material from the ,google ,print        
project47      ,transcriber's ,note3    
,every effort has been made to replicate
 this text as faithfully as possible1   
including obsolete and variant spellings
 and other inconsistencies4       ,,the 
,,future ,,of    ,,the ,,american       
,,negro     ,booker ,t4 ,washington     
,boston   ,small1 ,maynard  ,company    
#aijj    ,copyright1 #ahii1   ,by       
,small1 ,maynard  ,company              
7,incorporated7     ,entered at         
,stationers' ,hall     ,first ,edition  
7#b1jjj copies71 ,november1 #ahii       
,second ,edition 7#b1jjj copies71       
,february1 #aijj     ,press of   ,george
 ,h4 ,ellis1 ,boston1 ,u4,s4,a4         
,illustration3 ,booker ,t4 ,washington4 
,,preface4  ,in giving this volume to   
the public1 ,i deem it fair to say that 
,i have yielded to the oft-repeated     
requests that ,i put in some more       
definite and permanent form the ideas   
regarding the ,negro and his future     
which ,i have expressed many times on   

the public platform and through the     
public press and magazines4  ,i make    
grateful acknowledgment to the ,atlantic
 ,monthly and ,appleton's ,popular      
,science ,monthly for their kindness in 
granting permission for the use of some 
part of articles which ,i have at       
various times contributed to their      
columns4                                
,,booker ,t4 ,,washington4    ,,tuskegee
 ,,normal ,,and ,,industrial            
,,institute1        ,,tuskegee1 ,,ala41 
,october #a1 #ahii4     ,,contents4     
,chapter ,i4                            
,page #c    ,first appearance of        
,negroes in ,america--,rapid            
increase--,conditions during ,civil     
,war--,during the reconstruction4       
,chapter ,,ii4                          
,page #af    ,responsibility of the     
whole country for the ,negro--,progress 
in   the past--,same methods of         
education do not fit all cases--,proved 
in the case of the ,southern            
,negro--,illustrations--,lack of        

money--,comparison between outlay for   
schools ,north and   ,south--,duty of   
,north to ,south4  ,chapter ,,iii4      
,page #db    ,decadence of ,southern    
plantation--,demoralization of ,negroes 
natural--,no home life before the       
war--,too much classical   education at 
the start--,lack of practical training--
   ,illustrations--,the well-trained    
slaves now dead--,former   plantations  
as industrial schools--,the decayed     
plantation built   up by a former       
slave--,misunderstanding of industrial  
education4  ,chapter ,,iv4              
,page #fg    ,the ,negroes' proper use  
of education--,hayti1 ,santo ,domingo1  
and   ,liberia as illustrations of the  
lack of practical training--   ,present 
necessity for union of all forces to    
further   the cause of industrial       
education--,industrial education not    
opposed to the higher                   
education--,results of practical        
training so   far--,little or no        
prejudice against capable ,negroes in   

business   in the ,south--,the ,negro at
 first shunned labor as degrading--     
,hampton and ,tuskegee aim to remove    
this feeling--,the ,south   does not    
oppose industrial education for the     
,negroes--   ,address to ,tuskegee      
students setting forth the necessity    
of steadfastness of purpose4  ,chapter  
,v4                                     
,page #ajf    ,the author's early       
life--,at ,hampton--,the inception of   
the   ,tuskegee ,school in #ahha--;,its 
growth--,scope--,size at                
present--,expenses--,purposes--,methods-
-,building of the   chapel--,work of the
 graduates--,similar schools beginning  
throughout the ,south--,tuskegee ,negro 
,conference--,the ,workers'             
,conference--,tuskegee as a trainer of  
teachers4  ,chapter ,,vi4               
,page #abg    ,the ,negro race in       
politics--,its patriotic zeal in        
#aggf--;,in   #ahad--;,in the ,civil    
,war--,in the ,spanish ,war--,politics  
attempted   too soon after              

freedom--,poor leaders--,two parties in 
the ,south1   the blacks' and the       
whites'--,not necessarily opposed in    
interests--,the ,negro should give up no
 rights--,the same tests for   the      
restriction of the franchise should be  
applied alike to both   blacks and      
whites--,this is not the                
case--,education and the                
franchise--,the whites must help the    
blacks to pure votes--,rioting   and    
lynching only to be stopped by mutual   
confidence4  ,chapter ,,vii4            
,page #aeg    ,difficulty of            
fusion--,africa impossible as a refuge  
because   already completely claimed by 
other nations--,comparison of ,negro    
race with white--,physical condition of 
the ,negro--,present lack of   ability  
to organize--,weaknesses--,ability to   
work--,trustworthiness   ,desire to     
rise--,obstructions put in the way of   
,negroes'   advancement--,results of    
oppression--,necessity for encouragement
   and self-respect--,comparison of     

,negroes' position and that   of the    
,jews--,lynching--,non-interference of  
the ,north--   ,increase of             
lynching--,statistics of numbers1 races1
 places1   causes of                    
violence--,uselessness of lynching in   
preventing   crime--,fairness in        
carrying out the laws--,increase of     
crime among   the ,negroes--,reason for 
it--,responsibility of both races4      
,chapter ,,viii4                        
,page #bjj    ,population--,emigration  
to the ,north--,morality ,north and     
,south--,dangers3 #a4 incendiary advice2
 #b4 mob violence2 #c4   discouragement2
 #d4 newspaper exaggeration2 #e4 lack of
 education2   #f4 bad                   
legislation--,negroes must identify with
 best interests of   the ,south--,unwise
 missionary work--,wise missionary      
work--   ,opportunity for industrial    
education--,the good standing of        
business-educated ,negroes in the       
,south--,religion and                   
morality--,justice and appreciation     

coming for the ,negro   race as it      
proves itself worthy4     ,,chapter ,i4 
,in this volume ,i shall not attempt to 
give the origin and history of the      
,negro race either in ,africa or in     
,america4 ,my attempt is to deal only   
with conditions that now exist and bear 
a relation to the ,negro in ,america and
 that are likely to exist in the future4
 ,in discussing the ,negro1 it is always
 to be borne in mind that1 unlike all   
the other inhabitants of ,america1 he   
came here without his own consent2 in   
fact1 was compelled to leave his own    
country and become a part of another    
through physical force4 ,it should also 
be borne in mind1 in our efforts to     
change and improve the present condition
 of the ,negro1 that we are dealing with
 a race which had little necessity to   
labour in its native country4 ,after    
being brought to ,america1 the ,negroes 
were forced to labour for about #bej    
years under circumstances which were    
calculated not to inspire them with love

 and respect for labour4 ,this          
constitutes a part of the reason why ,i 
insist that it is necessary to emphasise
 the matter of industrial education as a
 means of giving the black man the      
foundation of a civilisation upon which 
he will grow and prosper4 ,when ,i speak
 of industrial education1 however1 ,i   
wish it always understood that ,i mean1 
as did ,general ,armstrong1 the founder 
of the ,hampton ,institute1 for thorough
 academic and religious training to go  
side by side with industrial training4  
,mere training of the hand without the  
culture of brain and heart would mean   
little4  ,the first slaves were brought 
into this country by the ,dutch in      
#afai1 and were landed at ,jamestown1   
,virginia4 ,the first cargo consisted of
 twenty4 ,the census taken in #ahij     
shows that these twenty slaves had      
increased to #g1fch1cfj4 ,about         
#f1cec1cda of this number were residing 
in the ,southern ,states1 and #a1bhc1jbi
 were scattered throughout the ,northern

 and ,western ,states4 ,i think ,i am   
pretty safe in predicting that the      
census to be taken in #aijj will show   
that there are not far from ten millions
 of people of ,african descent in the   
,united ,states4 ,the great majority of 
these1 of course1 reside in the         
,southern ,states4 ,the problem is how  
to make these millions of ,negroes      
self-supporting1 intelligent1 economical
 and valuable citizens1 as well as how  
to bring about proper relations between 
them and the white citizens among whom  
they live4 ,this is the question upon   
which ,i shall try to throw some light  
in the chapters which follow4  ,when the
 ,negroes were first brought to         
,america1 they were owned by white      
people in all sections of this country1 
as is well known1--in the ,new ,england1
 the ,middle1 and in the ,southern      
,states4 ,it was soon found1 however1   
that slave labour was not remunerative  
in the ,northern ,states1 and for that  
reason by far the greater proportion of 

the slaves were held in the ,southern   
,states1 where their labour in raising  
cotton1 rice1 and sugar-cane was more   
productive4 ,the growth of the slave    
population in ,america was constant and 
rapid4 ,beginning1 as ,i have stated1   
with fourteen1 in #afai1 the number     
increased at such a rate that the total 
number of ,negroes in ,america in #ahjj 
was #a1jja1dfc4 ,this number increased  
by #ahfj to #c1iej1jjj4 ,a few people   
predicted that freedom would result     
disastrously to the ,negro1 as far as   
numerical increase was concerned2 but so
 far the census figures have failed to  
bear out this prediction4 ,on the other 
hand1 the census of #ahij shows that the
 ,negro population had increased from   
#c1iej1jjj in #ahfj to #g1fch1bfj       
twenty-five years after the war4 ,it is 
my opinion that the rate of increase in 
the future will be still greater than it
 has been from the close of the war of  
the ,rebellion up to the present time1  
for the reason that the very sudden     

changes which took place in the life of 
the ,negro1 because of having his       
freedom1 plunged him into many excesses 
that were detrimental to his physical   
well-being4 ,of course1 freedom found   
him unprepared in clothing1 in shelter  
and in knowledge of how to care for his 
body4 ,during slavery the slave mother  
had little control of her own children1 
and did not therefore have the practice 
and experience of rearing children in a 
suitable manner4 ,now that the ,negro is
 being taught in thousands of schools   
how to take care of his body1 and in    
thousands of homes mothers are learning 
how to control their children1 ,i       
believe that the rate of increase1 as ,i
 have stated1 will be still greater than
 it has been in the past4 ,in too many  
cases the ,negro had the idea that      
freedom meant merely license to do as he
 pleased1 to work or not to work2 but   
this erroneous idea is more and more    
disappearing1 by reason of the education
 in the right direction which the ,negro

 is constantly receiving4  ,during the  
four years that the ,civil ,war lasted1 
the greater proportion of the ,negroes  
remained in the ,south1 and worked      
faithfully for the support of their     
masters' families1 who1 as a general    
rule1 were away in the war4 ,the        
self-control which the ,negro exhibited 
during the war marks1 it seems to me1   
one of the most important chapters in   
the history of the race4                
,notwithstanding he knew that his master
 was away from home1 fighting a battle  
which1 if successful1 would result in   
his continued enslavement1 yet he worked
 faithfully for the support of the      
master's family4 ,if the ,negro had     
yielded to the temptation and suggestion
 to use the torch or dagger in an       
attempt to destroy his master's property
 and family1 the result would have been 
that the war would have been ended      
quickly2 for the master would have      
returned from the battlefield to protect
 and defend his property and family4    

,but the ,negro to the last was faithful
 to the trust that had been thrust upon 
him1 and during the four years of war in
 which the male members of the family   
were absent from their homes there is   
not a single instance recorded where he 
in any way attempted to outrage the     
family of the master or in any way to   
injure his property4  ,not only is this 
true1 but all through the years of      
preparation for the war and during the  
war itself the ,negro showed himself to 
be an uncompromising friend to the      
,union4 ,in fact1 of all the charges    
brought against him1 there is scarcely a
 single instance where one has been     
charged with being a traitor to his     
country4 ,this has been true whether he 
has been in a state of slavery or in a  
state of freedom4  ,from #ahfe to #ahgf 
constituted what perhaps may be termed  
the days of ,reconstruction4 ,this was  
the period when the ,southern ,states   
which had withdrawn from the ,union were
 making an effort to reinstate          

themselves and to establish a permanent 
system of ,state government4 ,at the    
close of the war both the ,southern     
white man and the ,negro found          
themselves in the midst of poverty4 ,the
 ex-master returned from the war to find
 his slave property gone1 his farms and 
other industries in a state of collapse1
 and the whole industrial or economic   
system upon which he had depended for   
years entirely disorganised4 ,as we     
review calmly and dispassionately the   
period of reconstruction1 we must use a 
great deal of sympathy and generosity4  
,the weak point1 to my mind1 in the     
reconstruction era was that no strong   
force was brought to bear in the        
direction of preparing the ,negro to    
become an intelligent1 reliable citizen 
and voter4 ,the main effort seems to    
have been in the direction of           
controlling his vote for the time being1
 regardless of future interests4 ,i     
hardly believe that any race of people  
with similar preparation and similar    

surroundings would have acted more      
wisely or very differently from the way 
the ,negro acted during the period of   
reconstruction4  ,without experience1   
without preparation1 and in most cases  
without ordinary intelligence1 he was   
encouraged to leave the field and shop  
and enter politics4 ,that under such    
circumstances he should have made       
mistakes is very natural4 ,i do not     
believe that the ,negro was so much at  
fault for entering so largely into      
politics1 and for the mistakes that were
 made in too many cases1 as were the    
unscrupulous white leaders who got the  
,negro's confidence and controlled his  
vote to further their own ends1         
regardless1 in many cases1 of the       
permanent welfare of the ,negro4 ,i have
 always considered it unfortunate that  
the ,southern white man did not make    
more of an effort during the period of  
reconstruction to get the confidence and
 sympathy of the ,negro1 and thus have  
been able to keep him in close touch and

 sympathy in politics4 ,it was also     
unfortunate that the ,negro was so      
completely alienated from the ,southern 
white man in all political matters4 ,i  
think it would have been better for all 
concerned if1 immediately after the     
close of the war1 an educational and    
property qualification for the exercise 
of the franchise had been prescribed    
that would have applied fairly and      
squarely to both races1 and1 also1 if1  
in educating the ,negro1 greater stress 
had been put upon training him along the
 lines of industry for which his        
services were in the greatest demand in 
the ,south4 ,in a word1 too much stress 
was placed upon the mere matter of      
voting and holding political office     
rather than upon the preparation for the
 highest citizenship4 ,in saying what ,i
 have1 ,i do not mean to convey the     
impression that the whole period of     
reconstruction was barren of fruitful   
results4 ,while it is not a very        
encouraging chapter in the history of   

our country1 ,i believe that this period
 did serve to point out many weak points
 in our effort to elevate the ,negro1   
and that we are now taking advantage of 
the mistakes that were made4 ,the period
 of reconstruction served at least to   
show the world that with proper         
preparation and with a sufficient       
foundation the ,negro possesses the     
elements out of which men of the highest
 character and usefulness can be        
developed4 ,i might name several        
characters who were brought before the  
world by reason of the reconstruction   
period4 ,i give one as an example of    
others3 ,hon4 ,blanche ,k4 ,bruce1 who  
had been a slave1 but who held many     
honourable positions in the ,state of   
,mississippi1 including an election to  
the ,united ,states ,senate1 where he   
served a full term2 later he was twice  
appointed ,register of the ,united      
,states ,treasury4 ,in all these        
positions ,mr4 ,bruce gave the greatest 
satisfaction1 and not a single whisper  

of dishonesty or incompetency has ever  
been heard against him4 ,during the     
period of his public life he was brought
 into active and daily contact with     
,northern and ,southern white people1   
all of whom speak of him in the highest 
measure of respect and confidence4      
,what the ,negro wants and what the     
country wants to do is to take advantage
 of all the lessons that were taught    
during the days of reconstruction1 and  
apply these lessons bravely1 honestly1  
in laying the foundation upon which the 
,negro can stand in the future and make 
himself a useful1 honourable1 and       
desirable citizen1 whether he has his   
residence in the ,north1 the ,south1 or 
the ,west4     ,,chapter ,,ii4   ,in    
order that the reader may understand me 
and why ,i lay so much stress upon the  
importance of pushing the doctrine of   
industrial education for the ,negro1 it 
is necessary1 first of all1 to review   
the condition of affairs at the present 
time in the ,southern ,states4 ,for     

years ,i have had something of an       
opportunity to study the ,negro at      
first-hand2 and ,i feel that ,i know him
 pretty well1--him and his needs1 his   
failures and his successes1 his desires 
and the likelihood of their fulfilment4 
,i have studied him and his relations   
with his white neighbours1 and striven  
to find how these relations may be made 
more conducive to the general peace and 
welfare both of the ,south and of the   
country at large4  ,in the ,southern    
part of the ,united ,states there are   
twenty-two millions of people who are   
bound to the fifty millions of the      
,north by ties which neither can tear   
asunder if they would4 ,the most        
intelligent in a ,new ,york community   
has his intelligence darkened by the    
ignorance of a fellow-citizen in the    
,mississippi bottoms4 ,the most wealthy 
in ,new ,york ,city would be more       
wealthy but for the poverty of a        
fellow-being in the ,carolina rice      
swamps4 ,the most moral and religious   

men in ,massachusetts have their        
religion and morality modified by the   
degradation of the man in the ,south    
whose religion is a mere matter of form 
or of emotionalism4 ,the vote of the man
 in ,maine that is cast for the highest 
and purest form of government is largely
 neutralised by the vote of the man in  
,louisiana whose ballot is stolen or    
cast in ignorance4 ,therefore1 when the 
,south is ignorant1 the ,north is       
ignorant2 when the ,south is poor1 the  
,north is poor2 when the ,south commits 
crime1 the nation commits crime4 ,for   
the citizens of the ,north there is no  
escape2 they must help raise the        
character of the civilisation in the    
,south1 or theirs will be lowered4 ,no  
member of the white race in any part of 
the country can harm the weakest or     
meanest member of the black race without
 the proudest and bluest blood of the   
nation being degraded4  ,it seems to me 
that there never was a time in the      
history of the country when those       

interested in education should the more 
earnestly consider to what extent the   
mere acquiring of the ability to read   
and write1 the mere acquisition of a    
knowledge of literature and science1    
makes men producers1 lovers of labour1  
independent1 honest1 unselfish1 and1    
above all1 good4 ,call education by what
 name you please1 if it fails to bring  
about these results among the masses1 it
 falls short of its highest end4 ,the   
science1 the art1 the literature1 that  
fails to reach down and bring the       
humblest up to the enjoyment of the     
fullest blessings of our government1 is 
weak1 no matter how costly the buildings
 or apparatus used or how modern the    
methods of instruction employed4 ,the   
study of arithmetic that does not result
 in making men conscientious in         
receiving and counting the ballots of   
their fellow-men is faulty4 ,the study  
of art that does not result in making   
the strong less willing to oppress the  
weak means little4 ,how ,i wish that    

from the most cultured and highly       
endowed university in the great ,north  
to the humblest log cabin school-house  
in ,alabama1 we could burn1 as it were1 
into the hearts and heads of all that   
usefulness1 that service to our brother1
 is the supreme end of education4       
,putting the thought more directly as it
 applies to conditions in the ,south1   
can you make the intelligence of the    
,north affect the ,south in the same    
ratio that the ignorance of the ,south  
affects the ,north8 ,let us take a not  
improbable case3 ,a great national case 
is to be decided1 one that involves     
peace or war1 the honour or dishonour of
 our nation1--yea1 the very existence of
 the government4 ,the ,north and ,west  
are divided4 ,there are five million    
votes to be cast in the ,south2 and1 of 
this number1 one-half are ignorant4 ,not
 only are one-half the voters ignorant2 
but1 because of the ignorant votes they 
cast1 corruption and dishonesty in a    
dozen forms have crept into the exercise

 of the political franchise to such an  
extent that the conscience of the       
intelligent class is seared in its      
attempts to defeat the will of the      
ignorant voters4 ,here1 then1 you have  
on the one hand an ignorant vote1 on the
 other an intelligent vote minus a      
conscience4 ,the time may not be far off
 when to this kind of jury we shall have
 to look for the votes which shall      
decide in a large measure the destiny of
 our democratic institutions4  ,when a  
great national calamity stares us in the
 face1 we are1 ,i fear1 too much given  
to depending on a short campaign of     
education to do on the hustings what    
should have been accomplished in the    
school4  ,with this idea in view1 let us
 examine with more care the condition of
 civilisation in the ,south1 and the    
work to be done there before all classes
 will be fit for the high duties of     
citizenship4 ,in reference to the ,negro
 race1 ,i am confronted with some       
embarrassment at the outset1 because of 

the various and conflicting opinions as 
to what is to be its final place in our 
economic and political life4  ,within   
the last thirty years--and1 ,i might    
add1 within the last three months1--it  
has been proven by eminent authority    
that the ,negro is increasing in numbers
 so fast that it is only a question of a
 few years before he will far outnumber 
the white race in the ,south1 and it has
 also been proven that the ,negro is    
fast dying out1 and it is only a        
question of a few years before he will  
have completely disappeared4 ,it has    
also been proven that education helps   
the ,negro and that education hurts him1
 that he is fast leaving the ,south and 
taking up his residence in the ,north   
and ,west1 and that his tendency is to  
drift toward the low lands of the       
,mississippi bottoms4 ,it has been      
proven that education unfits the ,negro 
for work and that education makes him   
more valuable as a labourer1 that he is 
our greatest criminal and that he is our

 most law-abiding citizen4 ,in the midst
 of these conflicting opinions1 it is   
hard to hit upon the truth4  ,but1 also1
 in the midst of this confusion1 there  
are a few things of which ,i am         
certain1--things which furnish a basis  
for thought and action4 ,i know that    
whether the ,negroes are increasing or  
decreasing1 whether they are growing    
better or worse1 whether they are       
valuable or valueless1 that a few years 
ago some fourteen of them were brought  
into this country1 and that now those   
fourteen are nearly ten millions4 ,i    
know that1 whether in slavery or        
freedom1 they have always been loyal to 
the ,stars and ,stripes1 that no        
school-house has been opened for them   
that has not been filled1 that the      
#b1jjj1jjj ballots that they have the   
right to cast are as potent for weal or 
woe as an equal number cast by the      
wisest and most influential men in      
,america4 ,i know that wherever ,negro  
life touches the life of the nation it  

helps or it hinders1 that wherever the  
life of the white race touches the black
 it makes it stronger or weaker4        
,further1 ,i know that almost every     
other race that has tried to look the   
white man in the face has disappeared4  
,i know1 despite all the conflicting    
opinions1 and with a full knowledge of  
all the ,negroes' weaknesses1 that only 
a few centuries ago they went into      
slavery in this country pagans1 that    
they came out ,christians2 they went    
into slavery as so much property1 they  
came out ,american citizens2 they went  
into slavery without a language1 they   
came out speaking the proud             
,anglo-,saxon tongue2 they went into    
slavery with the chains clanking about  
their wrists1 they came out with the    
,american ballot in their hands4  ,i    
submit it to the candid and sober       
judgment of all men1 if a race that is  
capable of such a test1 such a          
transformation1 is not worth saving and 
making a part1 in reality as well as in 

name1 of our democratic government4     
,that the ,negro may be fitted for the  
fullest enjoyment of the privileges and 
responsibilities of our citizenship1 it 
is important that the nation be honest  
and candid with him1 whether honesty and
 candour for the time being pleases or  
displeases him4 ,it is with an ignorant 
race as it is with a child3 it craves at
 first the superficial1 the ornamental  
signs of progress rather than the       
reality4 ,the ignorant race is tempted  
to jump1 at one bound1 to the position  
that it has required years of hard      
struggle for others to reach4  ,it seems
 to me that1 as a general thing1 the    
temptation in the past in educational   
and missionary work has been to do for  
the new people that which was done a    
thousand years ago1 or that which is    
being done for a people a thousand miles
 away1 without making a careful study of
 the needs and conditions of the people 
whom it is designed to help4 ,the       
temptation is to run all people through 

a certain educational mould1 regardless 
of the condition of the subject or the  
end to be accomplished4 ,this has been  
the case too often in the ,south in the 
past1 ,i am sure4 ,men have tried to    
use1 with these simple people just freed
 from slavery and with no past1 no      
inherited traditions of learning1 the   
same methods of education which they    
have used in ,new ,england1 with all its
 inherited traditions and desires4 ,the 
,negro is behind the white man because  
he has not had the same chance1 and not 
from any inherent difference in his     
nature and desires4 ,what the race      
accomplishes in these first fifty years 
of freedom will at the end of these     
years1 in a large measure1 constitute   
its past4 ,it is1 indeed1 a             
responsibility that rests upon this     
nation1--the foundation laying for a    
people of its past1 present1 and future 
at one and the same time4  ,one of the  
weakest points in connection with the   
present development of the race is that 

so many get the idea that the mere      
filling of the head with a knowledge of 
mathematics1 the sciences1 and          
literature1 means success in life4 ,let 
it be understood1 in every corner of the
 ,south1 among the ,negro youth at      
least1 that knowledge will benefit      
little except as it is harnessed1 except
 as its power is pointed in a direction 
that will bear upon the present needs   
and condition of the race4 ,there is in 
the heads of the ,negro youth of the    
,south enough general and floating      
knowledge of chemistry1 of botany1 of   
zoology1 of geology1 of mechanics1 of   
electricity1 of mathematics1 to         
reconstruct and develop a large part of 
the agricultural1 mechanical1 and       
domestic life of the race4 ,but how much
 of it is brought to a focus along lines
 of practical work8 ,in cities of the   
,south like ,atlanta1 how many coloured 
mechanical engineers are there8 or how  
many machinists8 how many civil         
engineers8 how many architects8 how many

 house decorators8 ,in the whole ,state 
of ,georgia1 where eighty per cent4 of  
the coloured people depend upon         
agriculture1 how many men are there who 
are well grounded in the principles and 
practices of scientific farming8 or     
dairy work8 or fruit culture8 or        
floriculture8  ,for example1 not very   
long ago ,i had a conversation with a   
young coloured man who is a graduate of 
one of the prominent universities of    
this country4 ,the father of this man is
 comparatively ignorant1 but by hard    
work and the exercise of common sense he
 has become the owner of two thousand   
acres of land4 ,he owns more than a     
score of horses1 cows1 and mules and    
swine in large numbers1 and is          
considered a prosperous farmer4 ,in     
college the son of this farmer has      
studied chemistry1 botany1 zoology1     
surveying1 and political economy4 ,in my
 conversation ,i asked this young man   
how many acres his father cultivated in 
cotton and how many in corn4 ,with a    

far-off gaze up into the heavens he     
answered that he did not know4 ,when ,i 
asked him the classification of the     
soils on his father's farm1 he did not  
know4 ,he did not know how many horses  
or cows his father owned nor of what    
breeds they were1 and seemed surprised  
that he should be asked such questions4 
,it never seemed to have entered his    
mind that on his father's farm was the  
place to make his chemistry1 his        
mathematics1 and his literature         
penetrate and reflect itself in every   
acre of land1 every bushel of corn1     
every cow1 and every pig4  ,let me give 
other examples of this mistaken sort of 
education4 ,when a mere boy1 ,i saw a   
young coloured man1 who had spent       
several years in school1 sitting in a   
common cabin in the ,south1 studying a  
,french grammar4 ,i noted the poverty1  
the untidiness1 the want of system and  
thrift1 that existed about the cabin1   
notwithstanding his knowledge of ,french
 and other academic studies4  ,again1   

not long ago ,i saw a coloured minister 
preparing his ,sunday sermon just as the
 ,new ,england minister prepares his    
sermon4 ,but this coloured minister was 
in a broken-down1 leaky1 rented log     
cabin1 with weeds in the yard1          
surrounded by evidences of poverty1     
filth1 and want of thrift4 ,this        
minister had spent some time in school  
studying theology4 ,how much better it  
would have been to have had this        
minister taught the dignity of labour1  
taught theoretical and practical farming
 in connection with his theology1 so    
that he could have added to his meagre  
salary1 and set an example for his      
people in the matter of living in a     
decent house1 and having a knowledge of 
correct farming6 ,in a word1 this       
minister should have been taught that   
his condition1 and that of his people1  
was not that of a ,new ,england         
community2 and he should have been so   
trained as to meet the actual needs and 
conditions of the coloured people in    

this community1 so that a foundation    
might be laid that would1 in the future1
 make a community like ,new ,england    
communities4  ,since the ,civil ,war1 no
 one object has been more misunderstood 
than that of the object and value of    
industrial education for the ,negro4 ,to
 begin with1 it must be borne in mind   
that the condition that existed in the  
,south immediately after the war1 and   
that now exists1 is a peculiar one1     
without a parallel in history4 ,this    
being true1 it seems to me that the wise
 and honest thing to do is to make a    
study of the actual condition and       
environment of the ,negro1 and do that  
which is best for him1 regardless of    
whether the same thing has been done for
 another race in exactly the same way4  
,there are those among the white race   
and those among the black race who      
assert1 with a good deal of earnestness1
 that there is no difference between the
 white man and the black man in this    
country4 ,this sounds very pleasant and 

tickles the fancy2 but1 when the test of
 hard1 cold logic is applied to it1 it  
must be acknowledged that there is a    
difference1--not an inherent one1 not a 
racial one1 but a difference growing out
 of unequal opportunities in the past4  
,if ,i may be permitted to criticise the
 educational work that has been done in 
the ,south1 ,i would say that the weak  
point has been in the failure to        
recognise this difference4  ,negro      
education1 immediately after the war in 
most cases1 was begun too nearly at the 
point where ,new ,england education had 
ended4 ,let me illustrate4 ,one of the  
saddest sights ,i ever saw was the      
placing of a three hundred dollar       
rosewood piano in a country school in   
the ,south that was located in the midst
 of the ,black ,belt4 ,am ,i arguing    
against the teaching of instrumental    
music to the ,negroes in that community8
 ,not at all2 only ,i should have       
deferred those music lessons about      
twenty-five years4 ,there are numbers of

 such pianos in thousands of ,new       
,england homes4 ,but behind the piano in
 the ,new ,england home there are one   
hundred years of toil1 sacrifice1 and   
economy2 there is the small             
manufacturing industry1 started several 
years ago by hand power1 now grown into 
a great business2 there is ownership in 
land1 a comfortable home1 free from     
debt1 and a bank account4 ,in this      
,black ,belt community where this piano 
went1 four-fifths of the people owned no
 land1 many lived in rented one-room    
cabins1 many were in debt for food      
supplies1 many mortgaged their crops for
 the food on which to live1 and not one 
had a bank account4 ,in this case1 how  
much wiser it would have been to have   
taught the girls in this community      
sewing1 intelligent and economical      
cooking1 housekeeping1 something of     
dairying and horticulture8 ,the boys    
should have been taught something of    
farming in connection with their        
common-school education1 instead of     

awakening in them a desire for a musical
 instrument which resulted in their     
parents going into debt for a third-rate
 piano or organ before a home was       
purchased4 ,industrial lessons would    
have awakened1 in this community1 a     
desire for homes1 and would have given  
the people the ability to free          
themselves from industrial slavery to   
the extent that most of them would have 
soon purchased homes4 ,after the home   
and the necessaries of life were        
supplied could come the piano4 ,one     
piano lesson in a home of one's own is  
worth twenty in a rented log cabin4     
,all that ,i have just written1 and the 
various examples illustrating it1 show  
the present helpless condition of my    
people in the ,south1--how fearfully    
they lack the primary training for good 
living and good citizenship1 how much   
they stand in need of a solid foundation
 on which to build their future success4
 ,i believe1 as ,i have many times said 
in my various addresses in the ,north   

and in the ,south1 that the main reason 
for the existence of this curious state 
of affairs is the lack of practical     
training in the ways of life4  ,there   
is1 too1 a great lack of money with     
which to carry on the educational work  
in the ,south4 ,i was in a county in a  
,southern ,state not long ago where     
there are some thirty thousand coloured 
people and about seven thousand whites4 
,in this county not a single public     
school for ,negroes had been open that  
year longer than three months1 not a    
single coloured teacher had been paid   
more than #ae per month for his         
teaching4 ,not one of these schools was 
taught in a building that was worthy of 
the name of school-house4 ,in this      
county the ,state or public authorities 
do not own a single dollar's worth of   
school property1--not a school-house1 a 
blackboard1 or a piece of crayon4 ,each 
coloured child had had spent on him that
 year for his education about fifty     
cents1 while each child in ,new ,york or

 ,massachusetts had had spent on him    
that year for education not far from    
#bj4 ,and yet each citizen of this      
county is expected to share the burdens 
and privileges of our democratic form of
 government just as intelligently and   
conscientiously as the citizens of ,new 
,york or ,boston4 ,a vote in this county
 means as much to the nation as a vote  
in the city of ,boston4 ,crime in this  
county is as truly an arrow aimed at the
 heart of the government as a crime     
committed in the streets of ,boston4  ,a
 single school-house built this year in 
a town near ,boston to shelter about    
three hundred pupils cost more for      
building alone than is spent yearly for 
the education1 including buildings1     
apparatus1 teachers1 for the whole      
coloured school population of ,alabama4 
,the ,commissioner of ,education for the
 ,state of ,georgia not long ago        
reported to the ,state legislature that 
in that ,state there were two hundred   
thousand children that had entered no   

school the year past and one hundred    
thousand more who were at school but a  
few days1 making practically three      
hundred thousand children between six   
and eighteen years of age that are      
growing up in ignorance in one ,southern
 ,state alone4 ,the same report stated  
that outside of the cities and towns1   
while the average number of             
school-houses in a county was sixty1 all
 of these sixty school-houses were worth
 in lump less than #b1jjj1 and the      
report further added that many of the   
school-houses in ,georgia were not fit  
for horse stables4 ,i am glad to say1   
however1 that vast improvement over this
 condition is being made in ,georgia    
under the inspired leadership of ,state 
,commissioner ,glenn1 and in ,alabama   
under the no less zealous leadership of 
,commissioner ,abercrombie4  ,these     
illustrations1 so far as they concern   
the ,gulf ,states1 are not exceptional  
cases2 nor are they overdrawn4  ,until  
there is industrial independence1 it is 

hardly possible to have good living and 
a pure ballot in the country districts4 
,in these ,states it is safe to say that
 not more than one black man in twenty  
owns the land he cultivates4 ,where so  
large a proportion of a people are      
dependent1 live in other people's       
houses1 eat other people's food1 and    
wear clothes they have not paid for1 it 
is pretty hard to expect them to live   
fairly and vote honestly4  ,i have thus 
far referred mainly to the ,negro race4 
,but there is another side4 ,the longer 
,i live and the more ,i study the       
question1 the more ,i am convinced that 
it is not so much a problem as to what  
the white man will do with the ,negro as
 what the ,negro will do with the white 
man and his civilisation4 ,in           
considering this side of the subject1 ,i
 thank ,god that ,i have grown to the   
point where ,i can sympathise with a    
white man as much as ,i can sympathise  
with a black man4 ,i have grown to the  
point where ,i can sympathise with a    

,southern white man as much as ,i can   
sympathise with a ,northern white man4  
,as bearing upon the future of our      
civilisation1 ,i ask of the ,north what 
of their white brethren in the          
,south1--those who have suffered and are
 still suffering the consequences of    
,american slavery1 for which both ,north
 and ,south were responsible8 ,those of 
the great and prosperous ,north still   
owe to their less fortunate brethren of 
the ,caucasian race in the ,south1 not  
less than to themselves1 a serious and  
uncompleted duty4 ,what was the task the
 ,north asked the ,south to perform8    
,returning to their destitute homes     
after years of war to face blasted      
hopes1 devastation1 a shattered         
industrial system1 they asked them to   
add to their own burdens that of        
preparing in education1 politics1 and   
economics1 in a few short years1 for    
citizenship1 four millions of former    
slaves4 ,that the ,south1 staggering    
under the burden1 made blunders1 and    

that in a measure there has been        
disappointment1 no one need be          
surprised4 ,the educators1 the          
statesmen1 the philanthropists1 have    
imperfectly comprehended their duty     
toward the millions of poor whites in   
the ,south who were buffeted for two    
hundred years between slavery and       
freedom1 between civilisation and       
degradation1 who were disregarded by    
both master and slave4 ,it needs no     
prophet to tell the character of our    
future civilisation when the poor white 
boy in the country districts of the     
,south receives one dollar's worth of   
education and the boy of the same class 
in the ,north twenty dollars' worth1    
when one never enters a reading-room or 
library and the other has reading-rooms 
and libraries in every ward and town1   
when one hears lectures and sermons once
 in two months and the other can hear a 
lecture or a sermon every day in the    
year4  ,the time has come1 it seems to  
me1 when in this matter we should rise  

above party or race or sectionalism into
 the region of duty of man to man1 of   
citizen to citizen1 of ,christian to    
,christian2 and if the ,negro1 who has  
been oppressed and denied his rights in 
a ,christian land1 can help the whites  
of the ,north and ,south to rise1 can be
 the inspiration of their rising1 into  
this atmosphere of generous ,christian  
brotherhood and self-forgetfulness1 he  
will see in it a recompense for all that
 he has suffered in the past4           
,,chapter ,,iii4   ,in the heart of the 
,black ,belt of the ,south in           
ante-bellum days there was a large      
estate1 with palatial mansion1          
surrounded by a beautiful grove1 in     
which grew flowers and shrubbery of     
every description4 ,magnificent         
specimens of animal life grazed in the  
fields1 and in grain and all manner of  
plant growth this estate was a model4   
,in a word1 it was the highest type of  
the product of slave labor4  ,then came 
the long years of war1 then freedom1    

then the trying years of reconstruction4
 ,the master returned from the war to   
find the faithful slaves who had been   
the bulwark of this household in        
possession of their freedom4 ,then there
 began that social and industrial       
revolution in the ,south which it is    
hard for any who was not really a part  
of it to appreciate or understand4      
,gradually1 day by day1 this ex-master  
began to realise1 with a feeling almost 
indescribable1 to what an extent he and 
his family had grown to be dependent    
upon the activity and faithfulness of   
his slaves2 began to appreciate to what 
an extent slavery had sapped his sinews 
of strength and independence1 how his   
dependence upon slave labour had        
deprived him and his offspring of the   
benefit of technical and industrial     
training1 and1 worst of all1 had        
unconsciously led him to see in labour  
drudgery and degradation instead of     
beauty1 dignity1 and civilising power4  
,at first there was a halt in this man's

 life4 ,he cursed the ,north and he     
cursed the ,negro4 ,then there was      
despair1 almost utter hopelessness1 over
 his weak and childlike condition4 ,the 
temptation was to forget all in drink1  
and to this temptation there was a      
gradual yielding4 ,with the loss of     
physical vigour came the loss of mental 
grasp and pride in surroundings4 ,there 
was the falling off of a piece of       
plaster from the walls of the house     
which was not replaced1 then another and
 still another4 ,gradually1 the         
window-panes began to disappear1 then   
the door-knobs4 ,touches of paint and   
whitewash1 which once helped to give    
life1 were no more to be seen4 ,the     
hinges disappeared from the gate1 then a
 board from the fence1 then others in   
quick succession4 ,weeds and unmown     
grass covered the once well-kept lawn4  
,sometimes there were servants for      
domestic duties1 and sometimes there    
were none4 ,in the absence of servants  
the unsatisfactory condition of the food

 told that it was being prepared by     
hands unschooled to such duties4 ,as the
 years passed by1 debts accumulated in  
every direction4 ,the education of the  
children was neglected4 ,lower and lower
 sank the industrial1 financial1 and    
spiritual condition of the household4   
,for the first time the awful truth of  
,scripture1 ,whatsoever a man soweth1   
that shall he also reap1 seemed to dawn 
upon him with a reality that it is hard 
for mortal to appreciate4 ,within a few 
months the whole mistake of slavery     
seemed to have concentrated itself upon 
this household4 ,and this was one of    
many4  ,we have seen how the ending of  
slavery and the beginning of freedom    
produced not only a shock1 but a        
stand-still1 and in many cases a        
collapse1 that lasted several years in  
the life of many white men4 ,if the     
sudden change thus affected the white   
man1 should this not teach us that we   
should have more sympathy than has been 
shown in many cases with the ,negro in  

connection with his new and changed     
life8 ,that they made many mistakes1    
plunged into excesses1 undertook        
responsibilities for which they were not
 fitted1 in many cases took liberty to  
mean license1 is not to be wondered at4 
,it is my opinion that the next forty   
years are going to show by many per     
cent4 a higher degree of progress in the
 life of the ,negro along all lines than
 has been shown during the first thirty 
years of his life4 ,certainly1 the first
 thirty years of the ,negro's life was  
one of experiment2 and consequently1    
under such conditions1 he was not able  
to settle down to real1 earnest1 hard   
common sense efforts to better his      
condition4 ,while this was true in a    
great many cases1 on the other hand a   
large proportion of the race1 even from 
the first1 saw what was needed for their
 new life1 and began to settle down to  
lead an industrious1 frugal existence1  
and to educate their children and in    
every way prepare themselves for the    

responsibilities of ,american           
citizenship4  ,the wonder is that the   
,negro has made as few mistakes as he   
has1 when we consider all the           
surrounding circumstances4 ,columns of  
figures have been gleaned from the      
census reports within the last quarter  
of a century to show the great amount of
 crime committed by the ,negro in excess
 of that committed by other races4 ,no  
one will deny the fact that the         
proportion of crime by the present      
generation of ,negroes is seriously     
large1 but ,i believe that any other    
race with the ,negro's history and      
present environment would have shown    
about the same criminal record4         
,another consideration which we must    
always bear in mind in considering the  
,negro is that he had practically no    
home life in slavery2 that is1 the      
mother and father did not have the      
responsibility1 and consequently the    
experience1 of training their own       
children4 ,the matter of child training 

was left to the master and mistress4    
,consequently1 it has only been within  
the last thirty years that the ,negro   
parents have had the actual             
responsibility and experience of        
training their own children4 ,that they 
have made some mistakes in thus training
 them is not to be wondered at4 ,many   
families scattered over all parts of the
 ,united ,states have not yet been able 
to bring themselves together4 ,when the 
,negro parents shall have had thirty or 
forty additional years in which to found
 homes and get experience in the        
training of their children1 ,i believe  
that we will find that the amount of    
crime will be considerably less than it 
is now shown to be4  ,in too large a    
measure the ,negro race began its       
development at the wrong end1 simply    
because neither white nor black         
understood the case2 and no wonder1 for 
there had never been such a case in the 
history of the world4  ,to show where   
this primary mistake has led in its evil

 results1 ,i wish to produce some       
examples showing plainly how prone we   
have been to make our education formal1 
superficial1 instead of making it meet  
the needs of conditions4  ,in order to  
emphasise the matter more fully1 ,i     
repeat1 at least eighty per cent4 of the
 coloured people in the ,south are found
 in the rural districts1 and they are   
dependent on agriculture in some form   
for their support4 ,notwithstanding that
 we have practically a whole race       
dependent upon agriculture1 and         
notwithstanding that thirty years have  
passed since our freedom1 aside from    
what has been done at ,hampton and      
,tuskegee and one or two other          
institutions1 but very little has been  
attempted by ,state or philanthropy in  
the way of educating the race in this   
one industry upon which its very        
existence depends4 ,boys have been taken
 from the farms and educated in law1    
theology1 ,hebrew and ,greek1--educated 
in everything else except the very      

subject that they should know most      
about4 ,i question whether among all the
 educated coloured people in the ,united
 ,states you can find six1 if we except 
those from the institutions named1 who  
have received anything like a thorough  
training in agriculture4 ,it would have 
seemed that1 since self-support1        
industrial independence1 is the first   
condition for lifting up any race1 that 
education in theoretical and practical  
agriculture1 horticulture1 dairying1 and
 stock-raising1 should have occupied the
 first place in our system4  ,some time 
ago1 when we decided to make tailoring a
 part of our training at the ,tuskegee  
,institute1 ,i was amazed to find that  
it was almost impossible to find in the 
whole country an educated coloured man  
who could teach the making of clothing4 
,we could find them by the score who    
could teach astronomy1 theology1        
grammar1 or ,latin1 but almost none who 
could instruct in the making of         
clothing1 something that has to be used 

by every one of us every day in the     
year4 ,how often has my heart been made 
to sink as ,i have gone through the     
,south and into the homes of people1 and
 found women who could converse         
intelligently on ,grecian history1 who  
had studied geometry1 could analyse the 
most complex sentences1 and yet could   
not analyse the poorly cooked and still 
more poorly served corn bread and fat   
meat that they and their families were  
eating three times a day6 ,it is little 
trouble to find girls who can locate    
,pekin or the ,desert of ,sahara on an  
artificial globe1 but seldom can you    
find one who can locate on an actual    
dinner table the proper place for the   
carving knife and fork or the meat and  
vegetables4  ,a short time ago1 in one  
of the ,southern cities1 a coloured man 
died who had received training as a     
skilled mechanic during the days of     
slavery4 ,later by his skill and        
industry he built up a great business as
 a house contractor and builder4 ,in    

this same city there are #ce1jjj        
coloured people1 among them young men   
who have been well educated in the      
languages and in literature2 but not a  
single one could be found who had been  
so trained in mechanical and            
architectural drawing that he could     
carry on the business which this        
ex-slave had built up1 and so it was    
soon scattered to the wind4 ,aside from 
the work done in the institutions that  
,i have mentioned1 you can find almost  
no coloured men who have been trained in
 the principles of architecture1        
notwithstanding the fact that a vast    
majority of our race are without homes4 
,here1 then1 are the three prime        
conditions for growth1 for              
civilisation1--food1 clothing1 shelter2 
and yet we have been the slaves of forms
 and customs to such an extent that we  
have failed in a large measure to look  
matters squarely in the face and meet   
actual needs4  ,it may well be asked by 
one who has not carefully considered the

 matter3 ,what has become of all those  
skilled farm-hands that used to be on   
the old plantations8 ,where are those   
wonderful cooks we hear about1 where    
those exquisitely trained house         
servants1 those cabinet makers1 and the 
jacks-of-all-trades that were the pride 
of the ,south8 ,this is easily          
answered1--they are mostly dead4 ,the   
survivors are too old to work4 ,but did 
they not train their children8 is the   
natural question4 ,alas6 the answer is  
no4 ,their skill was so commonplace to  
them1 and to their former masters1 that 
neither thought of it as being a        
hard-earned or desirable accomplishment3
 it was natural1 like breathing4 ,their 
children would have it as a matter of   
course4 ,what their children needed was 
education4 ,so they went out into the   
world1 the ambitious ones1 and got      
education1 and forgot the necessity of  
the ordinary training to live4  ,god for
 two hundred and fifty years1 in my     
opinion1 prepared the way for the       

redemption of the ,negro through        
industrial development4 ,first1 he made 
the ,southern white man do business with
 the ,negro for two hundred and fifty   
years in a way that no one else has done
 business with him4 ,if a ,southern     
white man wanted a house or a bridge    
built1 he consulted a ,negro mechanic   
about the plan and about the actual     
building of the house or bridge4 ,if he 
wanted a suit of clothes or a pair of   
shoes made1 it was to the ,negro tailor 
or shoemaker that he talked4 ,secondly1 
every large slave plantation in the     
,south was1 in a limited sense1 an      
industrial school4 ,on these plantations
 there were scores of young coloured men
 and women who were constantly being    
trained1 not alone as common farmers1   
but as carpenters1 blacksmiths1         
wheelwrights1 plasterers1 brick masons1 
engineers1 bridge-builders1 cooks1      
dressmakers1 housekeepers1 etc4 ,i would
 be the last to apologise for the curse 
of slavery2 but ,i am simply stating    

facts4 ,this training was crude and was 
given for selfish purposes1 and did not 
answer the highest ends1 because there  
was the absence of brain training in    
connection with that of the hand4       
,nevertheless1 this business contact    
with the ,southern white man1 and the   
industrial training received on these   
plantations1 put the ,negro at the close
 of the war into possession of all the  
common and skilled labour in the ,south4
 ,for nearly twenty years after the war1
 except in one or two cases1 the value  
of the industrial training given by the 
,negroes' former masters on the         
plantations and elsewhere was           
overlooked4 ,negro men and women were   
educated in literature1 mathematics1 and
 the sciences1 with no thought of what  
had taken place on these plantations for
 two and a half centuries4 ,after twenty
 years1 those who were trained as       
mechanics1 etc41 during slavery began to
 disappear by death2 and gradually we   
awoke to the fact that we had no one to 

take their places4 ,we had scores of    
young men learned in ,greek1 but few in 
carpentry or mechanical or architectural
 drawing4 ,we had trained many in       
,latin1 but almost none as engineers1   
bridge-builders1 and machinists4        
,numbers were taken from the farm and   
educated1 but were educated in          
everything else except agriculture4     
,hence they had no sympathy with farm   
life1 and did not return to it4  ,this  
last that ,i have been saying is        
practically a repetition of what ,i have
 said in the preceding paragraph2 but1  
to emphasise it1--and this point is one 
of the most important ,i wish to impress
 on the reader1--it is well to repeat1  
to say the same thing twice4 ,oh1 if    
only more who had the shaping of the    
education of the ,negro could have1     
thirty years ago1 realised1 and made    
others realise1 where the forgetting of 
the years of manual training and the    
sudden acquiring of education were going
 to lead the ,negro race1 what a saving 

