The question is both pertinent and timely. In the past two decades the necessity for the preacher, the teacher, the lawyer, and the doctor has not been open to dispute. Every father and mother, no matter what their social standing or their worldly means, have striven honestly, faithfully and persistently to enroll their favorite boy in the ranks of one or the other of these callings, as if they were the only open highways toward distinction, or the goal denominated "success."

In contemplating the professions which make for racial grandeur, racial opportunities, and protection from assault, many of us forget the importance of the Negro press as a factor in the elevation of the masses. It is not too much to say, in this connection, that of the primary levers to which the race must look for support, none contribute more toward endurance, permanency, and virility than the press. We have the pulpit, the schoolhouse, the field of politics, and the arena of business. Each has its bearing in the development of a larger life and a more perfect manhood for the Afro-American; but, conceding all due respect to the noble men and women who stand in the vanguard of each of these missions, no one of them is more potent or far reaching in its effect than the press. From the pulpit comes the precepts that direct moral and religious thought; the schoolhouse stands for a broader intellectual culture; the field of politics gives us our practical experience in the science of government, affording us an opportunity for actual participation in the shaping of legislation and in giving vitality to public policies. The press, however, occupies a most unique position with reference to all of them. It is the fulcrum upon which all these activities must depend for useful service. The press is the concentrated voice of the masses; the mouthpiece of the age; the universal censor—directed by popular opinion—from whose verdict there is no appeal. The press is the medium through which the great work of the church is disseminated over land and sea, and gives to the world the sweetening influence that the spoken word offers only to a single parish. It magnifies the labors of educational leaders and is itself an indispensable adjunct to the growth of intelligence. In the political field the press has long been recognized as an institution more powerful than any individual, and from the post of messenger or handmaiden of the people—a mere purveyor of current happenings—it has come to be the master mind in the economy of nations. To the business world it is a "guide, counselor and friend," and correctly analyzes the ingredients that bring material prosperity to the civic organization, of which all of us are a part. That distinguished autocrat of autocrats, Napoleon, once exclaimed, with a bitterness born of impending destruction: "Hostile newspapers are more to be feared than bayonets." And why not? It holds in its grasp the power of life and death, success and failure, happiness and misery.

These facts amply justify the assertion that the Negro newspaper is an all-important factor in the elevation of the race. Caucasian journals, while general in their news features, too often lack breadth in their opinion department, when the race question is a burning issue, just as religious denominations, the trades and political parties require "class" papers for the exploitation of their particular lines of thought, the Negro has found that only through his own "class organ" can he obtain a sturdy defense of his character, the record of his laudable achievements, and the advocacy of his rights as a man and a citizen. So the Negro journal came, and it is here to stay. The Negro journal had its origin in the direst necessity, and that necessity was never more apparent than at the opening of the twentieth century when the Declaration of Independence seems not broad enough to include the colored American, when the Constitution of the United States is perverted from the sacred intent of its framers and the spirit of disfranchisement is rampant throughout the land.

This demand for a Negro journal was first met between 1827 and 1834 by unpretentious sheets in and about New York City. But it was not until 1847 that race journalism became a positive factor, when that intrepid spirit, Frederick Douglass, launched "The North Star." This great man built up a circulation upon two continents and wielded an influence not exceeded by any subsequent race venture. That paper blazed a wide path, and in its path followed enterprise after enterprise, developing the sentiment for liberty and keeping in touch with the newer requirements of the hour. No reliable census of the many race journals has been kept. They have sprung from every state and section, but their span of life in most cases has been so brief and sporadic that only rough estimates have been attempted. To-day, perhaps, three hundred are in existence, a few taking high rank in literary quality—others struggling desperately for maintenance. The majority are printed at a positive loss, as regards dollars and cents. It is doubtful if any of the survivors are supported exclusively from revenues derived from subscriptions and advertising. It is a stinging indictment of our much-lauded "race pride" that the greater proportion of our Negro journalists are compelled to depend for a living upon teaching, preaching, law, medicine, office-holding, or upon some outside business investment. In character and make-up, these papers are as widely varied as the localities and environments from which they spring. Many are crude specimens of the "art preservative," dealing heavily in "boiler plate"—to use a professional term—and very lightly in original matter. A few have taken steps out of the beaten path and are giving striking evidence of what the resourceful and energetic Negro journalist could do under circumstances more encouraging. Our editors are, for the most part, men of strong personality, with standing and influence in their respective "bailiwicks." Without notable exception they speak for manhood, for race elevation, and for material development in every avenue of industry.

