Early in the afternoon at 1:30 P. M. a special session was held at the William J. Simmons University. The aim here was to interest the students in the importance of the preservation of the records of the Negro. Several members of the Association discussed the history of the organization, its achievements and plans, and welcomed the cooperation of all as coworkers in this long neglected field. Dr. W. H. Steward, the editor of The American Baptist, then spoke from his experience on "The Value of a Written Record," mentioning several cases in Kentucky where important matters have been decided by such documentary evidence. He emphasized the importance of the work accomplished by the Association and encouraged the youth to connect themselves with it that the cause may be promoted more successfully.

At three o'clock Thursday afternoon with Professor W. B. Matthews, principal of the Central High School, presiding, there followed a session devoted to "The Teaching of Negro History." Many of the teachers from the local school system were present. In a very thoughtful and impressive manner Mr. J. W. Bell, principal of the Hopkinsville High School, discussed the teaching of Negro history as a matter of concern not only to the Negro himself but to the white man. He expressed the opinion that through the dissemination of such information the one race may become better acquainted with the other. He was then followed by Mr. P. W. L. Jones, instructor in History at the Kentucky Normal and Industrial Institute, Frankfort, Kentucky. Mr. Jones directed his attention to "The Value of Negro Biography" as a means of keeping before the race the records of a number of useful citizens who might otherwise be forgotten and as a means of inspiring the youth to useful endeavor and noble achievement. He took occasion to present brief sketches of a number of Negroes once prominent in the past but now almost forgotten because of the failure to pass their story on to the coming generation. Mr. Thomas F. Blue, librarian of the Chestnut Street Branch Library, then opened the general discussion showing from his experience the need for directing more attention to these neglected aspects of this peculiar problem of a race in the making.

The first evening session was held at the Quinn Chapel A. M. E. Church with Dr. Noah W. Williams presiding. On this occasion the Honorable C. C. Stoll, representing the Mayor of Louisville, welcomed the Association in words adequate to arouse interest and enthusiasm. Dr. L. G. Jordan, secretary emeritus of the National Baptist Foreign Mission Board, responded to this address on behalf of the Association. He took occasion, moreover, to make some interesting observations out of his experiences in America and in Africa. Then followed an address by Dr. C. G. Woodson who briefly connected the achievements of the Negro with such movements in history as the commercial revolution, the intellectual revival, the struggle for the rights of man, the industrial revolution, the reform movements of the nineteenth century, and the present effort to attain social justice.

On Friday morning at ten o'clock with Dr. James Bond presiding there followed a conference on the Negro slave. Mr. W. H. Fouse, principal of the Russell High School of Lexington, read an informing paper on "The Contribution of the Slave to Civilization." He emphasized especially the value of Negro labor as the basis upon which Southern society was established, showing that whatever valuable culture was developed was made possible by the work of the Negro slave. He did not, however, subscribe to the theory that it is necessary to enslave one part of the population that the other may apply itself to the study of science, philosophy and politics. Dr. R. S. Cotterill, instructor in History at the University of Louisville, then read a valuable dissertation entitled "The Use of Slaves in Building Southern Railroads." The speaker showed that he had made an extensive research into documentary material, and he presented an array of facts which unusually enlightened his audience in this neglected field. During the general discussion which followed some other important facts were brought forward, and much interest in the researches of these two speakers was generally expressed.

From Friday afternoon at two o'clock to 5:30 P. M. there were exhibited at the Chestnut Street Branch Library samples of the publications of the Association and a number of valuable engravings of the Antique Works of Art in Benin, West Africa. This offered the public an opportunity to judge the progress made by the Association since its organization in 1915 and to form an opinion as to the sort of work prosecuted and the manner in which it has been done. The engravings setting forth the achievements of an important group of African peoples of the 16th century convinced a large number that the Negro race has behind it a valuable record which can never be known except through such research and expeditions as will unearth these important contributions.

At three o'clock there was held the business session of the Association. The reports of the Director and the Secretary-Treasurer were read and, after favorable comment, were accepted and approved by vote of the Association. These reports follow:

THE REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR.

With respect to the most difficult task of the Director, that of raising money, the work of the Association has been eminently successful. Encouraged by the appropriation of $25,000 obtained from the Carnegie Corporation last year, the Director appealed to several boards for the same consideration. Last February one of these, the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial, appropriated $25,000 to this work, payable in annual installments of $5,000, as in the case of that obtained from the Carnegie Corporation. It is to be regretted, however, that smaller contributions, heretofore yielding most of the income of the Association prior to obtaining the two appropriations, have diminished in number and amount. Appealed to repeatedly, many of these persons give the heavy income tax as an excuse, while not a few make the mistake of thinking that the other funds received by the Association are sufficient to take care of the general expenses. During the fiscal year 1921-1922, thirty-seven persons, most of whom were Negroes, contributed $25.00 each, whereas during the previous fiscal year the number was larger.

