The free man's press., 1868-10-24


Mans Press, before the Rep,cbiicaa association.
September 80, 1868 s -
After being introduced BY Mai. Plum
", DR.. Keith said
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:- The sub
ject OF education to which | call Your
attention, this evening, is Of more I'M
pOrtance than any other in the world.
Each nation which has made any dis
tinction for itself in the archives Of his
tory has been educated. The nations
which have been, and are to-day, consid-
cred Of the most importance, and most IN
ttuential on the destinies of the human
race, are those nations who have been the
best ,and the most literally educated
And as with nations, and races. so it is
with the individual and the family; for
1t is OF the individuals, and the families,
that States, races and nations are com
posed
come detOre YOU therefore, this eve
nmg, not to talk upon politics or morals,
or theology, although all of these topics
are dependant on education, but to ask
your interest and corporation in the pa.
per devoted to your educational interest
in this State.
\ large class OF people In the United
States have called You an ''inferi0r . race
They have amused themselves by desert
bing the lips, nose wool, Uranium, and
the whole man, generally, as a t'nigger,'
who could never get any thing into his
head.
Their stock in trade has been founded
on your ignorance and their superiority
Yes, farther than that, if we are to believe
them, they have assembled to heaven and
learned directly from God, that YOU have
a curse, which time cannot efface. on yorl.
because OF some act done to somebody by
some, body some thousands of years ago,
Now, right here, / want to examine
this lnferiority of the Africo-A American.
DO these gentlemen assert, that the
shape of the head makes the inferiority
Ii so. what is their standard, and who is
their phrenologists What are they to dc
with the Egyptians, ,Carthagenians, ,Moors,
| and other races who had skulls differino
from their OWne So, again we ask, is
, the lnferiority of the African race demon
strablel because the hair curls close? II
so, the pig is greatly superior to the hu.
man race, as his hair doesn't curl at all
But the main objection of these sapient
statesmen, who claim that the negro is
inferior to every one else Oh the earth, is
because the color of his skin is black
This is all right. But where does the
black commence and the white set in?
The skin is composed of three layers
and one OF those layers containing lar
ger number of black atoms makes him
black. Does this constitute the inferi
GRITTY! Ii SO, who are the whitest race IN
! the world? Let us find them and elect
| them to rule over us; for we, as Ameri
cans, cannot stand first on the "bleached
list" No; all this talk about inferiority
is based on one fact--the lack of educa
ton among the freedmen.
The enemies point to the man who has
had three years Of freedom, and vet can
not read or write, with a species of exul
tatlon, exclaiming that he is yet igno
rant; and having three years of freedom
he is not yet capable of learning his
letters
This is what the Democratic party say
and this is what causes the Republicans
to urge education upon you at all times
Men of intelligence foresee the time
when no man viii be allowed to vote, un
less he understands the laws he is going
to vote for or against.
Now, tonight, as citizens Of Texas, a
State filled to the brim with disloyalty
murder and treason, what is our duty
Shall we fight? No We must keep on
urging the government to take notice OF