,the ,hale ,memorial ,sermon #aijg ,,by ,,the ,,right ,,reverend ,,robert ,,strange1 ,d4 ,d4 ,illustration3 ,seal--,sigillum seminarii theologici occidentalis ,western ,theological ,seminary ,,chicago ,the ,hale ,memorial ,sermon ,no4 #b ,,church ,,work ,among the ,negroes in the ,south ,,by ,,the ,,right ,,reverend ,,robert ,,strange1 ,d4 ,d4 ,,bishop ,,of ,,east ,,carolina ,preached on the ,evening of the ,fifth ,sunday in ,lent at ,grace ,episcopal ,church ,,chicago ,,western ,,theological ,,seminary #aijg ,,to ,,the ,,glory ,,of ,,god ,,and ,,in ,,memory ,,of ,,anna ,mc,k4 ,t4 ,,hale ,a ,,lover ,,of ,,every ,,good ,,word ,,and ,,work ,,the ,,preaching ,,and ,,printing ,,of ,,this ,,sermon ,,were ,,provided ,,for ,,by ,,her ,,husband ,c4 ,r4 ,h4 ,,extracts ,,from ,,the ,,will ,,of ,,the ,,rt4 ,,rev4 ,,charles ,,reuben ,,hale1 ,d4 ,d41 ,,ll4 ,d41 ,,bishop ,,coadjutor ,,of ,,springfield1 born #ahcg2 consecrated ,july #bf1 #ahib2 died ,december #be1 #aijj4 ,illustration3 ,cross ,in the name of the ,father1 and of the ,son1 and of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,amen4 ,i1 ,charles ,reuben ,hale1 ,bishop of ,cairo1 ,bishop ,coadjutor of ,springfield1 of the ,city of ,cairo1 ,illinois1 do make1 publish1 and declare this1 as and for my ,last ,will and ,testament1 hereby revoking all former wills by me made4 ,first4 ,first of all1 ,i commit myself1 soul and body1 into the hands of ,jesus ,christ1 my ,lord and ,saviour1 in ,whose ,merits alone ,i trust1 looking for the ,resurrection of the ,body and the ,life of the ,world to come4 99 99 99 99 99 ,fourteenth4 ,all the rest and residue of my ,estate1 personal and real1 not in this my ,will otherwise specifically devised1 wheresoever situate1 and whether legal or equitable1 ,i give1 devise1 and bequeath to ,the ,western ,theological ,seminary1 ,chicago1 ,illinois1 above mentioned1 but nevertheless ,in ,trust1 provided it shall accept the trust by an instrument in writing so stating1 filed with this ,will in the ,court where probated1 within six months after the probate of this ,will--for the general purpose of promoting the ,catholic ,faith1 in its purity and integrity1 as taught in ,holy ,scripture1 held by the ,primitive ,church1 summed up in the ,creeds and affirmed by the undisputed ,general ,councils1 and1 in particular1 to be used only and exclusively for the purposes following1 to wit3-- 7#a7 ,the establishment1 endowment1 printing1 and due circulation of a yearly ,sermon1 to be delivered annually forever1 in memory of my dear wife1 ,anna ,mc,k4 ,t4 ,hale1 to be known as ,the ,hale ,memorial ,sermon1 and 7#b7 ,the establishment1 endowment1 publication and due circulation of ,courses of ,lectures1 to be delivered annually forever1 to be called ,the ,hale ,lectures4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the subject of this ,sermon shall be some branch of ,church ,work1 in any part of the world1 which1 in the judgment of the ,trustees of ,the ,western ,theological ,seminary1 ,chicago1 ,illinois1 deserves to be better known1 in order that it may be more adequately appreciated4 ,these sermons shall be preached at such time and place as the said ,trustees of ,the ,western ,theological ,seminary1 ,chicago1 ,illinois1 may appoint1 and shall be printed in a style similar to the ,sermons of this kind already published under my direction1 viz3 ,confucianism in its relation to ,christianity1 and ,the ,religion of the ,dakotas4 ,one hundred copies of each of these ,sermons are to be given1 so soon as they come from the press1 to the preacher thereof1 and one copy of such ,sermon is1 so soon thereafter as may be1 to be sent to each ,bishop in the ,anglican ,communion1 and to such other ,bishops as may be in full communion with these ,bishops1 to the ,patriarchs and other chief ,hierarchs of the ,orthodox ,eastern ,churches1 and to the chief ,public ,libraries throughout the world4 ,should it be1 at any time1 deemed expedient to offer any of these ,sermons for sale1 the entire receipts1 over and above the expenses incurred in such sale1 shall be given to ,the ,domestic and ,foreign ,missionary ,society of the ,protestant ,episcopal ,church in the ,united ,states of ,america1 a ,corporation existing under the laws of the ,state of ,new ,york1 for the uses of said ,society4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the preacher of the ,hale ,memorial ,sermon shall always be a clergyman of the ,american ,church1 