The following report of the Secretary-Treasurer shows how these funds have been used:

Financial Statement of the Secretary-Treasurer

Washington, D. C., July 1, 1922

The Association for the Study of
Negro Life and History, Inc.,
Washington, D. C.

Gentlemen:

I hereby submit to you a statement of the amount of money received and expended by the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Incorporated, from July 1, 1921, to June 30, 1922, inclusive:

ReceiptsExpenditures
Subscriptions$ 1,772.63Printing and Stationery$ 4,929.97
Memberships241.00Petty Cash670.00
Contributions9,113.75Stenographic service990.23
Advertising195.45Rent and Light714.67
Rent and Light180.14Salaries3,450.00
Books1.70Traveling Expenses468.09
Refunds50.42Miscellaneous286.46
Total receipts$11,555.09Total expenditures$11,509.42
Bal. on hand July 1, 192143.09Bal. on hand June 30, 192288.76
$11,598.18 $11,598.18

This report does not cover the $5,000 annually received for research into the Free Negro Prior to 1861 and Negro Reconstruction History. This fund was made available on the first of July, the beginning of the fiscal year, and has been apportioned so as to pay three investigators and a copyist employed to do this work.

Respectfully submitted,

(Signed) S. W. Rutherford,
Secretary-Treasurer.

The appropriation of $25,000 obtained from the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial requires the employment of investigators to develop the studies of the Free Negro Prior to 1861 and of Negro Reconstruction History. The annual allowance of $5,000 is devoted altogether to this work, inasmuch as special instructions received from the Trustees of the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial prohibit the use of this money for any other purpose. The Association has, therefore, employed Dr. George Francis Dow to read the eighteenth century colonial newspapers of New England, C. G. Woodson to make a study of the Free Negro Prior to 1861, A. A. Taylor to study the Social and Economic Conditions of the Negro during the Reconstruction, and a clerk serving the investigators in the capacity of a copyist.

At present Mr. A. A. Taylor is spending only one-half of his time at this work, but after the first of next June he will have the opportunity to direct his attention altogether to this task. During this year it is expected that he will complete his studies of the Social and Economic Conditions in Virginia and South Carolina.

In the study of the Free Negro the Director has spent the year compiling a statistical report giving the names of free Negroes who were heads of families in the South in 1830 showing the number in each family and the number of slaves owned. Within a few months that part of the report dealing with Louisiana, South Carolina and North Carolina will be completed.

The Association is also directing attention to the work of training men for research in this field. The program agreed upon is to educate in the best graduate schools with libraries containing works bearing on Negro life and history at least three young men a year, supported by fellowships of $500 from the Association and such additional stipend as the schools themselves may grant for the support of the undertaking. One of these students will take up the study of Negro History, one will direct his attention to Anthropometric and Psychological measurements of Negroes, and one to African Anthropology and Archaeology. In this undertaking the Director has not only the cooperation of Prof. Carl Russell Fish, of the University of Wisconsin, and Prof. William E. Dodd, of the University of Chicago, who with him constitute the Committee on Fellowships, but also the assistance of Professors Franz Boas and E. L. Thorndike of Columbia University and of Professor E. A. Hooton of Harvard University.

Closely connected with these plans, moreover, are certain other projects to preserve Negro folklore and the fragments of Negro music. In this effort the Association has the cooperation of Mrs. Elsie Clews Parsons, the moving spirit of the American Folklore Society. She is now desirous of making a more systematic effort to embody this part of the Negro civilization and she believes that the work can be more successfully done by cooperation with the Association. As soon as the Director can obtain a special fund for this particular work, an investigator will be employed to undertake it.

The interest manifested in the study of Negro History in clubs and schools has been very encouraging. Most of the advanced institutions of learning of both North and South make use of The Journal of Negro History in teaching social sciences. The Director's two recent works, The History of the Negro Church and The Negro in Our History are being extensively used as textbooks in classes studying Sociology and History. The enthusiasm of some of these groups has developed to the extent that they now request authority to organize under the direction of the Association local bodies to be known as State Associations for the Study of Negro Life and History.

Respectfully submitted,

C. G. Woodson,
Director.

ReceiptsExpenditures
Subscriptions$ 1,772.63Printing and Stationery$ 4,929.97
Memberships241.00Petty Cash670.00
Contributions9,113.75Stenographic service990.23
Advertising195.45Rent and Light714.67
Rent and Light180.14Salaries3,450.00
Books1.70Traveling Expenses468.09
Refunds50.42Miscellaneous286.46
Total receipts$11,555.09Total expenditures$11,509.42
Bal. on hand July 1, 192143.09Bal. on hand June 30, 192288.76
$11,598.18 $11,598.18

Upon taking up the election of officers there prevailed a motion to cast the unanimous ballot of the Association for the following officers: