“That’s all very well to advise, but how would you or any other white man act if you had to suffer the things the Negro has had to suffer?” demanded Kenneth. “Suppose you saw your women made the breeding-ground of every white man who desires them, saw your men lynched and burned at the stake, saw your race robbed and cheated, lied to and lied about, despised, persecuted, oppressed—how would you feel, Dr. Scott, if somebody came to you and said: ‘Be patient’?”
Kenneth poured forth his words like a burning flood of lava—indicative of the raging fires of resentment smouldering beneath. He paused, completely out of breath. Dr. Scott flushed until his face became a dull brick-red in colour. He restrained with an effort the anger caused by the coloured man’s impetuous words.
“I know—I know,” he said soothingly. “It’s hard, I know, but you must remember the words of Jesus to his disciples: ‘When men shall persecute and revile you⸺’ The spirit of Jesus is growing in the hearts of the South—it will come to your rescue in due season.”
“We’re always hearing about this liberal white opinion,” rejoined Kenneth, nettled by the unctuous suavity of the words, “but we so seldom see any signs of it—almost never in places like Central City. Sometimes I think it’s like trying to put your finger on mercury—when your finger is about to touch it, it rolls away—it’s somewhere else. Meanwhile lynching goes on.”
“You’re right, Doctor,” broke in John Anthony, who had been following the conversation with deep interest though he had taken little part in it. “We’ve got to do something, and that soon—the only problem is how to do it. Now about your society in Smith County—tell us how we can help you make it a success. Do you need any money to get it working properly?”
Kenneth turned to the quiet man who had proposed the first tangible offer to help.
“Thanks a lot for the offer,” replied Kenneth. “There are two things I can think of that’ll be immediately helpful. One is that you and Dr. Scott and Mr. Gordon do what you can to help mould public sentiment so this liberal white opinion will become a force in the South against the Ku Klux Klan and lynching and all the other forms of prejudice. That’s what seems to me to be most needed.”
“Yes—yes—I agree with you, but tell us just exactly how we can help you.” Anthony, in his direct way, was impatient of theorizing. “Do you need any money—credit—legal advice—that is, any we can give quietly without it getting out that we gave it?”
“Yes, there is something,” answered Kenneth. “Most of the men in our societies have been working on shares for so many years that instead of having any money, they owe their landlords large sums. The big problem is credit for the things they need until they sell their crops next fall.”
Kenneth gave a detailed statement of their needs and their plans. John Anthony took notes as he talked and agreed to see what he could do towards securing credit when they needed it. David Gordon volunteered his aid as a lawyer. They rose to go. Anthony gazed intently at Kenneth as he asked gravely: