NORTH CAROLINA'S Social Welfare Program NEGROES ftyelUbrarp of HjC mnimaitv of JSortf) Carolina GBjfe book toasi presented op q> UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 00037545120 FOR USE ONLY IN THE NORTH CAROLINA COLLECTION THIS TITLE HAS BEEN MICROFILMED Form No. A-368 % Frank — One of North Carolina's Social, Liabilities This 13-year old feeble-minded boy is an acute example of the results of unhealthy social conditions which the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare, through its Division of Negro Work, is trying to solve by encouraging sound con- structive social work. NORTH CAROLINA'S Social Welfare Program NEGROES Special Bulletin Number 8 issued by the North Carolina State Board of Charities and Public Welfare Kate Burr Johnson, Commissioner Raleigh, N. C. 1926 "We hold our title to power by the tenure of service to God, and if we fail to administer equal and exact justice to the Negro we shall in the fulness of time lose power ourselves, for we must know that the God who is Love trusts no people with authority for the purpose of enabling them to do injustice to the weak." — Governor Aycock. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Letter of Transmittal 6 Foreword 7 North Carolina's Social Welfare Program for Negroes 9 The Problem 11 The Program Outlined ' 16 Review of Accomplishments 17 Program of the Institute of Public Welfare Held at Winston-Salem, January 13-15, 1926 26 State Institutions 35 Negro State Committee 40 Summary of Accomplishments 40 Education 42 Aims and Objectives 42 Work Marked by Hearty Cooperation 41 ft LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL Mrs. Kate Burr Johnson, Commissioner of Public Welfare, Raleigh, North Carolina. My dear Mrs. Johnson : I am submitting herewith a digest covering the program and activities of the Division of Negro Work for the eighteen months period, ending June 30, 1926; together with recommendations for the future develop- ment of the work of this division. The objectives realized, and the other results coming out of this pioneer effort in the field of social welfare work among Negroes in North Carolina are offered for publication in the hope that this ma- terial may be helpful to boards of county commissioners, county boards of public welfare, county superintendents of public welfare, and others charged with the responsibility of promoting the social welfare of the Negro. Respectfully, Lawrence A. Oxley, Director Division of Negro Work. December 1, 1926. FOREWORD A new movement is stirring in the South. It relates to the Negro. It is born of an honest admission on the part of numerous white people that the Negro deserves opportunities for development and expression of his powers. The Negro is being given new responsibility and a more enlightened regard. This he has won by his own honest efforts to improve himself. The North Carolina State Board of Charities and Public Welfare had long felt that — not from lack of sympathy but from lack of funds — its program for social betterment had not been applied to the Negro as comprehensively as it should have been nor made as definite a part of this new movement as could be wished. As North Carolina was sympa- thetic to the new movement in other important respects, the State's lack of an adequate program of public welfare work among the Negroes made a serious gap to be bridged. Inter-racial relations in North Carolina were good. For the most part people had stopped worrying unduly about the "race problem" and had settled down to a calm and sensible existence. The State had awakened to a duty to perform rather than a problem to solve. There had not been a lynching in North Carolina for several years. We had an excellent division of Negro Education. There was a rapidly increasing group of intelligent, inde- pendent Negroes in the State to whom we could look for sanity and unselfishness in cooperation and leadership. It was clear that North Carolina should no longer lag behind in a definite program which has for its objective the decrease of crime, poverty and defectiveness among the Negroes. The beginning of such a program on January 1, 1925, was made possible through part of a joint grant from the Laura Spelman-Rocke- feller Memorial Foundation made to the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare and the School of Public Welfare of the University of North Carolina for a four-county demonstration. An able and conscientious man, Lieutenant Lawrence A. Oxley was selected to direct it under the supervision of the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare, as the head of the board's Division of Work Among the Negroes. The report which he presents here tells of the work's sympa- thetic reception and progress by cooperation on the part of whites and Negroes which justify the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare in asking the continuation and expansion of the program by appropria- tion from the North Carolina General Assembly. Kate Buee Johnson. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/northcarolinassoOOnort NORTH CAROLINA'S SOCIAL WELFARE PROGRAM FOR NEGROES 'This world will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in." — Roosevelt. The following short story of the program development of the Division of Work Among Negroes, affords opportunity for a brief statement outlining the purpose of the division; its major two-fold program; the subsequent organization and development; its accomplishments; and a brief summary of aims and objectives for the future. The State Board of Charities has endeavored over a period of years to provide a social welfare program for Negroes; but lack of funds prevented any organized effort in this field of Negro work. Through means of part of a joint grant from the Laura Spelman-Rockefeller Memorial Fund, to the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare and the School of Public Welfare of the University of North Carolina for a Pour-County Demonstration, the Division of Work Among Negroes was created January 1, 1925. In establishing the Negro Division it was the hope of the State Board that a demonstration program could be put on with the ultimate idea in view of using the results obtained as the basis for developing a state-wide public welfare program for Negroes. In working out the program of the Negro Division, close contact has been maintained with the several other divisions which operate under the State Board of Charities. The purpose which led to the creation of this important department was to meet in some measure a long recognized need for a constructive state-wide program of social work for Negroes. Two objectives of the division are : intelligent study of Negro life with its social problems ; and the developing of programs in the community through the stimulat- ing of cooperative self-help effort on the part of the Negroes. The division from the beginning has had to "blaze a trail" in the develop- ment of a social welfare program for the Negro population. NorthV Carolina was the first state in the Union to attempt, in a very concrete manner, the active promotion of a public welfare program for Negroes. The effort, started as a venture of faith in the possibilities of a race to develop its own leaders, and organize its social forces for community betterment, had only the general principles of social work technic to 10 Social Welfare Program for Negroes 0) •■8 a ^ o h +3 "S H .5 State Board of Charities and Public Welfare 11 guide the initial steps. However, real progress and constructive results in the social well-being of a people handicapped by bad traditional environmental influences plus a variety of social diseases, have rewarded the efforts of workers in this pioneer field. From the start the idea has been stressed that welfare work of a con- structive nature for Negroes, could not be "put over on them" but, that on the other hand, the work, if it was to prove worthwhile and perma- nent in character, must be developed with the Negroes fully understand- ing and assuming in large degree responsibility in solving their own problems. With the full realization that policies cannot be defined and intelligently carried out without a knowledge of the conditions which exist in the field, the director of the division has endeavored to make short social studies of cross-sections of Negro life in several typical communities. The results of these studies have served as a basis for determining the policies which guided each step in the program development. An outline of objectives of the division will serve to present a pen picture of the progress made, and also afford a basis for measuring or evaluating the results obtained. Were adequate funds and trained per- sonnel available, and had the division attempted a remedial type of social work for Negroes, the whole program would have been sub- merged beneath a mass of social ills and problems of racial mal-adjust- ment, most complex in character, and most difficult of solving. The constructive note has been emphasized. THE PROBLEM The masses of Negroes crowded in the mean quarters of North Caro- lina cities present problems in human depravity that can only be re- lieved by slow growth and the planting of desire among these people themselves to improve their condition. The squalid shacks of poor Negroes and the filthy "bed houses" where a great army of migrants live for a day or a week present basic problems that must be dealt with if any good is to come from the work. Here are the hotbeds of disease, crime, and mental defectiveness that must be cleaned up if both races are not to suffer from the effect of these social ills in an ever increasing degree. The work is far too great for any quick success or early results. But a start has been made. The lack of wholesome recreational facilities presents an ugly situa- tion along beside the rather large number of questionable dance halls, gambling "clubs," and even more vicious resorts. The apathy of the Negro of the lower class is probably an even worse situation. The development of a program of public welfare cannot be left a problem for the white people to deal with. It is inherently a question for the Negro to solve for himself. It must come about through education and the 12 Social Welfare Program for Negroes State Board of Charities and Public Welfare 13 efforts of the trained leaders of the race for their poorer and less intelli- gent fellows. Hundreds of Negroes are found living in filthy houses when they are able to live in cleaner and better ones. Many Negroes of the lower class, whatever their ability to pay for houses, do not keep their homes in decent condition. There is a slothfulness, an ignorance, and a dreadful carelessness among them. Negro Migration The serious crime wave which held Asheville and Buncombe County in its grasp during the months of August and September, 1925, was a symptom of a more fundamental social disorder. Asheville is located in the extreme western part of the State, where one finds within a radius of forty miles, the State line of Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina. Long ago North Carolina assumed leadership over the| entire South in the fields of Negro education, health, and social welfare. The states contiguous have not kept pace with the progressive, construc- tive program North Carolina provides for the welfare of the Negro within its borders. Negroes in the adjoining states, noting the increased opportunities and achievements of the Negroes in North Carolina, have migrated to the State in large numbers during the past five years. This transient group make up about fifty per cent of the inmates of the State institutions for delinquents, dependents, and defectives. Their coming has had a tendency to break down the higher and better economic and social status of their North Carolina brother. The seriousness of this problem may be better judged by a perusal of the following facts. During the year 1925 seventy per cent of the Negroes convicted in the courts of Buncombe County were migrants from adjoining states. Dur- ing the last three months of the year nine illegitimate infants of young South Carolina Negro mothers have been buried in the Buncombe County Home Cemetery. What is true in Buncombe County touching the social welfare of the Negro is equally true in many other counties of North Carolina, particularly the border counties, and large industrial centers like Winston-Salem, Durham, and Rocky Mount. The native Negro population in itself presents many social, health, and economic problems which tax the facilities of the State's social agencies and institutions. Add to these problems the social ills and human weak- nesses of a large group of ignorant and socially sick Negroes from other states, and we have a situation that abounds with many com- plexities. The Asheville situation is noted here as an example of a type of social problem with a racial complex, which, if not early recognized and intelligently studied and treated, will place an added burden on the already heavily taxed population. 14 Social Welfare Peogram for Negroes Administration Building State School for Negro deaf, dumb, and blind Raleigh, N. C. The State Hospital for Negro Insane Goldsboro, N. C. State Board of Charities and Public Welfare 15 Other Contributing Factors The traffic in liquor, the narcotic evil, the mental defective, the de- linquent girl, the woeful lack of a constructive industrial program for Negro women and girls serving sentences in the county jails of the State, each of these problems touches the community life of the State, and all are contributing factors toward filling our many institutions, and making the whole social structure a "house of trouble," this, through the reproduction of their kind. One cannot survey the human family in North Carolina, particularly the Negro group, without seeing the urgent need for a program of remedial social work. But, of far more importance is the crying need, apparent on every hand, for the Negro to be roused from his lethargic state, and catching the vision of self- help, through an active participation in the solving of his own problems, develop into a contributing group in the progressive program of making North Carolina a better place for all men to live in. Feeble-Mindedness The problem of the feeble-minded Negro is a most difficult one, and a serious social liability affecting the general welfare of North Carolina. The State makes no provision for the care or treatment of this unfortunate group. While it is the primary duty of the State to provide adequate facilities and treatment for the insane, it is equally as important to afford special provisions for the treatment of the feeble-minded. The mere extent of the problem of feeble-mindedness will ever render it necessary for the State to play the chief role in dealing with what is the most menacing of all social dangers. The State Hospital for the Negro Insane at Goldsboro, which has provision for the treatment of about 1,200 patients, has been forced to refuse admission to new patients unless the county from which a patient is sent will consent to the parole of a less violent patient — thus effecting an exchange of patients. Unless a Negro mental defective is violently insane, he is left free to pursue his way, until in the course of events he becomes a public charge in the county home or other public institution or is received as a regular "member" of one of the county chain gangs. The Hospital for the Negro Insane at Goldsboro has been forced to care for patients who belong in an institution for the feeble-minded. The provision of a unit at the Caswell Training School to care for the Negro mental defective would be most helpful. They would, of course, be entirely separate from the white inmates but under the same scientific supervision. 