,the ,american ,negro ,academy4         
,,occasional ,,papers ,,no4 #h4     ,the
 ,educated ,negro   and ,his ,mission4  
,,by ,w4 ,s4 ,,scarborough4     ,,price 
,,fifteen ,,cents4    ,,washington1 ,d4 
,c43   ,published by the ,academy1      
#aijc     ,the ,educated ,negro and ,his
 ,mission4   ,human thought is like a   
pendulum4 ,it sways from belief to      
belief1 from theory to theory1 from plan
 to plan1 and the length of its         
vibrations is governed by a multitude of
 contending forces operating from both  
within and without4 ,two of these       
influences1 in the present age1 are all 
potential4 ,one is the ardent desire to 
find the best ways and means by which   
the human race may hasten on its varied 
development1 and the other is the       
strenuous determination to discover what
 may be styled the ,northwest passage to
 that coveted result4  ,the consequence 
is that1 in this determined reach for   
all that humanity craves for itself and 
for its civilization1 the oscillations  

of thought and endeavor are oftimes     
marked by notable extremes4 ,especially 
has this been true in lines of          
education4 ,again and again has it been 
sought to wheel the educational car upon
 new tracks where exaggerated views1    
revolutionary ideas1 radical methods    
have caused the eyes of the world to be 
focused upon the attempt1 and no        
movement within the arc that the world's
 opinions have traversed has been       
unnoticed4  ,these changing sentiments  
in regard to education have been most   
noticeable in their bearing upon the    
,negro race4 ,it is conceded that       
material tendencies are characteristic  
of the present age4 ,romance1 sentiment1
 idealism in life and letters1 struggle 
as they may1 are swept aside by the     
vigorous commercialism that has taken   
possession of the nation at large4 ,meat
 has become more than life and raiment  
more than body4 ,one question is being  
intensely pressed forward--how to learn 
a living8 and the swing of the pendulum 

concerning the ,negro's education has   
swept a degree beyond any heretofore    
measured4  ,that manual training is     
needful no one will deny for a moment2  
that some of all races must inevitably  
be sons of toil is readily admitted2 and
 that such education has its share in   
the development of every race there is  
no contention4 ,we all know that        
,learning and ,labor traveled hand in   
hand1 with the emphasis upon the former1
 when the ,anglo ,saxon first wrestled  
with the wilderness of ,america4 ,we    
know too that when the desert wastes    
were changed to smiling plains the ways 
of the two drifted apart1 and learning  
took the path for culture and high      
scholarship1 untrammeled1 while labor   
plodded on1 gaining slowly comparative  
ease in its varied lines4 ,it is only   
when limitation is placed upon a race   
that objection comes--when one race is  
selected for more than a fair share of  
experimentation in the exploitation of a
 theory4 ,then danger seems imminent4   

,in this case the danger lies in the    
tendency to lose sight of ,negro        
scholarship--of ,negro higher learning4 
,there are other questions of equal     
importance to that of how to earn a     
living1 and that college president who  
expressed it in these words ,how to live
 on what one earns--how to live higher  
lives1 understood well their relative   
worth when pre-eminence was claimed for 
the latter1 and pointed to a fact too   
largely ignored--that the lessons which 
teach these last mentioned come from a  
different training from that represented
 by industrial training alone4  ,we     
repeat that the suggestions bearing upon
 the education of the ,negro race have  
caused too decided a swing of the       
pendulum in many quarters and higher    
education is in danger of being         
swallowed up1 if not to a great extent  
abandoned1 in the extreme importance    
attached to that other education we     
denominate as ,industrial4  ,the error  
arises in confounding race with the     

individual1 which is not only radically 
unphilosophic1 but morally wrong4 ,the  
recognition of individual limitation is 
right and proper1 and it is the         
individual that must be considered4 ,as 
,dr4 ,ward has pertinently observed1 ,to
 the man who wants to lift a mass of    
people out of lower into higher         
conditions they are people1 individual  
people1 not races1 and he adds further  
with just emphasis1 ,when it comes to   
nurture and education they are to be    
considered as individuals1 each to be   
lifted up and their children surrounded 
by a superior environment4 ,now1 this   
cannot be done if limitations are set   
which must by the very nature of things 
press heavily upon the individual4 ,the 
race must be left free as air to take in
 higher learning4  ,still1 it is true   
that with a general change in ideas as  
to education--its use and end--higher   
education1 pure scholarship1 has        
everywhere been placed upon the         
defensive4 ,president ,hadley has felt  

compelled to say that it must be        
prepared to prove its usefulness4 ,this 
being true1 so much the more must ,negro
 scholarship be prepared to prove its   
right to continuance1 to support and to 
freedom of choice4  ,the educated ,negro
 is an absolute fact4 ,the day is past  
when his ability to learn is scoffed at4
 ,but on the other hand is born that    
fear that he may go too far--excel or   
equal the ,anglo-,saxon1--and that fear 
is a prime motive in the minds of many  
who seek to hedge the onward path of the
 race4 ,but this path will not be       
hedged4 ,this educated class1 though few
 in number1 has been keeping for years  
the torch aloft for the race4 ,it must  
be with us for the future4 ,it has a    
mission in the world and it is working  
in a brave endeavor to fulfill that     
mission4 ,for the good of the whole     
country this class must multiply1 not   
decrease in number4  ,there are no two  
definitions of a scholar to be applied  
to different races4 ,the ,negro scholar 

must be the same as any other--endowed  
as ,milton would have him with that     
complete and generous education1 that   
which fits a man to perform justly1     
skilfully and magnanimously all the     
offices1 both private and public1 of    
peace and war4 ,and he should have1 in  
order to meet this requirement1 what    
,emerson has emphasised as              
necessary--the knowledge that comes from
 three great fields--from nature1 from  
books and from action4  ,the ,negro like
 any other scholar is not the man who   
has simply been through college1 but the
 one through whom the college has       
been--the one who has not only gathered 
from contact with college life varied   
stores of knowledge1 but who has grown  
in strength of character and breadth of 
culture2 one who has become imbued with 
the spirit of high ideals2 one who does 
not scorn the old-fashioned virtues of  
truth1 honesty and virtue2 one who has  
views crystalized into definite aims2   
one who has a settled purpose in life2  

one who is strenuously determined to    
realize a worthy ambition2 one who has  
both microscopic and telescopic         
capacity1 able to look into the minutest
 details and sweep a broad range with   
clear vision2 and one 7slightly changing
 a potent phrase7 whose reach upward is 
ever exceeding his grasp4 ,added to this
 the ,negro scholar above all must be   
one who makes himself a reforming force 
for the world's betterment4 ,here is the
 ,negro's opportunity--to combine in    
himself those characteristics ,mr4      
,austin mentioned not long ago--the     
purely scholarly qualities of the       
,german1 the statesmanlike qualities of 
the ,english and then to be a           
propagandist4  ,the ,negro who is an    
educated man must be a practical man1   
and zealous in getting to work to show  
that thinking and doing go together4 ,if
 the world needs such men from the white
 race1 so much the more are educated    
,negroes needed4 ,educated men are the  
ones to take a place in affairs1        

national and municipal1 aiding to solve 
great problems1 cure great evils and    
guide the destinies of a people4 ,what  
else can it mean when we see such a     
scholar as ,president ,seth ,low step   
from the administration of college      
affairs to the administration of the    
affairs of a great city in a righteous  
endeavor to help cleanse a corrupt      
government8 ,again1 ,president          
,roosevelt takes up the reins for the   
entire nation after active service in   
literature1 in camp1 on field and in the
 executive chair of a great state4      
,still again we instance ,dr4 ,gladden  
who has shown in the west what a        
scholar's service may and should be to  
his city1 when he chose to sit in its   
council4 ,these examples can be         
multiplied many times to show that the  
educated man has taken for his motto    
that highest one--,ich dien--,i serve--a
 service by leading and made both       
necessary and fitting by attainments and
 worth4  ,this idea of service to the   

