“When our mind like the swiftly passing scene of a panorama take a retrospective view of the past history of our race, and when we remember that for over two centuries, ignorance, the mother of bigotry and superstition, the bane of society, the prolific mother of weakness, held our people with its slavish chains, we must admit that many of our people have made commendable progress, and that the influence of religion, morality and intelligence is increasingly felt.”
The speaker dwelt at length upon the Needs, and then took up the Responsibilities. Said he:
“We are responsible for our souls. The soul is immortal, and cannot like the body, undergo decomposition. It will live forever. When the mountains are melted in the general conflagration, when the pyramids of Egypt are levelled to the ground, when the refulgent stars, the silent messengers, shall cease to dance in their golden sockets; when the moon, the queen of night, refuses to give her silvery brightness; when the sun, the king of day, the centre of the solar system, shall be blown out; when earth is shrouded in her regalia of mourning, and when ocean shall gather all her waters together to chant her funeral songs, the soul will be living somewhere in God’s distant universe.”
In 1884, Rev. Walker delivered the annual address on the first day of January in Augusta. His subject was “A Review of the Past”. It was a wonderful exposition of the progress of the Negro in America. In the course of his remarks, he paid the following tribute to Abraham Lincoln;
“Probably no man since the days of Washington was ever so deeply and firmly imbedded and enshrined in the hearts of the people as Abraham Lincoln. He won for himself a place in the hearts of our people that time can never efface. By his noble deeds, emanated from his kind heart, he wrote his name on the pages of future time as legible as the stars on the brow of evening.”
In his address at the laying of the corner stone of the new building of the Atlanta Baptist Seminary, in 1889, Rev. Walker said among other things:
“If all men would recognize the fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man, pledge implicit obedience to the divine law and practice the scriptural code of ethics, there would be no race problem. The race problem is born of wickedness, inflamed by modern fanatics, stimulated and encouraged by speculative, unworthy politicians. The Negro is a loyal, peaceable, law-abiding citizen; among them you will find no anarchist, nihilist, liberalist, communionist or strikers; the Negro has always been found on the side of the constitution of his State and the Union; he isn’t asking for supremacy or social equality; he only desires an equal advantage in the race of life; he asks that you do not throw impediments in his way; don’t close the gates of prosperity against him because of his color; don’t hate him because he was a slave, he was not so by choice; don’t despise him because of his ignorance, it is not his fault; don’t ignore him on account of his poverty, he has had no rich ancestors to bequeath him landed estates. He is unfortunate, pity him; he is struggling, help him. A bright day is dawning. Citizens of every rank and section of this country are uniting hand in hand to advocate such legislation as will remove illiteracy. The last legislature of Georgia deserve honorable mention for making appropriation for public education. Our distinguished State School Commissioner, Judge James S. Hook, is trying to put Georgia in line with other states intellectually and he is succeeding admirably. Since God has raised up so many friends for us, both at home and abroad, let us cultivate a friendly relation with those among whom we live. Let us have a hand in solving our problem, shaping our destiny and making for ourselves a creditable history.”
In the foregoing, we have attempted to give a short sketch of the career of Dr. Walker, together with a few testimonials from his friends and some extracts from his addresses. The half has not been told. The full history of his life would make a large volume. It ought to be written, and will be some time. Suffice it to say that, as a man, Dr. Walker is modest to a fault, generous in the extreme, patient, forbearing and unselfish; as a minister, he possesses great fervor and eloquence, and as a pulpit orator probably he is excelled by no man in this country. The common people hear him gladly. His highest aim is to be an humble servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.