16 Social Welfare Program for Negroes THE PROGRAM OUTLINED A. Organization Objectives The organization of social forces in twenty-five Negro communities, with the county as the unit of organization. Yisits to county welfare office by director of Negro Division for con- ference with superintendent of public welfare, members of the county welfare board, and other officials of the county, city or town. Conference with representative local Negro group. The purpose of these confer- ences to develop a live interest in the proposed program. Selection and appointment of Negro advisory committee of seven persons in each county. This committee to serve as an auxiliary body to the county board of public welfare and the superintendent of public welfare. Cross-section survey of social conditions among Negroes. Meeting of Negro advisory committee with superintendent of public welfare and members of the county board of welfare. Purpose : To discuss ways and means of raising budget to finance salary and expenses of a full-time Negro welfare assistant, and such other necessary items in the promotion of county-wide welfare program. Appointment of trained Negro social worker as assistant to the super- intendent of public welfare. This appointment to be approved by the State Commissioner of Public Welfare. Educational group meetings in community centers throughout county, closing with a county-wide mass meeting held in the county court house. The closing mass meeting is usually interracial in character, invitations are sent to all county officials and other interested white leaders and organizations. Note : — The steps outlined above in the process of organizing the social forces in a Negro community usually take about three months to be gotten well under way. The director of the division cooperates in an advisory capacity. B. Activities The organization of a Parent-Teacher Association or Community League. Correlating the Negro county welfare program with the State, county, and city programs of education, health, etc. Proper enforcement of the Compulsory School Attendance Law. Study of the causes and the placing of responsibility for the many flagrant violations of the attendance law. State Boakd of Charities and Public Welfare IT Providing recreational facilities in Negro communities. Stimulating an interest in community music, through the organization of choral societies, with special study of Negro folk songs and "Spirituals." Pro- viding playgrounds. Inquiry into the housing situation. Development of the schoolhouse as the community center. Remedial social service program in cooperation with superintendent of public welfare, Associated Charities, and other social agencies and institutions. Interesting Negro churches and fraternal organizations in the value St. Agnes Hospital Raleigh, N. C. A general hospital for Negroes. of cooperative effort, in their contributions to worthy objects of charity; conserving thereby, time, effort, and money. Cooperating with Jeanes Worker, Farm Demonstration Agent, Home Agent and Public Health Nurse. Organization of orthopedic, mental health, and T. B. clinics. REVIEW OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS Two policies decided upon at the beginning of the Negro welfare program are briefly stated here. Since so little had been accomplished for Negroes in the field of public welfare, it was thought best that the first steps, while slow, must necessarily be educational in character; also, that in formulating a program of public welfare work for Negroes, 18 Social Welfare Program for Negroes one of the most important functions of the division would be the gathering of facts and other related data concerning Negro life and social conditions affecting same. A careful study and analysis of the material obtained would make it possible for the division to interpret the results in the light of the social needs of the Negro population, and all efforts could be intelligently directed toward organizing the social forces in Negro communities. A Concrete Example To measure the progress made and to evaluate the results obtained during the first eighteen months that the division has been functioning, the following concrete examples are given. It was planned at the outset to show in four counties, "The effectiveness and value of public welfare work, when it is well organized and adequately financed." Wake County was chosen as the first county in which to initiate the program of public welfare among the Negroes. (Attention is invited to facts appearing under the heading, "The Program Outlined.") Thursday, January 8, 1925, the first meeting in the program of developing a Negro welfare program for Negroes in North Carolina, was held in the office of Mrs. T. W. Bickett, Superintendent of Public Welfare for Wake County. The following members of the county Negro advisory committee were present at this meeting: Berry O'Kelly, Dr. Lemuel T. Delaney, Mrs. Addie L. Alexander, Britton Pearce, and Miss Margie Paschal. In a small office located on the third floor of the Wake County court house, this little group of pioneers met, and formally launched the first county- wide public welfare program for Negroes. The first meeting was fol- lowed by small group meetings in outlying sections of the county. At subsequent meetings of the county committee, the social needs, and re- sources of the Negro population were studied and evaluated. A sug- gested program and budget to finance the program were discussed and informally adopted with reservations. The amount of the budget was $1,500. The county was then divided into township units for the pur- pose of bringing the more distant communities into a closer relationship with the aims and objectives of the county-wide program. In each of the eighteen townships a Negro welfare committee of three persons was appointed by Mrs. Bickett; the members of these township com- mittees serve as the contact between the Negro county welfare com- mittee and the local township. A definite quota of the suggested budget was assigned each township and the local Negro committee was assigned the task of keeping the objectives of the program before their community and of collecting the quota. Following the appointment of township committees and naming of township quotas, a mass meeting was held in each of the townships. At the township meetings the county- wide welfare program was outlined and explained in detail. The clos- State Boakd of Charities and Public "Welfare 19 ing meeting of this group was held in the Wake County court house, with representatives present from all the townships. At the Kaleigh meeting a musical program of "Spirituals" was rendered, and speeches were made by representatives of the eighteen townships, and other prominent Negro citizens. Short talks were made by city and county officials. At the final meeting township committeemen reported a total of $900 in cash and $500 in pledges to be applied on the budget. The money was turned over to county officials with the understanding that when the total amount of the budget was raised, a trained Negro social worker would be named as assistant in the office of the Superintendent of Public Welfare. Beginning September 1, 1925, Miss Margery Edwards was appointed and started on her duties as county Negro welfare assistant. The period, October 1, 1925, to June 30, 1926, witnessed a most phenomenal growth in the development of the Wake County welfare program for Negroes. Miss Edwards brought to the work a fund of training and experience in social work, since she had served for over seven years as a member of the staff of the Episcopal City Mission, Philadelphia. The "Wake County Plan" as it is now known throughout the State, was re- ceived in a most kindly manner by county and city officials. Only through