important, unique and potential position in all things pertaining to
man's well being along moral, social and spiritual lines.
It has not failed to concern itself about other affairs that tended to
man's betterment. It may be stated in brief that at one time or
another the pulpit has taken a deep interest and exerted a helpful, as
well as a healthy influence in whatever has tended to man's highest
and best welfare. Speaking of the Christian ministry, Daniel Webster
on one occasion said: "The ministers of Christianity, departing from
Asia-Minor, traversing Asia, Africa and Europe, to Iceland, Greenland
and the poles of the earth, suffering all things, enduring all things,
raising men everywhere from ignorance of idol worship to the knowledge
of the true God, and everywhere bringing life and immortality to
light, have only been acting in obedience to the divine instruction;
and they still go forth. They have sought, and they still seek, to be
able to preach the gospel to every creature under the whole heaven.
And where was Christianity ever received, where were the truths ever
poured into human hearts, where did its waters, springing up into
everlasting life, ever burst forth, except in the track of a Christian
ministry?
"Did we ever hear of an instance; does history record an instance, of
any part of the globe Christianized by lay preachers or lay teachers?
And descending from kingdoms and empires to cities, countries, to
parishes and villages, do we not all know, that, wherever Christianity
has been carried, and wherever it has been taught by human agency,
that agency was the agency of the ministers of the gospel."
In the above high tribute from one of the greatest American statesmen
since the Republic began its existence, we have set forth the peculiar
work as well as the grand achievements of the pulpit. But as has been
stated in the previous paragraph the pulpit has ever sought to uplift
man on every line where his uplifting meant his highest good.
The Negro pulpit has not been an exception in the great work of
uplifting mankind, especially that part of mankind with which it is
ostensibly identified. No other pulpit ever had a more difficult task
or labored under greater disadvantages than the Negro pulpit. In the
very beginning the Negro pulpit had the leadership and the
enlightenment of the race in spiritual and intellectual knowledge
thrust upon it, when it was neither qualified nor regularly organized.
Despite the disability within and the disadvantages without the Negro
pulpit became the pioneer in the first movements to better the
condition of the race by lifting it from the degradation and
disorganized state in which it was left by slavery.
In almost every effort and successful plan which have been inaugurated
since the race began its life of freedom the Negro pulpit has been the
prime promoter and the advance guard. When other leaders have
faltered, failed or retreated, the Negro pulpit has remained steadfast
and redoubled its efforts.
As is indicated in the quotation from America's greatest orator,
Daniel Webster, the chief and first work of the pulpit is spiritual
instruction.
As an evidence of the success of the Negro pulpit along this line the
race may point to a larger percentage of Negro Christians according to
population than is true of any other people in this Christian land.
While it is true the Negro brought the Christian religion over from
slavery as the best heritage which that cruel system bequeathed to
him, it remained for the Negro pulpit to give shape, tone and organic
significance to Negro Christianity.
In organizing the Negro into separate and distinctly racial societies
for the conduct of religious worship and church government the Negro
pulpit did a work which has given the race greater prestige and more
clearly demonstrated its capabilities and possibilities than any other
work which has been done by or for the race toward uplifting it. When
the Negro proved his ability to organize and conduct successfully a
religious denomination of great size and strength, it proved its
capacity to develop and govern itself along any other line. Surely the
words of the prophet in which he speaks of a people "scattered and
peeled," "a nation meted out and trodden down," seem fittingly
applicable to the condition of the Negro just emerged from slavery.
It was this people, thus situated, that the Negro pulpit took hold of
and formed into church societies and religious denominations, which
now have followings which number up into the hundred thousands and
possess property valued at millions of dollars deeded to, and held by
and for the race.
Quickly seconding the work of organization followed the work of
education. Before the free school began the Negro preacher became a
teacher of his people to the full extent of his ability. Those who
were sufficiently qualified found employment as public school
teachers, while the more progressive and better qualified began to
plan for institutions of higher grade to better qualify themselves and
prepare teachers and leaders for the future weal of the race.
Whether we point to Wilberforce at Xenia, Ohio, secured to the A. M.
