Sparkling Gems of Race Knowledge Worth Reading / A compendium of valuable information and wise suggestions that will inspire noble effort at the hands of every race-loving man, woman, and child.

by Unknown

In order to define the duty of the nation to the Negro we must first notice the relationship existing between the Negro and the nation. For two hundred and seventy-six years we have inhabited this country, and, whether as slaves or as freemen, I say here, without fear of successful contradiction, that we have done more to enhance the wealth of this country, in proportion to our numbers, than any other race in America. The Negro as a slave was docile and obedient. He was harmless to his master—yea, one white woman was not afraid to live alone on her farm with a hundred Negro men as her servants. They frequently did so, and were never harmed, notwithstanding the number of Negroes who have been lynched since under the accusation of unbecoming conduct. In other words, he made a good slave, if such a thing as a good slave be possible.

The Negro as a Common Laborer.

As for this great Southland, the largest portion of her wealth is but the product of the black man's labor. Cotton is the chief staple of America, and when to this we add sugar and iron we have the heft of Southern wealth—and the brawny hand of the Negro produces at least three-fourths of these commodities. It was his hand chiefly that felled the mighty forest of this Southland; it was his hand that dug out and laid these railroads, taking away the old stagecoach and making pleasant and rapid transit possible; it was his shoulder that carried the mortar hod to erect these palatial cities; it was the sweat from the Negro's brow that has made Georgia the Empire State of the South; it was Negro labor that made it possible for the Exposition to be held in Atlanta. Go where you will, from Washington to the gulf, and from the Atlantic to the Ohio River, and almost every acre of land and object of interest you behold bears the impress of Negro labor, industry, and skill. Looking from your car window on either side most of the beautiful farms that you see were cleared and are tilled by the Negro; and most of the beautiful residences you have passed were built, painted, and kept in order by Negroes. All of those beautiful, flowered lawns show Negro industry. The glittering iron rails which led you on lightning express to this city were laid by Negro hands after he had tunneled the mountains, leveled the hills, and filled the hollows. And if those iron rails were made South and the Negro did not forge them, it was because the boss had an acute attack of colorphobia and gave the job to some nondecitizenized, ready-to-work emigrant. Some people used to say that the Negro was lazy, and that if freed he would perish. I have traveled all over this country and through many others, and I have seen thousands of tramps, but I have as yet met but one first-class Negro tramp, and he was in London; therefore I concluded that he had strayed from his race, and had learned the trade from the white people. I have also learned that at the great national tramp convention recently held in New York not a single Negro was present. True it is that we find too many idle Negroes in the towns and cities "holding up the corners." Well, Dr. Price once said that the Negro had to work so hard in the hot sun during slavery that a great many of them promised themselves that if ever they got free they would take a good rest. The Doctor concluded that this idle class were making good their promise. But the true cause of this apparent idleness lies far back of this. It arises partially out of the very distressing condition of the cotton planters of the South. The Negroes have been so industrious for the last decade that they have overflooded the cotton markets of the world, and consequently so reduced the price of this staple that the landlords are not disposed to feed hirelings through the winter, and the colored people, who have been fed from the stores under the mortgage system, getting all their food on time at two prices, and paying for the same in cotton in the fall at half price, find themselves in the end in debt and greatly discouraged. Hence thousands of would-be industrious young men float into the cities and towns looking for jobs, in order to clothe themselves for the winter. They find every position occupied, and float on as apparent idlers.

One other cause of the seeming laziness on the part of the Negro is that, as a rule, the cruel sentiment of the country has closed the doors of every machine shop, cotton mill, and similar factories to all persons of color. Again, almost every class of labor which once was done by hand is now being turned off by the crank of invention. The old-fashioned washboard has been turned into a steam laundry and the old spinning wheel has given place to the American cotton mills. The same is true along all lines of common labor. The Negro, however, either by contact or in the schools of theory, has learned something about applied science, and as his old trades have been elevated and dignified by machinery, he would like to be elevated with them. The washerwoman would like now to enter the steam laundry, since it has captured her business; the blacksmith would like to enter the foundry, where they are now molding the plowshares he once made with his hammer; and where the Negro is capable of following his old trade to a more elevated station we believe it the duty of the nation to allow him to do so. While we entertain no feelings against foreigners, we believe these to be the birth-right of American citizens, and therefore appeal to the sentiment of this nation and ask that every door to foundries, factories, and machine shops of every kind be opened alike to Negroes and whites. We ask that you give us a bench, an anvil, or a loom by the side of our white brother, with equal wages; then, if we do not prove to be as skillful workmen as they, after a fair trial, turn us away. This is the duty of the nation to the Negro. I have always been a protectionist, but if every cotton mill is to be run by immigrants from across the sea, while our sons and daughters, who are black and poor, but to the manner born—true and patriotic American citizens—are to be refused employment in the factories of this country, I would advise the Negroes to vote for whatever party may represent low tariff or free trade for all fabricated material.