race is peculiarly the mission of the   
educated ,negro4 ,in no other way can   
higher education be justified for the   
race2 and ,dr4 ,mayo has well           
denominated the field before him as a   
high plateau of opportunity4  ,it is a  
part of his mission to take up the      
leadership of the race4 ,the day for    
ignorant ,negro leaders is rapidly      
passing4 ,one of the first services to  
be rendered along this line is to insist
 that seeming shall no longer be allowed
 to pass for being4 ,no matter where it 
strikes or whom it strikes1 he must help
 strip away pretense from the vain and  
shallow1 unveil those who masquerade    
under borrowed1 empty1 high-sounding    
titles--those whose vociferous tones1   
glib tongues and unlimited audacity seek
 to pose their owners as learned ones   
under the thinnest veneer4 ,this        
uncovering of shams1 exposure of frauds 
will save the race many a gibe and      
sneer4  ,when there is more of genuine  
scholarship among members of the race   

there will be a different attitude      
assumed towards it4 ,but as long as the 
,negro prefers to construe owlish looks 
as wisdom1 to bow down to clam like     
silence as profound philosophy1 to stand
 agape over blatant mouthings as        
eloquence1 and to measure mental calibre
 by bodily avoirdupois1 he not only     
gives evidence of weakness in a lack of 
sound discrimination1 but he subjects   
the entire race to consequent criticism 
and contempt4  ,it is to our shame1     
however1 that we are forced to admit    
that just such shams are so often on    
dress parade before the world that by   
them the race is too frequently largely 
judged1 and to its detriment4 ,the day  
has come when the brain of the race must
 both direct its brawn and expose its   
brass4 ,ignorance and charlatanism will 
seek enlightenment or retreat only when 
intelligence and learning make a        
masterly array for leadership4  ,this   
mission of leadership has many phases4  
,the educated ,negro leads by making    

himself felt1 unconsciously1 in many    
ways4 ,dr4 ,angell of ,michigan         
,university has truly declared that a   
man who has any claims to scholarship or
 learning cannot hoard its blessings as 
a miser hoards gold1 that he can hardly 
enjoy it without in some degree sharing 
its blessings with others1 that its very
 nature is to be outgoing and effusive4 
,because of this truth the ,negro       
scholar is an inspiration to his own    
people who need just such an object     
lesson as himself4 ,the race gains      
self-respect as it sees one of its own  
on higher planes4 ,it gathers higher    
aims by the respect it instinctively    
accords him and its pride is stimulated 
along higher levels4 ,it is thus that   
colored men of learning--men of high    
ideals--are far more influential through
 the simple contact of their presence   
than are those of another race4  ,it is 
admitted that the race is cursed with   
not only pretenders but with idlers4 ,so
 is every other race1 but the ,negro can

 least afford it just now4 ,it may be   
true that some of these hold diplomas   
indicating completion of courses of     
higher studies1 but they are not really 
the educated ones1 and the fact of their
 existence does not prove the           
uselessness of the educated ,negro or   
the failure of higher education for the 
race4 ,it is to our credit that         
comparatively few1 who have struggled   
through the long years that lead to     
culture and scholarship1 can be found to
 give enemies of the race an opportunity
 for assault from that quarter4 ,figures
 will not lie1 though they sometimes may
 stagger one2 and statistics show us    
that the college-bred ,negro is far from
 giving a record for uselessness4  ,i   
have said that the educated ,negro 7and 
,i include both sexes7 leads by the     
inspiration that is radiated4 ,much as  
we regret it we cannot refuse to face   
the fact that grows upon us daily--the  
fact that there are too many ,negro     
youths to-day1 who seem lacking in      

ambition1 in aspiration1 in either      
fixedness or firmness of purpose4 ,we   
have too many dudes whose ideal does not
 rise above the possession of a new     
suit1 a cane1 a silk hat1 patent leather
 shoes1 a cigarette and a good time--too
 many in every sense the sport of the   
gods4 ,it is the mission of the educated
 ,negro to help change this--to see that
 thoughtlessness gives place to         
seriousness4 ,ruskin spoke a basic truth
 when he said that youth is no time for 
thoughtlessness2 and it is especially   
applicable to the youth of a race that  
has its future to make4 ,the ,negro who 
stands on the higher rounds of the      
ladder of education is pre-eminently    
fitted for this work of                 
inspiration--helping to mold and refine1
 working out the beast and seeing that  
the ape and tiger die1 rescuing from    
vice and all that the term implies4  ,he
 will help to form classes of society   
where culture and refinement1 high      
thinking and high living1 in its proper 