commonly called ,the ,protestant ,episcopal ,church1 or of some ,church in communion with the same1 or of one of the ,orthodox ,eastern ,churches4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,western ,theological ,seminary has gladly accepted the ,trusteeship as outlined in the above extracts from the will of the late ,bishop ,hale4 ,it will be the aim of the ,seminary1 through the ,hale ,sermons1 to make from time to time some valuable contributions to some of the ,church problems of the day1 without thereby committing itself to the utterances of its own selected ,preachers4 ,church ,work ,among the ,negroes in the ,south ,,church ,,work ,,among ,,the ,,negroes ,,in ,,the ,,south ,i take as the ,south the eleven old slave states1 which stood at one time in armed array against the rest of the ,united ,states1 which are to-day as loyal and true to the ,general ,government as any other states in this great and favored land of ours4 ,they are ,virginia1 ,north and ,south ,carolina1 ,georgia1 ,florida1 ,alabama1 ,mississippi1 ,tennessee1 ,louisiana1 ,arkansas and ,texas4 ,these states make up one-fourth of the area of the ,united ,states1 and their population is about one-fourth of that of the whole country4 ,these figures and the others that ,i shall give cannot be exact1 as we are so far away from the last census2 but they are close estimates1 and present1 ,i think1 a fair idea of the facts as they are to-day4 ,in this large section of our country1 with only #a4f per cent4 foreign born1 the negroes make up #dj per cent4 of the population4 ,they are found chiefly in the cities and towns1 and in the country along the coastal plains and on the first rise of the hills2 we see very few in the mountain districts4 ,what of the religious affiliations of the negroes8 ,nearly every negro is a nominal church member4 ,the first reason for this is that his childish emotional nature is essentially religious1 fearing or adoring the unseen powers4 ,the second reason is that the ,church is not only the religious but the social center for the negro1 largely taking the place with him1 which the secret and benevolent societies hold among the white people4 ,very few are ,roman ,catholics4 ,the ,roman ,church has not made the progress among the negroes1 which one would expect of the ,church which has such a hold on the common peoples of ,southern ,europe4 ,only about four thousand are members of the ,presbyterian ,church2 and to the ,episcopal ,church belong only #i1jjj communicants4 ,the rest are divided between the ,baptists and ,methodists4 ,the low educational standard of the ministry for these ,churches1 their easy methods of organization and their insistence on feeling rather than on conduct have appealed strongly to the great mass of the negroes4 ,looking more closely at those in our ,church1 we find that out of nine million negroes in the ,south1 we have about nine thousand communicants3 one in a thousand4 ,they vary from one in #cha in ,virginia to one in #gifa in ,mississippi4 ,in my own ,state of ,north ,carolina we have one negro communicant to every #dhj of the negro population4 ,what was the religious condition and teaching of the negroes before the ,civil ,war8 ,in #ahaf in ,philadelphia the ,african-,methodist ,episcopal ,church separated from the whites2 and they have formed the strongest negro organization in the country4 ,a large number of the negro ,methodists remained1 however1 with the whites2 and for some of these1 churches were built1 and a white preacher regularly set aside by the white ,conference to minister to their black people4 ,others came to the same church with the whites1 occupying the gallery or pews allotted to them in the rear of the ,church4 ,the colored ,baptists and ,presbyterians worshipped in the same way with the whites1 and were ministered to by white preachers4 ,in the ,church we had no colored ministers2 but the negroes worshipped with us in separate parts of the same ,church building1 and the white clergyman felt responsible for the black portion of his flock4 ,in many ,churches--,i have one now particularly in mind--the white people sat in the front pews in the morning and the negroes in the back4 ,in the afternoon1 the same clergyman1 in the same ,church1 preached to the negroes1 sitting in front1 and the white people1 some of whom generally came1 sitting behind4 ,at the ,holy ,communion and at ,confirmation whites and blacks came together1 the