the wholehearted interest and support of the Wake County Commissioners and the City Commissioners of Raleigh could the present results have been achieved. After nine months demonstration of the need and value of welfare work for Negroes, the county of Wake and the city of Raleigh were asked to appropriate $600 each toward the Negro welfare budget for 1926-27. Without a dissenting vote the program was endorsed by both bodies and the requested appropriations granted. June 30, 1926, marked the date when the program of public welfare for Negroes in Wake County passed through the period of demonstration or experimentation in social work. Today one finds in Wake County a live program of public welfare for Negroes, made possible through the faith of the Negroes in their white friends, and in their own ability to help themselves. With their money and by their cooperative effort, the Negroes challenged the attention and secured the unanimous support of county and city officials, thereby changing a temporary experiment in social work into a permanent program of public welfare. The development of the program in Wake County is a concrete example of constructive interracial work. In addition to their efforts in behalf of the county-wide public welfare program, the Negroes of Raleigh are regular contributors to the Associated Charities budget, from which the salary and expenses of the Negro visiting nurse are paid. A day nursery for Negro children has been opened in Raleigh. The building which houses this project was given by the City Com- missioners; and the Negroes contribute to the maintenance fund. 20 Social Welfare Program for Negroes Stofe Board of Clr*&.rV\ tdv oa\4 Public \i e \Wre- IDm$Wv> of" .a a.*v\< De paVt-r* e-nt of W^ \fure I Advisory t CoTrvswv*1\ee, l^ Tou)7\ak\p OYAVA\ vltecs LrtV\e T^ver i 1 IMeuse TWer [ I H~olly Sprtv^ ja eui M kt J CedftT 'ork 1 1 BtAck Hern WaK^ FfT^tl I Mark Creek I 1 Saint Mtftt W 1 RkWs Cy^K[ bam"t /1aYW5 f ^aWic^k House Creek I 1 Ta^Ur IWcU 1 VJkjte flak Car y I 1 StoVst Creek | 1 L eesvt Me it Miadle Creek The Wake County Plan for Organizing the Social Forces in a Negro Community State Boaed of Charities and Public Welfare 21 The Wake County Plan for organizing the social forces in Negro communities, as outlined and detailed above, has been described in full, because the value and effectiveness of this type of approach to the problem of community organization have fully demonstrated its worth in eighteen other counties of North Carolina. The Placement of Trained Workers When the division was established there were three counties in the State that employed Negro social workers. Mrs. Hattie Russell of Charlotte, was the first Negro welfare worker appointed as a full-time worker and paid from public funds. The splendid social work program for Negroes in Mecklenburg County is due to the efficient efforts of Mrs. Russell. The constructive values of the Wake County Plan have been demonstrated in eighteen additional counties of the State. In nine of these counties there are ten full-time Negro welfare assistants employed; and four other counties employ a part-time Negro assistant. Six of the full-time Negro workers are paid all of their salary and expenses from county and city appropriations ; while six of the full-time Negro workers are paid from public funds, supplemented with money from private sources. In two counties Negroes pay all the salary of the part-time Negro worker. The workers noted above are serving as probation officers, family case workers, public welfare assistants, and community organizers. The table following gives in condensed form the story of the placement of trained Negro social workers in the public welfare field during the last eighteen months. During the period January 1, 1925, to June 30, 1926, a total of $20,610 was paid to Negro welfare workers in North Carolina for salaries and expenses. Of this amount $14,810 was paid from public funds, and the balance, $5,800, was contributed by Negroes. 22 Social Welfare Program for Negroes | N '2 Wl o s3 to 3 * CO © 00 o oT CM o us CO 00 CO Oi CM en CD * CD o OO 3 o o CM CO o O CO OS C35 t~ CM 0M o CD CO >> d o Q s> o s c3 s c3 3 03 a o g d ft CM d o3 I O CO a 03 > o PI o3 a o 03 "> 03 Q a 03 rd d Q ,3 >> o ft 00 d u ft oi d o 03 o C3 T3 1 3 O d o 1 o 1-5 ci) H 3 d 03 03 S3 co' co 03 55 u 03 o d 03 W 1 'd 03 O d $ Ph co' j s 1 3 03 > 03 oo" 03 3 03 OS State Boakd of Charities and Public Welfare 23 AN example of specialized service On the invitation of the Gaston County Commissioners and Mrs. Gertrude K. Keller, Superintendent of Public Welfare, the director of the Negro Division made a thorough study of the health and welfare needs of the Negroes of Gaston County. As the result of this study a full program of Negro welfare work, embracing the reorganization of the local colored hospital, health work in the schools, and other health and welfare measures, was unanimously adopted by the County Com- missioners and the Gastonia City Council. A budget of $7,000 for one year was adopted, and an appropriation made to cover the several items of the budget. A ten-bed annex for Negro tubercular patients will be erected immediately on land adjoining the colored hospital. The hos- pital will be put in first-class condition and will, under the new program, serve as a radiating center, in the development of a county-wide health and welfare program, cooperating with the public health and public welfare departments. All school children are to be given a physical examination, and tuberculosis, orthopedic and baby clinics are to be held at the hospital. In commenting on the action of the commissioners, Mrs. Kate Burr Johnson, Commissioner of Public Welfare, said : "This is a specific and a very interesting instance of the kind of service which the various divisions of the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare are pre- pared to render the counties of the State. A careful survey of the field by an experienced social worker often results in a deeper interest and stronger support. The plan which has been accepted by Gaston County and the city of Gastonia is a sound one, and will be of increasing benefit to the Negro people of the community." TRAINING OF WORKERS One of the most difficult problems facing the division has been that of securing trained Negro social workers. There is a growing demand for educated social workers in the South. This demand for an educated leadership is part of the larger demand for the best leadership among Negroes in other fields. A study of the educational qualifications of the 14 Negro welfare workers now serving with city and county welfare departments, brings to light the following facts. Four workers have had four years of college work, and two of this group have pursued special courses in social work; six have finished two years of college work, and three of this number have completed special courses in social work; four are graduates of accredited high schools, and two of this group have taken a special course in social work. The average monthly salary paid these workers is $90. Ten workers are women, and four workers men. 24 Social Welfare Program for Negroes c O « VI M 2 IV* * o "3 o C §2 * >> vi re « 3 fa cti 1-3 2 W State Board of Charities and Public Welfare 25 public welfare institute Under the direction of the Division of Work Among Negroes, a Public Welfare Institute was held at the Winston-Salem Teachers' College, January 13, 14, and 15, 1926. While the general field of public welfare was covered in the many conference groups, community organization, and the history, scope, and object of social work were stressed as out- standing topics of the institute. The chief purpose of the institute was to give further training to those workers employed by county and city governments, and to offer special lectures for officers and workers from the many volunteer and private social agencies throughout the State. 26 Social Welfare Program for Negroes PBOGBAM OF THE INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC WELFAKE HELD AT WINSTON-SALEM, JANUAEY 13-15, 1926 Faculty Mrs. Kate Burr Johnsjon State Commissioner of Public Welfare Miss Lily E. Mitchell Director, Laura Spelman-Eockefeller Memorial Demonstration Dr. Harry W. Crane Division of Mental Health and Hygiene, State Board of Welfare Mr. A. W. Cline Superintendent of Welfare, Forsyth County Lieutenant Lawrence A. Oxley Director of Work Among Negroes Speakers at the Evening Sessions Dr. S. G. Atkins, President of the Winston-Salem Teachers' College. Colonel W. A. Blair, Chairman of the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare. Mr. M. M. Grey, Superintendent of Welfare in Mecklenburg County, and President of the N. C. Association of Superintendents of Public Welfare. Mrs. W. A. Newell, North Carolina Interracial Commission. Mr. Eoy M. Brown, School of Public Welfare, University of North Carolina. Mr. N. C. Newbold, State Director of Negro Education. Dean W. S. Turner, Shaw University, Ealeigh. Dr. Howard W. Odum, Director of the School of Public Welfare, University of North Carolina. E. Franklin Frazier, Dean Atlanta School of Social Work. E. T. Atwell, Field Director, Playground and Eecreation Associa- tion of America. State Board of Charities and Public Welfare 27 Schedule of the Regular Classes 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. History, Scope and Object of Social Work Mrs. Kate Burr Johnson Community Organization Lieut. Lawrence A. Oxley Social Case Work and Record-keeping Miss Lily E. Mitchell School Attendance and Juvenile Court Mr. A. W. Cline The Negro Mental Defective Dr. Harry W. Crane A total of seventy-three persons were enrolled for the institute classes. Eighteen of the workers were from cities and counties in the State. Seven were from various Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A. associa- tions over the State. Others included workers from state institutions, private social agencies, and church social service organizations. Work- ers came from practically every section of North Carolina, from as far west as Asheville and as far east as Wilmington and Elizabeth City. Sections in the central part of the State were also represented, including Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, High Point, Charlotte and other cities and counties. The mass meeting held on the evening of January 13, marked the high point in the program of the institute. The members of the insti- tute were privileged to have Pardon Commissioner H. Hoyle Sink, personal representative of Governor McLean, bring to the meeting the following special message from the Governor. The Governor's Message "The South is not alone the home of the Negro race, but it is unquestionably the best place for that race to work out its own salvation. Here the Negro understands the white race, and the white race understands him. Likewise the shortcom- ings of both races are better understood than in any other sec- tion of our country. It is an interesting feature that in North Carolina fewer Negroes find cause to leave than from any other Southern state. I believe that this is due to the splendid co- operation that has existed between the races for so long. I believe, likewise, that the work you are engaged in is responsi- ble in no small measure for this splendid cooperation. The continuance of this policy is the greatest hope, not only for your race, but for the natural and active development and progress of our State as a whole." Education was advocated as one of the best means for the uplifting of the Negro race, by Roy M. Brown of the School of Public Welfare, 28 Social Welfare Program for Negroes University of North Carolina, who spoke on "Negro Crime in North Carolina." Mr. Brown who has had considerable practical experience in welfare work among prisons in the State prefaced his speech with citations of several examples of prisoners that came under his observa- tion. The interracial conditions in Winston-Salem, where the Negro population is larger in proportion than in most cities, are used as a model for investigation by sociologists from all over the world, said Mrs. W. A. Newell of Mount Airy, member of the North Carolina Interracial Commission. Mrs. Newell stated that the purpose of the commission is to effect an understanding between the races by promot- ing an equal opportunity in schools, economic relations, and churches for both white and black. She compared the growth of the Negro to a growing child and said that the parent must recognize the energy in the child or there would be friction. "We have no Negro problem," said Mrs. Newell; "we have a problem of human striving." E. Franklin Frazier, director of the Atlanta School of Social Work, said that the basic problem of the Negro problem is the proper functioning of the family in regard to disintegration and sex. He emphasized the im- portance of trained welfare workers and mentioned the troubles en- countered in interesting counties in the various states in this department. The relation between recreation and juvenile delinquency was clearly shown by E. T. Atwell, field director, Playground and Recreation As- sociation of America, who by mentioning examples proved his claim of the counteracting influence that proper recreation has upon wayward children. The cause of the so-called crime wave sweeping the country today is that social knowledge has not kept pace with the social change in the revolution of the order, according to Dean W. S. Turner of Shaw University, Raleigh, who spoke on "Law and Order in the World Today." The dean said that human nature had not taken a turn for the worse, but that this generation is living in a different age. Dean Turner admitted that the Negro has contributed more to crime than his quota, but denied the charge of some sociologists that crime is instinctive with the race. Schools of Social Work The demand for trained Negro social workers is being met in a measure through the courses offered in the Atlanta School of Social Work, E. Franklin Frazier, director, 193 Auburn Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia; and the Bishop Tuttle Memorial Training School, Miss Bertha Richards, Dean, Raleigh, North Carolina. The Atlanta school, established in 1920, is the oldest school of social work for Negroes in /the South. Grants from the Laura Spelman-Rockefeller Memorial Fund, the Russell-Sage Foundation, the Atlanta Community Chest, as well as individual contributions, have made the school an independent State Board of Charities and Public Welfare 29 institution, equipped to give specialized training to young men and women who desire to enter the field of social work. The Bishop Tuttle School, established by the Woman's Auxiliary of Episcopal Church, and maintained by funds from the United Thank Offering, offers a three-year course in social work to young women. The School of Public Welfare, University of North Carolina, cooperates with the faculty of the Bishop Tuttle School. The Bishop Tuttle School Raleigh, N. C. A national center for the training of young Negro women in Christian leader- ship and social work. Social Surveys In addition to the many responsibilities falling to the lot of the Division of Work Among Negroes, in the program of organizing Negro communities for social betterment, the director has made a number of visits to various sections of the State, touching about sixty-one counties in his travels. These trips had for their primary purpose, the gather- ing of facts relating to the general welfare of the Negro. Short surveys of social conditions among Negroes have been made in Rocky Mount, New Bern, Gastonia, Charlotte, Asheville, Durham, Wilmington, Eliza- beth City, Raleigh, Winston-Salem, High Point, and smaller cities and