend
quiet, though sad, the respite
of that day that must be mortal
^0 us both," She having gone
28
The Uncrowned Queen
thioUih tie drill ami grii-d
nee ssdry to discipline has.
come to ^cjoy and even love
that which at first seemed so
hard. The days for tho final
handshaking come tripp'ng by
with thf fleeiesr r>et, wh n
teachers aud s'udeuts aid ottcn
friends, uuite for the last timn.
The old walls that at first
seemed cold and even cruel,
fade away into the mellownt-ss
of a sprng twilight; students
who in other days we"e almost
repulsive, become 'the tender
hearted friends with a common
band of sympathy and com¬
passion; and the professors
who at the very beginning were
more like foreigners or strangers
in a strange land, have mel¬
lowed themselves down in
anticipation of the student's
needs, have gone so far 'afield*
to clear up some imgma, or
solve some problem, have so
often voiuuteered to carry
another's burden, that the
heart can scarely bear the
weight of its burden, whea
29
The Uncrowned Queen \
Me time strikes noon and the
master says 'School is dismissed
It is hard to describe
the visions thai rise before us.
The wheels of destiny do not
move backward, bui forward,
and all that has been dis¬
cipline anc! training, has been
done paving the way for the
future course and jaying the
foundation upon which to stand.
Much of the studies put into
the course may be never needed
per se as such, but like the
thiols of God's creation, how
ever small or insignificant, they
go some where in the building
of one's life in the architecture
that lies before.' As Doctor
G C Baldwin once said when
speaking of the useof God's
creation, bhowever insignificant;
He han some use for it in His
great plan
"There is not a particle of air,
whether whispering in zephys or waiting
in blasts; nor atom of matter, whether
glittering in the gem that sparkles on the
breast of beauty, or giving nutriment to
the deep sunken root of the oak; whether
it goes to constitute the flower that
"blooms unseen" or make up the pine
tree that sighed over the home of your
youth; ox the tiny insect that floats in
30
The Uncrowned Queen
the sunbeam and is no more, there is
nothing which is not essential to God's
idea of this world."
And so the lessons learned will
have their place and will serve their pur¬
pose in life's monument. The next pro¬
nounced position in which the future
queen will find herself is, when turning
from the school, she is "looking an un¬
charitable world in the face," The term
uncharitable is used aduisidly. The world
is something like an audience unsympa¬
thetic at first and must be won by slow
degrees. If it were to the social side a-
lone that she looked, and had sufficient
backing to respond to its whims and bow
to its caprices, it would not be hard,
because it would be receiving more than
it would be giving out, taking out more
than putting in. But, life is many sided
to any one who must cover his fortune,
and to man more distinctly so than the
woman. She lifts up her eyes "upon the
fields' but in most cases they are over¬
crowded with laborers.
And perhaps in the whole
survey she may make at this
moment, there is not a single
being, in the need of reapers
who bids her to come. Sbe
knows full well that wherever she
goes in search of employment at
all commensurate with her at —
tainmeats, she must find in ad¬
vance prejudice deep and un¬
willing The world has no
special love for her, and often
for the very reason that her skin
is black and her mind is polish
ed so that it finds its greatest
isyrcease in new creations, its
The Uncrowned Qneen
surest satisfaction in the unfold
ing of those virtues tbat have
occupied and taxed the strength
of the greatest minds in all ages
and among all peoples The hum
of the factory's spindle may
drown the weaker hums of business
but it brings no music to her:
great scores with iis varied de¬
partments may like the bee hive,
be all life and activity, but
there is scarcely one thing among
a thousand that says, 'Poor
child, you have been striving
like a hero to win your college
honors, you have gloriously won
out, and here is a place for you
to put back into the world's
granary the thiDgs you have
consumed in making the race".