it would have been6 ,how much less my   
race would have had to answer for1 as   
well as the white6  ,but it is too late 
to cry over what might have been4 ,it is
 time to make up1 as soon as possible1  
for this mistake1--time for both races  
to acknowledge it1 and go forth on the  
course that1 it seems to me1 all must   
now see to be the right one1--industrial
 education4  ,as an example of what a   
well-trained and educated ,negro may now
 do1 and how ready to acknowledge him a 
,southern white man may be1 let me      
return once more to the plantation ,i   
spoke of in the first part of this      
chapter4 ,as the years went by1 the     
night seemed to grow darker1 so that all
 seemed hopeless and lost4 ,at this     
point relief and strength came from an  
unexpected source4 ,this ,southern white
 man's idea of ,negro education had been
 that it merely meant a parrot-like     
absorption of ,anglo-,saxon             
civilisation1 with a special tendency to
 imitate the weaker elements of the     

white man's character2 that it meant    
merely the high hat1 kid gloves1 a showy
 walking cane1 patent leather shoes1 and
 all the rest of it4 ,to this ex-master 
it seemed impossible that the education 
of the ,negro could produce any other   
results4 ,and so1 last of all1 did he   
expect help or encouragement from an    
educated black man2 but it was just from
 this source that help came4 ,soon after
 the process of decay began in this     
white man's estate1 the education of a  
certain black man began1 and began on a 
logical1 sensible basis4 ,it was an     
education that would fit him to see and 
appreciate the physical and moral       
conditions that existed in his own      
family and neighbourhood1 and1 in the   
present generation1 would fit him to    
apply himself to their relief4 ,by      
chance this educated ,negro strayed into
 the employ of this white man4 ,his     
employer soon learned that this ,negro  
not only had a knowledge of science1    
mathematics1 and literature in his head1

 but in his hands as well4 ,this black  
man applied his knowledge of            
agricultural chemistry to the redemption
 of the soil2 and soon the washes and   
gulleys began to disappear1 and the     
waste places began to bloom4 ,new and   
improved machinery in a few months began
 to rob labour of its toil and drudgery4
 ,the animals were given systematic and 
kindly attention4 ,fences were repaired 
and rebuilt4 ,whitewash and paint were  
made to do duty4 ,everywhere order      
slowly began to replace confusion2 hope1
 despair2 and profits1 losses4 ,as he   
observed1 day by day1 new life and      
strength being imparted to every        
department of his property1 this white  
son of the ,south began revising his own
 creed regarding the wisdom of educating
 ,negroes4  ,hitherto his creed         
regarding the value of an educated      
,negro had been rather a plain and      
simple one1 and read3 ,the only end that
 could be accomplished by educating a   
black man was to enable him to talk     

properly to a mule2 and the ,negro's    
education did great injustice to the    
mule1 since the language tended to      
confuse him and make him balky4  ,we    
need not continue the story1 except to  
add that to-day the grasp of the hand of
 this ex-slaveholder1 and the listening 
to his hearty words of gratitude and    
commendation for the education of the   
,negro1 are enough to compensate those  
who have given and those who have worked
 and sacrificed for the elevation of my 
people through all of these years4 ,if  
we are patient1 wise1 unselfish1 and    
courageous1 such examples will multiply 
as the years go by4  ,before closing    
this chapter1--which1 ,i think1 has     
clearly shown that there is at present a
 very distinct lack of industrial       
training in the ,south among the        
,negroes1--,i wish to say a few words in
 regard to certain objections1 or rather
 misunderstandings1 which have from time
 to time arisen in regard to the matter4
  ,many have had the thought that       

industrial training was meant to make   
the ,negro work1 much as he worked      
during the days of slavery4 ,this is far
 from my idea of it4 ,if this training  
has any value for the ,negro1 as it has 
for the white man1 it consists in       
teaching the ,negro how rather not to   
work1 but how to make the forces of     
nature--air1 water1 horse-power1 steam1 
and electric power--work for him1 how to
 lift labour up out of toil and drudgery
 into that which is dignified and       
beautiful4 ,the ,negro in the ,south    
works1 and he works hard2 but his lack  
of skill1 coupled with ignorance1 causes
 him too often to do his work in the    
most costly and shiftless manner1 and   
this has kept him near the bottom of the
 ladder in the business world4 ,i repeat
 that industrial education teaches the  
,negro how not to drudge in his work4   
,let him who doubts this contrast the   
,negro in the ,south toiling through a  
field of oats with an old-fashioned     
reaper with the white man on a modern   

farm in the ,west1 sitting upon a modern
 harvester1 behind two spirited horses1 
with an umbrella over him1 using a      
machine that cuts and binds the oats at 
the same time1--doing four times as much
 work as the black man with one half the
 labour4 ,let us give the black man so  
much skill and brains that he can cut   
oats like the white man1 then he can    
compete with him4 ,the ,negro works in  
cotton1 and has no trouble so long as   
his labour is confined to the lower     
forms of work1--the planting1 the       
picking1 and the ginning2 but1 when the 
,negro attempts to follow the bale of   
cotton up through the higher stages1    
through the mill where it is made into  
the finer fabrics1 where the larger     
profit appears1 he is told that he is   
not wanted4  ,the ,negro can work in    
wood and iron2 and no one objects so    
long as he confines his work to the     
felling of trees and sawing of boards1  
to the digging of iron ore and making of
 pig iron4 ,but1 when the ,negro        

attempts to follow this tree into the   
factory where it is made into desks and 
chairs and railway coaches1 or when he  
attempts to follow the pig iron into the
 factory where it is made into          
knife-blades and watch-springs1 the     
,negro's trouble begins4 ,and what is   
the objection8 ,simply that the ,negro  
lacks the skill1 coupled with brains1   
necessary to compete with the white man1
 or that1 when white men refuse to work 
with coloured men1 enough skilled and   
educated coloured men cannot be found   
able to superintend and man every part  
of any one large industry2 and hence1   
for these reasons1 they are constantly  
being barred out4 ,the ,negro must      
become1 in a larger measure1 an         
intelligent producer as well as a       
consumer4 ,there should be a more vital 
and practical connection between the    
,negro's educated brain and his         
opportunity of earning his daily living4
  ,a very weak argument often used      
against pushing industrial training for 

the ,negro is that the ,southern white  
man favours it1 and1 therefore1 it is   
not best for the ,negro4 ,although ,i   
was born a slave1 ,i am thankful that ,i
 am able so far to rid myself of        
prejudice as to be able to accept a good
 thing1 whether it comes from a black   
man or a white man1 a ,southern man or a
 ,northern man4 ,industrial education   
will not only help the ,negro directly  
in the matter of industrial development1
 but also in bringing about more        
satisfactory relations between him and  
the ,southern white man4 ,for the sake  
of the ,negro and the ,southern white   
man there are many things in the        
relation of the two races that must soon
 be changed4 ,we cannot depend wholly   
upon abuse or condemnation of the       
,southern white man to bring about these
 changes4 ,each race must be educated to
 see matters in a broad1 high1 generous1
 ,christian spirit3 we must bring the   
two races together1 not estrange them4  
,the ,negro must live for all time by   

the side of the ,southern white man4    
,the man is unwise who does not         
cultivate in every manly way the        
friendship and good will of his         
next-door neighbour1 whether he be black
 or white4 ,i repeat that industrial    
training will help cement the friendship
 of the two races4 ,the history of the  
world proves that trade1 commerce1 is   
the forerunner of peace and civilisation
 as between races and nations4 ,the     
,jew1 who was once in about the same    
position that the ,negro is to-day1 has 
now recognition1 because he has entwined
 himself about ,america in a business   
and industrial sense4 ,say or think what
 we will1 it is the tangible or visible 
element that is going to tell largely   
during the next twenty years in the     
solution of the race problem4           
,,chapter ,,iv4   ,one of the main      
problems as regards the education of the
 ,negro is how to have him use his      
education to the best advantage after he
 has secured it4 ,in saying this1 ,i do 

not want to be understood as implying   
that the problem of simple ignorance    
among the masses has been settled in the
 ,south2 for this is far from true4 ,the
 amount of ignorance still prevailing   
among the ,negroes1 especially in the   
rural districts1 is very large and      
serious4 ,but ,i repeat1 we must go     
farther if we would secure the best     
results and most gratifying returns in  
public good for the money spent than    
merely to put academic education in the 
,negro's head with the idea that this   
will settle everything4  ,in his present
 condition it is important1 in seeking  
after what he terms the ideal1 that the 
,negro should not neglect to prepare    
himself to take advantage of the        
opportunities that are right about his  
door4 ,if he lets these opportunities   
slip1 ,i fear they will never be his    
again4 ,in saying this1 ,i mean always  
that the ,negro should have the most    
thorough mental and religious training2 
for without it no race can succeed4     

,because of his past history and        
environment and present condition it is 
important that he be carefully guided   
for years to come in the proper use of  
his education4 ,much valuable time has  
been lost and money spent in vain1      
because too many have not been educated 
with the idea of fitting them to do well
 the things which they could get to do4 
,because of the lack of proper direction
 of the ,negro's education1 some good   
friends of his1 ,north and ,south1 have 
not taken that interest in it that they 
otherwise would have taken4 ,in too many
 cases where merely literary education  
alone has been given the ,negro youth1  
it has resulted in an exaggerated       
estimate of his importance in the world1
 and an increase of wants which his     
education has not fitted him to supply4 
,but1 in discussing this subject1 one is
 often met with the question1 ,should   
not the ,negro be encouraged to prepare 
himself for any station in life that any
 other race fills8 ,i would say1 ,yes2  

but the surest way for the ,negro to    
reach the highest positions is to       
prepare himself to fill well at the     
present time the basic occupations4     
,this will give him a foundation upon   
which to stand while securing what is   
called the more exalted positions4 ,the 
,negro has the right to study law2 but  
success will come to the race sooner if 
it produces intelligent1 thrifty        
farmers1 mechanics1 and housekeepers to 
support the lawyers4 ,the want of proper
 direction of the use of the ,negro's   
education results in tempting too many  
to live mainly by their wits1 without   
producing anything that is of real value
 to the world4 ,let me quote examples of
 this4  ,hayti1 ,santo ,domingo1 and    
,liberia1 although among the richest    
countries in natural resources in the   
world1 are discouraging examples of what
 must happen to any people who lack     
industrial or technical training4 ,it is
 said that in ,liberia there are no     
wagons1 wheelbarrows1 or public roads1  

showing very plainly that there is a    
painful absence of public spirit and    
thrift4 ,what is true of ,liberia is    
also true in a measure of the republics 
of ,hayti and ,santo ,domingo4 ,the     
people have not yet learned the lesson  
of turning their education toward the   
cultivation of the soil and the making  
of the simplest implements for          
agricultural and other forms of labour4 
,much would have been done toward laying
 a sound foundation for general         
prosperity if some attention had been   
spent in this direction4 ,general       
education itself has no bearing on the  
subject at issue1 because1 while there  
is no well-established public school    
system in either of these countries1 yet
 large numbers of men of both ,hayti and
 ,santo ,domingo have been educated in  
,france for generations4 ,this is       
especially true of ,hayti4 ,the         
education has been altogether in the    
direction of belles lettres1 however1   
and practically little in the direction 

of industrial and scientific education4 
,it is a matter of common knowledge that
 ,hayti has to send abroad even to      
secure engineers for her men-of-war1 for
 plans for her bridges and other work   
requiring technical knowledge and skill4
 ,i should very much regret to see any  
such condition obtain in any large      
measure as regards the coloured people  
in the ,south1 and yet this will be our 
fate if industrial education is much    
longer neglected4 ,we have spent much   
time in the ,south in educating men and 
women in letters alone1 too1 and must   
now turn our attention more than ever   
toward educating them so as to supply   
their wants and needs4 ,it is more      
lamentable to see educated people unable
 to support themselves than to see      
uneducated people in the same condition4
 ,ambition all along this line must be  
stimulated4  ,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 

determination1 their example will be    
followed by others1 who are now without 
ambition of any kind4  ,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 lines4 ,the     
elder men and women trained in the hard 
school of slavery1 and who so long      
possessed all of the labour1 skilled and
 unskilled1 of the ,south1 are dying    
out2 their places must be filled by     
their children1 or we shall lose our    
hold upon these occupations4 ,leaders in
 these occupations are needed now more  
than ever4  ,it is not enough that the  
idea be inculcated that coloured people 
should get book learning2 along with it 
they should be taught that book         
education and industrial development    
must go hand in hand4 ,no race which    
fails to do this can ever hope to       
succeed4 ,phillips ,brooks gave         
expression to the sentiment3 ,one       
generation gathers the material1 and the

 next generation builds the palaces4 ,as
 ,i understand it1 he wished to         
inculcate the idea that one generation  
lays the foundation for succeeding      
generations4 ,the rough affairs of life 
very largely fall to the earlier        
generation1 while the next one has the  
privilege of dealing with the higher and
 more aesthetic things of life4 ,this is
 true of all generations1 of all        
peoples2 and1 unless the foundation is  
deeply laid1 it is impossible for the   
succeeding one to have a career in any  
way approaching success4 ,as regards the
 coloured men of the ,south1 as regards 
the coloured men of the ,united ,states1
 this is the generation which1 in a     
large measure1 must gather the material 
with which to lay the foundation for    
future success4  ,some time ago it was  
my misfortune to see a ,negro sixty-five
 years old living in poverty and filth4 
,i was disgusted1 and said to him1 ,if  
you are worthy of your freedom1 you     
would surely have changed your condition

 during the thirty years of freedom     
which you have enjoyed4 ,he answered3 ,i
 do want to change4 ,i want to do       
something for my wife and children2 but 
,i do not know how1--,i do not know what
 to do4 ,i looked into his lean and     
haggard face1 and realised more deeply  
than ever before the absolute need of   
captains of industry among the great    
masses of the coloured people4  ,it is  
possible for a race or an individual to 
have mental development and yet be so   
handicapped by custom1 prejudice1 and   
lack of employment as to dwarf and      
discourage the whole life4 ,this is the 
condition that prevails among the race  
in many of the large cities of the      
,north2 and it is to prevent this same  
condition in the ,south that ,i plead   
with all the earnestness of my heart4   
,mental development alone will not give 
us what we want1 but mental development 
tied to hand and heart training will be 
the salvation of the ,negro4  ,in many  
respects the next twenty years are going

 to be the most serious in the history  
of the race4 ,within this period it will
 be largely decided whether the ,negro  
will be able to retain the hold which he
 now has upon the industries of the     
,south or whether his place will be     
filled by white people from a distance4 
,the only way he can prevent the        
industrial occupations slipping from him
 in all parts of the ,south1 as they    
have already in certain parts1 is for   
all educators1 ministers1 and friends of
 the race to unite in pushing forward in
 a whole-souled manner the industrial or
 business development of the ,negro1    
whether in school or out of school4     
,four times as many young men and women 
of the race should be receiving         
industrial training4 ,just now the      
,negro is in a position to feel and     
appreciate the need of this in a way    
that no one else can4 ,no one can fully 
appreciate what ,i am saying who has not
 walked the streets of a ,northern city 
day after day seeking employment1 only  

to find every door closed against him on
 account of his colour1 except in menial
 service4 ,it is to prevent the same    
thing taking place in the ,south that ,i
 plead4 ,we may argue that mental       
development will take care of all this4 
,mental development is a good thing4    
,gold is also a good thing1 but gold is 
worthless without an opportunity to make
 itself touch the world of trade4       
,education increases greatly an         
individual's wants4 ,it is cruel in many
 cases to increase the wants of the     
black youth by mental development alone 
without1 at the same time1 increasing   
his ability to supply these increased   
wants in occupations in which he can    
find employment4  ,the place made vacant
 by the death of the old coloured man   
who was trained as a carpenter during   
slavery1 and who since the war had been 
the leading contractor and builder in   
the ,southern town1 had to be filled4   
,no young coloured carpenter capable of 
filling his place could be found4 ,the  

result was that his place was filled by 
a white mechanic from the ,north1 or    
from ,europe1 or from elsewhere4 ,what  
is true of carpentry and house-building 
in this case is true1 in a degree1 in   
every skilled occupation2 and it is     
becoming true of common labour4 ,i do   
not mean to say that all of the skilled 
labour has been taken out of the        
,negro's hands2 but ,i do mean to say   
that in no part of the ,south is he so  
strong in the matter of skilled labour  
as he was twenty years ago1 except      
possibly in the country districts and   
the smaller towns4 ,in the more northern
 of the ,southern cities1 such as       
,richmond and ,baltimore1 the change is 
most apparent2 and it is being felt in  
every ,southern city4 ,wherever the     
,negro has lost ground industrially in  
the ,south1 it is not because there is  
prejudice against him as a skilled      
labourer on the part of the native      
,southern white man2 the ,southern white
 man generally prefers to do business   

with the ,negro mechanic rather than    
with a white one1 because he is         
accustomed to do business with the      
,negro in this respect4 ,there is almost
 no prejudice against the ,negro in the 
,south in matters of business1 so far as
 the native whites are concerned2 and   
here is the entering wedge for the      
solution of the race problem4 ,but too  
often1 where the white mechanic or      
factory operative from the ,north gets a
 hold1 the trades-union soon follows1   
and the ,negro is crowded to the wall4  
,but what is the remedy for this        
condition8 ,first1 it is most important 
that the ,negro and his white friends   
honestly face the facts as they are2    
otherwise the time will not be very far 
distant when the ,negro of the ,south   
will be crowded to the ragged edge of   
industrial life as he is in the ,north4 
,there is still time to repair the      
damage and to reclaim what we have lost4
  ,i stated in the beginning that       
industrial education for the ,negro has 

been misunderstood4 ,this has been      
chiefly because some have gotten the    
idea that industrial development was    
opposed to the ,negro's higher mental   
development4 ,this has little or nothing
 to do with the subject under           
discussion2 we should no longer permit  
such an idea to aid in depriving the    
,negro of the legacy in the form of     
skilled labour that was purchased by his
 forefathers at the price of two hundred
 and fifty years of slavery4 ,i would   
say to the black boy what ,i would say  
to the white boy1 ,get all the mental   
development that your time and          
pocket-book will allow of1--the more1   
the better2 but the time has come when a
 larger proportion--not all1 for we need
 professional men and women--of the     
educated coloured men and women should  
give themselves to industrial or        
business life4 ,the professional class  
will be helped in so far as the rank and
 file have an industrial foundation1 so 
that they can pay for professional      

service4 ,whether they receive the      
training of the hand while pursuing     
their academic training or after their  
academic training is finished1 or       
whether they will get their literary    
training in an industrial school or     
college1 are questions which each       
individual must decide for himself4 ,no 
matter how or where educated1 the       
educated men and women must come to the 
rescue of the race in the effort to get 
and hold its industrial footing4 ,i     
would not have the standard of mental   
development lowered one whit2 for1 with 
the ,negro1 as with all races1 mental   
strength is the basis of all progress4  
,but ,i would have a large measure of   
this mental strength reach the ,negroes'
 actual needs through the medium of the 
hand4 ,just now the need is not so much 
for the common carpenters1 brick masons1
 farmers1 and laundry women as for      
industrial leaders who1 in addition to  
their practical knowledge1 can draw     
plans1 make estimates1 take contracts2  

those who understand the latest methods 
of truck-gardening and the science      
underlying practical agriculture2 those 
who understand machinery to the extent  
that they can operate steam and electric
 laundries1 so that our women can hold  
on to the laundry work in the ,south1   
that is so fast drifting into the hands 
of others in the large cities and towns4
  ,having tried to show in previous     
chapters to what a condition the lack of
 practical training has brought matters 
in the ,south1 and by the examples in   
this chapter where this state of things 
may go if allowed to run its course1 ,i 
wish now to show what practical         
training1 even in its infancy among us1 
has already accomplished4  ,i noticed1  
when ,i first went to ,tuskegee to start
 the ,tuskegee ,normal and ,industrial  
,institute1 that some of the white      
people about there rather looked        
doubtfully at me2 and ,i thought ,i     
could get their influence by telling    
them how much algebra and history and   

science and all those things ,i had in  
my head1 but they treated me about the  
same as they did before4 ,they didn't   
seem to care about the algebra1 history1
 and science that were in my head only4 
,those people never even began to have  
confidence in me until we commenced to  
build a large three-story brick         
building1 and then another and another1 
until now we have forty buildings which 
have been erected largely by the labour 
of our students2 and to-day we have the 
respect and confidence of all the white 
people in that section4  ,there is an   
unmistakable influence that comes over a
 white man when he sees a black man     
living in a two-story brick house that  
has been paid for4 ,i need not stop to  
explain4 ,it is the tangible evidence of
 prosperity4 ,you know ,thomas doubted  
the ,saviour after he had risen from the
 dead2 and the ,lord said to ,thomas1   
,reach hither thy finger1 and behold my 
hands2 and reach hither thy hand1 and   
thrust it into my side4 ,the tangible   

evidence convinced ,thomas4  ,we began1 
soon after going to ,tuskegee1 the      
manufacture of bricks4 ,we also started 
a wheelwright establishment and the     
manufacture of good wagons and buggies2 
and the white people came to our        
institution for that kind of work4 ,we  
also put in a printing plant1 and did   
job printing for the white people as    
well as for the blacks4  ,by having     
something that these people wanted1 we  
came into contact with them1 and our    
interest became interlinked with their  
interest1 until to-day we have no warmer
 friends anywhere in the country than we
 have among the white people of         
,tuskegee4 ,we have found by experience 
that the best way to get on well with   
people is to have something that they   
want1 and that is why we emphasise this 
,christian ,industrial ,education4  ,not
 long ago ,i heard a conversation among 
three white men something like this4    
,two of them were berating the ,negro1  
saying the ,negro was shiftless and     

lazy1 and all that sort of thing4 ,the  
third man listened to their remarks for 
some time in silence1 and then he said3 
,i don't know what your experience has  
been2 but there is a 'nigger' down our  
way who owns a good house and lot with  
about fifty acres of ground4 ,his house 
is well furnished1 and he has got some  
splendid horses and cattle4 ,he is      
intelligent and has a bank account4 ,i  
don't know how the 'niggers' are in your
 community1 but ,tobe ,jones is a       
gentleman4 ,once1 when ,i was hard up1  
,i went to ,tobe ,jones and borrowed    
fifty dollars2 and he hasn't asked me   
for it yet4 ,i don't know what kind of  
'niggers' you have down your way1 but   
,tobe ,jones is a gentleman4  ,now what 
we want to do is to multiply and place  
in every community these ,tobe ,joneses2
 and1 just in so far as we can place    
them throughout the ,south this race    
question will disappear4  ,suppose there
 was a black man who had business for   
the railroads to the amount of ten      

thousand dollars a year4 ,do you suppose
 that1 when that black man takes his    
family aboard the train1 they are going 
to put him into a ,jim ,crow car and run
 the risk of losing that ten thousand   
dollars a year8 ,no1 they will put on a 
,pullman palace car for him4  ,some time
 ago a certain coloured man was passing 
through the streets of one of the little
 ,southern towns1 and he chanced to meet
 two white men on the street4 ,it       
happened that this coloured man owns two
 or three houses and lots1 has a good   
education and a comfortable bank        
account4 ,one of the white men turned to
 the other1 and said3 ,by ,gosh6 ,it is 
all ,i can do to keep from calling that 
'nigger' ,mister4 ,that's the point we  
want to get to4  ,nothing else so soon  
brings about right relations between the
 two races in the ,south as the         
commercial progress of the ,negro4      
,friction between the races will pass   
away as the black man1 by reason of his 
skill1 intelligence1 and character1 can 

produce something that the white man    
wants or respects in the commercial     
world4 ,this is another reason why at   
,tuskegee we push industrial training4  
,we find that as every year we put into 
a ,southern community coloured men who  
can start a brickyard1 a saw-mill1 a    
tin-shop1 or a printing-office1--men who
 produce something that makes the white 
man partly dependent upon the ,negro    
instead of all the dependence being on  
the other side1--a change for the better
 takes place in the relations of the    
races4 ,it is through the dairy farm1   
the truck-garden1 the trades1 the       
commercial life1 largely1 that the      
,negro is to find his way to respect and
 confidence4  ,what is the permanent    
value of the ,hampton and ,tuskegee     
system of training to the ,south1 in a  
broader sense8 ,in connection with this1
 it is well to bear in mind that slavery
 unconsciously taught the white man that
 labour with the hands was something fit
 for the ,negro only1 and something for 

the white man to come into contact with 
just as little as possible4 ,it is true 
that there was a large class of poor    
white people who laboured with the      
hands1 but they did it because they were
 not able to secure ,negroes to work for
 them2 and these poor whites were       
constantly trying to imitate the        
slaveholding class in escaping labour1  
as they1 too1 regarded it as anything   
but elevating4 ,but the ,negro1 in turn1
 looked down upon the poor whites with a
 certain contempt because they had to   
work4 ,the ,negro1 it is to be borne in 
mind1 worked under constant protest1    
because he felt that his labour was     
being unjustly requited2 and he spent   
almost as much effort in planning how to
 escape work as in learning how to work4
 ,labour with him was a badge of        
degradation4 ,the white man was held up 
before him as the highest type of       
civilisation1 but the ,negro noted that 
this highest type of civilisation       
himself did little labour with the hand4

