AN APPEAL FOR JUSTICE.
While the Atlanta Exposition was in progress, the State Constitutional
Convention of South Carolina was in session, having been convened for
the specific purpose of passing a law that would result in
disfranchising the greater proportion of the Negro voters. While this
Convention was in session, I addressed an open letter to Senator Benj.
Tillman of South Carolina, which read as follows:
“I am no politician. I never made a political speech, and do not know as
I ever shall make one, so it is not on a political subject that I
address you. I was born a slave; you a free man. I am but an humble
member of an unfortunate race; you are a member of the greatest
legislative body on earth, and of the great intelligent Caucasian race.
The difference between us is great, yet I do not believe you will scorn
the appeal I make to you in behalf of the 650,000 of my race in your
State, who are to-day suppliants at your feet, and whose destiny and
progress for the next century you hold largely in your hands. I have
been told that you are brave and generous, and one too great to harm
the weak and dependent; that you represent the chivalry of the South,
which has claimed no higher praise than that of being the protectors of
the defenseless. I address you because I believe that you and those
associated with you in convention, have been misunderstood in the
following dispatch to a number of papers:
“‘An appalling fact that may not be obvious at a first glance, is that
the course proposed means the end of Negro education and Negro progress
in South Carolina. This is openly admitted by Senator Tillman and his
friends.’
“It has been said that the truest test of the civilization of a race is
the desire of the race to assist the unfortunate. Judged by this
standard, the Southern States as a whole have reason to feel proud of
what they have done in helping in the education of the Negro.
“I cannot believe that on the eve of the twentieth century, when there
is more enlightenment, more generosity, more progress, more
self-sacrifice, more love for humanity than ever existed in any other
stage of the world’s history, when our memories are pregnant with the
scenes that took place at Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge but a few
days ago, where brave men who wore the blue and gray clasped forgiving
hands and pledged that henceforth the interests of one should be the
interests of all--while the hearts of the whole South are centered upon
the great city of Atlanta, where Southern people are demonstrating to
the world in a practical way that it is the policy of the South to help
and not to hinder the Negro--in the midst of all these evidences of good
feeling among all races and all sections of the country, I cannot
believe that you and your fellow members are engaged in constructing
laws that will keep 650,000 of my weak, dependent and unfortunate race
in ignorance, poverty and crime.
“You, honored Senator, are a student of history. Has there ever been a
race that was helped by ignorance? Has there ever been a race that was
harmed by Christian intelligence? It is agreed by some that the Negro
schools should be practically closed because he cannot bear his
proportion of this burden of taxation. Can an ignorant man produce
taxable property faster than an intelligent man? Will capital and
immigration be attracted to a State where three out of four are ignorant
and where property and crime abound?
“Within a dozen years, the white people of South Carolina have helped in
the education of hundreds of colored boys and girls at Clafflin
University and smaller schools. Have these educated men and women
hindered the State or hurt its reputation? It warms my heart as I read
the messages of the Governors of Alabama, Georgia and other Southern
States, and note their broad and statesman-like appeals for the
education of all the people, none being so black or miserable as not to
be reached by the beneficent hand of the State.
“Honored Sir, do not misunderstand me; I am not so selfish as to make
this appeal to you in the interest of my race alone, for, thank God, a
white man is as near to my heart as a black man; but I appeal to you in
the interest of humanity. ‘Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also
reap.’ It is my belief that were it the purpose of your convention, as
reported, to practically close Negro school-houses by limiting the
support of these schools to the paltry tax that the Negro is able to pay
out of his ignorance and poverty after but thirty years of freedom, his
school-houses would not close. Let the world know it, and there would be
such an inflowing of money from the pockets of the charitable from all
sections of our country and other countries, as would keep the light of
the school-houses burning on every hill and in every valley in South
Carolina. I believe, Senator Tillman, that you are too great and
magnanimous to permit this. I believe the people of South Carolina
prefer to have a large part in the education of their own citizens;
prefer to have them educated to feel grateful to South Carolina for the
larger part of their education rather than to outside parties wholly.