E. Church through the late lamented Bishop D. A. Payne, D. D.;
Livingstone College, over which that prince of American orators and
foremost of Negro educators, Dr. Joseph Chas. Price, presided, from
its permanent organization to his universally mourned death; the State
University; the Chief Negro Baptist School located at Louisville,
Kentucky, or the scores of other schools of high grade, it is a fact
beyond dispute that the Negro pulpit began the initiative and has
exerted the most helpful and controlling influence since they were
founded.
A majority of the college, seminary and high school presidents and
principals, as well as some of the strongest members of the several
faculties, are men from the pulpit or men who do double duty by
serving as best they can the pulpit and schoolroom.
In politics as well as in other spheres some of the most effective
work which has been done for the uplifting of the race has been done
by the Negro pulpit.
To the writer's personal knowledge some of the ablest, most faithful
and useful men found in the constitutional conventions, legislatures
and county offices during the reconstruction period were men from the
Negro pulpit.
The Rev. James Walker Hood (A. M. E. Zion), now Bishop J. W. Hood,
D. D., LL. D., in the Constitutional Convention of North Carolina, in the
Legislature, and as Assistant Superintendent of Education for the
State, did a work which contributed not only to the uplift of the race
but to the best interest of all the people of the State.
Rev. Henry McNeal Turner, D. D., LL. D. (A. M. E. Church), as
legislator in Georgia, exerted an influence which is still felt in
that State.
Bishop B. W. Arnett, D. D. (A. M. E.), whose efforts in the Ohio
Legislature secured the repeal of the "Black Laws"; Rev. D. I. Walker
(A. M. E. Zion), as school commissioner and State Senator from Chester
County, South Carolina; Rev. J. E. Wilson (M. E.), as school
commissioner and postmaster at Florence, South Carolina; Rev. Wm.
Thomas (A. M. E.), and R. H. Cain (A. M. E.), Legislator, Congressman
and later Bishop; Rev. H. R. Revels (M. E.), United States Senator,
whose deportment in the United States Senate and in other walks of
life called forth the highest encomiums from the Southern press; Rev.
Henry Highland Garnett (Presbyterian), and Rev. M. G. Hopkins
(Presbyterian), and Owen L. W. Smith (A. M. E. Zion), United States
Minister to the Republic of Liberia, each and all have contributed
much to the uplifting of the race in the political sphere. But the
Negro pulpit has not confined its efforts along the line of race
organization to the religious sphere. Knowing, as every thoughtful
leader and man of the race must know, that material possessions,
financial standing and social combination for material well being are
indispensable, the Negro pulpit has not failed to project, foster and
encourage organizations of a character to benefit the race along the
above lines. In Masonry the Negro pulpit has ever held a commanding
influence and served a most useful purpose. The same is to some extent
true in Odd Fellowship and other societies which have been helpful to
the race. But the most substantial organization now operated by and
for the Negro race in this country are the True Reformers, Galilean
Fishermen and Birmingham, Alabama, Penny Savings Bank.
The well-known and much lamented Rev. Wm. W. Brown (M. E.), C. C.
Steward (A. M. E. Zion), W. R. Pettiford (Baptist), were the chief
factors in founding and firmly establishing these healthy and helpful
race institutions, which are still doing a thriving and widening
business which is not only uplifting the race but benefiting the
community at large. The Hale Infirmary, established by the widow of
the late Elder Hale (A. M. E. Zion), of Montgomery, Alabama, in
compliance with the expressed wish of her husband while living; the
Orphanages of Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina, established and
now being managed by Revs. Jenkins and E. A. Carroll (Baptist), in the
above cities; also the Orphanage at Oxford, North Carolina,
established by ministers of the Baptist Church, according to
information obtained by the writer; the Episcopal Industrial School of
Charlotte, North Carolina, founded by Rev. P. P. Alston (Episcopal),
are but a few of the many ways in which the Negro pulpit is uplifting
the race. In the literary sphere the Negro pulpit has made numerous
and valuable contributions which stand to the credit of the race and
add to American literary productions.