blacks generally last4 ,in ,south ,carolina1 when the ,civil ,war began1 there were very nearly as many black communicants in the ,church as white4 ,on every plantation and in nearly every ,christian home throughout the ,south1 without regard to religious affiliations1 the negroes were taught in ,sunday-schools by the mistress and her older daughters4 ,many of the large planters employed a regular chaplain for their negroes4 ,i knew intimately the ,rev4 ,george ,patterson1 who began his ministry in ,east ,carolina as chaplain to the negroes belonging to ,mr4 ,josiah ,collins4 ,just a word or two here about slavery1 this suggestion coming to me from a ,northern clergyman1 who has for the past twenty years been doing noble work for the negroes in ,north ,carolina4 ,slavery with all its horrors was over-ruled by ,god to be a great missionary institution4 ,the savage black men were brought into the closest contact with the highest ,anglo-,saxon civilization1 the best negroes coming into personal touch with the best whites as servant and master4 ,they were taught ,christ by as fair representatives of his religion as the world has ever seen4 ,the negroes were brought under law1 and were forced to see the blessings of order and justice4 ,as ,booker ,washington also admits1 they were taught the value of work and its necessity4 ,so1 through slavery the negro in the ,united ,states to-day stands far above the wild and ignorant ,african who now inhabits the land from which he came4 ,when you read ,uncle ,tom's ,cabin1 remember that ,uncle ,tom was a product of slavery and that the fairer side as presented by ,mrs4 ,stowe was the most common in the whole ,south4 ,do not misunderstand me2 together with a large majority of the thinking white men of the ,south1 ,i rejoice that slavery is a thing of the past2 ,i would not have it again if ,i could2 ,i see its frightful evils2 but we must all acknowledge that slavery has been a potent factor for good in the evolution of the negro in the ,united ,states4 ,the great ,civil ,war swept over the ,south2 and the negro was made a free man4 ,how did this change affect his religious position8 ,the negroes as a rule left their old masters1 to try their wings and see if they were really free4 ,one sad incident in my early childhood comes back to me now4 ,i was awakened one night by the uncontrollable weeping of my mother4 ,mother1 ,mother1 ,i cried1 what is the matter6 ,hagar--my dear black mammy--is going to leave us4 ,i broke out with her in still louder lamentations4 ,mammy came in2 and then her tears fell with ours4 ,you aren't going to leave me1 ,mammy8 ,yes1 chile1 ,i'm bound to go4 ,why8 ,all the cullud people is gwine down de river2 and ,i must go too4 ,and so for pride and fear of race1 though her heart was breaking for us1 she went away4 ,i am happy to tell you that in a few months she came back1 and was1 just as before1 my loving and beloved mammy1 until the day of her death4 ,the negroes left the white churches in like manner1 and most of them stayed away in their own negro churches4 ,the ,baptists and ,methodists separated entirely from the whites1 becoming completely independent4 ,after working together for many years the colored ,presbyterians have become an independent organization4 ,we in the ,church tried to keep them with us just as before in the days of slavery2 but we only partially succeeded4 ,we began to train colored men for the ministry2 we built ,churches for them2 we admitted them to our ,diocesan ,councils on equal terms2 and we strove manfully to cling to the ,catholic idea3 one ,church for all peoples and races4 ,what are we doing now8 ,first here is our educational work4 ,in some parishes of every diocese we have parochial schools1 teaching the children mentally and morally1 hoping to get hold of the next generation1 feeling the importance of a moral and religious training which cannot be given by the public schools4 ,we have now in all our dioceses nearly a hundred of these parochial schools4 ,in ,north ,carolina and ,virginia we have a group of institutions well worth mentioning1 with which ,i am in close personal touch1 on which we are building great hope for the future3 ,st4 ,augustine ,normal and ,industrial ,school1 ,raleigh1 ,n4 ,c42 ,st4 ,paul's ,normal and ,industrial ,school1 ,lawrenceville1 ,va41 and the ,bishop ,payne ,divinity ,school1 ,petersburg1 ,va4 ,in these schools we are educating for our part of the ,south workmen1 teachers1 business and professional men1 and clergymen4 ,we are combining in them education for the hand1 for the head1 for the heart1 and for the spirit of man2 we are giving these negroes the education that trains for life in all its phases1 fitting them to be workers and leaders among their people4 ,you have heard of the ,church ,institute for the ,negro4 ,i beg you will give it your hearty sympathy and cordial co-operation4 ,the good purpose of the ,institute is to raise money first for these three ,institutions1 to lift them forward and to so increase the area of their influence that they will do in the ,church a work similar to that done outside the ,church by ,hampton and ,tuskegee4 ,after placing these three schools on a firm financial basis1 the ,institute hopes to continue its good work1 helping in the whole ,south to increase the number and to add to the efficiency of all of our parochial schools4 ,i should not forget at this point of my address to give brief but hearty mention of the blessed ,christlike work for the negroes1 which is being done by ,mrs4 ,buford's ,hospital and ,home in ,brunswick ,county1 ,va41 ,st4 ,peter's ,hospital1 ,charlotte1 ,n4 ,c41 and ,st4 ,agnes ,hospital and ,training ,school1 for ,nurses1 a department of ,st4 ,augustine ,school1 ,raleigh1 ,n4 ,c4 ,what are we doing to evangelize the negroes and build them up into ,christian men and women8 ,i will tell you a little of the work which ,i know myself1 in my own ,state of ,north ,carolina1 in our two dioceses and our one missionary jurisdiction4 ,bishop ,atkinson--our great ,church ,father during and after the ,civil ,war--felt his responsibility for the souls of the black folk2 and he and his successors have been in more or less degree pressing the work of the ,church among the negroes4 ,we have now in the ,state two arch-deacons1 thirteen clergymen1 #a1djj communicants and #ce parishes and missions4 ,each arch-deacon goes all about his own diocese1 visiting the colored parishes and missions1 consulting with the clergy1 and opening out new fields4 ,the clergy are doing just the same kind of work among their people that the white clergy are doing in their white parishes and missions1 with the exception that the colored clergy are giving more of their time to educational work4 ,i have about the same size classes for ,confirmation among the negroes that ,i have among the whites in the ,churches of the same numerical strength4 ,i have been ,bishop of ,east ,carolina about two and a half years2 and ,i have confirmed #ajf negroes and #fdd white people1 being an increase of #be per cent4 for the negroes and #ah per cent4 for the whites4 ,i am really proud of my staff of negro clergy2 they are men of high moral character and are doing good and effective service4 ,work like this ,i have described in ,north ,carolina is going on in every one of our ,states1 larger or smaller as the ,church of the white people has been larger or smaller in strength and numbers1 and as the ,bishop has been more or less interested in this special work4 ,in this purely missionary field many of us are trying to develop and utilize ,catechists1 men of age and character without the necessary literary qualifications for the ministry1 who can go forth to teach and preach to their people the simple facts of the ,gospel1 bringing the power of ,christ to bear on their daily moral life4 ,two special ways in which the ,church is influencing the negro race ,i take pleasure in mentioning4 ,arch-deacon ,russell is holding every summer on his school grounds at ,lawrenceville a ,farmers' ,conference4 ,the negroes come from all over the county and spend the day together1 asking and answering publicly questions about their progress or their failure1 their customs1 good or bad1 praising or criticising one another1 and listening to selected speakers1 urging them on to the best lines of development for their race4 ,i attended this conference last summer2 and ,i was much impressed and greatly encouraged for the true progress of the negro4 ,another far different kind of influence is going out from the ,church in ,arkansas4 ,bishop ,brown and his ,council have made an entire separation between the whites and blacks in his diocese4 ,he has appointed a negro arch-deacon for the negro race1 and has given him large power and wide discretion4 ,arch-deacon ,mc,guire is appealing to the negroes both within and without the ,church1 attending all large negro gatherings1 speaking to them about the ,church1 her customs and claims4 ,he is getting a large and sympathetic hearing2 and he and ,bishop ,brown have great hope of rapid progress for this negro branch of the ,church in ,arkansas4 ,now1 my friends1 while the work is slowly going forward1 as ,i have shown1 while the average per cent4 of growth among the negroes is nearly that of the progress among the whites2 yet conditions are not satisfactory4 ,while we can excuse ourselves1 if we will1 by pointing to the changed conditions after the war2 by telling of the days of re-construction1 which did more to separate and to make antagonistic the two races than many wars2 by speaking of the high moral standard1 which we demand and which the negroes in the mass will not accept2 by deprecating the use of our beautiful liturgy which they cannot understand2 yet we ought to have done1 we ought to be doing far more with the negroes than we have done or are doing4 ,we are barely touching the edge of the negro people2 just think of it3 one in one thousand1 while we have among the whites one in about #aba of the population4 ,in ,virginia1 where there is one in #ej of the white population who are members of the ,episcopal ,church1 there is only one in #cha of the negroes2 in ,north ,carolina one in #aae whites and one in #dhj blacks4 ,in ,south ,carolina1 where in #ahfj the whites and blacks were about equal1 the whites have gone forward to seven thousand1 and the negroes have fallen back to one thousand4 ,yet that is not the most unsatisfactory part of the matter4 ,we are not strongly attracting to the ,church the element we ought to have2 the exceptional negroes1 the educated and enterprising1 the leaders of their race4 ,why8 ,let the facts answer4 ,i have already said that the ,church strove to continue after the war the same method of dealing with the negroes as before4 ,she tried to keep the races together2 but she has found it impractical1 that impracticability growing more and more clear as the years have run on4 ,the races have been steadily drifting apart in all social or semi-social life2 the better class of each race is coming less and less into contact with each other2 and race prejudice is increasing and deepening in the great masses of both the white and the black people4 ,soon after the war1 wherever the negroes were in great numbers1 we found it necessary to build separate churches for them4 ,we admitted their clergymen and laymen to the ,councils of the diocese on equal terms with the whites2 but that custom has been steadily changing4 ,some twenty years ago ,south ,carolina and ,virginia1 dreading too great an increase of negro clergy and laity1 led the way to new conditions4 ,south ,carolina excluded them entirely from the ,diocesan ,council1 without any further provision for them4 ,virginia did not disturb those already having seats in the ,council1 but simply refused to let any more come in on the same terms4 ,she erected a separate ,convocation for the negroes1 and now allows a certain number to have seats as representatives from the ,convocation to the ,council4 ,two years ago ,arkansas put the negroes aside into a separate ,convocation with no representation in the ,council of the ,diocese4 ,georgia last year formed a separate ,convocation2 but has allowed them by the act of separation to come into the ,council to vote for the ,standing ,committee1 the deputies to the ,general ,convention and for the ,bishop1 whenever one is to be elected3 giving them1 you see1 legal representation in important affairs4 ,the ,convention of the ,diocese of ,north ,carolina is now discussing the matter of separation1 and is only delaying its own action1 while waiting to see what shall be done next fall by the ,general ,convention4 ,in our own ,diocese of ,east ,carolina1 the negroes are formally and legally on the same basis as the whites2 but is that satisfactory8 ,not at all4 ,the negro laity rarely go to the ,council4 ,the negro clergy go2 but they take a back seat2 they have nothing to do or say2 they are not expected to show their interest or their will1 except by voting4 ,instead of its doing them good to come to the ,council1 it really does them harm4 ,they are depressed1 they feel the difference between themselves and the white men2 they have little or no opportunity to take responsibility and to develop ,christian manhood4 ,perceiving this state of things1 the clear headed leader of the