 ,hence he argued that1 the less work he
 did1 the more nearly he would be like  
the white man4 ,then1 in addition to    
these influences1 the slave system      
discouraged labour-saving machinery4 ,to
 use labour-saving machinery1           
intelligence was required2 and          
intelligence and slavery were not on    
friendly terms4 ,hence the ,negro always
 associated labour with toil1 drudgery1 
something to be escaped4 ,when the      
,negro first became free1 his idea of   
education was that it was something that
 would soon put him in the same position
 as regards work that his recent master 
had occupied4 ,out of these conditions  
grew the habit of putting off till      
to-morrow and the day after the duty    
that should be done promptly to-day4    
,the leaky house was not repaired while 
the sun shone1 for then the rain did not
 come through4 ,while the rain was      
falling1 no one cared to expose himself 
to stop the rain4 ,the plough1 on the   
same principle1 was left where the last 

furrow was run1 to rot and rust in the  
field during the winter4 ,there was no  
need to repair the wooden chimney that  
was exposed to the fire1 because water  
could be thrown on it when it was on    
fire4 ,there was no need to trouble     
about the payment of a debt to-day1     
because it could be paid as well next   
week or next year4 ,besides these       
conditions1 the whole ,south at the     
close of the war was without proper     
food1 clothing1 and shelter1--was in    
need of habits of thrift and economy and
 of something laid up for a rainy day4  
,to me it seemed perfectly plain that   
here was a condition of things that     
could not be met by the ordinary process
 of education4 ,at ,tuskegee we became  
convinced that the thing to do was to   
make a careful1 systematic study of the 
condition and needs of the ,south1      
especially the ,black ,belt1 and to bend
 our efforts in the direction of meeting
 these needs1 whether we were following 
a well-beaten track or were hewing out a

 new path to meet conditions probably   
without a parallel in the world4 ,after 
eighteen years of experience and        
observation1 what is the result8        
,gradually1 but surely1 we find that all
 through the ,south the disposition to  
look upon labour as a disgrace is on the
 wane2 and the parents who themselves   
sought to escape work are so anxious to 
give their children training in         
intelligent labour that every           
institution which gives training in the 
handicrafts is crowded1 and many 7among 
them ,tuskegee7 have to refuse admission
 to hundreds of applicants4 ,the        
influence of ,hampton and ,tuskegee is  
shown again by the fact that almost     
every little school at the remotest     
cross-road is anxious to be known as an 
industrial school1 or1 as some of the   
coloured people call it1 an industrous  
school4  ,the social lines that were    
once sharply drawn between those who    
laboured with the hands and those who   
did not are disappearing4 ,those who    

formerly sought to escape labour1 now   
when they see that brains and skill rob 
labour of the toil and drudgery once    
associated with it1 instead of trying to
 avoid it1 are willing to pay to be     
taught how to engage in it4 ,the ,south 
is beginning to see labour raised up1   
dignified and beautified1 and in this   
sees its salvation4 ,in proportion as   
the love of labour grows1 the large idle
 class1 which has long been one of the  
curses of the ,south1 disappears4 ,as   
people become absorbed in their own     
affairs1 they have less time to attend  
to everybody's else business4  ,the     
,south is still an undeveloped and      
unsettled country1 and for the next     
half-century and more the greater part  
of the energy of the masses will be     
needed to develop its material          
resources4 ,any force that brings the   
rank and file of the people to have a   
greater love of industry is therefore   
especially valuable4 ,this result       
industrial education is surely bringing 

about4 ,it stimulates production and    
increases trade1--trade between the     
races2 and in this new and engrossing   
relation both forget the past4 ,the     
white man respects the vote of a        
coloured man who does ten thousand      
dollars' worth of business2 and1 the    
more business the coloured man has1 the 
more careful he is how he votes4        
,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       
alone--would result merely in increasing
 the class who sought to escape labour1 
and that the ,south would soon be       
overrun by the idle and vicious4 ,but1  
as the results of industrial combined   
with academic training begin to show    
themselves in hundreds of communities   
that have been lifted up1 these former  
prejudices against education are being  
removed4 ,many of those who a few years 
ago opposed ,negro education are now    

among its warmest advocates4  ,this     
industrial training1 emphasising1 as it 
does1 the idea of economic production1  
is gradually bringing the ,south to the 
point where it is feeding itself4 ,after
 the war1 what profit the ,south made   
out of the cotton crop it spent outside 
of the ,south to purchase food          
supplies1--meat1 bread1 canned          
vegetables1 and the like1--but the      
improved methods of agriculture are fast
 changing this custom4 ,with the newer  
methods of labour1 which teach          
promptness and system and emphasise the 
worth of the beautiful1 the moral value 
of the well-painted house1 the fence    
with every paling and nail in its place1
 is bringing to bear upon the ,south an 
influence that is making it a new       
country in industry1 education1 and     
religion4  ,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 ,tuskegee3--       ,i want  

to be a little more specific in showing 
you what you have      to do and how you
 must do it4       ,one trouble with us 
is--and the same is true of any young   
people1 no matter of what race or       
condition--we have too many             
stepping-stones4 ,we step all the time1 
from one thing to another4      ,you    
find a young man who is learning to make
 bricks2 and1 if you      ask him what  
he intends to do after learning the     
trade1 in too      many cases he will   
answer1 ',oh1 ,i am simply working at   
this      trade as a stepping-stone to  
something higher4' ,you see a young     
man working at the brick-mason's trade1 
and he will be apt to say      the same 
thing4 ,and young women learning to be  
milliners and      dressmakers will tell
 you the same4 ,all are stepping to     
something      higher4 ,and so we always
 go on1 stepping somewhere1 never       
getting      hold of anything           
thoroughly4 ,now we must stop this      
stepping      business1 having so many  

stepping-stones4 ,instead1 we have got  
to      take hold of these important    
industries1 and stick to them until     
we master them thoroughly4 ,there is no 
nation so thorough in      their        
education as the ,germans4 ,why8 ,simply
 because the ,german      takes hold of 
a thing1 and sticks to it until he      
masters it4 ,into      it he puts brains
 and thought from morning to night4 ,he 
reads all      the best books and       
journals bearing on that particular     
study1 and      he feels that nobody    
else knows so much about it as he does4 
,take any of the industries ,i have     
mentioned1 that of      brick-making1   
for example4 ,any one working at that   
trade should      determine to learn all
 there is to be known about making      
bricks2      read all the papers and    
journals bearing upon the trade2 learn  
not only to make common hand-bricks1 but
 pressed bricks1      fire-bricks1--in  
short1 the finest and best bricks there 
are to      be made4 ,and1 when you have

 learned all you can by reading and     
talking with other people1 you should   
travel from one city to      another1   
and learn how the best bricks are made4 
,and then1 when      you go into        
business for yourself1 you will make a  
reputation for      being the best      
brick-maker in the community2 and in    
this way you      will put yourself on  
your feet1 and become a helpful and     
useful      citizen4 ,when a young man  
does this1 goes out into one of these   
,southern cities and makes a reputation 
for himself1 that person      wins a    
reputation that is going to give him a  
standing and      position4 ,and1 when  
the children of that successful         
brick-maker      come along1 they will  
be able to take a higher position in    
life4      ,the grandchildren will be   
able to take a still higher position4   
,and it will be traced back to that     
grandfather who1 by his great           
success as a brick-maker1 laid a        
foundation that was of the right        

kind4       ,what ,i have said about    
these two trades can be applied with    
equal force to the trades followed by   
women4 ,take the matter of              
millinery4 ,there is no good reason why 
there should not be1 in      each       
principal city in the ,south1 at least  
three or four      competent coloured   
women in charge of millinery            
establishments4      ,but what is the   
trouble8       ,instead of making the   
most of our opportunities in this       
industry1 the temptation1 in too many   
cases1 is to be      music-teachers1    
teachers of elocution1 or something else
 that      few of the race at present   
have any money to pay for1 or the       
opportunity to earn money to pay for1   
simply because there is no              
foundation4 ,but1 when more coloured    
people succeed in the more              
fundamental occupations1 they will then 
be able to make better      provision   
for their children in what are termed   
the higher walks      of life4          

,and1 now1 what ,i have said about these
 important industries is      especially
 true of the important industry of      
agriculture4 ,we are      living in a   
country where1 if we are going to       
succeed at all1 we      are going to do 
so largely by what we raise out of the  
soil4 ,the      people in those backward
 countries ,i have told you about have  
failed to give attention to the         
cultivation of the soil1 to the         
invention and use of improved           
agricultural implements and             
machinery4 ,without this no people can  
succeed4 ,no race which      fails to   
put brains into agriculture can succeed2
 and1 if you      want to realize the   
truth of this statement1 go with me into
 the      back districts of some of our 
,southern ,states1 and you will find    
many people in poverty1 and yet they are
 surrounded by a rich      country4     
,a race1 like an individual1 has got to 
have a reputation4 ,such a              
reputation goes a long way toward       

helping a race or an      individual2   
and1 when we have succeeded in getting  
such a      reputation1 we shall find   
that a great many of the discouraging   
features of our life will melt away4    
,reputation is what people think we are1
 and a great deal depends      on that4 
,when a race gets a reputation along    
certain lines1 a      great many things 
which now seem complex1 difficult to    
attain1      and are most discouraging1 
will disappear4       ,when you say that
 an engine is a ,corliss engine1 people 
understand that that engine is a perfect
 piece of mechanical      work1--perfect
 as far as human skill and ingenuity can
 make it      perfect4 ,you say a car is
 a ,pullman car4 ,that is all2 but what 
does it mean8 ,it means that the builder
 of that car got a      reputation at   
the outset for thorough1 perfect work1  
for turning      out everything in      
first-class shape4 ,and so with a race4 
,you      cannot keep back very long a  
race that has the reputation for        

doing perfect work in everything that it
 undertakes4 ,and then we      have got 
to get a reputation for economy4 ,nobody
 cares to      associate with an        
individual in business or otherwise who 
has a      reputation for being a       
trifling spendthrift1 who spends his    
money      for things that he can very  
easily get along without1 who spends    
his money for clothing1 gewgaws1        
superficialities1 and other      things1
 when he has not got the necessaries of 
life4 ,we want to      give the race a  
reputation for being frugal and saving  
in      everything4 ,then we want to get
 a reputation for being                 
industrious4 ,now1 remember these three 
things3 ,get a reputation      for being
 skilled4 ,it will not do for a few here
 and there to      have it3 the race    
must have the reputation4 ,get a        
reputation for      being so skilful1 so
 industrious1 that you will not leave a 
job      until it is as nearly perfect  
as any one can make it4 ,and then we    

want to make a reputation for the race  
for being honest1--honest      at all   
times and under all circumstances4 ,a   
few individuals here      and there have
 it1 a few communities have it2 but the 
race as a      mass must get it4        
,you recall that story of ,abraham      
,lincoln1 how1 when he was              
postmaster at a small village1 he had   
left on his hands #a4ej      which the  
government did not call for4 ,carefully 
wrapping up this      money in a        
handkerchief1 he kept it for ten years4 
,finally1 one      day1 the government  
agent called for this amount2 and it was
      promptly handed over to him by    
,abraham ,lincoln1 who told him         
that during all those ten years he had  
never touched a cent of      that money4
 ,he made it a principle of his life    
never to use other      people's money4 
,that trait of his character helped him 
along to      the ,presidency4 ,the race
 wants to get a reputation for being    
strictly honest in all its dealings and 

transactions1--honest in      handling  
money1 honest in all its dealings with  
its fellow-men4       ,and then we want 
to get a reputation for being           
thoughtful4 ,this      ,i want to       
emphasise more than anything else4 ,we  
want to get a      reputation for doing 
things without being told to do them    
every      time4 ,if you have work to   
do1 think about it so constantly1       
investigate and read about it so        
thoroughly1 that you will always      be
 finding ways and means of improving    
that work4 ,the average      person     
going to work becomes a regular machine1
 never giving the      matter of        
improving the methods of his work a     
thought4 ,he is      never at his work  
before the appointed time1 and is sure  
to stop      the minute the hour is up4 
,the world is looking for the person    
who is thoughtful1 who will say at the  
close of work hours3 ',is      there not
 something else ,i can do for you8 ,can 
,i not stay a      little later1 and    

help you8'       ,moreover1 it is with a
 race as it is with an individual3 it   
must      respect itself if it would win
 the respect of others4 ,there must     
be a certain amount of unity about a    
race1 there must be a great      amount 
of pride about a race1 there must be a  
great deal of faith      on the part of 
a race in itself4 ,an individual cannot 
succeed      unless he has about him a  
certain amount of pride1--enough pride  
to make him aspire to the highest and   
best things in life4 ,an      individual
 cannot succeed unless that individual  
has a great      amount of faith in     
himself4       ,a person who goes at an 
undertaking with the feeling that he    
cannot succeed is likely to fail4 ,on   
the other hand1 the      individual who 
goes at an undertaking1 feeling that he 
can      succeed1 is the individual who 
in nine cases out of ten does           
succeed4 ,but1 whenever you find an     
individual that is ashamed of      his  
race1 trying to get away from his race1 

apologising for being      a member of  
his race1 then you find a weak          
individual4 ,where you      find a race 
that is ashamed of itself1 that is      
apologising for      itself1 there you  
will find a weak1 vacillating race4 ,let
 us no      longer have to apologise for
 our race in these or other matters4    
,let us think seriously and work        
seriously3 then1 as a race1 we          
shall be thought of seriously1 and1     
therefore1 seriously      respected4    
,,chapter ,v4   ,in this chapter ,i wish
 to show how1 at ,tuskegee1 we are      
trying to work out the plan of          
industrial training1 and trust ,i shall 
be pardoned the seeming egotism if ,i   
preface the sketch with a few words1 by 
way of example1 as to the expansion of  
my own life and how ,i came to undertake
 the work at ,tuskegee4  ,my earliest   
recollection is of a small one-room log 
hut on a slave plantation in ,virginia4 
,after the close of the war1 while      
working in the coal mines of ,west      

,virginia for the support of my mother1 
,i heard1 in some accidental way1 of the
 ,hampton ,institute4 ,when ,i learned  
that it was an institution where a black
 boy could study1 could have a chance to
 work for his board1 and at the same    
time be taught how to work and to       
realise the dignity of labor1 ,i        
resolved to go there4 ,bidding my mother
 good-by1 ,i started out one morning to 
find my way to ,hampton1 although ,i was
 almost penniless and had no definite   
idea as to where ,hampton was4 ,by      
walking1 begging rides1 and paying for a
 portion of the journey on the          
steam-cars1 ,i finally succeeded in     
reaching the city of ,richmond2         
,virginia4 ,i was without money or      
friends4 ,i slept on a sidewalk2 and by 
working on a vessel the next day ,i     
earned money enough to continue my way  
to the institute1 where ,i arrived with 
a capital of fifty cents4 ,at ,hampton  
,i found the opportunity--in the way of 
buildings1 teachers1 and industries     

provided by the generous--to get        
training in the classroom and by        
practical touch with industrial         
life1--to learn thrift1 economy1 and    
push4 ,i was surrounded by an atmosphere
 of business1 ,christian influence1 and 
spirit of self-help1 that seemed to have
 awakened every faculty in me1 and      
caused me for the first time to realise 
what it meant to be a man instead of a  
piece of property4  ,while there1 ,i    
resolved1 when ,i had finished the      
course of training1 ,i would go into the
 ,far ,south1 into the ,black ,belt of  
the ,south1 and give my life to         
providing the same kind of opportunity  
for self-reliance1 self-awakening1 that 
,i had found provided for me at         
,hampton4  ,my work began at ,tuskegee1 
,alabama1 in #ahha1 in a small shanty   
church1 with one teacher and thirty     
students1 without a dollar's worth of   
property4 ,the spirit of work and of    
industrial thrift1 with aid from the    
,state and generosity from the ,north1  

have enabled us to develop an           
institution which now has about one     
thousand students1 gathered from        
twenty-three ,states1 and eighty-eight  
instructors4 ,counting students1        
instructors1 and their families1 we have
 a resident population upon the school  
grounds of about twelve hundred persons4
  ,the institution owns two thousand    
three hundred acres of land1 seven      
hundred of which are cultivated by      
student labor4 ,there are six hundred   
head of live-stock1 including horses1   
mules1 cows1 hogs1 and sheep4 ,there are
 over forty vehicles that have been     
made1 and are now used1 by the school4  
,training is given in twenty-six        
industries4 ,there is work in wood1 in  
iron1 in leather1 in tin2 and all forms 
of domestic economy are engaged in4     
,students are taught mechanical and     
architectural drawing1 receive training 
as agriculturists1 dairymen1 masons1    
carpenters1 contractors1 builders1 as   
machinists1 electricians1 printers1     

dressmakers1 and milliners1 and in other
 directions4  ,the value of the property
 is #cjj1jjj4 ,there are forty-two      
buildings1 counting large and small1 all
 of which1 with the exception of four1  
have been erected by the labour of the  
students4  ,since this work started1    
there has been collected and spent for  
its founding and support #hjj1jjj4 ,the 
annual expense is now not far from      
#ge1jjj4 ,in a humble1 simple manner the
 effort has been to place a great       
object-lesson in the heart of the ,south
 for the elevation of the coloured      
people1 where there should be1 in a high
 sense1 that union of head1 heart1 and  
hand which has been the foundation of   
the greatness of all races since the    
world began4  ,what is the object of all
 this outlay8 ,it must be first borne in
 mind that we have in the ,south a      
peculiar and unprecedented state of     
things4 ,the cardinal needs among the   
eight million coloured people in the    
,south1 most of whom are to be found on 

the plantations1 may be stated as food1 
clothing1 shelter1 education1 proper    
habits1 and a settlement of race        
relations4 ,these millions of coloured  
people of the ,south cannot be reached  
directly by any missionary agent2 but   
they can be reached by sending out among
 them strong1 selected young men and    
women1 with the proper training of head1
 hand1 and heart1 who will live among   
them and show them how to lift          
themselves up4  ,the problem that the   
,tuskegee ,institute keeps before itself
 constantly is how to prepare these     
leaders4 ,from the outset1 in connection
 with religious and academic training1  
it has emphasised industrial1 or hand1  
training as a means of finding the way  
out of present conditions4 ,first1 we   
have found the industrial teaching      
useful in giving the student a chance to
 work out a portion of his expenses     
while in school4 ,second1 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 labour4  
,most of all1 we find the industrial    
system valuable in teaching economy1    
thrift1 and the dignity of labour and in
 giving moral backbone to students4 ,the
 fact that a student goes into the world
 conscious of his power 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 training4  ,a more detailed
 example of our methods at ,tuskegee may
 be of interest4 ,for example1 we       
cultivate by student labour seven       
hundred acres of land4 ,the object is   
not only to cultivate the land in a way 
to make it pay our boarding department1 
but at the same time to teach the       
students1 in addition to the practical  
work1 something of the chemistry of the 
soil1 the best methods of drainage1     
dairying1 cultivation of fruit1 the care
 of live-stock and tools1 and scores of 
other lessons needed by people whose    

main dependence is on agriculture4      
,friends some time ago provided means   
for the erection of a large new chapel  
at ,tuskegee4 ,our students made the    
bricks for this chapel4 ,a large part of
 the timber was sawed by the students at
 our saw-mill1 the plans were drawn by  
our teacher of architectural and        
mechanical drawing1 and students did the
 brick-masonry1 the plastering1 the     
painting1 the carpentry work1 the       
tinning1 the slating1 and made most of  
the furniture4 ,practically1 the whole  
chapel was built and furnished by       
student labour4 ,now the school has this
 building for permanent use1 and the    
students have a knowledge of the trades 
employed in its construction4  ,while   
the young men do the kinds of work ,i   
have mentioned1 young women to a large  
extent make1 mend1 and laundry the      
clothing of the young men4 ,they also   
receive instruction in dairying1        
horticulture1 and other valuable        
industries4  ,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 that he worked on when in slavery4
 ,this is far from being the object at  
,tuskegee4 ,at the head of each of the  
twenty-six industrial divisions we have 
an intelligent and competent instructor1
 just as we have in our history classes1
 so that the student is taught not only 
practical brick-masonry1 for example1   
but also the underlying principles of   
that industry1 the mathematics and the  
mechanical and architectural drawing4   
,or he is taught how to become master of
 the forces of nature1 so that1 instead 
of cultivating corn in the old way1 he  
can use a corn cultivator that lays off 
the furrows1 drops the corn into them1  
and covers it2 and in this way he can do
 more work than three men by the old    
process of corn planting1 while at the  
same time much of the toil is eliminated
 and labour is dignified4 ,in a word1   
the constant aim is to show the student 

how to put brains into every process of 
labour1 how to bring his knowledge of   
mathematics and the sciences in farming1
 carpentry1 forging1 foundry work1 how  
to dispense as soon as possible with the
 old form of ante-bellum labour4 ,in the
 erection of the chapel referred to1    
instead of letting the money which was  
given to us go into outside hands1 we   
made it accomplish three objects3 first1
 it provided the chapel2 second1 it gave
 the students a chance to get a         
practical knowledge of the trades       
connected with the building2 and1 third1
 it enabled them to earn something      
toward the payment of their board while 
receiving academic and industrial       
training4  ,having been fortified at    
,tuskegee by education of mind1 skill of
 hand1 ,christian character1 ideas of   
thrift1 economy1 and push1 and a spirit 
of independence1 the student is sent out
 to become a centre of influence and    
light in showing the masses of our      
people in the ,black ,belt of the ,south

 how to lift themselves up4 ,can this be
 done8 ,i give but one or two examples4 
,ten years ago a young coloured man came
 to the institute from one of the large 
plantation districts4 ,he studied in the
 class-room a portion of the time1 and  
received practical and theoretical      
training on the farm the remainder of   
the time4 ,having finished his course at
 ,tuskegee1 he returned to his          
plantation home1 which was in a county  
where the coloured people outnumbered   
the whites six to one1 as is true of    
many of the counties in the ,black ,belt
 of the ,south4 ,he found the ,negroes  
in debt4 ,ever since the war they had   
been mortgaging their crops for the food
 on which to live while the crops were  
growing4 ,the majority of them were     
living from hand-to-mouth on rented     
land1 in small one-room log cabins1 and 
attempting to pay a rate of interest on 
their advances that ranged from fifteen 
to forty per cent4 per annum4 ,the      
school had been taught in a wreck of a  

log cabin1 with no apparatus1 and had   
never been in session longer than three 
months out of twelve4 ,he found the     
people1 as many as eight or ten persons1
 of all ages and conditions and of both 
sexes1 huddled together and living in   
one-room cabins year after year1 and    
with a minister whose only aim was to   
work upon the emotions4 ,one can imagine
 something of the moral and religious   
state of the community4  ,but the       
remedy6 ,in spite of the evil the ,negro
 got the habit of work from slavery4    
,the rank and file of the race1         
especially those on the ,southern       
plantations1 work hard2 but the trouble 
is that what they earn gets away from   
them in high rents1 crop mortgages1     
whiskey1 snuff1 cheap jewelry1 and the  
like4 ,the young man just referred to   
had been trained at ,tuskegee1 as most  
of our graduates are1 to meet just this 
condition of things4 ,he took the three 
months' public school as a nucleus for  
his work4 ,then he organized the older  

