. i WHEN MEETS WHITE , JOHN LOUIS HILL Class E \% £T Boot. -- yrigltfW. j-f LA~ COPYRICCT DEPOSIT. WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE BY JOHN LOUIS HILL, A.M., B.D. Author of "The Transition," "As Others See Us and As We Are," Etc. CHICAGO THE ARGYLE PUBLISHERS 1922 H • f » \£>* Copyright, 1922 BY JOHN LOUIS HILL Printed in the United States of America DEC 12 72 Si, A6 9 23 63 I Vi- To My Friend millxam RanDoipf) Cotoan PREFACE While the author has given much of his life to the study of sociological questions, par- ticularly to the race problem in America, and while the preparation of this book has been accomplished with much labor, he does not regard it as a distinct contribution to litera- ture or history. However, if through these pages the pulsations and heart-throbs of sin- cerity grown out of a deep human interest are not detected, and if sound reasoning and logical deductions are not evident, the writer will be sadly disappointed, for the best in his mind and heart has been put into this work. Acknowledgment is hereby made to Prof. Monroe N. Work, Director of the Depart- ment of Records and Research, Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, for permis- sion to use much valuable data and biograph- ical information taken from the Negro Year Book of that department for the year 1918- 1919. In this connection, readers should note the date of the Year Book, bearing in mind PREFACE that many of the figures quoted are now prac- tically useless and that the economic, educa- tional, and religious progress of the Negro in America, during the last three years, has in- creased in proportion over any like period of the past. In round numbers and in a general survey, the scope of this book is meant to set forth the achievements of the Race within the first half-century of its freedom. He acknowledges, also, a deep sense of obli- gation to Dr. Robert R. Moton, Principal, and to the Rev. G. Lake Imes, Dean of Phelps Hall Bible Training School, Tuskegee Nor- mal and Industrial Institute, for valuable criticisms in response to the author's request. To Mr. Claude A. Barnett of the Asso- ciated Negro Press, and to other gentlemen of the Race, the author is grateful for helpful suggestions, friendly criticisms, and sustained encouragement. Last and by no means least, to many other men and women of my own race, who are deeply interested in this subject, the author feels thankful for much assistance in making this book a reality. The sincere wish of the author is that this PREFACE contribution to a great cause may accomplish the purpose for which it was conceived and written. The Author. INTRODUCTION Upon this plane there is no race problem, — just the sublime fact of humanity. The race problem cannot be solved by those who are disturbed over so insignificant a thing as the shade of one's skin. No one is respon- sible for the physical being with which he was endowed by his progenitors. He is no more responsible for the color of his skin than for that of his hair or eyes. And vain is the glory of any individual, race, kindred, tongue or tribe if that glory is limited to the color of the outer coating of the soul's transient abode, which is so soon faded, disfigured and de- stroyed by the ravages of time. Therefore, my reader, if you are not above such an unworthy prejudice, the contents of this book will not appeal to you. Fifty years of progress by Negroes in America, covering the period between the Civil War and the present time, demonstrate the fact that Negroes are capable of improvement in every phase of life and of advancement in every line of endeavor, possibly unsurpassed by any other people in so brief a period of the world's history. The author makes no plea for colored peo- INTRODUCTION pie as such. In fact, after birth and training in the South and after twenty years of resi- dence in the North, he no longer knows Negroes at all, save as brother human beings, a part of God's handiwork in the divine scheme of existence. If the following pages in any way contrib- ute to a better understanding of the race prob- lem on the part of any individuals of either race, the author's effort will not have been in vain, and a positive and distinct service will be rendered to mankind. We believe that the essence of this whole problem and controversy is found in the truth of that famous quotation by the late Dr. Lyman Abbott: "To deny the brotherhood of man is to deny the fatherhood of God." The Publishers. When Black Meets White CHAPTER I THE "RACE PROBLEM" THE most serious problems of society are racial. In speaking of the race prob- lem in the United States, we mean that which pertains to the colored people in relation to the white people. This, however, is but a small phase of the great, far-reaching, com- plex and intricate subject of world wide racial complications. As far back as we have authentic history, the record of the extension of the race into time is the story, not of mutual regard, broth- erly kindness and co-operation between kin- dreds, tongues and tribes, but of jealousies, hatreds and destruction, with lines of demar- cation ever drawn between strains of blood and colors of skin. Not only have the racial 1 2 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE groups been arrayed against one another, but the races themselves have been divided into antagonistic factions ever ready to spring at one another's throats. In most human strife and contention to a greater or less degree, the basic cause is to be found in racial instincts and tendencies. For some thousands of years previous to the Christian era, the Jews, in addition to working out their divine destiny, gave much of their time to hatred of the Gentiles. For nearly two thousand years the Gentiles have not neglected to hate the Jews. Christian na- tions look with awe upon the Mohammedan hosts. Some prophets tell us that the real Armageddon to come within the present dec- ade, will be a conflict between Christians and Mohammedans, the latter to be aided by the Mongolians and the extreme radicals of Eu- rope. The recent world war was between na- tions of different strains of Caucasian blood and was essentially racial. Racial traditions, selfish racial aspirations otherwise known as "kultur," nationalism, militarism, imperial- ism, commercialism, etc., were the real causes THE "RACE PROBLEM" of the war; and, with the possible exception of the United States, no nation engaged in it was entirely free from these unholy motives. While in our country so far, Anglo-Saxon blood has dominated and Anglo-Saxon thought has ruled, America is different from every other country because there is no domi- nant national type. Aptly has this nation been called the " melting pot." Here are be- ing blended the bloods of the world. To our shores have come the sons and daughters of every race, some allured by the prospect of freedom and others for the purpose of selfish gain. Excepting the Red Indians, all inhab- itants of the United States or the near ances- tors of all inhabitants were once foreigners. All have voluntarily come to America, save the Negro race, whose ancestors were brought here in bondage. Therefore, a real American is not distin- guished by color of skin or strain of blood. He becomes American, either by birth or, if once a foreigner, he undergoes the technical, legal process of naturalization. The many millions who within the last decade have ob- served the latter requisite and, let us hope, the 4 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE former as more important, together with the many more millions, born American citizens, constitute the human and the racial element of this the greatest, and to become the most potent nation of earth in the future. Because of this complex racial character of American citizenship, the United States must immediately deal with the race problem as a concrete issue, such as can confront no other nation. For the most part, Japan is popu- lated by Japanese, China by Chinese, Africa by Negroes, India by Indians, Russia by Rus- sians, Germany by Germans, France by French, Spain by Spaniards, England by English, etc., but the United States is popu- lated by a mixture of them all, and ultimately and inevitably, if the nation long survives, the typical American will be the product of these blended bloods and amalgamated races. Many of us would not have it so, but the laws of nature are inexorable. As harvests follow seed-times, effects follow causes. Racial traditions and provincial prejudices, in a land so diversely populated as ours, must either perish or else the conflicting elements will clash, the Government will cease to f unc- THE " RACE PROBLEM >> tion and the body, politic and social, will col- lapse. Upon one thing all are agreed ; namely, that so-called civilization the world over is im- periled. Of course, were humanity really civilized, this could not be so. We are con- fronted with the tremendous and the imme- diately necessary task of making the world, not " safe for democracy," but a safe place for people to live in. This cannot be accom- plished through hortatory preaching or pro- hibitive laws. The masses care not to be uplifted nor yet to be reformed. The great task is to eliminate the prejudices and banish hatred from the human heart universal with the existence of which, it is impossible for love and fraternity to thrive. Civiliza- tion is a natural and beautiful thing and will flourish like a flower garden where the poison- ous growths of envy and hate are destroyed. But as long as race hates race, nation hates nation, and the churches at best are but " friendly enemies," that lofty sentiment of the " Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man" will be impossible of realization. The fundamental and terrific hatreds of 6 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE humanity are racial and national. Personal prejudices and hatreds perish with the indi- vidual, but racial and national hatreds are handed down from generation to generation and periodically break forth in raging fury. The statement, therefore, that the most seri- ous problems of humanity are racial is worthy of repetition. As representatives of nations sit in council, devising methods of interna- tional disarmament, endeavoring to stabilize the world's finances, or whatever the questions under consideration may be, they are all but racial questions under different guises and bearing different names. And, before the coming of the Golden Age, if come it does, this racial hatred must be abolished. Regard- less of the blood so recently shed for the wel- fare of humanity, so long as flourishes racial and international hate, democracy and fra- ternity will be impossible. Inasmuch as the citizenship of the United States is a combination of races, our popula- tion is in a sense an epitome of the world, and the race problem must first be solved upon our own soil before it can be adjusted the world over. Demonstration of the theory that THE " RACE PROBLEM ■>■) all men are born "free and equal" must first be made in the United States, if it is ever made anywhere. And we have arrived at the point in our national life where this fact must im- mediately be recognized and dealt with, or our theory of government will soon be exhib- ited as a failure. A revival of the American- ism of Washington and Lincoln, as the basis upon which to build future national success, is absolutely essential to our salvation. CHAPTER II AMERICA INSIDE U *T^HE Star of Empire took its Westward X course" until it set beyond the Amer- ican Continent to rise no more. Beyond our western horizon there are no new lands to dis- cover, no new worlds to conquer. The last great adventure of civilization was in the wilds of America. When the builders of this Republic carved it from the wilderness, wrested it from the savage and consecrated it to the cause of freedom, they knew not that they were clearing the battle-ground upon which, ultimately, would be staged the deci- sive conflicts between human theories and philosophies, social cults and racial regimes. Already, from one struggle in which the Status of a race was the main issue, the land has been drenched in blood and billowed with graves. It remains to be seen whether those in the future are to be bloodless victories as " Truth goes marching on." 8 AMERICA INSIDE The American spirit burned in the hearts of the founders of the Republic, then thun- dered in the Declaration of Independence and was enshrined in the Constitution. The American Eagle, with keen eyes to observe, sharp talons to tear, and spreading wings to protect, became the symbol of the Nation, quick to punish offenders and offering shelter and protection to the oppressed and down- trodden from the ends of the earth. And, from every quarter of the globe, men, women and children have flocked to our shores — the numbers increasing in rapid ratio year after year. From Europe on the east and Asia on the west they came, and from Africa on the southeast, they were brought. So huge has been this immigration, so rapid the multipli- cation of racial strains that, while compared with the older nations, we are in years but an infant, yet, materially we are the richest, geo- graphically the most strategic, ethnologically the most complex, and from the viewpoint of noblesse oblige, the highest obligated to humanity of all the nations of earth. True is the saying, " As goes America, so goes the world." The Ark of God's Covenant for the 10 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE welfare of future generations is lodged with this people. Just now we are in a crisis period of Amer- ican history, at a turning point upon which the destiny of civilization may be hinged. While modern achievement and scientific invention with all the material devices of the time have made neighbors of all nations, our real problems are national, not international; internal, not external. Present international conditions compel our attention to foreign relationships, but if we concern ourselves with foreign affairs to the neglect of home affairs, we are inviting both national and interna- tional disaster. To us just now, "America inside" is of greater importance than "Amer- ica outside." Some one has said, "There is a popular superstition that a special Providence takes care of idiots, infants and the United States." Taking too much for granted is an American weakness. We go our way, assuming that everything is all right. If there be any real dangers, most of us assume that others will remedy them. If anything is wrong morally, we assume that the preachers and churches AMERICA INSIDE 11 will correct it; if anything is wrong with the government, we assume that the law-makers and law executives will look after that, while we, as individuals, go steadfastly on in quest of personal gain or pleasure, as the case may be. The future of America is by no means safe unless there be a national awakening to remedy existing evils and make it secure. Looking backward through the centuries, we see the earth covered with the dust of em- pire; and most of the nations that perished were not overcome by " invasion and the hand of war," but succumbed to moral corruption and internal decay. America need fear no foreign foe. It is doubtful whether the com- bined powers of the world could invade our land and subjugate our people. While we take too much for granted, which is a national weakness, strange as it may seem with our complex makeup, we have a temperamental characteristic, in, that, when the note of alarm is sounded, the masses as one man will arise to defend the ideals, the traditions and the freedom of the nation. This was gloriously demonstrated in the late war. But immedi- ately after such a crisis, we lapse into a state 12 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE of indifference, even to the low level where we forget that there was a war or that we had soldier heroes willing and glad to make the supreme sacrifice for liberty and for our land. The time has come when we must be as alert to put forth preventive measures as we are to exercise remedial agencies. During the recent war, the world passed through a period of physical unrest such as was never known before. Now, we are in the midst of a world wide mental unrest fraught with greater danger to civilization than was the world war itself. This unrest, generated and propagated in Europe and Asia, has found its way into our own country. And, while America is not so seriously affected as are some other nations, we are in grave danger because the complex nature of our population is a fruitful soil for the seeds of disaster un- less those seeds be uprooted and destroyed be- fore they have time to take root and grow. If we do not Americanize the foreign elements among us, eventually, these elements will for- eignize America. Our present and necessary task is a revival of Americanism to harmonize and adjust the AMERICA INSIDE 13 various racial and international elements among us to the fundamental principles of the Constitution of the United States. Failing in this, we must inevitably fall short of our na- tional destiny. A new zeit geist in harmony with the spirit of our Fathers must be created. Without it, our government must fail, for public opinion, not in accord with the Con- stitution, will render the Constitution of no effect Public opinion really is the court of final appeal, because patriotic standards are fixed and maintained only in the minds and consciences of the people as a whole. With this task of racial adjustment to the principles of Americanism, there comes to us as a people a splendid opportunity to be of service to the whole world. It is our duty to work out, demonstrate and exhibit to the con- tending nations of earth the fact that such a thing as racial harmony, racial fraternity, and racial co-operation is possible. Indeed, if universal peace between the races, and world wide fraternity among all peoples ever be- come a fact, they must first be accomplished within America. Has not the All Wise in His providence brought this about? Is not 14 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE the clock of destiny now striking the momen- tous hour, when the voices of the races and nations represented here, shall be lifted in har- mony and unison as United Americans, and shall proclaim to the world that in this goodly land racial peace is a reality? In bringing about this condition of "Amer- ica inside," a long stride will have been taken towards a complete adjustment of the differ- ences between the white man and the Negro. In the future, what is going to happen "when black meets white?" With all of us, both black and white, this is the first phase of the race problem. Indeed, with most of us, it has been considered the race problem. And, while the rest of this book is devoted to this particular feature of racial relations, it is by no means the most dif- ficult racial problem. This is true because, per se, the Negro al- ways has been an asset, and never a liability to this Nation. His fidelity to his masters in slavery and his loyalty to his country in free- dom have never been questioned. CHAPTER III MISTAKES OF SOUTH AND NORTH BEING a Southerner by birth and early- training, a Northerner by long residence and, having known the Negro from close ob- servation and friendliest contact in both South and North ; having studied the psychology of the "Old time Negro" as well as that of the modern Negro and knowing the varying atti- tudes of Southern and Northern white people toward the Negro, the writer feels free and duty bound to set forth what he regards as some serious mistakes on the part of the white folk of both sections in their well-meant en- deavors to solve the race problem. In this connection it goes without saying that in their struggles forward and upward, Negroes themselves have often blundered. They, how- ever, are more excusable for their mistakes because they were less capable of looking into the future and of devising sane methods of procedure than were their white brethren. 