forces for separation in the ,diocese of ,north ,carolina tells me that he is urging this separation for the real good of the negro as well as for the growth and influence of the ,church among the white people of the ,state4 ,the fact is1 say what we will about it--it would carry me too far afield to explain it to-night--that the negro cannot work together on equality with the white man2 he either assumes an apparent insolence and stubbornness1 which the whites will not allow2 or he puts on a civility and submission1 which strips him of his manhood4 ,so1 we are placed in this condition3 when we keep the negro close to us on formal equality1 he has no real opportunity to grow and develop in the true characteristics of manhood2 when we put him off in an inferior diocesan ,convocation1 he feels that he is not treated as a man2 he is forced steadily to realize his inferiority to the white man1 that inferiority declared and impressed upon him by the ,church of ,god4 ,this1 it seems to me1 is the chief reason why we are not now growing as we ought to among the leading influential negroes of the ,south2 and the reason why there is much restlessness and want of satisfaction among the negroes who are already in the ,church4 ,what ought we to do to meet these conditions8 ,let us turn aside for a moment to consider the general conditions of the negroes and their relation to the white people4 ,we have to-day about the same relative proportion of blacks to whites in the whole country as we had in #ahfj--;about #ab per cent4--2 and we have nearly the same in the ,south1 about #dj per cent4 ,what is to become of the negro for the next fifty years8 ,no man would dare suggest an answer looking farther ahead than that3 ,god only knows4 ,some say he will amalgamate with the whites4 ,many thought so immediately after the war who do not think or say so now4 ,no2 after forty years the separation between the races is clearer1 wider and more distinct than ever before4 ,the thoughtful black men do not desire amalgamation2 and the white men will not have it4 ,some say the negro will be colonized4 ,i think that there is less reason in this answer even than in the former4 ,the negroes do not wish to go2 and we cannot force them4 ,think of the difficulty of deporting forcibly nine million people6 ,no2 as ,dr4 ,booker ,t4 ,washington says1 ,this problem is not to be solved by deportation or by amalgamation4 ,the negroes are here to stay with us1 and the bulk of them will stay in the ,south4 ,for years there has been a steady movement of the negroes from the country to the towns and cities of the ,south1 and from the ,southern cities to the ,northern4 ,i think they are coming and will continue to come ,north in sufficient numbers for our brethren of the ,north to learn to know them1 to sympathize with us in our problem and to have something of a problem themselves1 and to feel that we must all work together towards its true and final solution4 ,the negroes are dividing into two distinct classes more decidedly1 it seems to me1 than any other nationality in our country2 and ,i hope they will continue to keep and increase this distinction4 ,a minority are improving1 are taking advantage of education1 are advancing in morality and industry1 are acquiring property and becoming worthy citizens4 ,these few are setting a standard1 and are giving us hope of what the negro can and may become4 ,the majority are not improving1 but rather retrogressing4 ,they are looking on liberty as license2 they are thinking that a little education will give them the privilege of living without manual labor2 they are making higher wages the way to less work rather than the way to a higher standard of life2 they are shiftless1 immoral1 and criminal4 ,now1 as ,i study this race so dividing in the great laboratory of ,nature1 under the law of ,god which works on so justly1 ofttimes apparently so cruelly1 always for the general good of man1 ,i look forward with the hope that this smaller1 higher class will increase1 and that the larger1 lower class will decrease4 ,the better class will increase as all good things do and will increase in the providence of ,god and with the help and sympathy of true good men4 ,the larger1 meaner class of negroes will steadily diminish in two directions2 the first by movement of their best into the higher class1 swelling that slowly into the majority2 the second1 by the stern sloughing off of their worst by the