RECONSTRUCTION AND THE NEGRO
BY JULIUS ROSENWALD, PRESIDENT SEARS, ROEBUCK & CO, AND TRUSTEE OF
TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE--A PLEA FOR INDUSTRIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR THE
NEGRO--TRIBUTE TO NEGRO AS SOLDIER AND CIVILIAN--DUTY OF WHITES POINTED
OUT--BUSINESS LEADER AND PHILANTHROPIST SOUNDS KEYNOTE.
Although American sacrifices in the European War have been great, we
find compensation for them in many directions. Not the least of these is
the vastly increased number of opportunities the reconstruction period
will offer to many of our citizens.
Today the United States is the leading nation of the world in virtually
every line of activity. We have been thrust into a new world leadership
by the war. It behooves us to make the most of our new opportunities. To
equip ourselves creditably we must utilize the best there is in the
manhood and womanhood of our nation, drawing upon the intellect and
ability of every person who has either to give.
Approximately ten percent of our present population is colored. Every
man, woman and child of this ten percent should be given the opportunity
to utilize whatever ability he has in the struggle for the maintenance
of world leadership which we now face. Just insofar as we refuse to give
this part of our population an opportunity to lend its strength to
helping us set a pace for the rest of the world, as best it can, so do
we weaken the total strength of our nation. In other words, we can
either give our colored population the right and the opportunity to do
the best work of which it is capable and increase our efficiency, or we
can deny them their rights and opportunities, as we have done in many
instances, and decrease our efficiency proportionately.
Of course, the question naturally arises as to how efficient the
colored man and the colored woman are when given the opportunity to
demonstrate their ability. No better answer can be found than that given
by the splendid work of the majority of our colored people during the
war. On the firing line, in the camps behind the line, and in civil life
our colored population has done well indeed. Four hundred thousand
Negroes offered their lives for their country. Many more made noble
sacrifices in civilian life.
It was my privilege not only to observe the work done in civil life by
colored persons in this country during the war, but to visit colored
troops in France during hostilities.
There is no question that the Negro has given a splendid account of
himself both as an exceptionally fearless fighting man and as a member
of non-combatant troops. I made diligent effort to ascertain the manner
in which the Negro troops conducted themselves behind the lines. It is
much easier for a man to become lax in his conduct there than in actual
fighting. Without exception every officer I questioned stated he could
not ask for more obedient, willing, harder working or more patriotic
troops than the Negro regiments had proven themselves to be. Every
account I have read regarding the engagement of colored men in fighting
units and every case in which I had the opportunity to inquire
personally regarding the bravery of colored troops has led me to believe
our colored men were as good soldiers as could be found in either our
own army or the armies of our allies, regardless of color.
One needs only to scan the records of the War Department and the
official reports of General Pershing to find positive proof of the
valor, endurance and patriotism of the colored troops who battled for
liberty and democracy for all the world. The entire nation notes with
pride the splendid service of the 365th to the 372nd Infantry units,
inclusive. When historians tell the story of the sanguinary conflicts at
Chateau Thierry, in the Forest of Argonne, in the Champagne sector,
Belleau Wood and at Metz, the record will give reason to believe that
the victories achieved on those memorable fields might have shown a
different result had it not been for the remarkable staying and
fighting abilities of the colored troops. French, English and American
commanding officers unite in singing the praises of these gallant
warriors and agree that in the entire Allied Army no element contributed
more signally than did they to the final downfall of the German Military
Machine in proportion to their numbers.
Not only did the combatant units of the colored troops win laurels
across the sea, but the 301st Stevedore Regiment was cited for
exceptionally efficient work, having broken all records by unloading and
coaling the giant steamer "Leviathan" in fifty-six hours, competing
successfully with the best stevedore detachments on the western front of
France. Everywhere, behind the lines as well as when facing shot, shell
and gas, the colored soldiers have given a most creditable account of
themselves and are entitled to the product of their patriotism and
loyalty.
Those who remained at home during the war realize fully that the
patriotic service rendered by colored persons in civil life, both in
doing war work and in the purchase of Liberty Bonds and War Savings
Stamps is to be commended.
Surely after the many demonstrations of patriotism both on the
battlefield and at home the white people of this country will be willing
to accord the colored people a square deal by at least giving them a
fair opportunity to earn a livelihood in accordance with their ability.
We have been asking the impossible of the colored man and the colored
woman. We have demanded that they be honest, self-respecting citizens,
and at the same time we have forced them into surroundings which almost
make this result impossible. In many places they are deprived of a fair
opportunity to obtain education or amusement in a decent environment.