She stands at this psychologic
moment more like the wTounded
Jew, when the world passes "by
on the other side", than like the
gallant hero returning from
battle whom the world delights
to honor' Not loDg can she
stand and gaze, but from sheer
necessity, she must quickly take
her bearings and begin to knock
She begins her search for daily
bread - knocking on the door of
business to be met by the pro
prieter only to be turned away.
Sorne there are who
would give her employment a
The Uncrowned Queen
clerkship or what not, but can
not do it for the reason that
soeiety would not stand for it.
It would be putting the 'fly into
the milk" and a thousand bread
winners in the several depart
ments would immediately 'strike'
and the purchases with a well-
filled purse would go elsewhere.
She could not even be given a
private booth, excluded from
the rest, if it was known, be
cause color—phobia like an
enraged lion's whelp would
scrutenize every nook and corner
until she was discovered and
then would come the howl more
fierce than from the throats of
of a thousand wolves drive
her out, Like Ishmael driven
from the home of his birth she
must feel that every man's hand
was against hers.
She must be turned away for the
next reason that she might precure the
bread from another, whose skin was not
black. Ah this black skin says Prof. Still
has robbed me of many a job. More is
the pity that of all the places in the need
of a womanly woman, nay a very queen,
not one in a thousand dares to open its
dOors, and let down- the bars to admit
this child of destiny, who by J her careful
and painstaking preparation is able to
help the world forward in its business
with leaps any bounds. Jt 1 is but natural
that she should try to stand upon pro—
fessienal feet. It is out of the natural
order of things to suppose that she could
The Uncrowned Queen
be happy in a menial service. Her
training has aimed at something else.
The years of discipline and education
have endeared to implant in her the po¬
wers of her capability and it would be
like putting the oak again into the a—
corn, or reducing a race of freemen to
the condition of a slave. Something that
causes man to look upon man not so
much from the exterior, the color of his
skin or race, as to the powers of the mind
that have been drawn not to see that
miud is "greater than matter". The young
negro in the hold of slave ship crossing
the Atlantic continued to tug at his
chains in the dead of the night, when the
other slaves in irons were fast asleep.
The captain gave command that some
one of the guards should go down and
put him to "rest"-kill him-it was done;
but upon an investigation it was discovered
that he was the son of a king, and the
royal blood coursing through his veins
asserted itself, and would not permit him
to sleep, though he was in chains.
When the Negro girl receives a
Christian education—heart, head, hands—
she can no more be at ease as a menial,
than this restless prisoner in chains or the
waves that beat upon the seashore.
But the most trying situation of all is,
not when she is endeavoring to find a sit¬
uation and is refused at every turn of
the way; it is not when she &ands on
commencement day looking over the field
into which she would like to put her
scythe, aud sees not one single opening;
it is not duriug the many cheerless days
she spends in school, feeling that when
these meagre pennies are consumed, like
the widow of Zarapheth she must eat
the last morsel and die; but it is when
she leaves the surveilance of the president
and the maternal watchcareof the matron
she must go to become a target for the
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shafts of woman's worse foe—desiging
men.
Tbe picture drawn by Christ
of the crisis into which the first
apostles would fall has no more
significance than that which relates
to the average college graduate
among the dark colored queens,
"Behold" he says "j send you
forth as a sheep in the midst of
wolves". The enemy to whioh
she is exposed is of a twofold
character—men of an opposite
race and men of her own race.
To the unthinking the
charge of illicit relations between
white men and colored women
wouid seem not only eroneous
but preposterous. Does such a
state of things exist now in the
face of all that is being said and
d^ne in favor of Jim Crow laws
and segregation of races for social
betterment? Have the white men
abondoned colored mistresses
altogether? The answer to these
questions is found in the increa—
ing number of mulatto babies.
Conditions like hard pan truths
do not lie, It often turns out that
those who are most vociferous
in their abuse of the negro
woman, who have "never seen a
lady in the whole race" are the
leaders among those who seek to
decoy them into temptation and
vice by their menns and influ¬
ences Ajsamnti this horde of blood
35
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thirsty wolves, these insincere
End unfair human sharks, the
uesrro girl must stand ss a coveted
tprgrt, and the more so if she
be fa'> we'l educated, but poor.