diseases which spring from idleness1 self-indulgence1 filth1 and immorality4 ,what we white men of the ,north and ,south ought to do to encourage and help this better class of negroes is1 in brief phrases1 this3 ,first1 to keep our faces as flint against all social intermingling that looks toward amalgamation4 ,then1 across this chasm1 which both races frankly accept1 to join hands with those trying to lift and better themselves1 cheering1 encouraging1 and helping them4 ,we must give them full protection in their life1 liberty and pursuit of happiness2 we must give them even handed justice in law and in politics2 we must give them equality of opportunity in earning their bread1 in making their homes1 in educating their children2 we must give them every chance and all cheer and sympathy in seeking the fulfillment of the aspirations of the human heart among their own people4 ,and1 my friends1 ,i want to tell you here in ,chicago to-night that we men of the ,south are largely doing all of these things now1 and we are going to do them more and more completely4 ,we are coming to see more and more clearly that it will not do to have forty per cent4 of the people of our ,southern land sullen and suspicious1 discontented and hopeless2 but that we can only go forward at our best pace towards a happy and noble civilization1 with both races cheerful and hopeful1 sympathizing with each other in their peculiar perplexities1 trusting their brother man on earth and their ,father ,god in ,heaven4 ,keeping clearly in mind these conditions1 what ought we ,christians in the ,church of ,god to do to help and strengthen this smaller1 higher class and to persuade many of the larger1 lower class to join this higher8 ,in the first place1 we must frankly acknowledge the hard facts of the case1 and1 as far as possible1 put to one side theories4 ,we are confronted by a condition1 as far as ,i read and study1 absolutely new in the history of mankind1 where we have no exact precedent to guide us4 ,the underlying practical fact is this3 there must be separation not from but in the ,church between the two races1 for the growth of the ,church among white men and black men1 and for the development of ,christian manhood among the black men4 ,having settled and agreed on that fact1 how are we to effect that separation so as to do justice to the negro8 ,how shall we keep him still in the ,one ,holy ,catholic ,church in the ,united ,states of ,america and bestow on him her priceless blessings2 how shall we keep him close enough to receive the sympathy1 the support and the guidance of the white race2 and yet put him far enough apart to grow and to strengthen1 to meet responsibility and to make character1 to develop a manly independence and to cultivate a brave and sober initiative8 ,we have long given up the point of contact in the one parish ,church1 and have made the separation there2 we are now giving up the point of contact in the ,diocesan ,council1 and are making the separation there4 ,what more shall we do8 ,the true answer to my mind is3 make the point of contact the ,general ,convention1 and make the separation1 not by superior and inferior ,councils in the same ,diocese under the one ,bishop2 but by the erection of ,missionary ,jurisdictions1 made up out of the colored people in different ,dioceses under their own ,bishop1 on equality with any other ,missionary ,jurisdiction in the ,church4 ,we must have ,missionary ,jurisdictions in the ,south--one1 or at most1 two to begin with--composed of the negroes of two or more contiguous ,dioceses1 which shall be a part of the ,general ,church1 independent of the ,bishops and ,councils of those ,dioceses1 bearing the same relation to the ,general ,convention that the white ,missionary ,jurisdictions do4 ,that is to say1 they shall have their representatives to the ,house of ,clerical and ,lay ,delegates and their ,bishops in the ,house of ,bishops4 ,the negro clergy and laity would thus meet together in their ,missionary ,convocation in numbers great enough to hearten one another and to stir enthusiasm2 they would become responsible for their own success or failure2 they would discuss1 resolve and do their own committee work2 they would have large missionary gatherings1 which would make a deep impression on the negroes living in the city where the ,convocation meets4 ,of what race should be the ,bishop of this negro ,missionary ,jurisdiction8 ,there are two answers to this