,,the ,,trustees ,,of ,,the ,,john ,f4  
,,slater ,,fund      ,,occasional       
,,papers1 ,,no4 #i        ,a ,,report   
,,concerning ,,the    ,,colored ,,women 
,,of ,,the ,,south      ,,by    ,,mrs4  
,e4 ,c4 ,,hobson    ,,and    ,,mrs4 ,c4 
,e4 ,,hopkins      ,,baltimore          
,,published ,,by ,,the ,,trustees       
#ahif          ,,members ,,of ,,the     
,,board4        ,appointed4      #ahhb4 
,,rutherford ,b4 ,,hayes1 of ,ohio4     
,a#ahic4      #ahhb4  ,,morrison ,r4    
,,waite1 of the ,district of ,columbia4 
,a#ahhh4      #ahhb4  ,,william ,e4     
,,dodge1 of ,new ,york4                 
,a#ahhc4      #ahhb4  ,,phillips        
,,brooks1 of ,massachusetts4            
,b#ahhi4      #ahhb4  ,,daniel ,c4      
,,gilman1 of ,maryland4      #ahhb4     
,,john ,a4 ,,stewart1 of ,new ,york4    
#ahhb4  ,,alfred ,h4 ,,colquitt1 of     
,georgia4                   ,a#ahid4    
#ahhb4  ,,morris ,k4 ,,jesup1 of ,new   
,york4      #ahhb4  ,,james ,p4 ,,boyce1
 of ,kentucky4                          

,a#ahhh4      #ahhb4  ,,william ,a4     
,,slater1 of ,connecticut4              
,elected4      #ahhc4  ,,william ,e4    
,,dodge1 ,,jr41 of ,new ,york4          
#ahhh4  ,,melville ,w4 ,,fuller1 of the 
,district of ,columbia4      #ahhi4     
,,john ,a4 ,,broadus1 of ,kentucky4     
,a#ahie4      #ahhi4  ,,henry ,c4       
,,potter1 of ,new ,york4      #ahia4    
,j4 ,l4 ,m4 ,,curry1 of the ,district of
 ,columbia4      #ahid4  ,,william ,j4  
,,northen1 of ,georgia4      #ahid4     
,,ellison ,,capers1 of ,south ,carolina4
                ,b#ahie4      #ahid4    
,c4 ,b4 ,,galloway1 of ,mississippi4    
#ahie4  ,,alexander ,e4 ,,orr1 of ,new  
,york4      #ahif4  ,,william ,l4       
,,wilson1 of ,west ,virginia4    ,from  
#ahhb to #ahia1 the ,general ,agent of  
the ,trust was ,rev4 ,a4 ,g4  ,,haygood1
 ,d4 ,d41 of ,georgia1 who resigned the 
office when he became a  ,bishop of the 
,methodist ,episcopal ,church1 ,south4  
,since #ahia1 the duties  of a ,general 
,agent have been discharged by ,dr4 ,j4 

,l4 ,m4 ,,curry1 #agcf  ,m ,st41 ,n4    
,w41 ,washington1 ,d4 ,c41 who is       
,chairman of the ,educational           
,committee4      ,,footnotes3    ,a     
,died in office4    ,b ,resigned4       
,,announcement4      ,the ,trustees of  
the ,john ,f4 ,slater ,fund propose to  
publish from time  to time papers that  
relate to the education of the colored  
race4 ,these  papers are designed to    
furnish information to those who are    
concerned  in the administration of     
schools1 and also to those who by their 
official stations are called upon to act
 or to advise in respect to the  care of
 such institutions4    ,the ,trustees   
believe that the experimental period in 
the education of  the blacks is drawing 
to a close4 ,certain principles that    
were doubted  thirty years ago now      
appear to be generally recognized as    
sound4 ,in the  next thirty years better
 systems will undoubtedly prevail1 and  
the aid  of the separate ,states is     
likely to be more and more freely       

bestowed4  ,there will also be abundant 
room for continued generosity on the    
part  of individuals and associations4  
,it is to encourage and assist the      
workers and the thinkers that these     
papers will be published4    ,each      
paper1 excepting the first number 7made 
up chiefly of official  documents71 will
 be the utterance of the writer whose   
name is attached  to it1 the ,trustees  
disclaiming in advance all              
responsibility for the  statement of    
facts and opinions4          ,a ,,report
 ,,concerning ,,the ,,colored ,,women   
,,of ,,the ,,south4        ,,to ,,the   
,,board ,,of ,,trustees                 
,,of ,,the ,,john ,f4 ,,slater ,,fund4  
,gentlemen3--,we have the honor to      
submit the following report of a  recent
 tour 7made at the request of your      
,board7 for the purpose of  ascertaining
 the condition1 mental and moral1 of the
 colored women of  the ,south4    ,we   
started on ,october #bjth1 #ahie4 ,our  
tour was confined to the five  ,central 

,states1--,virginia1 ,north and ,south  
,carolina1 ,georgia and  ,alabama4 ,we  
visited twenty-four schools and         
institutions1 examined  the life of the 
people in the one-roomed cabin of the   
plantation and  road-side1 in the hovels
 of the manufacturing towns1 as well as 
the  neat and attractive homes which are
 the result of industry and thrift      
aided by education4 ,we conversed with  
colored clergymen1 lawyers1  doctors1   
druggists1 artisans1 cotton-factors and 
laborers1 with male  and female teachers
 in educational and industrial schools1 
with trained  nurses and servants1 with 
wives and mothers1 and with girls in and
 out  of the schools4    ,if the        
conclusions we draw should seem         
optimistic1 it should be  remembered    
that we received our impressions from   
negroes at their best1  in the five     
states we visited1 as most of them under
 thirty years of  age have come under   
the influence of the great schools which
 have been  established by northern     

philanthropy4    ,we found the graduates
 of these schools#a intelligent1 modest1
  self-respecting1 clear sighted and    
frank in regard to the shortcomings  and
 defects of their race1 and while       
grateful for all that has been  done for
 them1 anxious to help themselves1 and  
full of confidence and  hope for the    
future4 ,among those not actually in the
 schools we found  the desire for       
education and for the decencies of life 
to be intense1  and parents appear to be
 willing to make the greatest sacrifices
 to  secure for their children better   
advantages4    ,but the negro women of  
the ,south are subject to temptations1  
of which  their white sisters of the    
,north have no appreciation1 and which  
come to them from the days of their race
 enslavement4 ,they are still  the      
victims of the white man under a        
survival of a system tacitly            
recognized1 which deprives them of the  
sympathy and help of the  ,southern     
white women1 and to meet such           

temptations the negro woman can  only   
offer the resistance of a low moral     
standard1 an inheritance from  the      
system of slavery1 made still lower from
 a life-long residence in a  one-roomed 
cabin4    ,remove a girl early from such
 degrading environment1 send her home   
to her people with the changed idea of  
personal decency acquired by  residence 
at one of the training schools1 and she 
becomes at once a  powerful agent for   
good in her family and neighborhood4    
,dr4 ,curry1 the  able ,secretary of the
 ,slater and ,peabody ,trusts1 says3    
8,of the desire of the colored people   
for education the proof is  conclusive1 
and of their capacity to receive mental 
culture there is  not a shade of a      
reason to support an adverse            
hypothesis40#b    ,it was a great       
surprise to us to learn that1 at all the
 schools we  visited1 the pupils 7except
 in the state schools7 pay from five to 
seven dollars a month for board and     
tuition4 ,those who cannot pay1  work   

ten hours a day for the privilege of two
 hours schooling in the  evening4 ,it   
was in this way ,booker ,washington     
obtained his education1  working his way
 one hundred miles to reach ,hampton4   
,the day scholars  in two rural schools 
we visited in the black belt of ,alabama
 paid one  dollar a month for their     
tuition for eight months1 as the state  
only  pays1 on an average1 thirty       
dollars a month to a teacher for three  
months1 and provides neither            
school-house nor books4    ,where1 we   
ask1 do we find among the well-to-do    
working classes of the  ,north1 to say  
nothing of the poorest1 such an effort  
to educate their  children8 ,of the     
moral effect of the education so        
obtained there seems  to be no question4
    ,the leaders of the race say1 8all  
we ask is time and a fair chance10  and 
judging of their future by their past   
since the emancipation1 we  think they  
are right4 ,we were surprised at their  
clear judgment and  general information 

about their people1 at their freedom    
from malice1  and kindly feeling toward 
the whites1 and in this connection we   
may  quote a conversation with ,mr4     
,chavis1 a negro graduate of ,gammon    
,theological ,seminary1 and in charge of
 the ,bennet ,school at ,greensboro1    
,n4 ,c4 ,he says3    8,the whites       
complain that the educated negro        
declines #8hired work'  and that        
education is ruining him4 ,those men who
 have acquired a  profession or trade1  
or learned how to cultivate the land on 
scientific  principles1 refuse to enter 
the employ of the whites at six or eight
  dollars a month1 because independently
 they can earn more1 and then the       
whites say #8there is a negro spoiled by
 education4'    8,the girls who graduate
 from the schools have acquired         
knowledge which  enables them to support
 themselves at good wages until they    
marry1  which they generally do five    
years after they graduate1 generally to 
the men with whom they have been        

educated4 ,if they by chance go into    
domestic service1 they get from four to 
six dollars a month1 and are  treated as
 in the old slave days1 which they      
naturally resent2 they  therefore seek  
independent occupations40    8,how about
 their morals80 we asked4    8,i can    
confidently assert1 that of the girls ,i
 have educated very few  have gone      
astray1 and in the face of temptations  
to which the whites  are not subjected4 
,we teach them it is a part of their    
duty in life to  encourage and guide    
their ignorant sisters4 ,we strive in   
this school to  found our education upon
 a strong ,christian basis1 and we feel 
that ,god  has already blessed our      
work40    8,what occupations are open to
 your young people80    8,the men become
 clergymen1 doctors1 lawyers1           
apothecaries and teachers4  ,many of the
 trades are now open to them1 thanks to 
the industrial  schools4 ,they are      
buying land1 and through the education  
they obtain at  ,hampton and ,tuskegee  

they are cultivating it more            
intelligently4 ,they  have not as yet   
gone much into business1 owing to the   
want of capital40    8,in the practice  
of the professions you mention1 are they
 employed by  the whites80    8,hardly  
at all2 but we are eight millions of    
people1 and that is a  nation in itself1
 so that we are independent in that     
respect1 though no  doubt in time the   
whites will become accustomed to seeing 
us occupying  positions requiring       
education and intelligence1 and will    
employ us40    8,where do your best     
pupils come from80    8,from the rural  
districts4 ,the girls and boys from the 
country are more  anxious to learn1 more
 diligent and ambitious4 ,they turn out 
better  than those from the towns1 who  
are lazy1 and are always longing for    
diversions and #8fascinating            
frivolities4'0    ,from ,mr4 and ,mrs4  
,satterfield 7white71 of ,scotia        
,seminary1 ,n4 ,c41 we  received similar
 replies to the same questions4 ,mr4    

,satterfield said3    8,we have been    
here many years1 and ,i have carefully  
followed the lives  of my girls after   
they have left1 and ,i can safely say   
that ,i can count  on the fingers of one
 hand those who have gone astray4 ,as a 
rule they  marry within five years after
 they graduate1 and their chief ambition
  is to have comfortable1 ,christian    
homes4 ,as they generally marry the     
young men who have had educations like  
their own1 both work for the  same      
object4 ,in fact10 he added1 8the       
character and intelligence of the       
negro1 like the whites1 is the result of
 environment and heredity1 and  these   
factors produce corresponding results   
upon each40    ,in this opinion all the 
white teachers we saw agreed1 from      
,hampton  to ,montgomery1 without       
exception4 ,we also learned that the    
teachers  discover no difference in     
mental capacity between the             
,afro-,americans of  pure blood and     
those who have an admixture of white    

blood4    ,at ,tuskegee1 ,mrs4 ,booker  
,washington gathered1 from within a     
radius of  seven miles1 about thirty    
married women that we might talk with   
them1  and hear about their lives4 ,some
 of them walked seven miles to meet  the
 8,northern ,ladies10 and they ranged in
 age from thirty to seventy  years4     
,none had less than five children1 and  
one had had nineteen4  ,their husbands  
were all laborers4 ,some few owned their
 land and houses1  though most of these 
were so heavily mortgaged as to give    
them no  chance to get ahead1 interest  
sometimes running as high as #bj per    
cent4  ,their stories reminded us of the
 accounts that have come from ,russia of
  the oppression of the peasants by the 
,jews1 which led to the edicts of       
expulsion of the latter by the late     
,czar4    ,these women1 however1 had all
 come under the influence which ,mr4 and
  ,mrs4 ,booker ,washington exercise at 
,tuskegee4 ,they are striving to have   
more decent homes1 to educate their     

children1 and to get out of debt4  ,they
 have taken the first step toward       
elevation2 they have learned what  is   
better1 and are willing and anxious to  
work for it4    ,the negro problem of   
which we hear so much does not seem to  
us as  difficult to solve as the labor  
problem of the ,north1 complicated as   
that is by the mixture of races and     
religions4 ,the negroes1 on the         
contrary1 are a homogeneous race1       
,afro-,americans1 knowing no other      
country than the ,united ,states1 and   
desiring no other2 agricultural in      
their habits and tastes1 intensely      
attached to the soil1 loyal to the      
government1 and mostly ,protestant in   
faith1 except in ,louisiana and  parts  
of ,florida4    ,the ,afro-,american    
to-day in the five central ,southern    
,states is not so  degraded or ignorant 
as was the ,french peasant before the   
revolution of  #agib4 ,in fact he is    
less degraded1 for while his poverty and
 ignorance  are no greater1 he is not   

unjustly oppressed nor weighed down by  
taxation4    ,mr4 ,arthur ,young1 whose 
account of his travels in ,france on the
 eve of  the revolution is quoted       
authoritatively by historians1 states3#c
  8,husbandry is not much further       
advanced than among the ,hurons1 and the
  people almost as wild as their        
country4 ,their houses brutally filthy1 
no windows1 no other light than the     
door1 mud floors and chimneys4 ,the     
people can neither read nor write1 girls
 and women terribly ragged1  if possible
 worse clad than with no clothes at all4
 ,all without shoes  and stockings4     
,people so ignorant that they know      
nothing of their own  weights and       
measures40    ,from this deplorable     
condition1 the ,french peasant has risen
 in a  hundred years to be the most     
thrifty1 industrious and intelligent    
agriculturist in ,europe4    ,with this 
example before us1 one may reasonably   
expect1 judging from  his progress in   
the last twenty-five years1 that the    

,afro-,american1 by  the middle of the  
#bjth century1 may stand side by side   
with the other  races now crowding into 
the ,republic4 ,we were told at ,hampton
 that the  students who now apply for   
entrance are nearly as advanced as those
 who  graduated twenty years ago1 and at
 the ,scotia ,school for girls they are 
commencing to receive the daughters of  
their first graduates1 and find  these  
know nearly as much on entering as their
 mothers did when they  left4    ,in    
#ahij1 only a generation after they were
 emancipated1 not less than  forty-three
 out of every hundred negroes of ten    
years of age and over  were able to read
 and write4 ,in #ahgj only three per    
cent4 of all  negroes attended school1  
and in twenty years the increase was    
nearly  nineteen per cent4 of all       
negroes4 ,the proportion of negro school
  children increased at a far more rapid
 rate than white school children1  and  
in #ahij the proportion was nearly      
equal4#d    ,in #ahgg-gh the attendance 

in private institutions was #ab1adf2 in 
#ahid-ie the attendance was #be1gag4e   
,but help from the ,north must still    
continue1 and if possible increase4     
,matters have not yet so adjusted       
themselves in the ,south as to warrant  
the leaving the educational interests of
 the colored race altogether to  the    
hands of the ,southern whites1 and the  
negroes instinctively turn to  the      
,northern teachers for education and    
guidance1 notwithstanding the  large    
appropriations made for schools by the  
,southern whites4    ,the leaders of the
 race1 both white and black1 are now    
alive to  the importance of industrial  
education1 and most of the schools we   
visited had introduced manual labor of  
various kinds as a part of the          
curriculum1 and where it had not been   
done the additional expense had  been   
the obstacle4 ,everywhere we found the  
strongest desire on the  part of a large
 number of girls to learn the profession
 of nursing1  and those who have already