15 16 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE Considering the previous status of the Negro in America, this was to be expected. The first and greatest mistake of the South in its attitude toward the colored man, a nat- ural and inevitable one perhaps, was that after the Negro had been set free, the South still regarded him as inferior and a servant. However, in considering this point, dis- crimination is necessary. In a great and com- prehensive sense, all men are born free and equal, and. in another sense, while all should be born free, very few people of any color are born equal or remain equal after birth. While within the last fifty years, the Negro race in 'America has vastly improved in mental vigor and personal attractiveness, no sane individual of either race will dispute the fact of the gen- eral average of superiority of the white over the black people at the close of the Civil War. That superiority still obtains, but in far less degree than fifty years ago. But to be regarded as inferior just because the color of his skin is black and to be kept forever in a menial state because his ancestors were slaves is a position untenable, illogical, unjust and inhuman, upheld by no right law MISTAKES OF SOUTH AND NORTH 17 of man, and at variance with the laws of the Maker of us all. This has been the great mis- take of the South in its attitude toward the Negro, — a natural mistake, of course. It is the inevitable result of heredity and environ- ment which can be cured only by time. That it is being cured there is not a doubt, for the present generation in the South is vastly more tolerant and considerate of the Negro than were the preceding generations. On the other hand, with the idea of the Negro's servitude always in the fore, the South has been and is very kind to him. But, as they say, "He must keep in his place." Southerners often boast, "We have no race riots in the South because the Negro knows his place and keeps in it." Indeed, ever since the days when many Southern white children were nursed by the "black mammy" there has been a real affection between those " chil- dren" and their "mammies." And in the South today, between many of the white and colored people there is a loyalty and confi- dence unsurpassed by any human relationships on earth. For many years a colored man has worked 18 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE with our family in Tennessee. He was a man on the farm before our father passed away, and ever since has remained with my brother. His loyalty and devotion to our family name, his watchful care over my brother's children, his industrious interest in the farm, his tender sympathy in hours when sorrow came, and a host of other beautiful traits all combine to make him one of the "whitest" men in the world. In reminiscent hours, with mind wan- dering down the beautiful aisles of memory, in thought again at home with Father and Mother, Abe is there. He meets us at the depot, or he opens the big gate for us to drive in, and it's always, "Howdy-do, Mister John? — I certainly am glad to see you." Yet, Abe is a Negro, and until it is destroyed there will exist between him and the "white folks' he loves and who love him, that false sentiment which stamps him as inferior and a servant. This very mistake on the part of the South, however, in a sense, has been a blessing to the colored people. One of the noblest virtues within the breast of mankind is humility. It beautifies and strengthens the individual pos- sessing it and brings undying glory to the race MISTAKES OF SOUTH AND NORTH 19 or nation practicing it. The debasement en- forced upon the Negro during slavery and the resultant humility from a lower social stratum will ultimately earn for him a high place in the scale of human excellencies. Christ "emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant." He said, "Whosoever would be first among you, shall be servant of all." To set before His disciples an example of humil- ity, Jesus humbled himself and washed their feet, the most menial duty of a household servant. The great poet-prophet, Isaiah, pic- turing the way that leads to exaltation, sang: "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint." The prophet certainly herein meant service to humanity and its consequent rewards. By "keeping the Negro in his place" the good people of the South unwittingly have placed him in the position most conducive to gathering strength to fight upward to his real place in the ultimate harmonious association of the children of men. The second mistake of the South relative 20 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE to the Negro, now happily disappearing, was that of assuming his position to be menial and that it would always remain so. Being so close to him, the South may be unconscious of the actual advancement of the Negro. Some day this advancement will overlap the line of demarcation between the white man and the Negro, and unless the white man's vision is sufficiently broadened to look beyond that boundary line, he, and he alone, will be the loser. Among the encouraging signs of the times indicative of the early solution of the race problem is the fact that in the South many of the leading white men and women are chang- ing their attitude toward the Negro race. Nothing is so significant in this direction as the organization of what is known as the Inter-Racial Commission, which represents a movement on the part of high-minded South- ern white men and women to cooperate with the best men and women of the Negro race in an effort to secure for every group of society equal opportunity and every right and priv- ilege to which every American citizen is en- titled. MISTAKES OF SOUTH AND NORTH 21 In a recent conversation with Dr. Robert R. Moton, the Principal of Tuskegee Insti- tute, that great leader and educator said that in his opinion the outlook for justice and fair play for the Negro in the South has never been more promising than it is today, and that there are aspects in the development of the situation that have gone far beyond his expec- tations. In every direction, he says, there is to be observed a marked improvement in the attitude of Southern white people toward the Negro, which is reflected in economic condi- tions, in educational advantages, in traveling facilities, in civic improvement and also in the matter of the ballot. The significant thing is that white people and black people in the South are now meeting one another face to face in a frank and temperate discussion of the various problems that affect their com- mon welfare, and the result is a better under- standing on both sides of the question and a larger measure of confidence and good will toward each other. With this result attained, the rest will come without great difficulty or undue delay. Such an opinion from so distinguished a 22 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE source must carry much weight and will be hailed with delight by all people throughout the nation who desire to see full harmony and cooperation between the two races. Both the North and the South have made mistakes in dealing with the Negro. Ever since the Civil War the North has indulged in much silly sentiment and has been engaged in much light talk about "social equality." The North advanced, but never practiced the theory that " the Negro is as good as the white man." No sooner was the Negro freed than the ill- advised and over-zealous advocates in the North began to clamor for a recognition of and a position for the Negro, for which he was in no sense prepared. Poor and be- nighted, the black man in the South dreamed and talked about " Negro heaven up North." Naturally, many of them, and, with the years, more and more of them migrated to the North, a great many to disappointment, for, in many instances, they found hell instead of heaven. They found those willing to receive them upon the basis of social equality, those who regarded them as good as anybody else, MISTAKES OF SOUTH AND NORTH 23 were few and far between. Of course, there were exceptions to this, but as a rule his foot- ing in the North was the same as in the South, except for the old time feeling of sympathy and affection between the two races in the South, — a feeling which undoubtedly the North can never hold, because it is the product of a type and a time now gone for- ever. However, to their very great credit, cling- ing steadfastly to a conviction, hosts of colored people have been eminently successful in the North. By sheer ability and tenacity they have overcome many obstacles, and in every walk of life have made names for them- selves and have attained positions creditable to any race anywhere. But this success is due, not to the fact that the South has held them inferior or the North equal to the white man, but because they have been able to demon- strate by character and mentality their ability to attain, and their fitness to hold eminent positions. And, despite his social status, the Negro has achieved quite as high a degree of intellectuality in the South as he has in the North. His great colleges, universities, and 24 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE other splendid institutions in the South bear out the statement. We must, however, give credit to Northern initiative in making this intellectual success possible in the South. The North has been wrong in assuming that, as a section of the country, it is more competent and better fitted to solve the race problem than the South. The North has had opportunity to demonstrate its ability in this direction but has failed. The North has not been altogether sincere with the Negro. The Negro accepted the North's overtures at full face value, came here to make good, and after having made sufficient success to enable him to take his place among property owners, the North promptly began to throw bombs under his house and to demand his segregation. When the Negro's presence began to interfere with the business and to depreciate property values of the Northern white man, the Negro at once became persona non grata. The race problem is not sectional, and both the North and the South greatly err in so re- garding it. As the writer sees it, the kindly feeling of the South toward the Negro is gen- uine, and it only needs to dispossess itself of an erroneous sentiment relative to the colored MISTAKES OF SOUTH AND NORTH 25 people's being intended only for a lowly posi- tion in life. With the mind of the South freed from this erroneous sentiment, the colored race will advance in that clime as nowhere else on earth. The North must make good its long held position of a generous attitude toward the Negro and must not discriminate against him as it has so often done recently. When both sections of our country adjust their false attitudes toward the colored race, the last vestige of the old sectional feeling will have been destroyed, and the race question will be a national, and not a sectional issue. Then, it will naturally and easily work out its own solution. Then, the Negro will hold his place in the complexity of racial strains which con- stitute American citizenship. And, when unhampered and unembarrassed by racial prejudices, his previous advancement will be as nothing compared with his future achieve- ments. The most serious and difficult phase of the race problem lies not with the Negro himself, but with the white man both North and South, who heretofore, as a rule, has not considered his own erroneous position a barrier in the way of its quick solution. CHAPTER IV PSYCHOLOGY OF THE NEGRO FEW words are more misused than psy- chology. Of late it has come into very common usage. Liberal learning is affected by many untrained minds in oft repeating the word psychology. The psychology of this, that, and the other has been bandied about so much between would-be "high-brows" who know nothing of this, the noblest of all sciences, that one who takes it seriously must approach it with fear and trembling. Psychology is clearly defined as " the sci- ence that treats of mental phenomena, and their classification and analysis; it is mental philosophy, metaphysics." The psychology of a race is as much higher than its physical characteristics, color of skin, etc., as mind is over matter, as soul is superior to body. While the physical man is "fearfully and wonder- fully made," it is the mental and spiritual man that is in the "image and likeness of God," 26 PSYCHOLOGY OF THE NEGRO 27 co-existent with Him. Not as he appears in his material body, but "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." The highest credit should be given to phys- icists who have done and are doing so much for the material regeneration of the human race. Through their efforts mortal diseases and physical pains are vanishing like the phantom hosts of the night, and with each generation the longevity of the race is being perceptibly lengthened. But at best our ex- istence in the mortal body is " a tale quickly told," " a brief span," " a fitful fever and tran- sient dream." How unworthy then, of a noble mind, to form its estimates of an individual and of a race from the outward appearance of the material body! The mortal frames of slaves and masters of the ante-bellum days have returned to dust, and only their minds and spirits live, eternally indistinguishable by the color of the house in which they had but brief earthly abode. Very limited is the vision and unworthy the purpose of those who do not see beneath the colored exterior of a great race; measuring, estimating and desig- nating its powers, possibilities and true posi- 28 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE tion in society by sounding the depths of its soul, rather than by superficially scanning its exterior. Comprehensively, the solution of the race problem lies almost solely within the psy- chology of the two races involved. What they know about each other, what they think of and feel toward each other must determine their respective attitudes. To know in their entirety the mental capacities and processes of the white and colored races relative to each other, and to be able to clearly set them forth is a task too great to undertake here. Were we able to do so, much more space than this entire volume would be required. At best, we can but offer some hints and suggestions which may be helpful in pointing the way toward the open road to understanding. The psychology of a race involves its pow- ers of perception, reason, imagination, emo- tion, humor, grief, joy, intuition, memory, etc., together with the capacity of mental develop- ment from the combined exercise of all these faculties. The psychological proportions of a race are determined by its susceptibility to education. And, judging from the rapid PSYCHOLOGY OF THE NEGRO 29 strides made along educational lines within the last fifty years, psychologically speaking, Negroes are an unusual people. To appreciate this, it is necessary, however, to differentiate between the external process of imparting information, regarded by some as education, and that of the internal develop- ment, the leading out into a larger measure, of the innate powers of being. Few races in the history of the world have revealed such possibilities of education in the true sense as has the Negro in America, since his liberation from bondage. In speaking of educated people it is neces- sary to distinguish between those who have gathered a vast fund of information, technical and otherwise, and those truly educated by the development of mental faculties. But in both the lesser and larger senses the Negro has demonstrated his susceptibility of educa- tion. It has been my good fortune to meet some colored men who are gentlemen in all that the word implies. These men are of dif- ferent shades of color — some almost white, some about equally mixed, and some entirely black — but with all, the evidences of genuine 30 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE ' '*^^— *^— ' l -■■ ■ ■ ■ . . ■ — - ■ - ■ ■!■■■ I ■ ■ % culture are very distinct. Among them are successful business men, and men of the learned professions, all of whom can easily hold their own and successfully measure lances with any average group of white men in the same walks of life. They are grad- uated from our great universities of both races. Lawyers, physicians, ministers, professors, engineers, philosophers, business men; all refined, cultivated, modest, as are the truly great everywhere; profoundly interested and devoutly concerned in the welfare and prog- ress, not only of the colored race, but of society as a whole. And because of compulsory edu- cation in the public schools of the land, the general average of education among the col- ored people, in proportion to the population, is as high as among the white people. That the colored race is psychologically endowed with mental faculties susceptible of high de- velopment no honest and well informed indi- vidual will dispute. The psychology of no other race is more interesting or of greater consequence than that of the Negro. Negroes, as a class, possess average intelli- gence. Though the word intelligence has no PSYCHOLOGY OF THE NEGRO 31 place in psycho-analysis, save as a mark of the general average of combined mental phases and powers, the unusual development of some psychological characteristics among Negroes gives them a high grade of intelli- gence. In the powers of sentiment and emotion, the Negro excels. Among Americans gen- erally, in recent years there has been a deca- dence of these fine qualities. Yet they are mental qualities without which no nation can long survive. What is sentiment? Sentiment, in the sense meant to be con- veyed here, is thought prompted by deep feel- ing. It may be more fanciful than logical, yet it gives the finest flavor and lends the rich- est color to life. Nothing can transform the commonplace into the unusual, poetic and beautiful, as does sentiment. Take, for in- stance, our country's flag: In absence of all sentiment, it is but a piece of white bunting daubed with red and blue— that is all. But in the thought of true Americans, sentiment makes it the sweetest emblem ever unfurled to the breeze and kissed by the sunlight of 32 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE heaven. Our Savior's cross: Two rough, transverse beams of wood set at right angles, — this is all, in the mind of the materialist. But Christian sentiment makes it the symbol of salvation — at once the emblem of the Savior's suffering and our passport to eternal life. There is no limit to what sentiment does, and if we banished all of it from ordinary life this world would be a dark, uninteresting and dreary place. The psychological value of sentiment as characteristic of a people lies in the fact that when moved by it, the masses are easily in- fluenced to attempt and achieve great things. In fact, it is practically impossible to move great numbers en masse without appealing to their sentiment. This is true because the in- dividual units composing a nation, for in- stance, can never be made to think alike. The few leaders of a nation never think alike, but they love alike and hate alike. Leading up to and during the great war, Democratic and Republican leaders of the nation apparently did not see alike or think alike, — at times most cordially hating each other, but patriotic sentiment unified both PSYCHOLOGY OF THE NEGRO 33 leaders and people, fired them with almost super-human fervor and sustained them in the accomplishment of the most gigantic task ever undertaken by mortals. Sentiment did it. Cold reasoning could never have done it. Cool, calculating, analytical, deliberate methods, divorced from sentiment, never go far in a crisis. They are more destructive than constructive. Of course, from the view- point of material utility, sentiment often blun- ders, is extravagant and wasteful. After the war was over and the sentimental fervor of the nation had cooled, the people seemed to forget that we had heroic soldiers and that we had been engaged in war. Did not one political party continually remind us of the mistakes made by another political party dur- ing the war, we should rarely ever hear of it. One of the present dangers to Americanism lies in our materialistic trend. Nothing short of a national calamity or crisis seems to awaken the American people and launch them upon great waves of sentimental enthusiasm for any cause or thing. Unless very early there be a re-birth of the sentiment of the founders of the Republic, a far-reaching re- 34 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE vival of the Americanism of our fathers, the future of our country will be imperiled. This