The Negro as a Soldier.

From the days of Washington to the days of Grant there was scarcely a decisive battle fought upon American soil in which the Negro did not participate in the defense of the stars and stripes. Though much of his heroism has been forgotten because it was not published and commented upon in American history, yet a few great men, such as Gens. Lee, Jackson, Sherman, and Grant, have been generous enough to hand down to us in their private diaries the valuable service rendered the government by these black soldiers on the bloody field of battle. Especially in the late war did the government learn to recognize the Spartanlike heroism of the Negro. He was always ready to charge and the last man to retreat. He was the first to lift his hand and shed his blood when the colonies were attacked by the British in Boston; and Gen. Sherman, in his "History of the War," says that the last man wounded in the late rebellion was a Negro, and the last man who fired a gun to close the unfortunate war was a Negro, upon the banks of the Rio Grande. Hence the Negro has a record that any race might envy.

The Negro as a Citizen.

As a citizen, the Negro is peaceable, unassuming, and friendly toward all races. He has studied to know his duty as a constituent of the government, and does all in his power to perform the same. He is always looking and praying for better times, but he never organizes a labor union and goes out on a strike to make times better.

He is rapidly gaining wealth and intelligence. He is making every effort to keep pace with the advancing tide of Christian civilization, and the census of this country shows that he is making progress on every line. Remember, too, that the most of these men were born slaves and started out with nothing, not even good advice, but with all odds—even their color, their previous condition, and public sentiment—against them. Remember also that only one Negro out of a thousand has had as yet an equal chance in the race of life, for freedom of body, with every avenue leading toward the heights of unqualified freedom of will and of purpose closed, and he left standing uncovered and exposed to the worst elements of a superior race, is worse (if anything can be worse) than slavery. And yet, with all that, the Negro has proven to be equal to all occasions as a citizen, and, with superior zeal to any race, he has seized every opportunity and entered every door of usefulness that opened to him. Come walk with me through these halls and let us see his higher life and aims. See the walls bedecked with pictures of Negro homes and other real estate that would compare very favorably with a majority of the homes of the white men of this country; and this is not a fair exhibit of the progress of the race, for not one-thousandth part of the Negro wealth is on exhibition here. You find him an inventor, a painter, a sculptor, and no mean artist. He can make tools, invent machinery, and knows how to use them. He understands the sciences, and can apply them in the daily vocations of life. He has made an earnest effort to prepare himself for the responsibilities of citizenship. Having been on probation for thirty years and proved our worthiness, we now feel that we ought to be permitted to enjoy to the fullest extent all of the rights guaranteed American citizens. Since we assume the attitude of petitioners, I am sure that I speak the sentiment of the American Negro when I say that we do not ask to be made white, for had it pleased God, we would have been white. We do, not ask the liberty of any man's power; but we would ask the liberty to have and to occupy our own in peace and safety. I am sure the Hon. Hoke Smith voiced the sentiment of every intelligent colored man in America when he said that the Negro had no desire to mix with the whites—that is, to impose himself upon them. The Negro never wanted social rights in the sense of the common interpretation, but has and will ever contend for civil and religious rights. I am not sorry that the white people have been clannish enough and have had race pride enough to protect their own society. The Negro has formed his own society, and now there is but one favor on this line that we would ask of our white brethren, and that is that any white man who is so unworthy of his ancestry and unconscious of race pride as to attempt to corrupt Negro society be punished as Negroes are (save the lynching) by the just laws of our country. This we believe to be another duty of the nation to the Negro. As citizens, we would not ask any state or the Federal government for a single legislative act for our special benefit, but we do ask that no special acts be passed by either to impede our progress. All that we ask as citizens is that the several states and general government legislate for the common good of all citizens, regardless of races, and we are willing to take our chances. What more can we ask and what less can be given by an honest Christian nation? And may God have mercy upon any nation or people that would not grant this! The white people of this country proudly boast of their superiority as a race, and I grant it when considered en masse. Their opportunities have made them thus. Then why should the stronger refuse the weaker an equal chance in the race of life? Can it be possible that the stronger fears the weaker?