sense1 draw the line--classes made up of
 what one denominates an aristocracy of 
intelligence and character that protects
 the masses from their foes without and 
from their own folly and                
unrighteousness4  ,this same influence  
is to be exercised over those young men 
and women fresh from college who have   
two things to learn--that the knowledge 
they possess is neither altogether new1 
nor is it patented by them1 and further1
 that one great danger lies ever before 
those of any race who have won great    
distinction in college halls--that of   
total extinction out in the world4      
,nothing but true scholarship can lead  
these young people to take proper       
measure of self and estimate the things 
about them at their true value as they  
stand at that precarious place1 the     
beginning of a career4 ,there they need 
the warning of ,omar emphasized to waste
 not their hour4 ,there is plenty of    
active leadership for this              
,afro-,american scholar as a part of his

 mission4 ,there are books to be        
written2 experiments to be made2        
conditions to be analyzed2 ways and     
means invented to reach ends2 and we    
need ,negro specialists in all these    
fields4 ,great economic results will    
never come to us1 nor will a truly great
 standing be ours as long as we are     
content to leave our affairs to the sole
 direction1 however wise or kindly      
intended1 of another race4  ,so         
scientists1 historians1 linguists1      
sociologists1 professional men in all   
lines are needed1 not only that the life
 and history of the race may be properly
 presented to the world1 but in order   
that another mission may be             
fulfilled--that of keeping before the   
world the fact that the ,negro possesses
 intellect2 that he is both able and    
capable1 and that through this          
possession and training the race        
purposes to develop its civilization4   
,the ,negro scholar must not be so      
wrapped up in his own achievements that 

he cannot see the possibilities in those
 about him4 ,in this way also he is to  
help keep the victories of the race at  
the fore4 ,as a teacher he has a fine   
opportunity to note and encourage       
talent1 as a writer or journalist he can
 give credit where credit is due4 ,petty
 jealousy is out of place and fear of   
rivalry is but an evidence of           
mediocrity4 ,as a specialist in any line
 he will be able to stand where he can  
call this talent to his aid and foster  
its growth4  ,there are other fields of 
activity that need the presence and     
kindly penetrative interest of the      
educated ones of the race4 ,the slums   
call for this influence4 ,the growing   
problems in our northern cities         
especially call for work at the hands of
 the intelligent1 scholarly men and     
women4 ,vice must be checked in the     
race1 and a transformation be effected  
in the manner of life in the dark       
portions of the cities4 ,here we have a 
problem of our own--to separate poverty 

from viciousness and encourage the      
people to better morals and industrious1
 clean lives4 ,no one knows better than 
the thoughtful members of the race the  
difficulties to be faced here where a   
people is segregated in certain         
portions--where the good and the bad    
must perforce live elbow to elbow1 in   
constant contact and often consequent   
contamination4 ,it needs settlement work
 of the most earnest kind1 and only     
those who have standing and education   
will be able to do the desired good4    
,it is so often said to-day that the    
,negro should let politics alone that   
many have come to the conclusion that   
this is a field to be entirely          
abandoned4 ,but the ,negro has his      
public duties as a citizen to perform   
unless he proposes to drop out of sight1
 and in this field he has a duty4 ,here 
the man of education should do as it has
 seemed good for some of the            
,anglo-,saxon race--lend his help toward
 purifying the corrupt atmosphere1      

standing for what is upright and just4  
,it is an incontrovertible fact that the
 standing one gains demonstrates the    
capabilities and worth of the race4 ,to 
be clean-handed in all political        
dealings1 to guard both honor and       
responsibility in matters of            
business--in short to quit oneself like 
a man in all things--must be preached   
daily as of the utmost advantage to the 
race4 ,the present attitude of the      
outside world places the ,negro scholar 
in a most responsible position1 for     
every movement on his part is noticed1  
criticized1 and if he falters or fails  
higher education receives another blow4 
,not for one second can the educated    
,negro men and women afford to be       
indifferent to an iota of their action  
or conduct4  ,with all these spheres    
calling especially for education and    
culture there is still another of the   
most importance1 for it holds so much   
for the future of the race4 ,this is the
 improvement of domestic life4 ,we want 