rural communities. It is to be regretted that lack of funds and per- sonnel make it impossible for the results of these short studies to be printed and made available for distribution. The many calls made upon the time and efforts of the director have served to prevent him from 30 Social Welfare Program for Negroes giving the attention to this part of the program that such an important subject demands. However, such information as has been gathered served the purpose of throwing light on those conditions in the com- munity that were creating problems of social disorder and mal-adjust- ment. Case Work The director of the division has cooperated with the Pardon Com- missioner and the Superintendent of the State's Prison in problems affecting Negro prisoners, particularly in the matter of investigating applications for parole. The division has also cooperated with the authorities of fifteen counties in the handling of cases that were inter- county or inter-state in character. These cases range from investigation of homes for placement of children ; reports on Negro mothers receiving help through the Mothers' Aid Fund; relief for families, suffering be- cause the bread-winner is an inmate of the penitentiary, prison camp, or the Goldsboro hospital for the insane; and problems of race friction. The total number of cases coming to the attention of the division is ninety-one. All varieties of social mal-adjustment are represented in this group. Wife deserters, mental cases, illegitimate children, and crimes against the public morals head the list. A special booklet detail- ing these case histories with photographs of the subjects would prove to be interesting and valuable information. The following case histories are given : case i This case involves the welfare of a little colored girl, 10 years old, in the home of her father. The father has been married twice. By his first wife he had five children and by his second nine. It seems that from earliest childhood the father has had incestuous relations with all of his eight daughters, also that he has practiced all kinds of indecencies on them. The mother was aware of this and in fact she herself has suffered shameful treatment. However, she is of an ignorant type and absolutely unable to cope with the situation. The father has harmed each of his daughters from the time they reached the age of six or eight years. He began by swearing each child to secrecy so that none of the children knew that their father was having improper relations with any other member of the family. Later, however, it became known so that for years the father used first one girl and then another in the presence of the others, and he has also committed the most revolting acts of sodomy on his daughters as well as his second wife. This story seemed so unbelievable, that an investigation continuing over a period of six months was necessary before sufficient evidence could be secured to warrant the arrest of the father. After many delays and difficulties encountered in bringing this case to trial, the whole State Board of Charities and Public Welfare 31 story was laid before the grand jury of the county, five true bills were returned against the father, charging incest, and following a trial in which every appeal was made to the racial prejudices of the jury, a verdict of guilty was found. The father has been sentenced to the State's Prison. CASE II This case was referred to the division by the Associated Charities. Emma, a mental defective, had been seen wandering about the streets in all kinds of weather, always accompanied by her seven year old daughter. Both were thinly clad and the mother was always in her bare feet. A visit to Emma's home showed a condition existing that was a reproach to our Christian civilization. In a one-room, cramped and filthy shack, five people were found living like animals. The windows of the hut were tight shut and the odors of bodies and cooking and foul air made the place give off a most offensive stench. The room was packed with foul and useless trash. One woman about twenty-five years old was living in the hut. She had been brought back from the State Hospital for JSTegro Insane as "cured." Since her discharge from the hospital she had had one illegitimate child, and at the time of the visit was pregnant with another by a man of a distinct moron type, who also lived in the hut. It was later learned that this man was the uncle of Emma, and was the father of her two children, and also the father of the first child of the other woman. Emma was committed to the Goldsboro Hospital, her children placed in approved homes of relatives; the other woman was sent to the hospital, her first child was placed in an approved home, and the uncle of Emma was cited to appear in court. Children born under such conditions are bound to be one or another type of charges on the State. In this one case the problems of housing, sanitation, immorality, ignorance, feeble-mindedness and poverty were shown in their true light as community social liabilities. The mal- adjusted individual or group as pictured in the case reports noted above suggests the following question : Is it not worth while for a community to make an investment in social insurance where the Negro is concerned ? Is it not better to pay a regular premium on a community social insurance policy, than to continue to pay community liability claims, which increase taxes, and leave in the wake a trail of suffering hu- manity—an added burden to the entire citizenry? 32 Social Welfake Pkogeam for JSTegroes The Old State's Prison Camp for Negroes Cary, N. C. ^wPP^lj The New State's Prison Camp for Negroes Cary, N. C. State Boakd of Charities and Public Welfare 33 Crime Studies A most important and interesting subject has been touched on by the division in the gathering of data and other information on the problem of Negro crime in North Carolina. In this inquiry we are again faced with the difficulty of securing adequate financial support to insure the completion of the study. However, it is the hope of the director that the material now in hand on this subject will stimulate such an interest in this field of research, that sufficient funds will be made available to push the study to a conclusion. As a part of the general study of Negro crime, the director is engaged in gathering facts covering the life histories and social background of thirty Negroes, who, during the last two years have been convicted and sentenced to death in the electric chair. A most valuable contribution would be made to this field of research if an appropriation or grant could be secured to provide the necessary trained workers and other expenses. A bit of information has come out of the preliminary crime study, which proves that the Negro is responding in a most creditable manner to the opportunities provided by the State of North Carolina for his welfare and progress. Analysis of the figures covering the population of the State's Prison, develops the following facts : In December, 1915, the population of the prison was divided as follows : white, 32 per cent ; Negro, 68 per cent. At the close of 1920 : white, 40 per cent ; Negro, 60 per cent. In 1925, following the most intensive period of Negro education in North Carolina, the proportion was 62 per cent white; and 38 per cent Negro. Attention is directed to the fact that the normal crime rate for Negroes as related to the per cent of popula- tion should be about 29 per cent. Promotion" and Publicity The director has personally appeared before the following groups and organizations and presented the program and objectives of the division : National Conference of Social Work, Cleveland, Ohio. National Urban League Conference, New York City. Superintendents of Public Welfare, University of N. C, Chapel Hill. Maryland Commission on Race Relations, Baltimore, Md. North Carolina College for Women, Greensboro. Federation of Colored Women's Clubs, Durham. New York School of Social Work, New York City. North Carolina State Conference of Social Work, Greensboro. Commission on Interracial Cooperation, Atlanta. Woman's Missionary Society, M. E. Church, South, Raleigh. Social Service Conference, M. E. Church, South, Lake Junaluska. Presbyterian Women, Charlotte. 