 topic 36 of 28th century negro literature this is a liberal box recording all liberal box recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit liberalbox.org 28th century negro literature topic 36 by george elnox the american negro and his possibilities by george elnox the subject of this sketch george elnox was born in wilson county tennessee september 16 1841 he was a slave spending his early life on the farm and following the vocation of shoemaker which he learned while serving a master in 1862 he joined the union forces in the civil war after the termination of that terrible crisis he went to indiana police where he learned the tonsorial art he did not stay any great while in that city but went to greenfield indiana no many miles away where he concluded to make his home he established himself in business in a small way and by dint of persistency thrift and integrity such as has marked his course ever since he in a few years succeeded in gaining a competence he took an active part in politics as a republican of which party he has been an unswerving member up to this time he won great respect for himself and family among the whites and the older greenfieldians never visited indiana police without dropping him to see george as they so familiarly call him in 1895 he moved to indiana police and finally became the sole proprietor of the baits house barbershop said to be the most elegant shop in the country he's a member of the me church which has greatly honored him by sending him as a delicate at large to the general conference in new york in 1888 and to amaha nebraska in 1892 he has filled numerous offices in the local church he has been very active and prominent in republican councils in his new home he served as a delegate at large to the national convention that met in minipolis minnesota 1892 where benjamin harrison was nominated for the presidency he was selected as an alternate delegate at large to st louis misery in 1886 when president mckinley was nominated his voice has been heard all over the state in advocacy of the principles of his party in 1892 he took charge of the freemen and since that time he has given the publication considerable attention the results of which are shown by its very large and very wide circulation the active management of this well-known paper is in charge of his son elwood c who is rapidly developing as a man of business affairs history has since time begun shown the rise decline and fall of empires nations races and individuals it is but fair to say that the fate of the negro has been cast along these lines that were as fit as the stars in their courses there have been exceptions to the laws of civil and political change we have read with joy the triumph of the black man of ancient times his power in battle his eminence in letters his skill in science his genius as an agriculturist his patience as a herdsman in the great cycles of change it stands to reason that the wheel of civil and political fortune will again revolve in the negro's favor the history of the black man's past in no wise serves to assert the functions of present duties known withstanding the fact that there are lowering clouds and muttering thunders yet there is everyday indication of a day to express it boldly that is coming that will outshine the glittering sun does not much that the american negro asks in this racial warfare his aid has always been scant and rare he has been thrown on his own resources buffeted about until he has become hidebound as it were to those circumstances which have been so hurtful to the progress of other nations slavery while the curse has been a redeeming institution to the american negro it was that purgatorial step between african slavery and american wealth it was a necessary evil to prepare us for this most advanced civilization of the world since that refining period the negro has proven that he has the elements that make him a fit part of this great country there are those among us who have reached fame in nearly all the avenues of life i take this as an index to the total possibilities of the race the masses have ever are to be reached the abilities of the few will not answer for the sins of the many crispus etux whose blood stained boston commons the black soldiers of the wars of our country down to that memorable engagement at l canny will stand for negro patriotism professors washington council and thousands of others who are holding up the torch of learning will stand for negro intellect and citizenship but behind all of these stand the negro masses that are not sufficiently quickened these must be prodded up that they reach the front ranks of the procession it is but justice to the negroes however to say that the doors of opportunity do not swing wide for them it ought to be otherwise and i believe it will be otherwise when a better understanding exists between the races as to their aims and objects the white man is quick to judge the negroes by those he meets in his everyday life unfortunately these are too much in evidence giving color to the charge that all negroes look alike the better negro is not as a rule seen his works as a rule are not known his refinement his morals and industry are not advertised hence a wrong notion as to the bend and the intent of the race is moist abroad prejudice is not confined to one side alone both races show it to a hurtful extent honorable bravert allen one of the most noted criminal lawyers of texas said to a jury while it is true that we all have some trace of race prejudice against the negro which makes it hard for us to do him justice i cannot see why it is so i know it should not be so if a negro owes us something we also owe the negro something it is a mutual debt of gratitude that we owe each other we as a race are inclined to think that the white man is against us naturally it is true to a great extent but we have reasons for thinking that the white man thinks more of the law abiding intelligent tax-paying negro than he does of that set that turn up on election day looking for something it may be that the white man is jealous of the negro's success but i'd rather think that it is a mistaken notion it is not toward the better class that he hurls his hatred but against that class that the negro himself is learning to fear until the colored man changes his position and conditions it will be useless for him to look for that consideration and respect that is accorded his more fortune naked brother and fellow citizen the negro must not conceive the idea that he has no friends among those now in supremacy neither must he entertain the belief that fortune will come to him without effort on his part or that citizenship will receive the proper recognition without improvement in his morals and political attitude these are the days of new and greater things in every conceivable direction the negroes are taking but a small part in their creation glory and profit if there are many mongers who can be the means of bringing better conditions to the negro masses and who can weed out the slow dull plotting process of evolution they should not be denied the opportunity the masses seem to be hedged about by a wall of indifference negroes have such little respect for their own kind that the thing is becoming proverbial now they pretend otherwise in self-defense you think of some little device for testing race love try it it will do the rest the white people have found that nothing is to be feared of colored people when it comes to helping racial cause the individual who is loudest in defense of his race generally gets the most generous cursing from negroes newspapers are often held in abomination by negroes a negro editor would be mobbed if he told the truth about negroes they say let the white people do it negroes who engage in business of any kind are usually criticized most severely by negroes were incapable of engaging in any kind of business for themselves they're always full of suggestions as to how mr a and mr b should conduct or run their business still they have nothing substantial to offer criticisms coming from such a source simply amount to nothing it is about time for all of us to stop going out of our way and making occasion where none exists to black out the negro and instead encourage him to industry and correct living and increase our efforts to make him a steadier laborer and better citizen it is hardly fair to place the whole race under common condemnation because of the slothfulness and lawlessness of some of its members it would hardly be fair even if this percentage were larger than it is and it is hardly worthy of a people to continue nagging at and seeking to arouse further prejudice against its own race no man can reach the elevated plane of good character and worth who drags behind him a great load of little and mean dislikes for his fellow man the possibilities of higher professional standing of colored men and women depend upon the unity and determination of colored people to push their professional and businessman to the front i appeal to you as a race to cultivate race pride not race prejudice stand up like men and women and cultivate unity and protect and defend each other's interest let the elevation of one be the joy of the other instead of pulling down those who are trying to elevate themselves in the race the possibilities of colored professional men will be great to that extent that the colored people will allow their greatness their destiny is with the colored race this world is not a place of peace and unmixed happiness there has always been a struggle for individuals and races for existence and mastery it is beginning to dawn on the negroes generally that if they would be saved they must save themselves the idea that they were to enter at once into all the walks of american life without violent protest has been dissipated through the actual occurrences of the last four decades it would be too long a story to rehearse the reasons for the seeming undiminished prejudices in the interest of truth the exact truth we feel free to say however that the reasons are not to be charged altogether to one race there is much that can yet be done on the negroes side that would tend to put a better face on the matter there has been undergoing a gradual change in the minds of the thoughtful of both races concerning education and politics as it concerns the negroes which has indeed upset the first calculations of many but which after all has a tendency to broaden the foundation on which racial progress must rest the bucatee washington theory of education has come to stay not because he advocates it not because rich men are sustaining his school but because he has an institution that meets the requirements the demands of the day there's a pity but true that the race as a rule has entertained inflated notions about the matter of education it rather looked forward to the an education that vied with the whites with their centuries of leisure and a myriad roots for employment education that unfits the individual to grapple with his surroundings his environments is a misfit the masses of any race do not hope to be educated as its classes do those opposed mr. washington's theory advanced the argument but those intimately acquainted with the race must admit that the negro parents slaves themselves to make a fine lady or gentleman out of the daughter or son whereas the poor white parents hoping in david to turn out breadwinners notwithstanding they have no color conditions to overcome the lady and gentleman idea doubtless was born of the slavery period when the so-called great received flattering attention from master and slave the desire to be the recipient of such attention or to have it best out of their own kind was a result of association and infantile minds which have not as yet left the bill free to have the children talk to feel that the conditions must determine the education happily we may say that the notion of turning out ladies and gentlemen instead of women and men is on the wane the traits the fields the shops are as they now should be given greater consideration mr. washington eternally dwells on the theory of doing something producing something and especially do we recommend the field with its thousand of venued opportunities competitions and the products of the field is fair the school prepares the farmer as well as it does the classic a company of negroes equipped to make a wagon throughout will at least make living wages even should the article be sold for a few dollars less in order to make it go material is always a smaller item of expense the public will not