This question I leave with you. The black yeomanry of your State will be
educated. Shall South Carolina do it, or shall it be left to others?
Here in my humble home, in the heart of the South, I beg to say that I
know something of the great burden the Southern people are carrying and
sympathize with them, and I feel that I know the Southern people, and am
convinced that the best white people in South Carolina and the South are
determined to help lift up the Negro.
“In addressing you this simple message, I am actuated by no motive save
a desire that your State, in attempting to escape a burden, shall not
add one that will be ten fold more grievous, and that we all shall so
act in the spirit of Him who when on earth went about doing good, that
we shall have in every part of our beloved South, a contented,
intelligent and prosperous people.”
Soon after the Exposition, in reply to a request from the editor, I
addressed the following letter to the Atlanta Journal on the benefits of
the Exposition:
“Without doubt the Atlanta Exposition has helped the cause of the Negro.
Before the event there was much honest difference of opinion among
members of the race as to the advisability of our taking any part
whatever. Many of the objectors earnestly advocated by word of mouth and
through the press the policy of ‘hands off;’ others as much opposed
participation, yet kept silent, and, so far as public expression was
concerned, maintained a neutral position. From the one class no help was
received by those trying to collect an exhibit; from the other, direct
opposition was encountered. By reason of these disadvantages, the Negro
exhibit, while highly creditable under the circumstances, was not by any
means what it would have been had there been unanimity of purpose and
concentrated action. There is, however, little difference of opinion,
either within the race or outside of it, as to the good resulting from
the Negro’s part in the Exposition. Many, who for various reasons did
not sanction a Negro exhibit, are inclined now to favor our embracing,
as they are offered, these opportunities for showing off what we are
capable along the various lines of activity. Others, still holding to
what they consider the logic of their position, yet concede and rejoice
in the good accomplished.
“In the first instance, this Exposition has given the colored people an
insight into their ability to accomplish something by united effort.
There are two points to consider in this statement; that the colored
people have been helped to a fuller knowledge of their capabilities,
and that they have been taught a practical lesson in the value of
co-operation. Neither of these points can be too much emphasized.
Without self-confidence, self-respect, a certain amount of
self-assurance of the proper kind, nothing can be achieved, either by an
individual or by a race. We must believe in ourselves, if we would have
people believe in us. If we wonder, ‘Can any good thing come out of
Nazareth?’ what must we expect of others?
“Of but little less importance is the expressive example afforded of the
power of co-operation. Mutual distrust, disinclination to unite forces,
and inability to carry on concentrated action, belong to the dark days
and are the badges of inferiority. We shall rise largely in proportion
as we learn to join hands and to further mutual interests by joint
action. The very effort to do something, to make something, in
connection with the Exposition, regardless of intrinsic value of the
thing produced or achieved, has been helpful and developing in its
tendencies. We learn by doing and ‘rise on stepping stones of our dead
selves to higher things.’
“The Exposition has given also thousands of white people, North and
South, opportunities to see some of the best results of the Negro’s
advancement. It is a fact that has been always recognized and deplored
by the better element of the colored people, that most white people see
and know only the worse phase of Negro character. They live side by side
with the brother in black and yet have no acquaintance with him beyond
the slight knowledge gained of those serving them in menial capacities.
So, perhaps, the entire race is judged by a few individuals who have had
little or no opportunities for advancement along any of the lines that
make for a higher civilization. The homes of culture, the work of the
school, the progress in the industries, in the arts, in all things that
tend to prove the Negro a man among men, have been as a sealed book to
the vast majority of the white people in all sections of our country,
and the adverse judgments that have been formed as to the Negro’s worth
and ability may be attributed more to an unfortunate ignorance and
blindness on the subject than to any intention or desire to be unjust.
Of no class of people, probably, is this truer than of the class
commonly known as the ‘poor whites’ of the South. It was both
interesting and amusing to view their surprise as they entered the Negro
building at Atlanta, and to listen to the exclamations of astonishment
which escaped them as they walked around and observed the exhibits.
‘What, this the work of niggers!’ Race prejudice received a heavy blow
at Atlanta. The white man left with increased respect for the Negro, and
he will show it in his future dealings with the members of the race.
The Negro in turn, appreciative of the recognition accorded him, will
entertain more cordial feelings toward those showing him such
consideration. The Exposition brought the Negro prominently before the
country. The attention of the press was drawn to him. Leading scientists
and educators sat in judgment on the products of his brain and skill,
ranged side by side with those of his white competitors for honors. His
position as a part of the body politic was emphasized as never before.
The impression his exhibit made was not such as to render him, in the
eyes of the country, less desirable as a citizen than he had seemed
before. On the contrary, his capabilities in various directions have
been strikingly exemplified and it has been demonstrated that he can
measure up to the full stature of a man.
“As might have been anticipated, the showing made by the school was the
most creditable. The friends and advancers of Negro education must have
felt that their bounty has not been misplaced. Especially must the great
heart of the generous North have glowed with gratification. It is an
interesting fact that out of the four highest awards, that of the gold
medal made to educational institutions, two went to colored
schools--Hampton and Tuskegee.
“In speaking of the helpful prominence which the Exposition gave to the
Negro’s cause, we must not omit the influence of the Negro congresses.
The very presence in Atlanta of so many well-dressed, well-behaved,
intelligent men and women of African descent, speaks loudly in our
behalf. Besides, many wise words were uttered in the several addresses
delivered and in the discussions which followed, and in all modesty, we
think that we may claim that these black men and women made less
perplexing some of the perplexing questions which confront us as a
nation.
“Not less important among the happy results of the exposition is that
the Southern white people and the Negro have learned that they can unite
successfully in business enterprises. They have been shown that because
men differ on some points and are not as one in all the affairs of life,
they need not stand entirely aloof from one another. They may meet upon
the level ground of a common interest and work together towards the
accomplishment of a mutual aim without loss of dignity or self-respect
to either.
“The exposition has encouraged the Negroes to become, more than ever
before, producers. They have been helped to realize, as they may not
have realized before, that no kind of toil is to be despised, that in
every branch of industry the highest degree of proficiency should be
sought, that every product of labor is valuable in proportion as it
approaches the perfect ideal which should animate the mind of every
worker. Agriculture, the trades, education, the arts, have all received
an impetus which will be seen in the more rapid advancement of the
future. Above all, we are encouraged now by the certainty that
recognition will come as is deserved. It is not too much to say that the
recognition which the Negro received at Atlanta was the natural result
of the development he has made during these thirty years of effort.
Further opportunities will present themselves. Already other expositions
are projected whose plans include a prominent part to be taken by the
Negro.
“‘All things come to him who waits,’ but the Negro must understand that
he must work and wait; not idly rest upon his oars. We must not only be
prepared to make a good showing when the opportunity comes for us to let
the world see what in us lies, but each opportunity must find us better
prepared. With the New South the New Negro must arise and modestly,
manfully, courageously, take his place in the march of progress. The old
order of things has truly passed away, and side by side, white men and
black men must determine to work out their destiny to a successful
issue.”
During the Fall and Winter of 1895-96 I addressed several audiences in
various parts of the country, notably New York, Massachusetts and
Pennsylvania. At the meeting in New York, which was held in Broadway
Tabernacle, Hon. Joseph H. Choate presided. I also addressed during the
Winter of 1896 the Hamilton Club of Brooklyn, New York. The most
important meeting which I attended, however, after the Atlanta
Exposition, was a large meeting held in Carnegie Hall, New York, in the
interest of the Presbyterian Mission. This meeting was held under the
auspices of the Presbyterian Church. The meeting was of national
importance in its character, and the entire Presbyterian Church
throughout the country was interested in it. The President of the United
States, Hon. Grover Cleveland, was the presiding officer. The speakers
included, besides the President, Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage, D. D.; Rev.
