Evidences of Progress Among Colored People

by G. F. Richings

SAMUEL HARRIS.

I present here a picture of Mr. Samuel Harris. The subject of this brief sketch lives at Williamsburg, Va. I had occasion to visit that town a few years ago, and when it became known to the white people that I was interested in colored people, the hotel proprietor where I stopped seemed very anxious to give me all the information he could regarding the condition of the race in that section of Virginia. After telling me all that he knew, and much that he did not know, he said he wanted to take me to see a store owned by a colored man by the name of Harris. I was only too glad to go. To see a large store owned by a colored man was to me a thing of wonderful interest. We went, and I am unable to put in words how much I was helped and inspired by what I saw in that store. I got while there these very interesting facts.

SAMUEL HARRIS.

Mr. Harris started in business about twenty-five years ago. His capital amounted to seventy dollars, He is now doing a business of $55,000 a year; owns ninety-six building lots in his town; four large farms in the State, and property in Richmond, Norfolk and Newport News. All of the goods sold in his store are shipped in his own vessel that is manned by his own crew.

WILLIAM H. DAVIS.

WILLIAM H. DAVIS.

William H. Davis, who has a well-equipped shoe store in Louisville, Ky., deserves special mention in our publication. Mr. Davis is a young man of about 26 years of age and owes his success entirely to his own efforts. He was at one time engaged as private secretary by the mayor of that city. He afterwards taught type-writing and short-hand in the schools there. It might be well to mention that he taught himself both type-writing and short-hand, as none of the schools there where those branches were taught would admit colored students. There are but very few colored men engaged in the shoe business, and I know of none who have as large a stock and are in every way as well prepared to suit all kinds of trade as Mr. Davis. He has in connection with his stock of boots and shoes a fine line of furnishing goods, also employs a first-class workman, so that he can take orders for fine hand-made shoes for men and women. I hope that this short sketch and picture of Mr. Davis may inspire other young men to start in some business enterprise. The sooner colored men begin to represent some of the business interests of this country the better for the race. There is not a city in the country where the colored population is large that several business enterprises could not be started by colored men with success. Every store owned and controlled by a colored man with success not only helps him, but it in a way lifts up the entire race, and shows that colored men can do other things besides clean houses and drive coal-carts. Mr. Davis finds to his surprise that he has a fair trade among the white people; that fact alone should encourage other young men to make an effort to go into some business. As long as colored men own no stores, they have no right to complain of their treatment in stores owned by white people. When colored men are felt as competitors in business, then, and not until then, will white men see the need of making any special effort to secure and hold colored people's trade. Then, too, when members of the race own large stores, they can give employment to young women as clerks, and by so doing take a large number of colored girls out of wash-tubs and cook kitchens. Mr. Davis says that he has not had the support he had hoped for from the better class of colored people, such as the teachers and other professional people. But he feels that that will come in time. In closing this sketch I regret to say that Louisville has for a city with such a large colored population a very small number of colored men engaged in any kind of business. In fact, the whole State of Kentucky is behind in that respect. I have found but very few towns in the State that had colored men doing any kind of business. Mr. Davis desires that any young men who want to go into business, and feel that they would like some advice and information as how to start, should write to him, and he will gladly help them in the way of giving them an account of how he started and his methods of carrying on his business. I have often thought that in towns where no one colored man felt able to start some business enterprise alone several men could put their means together and start a co-operative store, and in that way encourage a business effort among the people, and at the same time furnish employment for members of the race.

J. E. REED.