 acquired it have been very successful1 
the whites willingly employing them at  
high wages--from #aj to even  #bj a     
week4 ,some schools already announce a  
course of training1 but  they seem to be
 unaware that a nurse can no more be    
trained without  a hospital1 than a cook
 without a kitchen4 ,we found but two   
training  schools attached to hospitals 
during our travels1 the ,dixie at       
,hampton1  which is doing excellent work
 and should be assisted in order to     
strengthen and extend it1 and that at   
,spelman1 ,atlanta1 where there is  a   
small hospital in which they nurse their
 own sick under an excellent            
,superintendent1 and have already sent  
out some nurses with satisfactory       
results1 and would be glad to extend the
 work if they could receive  assistance 
in paying teachers4    ,in ,savannah at 
a meeting where we met nineteen of the  
leading colored  men of the place1 they 
assured us of their ability to start a  
small  hospital1 if they could be       

assisted in the salaries of teachers to 
train the pupil nurses4 ,none ask       
support1 merely help4    ,several of the
 schools we visited require just a      
little help to make  them very          
prosperous and useful4 ,those at        
,lawrenceville1 ,va41 and  ,kittrell1   
,n4 ,c41 managed by ,hampton graduates1 
are especially to be  commended and     
should be strengthened4 ,a good nursing 
school might be  established at ,mr4    
,joyner's school at ,columbia1 ,s4 ,c41 
where they have  a little hospital1     
closed for want of means4 ,five hundred 
dollars given  to ,claflin would enable 
it to do the same work4 ,especially     
would we  urge assistance to the two    
rural schools in the black belt of      
,alabama1  where ,hampton and ,tuskegee 
graduates are bravely toiling and truly 
civilizing the people around them4      
,as we have said1 we saw the negroes at 
their best in the institutions  we      
visited1 and among those graduates who  
were pursuing their  avocations4 ,these 

served to show the possibilities of the 
race1 their  aptitude for acquiring     
knowledge and amassing property4 ,but   
the great  mass still lies under the    
burden of poverty and ignorance--and it 
is  this mass that must be lifted up1   
before we can hope for any permanent    
elevation of the race1--and that must be
 done by work in the cabins and  among  
the women4 ,it is impossible to look for
 a moral community1 where  the women    
have never been taught by example and   
precept that ,christian  virtue which   
raises the human being above the animal4
    ,it is perhaps unwise at this time  
to give full expression to our views    
regarding the moral condition of the    
negro women4 ,it is sufficient to  say  
that the reports that had been made to  
us by others1 before we  undertook our  
investigations1 were fully confirmed1   
and we hope that in  the near future the
 women of the ,south will become so     
interested and  roused to the importance
 of the subject that they may be        

inclined to  cooperate with the women of
 the ,north in some plan for the        
elevation of  these descendants of their
 former servants4 ,meanwhile1 we would  
make  the following suggestions to the  
,trustees of the ,slater ,fund in regard
  to the special object of our          
mission--the elevation of the women3    
,the elevation should commence at the   
bottom4 ,we would propose to employ     
pious1 intelligent women1 white or      
colored1 to travel in the rural         
districts of say ,virginia and ,alabama1
 and to start ,mothers' meetings1  where
 the average ignorant woman1 who cannot 
now hope to receive an  education1 may  
at least be taught the way to keep a    
decent home and to  elevate the moral   
standard of her humble life4 ,through   
her to inspire  her husband and children
 with the same aspirations1 so that if  
there  be no public school in their     
vicinity they may both learn to desire  
and seek to obtain one started by the   
,state4 ,the ,state should then be      

districted1 and two or three central    
schools in each district should be  so  
aided as to give courses of lessons in  
sewing1 cooking1 and 8,first  ,aid to   
,injured40    ,these branches of        
instruction1 so vital to woman1 might be
 taught by  teachers of each branch     
7paid by the ,slater ,trust7 passing    
from school  to school1 giving a course 
of lessons at each1 and leaving the     
pupils  to pursue the study until the   
teachers return to examine them4 ,these 
examinations would enable the teacher to
 determine the capacity of the  girls   
and their fitness to be sent to the     
higher schools1 where many  now go when 
unfitted to enter and occupy places     
which should be filled  by girls of     
superior ability4 ,by this process of   
selection1 the most  intelligent and    
ambitious could enter ,hampton1         
,tuskegee1 ,spelman1 etc41  while those 
of less ability will have learned the   
decencies of life1  the elements of     
school education1 and those feminine    

