advance the statement that the musty records of 1868, filed away in the
archives of Southern capitols, as to what the Negro was thirty-two years
ago, is not a proper standard by which the Negro living on the threshold
of the twentieth century should be measured. Since that time we have
reduced the illiteracy of the race at least 45 per cent. We have written
and published near 500 books. We have nearly 300 newspapers, 3 of which
are dailies. We have now in practise over 2,000 lawyers and a
corresponding number of doctors. We have accumulated over $12,000,000
worth of school property and about $40,000,000 worth of church property.
We have about 140,000 farms and homes, valued at in the neighborhood of
$750,000,000, and personal property valued at about $170,000,000. We
have raised about $11,000,000 for educational purposes, and the property
per capita for every colored man, woman, and child in the United States
is estimated at $75.
We are operating successfully several banks, commercial enterprises
among our people in the Southland, including 1 silk-mill and 1
cotton-factory. We have 32,000 teachers in the schools of the country;
we have built, with the aid of our friends, about 20,000 churches, and
support 7 colleges, 17 academies, 50 high schools, 5 law schools, 5
medical schools, and 25 theological seminaries. We have over 600,000
acres of land in the South alone. The cotton produced, mainly by black
labor, has increased from 4,669,770 bales in 1860 to 11,235,000 in 1899.
All this we have done under the most adverse circumstances. We have done
it in the face of lynching, burning at the stake, with the humiliation
of "Jim Crow" cars, the disfranchisement of our male citizens, slander
and degradation of our women, with the factories closed against us, no
Negro permitted to be conductor on the railway-cars, whether run through
the streets of our cities or across the prairies of our great country,
no Negro permitted to run as engineer on a locomotive, most of the mines
closed against us. Labor-unions--carpenters, painters, brick-masons,
machinists, hackmen, and those supplying nearly every conceivable
avocation for livelihood have banded themselves together to better their
condition, but, with few exceptions, the black face has been left out.
The Negroes are seldom employed in our mercantile stores. At this we do
not wonder. Some day we hope to have them employed in our own stores.
With all these odds against us, we are forging our way ahead, slowly,
perhaps, but surely. You tie us and then taunt us for a lack of bravery,
but one day we will break the bonds. You may use our labor for two and a
half centuries and then taunt us for our poverty, but let me remind you
we will not always remain poor. You may withhold even the knowledge of
how to read God's word and learn the way from earth to glory and then
taunt us for our ignorance, but we would remind you that there is plenty
of room at the top, and we are climbing.
After enforced debauchery, with the many kindred horrors incident to
slavery, it comes with ill grace from the perpetrators of these deeds to
hold up the shortcomings of some of our race to ridicule and scorn.
"The new man, the slave who has grown out of the ashes of thirty-five
years ago, is inducted into the political and social system, cast into
the arena of manhood, where he constitutes a new element and becomes a
competitor for all its emoluments. He is put upon trial to test his
ability to be counted worthy of freedom, worthy of the elective
franchise; and after thirty-five years of struggling against almost
insurmountable odds, under conditions but little removed from slavery
itself, he asks a fair and just judgment, not of those whose prejudice
has endeavored to forestall, to frustrate his every forward movement,
rather those who have lent a helping hand, that he might demonstrate the
truth of 'the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man.'"
* * * * *
Now, Mr. Chairman, before concluding my remarks I want to submit a brief
recipe for the solution of the so-called American Negro problem. He asks
no special favors, but simply demands that he be given the same chance
for existence, for earning a livelihood, for raising himself in the
scales of manhood and womanhood that are accorded to kindred
nationalities. Treat him as a man; go into his home and learn of his
social conditions; learn of his cares, his troubles, and his hopes for
the future; gain his confidence; open the doors of industry to him; let
the word "Negro," "colored," and "black" be stricken from all the
organizations enumerated in the federation of labor.