And then too if she be attacked
by tb s c!a*s of enemies, like the
dove that pr*s3es the dart under
her win?s into her own vitals,
she mus > keep her own secret
until death comes as a welcome
visitor
The other enemy to which
she is exposed and from which
theve is hardly an avenue of
escape is. the men of her own
race, who by soeial advantage
are thrown frequently into,
contact, and in far too many
ca^es, never let an opportunity
10 betrav, pas ^ by<
TWv use. their opportunity
firs' , becau-e it seems to bring:
th's superior being down to
tbetr level and secondly, be¬
cause they have never conceived
the consciousness of the faet
that the elevation of the race
depends more upon the virtue
and integrity of the women
than any other thing. Cases
nra in po>nt where designing men
a.a,ve educated poor and worthy
.ctrls for no other purpose than
to s-e how deep down into the
hell of infamy and shame they
m ght drag them, when the days
ot college training are over
36
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' Goc d \ v coe in rr an or
woman dear my crci, <s the
immediate jemtls cf their c.U:
who steals dqj purse s'e&K-t
tiasb, 'tis si meihiEg1, 'tis
nothing: 'twas mine, 'tis his,
and has been slave to thou—
sands; buc he that filches from
me my good name, robs me of
tbat which does cos earichen
him, and makes me poor in¬
deed".
Mrs. B. C, MEBANE,
Graduate Women's Training School,
Shaw; for nearly twenty years special
City Missionary under the Missionary
Board of Chicago; a positive re¬
ligious" force and a great Temperance
Worker.
IV.
Becomes a wife-The advancement of the
race depends on her conception of a
home—Difficulties in maintaining a
standard—Must make home out of
her own creations.
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'O woman, lovely woman!
nature made thee to temper
man; we had been brutes wnb
out you. Angeis are painted
fair, to look li^e you: there is
in you all that we believe of
heaven, amazing briaHne^,
purity and truth, eternal joy
and everlasting love'*.
— Ov vray
As natuidi as laiaht iVJ,
after the close of day is i i e
transition from a single to a
married state. The young girl
who a few mouths previous
seems to have had no thought
of marriage in her mind and
certainly while in school, goes
out into the world, and often
the first thing we hear of her
that attracts more thao passing
attention js, the annoLicemaut
of her marriage. And the
surprise is all the greater when
it is also discovered that the
eonsumation of that ideal was
the dream of long ago, judging
by the preparation of the
tyousseau that 4 had been so
earelully made... The event,
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fraught with mystery . aDd,
portentous of hidden beauty
or dire discomfort is celebrated
in the presence of frierds, ful¬
filling the declaration in divine
writ which says that marriage
rightly performed, means the
merging of two individualities
into a' great personal one—of
aims, purpose, designs and ex
cel'encp, ''Wherefore they are
no more twain but one fieshi
What therefore God hath join
ed together let no man put as¬
under".
Oae of the most difficult
problems man has been called
to solve in all his journey from
h!s ciii'd like intonence in the
garden of Eden to the present
time is the marriage question,
where the contracting parties
are the best suited to ba joined
io wedlock according to eu¬
genic^, ard are also acceptable
to parents and those most
deeply interested. Accord it g to
the lafl-s of the land if the
parties to ba married meet the
requirements of the State laws
as to ago etc. they can become
41
The Uncrowned Queen
husbaDd and wife if makes no
difference how great the dis
parity or howuoequally :yoked\
The married woman is the wife in
the full meaning of that term—the lawful
consort of a man. She is now clothed
with new obligations, vi hich mean new re
sponsibilities. Much of the burden—care
and solicitude that erstwhile lay upoa
her mother's shoulders now becomes hers,
which duties she can not] honorably fly
from.