cannot be done without an awakening of sen- timent. The most fertile soil for a luxuriant growth of sentiment is within the breast of the Negro of America, because, psychologically, he is pre-eminently sentimental. What is emotion? Emotion is akin to sentiment, — agitated feeling, excited sentiment. Psychologically, Negroes as a class are far more emotional than white people. The emo- tional and worshipful phases of religion are highly developed among colored people. They are more responsive to real oratory and emotional preaching than are their white brethren, and therefore are more responsive to real oratory than is the average audience of other races. It was a sad day for religion in America, and in the world, when emotional preaching found little response. Nothing so indicates the present dearth of spirituality as the fact that people in large measure go to church to be entertained rather than to worship; that PSYCHOLOGY OF THE NEGRO 35 the modern minister must compete with secular entertainers if he succeeds; that the modern church is a "plant" rather than a temple for divine worship. All this is true because sentiment and emo- tion are absent from the hearts of the people in this day of cold materialism. The Negro is a valuable asset to American society be- cause with him both sentiment and emotion are natural psychological elements. Possessing sentiment and emotion, the Ne- gro is of artistic temperament. Within his half century of physical freedom, it has been impossible for him to contribute much to the fine arts. His artistic efforts have been largely in music, but he has shown aptitude for poetry, and the other arts as well. But in music, he has himself created, or others from his experience and life have created, most that is distinctively American. And as for sing- ing, the Italians in all their glory have never shone more brilliantly than will the colored people when they shall have had full oppor- tunity to develop their artistic and vocal powers. A peculiar mental faculty of the Negro ren- 36 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE ders him, perhaps, the most imitative of the human species. This characteristic has sometimes been remarked with a tinge of deri- sion; but if, as has been said, " imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," this attitude of the colored people toward other races has been one of engaging grace rather than an indica- tion of mental weakness. Granting that the imitative, along with many other human char- acteristics, is inherited from our remote an- cestors, the monkeys and apes, its practical utility in all forms of progress is none the less emphatic. That individual who refuses to imitate any one who has excelled in any line of endeavor is doomed to remain stationary, if not to retrograde. We learn to practice good manners by imitating the cultivated. We learn to do anything well by imitation of those who have already approximated perfec- tion. An old book, one of the greatest ever written, perennial through centuries past and destined to live for centuries to come, is Thomas a Kempis' "Imitation of Christ." To imitate successfully, one must closely observe. If Negroes have been good imitators, they have necessarily been good observers, the PSYCHOLOGY OF THE NEGRO 37 recognition of which, upon the part of others, is a large concession and a high compliment to the mental alertness of the race. To Mr. Alexander Graham Bell's "Rule of Three" for self-education, "Observe! Re- member! Compare!" might be added, "Imi- tate," for in progress, imitation is the in- evitable consequence of observation, memory and comparison. In the days of slavery, and for some years afterward, this was practically the only way of educating himself available to the Negro. But fortunately for him, he was a close observer of the white aristocracy of the South, a civilization in its day and of its kind, never surpassed and seldom equalled in the annals of history. In that day and gen- eration the colored people of the South, by observing and imitating the cultivated white people, became a type quite as distinct and in- teresting as was the white aristocracy. And not only did the Negro learn from the white people, but so indelibly did he stamp some of his own distinct characteristics upon the white race that they are perceptible until this day. The beautiful southern accent, of which 38 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE all children of the South are so justly proud, is largely a heritage from the Negro. That the Negro is psychologically strong, that he is susceptible of education both in the sense of acquiring vast and detailed informa- tion and of the high development of innate mental faculties, no honest and well-informed individual can dispute. CHAPTER V THE NEGRO IN HISTORY IN the race toward the goal of great achieve- ment in history, the black man has been out-distanced by other colors, particularly by the white man. This fact has been used as an argument against the natural fitness of the Negro to keep pace with other races in the progress of civilization. Previous to and soon after the beginning of the Christian era, in their sea- sons, great civilizations, in which Negroes had only a fragmentary part, developed and thrived in the regions around the Mediter- ranean. But subsequent facts have demon- strated that the Negro is capable of playing well his part in a constructive and progres- sive civilization, clearly indicating that his earlier shortcomings were due to external con- ditions — not to mental incapacity. The real Negro race was not originally African. The first known inhabitants of the 39 40 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE territory in Africa beyond Egypt and the Great Desert were Bushmen, a yellow peo- ple. According to the best authority Negroes of known history are descendants from Ham, one of the sons of Noah. They obeyed the injunction to "multiply and replenish the earth," and did their part in populating the ancient world. They attained their highest development in Ethiopia. They became the chief inhabitants of the " Dark Continent," and, cut off from the rest of the world, lapsed into a more or less barbaric state in which they remained until recent years. Descendants of Ham, however, if we are to class the great body of "colored" people as such, were not in habitation limited to the above mentioned territories. They were scat- tered, in some places thinly, of course, all over the then known world. One of the great di- visions of language, the Hamitic, attributed to this race, became rich in treasure of thought and expression. Throughout the long benighted state of the Negro race in Africa, there were natural rea- sons for its non-development. For more than a score of centuries, no enlightening agencies THE NEGRO IN HISTORY 41 entered that vast domain from without. Africa has been called the " Dark Continent" for the fanciful reason of the color of its pop- ulation and, of course, the dark mental state of its people. Otherwise, Africa, particularly that part occupied by Negroes, is by nature one of the brightest lands on earth. The beauty of tropical luxuriance is to be seen on every hand. Food is plentifully provided — fish in the streams, game in the forests, fruits and plants bending to be plucked. The na- tives are entirely comfortable when "clad only in climate. " The elements are conducive to physical serenity and the propagation of the species. Everything was conducive to the de- velopment of physique and extension of lon- gevity, but not the growth of mentality. Any other race with the same previous his- tory and in the same circumstances would have remained in the same condition. In our own country, in the hills, mountains and back- woods, people of Anglo-Saxon extraction, of as fine physique as may be found anywhere, are of low mental development. In a climate where they did not have to battle with the ele- ments, nor struggle for existence, they would 42 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE not be far above the Negroes of Africa, espe- cially after the lapse of twenty centuries. The average citizen of America knows little of the Negro in history. We think of the race as having its origin in Africa, and that Africa is still inhabited by Negroes. We know that Negroes were brought here in bondage, and for a long time were kept in bondage. We know that they w r ere liberated by the victory of the Union forces in the civil war, through the proclamation of President Lincoln. We know that for fifty-five years they have been striv- ing to make progress and struggling for a place and position in American affairs and American society, with, as we feel, but small degree of success, — if indeed we have any feeling at all in the matter. This is true of white people in America, as a class, and also is true of many Negroes themselves. But we have arrived at a time when this in- different and erroneous attitude can no longer be sustained. The present progress of civili- zation makes it impossible. From the law of cause and effect, out of the past and present must inevitably come, in the making of fu- ture history, a fixed position for the Negro. THE NEGRO IN HISTORY 43 Not only did the Negro as a race figure in the beginnings of recorded history, but as a race, he has loomed large upon the horizon of the immediate past. If we will, let us admit that for twenty centuries the Negro race played only a small part in the known affairs of the world, but we are not justified in assuming that this race must have a small part in the affairs of world humanity in the future. This is pre-eminently the Changing Age. Greater change has been wrought in the thought and affairs of humanity within the last decade than within the entire previous century. We are in the crisis period when society as a whole must unify and solidify or it will disintegrate. From out the past comes the voice of the Negro, audible in the babel of the present, — the voice of the race as a whole and the voice of many outstanding individuals. It is a mis- take to assume that no Negro personages have figured in history. The sons and daughters of Ham became a power to be reckoned with during the days of the Egyptian dynasties. An Ethiopian conqueror from the Upper Nile founded the XXVth Dynasty, which was over- thrown by Esarhaddon in the year 680 B. C. 44 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE That in Ethiopia there was a conqueror of sufficient strength and enough force behind him to overrun Egypt and found a foreign dynasty is evidence that they were a people of no mean ability. Ethiopia was settled by Cush, the son of Ham. Today scholars gen- erally concede that the Queen of Sheba who made the famous visit to King Solomon was a Negress. Since that event the name and fame of the regal black beauty have remained undimmed. Some famous white men in ancient history were married to Negro women. Moses, the Deliverer, — Moses of unparalleled fame, — to whom God thundered the Commandments on Sinai, whose life, from the time Pharaoh's 'daughter rescued him from the bullrushes until his burial by the hand of God on Nebo's lonely heights, was one supreme thrill after another, was married to a Negress, the black daughter of Jethro. Jezebel, the wicked wife of Ahab, King of Israel, was the colored daughter of Ethball, the Negro king of Zido- ma. The eunuch of New Testament fame, baptized by Phillip, unquestionably was a Negro. THE NEGRO IN HISTORY 45 About the year 550 A. D., Antara ben She- dad el Absi (Antar the Lion) was born of an Arab noble father, and an Abyssinian slave mother. He became a noted personage in Arabic and Mohammedan literature. He was also a great warrior. Some claim that he was the father of knighthood. " The Romance ®f Antar" ranks as a great national classic. Another Negro in literature was Juan La- tino, born in Northern Africa about the XVth Century, captured by Spanish traders and sold to the family of Gonzalo de Cordova at Se- ville. He studied along with his young mas- ter and became learned. He was set free and became a professor of Latin and Greek at the University of Granada. His mortal remains lie in the Church of St. Ann, Granada, and upon his tomb is the inscription: "Juan was an excellent Latin poet." Pushkin, most renowned poet of Russia, (1799-1837) of noble Moscow family, was part Negro from a paternal ancestor. Most famous of all the literati, possessing Negro blood, were the two Dumas — Alexander Pere and Alexander Fils, of France. The father of Dumas the elder was Alexander Davy de- 46 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE la Pailleterie Dumas, a distinguished general under Napoleon I. The General's father was a wealthy colonist in Haiti, Marquis Alex- ander Davy de la Pailleterie, and his mother was a Negro woman of Haiti from whom the General took the name Dumas. Thus the name by which the world's most universally read story-teller is known, came from a Ne- gress, as did much of his ability and not a lit- tle of his personal appearance. These few distinguished names out of for- mer times and in foreign lands have been mentioned as illustrative of the Negro's racial capacity to do great things in history when conditions are favorable. But as before men- tioned, for long centuries the Negro race was cut off from the world association necessary to mental growth and racial culture. With the permanent passing of the Egyptian dy- nasties, the subsequent rule of Alexander the Great, the successive rules of Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Turks, and British, the inhabitants of inner Africa were disconnected from the outer world from the beginning of the Christian era down to the nineteenth century. In such circumstances how could a benighted people THE NEGRO IN HISTORY 47 develop so as to play any important role in the general making of world history? Yet this same race was destined in the nine- teenth century to be the central figure, the bone of contention as it were, in one of the greatest wars so far in the history of the world. The settlement of that controversy, the win- ning of that war which meant the liberation of Negro slaves in America, marked a tre- mendous stride in the progress of civilization. That the Negro was the subject of so much discussion, that his freedom was bought with so great a price, placed him at a point of van- tage which at once was one of the most re- nowned in the annals of mankind, — one for which he and his could well afford to suffer and await the fulfillment of a rich future re- ward. The vital period of Negro history is not ancient, but modern; not in foreign countries, but in America. Since its discovery more people have crossed the seas to America than to any other quarter of the globe. More peo- ple have come here "to stay" than have gone to and remained in any other land. With varied purposes and myriad emotions, many 48 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE millions have approached these shores. In quest of Liberty and Opportunity most of them came. The gloriously statued " Liberty Enlighten- ing the World," holding aloft the Torch of Freedom, gives welcome to the down-trodden and oppressed of earth as they enter New York harbor. The ideals, traditions and ac- tualities of Freedom lend to the United States of America a distinction unapproached by any other nation. Yet, as one of the world fam- ily of governments, upon our escutcheon there is a stain that never can be removed and which only an absolute and unending justice to a once oppressed and enslaved people in a measure can atone. The bondage and servitude of Ne- groes in America is the one blot upon our fair name. In Colonial days, and from the found- ing of the Republic until the Emancipation by President Lincoln, Negroes were brought here from other lands and sold into slavery, without one ray of hope for the enjoyment of boasted American liberty. With reference to time, the greater part of Negro history in America is that of slavery. There were slaves in America before the Pil- THE NEGRO IN HISTORY 49 grim Fathers landed upon the Rock of Ply- mouth. According to best accounts, the first Negroes sold into slavery in America were landed from a Dutch vessel at Jamestown, Virginia, December 22, 1620. So rapidly did the number of slaves increase, both from birth and importation, that by November 30, 1782, when Great Britain conceded the independ- ence of the United States, whose population then was less than three million souls, half a million, more than one-sixth of the entire number, were Negro slaves. The number of slaves increased in proportionate ratio until the time of their liberation. The history of slavery in America has been written again and again. There is little rea- son for discussing it in this book, for there is nothing to be gained by opening old sores and reviving old hatreds and prejudices. The sooner Negroes forget that their ancestors were slaves, the sooner white people forget that their ancestors enslaved, and the sooner that living Negroes are treated as freemen in the fullest sense, the better it will be for all. Sound hearts and logical minds cannot " look down " upon Negroes because their for- 50 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE bears were slaves, for slavery was more de- grading to the masters and to white society than it was to the colored people. To the slave- holders, the evils of slave-holding were greater than to the slaves themselves. The enslavers did not realize that the bonds around the slaves also encircled the limbs of the mas- ters. The degradation of both was unspeak- able. "Jove fixed it certain, that whatever day Makes man a slave, takes half his worth away." However, in many instances, the human ele- ment entered into the relationships between the whites and blacks, master and slave. By no means were all slave-holders mentally and physically degraded, save as the system as a whole degraded all connected with it. While the system itself was corrupt, many individ- uals having part in it were genuinely con- cerned about the moral, mental and physical welfare of their slaves. There was affection- ate regard between many of the white and col- ored people. Advantages of education and religious training were extended to many Ne- groes. But as a whole, the vicious system was entirely degrading, and under it, the Negro THE NEGRO IN HISTORY 51 in America could make no progress, looking to and hoping for the enjoyment vouchsafed by God Almighty to all His creatures. The most consequential thing that has hap- pened to the Negro in all his history has been the mixing of white blood with his own. For the most part, the white man has been respon- sible for the mixing. There was more of it during slavery than there has been since. While shocking to existing standards of mo- rality, it remains to be seen whether in the long run this mixing of bloods was for good or evil. Though brought here in servitude, though contemptuously held and despised of men, the Negro has loomed large upon the horizon of this land. He was the actual subject of con- tention in one of the great wars of history. His subsequent place in society has challenged the best thought of the time. His necessity to the economic welfare of the nation is well estab- lished. Despite tremendous difficulties, his ability to forge ahead is thoroughly recog- nized. His self-mastery and maintenance of self-respect pay commanding tribute to his in- herent worth. All this demonstrated by the Negro in 52 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE America and the greater part of it within the last fifty years, is but an earnest of what he is destined to be and to accomplish in the future. A race, a people, like the individual, must lay the foundation quietly, deeply, before rearing a permanent and commanding super- structure. Some of the greatest men are lit- tle heard of before the crucial time or the psy- chological moment arrives for them to be seen in bold relief before the vision of the world. When the occasion arises for the man and the hour to meet, the great are ready. So it is with peoples. Long years of slavery were not without value to the Negro. Through humil- ity he developed soul qualities which for many years to come will be of great value to him. During the brief period of his freedom, he has worked quietly and has accomplished much. He has