■liiiiiiiiiiM in ■■■■ '/■,:■;;/:/.;: re::. ran mm THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL ENDOWED BY THE DIALECTIC AND PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETIES UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL I 10000876624 This book is due at the WALTER R. DAVIS LIBRARY on the last date stamped under "Date Due." If not on hold it may be renewed by bringing it to the library. DATE DUE RET. m - ^IXIABI 4 m m J TOC APR 28 999 *>jd * XTft. DATE Lifmm RET. ■i **—- dcc -t OCT 8 — BT^ :T Q.&.USlfc_ PC1 1999 — j-r-v 1 Q 9 0?' r -~- W^ r?^& SEP.** W£* on 0-? M* tf T, £aA*~oil ajid the making of the simplest imp le- ments for ap rir.iil hml flnH ^tb^r f~ rms of labour. Much would have been done toward laying a sound foundation for general prosperity if some attention had been spent in this direction. General educa- tion itself has no bearing on the subject at issue, because, while there is no well- 70 The Future of the American Negro established public school system in either of these countries, yet large num- bers of men of both Hayti and Santo Domingo have been educated in France fo /generations. This is especially tru e ofjjayti. The education has been al- together in the direction of belles lettres, ho wever, and practically little in the di rection of industrial and scientific - education. It is a matter of common knowledge that Hayti has to send abroad even to secure engineers forher men-of-war, for plans to r her bridges and oth er work relju jnng technical knowledge an d skilU I should very much regret to see any such condition obtain in any large measure as regards the coloured people in the South, and yet this will be our fate if industrial education is much longer neglected. We have spent much time in the South in educating men and women in letters alone, too, and must now turn our attention more 71 The Future of the American Negro than ever toward educating them so as to supply their wants and needs. It is more lamentable to see educated people unable to support themselves thar^ to see uneducated people in the same con- dition. Ambition all along this line must be stimulated. If educated men and women of the race will see and acknowledge the necessity of practical industrial training and go to work with a zeal and deter- mination, their example will be followed by others, who are now without ambi- tion of any kind. The race cannot hope to come into its own until the young coloured men and women make up their minds to assist in the general development along these lines. The elder men and women trained in the hard school of slavery, and who so long possessed all of the labour, skilled and unskilled, of the South, are dying out ; their places must be filled by their children, or we shall 72 The Future of the American Negro lose our hold upon these occupations. Leaders in these occupations are needed now more than ever. It is not enough that the idea be in- culcated that coloured people should get book learning; along with it they should be taught that book education and industrial development musi go hand in hand. No race which fails to - , do this can ever hope to succeed. Phil- ~y ^ ' lips Brooks gave expression to the sen- i timent: "One generation gathers the material, and the next generation builds the palaces." As I understand it, he wished to inculcate the idea that one generation lays the foundation for sue- r ceeding generations. The rough affairs of life very largely fall to the earlier generation, while the next one has the ^ privilege of dealing with the higher and more aesthetic things of life. This is true of all generations, of all peoples; and, unless the foundation is deeply laid, it is impossible for the succeeding one 73 The Future of the American Negro to have a career in any way approaching success. As regards the coloured men of the South, as regards the coloured men of the United States, this is the generation which, in a large measure, must gather the material with which to lay the foundation for future success. ^. S pme time ago it was my misfortune^ q j to see a Negro sixty-five years old livin g O a i n poverty and filth . I was disgusted, ^ -> and said to him, " If you are worthy of \ your freedom, you would surely have y^^ changed your condition during the 11 ^p thirty years of freedom which you have i> ^\enjoyed." He answered : " I do want *J ^' to change. I want to do something ^ L for my wife and children ; but I do not c know how, — I do not know what to do." \^ I lookedjntojusjejm^nj^^ S^ anjTrgaHsed more deeply th an ever bje- ^V V>^fp re the a bsol ute need of captai ns of "T" industr y amon g th e great m asses of the coloured people. It is possible for a race or an in- 74 The Future of the American Negro dividual to have mental development and yet be so handicapped by custom, prejudice, and lack of employment as to dwarf and discourage the whole life. This is the condition that pre- vails among the race in many of the large cities of the North; and it is to prevent this same condition in the South that I plead with all the earnestness of my heart. Mental development alone will not give us what we want, but mental development tied to hand and heart training will be the salvation of the Negro. In many respects the next twenty years are going to be the most seri- ous in the history of the race. Within this period it will be largely decided whether the Negro will be able to re- tain the hold which he now has upon the industries of the South or whether his place will be filled by white people from a distance. The only way he can prevent the industrial occupations slip- 75 / The Future of the American Negro ping from him in all parts of the South, as they have already in certain parts, is for all educators, ministers, and friends of the race to unite in pushing forward in a whole-souled manner the industrial or business development of the Negro, whether in school or out of school. Four times as many young men and women of the race should be receiving industrial training. Just now the Negro is in a position to feel and appreciate the need of this in a way that no one else can. No one can fully ap- preciate what I am saying who has not walked the streets of a Northern city day after day seeking employment, only to find every door closed against him on account of his colour, except in menial service. It is to prevent the same thing taking place in the South that I plead. ^We may argue that mental develop- ment will take care of all this. Mental development is a good thing. Gold is also a good thing, but gold is worthless 76 The Future of the American Negro without an opportunity to make itself touch the world of trade. Educati on 1 ,, in creases greatly an individual's wa nts. It is cruel in many cases to increase the wants ot the black youth by mental development alone without, at the same time, increasing his ability to supply these increas ed wants in occupation s~"in wh i ch he can find employm e n t . The place made vacant by the death of the old coloured man who was trained as a carpenter during slavery, and who y> i since the war had been the leading con- tractor and builder in the Southern town, had to be filled. No young coloured car- m*J penter capable of filling his place could be found. The result was that his place was filled by a white mechanic from the North, or from Europe, or from else- where. What is true of carpentry and house-building in this case is true, in a degree, in every skilled occupation; and it is becoming true of common labour. I do not mean to say that all of 77 The Future of the American Negro ; the skilled labour has been taken out of the Negro's hands; but I do mean to say that in no p art of the South is he so strong in th The Future of the American Negro amount of ten thousand dollars a year. Do you suppose that, when that black mgn takes his family aboard t he train, they are going to put him into a~~JTrh Crow c.ar and run tfa fi p'sk nf Incing thaf ten thousand dollars a year ? No, they wi iT~~puT~o n a Pullman _pala_C£_ car for him. Some time ago a certain coloured man was passing through the streets of one of the little Southern towns, and he chanced to meet two white men on the street. It happened that this coloured man owns two or three houses and lots, has a good education and a comfortable bank account. One of the white men turned to the other, and said : " By Gosh ! It is all I can do to keep from calling that ' nigger ' Mister." That's the point we want to get to. Nothing else so soon brings about right relations between the two races in the South as the commercial progress of the Negro. CFriction between the races 86 The Future of the American Negro will pass away as the black man, by reason of his skill, intelligence, and character, can produce something that the white man wants or respects in the commercial world] This is another rea- son why at Tuskegee we push industrial training. We find that as every year we put into a Southern community col- oured men who can start a brickyard, a saw-mill, a tin-shop, or a printing- office, — men who produce something that makes the white man partly de- pendent upon the Negro instead of all , >^ the dependence being on the other side, — a change for the better takes place in the relations of the races. It is through the dairy farm, the truck- garden, the trades, the commercial life, largely, that the Negro is to find his way to respect and confidence. What is the permanent value of the Hampton and Tuskegee system of training to the South, in a broader sense ? In connection with this, it is 87 The Future of the American Negro well to bear in mind that slavery un- consciously taught the white man that labour with the hands was something fit for the Negro only, and something for the white man to come into contact with just as little as possible. It is true that th ere was a_ _laxg£— class __ of poor white people who laboured with the hands, but they did it because they were not a ble to secure _ Negroes to work for them ; and these poor whites were constantl y^ trying to imitate t he slaveholding class in escaping labour, as they, too, regarded it as anything but elevating. But the Negro, in turn, looked down upon the poor whites with a certain contempt because they had to work. The Negro, it is to be borne in mind, worked under constant protest, because he felt that his labour was being unjustly requited ; and he spent almost as much effort in planning how to es- vy^ape work as in learning how to work. Labour with him was a badge of degra- 88 The Future of the American Negro dation. The white man was held up before him as the highest type of civi- lisation, but the Negro noted that this highest type of civilisation himself did little labour with the hand. Hence he argued that, the less work he did, the ^s more nearly he would be like the white man. Then, in addition to these in- fluences, the slave system discouraged^' labour-saving machinery. To use labour- saving machinery, intelligence was re- quired ; and intelligence and slavery were not on friendly terms. Hence the Negro always associated labour with y toil, drudgery, something to be escaped.^ When the Negro first became free, his idea of education was that it was some- thing that would soon put him in the same position as regards work that his recent master had occupied. Out of these conditions grew the habit of put- ting off till to-morrow and the day after the duty that should be done promptly to-day. The leaky house was not re- 8 9 The Future of the American Negro paired while the sun shone, for then the rain did not come through. While the rain was falling, no one cared to expose himself to stop the rain. The plough, on the same principle, was left where the last furrow was run, to rot and rust in the field during the winter. There was no need to repair the wooden chimney that was exposed to the fire, because water could be thrown on it when it was on fire. There was no need to trouble about the payment of a debt to-day, because it could be paid as well next week or next year. Besides these conditions, the whole South at the close of the war was without proper food, clothing, and shelter, — was in need of habits of thrift and economy and of something laid up for a rainy day. To me it seemed perfectly plain that here was a condition of things that could not be met by the ordinary proc- ess of education. At Tuskegee we 90 The Future of the American Negro became convinced that the thing to do was to make a careful, systematic study of the condition and needs of the South, especially the Black Belt, ane*\^ to bend our efforts in the direction of meeting these needs, whether we were following a well-beaten track or were hewing out a new path to meet condi- tions probably without a parallel in the world. After eighteen years of experi- ence and observation, what is the re- sult? Gradually, but surely, we find that all through the South the disposi- tion to look upon labour as a disgrace is on the wane; and the parents who themselves sought to escape work are so anxious to give their children train- ing in intelligent labour that every institution which gives training in the handicrafts is crowded, and many (among them Tuskegee) have to refuse admission to hundreds of applicants. The influence of Hampton and Tuske- gee is shown again by the fact that 9 1 y The Future of the American Negro almost every little school at the remot- est cross-road is anxious to be known as an industrial school, or, as some of the coloured people call it, an " indus- trous" school. The social lines that were once sharply drawn between those who laboured with the hands and those who did not are disappearing. Those who formerly sought to escape labour, now when they see that brains and skill rob labour of the toil and drudgery once associated with it, instead of trying to avoid it, are willing to pay to be taught to engage in it. The South is be- ginning to see labour raised up, digni- fied and beautified, and in this sees its salvation. In proportion as the love of labour grows, the large idle class, which has long been one of the curses of the South, disappears. As people become absorbed in their own affairs, they have less time to attend to everybody's else business. 92 ^JxriTt The Future of the American Negro The South is still an undeveloped and unsettled country, and for the next half-century and more the greater part of the energy of the masses will be needed to develop its material re- sources. Any force that brings the rank and file of the people to have a greater love of industry is therefore es- pecially valuable. This result industrial education is surely bringing about. It stimulates production and increases trade, — trade between the races ; and in this new and engrossing relation bojth forget the past. The white man ^ (respects) the vote of a coloured man who does ten thousand dollars' worth of business ; and, the more business the coloured man has, the more careful he is how he votes. Immediately after the war there was a large class of Southern people who feared that the opening of the free schools to the freedmen and the poor whites — the education of the head 93 t The Future of the American Negro alone — would result merely in increas- ing the class who sought to escape labour, and that the South would soon be overrun by the idle and vicious. But, as the results of industrial com- bined with academic training begin to show themselves in hundreds of com- munities that have been lifted up, these former prejudices against education are being removed. Many of those who a few years ago opposed Negro education are now among its warmest advocates. This industrial training, emphasising, as it does, the idea of economic produc- tion, is gradually bringing the South to the point where it is feeding itself. After the war, what profit the South made out of the cotton crop it spent outside of the South to purchase food supplies, — meat, bread, canned vegeta- bles, and the like, — but the improved methods of agriculture are fast chang- ing this custom. With the newer methods of labour, which teach prompt- 94 The Future of the American Negro ness and system and emphasise the worth of the beautiful, the moral value of the well-painted house, the fence with every paling and nail in its place, is bringing to bear upon the South an in- fluence that is making it a new country in industry, education, and religion. It seems to me I cannot do better than to close this chapter on the needs of the Southern Negro than by quoting from a talk given to the students at Tuskegee : — " I want to be a little more specific in showing you what you have to do and how you must do it. " One trouble with us is — and the same is true of any young people, no matter of what race or condition — we have too many stepping-stones. We step all the time, from one thing to another. You find a young man who is learning to make bricks ; and, if you ask him what he intends to do after learning the trade, in too many cases 95 The Future of the American Negro he will answer, ' O K^ T am -*i mp1y wnr tr- ing_a_t__t|nsJtrj^_a J s_^£te to something higher.' You see a young man workingHt'the brick-mason's trade, and he will be apt to say the same thing. And young women learning to be milliners and dressmakers will tell you the same. All are stepping to something higher. And so we always go on, stepping somewhere, never get- ting hold of anything thoroughly. _Now we must stop__ this stepping bu siness, Tiaving so many stepping-stones. In- stettdr^gETaye got to" tajce_Ji£l^_ol these important inHustries, and stick to them until we master them thoroughlyT There is" no nation so ffio Tuugh i nTEe!?" education as the Germans. Why? Simply because the German takes hold of a thing, and sticks to it until he masters it. Into it he puts brains and thought from morning to night. He reads all the best books and journals bearing on that particular study, and he 9 6 The Future of the American Negro feels that nobody else knows so much about it as he does. " Take any of the industries I have mentioned, that of brick-making, for ex* ample. Any one working at that trade should dete> mine"~to learn all tHe re"is"to be known about making bricks ; read all the papers and journals bearing upon the trade ; learn not only to make com- mon_ hand-brick^^ut^^ess ea!" bncksj fire-bricks, — in short, the finest and best TJncks there are to be made. And, when you have learned all you can by reading and talking with other people, you should travel from one city to another, and learn how the best bricks are made. And then, when you go into business for yourself, you will make a reputation for being the best brick-maker in the community; and in this way you will put yourself on your feet, and become a helpful and useful citizen. When a young man does this, goes out into one of these Southern cities and makes a 97 The Future of the American Negro reputation for himself, that person wins a reputation that is going to give him a standing and position. AnxU^vdien^the children of that successful brick-maker come along, they will be able to take a higher position in life . The grancT children will be able to take a still higher position. And it