Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1859-05-21
INSTITUTE FOR CoL0RED YOUTH.
PHILADELPHIA, Nav 9Th. 1859,

Mr.. EDITOR: The minds of persons who do not
take the trouble to think seem to be entirely under
the control of accidental associations. They of.
ten see, for example, persons of color, unrefned
in manner, servile in disposition and too ignorant
for aught but mental emlloyments, and as q con
sequence, degradation and dark complexion are
inseparably associated in their minds. 1t is true
that a moderate amount of Information and even
a feeble exercise of the reasoning powers would
show them that this association is arbitrary and
unjust that there always have existed and must
now exist dark .hued individuals of attainments,
mental, moral, and educational, greatly superior
to their own though their experience may have
been too narrow to admit of any personal know.
ledge OF such. But persons of slothful intellect
manage to live without reasoning and consequent.
ly sometimes act in a ridiculous as we'll as an in
human, manner, when they fancy they are main
tanning the dignity of their race.
One of this unthinking class, had he by any
accident strayed into the school rooms of the In.
%stitute for Colored Youth, in this city, on the 4th
Of May, would have been overwhelmed with
amazement, and, if possessed Of feeling, with deep
modification, rs he he suddenly became convicted
Of the fact tina, he had oil his life been engaged in
thrusting out from the privileges of society persons
Of polished manners and intellectual attachments
far above those of one half the persons with whom
these are accounted unfit to mingle. Churches, lee.
lures, exhibitions of art and science, colleges-aye,
even cars and omnibuses closing their doors against
these persons! Native born, tax.paying citizens
OF such character and bearing as these, and treat
ed with such injustice! Let us leave him TO re.
ections, (f indeed he be capable of them) which
are bitter and eminently wholesome.
1t was evidently a gala day. The boys and
girls, ranging between the ages of Q and 81, ap,
peared in neat and tasteful costume, and visitors,
chiefly, | presume, connections of the students,
thronged the spacious rooms. AS one class after
another was called upon the platform and exam.
ired by one or another of the teachers TALL colored)
the answers of the students, or their demonstra.
tons, were delivered with promptness and clear.
ness highly creditable to the preceding la.
bors of themselves and their teachers. Geometry,
Higher Algebra, Natural Philosophy, Anatomy,
Reading and Spelling were included in the long
list; and whether q stout youth discoursed OF
polygons inscribed or ~polygors circumscribed, or a
tall maiden, with the flush of excitement on her
cheek. explained the parallelograms of forces; OF
- |'N"S ALL h0OucT 6DJOym6lL IMAM
that experienced by their elders, spoke o! the ma.
ture OF respiration and Importance of personal
cleanliness, or spelled and defined words taken at
random from the spelling.book; it was all equally
edifying TO those of the spectators who, whether
white or cOlored, had themselves efficient culture
to judge of the performance. A few of the chill.
dren were SO fair that in any other school you
would not think of their belonging to the race
which Democratic America devotes to ignominy.
AS the pupils were called to their places, you
would see a child, with light brown ringlets falling
softly over her fair neck, standing beside another
with sable skin and q thick mass of jet.black hair,
carefully smootted yet abundantly crinkled or a
maiden just ripening into womanhood, with long
folds OF hair black and glossy as satin sur.
rounding a face Of complexion SO delicate that
with the least excitement it was flushed with q
rosy hue, and another-her compauion-with a
nobly expressive countenance so black that, at
the farther side of the room, you could not have
seen the flashing of her brilliant eye but for the
wife setting of the iris. Make il your especial
object as the examination proceeds, TO discover a
difference in the intellectual acquisitions of the
pupils, conforming to their color. You will fail.
You observe keenly the answers given by those
full.blooded children Of Africa and by those in
whom the Saxon is SO largely mixed. Your Stats.
tics refuse to aid you in assigning to either a su.
perior position.
The exercises of the evening, consisting of reel.
TAXATION and defamation of pieces original and
selected were held at the Central PRESBYTERIAN
church. and attended by a large and delighted
audience. Let us hope that sore at least among
them belonged to the class who need to be con,
viaced of The gross injustice which otherwise well.
behaved persons are constantly i~nficting on these
brethren of ours whom God has seen fit to give
complexion different from that Of the Saxon race.