34 Social "Welfare Program for Negroes Congregational Church Workers' Conference, Kings Mountain. Episcopal Church Workers' Conference, Raleigh. Elon Christian College (student body), Elon College. Peace Institute, Raleigh. Conference for the study of Negro Life, Durham. Y. M. C. A. Older Boys' Conference, Winston-Salem. Y. M. C. A. Student Conference, Kings Mountain. North Carolina Student Volunteer Conference, Greensboro. North State Medical Society, Durham. North Carolina Association Graduate Nurses, Greensboro. State Baptist Sunday School Convention, Hamlet. Annual Conference, A. M. E. Church, Asheville. Hampton Institute, Hampton, Va. N. C. Commission on Race Relations, Greensboro. N. C. Ministerial Alliance, Raleigh. Grand Lodge Negro Masons, Rocky Mount. Grand Lodge Negro Odd Eellows, Goldsboro. N. C. Association Negro Elks, Wilson. Negro Church Workers' Conference (National), Savannah, Ga. Sponsored by the Woman's Club of Boston, the director was afforded the opportunity to broadcast an address on the "Negro Welfare Pro- gram in North Carolina" over station WNAC. During the summer of 1926 the program was presented to 3,720 Negro public school teachers in attendance at the State accredited summer schools. The student body and faculty of every Negro college in North Caro- lina have been acquainted with the development of our program. Men- tion is made elsewhere in this report of the many community mass meetings held in various centers in connection with the organization and promotion of the work. Special articles relating to Negro welfare in North Carolina have appeared in the Southern Workman for Novem- ber, 1925 ; and Prof. Mimms in his recent book "The Advancing South," makes mention of the tangible contributions made by the division in the field of race relations in North Carolina. The Associated Press has been quite friendly in its attitude toward the program in its develop- ment. One full-page news story with illustrations, and about one hundred and twenty-two smaller articles have appeared in the daily papers of the nation. The Negro Press has cooperated in a most enthusiastic manner in support of the State welfare program. The wide circulation of Negro newspapers, and their increasing influence in shaping Negro thought on questions of the day, has been one of the most important factors in keeping before the Negroes of the country the story of Negro progress in North Carolina. State Boaed of Charities and Public Welfare 35 STATE INSTITUTIONS The director has visited each of the following named institutions, at least four times during the period covered by this report : Morrison Training School, N. C. Industrial Home for Colored Girls, Oxford Colored Orphanage, N. C. Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Goldsboro State Hospital for Negro Insane, and the N. C. Orthopedic Hospital. Weekly visits have been made to the State's Prison, and the State's Prison Camps for Negroes at Cary, Durham and Marshall have been visited m^Am::r£%m The Angier B. Duke Memorial Building Colored Orphanage Oxford, N. C. The State makes an annual appropriation of $20,000 toward the support of this institution. once. Twenty-four county jails, ten county road camps, eleven county homes, seven Negro hospitals, and five other city hospitals having pro- vision for Negro patients, have been visited by the director. For the purpose of observing methods of business management and care and treatment of inmates, visits have been made to the Stonewall Jackson Training School, N. C. Orthopedic Hospital, State Reformatory for Negro boys located at Savannah, Georgia; and Welfare Island, New York. One of the objectives in the development of the State social program should be the providing of the necessary funds to enable the Negro Division to render a larger service to the authorities and inmates of the several institutions for defectives, delinquents and dependents. 36 Social Welfare Program for Negroes O P ^ ° • =2 "ri H to !h 3 02 S3 W 52 2 State Boaed of Charities and Public Welfare 37 The Efland Home The story would be incomplete were not mention made of one of the outstanding accomplishments in the North Carolina program of welfare for Negroes. The problem presented to the community in the person of the delinquent Negro girl is perhaps the most difficult of solution. The prey of unprincipled men of both races, the Negro girl stands as a pathetic figure. The State, unmindful of the tremendous social liability this problem is to the life of the community, has neglected its plain duty in the matter ; and today in North Carolina cities and rural com- munities the mal-adjusted Negro girl is left free to wander from place to place, leaving in her wake a trail of disease and human suffering as the heritage of the future generations of both races. First Cottage N. C. Industrial Home for Colored Girls - Efland, N. C. A training school for delinquent Negro girls. The Negro women of North Carolina, deeply appreciative of the seriousness of this problem and the urgent need for a program which would provide the proper care, treatment and training for these un- fortunate human beings, have endeavored over a period of years to arouse public opinion to the gravity of the problem. Finally, realizing that genuine interest in any project is best demonstrated by individuals first helping themselves, the North Carolina Federation of Colored Women's Clubs purchased about three hundred acres of farm land at 38 Social Welfare Program for Negroes Efland, North Carolina, and erected thereon a modern frame building. This building has dormitory space for twenty girls, a spacious reception hall and assembly room, living quarters for the matron, domestic science and sewing rooms, kitchen, dining room, a modern heating plant, toilet facilities and shower baths. After many futile attempts to secure an adequate water supply, a well was finally bored through solid rock and water is now pumped to the main house in sufficient quantities for all purposes. The white women of the State, under the leadership of Mrs. T. W. Bickett, early rallied to the support of this work and have cooperated in a most concrete manner, through gifts and in other ways. The Federation of Colored Women's Clubs has invested about $30,000 in this project — an investment that may well be termed "a venture of faith." House Bill No. 121, which was presented to the 1925 Legis- lature, provided for the taking over of this home by the State. The bill was lost in the committee. Undaunted by this reverse the women re- newed their efforts in behalf of the project. The Home has been fur- nished, a matron and teacher appointed, and twelve girls have been committed to the Home by judges of juvenile courts. The Legislative Council of Women is sponsoring a new bill in the 1927 Legislature which provides for the taking over of the Home as a State project. The Morrison School During the period covered by this report the Morrison Training School for delinquent Negro boys has been opened at Hoffman, Rich- mond County, North Carolina. This school is made possible through an appropriation of $25,000 made by the Legislature. The school has about three hundred acres of good farm land, on which four buildings have been erected. The main building is brick veneered and contains three dormitory floors, administration offices, superintendent's quarters, reception hall, classrooms and assembly room. The building is equipped with a modern steam heating plant. A Delco plant furnishes light and