will be traced back to that grandfather who, by his great success as a brick-maker, laid a foundation that was of the right kind. 11 What I have said about these two tradeVcan be applied with equal force to the trades followed by women. Take the matter ot millinery. There is no good reason why there should not be, in each principal city in the South, at least three or four competent coloured women in charge of millinery establish- ments. But what is the trouble ? " Instead of making the most of our opportunities in this industry, the temptation, in too many cases, is to be music-teachers, teachers of elocution, 98 The Future of the American Negro or something else that few of the race at present have any money to pay for, or the opportunity to earn money to pay for, simply because there is no foundation. But, when more coloured people succeed in the more fundamental occupations, they will then be able to make better provision for their children in what are termed the higher walks of life. " And, now, what I have said about these important industries is especially true of the important industry of agri- culture. We are living in a country where, if we are going to succeed at all, we are going to do so largely by what we raise out of the soil. The people in those backward countries I have told you about have failed to give attention to the cul- tivation of the soil, to the invention and use of improved agricultural implements and machinery. Without this no peo- ple can succeed. No race which fails to put brains into agriculture can suc- 99 The Future of the American Negro ceed ; and, if you want to realize the fruth_of thi s statement, go~v\a^ m e^rntET t h e back dis tric ts of some of our South -" ern Sta tes, and you will find many pe ople in poverty, and yet th ey are surrounded by a rich country. " A race, like a n individual, has got t o * have a reputation ^ Such a reputation goes a long way toward helping a race or an individual ; and, when we have suc- ceeded in getting such a reputation, we shall find that a great many of the dis- couraging features of our life will melt away. /' Reputation is what people think we Mi re, ancT a. Vrpaf rW1 dppenrU nn fW When a race gets a reputation along certain lines, a great many things which now seem complex, difficult to attain, and are most discouraging, will disap- pear. " When you say that an engine is a Corliss engine, people understand that that engine is a perfect piece of IOO The Future of the American Negro mechanical work, — perfect as far as human skill and ingenuity can make it perfect. You say a car is a Pullman car. That is all ; but what does it mean? It means that the builder of that car got a reputation at the outset for thorough, perfect work, for turning out everything in first-class shape. And so with a race. You cannot keep back very long a race that has the reputation for doing per- fect work in everything that it under- takes. And then we have got to get a reputation for economy. Nobody cares to associate with an individual in busi- ness or otherwise who has a reputation for being a trifling spendthrift," who spends his money for things that he can very easily get along without, who spends his money for clothing, gewgaws, superficialities, and other things, when he has not got the necessaries of life. We want to give the race a reputation for being frugal and saving in every- thing. Then we want to get a reputa- IOI The Future of the American Negro tion for being industrious. Now, re- member these three things: Get a repu- tation for being skilled. It will not do for a Few here and there to have it : the race must have the reputation. Get a reputation tor being so skiltul, so indus- trious, tha t you will not leave a job unti l it is as nearly perfect as any one ca n rnake it. And then we want to make a reputation for the race for being honest, — honest at all times and under all cir- cumstances. A few individuals here and there have it, a few communities have it; but the race as a mass must get it. " You recall that story of Abraham Lincoln, how, when he was postmaster at a small village, he had left on his hands $1.50 which the government did not call for. Carefully wrapping up this money in a handkerchief, he kept it for ten years. Finally, one day, the govern- ment agent called for this amount ; and it was promptly handed over to him by 102 The Future of the American Negro Abraham Lincoln, who told him that during all those ten years he had never touched a cent of that money. He made it a principle of his life never to u se other people's monev ~ That trait oLhis character helped him along to the Presidency. The race wants to get a reputation for being strictly honest in all its dealings and transactions, — hon- est in handling money, honest in all its dealings with its fellow-men. " And then we want to get a repu- tation for being thoughtful. This I want to emphasise more than anything else. We want to get a reputation for doing things without being told to do them every time. If you have work to do, think about it so constantly, inves- tigate and read about it so thoroughly, that you will always be finding ways and means of improving that work. The average person going to work becomes a regular machine, never giv- ing the matter of improving the methods *°3 The Future of the American Negro of his work a thought. He is never at his work before the appointed time, and is sure to stop the minute the hour is up. Th e world is looking for the per- son who is thoughtful, who will say at the c lose of work hours: 'Is there not s omething else I can do for you ? Can I not stay a little later, and help you ? ' " Moreover, it is with a race as it is wi th an individual : it must respe ct it- ^selTif it would win the respect of others .^ There must be a certain amount of unity about a race, th ere must be a g reat amount__ of pride abou t a nrp ) thprp , must_b e_a great deal of faith on the part of arace in itself . An individual cannot succeed unless he has about him a certain amount of pride, — enough pride to make him aspire to the highest and best things in life. An individual cannot succeed unless that individual has a great amount of faith in himself. " A person who goes at an under- • ^taking with the feeling that he cannot 104 The Future of the American Negro succeed is likely to fail. On the other hand, the individual who goes at an undertaking, feeling that he can suc- ceed, is the individual who in nine cases out of ten does succeed. But, whenever you find an individual that is ashamed of his race, trying to get away from his race, apologising for being a member of his race, then you find a weak individual. Where you find a race that is ashamed of itself, that is apologising for itself, there you will find a weak, vacillating race. Let us no longer have to apologise for our race in these or other matters. Let us think seriously and work seriously: then, as a race, we shall be thought of seriously, and, therefore, seriously respected." V CHAPTER V. In this chapter I wish to show how, at Tuskegee, we are trying to work out the plan of industrial training, and trust I shall be pardoned the seeming egotism if I preface the sketch with a few words, by way of example, as to the expansion of my own life and how I came to under- take the work at Tuskegee. My earliest recollection is of a small one-room log hut on a slave plantation in Virginia. After the close of the war, \ while working in the coal mines of West Virginia for the support of my mother, I heard, in some accidental way, of the Hampton Institute. WheA I learned that it was an institution where a black boy could study, could have a chance to work for his board, and at the same time be taught how to work and to real- ise the dignity of labor, I resolved to go there. Bidding my mother good-by, I started out one morning to find my way 106 The Future of the American Negro to Hampton, although I was almost pen- niless and had no definite idea as to where Hampton was. By walking, beg- ging rides, and paying for a portion of the journey on the steam-cars, I finally succeeded in reaching the city of Rich- mond, Virginia. I was without money or friends. I slept on a sidewalk ; and by working on a vessel the next day I earned money enough to continue my way to the institute, where I arrived with a capital of fifty cents. At Hamp- ton I found the opportunity — in the way of buildings, teachers, and indus- tries provided by the generous — to get training in the class-room and by practi- cal touch with industrial life, — to learn thrift, economy, and push. I was sur- rounded by an atmosphere of business, Christian influence, and spirit of self- help, that seemed to have awakened every faculty in me, and caused me for the first time to realise what it meant to be a man instead of a piece of property. 107 The Future of the American Negro While there, I resolved, when I had finished the course of training, I would go into the Far South, into the Black Belt of the South, and give my life to providing the same kind of opportunity for self-reliance, self-awakening, that I had found provided for me at Hampton. My work began at Tuskegee, Ala- bama, in 1 88 1, in a small shanty church, with one teacher and thirty students, without a dollar's worth of property. The spirit of work and of industrial thrift, with aid from the State and gen- erosity from the North, have enabled us to develop an institution which now has about one thousand students, gath- ered from twenty-three States, and eighty-eight instructors. Counting stu- dents, instructors, and their families, we have a resident population upon the school grounds f about twelve hundred persons. The institution owns two/thousand three, hundred acres of land, seven hun- 108 I The Future of the American Negro dred of which are cultivated by student labor. There are six hundred head of live-stock, including horses, mules, cows, hogs, and sheep. There are over forty- vehicles that have been made, and are now used, by the school. Training is given in twenty-six industries. There is work in wood, in iron, in leather, in tin; and all forms of domestic economy are engaged in. Students are taught mechanical and architectural drawing, receive training as agriculturists, dairy- men, masons, carpenters, contractors, builders, as machinists, electricians, prin- ters, dressmakers, and milliners, and in other directions. The value of the property is $300,000. There are forty-two buildings, counting large and small, all of which, with the exception of four, have been erected by the labour of the students. Since this work started, there has been collected and spent for its founding and support $800,000. The annual expense 109 The Future of the American Negro is now not far from $75,000. In a hum- ble, simple manner the effort has been to place a great object-lesson in the heart of the South for the elevation of the coloured people, where there should be, jT in a high sense, that union of head, V heart, and hand which has been the foundation of the greatness of all races since the world began. What is the object of all this outlay? It must be first borne in mind that we have in the South a peculiar and unprecedented state of things. The cardinal needs among the eight million coloured people in the South, most of whom are to be found on the planta- tions, may be stated as food, clothing, shelter, education, proper habits, and a settlement of race relations. These millions of coloured people of the South cannot be reached directly by any missionary agent ; but they can be reached by sending out among them strong, selected young men and women, no The Future of the American Negro with the proper training of head, hand, and heart, who will live among them and show them how to lift themselves up. The problem that the Tuskegee In- stitute keeps before itself constantly is how to prepare these leaders. From the outset, in connection with religious and academic training, it has empha- sised industrial, or hand, training as a means of finding the way out of present conditions. First, we have found the industrial teaching useful in giving the student a chance to work out a portion of his expenses while in school. Second, the school furnishes labour that has an economic value and at the same time gives the student a chance to acquire knowledge and skill while performing the labour. Most of all, we find the industrial system valuable in teaching economy, thrift, and the dignity of labour and in giving moral backbone to stu- dents. The fact that a student goes into the world conscious of his power in The Future of the American Negro to build a house or a wagon or to make a set of harness gives him a certain confidence and moral independence that he would not possess without such training. A more detailed example of our methods at Tuskegee may be of in- terest. For example, we cultivate by studen t labour seven hundred acreiP of land. The object is not only to culti- vate the land in a way to make it pay our boarding department, but at the same time to teach the students, in addition to the practical work, some- thing of the chemistry of the soil, the best methods of drainage, dairying, cul- tivation of fruit, the care of live-stock and tools, and scores of other lessons needed by people whose main depend- ence is on agriculture. Friends some time ago provided means for the erection of a large new chapel at Tuskegee. Our students made the bricks for this chapel. A The Future of the American Negro large part of the timber was sawed by the students at our saw-mill, the plans were drawn by our teacher of architect- ural and mechanical drawing, and stu- dents did the brick-masonry, the plas- tering, the painting, the carpentry work, the tinning, the slating, and made most of the furniture. Practically, the whole chapel was built and furnished by stu- dent labour. Now the school has this building for permanent use, and the students have a knowledge of the trades employed in its construction. While the young men do the kinds of work I have mentioned, young women to a large extent make, mend, and laun- dry the clothing of the young men. They also receive instruction in dairy- ing, horticulture, and other valuable in- dustries. One_of the objections sometimes urged against industrial education for the Negro is that it aims merely to teach him to work on the same plan "3 The Future of the American Negro that he worked on when in slavery. This is far from being the object at Tuskegee. At the head of each of the twenty-six industrial divisions we have \^,an intelligent and competent instructor, just as we have in our history classes, so that the student is taught not only practical brick-masonry, for example, but also the underlying principles of that industry, the mathematics and the mechanical and architectural drawing. Or he is taught how to become master of the forces of nature, so that, instead of cultivating corn in the old way, he can use a corn cultivator that lays off the furrows, drops the corn into them, and covers it ; and in this way he can do more work than three men by the old process of corn planting, while at the same time much of the toil is eliminated and labour is dignified. In a word, the constant aim is to show the student how to put brains into every process of labour, how to bring his knowledge of 114 The Future of the American Negro mathematics and the sciences in farm- ing, carpentry, forging, foundry work, how to dispense as soon as possible with the old form of ante-bellum labour. In the erection of the chapel referred to, instead of letting the money which was given to us go into outside hands, we made it accomplish three objects: first, it provided the chapel ; second, it gave the students a chance to get a practical knowledge of the trades con- nected with the building; and, third, it enabled them to earn something toward the payment of their board while receiving academic and indus- trial training. Having been fortified at Tuskegee by education of mind, skill of hand, Chris- tian character, ideas of thrift, economy, and push, and a spirit of independence, the student is sent out to become a cen- tre of influence and light in showing the masses of our people in the Black Belt of the South how to lift themselves The Future of the American Negro up. Can this be done? I give but one or two examples. Ten years ago a young coloured man came to the insti- tute from one of the large plantation districts. He studied in the class-room a portion of the time, and received prac- tical and theoretical training on the farm the remainder of the time. Hav- ing finished his course at Tuskegee, he returned to his plantation home, which was in a county where the coloured people outnumbered the whites six to one, as is true of many of the counties in the Black Belt of the South. He found the Negroes in debt. Ever since the war they had been mortgaging their crops for the food on which to live while the crops were growing. The majority of them were living from hand-to-mouth on rented land, in small one-room log cabins, and attempting to pay a rate of interest on their advances that ranged from fifteen to forty per cent, per an- num. The school had been taught in 116 The Future of the American Negro a wreck of a log cabin, with no appa- ratus, and had never been in session longer than three months out of twelve. He found the people, as many as eight or ten persons, of all ages and condi- tions and of both sexesT'Euddled to- ge ther and living. ...in caiezraorjo^cahins year after year, and with a minister wh ose only aim was^ to work upon the emotions. One can imagine something of The moral and religious state of the community. But the remedy ! In spite of the evil the Negro got the habit of work from slavery. The rank and file of the race, especially those on the Southern planta- tions, work hard ; but the trouble is that w hat they earn gets away from them in high r ents , crop„„mortg ages, whiskey , sn uff, ch eap j ewelry, and the like. The young man just referred to had been trained at Tuskegee, as most of our graduates are, to meet just this condi- tion of things. He took the three "7 The Future of the American Negro months' public school as a nucleus for his work. Then he organized the older people into a club, or conferenceTTrTat hejcT meetings every week. In Thes e meetings he taught the people, in^ a plli lL si mp l e mnn n rr, how to saire thr ir m oney, how to farm in a better wa v, how to sacrifice. — to live on brpaH and p otat oes , if necess ary, till thpy rnnlri gpr QUt__of __debt and begin the buying of lands. Soon a large proportion of the people were in a condition to make contracts for the buying of homes (land is very cheap in the South) and to live without mortgaging their crops. Not only this ; under the guidance and leadership of this teacher, the first year that he was among them they learned how and built, by contributions in money and labour, a neat, comfortable school-house that replaced the wreck of a log cabin formerly used. The following year the weekly meetings were continued, and 118 The Future of the American Negro tw o^ months were add ed to the original t hree months of school The next year two more