Wherever I have ventured upon conclusions, I claim for them neither infallibility nor originality. They are offered frankly as my own latest and clearest thoughts upon the various subjects discussed. If any man can give me better evidence for the error of my conclusions than I have for the truth of them I am prepared to go with him, and gladly, as far as he can prove his way. And I have offered my conclusions, not in a spirit of controversy, nor in behalf of any party or section of the country, but in the hope that, by inspiring a broader outlook, they may lead, finally, to other conclusions more nearly approximating the truth than mine.

While these chapters were being published in the American Magazine (one chapter, that on lynching, in McClure’s Magazine) I received many hundreds of letters from all parts of the country. I acknowledge them gratefully. Many of them contained friendly criticisms, suggestions, and corrections, which I have profited by in the revision of the chapters for book publication. Especially have the letters from the South, describing local conditions and expressing local points of view, been valuable to me. I wish here, also, to thank the many men and women, South and North, white and coloured, who have given me personal assistance in my inquiries.

CONTENTS

CHAPTERPAGE
Preface[vii]
[PART I]
THE NEGRO IN THE SOUTH
[I.]A Race Riot and After[3]
[II.]Following the Colour Line in the South: A Superficial View of Conditions[26]
[III.]The Southern City Negro[45]
[IV.]In the Black Belt: The Negro Farmer[66]
[V.]Race Relationships in the Country Districts[87]
[PART II]
THE NEGRO IN THE NORTH
[VI.]Following the Colour Line in the North[109]
[VII.]The Negroes’ Struggle for Survival in Northern Cities[130]
[PART III]
THE NEGRO IN THE NATION
[VIII.]The Mulatto: The Problem of Race Mixture[151]
[IX.]Lynching, South and North[175]
[X.]An Ostracised Race in Ferment: The Conflict of Negro Parties and
Negro Leaders over Methods of Dealing with Their Own Problem		[216]
[XI.]The Negro in Politics[233]
[XII.]The Black Man’s Silent Power[252]
[XIII.]The New Southern Statesmanship[271]
[XIV.]What to Do About the Negro—A Few Conclusions[292]
Index[311]

ILLUSTRATIONS

An Old Black “Mammy” with White Child[Frontispiece]
FACING PAGE
Fac-similes of Certain Atlanta Newspapers of September 22, 1906[7]
James H. Wallace[10]
R. R. Wright[10]
H. O. Tanner[10]
Rev. H. H. Proctor[10]
Dr. W. F. Penn[10]
George W. Cable[10]
Showing how the Colour Line Was Drawn by the Saloons at Atlanta, Georgia[35]
Interior of a Negro Working-man’s Home, Atlanta, Georgia[46]
Interior of a Negro Home of the Poorest Sort in Indianapolis[46]
Map Showing the Black Belt[66]
Where White Mill Hands Live in Atlanta, Georgia[71]
Where some of the Poorer Negroes Live in Atlanta, Georgia[71]
A “Poor White” Family[74]
A Model Negro School[74]
Old and New Cabins for Negro Tenants on the Brown Plantation[85]
Cane Syrup Kettle[92]
Chain-gang Workers on the Roads[92]
A Type of the Country Chain-gang Negro[99]
A Negro Cabin with Evidences of Abundance[110]
Off for the Cotton Fields[110]
Ward in a Negro Hospital at Philadelphia[135]
Studio of a Negro Sculptress[135]
A Negro Magazine Editor’s Office in Philadelphia[138]
A “Broom Squad” of Negro Boys[138]
A Type of Negro Girl Typesetter in Atlanta[164]
Mulatto Girl Student[164]
Miss Cecelia Johnson[164]
Mrs. Booker T. Washington[173]
Mrs. Robert H. Terrell[173]
Negroes Lynched by Being Burned Alive at Statesboro, Georgia[179]
Negroes of the Criminal Type[179]
Court House and Bank in the Public Square at Huntsville, Alabama[190]
Charles W. Chesnutt[215]
Dr. Booker T. Washington[218]
Dr. W. E. B. DuBois[225]
Colonel James Lewis[240]
W. T. Vernon[240]
Ralph W. Tyler[240]
J. Pope Brown[252]
James K. Vardaman[252]
Senator Jeff Davis[252]
Governor Hoke Smith[252]
Senator B. R. Tillman[252]
Ex-Governor W. J. Northen[252]
James H. Dillard[275]
Edwin A. Alderman[275]
A. M. Soule[275]
D. F. Houston[275]
George Foster Peabody[275]
P. P. Claxton[275]
S. C. Mitchell[286]
Judge Emory Speer[286]
Edgar Gardner Murphy[286]
Dr. H. B. Frissell[286]
R. C. Ogden[286]
J. Y. Joyner[286]