Right here the American Missionary Association stepped in and assumed the work of training these people. Christian men and women, filled with love for the Master, went down among these lowly ones. They carried the Gospel of Jesus Christ, established schools and churches, teaching in the open air, or in rude huts and deserted cabins. For twenty years this work has been carried on, and much good has been done in the name of the Lord. But to-day there are between six and seven million colored people in our Southland. The work of the A. M. A., together with all done by other societies and by students going forth from the colleges as teachers, as yet scarcely begins to reach this great number.
Their first need is to be Christianized, for this alone lifts them up and gives a desire for better things. It is the religion of Jesus Christ alone which has given to us our high estate. How much we owe to the training of Christian mothers! Let us pity and stoop to lift up these ignorant ones. Send out those who can carry the glad tidings and point to the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world.
Let us do all we can to teach them what the pure religion is. But we cannot stop here. We must teach them how to use it. "Woman's work for woman," surely, for this must be done in the homes.
Freedom gave them the right to establish homes! They did the best they knew how, many of them, but they needed teaching—they need it to-day. They must be taught thrift and industry, and cleanliness and order. They want someone to come to them and help them to transform their huts into homes. Could you see their rags, their ugly, misshapen garments, you would agree with me that the women and girls greatly need to be taught the use of the needle.
Of course Christian schools need to be multiplied among them, where the rudiments of an English education shall be thoroughly given, where sewing and cooking, the care of the house and the care of the sick shall be carefully taught the girls, where the boys may learn the use of tools and all that pertains to good farming.
Our stronghold is the children. We can never eradicate the evils existing among the older generation. Slavery left too much ignorance and superstition to ever be driven from the minds of those who lived under its sway. But we are responsible for the coming generations.
The American Missionary Association aims to reach the young and meet their needs by the workers sent out.
Perhaps our work in Savannah will be illustrative of that done in many other parts of the field. We have there established a church and school. There are now in school over 200 pupils. The majority of these remain long enough with us to obtain a good common-school education. We have also a normal grade, where methods of teaching are taught those who desire to fit themselves for teachers. Besides this we have fitted up a sewing-room, where the girls learn every part of sewing and repairing, cutting and basting. Many schools have shops for boys; we look forward to the time when we may be able to have them, too.
We are just establishing a reading-room. Those who have read Prof. Salisbury's article in the November Missionary understand how much this is needed. In our present circumstances we arrange it so that all pupils of higher grades have a daily reading hour, with teacher to direct. Then once in two weeks the older pupils meet for a social reading.
In our devotional exercises and school prayer meetings we aim to assist them in a knowledge of true religion. Last year we observed the Week of Prayer, and in the daily meetings held for several weeks some found the way to Christ and Christian life. Our Church and Sunday-School work reaches many who are not connected with our school. We have a devoted missionary who spends her time in visiting the parents and children in their homes, ministering to the wants of the sick and needy, and holding Bible and Missionary meetings.