New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-12-19
The Evening star on sociaa
Equality.

The fact OF colored ladies and gentlemen
sitting in public restaurant enjoying ICE
cream and lemonade where white iadies anu
gentlemen are seated for the purpose OF en-
loving the above delicacies constitutes, IN
the profound wisdom of the Ersning Star Oh
this city, social equality. The occasion TO
which the Star refers as the time OF the at
tempted forcing Of social equality by coloreo
gentlemen of this city was when gentle
manly clerk Of the Freedman's Bank entered
Freund's restaurant on Pennsylvania avenue
and politely asked to be served. HAD the
gentleman and his friends been accommo-
dated they would have taken n table pre-
ciselv as white gentlemen and ladies IN COM
pany would have done, and whatever OF So
cial equality there might haye been 1t
would have been so lar as this gentleman
and party were concerned at their own
table, and in no way that we conceive OF
could their decent enjoyment OF refresh
meuts called for interfere with the de-
ceat enjoyment of refreshments by others
seated at different tables. There would, in
all likelihood, have been no communication
between the gentleman and his friends with
other persons in the room if not acquainted
with each other and sustaining social relations
| to each other. The Star is unjust when it
charges colored persons with attempting to
force social equality because they choose to
eat ice-cream and 20 the places where it is to
be found for sale. In our opinion it was the
ice-cream the colored gentlemen desired and
not the association with white persons, who
often have no other Recommendation for their
| federation in respectable saloons than the
| whiteness Of their skins. We have yet to
hear of white persons of doubtful character
being refused accommodation in any OF our
public restaurants where often the purest and
best are jostled by the vile and dissipated.
| Will the Star contend that such meetings i'll
| a public restaurant constitutes social equal
ity:
The Star says: Now it is well enough to
| say Just here that this particular attempt to
enforce social equality meets with very little
favor from the best colored people here"
The editor of the Star must enjoy higher so,
cial relations with colored people than we do
as we have never been able to penetrate that
circle of ''best colored people here" who look
upon colored ladies and gentlemen receiving
the treatment due respectable people with
very little favor. The thrifty, industrious
educated, aud thinking colored people with
whom we meet are unit in the desire to be
treated exectly as all other respectable anc
decent people are treated, believing thai
color is no criterion Of gentility. All thai
anybody has right to demand from patron;
of restaurant is that they be decent, thu
| color is no just excuse for refusing to serve
a decent person. The trouble with the Sta
editor and those with whom he is in sympa
thy, is that the colerel gentlemen who en-
tered Freunds were gentlemen; had the.
been there in mental capacity the noses o
the white, fastidous color aristocrats would
have maintained their wonted level. W.
firmly believe that the Stars definition of so
cial equality will not stand the test of reason