Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1882-03-11
The Demands Of the Age ON the
YOEng COioreA Mem OF
ahe Naffnm.


the Nafion.
I TAT the request of many OF our
most Influential and prominent col
ored citizens, we publish the follow
ing excellent essay, written by Miss
Matte Jackson, a teacher in the
cOlOred public schools of this city,
and recently read before the St.
Peters X. NJ. f. Church Sunday
SCHOOL,
There is time in the life of every
individual when the hand that has
protected the lettering steps of
childhood. and guided and restrain
ed the head-strong and reckless
tendencies of youth, is Withdrawn,
and he must act for himself, must
tread alone life's uncertain path.
When youth merges into manhood,
new duties, different sphere of
action and hitherto unknown re-
sponsibilities await it, and these
| must be met and overcome in its
own strength II the true end of life
be attained. So it is with national
existence. Nations spring into ex-
istenee and for time must be aided
and protected by more powerful al
lies and neighbors. But there comes
a time when the power that is to
make them nation worthy of hon
or and respect, must come from
within; when their future glory
and fame, or ruins and decay depend
upon their own character. That
period has now come to the colored
people of America.
We are no longer peculiar peo-
pie. AS race, we can be no longer
the object of pity and commisera-
ton on the one hand, and contempt
ON the other. The negro is man
and as such must be regarded. The
race must enter the list with other
competitors and contend for recog-
milton and power, under the same
conditions that govern others. The
| great civil war burst the shackles that
bound it to servitude; legislation has
made it equal before the law and
| placed education within the reach
of the masses. Christian philanthro-
I Ply has aided and encouraged the
struggle for recognition and rights.
They have done all that outside aids
can do. The rest remains with u.s..
The power that must utilize these
conditions lies within. The future
! is in the hands of the race. Whether
IT is to remain in the lower stratum
of society whether it is to furnish
the hewers of wood and the draw
ers OF water; whether it will be
known in the literary, professional
and mercantile walks of life;
whether its voice will be heard and
its counsels needed in legislative
halls, will be determined by its own
course. If we are to be hOnored of
men, If our rights are to be respected,
we must develop a national char
acter Of sterling worth. Not Il few |
brilliant lights that flash like me-
teors across the national sky, will
suffice to make the future of the |
race honorable and praise-wOrthy. |
The whole mass of the people must
reach a marked degree OF excel
lence. II is true that but few will
reach the pinnacle of national fame;
but that few must come from a
sturdy, honest moving mass.
To what class must the race look
for leadership in the coming strug-
gle? Upon what class depend for
strength and courage? We ans
swer, to what class DO all nations
look for protection and preServa-
ton, and upon whom do they de-
pend for strength? Lycurgus, the
wise law-giver of Sparta, gave his
wisest counSels and laid his most
severe restrictions upon what class 4?
Upon the young men. And it is to
our young men that we must look
for the future of the race. The ma
ton calls to them and they must
answer the call. They cannot
shrink the responsibility. How is
the future to be made an honor to
them and their pOsterity? What
is demanded of them by the age?
First, ii demands of them 10 be men
of good moral character. They can
not afford to swerye one iota in
practice from that high moral SEN
timent, that demands respect alike
from President and beggar. No
character is great unless good NOR
ais is an element. There can be no
true life in which this is lacking.
This is the fountain head from
which other virtues flow. Truth
and honesty are as essential to true
manhood as bread is to life. In or
der to mould character of sterling
worth, purity OF thought must en-
gender pure action. Hypocrisy is
as fatal to moral well being as poi
son to the physical. We must cul-
tivate only that which is pure and
uproot all pernicious tendencies.
The tendency of the age is fast.
Our young men must avoid this
tendency. 1t may be a difficult
task, hut the path of duty is never
one of roses from which the thOrns
have been removed.
Second, it demands they should
be sworn foes of King Alcohol. He
reigns in every city, village and
hamlet. His subjects are found in
every class of society and the effect
is terrible. We ali know the al
lurements he holds out and the fate
of his victims. Total abstinence
is the only safe way to avoid his
snares. Moderation and federation
are only PITFALLS for unwary feet.
You must meet the giant boldly
and vanquioh him completely ON
every hand.