Sparkling Gems of Race Knowledge Worth Reading Part 13

Having been on probation for thirty years and proved our worthiness, we now feel that we ought to be permitted to enjoy to the fullest extent all of the rights guaranteed American citizens. Since we a.s.sume the att.i.tude of pet.i.tioners, I am sure that I speak the sentiment of the American Negro when I say that we do not ask to be made white, for had it pleased G.o.d, we would have been white. We do, not ask the liberty of any man's power; but we would ask the liberty to have and to occupy our own in peace and safety. I am sure the Hon. Hoke Smith voiced the sentiment of every intelligent colored man in America when he said that the Negro had no desire to mix with the whites--that is, to impose himself upon them. The Negro never wanted social rights in the sense of the common interpretation, but has and will ever contend for civil and religious rights. I am not sorry that the white people have been clannish enough and have had race pride enough to protect their own society. The Negro has formed his own society, and now there is but one favor on this line that we would ask of our white brethren, and that is that any white man who is so unworthy of his ancestry and unconscious of race pride as to attempt to corrupt Negro society be punished as Negroes are (save the lynching) by the just laws of our country. This we believe to be another duty of the nation to the Negro. As citizens, we would not ask any state or the Federal government for a single legislative act for our special benefit, but we do ask that no special acts be pa.s.sed by either to impede our progress. All that we ask as citizens is that the several states and general government legislate for the common good of all citizens, regardless of races, and we are willing to take our chances. What more can we ask and what less can be given by an honest Christian nation?

And may G.o.d have mercy upon any nation or people that would not grant this! The white people of this country proudly boast of their superiority as a race, and I grant it when considered en ma.s.se. Their opportunities have made them thus. Then why should the stronger refuse the weaker an equal chance in the race of life? Can it be possible that the stronger fears the weaker?

THE NEGRO AS A SOUTHERNER.

The question has often been asked: "What must we do with the Negro?"

If you will allow, I would say: "Do nothing with him, but respect him as a citizen at his home in the South." For the Negro is at home in this Southland. He knows and loves no other country. He was born here.

Our fathers died here. We helped to make this Sunny South glorious, and we desire to enjoy the fruit of our labors. The Negro understands his white neighbors and they understand him. We are all Southerners together, and whatever is of interest to one is a blessing to the other. The greatest enemy to either race is he who would break our peace and generate strife. The Negro is an indispensable factor of the South. No race could fill his place. We know of no other clime where the Negro, if transplanted, could better his condition. The interest of the South is common to both races alike. We are inseparable in all that concerns this Southland. One race cannot suffer without the other proportionately being affected in the end. The sooner we all learn this lesson the better for all concerned.

THE NEGRO IN POLITICS.

I have never discussed politics publicly in my life. When called upon to represent the sentiment of my Church I feel it to be pardonable for daring to speak my sentiments touching the vital issues of to-day. If low tariff or free trade on certain commodities is to the best interest of the white South, it certainly is to the best interest of the black South, who produce the raw material, manufacture nothing, but are all-round consumers; and if free silver, as it is now termed, is to the best interest of the laboring cla.s.ses of this country, especially of the South and West, it must be doubly so to the Negro. I have thought for twenty years whether or no the Negro is doing right in voting solidly for any one national party. I would advise the race to be slaves to no political party because of public sentiment or misguiding politicians, but would call upon every man of the race to be a freeman at the polls and vote his individual sentiments, looking well to the best interest not only for the common country, but to the best local and sectional interest as well, and for the best men to represent that interest. And it also becomes the duty of the white citizens of the South not only to protect the life and property of the colored man, but to see that the Negro obtains a proportionate patronage of the offices of the local and Federal government.

FACTS FOR COLORED PEOPLE.

_What is the black population of the world?_

The black people of the human race are estimated at 250,000,000 souls.

_What is the African population of the United States?_

The census of 1890 places the colored population at 7,470,040, and it is believed that they have increased to nearly 10,000,000.

_How many states in the United States have a majority of Negroes?_

Three--South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

_How many more Negroes than whites in each of these states?_

The latest census gives the Negroes of Louisiana a majority of 798; Mississippi a majority of 197,708; and South Carolina a majority of 226,926.

_What state is having the greatest increase of population?_

Arkansas.

_What state has the greatest wealth among colored people?_

Louisiana.

_How many Negroes on the island of Cuba?_

There are 480,000 Negroes on the island of Cuba.

_What does Dr. Palmore, editor of the St. Louis Christian Advocate, say of the Negro as a race?_

He says: "Possibly no race that G.o.d has created has made such rapid progress in the same length of time as the Negro. As a rule, they should not be judged by the criminals among them who have become conspicuous in the newspapers for their evil deeds, but they should be judged from the honest, hard-working men and women, who, beginning with nothing, have in the course of one generation acc.u.mulated over $650,000,000 worth of real and personal property."

_How many Negroes in the 55th Congress of the United States?_

Only one--Hon. George H. White, of North Carolina.

_How many colored people own their own homes in this country?_

According to the census of 1890, there were 234,747 homes and farms, free from all inc.u.mbrance, owned by Negroes; and since that time the number has probably doubled.

_How many books have been written by Afro-Americans?_

More than 300 books written by Negro men and women have been published, while probably not more than fifty have had an extensive circulation. The "Afro-American Encyclopedia" has had the largest sale.

_How many newspapers are edited and published by Afro-Americans?_

Over 400.

_Name one of the leading papers in each of the several states._

The "Colored American," Was.h.i.+ngton, D. C.; the "Age," New York, N. Y.; the "Freeman," Indianapolis, Ind.; the "Gazette," Cleveland, O.; the "Courant," Boston, Ma.s.s.; the "Planet," Richmond, Va.; the "Gazette,"

Huntsville, Ala.; the "Southern Age," Atlanta, Ga.; the "Progress,"

Helena, Ark.; the "Elevator," San Francisco, Cal.; the "Statesman,"

Denver, Colo.; the "Sentinel," Pensacola, Fla.; the "Appeal," Chicago, Ill.; the "Herald," Leavenworth, Kans.; the "Standard," Lexington, Ky.; the "Afro-American," Baltimore, Md.; the "Enquirer," Charleston, S. C.; the "Woman's Messenger," Memphis, Tenn.; the "Republican," New Orleans, La.; the "American Citizen," Kansas City, Mo.; the "Progress," Omaha, Neb.; the "Gazette," Raleigh, N. C.; the "Tribune,"

Philadelphia, Pa.; the "Freeman," Houston, Tex.; the "People's Defender," Jackson, Miss.

_By whom were Negroes first called contrabands?_

By Gen. B. F. Butler, on the 22d of May, 1861, at Newport News, Va.

_When did Hon. Frederick Dougla.s.s die?_

On the 20th of February, 1895, at seven o'clock p.m., at his home in Was.h.i.+ngton, D. C.

_Who is the greatest poet of the race?_

Paul Lawrence Dunbar.

_Whose blood was the first spilled in revolution?_

Crispus Attucks, a Negro, was the first to lay down his life in the defense of his country.

_What does the Was.h.i.+ngton Post say of G. W. Bryant, editor of the Race Standard, of Baltimore, Md.?_

"He is one of the most gifted orators of natural compa.s.s, white or black, in the United States. He has a voice that reminds men of Henry Grady, and controls an almost inexhaustible vocabulary."

_How many building and loan a.s.sociations are conducted by Negroes?_

At least forty building, loan, and co-operative a.s.sociations are doing business on a substantial basis, having conformed to the laws of the various states in which they are operated.