is shocking to refined sensibilities; neither should the reading
public be forced to search for original matter with a microscope. He
should ever be on the alert to champion the Negro's cause and never
wholly sink his originality within the narrow confines of party
bounds. Stand up for truth, and censure wherein, in his wide judgment,
he feels it necessary so to do. Never let his paper travel in a rut,
plenty of room for expenditure of gray matter.
We have many Negro journals which should be a source of pride to the
race at large, others, we are sorry to say, do not deserve support and
should make room for those which do.
A press association should be formed and the happenings sent from one
to the other and used in brief by out-of-town journals and be fully
detailed by local journals. More unity is needed and is a thing to be
encouraged and maintained. Our journals depend too much upon chance
MSS. than upon active reporters for their news.
Much could be said of the many sacrifices and labors of many of our
editors, but we believe that the most good can be accomplished by
fewer and better newspapers, than with "quantity without quality."
In our article we place great stress upon truth; we believe the goal
for which all the Negro journals are laboring is to find "the means
for the best good of the race," and way waste energy in useless
toil?
THIRD PAPER.
IS THE NEGRO NEWSPAPER AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE ELEVATION OF THE
NEGRO?
BY RICHARD W. THOMPSON.
[Illustration: Richard W. Thompson]
RICHARD W. THOMPSON.
Richard W. Thompson stands in the front rank of those who
are making history for the Negro race in this century. A
native of Kentucky, he has spent most of his life in Indiana
and was educated in the common and high schools of
Indianapolis. His career of thirty-five years is quite an
interesting one, abounding in well-directed efforts that
have done much to give character and dignity to the
Afro-American youth of the land. At an early age he evinced
a remarkable aptitude for public affairs, and at school
showed proficiency of the highest order in such studies as
political economy, civil government, history, literature. He
was especially happy in the art of English composition, his
papers on current problems attracting wide attention in his
home community. Losing his father when very young, he was
largely dependent upon his own exertions for a livelihood
and throughout his school days worked at a variety of
pursuits.
In 1879 he became associated with Messrs Bagby & Co., in the
publication of _The Indianapolis Leader_, the first
journalistic venture launched in the Hoosier State, and
later on mastered the trade of printing. Taking as naturally
to newspaper work as "a duck to water," he made himself an
indispensable quantity on the _Leader_ staff and at
seventeen, was city editor. At the same time in connection
with his school duties, he kept books for Dr. F. M. Ferree,
secretary of the Marion County Board of Health. When _The
Indianapolis World_ was launched in 1883, Mr. Thompson took
charge of the city department and at different times during
the palmy days of that sheet, held nearly every position on
it from work at the case to foreman of the mechanical
department and managing editor. He was the first managing
editor of _The Indianapolis Freeman_, in which position he
was a marked success. Later, as editor of the _Washington
Colored American_, he won national fame as an accomplished
journalist, a graceful, versatile and forcible writer and a
clear and courageous thinker upon all questions that affect
the Negro's social, political and industrial development. He
leads rather than follows popular sentiment, and at no time
while the editorial tripod was in his hands did he take a
stand upon any issue that failed to meet the hearty
endorsement of the race and which was not accepted as the
expression of the best thought and principle of our people.
In argument his style is logical and conservative. As a
spicy paragrapher, originator of attractive news features,
and as a keen observer of popular tastes, he has few equals
and no superiors in the army of Afro-American journalists.
He has done special work for prominent papers of both races,
and furnished much "copy" for private individuals, always
giving complete satisfaction.
Mr. Thompson has been fortunate in the matter of official
recognition. At the age of fifteen he served as page in the
Indiana Legislature, being the first colored boy so
appointed. After attaining his majority he became a clerk in
the Marion County Auditor's office, and in 1888 he led a
class of seventy-five in a civil service examination,
earning an appointment as letter carrier. He came to
Washington in 1894 and was appointed clerk in the counting
division of the Government Printing Office, enjoying the
distinction of being the first colored man to be assigned to
a clerical position in that department. Mr. Thompson is now
connected with the United States Census Bureau and is
regarded as a faithful and efficient assistant.