months were added. The improvement has gone on until these people have every year an eight months' school. I wish my readers could have the chance that I have had of going into this community. I wish they could look into the faces of the people, and see them beaming with hope and de- light. I wish they could see the two or three room cottages that have taken the place of the usual one-room cabin, see the well-cultivated farms and the relie- ious life of the people that now means something more than the name. The teacher has a good cottage and well- kept farm that serve as models. In a word, a complete revolution has been wrought in the industrial, educational, and religious life of this whole com- munity by reason of the fact that they have had this leader, this guide and n 9 The Future of the American Negro object-lesson, to show them how to take the money and effort that had hitherto been scattered to the wind in mortgages and high rents, in whiskey and gewgaws, and how to concentrate it in the direc- tion of their own uplifting. One com- munity on its feet presents an object- lesson for the adjoining communities, and soon improvements show them- selves in other places. An other stu de nt, who received ac a- demic and industrial training at Tus- kegee7 ~established himself, three "years ago, as a bla cksmith and wheelwright i n a community; an d, in addition to the i nfluence of his successful Business enterpr ise, he is fast making the same kmoToi changes in the life of the peopl e about him that I ha ve_iusJL, recounted.. Ifwould be easy for me to fill many pages describing the influence of the Tuskegee graduates in every part of the South. We keep it constantly in the minds of our students and graduates 120 The Future of the American Negro that the industrial or material condition of the masses of our people must be improved, as well as the intellectual, before there can be any permanent change in their moral and religious life. We find it a pretty hard thing to make a good Christian of a hungry man. No matter how much our people "get happy " and " shout " in church, if they go home at night from church hungry, they are tempted to find something to eat before morning. This is a principle of human nature, and is not confined alone to the Negro. The Negro has within him immense power for self-up- lifting, but for years it will be necessary to guide him and stimulate his energies. The recognition of this power led us to organise, five years ago, what is known as the Tuskegee Negro Conference, — u/ a gathering that meets every February, and is composed of about eight hun- dred representatives, coloured men and women, from all sections of the Black The Future of the American Negro Belt. They come in ox-carts, mule- carts, buggies, on muleback and horse- back, on foot, by railroad. Some travel all night in order to be present. The matters considered at the conference are those that the coloured people have it in their own power to control, — such as • the evils of the mortgage system, the L-'one-room cabin, buying on credit, the importance of owning a home and of putting money in the bank, how to build school-houses and prolong the school term, and to improve their moral and religious condition. As a single example of the results, one delegate re- ported that since the conference was started, seven years ago, eleven peo- ple in his neighbourhood had bought homes, fourteen had gotten out of debt, and a number had stopped mortgaging their crops. Moreover, a school-house had been built by the people themselves, and the school term had been extended from three to six months ; and, with a The Future of the American Negro look of triumph, he exclaimed, " We's done libin' in de ashes." Besides this Negro Conference for the masses of the people, we now have a gathering at the same time known as the Tuskegee Workers' Conference, composed of the officers and instructors of the leading coloured schools in the South. After listening to the story of the conditions and needs from the people themselves, the Workers' Con- ference finds much food for thought and discussion. Let me repeat, from its beginning, this institution has kept in mind the giving of thorough mental and religious training, along with such in- dustrial training as would enable the student to appreciate the dignity of labour and become self-supporting and valuable as a producing factor, keeping in mind the occupations open in the South to the average man of the race. This institution has now reached the point where it can begin to judge of the 123 The Future of the American Negro value of its work as seen in its grad- uates. Some years ago we noted the fact, for example, that there was quite a movement in many parts of the South to organise and start dairies. Soon after this, we opened a dairy school where a number of young men could receive training in the best and most scientific methods of dairying. At present we have call s, mainly from _So ^thern jvhite , men, for twice a s many dairy men as we a re able to supply. The reports indi- cate that our young men are givingthe highest satisfac tion, and a re tastch ang- ing and improving the dairy producTTh the ^commu nities where they labour. 1 have used ~the~dairy industry simply as an example. What I have said of this industry is true in a larger or less de- gree of the others. I cannot but believe, and my daily observation and experience confirm me in it, that, as we continue placing men and women of intelligence, religion, 124 The Future of the American Negro modesty, conscience, and skill in every community in the South, who will prove / by actual results their value to the conj^ munity, this will constitute the solution for many of the present political and sociological difficulties. It is with this larger and more comprehensive view of improving present conditions and laying the foundation wisely that the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute is train- ing men and women as teachers and industrial leaders. Over four hundred students have fin- ished the course of training at this in- stitution, and are now scattered through- out the South, doing good work. A recent investigation shows that about 3,000 students who have taken only a partial course are doing commendable work. One young man, who was able to remain in school but two years, has been teaching in one community for ten years. During this time he has built a new school-house, extended the school 125 The Future of the American Negro term from three to seven months, and has bought a nice farm upon which he has erected a neat cottage. The exam- ple of this ygung man has inspired many of the coloured people in this community to follow his example in some degree ; and this is one of many such examples. Wherever our graduates and ex-stu- dents go, they teach by precept and example the necessary lesson of thrift, economy, and property-getting, and friendship between the races. 126 CHAPTER VI. It has become apparent that the ef- fort to put the rank and file of the col- oured people into a position to exercise V^ the right of franchise has not been the success that was expected in those por- tions of our country where the Negro is found in large numbers. Either the Negro was not prepared for any such wholesale exercise of the ballot as our recent amendments to the Constitution contemplated or the American people were not prepared to assist and encour- age him to use the ballot. In either case the result has been the same. On an important occasion in the life of the Master, when it fell to him to pro- nounce judgment on two courses of ac- tion, these memorable words fell from his lips : " And Mary hath chosen the better part." This was the supreme test in the case of an individual. It is the highest test in the case of a race or 127 The Future of the American Negro a nation. Let us apply this test to the American Negro. In the life of our Republic, when he has had the opportunity to choose, has it been the better or worse part? When in the childhood of this na- tion the Negro was asked to submit to slavery or choose death and extinc- tion, as did the aborigines, he chose the better part, that which perpetuated the race. When, in 1776, the Negro was asked to decide between British oppression and A / American independence, we find him choosing the better part; and Crispus Attucks, a Negro, was the first to shed his blood on State Street, Boston, that the white American might enjoy liberty forever, though his race remained in slavery. When, in 18 14, at New Or- leans, the test of patriotism came again, we find the Negro choosing the better part, General Andrew Jackson himself testifying that no heart was more loyal 128 The Future of the American Negro and no arm was more strong and useful in defence of righteousness. When the long and memorable strug- gle came between union and separation, when he knew that victory meant free- dom, and defeat his continued enslave- ment, although enlisting by the thou- sands, as opportunity presented itself, to fight in honourable combat for the cause of the Union and liberty, yet, when the suggestion and the temptation came to burn the home and massacre wife and children during the absence of the master in battle, and thus insure his liberty, we find him choosing the better part, and for four long years protecting and supporting the helpless, defenceless ones intrusted to his care. When, during our war with Spain, the safety and honour of the Republic were threatened by a foreign foe, when the wail and anguish of the oppressed from a distant isle reached our ears, we find the Negro forgetting his own 129 The Future of the American Negro wrongs, forgetting the laws and customs that discriminate against him in his own country, and again choosing the better part. And, if any one would know how he acquitted himself in the field at San- tiago, let him apply for answer to Shafter and Roosevelt and Wheeler. Let them tell how the Negro faced death and laid down his life in defence of honour and humanity. When the full story of the heroic conduct of the Negro in the Spanish-American War has been heard from the lips of Northern soldier and Southern soldier, from ex-abolition- ist and ex-master, then shall the country decide whether a race that is thus will- ing to die for its country should not be given the highest opportunity to live for its country. In the midst of all the complaints of suffering in the camp and field during the Spanish-American War, suffering from fever and hunger, where is the official or citizen that has heard a word 130 \ ' The Future of the American Negro of complaint from the lips of a black soldier? The only request that came from the Negro soldier was that he might be permitted to replace the white soldier when heat and malaria began to decimate the ranks of the white regiments, and to occupy at the same time the post of greater danger. But, when all this is said, it re- mains true that the efforts on the part of his friends and the part of himself to share actively in the con- trol of State and local government in America have not been a success in all sections. What are the causes of this partial failure, and what lessons has it taught that we may use in regard to the future treatment of the Negro in America? ty> tl In my mind there is no doubt but that we made a mistake at the begin- ning of our freedom of putting the em- phasis on the wrong end. Politics and the holding of office were too largely 131 The Future of the American Negro emphasised, almost to the exclusion of every other interest. I believe the past and present teach V-htit one lesson, — to the Negro's friends and to the Negro himself, — that there is but one way out, that there is but one hope of solution; and that is for the Negro in every part of America to resolve from henceforth that he will ^ throw aside every non-essential and cling only to essential, — that his pillar of fire by night and pillar of cloud by day shall be property, economy, educa- tion, and Christian character. To us just now these are the wheat, all else the chaff. The individual or race that owns the property, pays the taxes, pos- sesses the intelligence and substantial character, is the one which is going to exercise the greatest control in govern- ment, whether he lives in the North or whether he lives in the South. I have often been asked the cause of and the cure for the riots that have 132 The Future of the American Negro taken place recently in North Carolina and South Carolina.* I am not at all sure that what I shall say will answer these questions in a satisfactory way, nor shall I attempt to narrow my ex- pressions to a mere recital of what has taken place in these two States. I pre- fer to discuss the problem in a broader manner. In the first place, in politics I am a Republican, hut have always refraine<^/^ from activity in party politics, and ex- pect to pursue this policy in the future. So in this connection I shall refrain, as I always have done, from entering upon any discussion of mere party poli- tics. What I shall say of politics will bear upon the race problem and the civilisation of the South in the larger sense. In no case would I permit my political relations to stand in the way of my speaking and acting in the man- ner that I believe would be for the per- November, 1898. 133 The Future of the American Negro manent interest of my race and the whole South. In 1873 the Negro in the South had reached the point of greatest activity V. and influence in public life, so far as the mere holding of elective office was concerned. From that date those who have kept up with the history of the South have noticed that the Negro has steadily lost in the number of elective offices held. In saying this, I do not mean that the Negro has gone back- ward in the real and more fundamental things of life. On the contrary, he has gone forward faster than has been true of any other race in history, under any- thing like similar circumstances. If we can answer the question as to why the Negro has lost ground in the matter of holding elective office in the South, perhaps we shall find that our reply will prove to be our answer also as to the cause of the recent riots in North Carolina and South Carolina. 134 The Future of the American Negro Before beginning a discussion of the question I have ask eo!rT~wis1r-to--fay that this chang e in the political infl u- ence "of the Negro has continued~4rom year to year, notwithstandingJthe_jact that for a long time he was protected , politically, by f orce of federal arms an d the most rigid-Jedpral laws, and stHl more effectively, perhaps , by the voi ce ^ and influence in the halls of legisla^ tion of such advocateAj^t^ ™I Nggojggg as Thaddeus Steven s, Charles Sumner^Benjamin F. Butler, James M. Ashley, Oliver P. M orton. CaVLScJiurz, and Roscoe Conkling. and on the stump~"and throug h the publi c pfess'by those greaTlmd powerful N e- groey~-Ffeo!eTicT"n3ougrass, John M. Langstoti", Blanche KrBruce, John R. Lynch, P. B. S. Pinchback, Robert ~~ Browne Elliot, T. Thomas Fortune* ".and. many "others ; but the Negro has con- tinued for twenty years to have fewer representatives in the State and na ; *35 The Future of the American Negro tional legislatures. The reduction has continued until now it is at the point where, with few exceptions, he is with- out representatives in the law-making bodies of the State and of the nation. Now let us find, if we can, a cause for this. The Negro is fond of saying that his present condition is due to the fact that the State and federal courts Tiave not sustained the laws passed for the protection of the rights of his peo- ple; but I think we shall have to go deeper than this, because I believe that all agree that court decisions, as a rule, represent the public opinion of the com- munity or nation creating and sustain- ing the court. At the beginning of his freedom it was unfortunate that those of the white race who won the political confidence of the Negro were not, with few excep- tions, men of such high character as would lead them to assist him in lay- ing a firm foundation for his develop- 136 The Future of the American Negro merit. Their main purpose appears to have been, for selfish e nds 7iTToo~ maiiy ; instances, merely to control his vot e. The history of the reconstruction era will show that this was unfortunate for all the parties in interest. It would have been better, from any point of view, if the native Southern white man had taken the Negro, at the beginningfoi his fr eedom, into his~~po- litical confidence, a nd exercised a n in- fluence and control over him before his political affections were"aTienated. The average Southern white man has an idea to-day" that, if the Negro were permitted to get any political power, all the mistakes of the recon- struction period would be repeated. He forgets or ignores the fact that thirty years of acquiring education and property and character have produced a higher type of black man than ex- isted thirty years ago. But, to be more specific, for all prac- *37 The Future of the American Negro tical purposes, there are two political parties in the South, — a bl ack man 's p arty and a white m an's party. In say- ing this, I do not mean tnat all white men are Democrats ; for there are some white men in the South of the high- est character who are Republicans, and there are a few Negroes in the South of the highest character who are Demo- crats. It is the general understanding that all white men are Democrats or the equivalent, and that all black men are Republicans. S o long as the colou r line^ is the dividing line in politics, s o l onig. will there be trouble . The white man feels that he owns most of the property, furnishes the Negro most of his employment, thinks he pays most of the taxes, and has had years of experience in government. There is no mistaking the fact that the feeling which has heretofore governed the Negro — that, to be manly and stand by his race, he must oppose the South- 138 The Future of the American Negro ern white man with his vote — has had much to do with intensifying the oppo- sition of the Southern white man to him. The Southern white man says that it is unreasonabl e fo r the Negro to come to h'im, in a large measure, for his clotnes, boaFd, shelter, and education, and for his politics to go to j rj,P n a thon- sand miles away. He very properly argues that, when the Negro votes, he should try to consult the interests. of his employer, just as the Pennsylvania employee tri es to vote for the interests or his emp loyer. Further, that much of the education which has been g iven the Negro has been defective, in not preparing him to " 16v^"Tab'6~ur~aTiTh' to earn h is li ving at some special indus- try, and has, in too many cases, re- sulfed in tempting him to live by^ his wits as a political creature or by trust- ing to his " influence " as a political time-server. 