people into a club1 or conference1 that 
held meetings every week4 ,in these     
meetings he taught the people1 in a     
plain1 simple manner1 how to save their 
money1 how to farm in a better way1 how 
to sacrifice1--to live on bread and     
potatoes1 if necessary1 till they could 
get out of debt1 and begin the buying of
 lands4  ,soon a large proportion of the
 people were in a condition to make     
contracts for the buying of homes 7land 
is very cheap in the ,south7 and to live
 without mortgaging their crops4 ,not   
only this2 under the guidance and       
leadership of this teacher1 the first   
year that he was among them they learned
 how and built1 by contributions in     
money and labour1 a neat1 comfortable   
school-house that replaced the wreck of 
a log cabin formerly used4 ,the         
following year the weekly meetings were 
continued1 and two months were added to 
the original three months of school4    
,the next year two more months were     
added4 ,the improvement has gone on     

until these people have every year an   
eight months' school4  ,i wish my       
readers could have the chance that ,i   
have had of going into this community4  
,i wish they could look into the faces  
of the people1 and see them beaming with
 hope and delight4 ,i wish they could   
see the two or three room cottages that 
have taken the place of the usual       
one-room cabin1 see the well-cultivated 
farms and the religious life of the     
people that now means something more    
than the name4 ,the teacher has a good  
cottage and well-kept farm that serve as
 models4 ,in a word1 a complete         
revolution has been wrought in the      
industrial1 educational1 and religious  
life of this whole community by reason  
of the fact that they have had this     
leader1 this guide and object-lesson1 to
 show them how to take the money and    
effort that had hitherto been scattered 
to the wind in mortgages and high rents1
 in whiskey and gewgaws1 and how to     
concentrate it in the direction of their

 own uplifting4 ,one community on its   
feet presents an object-lesson for the  
adjoining communities1 and soon         
improvements show themselves in other   
places4  ,another student1 who received 
academic and industrial training at     
,tuskegee1 established himself1 three   
years ago1 as a blacksmith and          
wheelwright in a community2 and1 in     
addition to the influence of his        
successful business enterprise1 he is   
fast making the same kind of changes in 
the life of the people about him that ,i
 have just recounted4 ,it would be easy 
for me to fill many pages describing the
 influence of the ,tuskegee graduates in
 every part of the ,south4 ,we keep it  
constantly in the minds of our students 
and graduates that the industrial or    
material condition of the masses of our 
people must be improved1 as well as the 
intellectual1 before there can be any   
permanent change in their moral and     
religious life4 ,we find it a pretty    
hard thing to make a good ,christian of 

a hungry man4 ,no matter how much our   
people get happy and shout in church1 if
 they go home at night from church      
hungry1 they are tempted to find        
something to eat before morning4 ,this  
is a principle of human nature1 and is  
not confined alone to the ,negro4 ,the  
,negro has within him immense power for 
self-uplifting1 but for years it will be
 necessary to guide him and stimulate   
his energies4  ,the recognition of this 
power led us to organise1 five years    
ago1 what is known as the ,tuskegee     
,negro ,conference1--a gathering that   
meets every ,february1 and is composed  
of about eight hundred representatives1 
coloured men and women1 from all        
sections of the ,black ,belt4 ,they come
 in ox-carts1 mule-carts1 buggies1 on   
muleback and horseback1 on foot1 by     
railroad4 ,some travel all night in     
order to be present4 ,the matters       
considered at the conference are those  
that the coloured people have it in     
their own power to control1--such as the

 evils of the mortgage system1 the      
one-room cabin1 buying on credit1 the   
importance of owning a home and of      
putting money in the bank1 how to build 
school-houses and prolong the school    
term1 and to improve their moral and    
religious condition4 ,as a single       
example of the results1 one delegate    
reported that since the conference was  
started1 seven years ago1 eleven people 
in his neighbourhood had bought homes1  
fourteen had gotten out of debt1 and a  
number had stopped mortgaging their     
crops4 ,moreover1 a school-house had    
been built by the people themselves1 and
 the school term had been extended from 
three to six months2 and1 with a look of
 triumph1 he exclaimed1 ,we's done      
libin' in de ashes4  ,besides this      
,negro ,conference for the masses of the
 people1 we now have a gathering at the 
same time known as the ,tuskegee        
,workers' ,conference1 composed of the  
officers and instructors of the leading 
coloured schools in the ,south4 ,after  

listening to the story of the conditions
 and needs from the people themselves1  
the ,workers' ,conference finds much    
food for thought and discussion4 ,let me
 repeat1 from its beginning1 this       
institution has kept in mind the giving 
of thorough mental and religious        
training1 along with such industrial    
training as would enable the student to 
appreciate the dignity of labour and    
become self-supporting and valuable as a
 producing factor1 keeping in mind the  
occupations open in the ,south to the   
average man of the race4  ,this         
institution has now reached the point   
where it can begin to judge of the value
 of its work as seen in its graduates4  
,some years ago we noted the fact1 for  
example1 that there was quite a movement
 in many parts of the ,south to organise
 and start dairies4 ,soon after this1 we
 opened a dairy school where a number of
 young men could receive training in the
 best and most scientific methods of    
dairying4 ,at present we have calls1    

mainly from ,southern white men1 for    
twice as many dairymen as we are able to
 supply4 ,the reports indicate that our 
young men are giving the highest        
satisfaction1 and are fast changing and 
improving the dairy product in the      
communities where they labour4 ,i have  
used the dairy industry simply as an    
example4 ,what ,i have said of this     
industry is true in a larger or less    
degree of the others4  ,i cannot but    
believe1 and my daily observation and   
experience confirm me in it1 that1 as we
 continue placing men and women of      
intelligence1 religion1 modesty1        
conscience1 and skill in every community
 in the ,south1 who will prove by actual
 results their value to the community1  
this will constitute the solution for   
many of the present political and       
sociological difficulties4 ,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 training men and women as 
teachers and industrial leaders4  ,over 
four hundred students have finished the 
course of training at this institution1 
and are now scattered throughout the    
,south1 doing good work4 ,a recent      
investigation shows that about #c1jjj   
students who have taken only a partial  
course are doing commendable work4 ,one 
young man1 who was able to remain in    
school but two years1 has been teaching 
in one community for ten years4 ,during 
this time he has built a new            
school-house1 extended the school term  
from three to seven months1 and has     
bought a nice farm upon which he has    
erected a neat cottage4 ,the example of 
this young man has inspired many of the 
coloured people in this community to    
follow his example in some degree2 and  
this is one of many such examples4      
,wherever our graduates and ex-students 
go1 they teach by precept and example   
the necessary lesson of thrift1 economy1
 and property-getting1 and friendship   

between the races4     ,,chapter ,,vi4  
,it has become apparent that the effort 
to put the rank and file of the coloured
 people into a position to exercise the 
right of franchise has not been the     
success that was expected in those      
portions of our country where the ,negro
 is found in large numbers4 ,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         
encourage him to use the ballot4 ,in    
either case the result has been the     
same4  ,on an important occasion in the 
life of the ,master1 when it fell to him
 to pronounce judgment on two courses of
 action1 these memorable words fell from
 his lips3 ,and ,mary hath chosen the   
better part4 ,this was the supreme test 
in the case of an individual4 ,it is the
 highest test in the case of a race or a
 nation4 ,let us apply this test to the 
,american ,negro4  ,in the life of our  

,republic1 when he has had the          
opportunity to choose1 has it been the  
better or worse part8 ,when in the      
childhood of this nation the ,negro was 
asked to submit to slavery or choose    
death and extinction1 as did the        
aborigines1 he chose the better part1   
that which perpetuated the race4  ,when1
 in #aggf1 the ,negro was asked to      
decide between ,british oppression and  
,american independence1 we find him     
choosing the better part2 and ,crispus  
,attucks1 a ,negro1 was the first to    
shed his blood on ,state ,street1       
,boston1 that the white ,american might 
enjoy liberty forever1 though his race  
remained in slavery4 ,when1 in #ahad1 at
 ,new ,orleans1 the test of patriotism  
came again1 we find the ,negro choosing 
the better part1 ,general ,andrew       
,jackson himself testifying that no     
heart was more loyal and no arm was more
 strong and useful in defence of        
righteousness4  ,when the long and      
memorable struggle came between union   

and separation1 when he knew that       
victory meant freedom1 and defeat his   
continued enslavement1 although         
enlisting by the thousands1 as          
opportunity presented itself1 to fight  
in honourable combat for the cause of   
the ,union and liberty1 yet1 when the   
suggestion and the temptation came to   
burn the home and massacre wife and     
children during the absence of the      
master in battle1 and thus insure his   
liberty1 we find him choosing the better
 part1 and for four long years          
protecting and supporting the helpless1 
defenceless ones intrusted to his care4 
,when1 during our war with ,spain1 the  
safety and honour of the ,republic were 
threatened by a foreign foe1 when the   
wail and anguish of the oppressed from a
 distant isle reached our ears1 we find 
the ,negro forgetting his own wrongs1   
forgetting the laws and customs that    
discriminate against him in his own     
country1 and again choosing the better  
part4 ,and1 if any one would know how he

 acquitted himself in the field at      
,santiago1 let him apply for answer to  
,shafter and ,roosevelt and ,wheeler4   
,let them tell how the ,negro faced     
death and laid down his life in defence 
of honour and humanity4 ,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 soldier1
 from ex-abolitionist and ex-master1    
then shall the country decide whether a 
race that is thus willing to die for its
 country should not be given the highest
 opportunity to live for its country4   
,in the midst of all the complaints of  
suffering in the camp and field during  
the ,spanish-,american ,war1 suffering  
from fever and hunger1 where is the     
official or citizen that has heard a    
word of complaint from the lips of a    
black soldier8 ,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         
regiments1 and to occupy at the same    
time the post of greater danger4  ,but1 
when all this is said1 it remains true  
that the efforts on the part of his     
friends and the part of himself to share
 actively in the control of ,state and  
local government in ,america have not   
been a success in all sections4 ,what   
are the causes of this partial failure1 
and what lessons has it taught that we  
may use in regard to the future         
treatment of the ,negro in ,america8    
,in my mind there is no doubt but that  
we made a mistake at the beginning of   
our freedom of putting the emphasis on  
the wrong end4 ,politics and the holding
 of office were too largely emphasised1 
almost to the exclusion of every other  
interest4  ,i believe the past and      
present teach but one lesson1--to the   
,negro's friends and to the ,negro      
himself1--that there is but one way out1
 that there is but one hope of solution2
 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   
essential1--that his pillar of fire by  
night and pillar of cloud by day shall  
be property1 economy1 education1 and    
,christian character4 ,to us just now   
these are the wheat1 all else the chaff4
 ,the individual or race that owns the  
property1 pays the taxes1 possesses the 
intelligence and substantial character1 
is the one which is going to exercise   
the greatest control in government1     
whether he lives in the ,north or       
whether he lives in the ,south4  ,i have
 often been asked the cause of and the  
cure for the riots that have taken place
 recently in ,north ,carolina and ,south
 ,carolina4#a ,i am not at all sure that
 what ,i shall say will answer these    
questions in a satisfactory way1 nor    
shall ,i attempt to narrow my           
expressions to a mere recital of what   
has taken place in these two ,states4 ,i
 prefer to discuss the problem in a     

broader manner4  #a ,november1 #ahih4   
,in the first place1 in politics ,i am a
 ,republican1 but have always refrained 
from activity in party politics1 and    
expect to pursue this policy in the     
future4 ,so in this connection ,i shall 
refrain1 as ,i always have done1 from   
entering upon any discussion of mere    
party politics4 ,what ,i shall say of   
politics will bear upon the race problem
 and the civilisation of the ,south in  
the larger sense4 ,in no case would ,i  
permit my political relations to stand  
in the way of my speaking and acting in 
the manner that ,i believe would be for 
the permanent interest of my race and   
the whole ,south4  ,in #ahgc the ,negro 
in the ,south had reached the point of  
greatest activity and influence in      
public life1 so far as the mere holding 
of elective office was concerned4 ,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 held4 ,in   

saying this1 ,i do not mean that the    
,negro has gone backward in the real and
 more fundamental things of life4 ,on   
the contrary1 he has gone forward faster
 than has been true of any other race in
 history1 under anything like similar   
circumstances4  ,if we can answer the   
question as to why the ,negro has lost  
ground in the matter of holding elective
 office in the ,south1 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 ,carolina4 ,before beginning a   
discussion of the question ,i have      
asked1 ,i wish to say that this change  
in the political influence of the ,negro
 has continued from year to year1       
notwithstanding the fact that for a long
 time he was protected1 politically1 by 
force of federal arms and the most rigid
 federal laws1 and still more           
effectively1 perhaps1 by the voice and  
influence in the halls of legislation of
 such advocates of the rights of the    

,negro race as ,thaddeus ,stevens1      
,charles ,sumner1 ,benjamin ,f4 ,butler1
 ,james ,m4 ,ashley1 ,oliver ,p4        
,morton1 ,carl ,schurz1 and ,roscoe     
,conkling1 and on the stump and through 
the public press by those great and     
powerful ,negroes1 ,frederick ,douglass1
 ,john ,m4 ,langston1 ,blanche ,k4      
,bruce1 ,john ,r4 ,lynch1 ,p4 ,b4 ,s4   
,pinchback1 ,robert ,browne ,elliot1 ,t4
 ,thomas ,fortune1 and many others2 but 
the ,negro has continued for twenty     
years to have fewer representatives in  
the ,state and national legislatures4   
,the reduction has continued until now  
it is at the point where1 with few      
exceptions1 he is without               
representatives in the law-making bodies
 of the ,state and of the nation4  ,now 
let us find1 if we can1 a cause for     
this4 ,the ,negro is fond of saying that
 his present condition is due to the    
fact that the ,state and federal courts 
have not sustained the laws passed for  
the protection of the rights of his     

people2 but ,i think we shall have to go
 deeper than this1 because ,i believe   
that all agree that court decisions1 as 
a rule1 represent the public opinion of 
the community or nation creating and    
sustaining the court4  ,at the beginning
 of his freedom it was unfortunate that 
those of the white race who won the     
political confidence of the ,negro were 
not1 with few exceptions1 men of such   
high character as would lead them to    
assist him in laying a firm foundation  
for his development4 ,their main purpose
 appears to have been1 for selfish ends 
in too many instances1 merely to control
 his vote4 ,the history of the          
reconstruction era will show that this  
was unfortunate for all the parties in  
interest4  ,it would have been better1  
from any point of view1 if the native   
,southern white man had taken the       
,negro1 at the beginning of his freedom1
 into his political confidence1 and     
exercised an influence and control over 
him before his political affections were

 alienated4  ,the average ,southern     
white man has an idea to-day that1 if   
the ,negro were permitted to get any    
political power1 all the mistakes of the
 reconstruction period would be         
repeated4 ,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 existed thirty years ago4  ,but1  
to be more specific1 for all practical  
purposes1 there are two political       
parties in the ,south1--a black man's   
party and a white man's party4 ,in      
saying this1 ,i do not mean that all    
white men are ,democrats2 for there are 
some white men in the ,south of the     
highest character who are ,republicans1 
and there are a few ,negroes in the     
,south of the highest character who are 
,democrats4 ,it is the general          
understanding that all white men are    
,democrats or the equivalent1 and that  
all black men are ,republicans4 ,so long
 as the colour line is the dividing line

 in politics1 so long will there be     
trouble4  ,the white man feels that he  
owns most of the property1 furnishes the
 ,negro most of his employment1 thinks  
he pays most of the taxes1 and has had  
years of experience in government4      
,there is no mistaking the fact that the
 feeling which has heretofore governed  
the ,negro--that1 to be manly and stand 
by his race1 he must oppose the         
,southern white man with his vote--has  
had much to do with intensifying the    
opposition of the ,southern white man to
 him4  ,the ,southern white man says    
that it is unreasonable for the ,negro  
to come to him1 in a large measure1 for 
his clothes1 board1 shelter1 and        
education1 and for his politics to go to
 men a thousand miles away4 ,he very    
properly argues that1 when the ,negro   
votes1 he should try to consult the     
interests of his employer1 just as the  
,pennsylvania employee tries to vote for
 the interests of his employer4         
,further1 that much of the education    

which has been given the ,negro has been
 defective1 in not preparing him to love
 labour and to earn his living at some  
special industry1 and has1 in too many  
cases1 resulted in tempting him to live 
by his wits as a political creature or  
by trusting to his influence as a       
political time-server4  ,then1 there is 
no mistaking the fact1 that much        
opposition to the ,negro in politics is 
due to the circumstance that the        
,southern white man has not become      
accustomed to seeing the ,negro exercise
 political power either as a voter or as
 an office-holder4 ,again1 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       
,northern and ,western ,states4 ,this   
laxity in the enforcement of the laws in
 general1 and especially of criminal    
laws1 makes such outbreaks as those in  
,north ,carolina and ,south ,carolina of

 easy occurrence4  ,then there is one   
other consideration which must not be   
overlooked4 ,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  
laws bearing upon the protection of the 
,negro's vote has proceeded on the      
theory that all the black men for all   
time will vote the ,republican ticket   
and that all the white men in the ,south
 will vote the ,democratic ticket4 ,in a
 word1 all seem to have taken it for    
granted that the two races are always   
going to oppose each other in their     
voting4  ,in all the foregoing          
statements ,i have not attempted to     
define my own views or position1 but    
simply to describe conditions as ,i have
 observed them1 that might throw light  
upon the cause of our political         
troubles4 ,as to my own position1 ,i do 
not favour the ,negro's giving up       
anything which is fundamental and which 
has been guaranteed to him by the       

,constitution of the ,united ,states4   
,it is not best for him to relinquish   
any of his rights2 nor would his doing  
so be best for the ,southern white man4 
,every law placed in the ,constitution  
of the ,united ,states was placed there 
to encourage and stimulate the highest  
citizenship4 ,if the ,negro is not      
stimulated and encouraged by just ,state
 and national laws to become the highest
 type of citizen1 the result will be    
worse for the ,southern white man than  
for the ,negro4 ,take the ,state of     
,south ,carolina1 for example1 where    
nearly two-thirds of the population are 
,negroes4 ,unless these ,negroes are    
encouraged by just election laws to     
become tax-payers and intelligent       
producers1 the white people of ,south   
,carolina will have an eternal millstone
 about their necks4  ,in an open letter 
to the ,state ,constitutional           
,convention of ,louisiana1 ,i wrote3    
,i am no politician4 ,on the other hand1
 ,i have always advised my      race to 

give attention to acquiring property1   
intelligence1 and      character1 as the
 necessary bases of good citizenship1   
rather      than to mere political      
agitation4 ,but the question upon which 
,i      write is out of the region of   
ordinary politics4 ,it affects the      
civilisation of two races1 not for      
to-day alone1 but for a very      long  
time to come4       ,since the war1 no  
,state has had such an opportunity to   
settle1      for all time1 the race     
question1 so far as it concerns         
politics1      as is now given to       
,louisiana4 ,will your convention set an
 example      to the world in this      
respect8 ,will ,louisiana take such high
 and      just grounds in respect to the
 ,negro that no one can doubt that      
the ,south is as good a friend to him as
 he possesses elsewhere8      ,in all   
this1 gentlemen of the convention1 ,i am
 not pleading for      the ,negro alone1
 but for the morals1 the higher life1 of
 the      white man as well4       ,the 

,negro agrees with you that it is       
necessary to the salvation      of the  
,south that restrictions be put upon the
 ballot4 ,i know      that you have two 
serious problems before you2 ignorant   
and      corrupt government1 on the one 
hand2 and1 on the other1 a way to       
restrict the ballot so that control will
 be in the hands of the                 
intelligent1 without regard to race4    
,with the sincerest sympathy      with  
you in your efforts to find a good way  
out of the      difficulty1 ,i want to  
suggest that no ,state in the ,south can
 make      a law that will provide an   
opportunity or temptation for an        
ignorant white man to vote1 and withhold
 the opportunity or      temptation from
 an ignorant coloured man1 without      
injuring both      men4 ,no ,state can  
make a law that can thus be executed    
without      dwarfing1 for all time1 the
 morals of the white man in the ,south4 
,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   
blacks4       ,the ,negro does not      
object to an educational and property   
test1      but let the law be so clear  
that no one clothed with ,state         
authority will be tempted to perjure and
 degrade himself by      putting one    
interpretation upon it for the white man
 and another      for the black man4    
,study the history of the ,south1 and   
you will      find that1 where there has
 been the most dishonesty in the matter 
of voting1 there you will find to-day   
the lowest moral condition      of both 
races4 ,first1 there was the temptation 
to act wrongly      with the ,negro's   
ballot4 ,from this it was an easy step  
to act      dishonestly with the white  
man's ballot1 to the carrying of        
concealed weapons1 to the murder of a   
,negro1 and then to the      murder of a
 white man1 and then to lynching4 ,i    
entreat you not to      pass a law that 
will prove an eternal millstone about   

the necks      of your children4 ,no man
 can have respect for the government and
      officers of the law when he knows1
 deep down in his heart1 that      the  
exercise of the franchise is tainted    
with fraud4       ,the road that the    
,south has been compelled to travel     
during the      last thirty years has   
been strewn with thorns and thistles4   
,it      has been as one groping through
 the long darkness into the light4      
,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       
ignorant      and impoverished          
ex-slaves4 ,no people was ever before   
given such      a problem to solve4     
,history has blazed no path through the 
wilderness that could be followed4 ,for 
thirty years we have      wandered in   
the wilderness4 ,we are now beginning to
 get out4 ,but      there is only one   
road out2 and all makeshifts1           

expedients1      profit and loss        
calculations1 but lead into swamps1     
quicksands1      quagmires1 and jungles4
 ,there is a highway that will lead both
      races out into the pure1 beautiful
 sunshine1 where there will be          
nothing to hide and nothing to explain1 
where both races can      grow strong   
and true and useful in every fibre of   
their being4 ,i      believe that your  
convention will find this highway1 that 
it will      enact a fundamental law    
that will be absolutely just and fair to
      white and black alike4       ,i   
beg of you1 further1 that in the degree 
that you close the      ballot-box      
against the ignorant you will open the  
school-house4      ,more than one-half  
of the population of your ,state are    
,negroes4      ,no ,state can long      
prosper when a large part of its        
citizenship is      in ignorance and    
poverty1 and has no interest in the     
government4      ,i beg of you that you 
do not treat us as an alien people4 ,we 

are      not aliens4 ,you know us4 ,you 
know that we have cleared your          
forests1 tilled your fields1 nursed your
 children1 and protected      your      
families4 ,there is an attachment       
between us that few      understand4    
,while ,i do not presume to be able to  
advise you1 yet      it is in my heart  
to say that1 if your convention would do
      something that would prevent for  
all time strained relations      between
 the two races1 and would permanently   
settle the matter of      political     
relations in one ,southern ,state at    
least1 let the very      best           
educational opportunities be provided   
for both races2 and      add to this an 
election law that shall be incapable of 
unjust      discrimination1 at the same 
time providing that1 in proportion as   
the ignorant secure education1 property1
 and character1 they will      be given 
the right of citizenship4 ,any other    
course will take      from one-half your
 citizens interest in the ,state1 and   

hope and      ambition to become        
intelligent producers and tax-payers1   
and      useful and virtuous citizens4  
,any other course will tie the white    
citizens of ,louisiana to a body of     
death4       ,the ,negroes are not      
unmindful of the fact that the poverty  
of      the ,state prevents it from     
doing all that it desires for public    
education2 yet ,i believe that you will 
agree with me that      ignorance is    
more costly to the ,state than          
education1 that it      will cost       
,louisiana more not to educate the      
,negroes than it will      to educate   
them4 ,in connection with a generous    
provision for      public schools1 ,i   
believe that nothing will so help my own
 people      in your ,state as provision
 at some institution for the highest    
academic and normal training1 in        
connection with thorough      training  
in agriculture1 mechanics1 and domestic 
economy4      ,first-class training in  
agriculture1 horticulture1 dairying1    

stock-raising1 the mechanical arts1 and 
domestic economy1 would      make us    
intelligent producers1 and not only help
 us to contribute      our honest share 
as tax-payers1 but would result in      
retaining      much money in the ,state 
that now goes outside for that which can
      be as well produced at home4 ,an  
institution which will give this        
training of the hand1 along with the    
highest mental culture1      would soon 
convince our people that their salvation
 is largely      in the ownership of    
property and in industrial and business 
development1 rather than in mere        
political agitation4       ,the highest 
test of the civilisation of any race is 
in its      willingness to extend a     
helping hand to the less fortunate4 ,a  
race1 like an individual1 lifts itself  
up by lifting others up4      ,surely1  
no people ever had a greater chance to  
exhibit the      highest ,christian     
fortitude and magnanimity than is now   
presented      to the people of         