Help him to overcome his weaknesses, punish the crime-committing class
by the courts of the land, measure the standard of the race by its best
material, cease to mold prejudicial and unjust public sentiment against
him, and my word for it, he will learn to support, hold up the hands of,
and join in with that political party, that institution, whether secular
or religious, in every community where he lives, which is destined to do
the greatest good for the greatest number. Obliterate race hatred, party
prejudice, and help us to achieve nobler ends, greater results, and
become more satisfactory citizens to our brother in white.
This, Mr. Chairman, is perhaps the Negroes' temporary farewell to the
American Congress; but let me say, Ph[oe]nix-like he will rise up some
day and come again. These parting words are in behalf of an outraged,
heart-broken, bruised, and bleeding, but God-fearing people, faithful,
industrious, loyal people--rising people, full of potential force.
Mr. Chairman, in the trial of Lord Bacon, when the court disturbed the
counsel for the defendant, Sir Walter Raleigh raised himself up to his
full height and, addressing the court, said:
"Sir, I am pleading for the life of a human being."
The only apology that I have to make for the earnestness with which I
have spoken is that I am pleading for the life, the liberty, the future
happiness, and manhood-suffrage for one-eight of the entire population
of the United States.
THE NEGRO'S PART IN THE REDEMPTION OF AFRICA[29]
BY LEVI J. COPPIN,
_Bishop A. M. E. Church_
[Note 29: Delivered at Cape Town, South Africa, February 1902.]
The land once lying in darkness, but now fast coming to the light, is
claiming the best thought and the best energies of the civilized world.
Africa, on account of a lack of coast indentations, has been the last
among the continents to be penetrated by the beneficent influence of
commerce; and this largely accounts for that long obscurity, during
which it was given the name, the "Dark Continent."
Its situation beneath the line of the Equator has had also something to
do with staying the onward march of civilization from without. The world
learned first to think only of the enervating influence of a torrid sun
upon the inhabitants of the great continent, and this was not inviting
to immigration.
Nations have reached their highest and best development, not by
isolation, but by taking advantage of whatever of good they found among
others. But as the years and centuries have passed, it has dawned upon
the world that Africa enjoys the unique distinction of occupying a place
in three zones, and hence offering the largest variety of climatic
influences that are favorable to life and health.
Abounding in mineral wealth, with millions of acres suitable for
agriculture, and with immense forests of valuable wood; with palm oil,
ivory, and other desirable products, Africa is now being sought by the
world's capital, and is giving rich rewards to combined capital and
labor.
But what of her peoples? When as a Christian Church we speak of the
redemption of Africa, we do not refer to her material resources chiefly,
though these are a means to an end. The one supreme thought with us is,
how the millions of her inhabitants may be reached by the light of the
gospel and saved. In their isolated condition, the people have for long
centuries become the victims of customs and habits not in keeping with
the better life which is the result only of Christian civilization. The
customs and habits formed and fixed by centuries cannot be thoroughly
changed by a few years of effort. The success already attained by
missionary enterprise in Africa is not to be measured by the years of
effort it has cost, nor by the amount of money expended. Missionary
records from other fields will fully justify this statement. In all such
work we may expect to have the exemplification of nature's course,
"first the blade, then the ear; after that, the full corn in the ear."
One hundred and sixty-six years have passed since the Moravians, as
pioneer Protestant missionaries began work on the Gold Coast. From 1736
to 1832, much effort was expended by a number of societies on the West
Coast, during which more or less progress was made, accompanied with no
little sacrifice, and a large death-roll of missionaries. But, at this
time the missionary field is no longer confined to any particular
section of Africa. The missionary has followed in the wake of the
explorer and planted his stations. In South Africa the work is most
hopeful. In West Africa, the foothold is permanent; in Central Africa
the work proceeds, and is not likely to stop until every tribe shall
read the story of the Cross in his own dialect.