no upper classes where evils are glossed
 over because there are money and       
position to be respected4 ,we must work 
for the ideal family life4 ,home is the 
social center for a race1 the real      
center of race improvement1 and we want 
better homes4 ,for this we must have    
better fathers1 better mothers1 better  
husbands1 better wives1 better sons and 
daughters4 ,industry alone does not make
 for morality4 ,as one has said1 ,a     
strict labor diet does not strengthen   
morals1 it only suppresses passions4 ,in
 the home and for home building is      
needed that ethical1 philosophical1 and 
esthetical training that belongs to the 
higher education4 ,this training is the 
great instrument for the present        
upbuilding of the race which is to do so
 much in laying foundations for the fine
 heredity every race covets4 ,i repeat  
that the seeds of culture are to be sown
 by the educated ,negro and in the home 
they are never wholly without fruit4    
,the artisan1 the laborer have their    

niches1 but they must work with and not 
against the educated classes4 ,that the 
strong working brain must be the guide  
of the strong working hand1 ,i have ever
 contended4 ,the masses must move1 but  
it must be the classes that move them if
 progress upward is to be the order4 ,we
 must build up an honest1 thrifty       
yeomanry1 but we must multiply rapidly  
our educated men to lead and work and   
influence in these various fields4  ,the
 fact that the ,negro scholar is needed 
for this work shows the demand4 ,we have
 not enough of them to-day4 ,if ,dr4    
,angell of ,michigan ,university does   
not consider1 when speaking of the      
,anglo-,saxon1 that one college bred    
person in a thousand in his state is    
unwise or inexpedient1 why should friend
 or foe of the ,negro consider less than
 #cjjj college bred men and women out of
 an entire population of nearly         
#aj1jjj1jjj1 unwise or inexpedient8 ,it 
would be laughable if it were not so    
pitiful to think of the hue and cry     

about too much learning for the ,negro4 
,the trouble with the race is not too   
much learning but not enough4 ,a little 
learning is surely a dangerous thing4   
,short cuts are too many and do not     
really educate4 ,they utterly fail to   
give drill and discipline absolutely    
necessary to that culture1 which comes  
only after hard labor of years4 ,all    
honor to ,dr4 ,curry when he so bravely 
declared that the talk of the           
hopelessness of education or of too much
 education1 or of the inappropriateness 
of academic education is vain1 adding   
emphatically1 ,the ,negro wants all he  
can get1 and all he gets he profits by4 
,no2 the race is in no danger of going  
college mad4 ,although the early schools
 for it were generally established upon 
the broad university plan1 yet their    
work has been largely basic2 and they   
have done far more in laying foundations
 than in producing a surplus of         
graduates from higher courses4 ,it is an
 absurdity to claim there can be too    

many of the race with learning enough   
and discipline enough to make themselves
 useful leaders4  ,there is room for all
 kinds of work4 ,there is need of the   
practical1 the industrial1 and it is    
honorable to work with the hands4 ,it   
will help in weeding out idleness4 ,but 
at the same time it is easy to ignore   
and crush higher aspirations4 ,the quiet
 shaft of ridicule oft-times does more  
than argument1 and many things that are 
very desirable and necessary are often  
overshadowed by the skilful             
juxtaposition that shifts them where    
they are but dimly seen1 while other    
things stand forth in a strong light and
 are thus looked upon as all important4 
,so the merry quip and jest at the      
,latin and ,greek studied by the ,negro 
bring far more than a passing           
laugh--they really bring discredit upon 
the whole higher training where none is 
actually intended4 ,it causes the old   
friends of higher learning to pause1 and
 take it far too literally1 and then    

determine that it is after all better to
 abandon the support of institutions for
 higher education4 ,the pity of it all  
is that it is next to impossible to undo
 the wrong4 ,like the sped arrow and the
 lost opportunity such words and their  
effect cannot be recalled4 ,even        
assurance that it is largely jest comes 
too late4 ,the jest has been all too    
convincing and the converts have at once
 arrayed their philanthropy against     
forwarding the efforts of those who seek
 the higher courses4  ,dr4 ,van,dyke has
 said that true manhood and womanhood   
cannot exist without an ideal side2 that
 these are the finer feelings which have
 no market value but which must be kept 
alive4 ,why should we endeavor to keep  
them alive8 ,simply because the world at
 large recognizes that this means       
development in the highest sense1 and we
 claim that this is an especial need of 
the ,negro race4 ,then we ask1 ,how are 
these finer feelings kept alive8 and the
 answer comes that this stimulation must