,louisiana4 ,it requires little wisdom  
or      statesmanship to repress1 to    
crush out1 to retard the hopes and      
aspirations of a people2 but the highest
 and most profound      statesmanship is
 shown in guiding and stimulating a     
people1 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      
,state4      ,it is along this line that
 ,i pray ,god the thoughts and          
activities of your convention may be    
guided4  ,as to such outbreaks as have  
recently occurred in ,north ,carolina   
and ,south ,carolina1 the remedy will   
not be reached by the ,southern white   
man merely depriving the ,negro of his  
rights and privileges4 ,this method is  
but superficial1 irritating1 and must1  
in the nature of things1 be short-lived4
 ,the statesman1 to cure an evil1       
resorts to enlightenment1 to            
stimulation2 the politician1 to         
repression4 ,i have just remarked that  

,i favour the giving up of nothing that 
is guaranteed to us by the ,constitution
 of the ,united ,states1 or that is     
fundamental to our citizenship4 ,while  
,i hold to these views as strongly as   
any one1 ,i differ with some as to the  
method of securing the permanent and    
peaceful enjoyment of all the privileges
 guaranteed to us by our fundamental    
law4  ,in finding a remedy1 we must     
recognise the world-wide fact that the  
,negro must be led to see and feel that 
he must make every effort possible1 in  
every way possible1 to secure the       
friendship1 the confidence1 the         
co-operation of his white neighbour in  
the ,south4 ,to do this1 it is not      
necessary for the ,negro to become a    
truckler or a trimmer4 ,the ,southern   
white man has no respect for a ,negro   
who does not act from principle4 ,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 will1 in the    

truest sense1 elevate the ,negro4 ,at   
the present moment1 in many cases1 when 
one attempts to get the ,negro to       
co-operate with the ,southern white man1
 he asks the question1 ,can the people  
who force me to ride in a ,jim ,crow    
car1 and pay first-class fare1 be my    
best friends8 ,in answering such        
questions1 the ,southern white man1 as  
well as the ,negro1 has a duty to       
perform4 ,in the exercise of his        
political rights ,i should advise the   
,negro to be temperate and modest1 and  
more and more to do his own thinking4   
,i believe the permanent cure for our   
present evils will come through a       
property and educational test for voting
 that shall apply honestly and fairly to
 both races4 ,this will cut off the     
large mass of ignorant voters of both   
races that is now proving so            
demoralising a factor in the politics of
 the ,southern ,states4  ,but1 most of  
all1 it will come through industrial    
development of the ,negro4 ,industrial  

education makes an intelligent producer 
of the ,negro1 who becomes of immediate 
value to the community rather than one  
who yields to the temptation to live    
merely by politics or other parasitical 
employments4 ,it will make him soon     
become a property-holder2 and1 when a   
citizen becomes a holder of property1 he
 becomes a conservative and thoughtful  
voter4 ,he will more carefully consider 
the measures and individuals to be voted
 for4 ,in proportion as he increases his
 property interests1 he becomes         
important as a tax-payer4  ,there is    
little trouble between the ,negro and   
the white man in matters of education2  
and1 when it comes to his business      
development1 the black man has implicit 
faith in the advice of the ,southern    
white man4 ,when he gets into trouble in
 the courts1 which requires a bond to be
 given1 in nine cases out of ten1 he    
goes to a ,southern white man for advice
 and assistance4 ,every one who has     
lived in the ,south knows that1 in many 

of the church troubles among the        
coloured people1 the ministers and other
 church officers apply to the nearest   
white minister for assistance and       
instruction4 ,when by reason of mutual  
concession we reach the point where we  
shall consult the ,southern white man   
about our politics as we now consult him
 about our business1 legal1 and         
religious matters1 there will be a      
change for the better in the situation4 
,the object-lesson of a thousand        
,negroes in every county in the ,south  
who own neat and comfortable homes1     
possessing skill1 industry1 and thrift1 
with money in the bank1 and are large   
tax-payers co-operating with the white  
men in the ,south in every manly way for
 the development of their own           
communities and counties1 will go a long
 way1 in a few years1 toward changing   
the present status of the ,negro as a   
citizen1 as well as the attitude of the 
whites toward the blacks4  ,as the      
,negro grows in industrial and business 

directions1 he will divide in his       
politics on economic issues1 just as the
 white man in other parts of the country
 now divides his vote4 ,as the ,south   
grows in business prosperity it will    
divide its vote on economic issues1 just
 as other sections of the country divide
 their vote4 ,when we can enact laws    
that result in honestly cutting off the 
large ignorant and non-tax-paying vote1 
and when we can bring both races to the 
point where they will co-operate with   
each other in politics1 as they do now  
in matters of business1 religion1 and   
education1 the problem will be in a     
large measure solved1 and political     
outbreaks will cease4     ,,chapter     
,,vii4   ,one of the great questions    
which ,christian education must face in 
the ,south is the proper adjustment of  
the new relations of the two races4 ,it 
is a question which must be faced       
calmly1 quietly1 dispassionately2 and   
the time has now come to rise above     
party1 above race1 above colour1 above  

sectionalism1 into the region of duty of
 man to man1 of ,american to ,american1 
of ,christian to ,christian4  ,i        
remember not long ago1 when about five  
hundred coloured people sailed from the 
port of ,savannah bound for ,liberia1   
that the news was flashed all over the  
country1 ,the ,negro has made up his    
mind to return to his own country1 and  
that1 in this was the solution of the   
race problem in the ,south4 ,but these  
short-sighted people forgot the fact    
that before breakfast that morning about
 five hundred more ,negro children were 
born in the ,south alone4  ,and then1   
once in a while1 somebody is so bold as 
to predict that the ,negro will be      
absorbed by the white race4 ,let us look
 at this phase of the question for a    
moment4 ,it is a fact that1 if a person 
is known to have one per cent4 of       
,african blood in his veins1 he ceases  
to be a white man4 ,the ninety-nine per 
cent4 of ,caucasian blood does not weigh
 by the side of the one per cent4 of    

,african blood4 ,the white blood counts 
for nothing4 ,the person is a ,negro    
every time4 ,so it will be a very       
difficult task for the white man to     
absorb the ,negro4  ,somebody else      
conceived the idea of colonising the    
coloured people1 of getting territory   
where nobody lived1 putting the coloured
 people there1 and letting them be a    
nation all by themselves4 ,there are two
 objections to that4 ,first1 you would  
have to build one wall to keep the      
coloured people in1 and another wall to 
keep the white people out4 ,if you were 
to build ten walls around ,africa to-day
 you could not keep the white people    
out1 especially as long as there was a  
hope of finding gold there4  ,i have    
always had the highest respect for those
 of our race who1 in trying to find a   
solution for our ,southern problem1     
advised a return of the race to ,africa1
 and because of my respect for those who
 have thus advised1 especially ,bishop  
,henry ,m4 ,turner1 ,i have tried to    

make a careful and unbiassed study of   
the question1 during a recent sojourn in
 ,europe1 to see what opportunities     
presented themselves in ,africa for     
self-development and self-government4   
,i am free to say that ,i see no way out
 of the ,negro's present condition in   
the ,south by returning to ,africa4     
,aside from other insurmountable        
obstacles1 there is no place in ,africa 
for him to go where his condition would 
be improved4 ,all ,europe--especially   
,england1 ,france1 and ,germany--has    
been running a mad race for the last    
twenty years1 to see which could gobble 
up the greater part of ,africa2 and     
there is practically nothing left4 ,old 
,king ,cetewayo put it pretty well when 
he said1 ,first come missionary1 then   
come rum1 then come traders1 then come  
army2 and ,cecil ,rhodes has expressed  
the prevailing sentiment more recently  
in these words1 ,i would rather have    
land than 'niggers4' ,and ,cecil ,rhodes
 is directly responsible for the killing

 of thousands of black natives in ,south
 ,africa1 that he might secure their    
land4  ,in a talk with ,henry ,m4       
,stanley1 the explorer1 he told me that 
he knew no place in ,africa where the   
,negroes of the ,united ,states might go
 to advantage2 but ,i want to be more   
specific4 ,let us see how ,africa has   
been divided1 and then decide whether   
there is a place left for us4 ,on the   
,mediterranean coast of ,africa1        
,morocco is an independent ,state1      
,algeria is a ,french possession1 ,tunis
 is a ,french protectorate1 ,tripoli is 
a province of the ,ottoman ,empire1     
,egypt is a province of ,turkey4 ,on the
 ,atlantic coast1 ,sahara is a ,french  
protectorate1 ,adrar is claimed by      
,spain1 ,senegambia is a ,french trading
 settlement1 ,gambia is a ,british crown
 colony1 ,sierra ,leone is a ,british   
crown colony4 ,liberia is a republic of 
freed ,negroes1 ,gold ,coast and        
,ashanti are ,british colonies and      
,british protectorates1 ,togoland is a  

,german protectorate1 ,dahomey is a     
kingdom subject to ,french influence1   
,slave ,coast is a ,british colony and  
,british protectorate1 ,niger ,coast is 
a ,british protectorate1 the ,cameroons 
are trading settlements protected by    
,germany1 ,french ,congo is a ,french   
protectorate1 ,congo ,free ,state is an 
international ,african ,association1    
,angola and ,benguela are ,portuguese   
protectorates1 and the inland countries 
are controlled as follows3 ,the ,niger  
,states1 ,masina1 etc41 are under       
,french protection2 ,land ,gandu is     
under ,british protection1 administered 
by the ,royal ,haussan ,niger ,company4 
,south ,africa is controlled as follows3
 ,damara and ,namaqua ,land are ,german 
protectorates1 ,cape ,colony is a       
,british colony1 ,basutoland is a ,crown
 colony1 ,bechuanaland is a ,british    
protectorate1 ,natal is a ,british      
colony1 ,zululand is a ,british         
protectorate1 ,orange ,free ,state is   
independent1 the ,south ,african        

,republic is independent1 and the       
,zambesi is administered by the ,british
 ,south ,african ,company4 ,lourence    
,marques is a ,portuguese possession4   
,east ,africa has also been disposed of 
in the following manner3 ,mozambique is 
a ,portuguese possession1 ,british      
,central ,africa is a ,british          
protectorate1 ,german ,east ,africa is  
in the ,german sphere of influence1     
,zanzibar is a sultanate under ,british 
protection1 ,british ,east ,africa is a 
,british protectorate1 ,somaliland is   
under ,british and ,italian protection1 
,abyssinia is independent4 ,east ,soudan
 7including ,nubia1 ,kordofan1 ,darfur1 
and ,wadai7 is in the ,british sphere of
 influence4 ,it will be noted that1 when
 one of these ,european countries cannot
 get direct control over any section of 
,africa1 it at once gives it out to the 
world that the country wanted is in the 
sphere of its influence1--a very        
convenient term4 ,if we are to go to    
,africa1 and be under the control of    

another government1 ,i think we should  
prefer to take our chances in the sphere
 of influence of the ,united ,states4   
,all this shows pretty conclusively that
 a return to ,africa for the ,negro is  
out of the question1 even provided that 
a majority of the ,negroes wished to go 
back1 which they do not4 ,the adjustment
 of the relations of the two races must 
take place here2 and it is taking place 
slowly1 but surely4 ,as the ,negro is   
educated to make homes and to respect   
himself1 the white man will in turn     
respect him4  ,it has been urged that   
the ,negro has inherent in him certain  
traits of character that will prevent   
his ever reaching the standard of       
civilisation set by the whites1 and     
taking his place among them as an equal4
 ,it may be some time before the ,negro 
race as a whole can stand comparison    
with the white in all respects1--it     
would be most remarkable1 considering   
the past1 if it were not so2 but the    
idea that his objectionable traits and  

weaknesses are fundamental1 ,i think1 is
 a mistake4 ,for1 although there are    
elements of weakness about the ,negro   
race1 there are also many evidences of  
strength4  ,it is an encouraging sign1  
however1 when an individual grows to the
 point where he can hold himself up for 
personal analysis and study4 ,it is     
equally encouraging for a race to be    
able to study itself1--to measure its   
weakness and strength4 ,it is not       
helpful to a race to be continually     
praised and have its weakness           
overlooked1 neither is it the most      
helpful thing to have its faults alone  
continually dwelt upon4 ,what is needed 
is downright1 straightforward honesty in
 both directions2 and this is not always
 to be obtained4  ,there is little      
question that one of the ,negroes' weak 
points is physical4 ,especially is this 
true regarding those who live in the    
large cities1 ,north and ,south4 ,but in
 almost every case this physical        
weakness can be traced to ignorant      

violation of the laws of health or to   
vicious habits4 ,the ,negro1 who during 
slavery lived on the large plantations  
in the ,south1 surrounded by restraints1
 at the close of the war came to the    
cities1 and in many cases found the     
freedom and temptations of the city too 
much for him4 ,the transition was too   
sudden4  ,when we consider what it meant
 to have four millions of people slaves 
to-day and freemen to-morrow1 the wonder
 is that the race has not suffered more 
physically than it has4 ,i do not       
believe that statistics can be so       
marshalled as to prove that the ,negro  
as a race is physically or numerically  
on the decline4 ,on the other hand1 the 
,negro as a race is increasing in       
numbers by a larger percentage than is  
true of the ,french nation4 ,while the  
death-rate is large in the cities1 the  
birth-rate is also large2 and it is to  
be borne in mind that eighty-five per   
cent4 of these people in the ,gulf      
,states are in the country districts and

 smaller towns1 and there the increase  
is along healthy and normal lines4 ,as  
the ,negro becomes educated1 the high   
death-rate in the cities will disappear4
 ,for proof of this1 ,i have only to    
mention that a few years ago no coloured
 man could get insurance in the large   
first-class insurance companies4 ,now   
there are few of these companies which  
do not seek the insurance of educated   
coloured men4 ,in the ,north and ,south 
the physical intoxication that was the  
result of sudden freedom is giving way  
to an encouraging1 sobering process2    
and1 as this continues1 the high        
death-rate will disappear even1 in the  
large cities4  ,another element of      
weakness which shows itself in the      
present stage of the civilisation of the
 ,negro is his lack of ability to form a
 purpose and stick to it through a      
series of years1 if need be1--years that
 involve discouragement as well as      
encouragement1--till the end shall be   
reached4 ,of course there are brilliant 

exceptions to this rule2 but there is no
 question that here is an element of    
weakness1 and the same1 ,i think1 would 
be true of any race with the ,negro's   
history4  ,few of the resolutions which 
are made in conventions1 etc41 are      
remembered and put into practice six    
months after the warmth and enthusiasm  
of the debating hall have disappeared4  
,this1 ,i know1 is an element of the    
white man's weakness1 but it is the     
,negro ,i am discussing1 not the white  
man4 ,individually1 the ,negro is       
strong4 ,collectively1 he is weak4 ,this
 is not to be wondered at4 ,the ability 
to succeed in organised bodies is one of
 the highest points in civilisation4    
,there are scores of coloured men who   
can succeed in any line of business as  
individuals1 or will discuss any subject
 in a most intelligent manner1 yet who1 
when they attempt to act in an organised
 body1 are utter failures4  ,but the    
weakness of the ,negro which is most    
frequently held up to the public gaze is

 that of his moral character4 ,no one   
who wants to be honest and at the same  
time benefit the race will deny that    
here is where the strengthening is to be
 done4 ,it has become universally       
accepted that the family is the         
foundation1 the bulwark1 of any race4   
,it should be remembered1 sorrowfully   
withal1 that it was the constant        
tendency of slavery to destroy the      
family life4 ,all through two hundred   
and fifty years of slavery1 one of the  
chief objects was to increase the number
 of slaves2 and to this end almost all  
thought of morality was lost sight of1  
so that the ,negro has had only about   
thirty years in which to develop a      
family life2 while the ,anglo-,saxon    
rate1 with which he is constantly being 
compared1 has had thousands of years of 
training in home life4 ,the ,negro felt 
all through the years of bondage that he
 was being forcibly and unjustly        
deprived of the fruits of his labour4   
,hence he felt that anything he could   

get from the white man in return for    
this labour justly belonged to him4     
,since this was true1 we must be patient
 in trying to teach him a different code
 of morals4  ,from the nature of things1
 all through slavery it was life in the 
future world that was emphasised in     
religious teaching rather than life in  
this world4 ,in his religious meetings  
in ante-bellum days the ,negro was      
prevented from discussing many points of
 practical religion which related to    
this world2 and the white minister1 who 
was his spiritual guide1 found it more  
convenient to talk about heaven than    
earth1 so very naturally that to-day in 
his religious meeting it is the ,negro's
 feelings which are worked upon mostly1 
and it is description of the glories of 
heaven that occupy most of the time of  
his sermon4  ,having touched upon some  
of the weak points of the ,negro1 what  
are his strong characteristics8 ,the    
,negro in ,america is different from    
most people for whom missionary effort  

is made1 in that he works4 ,he is not   
ashamed or afraid of work4 ,when hard1  
constant work is required1 ask any      
,southern white man1 and he will tell   
you that in this the ,negro has no      
superior4 ,he is not given to strikes or
 to lockouts4 ,he not only works        
himself1 but he is unwilling to prevent 
other people from working4  ,of the     
forty buildings of various kinds and    
sizes on the grounds of the ,tuskegee   
,normal and ,industrial ,institute1 in  
,alabama1 as ,i have stated before1     
almost all of them are the results of   
the labour performed by the students    
while securing their academic education4
 ,one day the student is in his history 
class4 ,the next day the same student1  
equally happy1 with his trowel and in   
overalls1 is working on a brick wall4   
,while at present the ,negro may lack   
that tenacious mental grasp which       
enables one to pursue a scientific or   
mathematical investigation through a    
series of years1 he has that delicate1  

mental feeling which enables him to     
succeed in oratory1 music1 etc4  ,while 
,i have spoken of the ,negro's moral    
weakness1 ,i hope it will be kept in    
mind that in his original state his is  
an honest race4 ,it was slavery that    
corrupted him in this respect4 ,but in  
morals he also has his strong points4   
,few have ever found the ,negro guilty  
of betraying a trust4 ,there are almost 
no instances in which the ,negro        
betrayed either a ,federal or a         
,confederate soldier who confided in    
him4 ,there are few instances where the 
,negro has been entrusted with valuables
 when he has not been faithful4 ,this   
country has never had a more loyal      
citizen4 ,he has never proven himself a 
rebel4 ,should the ,southern ,states1   
which so long held him in slavery1 be   
invaded by a foreign foe1 the ,negro    
would be among the first to come to the 
rescue4  ,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 up1 he knows that he is    
ignorant and wants to get light4 ,he    
fills every school-house and every      
church which is opened for him4 ,he is  
willing to follow leaders1 when he is   
once convinced that the leaders have his
 best interest at heart4  ,under the    
constant influence of the ,christian    
education which began thirty-five years 
ago1 his religion is every year becoming
 less emotional and more rational and   
practical1 though ,i1 for one1 hope that
 he will always retain in a large degree
 the emotional element in religion4     
,during the two hundred and fifty years 
that the ,negro spent in slavery he had 
little cause or incentive to accumulate 
money or property4 ,thirty-five years   
ago this was something which he had to  
begin to learn4 ,while the great bulk of
 the race is still without money and    
property1 yet the signs of thrift are   
evident on every hand4 ,especially 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 ,south4  ,i wish
 to give an example of the sort of thing
 the ,negro has to contend with1        
however1 in his efforts to lift himself 
up4  ,not long ago a mother1 a black    
mother1 who lived in one of our         
,northern ,states1 had heard it         
whispered around in her community for   
years that the ,negro was lazy1         
shiftless1 and would not work4 ,so1 when
 her only boy grew to sufficient size1  
at considerable expense and great       
self-sacrifice1 she had her boy         
thoroughly taught the machinist's trade4
 ,a job was secured in a neighbouring   
shop4 ,with dinner bucket in hand and   
spurred on by the prayers of the now    
happy-hearted mother1 the boy entered   
the shop to begin his first day's work4 
,what happened8 ,every one of the twenty
 white men threw down his tools1 and    
deliberately walked out1 swearing that  
he would not give a black man an        

opportunity to earn an honest living4   
,another shop was tried with the same   
result1 and still another1 the result   
ever the same4 ,to-day this once        
promising1 ambitious black man is a     
wreck1--a confirmed drunkard1--with no  
hope1 no ambition4 ,i ask1 ,who blasted 
the life of this young man8 ,on whose   
hands does his lifeblood rest8 ,the     
present system of education1 or rather  
want of education1 is responsible4      
,public schools and colleges should turn
 out men who will throw open the doors  
of industry1 so that all men1           
everywhere1 regardless of colour1 shall 
have the same opportunity to earn a     
dollar that they now have to spend it4  
,i know of a good many kinds of         
cowardice and prejudice1 but ,i know    
none equal to this4 ,i know not which is
 the worst1--the slaveholder who        
perforce compelled his slave to work    
without compensation or the man who1 by 
force and strikes1 compels his neighbour
 to refrain from working for            

compensation4  ,the ,negro will be on a 
different footing in this country when  
it becomes common to associate the      
possession of wealth with a black skin4 
,it is not within the province of human 
nature that the man who is intelligent  
and virtuous1 and owns and cultivates   
the best farm in his county1 is the     
largest tax-payer1 shall very long be   
denied proper respect and consideration4
 ,those who would help the ,negro most  
effectually during the next fifty years 
can do so by assisting in his           
development along scientific and        
industrial lines in connection with the 
broadest mental and religious culture4  
,from the results of the war with ,spain
 let us learn this1 that ,god has been  
teaching the ,spanish nation a terrible 
lesson4 ,what is it8 ,simply this1 that 
no nation can disregard the interest of 
any portion of its members without that 
nation becoming weak and corrupt4 ,the  
penalty may be long delayed4 ,god has   
been teaching ,spain that for every one 

of her subjects that she has left in    
ignorance1 poverty1 and crime the price 
must be paid2 and1 if it has not been   
paid with the very heart of the nation1 
it must be paid with the proudest and   
bluest blood of her sons and with       
treasure that is beyond computation4    
,from this spectacle ,i pray ,god that  
,america will learn a lesson in respect 
to the ten million ,negroes in this     
country4  ,the ,negroes in the ,united  
,states are1 in most of the elements of 
civilisation1 weak4 ,providence has     
placed them here not without a purpose4 
,one object1 in my opinion1 is that the 
stronger race may imbibe a lesson from  
the weaker in patience1 forbearance1 and
 childlike yet supreme trust in the ,god
 of the ,universe4 ,this race has been  
placed here that the white man might    
have a great opportunity of lifting     
himself by lifting it up4  ,out from the
 ,negro colleges and industrial schools 
in the ,south there are going forth each
 year thousands of young men and women  

into dark and secluded corners1 into    
lonely log school-houses1 amidst poverty
 and ignorance2 and though1 when they go
 forth1 no drums beat1 no banners fly1  
no friends cheer1 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 enemy4   
,if they are encouraged and properly    
supported in their work of educating the
 masses in the industries1 in economy1  
and in morals1 as well as mentally1 they
 will1 before many years1 get the race  
upon such an intellectual1 industrial1  
and financial footing that it will be   
able to enjoy without much trouble all  
the rights inherent in ,american        
citizenship4  ,now1 if we wish to bring 
the race to a point where it should be1 
where it will be strong1 and grow and   
prosper1 we have got to1 in every way   
possible1 encourage it4 ,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 patronising4 ,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 enterprises4 ,i believe that  
the best way to bring the race to the   
point where it will compare with other  
races is to let it understand that1     
whenever it enters into any line of     
business1 it will be patronised just in 
proportion as it makes that business as 
successful1 as useful1 as is true of any
 business enterprise conducted by any   
other race4 ,the race that would grow   
strong and powerful must have the       
element of hero-worship in it that will1
 in the largest degree1 make it honour  
its great men1 the men who have         
succeeded in that race4 ,i think we     
should be ashamed of the coloured man or
 woman who would not venerate the name  
of ,frederick ,douglass4 ,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  
race4 ,i speak of this1 not that ,i want
 my people to regard themselves in a    
narrow1 bigoted sense1 because there is 
nothing so hurtful to an individual or  
to a race as to get into the habit of   
feeling that there is no good except in 
its own race1 but because ,i wish that  
it may have reasonable pride in all that
 is honourable in its history4 ,whenever
 you hear a coloured man say that he    
hates the people of the other race1     
there1 in most instances1 you will find 
a weak1 narrow-minded coloured man4     
,and1 whenever you find a white man who 
expresses the same sentiment toward the 
people of other races1 there1 too1 in   
almost every case1 you will find a      
narrow-minded1 prejudiced white man4    
,that person is the broadest1 strongest1
 and most useful who sees something to  
love and admire in all races1 no matter 
what their colour4  ,if the ,negro race 
wishes to grow strong1 it must learn to 
respect itself1 not to be ashamed4 ,it  

must learn that it will only grow in    
proportion as its members have          
confidence in it1 in proportion as they 
believe that it is a coming race4  ,we  
have reached a period when educated     
,negroes should give more attention to  
the history of their race2 should devote
 more time to finding out the true      
history of the race1 and in collecting  
in some museum the relics that mark its 
progress4 ,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 civilisation1 which show how they 
lived from period to period4 ,we should 
have so much pride that we would spend  
more time in looking into the history of
 the race1 more effort and money in     
perpetuating in some durable form its   
achievements1 so that from year to year1
 instead of looking back with regret1 we
 can point to our children the rough    
path through which we grew strong and   
great4  ,we have a very bright and      

striking example in the history of the  
,jews in this and other countries4      
,there is1 perhaps1 no race that has    
suffered so much1 not so much in        
,america as in some of the countries in 
,europe4 ,but these people have clung   
together4 ,they have had a certain      
amount of unity1 pride1 and love of     
race2 and1 as the years go on1 they will
 be more and more influential in this   
country1--a country where they were once
 despised1 and looked upon with scorn   
and derision4 ,it is largely because the
 ,jewish race has had faith in itself4  
,unless the ,negro learns more and more 
to imitate the ,jew in these matters1 to
 have faith in himself1 he cannot expect
 to have any high degree of success4  ,i
 wish to speak upon another subject     
which largely concerns the welfare of   
both races1 especially in the           
,south1--lynching4 ,it is an unpleasant 
subject2 but ,i feel that ,i should be  
omitting some part of my duty to both   
races did ,i not say something on the   

subject4  ,for a number of years the    
,south has appealed to the ,north and to
 federal authorities1 through the public
 press1 from the public platform1 and   
most eloquently through the late ,henry 
,w4 ,grady1 to leave the whole matter of
 the rights and protection of the ,negro
 to the ,south1 declaring that it would 
see to it that the ,negro would be made 
secure in his citizenship4 ,during the  
last half-dozen years the whole country1
 from the ,president down1 has been     
inclined more than ever to pursue this  
policy1 leaving the whole matter of the 
destiny of the ,negro to the ,negro     
himself and to the ,southern white      
people1 among whom the great bulk of    
,negroes live4  ,by the present policy  
of non-interference on the part of the  
,north and the federal government the   
,south is given a sacred trust4 ,how    
will she execute this trust8 ,the world 
is waiting and watching to see4 ,the    
question must be answered largely by the
 protection it gives to the life of the 

