_A Successful Alabama School._
I came to Tuskegee, a characteristic Southern village of about 3000
inhabitants, for the sake of seeing the most successful effort of the
Negro at self-education in this country. I speak here of one large
school which has been under Negro control from its inception, at which
everything is done neatly, thoroughly, and with intelligent despatch.
That school is the Tuskegee Normal Colored School. Here you have a
small Hampton, which was founded, and has always been manned by the
colored race.
This _Baby_ Hampton has come into existence mysteriously, and almost as
suddenly as did Aladdin’s Palace.--_Chicago Inter-Ocean._
In answer to the third objection, the colored man silently points to
like institutions among the whites, of like grade, with the same number
of graduates and the same number of years of growth, with their array
of recruits from their own ranks, and he obstinately holds, in the face
of the facts brought out by this survey, either the institutions for
colored people are educationally a failure, or caste prejudice bars the
doors against their colored graduates.
The fourth objection--the poverty that prevents endowments--must also
fade to less brightness in the face of the substantial aid secured for
Fisk University through the Jubilee Singers, and to Lincoln University
and Hampton Institute through the eloquent discussions on the Negro
problem, delivered from time to time by their graduates.
The last objection, that the Negro has a lack of confidence in himself
and race, may appear at first sight to have some foundation, as the
teachings of Slavery went far to engender a distrust in the minds of
the race concerning their own abilities; but this lack of confidence
has been met by ministers, lawyers, and physicians of the race, and has
given way to an earnest pride in their success, and the belief that
the presence of a fair percentage of colored men in the responsible
position of Professors in these institutions would have beneficial
results, and constitute one of the strongest reasons the alumni have
for desiring this new departure in the management of such institutions.
The recent series of articles “On the Negro,” appearing in the N.
Y. _Independent_, show conclusively that the Negro has confidence
in himself and his race, and in their ultimate success. A gradually
developed but wide-spread feeling of dissatisfaction concerning this
state of affairs has been coming to the surface in the alumni meetings
of the various institutions for the last five years. In the case of
Lincoln, Howard, Hampton and Biddle, the discussions have become
public, the feeling has run high, and in each case the _local press_
and _best thinkers_ of both races are on the side of the alumni.
In the late discussion at Howard University, Washington, D. C., upon
the filling of a vacancy occurring in the faculty, in answer to the
spirit of opposition shown, said Senator Hoar: “I think the interests
of the colored race will be much promoted as its members take the place
of honor, requiring capacity, in other pursuits outside of politics.”
Rev. Dr. Francis Grimke, in reviewing the circumstances of that hour,
exclaims: “It was a spectacle which I shall never forget; I saw Gen.
Kirkpatrick, an ex-Confederate General, an ex-slaveholder, a member
of the Democratic party, pleading for the appointment of a black man
as Professor of Greek, under the very shadow of the nation’s capitol,
while old Abolitionists were diligently seeking to propagate the
damnable heresy that it was immodest and presumptuous for black men to
aspire to such positions, and by their voice and vote showing that they
were determined to discourage as far as possible such aspiration. An
ex-Confederate General, an ex-slaveholder, a member of the Democratic
party, and yet the most pronounced advocate of Negro advancement, on
the Trustee Board of a black institution, made up largely of Northern
men and Republicans! An ex-slaveholder, and yet, with the most advanced
ideas, with the clearest conception of the true policy to be pursued in
the management of such institutions.” The closing words of his address
on that memorable occasion were these--turning to his white brethren,
he said: “We must decrease in these institutions, but they must
increase.”
The last arraignment of this spirit of caste was at the alumni meeting
of Lincoln University, held June, 1886. The matter had been broached to
the faculty and trustees repeatedly. The name of a thoroughly competent
member of the alumni was presented to the faculty for professor,
to fill a certain vacancy. The fullest endorsement accompanied the
recommendation of the alumni, but the whole matter was treated with
bitter contempt, not even receiving a reply. A member of the Board of
Trustees, when approached on the subject, admitted that possibly in the
far future colored men would occupy such positions at Lincoln, but for
the present it was not the policy of the institution. “The faculty of
Lincoln,” said he, “are as one family, and the admission of a colored
professor and his family would be objectionable.” On one occasion a
young man, a graduate of this institution, being requested to speak, at
the commencement exercises, broached the subject, offering to give $700
towards the endowment of a certain chair if occupied by a colored man.
The speech was resented by the faculty, and the speaker was given to
understand that the trustees and not the alumni made the appointments,
and that hereafter he would not be invited to speak.
This state of affairs was freely commented upon by the alumni, and has
created an actual enmity between the opposing forces. The alumni have
endeavored to find the actual sentiment of the local clergy, and the
wealthy patrons and friends of education on the matter; the following
interviews give a partial idea of the real state of feeling regarding
the matter:--
BOSTON, June 21, 1886.
SIR:--Referring to your note of the 17th inst., upon the question of
caste in colored institutions, I can answer in three words. I see no
reason why a colored man, whose talents, requirements, and conduct
entitle him to a position socially and intellectually in scientific
institutions, should not be received and in the same way as if he
were not colored.
Yours truly,
BENJ. F. BUTLER.
If the equity of the well-worn balancer, _cæteris paribus_ (all the
other qualifications on a par), be admitted, expressed or understood,
then colored men and women should have a preference in every colored
institution. We go further, in non-essentials a slightly imperfect par
should not amount to a perfect bar.
--_Editor St. Joseph’s Advocate, Baltimore, Md._
The following is the opinion of Geo. D. McCreary, a resident of
Philadelphia, who has given largely to educational institutions:--
“My opinion is that the question of color should not enter into the
management of the Lincoln or other educational institutions for colored
students, and if fully qualified for the positions, no objection should
be made to their becoming members of the faculties or trustees after
graduation. The opposition to such a policy is indicative, either that
the work of the institution is not thorough and the graduates only
superficially educated, or is based on the low plane of objection
on account of color, with perhaps the desire on the part of the
incumbents to keep the places for themselves by preventing competition.”
The following is an editorial comment from the Philadelphia _Press_, of
June, 1886:--