achieved far more than the uninformed ever dreamed was possible. Con- sidering the point from which he started, few other races have ever accomplished so much within so short a time. For 2,000 years when other races were mak- ing history, the wheels of fortune turned ad- THE NEGRO IN HISTORY 53 versely for the Negro. But in the middle of the nineteenth century the clock of destiny struck his appointed hour, and since that time he, too, has been a maker of history. Within fifty years in America, the Negro has achieved more and advanced further than he did dur- ing the previous nineteen centuries. The na- tion as a whole would be astonished and thrilled by a full knowledge of what Negroes in America have wrought within the half cen- tury of their freedom. CHAPTER VI A HALF CENTURY OF PROGRESS ONE of the most agreeably surprising publications in the United States is the "Negro Year Book/' an " Annual Encyclo- pedia of the Negro," by Prof. Monroe N. Work, Director of the Department of Rec- ords and Research, Tuskegee Normal and In- dustrial Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama. This book most engagingly sets forth, in compre- hensive scope and exhaustive detail, the his- tory and achievements of the Negro in every walk of life. With such authentic information at hand one is tempted to go into detail in recording a half century of the Negro's progress, but to do so is impossible, for several times more space than this entire volume would be re- quired. To turn the more or less statistical facts of the Year Book into narrative form, were it permissible, would be a fascinating task. 54 A HALF CENTURY OF PROGRESS 55 The purpose must be served here by noting the starting points and marking the advance- ments attained at the end of the period. Fifty and five years have passed since the Negro was set free. Naturally, at that time he had little of anything but himself. In the progression of life, people achieve along many lines, all of which may be clas- sified in three main divisions, viz., Economic, Educational and Religious. Under the Economic head, the first men- tioned, but lowest in the scale of importance, may be the sub-classifications of "owning property," " carrying on business" and " accu- mulating wealth." But judged by the spirit of modern times and the trend of this material age, the economic is the all-important phase of life. Whatever its relative importance, Negroes in America have made a remarkable showing. In 1866, they owned 12,000 homes in the United States; in 19 19, they owned 600,000 homes. At the beginning of the period, they operated 20,000 farms; after 53 years, they were operating 1,000,000 farms. In 1866, Ne- groes possessed in wealth, $20,000,000; in 56 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE 1919, they were worth $1,100,000,000. Com- pared with the economic increase among white people, these figures, of course, are small; but considering the Negro's lack of opportunity and the obstacles he had to over- come, they are no less than staggering. Upon investigation, we find that the col- ored race has successfully operated in every branch of productive endeavor and business industry. In farming, real estate, manufac- turing, professional practice, finance and every phase of trade and traffic they have demonstrated the ability that succeeds. There are nearly 6,000,000 Negroes in the United States 10 years of age and over in gainful oc- cupation. Excluding some 15,000 boarding and lodging house keepers, there are in our country more than 50,000 Negroes owning and operating successful businesses. While necessarily the currents and cross- currents of business mix and mingle, the color line tending to yield to the inducements of trade, Negro business through its leaders is organized. The National Negro Business League was organized in Boston in 1900. Its purpose is to stimulate and increase Negro A HALF CENTURY OF PROGRESS 57 business enterprises. There are many State Negro Business Leagues, with many more Chartered Local Leagues, in all comprising many hundreds of active business organiza- tions. In 1919, there were 72 Negro banks, cap- italized at $2,500,000, and doing an annual business of about $35,000,000. EDUCATION Education is always the true measure of progress. From this viewpoint, the advance- ment of the Negro has been even greater than from the standpoint of economics. In 1866, 90% of the colored population was illiterate; in 1919 only 20% was illiterate, a gain of 70% in literacy in fifty years. At this rate of improvement, it is a question of but little time when there will be practically no illiteracy among Negroes in America. Negro education is by no means limited to grammar school courses, but proportionately measures up to the higher standards of aca- demic, vocational, college, and professional training. 58 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE When they were liberated, Negroes had only 15 colleges and normal schools; but now, they have 500. Then they had 100,000 students in public schools; now, they have 1,800,000. In all schools fifty years ago, there were about 600 Negro teachers; while now, there are 38,000. The value of property for higher education at that time was about $60,000; but now, such property owned by Negroes is worth $22,000,000. The annual expenditures for Negro Education then was about $700,000; now, it is about $15,000,000. Of these expenditures, Negroes raised $80,000 at that time; in 19 19, they raised about $1,- 700,000. The separate school system in the South, which forbids blacks and whites attending the same schools, colleges, universities, etc., while a hardship upon the Negro, has not been in the long run without its distinct advantage to the colored race. Were Negroes in the South to be educated at all, they were forced to the necessity of providing the means of their own education; at least, it was necessary for them to have separate schools, and while distin- guished individuals of the white race were A HALF CENTURY OF PROGRESS 59 personally interested in Negro education, it was incumbent upon the colored people to demonstrate their ability to educate and to become educated, else their aspiration to maintain and enlarge the means of their edu- cation in the South was doomed to disappoint- ment. How well they have succeeded, the facts and figures, the distinguished attainment of scholarship by many Negro individuals and the general average of information and in- telligence among Negroes in the South, give emphatic testimony! The high standing of Negro schools, colleges and universities in the South is unquestioned in the educational circles of the Nation. Of course, the Negro race acknowledge with gratitude the help they have received from their white friends. The names of the late General Clinton B. Fisk, founder of the great Fisk University at Nashville, Tennessee, and Mr. Julius Rosenwald, who has done and is doing so much to aid Negro education in the South, have become household words through- out the land. The names of many others, did 60 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE space permit, might be mentioned for con- spicuous aid to Negro education. This fifty years of progress has demon- strated that Negro education is not an experi- ment. There is no longer any question of the Negro being able to master and successfully apply the Arts and Sciences. Creative and imaginative, gifted in expression and fervent in spirit, he excels in music, poetry, and ora- tory. Estimating future possibilities by past achievements in Negro education, within an- other fifty years this strain of blood in Amer- ica will scarcely be second to any other in intellectual attainment and educational cul- ture. RELIGION Religion in its essence is the greatest bind- ing factor in human society. As it pertains to the Kingdom of Christ, according to the great Teacher Himself, we cannot point to this or that and say " Lo, here or Lo, there," it is. It is not visible, for facts, figures or sta- tistics do not indicate nor set it forth. All people everywhere as a rule are, and A HALF CENTURY OF PROGRESS 61 always have been, religious. Wherever man has been found, his knee bended before some altar, his heart worshiped at some shrine. Of all people, the Negro as a class is the most religious. And in this day of general de- clining interest in religion, with the Negro at the happy meeting point of education and su- perstition, there may be lodged the " leaven- ing lump" destined to save society as a whole from wreckage on the rocks of materialism. There is not so much decadence of religion itself as there is change in the form of its ex- pression, in the objects of man's devotion, in the idols of his worship. Plutus, Bacchus and Venus are the divinities of this age, most peo- ple being votaries of wealth, revelry or sensual pleasure, and many devoted to all. But few are solemn worshipers of the "Unknown God," whom Paul declared to the Athenians. Among the avowed worshipers of the true God in the religious denominations of today, there is little of the old time faith and fervor. The great Catholic and Episcopal churches have, some claim, well nigh reduced worship to form and ceremony. Others claim that the Christian Science Church has made re- 62 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE ligion largely a philosophy, and other Prot- estant denominations, shorn of both God and the Devil, heaven and hell, have turned their churches into workshops, community centers or social clubs, in which the Gospel of Grace is a secondary matter, and " salvation from sin" a lost art. In our country, the "Old Time Religion," the religion of salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the doctrine of the New Birth, of redemption from sin through the sacrificial atonement of a cruci- fied Savior, — religious experience, emotional fervor, and ecstatic exaltation are largely con- fined to the Negro churches. In the days of slavery, religion was a very real thing to the Negro. Theirs was a sim- ple faith, and with it they clung to the hope of coming deliverance. After being released from bondage, in the same simple way they accepted their deliverance as having come from God, through the agency of Abraham Lincoln and the Government of which he was the head. After all, it is only by simple faith that any people can appropriate the realities of re- A HALF CENTURY OF PROGRESS 63 ligion. Therefore, that which from the hu- man viewpoint, we call advancement or prog- ress in religion, is often retrogression and de- cadence. Subject it to all human tests, reduce it to human analyses, rob it of all mystery and explain everything connected with it, and it is no longer divine, but entirely human, ut- terly worthless as a guide to the unknown roads and a chart to the mysterious seas over which the soul must travel to the great be- yond. In considering the religious progress made by the Race in America within the last fifty years, while in numerical strength, multiplic- ity of church edifices, building of ecclesias- tical machinery and the extension of theologi- cal learning, it has in no sense lagged behind its economic and general educational advance- ment, the great significance of its religious status is that it has not "advanced away from " the fundamentals of Christian experience and the realities of religion. Some of the daily newspapers recently, for a few days, featured a "Back- to God" move- ment which so far as secular publicity went, apparently " died a 'borning." Ever since the 64 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE great war, from time to time distinguished thinkers have in effect told us that what the world most needs is a revival of religion. Among them, Mr. Roger W. Babson, the stat- istician and cold-blooded business analyst, was the most pronounced in prescribing re- ligion as the remedy for the ills of the world. What sort of religion? What phase of any religion? How may it be applied so as to produce de- sired results? The prescribers of religion and the back- to-God guide-posts do not specify any par- ticular creeds or denominational brands. No doubt they rightly assume that the teachings of any religion, Jewish or Christian, Catholic or Protestant, if experienced and practiced by all the people, would render this a peace- ful and happy world to live in. Thinkers know that we do not need more organized religion. There was never as much of it as now. We do not need any further "criticism" of the Bible, nor expression of religion through material channels. Nothing is more deadly to religion than the odium the- ologicum, denominational strife, and ecclesi- A HALF CENTURY OF PROGRESS 65 astical politics. A worldly church can but produce an emasculated religion. Devotees should worship, not play, in the House of God. Religion for the soul, like medicine for the body, must be taken to produce results. It is an inward, spiritual thing. It cannot be put on and laid off like the clothes we wear. It is a mysterious thing, because it comes from God. It comforts, uplifts, exalts, thrills. No matter how perplexing and discouraging ex- ternal conditions, no matter how deep the sor- rows and grave the problems within, experi- enced religion produces the " Peace that pass- eth understanding." If it is the religion recom- mended by the Master, it makes us love our enemies as well as our friends. No doubt this is the kind of religion Mr. Babson and others think the world needs today. The expression, "Back to God," is signifi- cant. From general indications, most of the organized vehicles of religion must "come back" if they get to God. The Negro churches have not so far to come as the more "enlightened" and worldly wise white churches have. 66 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE The decadence of great preaching and of pulpit oratory, can be traced to the material- istic trend of the churches, along with all other institutions of the times. The modern pastor has little time to ponder the profound questions of the soul. He is too busy with the machinery of his "plant." Where are the Bossuets, Bourdaloues, Mas- sillons, Wesleys, Williamses, Spurgeons, Par- kers, Beechers, and Munseys of other days? Wherefore have we no more "giants of the pulpit" in the realm of the pathetic, who by resource of the emotions stir the hearts and move the passions of multitudes of men to- wards that which all know to be the noblest and best, whatever the practice of their lives may be? Careful and unprejudiced investigation will reveal that many of the most powerful preach- ers of today, from the standpoint of emotional, moving, magnificent, and thunderous tread, are colored men. There is no audience so responsive to ar- tistic influence, emotional appeal and oratori- cal sway, as the colored audience. Therefore, it is only natural, that with the advanced edu- A HALF CENTURY OF PROGRESS 67 cation of many Negro preachers, they should excel in pulpit power the average white preacher of our time. Because of these facts, the relative position of religious activity among Negroes is most significant. In this "Changing Age," this kaleidoscopic time, there is nothing fixed and secure but the emotional heart of the race. Whether by music, oratory, poetic grace or artistic color- ing, there are strange and varying chords in the human heart, which always respond to stentorian appeal or to the slightest casual touch. In this wilderness of doubt, hate, and dis- trust, the voice of a new " John the Baptist" will soon be heard, declaring the "day of the Lord." A great preacher is coming, and, whether white or dark of skin, his heart will be clothed with the brightness of the sun. He will bear aloft the flaming torch of divine impulse, moving the masses anew to " Flee from the wrath to come" and prostrate them- selves before the face of God. He will thun- der at us, warn us, and drive us before his matchless message. He will tell us of the im- mensities and eternities. This must be so, be- 68 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE cause nothing short of it can save society from the corruptness that is working its dissolution. Whether this coming Evangelist be white or black is of little consequence, but one thing is sure, the Negro church in America will be in the forefront of whole-hearted hearing and acceptance. The Negro church has not one- half the rubbish of materialism, modern methods, doubt and distrust to be cleared away which the white church has. Fifty years of religious progress have not diverted the Ne- gro church in America from the fundamentals of the early church. In the triumphant songs of the coming revival of religion, the match- less voices of the Race will be blended with the voices of other races in the first real man- ifestation of unity in human society. CHAPTER VII CHARACTERISTIC CONTRIBU- TIONS MOST white people have regarded the Negro's position relative to society as altogether receptive. They think that if he has kept within hailing distance of progressive civilization, it is because other races have con- tributed to his progress, smoothing the road for his advancement. While in a measure this is true, on the other hand, the Negro has made distinctive and characteristic contribu- tions to American thought and life, without which the nation would miss much that lends peculiar attractiveness. The first great contribution of the Negro to America, after his physical liberation, while not distinctive in the sense of other con- tributions yet to be mentioned, was his ma- terial reconstruction of the South. To a very large degree, the ruin wrought in the South by the civil war was reconstructed by Ne- 69 70 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE gro labor. It was many years after the war that freed the Negro physically, when his eco- nomic emancipation really began. While manual labor will always be neces- sary to life and progress, it was more essential in the post-war days, before the invention of so many labor saving devices, than it is now. Unaccustomed to physical toil as were so many of the white men of the South at that time, and in the entire absence of foreign labor, not only did the reconstruction, but practically the maintenance of the life of the South, depend upon the manual labor of the emancipated Negro. Of course, we should not forget that Ne- groes had to live, and for the time at least, it was necessary for them to live in the South. But, for a long time they did not live — they merely existed and most of them with less of physical comfort than they had previously en- joyed in slavery. Without any determined or concerted effort on the part of the white peo- ple to exploit the Negro, they, nevertheless, exploited him. There were two reasons for this: First, im- mediately after the war, the white people had CHARACTERISTIC CONTRIBUTIONS 71 little or nothing with which to pay Negroes for their labor. With both whites and blacks, for the time, it was a question of existence. Second, the Negro as a class, without any pre- vious economic training, suddenly set free, was entirely helpless. He had to accept the situation and make the most of it. Time and experience were necessary to beget within him incentives to individual and racial ambition. Certainly, there were brilliant and noble ex- ceptions, but such was the general rule. Economically therefore, white people of the South were better off than they would have been had the war terminated as it did without liberating the slaves. As it turned out, the labor of free Negroes was less expen- sive than would have been the continued main- tenance of the slave system. Ignorantly and patiently, the Negro worked on and rebuilt the South. It is not claimed that no white men worked with their hands in the reconstruction of the South; many of them labored from choice, and many worked from necessity. The contention is that with- out cheap Negro labor the South never could have "come back" as it did. Discerning 72 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE Southerners recognize this fact and give full credit to the Race for the great contribution it made to the Nation in making possible the swift rebuilding of that devastated, but beau- tiful section of our country. And, to their eternal credit, as the years passed, many Negro individuals and the race as a whole, despite inevitable disadvantages, made marked economic, educational, and re- ligious