 proceed from culture and scholarship4  
,with our needs pressing upon us we see 
as no other people the importance of all
 this to bring about a change in the    
environment of the race4 ,it has a      
bearing upon this desired change that   
the virtues resulting from manual labor 
alone cannot exert4 ,industrial training
 is needed too to teach how to earn a   
living1 but1 as intimated in this paper1
 something else--the higher             
education--must be counted upon to teach
 how to live better lives1 how to get   
the most and best out of life4  ,there  
is much involved in the attempt of the  
educated ,negro to fulfil his mission4  
,the fact that there is such a swing of 
the pendulum away from higher training  
for the race1 makes it more difficult   
for those who possess it to-day to carry
 out the mission4 ,the ,negro scholar   
who sets out to pursue the paths pointed
 out does it at a great amount of       
self-sacrifice4 ,he must expect to meet 
rebuff1 discouragement1                 

misinterpretation1 lack of recognition1 
hardships1 and these do not by any means
 come alone from the ,anglo-,saxon4 ,the
 foes are often of his own race4 ,it    
will take all the philosophy he can     
summon to contend with the opposition   
that comes from ignorance1 from         
coarseness1 from the unthinking and the 
malicious4 ,it will need all his        
self-control and forbearance to move    
along under grasping1 bullying ignorance
 that seeks to ride rough shod over     
superior knowledge and breeding2 it will
 demand all his logic to meet the       
arguments from without that the ,negro  
has no time now for scholarship--that he
 must get money and get land first2 that
 learning possesses little mercantile   
value now2 that the way to advancement  
along scholarly lines is barred2 that   
the cook1 the carpenter1 the shoemaker1 
are all better paid than the scholar for
 the use of the sum of their knowledge  
which costs far less than his4 ,he must 
face the facts no matter how unjust or  

inconsistent such things are and meet   
the final question--,is it worth        
striving for8--,is it worth while to put
 ambitions and longings on the altar1 to
 work unceasingly1 uncomplainingly      
amidst stolid indifference1 absolute    
contempt and often open hostility8  ,we 
are face to face here with the question 
whether scholarship pays1 whether the   
educated ,negro is to be encouraged to  
multiply and push forward determinedly  
on his mission4 ,if there was but the   
present moment to contemplate1 the race 
might be excused for pausing1 for       
acquiescing in the limitations set for  
its education1 and for saying the game  
is not worth the candle4 ,but to-day    
does not end all4 ,there is a future and
 that ,negro is lacking in proper       
manhood who does not determine to help  
on that future4 ,the future is always   
bound up in the present and if this     
future is to make men and women out of  
the race in coming generations the      
question is answered4 ,negro scholarship

 is worth striving for1 because the     
educated ,negro is to lead for that     
future4 ,education1 learning1           
scholarship will make the undying lustre
 of a people--will prove their greatest 
glory4 ,thinkers will give an           
immortality to a people that neither    
wealth1 nor industry1 nor strength of   
arm1 nor even virtue can procure for it4
  ,so the educated ,negro must keep this
 in view1 must see his mission clearly  
and stand courageously ready to         
undertake it--    ,cleansed of servile  
panic1     ,slow to dread or despise1   
,humble because of knowledge1           
,mighty by sacrifice4  ,but there must  
be united effort among the leaders of   
the race along all lines to this end4   
,advocates of higher learning and of    
industrial education must accord respect
 to each other's opinions and work      
unitedly1 in order that neither may fall
 a sacrifice to the ,nemesis of         
,neglect4 ,and the race must sustain its
 leaders of thought and action4 ,there  

is no time to lose1 none to waste in    
eternal strife4 ,the field is large     
enough for all to glean and work in4    
,the race must make a common cause1 meet
 a common enemy and win common friends4 
,w4 ,s4 ,,scarborough4  ,wilberforce1   
,ohio4     ,transcriber's ,notes3       
,passages in italics are indicated by   
underscore4  ,the following misprints   
have been corrected3   possesion        
corrected to possession 7page #c7   ont 
corrected to out 7page #i7   nuch       
corrected to much 7page #aj7  ,printer's
 inconsistencies in hyphenation usage   
have been retained4