Prof. Albert Salisbury, Superintendent of Education.
NOTES OF AN EDUCATIONAL TOUR IN LOUISIANA AND MISSISSIPPI.
PRES. W. S. ALEXANDER, D.D.
An experiment in the form of a brief educational campaign in Louisiana and Mississippi has been attended with the most gratifying results, and has been to those identified with it a revelation of what may be accomplished in the same direction. Hitherto in our educational work in Louisiana we have depended, so far as the patronage of the country parishes was concerned, upon the good reports of the students, and the dawning conception, in the minds of those living remote from the city, of the necessity of an education. It occurred to Prof. Hitchcock and myself, as we were likely to be detained in New Orleans the greater part of the summer, that we could in no way better serve the interests of Straight University than by presenting the facts of education directly to the people, and pleading its claims wherever there was “an open door.” We not only found doors wide open, but were greeted from many parishes with the Macedonian cry, “Come over and help us.” Our University was represented in the most important centers, either by our graduates or those still upon our roll. They had borne to their homes a grateful sense of good received at the school, and entered enthusiastically into the matter of the meetings. They were our avant-couriers, and most faithfully did they spread the tidings of our coming.
In the space of a single article we can do little more than summarize, but we trust our enforced conciseness will not despoil the narrative of its interest or value. The first important point made was
Baton Rouge.
The meeting on July 5 at the Capital of the State had been well advertised, and was largely attended. The A. M. E. Church (Rev. Mr. Jackson, pastor) was well filled. The majority of the audience were young men, just the class we desired to reach. We had not only a respectful, but an interested hearing. Mr. A. H. Colwell, a talented graduate of Straight, who fills an important position as teacher at Baton Rouge, presided at the organ, and at the conclusion of the meeting made a neat address, moving a resolution of thanks to the speakers. Rev. Mr. Jackson spoke with feeling and intelligent appreciation of the demands of education. The ablest white lawyer in Baton Rouge made a rousing speech, commending heartily the objects of the meeting.
Vicksburg.
The meeting at this point, July 9th, presents many facts worthy of record. Our young men, Reynolds and Temple, graduates of the present year, had been untiring in their efforts to make the meeting a success. Every newspaper in Vicksburg had noticed it editorially. Every colored pulpit had twice and thrice advertised it, and urged the people to attend. Influential white people had been invited, especially members of the School Board. The Court-House had been applied for, and freely granted by the City Council for the purposes of the meeting. On the day previous (Sunday) it was my privilege to preach in two of the most important colored churches of the city, while Prof. Hitchcock did good work in the Sunday-Schools. On Sabbath evening I preached in the A. M. E. Church (Rev. Mr. Carolina, pastor) to an audience of 800 people. It was a rare privilege, and great was the joy of preaching on the blessed religion of the Lord Jesus to so many people, and all eager and reverent in their attention. On Monday night the Court-House an imposing building situated on “the heights,” overlooking the city, and the first object that attracts attention as the boat enters the harbor, witnessed the gathering of an eager and crowded assembly of men and women, roused to no common degree of enthusiasm by the simple announcement of an “educational meeting.”