Dr. W. E. B. DuBois and his coworkers are preparing a History of the Negro in the World War to be published about October.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECOND BIENNIAL MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF NEGRO LIFE AND HISTORY
The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History held its second biennial meeting in Washington, D. C., on the 17th and 18th of June. An effort was made to bring together for a conference all persons interested in the study of Negro life and history and especially to reach those who are giving instruction in these fields. Accordingly there were present persons from all walks of life, some coming even from distant points. The Association was honored by the presence of Dr. J. Stanley Durkee and Dr. H. B. Learned.
In the absence of Dr. Robert E. Park, President of the Association, Dr. J. E. Moorland, Secretary-Treasurer, presided. The first session was an interesting one. Mr. C. H. Tobias delivered an instructive address on "Negro Welfare Work during the World War." The address covered in outline the efforts and achievements of all such agencies as the Knights of Columbus, Red Cross, Young Women's Christian Association, Young Men's Christian Association, and the Salvation Army, with reference to their special bearing on the comfort of the Negroes during the war. The speaker undertook to give the merits and demerits in each case to enlighten the public as to what was done for and what against the Negro soldiers by these social welfare agencies.
Mr. Monroe N. Work then read an interesting and valuable paper on the "Negro and Public Opinion in the South since the Civil War." The purpose of the paper was to set forth the varying attitude of the whites toward the Negro as evidenced by the thought of the community expressed in the records from decade to decade. Exactly why these changes in public opinion were brought about constituted the most interesting part of this address, for it treated not necessarily of present day conditions but undertook to account for them in the past.
Dr. H. B. Learned, a member of the Board of Education of the District of Columbia, was then introduced to the Association. He confined his remarks to a discussion of the thoughts of the preceding speakers impressing him most and especially to that of illiteracy. He gave some valuable information as to the intellectual development of soldiers drafted during the recent war and said much to throw light on the conditions of those sections from which they came. He made an appeal for an increasing interest in the illiterates of both races and emphasized how difficult it is for men to live for the greatest good of themselves and their fellows without adequate enlightenment in things fundamental. His address was scholarly and timely and deeply impressed his hearers.
The meeting of the Executive Council of the Association was held at two o'clock of the same day. Matters of much importance were considered. Among these may be mentioned the decision to employ a field agent for the extension of the work, the change of the meeting from biennial to annual, and the plans for increasing the income of the Association. It was decided to recommend Mr. William G. Willcox and Mr. Emmett J. Scott for membership in the Executive Council.
The evening session of the first day was held at the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church. A large and respectable audience was present. The speakers of the occasion were Mr. Archibald H. Grimke and Emmett J. Scott. Mr. Grimke delivered an address on "The Negro and Social Justice," Beginning with the Declaration of Independence, Mr. Grimke founded the rights of the Negro in the doctrines advanced by the statesmen and philosophers of that time and then supported these claims by the liberal provisions in the Constitution and its amendments. How the United States Government has failed to live up to the standard of the real democracy, although professing to promote the cause of the same, was the main feature of this address. It was on the whole an interesting discourse and it was well received.