New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1871-05-18

From the Louisville Courier-JourpalJ


his relation to the White Race in the past
present and future" last evening, in tn,
Masonic Temple. The house was well filled
with an apprecative audience. With few
brief words the learned divine was introduced
by the Rev. j. H. Haywood, and spoke as fol
lows:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN / am this evening
to occupy position which have not sought
but, having been invited to undertake il by
some of your citizens, | have not felt myself at
liberty to decline. am here to talk to you
of the negro-a theme not of my own seec-
ton, but which has been assigned me, even in
Its form of presentation, of the negro in his
relation TO the white race, past, present,
and future. The subject, more than the
lecture which occasioned my invitation to its
discussion, will mainly occupy our thoughts. as
| had not the pleasure of hearing that Or.
Rivers and myself represent the two sides of q
very important question. In claiming more for
the negro than he is at present prepared to
admit, nevertheless recognize him as on the
same plane of benevolent intention with my
self
The theme, to me, is both old and new /; old
as one which has interested the American pub
lie, and, indeed, the whole civilized world.
for the past two and half centuries, and
which, in my short lifetime, has intensified
and eliminated in the negro's emancipation
and introduction to citizenship; new, as one
which has never before embodied itself in an
attempt of mine at a lecture. The problem
involved in it many of us, of almost every
shade. of opinion, would gladly surrender to
an unerring Providence, to he worked out to
the divine glory. But it so happens that,
while God works, He requires man to work ;
and while He is developing His own purposes,
the human mind may not he still.
THE STATE OF THE QUESTION
What is inevitable to the negro This is the
question before u.s. Neither his hethenism In
Africa nor his slavery in America would war.
rant the highest civilization and his enamel.
patton and acknowledgements are events too
recent to exemplify their full value as yet
But has he to encounter any insurmountable
obstacles TO his early achievement of first class
manliness? IL so, in what light are they ex-
planned grace, or providence?
l. Is there anything in the natural makeup
of the negro TO forbid?
The anthropologist will have to go down de-
grees below the negro to find his dearest human
approximation to the brute.
A distinguished American pbian thropist has
said whoever may be above the negro, the
Esquimaux are below him. The Pacific Island
ers are below him. The South American tribes
poleward are below him. His head measures
three square inches more than the head of the
Hindoo Is his skull thick The Van Dieman'
Lander breaks frewood over his. Ethnolocist,
tell US the classes of mankind are five, viz
Caucasian, Mongolian, Ethiopian, American
Indian, Malay. We would not exchange oul
negroes for four million Malays or Chinese, OIL
American Indians. Out of the five classes W,
prefer the negro to three, ffths of the world
that is to say, count him the next best mar
after ourselves
Compare him even with the typical Cauca
slams by the Black Sea, and he has done NOR,
useful work, written himself more lastins
name, and exerted more influence in his day ant
generation than the whole double tribe of eau
casians-Circasians and Georgians-who lool
up to Mt. Caucasus to catch its SHOWS upoI
their forhcads and its sun flashes on thei
rhaorc
DISPARAGING ASSUMPTIONS.
1t has been maintained, again and again, sui
/ stantially, that "the African mind has neve
shown itself capable of high efforts. The bra
is smaller. The facial angle of the negro neve
, exceeds seventy five degrees, while that of tn
l superior or Caucasian ranges from eighty-f
! to ninety degrees, making great difference i
] brain power. No literature has been given
the world by the negro. The race has pre-
l duced no Homer, or Cicero, or Clay no inver
tons or discoveries in science or art has raise
l.. no monument of skill or industry. The nj
A groes are an initiative people, but they hav
E makers for themselves or others
ARE THESE ASSUMPTIONS TRUE?
Science may not be separated from fact,
These gone, and all its influences fall. Tn
Egyptian Sphynx, supposed to type the mo.
ancient inhabitants of the country, is said t
be, IN all its Misunderstanding forehead
: prominent cheek bones, peculiar nose and lips
] a negro head. The head of MemnOn, in tn
: British National Museum, also hears it is sale
+ the same strongly defined negro features. The
: 1t was from the negro head that the Pyramid
: and all the splendid African monuments, mae
q nifcent even in their ruins, took their form
l and these stand to-day to demonstrate ancen
e negro force. Archmedes must have gotte
his ideas of mechanical forces from this quar-
, ter, did Euclid the hints of his elements
Egypt gave letters 10 Greece and Rome an
: through them to us. Extracts were her
given from Watson and Bascom.
DIR. Livingston has furnished specimens c
weaving, cutlery, and othera rts from the int
rior of Africa which cannot be explained b
f; the negros disposition to initiate the Car
!, | caSian.
8 Blumenbach, the father of German natu
!: ralists,' as quoted by Bascom, has q larg
library, exclusively the production Of negroes !;
and he afrins proudly and fearlessly that ther
IL no branch of science or literature In whic
they have not excelled Aud Gregoria, eS
Bishop of Blois, in France, has large gIas
case filled with the works of negro author
| exclusively, to which he points with exultin
pride as a retntation of all that can be sal
) against the mental claims of Africa In illus
tratng the ability of
: AMERICAN NEGROES,
the lecturer read an extract from the sermon O
Carper, Missouri slave, as contained in DR.
Watson's Tales and Takings. showing tn
: mental power of an uneducated negro and Al
extract from Frederick Douglass, showing tn
literary polish of an educated negro. He gave
3 also, some account of Benjamin Behneker,
full blooded Maryland negro, who published al
almanac in Philadelphia In the years 1892, .
4, and s. the calculations all being his own
This man mastered the higher and more intel
lectual scences--was fine mathematician ant
astronomer-a fine linguist, well~acquainte,
with Latin, Greek, German, and French
uniformed historian and Antiquarian
man of mark among scholars-known to tn
Academy of Science in Paris as the negr
philosopher, and regarded by Mr.. Jefferson a
one of the first minds of his day
ATTEMPTS AT SELF GOVERNMENT.
) The modern negro's attempts at self govern
ment are of admitted Importance in this dis
cussion Hayti has not placed him exactl1
where we could wish to see him, yet not IA
; below Caucasian probabilities under simila
circumstances. What was there in the so
called superior race of the island to educate an
class of mankind into preparation of self-gov
eminent? From a mixture of depraved Span
iards and French, topped off with buccaneers
, the poor. negroes were not likely to learn an,
auhlime lessons And yat Athev attamxt a,