Busy as Mr. Thompson must necessarily be, he has time to aid
in promoting race movements and organizations, being an
active spirit in the National Afro-American Council, the Pen
and Pencil Club, and St. Luke's P. E. Church. He is now
serving his third term as President of the Second Baptist
Lyceum, a cosmopolitan debating forum that has won a
national reputation.
The question is both pertinent and timely. In the past two decades the
necessity for the preacher, the teacher, the lawyer, and the doctor
has not been open to dispute. Every father and mother, no matter what
their social standing or their worldly means, have striven honestly,
faithfully and persistently to enroll their favorite boy in the ranks
of one or the other of these callings, as if they were the only open
highways toward distinction, or the goal denominated "success."
In contemplating the professions which make for racial grandeur,
racial opportunities, and protection from assault, many of us forget
the importance of the Negro _press_ as a factor in the elevation of
the masses. It is not too much to say, in this connection, that of the
primary levers to which the race must look for support, none
contribute more toward endurance, permanency, and virility than the
press. We have the pulpit, the schoolhouse, the field of politics, and
the arena of business. Each has its bearing in the development of a
larger life and a more perfect manhood for the Afro-American; but,
conceding all due respect to the noble men and women who stand in the
vanguard of each of these missions, no one of them is more potent or
far reaching in its effect than the press. From the pulpit comes the
precepts that direct moral and religious thought; the schoolhouse
stands for a broader intellectual culture; the field of politics gives
us our practical experience in the science of government, affording us
an opportunity for actual participation in the shaping of legislation
and in giving vitality to public policies. The press, however,
occupies a most unique position with reference to all of them. It is
the fulcrum upon which all these activities must depend for useful
service. The press is the concentrated voice of the masses; the
mouthpiece of the age; the universal censor--directed by popular
opinion--from whose verdict there is no appeal. The press is the
medium through which the great work of the church is disseminated over
land and sea, and gives to the world the sweetening influence that the
spoken word offers only to a single parish. It magnifies the labors of
educational leaders and is itself an indispensable adjunct to the
growth of intelligence. In the political field the press has long been
recognized as an institution more powerful than any individual, and
from the post of messenger or handmaiden of the people--a mere
purveyor of current happenings--it has come to be the master mind in
the economy of nations. To the business world it is a "guide,
counselor and friend," and correctly analyzes the ingredients that
bring material prosperity to the civic organization, of which all of
us are a part. That distinguished autocrat of autocrats, Napoleon,
once exclaimed, with a bitterness born of impending destruction:
"Hostile newspapers are more to be feared than bayonets." And why not?
It holds in its grasp the power of life and death, success and
failure, happiness and misery.
These facts amply justify the assertion that the Negro newspaper is an
all-important factor in the elevation of the race. Caucasian journals,
while general in their news features, too often lack breadth in their
opinion department, when the race question is a burning issue, just as
religious denominations, the trades and political parties require
"class" papers for the exploitation of their particular lines of
thought, the Negro has found that only through his own "class organ"
can he obtain a sturdy defense of his character, the record of his
laudable achievements, and the advocacy of his rights as a man and a
citizen. So the Negro journal came, and it is here to stay. The Negro
journal had its origin in the direst necessity, and that necessity was
never more apparent than at the opening of the twentieth century when
the Declaration of Independence seems not broad enough to include the
colored American, when the Constitution of the United States is
perverted from the sacred intent of its framers and the spirit of
disfranchisement is rampant throughout the land.
This demand for a Negro journal was first met between 1827 and 1834 by
unpretentious sheets in and about New York City. But it was not until
1847 that race journalism became a positive factor, when that intrepid
spirit, Frederick Douglass, launched "The North Star." This great man
built up a circulation upon two continents and wielded an influence
not exceeded by any subsequent race venture. That paper blazed a wide
path, and in its path followed enterprise after enterprise, developing
the sentiment for liberty and keeping in touch with the newer
requirements of the hour. No reliable census of the many race journals
has been kept. They have sprung from every state and section, but
their span of life in most cases has been so brief and sporadic that
only rough estimates have been attempted. To-day, perhaps, three
hundred are in existence, a few taking high rank in literary
quality--others struggling desperately for maintenance. The majority
are printed at a positive loss, as regards dollars and cents. It is
doubtful if any of the survivors are supported exclusively from
revenues derived from subscriptions and advertising. It is a stinging
indictment of our much-lauded "race pride" that the greater proportion
of our Negro journalists are compelled to depend for a living upon
teaching, preaching, law, medicine, office-holding, or upon some
outside business investment. In character and make-up, these papers
are as widely varied as the localities and environments from which
they spring. Many are crude specimens of the "art preservative,"
dealing heavily in "boiler plate"--to use a professional term--and
very lightly in original matter. A few have taken steps out of the
beaten path and are giving striking evidence of what the resourceful
and energetic Negro journalist could do under circumstances more
encouraging. Our editors are, for the most part, men of strong
personality, with standing and influence in their respective
"bailiwicks." Without notable exception they speak for manhood, for
race elevation, and for material development in every avenue of
industry.
How many of us have paused and candidly considered just what Negro
journalism is doing for the uplift of the masses? Notwithstanding the
hard fact that the editorial work of many writers is done late at
night, after protracted hours of labor in other fields; and
notwithstanding that where a journalist is able to give his entire
time to the business, he is often sole solicitor, clerk, compositor,
pressman, collector, office boy, and editorial staff combined--despite
all these disadvantages, the beneficent effect of the Negro press is
felt all over the land. The dozens of able men and women who are
engaged in this noble work, most of them doing so at a tremendous
sacrifice, are true patriots, bearing burdens from which the timid
shrink, leading cheerily where none but the brave dare follow,
contending with malicious opposers, every inch of ground, this sturdy
band struggles on year after year, hoping patiently for the "joy that
cometh in the morning." Through their efforts Negro writers have been
given a fair hearing, and, while the Caucasian journal is giving space
to the police court episodes of our lower orders, the alert Negro
sentinel finds in the church, the schoolroom, the inventor's studio,
the author's desk, and in honorable political or social station, a
most fertile field for his operations. Negro newspapers have aroused
in us the commercial and industrial spirit, and are giving employment
to hundreds of young colored men and women as bookkeepers,
stenographers and canvassers. They are lending practical aid in
solving the race's labor problem by yearly instructing and providing
employment to printers, book-binders, pressmen and other artisans.
They are building up a market for Negro labor, and neutralizing to a
great extent the baleful influence of the trades unions' hostility.
The Negro editor has increased the self-respect of the race by
collating and publishing the creditable achievements of our people,
furnishing a periodical compendium of history and placing the Negro in
his most favorable light before the critics of the world. The truly
representative Negro journal reflects the sober judgment of the race
upon topics of general interest. It largely fixes our status as
thinkers and philosophers of the times. The rights of no people can be
ruthlessly invaded whose press is fearless, pure, upright, and
patriotic. No people can forever be denounced as ignorant, vicious,
and shiftless who support a press that is intelligent, moral, and
thrifty.
Let it be remembered here, however, that the picture has its somber
tints. Negro journalism, speaking generally, is not a paying
investment. The fault does not lie wholly with either the public or
the publisher. As a mass we are not a reading people and the bulk of
us neither know nor appreciate the value of the work that the race
paper is doing. Some of us take and pay for Caucasian journals for
their news features--which is eminently fitting and proper--but the
Negro journal should not be made to suffer in the unequal competition,
for the latter fills a want which the former cannot or does not reach.