question the nationality of the makers reputation for good work is always understood to be a condition other enterprises with a small output of capital would ensure wages if no more to negroes receive fair wages generally if the negroes have dreamed that they were to move unscathed in the industrial procession as they found it existing when they obtained the freedom they have long here this being rudely awakened it is not always prejudice with shop owners and proprietors that prevent them from employing negroes it is that general mass prejudice that puts an emphatic veto on any such intentions it resolves itself into a business proposition with him the store owner allows no philanthropy in his business he is dictated to buy that course which ensures him the greatest prosperity he may not be wholly free from prejudices but it is not that which determines his actions it is the prejudice of the masses he will not sacrifice his existence by opposing it it is a mistake to wail at the class who is at the mercy of the masses it is more than probable that they would do different if free to do so the question is often asked can the negroes work out of their own salvation will they do it the answer is they have it to do or reap the very bitter consequences the warchief idea is not the part of the american institution as it concerns them competition deadly competition is the password the white man gives no quarter not takes any nothing but sheer force absorption extinction annihilation or what not in the commercial industrial competitiveness sense nothing is longer conceded no special place for the white man for the black man but for the man with the greatest foe white barbers white waiters white coachmen are no longer curious they're persistent in their efforts to establish themselves having no regard for peculiar races with peculiar occupations it means that the negro must hustle and rustle create avenues open new vistas announce new projects and thus avoid arms seeking and poor houses in the end politics has played an undue part in perpetuating prejudices it has contributed much in the way of wealth to many of the race it has honored thousands by places of trust honor and profit it has been the means of developing the latent abilities of the village hamptons pits bloodstones websters clays and calhounds it has been the means of demonstrating fealty to party and to country for this a glorious apostrophe is due those who have proven no cravens at any stage of the race's career if there were but that picture on which should look the occasion of this varied lecture would not be necessary the triumphs in political civil church scholastic and army life have been attested by such men as douglas bruce washington lingston revels walters turner derrick grant pinchback counsel leon's chief them white and dancy not to speak of a host of younger men of journalistic careers that according to opportunity compare favorably with those of greater reputations but beyond all of this stands that grim compliment in the way of civil depression political stagnation if not utter palsy the courts have rendered their functions to the mobs in some localities and all but anarchy sits enthroned the white man has been held to blame altogether for the reversed picture it is not quite the case slavery left a legacy of hate when it gave way to freedom the older negro better groomed in the art of preserving peace did not forget the depth from which he sprang he was ever pouring oil on the troubled water trying to bring peace out of confusion as a consequence that period immediately subsequent to the war period was eventful as a concern the prospective peace of the races in general prosperity it is a new negro the latter day product who knows nothing but freedom freedom modified by native propensity idleness and a groveling disposition that is causing the trouble he does not understand the philosophy of the situation and cares less like the and delusion his mule his guitar and it ends right there this strenuous american life demands work of every individual in some form it revolves at the idler this franchisements owe their rise as much to the indolence and vies of two larger class of negroes as they do to prejudice on the part of the whites no respectable class of men white or black is going to be governed by a hoodlum element whose bellies are the main objects of their existence the indiana police journal one of the most influential northern dailies is right when it says that bookishy washington will not be disfranchised it means further that his class will not be disturbed it will concern us but a little less to what this country may do to the whites to spur them up to their duties providing that is their object the whites are not on trial it is the negroes if the disfranchisements are the means of creating better negroes they will have built it better than they knew if they reduce hoodlumism creating washington's we will not be concerned about the hoodlums of other races the decline in fall of disfranchisement are the two last acts of the great political drama the negroes have it in their power to pass in or prolong the day what will they do with it our lives are measured by that which we are and that which we do the two elements most essential to a successful life a character and achievement character is the excellence of spirit it consists not in external deeds but in the thought feeling and purpose enshrined in our character in the sight of god and in the eyes of our own spirit it depends not so much upon the words we speak or the things we do with the thoughts we think in the feelings we cherish are the purity power and integrity of our spiritual nature the first and best object of life is character what we do may commend the admiration of mankind but to be better is better than to do the measure of our spiritual excellency lies within us it is in the heart rather than the deed beauty purity and generosity may appear in the external acts while the motive prompting it may be mean ignoble and selfish sweet truth purity and noble traits of character may be enshrined within the soul and life be so modest that they may not manifest themselves to the public case when asked why anti-patter was not dressed in purple alexander replying said these men wear their purple on the outside