The weekly Louisianian., 1874-07-11
THE SITUATION or OUR
RACE.
rFRom tho National Monitor. I.

full regret, that the situation of ou'
race in the United States is crit,
ically dubious. This, any man O
ordinary sagacity can readily per
ceive. What>we- are, socially, is
lameutable; what we shall be, de-
Ponds on contingencies which are
hopeful just SO far as they are made
comfortable by our faithfu]ness tc
our own manhood. Standing still
waiting for what are called "ou1
white friends to lift US up to their
own level Of civil rights and social
privileges, is leaning on broken
stick. Now that We have been freed
from physical bondage by the acct
dent of civil war, we must free our
selves from social bondage by our
own moral, intellectual, and indus
trial conquests. 1t is a battle for
social freedom that we ourselves
must fight. This seems manifest
from the manner in which
Congress has dealt with the
Supplementary Civil Rights Bill
and the. support which a
portion of the Republican press and
public sentiment gives Congress
in regarding the bill as a violation
of the Constitution an and outrage
against our white citizens. The
cry of emo social equality with the
ignorant negro" is heard from Dap
to Beersheba, and SO great a hub
bub is created that even many of
our real friends among the whites
ire carried away, while nearly all
rest doubt the propriety of
such a law! They doubt it,
oecanse they have been
cad to believe that cit
would hurt the colored people
themselves, as they are not at ali
prepared for social equality"
Civil rights and social equality"
r even so-called social privileges
re- as different us day and night.
'ivil rights are Original, absolute,
and irslienable; social
igghts CT privileges are, and of fright
ught to be, matters of contingency. /,
lis is the only sphere in which we
Il, ofevery race, tongue, and kin
red, unanimously submit to and I
lstinctively approve of it's laws of i
'erit and demerit, each man reserv. {
g the right to decide for himself. I
social attainments are prizes ]
+ which the best and ablest of G
en- struggle, and to which they b
axe all temporal things subser- b
ent. It is a pleasant race. But, e
civil rights, a man can no I
ore attain and enjoy social privil- q
es among those whose civil rights h
9 not abridged, than he can walk O
thout legs, or see without eyes. a,
no thinks he can is a fool. As m
1g az our civil rights are abridged q:
are in social bondage, subject to ii
'racism, insult aud abuse every y,
ere outside of ourselves. Who O,
I'd stand this? Even now the NJ
oscription to which we are subject W
the week in our intercourse til
h the world, and the pious ostra- ia
which we meet at the sanctuary nc
Sundy, are more than q match to
the meekness and patience Of BIZ
n
Then. is to be done? Why a
situation must be changed, and W;
must change it by maintaining N,
more vigilant watch over our w
ial interest. We must ,oak,e up Lo
no longer sleep under the en- let
lullabies Of political par ter
We must sustain and
ngthen our schools and our !
rches and our press, for on these a r
gs our social destiny. We must NE
solidate end sustain, each Other,
Ter than divide and oppose each tan
II as we we're taught to- do on for
slave plantation. It is true that Nc
IAN and do vote. but even 800, der
ballots, behind which there is eng
no moral ond intellec- anG
force, are q little else than a the
heap Of paper, worth two and der
If cents q pound, and that wittle den