The companionship of her husband
becomes her first and highest duty, [ t h e
negledt of which may open the channel
of divergance and estrangemeut which
may widen into a deplorable separation,
either legal or otherwise; and not un-
frequently this chapter in the uuptial* be¬
comes a tragedy, the more " pathetic be-
cacse of the cause.
The duty not only of 'keeping house,'
but of helping the hushand provide for
something to keep, it not by saving that
he brings in, even to the buttons on the
discarded trousers is, so plainly her duty,
e« obviously a part of the true wife, that
a mention here is superfluous. Whether
she lives in a mansion or in a hovel;
whether she dresses in satin robes or a
"briar torn gown;" whether her husband
is the judge on the bench, or the "drone'
in the corner, if she has given him her
hand and pledged her troth, until death
she is a wife.
Behind the wife siaLds the
home and upon the home must
rest the hope of the race. The
home should ba the sacred
precinct into which no ruffian
should enter but the plaee
where every member of the
family should find reposp
comfort aud inspiration even to
the baby in the nurses'a arms,
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Purity shouid be the
keynote of every song, the
Jife blood running through the
entire action of ihe family in
every department and walk of
lifei No departure from this
can be tolerated without its
consequences—svils soouer or
later. When it pleases God lo
send children into the family
— boys and girls, they should
be earl? taught the differences
in the sexes, and how each
shuuld jealously guard the
rights of the other. If the
children going out are
the exponents and interpreters
of that home, it logically follows
that that home ought to be of
the very highest degre of moral
purity and order. Children are
the rtfUx index of the hom«,
It can not be denied that where
the wife has a poor knowledge
and a low and narrow con¬
ception - of the horns, she does
but a little to embellish it; and
in proportion as a value of the
home is depreciated in her own
estiQ»»tio-ot just in proportion
will such notions affect those
43
The Uncrowned Qii«en
who must find , shelter ui»dw
its roof..
Upon the shoulders of the
wife assisted, to be sure by
the husband, must rest the home
and upon it must rest the race
with its hopes and prospects
for future advancement. Tha
ordinary log cabin with the
windows clean, the beds well
aired, the dishes dried and
put into their places after eaelft
meal is, more like a home tham
that plaee with rags en tho
floor, but in disorder, * pitsr
in the corner covered with dual
and the candlebra , /itting to
write one's uamei
A very wise man oaee
said, *:I had rather eat
meals from some floors, than
from some tables". The race
is bound to go upward in its
march of civilization if the
home will be what it ought to
be. John Howard Payne feeling
that the home had a eharn
not to be felt anywhere
in a palace, burst out in tht
fulness of his soul when he
thought of the old home froai
which he was then a distatft
pilgrim?
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* 'Mid pleasures and palaces though
May roam;
Be it never so dear, there is no place
like home."
But the maintenance of
ft true standard of the home is
not without its grievous draw—
backs and hindrances. It is too
often the case that the husband
does cot sbare the wife's notion
of beauty, and hence sees no
use of hangirg pictures on the
wall, or planting flowers or
buying good books and music
essentials in a well regulated
home: Against this difficulty
•he may be committed for a
Jifa Jong struggle. Poverty too
eomes like an armed man and
•ften prevents oui queen .from
getting the aimpleist things
that her hands could make,
Iter? they hers.
With watchful eyes she
•festrrei tne constant changes
is bouse keeping and she bends
•very energy and commands
every agency to help her make
ber home the equal of any, in
arrangement and good taste if
not in luxury. Thao the negro
is striving with all of her
might to rise and mounting the
standard goes without saying
where the means will per
mj$, she builds a home that is
& rival of her . wealthy sister
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and fulfills the proverb;
"Every wise woman buildeth ner
house". _ ,
There is one thing that
is peculiar to the colored bouse
wife and taxes her ingenuity
and skill for house keeping be¬
yond that of others-she must
make home out of her own
creations. It is not contended
that there are no models before
her from which she must mould
her forms, for that would te
self contradictory, but for all
ber fine conceptions of a home,
in a majority of the cases they
must be evolved out of the
exigency, because she does not
fall back on the wisdom and
experience of her ancestors.