,negro and the provisions that are made 
for his development in the organic laws 
of the ,state4 ,i fear that but few     
people in the ,south realise to what an 
extent the habit of lynching1 or the    
taking of life without due process of   
law1 has taken hold of us1 and is       
hurting us1 not only in the eyes of the 
world1 but in our own moral and material
 growth4  ,lynching was instituted some 
years ago with the idea of punishing and
 checking criminal assaults upon women4 
,let us examine the facts1 and see where
 it has already led us and is likely    
further to carry us1 if we do not rid   
ourselves of the evil4 ,many good people
 in the ,south1 and also out of the     
,south1 have gotten the idea that       
lynching is resorted to for one crime   
only4 ,i have the facts from an         
authoritative source4 ,during last year 
one hundred and twenty-seven persons    
were lynched in the ,united ,states4 ,of
 this number1 one hundred and eighteen  
were executed in the ,south and nine in 

the ,north and ,west4 ,of the total     
number lynched1 one hundred and two were
 ,negroes1 twenty-three were whites1 and
 two ,indians4 ,now1 let every one      
interested in the ,south1 his country1  
and the cause of humanity1 note this    
fact1--that only twenty-four of the     
entire number were charged in any way   
with the crime of rape2 that is1        
twenty-four out of one hundred and      
twenty-seven cases of lynching4         
,sixty-one of the remaining cases were  
for murder1 thirteen for being suspected
 of murder1 six for theft1 etc4 ,during 
one week last spring1 when ,i kept a    
careful record1 thirteen ,negroes were  
lynched in three of our ,southern       
,states2 and not one was even charged   
with rape4 ,all of these thirteen were  
accused of murder or house-burning2 but 
in neither case were the men allowed to 
go before a court1 so that their        
innocence or guilt might be proven4     
,when we get to the point where         
four-fifths of the people lynched in our

 country in one year are for some crime 
other than rape1 we can no longer plead 
and explain that we lynch for one crime 
alone4  ,let us take another year1 that 
of #ahib1 for example1 when #bda persons
 were lynched in the whole ,united      
,states4 ,of this number #cf were       
lynched in ,northern and ,western       
,states1 and #bje in our ,southern      
,states2 #afj were ,negroes1 #e of these
 being women4 ,the facts show that1 out 
of the #bda lynched1 only #eg were even 
charged with rape or attempted rape1    
leaving in this year alone #ahd persons 
who were lynched for other causes than  
that of rape4  ,if it were necessary1 ,i
 could produce figures for other years4 
,within a period of six years about #ijj
 persons have been lynched in our       
,southern ,states4 ,this is but a few   
hundred short of the total number of    
soldiers who lost their lives in ,cuba  
during the ,spanish-,american ,war4 ,if 
we would realise still more fully how   
far this unfortunate evil is leading us 

on1 note the classes of crime during a  
few months for which the local papers   
and the ,associated ,press say that     
lynching has been inflicted4 ,they      
include murder1 rioting1 incendiarism1  
robbery1 larceny1 self-defence1         
insulting women1 alleged                
stock-poisoning1 malpractice1 alleged   
barn-burning1 suspected robbery1 race   
prejudice1 attempted murder1            
horse-stealing1 mistaken identity1 etc4 
,the evil has so grown that we are now  
at the point where not only blacks are  
lynched in the ,south1 but white men as 
well4 ,not only this1 but within the    
last six years at least a half-dozen    
coloured women have been lynched4 ,and  
there are a few cases where ,negroes    
have lynched members of their own race4 
,what is to be the end of all this8     
,furthermore1 every lynching drives     
hundreds of ,negroes out of the farming 
districts of the ,south1 where they make
 the best living and where their        
services are of greatest value to the   

country1 into the already over-crowded  
cities4  ,i know that some argue that   
the crime of lynching ,negroes is not   
confined to the ,south4 ,this is true2  
and no one can excuse such a crime as   
the shooting of innocent black men in   
,illinois1 who were guilty of nothing1  
except seeking labour4 ,but my words    
just now are to the ,south1 where my    
home is and a part of which ,i am4 ,let 
other sections act as they will2 ,i want
 to see our beautiful ,southland free   
from this terrible evil of lynching4    
,lynching does not stop crime4 ,in the  
vicinity in the ,south where a coloured 
man was alleged recently to have        
committed the most terrible crime ever  
charged against a member of my race1 but
 a few weeks previously five coloured   
men had been lynched for supposed       
incendiarism4 ,if lynching was a cure   
for crime1 surely the lynching of those 
five would have prevented another ,negro
 from committing a most heinous crime a 
few weeks later4  ,we might as well face

 the facts bravely and wisely4 ,since   
the beginning of the world crime has    
been committed in all civilised and     
uncivilised countries1 and a certain    
percentage of it will always be         
committed both in the ,north and in the 
,south2 but ,i believe that the crime of
 rape can be stopped4 ,in proportion to 
the numbers and intelligence of the     
population of the ,south1 there exists  
little more crime than in several other 
sections of the country2 but1 because of
 the lynching evil1 we are constantly   
advertising ourselves to the world as a 
lawless people4 ,we cannot disregard the
 teachings of the civilised world for   
eighteen hundred years1 that the only   
way to punish crime is by law4 ,when we 
leave this anchorage chaos begins4  ,i  
am not pleading for the ,negro alone4   
,lynching injures1 hardens1 and blunts  
the moral sensibilities of the young and
 tender manhood of the ,south4 ,never   
shall ,i forget the remark by a little  
nine-year-old white boy1 with blue eyes 

and flaxen hair4 ,the little fellow said
 to his mother1 after he had returned   
from a lynching3 ,i have seen a man     
hanged2 now ,i wish ,i could see one    
burned4 ,rather than hear such a remark 
from one of my little boys1 ,i would    
prefer to see him in his grave4 ,this is
 not all4 ,every community guilty of    
lynching says in so many words to the   
governor1 to the legislature1 to the    
sheriff1 to the jury1 and to the judge3 
,we have no faith in you and no respect 
for you4 ,we have no respect for the law
 which we helped to make4  ,in the      
,south1 at the present time1 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      
world2 for1 almost without exception1   
the governors1 the sheriffs1 the judges1
 the juries1 and the lawyers are all    
white men1 and they can be trusted1 as a
 rule1 to do their duty4 ,otherwise1 it 
is needless to tax the people to support
 these officers4 ,if our present laws   

are not sufficient properly to punish   
crime1 let the laws be changed2 but that
 the punishment may be by lawfully      
constituted authorities is the plea ,i  
make4 ,the history of the world proves  
that where the law is most strictly     
enforced there is the least crime3 where
 people take the administration of the  
law into their own hands there is the   
most crime4  ,but there is still another
 side4 ,the white man in the ,south has 
not only a serious duty and             
responsibility1 but the ,negro has a    
duty and responsibility in this matter4 
,in speaking of my own people1 ,i want  
to be equally frank2 but ,i speak with  
the greatest kindness4 ,there is too    
much crime among them4 ,the figures for 
a given period show that in the ,united 
,states thirty per cent4 of the crime   
committed is by ,negroes1 while we      
constitute only about twelve per cent4  
of the entire population4 ,this         
proportion holds good not only in the   
,south1 but also in ,northern ,states   

and cities4  ,no race that is so largely
 ignorant and so recently out of slavery
 could1 perhaps1 show a better record1  
but we must face these plain facts4 ,he 
is most kind to the ,negro who tells him
 of his faults as well as of his        
virtues4 ,a large percentage of the     
crime among us grows out of the idleness
 of our young men and women4 ,it is for 
this reason that ,i have tried to insist
 upon some industry being taught in     
connection with their course of literary
 training4 ,it is vitally important now 
that every parent1 every teacher and    
minister of the gospel1 should teach    
with unusual emphasis morality and      
obedience to the law4 ,at the fireside1 
in the school-room1 in the              
,sunday-school1 from the pulpit1 and in 
the ,negro press1 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 race4 ,let it be      
understood1 for all time1 that no one   

guilty of rape can find sympathy or     
shelter with us1 and that none will be  
more active than we in bringing to      
justice1 through the proper authorities1
 those guilty of crime4 ,let the        
criminal and vicious element of the race
 have1 at all times1 our most severe    
condemnation4 ,let a strict line be     
drawn between the virtuous and the      
criminal4 ,i condemn1 with all the      
indignation of my soul1 any beast in    
human form guilty of assaulting a woman4
 ,i am sure ,i voice the sentiment of   
the thoughtful of my race in this       
condemnation4  ,we should not1 as a     
race1 become discouraged4 ,we are making
 progress4 ,no race has ever gotten upon
 its feet without discouragements and   
struggles4  ,i should be a great        
hypocrite and a coward if ,i did not add
 that which my daily experience has     
taught me to be true2 namely1 that the  
,negro has among many of the ,southern  
whites as good friends as he has        
anywhere in the world4 ,these friends   

have not forsaken us4 ,they will not do 
so4 ,neither will our friends in the    
,north4 ,if we make ourselves           
intelligent1 industrious1 economical1   
and virtuous1 of value to the community 
in which we live1 we can and will work  
out our salvation right here in the     
,south4 ,in every community1 by means of
 organised effort1 we should seek1 in a 
manly and honourable way1 the           
confidence1 the co-operation1 the       
sympathy1 of the best white people in   
the ,south and in our respective        
communities4 ,with the best white people
 and the best black people standing     
together1 in favour of law and order and
 justice1 ,i believe that the safety and
 happiness of both races will be made   
secure4  ,we are one in this country4   
,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  
race4 ,when one race is strong1 the     
other is strong2 when one is weak1 the  

other is weak4 ,there is no power that  
can separate our destiny4 ,unjust laws  
and customs which exist in many places  
injure the white man and inconvenience  
the ,negro4 ,no race can wrong another  
race1 simply because it has the power to
 do so1 without being permanently       
injured in its own morals4 ,the ,negro  
can endure the temporary inconvenience1 
but the injury to the white man is      
permanent4 ,it is for the white man to  
save himself from this degradation that 
,i plead4 ,if a white man steals a      
,negro's ballot1 it is the white man who
 is permanently injured4 ,physical death
 comes to the one ,negro lynched in a   
county2 but death of the morals--death  
of the soul--comes to those responsible 
for the lynching4  ,those who fought and
 died on the battlefield for the freedom
 of the slaves performed their duty     
heroically and well1 but a duty remains 
to those left4 ,the mere fiat of law    
cannot make an ignorant voter an        
intelligent voter1 cannot make a        

dependent man an independent man1 cannot
 make one citizen respect another4      
,these results will come to the ,negro1 
as to all races1 by beginning at the    
bottom and gradually working up to the  
highest possibilities of his nature4    
,in the economy of ,god there is but one
 standard by which an individual can    
succeed3 there is but one for a race4   
,this country expects that every race   
shall measure itself by the ,american   
standard4 ,during the next half-century1
 and more1 the ,negro must continue     
passing through the severe ,american    
crucible4 ,he is to be tested in his    
patience1 his forbearance1 his          
perseverance1 his power to endure       
wrong1--to withstand temptations1 to    
economise1 to acquire and use           
skill1--his ability to compete1 to      
succeed in commerce1 to disregard the   
superficial for the real1 the appearance
 for the substance1 to be great and yet 
small1 learned and yet simple1 high and 
yet the servant of all4 ,this1--this is 

the passport to all that is best in the 
life of our ,republic2 and the ,negro   
must possess it or be barred out4  ,in  
working out his own destiny1 while the  
main burden of activity must be with the
 ,negro1 he will need in the years to   
come1 as he has needed in the past1 the 
help1 the encouragement1 the guidance1  
that the strong can give the weak4 ,thus
 helped1 those of both races in the     
,south will soon throw off the shackles 
of racial and sectional prejudice1 and  
rise above the clouds of ignorance1     
narrowness1 and selfishness into that   
atmosphere1 that pure sunshine1 where it
 will be the highest ambition to serve  
man1 our brother1 regardless of race or 
previous condition4     ,,chapter       
,,viii4   ,before ending this volume1 ,i
 have deemed it wise and fitting to sum 
up in the following chapter all that ,i 
have attempted to say in the previous   
chapters1 and to speak at the same time 
a little more definitely about the      
,negro's future and his relation to the 

white race4  ,all attempts to settle the
 question of the ,negro in the ,south by
 his removal from this country have so  
far failed1 and ,i think that they are  
likely to fail4 ,the next census will   
probably show that we have about ten    
millions of ,negroes in the ,united     
,states4 ,about eight millions of these 
are in the ,southern ,states4 ,we have  
almost a nation within a nation4 ,the   
,negro population within the ,united    
,states lacks but two millions of being 
as large as the whole population of     
,mexico4 ,it is nearly twice as large as
 the population of the ,dominion of     
,canada4 ,it is equal to the combined   
population of ,switzerland1 ,greece1    
,honduras1 ,nicaragua1 ,cuba1 ,uruguay1 
,santo ,domingo1 ,paraguay1 and ,costa  
,rica4 ,when we consider1 in connection 
with these facts1 that the race has     
doubled itself since its freedom1 and is
 still increasing1 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 problem4 ,at most1 even if   
the government were to provide the      
means1 but a few hundred thousand could 
be transported each year4 ,the yearly   
increase in population would more than  
overbalance the number transplanted4    
,even if it did not1 the time required  
to get rid of the ,negro by this method 
would perhaps be fifty or seventy-five  
years4 ,the idea is chimerical4  ,some  
have advised that the ,negro leave the  
,south and take up his residence in the 
,northern ,states4 ,i question whether  
this would leave him any better off than
 he is in the ,south1 when all things   
are considered4 ,it has been my         
privilege to study the condition of our 
people in nearly every part of ,america2
 and ,i say1 without hesitation1 that1  
with some exceptional cases1 the ,negro 
is at his best in the ,southern ,states4
 ,while he enjoys certain privileges in 
the ,north that he does not have in the 
,south1 when it comes to the matter of  

securing property1 enjoying business    
opportunities and employment1 the ,south
 presents a far better opportunity than 
the ,north4 ,few coloured men from the  
,south are as yet able to stand up      
against the severe and increasing       
competition that exists in the ,north1  
to say nothing of the unfriendly        
influence of labour organisations1 which
 in some way prevents black men in the  
,north1 as a rule1 from securing        
employment in skilled labour            
occupations4  ,another point of great   
danger for the coloured man who goes    
,north is in the matter of morals1 owing
 to the numerous temptations by which he
 finds himself surrounded4 ,he has more 
ways in which he can spend money than in
 the ,south1 but fewer avenues of       
employment are open to him4 ,the fact   
that at the ,north the ,negro is        
confined to almost one line of          
employment often tends to discourage and
 demoralise the strongest who go from   
the ,south1 and to make them an easy    

prey to temptation4 ,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 ago1 when there was a good deal  
of excitement in the ,south concerning  
emigration to the ,west4 ,this          
settlement1 ,i found1 was much below the
 standard of that of a similar number of
 our people in the ,south4 ,the only    
conclusion1 therefore1 it seems to me1  
which any one can reach1 is that the    
,negroes1 as a mass1 are to remain in   
the ,southern ,states4 ,as a race1 they 
do not want to leave the ,south1 and the
 ,southern white people do not want them
 to leave4 ,we must therefore find some 
basis of settlement that will be        
constitutional1 just1 manly1 that will  
be fair to both races in the ,south and 
to the whole country4 ,this cannot be   
done in a day1 a year1 or any short     
period of time4 ,we can1 it seems to me1
 with the present light1 decide upon a  
reasonably safe method of solving the   

problem1 and turn our strength and      
effort in that direction4 ,in doing     
this1 ,i would not have the ,negro      
deprived of any privilege guaranteed to 
him by the ,constitution of the ,united 
,states4 ,it is not best for the ,negro 
that he relinquish any of his           
constitutional rights4 ,it is not best  
for the ,southern white man that he     
should4  ,in order that we may1 without 
loss of time or effort1 concentrate our 
forces in a wise direction1 ,i suggest  
what seems to me and many others the    
wisest policy to be pursued4 ,i have    
reached these conclusions by reason of  
my own observations and experience1     
after eighteen years of direct contact  
with the leading and influential        
coloured and white men in most parts of 
our country4 ,but ,i wish first to      
mention some elements of danger in the  
present situation1 which all who desire 
the permanent welfare of both races in  
the ,south should carefully consider4   
,first4--,there is danger that a certain

 class of impatient extremists among the
 ,negroes1 who have little knowledge of 
the actual conditions in the ,south1 may
 do the entire race injury by attempting
 to advise their brethren in the ,south 
to resort to armed resistance or the use
 of the torch1 in order to secure       
justice4 ,all intelligent and           
well-considered discussion of any       
important question or condemnation of   
any wrong1 both in the ,north and the   
,south1 from the public platform and    
through the press1 is to be commended   
and encouraged2 but ill-considered1     
incendiary utterances from black men in 
the ,north will tend to add to the      
burdens of our people in the ,south     
rather than relieve them4               
,second4--,another danger in the ,south1
 which should be guarded against1 is    
that the whole white ,south1 including  
the wide1 conservative1 law-abiding     
element1 may find itself represented    
before the bar of public opinion by the 
mob1 or lawless element1 which gives    

expression to its feelings and tendency 
in a manner that advertises the ,south  
throughout the world4 ,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 offset1 in any large degree1 the     
unfortunate reputation which the lawless
 have too often made for many portions  
of the ,south4  ,third4--,no race or    
people ever got upon its feet without   
severe and constant struggle1 often in  
the face of the greatest discouragement4
 ,while passing through the present     
trying period of its history1 there is  
danger that a large and valuable element
 of the ,negro race may become          
discouraged in the effort to better its 
condition4 ,every possible influence    
should be exerted to prevent this4      
,fourth4--,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 occurrences4 ,often these   
reports are written by newspaper men1   
who give the impression that there is a 
race conflict throughout the ,south1 and
 that all ,southern white people are    
opposed to the ,negro's progress1       
overlooking the fact that1 while in some
 sections there is trouble1 in most     
parts of the ,south there is1           
nevertheless1 a very large measure of   
peace1 good will1 and mutual            
helpfulness4 ,in this same relation much
 can be done to retard the progress of  
the ,negro by a certain class of        
,southern white people1 who1 in the     
midst of excitement1 speak or write in a
 manner that gives the impression that  
all ,negroes are lawless1 untrustworthy1
 and shiftless4 ,as an example1 a       
,southern writer said not long ago1 in a
 communication to the ,new ,york        
,independent3 ,even in small towns the  
husband cannot venture to leave his wife
 alone for an hour at night4 ,at no     
time1 in no place1 is the white woman   

safe from insults and assaults of these 
creatures4 ,these statements1 ,i        
presume1 represented the feelings and   
the conditions that existed at the time 
they were written in one community or   
county in the ,south4 ,but thousands of 
,southern white men and women would be  
ready to testify that this is not the   
condition throughout the ,south1 nor    
throughout any one ,state4              
,fifth4--,under the next head ,i would  
mention that1 owing to the lack of      
school opportunities for the ,negro in  
the rural districts of the ,south1 there
 is danger that ignorance and idleness  
may increase to the extent of giving the
 ,negro race a reputation for crime1 and
 that immorality may eat its way into   
the moral fibre of the race1 so as to   
retard its progress for many years4 ,in 
judging the ,negro in this regard1 we   
must not be too harsh4 ,we must remember
 that it has only been within the last  
thirty-four years that the black father 
and mother have had the responsibility1 

and consequently the experience1 of     
training their own children4 ,that they 
have not reached perfection in one      
generation1 with the obstacles that the 
parents have been compelled to overcome1
 is not to be wondered at4  ,sixth4--,as
 a final source of danger to be guarded 
against1 ,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 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 
withholds the same privileges from a    
black man in the same condition4 ,such  
legislation injures and retards the     
progress of both races4 ,it is an       
injustice to the poor white man1 because
 it takes from him incentive to secure  
education and property as prerequisites 
for voting4 ,he feels that1 because he  
is a white man1 regardless of his       
possessions1 a way will be found for him

 to vote4 ,i would label all such       
measures1 ,laws to keep the poor white  
man in ignorance and poverty4  ,as the  
,talladega ,news ,reporter1 a           
,democratic newspaper of ,alabama1      
recently said3 ,but it is a weak cry    
when the white man asks odds on         
intelligence over the ,negro4 ,when     
nature has already so handicapped the   
,african in the race for knowledge1 the 
cry of the boasted ,anglo-,saxon for    
still further odds seems babyish4 ,what 
wonder that the world looks on in       
surprise1 if not disgust4 ,it cannot    
help but say1 if our contention be true 
that the ,negro is an inferior race1    
that the odds ought to be on the other  
side1 if any are to be given4 ,and why  
not8 ,no1 the thing to do--the only     
thing that will stand the test of       
time--is to do right1 exactly right1 let
 come what will4 ,and that right thing1 
as it seems to me1 is to place a fair   
educational qualification before every  
citizen1--one that is self-testing1 and 

not dependent on the wishes of weak men1
 letting all who pass the test stand in 
the proud ranks of ,american voters1    
whose votes shall be counted as cast1   
and whose sovereign will shall be       
maintained as law by all the powers that
 be4 ,nothing short of this will do4    
,every exemption1 on whatsoever ground1 
is an outrage that can only rob some    
legitimate voter of his rights4  ,such  
laws as have been made--as an example1  
in ,mississippi--with the understanding 
clause hold out a temptation for the    
election officer to perjure and degrade 
himself by too often deciding that the  
ignorant white man does understand the  
,constitution when it is read to him and
 that the ignorant black man does not4  
,by such a law the ,state not only      
commits a wrong against its black       
citizens2 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 elections4  ,such laws 
are hurtful1 again1 because they keep   