progress, as has already been set forth in these pages. Despite his social ostracism, and the con- temptuous attitude of other races with regard to his ability to do unusual things, the Negro has made eminently distinctive contributions to the thought and life of this nation. He has given a "color" to certain phases of our na- tionalism such as no other race can claim, more distinctive than the color of his skin. In fact, much that is distinctive in American music and American literature has been pro- duced by the Negro. Most else in American music and literature is of foreign pattern, copy and color. Most of that which is origi- nally and beautifully American comes from the colored race. CHARACTERISTIC CONTRIBUTIONS 73 The old time religious and folk songs of the colored people, of weird and mournful thren- ody, are unlike anything produced before or since. They were the naturally musical and crudely poetic expression of souls in bondage, moulded and tinged by hope within and de- spair without. They were the product of a time, type and clime, within themselves im- mortal, but creatable only by the then exist- ing conditions which have passed forever. These songs early became a vital part of Southern life. They were sung by the slaves on the old plantations and at their religious meetings. Later they were revived, and by the world famous Fisk Jubilee Singers, un- der direction of Prof. George L. White, were given in grand concert in the principal Amer- ican cities and likewise throughout Europe, appearing, it is said, before most of the crowned heads of foreign countries. Much of the money for the founding and mainte- nance of Fisk University at Nashville, Ten- nessee, was raised in this way. That the genius of the Negro for original production in music was not limited to the old time songs is evidenced by the fact that 74 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE the most modern and popular of all instru- mental music, " Rag-time" and "Jazz" are as distinctively his own as was "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," or any other of his earlier products. The soul of the Negro is melodious and rhythmic. It readily responds to the spirit of the times, yields to the movement of the masses, and expresses itself in original music. His earlier bondage, poverty and despair were given vent through the mournful songs of the old time Negro. But the modern Negro, far removed from the sorrows of his ancestors, quick to catch the trend of this ragged, "jaz- zy" age, immediately set it to music, and forthwith put the whole world a-wiggle un- der its magic spell. In characteristic production, the colored race in America so far has been more musical than literary. This is true because musical expression, although crude, is simpler than literary expression. The Negro has given us distinctive music because his is a distinctive life, and his music is the expression of his CHARACTERISTIC CONTRIBUTIONS 75 .J racial, as well as his individual life. In this respect, he is superior to the white man. Another distinct contribution of the Negro to American thought, expression, and life is his form of speech, racial accent, form of language construction, and the resultant lit- erature. While Negroes, as a class, have not been prolific producers of literature, their life, humor, philosophy, folk lore, and distinct lin- guistic expression have been copied by many white writers, and these successful imitators, together with Negro authors, have given us much that is distinctively American in litera- ture. In addition to the articles in various num- bers of the Journals of The American Folk- Lore Society, the "Uncle Remus" stories by Joel Chandler Harris; "Negro Myths from the Georgia Coast," by Charles C. Jones, Jr.; "Br'er Rabbit in the Folk Tales of the Ne- gro," by J. M. McBryde; "Geechee Folk- Lore," by Monroe N. Work, etc., with current magazine stories by Irvin S. Cobb, Octavus Roy Cohen and others are illustrative of a peculiar class of literature, at once the most 76 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE engaging and amusing in the American field, solely produced or inspired by the Negro. While old time Negroes as a class did not understand the rules of grammar, their nat- urally musical speech so influenced pro- nounced language in the South as to render it the most beautiful in all the land. Charles Dickens, while visiting in America, said, " Virginians speak the most beautiful English in the world." No other language on earth is so musically mellow and soulfully expres- sive as grammatical English, accented and inflected by the Negro's natural style. This, in a land of so complex a population, where prevailing speech, if not in verbiage, at best in pronunciation, is mongrel in character, is a very distinct contribution to the beauty of the spoken language. It is a pity that so many Negroes, scattered over the whole country, are losing the characteristic speech of their an- cestors. In native wit and humor, not excepting the Irish, the Negro is the richest in America. He has given us the quaintest philosophy, the finest humor and the keenest wit in absolutely original form. CHARACTERISTIC CONTRIBUTIONS 77 When asked if he could do a certain thing, an uneducated Negro, with his native ability to answer both humorously and forcefully, said: " Boss, that's the one thing I can't do nothin' else but." The humorous philosophy of another was expressed in his remarks to a friend who was engaged in an altercation with a belligerent colored man who drew a gun and threatened to shoot. The colored bystander, when his friend was expostulating with the combatant to "Put up dat gun — doan shoot me wid dat thing!" exclaimed, "Jes le' 'im shoot! Le' ^im shoot ef he wan's to, you got de law on yo' side!" We are compelled to give very marked con- sideration to a race that, despite the greatest handicaps, has made marvelous progress in all the ordinary walks of life common to all classes, and in addition has made distinctive and original contribution to their country in the most vital phases of secular and sacred music, language, literature and humor. These things the Negro has unquestionably done. If, considering the point from which they started, the difficulties which they had to over- 78 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE come, and the little or nothing expected of them, they have in fifty years done so much, what may they not achieve within the next fifty years, now that they are coming into their own? The difference between the Negro's relative position today and fifty years hence will be very much greater than the difference be- tween what he is today and what he was when he was liberated from slavery. CHAPTER VIII SOME OUTSTANDING EXAMPLES THE name of Frederick Douglas is in- separably associated in American his- tory with the names of Abraham Lincoln, Wendell Phillips, Horace Greeley, Harriet Beecher Stowe and the other outstanding fig- ures connected with the liberation of Negro slaves. He was an orator, a statesman, a pa- triot and a prophet. From slavery he ad- vanced step by step to the heights of an endur- ing fame. Fifty years ahead of his time, he denounced a wrong and uttered a prophecy, when he said, " I know no race problem. There is a human problem." Because the general public has not expected much of the colored race, a statement of the facts relative to its accomplishments appears incredible. This marvelous achievement by the colored people is due to team work, a team work that follows recognized leadership. Herein lies 79 80 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE the secret of its strength and progress. A weakness of so-called democracy, the " rule of the people by the people," is the non-recog- nition of able and worthy leadership. The mob, without authoritative leaders, never gets anywhere. General society is not yet civilized to the point where the mob spirit does not dominate, particularly in the absence of dom- inant heads whose authority the masses accept. Prophets are essential to progress. A na- tion without really great men to whom the masses look up, men whose judgment and mo- tives are unquestioned, in whose footsteps the people unfalteringly follow, and whose names are apotheosized in history after they are gone, is headed toward destruction. One of the evil omens of the hour which does not augur well for our national future is the ab- sence of veneration for our leaders, such as characterized the great days in our earlier history. This quality is not lacking among the masses of colored people in America. Among them are real, able leaders, devotedly looked up to by the rank and file of the race. In every avenue of thought and endeavor these SOME OUTSTANDING EXAMPLES 81 real personages have appeared and today stand out in bold relief. A book of biography- setting forth the names and detailed story of distinguished Negro leaders would be most interesting, — a book that would be profitable for our entire population. In noting some outstanding examples, there is great temptation to go much further than space permits without making this book top- heavy, or at least ill proportioned. Planning in the near future to tell the life stories of distinguished colored individuals now living, in a new book entitled, " Who's Who in the Race," only a limited number of distinguished persons now deceased, gleaned here and there, chiefly from the Negro Year Book of 19 18- 1919, can herein be noted. The late Rev, Dr. H. H. Boyd, of Nash- ville, Tennessee, stands out both as a minister and a business man. In 1896, he founded the National Baptist Publishing House at Nash- ville, which now occupies a half block in the business district, pays its employees more than $200,000 a year for labor, and owns property estimated by a leading commercial agency at $350,000. This house for years published all 82 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE the Sunday school supplies, books and pam- phlets needed by the Negro Baptists. Doctor Boyd was also President of the National Ne- gro Doll Company. William Washington Brown, born in Ala- bama, was another very successful Negro, who was first a preacher and later became prominent as a business man. He founded, in 1 88 1, the Grand United Order of True Re- formers, one of the large and excellent benev- olent and secret orders of the race. Headquar- ters of this order were at Richmond, Virginia, and here in 1896, Mr. Brown established the True Reformers Bank, which was very suc- cessful and did much to promote banking among Negroes. Among the great colored educators, the late Dr. Booker T. Washington was perhaps the most famous. His reputation was interna- tional in its scope. His name has become a household word in America. Any account of his life work here would be superfluous. His memory and the fruits of his labor, re- gardless of race or color, are cherished by the nation. The United States and the world are vastly better because Booker T. Washing- SOME OUTSTANDING EXAMPLES 83 ton lived, and both the black and white races mourned when he died. Among the heads and teachers of the more than five hundred colored universities, col- leges and normal schools, to say nothing of the grand total of thirty-eight thousand col- ored teachers in other schools in America, there is a host of distinguished and worthy individuals whose names and accomplish- ments it would be a pleasure to mention, but space forbids. Of eminent Negro pulpit orators in Amer- ica there have been and are a large number. Having discussed the relative position of the colored church in America today, only a few of the noted Negro preachers of the past will be mentioned here. Francisco Xavier de Luna Victoria, iji 5, the son of a freed Negro slave, was the first Negro in America to become a bishop, and the first person born in the Western Hemi- sphere to be elected to the bishopric. He took possession of the diocese in August, 1751. He furnished the cathedral at his own expense, enriching it with jewels and precious vest- 84 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE ments. In 1759, he was transferred to the See of Trujillo, Peru. George Leile, born about the same time, was a noted early preacher. Before the Revo- lutionary War, his master moved to Burke County, Georgia. Here he was converted, and began to preach. His master, a deacon in the Baptist church, gave him his freedom. In 1783, he went to Jamaica. Before leaving, he baptized the slave, Andrew Bryan, who afterward became a great preacher, and es- tablished the First African Baptist Church at Savannah. Lemuel Haynes was a revolutionary soldier and distinguished colored Congregational preacher. He joined the Colonial army in 1775 an d served through the war. He was well educated. In 1785, he became pastor of a white congregation at Torrington, Connecti- cut. In 18 1 8, he went to Manchester, New Hampshire, and soon became famous. His sermon against "Universalism," controvert- ing Hosea Ballou, created a wide impression. It was extensively circulated in the United States and Europe. He died at Granville, Connecticut, in 1832. SOME OUTSTANDING EXAMPLES 85 Absolom Jones, the first Negro in the United States to be ordained in any denomi- nation, became a deacon in the Protestant Episcopal Church in Philadelphia in 1787. Afterward, with Richard Allen, he founded the Free African Society and the Independ- ent African Church. John Jasper for sixty years was a famous Negro preacher in and around Richmond, Virginia. He gained nation wide notoriety by trying to prove by the Bible that the sun moves. At the time of his death in 1899, tne Richmond Dispatch gave large editorial space to a eulogy of his virtues. The Rev. William E. Hatcher, a prominent white minister of Richmond, has written the life of John Jasper. Amanda Smith, a colored woman, was dis- tinguished as an evangelist in the Methodist Episcopal Church. She was born a slave in Maryland in 1837. Her father, by "extra" work purchased the freedom of himself and his family, and moved to Pennsylvania. Amanda learned to read by cutting out large letters from newspapers, laying them on the window sill, and getting her mother to make 86 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE them into words. In great camp meetings in the seventies in Ohio and Illinois, she became famous. She evangelized in Africa, India, England and Scotland. She died in 191 5. There are more than a thousand Negro lawyers practicing before the courts of the nation, many of them with a very high order of legal and forensic ability. Allen B. Macon was the first Negro to be admitted to the prac- tice of law in the United States. He was ad- mitted to the bar at Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1845. He had been allowed to practice in Maine two years before that time. John S. Rock was the first Negro admitted to practice before the U. S. Supreme Court. On motion of the great Charles Sumner, he was admitted February 1, 1865. Mifflin Wistar Gibbs, business man, lawyer and the first Negro judge ever elected in the United States, was born in Philadelphia in 1823, and died at Little Rock, Arkansas, in 19 1 5. He was graduated from the law de- partment of Oberlin College in 1870; after- ward settled in Little Rock, where he prac- ticed law, and was elected city judge in 1873. Later, he was registrar of the United States SOME OUTSTANDING EXAMPLES 87 Land Office at Little Rock, and in 1879 was appointed United States Consul to Tamatave, Madagascar. In no other lines of endeavor has color so stood in the way of advancement as the judi- ciary and military. Among Negro lawyers there are men whose ability would grace any bench, but few of them have been elected or appointed judges. Likewise, in the army there have been soldiers who have merited the gen- eral's star, but as yet there has been no Negro general in the American Army. The late Colonel Charles Young, Tenth Cavalry, U. S. Regular Army, who was re- tired in 1917, was, perhaps, the ablest and most distinguished Negro officer in the Amer- ican army. Being a graduate of West Point Military Academy, having an untarnished and brilliant record as a soldier and officer, Col. Young was in every way entitled to a gen- eral's star. Many believe that his color alone was the barrier to his further promotion. His death, probably hastened by disappointment and grief at not being permitted to perform his legitimate and patriotic duty in the great war, was mourned throughout the nation, and 88 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE was the occasion of memorial meetings at- tended by thousands all over the land. Within the next fifty years no doubt this will be different, for in the social progress of a complex population merit alone must be the means of preferment. There is no just cause why a Negro should not occupy any position of trust or honor for which, by character and intellect, he is fitted. As for American Negro soldiers, in every war the United States has fought, they have acquitted themselves with credit to their country. It is impossible to mention the names of those who have been cited for bravery in action, those who have performed heroic deeds. In proportion to the numbers engaged, Negroes have acquitted themselves with as great credit as have white men in the service of the Government. Peter Bigstaff, the hero of Carrizal, is the outstanding example of bravery in the Race. When in 1916, the United States sent a puni- tive expedition under General Pershing into Mexico, in pursuit of the Villa forces which had raided Columbus, New Mexico, two Negro regiments, the 10th Cavalry and the 24th Infantry were a part of his expedition. On June 21, troops C and K of the 10th SOME OUTSTANDING EXAMPLES 89 Cavalry were ambushed by about 700 Mex- ican soldiers. Outnumbered almost ten to one, these black soldiers dismounted in the face of a withering machine gun fire, de- ployed, charged the Mexicans and killed their commander. These Negroes fought on until two of the three officers commanding them were killed, and the other was badly wounded. Peter Bigstaf? fought to the last beside his commander, Lieutenant Adair. In the course of a tribute to the Carrizal fighters, the dis- tinguished orator and publicist, John Temple Graves of Georgia, said : " The black trooper might have faltered and fled a dozen times, saving his own life and leaving Adair to fight alone, but it never seemed to occur to him. He was comrade to the last blow. When Adair's broken revolver fell from his hand, the black trooper pressed another into it, and together shouting in defiance, they thinned the swooping circle of overwhelming odds be- fore them. " The black man fought in the deadly sham- ble side by side with the white man following always and fighting always as his Lieutenant fought. "And finally, when Adair, literally shot to 90 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE pieces, fell in his tracks, his last command to his black trooper was to leave him and save his life. Even then the heroic Negro paused in the midst of that hell of carnage for a final service to his officer. Bearing a charmed life, he had fought his way out. He saw that Adair had fallen with his head in the water. With superb loyalty, the black trooper turned and went back to the maelstrom of death, lifted the head of his superior, leaned him against a tree and left him there dead with dignity. It was impossible to serve any more. "There is not a finer piece of soldierly de- votion and heroic comradeship," says Mr. Graves, "in the history of modern warfare than that of Henry Adair and the black trooper who fought with him at Carrizal." In the annals of American heroism the name of Bigstaff will be linked with that of Sergeant York and the entire constellation de- serving of very great honor. "The Negro soldiers from the United States made a wonderful record on the battle fields of France. They were the first of the American Expeditionary Forces to get into action. The first soldiers of the American SOME OUTSTANDING EXAMPLES 91 Army to be decorated for bravery in France were two Negroes, Henry Johnson and Need- ham Roberts, members of the 369th Infantry, which was formerly the 15th New York Na- tional Guard Regiment. "On the night of May 15, 1918, these two men, while on sentry duty, were attacked by a raiding party of some twenty or more Ger- mans. The names of these two men will stand out forever on the roll of honor of their race. Battling in the blackness of night with their rifles, hand grenades and a bolo knife, wholly deprived of the assistance of their comrades, they put to flight an enemy assaulting party of at least twenty-four strong. For this act of bravery, Johnson and Roberts received medals of honor." Negro Year Book, 191 8- 1919, p. 98. In peace as well as in war, many Negroes have performed heroic deeds. Space does not permit naming here the more than forty col- ored men to whom has been awarded the Car- negie Hero Medal. The deeds these men have performed, largely to save white people from death, unquestionably entitle the doers 92 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE to honored place among the galaxy of Amer- ican heroes. Negroes have occupied and now hold high position among musicians, painters, poets, sculptors and actors. Mr. Will Marian Cook says that "devel- oped Negro music has just begun in America. The colored American is finding himself. He has thrown aside puerile imitations of the white man. He has learned that a thorough study of the masters gives knowledge of what is good and how to create. From the Russian he has learned to get inspiration from within that his inexhaustible wealth of folklore legends may furnish him with material for compositions that will establish a great school of music and enrich musical literature." As previously stated, Negroes originated 11 rag-time " and "jazz" music. As far back as 1875, in questionable resorts along the Mis- sissippi River, this musical figure began to evolve, but it was at the World's Fair in Chi- cago that it gained an impetus that swept over America and then over Europe. The actual originators are unknown by name. But many Negroes, — Irving Jones, Will Accoe, Bob SOME OUTSTANDING EXAMPLES 93 Cole, the Johnson Brothers, Gussie L. Davis, Sid Perrin, Ernest Hogan, Williams and Walker and others wrote many of the cele- brated songs of the day. While "ragtime" is not yet unpopular, " jazz" has largely taken its place. According to James Reese Europe, the colored king of "jazz" music performers, the name origi- nated with a four piece band known as the "Razz Band" in New Orleans. After play- ing for a time in the St. Charles Hotel there, they went to New York where they appeared only a short time before the individual musi- cians were taken over by various orchestra? in the city. After a while, the name " Razz Band" was changed to "Jazz Band" and from this originated "jazz" music. During slavery days there were many well educated Negroes in New Orleans, among whom were some who became distinguished as composers of music. Edmond Dede wrote " Le Sement de TArabe" and "Le Palmier Overture." Samuel Snaer composed " Le Chant de De- part" and "Le Vampire." 