Fifty years ago her mother or
grandmother having cooked her
scanty hoard wenc to the field
by early dawn and toiled on
until twilight leaving her children
if there were any in the care of
old ' aunty". No lessons were
taught of the sacredness of
marriage, children could scarcely
distinguish between their parents
and any one else, the relation
of husband and wife was more
like the matin? of certain breed
of animals than human beings
created in the image of God.
and home with the negro race
was the greatest misnomer, it
bejng a place to lie down and
A &
«The IJnct owned jQucen
£h ep a»night<r asid" perhsrps. to
gcr.around*\"» Sunday ,and
that was all^' 1 " %
Out of this* condition a
queen must cG-me,wjno must not
only bujjd fc^r>'he mextit of her
own .-creation, tut she . must
rear ber children wykh respect¬
ability, culture and refinement.
If Lincoln who was born
poor and succeeded in getting
that education which fitted him
for the highest duty in the land
is to be crowned as America's
first citizen,
What meed of praise shall
we bestow upon her whose parents
less than half a century pgo
were the most abject slaves, and
who knew not the alphabet of
domestic science, and who were
offered no .prize for virtue and
morality; but rather whose value
was enhanced in the commercial
world according to its power of
reproduction? What is to be
thought of and said about her,
out of such a condition in less
than half a cantury who can
' keep house" equal to her sister
who for centuries has not only
been unfettered, but has been
helped, encouraged and inspired
to bring out the best tbat is in
womani1 Surely the crown that
has been so long denied her, the
crown that can find a no more
47
wartb? ia alt U§ world eight t?
b« placed «a h«r hraw aaa thai
fiadly and faiakijr—-a cot—
MAtioa that ia desarrod.
ltlpealaf Into frnlt—ScatlnMt dtesgl^
Hi her ftwi—H«r HlMtadi t m t
kef charg*—Vidfcomw ja «t«ry lift
cwiteA—V fittoldto Cotenmttfi*.
"Be thou faithful until death and
I will give thee a crown of life. Rev. 2;
10.
Esto fidelis usque ad mortem, ct
dano tibi coronam vitae.
The struggle of the negro woman's
life from the time we began a study of
it in these pages until we reach this
chapter, has been almost a tragedy. The
odds she was forced to meet, the slights
cast upon her-, the discouragements and
trails have meant to sour and embitter
her spirits and to cast down her hopes.
But, with the true woman, countless
numbers found ,fn the race, these have
proved the gocds to her ambition* the
gteppihg stones by which' she" has been
Steadily rising and must continue to rise,
and lifting fhe race as she climbs. As
in the case of Joseph whom God meant
to promote and make a Savior for hi«
people, so it may yet prove true of this
child of destiny, for his ways are past
finding out. "And the patriarchs moved
with envy sold Joseph into Egypt; but
God was with him". Every discriminating
affliction the negro woman has endured
in our boasted civilization is, but a means
of perfecting the higher qualities of
heart and soul, and as the years roll
by, the richer fruit of thnt higher or¬
ganism continues to reveal itself. Those
who have openly made charges of her
infidelity, will see in coming years that
she will not sufler by comparison. Her
fruits of patience, gentleness, longsuffer-
ing and virture, will become more and
more pronounced, while the anathema of
her traducers will steadily grow into a
beautiful silence. We do not have to go
far afield in quest of these qualities now
for they are more the rule than the ex¬
ception.
50
fie Uncrowned Que#
ifte welfare of human society..