occupations which  will fit them to be  
good wives and mothers4    ,by giving   
them courses in 8,first ,aid10 they will
 learn how to act in  sudden            
emergencies1 the importance of          
cleanliness and good air1 and the       
general principles of caring for their  
sick and their children4    ,the kind of
 work we propose to do cannot be done by
 the ,state at  present4 ,it is personal
 influence that is required2 it is the  
highest  missionary spirit which can    
alone inspire it4 ,no board of education
  appointed by any ,government or ,state
 authority can choose such agents4      
,each woman who undertakes it1 must go  
for the love of the work1 and  must be  
selected by those who know its needs4   
,the money so liberally  expended by the
 ,north would never have produced the   
results we have  seen1 if it had been   
given to the ,state2 it is because it   
has passed  through the hands of devoted
 ,christian men and women who by precept
 and  example have taught the beauty of 

honor1 truthfulness and purity of  life1
 that the speech was made possible at   
,atlanta1 which elicited the  applause  
and drew tears from the thousands who   
listened to it4    ,in conclusion1 we   
would respectfully urge the             
appropriation by the  ,slater ,trust of 
a few thousand dollars to be expended   
for a few years  as an experiment in the
 manner we have suggested4 ,if the work 
is  carefully supervised1 we are        
convinced that it will be of            
incalculable  value in enlarging the    
opportunities for self-support and      
usefulness  among the rising generation 
of colored girls1 and1 through them1    
influence for good thousands of the     
colored race4                           
,respectfully submitted1                
,,elizabeth ,c4 ,,hobson1               
,,charlotte ,,everett ,,hopkins4        
,,december1 #ahie4            ,,john    
,,murphy  ,,co41 ,,printers1            
,,baltimore4          ,,footnotes3    #a
 ,institutions visited3--      ,hampden 

,industrial ,institute                  
,hampton1 ,va4    ,whittier ,school     
,hampton1 ,va4    ,dixie ,hospital      
,hampton1 ,va4    ,st4 ,paul's ,school  
,lawrenceville1 ,va4    ,kittrell       
,industrial ,school             ,north  
,carolina4    ,shaw ,university         
,raleigh1 ,n4 ,c4    ,st4 ,augustine    
,school                   ,raleigh1 ,n4 
,c4    ,bennet ,seminary                
,greensboro1 ,n4 ,c4    ,scotia         
,seminary                               
,concord1 ,n4 ,c4    ,benedict ,college 
,columbia1 ,s4 ,c4    ,allen ,college   
,columbia1 ,s4 ,c4    ,claflin          
,university                             
,orangeburg1 ,s4 ,c4    ,avery          
,institute                              
,charleston1 ,s4 ,c4    ,white ,public  
,school                    ,charleston1 
,s4 ,c4    ,haven ,school               
,savannah1 ,ga4    ,beach ,institute    
,savannah1 ,ga4    ,clark ,university   
,atlanta1 ,ga4    ,tuskegee ,industrial 
,institute          ,tuskegee1 ,ala4    

,miss ,georgia ,washington's ,school and
    ,between ,tuskegee and    ,miss     
,bowen's ,industrial ,school            
,montgomery1 ,ala4    ,miss ,white's    
,industrial ,school         ,montgomery1
 ,ala4    ,state ,normal ,school        
,montgomery1 ,ala4    ,swayne ,public   
,school                   ,montgomery1  
,ala4      #b 8,education of the        
,negroes since #ahfj10 by ,j4 ,l4 ,m4   
,curry1 ,,ll4 ,d4  ,occasional ,papers1 
,no4 #c4    #c ,see 8,condition of      
,france in the ,travels of ,arthur      
,young in the  years #aghg1 '#hh1 '#hi1 
undertaken more particularly with a view
 of  ascertaining the cultivation1      
wealth1 resources and national          
prosperity  of the ,kingdom of ,france40
    #d ,see 8,statistics of the ,negroes
 in the ,united ,states10 by ,henry     
,gannett1 ,u4 ,s4 ,geological ,survey4  
,occasional ,papers1 ,no4 #d4    #e ,the
 statistics of the ,bureau of ,education
 show an increase in #ahie  over #ahgh  
of #ahe per cent4 in the number of      

students in colored schools  both public
 and private4 ,the attendance in private
 institutions more  than doubled4 ,the  
number of students in public            
institutions was nearly  thirteen times 
as great as in #ahgh4                   
,,transcriber',s ,,notes3               
,italicized text is surrounded by       
underscores3 italics4