139 The Future of the American Negro Then, there is no mistaking the fact, t hat "much opposition to the Ts egro in po litics is due to the circumstance th at t he Southern white man has not becom e a ccustomed to seeing the Negro exe r- cisejolitical power either as a voter or a s an office-holder. Again, we want to bear it in mind that the South has not yet reached the point where there is that strict regard for the enforcement of the law against either black or white men that there is in many of our North- ern and Western States. T his laxity in the enfor cement of th e laws in general, and especially of criminal laws, makes s uch outbreaks as those in Nor t h C a ro- lina and South Carolina of easy occ ur- rence. Then there is one other consideration which must not be overlooked. It is the common opinion of almost every black man and almost every white man that nearly everybody who has had anything to do with the making of 140 The Future of the American Negro laws bearing upon the protection of the Negro s vote has proceeded on the theory that all the black men form al] time will vote the Republi can ticket and that alT the, wjiitf mp n i n * hp ^™Tfr 7 will vote the Democratic__£icket. In a word, all seem to have taken it for granted that the two races are always going to oppose each other in their voting. In all the foregoing statements I have not attempted to define my own views or position, but simply to describe con- ditions as I have observed them, that might throw light upon the cause of our political troubles. As to my own position, I do not favour J jig_ Negroes gjvinyjip Xriytfrp g whiclTlsH^unda - me ntal and which has been guarantee d to him by the Constitution of the United States. It is not best for him to relin- "quish any of his rights ; nor would his doing so be best for the Southern white man. Every law placed in the Consti- 141 The Future of the American Negro tution of the United States was placed there to encourage and stimulate the highest citizenship. If the Negro is not stimulated and encouraged by just State and national laws to become the highest type of citizen, the result will be worse for the Southern white man than for the Negro. Take the State of South Caro- lina, for example, where nearly two- thirds of the population are Negroes. Unless these Negroes are encouraged by just election laws to become tax- payers and intelligent producers, the white people of South Carolina will have an eternal millstone about their necks. In an open letter to the State Con- stitutional Convention of Louisiana, I wrote : " I am no politician. On the other hand, I have always advised my race to give attention to acquiring prop- erty, intelligence, and character, as the necessary bases of good citizenship, rather than to mere political agitation. 142 The Future of the American Negro But the question upon which I write is out of the region of ordinary politics. It affects the civilisation of two races, not for to-day alone, but for a very long time to come. " Since the war, no State has had such an opportunity to settle, for all time, the race question, so far as it concerns poli- tics, as is now given to Louisiana. Will your convention set an example to the world in this respect ? Will Louisiana take such high and just grounds in re- spect to the Negro that no one can doubt that the South is as good a friend to him as he possesses elsewhere ? In all this, gentlemen of the convention, I am not pleading for the Negro alone, but for the morals, the higher life, of the white man as well. " The Negro agrees with you that it < is necessary to the salvation of the South"" Mt&P that restrictions be put upon the ballot. I know „t hat you have two serious prob-2^ lems before you ; ignorant and corrupt^^^ 43 The Future of the American Negro government, on the one hand ; and, on the other, a way to restrict the ballot / so that control will be in the hands of ( the intelligent, without regard to race. ' With the sincerest sympathy with you in your efforts to find a good way out of the difficulty, I want to suggest that no State in the South can make a law that will provide an opportunity or tempta- tion for an ignorant white man to vote, and withhold the opportunity or temp- tation from an ignorant coloured man, without injuring both men. No State can make a law that can thus be exe- cuted without dwarfing, for all time, the morals of the white man in the South. Any law controlling the ballot that is not absolutely just and fair to both races will work more permanent injury to the whites than to the blacks. " The Negro does not object to an educational and property test, but let the law be so clear that no one clothed with State authority will be tempted to 144 The Future of the American Negro ] ' J ■■**** perjure and degrade himself by putting one interpretation upon it for the white man and another for the black man. Study the history of the South, and you will find that, where there has been the most dishonesty in the matter of voting, there you will find to-day the lowest moral condition of both races. First, there was the temptation to act wrongly with the Negro's ballot. From this it was an easy step to act dishon- estly with the white man's ballot, to the carrying of concealed weapons, to the murder of a Negro, and then to the murder of a white man, and then to lynching. I entreat you not to pass a law that will prove an eternal millstone about the necks of your children. No man can have respect for the govern- ment and officers of the law when he knows, deep down in his heart, that the exercise of the franchise is tainted with fraud. " The road that the South has been 145 The Future of the American Negro compelled to travel during the last thirty years has been strewn with thorns and thistles. It has been as one grop- ing through the long darkness into the light. The time is not far distant when the world will begin to appreciate the real character of the burden that was imposed upon the South in giving > the franchise to four millions of igno- rant and impoverished ex-slaves. No people was ever before given such a problem to solve. History has blazed no path through the wilderness that could be followed. For thirty years we have wandered in the wilderness. We are now beginning to get out. But there is only one road out; and all calculations, but lead into swamps, quicksands, quagmires, and jungles. There is a highway that will lead both races out into the pure, beautiful sun- shine, where there will be nothing to hide and nothing to explain, where both. w" v makeshifts, expedients, profit and loss The Future of the American Negro--.. races can grow strong and true and useful in every fibre of their being. I believe that your convention will find this highway, that it will enact a fun- damental law that will be absolutely just and fair to white and black alike. " I beg of you, further, that in the degree that you close the ballot-box against the ignorant you will open the school-house. More than one-half of the population of your State are Negroes. No State can long prosper when a large part of its citizenship is in ignorance and poverty, and has no interest in the government. I beg of you that you do not treat us as an alien people. We are not aliens. You know us. You know that we have cleared your forests, tilled your fields, nursed your children, and protected your families. There is an attachment between us that few under- stand. While I do not presume to_be y ^ — ■ — —j j — -■ able to advise you, jet it is in my heart to say that, if your convention would do 147 p It)** The Future of the American Negro something that would prevent for all time strained relations between the two races, and would permanently settle the matter of political relations in one Southern State at least, let the very best educational opportunities be provided for both races ; and add to this an election law that shall be incapable of unjust discrimination, at the same time providing that, in proportion as the ig- norant secure education, property, and character, they will be given the right of citizenship. Any other course will take from one-half your citizens interest in the State, and hope and ambition to become intelligent producers and tax- payers, and useful and virtuous citi- zens. Any other course will tie the white citizens of Louisiana to a body of death. " The Negroes are not unmindful of the fact that the poverty of the State prevents it from doing all that it de- sires for public education ; yet I be- 148 The Future of the American Negro lieve that you will agree with me that ignorance is more costly to the State ^ than education, that it will cost Loui- siana more not to educate the Negroes than it will to educate them. In con- nection with a generous provision for public schools, I believe that nothing will so help my own people in your State as provision at some institution for the highest academic and normal training, in connection with thorough training in agriculture, mechanics, and domestic economy. First-class training in agri- culture, horticulture, dairying, stock-rais- ing, the mechanical arts, and domestic economy, would make us intelligent pro- ducers, and not only help us to contrib- ute our honest share as tax-payers, but would result in retaining much money in the State that now goes outside for that which can be as well produced at home. An institution which will give this training of the hand, along with the highest mental culture, would soon 149 The Future of the American Negro ^j, convince our people that their salvation is largely in the ownership of property and in industrial and business devel- opment, rather than in mere political agitation. " The highest test of the civilisation of any race is in its willingness to extend a helping hand to the less fortunate. A race, like an- individual, lifts itself up by lifting others up. Surely, no people ever had a greater chance to exhibit the highest Christian fortitude and magna- nimity than is now presented to the people of Louisiana. It requires little wisdom or statesmanship to repress, to crush out, to retard the hopes and as- pirations of a people ; but the highest and most profound statesmanship is shown in guiding and stimulating a people, so that every fibre in the body and soul shall be made to contribute in the highest degree to the usefulness and ability of the State. It is along this line that I pray God the thoughts *5° The Future of the American Negro and activities of your convention may be guided." As to such outbreaks as have re- cently occurred in North Carolina and South Carolina, the remedy will not be reached by the Southern white man merely depriving the Negro of his rights and privileges. This jnethod i s but superficial, irritating, and mus t, in the na ture of things, be s hort-lived. The statesman, to cure an evil, resorts to enlightenment, to stimulatT61i7~THer politician, to repression . 1 have just remaTked that I favour the giving up of nothing that is guaranteed to us by the Constitution of the United States, or that is fundamental to our citizenship. While I hold to these views as strongly as any one, I differ with some as to the method of secur- ing the permanent and peaceful enjoy- ment of all the privileges guaranteed to us by our fundamental law. In finding a remedy, we must recog- 151 The Future of the American Negro nise the world-wide fact that the Negro must be led to see and feel that he must make every effort possible, in every way possible, to secure the friendship, the confidence, the co-operation of his white neighbour in the South. To do this, it is not necessary for the Negro to be- come a truckler or a trimmer. The Southern white man has no respect for a Negro who does not act from princi- ple. In some way the Southern white man must be led to see that it is to his interest to turn his attention more and more to the making of laws that will, in the truest sense, elevate the Negro. At the present moment, in many cases, when one attempts to get the Negro to co-operate with the Southern white man, he asks the question, " Can the people who force me to ride in a Jim Crow car, and pay first-class fare, be my best friends?" In answering such ques- tions, the Southern white man, as well v» ^ as the Negro, has a duty to perform. The Future of the American Negro In the exercise of his political rights I should advise the Negro to be temper- ate and modest, and more and more to do his own thinking. . I believe the permanent cure for our present evils will come through a prop- erty and educational test for voting that shall apply honestly and fairly to both races. This will cut off the large mass of ignorant voters of both races that is/ now proving so demoralising aTactor in the politics of the Southern States. But, most of all, it will come through industrial development of the Negro. Industrial education makes an intelli- gent producer of the Negro, who be- comes of immediate value to the com- munity rather than one who yields to the temptation to live merely by politics or other parasitical employments. It will make him soon become a prop- erty-holder; and, when a citizen be- comes a holder of property, he be- comes a conservative and thoughtful The Future of the American Negro voter. He will more carefully consider the measures and individuals to be voted for. In proportion as he increases his property interests, he becomes impor- tant as a tax-payer. There is little trouble between the Negro and the white man in matters of education ; and, when it comes to his business development, the black man has implicit faith in the advice of the Southern white man. When he gets into trouble in the courts, which requires a bond to be given, in nine cases out of ten, he goes to a Southern white man for advice and as- sistance. Every one who has lived in the South knows that, in many of the church troubles among the coloured people, the ministers and other church officers apply to the nearest white minis- ter for assistance and instruction. When by reason of mutual concession we reach the point where we shall consult the Southern white man about our poli- 154 The Future of the American Negro tics as we^ now co nsult him about our Kl !^2f3 1p g a1 nnH ~ religious mailers, th ere will be a change for the better in the situation. J The object-lesson of a thousand Ne- groes in every county in the South who own neat and comfortable homes, possessing skill, industry, and thrift, with money in the bank, and are large tax-payers co-operating with the white men in the South in every manly way for the development of their own com- munities and counties, will go a long way, in a few years, toward changing the present status of the Negro as a citizen, as well as the attitude of the whites toward the blacks. As the Negro grows in industrial and business directions, he will divide in his politics on economic issues, just as the white man in other parts of the country now divides his vote. As the South grows in business prosperity it will divide its vote on economic issues, *55 The Future of the American Negro just as other sections of the country divide their vote. When we can enact laws that result in honestly cutting off the large ignorant and non-tax-paying vote, and when we can bring both races to the point where they will co-operate with each other in politics, as they do now in matters of business, religion, and education, the problem will be in a large measure solved, and political outbreaks will cease. 56 CHAPTER VII. One of the great questions which Christian education must face in the South is the proper adjustment of the new relations of the two races. It is a question which must be faced calmly, quietly, dispassionately; and the time has now come to rise above party, above race, above colour, above sec- tionalism, into the region of duty of man to man, of American to American, of Christian to Christian. I remember not long ago, when about five hundred coloured people sailed from the port of Savannah bound for Liberia, that the news was flashed all over the country, "The Negro has made up his mind, to return to his own country," and that, "in this was the solution of the race problem in the South." But these short-sighted people forgot the fact that before break- fast that morning about five hundred *57 The Future of the American Negro more Negro children were born in the South alone. And then, once in a while, somebody- is so bold as to predict that the Negro will be absorbed by the white race. Let us look at this phase of the question for a moment. It is a fact that, if a person is known to have one per cent, of Afri- can blood in his veins, he ceases to be a white man. The ninety-nine per cent, of Caucasian blood does not weigh by the side of the one per cent, of African blood. The white blood counts for nothing. The person is a Negro every time. So it will be a very difficult task for the white man to absorb the Negro. Somebody else conceived the idea of colonising the coloured people, of getting territory where nobody lived, putting the coloured people there, and letting them be a nation all by themselves. There are two objections to that. First, yqu\vould have to build one wall to ^ e ^BZJEHj gQl ° uTect p eopte__i n , and an- 158 The Future of the American Negro other wall to keep the white... people out If you were to build ten walls around Africa to-day you could not keep the white people out, especially as long as there was a hope of finding gold there. I have always had the highest respect for those of our race who, in trying to find a solution for our Southern prob- lem, advised a return of the race to Africa, and because of my respect for those who have thus advised, especial- ly Bishop Henry M. Turner, I have tried to make a careful and unbiassed study of the question, during a recent sojourn in Europe, to see what oppor- tunities presented themselves in Africa for self-development and self-govern- ment. I am free to say that I see no way out of the Negro's present condition in the South by returning to Africa. Aside from other insurmountable ob- stacles, there is no place in Africa for i59 The Future of the American Negro him to go where his condition would be improved. All Europe — especially England, France, and Germany — has been running a mad race for the last twenty years, to see which could gobble up the greater part of Africa ; and there is practically nothing left. Old King Cetewayo put it pretty well when he said, " First come missionary, then come rum, then come traders, then come army " ; and Cecil Rhodes has expressed the prevailing sentiment more recently in these words, " I would rather have land than ' niggers.' " And Cecil Rhodes is directly responsible for the killing of thousands of black natives in South Africa, that he might secure their land. In a talk with Henry M. Stanley, the explorer, he told me that he knew no place in Africa where the Negroes of the United States might go to advan- tage; but I want to be more specific. Let us see how Africa has been divided, and then decide whether there is a 160 The Future of the American Negro place left for us. On the Mediterranean coast of Africa, Morocco is an indepen- dent State, Algeria is a French posses- sion, Tunis is a French protectorate, Tripoli is a province of the Ottoman Empire, Egypt is a province of Turkey. On the Atlantic coast, Sahara is a French protectorate, Adrar is claimed by Spain, Senegambia is a French trad- ing settlement, Gambia is a British crown