Only the most menial positions are offered them. An educated girl
particularly has practically no opportunity to earn a livelihood in the
manner for which her education fits her.
We whites of America must begin to realize that Booker T. Washington
was right when he said it was impossible to hold a man in the gutter
without staying there with him, because "if you get up, he will get up."
We do not want to remain in the gutter. We, therefore, must help the
Negro to rise.
If we are to obtain the best results from colored labor, unions should
admit it to their membership. It is not the universal practice to admit
colored persons to unions. The result, of course, is that even if a
colored man has the opportunity to learn a trade, knowing he will not be
permitted to enjoy the benefits of a union, he does not have the highest
incentive for learning it. The north is especially neglectful in not
providing openings for the colored men in trades. In the south it is not
unusual to see a colored brick-mason working alongside a white
brick-mason. But in the north the best a colored man can hope for on a
building job now is a position as a hod-carrier or mortar-mixer.
When the alien arrives in this country, he is given opportunity for
virtually every kind of employment. But the colored man who is born in
the United States, and, therefore, should share in its opportunities,
is not given as fair a chance as the alien worker.
Naturally, we cannot hope that these conditions will be remedied in a
day or a month nor can the colored man expect that the millennium will
come to him through the action of white people alone. He can improve his
chances of securing greater rights and opportunities in the United
States, if he will make the most of the limited opportunities now
afforded him. He who does the best he can with the tools he has at hand
is bound in time to demand by his good work better tools for the
performance of more important and profitable duties. The conviction is
general that "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful
also in much."
The late Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, who was a good friend of the black
man as well as the white, struck the right note in his introduction to
the biography of Booker T. Washington when he said:
"If there is any lesson more essential than any other for this
country to learn, it is the lesson that the enjoyment of rights
should be made conditional upon the performance of duty."
There exist certain rights which every colored man and woman may enjoy
regardless of laws and prejudice. For instance, nothing can prevent a
colored person from practicing industry, honesty, saving and decency, if
he or she desires to practice them.
The helpfulness of the colored race to the Government need not be
confined to fighting in the army nor to service in the manifold domestic
callings. It is the duty of the colored citizens, as it is their right,
to have a part in the substantial development of the nation and to
assist in financing its operations for war or peace. The colored people,
as a rule, are industrious and thrifty and have come to appreciate their
importance as a factor in the economic and financial world, as indicated
by their prosperous business enterprises, their large holdings in real
estate, their management of banks, and their scrupulous handling of the
millions of deposits entrusted to their care. This capital, saved
through sacrifice, has been placed in a most generous manner at the
disposal of the Government throughout its period of need, and the list
of corporations, fraternities and individuals who have aided in bringing
success to American arms by the purchase of Liberty Bonds and War
Savings Stamps and by contributions to other war relief agencies, is
indeed a long one.
Opportunities of the colored people to make safe investment of their
savings never were so great as they are today. The financial program the
Government has entered upon and is continuing to carry out to meet the
expense of the war gives a chance to save in sums as small as
twenty-five cents and makes an investment upon which return of both
principal and interest is absolutely guaranteed. Too often colored
people have entrusted their savings to wholly irresponsible persons,
lost them through the dishonesty of these persons, and in
discouragement abandoned all attempts at saving. Today, however, there
is no excuse for any man not saving a certain amount of his earnings no
matter how small it may be. It is a poor person, indeed, who cannot
invest twenty-five cents at stated intervals in a Thrift Stamp. Many are
able also to buy small Liberty Bonds. It is a duty and a privilege for
colored persons to help the Government finance the war, which was for
both whites and blacks.
It is the particular duty of white persons, in cooperation with the most
influential members of their own race, to explain these Government
financial plans to the colored men and women that they may make safe
investments, acquire a competence, and thus become better citizens.
It is my belief that the Negro soldier returning from France will be a
better citizen than when he left. He will be benefited mentally and
physically by his military training and experience. He will have a
broader vision. He will appreciate American citizenship. He will know, I
believe, that freedom, for which he risked his life and all, is not
license. He will find his brothers at home who did not go overseas
better for their war sacrifices. Both the soldier and the civilian have
proved their devoted loyalty. Justice demands that they now be rewarded
with an equal chance with the white man to climb as high in the
industrial and professional world as their individual capacity warrants.
[Illustration: HOMECOMING HEROES OF 8TH ILLINOIS (370TH INFANTRY).
FAMOUS NEGRO FIGHTERS MARCHING IN MICHIGAN BOULEVARD. CHICAGO]