It is sad to have the children learn the laws of politeness and good breeding outside the home, and to watch them assume that which should be innate.
It is sad to hear little children lie about their home training pretending that "My mother makes me do this or that" when they know that the mother has failed to make a strong point of this particular fault.
It is sadder still to hear colored children say, "I can't." The colored mother should put success in the child's thought and teach it to believe in himself and his race. It is the duty of every mother to preach success and one's duty to aim to excel along all lines.
How can the child be clean and love cleanliness when its mother is habitually untidy and slovenly? The colored mother beautiful would no more exhibit herself unclean than naked. She would no more walk slovenly than to dress slovenly. If a mother wears unclean clothes, has unclean thoughts or unclean manners, her children will reflect her.
How can a child hold her head up and her back straight when her mother slouches around and forgets that her body belongs to God as well as her soul.
The colored mother beautiful makes a point of teaching her child to be true and helpful to the race, and to speak up for the good points and keep silent about the weaknesses when before other races. Every race has strong and weak points.
She should take part in efforts for the advancement of the race. No one can lift the race unless he stays in it. A child should be taught not to depreciate the race any more than it would itself.
No one is so big and strong that he can exist alone. All of us are dependent to a degree. Each one will need friends. There are no friends which mean so much to us as those of our own race.
The percentage of physical deformities in colored children is lessening. Colored mothers are learning to study children's faces and bodies in order to change and correct their physical defects. Bowed and weak legs, outstanding ears, misshapen mouths, noses and teeth are being corrected according to scientific rules. Then, too, they are training children to do things to improve their own physical defects without—of course—causing them to be over conscious.
The colored mother beautiful is the health officer of the race as well as her own posterity. It is her duty to see to it that her children have clean bodies inside and outside. She will see to it that in her neighborhood there will be more regard for health, drainage, and other sanitary conditions. She will pursue the deadly fly and cause this pest and all vermin to be eradicated.