The Sentinel. [volume] (Trenton, N.J.) 1880-1882, 1882-09-16
HOW TO MANAGE THE
sa COLORED VOTE.

The growth of Independence among
the intelligent, thinking masses of the
colored people is something remarka-
BILE. The sentiment is voiced by many
of their ablest leaders and disseminated
by some of the brightest and brainiest
of the newspapers under cOlored mems
editorial control. 1t is getting fash
ionable, 80 to speak. In Pennsylvania
= it numbers among its advocates such
intelligentand wealthy leaders as VIM.
= Still and Robt. Purvis, and two out of
the three weekly newspapers which
+ colored men publish in that State. In
New York it has the support of the
Globe, which is probably the most
widely circulated and influential
newspaper published by colored men
in the country. In New England,
VIM. Wells Brown and Geo. Il.
Downing are its apostles. In the
West, the Chicago C0aserVotor, st.
Louis Advance, Kansas City Enter
prise, and Louisville Bulletin, preach
the new gospel; and in the South, the
Mobile Gazette, the Charleston Press,
and many smaller and less important
journals, show decided leaning in the
same direction. as
This widespread discomfort and un-
rest demands the immediate and seri-
GUS attention of the leaders of the
Republican party, and an earnest and
honest attempt to quell it.
The causes which produce it and
nourish and strengthen 1t are by no
means difficult to discover, analyze
and remedy.
There is no Disgusting the fact that
the black Republicans who have been
honest, faithful and influential in
their support of the party, have been
treated shabbily, meanly, unjustly.
They have had the treachery and cor
ruptability of the dusky rabble forever
thrown in their faces they have been
held accountable for every ignorant,
worthless negro who sold his vote on
election day; no matter how intelli-
gent, high charactered and worthy
they may be; they have been uniform
ly treated upon the principle that sail
negroes are alike"; and whenever
some slight crumb of recognition has
been awarded to the party's "black al
ies," it has generally been thrown to
some fossilized old "uncle' who knew
little and amounted to less.
There is no doubt about it, such
management" of the colored vote
must necessarily prove abortive. The
colored voter of to- day is not the same
individual that he was ten years ago.
Another question has grown up and
almost crowded out the men whose
backs were once barred to q masters
whip. Few of this second generation
know aught of slavery save as histori-
cal fact which will ever rem lin dam
ming blot upon the record OF the Amer
lean Republic. Many of them have
lost all traces of the negro servility
which was born of the 'Divine insti
tuition" and recognize no superiority"
in any individual because he belongs
to the fair-hued race. Some of them
have either inherited or earned con-
siderable wealth; and in rare in
stances they can point to All old and
honorable ancestry. Some have me-
chanical skill; some have oratorical
ability and some have literary genius.
Ina word, the natural leaders OF the
second generation of colored voters are
no longer "smart negros," they are
Americans. Americans in the best
sense of the term; Americans with
active brains, finely educated Amerl-
cans with all the American ildepend-
ence and self respect and keen .por-
ceptiOn.
Clearly then, the days OF the hat
under-his.arm. please-give- us culled-
CONGRATULATIONS kind of leader
~ the colored people are ended. The
,aeaer.hip of "uncle," whose chief