while anti-patter is royal within it is the soul robbing with a generous feeling and a noble impulse the soul is loyal to the claims of truth and virtue so you can see it is better to be loyal from within than to make a display from the outside if our race expects to meet the possibilities we must learn what it takes to make true characters it is not the exhibit from the outside it is what we are as we are judged from our actions by the fruits we bring forth character is the cultivated power shown the examples of the world how many persons ever made a careful analysis of their own character or labor to develop the good and suppress the evil the first object of life is character but an object no less important as achievement character is powered by powers of no use only when it is applied as the stern of water may contain a latent force enough to do the work of a thousand men or overturned mountains but only when it's latent powers are developed into the form of steam and applied to the arm of iron for the accomplishment of a purpose is it of any good to the world a man of moral force must apply his power to become a blessing to mankind character must go forth into the deed if it accomplishes that we run to it was sent public sentiment is beginning to measure a man not so much by his culture as what he can do with his culture it demands efficiency as well as scholastic requirement we must understand that the demands are different now from what their variant times gone by a man must accomplish something if he expects to meet the possibilities that await him and his race I do not object to education I rather love education but how must a man be educated his feet his eyes his hands his head must all be educated and when he is thus educated is prepared to meet the emergencies that await his race as a race thus educated we cannot be hindered from taking position in life as American citizens we often say that everything is against us and it seems so but while this seems the case we must be doing something individually and as a race the conditions of successful achievements are a correct idea of intelligence persistence and courageous labor first we must our purpose in life or in other words an object in view a life that is aimless is a sad spectacle not so bad perhaps is a ruin life but not much more admirable the Hindus believe that the destiny of mankind was lost in the personality by absorption in the Brahma and most persons are so aimless in life and so devoid of any higher noble or purpose that they lose their individuality in the great brahma society a man is an individual not a mere unit in a mass a personality not a mere member of a body politic did you ever think what a fearful lack of that which is noble in humanities contained in the world it ignores that which is highest and best in human nature man's freedom and power of self-organization and self-determining influence in the masses of men we are too apt to fall in the same line or take on the same personalities of those around us for the emancipation from bondage of social errors evils spiritual freedom and individual aims to float with the current is easy a chip can do that but a man ought to be able to stream the tide when necessary put manhood womanhood into the world as a spiritual force to mold purify and elevate go forth into an active life with a noble purpose and attaining it achievement will be of the highest success the greater issue of the day and the demands of the hour have not been made fundamental in our homes the duties of the home have not been pressed on the youth until they stand out erect in the possession of a sterling womanhood of manhood respecting and respected in whatever sphere they find their vocation character character is resting upon the foundation of integrity has not been as a dot the burning theme of every day's instruction until it becomes the very soul of every boy and girl without character a man had better be as dumb as efficient as ignorant as a snail intelligence skill industry economy endurance courage and power will be so many elements of a destruction unless character shall dominate the life and be expressed in the actions my hand and yours have a work to do my head and yours have a duty to perform here is the only solution for the negro problem it may not be out of place for me here to emphasize the need of our working in harmony with our environments our destiny is american in place and american in spirit it is nonsense to talk of immigration of the masses we enjoy slavery two forty three years and stayed here and we shall still be here when lynch law shall have spent its force and with us shall be our white brother it is a dictate of wisdom to develop friendship to teach unity to revet the ties of fraternal love it is a policy of annihilation to deepen the chasm between the races god forbid the day when the white educators of the land shall no longer be willing to spend and be spent for the moral and intellectual uplift of our masses let us be done with sowing the seed of bitterness we can only reap the whirlwind of destruction because an inflamed sentiment drove black miners from panah illinois every community is not repellent because amandros and the christian endeavour meetings in detroit and try to cast bad reflections on our race every christian endeavour is not our enemy we shall be wise when we find our friends of whatever locality or whatever faith or whatever rank or of whatever race and pour into their open bosoms the full measure of our confidence so shall we hasten the day of our final disenthralment there is one thing the negro must be proud of before he can reach the heightened possibilities that await him he must learn to be proud of his race and color no race can be successful until it does these things i would not change my color because i am proud of it if there is any one thing that will clog the wheels of our material progress it is the fact that some of us try to overreach ourselves we should not become dazzled at the splendor and magnificence of those who have had hundreds of years to make this country what it is today no man is a success who has not a fixed signpost and aim in life to attain on two a man should get that amount of education that will best fit him for the performance and attainment of his object in