Those missionaries who have studied the native tongues--of which there
are many--and translated the Bible in the vernacular of various tribes,
have done a work that is of inestimable value. The difficulty of
language, is, after all, the greatest obstacle in evangelistic progress
in Africa. If there were but one tongue to contend with, the work of the
Missionary would be comparatively easy; but there are many tongues. In
my own district in South Africa, we have the Bible in three native
dialects, namely: the Zulu, Bechauna, and the so-called Kaffir. Besides
these, we have the Dutch as well as the English Bible.
So much has been accomplished by missionaries, and at so great a
sacrifice, that it seems quite out of place to suggest a criticism or
complaint, and yet all the Christian workers should be ready to receive
any suggestion that would help them to achieve better results.
In carrying the Gospel to an unenlightened people, there is a strong
temptation to emphasize unduly the commercial element that very
naturally accompanies it. Civilization and evangelization must go hand
in hand, but the greater importance should always be given to the work
of evangelization. In our highest civilization are to be found
objectionable and hurtful elements, and these are likely to be the first
to intrude themselves upon an unsuspecting people.
It is ever to be regretted, that the civilization that opened the way
for the missionary, also gave an opportunity for the introduction of
evils, among which none have wrought greater harm than the introduction
of alcoholic beverages.
To what extent, anyone directly connected with Missionary enterprise has
ever been responsible for such a sad result, we do not know; but it does
seem evident that the idea of pecuniary gain has not always been kept
away from the Missionary field. The acquisition of lands for other than
ecclesiastical purposes, and traffic in native products, offer a great
temptation to the Missionary, some of whom have availed themselves of
these advantages, to the detriment of their legitimate work. It is not
always an easy thing for one to become so forgetful of himself in his
efforts to bless others as to be in his life, and work a perfect
exemplar of the Divine Master, whose Kingdom he seeks to promote, but
whose Kingdom is not of this world.
Professor Drummond, in a speech in 1888, among other important
statements upon foreign missionary works, made the following: "I was
taught to believe that the essential to a missionary was strong faith. I
have since learned that it is more essential for him to have strong
love. I was taught, out there in the missionary field, that he needed to
have great knowledge. I have learned that, more than knowledge even, is
required personal character. I have met men in mission fields in
different parts of the world who could make zealous addresses, at
evangelistic meetings at home, who left for their fields of labor, laden
with testimonials from churches and Sunday-schools, but who became
utterly demoralized within a year's time, because they had not learned
that love is a greater thing than faith. That is a neglected part of a
Missionary's education, it seems to me, and yet it is a most essential
one. I would say that the thing to be certain of in picking out a man
for such a field as Africa, where the strain upon a man's character is
tremendous, and the strain upon his spiritual life owing to the
isolation, is more tremendous, that we must be sure that we are sending
a man of character and heart; morally sound to the core, with a large
and brotherly sympathy for the native." These are the words of Professor
Drummond, and in my opinion he spoke the exact truth; and in making this
quotation, I am glad that it is from such an eminent authority; one who
could have no sinister motives for such utterances. He does not arraign
the missionaries as a whole but frankly states some thing that he had
learned from observation.
The native African, as a rule, is virtuous and honest. The uncivilized
tribes, in striving for the mastery among themselves, commit many acts
that would not be approved by the rules governing modern warfare: deeds
of cruelty, that made the need of the Gospel among them imperative.
But, in their individual lives, free from the exciting influence of war
they have rules and customs governing their home life that are entirely
in keeping with the highest state of Christian civilization. To them,
polygamy is not a sinful practise. Without light beyond that which comes
from their own fireside, they do not see the necessity of breaking away
from a practise that is peculiar to mankind in the earliest stages of
social life. But they hold tenaciously to the rule, that all men and all
women among them must respect the matrimonial customs by which they are
governed. These customs cannot be violated with impunity, and the
penalty for such violations is often death. They are disposed to be true
to their professions, and faithful in what they believe. When they are
persuaded that there is a better life, and induced to embrace it, they
bring with them their characteristic sincerity. How great, then, is the
need of missionaries who will not, by the deplorable example set by
their own unfaithfulness and insincerity, lower the standard of the
native.
The spirit which impels one to work in the foreign field generally
leaves him without a choice as to post of duty. The first thought to him
is: "Lord what wilt Thou have me to do?" And hence the missionary goes
forth without questioning the race variety among which his lot should be
cast. But in this day of systematic method even in Christian effort, and
when missionaries from every race variety are being prepared for the
work, I think it would not be out of place to maintain a closer respect
for the laws of adaptation and fitness.
* * * * *
The religious field, and especially the great continent of Africa, seems
to offer the greatest opportunity for the man of color to do his best
work. As we stand in the open door of a new century, God is calling us
to new duties and responsibilities. The preparation for this work was
through a school of hard experiences, but perhaps the trials were no
harder than those which had been borne by others. We waited long for the
call to take our place among other agencies for the redemption of the
world; and now that it has come, we have no time nor disposition to
brood over past experiences. Our business is now with the exacting
present, and the portentious future, and we must adjust ourselves to the
new situation.
God is calling men of every race and clime to take a part in the world's
redemption and face the responsibilities that come with the unfolding
years. If we are found ready and willing to take our place, then may we
claim the promise of His presence and help: but, if we are found to be
unwilling, and unworthy, the call may not come to us again.
"Stretch forth thy hand; Jehovah bids thee come
And claim the promise; thou hast had thy doom,
If forth in sorrow, weeping, thou hast gone,
Rejoicing to thy God thou shalt return.
"Stretch forth thy hand, no longer doubt, arise;
Look! See the 'signo' in the vaulted skies!
Greet the new century with faith sublime,
For God is calling now, this is thy time.
"Stretch forth thy hand to God, the night is past;
The morning cometh, thou art free at last.
No brigands draw thee from thy peaceful home,
But messengers of love to greet thee come.
"Stretch forth thy hand to kindred o'er the sea;
Our cause is one, and brothers still are we.
Bone of our bone, one destiny we claim;
Flesh of our flesh, thy God and ours the same.
"Stretch forth thy hand: "What tho' the heathen rage"
And fiends of darkness all their wrath engage.
The hand of God still writes upon the wall,
"Thy days are numbered; all the proud shall fall."
"Stretch forth thy hand, nor yet in terror flee;
Thick darkness but a swaddling-band shall be
The waves and billows which thy way oppose
Shall in their bosom bury all thy foes.
"Stretch forth thy hand to God, 'tis not for thee
To question aught, nor all his purpose see.
The hand that led thee through the dreary night
Does not thy counsel need when comes the light.
"Stretch forth thy hand; stretch forth thy hand to God;
Nor falter thou, nor stumble at His word.
And if in service thou shalt faithful be,
His promise of salvation thou shalt see."
A PLEA FOR INDUSTRIAL OPPORTUNITY[30]
BY FANNY JACKSON COPPIN
FANNY MIRIAM JACKSON COPPIN, _the first Negro woman in America to
graduate from college--Oberlin, 1865. From 1837 to 1902, teacher and
principal of the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia._
[Note 30: Delivered at a fair in Philadelphia, held in the interest
of the _Christian Recorder_.]
The great lesson to be taught by this Fair is the value of co-operative
effort to make our cents dollars, and to show us what help there is for
ourselves in ourselves. That the colored people of this country have
enough money to materially alter their financial condition, was clearly
demonstrated by the millions of dollars deposited in the Freedmen's
Bank; that they have the good sense, and the unanimity to use this
power, are now proved by this industrial exhibition and fair.
It strikes me that much of the recent talk about the exodus has
proceeded upon the high-handed assumption that, owing largely to the
credit system of the South, the colored people there are forced to the
alternative, to "curse God, and die," or else "go West." Not a bit of
it. The people of the South, it is true, cannot at this time produce
hundreds of dollars, but they have millions of pennies; and millions of
pennies make tens of thousands of dollars. By clubbing together and
lumping their pennies, a fund might be raised in the cities of the
South that the poorer classes might fall back upon while their crops are
growing; or else, by the opening of co-operative stores, become their
own creditors and so effectually rid themselves of their merciless
extortioners. "Oh, they won't do anything; you can't get them united on
anything!" is frequently expressed. The best way for a man to prove that
he can do a thing is to do it, and that is what we have shown we can do.