colony, Sierra Leone is a British crown colony. Liberia is a republic of freed Negroes, Gold Coast and Ashanti are British colonies and British protectorates, Togoland is a German protectorate, Dahomey is a kingdom subject to French influence, Slave Coast is a British colony and British protectorate, Niger Coast is a British protectorate, the Cameroons are trad- ing settlements protected by Germany, French Congo is a French protectorate, Congo Free State is an international African Association, Angola and Ben- 161 The Future of the American Negro guela are Portuguese protectorates, and the inland countries are controlled as follows : The Niger States, Masina, etc., are under French protection ; Land Gandu is under British protection, ad- ministered by the Royal Haussan Niger Company. South Africa is controlled as follows : Damara and Namaqua Land are Ger- man protectorates, Cape Colony is a British colony, Basutoland is a Crown colony, Bechuanaland is a British pro- tectorate, Natal is a British colony, Zululand is a British protectorate, Orange Free State is independent, the South African Republic is independent, and the Zambesi is administered by the British South African Company. Lou- rence Marques is a Portuguese pos- session. East Africa has also been disposed of in the following manner: Mozambique is a Portuguese possession, British Cen- tral Africa is a British protectorate, 162 The Future of the American Negro German East Africa is in the German sphere of influence, Zanzibar is a sul- tanate under British protection, British East Africa is a British protectorate, Somaliland is under British and Italian protection, Abyssinia is independent. East Soudan (including Nubia, Kordo- fan, Darfur, and Wadai) is in the Brit- ish sphere of influence. It will be noted that, when one of these European countries cannot get direct control over any section of Africa, it at once gives it out to the world that the country wanted is in the " sphere of its in- fluence," — a very convenient term. If we are to go to Africa, and be under the control of another government, I think we should prefer to take our chances in the " sphere of influence " of the United States. All this shows pretty conclusively that a return to Africa for the Negro is out of the question, even provided that a majority of the Negroes wished to 163 The Future of the American Negro go back, which they do not. The ad- justment of the relations of the two races must take place here ; and it is taking place slowly, but surely. As the Negro is educated to make homes and to respect himself, the white man will in turn respect him. It has been urged that the Negro has inherent in him certain traits of char- acter that will prevent his ever reaching the standard of civilisation set by the whites, and taking his place among them as an equal. It may be some time before the Negro race as a whole can stand comparison with the white in all respects, — it would be most remark- able, considering the past, if it were not so ; but the idea that his objec- tionable traits and weaknesses are fun- damental, I think, is a mistake. For, although there are elements of weak- ness about the Negro race, there are also many evidences of strength. It is an encouraging sign, however, 164 The Future of the American Negro when an individual grows to the point where he can hold himself up for per- sonal analysis and study. It is equally encouraging for a race to be able to study itself, — to measure its weakness and strength. It is not helpful to a race to be continually praised and have its weakness overlooked, neither is it the most helpful thing to have its faults alone continually dwelt upon. What is needed is downright, straight- forward honesty in both directions ; and this is not always to be obtained. There is little question that one the Negroes' weak points is physical Especially is this true regarding those who live in the large cities, North and South. But in almost every case this physical weakness can be traced to %S ignorant violation of the laws of healthy ,-■ or to vicious habits. The Negro, who during slavery lived on the large planta- tions in the South, surrounded by re- straints, at the close of the war came to 165 The Future of the American Negro the cities, and in many cases found the freedom and temptations of the city too much for him. The transition was too sudden. When we consider what it meant to have four millions of people slaves to- day and freemen to-morrow, the won- der is that the race has not suffered more physically than it has. I do not believe that statistics can be so mar- shalled as to prove that the Negro as a race is physically or numerically on the decline. On the other hand, the Negro as a race is increasing in num- bers by a larger percentage than is true of the French nation. While the death-rate is large in the cities, the birth-rate is also large ; and it is to be borne in mind that eighty-five per cent, of these people in the Gulf States are in the country districts and smaller towns, and there the increase is along- healthy and normal lines. As the Ne- gro becomes educated, the high death- 166 The Future of the American Negro rate in the cities will disappear. For proof of this, I have only to mention that a few years ago no coloured man could get insurance in the large first- class insurance companies. Now there are few of these companies which do not seek the insurance of educated coloured men. In the North and South the physical intoxication that was the re- sult of sudden freedom is giving way to an encouraging, sobering process ; and, as this continues, the high death- rate will disappear even, in the large cities. Another element of weakness which sho ws itself in the present stage of the ci vilisation of th e N p g rr > is his lack of abilit y to form a pnrpo g ^ art d gtiVl^ fr> it through a series of years, if need be, — year s that involve disco nrag-prnpnt as well as encouragement, — till the end shall be reached. Of course there are Enlliant exceptions to this rule ; but there is no question that here is an 167 The Future of the American Negro element of weakness, and the same, I think, would be true of any race with the Negro's history. Few of the resolutions which are made in conventions, etc., are remem- bered and put into practice six months after the warmth and enthusiasm of the debating hall have disappeared. This, I know, is an element of the white man's weakness, but it is the Negro I am dis- cussing, not the white man. Individ- ually, the Negro is strong. Collec- tively, he is weak. This is not to be wondered at. The ability to succeed in organised bodies is one of the highest points in civilisation. There are scores of coloured men who can succeed in any line of business as individuals, or will discuss any subject in a most intel- ligent manner, yet who, when they at- tempt to act in an organised body, are utter failures. But the weakness of the Negro which is most frequently held up to the public 1 68 The Future of the American Negro gaze jsjhat-o f hi s moral - eliaiaLlei. — No\Z" cui£_^a- ja£ants~4o~-be- J*one^ - and— at the same time benefit th fi r? rfx ™^ deny that here is where th e strength - ening Ts~~to Be done. It has become miiveisaliy^ccepted that the family is the foundation, the bulwark, of any race. It should be remembered, sor- rowfully withal, that it was the con- stant tendency of slavery to destroy the family life. All through two hundred and fifty years of slavery, one of the chief objects was to increase the num- ber of slaves; and to this end almost all thought of morality was lost sight {"* of, so that the Negro has had only about thirty years in which to develop a family life; while the Anglo-Saxon race, with which he is constantly being compared, has had thousands of years of training in home life. The Negro felt all through the years of bondage that he was being forcibly and unjustly deprived of the fruits of his 169 The Future of the American Negro labour. Hence he felt that anything he could get from the white man in return for this labour justly belonged to him. Since this was true, we must be patient in trying to teach him a differ- ent code of morals. From the nature of things, all through slavery it was life in the future world that was emphasised in religious teach- ing rather than life in this world. In his religious meetings in ante-bellum days the Negro was prevented from discussing many points of practical re- ligion which related to this world; and the white minister, who was his spiritual guide, found it more conven- ient to talk about heaven than earth, so very naturally that to-day in his relig- ious meeting it is the Negro's feelings which are worked upon mostly, and it is description of the glories of heaven that occupy most of the time of his sermon. Having touched upon some of the 170 The Future of the American Negro weak points of the Negro, what are his strong characteristics? The Negro in America is different from most people for whom missionary effort is made, in that he works. He is not ashamed or afraid of work. When hard, constant work is required, ask any Southern white man, and he will tell you that in this the Negro has no superior. He is not given to strikes or to lockouts. He not only works himself, but he is un - willing to pre vent other people fro m working. Of the forty buildings of various kinds and sizes on the grounds of the Tuske- gee Normal and Industrial Institute, in Alabama, as I have stated before, almost all of them are the results of the labour performed by the students while secur- ing their academic education. One day the student is in his history class. The next day the same student, equally happy, with his trowel and in overalls, is working on a brick wall. 171 The Future of the American Negro While at present the Negro may lack that tenacious mental grasp which en- ables one to pursue a scientific or math- ematical investigation through a series of years, he has that delicate, mental feeling which enables him to succeed in oratory, music, etc. While I have spoken of the Negro's moral weakness, I hope it will be kept in mind that in his original state his is an honest race. It was slavery that corrupted him in this respect. But in morals he also has his strong points. Few have ever found the Negro guilty of betraying a trust. There are almost no instances in which the Negro betrayed either a Federal or a Con- federate soldier who confided in him. There are few instances where the Negro has been entrusted with valua- bles when he has not been faithful. This country has never had a more loyal citizen. He has never proven himself a rebel. Should the Southern 172 The Future of the American Negro States, which so long held him in slav- ery, be invaded by a foreign foe, the Negro would be among the first to come to the rescue. Perhaps the most encouraging thing in connection with the lifting up of the Negro in this country is the fact that he knows that he is down and wants to get up, he knows that he is ignorant and wants to get light. He fills every school-house and every church which is opened for him. He is willing to follow leaders, when he is once con- vinced that the leaders have his best in- terest at heart. Under the constant influence of the Christian education which began thirty- five years ago, his religion is every year becoming less emotional and more ra- tional and practical, though I, for one, hope that he will always retain in a large degree the emotional element in religion. During the two hundred and fifty *73 The Future of the American Negro years that the Negro spent in slavery he had little cause or incentive to ac- cumulate money or property. Thirty- five years ago this was something which he had to begin to learn. While the great bulk of the race is still without money and property, yet the signs of thrift are evident on every hand. Es- pecially is this noticeable in the large number of neat little homes which are owned by these people on the outer edges of the towns and cities in the South. I wish to give an example of the sort of thing the Negro has to contend with, however, in his efforts to lift himself up. Not long ago a mother, a black mother, who lived in one of our North- ern States, had heard it whispered around in her community for years that the Negro was lazy, shiftless, and would not work. So, when her only boy grew to sufficient size, at consider- able expense and great self-sacrifice, i74 The Future of the American Negro she had^ier_boy.Jhoroughl j jr taught the machinist's trade. A job was secured in a neig hbouring sh op. ~Wffi~~dmjaer bucket in hand and spurred on by the prayers ot the now'Tiapipy^hearted mother", the 5by entered the "shop _to begin hlsTrst day's w ork. What hap- pened ? Every one oTThlTtwenty white men threw down his tools, and deliber- ately walked out, swearing that he would not give a black man an oppor- tunity to earn an honest living. Another shop was tried with the same result, and still another, the result ever the same. To-day this once promishTg7~ambitious black man is a wreck, — a confirmed d r u hka rd , = ~wTEE~h o h ope ;~n i oTambi 1 1 o h . I ask, Who Blasted" the" life of tMs"youhg man? On ~wKose' hands does his life- blood rest ? The present system of education, or rather want of education, is responsible. Public schools and colleges should turn out men who will throw open the !75 The Future of the American Negro doors of industry, so that all men, every- where, regardless , oTf colour, shall ha ve the same opportunity rr> e arn a dolla r that th ey now have to spend , it. I know of a good many kinds of cow- ardice and prejudice, but I know none equal to this. I know not which is the worst, — the slaveholder who perforce compelled his slave to work without compensation or the man who, by force and strikes, compels his neighbour to refrain from working for compensation. The Negro will be on a different footing in this country when it becomes common to associate the possession of wealth with a black skin. It is not within the province of human nature that the man who is intelligent and virt- uous, and owns and cultivates the best farm in his county, is the largest tax- payer, shall very long be denied proper respect and consideration. Those who would help the Negro most effectually during the next fifty years can do so 176 The Future of the American Negro by assisting in his development along scientific and industrial lines in con- nection with the broadest mental and religious culture. From the results of the war with Spain let us learn this, that God has been teaching the Spanish nation a terrible lesson. What is it ? Simply this, that no nation~~can disregard the interestT^r^any-pe rtion of ks-rnenTrJers wi thout' tM Tnat ioii becu ii iiiig ~we"alTan3 corrupt. ~~The penalty may be long deTayeid. God has been teaching Spain that for every one of her subjects that she has left in ignorance, poverty, and crime the price must be paid; and, if it has not been paid with the very heart of the nation, it must be paid with the proudest and bluest blood of her sons and with treasure that is beyond com- putation. From this spectacle I pray God that America will learn a lesson in respect to the ten million Negroes in this country. 177 The Future of the American Negro The Negroes in the United States are, in most of the elements of civilisa- tion, weak. Providence has placed them here not without a purpose. One ob- ject, in my opinion, is that the stronger race may imbibe a lesson from the weaker in patience, forbearance, and childlike yet supreme trust in the God of the Universe. This race has been placed here that the white man might have a great opportunity of lifting him- self by lifting it up. Out from the Negro colleges and in- dustrial schools in the South there are going forth each year thousands of young men and women into dark and secluded corners, into lonely log school- houses, amidst poverty and ignorance; and though, when they go forth, no drums beat, no banners fly, no friends cheer, yet they are fighting the battles of this country just as truly and bravely as those who go forth to do battle against a foreign enemy. 178 The Future of the American Negro If they are encouraged and properly supported in their work of educating the masses in the industries, in economy, and in morals, as well as mentally, they will, before many years, get the race upon such an intellectual, industrial, and financial footing that it will be able to enjoy without much trouble all the rights inherent in American citizenship. Now, if we wish to bring the race to a point where it should be, where it will be strong, and grow and prosper, we have got to, in every way possible, encourage it. We can do this in no better way than by cultivating that amount of faith in the race which will make us patronise its own enterprises wherever those enterprises are worth patronising. I do not believe much in the advice that is often given that we should patronise the enterprises of our race without regard to the worth of those enterprises. I believe that the best way to bring the race to the point 179 The Future of the American Negro where it will compare with other races is to l^t it understand that, whpnpypr it enters into any line of business , it will be patronised just in propo r- ti on as it makes \h?