life too much greek will do you no good with a white apron on i do not say that you should not study greek if you intend to fill a chair in some institution of learning i do not say that you should not read medicine if you intend to become a physician or law if you decide to follow the profession if we watch our chances and take timely advantage of the opportunities offered us our race will greatly improve and we will be wage workers skilled artisans and eventually land owners and a wealthy class of citizens of this country i advise you to learn trades learn to become mechanics we have the ability and capacity to reach the highest point and even go further in the march of progress than has been made by any people end of topic 36 topic 37 of 20th century negro literature this is a liberal box recording all liberal box recordings are in the public domain for more information not to volunteer please visit liberalbox.org 20th century negro literature topic 37 by ee cooper important lessons from the awful tragedy edward ee cooper for 25 years following emancipation and the new opportunities which that great event brought many of the brightest minds the colored race has produced had been endeavoring to solve the perplexing and important problem of how to make a newspaper published in the interest of the colored people a profitable business enterprise the number of such newspaper ventures whose managers fail to solve the problem mounts well up into the hundreds in the early spring of 1893 mr. edward ee cooper fresh from conquests in race journalism in indian polis came to washington and established the colored american a weekly newspaper whose circulation last year was put down at 12 000 copies per week and numbers among its readers residents in every climb where our flag floats mr. cooper interpreted the want for such a newspaper his first venture in journalism was the colored world published at indian polis this was quite a success but he gave it up to accept a position in the railway mail service on leaving the mail service he again embarked in journalism and established the indian polis freeman an illustrated weekly this was a new feature the freeman quickly jumped into great popularity and soon gained national fame having made the freeman a success he decided to go to washington for a larger field of endeavor mr. cooper is undoubtedly the best all-round newspaper man the colored race has yet produced edward ee cooper was born near the little town of smirna tennessee and attended the old barrack school for colored children on now street nashville south of the nashville and chattanooga depot which school afterwards became the nucleus of fisk university he began life-selling papers etc on trains then worked on a farm for two years he next went to indian polis attended the public schools and graduated from the high school in 1883 he married miss tenney jones one of the most cultivated young ladies of paris kentucky mr. cooper freely acknowledges that his wife has been the balance wheel in his life that has brought him what success he has gained we stand in the shadow of a national sorrow in an hour of national pride and jubilation with the eyes of the world upon the greatest republic since the eagles of roam overspread the earth in the fullness of his powers in the prime of his usefulness the chief magistrate of the republic was stricken down by the hand of an assassin it is meteor that i should refer in the opening of my address to this third assassination in the history of our country for the purpose of illustrating the short story that i have to tell you and to point a moral and a dawn a tale which may not be without value to us for it is true that lives of great men all remind us we may make our lives sublime and departing leave behind us footprints on the sands of time william mckinley was the incarnation not only of the possibilities of the humblest american boy who by diligence integrity and devotion to the best interests of the country rose by steady strides to the highest dignities in the gift of the people but he was also the embodiment of that grand sweep of american business genius which has spread over the world and promises to predominate it if this man who now rests from his labors with his honors full upon him represented anything it was the logic of business development in its largest and best sense for as governor of ohio and member in congress and president of the united states his name is indissolubly associated with the commercial promotion protection and expansion of american trade he was not only a great executive and a great legislator but when yet a youth when the great rebar lake was in the agony of possible disillusion he heroically shouldered a musket and went to the front as a private to preserve the union of the states becky to us by the noble fathers and the heroism of the american revolutionary soldier in that memorable struggle the first victim of which was christmas attocks the lineaments of whose personality have been chiseled in marble and will stand a monument upon boston common to show a man's demand for all that and all that and that the rank is but the guineas tamp ah well we faithful hearts and true who were never false to a friend who have always loved the flag even when the flag waved not over us who fought with washington at valley forge and with perry at lake airy with jackson at new orleans with shaw at ford vagner and with butler at new market heights who went up san juan hill with theodore roosevelt and the immortal rough riders and followed little joe wheeler in lizon who although a southern brigadier as a reconstructed unionist in a reunited country showed in cuba and manila that he had the same regard for a black soldier as for a white one when he was loyal to the flag and faithful to his country or here tomorrow or loss this great heart that loved his country and gave his life to it and for it is stilled in death the assassin what of him it is a matter of notorious fact that he was so obscure in the life that he had led and had contributed so little to the public wheel in the place where his hands found labor that he was utterly unknown and went down to the quick climb that consumed his miserable remains to the chaos from which we all spring stigmatized with at least two cogniments and with the