This Fair, participated in by twenty four States in the Union, and
gotten up for a purpose which is of no pecuniary benefit to those
concerned in it, effectually silences all slanders about "we won't or we
can't do," and teaches its own instructive and greatly needed lessons of
self-help,--the best help that any man can have, next to God's.
Those in charge, who have completed the arrangement of the Fair, have
studiously avoided preceding it with noisy and demonstrative babblings,
which are so often the vapid precursors of promises as empty as those
who make them; therefore, in some quarters, our Fair has been
overlooked. It is not, we think, a presumptuous interpretation of this
great movement, to say, that the voice of God now seems to utter "Speak
to the people that they go forward." "Go forward" in what respect? Teach
the millions of poor colored laborers of the South how much power they
have in themselves, by co-operation of effort, and by a combination of
their small means, to change the despairing poverty which now drives
them from their homes, and makes them a millstone around the neck of any
community, South or West. Secondly, that we shall go forward in asking
to enter the same employments which other people enter. Within the past
ten years we have made almost no advance in getting our youth into
industrial and business occupations. It is just as hard for instance, to
get a boy into a printing-office now as it was ten years ago. It is
simply astonishing when we consider how many of the common vocations of
life colored people are shut out of. Colored men are not admitted to the
printers' trade-union, nor, with very rare exceptions are they employed
in any city of the United States in a paid capacity as printers or
writers; one of the rare exceptions being the employment of H. Price
Williams, on the _Sunday Press_ of this city. We are not employed as
salesmen or pharmacists, or saleswomen, or bank clerks, or merchants'
clerks, or tradesmen, or mechanics, or telegraph operators, or to any
degree as State or government officials, and I could keep on with the
string of "ors" until to-morrow morning, but the patience of an audience
has its limit.
Slavery made us poor, and its gloomy, malicious shadow tends to keep us
so. I beg to say, kind hearers, that this is not spoken in a spirit of
recrimination. We have no quarrel with our fate, and we leave your
Christianity to yourselves. Our faith is firmly fixed in that "Eternal
Providence," that in its own good time will "justify the ways of God to
man." But, believing that to get the right men into the right places is
a "consummation most devoutly to be wished," it is a matter of serious
concern to us to see our youth with just as decided diversity of talent
as any other people, herded together into but three or four occupations.
It is cruel to make a teacher or a preacher of a man who ought to be a
printer or a blacksmith, and that is exactly the condition we are now
obliged to submit to. The greatest advance that has been made since the
War has been effected by political parties, and it is precisely the
political positions that we think it least desirable our youth should
fill. We have our choice of the professions, it is true, but, as we have
not been endowed with an overwhelming abundance of brains, it is not
probable that we can contribute to the bar a great lawyer except once in
a great while. The same may be said of medicine; nor are we able to tide
over the "starving time," between the reception of a diploma and the
time that a man's profession becomes a paying one.
Being determined to know whether this industrial and business ostracism
lay in ourselves or "in our stars," we have from time to time, knocked,
shaken, and kicked, at these closed doors of employment. A cold,
metallic voice from within replies, "We do not employ colored people."
Ours not to make reply, ours not to question why. Thank heaven, we are
not obliged to do and die; having the preference to do or die, we
naturally prefer to do.
But we cannot help wondering if some ignorant or faithless steward of
God's work and God's money hasn't blundered. It seems necessary that we
should make known to the good men and women who are so solicitous about
our souls, and our minds, that we haven't quite got rid of our bodies
yet, and until we do, we must feed and clothe them; and this attitude of
keeping us out of work forces us back upon charity.