Bishops Payne, whose "History of the A. M. E. Church" and "Domestic
Education;" B. T. Tanner's several works; Levi J. Coppin's "Key to the
Bible," and "Baptized Children;" W. J. Gaines' "Negro and the White
Man;" Dr. H. T. Johnson's "Logos;" Rev. Whitman's works; Rev. T. G.
Steward's works; Bishop J. W. Hood's (A. M. E. Zion) "Negro in
Christian Pulpit," "History of the A. M. E. Zion Church" and
"Apocalypse Revealed;" Bishop J. B. Small's "Pulpiteer," "Human Heart"
and "Predestination;" Dr. W. J. Simmon's (Baptist) "Men of Mark;"
Bishop Holsey's (C. M. E.) sermons and addresses; Dr. C. H. Phillip's
(C. M. E.) "C. M. E. Church History;" Dr. G. L. Blackwell's (A. M. E.
Zion) "Model Home;" Rev. Geo. C. Lowe's (Congregational) poems; Rev.
J. D. Corrother's (A. M. E. Zion) poems; Rev. W. H. Nelson's (M. E.)
"A Walk With Jesus;" Dr. Alexander Crummell's (Episcopal) sermons and
addresses and papers, with scores of books I can not mention for lack
of space, besides others I have not seen or heard about, are
contributions which cannot help but inspire and uplift the race. The
greatest and most widely known race organization that is endeavoring
to uplift the Negro along social lines and combat the prejudices,
caste regulations and other efforts to crush out race manhood and turn
back the hand in the dial plate of the Negro's progress, is the
Afro-American Council, headed by that born leader of men, the
eminently pious and ever aggressive race leader, Bishop Alexander
Walters, D. D. (A. M. E. Zion), and his most substantial following is
made up of representatives of all the Negro pulpits in America.
In the Negro Press Association the Negro pulpit is largely and ably
represented and the preacher editors are doing their work well. The
above brief and partial (but partial only for lack of broader
information and of more space) is but a feeble testimony to what the
Negro pulpit is doing toward uplifting the race.
In the religious sphere the Negro pulpit stands out in bold prominence
as the chief agency in the work of uplifting the race. In organizing
and perpetuating existing organizations the Negro pulpit now, as
before, leads all other agencies.
In the work of education the progressive pulpit is always a patron and
supporter, as well as a workman which needeth not to be ashamed.
In the endeavor to constrain the people to a settled condition,
instill the principles of Christianity in all the affairs of life, and
promote peace and harmony between man and man, regardless of race, the
Negro pulpit is doing a work which is ever adding new stones to the
grand building of race progress and influence. I know no single agency
which is accomplishing so much in the task of uplifting the race as
the Negro pulpit. What the great Negro religious and social
organizations are doing, especially in such establishments as the A.
M. E. Zion, A. M. E. and Baptist Publication establishments at
Charlotte, North Carolina; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Nashville,
Tennessee, and Jackson, Tennessee, is due largely to the management
and business skill of the Negro pulpit. Now as in the past the Negro
pulpit constitutes the true leadership of the race.
Having been the pioneer in almost every race uplifting enterprise it
will ever heartily co-operate with those who have come along in the
paths blazed out by the Negro pulpit until the race shall take its
place among the foremost peoples of the earth in every good work for
the advancement of man and for the glory of God.
SECOND PAPER.
TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE NEGRO PULPIT UPLIFTING THE RACE?
BY REV. J. B. L. WILLIAMS, D. D.
[Illustration: J. B. L. Williams, D. D.]
REV. JOHN B. L. WILLIAMS, D. D.
Rev. John B. L. Williams, D. D., was born in Baltimore, Md.,
November 22, 1853. His parents, John W. Williams and
Elizabeth Williams, were examples of piety, and were of
prominent family connections in Baltimore. At an early age
he was placed in a Roman Catholic School. Later in life he
attended the city public schools and Douglass Institute. At
17 he was converted and joined the Methodist Episcopal
church. At 18 he was divinely impressed with a call to the
ministry. At 19 he became an apprentice at cabinet work and
undertaking and completing his apprenticeship engaged in
business for three years in Baltimore. In his 22d year he
was licensed to preach by the Quarterly conference of John
Wesley M. E. Church in Baltimore.