94 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE Basil Bares wrote " La Capriceuse Valse" and " Delphine Valse Brilliante." James Hemmenway of Philadelphia, in 1829, was a contributor to Atkinson's Kasket, a musical journal. Among his compositions were, " That Rest so Sweet Like Bliss Above," the "Philadelphia Grand Entree March," and " Hunter and Hope Waltzes." Samuel Milady, ("Sam Lucus"), noted actor and composer, was the first Negro writer of popular ballads. He was author of " Grandfather's Clock was Too Tall for the Shelf," and others. George Melburn, 2l wandering Negro min- strel, was the composer of "Listen to the Mocking Bird." A white man, Septimus Winter, set it to music, received the credit and financial profits, but Melburn, the Negro, was the real author of the immortal piece. The late "Bert" Williams engraved his own fame upon the hearts of millions of men, women and children throughout the land with his inimitable comedy and unequaled skill as an actor. He had a fixed place upon the American stage and his appearance w r as an event in any American city. His untimely SOME OUTSTANDING EXAMPLES 95 death was mourned by millions of his^ ad- mirers regardless of race or color. The " rec- ords" of his songs will live and will be en- joyed by future generations. Negro journalism and the Race lost one of its greatest men in the passing of the late John H. Murphy of Baltimore on April 5, 1922. He was editor and publisher of The Afro- American, one of the greatest of Negro pub- lications. Mr. Murphy was a prominent and active layman in the A. M. E. Church and Past Potentate of the Negro Mystic Shrine. Among great physicians, surgeons, editors, authors, and in every other honorable calling there are many famous colored men and women time and space will not allow us to mention. The outstanding examples men- tioned are indeed but few, as compared with the whole. But even these are ample evi- dence that the statements heretofore made, concerning the ability and progress of the Negro race as a whole, are true. What is to be the future attitude of other Americans toward so mighty a force and fac- tor in the affairs of our national life? Shall we welcome it, gladly accept it, and co-oper- 96 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE ate with it in mutual and fraternal progress? Or, shall we regard it with indifference and casually try to obstruct it? Upon the manner in which white Amer- icans meet black Americans upon the high- way of progress depends very largely what our national future is to be. CHAPTER IX AMERICA'S NEED OF THE NEGRO THE question of whether the Negro is a liability or an asset to the United States is most important to the nation as a whole. And, regardless of whether he is an asset, pre- vailing opinion upon this point will largely determine the rapidity with which the race problem is to be solved. After a thorough survey of the situation, in- cluding our national necessities, the physical, mental and spiritual traits of the colored race, the attitude of the race toward our govern- ment, and the certain heights of development the race will attain, unquestionably the Negro is not only an asset, but time will prove him a necessity to the future welfare of our country. Some well meaning people of both the white and colored races have advocated the idea of the Negro's return to Africa. They have claimed that with the advantages gained by his experiences in America he is well 97 98 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE equipped to build a civilization in his native land, and that it would be better for both America and Africa, that he did so. But the consensus of opinion is that such a thing is not practicable, and that were it practicable, it would not be best, either for the Race or for the United States. From the economic viewpoint, especially that of manual labor, America needs the Negro. Economically speaking, if Negro labor was a good thing for this country dur- ing slavery, it is better with his freedom. As has already been mentioned, Negro labor made possible the swift reconstruction of the South after the civil war, and when the exo- dus of Negroes from the South to the North took place, the South suffered from it very materially. In absence of sufficient foreign labor, the Negro as a worker is practically necessary to economic success in the South, and is a valuable asset to any part of the coun- try. However, in considering America's need of the Negro from the standpoint of labor and economy, our minds should be disabused of the long prevailing idea that the Negro's AMERICA'S NEED OF THE NEGRO 99 specialty is labor, and that he is fit only for physical work. The greatest curse of our country and the world is the wrongly accepted view of labor, regarding it as menial and those who engage in it as degraded. Of all things, labor is the most honorable. The laws of nature have made it essential to physical, mental and moral well-being. With- out physical exercise, the body fails and dies. Actual, useful bodily labor is the very best sort of physical exercise. Without mental ex- ercise, the mind fails to develop, dwarfs and becomes ineffective and useless. Without moral exercise in love for and doing good to others, the soul shrivels and perishes. The proper exercise of body, mind and soul in the comprehensive sense, is work. The line of demarcation between physical and mental work is hard to distinguish, for neither can be done successfully without the other. No man can be at his best physically who does not use his brain. No one can do good mental work without the aid of the body. The one contributes to and assists the other. This is all so evident and commonplace that no one will dispute it, but no other fact of life 100 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE is so ignored and abused as this. Not only does the "Aristocracy of Gold," together with the imitators of this aristocracy, "look down" upon manual laborers, but most of such work- ers themselves feel degraded and long for the time when they may escape it. Many resort to tricks and dishonest devices in order to live without work. But hate it as we may, it is essential to the existence of humanity. Every necessity, comfort and luxury is possible only through the manual toil of some one. There- fore, the most essential and consequently the most honorable people of earth are the work- ers. The fact is, no man or woman with the mental or physical ability to engage in some useful occupation and refuses to do so, has a moral right to live. Such a one is necessarily a burden to others and a "cumberer of the earth." That the Negro by nature is physically and mentally fitted to do profitable w 7 ork, that by virtue of these facts he has already made vast contribution to the wealth of this nation, and that he is all the more fitted to so contribute in the future, is at once a very great honor to his name and race, and makes him an asset AMERICA'S NEED OF THE NEGRO 101 and a practical necessity to the future life and prosperity of the nation. In addition to the Negro's labor, America needs his loyalty. By nature and by training, the colored race is and always has been loyal to this country and its government. Negroes were here as slaves before the Republic was established. They brought with them no prejudices and left behind them no memories which, even in slavery, they could cherish against this land. In every war in which America has engaged, the Negro has bravely fought beside the white man for American principles. So much cannot be said of the millions of other foreigners who have come to our shores. One of the gravest questions of the nation to- day is that of the Americanization of the for- eigners among us. It actually is a question of whether America shall Americanize the for- eigners or the foreigners shall foreignize America. Into this problem the Negro does not enter save always and everywhere as an unquestioned asset on the side of America, sacredly cherishing her fondest traditions and loftiest ideals. The general average of his 102 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE loyalty to the Stars and Stripes will measure as high as that of the white citizens of the land. From the Negro Year Book, 1918-19, pp. 44-45, is taken the following: " According to the best sources of information, it appears that just before, and at the beginning of the entry of the United States into the world war, German propagandists made a special effort to cause the Negroes in the South to be dis- loyal. These propagandists were, evidently, unaware of the Negro's traditional loyalty and the fact that no instance could be cited where he had betrayed a trust. It developed that the Negro was the one group in the na- tion which was one hundred per cent Amer- ican, and among them there were no hyphens. An excellent statement of the loyalty of the Negro was made by Roscoe Conkling Sim- mons, a nephew of the late Booker T. Wash- ington. In an address at Louisville, Ken- tucky, in March, 1917, Mr. Simmons, among other things, said, We have a record to de- fend, but no treason, thank God, to atone or explain. While in chains, we fought to free white men, — from Lexington to Carrizal, — AMERICA'S NEED OF THE NEGRO 103 and returned again to our chains. No Negro has ever insulted the flag.* "'No Negro ever struck down a president of the United States. No Negro ever sold a military map or secret to a foreign govern- ment. No Negro ever ran under fire or lost an opportunity to serve, to fight, to bleed and to die in the Republic's cause. Accuse us of what you will, — justly or wrongly, — no man can point to a single instance of our disloyalty. " ' We have but one country and one flag, the flag that set us free. Its language is our only tongue, and no hyphen bridges or qualifies our loyalty. Today the nation faces danger from a foreign foe, treason stalks and skulks up and down our land. In dark councils, intrigue is being hatched. Woodrow Wilson is my leader. What he commands me to do, I will do. Where he commands me to go, I will go. If he calls me to the colors, I will not ask whether my colonel is white or black. I will be there to pick out no color except the white * The shocking incident in Chicago when certain, probably insane, Negroes fostering an anti-American movement, burned an American flag and killed two white Americans, for which they paid the penalty of death, occurred since the date of this speech by Mr. Simmons. This occurrence does not affect the spirit and real truthfulness of his eloquent words. 104 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE of the enemy's eyes. Grievances I have against this people and against this govern- ment. Injustice against me there is, bad laws there are upon the statute books, but in this hour of peril I forget, — and you must forget, — all thoughts of self or race or creed or poli- tics or color. That is loyalty.' " In all the fervent speech called forth by the war, there was no finer specimen of true ora- tory than the above, — true oratory because it expressed solemn truth. Say not that the nation does not need such loyalty as that! Say not that in building the future solidarity of the American government, the Negro will not be one of the foundation stones! In peace he is an asset; in war he is a bulwark; — in both instances he is of tre- mendous consideration. America needs, particularly in these ma- terial days, the aesthetic, the artistic, the humorous side, which is the psychology of the Negro. Who would be glad to see the colored peo- ple of America gathered upon the Atlantic shores, with transports waiting to bear them aw T ay forever, and hear them blend their AMERICA'S NEED OF THE NEGRO 105 matchless voices in a song of farewell? No one who has given the question serious con- sideration. They have done too much for this country in the past and are capable of doing so much more in the future, that no sensible individual would wish them away. We need their co- operative labor, their patriotic loyalty, their pathetic as well as cheerful music, their good humor and their optimistic spirit. But in the consideration of the race ques- tion, may we not make the mistake of assum- ing that it lies entirely within our province to determine the "how and the wherefore" of the colored race. Let us not forget that under the Constitu- tion of the United States every citizen, irre- spective of color, has equal rights with every other citizen. It is not for the white man to lord it over the black man, nor for the black man to dictate to the white man. All should dwell together in unity. Each race needs the other, and the nation needs them both. Amer- ican unity and solidarity should be the watch- words of the hour. Without a nation-wide re-building of these qualities, disintegration 106 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE will overtake us. This is no time for racial and sectional differences, but rather for the complete obliteration of the sentimental dif- ferences which alone hinder the complete co- operation of two great races and two great sections of our country. CHAPTER X "SOCIAL EQUALITY" Y social equality between the white and _ black races is supposedly meant a meet- ing of the two races upon the same social level, a gracious extension and cordial reception to and from each other of the amenities of social intercourse. This means visiting with and en- tertainment of each other. " Social equality" of these races means for both colors to sit to- gether around the same festal board. Against this idea the South has always re- belled and with most people in the North, it has been but a theory, practiced by compara- tively few. This question has no legitimate place in the adjustment of racial disagree- ments because color has nothing to do with character. Only two things, by right, should determine social equality and inequality, namely, character and intellect, which form the foundation for the only genuine aristoc- racy. 107 108 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE In nothing are there so many strata and gradations as in the makeup of the world's social life. No other word has a more varied significance than the word "society." Pri- marily it means the entire human family in its associated and inter-related contact. In its narrowest and most despicable sense, it refers to the "upper crust," the "aristocracy of gold," the "400," oftentimes an idle, de- bauched and useless class. There are as many gradations of society as there are levels upon which people meet in mutually pleasant inter- course. There is social inequality between a culti- vated individual and an uncouth ignoramus. There is social inequality between a man of high moral character and a libertine; between a pure woman and a courtesan; between an honest man and a thief; between a gentleman and a robber. None of these differences are made by the color of one's skin. We all know many colored people with whom we would prefer to associate in any capacity than with some white people we know. And there are colored people so low that self-respecting per- sons of the same race would not think of re- SOCIAL EQUALITY » 109 ceiving and entertaining them on a social equality. All of the argument from every angle is against the idea of color having any- thing to do with social position. But upon the subject of equality great harm was done to the colored people of the South immediately after the civil war, when for self- ish purposes, unscrupulous men sought to instil into the mind of the Negro the idea that because he was once a slave and had been set free, he was in every way the equal of the white man and that all he had to do was to assert himself and enjoy all the rights and benefits of equality. The plan was, that with- out any self-development and without any mental growth of individual refinement be- yond that already attained, he was to be per- mitted to enter the homes of the white peo- ple as an equal, marry the white woman of the South and the North, and do many other things too ridiculous to be mentioned. Today, no sensible man or woman of either race would for a moment tolerate such an idea. Through a half century of struggle and growth, the Negro has learned that his so- cial position, like that of every other man, 110 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE must be attained and that he must win his spurs before he can wear them. And while the Negro has been learning the truth, the white race is learning that when the Negro has merited social recognition, it must not and cannot be denied him in a free country. We must go still further, by gladly co-operat- ing with him, in every way encouraging him, and welcoming him to the highest social posi- tion he may justly earn. Next to humility, modesty is a sterling vir- tue. No modest man of any race endeavors to push himself into a social circle for which he is not fitted and in which he is not wel- come. The Negro could make no greater mistake than by trying to force himself into social recognition. Let him rest assured that he, like every one else, will have the recogni- tion he deserves. It has not always been so, but in the future it shall be so, for a general social awakening is at hand, in which all peo- ple shall receive their just deserts. To bring about deserved social recognition of the colored people, the South must change its sentiment, and the North must make good its long professed sentiment toward them. It " SOCIAL EQUALITY » 111 will be much easier for southern white peo- ple to associate with deserving colored peo- ple than for