* business as suc- cessful, as useful, as is true of any busi- n ess enterprise conducted by any other race. The race that would grow strong and powerful must have the element of hero-worship in it that will, in the largest degree, make it honour its great men, the men who have succeeded in that race. I think we should be ashamed of the coloured man or woman w|io would not venerate the name of Frederick Douglass. No race that would not look upon such a man with honour and respect and pride could ever hope to enjoy the respect of any other race. I speak of this, not that I want my people to regard themselves in a narrow, bigoted sense, because there is nothing so hurtful to an individual or to a race as to get into the habit of feel- 180 The Future of the American Negro ing that there is no good except in its own race, but because I wish that it may have reasonable pride in all that is honourable in its history. Whenever you hear a coloured man say that he hates the people of the other race, there, in most instances, you will find a weak, narrow-minded coloured man. And, whenever you find a white man who expresses the same sentiment toward the people of other races, there, too, in almost every case, you will find a narrow-minded, prejudiced white man. That person is the broadest, strong- est, and most useful who sees something to love and admire in all races, no matter what their colour. If the Negro race wishes to grow strong, it must learn to respect itself, not to be ashamed. It must learn that it will only grow in proportion as its members have confidence in it, in pro- portion as they believe that it is a coming race. 181 The Future of the American Negro We have reached a period when edu- cated Negroes should give more atten- tion to the history of their race ; should devote more tim£.JtoL_finriing xuiLJhe true hi story of the race, and in co llect- in g in some museum the relics ~tKatT mark its progress! It is true of all races of culture and refinement and civilisation that they have gathered in some place the relics which mark the progress of their civilisation, which show how they lived from period to period. We should have so much pride that we would spend more time in look- ing into the history of the race, more effort and money in perpetuating in some durable form its achievements, so that from year to year, instead of look- ing back with regret, we can point to our children the rough path through which we grew strong and great. We have a very bright and striking example in the history of the Jews in this and other countries. There is, 182 The Future of the American Negro perhaps, no race that has suffered so much, not so much in America as in some of the countries in Europe. But these people have clung together. They have had a certain amount of unity, pride, and love of race ; and, as the years go on, they will be more and more influential in this country, — a country where they were once despised, and looked upon with scorn and deri- sion. It is largely because the Jewish race has had faith in itself. Unless the Negro learns more and more to imitate the Jew in these matters, to have faith in himself, he cannot expect to have any high degree of success. I wish to speak upon another subject which largely concerns the welfare of both races, especially in the South, — lynching. It is an unpleasant subject ; but I feel that I should be omitting some part of my duty to both races did I not say something on the subject. For a number of years the South has 183 rh^F Mature of the American Negro appealed to the North and to federal authorities, through the public press, from the public platform, and most eloquently through the late Henry W. /Grady, to leave the whole matter of the rights and protection of the Negro to I the South, declaring that it would see i to it that the Negro would be made secure in his citizenship. During the last half-dozen years the whole country, from the President down, has been in- clined more than ever to pursue this policy, leaving the whole matter of the destiny of the Negro to the Negro himself and to the Southern white people, among whom the great bulk of Negroes live. By the present policy of non-inter- ference on the part of the North and the federal government the South is given a sacred trust. How will she execute this trust ? The world is wait- ing and watching to see. The question must be answered largely by the pro- 184 The Future of the American Negro tection it gives to the life of the Negro and the provisions that are made for his development in the organic laws of the State. I fear that but few people in the South realise to what an extent the habit of lynching, or the taking of life without due process of law, has taken hold of us, and is hurting us, not only in the eyes of the world, but in our own moral and material growth. Lynching was instituted some years ago with the idea of punishing and checking criminal assaults upon women. Let us examine the facts, and see where it has already led us and is likely further to carry us, if we do not rid ourselves of the evil. Many good people in the South, and also out of the South, have gotten the idea that lynching is re- sorted to for one crime only. I have the facts from an authoritative source. During last year one hundred and twenty-seven persons were lynched in the United States. Of this number, 185 The Future of the American Negro one hundred and eighteen were exe- cuted in the South and nine in the North and West. Of the total number lynched, one hundred and two were Negroes, twenty-three were whites, and two Indians. Now, let every one inter- ested in the South, his country, and the cause of humanity, note this fact, — that only twenty-four of the entire number were charged in any way with the crime of rape ; that is, twenty-four out of one hundred and twenty-seven cases of lynching. Sixty-one of the remaining cases were for murder, thirteen for being suspected of murder, six for theft, etc. During one week last spring, when I kept a careful record, thirteen Negroes were lynched in three of our Southern States ; and not one was even charged with rape. All of these thirteen were accused of murder or house-burning; but in neither case were the men al- lowed to go before a court, so that their innocence or guilt might be proven. 186 The Future of the American Negro When we get to the point where four- fifths of the people lynched in our coun- / try in one year are for some crime other than rape, we can no longer plead and explain that we lynch for one crime alone. Let us take another year, that of 1892, for example, when 241 persons were lynched in the whole United States. Of this number 36 were lynched in Northern and Western States, and 205 in our Southern States ; 160 were Negroes, 5 of these being women. The facts show that, out of the 241 lynched, only 57 were even charged with rape or attempted rape, leaving in this year alone 184 persons who were lynched for other causes than that of rape. If it were necessary, I could produce figures for other years. Within a period of six years about 900 persons have been lynched in our Southern States. This is but a few hundred short of the 187 The Future of the American Negro total number of soldiers who lost their lives in Cuba during the Spanish- American War. If we would realise still more fully how far this unfortunate evil is leading us on, note the classes of crime during a few months for which the local papers and the Associated Press say that lynching has been inflicted. They include " murder," " rioting," " in- cendiarism," " robbery," " larceny," " self- defence," "insulting women," "alleged stock-poisoning," " malpractice," " alleged barn - burning," " suspected robbery," "race prejudice," "attempted murder," " horse-stealing," " mistaken identity," etc. The evil has so grown that we are now at the point where not only blacks are lynched in the South, but white men as well. Not only this, but within the last six years at least a half-dozen coloured women have been lynched. And there are a few cases where Ne- groes have lynched members of their 188 The Future of the American Negro own race. What is to be the end of all this ? Furthermore, every lynching drives hundreds of Negroes out of the farming districts of the South, where they make the best living and where their services are of greatest value to the country, into the already over- crowded cities. I know that some argue that the crime of lynching Negroes is not con- fined to the South. This is true ; and no one can excuse such a crime as the shooting of innocent black men in Illi- nois, who were guilty of nothing, except seeking labour. But my words just now are to the South, where my home is and a part of which I am. Let other sections act as they will ; I want to see our beautiful Southland free from this terrible evil of lynching. Lynching does not stop crime. In the vicinity in the South where a coloured man was alleged recently to have committed the most terrible crime ever charged against 189 The Future of the American Negro a member of my race, but a few weeks previously five coloured men had been lynched for supposed incendiarism. If lynching was a cure for crime, surely the lynching of those five would have prevented another Negro from commit- ting a most heinous crime a few weeks later. We might as well face the facts bravely and wisely. Since the begin- ning of the world crime has been com- mitted in all civilised and uncivilised countries, and a certain percentage of it will always be committed both in the North and in the South ; but I be- lieve that the crime of rape can be stopped. In proportion to the numbers and intelligence of the population of the South, there exists little more crime than in several other sections of the country; but, because of the lynching evil, we are constantly advertising our- selves to the world as a lawless people. We cannot disregard the teachings of 190 The Future of the American Negro the civilised world for eighteen hundred years, that the only way to punish crime is by law. When we leave this anchor- age chaos begins. I am not pleading for the Negro alone. Lynching injures, hardens, and blunts the moral sensibilities of the young and tender manhood of the South. Never shall I forget the remark by a little nine- year-old white boy, with blue eyes and flaxen hair. The little fellow said to his mother, after he had returned from a lynching: " I have seen a man hanged; now I wish I could see one burned." Rather than hear such a remark from one of my little boys, I would prefer to see him in his grave. This is not all. Every community guilty of lynching says in so many words to the governor, to the legislature, to the sheriff, to the jury, and to the judge : " We have no faith in you and no respect for you. We have no respect for the law which we helped to make." 191 The Future of the American Negro In the South, at the present time, there is less excuse for not permitting the law to take its course where a Negro is to be tried than anywhere else in the world ; for, almost without exception, the governors, the sheriffs, the judges, the juries, and the lawyers are all white men, and they can be trusted, as a rule, to do their duty. Otherwise, it is need- less to tax the people to support these officers. If our present laws are not sufficient properly to punish crime, let the laws be changed; but that the pun- ishment may be by lawfully constituted authorities is the plea I make. The history of the world proves that where the law is most strictly enforced there is the least crime : where people take the administration of the law into their own hands there is the most crime. But there is still another side. The white man in the South has not only a serious duty and responsibility, but the Negro has a duty and responsibility in 192 The Future of the American Negro this matter. In speaking of my own people, I want to be equally frank ; but I speak with the greatest kindness. There is too much crime among them. The figures for a given period show that in the United States thirty per cent, of the crime committed is by Negroes, while we constitute only about twelve per cent, of the entire population. This proportion holds good not only in the South, but also in Northern States and cities. No race that is so largely ignorant and so recently out of slavery could, per- haps, show a better record, but we must face these plain facts. He is most kind to the Negro who tells him of his faults as well as of his virtues. A large per- centage of the crime among us grows out of the idleness of our young men and women. It is for this reason that I have tried to insist upon some indus- try being taught in connection with their course of literary training. It is !93 The Future of the American Negro vitally important now that every parent, every teacher and minister of the gos- pel, should teach with unusual emphasis morality and obedience to the law. At the fireside, in the school-room, in the Sunday-school, from the pulpit, and in the Negro press, there should be such a sentiment created regarding the committing of crime against women that no such crime could be charged against any member of the race. Let it be understood, for all time, that no one guilty of rape can find sympathy or shelter with us, and that none will be more active than we in bringing to jus- tice, through the proper authorities, those guilty of crime. Let the criminal and vicious element of the race have, at all times, our most severe condemnation. Let a strict line be drawn between the virtuous and the criminal. I condemn, with all the indignation of my soul, any beast in human form guilty of assault- ing a woman. I am sure I voice the 194 The Future of the American Negro sentiment of the thoughtful of my race in this condemnation. We should not, as a race, become dis- couraged. We are making progress. No race has ever gotten upon its feet without discouragements and struggles. I should be a great hypocrite and a coward if I_did not add that which mv experience has taught me to be , , true ; namely, that the Negro has among ma ny^of the Southern whites as g oocl frie nds as he has anywhe re in the world. I These friends have not forsaken us. They will not do so. Neither will our friends in the North. If we make our- selves intelligent, industrious, econom- ical, and virtuous, of value to the com- munity in which we live, we can and will work out our salvation right here in the South. In every community, by means of organised effort, we should seek, in a manly and honourable way, the confidence, the co-operation, the sym- pathy, of the best white people in the *95 The Future of the American Negro South and in our respective communi- ties. With the best white people and the best black people standing together, in favour of law and order and justice, I believe that the safety and happiness of both races will be made secure. We are one in this country. The question of the highest citizenship and the complete education of all concerns nearly ten millions of my people and sixty millions of the white race. When one race is strong, the other is strong ; when one is weak, the other is weak. There is no power that can separate our destiny. Unjust laws and customs which exist in many places injure the white man and inconvenience the Ne- gro. No race can wrong another race, simply because it has the power to do so, without being permanently injured in its own morals. The Negro can endure the temporary inconvenience, but the injury to the white man is per- manent. It is for the white man to 196 The Future of the American Negro save himself from this degradation that I plead. If a white man steals a Negro's ballot, it is the white man who is per- manently injured. Physical death comes to the one Negro lynched in a county ; but death of the morals — death of the soul — comes to those responsible for the lynching. Those who fought and died on the battlefield for the freedom of the slaves performed their duty heroically and well, but a duty remains to those left. The mere fiat of law cannot make an ignorant voter an intelligent voter, can- not make a dependent man an inde- pendent man, cannot make one citizen respect another. These results will come to the Negro, as to all races, by beginning at the bottom and gradually working up to the highest possibilities of his nature. In the economy of God there is but one standard by which an individual can succeed; there is but one for a 197 The Future of the American Negro race. This country expects that every race shall measure itself by the Amer- ican standard. During the next half- century, and more, the Negro must continue passing through the severe American crucible. He is to be tested in his patience, his forbearance, his per- severance, his power to endure wrong, — to withstand temptations, to econo- mise, to acquire and use skill, — his abil- ity to compete, to succeed in com- merce, to disregard the superficial for the real, the appearance for the sub- stance, to be great and yet small, learned and yet simple, high and yet the servant of all. This, — this is the passport to all that is best in the life of our Republic ; and the Negro must possess it or be barred out. In working out his own destiny, while the main burden of activity must be with the Negro, he will need in the years to come, as he has needed in the past, the help, the encouragement, the guidance, The Future of the American Negro that the strong can give the weak. Thus helped, those of both races in the South will soon throw off the shackles of racial and sectional preju- dice, and rise above the clouds of igno- rance, narrowness, and selfishness into that atmosphere, that pure sunshine, where it will be the highest ambition to serve man, our brother, regardless of race or previous condition. CHAPTER VIII. Before ending this volume, I have deemed it wise and fitting to sum up in the following chapter all that I have at- tempted to say in the previous chapters, and to speak at the same time a little more definitely about the Negro's future and his relation to the white race. All attempts to settle the question of the Negro in the South by his removal from this country have so far failed, and I think that they are likely to fail. The next census will probably show that we have about ten millions of Negroes in the United States. About eight mill- ions of these are in the Southern States. We have almost a nation within a na- tion. The Negro population within the United States lacks but two millions of being as large as the whole population of Mexico. It is nearly twice as large as the population of the Dominion of Canada. It is equal to the combined 200 The Future of the American Negro population of Switzerland, Greece, Hon- duras, Nicaragua, Cuba, Uruguay, Santo Domingo, Paraguay, and Costa Rica. When we consider, in connection with these facts, that the race has doubled itself since its freedom, and is still in- creasing, it hardly seems possible for any one to consider seriously any scheme of emigration from America as a method of solution of our vexed race problem. At most, even if the government were to provide the means, but a few hundred thousand could be transported each year. The yearly increase in population would more than overbalance the number trans- planted. Even if it did not, the time re- quired to get rid of the Negro by this method would perhaps be fifty or seventy- five years. The idea is chimerical. Some have advised that the Negro leave the South and take up his resi- dence in the Northern States. I ques- tion whether this would leave him any better off than he is in the South, when 20I The Future of the American Negro all things are considered. It has been my privilege to study the condition of our people in nearly every part of America; and I say, without hesitation, that, with some exceptional cases, the Negro is at his best in the Southern States. While he enjoys certain privi- leges in the North that he does not have in the South, when it comes to the matter of securing property, enjoying business opportunities and employment, the South presents a far better opportu- nity than the North. Few coloured men from the South are as yet able to stand up against the severe and increas- ing competition that exists in the North, to say nothing of the unfriendly influ- ence of labour organisations, which in some way prevents black men in the North, as a rule, from securing employ- ment in skilled labour occupations. Another point of great danger for the coloured man who goes North is in the matter of morals, owing to the numerous The Future of the American Negro temptation s by which he finds him self surrounded. He has more_ w ays i n w hich fie can spend money than in the^ South, but few er avenues ol _gjnpjoy- ment are open to h ini. The fact that at the North the Negro is confined to al- most one line of employment often tends to discourage and demoralise the strong- est who go from the South, and to make them an easy prey to temptation. A few years ago I made an examination into the condition