alive in the heart of the black man the 
feeling that the white man means to     
oppress him4 ,the only safe way out is  
to set a high standard as a test of     
citizenship1 and require blacks and     
whites alike to come up to it4 ,when    
this is done1 both will have a higher   
respect for the election laws and those 
who make them4 ,i do not believe that1  
with his centuries of advantage over the
 ,negro in the opportunity to acquire   
property and education as prerequisites 
for voting1 the average white man in the
 ,south desires that any special law be 
passed to give him advantage over the   
,negro1 who has had only a little more  
than thirty years in which to prepare   
himself for citizenship4 ,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 politics1 even  
in matters where no principle is        
involved1 and that he is only loyal to  
his own race and acting in a manly way  

when he is opposing him4 ,such a policy 
has proved most hurtful to both races4  
,where it is a matter of principle1     
where a question of right or wrong is   
involved1 ,i would advise the ,negro to 
stand by principle at all hazards4 ,a   
,southern white man has no respect for  
or confidence in a ,negro who acts      
merely for policy's sake2 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 government4  ,under these six
 heads ,i believe ,i have stated some of
 the main points which all high-minded  
white men and black men1 ,north and     
,south1 will agree need our most earnest
 and thoughtful consideration1 if we    
would hasten1 and not hinder1 the       
progress of our country4  ,as to the    
policy that should be pursued in a      
larger sense1--on this subject ,i claim 
to possess no superior wisdom or unusual
 insight4 ,i may be wrong2 ,i may be in 

some degree right4  ,in the future1 more
 than in the past1 we want to impress   
upon the ,negro the importance of       
identifying himself more closely with   
the interests of the ,south1--the       
importance of making himself part of the
 ,south and at home in it4 ,heretofore1 
for reasons which were natural and for  
which no one is especially to blame1 the
 coloured people have been too much like
 a foreign nation residing in the midst 
of another nation4 ,if ,william ,lloyd  
,garrison1 ,wendell ,phillips1 and      
,george ,l4 ,stearns were alive to-day1 
,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 man1 always with 
the understanding that this should be   
done where no question of right and     
wrong is involved4 ,in no other way1 it 
seems to me1 can we get a foundation for
 peace and progress4 ,he who advises    
against this policy will advise the     
,negro to do that which no people in    

history who have succeeded have done4   
,the white man1 ,north or ,south1 who   
advises the ,negro against it advises   
him to do that which he himself has not 
done4 ,the bed-rock upon which every    
individual rests his chances of success 
in life is securing the friendship1 the 
confidence1 the respect1 of his         
next-door neighbour of the little       
community in which he lives4 ,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       
neighbour and the community that no one 
can fill his place better in the body   
politic4 ,there is at present no other  
safe course for the black man to pursue4
 ,if the ,negro in the ,south has a     
friend in his white neighbour and a     
still larger number of friends in his   
community1 he has a protection and a    
guarantee of his rights that will be    
more potent and more lasting than any   
our ,federal ,congress or any outside   

power can confer4  ,in a recent         
editorial the ,london ,times1 in        
discussing affairs in the ,transvaal1   
,south ,africa1 where ,englishmen have  
been denied certain privileges by the   
,boers1 says3 ,england is too sagacious 
not to prefer a gradual reform from     
within1 even should it be less rapid    
than most of us might wish1 to the most 
sweeping redress of grievances imposed  
from without4 ,our object is to obtain  
fair play for the outlanders1 but the   
best way to do it is to enable them to  
help themselves4 ,this policy1 ,i think1
 is equally safe when applied to        
conditions in the ,south4 ,the foreigner
 who comes to ,america1 as soon as      
possible1 identifies himself in         
business1 education1 politics1 and      
sympathy with the community in which he 
settles4 ,as ,i have said1 we have a    
conspicuous example of this in the case 
of the ,jews4 ,also1 the ,negro in ,cuba
 has practically settled the race       
question there1 because he has made     

himself a part of ,cuba in thought and  
action4  ,what ,i have tried to indicate
 cannot be accomplished by any sudden   
revolution of methods1 but it does seem 
that the tendency more and more should  
be in this direction4 ,if a practical   
example is wanted in the direction that 
,i favour1 ,i will mention one4 ,the    
,north sends thousands of dollars into  
the ,south each year1 for the education 
of the ,negro4 ,the teachers in most of 
the academic schools of the ,south are  
supported by the ,north1 or ,northern   
men and women of the highest ,christian 
culture and most unselfish devotion4    
,the ,negro owes them a debt of         
gratitude which can never be paid4 ,the 
various missionary societies in the     
,north have done a work which1 in a     
large degree1 has been the salvation of 
the ,south2 and the result will appear  
in future generations more than in this4
 ,we have now reached the point in the  
,south where1 ,i believe1 great good    
could be accomplished by changing the   

attitude of the white people toward the 
,negro and of the ,negro toward the     
whites1 if a few white teachers of high 
character would take an active interest 
in the work of these high schools4 ,can 
this be done8 ,yes4 ,the medical school 
connected with ,shaw ,university at     
,raleigh1 ,north ,carolina1 has from the
 first had as instructors and           
professors1 almost exclusively1         
,southern white doctors1 who reside in  
,raleigh2 and they have given the       
highest satisfaction4 ,this gives the   
people of ,raleigh the feeling that this
 is their school1 and not something     
located in1 but not a part of1 the      
,south4 ,in ,augusta1 ,georgia1 the     
,payne ,institute1 one of the best      
colleges for our people1 is officered   
and taught almost wholly by ,southern   
white men and women4 ,the ,presbyterian 
,theological ,school at ,tuscaloosa1    
,alabama1 has all ,southern white men as
 instructors4 ,some time ago1 at the    
,calhoun ,school in ,alabama1 one of the

 leading white men in the county was    
given an important position in the      
school4 ,since then the feeling of the  
white people in the county has greatly  
changed toward the school4  ,we must    
admit the stern fact that at present the
 ,negro1 through no choice of his own1  
is living among another race which is   
far ahead of him in education1 property1
 experience1 and favourable condition2  
further1 that the ,negro's present      
condition makes him dependent upon the  
white people for most of the things     
necessary to sustain life1 as well as   
for his common school education4 ,in all
 history1 those who have possessed the  
property and intelligence have exercised
 the greatest control in government1    
regardless of colour1 race1 or          
geographical location4 ,this being the  
case1 how can the black man in the      
,south improve his present condition8   
,and does the ,southern white man want  
him to improve it8  ,the ,negro in the  
,south has it within his power1 if he   

properly utilises the forces at hand1 to
 make of himself such a valuable factor 
in the life of the ,south that he will  
not have to seek privileges1 they will  
be freely conferred upon him4 ,to bring 
this about1 the ,negro must begin at the
 bottom and lay a sure foundation1 and  
not be lured by any temptation into     
trying to rise on a false foundation4   
,while the ,negro is laying this        
foundation he will need help1 sympathy1 
and simple justice4 ,progress by any    
other method will be but temporary and  
superficial1 and the latter end of it   
will be worse than the beginning4       
,american slavery was a great curse to  
both races1 and ,i would be the last to 
apologise for it2 but1 in the presence  
of ,god1 ,i believe that slavery laid   
the foundation for the solution of the  
problem that is now before us in the    
,south4 ,during slavery the ,negro was  
taught every trade1 every industry1 that
 constitutes the foundation for making a
 living4 ,now1 if on this               

foundation--laid in rather a crude way1 
it is true1 but a foundation1           
nevertheless--we can gradually build and
 improve1 the future for us is bright4  
,let me be more specific4 ,agriculture  
is1 or has been1 the basic industry of  
nearly every race or nation that has    
succeeded4 ,the ,negro got a knowledge  
of this during slavery4 ,hence1 in a    
large measure1 he is in possession of   
this industry in the ,south to-day4 ,the
 ,negro can buy land in the ,south1 as a
 rule1 wherever the white man can buy   
it1 and at very low prices4 ,now1 since 
the bulk of our people already have a   
foundation in agriculture1 they are at  
their best when living in the country1  
engaged in agricultural pursuits4       
,plainly1 then1 the best thing1 the     
logical thing1 is to turn the larger    
part of our strength in a direction that
 will make the ,negro among the most    
skilled agricultural people in the      
world4 ,the man who has learned to do   
something better than any one else1 has 

learned to do a common thing in an      
uncommon manner1 is the man who has a   
power and influence that no adverse     
circumstances can take from him4 ,the   
,negro who can make himself so          
conspicuous as a successful farmer1 a   
large tax-payer1 a wise helper of his   
fellow-men1 as to be placed in a        
position of trust and honour1 whether   
the position be political or otherwise1 
by natural selection1 is a hundred-fold 
more secure in that position than one   
placed there by mere outside force or   
pressure4 ,i know a ,negro1 ,hon4       
,isaiah ,t4 ,montgomery1 in             
,mississippi1 who is mayor of a town4   
,it is true that this town1 at present1 
is composed almost wholly of ,negroes4  
,mr4 ,montgomery is mayor of this town  
because his genius1 thrift1 and         
foresight have created the town2 and he 
is held and supported in his office by a
 charter1 granted by the ,state of      
,mississippi1 and by the vote and public
 sentiment of the community in which he 

lives4  ,let us help the ,negro by every
 means possible to acquire such an      
education in farming1 dairying1         
stock-raising1 horticulture1 etc41 as   
will enable him to become a model in    
these respects and place him near the   
top in these industries1 and the race   
problem would in a large part be        
settled1 or at least stripped of many of
 its most perplexing elements4 ,this    
policy would also tend to keep the      
,negro in the country and smaller towns1
 where he succeeds best1 and stop the   
influx into the large cities1 where he  
does not succeed so well4 ,the race1    
like the individual1 that produces      
something of superior worth that has a  
common human interest1 makes a permanent
 place for itself1 and is bound to be   
recognised4  ,at a county fair in the   
,south not long ago ,i saw a ,negro     
awarded the first prize by a jury of    
white men1 over white competitors1 for  
the production of the best specimen of  
,indian corn4 ,every white man at this  

fair seemed to be pleased and proud of  
the achievement of this ,negro1 because 
it was apparent that he had done        
something that would add to the wealth  
and comfort of the people of both races 
in that county4 ,at the ,tuskegee       
,normal and ,industrial ,institute in   
,alabama we have a department devoted to
 training men in the science of         
agriculture2 but what we are doing is   
small when compared with what should be 
done at ,tuskegee and at other          
educational centres4 ,in a material     
sense the ,south is still an undeveloped
 country4 ,while race prejudice is      
strongly exhibited in many directions1  
in the matter of business1 of commercial
 and industrial development1 there is   
very little obstacle in the ,negro's    
way4 ,a ,negro who produces or has for  
sale something that the community wants 
finds customers among white people as   
well as black people4 ,a ,negro can     
borrow money at the bank with equal     
security as readily as a white man can4 

,a bank in ,birmingham1 ,alabama1 that  
has now existed ten years1 is officered 
and controlled wholly by ,negroes4 ,this
 bank has white borrowers and white     
depositors4 ,a graduate of the ,tuskegee
 ,institute keeps a well-appointed      
grocery store in ,tuskegee1 and he tells
 me that he sells about as many goods to
 the one race as to the other4 ,what ,i 
have said of the opening that awaits the
 ,negro in the direction of agriculture 
is almost equally true of mechanics1    
manufacturing1 and all the domestic     
arts4 ,the field is before him and right
 about him4 ,will he occupy it8 ,will he
 cast down his bucket where he is8 ,will
 his friends ,north and ,south encourage
 him and prepare him to occupy it8      
,every city in the ,south1 for example1 
would give support to a first-class     
architect or house-builder or contractor
 of our race4 ,the architect and        
contractor would not only receive       
support1 but1 through his example1      
numbers of young coloured men would     

learn such trades as carpentry1         
brick-masonry1 plastering1 painting1    
etc41 and the race would be put into a  
position to hold on to many of the      
industries which it is now in danger of 
losing1 because in too many cases       
brains1 skill1 and dignity are not      
imparted to the common occupations of   
life that are about his very door4 ,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   
on1 and let some one else occupy it4    
,but it is asked1 ,would you confine the
 ,negro to agriculture1 mechanics1 and  
domestic arts1 etc48 ,not at all2 but   
along the lines that ,i have mentioned  
is where the stress should be laid just 
now and for many years to come4 ,we will
 need and must have many teachers and   
ministers1 some doctors and lawyers and 
statesmen2 but these professional men   
will have a constituency or a foundation
 from which to draw support just in     

proportion as the race prospers along   
the economic lines that ,i have         
mentioned4 ,during the first fifty or   
one hundred years of the life of any    
people are not the economic occupations 
always given the greater attention8     
,this is not only the historic1 but1 ,i 
think1 the common-sense view4 ,if this  
generation will lay the material        
foundation1 it will be the quickest and 
surest way for the succeeding generation
 to succeed in the cultivation of the   
fine arts1 and to surround itself even  
with some of the luxuries of life1 if   
desired4 ,what the race now most needs1 
in my opinion1 is a whole army of men   
and women well trained to lead and at   
the same time infuse themselves into    
agriculture1 mechanics1 domestic        
employment1 and business4 ,as to the    
mental training that these educated     
leaders should be equipped with1 ,i     
should say1 ,give them all the mental   
training and culture that the           
circumstances of individuals will       

allow1--the more1 the better4 ,no race  
can permanently succeed until its mind  
is awakened and strengthened by the     
ripest thought4 ,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 emphasise4  ,frederick         
,douglass1 of sainted memory1 once1 in  
addressing his race1 used these words3  
,we are to prove that we can better our 
own condition4 ,one way to do this is to
 accumulate property4 ,this may sound to
 you like a new gospel4 ,you have been  
accustomed to hear that money is the    
root of all evil1 etc4 ,on the other    
hand1 property--money1 if you           
please--will purchase for us the only   
condition by which any people can rise  
to the dignity of genuine manhood2 for  
without property there can be no        

leisure1 without leisure there can be no
 thought1 without thought there can be  
no invention1 without invention there   
can be no progress4  ,the ,negro should 
be taught that material development is  
not an end1 but simply a means to an    
end4 ,as ,professor ,w4 ,e4 ,b4 ,du,bois
 puts it1 ,the idea should not be simply
 to make men carpenters1 but to make    
carpenters men4 ,the ,negro has a highly
 religious temperament2 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 life4 ,equally as much
 does he need to be taught to put so    
much intelligence into his labour that  
he will see dignity and beauty in the   
occupation1 and love it for its own     
sake4 ,the ,negro needs to be taught    
that more of the religion that manifests
 itself in his happiness in the         
prayer-meeting should be made practical 
in the performance of his daily task4   
,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 life4
 ,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 confers8
  ,to state in detail just what place   
the black man will occupy in the ,south 
as a citizen1 when he has developed in  
the direction named1 is beyond the      
wisdom of any one4 ,much will depend    
upon the sense of justice which can be  
kept alive in the breast of the         
,american people4 ,almost as much will  
depend upon the good sense of the ,negro
 himself4 ,that question1 ,i confess1   
does not give me the most concern just  
now4 ,the important and pressing        
question is1 ,will the ,negro with his  
own help and that of his friends take   
advantage of the opportunities that now 
surround him8 ,when he has done this1 ,i
 believe that1 speaking of his future in
 general terms1 he will be treated with 

justice1 will be given the protection of
 the law1 and will be given the         
recognition in a large measure which his
 usefulness and ability warrant4 ,if1   
fifty years ago1 any one had predicted  
that the ,negro would have received the 
recognition and honour which individuals
 have already received1 he would have   
been laughed at as an idle dreamer4     
,time1 patience1 and constant           
achievement are great factors in the    
rise of a race4  ,i do not believe that 
the world ever takes a race seriously1  
in its desire to enter into the control 
of the government of a nation in any    
large degree1 until a large number of   
individuals1 members of that race1 have 
demonstrated1 beyond question1 their    
ability to control and develop          
individual business enterprises4 ,when a
 number of ,negroes rise to the point   
where they own and operate the most     
successful farms1 are among the largest 
tax-payers in their county1 are moral   
and intelligent1 ,i do not believe that 

in many portions of the ,south such men 
need long 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
 laws4  ,in a certain town in the       
,south1 recently1 ,i was on the street  
in company with the most prominent      
,negro in the town4 ,while we were      
together1 the mayor of the town sought  
out the black man1 and said1 ,next week 
we are going to vote on the question of 
issuing bonds to secure water-works for 
this town2 you must be sure to vote on  
the day of election4 ,the mayor did not 
suggest whether he must vote yes or no2 
he knew from the very fact that this    
,negro man owned nearly a block of the  
most valuable property in the town that 
he would cast a safe1 wise vote on this 
important proposition4 ,this white man  
knew that1 because of this ,negro's     
property interests in the city1 he would
 cast his vote in the way he thought    
would benefit every white and black     

citizen in the town1 and not be         
controlled by influences a thousand     
miles away4 ,but a short time ago ,i    
read letters from nearly every prominent
 white man in ,birmingham1 ,alabama1    
asking that the ,rev4 ,w4 ,r4           
,pettiford1 a ,negro1 be appointed to a 
certain important federal office4 ,what 
is the explanation of this8 ,mr4        
,pettiford for nine years has been the  
president of the ,negro bank in         
,birmingham to which ,i have alluded4   
,during these nine years these white    
citizens have had the opportunity of    
seeing that ,mr4 ,pettiford could manage
 successfully a private business1 and   
that he had proven himself a            
conservative1 thoughtful citizen2 and   
they were willing to trust him in a     
public office4 ,such individual examples
 will have to be multiplied until they  
become the rule rather than the         
exception4 ,while we are multiplying    
these examples1 the ,negro must keep a  
strong and courageous heart4 ,he cannot 

improve his condition by any short-cut  
course or by artificial methods4 ,above 
all1 he must not be deluded into the    
temptation of believing that his        
condition can be permanently improved by
 a mere battledore and shuttlecock of   
words or by any process of mere mental  
gymnastics or oratory alone4 ,what is   
desired1 along with a logical defence of
 his cause1 are deeds1                  
results1--multiplied results1--in the   
direction of building himself up1 so as 
to leave no doubt in the minds of any   
one of his ability to succeed4  ,an     
important question often asked is1 ,does
 the white man in the ,south want the   
,negro to improve his present condition8
 ,i say1 ,yes4 ,from the ,montgomery    
7,alabama7 ,daily ,advertiser ,i clip   
the following in reference to the       
closing of a coloured school in a town  
in ,alabama3--                          
,,eufaula1 ,may #be1 #ahii4       ,the  
closing exercises of the city coloured  
public school were      held at ,st4    

,luke's ,a4 ,m4 ,e4 ,church last night1 
and were witnessed      by a large      
gathering1 including many white4 ,the   
recitations by      the pupils were     
excellent1 and the music was also an    
interesting      feature4 ,rev4 ,r4 ,t4 
,pollard delivered the address1 which   
was      quite an able one2 and the     
certificates were presented by          
,professor ,t4 ,l4 ,mc,coy1 white1 of   
the ,sanford ,street ,school4 ,the      
success of the exercises reflects great 
credit on ,professor ,s4 ,m4            
,murphy1 the principal1 who enjoys a    
deservedly good reputation as      a    
capable and efficient educator4  ,i     
quote this report1 not because it is the
 exception1 but because such marks 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 papers4 ,why should white     
people1 by their presence1 words1 and   
many other things1 encourage the black  
man to get education1 if they do not    

desire him to improve his condition8    
,the ,payne ,institute in ,augusta1     
,georgia1 an excellent institution1 to  
which ,i have already referred1 is      
supported almost wholly by the ,southern
 white ,methodist church4 ,the ,southern
 white ,presbyterians support a         
theological school at ,tuscaloosa1      
,alabama1 for ,negroes4 ,for a number of
 years the ,southern white ,baptists    
have contributed toward ,negro          
education4 ,other denominations have    
done the same4 ,if these people do not  
want the ,negro educated to a high      
standard1 there is no reason why they   
should act the hypocrite in these       
matters4  ,as barbarous as some of the  
lynchings in the ,south have been1      
,southern white men here and there1 as  
well as newspapers1 have spoken out     
strongly against lynching4 ,i quote from
 the address of the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,vance1  
of ,nashville1 ,tennessee1 delivered    
before the ,national ,sunday ,school    
,union in ,atlanta1 not long since1 as  

an example3--       ,and yet1 as ,i     
stand here to-night1 a ,southerner      
speaking for my      section1 and       
addressing an audience from all         
sections1 there is      one foul blot   
upon the fair fame of the ,south1 at the
 bare      mention of which the heart   
turns sick and the cheek is crimsoned   
with shame4 ,i want to lift my voice    
to-night in loud and long and           
indignant protest against the awful     
horror of mob violence1 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      
crime4       ,i have a right to speak on
 the subject1 and ,i propose to be      
heard4 ,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 demon4 ,these people1 whose      
fiendish glee      taunts their victim  
as his flesh crackles in the flames1 do 

not      represent the ,south4 ,i have  
not a syllable of apology for the       
sickening crime they meant to avenge4   
,but it is high time we were            
learning that lawlessness is no remedy  
for crime4 ,for one1 ,i dare      to    
believe that the people of my section   
are able to cope with      crime1       
however treacherous and defiant1 through
 their courts of      justice2 and ,i   
plead for the masterful sway of a       
righteous and      exalted public       
sentiment that shall class lynch law in 
the      category with crime4  ,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 recent 
crimes connected with assaults upon     
females4  ,if we go on making progress  
in the directions that ,i have tried to 
indicate1 more and more the ,south will 
be drawn to one course4 ,as ,i have     
already said1 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 ,states4   
,this would put upon the ,south a burden
 under which no government could stand  
and prosper4 ,every article in our      
federal ,constitution was placed there  
with a view of stimulating and          
encouraging the highest type of         
citizenship4 ,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 affections of
 the ,negro from the ,states in which he
 lives1 and would be the reversal of the
 fundamental principles of government   
for which our ,states have stood4 ,in   
other ways than this the injury would be
 as great to the white man as to the    
,negro4 ,taxation without the hope of   
becoming a voter would take away from   
one-third the citizens of the ,gulf     
,states their interest in government and
 their stimulant to become tax-payers or

 to secure education1 and thus be able  
and willing to bear their share of the  
cost of education and government1 which 
now weighs so heavily upon the white    
tax-payers of the ,south4 ,the more the 
,negro is stimulated and encouraged1 the
 sooner will he be able to bear a larger
 share of the burdens of the ,south4 ,we
 have recently had before us an example1
 in the case of ,spain1 of a government 
that left a large portion of its        
citizens in ignorance1 and neglected    
their highest interests4  ,as ,i have   
said elsewhere1 there is no escape      
through law of man or ,god from the     
inevitable3--             ,the laws of  
changeless justice bind                 
,oppressor with opprest2                
,and1 close as sin and suffering joined1
              ,we march to fate abreast4
       ,nearly sixteen millions of hands
 will aid you in pulling the      load  
upward or they will pull against you the
 load downward4 ,we      shall          
constitute one-third and more of the    

ignorance and crime of      the ,south  
or one-third its intelligence and       
progress4 ,we shall      contribute     
one-third to the business and industrial
 prosperity of      the ,south or we    
shall prove a veritable body of death1  
stagnating1 depressing1 retarding1 every
 effort to advance the      body        
politic4  ,my own feeling is that the   
,south will gradually reach the point   
where it will see the wisdom and the    
justice of enacting an educational or   
property qualification1 or both1 for    
voting1 that shall be made to apply     
honestly to both races4 ,the industrial 
development of the ,negro in connection 
with education and ,christian character 
will help to hasten this end4 ,when this
 is done1 we shall have a foundation1 in
 my opinion1 upon which to build a      
government that is honest and that will 
be in a high degree satisfactory to both
 races4  ,i do not suffer myself to take
 too optimistic a view of the conditions
 in the ,south4 ,the problem is a large 

and serious one1 and will require the   
patient help1 sympathy1 and advice of   
our most patriotic citizens1 ,north and 
,south1 for years to come4 ,but ,i      
believe that1 if the principles which ,i
 have tried to indicate are followed1 a 
solution of the question will come4 ,so 
long as the ,negro is permitted to get  
education1 acquire property1 and secure 
employment1 and is treated with respect 
in the business or commercial world1--as
 is now true in the greater part of the 
,south1--,i shall have the greatest     
faith in his working out his own destiny
 in our ,southern ,states4 ,the         
education and preparing for citizenship 
of nearly eight millions of people is a 
tremendous task1 and every lover of     
humanity should count it a privilege to 
help in the solution of a great problem 
for which our whole country is          
responsible4