reputation of having contributed nothing to the wealth of the republic or the happiness of mankind there are millions of him in europe and america who keep in perpetual jeopardy the splendid civilization evolved out of the tumult of egypt and roam and the dark ages and the very genius of logical business development sprung out to the bottom of morrow on the nile and of tire where ancient aphro finitions ruled the blue waters of the adjacencies and of the lordly egyptians who were african in their fiber historians to the contrary not withstanding where the founders of the commercial spirit that dominates the world today more than that they laid the basis of our literature and of our philosophy as lord byron have beautifully said yeah have the pyrrhic dances yet where has the pyrrhic phalanx gone of two such lessons why forget the noblar and the manlier one you have the leaders cadmus gave think you meant them for a slave now cadmus was a black african slave captured in war so was asa the world's greatest fabulous so was torrents among the grandest of rome's lyric poets so was bushkin the national poet today of russia so was alexander demas the first the greatest not only a french novelist but of novelists of all times and the infinite storehouse from which all novelists draw honor the balsak and shawls dickens to the contrary not withstanding but of this vile assassin leon zolgos why do i make this exodium here upon the violent taking off of the president beloved by all the people and my animate version upon the character of the man who lifted his hand against the supreme representative of the greatest republic upon earth and the most prosperous nation it is an incident in the life of garment that the supreme head of it shall be subject to the vicitudes of its maniacal fanatical and criminal classes those who live by their wits or those who dream of a condition of society unattainable as human nature is constructed such as edward billamy has pictured him looking backward i wish it distinctly understood that i refer to this matter simply to draw attention to the fact that zolgos the obscure assassin of the highest representative of the logic of business development in this country is inseparably linked as a cma's twins to the mobile craft and that any effort made to root out the anarchist in this country will fail and should fail unless the mobile craft is rooted out at the same time it is written in the stars god has said righteousness exalted the nation but sin is a reproach to any people and what business development can we have when the dark shadow of anarchism and mobism overshadows the land like the dark cloud that covered the children of israel and their confusion when in their perversion they had turned their faces from the god of their destiny no there can be no business development in this country while our laws are so lax as to allow irresponsible individuals or organizations to cloud the wheels of industry or to waste unnecessarily the red blood that gives life to a virile human form i say without grand president throttle the anarchist that would shoot a president or a successor to a president yes but if you leave the southern mobile craft to shoot john jones an unknown entity the element of anarchism remains pregnant in the body politic and is liable at any time to show its venomous head who could have told when the whole nation was hopeful that a john wilk's boot left reluctant in the body politic to cut down the wisest and the most humane and the most lovable of all the presidents ah my friends you can't protect the president of the united states from the assassin and leave unprotected in any corner of the republic it's mean a citizen because as alexander pope has wisely said we are all but links a once-dependent chain break a link of that chain and the power of that chain is destroyed end of topic 37 recording by babia topic number 38 of 28th century negro literature this is a liberal box recording all liberal box recordings are in the public domain for more information on the volunteer please visit liberalbox.org 28th century negro literature topic number 38 by wr pettiford how to help the negro to help himself reverend vol. r pettiford dd it is difficult to present a life's record so as to furnish a correct estimate of the man in question particularly is this true if he attempt to give up on a page the account of a long life of active and useful service among the leaders and christian work in the state of alabama took the wr pettiford ranks very high having but few if any superiors as a businessman he is unexcelled 12 years of undramatting toil and unbroken success in the banking business to monstrate the truth of this assertion in presenting the sketch we could not do better than quote from the cycle pedia of the colored baptist of alabama by reverend co boots dd reverend wr pettiford dd son of vol. and matilda pettiford was born in granville country north carolina january 20th 1849 he was when a boy of an industrious turn of mind working faithfully at whatever his hands found to do at one time he was with a tenor and at another time he was running his father's farm at the age of 21 years united with the baptist church of roxborough person country north carolina and was immersed by the reverend isekio horton of southbury while he was serving this church as clerk he told his mother the secret which he greatly decided that she would not reveal that he felt called to the gospel ministry brother horton often put up at their home hence soon got possession of the secret dr pettiford now says when i was called into an examining council and learned that my secret is out i was very much frightened but the advice given upon this day has ever been helpful to me at the commencement of salma university 1877 to 78 he joined brother wood small becoming a member of the pioneer faculty of the school he was here that he was seen as the patient studious industrious man loved by tender youth and trusted by those of ripe or years he was called to ordination by the barian baptist church marion alabama and dedicating hands were laid upon his head in marion alabama in the midst of the conventional session held there in november 1880 after this he severed his connection with salma university to enter the pastorate in union springs as teacher