More respect is shown her in
public places and the more hey
demeanor reveals culture and
refinement, the more she will
be accorded the courtesy and
respect due any woman» Con"—
ductors on rail roads and
steam cars are on general
principals, more deferential
than fomerly, and the clerks
in the stores are beginning to
show some signs that tliey
think these colored queens 3EQ
listers, mothers, wives. VictMj
for these women is not *rjm
ia a day, it takes ye rs of
patient waiting and faithful
liYing for its realization; bufc
it will come, as surely as nigbt
follows day. Having been
trained in the school of ad¬
versity and ''chosen out of the
.furnace of affliction", the col¬
ored woman can afford to wait.
Wait until an honest nation
and a fair minded people wUl
"weigh her worth in the same
balances in which any other
iroznan is to be weighed, and
afttr the true facts are known
Trill willing to say-Tkafis
6*
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school unless she could send bim
dome funds. That mother who'
was already ouerworked with
the washing of five families,
went §ach night from church to'
church,, and from friend to*
friend, white and colored in her
eade*Vor to get a little money
t& help that boy. Esther, in her'
fight for the Jews before king:
Ahasuerus, never appeared more
beautiful, when with the daring
of a heroine she said, "I will
go in unto the king which is,
not according to the law and If
I perish, I perish". This fruit
of sacrifice is peculiar to the'
women of the race, and it is
becoming the more beautiful
and attractive in the perspective'
of passing years.
, Time is a great solvent of
differences and a great leveler;
of immature and hasty judg—
merits Things that society would'
net tolerate at one time' haV&
become so congenial in latter1
y^ar^.^is to appear almost some'
tjhing different.
The negro woman who'
a "few years ago had no standf
iiig ill many places in polite
society*-'-' is, beginning to bV
regarded by the better classes
©f both racas as a necessity
*or our national betterment and'
Kin Nannie E. Burrongha
.President of Women's T raiding Cellege,
Waahington, D. C, One of the
most gifted women of the Neg»«
race.
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to he put upon the same auc
tioQ block but both to be sold
into the extremes of h country,
one going to Texas another to
Virginia with no hope of ever
meeting each other again.
And yet, despite of the
severance, this very thing that
divided them and made them
aliens, this thing rbat vrast
soon to dry up pathetic and
maternal compassion, that
Strang isolation and estrange¬
ment, just as soon as ^he in¬
stitution was broken down and
the mother could lay claim to
her own blood and bones, her
offsgriogr, she clings to it with
fetters of steal and is parted
only by death. Considering
the hardships she experiences
fby reason of her poverty, it is
'remarkable how few cases of
■-newly found negro babies de¬
serted by their mothers; A3 a
Hachel weeping for her chil
dren, the negro woman will
go into service where she is
forbidden to take the child, and
will give half of her hire for
its "keep'* in some day nur¬
sery!
58
The Uncrowned Queen
From the notice our queen jrets in
the public press, if we are to form our
conclusion, the hope of a strong and
helpful race is almost out of the question:
for she is too often referred to as a "ne-
gress" or'"black and tan", but happpy
is the thought that, public opinion will
not always be formed by the public press.
It is too often the case
that it takes its bearing at too
low a range, and gives vent to
its prejudice, looking through eyes
that are already blinded with
color phohia. Just let our publist
raise the glass to a higher range,
and personally go into the homes
of the people who are struggling
to rise, study the sacrifices that
are being hourly made to help
the churches in their work, the
prorogation of the cause of
missions and temperance, and
besides all else, how they are
laying themselves upon the altar
body and soul to educate their
children, and the tone of the
press will be immediately differ¬
ent. Let me refer to one instance
in this connection in support of
this contention: Mrs—of Ports
mouth/had a son in a medical
college in Memphis, Tenn who
was in his sen or year, and who
had been sustained through his
college course by what she could
supplement his vacation earnings
in the pulman service.
He wrote his mother that
he would be forced to leave
51
The Uncrowned Queen
all of that whicb goes to make
up a true woman, she com**s
for fall measure. It is no longer
necessary to send a protector
or aid along for the protection
of the ne^ro woman, when she
must make a trip from oae
section of the country to another
for*the word seems co be pas¬
sed down the line, She is
somebody's daughter, wife ar
mother and must be treated as
such.
Maternal feeling or in¬
stinct is. as strong in tne
black queen aa any otfcier wo¬
man that moves on the face of
the globe. It is true that the
period of slavery had its
demoralizing effect, and did
much to crush out parental
affection in the bosom of the
mother in tiro ways—separation
from the child of her own
bosom boob after it was bora,
while she went to the field to
become a hoe hand, and aert^
see it again until nightfall;
and by the inhuman law which
permitted the c* dd and mother
56
Miss Helena B. Somerville
Pianist of Ebenezer Baptist S. S.; student
Corey Memorial In£Vitute, Ports¬
mouth, Va., who makes an in¬
dependent living and pays her
own tuition by working after school
hours in a printing office.
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Where ia devotion more
genuine, or love more sincere?
Then in the race 6 1
these whose syrnyathies ran
oat for other orphans, she does
not aiffer by comparison.. '
Often in a home that is
already evercrewdad with child
ren and where the life and
death struggle is to keep the
* wolf frem the door," the
mother is tempted to offer
shelter to some orphan child,
and is only disuaded by the
most poweifui argument and
sometimes force. Every orphan
society^ among- negroes is sure
to get an unstinted support
from these noble qvteeus.
If there is one passion
more dominant than another
that fills their bosom and dis¬
tinguishes them for true
charity, it is compassion—a
thing not to be despised in any
woman. In tbe days of slavery
the mistress could leave her
fkild i» perfect safety in the
ffaadt ®f Ike black n u r • e,
mVfeafel a Iheugkt of an iftiSEjr
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so long- as the "black mamata"
kept her reason, and preserved
her strength; for to injure her
charge, it could be done only
by passiug over her lifeless
body. 80 safe a nurse was she
that, often when the little
white child was sick, and its
own mother tired out and was
.Obliged to lie down and get
some rest, the black nurse
would ait through the 1 011 g
. vigils of the night and "permit
not the winds to visit too
toughly" if it were in her pow
er to prevent it.
And as little as we may
now think of this very thing,
there are men in both branches
of the United States Congress
<and the State Legislatures who
have been nursed back to life,'
and given back into the bosom
of their own mothers by these
black nursing qneeas.
And yet some of these
Tery men, with whom the word
gratitude is a misnomer, or one
•ot the lost pliaidest are tore—,
-most in trying to pat a chain
60
Mia*. Mary Love Somerville
Qradoate of Shaw University; Musi0
Teacher; Head of the Music De¬
partment of Thompson Institute,
Lumberton, N. C.
The Uncrowned Queen
about the neck of their people
And to damn them in th« ©yes
of the civilized world.
««He that i« ungrateful has no guilt but
one; All other crimes no ay pass
for virtues in him. < ^
There is something human
about any man who is willing
to give the other' fellow a
chanceIt is an expression of
the/ferocious beast yhich ,1s
in us that is unwilling to give
another a chance.
Roosevelt made himself
famous for declaring a "square,
deal" and "every man up." In
the race of life the aegro wo¬
man asks not for favoritism or
nepotism; she asks not that
thu bars be let down any low
er for her accommodation than
for others, but that sha be giv
en an even chance with others.
That she will bear up
•wen in the contest in books,
'music and art if given a show
is, admitted without argument
-although some, great scholars
?have said that.the negro child
shows no mental deficiency as
a child, but as soon as he reach
es the point where he begins
to get his bearings and con-
aiders the race to which he be
longs, he slackens his pace and
62
The Uncrowned Queen
"falls behind in the competition
. It is- no*j uifTaquently-r
tbe case that ooe lone negro
-girl in a class of fifty or sixty,
of. another race get* ihe high¬
est class honor amd becomes:
valedictorian, ao» because fbe;
is black or a novelty to her,
class mates: not because they
want her to d© herhonor ove r
much, but because by sheer
merit she ousstrips her rivals,
and wins the prize.
