SUNDAY-SCHOOLS FOR THE FREEDMEN.
The International Sunday-school Convention at Atlanta, upon the motion of Rev. Joshua Knowles, of Georgia, passed this resolution:
“That the present mental and moral condition of the colored people of this country, especially their lack of proper and adequate instruction, is calculated to enlist our sympathy, and call forth our earnest prayers and endeavors in their behalf.”
At the request of the executive committee, Rev. W. S. Plumer, D. D., of South Carolina, spoke upon this resolution. The venerated man, cutting down the tangle about the entrance to the subject, showed that the prophetic curse uttered by Noah did not apply to the African race, but only to the Canaanites, a single branch of the family of Ham. He spoke of the Ethiopian eunuch as one of the first trophies of the Gospel out of the Jewish nation. Africa now says to us when we put the question: “Understandest thou what thou readest?” “How can I, except some one guide me?” And that is what these people are looking to us for to-day. Now a great work is to be done for these people, and it is to be done just as it is to be done for white folks. We must do this in self-defense. It is not possible that this great mass of uneducated mind can be among us without in the end doing great mischief. In 1825, Dr. John H. Rice predicted that if this country was ever desolated, it would be by some crisp-haired prophet, arising and claiming inspiration from Heaven, holding himself ready to lead on these people to damage and mischief of every sort. He had known for sixty years that colored children could learn by rote as well as white children; he had sometimes thought better. And here is encouragement. He had written a memoir of a Christian negro, Monroe. His own life had been saved by a negro, when, as a boy, he was capsized in the Ohio. “Be kindly affectioned toward these people,” said the patriarchal man in the spirit of the aged John, “and God will provide for them a future of great honor and usefulness among us. Let us love them and treat them as brethren, and remember that ‘the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin’—us, the black man as well as the white man.” In the printed report of that speech “applause” is counted nine times.
At that convention, in the report by States of Sunday-school work, Maryland announced three Sunday-school missionaries, one of whom labored among the colored people, and two teachers’ associations in Baltimore, one for the colored. “We wish it understood that we are taking care of the colored children and gathering them into our schools.” Virginia reported: “We are earnestly engaged in pushing the work among the colored population.” The colored Sunday-school organized in 1855, by Stonewall Jackson, was still alive, superintended by Col. Preston, and having as teachers some of the ablest professors in the university at Lexington. Experience has shown that the best way to elevate the colored man is to give him well-ordered and well-taught Sunday-schools. Florida said: “The work in colored schools is gaining ground, one of them having over 300 scholars.” Texas reported many flourishing colored Sunday-schools, and was happy to have one of her intelligent Christian colored superintendents in that convention.
Besides what is being done by the several denominations in their respective way, the American Sunday-school Union has in the South twelve of its missionaries. I met one of them the other day, Rev. J. J. Strong, whose field is the State of Alabama. In five years he had organized 157 schools, of which 37 were colored. Of the 142 schools aided by him, 58 were colored. He finds much aid and comfort at the home of Judge Thornton, in the northern part of the State. As he was about to start out on foot for the tour of the county, the judge said: “You must take my pony.” As the pony was known all over the county, he served as an introduction from the judge. This missionary is one of two who are sustained by one of those “unabridged” Christian men in the North. The other one works among the Swedes in Wisconsin. The salary and traveling expenses, and $100 to be given away by this worker in Alabama, uses up $1,100 a year in this excellent work of Christian philanthropy.
Besides all this at the South in this line, the American Missionary Association reports for the last year 5,894 Sunday-school scholars connected with its sixty-four churches. Then there is a vast amount of such work done every year that does not come into these statistics. During the last summer vacation Atlanta University sent out 150 day-school teachers, and Fisk as many more, and all our institutions furnish more or less of them. Nearly all of these also run for the time their own Sunday-schools, thus reaching many thousand children with the truth of God’s word. It is known that up to this time our colored teachers have reached 100,000 of these day scholars, a multitude of whom have been taught in Sunday-schools.
Talladega College, the last year, by its students, reached 1,200 Sunday-school scholars. In the past years they have reached, in all, 20,000. Out of these schools six Congregational churches have grown up. Rev. G. W. Andrews, the instructor in theology, has been accustomed to take his class on Saturday morning over the lesson of the next day, thus training them in a normal way as well as in the way of the truth.
I had the pleasure of attending, in the month of February, the convention held in New Orleans for organizing the State Sunday-school Association for Louisiana. Florida was organized the week after, which leaves only three State associations yet to be set up. At Atlanta, the delegates from the South reported their purpose to go home and organize every State. At New Orleans it was reported that Louisiana had already 96,000 children in Sunday-schools, and this is nearly one-seventh of the entire population of the State. With an association under the vigorous administration of its president, Mr. W. R. Lyman, and his live executive committee, it is hoped that all the parishes (counties) of the State will soon be organized, and the work greatly set forward. In that convention, colored delegates were present, participating. The resolution of the Atlanta convention quoted above, upon introduction by the man who was elected president, was unanimously adopted. Upon taking the chair, he assured colored people of sympathy and co-operation. Rev. W. S. Alexander, our president and pastor in New Orleans, who was made officially prominent in the convention, was also put on as one of the vice-presidents and one of the members of the executive committee of the State association. Two colored pastors were also put upon that committee. More and more the heart of the good people of the South is turning toward the colored children.