question4 ,one answer comes from those in the ,church who still cling to the theory that there must be no race division whatever in the ,church1 that there must be under all conditions conceivable or inconceivable one ,bishop in the same territory to all kinds1 classes and races of people4 ,no1 say they1 no negro ,bishop4 ,whatever be your divisions in ,councils or ,convocations or ,conventions1 let one white ,bishop be the bond of unity4 ,the same answer comes as a practical matter from men who differ widely from the above theory4 ,it comes from those who look too much1 it seems to me1 at the mass of the negroes1 the lower majority of whom ,i have spoken2 it comes from those who are hopeless of doing much for or with the negroes1 who regard them as children1 careless and unreliable1 with different aspirations from those that actuate the white man4 ,they say1 we must have a white man2 no negro is fit to be a ,bishop4 ,the other answer comes from the men who think that we are confronted by facts1 not theories1 and that theories must be given up in the face of opposing facts2 who think that the ,church in her wisdom must rise up to meet this opportunity and responsibility1 must adapt and adjust her system to the facts2 who say that if a negro ,bishop is acknowledged to be the best means to ,christianize and save the negroes1 then we must have a negro ,bishop4 ,this answer1 again1 comes from those who are looking more closely at the few1 better1 advancing negroes1 thinking of them as men1 with manly hopes and powers and aspirations1 believing that races must be lifted by their own race leaders1 that they can only truly understand and follow their own heroes4 ,we say1 ,remember ,frederick ,douglass1 look at ,booker ,washington1 know that wonderful ,presbyterian ,missionary1 ,william ,h4 ,shepherd1 consider the ,african ,methodist ,bishops1 strong men1 leaders of their fellows1 against whom no murmur of scandal is raised4 ,surely among our own men in the ,church1 or our system is woefully at fault1 we can find one or two honest1 true1 able1 pure men1 fit to be ,bishops to their own race4 ,such a man would be a ,bishop indeed to his race1 such a ,bishop as no white man can possibly be4 ,he will enter1 as only a negro can1 into their perplexities1 their hopes and their joys1 sharing really in their social life1 of which their religious life forms so great a part4 ,he and his people will be a real part of the ,holy ,catholic ,church1 all worshipping according to her incomparable liturgy1 all living under the same ,canon law4 ,he and his ,deputies will come into close contact with their white brethren in the ,general ,convention1 and will gain much from such association and consultation4 ,he will meet with the white ,bishops1 from whom his ,jurisdiction is taken1 in brotherly conference as his ,council of ,advice4 ,from such friendly contact and advice from the highest and most sympathetic white men1 he will go forth among his own people as their ,apostle1 their true ,bishop and ,father in ,god4 ,in this double relation1 in this position of high responsibility1 he will stand forth as a true mediator between the races1 pleading with both for peace1 harmony1 justice4 ,this action of the ,church1 this frank and fair position given to the negro will so appeal to the better class of the leading negroes1 will so cheer and encourage them in their true progress1 that they will come1 ,i believe1 steadily and largely into the ,church4 ,from this line of thought1 which grows clearer and clearer to me the more ,i read and think and see1 ,i look forward with hope to a wise and fair adjustment of the relation between the races of this land1 and to a happy future for a part of the negro race--how large a part ,god only knows4 ,towards this adjustment this ,church of ours can make a rich contribution2 and ,i believe she has1 under ,god1 a great part to play in enlarging the choice remnant and in bringing it to its true salvation4 ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------- ,transcriber's ,note3 ,page #ac3 ,changed are'nt to aren't 7,you aren't going7 ,page #ae3 ,changed ouside to outside 7to that done outside7 ,page #ag3 ,moved period inside end-quotes for consistency with text 7,farmers' ,conference47 ,page #ba3 ,changed the the to to the 7rarely go to the ,council7 ,page #bg3 ,changed conposed to composed 7composed of the negroes7 ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------