One dollar to the race paper is often worth as much as ten to the
wealthy corporation behind our great metropolitan dailies. It is not
alone our illiterates who fail to support our journals. The educated
classes are not as loyal to the cause as their means, learning,
political interest and race pride suggest that they should be. True,
it frequently happens that our papers fall into the hands of
characterless adventurers who are "anything for a dollar," and it is
felt that the best method of rebuking their self-constituted and
erratic leadership is to treat them with silent contempt. To this no
thinker can offer a reasonable objection. A journal that does not
represent the highest impulses of a community does not deserve
support. The personal organ, the scandalmonging sheet, the political
and social blackmailer, the confidence-destroying campaign dodger, and
the subsidized traitor to racial manhood are all under a ban, and
should have no place in the homes of self-respecting Negroes. In this
category should also be classed the colorless journal, that smirks in
the recesses of cowardice. We should be faithful, however, to those
that are honest and straightforward. We should strengthen their arms
by our moral and financial resources. Booker T. Washington aptly
points out how difficult it is for a needy man to resist the
temptation of the bribe-giver, and tells pathetically of the uphill
work of making a Christian out of a hungry mortal. Support the right
kind of editors and the result will be a press that is progressive,
healthful, and fearless--an institution of which all may justly be
proud.
Is the ideal race journal attainable? I say, YES--when the two
elements necessary to the transaction--the public and the
publisher--are able to meet on a common ground, in the spirit of
co-operation and fair dealing. The chasm between the journalist and
his rightful constituency must be bridged by mutual confidence and
mutual sympathy, or neither can reap the great benefits that lie in
concentration of forces.
The ideal journal is that one which places racial weal above private
gain--which exalts patriotism above pelf. It is controlled by men big
enough and broad enough to eschew petty personalities and to avoid
cheap sensationalism. It is piloted by men who breathe the atmosphere
of freedom, whose inspiration is not drawn from the committee rooms of
political parties, and whose course is not dictated by scheming
politicians. It is the antithesis of sycophancy. The ideal journal is
backed up by men who are far-sighted enough to perceive that success
through trickery is short lived, and that character is the only
foundation upon which an enduring structure can be built. It is
conducted by men who know by experience that genuine worth will
ultimately be appreciated, and that refined taste, sound judgment, and
a saving sense of proportion will produce a newspaper that may stand
as a model to posterity.
Journals of this type, sincere, earnest, and consistent--and in the
future their names will be legion--are without question the key-stone
in the arch of those forces which make for the permanent elevation of
the Negro people. Such journals are prime factors in the race
problem.
TOPIC XXIV.
ARE OTHER THAN BAPTIST AND METHODIST CHURCHES ADAPTED TO THE PRESENT
NEGRO?
BY REV. GEORGE F. BRAGG, JR.,
[Illustration: Rev. Geo. F. Bragg, Jr.]
REV. GEORGE F. BRAGG, JR.
George Freeman Bragg, Junior, Priest and Rector, was born in
Warrenton, N. C., January 25, 1863. Shortly after his birth
his parents, George F. and Mary Bragg, removed to
Petersburg, Va. It was in this latter place that their son
was reared and educated; remaining there until ordained to
the Episcopal Ministry, he left to take charge of his first
work in Norfolk, Va. Mr. Bragg was educated, first, in the
Episcopal Parochial School, then in the St. Stephen's Normal
School, and in the Bishop Payne Divinity School, all of
Petersburg, Va. His education, however, was supplemented by
private tuition by a master in languages, under whom he
studied Latin, Greek, Hebrew and philosophy. In 1881 he was
appointed a page in the Virginia Legislature, and a little
later, by the Speaker, promoted as the postmaster of that
body. In 1882, though not of age, he founded and edited the
"Virginia Lancet," the first Colored weekly published in the
"Black Belt" of Virginia. This newspaper he conducted for
some four or five years, and on January 12, 1887, in St.
Stephen's Church, Petersburg, Va., he was ordained Deacon by
Bishop Whittle of Virginia. He immediately left for Norfolk,
Va., where he began his ministry at the head of the little
Episcopal Mission of that city. He remained in Norfolk for
nearly five years, and during that time formally organized
Grace Church, secured the lot, built a new church and
rectory and improved the old school building. A very large
day Industrial School was carried on by Mr. Bragg in
connection with his work. While here, in June, 1887,
Governor Fitzhugh Lee, of Virginia, appointed him one of the
State's Trustees of the Hampton Normal and Agricultural
Institute, where he served for four years, resigning only
because of leaving the State.
In December, 1888, he was advanced to the priesthood by
Bishop Whittle in St. Luke's Church, Norfolk, Va. In the
Fall of 1891 he accepted an invitation to become the Rector
of St. James' Church, Baltimore, Md. The church, although
one of the oldest of the connection, had been very much run
down. During a ministry there of ten years, he has wrought
remarkable improvement. He has increased the communicant
list from sixty-three to nearly two hundred, and advanced
the church well-nigh to complete self-support. The old
church, which was in a Jewish neighborhood, has been sold
during the present year, and a handsome brick structure
erected in another section of the city. Mr. Bragg, during
his residence in Baltimore, has founded a splendid
charitable institution, the Maryland Home for Friendless
Colored Children, and two young men have been sent into the
ministry of the church directly through his efforts. For
many years the Rev. Mr. Bragg was Secretary of the Annual
Conference of Episcopal Church Workers among the Colored
people. And in addition to his many other arduous labors he
has found time to edit the "Afro-American Ledger," a weekly
of this city, the "Church Advocate," and the "Maryland
Home," monthly publications.
Mr. Bragg is a well known figure in all public movements for
race amelioration, and is a veteran newspaper man, having
been Secretary of the National Press Convention for four
years, beginning with the presidency of the late Rev. Dr. W.
J. Simmons.
At first the asking of this question is a most natural one, seeing
that the great body of Negroes are attached to either one of the above
churches, and it would seem at a first glance that these religious
organizations are pre-eminently suited to the Negro race. But, we hope
to show that not only are other churches adapted to the "present
Negro," but one of these other churches meets the Negro's need better
than either one of those above mentioned. Of course it is hardly
necessary for me to state that our showing is conceived in the very
best spirit, and with the fullness of Christian love towards our
Baptist and Methodist brethren. Did I not believe that the church of
which I am a member is best suited for the Negro, I would at once
renounce attachment thereto and embrace most lovingly the one which I
thought more efficiently equipped to minister to the complexed and
diversified needs of my race. On account of a multitude of reasons,
not necessary to state here, Negroes naturally drifted into that form
of Christianity presented by the Baptist and Methodist churches. With
the innate feeling and strong tendency to warmth, fervor, animation
and excitement, it is not at all surprising that people so strongly
emotional should gravitate in that direction. Whatever may be my own
criticisms with respect to the defects in these two systems, which
render them inferior to the church of which I am a member, and
therefore less suitable to the needs of the race, I much prefer
stating my side of the question and leaving my readers free to draw
their own conclusions. That portion of the Universal Church, known in
this country as the Episcopal Church, to my mind, is better suited and
equipped for the amelioration of the condition of the Negro than any
other.
The Negro is specially fond of "regularity" in religious as well as
political affairs. In this respect the Episcopal Church comes to him
not as something new but as the living exponent of the old-time
religion and the old church which has actually descended to him,
through all the ages past from the very hands of Christ down to
this present time. It has historic continuity and claims none less
than the Blessed Master as its founder. She is not founded upon the
Bible, for she gave to the world this blessed book. Her sons inspired
of God wrote it. And the claim of historic continuity can be
established and proven in the ordinary way that we attest other
historical facts. The church, then, that Jesus Christ founded and
concerning which He said the "Gates of hell should not prevail against
it," must of necessity be "adapted to the present Negro."