How many of us have paused and candidly considered just what Negro journalism is doing for the uplift of the masses? Notwithstanding the hard fact that the editorial work of many writers is done late at night, after protracted hours of labor in other fields; and notwithstanding that where a journalist is able to give his entire time to the business, he is often sole solicitor, clerk, compositor, pressman, collector, office boy, and editorial staff combined—despite all these disadvantages, the beneficent effect of the Negro press is felt all over the land. The dozens of able men and women who are engaged in this noble work, most of them doing so at a tremendous sacrifice, are true patriots, bearing burdens from which the timid shrink, leading cheerily where none but the brave dare follow, contending with malicious opposers, every inch of ground, this sturdy band struggles on year after year, hoping patiently for the "joy that cometh in the morning." Through their efforts Negro writers have been given a fair hearing, and, while the Caucasian journal is giving space to the police court episodes of our lower orders, the alert Negro sentinel finds in the church, the schoolroom, the inventor's studio, the author's desk, and in honorable political or social station, a most fertile field for his operations. Negro newspapers have aroused in us the commercial and industrial spirit, and are giving employment to hundreds of young colored men and women as bookkeepers, stenographers and canvassers. They are lending practical aid in solving the race's labor problem by yearly instructing and providing employment to printers, book-binders, pressmen and other artisans. They are building up a market for Negro labor, and neutralizing to a great extent the baleful influence of the trades unions' hostility. The Negro editor has increased the self-respect of the race by collating and publishing the creditable achievements of our people, furnishing a periodical compendium of history and placing the Negro in his most favorable light before the critics of the world. The truly representative Negro journal reflects the sober judgment of the race upon topics of general interest. It largely fixes our status as thinkers and philosophers of the times. The rights of no people can be ruthlessly invaded whose press is fearless, pure, upright, and patriotic. No people can forever be denounced as ignorant, vicious, and shiftless who support a press that is intelligent, moral, and thrifty.

Let it be remembered here, however, that the picture has its somber tints. Negro journalism, speaking generally, is not a paying investment. The fault does not lie wholly with either the public or the publisher. As a mass we are not a reading people and the bulk of us neither know nor appreciate the value of the work that the race paper is doing. Some of us take and pay for Caucasian journals for their news features—which is eminently fitting and proper—but the Negro journal should not be made to suffer in the unequal competition, for the latter fills a want which the former cannot or does not reach. One dollar to the race paper is often worth as much as ten to the wealthy corporation behind our great metropolitan dailies. It is not alone our illiterates who fail to support our journals. The educated classes are not as loyal to the cause as their means, learning, political interest and race pride suggest that they should be. True, it frequently happens that our papers fall into the hands of characterless adventurers who are "anything for a dollar," and it is felt that the best method of rebuking their self-constituted and erratic leadership is to treat them with silent contempt. To this no thinker can offer a reasonable objection. A journal that does not represent the highest impulses of a community does not deserve support. The personal organ, the scandalmonging sheet, the political and social blackmailer, the confidence-destroying campaign dodger, and the subsidized traitor to racial manhood are all under a ban, and should have no place in the homes of self-respecting Negroes. In this category should also be classed the colorless journal, that smirks in the recesses of cowardice. We should be faithful, however, to those that are honest and straightforward. We should strengthen their arms by our moral and financial resources. Booker T. Washington aptly points out how difficult it is for a needy man to resist the temptation of the bribe-giver, and tells pathetically of the uphill work of making a Christian out of a hungry mortal. Support the right kind of editors and the result will be a press that is progressive, healthful, and fearless—an institution of which all may justly be proud.

Is the ideal race journal attainable? I say, Yes—when the two elements necessary to the transaction—the public and the publisher—are able to meet on a common ground, in the spirit of co-operation and fair dealing. The chasm between the journalist and his rightful constituency must be bridged by mutual confidence and mutual sympathy, or neither can reap the great benefits that lie in concentration of forces.

The ideal journal is that one which places racial weal above private gain—which exalts patriotism above pelf. It is controlled by men big enough and broad enough to eschew petty personalities and to avoid cheap sensationalism. It is piloted by men who breathe the atmosphere of freedom, whose inspiration is not drawn from the committee rooms of political parties, and whose course is not dictated by scheming politicians. It is the antithesis of sycophancy. The ideal journal is backed up by men who are far-sighted enough to perceive that success through trickery is short lived, and that character is the only foundation upon which an enduring structure can be built. It is conducted by men who know by experience that genuine worth will ultimately be appreciated, and that refined taste, sound judgment, and a saving sense of proportion will produce a newspaper that may stand as a model to posterity.

Journals of this type, sincere, earnest, and consistent—and in the future their names will be legion—are without question the key-stone in the arch of those forces which make for the permanent elevation of the Negro people. Such journals are prime factors in the race problem.