Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1883-09-28
Negro National Convention.

=S5 The negro national convention met / b.
Louisville on afonday and was largely
attended by delegates from ali parts of
the country There was l,e, struggle
oyer the election Of a president. but
Frederick. Douglas, of Washington, D,
G.,RasEf finally successful. He. is the
most celebrated coloretl man in the
world. and is properly placed at the,
bead Of his race. Be}ew is given Il
portion Of his speech, which repays pc
rusal !: + .ss@@5 ,,s~ r. 42f' .....-. -,
/, No reasonable man will ever Object
to white men holding National conven-
tions, when. they are in our condition
and we are. in theirs. Examples are
plentifully abundant where whites have
hated the blacks, border men. the In
dim, the negro, the ClsiAesr, and vice
versa. We must move rs u. people
toward the goal OF prosperity and eau..
cation. :. Now that we are free We must
like freninenf take the reins in our OWE
band and eump the world TO receive US
as their equai.. This city, metropolilan
%#ituf Size, cosmopolitan ii its ways, + stiff
uot free AID liberal enough in opinions
to receive us as cquals in public build
ings and hotels. 1hi' is why we are
now sitting in national convention. We
haYe been given numerous platforms but
are still in the same condition. What
we want is not words and epitaphs in
Our praise, but actions. We have never
been helped, but assistance comes from
all sides to help us in our downward
course. IF we come as cart drivers and
servants we are received, but when we
come AS scholars and statesmen the col
or line is raised. The colored man is an
oppressed, an ahject race in the United
States Trades unions refused him ad-
mission; mechanics refused him AS an
apprentice, and everywhere he sees the
same old contempt and despite follow
him. He is spurned from the gates and
compelled to seek resting place Of his
own. If he applies for admission to a
college or aspires to education or pro-
fession the race line is again drawn. That
ia what we are here for-!o raise this
!i,.e and make the blacks the equals Of
the whites. The cause lies more in the
disea<. ID imagination of the Americans
than in firm belief. We are here to see
to it that men of onr color accused of
crime shall have fair trial; thatzall
these outrageous lypchings be stopped.
Our business is to organize for our rights
and for redress of our wrongs. Some
say we should not hold this convention
because it menaces the Republican par
ty. Parties are made for men and not
men for parti-s. E!y ha: was made for
my head, not my head i',r my hat If
parties do right, stand by them, bnt
when they do not uphold their PRINCIPLES
laid down in platforms, down with
them. >Fo||ow-no party hlindly. We
have learned how to talk iainu let us
speak f"r ourselves about civil rights.
Every man is sole proprietor and lord Of
his own house, but when any place is
opened for the public, everybody who is
recognized as a citizen by law, has the
right to enter, This does not make men
equal. Talent and intelligence are al
ways triumphant, When speak to an
intelligent man five minutes l forget all
ahou: color. Now about political equal
ity. I never was politician, I began
mr career as pleader for the aggrand-
izement of my race and I am not afraid
to tell what I think about all kinds of
equality. This stamping out of the
black Republicans of the South has been
done in the face Of the Republican par
ty. This convention should implore
congress for the restoratione of Justice
and for abolition of this most detcstable
state of affairs. Make the constitution
practically what it is theoretically and
there will be an end to all this filth of
the ballot box and to all injustice of the
color line''