Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-04-05
The Colored Race and Industrial Educa-

The CoIored Race and Industrial Educa-
tion.
To the Editor of the Sunday Globe-Republic:
SHIT is now a settled fact that the col
ored people of this country WELD an immense
power, politically; indeed, it is believed they
hold the balance Of power. At all events,
they are, az a race, an important facttr in the
government Of our nation, Politicians see
and know this. They know that. If nomi-
mated for Office, it will never do, if they would
be elected, to ignore VI disregard their
"bro,her in black" Alas! too many, whose
political influence for good is now dead, have
learned this truth by sad experience.
What lie true of my race in regard to poll
tics is equally true of them IN respect to
business. The many readers of your
valuable p per, and especially the business
men of our city, may not have
noticed it heretofore, but it is fact that the
colored people, not only Of Springfield, but Of
the whole country, make it a rule to trade
at such business places as have in their en-
ploy colored help. know whereof | speak.
This conclusion is not the result of hasty
judgment on ny part, bnt rather, the legiti-
mate outcome of personal inquiry and close
observation.
When it is remembered that the freedmen
Of this country have been out Of "the house
of bondage" for something more than twenty
years. and Furthermore, that these are now
growing up to manhood and womanhood SO
many sable sons and daughters of Ham; and
when it is borne in mind that most Of these
young citizens in embryo are coming in
to the possession of such rare intelligence,
and manifest such integrity of character ss
well as habits of strict sobrie'y, its surprising
to see that so few Of them are given the op-
portunity to learn trade, serve behind the
counter, beco.e an apprentice in the printing
Office, or to associate with his BROTHER man in
either the dissecting room or the chemical Ia
boratory.
1t is a well-known fact that for years my
race-my poor and oppressed race-have
been accustomed to NO other labor than that
performed in the cotton-fields, in the kitchen,
in the restaurant and hotel Is il always to
be so? Are we forever to be "hewers Of
wood and drawers of water?" 1t cannot be;
it must not be. The philanthropby of Ameri-
can citizens is too great; and the religion OF
the Christian people is too ardent to allow such
a state OF things to exist forever. Long since
the Evangelical churches OF America realized
the paramount importance of helping the
negro to help himself, and with this heaven
horn conviction many Of them have deter
mined to educate his hand as well ss bis heart
At this moment the eyes Of the civilized
world are centered upon Africa, and the prime
question now being agitated by the chu-ch
is what shall We do to redeem African"
The leaders in the church have expressed the
option that there should be sent from our
schools and colleges young ladies and gentle.
men OF color, whose brains have been devel-
oped and whose hearts are warmed and en-
thused by the love OF Christ. This is good
90 far as it goes, but they should
be blessed with other qualifications.
Missionaries to the "dark continent" say that,
in order to elevate the natives aud bring them
into a proper state of civilization, it is very
requisite that the hand should be educated as
well as the heart and brain. A distinguished
educator: how presiding over one OF our COL
ored seminaries in the extreme Sauth; says:
"We need shops, and tools, and foreman.
Many Of our people have mechanical tastes.
We need a press to aid in our work." An
other. Rev. C. E. Becker, president of Bene-
dict Institute, Columbia, South Carolina,
says: "The industrial departments, organ
lied this year by the generous aid Of the
Slater fund. are giving instruction in carpen-
tering, shoemaking, type-setting, and to the
young women in dressmaking. The moral
effect Of educated labor cannot be appre-
ciated until seen under such circumstances as
surround US here"
How can industrial education among the
race become more general. Not all Of our