and financial agent he made such a record that unprecedented prestige was given to his work at union springs where for two years by his labor of love and sacrifice he laid the foundation for permanent christian work that shall stand throughout all time for a brief period dr pettiford booked under joint appointment of the american baptist home mission society and the home mission board at the alabama baptist state convention as lecturer for ministers in this capacity he accomplished a great work many ministers today look back to those days when they sat in institutes conducted by him as the times of their greatest inspiration for mental and spiritual development as president of the alabama penny savings bank he has a repetition as extensive as the country of which he is a citizen there is no city of importance where this bank has not done business it has gained a reputation of being a safe business having survived several panics to which many other similar institutions have succumbed dr pettiford has managed to find some time to write he is the author of the following treatises divinity in wedlock god's revenue system and a centenary all of which do him honor and his fellow man service but the sketch would be incomplete if it were closed without stating this truth that much of the doctor's success is rightly attributed to the sympathy and help of his life companion formerly miss dela boyd to whom he was joined in bonds of wedlock november 22nd 1880 three children have grazed their home being systematically trained for usefulness in life since the emancipation of the negra in this country philanthropists have contributed largely to the establishment of schools and colleges for his education some of these institutions have been the means of affording the negro literary instruction and others have given him more practical benefits in industrial training these methods of helping a race that was necessarily groping in the darkness of illiteracy are not only commendable from the viewpoint of humanitarianism and sound philanthropy but it must be conceded that some such help was indispensable to any real advancement of the negro in the matter of education for all such assistance it can be said that the negro is truly appreciative and for the most part has earnestly striven to demonstrate his profound gratitude by eagerly taking hold of the opportunities thus afforded for his enlightenment the industrial schools hempton tuskegee and others have done much in a practical way for the negro in giving him a knowledge of traits a class of training that must prove of an inestimable value to him and is endeavour to earn a living honestly and honorably that person who has been taught how to do something well who has been so equipped as to be able to do with skill what the world is willing to pay a desirable price for has been done an incalculable service and one for which society as well as the individual himself has occasion to feel grateful so generously have the negro's friends contributed to his education and so marked are their continued efforts in this direction that it would appear somewhat bold for anyone to offer a suggestion at this time looking to any additional contributions from this source for the purpose of materially advancing the masses of that race along other lines on the other hand when it is remembered with what affinity the beneficiaries of these funds have seized the opportunities offered and the splendid results of realized and when the further facts are born in mind that the improvement of one class of the population never fails in your to the benefit of the entire community it may not after all require unusual temerity in one to venture upon the suggestions which are to follow in this article when it is noted to with what care discrimination and rare judgment such contributions have been directed in the effort to lift the negro out of his unfortunate condition and with what earnestness consistency and sincerity of purpose such aid has been given the conclusion is irresistible that any other needed help will come if the method suggested is shown to be practicable and gives promise of beneficial results while the school has what wonders for the negro as it has for all civilized races it cannot be hoped or expected that all desirable improvements in the development of a people can be accomplished through this agency all the virtues may be taught in the school room but the students get only a theoretical idea of what is intended to be conveyed to his mind and necessarily so he has not yet learned to be practical and cannot until he is brought in contact with the actual and serious responsibilities of life see the real practical phase of things as they actually exist he needs to learn the practical value of economy and thrift of constant industry and frugality if he would build on a certain safe foundation he must do so by honestly earning every dollar he can and wisely saving as much of it as his actual necessities will permit nothing so strongly encourages disparate in the negro as a savings bank operated in this community by persons of his own race the powerful influence exerted in this direction by such institutions may be shown by some impressive figures which have been secured from reliable sources atlanta with no such institution to stimulate its colored population to save has only 1000 colored depositors in the associated banks of that city out of a total colored population of 30 000 or one out of every 30 richman with a thriving institution of this character has 5000 colored depositors out of a total colored population of 45 000 or one out of every nine birmingham boasts of 5000 colored depositors 4000 of whom deposit with the bank with which the rider is connected out of a total colored population of 20 000 or one out of every four these three thriving southern cities blessed with equal prosperity and promise furnished convincing proofs of the great power for good exerted by such institutions if atlanta which in the other respects equal either of these two cities were favored with the presence of a bank of the kind mentioned a much larger percentage of its colored population would be filled with the spirit of economy and the desire to save if such institutions are materially helpful to the negro if they tend to inculcate right