white people of the North to do so. White people of the South have been and are closer to the Negro than those of the North. The temperaments of the two races in the South are more closely allied, and psy- chologically they have much more in common than have the two races in the North. In the South, they do not have to " get used to " each other. In the ante-bellum days, many white children of the aristocracy tugged at the black mammies' breasts. In those days, col- ored coachmen, holding whip and rein over prancing steeds, sat beside the finest ladies in the land. " Mammy" reigned supreme over the household. " My children, my white folks, my big house, my company" were com- mon expressions of these grand old colored women, than whom no finer type of faithful, gentle, loyal people has ever been known. When this change of sentiment has been wrought in the South and when the white race ceases to hold prejudice against the black race because of color, the task of social readjust- 112 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE ment will have been accomplished, for the two races do not have to learn to understand and appreciate each other. In the North, it is different, for since the civil war there has been theoretically, no line of social de- marcation between the two races. But for the most part, recognition of " social equal- ity" in the North has been theory only. This has not been due to any appreciable differ- ence between the character and temperament of the white people of the two sections, but because the North does not know the colored people as the South does, and the colored people do not understand the white people of the North as they understand those of the South. But when both sections abandon the idea that the race problem is a sectional one and the nation as a unit aw r akens to the neces- sity of sane, humane, racial adjustment, the time will soon come w 7 hen no worthy indi- vidual of the colored race will have cause to complain of not having proper recognition. CHAPTER XI AMALGAMATION IN the course of human development in America, that which is now so heterogene- ous will eventually become homogeneous, and whether we approve or disapprove, it will become so through the process of the amalga- mation of the races. The ultimate product of this amalgamation will be the American type as distinct from the other nationalities from which the blended elements will have been drawn. The question of amalgamation, like that of social equality, may be viewed from the nar- row and prejudiced standpoint, or from the natural and philosophical viewpoint. In keeping with our religious and social stand- ards, bloods may be blended legitimately only in the bonds of wedlock. While there have been comparatively few marriages between Jews and Gentiles, in America we look with approval upon the inter-marriage of all 113 114 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE strains of Caucasian blood. In a few in- stances, splendid American girls have mar- ried highly cultivated men of the Chinese and Japanese races. White men have been mar- ried to Red Indian women. Some distin- guished American ladies, among them a for- mer "First Lady of the Land," have boasted of having Indian blood in their veins. But when it comes to marriage between the white and black races there is general objec- tion on both sides of the line. The thought of amalgamation of the two races, of the col- ored race in America ultimately being ab- sorbed by the white race is repellent to most minds. The answer is, it is being done. This amalgamation of the black and white races has been going on for more than half a century. In the greater part it has been out of wedlock. The turpitude connected therewith has been much lower upon the part of the white fathers than upon that of the col- ored mothers. To such an extent has amalga- mation obtained that a very large percentage of the so-called colored population is of mixed blood, and a large part of this percentage is more white than black. AMALGAMATION 115 Nothing in the history of America's so- cial and moral, or should we say immoral life, would be so startling as the facts concerning the cohabitation between white men and col- ored women, were these facts made known. And were it possible for the chemist to seek out the great-family strains of blood in many colored men's veins, many of us would be proud to claim it in our own. In considering this subject in its entirety, following it through the centuries, it is diffi- cult to distinguish between the moral and ul- timately utilitarian phases of it. That which sometimes is provincially and temporarily im- moral and unethical, ultimately works out for the good of society as a whole. For example, if we accept the Biblical account of the origin and extension of the human race, judging it by our own standards of rectitude, our pride receives a frightful blow from the fact that all kindreds and tongues are descendants from Cain, who murdered his brother and married or mated with his sister. Today we punish the first crime with death and the second by imprisonment. Yet, if the professed faith of the Jewish and Christian churches upon this particular point be true, the race would have 116 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE perished in that day had not Cain, the fratri- cide, cohabited with his sister. It goes with- out saying, of course, that without doing vio- lence to the fundamental teachings of the Bible, very few people of intelligence accept its literal statements with reference to the be- ginnings of humanity. The origin and development of mankind as revealed by science is more reliable, as claimed by some, than the Biblical account. God is the author of both, and there can be no conflict between the two, when mistaken deductions from science, human errors and false interpretations of the Scriptures are eliminated. This process of investigation, de- duction and elimination in both fields is suf- ficiently advanced to establish beyond ques- tion the inaccuracy of the Biblical account of creation. That the existence of man antedates the Biblical account by ages upon ages and that the genus homo underwent a process of development from a lower order up to the point where written history authentically takes up the story, there is no doubt. Undoubtedly the development of pre-his- toric mankind was a continued process of dif- AMALGAMATION 117 ferentiations and re-admixtures. The three or four great racial divisions of humanity are results of previous amalgamations. Physical forms, colors of skin, mental development, etc., are the results of heredity and environ- ment. Previous progeniture and isolation in a tropical climate were responsible for the long benighted condition of the Negro tribes in Africa. Likewise, progeniture and local conditions in other lands, to a very great de- gree, determine the physical and mental status of their inhabitants. But the last fifty years have marked a mighty change, which is destined to bring about a racial re-adjustment such as has not been known before. According to Mr. Wells' idea, there is to be no further differentiation of the races as an animal species, but a possible re-admixture. The last half century has been the material age of scientific discovery and inventive genius. As before mentioned, this material mastery, by rapid transportation over land and water, and through the air, by ocean cable and wireless telegraphy, has abolished distance and has brought all the peoples of earth into close contact. The races are al- 118 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE ready blended into a world thought, in that if the nations and races do not agree, they are compelled, by force of world wide dissemi- nation of news, to think on the same things. Isolation is no longer possible to any people. Africa, known through the centuries as the " Dark Continent," up to the middle of the nineteenth century, was encased in darkness. Egypt was the seat of an ancient civilization, but the shore lines were the only known parts of the vast sweep of territory. But later in the century the old powers of Europe, ever athirst for fresh possessions in the extension of empire, barred from the Americas by the Monroe Doctrine, turned to the politically un- protected lands of Africa. Within the last fifty years, Central Africa has been explored, its vast natural wealth discovered, its terri- tory after much contention, divided between the European countries and its map painted in European colors, all for the ostensible pur- pose of " profitable modernization," but with- out much regard for the immediate welfare of the natives. Through the process, the God of races was liberating the benighted tribes of Africa, AMALGAMATION 119 opening the roads for civilization to enter, providing an exit through which they might go out into the world as freemen, not as bond- men as so many of their race had previously gone. Thus has the Negro race in Africa been turned from the process of racial differ- entiation toward that of mingling and mixing with the outer world, from which they were barred for centuries. This same rule has of late been working for the other remote races of earth. With the modern convergence of thought by me- chanical means there naturally follows a con- vergence of peoples, and by an unvarying physical law, different races will overlap, mix, blend and partake of one another's character- istics as naturally as plants, flowers and some fruits when in close proximity to one another. Whether by chance or in fulfillment of di- vine purpose, the process of the extension of the human family has converged the repre- sentatives of all races upon a common meet- ing point in America. Here, the work of blending thought, amalgamating races and harmonizing action is going on. It is men- tally, physically, and righteously impossible 120 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE to exclude the Negro from this process. He has already been included in it to an extent that it would be impossible to change, should we so wish. The contention, "Whom God hath sepa- rated, man should not join together," is not consistent with the orthodox viewpoint of Biblicists, that all mankind is descended from Adam and Eve. If God created them to be the first and sole progenitors of the human race, leaving them responsible for multiplica- tion of the genus homo to replenish the earth, then He was not responsible for the color dis- tinctions of their descendants. By the ortho- dox theory, we are in consanguinity, for Christ declared, "All ye are brethren." Some one will ask, " Is it right for men and women of the white and colored races to in- termarry?" While this question is not legitimately ad- missible to discussion in this connection, it cannot be avoided, because false conclusions would be drawn by some not disposed to deal fairly with the writer, and he would be mis- judged by some, if left to make deductions for him. AMALGAMATION 121 Mating for the purpose of reproduction is co-existent with animal life, including, of course, the human species. By a law of na- ture, which is a law of God, the sex relation between the male and female, regardless of the marriage institution, when solely for the purpose of reproduction does not partake of the moral element. No one can think of mo- rality or immorality among animals, yet they mate and reproduce. In the earlier stages of humanity this was the only phase of the sexual element. Among them the depravity of phys- ical passion was unknown. Among the earlier tribes, there was no marriage law to violate. But with the progress of civilization there were the accompanying evils of human proximity and sexual depravity. The institu- tion of marriage became necessary for the pro- tection of society and development of the home and family idea. And while today the civil institution and religious sacrament of marriage are safe- guards most sacred to human society, it is used as a cloak to cover " a multitude of sins," and under no other guise is there more sexual de- pravity. The woman who sells herself to a 122 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE man whom she does not love, with whom she is not mentally, morally and spiritually mated, but legitimatizes her act by a marriage cere- mony, is lower in the moral scale than the woman of the street. The woman of great wealth who sells her name for a foreign title and high social position, marrying a depraved specimen for whom it is impossible to hold genuine affection, is lowest of all in the moral scale. No permit by legal license and no ceremony by magistrate, priest or preacher can render such a marriage right in the sight of God and sensible people. Therefore, as to the question of who should be married, much more than race is involved. Should marriage, generally, between peo- ple of the white and colored races be advo- cated? Most emphatically, No! In any possible circumstances could it ever be proper for a man of one of these races to marry a woman of the other race? To this as emphatically, Yes! Marriage is never legitimate and genuine unless the contracting parties are well adapted to each other and bound first by real affec- AMALGAMATION 123 tion. This being true, marriage between peo- ple widely separated by color of skin, as a rule would be impossible. But, when a male and female are well adapted and are genuinely in love, regardless of racial distinction, no au- thority under heaven save the established laws of the land, has a right to forbid their mar- riage. This question, however, has no legitimate place in the discussion of the world subject of racial amalgamation, of which the rela- tions between the Negro and the white man is but one phase. In the natural trend of racial progress differentiation is nearing the end, and general re-admixture is at hand. CHAPTER XII THE NEW FREEDOM OF late there has been much talk about the "New Negro." There is, and can be, no such thing as a " new" Negro, but there can, and must be, a new freedom for the Ne- gro. The time has come when this fact must be recognized by all classes. Fifty years of progress by the Negro, together with the world upheaval in thought, resultant from the world war, has prepared the soil of society for a new growth with respect to the Negro in America. The upheaval in the United States, which necessitated the civil war a half century ago, gave the Negro physical freedom. The recent world agitation, among many other radical changes, will lead the Ne- gro of America into mental, economic and so- cial freedom. This new freedom is coming to the colored race, not through legislation, not by any sort of material force or arrogant assertion, not 124 THE NEW FREEDOM 125 by way of threat or demand, but along the unobstructed pathway of divine truth. The Great Teacher said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth* shall make you free." That was a new and startling thing for Christ to say at the time he said it, and it is always new and startling when we grasp its significance and undertake to apply it. Yet it is a fact, that no real freedom ever came to an individual or people anywhere other than in this way. Not by shooting deadly bul- lets into men's bodies, but by driving divine ideas into their heads and hearts does liberty come to races and nations. All that is necessary to bring about com- plete harmony, permanent accord and co-op- eration between the white and black races in America is for both to understand and to ap- propriate the truth about themselves and each other. Ignorance, falsehood and prej- udice on both sides must be eliminated be- fore complete harmony can prevail. The white race must understand that the Negro* is fully entitled to economic freedom. The Constitution of the United States, by vir- tue of his citizenship, vouchsafes this to him. 126 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE If in the past racial prejudice has denied him this right, despite the obstacles in his way, by virtue of his demonstrated ability to make dis- tinguished economic progress, he has doubly earned the right to complete economic free- dom. As a citizen of this nation, the Negro has equal rights with every other citizen to every material possession in any locality what- soever, which by the use of brain and money he may be able to obtain. The Negro is also entitled to equal oppor- tunity of using his abilities in every line of endeavor for economic advancement. He should not be discriminated against because of color. He should be freely and fully recog- nized and rewarded through merit alone. Freedom by the truth, in this age, must bring to the Negro complete social liberty. In the great mass of humanity, it is only be- cause of the densest ignorance, the meanest selfishness, the narrowest vision and the su- premest folly that any one denies to others the largest possible liberty and fullest fra- ternity in mutual co-operation for the legiti- mate enjoyment of the good things of this world. Thus, in the biggest and fullest sense THE NEW FREEDOM 127 is society properly functioning. To mix and move in it, to contribute to it and to receive from it untrammeled and unhindered, is so- cial freedom. Those who by virtue of ability and disposition are able to contribute most to the great fund of human happiness, nat- urally get the most pleasure out of it, for it is only by giving, in the true sense, that we re- ceive. Race or color should not figure in this, save as they may determine the mental and spiritual measurements of the man. They should have nothing whatsoever to do with the opportunity of people to be the best and to do the most possible for themselves and for others. Economic and social liberty gives to the Negro the complete right to the very best sanitary and social atmosphere which by vir- tue of money and ability he is able to com- mand. Immeasurable wrong has been done the colored race by denying it this privilege. The white man has put "property values" above the mental and physical health of col- ored parents and their children. The longev- ity of Negroes has been decreased because of the unsanitary conditions in which they have 128 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE lived, not so much because universally the Ne- gro is satisfied to exist in such atmosphere, but because universally the white people, South and North, East and West, have de- manded their segregation. By all reason, rel- ative to the rights of mankind, and by all just and humanitarian laws, moral character and financial ability alone, and not color of skin, should determine how and where people have their abode. In this era of the new freedom, the Negro must be entirely liberated from the prejudices other races have held against him. Every obstacle thus held in the w T ay of his progress and happiness must be removed. So far as concerns the attitude of others toward him and their co-operation with him, they must forget that he is black and that his ancestors w T ere slaves. With the passing of the old and the ushering in of the new, there is no place for that sort of folly. White peoples should rather rejoice at his aspirations and hail his achieve- ments. The hand of welcome and fellowship should be extended to him, ever encouraging him on his way. The strong right arm raised by the Negro for our defense in war should THE NEW FREEDOM 129 be upheld by us in times of peace. The heart of the black race that has never had a false beat for the nation should be cherished by the entire population as a priceless possession. The aspirations and ambitions of this people toward a high place in the. economic, intel- lectual, moral and social life of our country should meet with encouragement and co-op- eration on every hand. If not, why not? To gainsay it, belies the fundamentals of our Constitution, tramples under foot the prin- ciples for which our armies have fought, and affirms that the life of Lincoln was a failure and that true democracy can never be. CHAPTER XIII WORKING OUT HIS OWN SALVATION APPROACHING the " conclusion of the whole matter," what of the Negro's fu- ture in America? The whole duty of the white man toward the Negro can be performed by removing all prejudice, and extending to him complete eco- nomic, intellectual and social freedom, to- gether with full co-operation looking toward his advancement. Then, he must "work out his own salvation." If he succeeds, so far as credit is given to any one, his will be the credit. If he fails to reach the goal of his am- bitions, he and he alone will be responsible. Nothing will be so necessary to the future success and happiness of the colored race in America as wise council on the part of its leaders, and sound, practical judgment on the part of the masses composing it. Wise discrimination is always necessary. Place and 130 WORKING OUT HIS OWN SALVATION 131 position cannot be assumed by anybody, either white or black. Neither is progress possible by way of presumption. Nothing could so easily and quickly precipitate racial disturb- ances and riots, nothing so surely make racial progress by the Negro race impossible, as for them generally, without reference to eco- nomic, intellectual, moral or social standing among their own people, to presume that wil- fully and arrogantly they could break into white circles and demand " recognition." Peace and progress come not in this way. Po- sition is attained — not demanded or assumed. However, it is safe to say that no wise Ne- gro, no Negro worthy of recognition, ever de- mands that to which he is not entitled by vir- tue of ability and achievement. In working out his racial salvation with all hindrances removed, great opportunity for distinguished service to society as a whole is now open to the Negro. In chivalry toward woman, politeness and courtesy toward all, colored men today are in a position to set high example before so- ciety generally, because the Negro is naturally polite. 132 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE Demonstrated respect for and courtesy to- ward women on the part of men generally is becoming a lost art. Not one man in fifty, either white or black in Northern cities, ever offers his seat to a woman standing in a crowded car. Few men remove their hats when ladies are present in elevators. There was a time in the South, when all men, both white and black, were in every way cour- teous to women, but even there they are not so polite and considerate today as they once were. Perhaps, as some claim, in these days of the " new woman," women themselves are largely responsible for the lack of courtesy shown them by men. But there can really be no "new woman" any more than there can be a "new Negro." There may be new and false ideas relative to both women and Ne- groes, but it is a sad day for society when women forget that they are women, and men cease to regard and treat them as such. Like- wise, it is a sad day for the Negro in society, when he forgets his instinctive politeness and treats ladies generally as white men treat them. In working out their social salvation as a WORKING OUT HIS OWN SALVATION 133 class, nothing could more quickly and effec- tively elevate Negroes than to follow their natural inclination, and be polite and cour- teous to all women everywhere, thereby put- ting the white brother to shame. Whether every woman appreciates it or not, Negroes owe it to themselves to be gentlemen at all times and in all circumstances. A general or- ganization and movement among Negroes looking to this one thing would soon work a social revolution of politeness. Unladylike women and ungentlemanly men would be put to shame by such universal practice on the part of Negroes. The Negro's racial salvation must be con- structive. He must continue upon an ever en- larging scale to build institutionally for the welfare, not only of his own race, but of so- ciety as a whole. One characteristic trait, greatly to his ad- vantage, is that he is not so stingy and selfish as the white man. He is liberal, and a sport to his finger-tips. While this constitutional tendency has interfered with his thrift, when seasoned with sound judgment, it can but con- tribute to the general uplift of the race. [The greatest sin of this age is selfishness. 134 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE It is pre-eminently the material, grasping age. " Every one for himself, and the devil take the hindmost," is the spirit of the times. The dependent and the needy are mostly forgotten. Public causes and humanitarian benefits go begging. Years elapse before the government recognizes an obligation to its heroic soldiers, and dominant political parties act in their be- half only from fear of loss of political prefer- ment. This is an impolite, discourteous and selfish time. What people, what race, what kindred or tongue in the whole wide world will be first to awake and bestir humanity in a great move- ment back to the " Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man?" This opportunity is open to the Negro of America, if he will but see the vision and act accordingly. The colored race can work out its own sal- vation very quickly by entering whole- heartedly into every great and legitimate movement for the betterment of society. Not simply as Negroes, but rather as patriotic cit- izens, they should do this. WORKING OUT HIS OWN SALVATION 135 If it is well for the white people to over- look the fact that Negroes are black and to forget that their ancestors were slaves, it is quite as necessary that Negroes, so far as pos- sible, do the same thing. They must rid them- selves of the feeling that the white man has re- garded them as inferior. They must cease to dwell upon the fact that their forefathers were slaves, and no longer hold a grudge against living white people because their fathers were slave-holders. The line of demarcation between the Ne- gro and the white man in America, while physically distinct, is psychologically imagi- nary. It has been said that "The Mason and Dixon's Line, which divides the North from the South, has become a broad scar of honor across the nation's breast." Likewise, the rugged pathway of prejudice between the Ne- gro and the white man is becoming a high- way of holiness, made smooth by sanity and fraternity, " where black meets white," and together the twain go forward toward the per- fect day. CHAPTER XIV THE INDIVIDUAL NEGRO DR. Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote inter- estingly about the "Three Johns." An eminent minister gave a great sermon on "The Four Men," — "the man the world sees," "the man as seen by those who know him best," "the man as seen by himself" and "the man God sees." Like the "Three-in- one " oil, there are three or four " recognized " personalities in every one of us. While each of these "four men" may be widely different, the last two mentioned, " the man as seen by himself" and "the man God sees," constitute his real personality, his true individual being. What a man thinks of him- self and what he does with himself must meas- ure his career, fix his character, and determine his destiny. The Bible sets forth profound truth in the statement that "No man liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself," but this is not 136 THE INDIVIDUAL NEGRO 137 the whole truth about individual existence. In another sense, every person is born into this world, plays his brief part in life's drama, and passes out of this world absolutely alone. Tennyson's poem, " Crossing the Bar," one of the finest pieces of verse ever penned by man, is wrong in theory. It makes death the beginning of the lonely and mysterious voy- age of the soul, when in truth it is at birth we are launched upon the uncharted sea of ex- istence. Fortunately, "the man as he sees himself " and " the man God sees," is inwardly endowed with a spiritual and mental magnet, pointing ever toward the fixed star of truth set high in the firmament; toward which, if he unerringly steers his bark, no power can prevent his ultimate entrance into the port of eternal peace. To do this requires the keenest individuality. No one makes this voyage as a passenger. Each one must be his own pilot. Therefore, in considering any of the prob- lems of life, such as the race question, we fail to reach the core of the matter if we do not take individuality into account. Social up- lift, education of the masses, elevation of gen- 138 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE eral standards, etc., are necessary, but we must not forget that the masses are made up of in- dividuals, and that social units may be im- proved only by improvement of the indi- viduals. Then, readers, whether you be white or col- ored, the writer cherishes the hope that some of the truths set forth and some of the ideals advocated herein may find lodgment in open minds, and be as "seeds sown upon good ground," in the soil of honest hearts, but he feels that this is possible only through indi- vidual appeal and response. The race question will cease to be a prob- lem only when individuals who by the pe- culiarity of their skin pigment, whether it happens to be white or colored, think not of themselves as Caucasians, Mongolians or Ne- groes; but, as individuals, considering them- selves as units of the human family, made in the " image and likeness of God." Herein lies the dignity of humanity, separate and apart from all racial distinctions. Any lesser con- ception of being is the result of an ignorant selfishness unworthy of a creature whose ori- gin and destiny are eternal, and whose ex- THE INDIVIDUAL NEGRO 139 istence in the material body is comparatively so brief, that the color of his human skin is as inconsequential as the color of the paint on the house of his earthly abode. By individual development, Negroes them- selves may overcome every vestige of preju- dice against them as a people, and outstrip other contenders in the race of life. No other age or generation in the world's history has been so opportune for individualism as is this particular time. In this material age, the making of great men and women is well nigh a lost art. Material grossness and physical lewdness are in the ascendency. High living and low thinking have led humanity at large to the brink of a precipice, over which, if not halted, society must plunge into the ruins of abysmal darkness. And yet, no other time has heard so much about reform and uplift. But in its promise the general theory of reformation is wrong. It is a reversion to the old time idea of exter- nal control without reference to the internal well-springs of life and action. It would reg- ulate society from without, giving no heed to individual inclination and personal prefer- ment. 140 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE Jesus, the greatest of all teachers, was pre- eminently an individualist. Some of his pro- foundest utterances were made to audiences of one. He never wrote anything, save once upon the ground, and nobody knows what he wrote then, for a careless footstep, a brush of the broom, or a puff or wind obliterated it for- ever. He gathered around him a few apostles and disciples and developed within them in- dividuality, surcharged with divine impetus. Without purse and without scrip he com- mitted them to the greatest task ever under- taken by mortals, and sent them forth as " lambs among wolves" to revolutionize and convert the world. Succeeding ages have testified to the sound- ness of his theory and ages upon ages yet to come will reveal the grandeur of its propor- tions. Therefore, brothers of the colored race, struggling for social freedom, opportunity and inter-racial fraternity among your hosts, develop individuality! The person who is in- wardly armed with mental rectitude and moral courage is impregnable and invulnera- ble, while all others, regardless of external THE INDIVIDUAL NEGRO 141 fortifications, must submit eventually to in- glorious defeat. When the worth of man is determined by soul qualities and mental vigor, and not by outward appearances and material possessions, there may yet be human problems, but there can be no race problems. Then individuality alone will count, and social standards will be elevated, not by external laws, but by in- dividual development. There is coming a good day of understand- ing when one race will be no more jealous of another than one variety of flowers is envious of another. The great mass of mankind would be tiresome and monotonous were all people exactly alike. The world of humanity would be much less interesting were there only one race of people. Flowers themselves would soon cease to awaken within us the sense of beauty, were they all of the same mould and color. God in His wisdom has introduced into His universe an endless variety. The sands by the sea, the leaves of the forest, the stars in the heavens are every one distinguishable from every other. Of the uncounted billions 142 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE of individuals who have lived in the past, of those living now, and those yet to be born, every one has been, is, and shall be possessed of an individuality clearly distinguished from all others. Thus, verily, as races and as individuals we are meant to grow in the gardens of the gods, in eternal unity and infinite diversity, each contributing his part to the beauty and har- mony of the whole. CHAPTER XV THEORY AND PRACTICE U TF ye know these things, happy are ye if A ye do them." As " faith without works is dead," so theory without practice is fruit- less. Of course, interest in and study of the race problem by both white and colored people is essential to an understanding of it, and under- standing is prerequisite to its solution. If we are to recognize the subject as a " race problem," the intelligent conception involves both the white and the black races. Neither race can ever solve the problem without the co-operation of the other, nor is co-operation between the two races possible without recog- nition of being jointly involved and jointly re- sponsible. It is no more a "Negro question" than it is a " white man's" question. It is a question of neither, singly, but of both jointly. Though seemingly paradoxical, while the Ne- gro must work out his own salvation, he can- 143 144 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE not do so without the help of the white man. Theoretically, the open minded leadership of both races must meet upon the highway of understanding; and practically together upon that highway they must walk toward the goal of high achievement. When the leaders of both races do this, unquestionably the masses of both races will follow. Practical recognition of the vital phases of the question must characterize both races. Recognition of the value of intellectual and moral forces, on the part of the Negro, is an essential incentive to increased energy in the development of these virtues. The same is true of economic values. A large majority of Negroes, as well as a large majority of white people, have not "learned the worth of a dollar." But on the other hand, white people, in co- operation with Negroes, must also give, not in theory alone, but in the most practical way, full recognition of intellectual, moral and eco- nomic values to the Negro. We must recognize, further, the practical impossibility of physical proximity, of a gen- eral intermingling of two races upon the THEORY AND PRACTICE 145 thoroughfares, in the highways and byways of city and country, without the community of interests, if the two races are to abide in peace with each other. The white man cannot say to the Negro, "Grow, expand, achieve, suc- ceed," and at the same time bind him around with restrictions which render growth, expan- sion, achievement and success impossible. Terminology, here, of course, is relative, for as has been shown in previous pages, the growth, expansion and achievement of the Negro race within the last fifty years, which has scarcely been surpassed in history, in a sense, has been the accomplishment of the "impossible." Indeed, those not familiar with the facts would consider such achieve- ment as absolutely impossible. With the Negro doing his best in the more advantageous position of having the co-oper- ation of the white man, it is only a question of a few more decades when the "color line" will have been obliterated so far as the es- sentials to complete amity and full apprecia- tion between the races are concerned. This cannot be accomplished at once. The goal cannot be reached with one stride. Many 146 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE obstacles must be overcome. Fanatics among both races will do much to hinder the cause. Unfortunately, within the minds of many white men and many Negroes, prejudice reigns supreme, and reason has no abiding place, but these are in the minority. The great majority of both races are honest, serious and desirous of doing the best possible for the welfare of society as a whole. The late Dr. Booker T. Washington once said, "I propose that no man shall drag me down by making me hate him." Were every- body like Dr. Washington in this respect, the "race problem" as well as all other social problems would be robbed of their sting, and in the natural course of events would bring complete order out of what is well nigh so- cial chaos in the world today. The time is ripe in the North for some im- mediate changes in inter-racial relationships, and it is a question of only a few years when the same will be true in the South. First among these is the abolishment of the practice of segregation. Every free citizen of this country has the legal and moral right to own property and to live in any community THEORY AND PRACTICE 147 made possible by his financial ability and moral character. Nothing but unwarranted prejudice can gainsay this proposition. In many Negro homes, religion, culture and high character reign supreme. Such families are an asset to any community, not a liability. The Negro is entitled, now, to equal eco- nomic rights and recognition. The law in most states gives the Negro equal privileges on the common carriers of the country. Even- tually this will be true in all the states of the nation. Is he not also entitled to equal busi- ness privileges? It would be well to have worthy Negro rep- resentatives among the stockholders and in directorates of the great business organiza- tions of our country, such as banks, big stores, public utilities, and others seeking patronage of all the people, regardless of color. The Negro should have political represen- tation in proportion to his percentage of the population. In a city the size of Chicago a representative Negro should be on the public school board. The same principle applies to the federal government. With about one- tenth of the population of the nation Negroes, 148 WHEN BLACK MEETS WHITE with no traitors among them, with every one a loyal supporter of the Government in times of peace, and with every able-bodied son of the race ready to make the supreme sacri- fice for his country in time of war, why should they not be represented in the halls of Con- gress? There are Negroes in America in every way eminently fitted to fill a cabinet position, and the time is soon coming when this fitness will be recognized and rewarded by some great president. A few years ago in one of the leading South- ern cities the churches united in a thanksgiv- ing service held in a great tabernacle, and one of the colored ministers of the city was in- vited to preach the sermon, which he did to the satisfaction and edification of all present, both white and black. Nothing could more surely cement the in- ter-racial relationships of the white and black people than public gatherings in great meet- ing places, with the giants of both races there to discuss the issues of the hour. Such move- ments would render " race riots" impossible, and would lead to lasting friendship and fra- ternal regard between the two peoples. It THEORY AND PRACTICE 149 will be a happy day for the nation when some American city sets such an example. Back to the question of "equality," which will ever arise in the minds of many more zealous or prejudiced than wise, let us remem- ber that equality or inequality are conditions which cannot be forced. With every obstacle out of the way, time alone can adjust the so- called "social" differences between the two races. And, so surely as the sun continues to rise and set, these differences will be adjusted. The time will never come when general in- termarriages between the races will be practi- cable ; the wise of neither race desire it. There is no doubt that full understanding, perma- nent co-operation and eternal brotherhood be- tween the black and the white races in America will obtain in the future. The End