In March, 1876, he abandoned his business and left Baltimore
to accept an appointment at Oak Hill, Ga. The same year he
joined the Savannah Conference in its organization by Bishop
Levi Scott, and he has rendered efficient service in the
leading charges of the Conference: Newnan, three years; Loyd
Street, Atlanta, one year; Presiding Elder Atlanta District,
four years; M. E. Church at LaGrange, five years. He was
honored by his brethren to the election of secretary of the
Conference fifteen successive years. While pastor at Newnan
he was principal of the city public school. At LaGrange he
served two years as a member of the faculty of LaGrange
Seminary and one year its principal. In 1882 he entered
Clark University, taking studies in the college preparatory
course. The same year he entered Gammon Theological Seminary
and graduated in 1885 with honor. In 1891 he was transferred
by Bishop H. W. Warren to the Florida Conference to take
charge of Ebenezer M. E. Church in Jacksonville. He served
Ebenezer Church five years, during which time its membership
was doubled the last year, being marked by a great revival
which lasted two weeks and resulted in the conversion of 130
persons. His next charge was Trinity Church, St. Augustine,
where he served five years with success. He is now pastor of
Trinity M. E. Church, Fernandina. As a preacher he is
deliberate, convincing, persuasive and instructive. His
sermons are well constructed, choicely worded, rhetorically
polished, full of thought and eloquently delivered. He was
honored with the degree of Doctor of Divinity by Wiley
University of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Marshall,
Texas, May 20, 1895.
The Christian pulpit has ever been acknowledged to be a great power
for good among all people. Coming as it does divinely commissioned and
bearing to man a divine message, it has a claim upon the attention and
the acceptation of mankind. Its claim to be heard is founded on the
fact that it has something to say--some truth to communicate about
God, His character, His purpose concerning man, His unbounded goodness
and infinite love--about man, his duty and his destiny, and the great
salvation offered to him. The Christian pulpit is peculiarly and
inseparably interwoven in the social life, moral deportment and
religious growth of the people. In its character it is to be the
representation of the highest standard of ethical deportment and the
best example of religious life. From it the people are to receive
their inspiration for that which is pure, exalted and ennobling. To
the Christian pulpit the people look for the loftiest ideals of
life. In this respect the Negro more than any other people has been
largely dependent upon the pulpit. Emerging as he did more than a
quarter of a century ago from a thraldom which fettered his body and
imprisoned his intellect and buried him in ignorance, it was the
Christian pulpit represented at that time by the good old fathers of
those dark and trying days--to whom the good and lamented Bishop
Haygood paid high compliment in one of his addresses--they it was who
saved their people from conditions which would have been vastly more
deplorable but for such moral and religious instruction as they were
able to impart. As a race we have moved an amazing distance from that
period. Schools, seminaries and universities have sprung up as if by
magic. Educated young men and young women have gone forth from these
institutions determined to do their best for God and humanity. The
Negro press has also arisen and swayed a mighty influence for moral
and religious good, but neither the school nor the press has been
recognized as an efficient substitute for the pulpit. What was true as
regards the place and power of the pulpit to uplift the people in the
dark days of the past is equally true now in these days of light and
knowledge. The educated and Christian pulpit is an indispensable
factor in the elevation of the race to-day.
The extent to which the Negro pulpit is uplifting the race is to be
seen in the gradual but certain and permanent reformation taking place
in the social and moral life of the race. Social distinction, based
exclusively upon moral character, is being clearly defined and rigidly
observed. The moral standard has been elevated and the conceptions of
the race in relation to ethical life has been greatly improved and
beautifully exemplified in the lives of thousands. The home life of
the race is purer and the sacredness of the marriage vow is gaining
pre-eminence over the divorce system. The home life of the masses is
gradually being touched and improved by the far-reaching influence of
the Negro Christian pulpit, and there are signs and indications of
better things and happier conditions. From these pulpits the Gospel
goes forth with simplicity and power. Its truth and teaching is made
to touch, shape and direct the practical side of Christian life. The
evils which exist and which are a menace to the best and purest modes
of life are strongly denounced and openly rebuked by the Negro
Christian pulpit, and the race is being led to understand that sound
moral character is the foundation upon which to build a strong,
symmetrical, well-rounded manhood.