principles and encourage habits of industry and frugality and if it be true that the uplifting of one class benefits the entire community it is not within the bounds of legitimate reasoning and fairly good common sense to suggest that it would be well to have these beneficial agencies established as far as possible in cities containing a large negro population taking care however that none is established until it becomes apparent in each instance that such an institution can be wisely safely and successfully conducted in the proposed community the writer has had a great many inquiries in the last few years for information advice looking to the organization of savings banks by colored men but it has been noted that in nearly every case the element of doubt fear and backwardness developed when the promoters were brought face to face with the problem of how to begin such a business and conduct it successfully they found the problem a difficult one just as all problems are difficult until they are understood here then is where the wealthy friends of the negro this northern and southern philanthropist can be of invaluable help it would be well if a few such friends would become interested in the work of assisting in the establishment of such banks to be conducted by competing colored men in such cities as offer favorable conditions for institutions of the character mentioned they could form themselves into a board for the general supervision of the work and then engage the services of an experienced and thoroughly competent man to give personal attention to it this man should comprehend every detail of the banking business and he should be willing to meet in advice with those who are to have in and the conduct of the institution and instruct them in all the details of its proper management before the doors are thrown out into the public he should then give daily attention to the operation of the bank for two three months or until the officers are able to proceed safely without him by this time a similar work should evade him in another locality he should however keep in constant communication with the president of the newly established bank and so arrange his engagements as to be able to return to it from time to time as the work elsewhere will permit in order that he may oversee the management and give such helpful counsel as the situation may demand with the right kind of men at the helm educated popular with their people and possessing unquestioned integrity it would not be unsafe at this stage to trust the management to their hands for a few days at a time after it has been ascertained that all departments of the business are being conducted intelligently and without friction so that instead of having only three or four communities in the country reaping the good results of such forceful agencies for the moral and material elevation of these citizens we will have at least a few more to assist in spreading the gospel of economy and thrift the expense attached to such an undertaking would be represented in the salary pay the organizer and perhaps a stenographer and the traveling and their other necessary expenses of both their services would not be required for a longer period than five years at most and the real good accomplished would be incalculable the plan is not impracticable the few savings banks now being operated by colored men had no such help they overcame the difficulties under which they necessarily began and they have succeeded admirably cannot other succeed as well especially after such difficulties are effectually removed new orleans memphis natural louisville montgomery atlanta charleston and other cities offer fruitful fields for this but let it be understood that such assistance as is here suggested should in no case be attempted until the citizens of a given community have first events to proper interest in the enterprise such interest indeed as would leave no doubt of their earnestness in the matter the only real danger in any instance or perhaps it may be better to say the chief danger lies in an unwise selection of a locality for the establishment of this kind of business but this question might be safely determined after proper investigation by those who finish the funds let's say be peasants in the north who not being altogether familiar with the conditions as they exist between the races in the south should doubt the wisdom of the undertaking because of a fear that the idea might meet with this favor on part of the dominant race it may be well to suggest that the writer's personal experience in connection with the conduct of a similar institution for nearly 12 years in an extreme southern community has justified the opinion that the very reverse is true the bank referred to has enjoyed ever since its establishment the moral support and cordial good wishes of the white people of that section and the reason for this is apparent perhaps the true reason is nowhere more aptly and succinctly given then by the editor of the charleston news and courier who in commenting on an address delivered by mr booger teave washington said the negro with a bank account with houses and lands with education in the practical things of life is a far better citizen in a safer and more desirable neighbor than a negro who is steeped in ignorance and who has really no part in the life of his country the wise progressive foreseeing citizens of the white race recognize and admit the influence for good exerted upon the colored population by banking institutions operated by members of that race and they welcome and encourage the establishment of them in any community it is hoped that some little grain of merit may be found in these suggestions there has been no desire in the preparation of this article to aspire to any literary effort that would not be possible in one who makes no pretensions in that direction it is submitted with the hope that the ideas here sought to be expressed may find favor with those who practice the doctrines of true philanthropy that class of americans who find genuine happiness in doing good wherever good can be done and who believe that no harm can come of helping the negro to help himself end of topic 38 end of 20th century negro literature or a psychopedia of thought on the vital topics relating to the american negro