of a settlement of Negroes who left the South and went to Kansas about twenty years ago, when there was a good deal of excite- ment in the South concerning emigra- tion to the West. This settlement, I found, was much below the standard of that of a similar number of our people in the South. The only conclusion, therefore, it seems to me, which any one can reach, is that the Negroes, as a mass, are to remain in the Southern States. As a race, they do not want to 203 The Future of the American Negro leave the South, and the Southern white people do not want them to leave. We must therefore find some basis of set- tlement that will be constitutional, just, manly, that will be fair to both races in the South and to the whole country. This cannot be done in a day, a year, or any short period of time. We can, it seems to me, with the present light, de- cide upon a reasonably safe method of solving the problem, and turn our strength and effort in that direction. In doing this, I would not have the Negro deprived of any privilege guaran- teed to him by the Constitution of the United States. It is not best for the Negro that he relinquish any of his constitutional rights. It is not best for the Southern white man that he should. In order that we may, without loss of time or effort, concentrate our forces in a wise direction, I suggest what seems to me and many others the wisest policy to be pursued. I have reached these 204 The Future of the American Negro conclusions by reason of my own obser- vations and experience, after eighteen years of direct contact with the leading and influential coloured and white men in most parts of our country. But I wish first to mention some elements of danger in the present situation, which all who desire the permanent welfare of both races in the South should care- fully consider. First. — There is danger that a cer- tain class of impatient extremists among the Negroes, who have little knowledge of the actual conditions in the South, may do the entire race injury by at- \f tempting to advise their brethren in the South to resort to armed resistance or the use of the torch, in order to secure justice. All intelligent and well-consid- ered discussion of any important ques- tion or condemnation of any wrong, both in the North and the South, from the public platform and through the press, is to be commended and encouraged ; 205 y The Future of the American Negro but ill-considered, incendiary utterances from black men in the North will tend to add to the burdens of our people in the South rather than relieve them. Second. — Another danger in the ' South, which should be guarded against, is that the whole white South, including the wide, conservative, law-abiding ele- ment, may find itself represented before the bar of public opinion by the mob, or lawless element, which gives expression to its feelings and tendency in a manner that advertises the South throughout the world. Too often those who have no sympathy with such disregard of law are either silent or fail to speak in a sufficiently emphatic manner to offset, in any large degree, the unfortunate reputation which the lawless have too often made for many portions of the South. Third. — No race or people ever got upon its feet without severe and con- stant struggle, often in the face of the 206 The Future of the American Negro greatest discouragement. While pass- ing through the present trying period of its history, there is danger that a large and valuable element of the Negro race may become discouraged in the ef- fort to better its condition. Every pos- sible influence should be exerted to pre- vent this. Fourth. — There is a possibility that harm may be done to the South and to the Negro by exaggerated newspaper articles which are written near the scene or in the midst of specially aggravating occurrences. Often these reports are written by newspaper men, who give the impression that there is a race conflict throughout the South, and that all South- ern white people are opposed to the Negro's progress, overlooking the fact that, while in some sections there is trouble, in most parts of the South there is, nevertheless, a very large measure o peace, good will, and mutual helpfulness. In this same relation much can be done 207 V fo & The Future of the American Negro to retard the progress of the Negro by a certain class of Southern white people, who, in the midst of excitement, speak or write in a manner that gives the im- pression that all Negroes are lawless, untrustworthy, and shiftless. As an ex- ample, a Southern writer said not long ago, in a communication to the New York Independent: " Even in small towns the husband cannot venture to leave his wife alone for an hour at night. At no time, in no place, is the white woman safe from insults and assaults of these creatures." These statements, I pre- sume, represented the feelings and the conditions that existed at the time they were written in one community or county in the South. But thousands of Southern white men and women would be ready to testify that this is not the condition throughout the South, nor throughout any one State. Fifth, — Under the next head I would mention that, owing to the lack of school 208 The Future of the American Negro opportunities for the Negro in the rural districts of the South, there is danger that ignorance and idleness may in- crease to the extent of giving the Negro v race a reputation for crime, and that V immorality may eat its way into the moral fibre of the race, so as to retard its progress for many years. In judging the Negro in this regard, we must not be too harsh. We must remember that it has only been within the last thirty- four years that the black father and mother have had the responsibility, and consequently the experience, of training their own children. That they have not reached perfection in one genera- tion, with the obstacles that the parents have been compelled to overcome, is not to be wondered at. Sixth. — As a final source of danger to be guarded against, I would mention my fear that some of the white people of the South may be led to feel that the . / way to settle the race problem is to 209 The Future of the American Negro repress the aspirations of the Negro by legislation of a kind that confers certain legal or political privileges upon an ignorant and poor white man and with- holds the same privileges from a black man in the same condition. Such legislation injures and retards the prog- ress of both races. It is an injustice to the poor white man, because it takes from him incentive to secure education and property as prerequisites for voting. He feels that, because he is a white man, regardless of his possessions, a way will be found for him to vote. I would label all such measures, " Laws to keep the poor white man in igno- rance and poverty." As the Talladega News Reporter, a Democratic newspaper of Alabama, recently said : " But it is a weak cry when the white man asks odds on intel- ligence over the Negro. When nature has already so handicapped the African in the race for knowledge, the cry of the 2IO The Future of the American Negro boasted Anglo-Saxon for still further odds seems babyish. What wonder that the world looks on in surprise, if not disgust. It cannot help but say, if our contention be true that the Negro is an inferior race, that the odds ought to be on the other side, if any are to be given. And why not ? No, the thing to do — the only thing that will stand the test of time — is to do right, exactly right, let come what will. And that right thing, as it seems to me, is to place a fair educational qualification before every citizen, — one that is self-testing, and not dependent on the wishes of weak men, letting all who pass the test stand in the proud ranks of American voters, whose votes shall be counted as cast, and whose sovereign will shall be maintained as law by all the powers that be. Nothing short of this will do. Every exemption, on whatsoever ground, is an outrage that can only rob some legitimate voter of his rights." 211 The Future of the American Negro Such laws as have been made — as an example, in Mississippi — with the ''un- derstanding " clause hold out a tempta- tion for the election officer to perjure and degrade himself by too often decid- ing that the ignorant white man does understand the Constitution when it is read to him and that the ignorant black man does not. By such a law the State not only commits a wrong against its black citizens; it injures the morals of its white citizens by conferring such a power upon any white man who may happen to be a judge of elections. Such laws are hurtful, again, because they keep alive in the heart of the black man the feeling that the white man means to oppress him. The only safe way out is to set a high standard as a test of citizenship, and require blacks and whites alike to come up to it. When this is done, both will have a higher respect for the election laws and those who make them.(^ I do not believe 212 The Future of the American Negro that, with his centuries of advantage over the Negro in the opportunity to acquire property and education as pre- requisites for voting, the average white man in th e South desires that any v special law be passed to give him ad- vantage over the Negro, who has had only a little more than thirty years in which to prepare himself for citizenship. In this relation another point of danger is that the Negro has been made to feel that it is his duty to oppose continually the Southern white man in politics, even in matters where no principle is involved, and that he is only loyal to his own race and acting in a manly way when he is opposing him. Such a policy has proved most hurtful to both races. Where it is a matter of principle, where a ques- tion of right or wrong is involved, I would advise the Negro to stand by principle at all hazards. A Southern white man has no respect for or con- fidence in a Negro who acts merely for 213 The Future of the American Negro policy's sake ; but there are many cases — and the number is growing — where the Negro has nothing to gain and much to lose by opposing the Southern white man in many matters that relate to government. Under these six heads I believe I have stated some of the main points which all high-minded white men and black men, North and South, will agree need our most earnest and thoughtful consideration, if we would hasten, and not hinder, the progress of our country. As to the policy that should be pur- sued in a larger sense, — on this subject I claim to possess no superior wisdom or unusual insight. I may be wrong ; I may be in some degree right. In the future, more than in the past, we want to impress upon the Negro the importance of identifying himself more closely with the interests of the South, — the importance of making himself part of the South and at home in it. 214 The Future of the American Negro Heretofore, for reasons which were natural and for which no one is espe- cially to blame, the coloured people have been too much like a foreign nation residing in the midst of another nation. If William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, and George L. Stearns were alive to-day, I feel sure that each one of them would advise the Negroes to identify their interests as far as possible with those of the Southern white man, always with the understanding that this should be done where no question of right and wrong is involved. In no other way, it seems to me, can we get a foundation for peace and progress. He who advises against this policy will ad- vise the Negro to do that which no peo- ple in history who have succeeded have done. The white man, North or South, who advises the Negro against it ad- vises him to do that which he himself has not done. The bed-rock upon which every individual rests his chances 2I 5 The Future of the American Negro of success in life is securing the friend- ship, the confidence, the respect, of his next-door neighbour of the little com- munity in which he lives. Almost the whole problem of the Negro in the South rests itself upon the fact as to whether the Negro can make himself of such indispensable service to his neigh- bour and the community that no one can fill his place better in the body politic. There is at present no other safe course for the black man to pursue. If the Negro in the South has a friend in his white neighbour and a still larger num- ber of friends in his community, he has a protection and a guarantee of his rights that will be more potent and more lasting than any our Federal Con- gress or any outside power can confer. In a recent editorial the London Times, in discussing affairs in the Trans- vaal, South Africa, where Englishmen have been denied certain privileges by the Boers, says: "England is too saga- 216 The Future of the American Negro cious not to prefer a gradual reform from within, even should it be less rapid than most of us might wish, to the most sweeping redress of grievances imposed from without. Our object is to obtain fair play for the outlanders, but the best way to do it is to enable them to help themselves." This policy, I think, is equally safe when applied to conditions in the South. The foreigner who comes to America, as soon as pos- sible, identifies himself in business, edu- cation, politics, and sympathy with the community in which he settles. As 'I have said, we have a conspicuous ex- ample of this in the case of the Jews. Also, the Negro in Cuba has practically settled the race question there, because he has made himself a part of Cuba in thought and action. What I have tried to indicate cannot be accomplished by any sudden revolu- tion of methods, but it does seem that the tendency more and more should be 21 The Future of the American Negro in this direction. If a practical example is wanted in the direction that I favour, I will mention one. The North sends thousands of dollars into the South each year, for the education of the Negro. The teachers in most of the academic schools of the South are supported by the North, or Northern men and women of the highest Christian culture and most unselfish devotion. The Negro owes them a debt of gratitude which can never be paid. The various missionary socie- ties in Ih^-Jiorth haveaxme" wiiuappe ar^i»-i4j£uj£_gen< th^nTnThis. We have now reached the ponvTirr-the South where, I believe, great good could be accomplished by changing the attitude of the white people toward the Negro and of the Negro toward the whites, if a few white teachers of high character would take an active interest in the work of these high schools. Can 218 The Future of the American Negro this be done ? Yes. The medical school connected with Shaw University at Raleigh, North Carolina, has from the first had as instructors and professors, almost exclusively, Southern white doc- tors, who reside in Raleigh; and they have given the highest satisfaction. This gives the people of Raleigh the feeling that this is their school, and not something located in, but not a part of, the South. In Augusta, Georgia, the Payne Institute, one of the best colleges for our people, is officered and taught almost wholly by Southern white men and women. The Presbyterian Theo- logical School at Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has all Southern white men as instruc- tors. Some time ago, at the Calhoun School in Alabama, one of the leading white men in the county was given an important position in the school. Since then the feeling of the white people in the county has greatly changed toward the school. 219 The Future of the American Negro We must admit the stern fact that at present the Negro, through no choice of his own, is living among another race which is far ahead of him in education, property, experience, and favourable con- dition ; further, that the Negro's pres- ent condition makes him dependent upon the white people for most of the things necessary to sustain life, as well as for his common school education. In all history, those who have possessed the property and intelligence have exer- cised the greatest control in govern- ment, regardless of colour, race, or geo- graphical location. This being the case, how can the black man in the South im- prove his present condition ? And does the Southern white man want him to improve it? The Negro in the South has it within his power, if he properly utilises the forces at hand, to make of himself such a valuable factor in the life of the South that he will not have to seek privileges, 220 The Future of the American Negro they will be freely conferred upon him. To bring this about, the Negro must begin at the bottom and lay a sure foundation, and not be lured by any temptation into trying to rise on a false foundation. While the Negro is laying this foundation he will need help, sym- pathy, and simple justice. Progress by any other method will be but tempo- rary and superficial, and the latter end of it will be worse than the beginning. American slavery was a great curse to both races, and I would be the last to apologise for it ; but, in the presence of God, I believe that slavery laid the foundation for the solution of the prob- lem that is now before us in the South. During slavery the Negro was taught every trade, every industry, that consti- tutes the foundation for making a living. Now, if on this foundation — laid in rather a crude way, it is true, but a foundation, nevertheless — we can grad- ually build and improve, the future for 221 The Future of the American Negro us is bright. Let me be more specific. Agriculture is, or has been, the basic industry of nearly every race or nation that has succeeded. The Negro got a knowledge of this during slavery. Hence, in a large measure, he is in possession of this industry in the South to-day. The Negro can buy land in the South, as a rule, wherever the white man can buy it, and at very low prices. Now, since the bulk of our people already have a foundation in ag- riculture, they are at their best when living in the country, engaged in agri- cultural pursuits. Plainly, then, the best thing, the logical thing, is to turn the larger part of our strength in a direc- tion that will make the Negro among the most skilled agricultural people in the world. The man who has learned to do something better than any one else, has learned to do a common thing in an uncommon manner, is the man who has a power and influence that no 222 The Future of the American Negro adverse circumstances can take from him. The Negro who can make himself so conspicuous as a successful farmer, a large tax-payer, a wise helper of his fel- low-men, as to be placed in a position of trust and honour, whether the position be political or otherwise, by natural se- lection, is a hundred-fold more secure in that position than one placed there by mere outside force or pressure. I know a Negro, Hon. Isaiah T. Montgomery, in Mississippi, who is mayor of a town. It is true that this town, at present, is composed almost wholly of Negroes. Mr. Montgomery is mayor of this town because his genius, thrift, and foresight have created the town ; and he is held and supported in his office by a charter, granted by the State of Missis- sippi, and