The religious life of the race is being uplifted by the Negro
Christian pulpit. Sound is being displaced by sense in the pulpit.
Senseless emotion by thoughtful and reverential worship in the pew,
and a clear conception and deep knowledge of divine truth is being
gained by the people. The individual of pessimistic temperament may
say that the masses are not being influenced and lifted up by the
Negro pulpit, but this would be a mere statement and not an actual
fact. The pessimist lives in an unwholesome atmosphere, he will not
see the sunshine because he prefers to stay down in the valley beneath
the cloud of doubt and surmounted with the fog of hopelessness. The
educated Negro pulpit is mainly optimistic and sees beyond its
immediate surroundings. It sees to it that the leaven of sound
doctrine and moral ethics are being put into the meal, and from
personal developments believes that in process of time the whole lump
will be leavened. The Negro pulpit is awake to the gravity of its
responsibility and it is putting forth its best efforts and mightiest
endeavors to uplift the race socially, morally and religiously.
Evidences of this aim and purpose are not difficult to be seen in all
communities.
THIRD PAPER.
TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE NEGRO PULPIT UPLIFTING THE RACE?
BY REV. R. P. WYCHE, D. D.
[Illustration: Rev. R. P. Wyche.]
REV. R. P. WYCHE, D. D.
Robert P. Wyche was born near Oxford, the county seat of
Granville County, N. C. His father was a carpenter by trade
and early taught his son the use of tools. In his humble
home he was taught the dignity of labor, fidelity to duty,
obedience to God and faith in prayer. These simple lessons
shaped the course of his life probably more than any other
influence. For a while he attended night school, as he
worked in the day in order to earn the means to buy his
books and to pay other necessary expenses. Robert was
ambitious to excel. From the night school he went to a
private school at Henderson, N. C. This school was conducted
by the Rev. J. H. Crawford, a Presbyterian minister. Here
Robert prosecuted his studies with eagerness, fitting
himself to enter the preparatory department of Biddle
University. The President of the university, the Rev. S.
Mattoon, D. D., became interested in Robert, whom he
esteemed as a promising student, and assured him that no
worthy student should leave school for the want of means.
After graduating in 1877 his first thought was to enter the
medical profession, but afterward he abandoned this idea and
began seriously to consider the call to the ministry. After
teaching school for a short period he returned to the
seminary and took the full course in theology. He was
licensed and ordained by the Presbytery of Catawba and was
called to the pastorate of Seventh Street Presbyterian
Church, at Charlotte, N. C. The degree of A. M. and the
honorary degree of D. D. were conferred upon Rev. R. P.
Wyche by Biddle University. He is at this time Moderator of
the Synod of Catawba.
He married Miss Belle Butler, a popular educator, who unites
with her husband in every measure for the true elevation of
the Negro.
The question has been raised as to the part taken by the pulpit in the
uplift of the race. The most casual observer must conclude that there
are influences at work which are elevating the Negro race, and it is
interesting and instructive to trace out the work which is done by
each individual agency.
The pulpit has long been recognised as a potent factor in the
formation of character, and the Negro pulpit is not an exception to
the general rule. Its influence may be elevating or degrading. The
character and the ability of the man in the pulpit will determine its
nature and extent.
The office itself implies an active interest in the elevation of man
from the lower to the highest stage of life. But the uneducated
ministry proved itself unequal to the task of teaching and leading the
people along the difficult path to true excellence.
Some of the most stubborn opposition to the progress of the race was
found in that class who had good reasons to fear the loss of power as
the race advanced in intelligence. All of the higher interests of
the people suffered at the hands of this class of leaders.
But let us now turn to another and better class of leaders. There are
ministers who have enjoyed the benefits of a Christian education. This
class of men form a strong factor in the elevation of the Negro. The
present attainments of the pulpit are far-reaching in their beneficent
influence upon the race.