The schoolroom is not the
only place where true merie:
tells, but it is also in the
vortices of the multifarious life
amid the cesspools of quagmire
and seething corruption that she
must cautionsly tread her way.
knowing that one mistep may
put her on the toboggan to her
everlasting shame in this life,
and her possible ruin in the life
to come.
Reference has been made
to the poisonous arrows from a
thousand points that have been
aimed at her destruction, the
rlittle encouragement she has had
to run ~ a successful womanly
race; the very feeble protection
she will get when she is openly
insulted; and yet, v despite of
•all this handicap, she is in. the
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race and it fighting a battle
win m all of that- which stand
forth® best in woman.
-A few yesre ago some
marauders in the South went tor
a negro cabin tr» degrade the"
only daughter The father stood
in open defense uni il bis dead
body formed the stepping stones'
for the assailants; and when a
feeble mother fell over the proa
trate form of a lifeless husband,
tfca girl ■ waa only wronged whea
brat® foree became dominant.
Did that black crime tamo
negro women into submission to'
the human hyenas of human
virtue and morality? No, but it
his died the fires of chastity and,
womanhood in the bosoms of
thousands of black queens, and
fanned into white heat the pas¬
sion of independence which made
them prefer death itself rattier
than the forfeit of that thing
which makes a very woman great
^•character. Her victory is clear
iag the way for the future gentr
ationi her patience is laying
the foundation; and her am«-.
bitloa is whispering the hopes of
* brighter future and a cleudlcsf
0ay whea the lioa and the lamp
•hafl Ei down togtlher :and. a
litlfe cfifid shall lead them.
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After the faithful Gr^ek
soldiers had gone to help Cyrug
in Asia -Miflor and the little
band had heeD "routed by tae
Persians, those left io the heart
of the Emp re decided to cut
their way home again.
Hosrile troops awaimed
around them on every aid
but with unshaken euurage and
an indoinnitable will, they
struggled on for moat he,, £till
one day ascending, a mountain
there bnjke from the van th*
oyful shout Tbalftsal Tfciiis
the t>ea!" the seat it being
branch of the sea whose watera
those waters washed the shores
.-of their beloved Greece..
The negro woman has been strag-
glingon, not for months merely, but for
years, against inseparable difficulties and
hostile foes, trying to come into the
limelight of crowning.
She has been panting for the May
Day of womanly ambition, when jsfae
be crowned. And now at she will1 be
crowned. And now at the close of a
beautifully rouaded out life,, she is ta be
crowned not with the fading o 11 v e
branch that begins to Ajnthe^ Jbefore . it Jf
■ placed upon her .brow; not with gold or
"silver in honor of regnaneyj b»it a crown of
r public con&denee aod. rojafc-eateKnt'. that
.fadeth not away.
The Uncrowned Queen
The world that was slow
to applaud and hesitated to*
pass its judgement, must come
at last to &n acknowledgement
of tha truth, and say she has-
been faithful and MUST be^
crowied.
Men moil admit her the*
winner, it matters not how
many have been in the race.
And to wring a favor¬
able verdict from an unsym¬
pathetic world is no sm&Il task,
Luther fought againso
tremendous.odds, and in the
thickest or the conflict he stood
alone? but in'the light of a few
fleetihg centuries the Christian
world flings itself on his side
arad joins in the refrain, "The
just shall live by faith/'
But a greater criterion
aits in her own bosom. There
must be a consciousness deep
down in her soul which says,
The effluvia of a contaminated
universe can not put a spot
ok a tout that 1« clean,
"VTkan a woman earn
that #h«*aa pae* tJurangh ttur
MRS. VICTORIA LOFTON, of Wilmington, N. C.
Founder of the Tents of Independent Order of Gideon-
Joliff Union, Began with 84 members; has purchased a State
Charter 99 Lodges; 2077 financial membe.-s in 8 years.
Travels a good deal in and out of the State; has organ¬
ized in Philadelphia.