by the vote and public senti- ment of the community in which he lives. Let us help the Negro by every means possible to acquire such an edu- 223 The Future of the American Negro cation in farming, dairying, stock-rais- ing, horticulture, etc., as will enable him to become a model in these respects and place him near the top in these in- dustries, and the race problem would in a large part be settled, or at least stripped of many of its most perplexing elements. This policy would also tend to keep the Negro in the country and smaller towns, where he succeeds best, and stop the influx into the large cities, where he does not succeed so well. The race, like the individual, that pro- duces something of superior worth that has a common human interest, makes a permanent place for itself, and is bound to be recognised. At a county fair in the South not long ago I saw a Negro awarded the first prize by a jury of white men, over white competitors, for the production of the best specimen of Indian corn. Every white man at this fair seemed to be pleased and proud of the achieve- 224 The Future of the American Negro ment of this Negro, because it was ap- parent that he had done something that would add to the wealth and comfort of the people of both races in that county. At the Tuskegee Normal and Indus- trial Institute in Alabama we have a department devoted to training men in the science of agriculture ; but what we are doing is small when compared with what should be done at Tuskegee and at other educational centres. In a material sense the South is still an un- developed country. While race preju- dice is strongly exhibited in many di- rections, in the matter of business, of commercial and industrial development, there is very little obstacle in the Negro's way. A Negro who produces or has for sale something that the com- munity wants finds customers among white people as well as black people. A Negro can borrow money at the bank with equal security as readily as a white man can. A bank in Birmingham, 225 The Future of the American Negro Alabama, that has now existed ten years, is officered and controlled wholly by Negroes. This bank has white bor- rowers and white depositors. A gradu- ate of the Tuskegee Institute keeps a well-appointed grocery store in Tuske- gee, and he tells me that he sells about as many goods to the one race as to the other. What I have said of the open- ing that awaits the Negro in the direc- tion of agriculture is almost equally true of mechanics, manufacturing, and all the domestic arts. The field is be- fore him and right about him. Will he occupy it ? Will he " cast down his bucket where he is " ? Will his friends North and South encourage him and prepare him to occupy it? Every city in the South, for example, would give support to a first-class architect or house-builder or contractor of our race. The architect and contractor would not only receive support, but, through his example, numbers of young coloured 226 The Future of the American Negro men would learn such trades as carpen- try, brick-masonry, plastering, painting, etc., and the race would be put into a position to hold on to many of the in- dustries which it is now in danger of losing, because in too many cases brains, skill, and dignity are not imparted to the common occupations of life that are about his very door. Any individual or race that does not fit itself to occupy in the best manner the field or service that is right about it will sooner or later be asked to move on, and let some one else occupy it. But it is asked, Would you confine the Negro to agriculture, mechanics, and domestic arts, etc. ? Not at all ; but along the lines that I have mentioned is where the stress should be laid just now and for many years to come. We will need and must have many teachers and ministers, some doctors and lawyers and statesmen ; but these professional men will have a constituency or a foun- 227 The Future of the American Negro dation from which to draw support just in proportion as the race prospers along the economic lines that I have men- tioned. During the first fifty or one hundred years of the life of any people are not the economic occupations al- ways given the greater attention ? This is not only the historic, but, I think, the common-sense view. If this generation will lay the material foundation, it will be the quickest and surest way for the succeeding generation to succeed in the cultivation of the fine arts, and to sur- round itself even with some of the luxuries of life, if desired. What the race now most needs, in my opinion, is a whole army of men and women well trained to lead and at the same time infuse themselves into agriculture, me- chanics, domestic employment, and business. As to the mental training that these educated leaders should be equipped with, I should say, Give them all the mental training and culture that 228 The Future of the American Negro the circumstances of individuals will allow, — the more, the better. No race can permanently succeed until its mind is awakened and strengthened by the ripest thought. But I would constantly have it kept in the thoughts of those who are educated in books that a large proportion of those who are educated should be so trained in hand that they can bring this mental strength and knowledge to bear upon the physical conditions in the South which I have tried to emphasise. Frederick Douglass, of sainted mem- ory, once, in addressing his race, used these words : " We are to prove that we can better our own condition. One way to do this is to accumulate prop- erty. This may sound to you like a new gospel. You have been accus- tomed to hear that money is the root of all evil, etc. On the other hand, property — money, if you please — will purchase for us the only condition by 229 r- F The Future of the American Negro which any people can rise to the dignity of genuine manhood ; for without prop- erty there can be no leisure, without leisure there can be no thought, without thought there can be no invention, without invention there can be no progress." The Negro should be taught that material development is not an end, but simply a means to an end. As Professor W. E. B. DuBois puts it, " The idea should not be simply to make men carpenters, but to make carpenters men." The Negro has a highly relig- ious temperament; but what he needs more and more is to be convinced of the importance of weaving his religion and morality into the practical affairs of daily life. Equally as much does he need to be taught to put so much intel- ligence into his labour that he will see dignity and beauty in the occupation, and love it for its own sake. The Ne- gro needs to be taught that more of the The Future of the American Negro religion that manifests itself in his hap- piness in the prayer-meeting should be made practical in the performance of his daily task. The man who owns a home and is in the possession of the elements by which he is sure of making a daily living has a great aid to a moral and religious life. What bearing will all this have upon the Negro's place in the South as a citizen and in the enjoyment of the privileges which our government confers ? To state in detail just what place the black man will occupy in the South as a citizen, when he has developed in the direction named, is beyond the wisdom of any one. Much will depend upon the sense of justice which can be kept alive in the breast of the American peo- ple. Almost as much will depend upon the good sense of the Negro himself. That question, I confess, does not give me the most concern just now. The important and pressing question is, Will 231 The Future of the American Negro the Negro with his own help and that of his friends take advantage of the op- portunities that now surround him ? When he has done this, I believe that, speaking of his future in general terms, he will be treated with justice, will be given the protection of the law, and will be given the recognition in a large measure which his usefulness and ability warrant. If, fifty years ago, any one had predicted that the Negro would have received the recognition and honour which individuals have already received, he would have been laughed at as an idle dreamer. Time, patience, and con- stant achievement are great factors in the rise of a race. I do not believe that the world ever takes a race seriously, in its desire to enter into the control of the govern- ment of a nation in any large degree, until a large number of individuals, members of that race, have demon- strated, beyond question, their ability to 232 The Future of the American Negro control and develop individual business enterprises. When a number of Negroes rise to the point where they own and operate the most successful farms, are among the largest tax-payers in their county, are moral and intelligent, I do not believe that in many portions of the South such men need lono: be denied the right of saying by their votes how they prefer their property to be taxed and in choosing those who are to make and administer the laws. In a certain town in the South, re- cently, I was on the street in company with the most prominent Negro in the town. While we were together, the mayor of the town sought out the black man, and said, " Next week we are going to vote on the question of issuing bonds to secure water-works for this town ; you must be sure to vote on the day of elec- tion." The mayor did not suggest whether he must vote " yes " or " no" ; he knew from the very fact that this 233 The Future of the American Ne gro Negro man owned nearly a block of the most valuable property in the town that he would cast a safe, wise vote on this important proposition. This white man knew that, because of this Negro's prop- erty interests in the city, he would cast his vote in the way he thought would benefit every white and black citizen in the town, and not be controlled by in- fluences a thousand miles away. But a short time ago I read letters from nearly every prominent white man in Birming- ham, Alabama, asking that the Rev. W. R. Pettiford, a Negro, be appointed to a certain important federal office. What is the explanation of this? Mr. Petti- ford for nine years has been the presi- dent of the Negro bank in Birmingham to which I have alluded. During these nine years these white citizens have had the opportunity of seeing that Mr. Pettiford could manage successfully a private business, and that he had proven himself a conservative, thoughtful citi- 234 The Future of the American Negro zen ; and they were willing to trust him in a public office. Such individ- ual examples will have to be multi- plied until they become the rule rather than the exception. While we are mul- tiplying these examples, the Negro must keep a strong and courageous heart. He cannot improve his condition by any short-cut course or by artificial methods. Above all, he must not be deluded into the temptation of believ- ing that his condition can be perma- nently improved by a mere battledore and shuttlecock of words or by any process of mere mental gymnastics or oratory alone. What is desired, along with a logical defence of his cause, are deeds, results, — multiplied results, — in the direction of building himself up, so as to leave no doubt in the minds of any one of his ability to succeed. An important question often asked is, Does the white man in the South wanti/ the Negro to improve his present con- 23s The Future of the American Negro dition ? I say, " Yes." From the Mont- gomery (Alabama) Daily Advertiser I clip the following in reference to the closing of a coloured school in a town in Alabama: — " Eufaula, May 25, 1899. " The closing exercises of the city coloured public school were held at St. Lukes A. M. E. Church last night, and were witnessed by a large gathering, in- cluding many white. The recitations by the pupils were excellent, and the music was also an interesting feature. Rev. R. T. Pollard delivered the ad- dress, which was quite an able one ; and the certificates were presented by Pro- fessor T. L. McCoy, white, of the San- ford Street School. The success of the exercises reflects great credit on Pro- fessor S. M. Murphy, the principal, who enjoys a deservedly good reputation as a capable and efficient educator." I quote this report, not because it is the exception, but because such marks 236 The Future of the American Negro of interest in the education of the Negro on the part of the Southern white people can be seen almost every day in the local papers. Why should white people, by their presence, words, and many other things, encourage the black man to get education, if they do not desire him to improve his condition ? The Payne Institute in Augusta, Georgia, an excellent institution, to which I have already referred, is sup- ported almost wholly by the Southern white Methodist church. The South- ern white Presbyterians support a theo- logical school at Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for Negroes. For a number of years the Southern white Baptists have con- tributed toward Negro education. Other denominations have done the same. If these people do not want the Negro ed- ucated to a high standard, there is no reason why they should act the hypo- crite in these matters. As barbarous as some of the lynch- 2 37 The Future of the American Negro ings in the South have been, Southern white men here and there, as well as newspapers, have spoken out strongly against lynching. I quote from the address of the Rev. Mr. Vance, of Nashville, Tennessee, delivered before the National Sunday School Union in Atlanta, not long since, as an ex- ample : — " And yet, as I stand here to-night, a Southerner speaking for my section, and addressing an audience from all sections, there is one foul blot upon the fair fame of the South, at the bare men- tion of which the heart turns sick and the cheek is crimsoned with shame. I want to lift my voice to-night in loud and long and indignant protest against the awful horror of mob violence, which the other day reached the climax of its madness and infamy in a deed as black and brutal and barbarous as can be found in the annals of human crime. '* I have a right to speak on the sub- 238 The Future of the American Negro ject, and I propose to be heard. The time has come for every lover of the South to set the might of an angered and resolute manhood against the shame and peril of the lynch demon. These people, whose fiendish glee taunts their victim as his flesh crackles in the flames, do not represent the South. I have not a syllable of apol- ogy for the sickening crime they meant to avenge. But it is high time we were learning that lawlessness is no remedy for crime. For one, I dare to believe that the people of my section are able to cope with crime, however treacher- ous and defiant, through their courts of justice ; and I plead for the masterful sway of a righteous and exalted public sentiment that shall class lynch law in the category with crime." It is a notable and praiseworthy fact that no Negro educated in any of our larger institutions of learning in the South has been charged with any of the 2 39 The Future of the American Negro recent crimes connected with assaults upon females. If we go on making progress in the directions that I have tried to indicate, more and more the South will be drawn to one course. As I have already said, it is not for the best interests of the white race of the South that the Negro be deprived of any privilege guaranteed him by the Constitution of the United States. This would put upon the South a burden under which no govern- ment could stand and prosper. Every article in our federal Constitution was placed there with a view of stimulating and encouraging the highest type of citizenship. To permanently tax the Negro without giving him the right to vote as fast as he qualifies himself in education and property for voting would work the alienation of the affec- tions of the Negro from the States in which he lives, and would be the re- versal of the fundamental principles of 240 The Future of the American Negro government for which our States have stood. In other ways than this the in- jury would be as great to the white man as to the Negro. Taxation with- out the hope of becoming a voter would take away from one-third the citizens of the Gulf States their interest in govern- ment and their stimulant to become tax- payers or to secure education, and thus be able and willing to bear their share of the cost of education and government, which now weighs so heavily upon the white tax -payers of the South. The more the Negro is stimulated and en- couraged, the sooner will he be able to bear a larger share of the burdens of the South. We have recently had be- fore us an example, in the case of Spain, of a government that left a large portion of its citizens in ignorance, and neglected their highest interests. As I have said elsewhere, there is no escape through law of man or God from the inevitable : — 241 The Future of the American Negro " The laws of changeless justice bind Oppressor with opprest ; And, close as sin and suffering joined, We march to fate abreast." " Nearly sixteen millions of hands will aid you in pulling the load up- ward or they will pull against you the load downward. We shall constitute V* one-third and more of the ignorance . y/ and crime of the South or one-third its *7% l £ intelligence and progress. £We shall O^i/^ contribute one-third to the business and l- ^\ industrial prosperity of the South or we 7 ~ ' , N shall prove a veritable body of death, yP . \ \ stagnating, depressing, retarding, every Xk^ ^r effort to advance the body politic.""! 1 jv My own feeling is that the South will r Jr gradually reach the point where it will Y^ y* see ^ e wisdom and the justice of enact- \lr ing an educational or property qualifi- V" cation, or both, for voting, that shall be ^ made to apply honestly to both races. The industrial development of the Negro in connection with education 242 The Future of the American Negro and Christian character will help to hasten this end. When this is done, we shall have a foundation, in my opin- ion, upon which to build a government that is honest and that will be in a high degree satisfactory to both races. I do not suffer myself to take too optimistic a view of the conditions in the South. The problem is a large and serious one, and will require the patient help, sympathy, and advice of our most patriotic citizens, North and South, for years to come. But I believe that, if the principles which I have tried to indicate are followed, a solution of the question will come. So long as the Negro is permitted to get education, acquire property, and secure employ- ment, and is treated with respect in the business or commercial world, — as is now true in the greater part of the South, — I shall have the greatest faith in his working out his own destiny in our Southern States. The education 243 The Future of the American Negro and preparing for citizenship of nearly eight millions of people is a tremendous task, and every lover of humanity should count it a privilege to help in the solu- tion of a great problem for which our whole country is responsible. 244