pumps water to the buildings from a natural spring on the grounds. An electric refrigeration plant has been recently installed. About seventy-five boys are now inmates of the school. In addition to their classroom work the boys are taught such industries as farming, pig and poultry raising, and the maintenance of a model dairy. These in- dustries are planned to teach the boys self-reliance, initiative, and ability to think and act intelligently. At the Morrison Training School Negro boys are given opportunity to build character that they may be returned to their home communities social assets rather than liabilities. Negro Elks have pledged $5,000 toward the erection of a dormitory at this school. State Boakd of Charities and Public Welfare 39 40 Social Welfare Pkogram foe Negroes Negro Oethopedic Ward Through a generous gift of $15,000 made by Mr. B. N. Duke, a ward for the treatment of Negro crippled children has been opened at the North Carolina Orthopedic Hospital, Gastonia, North Carolina. The Council of State recently authorized an emergency appropriation for the maintenance of this ward until the 1927 Legislature convenes. Negro children needing orthopedic treatment are received in all clinics held throughout the State; and those needing hospitalization are ad- mitted to the Gastonia institution in the order of their application. The Negro ward has a capacity of twenty beds. About thirty children have been received and treated since the ward was opened, and there are twenty children now undergoing treatment. NEGRO STATE COMMITTEE In developing a program of Negro welfare the director early recog- nized the great value that helpful advice and suggestions coming from leading Negro men and women, would mean toward the success of the work. Upon the recommendation of the director the Commissioner created a Negro Advisory Commission to the State Board of Charities and Public "Welfare, and the following representative Negroes were ap- pointed to membership on the Commission. Dr. S. G. Atkins, President, Winston-Salem Teachers' College. Mrs. Charlotte Hawkins Brown, President, N. C. Federation of Colored Women's Clubs. Dr. L. O. Miller, Asheville, N. C. Eev. A. Myron Cochran, Kaleigh, N. C. Mrs. H. L. McCrorey, Charlotte, N. C. Dr. Frank W. Avant, Wilmington, N. C. Prof. J. A. Bias, Elizabeth City, N. C. The Negro Advisory Commission held its first annual meeting with the Commissioner and representatives of the State Board of Charities at Winston-Salem Teachers' College, January 14, 1926. The many helpful ideas advanced and constructive suggestions made by the mem- bers of the Commission in this meeting contributed in a large way to the success that has rewarded our efforts. SUMMARY OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS 1. Twenty counties organized for social work. 2. Thirteen Negro welfare workers placed with counties. 3. Morrison Training School for Negro Boys opened. 4. N. C. Industrial Home for Colored Girls opened. 5. Orthopedic ward for Negro crippled children opened. 6. First Public Welfare Institute for Negro workers. 7. Publicity throughout State and nation, Negro Welfare Work. 8. A total of $20,610 paid Negro welfare workers for salaries. Note: — This amount does not include salaries of Negro workers in Stat© and county institutions. State Board of Charities and Public Welfare 41 Negro Unit — State Orthopedic Hospital Gastonia, N. C. The gift of B. N. Duke and presented to the State March 15, 1926. 42 Social Welfare Program for Negroes 9. A grand total of $65,000 raised for Negro welfare projects, divided as follows: $14,810 appropriated from public funds; $15,000 from private sources; and Negroes contributed $35,190. INFLUENCE ON OTHER STATES A direct result of the successful North Carolina Negro welfare pro- gram has been its influence on the state-wide social programs for Negroes in Georgia, "West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Maryland and Missouri. The director has personally appeared before the Maryland Commission on Negro Welfare, and has conferred with state welfare officials in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio. Through correspondence valuable contacts have been maintained with state welfare officials in Missouri and West Virginia. EDUCATION The story of Negro welfare and progress in North Carolina would be incomplete were not mention made of the State program of public education for Negroes. Under the Division of Negro Education, Mr. N. C. Newbold, director, of the State Department of Public Instruction, a most commendable program has been developed. Mr. Newbold stands out prominently, as a pioneer and an authority in the field of Negro education ; and to his vision and broad democratic spirit is due in large part the constructive results achieved in this specialized field of en- deavor. Within the five year period, 1921 to 1925, inclusive, North Carolina has spent of public tax money in round numbers about $18,- 000,000 on its Negro schools. This means public elementary schools, high schools, normal schools, summer schools, and colleges. The largest single item of expenditure is for the salaries of teachers in the public schools, which totals in the five years about $10,000,000. The next largest expenditure is for new buildings and equipment in cities, towns and the rural districts— about $5,000,000. The other $3,000,000 was for higher education and teacher-training. North Carolina has participated in the Kosenwald Fund for eleven years. In that time 567 buildings have been erected at a cost of $2,688,464. Of this amount the Kosenwald Fund gave $443,836; the Negroes themselves gave $483,441; contributions from white people amounted to $66,607, and public tax money provided $1,674,580. The average cost of these . 567 schools in North Carolina is $5,664. The teacher capacity is 1,465, and 65,925 children can find room and comfort in these modern, well built schools. Kosenwald Schools have been State Board of Charities and Public Welfare 43 The Old Harnett County Negro Rural School, 1924 The New Harnett County Negro Rural High School, 1926 A Rosenwald School. 44 Social Welfare Program for Negroes built in practically every one of the one hundred counties of North Carolina, and present an attractive appearance. The Rosenwald School in a community stands as a monument interracial cooperation and goodwill; and provides an ideal center io\ the promotion of a program of community service. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES June 30, 1926 1. Passage of bill by the 1927 Legislature providing for the taking over of the North Carolina Industrial Home for Colored Girls. 2. The organization of social forces in twenty-five additional Negrj communities. 3. Placement of sixteen additional trained Negro social workers aj public welfare assistants, case workers, and probation officers. 4. Appropriation for maintenance of Negro ward at North Carolina Orthopedic Hospital. 5. Completion of study of crime among Negroes. 6. Appropriation for maintenance of Division of Work Amon^ Negroes. 7. Appropriation for the erection and maintenance of a unit building at the Caswell Training School for the care and treatment of feeble minded Negroes. WORK MARKED BY HEARTY COOPERATION Whatever good has been accomplished through the activities of ih\ division is due in large measure to the hearty response and cooperatioi that has come from Negro leaders and organizations throughout thj State. To Dr. S. G. Atkins, President, Winston-Salem Teachers' Col lege, we are indebted for the splendid arrangements made at the colle^ for the entertainment of the first Public Welfare Institute. To th^ many superintendents of public welfare, county commissioners, an< State officials, whose interest and cooperation has been generously givei the director expresses his appreciation. ■M Microfilmed SOUNET/ASERL PROJECT -,":■•■ = . . • ■