Sheldon Jackson, D. D., and myself. The hall was packed from bottom to
top with the best and most influential people in New York and vicinity,
and much good seems to have resulted from the meeting. The following are
some of the extracts from my speech delivered on that occasion:
“My word to you to-night will be based upon a humble effort during the
last fourteen years to better the condition of my people in the ‘black
belt’ of the South.
“What are some of the conditions in the South that need your urgent help
and attention?” Eighty-five per cent. of my people in the Gulf States
are on the plantations in the country districts, where a large majority
are still in ignorance, without habits of thrift and economy; are in
debt, mortgaging their crops to secure food; paying, or attempting to
pay, a rate of interest that ranges between twenty and forty per cent.;
living in one-room cabins on rented land, where schools are in session
in these country districts from three to four months in the year, taught
in places, as a rule, that have little resemblance to school houses.
“Each colored child in these States has spent on him this year, for
education, about 70 cents, while each child in Massachusetts has spent
on him this year, for education, between $18 and $20.
“What state of morality or practical Christianity you may expect when as
many as six, eight, and even ten, cook, eat and sleep, get sick and die
in one room, I need not explain. But what is the remedy for this
condition? It is not practical nor desirable that the North attempt to
educate, directly, all the colored people in the South, but the North
can and should help the South educate the strong Christian leaders who
will go among our people and show them how to lift themselves up. That
is the great problem before us. Can this be done? If in the providence
of God the Negro got any good out of slavery, he got the habit of work.
Whether the call for labor comes from the cotton fields of Mississippi,
the rice swamps of the Carolinas, or the sugar bottoms of Louisiana, the
Negro answers the call. Yes, toil is the badge of all his tribe, but the
trouble centers here: By reason of his ignorance and want of training he
does not know how to utilize the results of his labor. My people do not
need charity, neither do they ask that charity be scattered among them.
Very seldom in any part of this country do you see a black hand reached
out for charity; but they do ask that through Lincoln and Biddle and
Scotia and Hampton and Tuskegee, you send them leaders to guide and
stimulate them till they are able to walk.”
I also gave it as my opinion that the American Church has never yet
comprehended its duty to the millions of poor whites in the South. I
said: “When you help the poor whites, you help the Negro. So long as the
poor whites are ignorant, so long there will be crime against the Negro
and civilization.”
During the same year I delivered addresses in several Western cities,
including Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Milwaukee, etc.
Immediately after my address in Carnegie
[Illustration: PRINTING PRESSROOM. THEY DO THEIR OWN PRINTING AT
TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE.]
[Illustration: PAINT SHOP, STUDENTS AT WORK, TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE.]
Hall, on the evening of March 3, I took the train in order to be present
at the meeting of the Negro Conference which occurred on March 5, and
arrived in Tuskegee just in time to take part in the discussion of this
meeting.
Soon after my address at the opening of the Atlanta Exposition there
began to appear adverse criticisms in some of the colored papers
regarding the position I had taken in my address. Some of these colored
papers felt that I had been entirely too liberal towards the South. I
gave no special attention to these criticisms, but in March, 1896, I
accepted an invitation to speak before the Bethel Literary Association
in Washington. This, I think, is by far the most cultured Literary
organization in existence among our people, and Washington city had been
the center of a good part of the criticisms on my Atlanta speech, so I
felt that that city would be a good place in which to make my position
more clearly understood and to emphasize my views. On the evening that I
spoke in Washington, the meeting was held in the Auditorium of the
Metropolitan Church, and I hardly need say that the building was full to
such an extent that many were unable to find seats. In my address before
the Literary Society I took very much the same position I had taken in
my address at Atlanta, but of course went more into detail. After my
speech, those who heard me seemed to be entirely satisfied with my
position, and the newspapers which had been criticising me, in a large
measure, ceased to do so.