New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1873-10-02
Letter from Frederick Douglass.

MEsSRS EDITORS: Allow me To thank
you for printing my speech delveredat Nash
Vile, and to say word OF my visit to that
distant CITY, for to me that visit was, in many
of its features. one Of deep interest. That |
was called there TO deliver an agricultural
address before an agricultural society oil
Z cOlOred men. considering that only several
| years ago these men were slaves, and re-
garded in the eve Of the law as beasts OF
/ burden, and were often themselves shown as
part Of the stock of Tennessee farms, was
a deeply interesting fact. They were now
showing their horses and cattle, and the pro-
ducts of their own little farms, acquired since
emancipation. The display was not large
far less than it ought to have been. ana lar
| less, am told, than I: would have been Dut
! for some dissatisfaction on the part OF farm
ers who contributed to the exhibition the pre-
vious wear. | do not undertake to say who
! was to blame There always Will be more
or less dissatisfaction in the management OF
such fairs. Some are supposed 70 get pre-
NUNS who do not merit them. while others
/ fail to receive credit they think their due. l
3 ''iSNl'f 'i''SNtA' ~ N''-7N"~ - ,
| colOred farmers of Tennessee that the matter
of special credit should have far less weight
than the general credit of the whole people.
While all should desire to deserve special
marks Of merit, each should remember that
what may lie lost to them as individuals Is
nevertheless gain to the whole, and that in
this way they are fully compensated for any
i = l., l..,s.s, ,tttt
to in bringing their products to the eXhibi-
ton, for every colorcd man has 1 direct and
powerful motive for making 4 respectable
show of Industrial results on such an occa-
sion.
\ State fair is not the place to exhibit our
restitution. We have enough to humiliate
and discourage without exhibiting our least
creditab!e side to the world. 1t would be to
my mind a matter of alarm for the future oi
our race, if we should find that, after all,
the colOrcd people are incapable Of the scnti-
mcnts that spring from a common cause, and
that they should be led to deny the existence
of n common cause. and refuse to labor and
make sacrifices to promote it as 4 matter
far mere important than mere individual sue
cess.
The men who staid away from the Nash
willie fair and refused to exhibit their cattle
and cotton, sacrificed the common cause to
thei: own supposed individual claims-a
privilege which we are not in a condition tC
indulge without incurring great harm. Fol
say what we will we must rise or fall, sinh
or swim, with our race. We have got e
make our race respectable bctore any indi'
vidual of the race can hope to receive TIC
full measure Of respect as a man. The high
est and ablest amongst us IS neither hgl
f enough norablc enough to shake Of his rela.
, ton to the colorcd race, and it is mean &nC
contemplate to wish to do 50. This state
ment has a further application. which your
readers, hope, will make. While we con
tend for equal school privileges and cqua
rights to every one, let US be careful that W.
, do no. begin tc hate our own color because
, we happen to find it hated by the white PEG
pie around us.
There was much at the fair to commend
! The nccde-wOrk Of the women was espc
cially commemorate. Some of the quilts cX
hibtcd marvellous patience and much skill
The horses were not remarkably fine, anC
the few cattle exhibited were nothing 10 brae
Of. 1t was only by judging the fair in the
light Of the antecedents of the people who
got it up that it can be made subject o
, praise. Viewed thus it WAS very credtablc
but far less 50 than it might have been if the
colortd farmers of Tennessee had chosen t.
have made common cause with the men d
Nashville.
There was Il tremendous crowd of people
} a great display Of snowy clothing, good
deal of drinking, some gambling and fighting
There were several excellent bands of music
on the ground, but they played too often and
too long.
The people of Nashville are entitled t.
great credit. Their patience and forbear.
, ance toward their colored citizens were some.
thing wonderful. Night and day We toob
almost complete possession Of the streets
Night and day for nearly week we made
night hideous by the unccasing clang ant
noise Of our brass instruments, dancing
filing, and drumming in the most thunderoG,
: IlldllIlCE from IlpIEil3 III H!Iill ana lEDii
, night till morning. Oar conduct in this re-
spect was simply outrageous. We seemed
, for the time quite obliviOus Of the rights o
! every body else, and to have no definite idc;
, of our own. | could not have blamed tht
city authorities if they had intcrferei an,
+ hushed up the interminable jangle, especial,
when it was continued after two O'Clock a
= night. The right to silence is not less sacre,
q than the right to make noise, and il on
I friends at Nashville hold another State fair
f beseech them to use their influence agains
o the boisterous demonstrations Of which thei
O last fair was the occasion. The more intel
ligent part cf our people, of course, dcporte
themselves with dignity, but they wer
scarceir seen upon the ocean Of cur rae
:. which urged through the streets Of Nash
u Vile DUNG the fair. Some Of them lc't sorel
tried by the uDroarous conduct Of he ma
I iorty.
/; Now, while have said all this, and nigh
D say much more of the same sort, must ais
= say that / have seldom seen more good
c looking and really good-nat-sed people thai
= were those assembled the other day in N4-!i
,.ll ..,r- g..,f. Its.l