The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-03-03

Because they SIS they stand are not in
accord with personal liberty and personal
contract; to choose IN marriage as allowed
to those not colored. though as fact there
are few of either coler, who have taste, who
are so inclined.
5. And because of this forbidding of in.
termarrisge, license, aye encouragement, is
given 10 the white man who may be so vile
TO ruin the colored won an, while she has no
recourse in her shame.
6. And under this law unmarried colored
women have 10 protection in the State
against men responsible for bsstardy.
Z. Because children born OF white and
c0lOred parents out oil wedlocz can not be le-
galized.
s. For the reason that this law allows
that inequality which says that the colored
shall suffer ali the penalty OF such wrong,
while the white shall go free.
g Because I believe that the pre- udice,
education and castles of each race will allow
II 10 choose for itself without these laws.
Society is selfdistributing; society will take
care OF itself
And for more than all, for the reason that
a white man, 50 low, so degraded and in
ferior enough 10 dishonor and degrade
coiored woman, should be made by the laws
honorable enough 10 marry the woman he
has thus degraded. l have now given you
briefly the reason | think our lowest laws
should be repealed. I now propose to make
some general remarks. Look into the
history Of the past-come from the past go
gears ago doWn-s prejudice of the American
people has been bearing up the colored race,
all continually inflicted upon theIt. Here
l Save 10 deal with most delicate question,
more delicate than any gentleman upon this
floor bss had to deal with. This bill pur-
poses TO wipe from Indianas laws, to say the
least, the relic of the most bsrbarous age.
This ate stands alone in this Injustice, and
10 - LAT aha -reF 4hc Ok
laws which have disgraced Indiana. These
are the laws preventing blacks from marry
log whites and from their belonging 20 the
militia of the State. The colcred men, though
prevented from belonging 10 the militia,
but were good enough to fight, to vote,
TO hold office, 10 SIT on the Jury and to be
witnesses in court, Good enough TO fight
when the draft was suspended to save the
white faces of Northern men. One hun
dred thousand of Gods sons, carved in
ebony, engaged ia $50 battles of the South,
Under the laws of our State they can not
belong to the militia How patrioticl Bot
the negro is good enough 10 die for his coun-
try. This entire system is the language
from the slave holder Of the North and put
upon their white slaves OF the North the
so-cslled white freeman. In Indiana the
colored man was never entirely free. Never,
nor now. Thirty-three yearsagO the question
to allow the colored man freedom in In
diana vas submitted to the vote of this
State. OF these voters p 065 voted foe liberty
and 100 go SAID motive to one that the
negro should not liue in your State. Then
the sun in its course looked down on an action
as inhuman as ever characterized the cotton
fields of Georgia or the rice swamps of the
Carolinss. Even in this very city at that
day, when the death. knell OF slavery was
sounded by the first shot on Fort Samter. a
bishop of the II. E Church declared that the
church property shoCld not be
or oTeo a hsTiot. Comparing negro to the
most degraded Of ALA harIot Even
in 1880 your people refused to correct this
evil in the Consultation. You now have it
in your hands.
On February D. 1866 gentleman well
kn own upon this floor and in the S ate and
Nation. said that he did not believe the
coloItd mao equal to the whites, and that
he did not care TO see them placed on the
PATTERN on a level with the whites. The
people who refused this freedom sent him
there. 1t is not because encourage inter
marrying that I introduced this bill. The
negeo on that question has prsjudcs Just
the same as the white mal. / must,
not be misquoted. j repre- sent Ia this hall
one of the most enlightened aud cultured
counties in the Stale. lam the peer OF any
man here as regards rights and duties. Aud
in my official duties / have been treated
with that courtesy and respect due any man
by the members and the Speaker. l ask no
man to accord me more. / am colored, it Is
true, but am q man. | ask no favor nor
shall shrink from any responsibility. l am
in fsvor of absolute freedom. ! am hu-
manitarisn and, thank God, q Christian. ]
am not wrong. Very often on the car seat l
am shovn the favor OF a whole seat to my.
self. Very frequently at a hotel table /
have the whole table 10 myself. The best
class OF colored. like that of write, do not
ID l. =
not regulate affection When I was
asked if married white
woman 1 said, NO; / married lady,"
In slave times whites were bought and sold
as aves. So they were regarded and so
they existed. The laws OF the State draws
the line at oneeighth negro blood, but as no
herd book has been kept TO preserve pedi.
past that point / want to saw that with
this law man is granted the infamous
license to betrsy colored women, and this
had led some TO believe that there is no such
thing rs virtue among c0loTsd women. In
the South the mulatto grew from white
fathers, but you scarcely heard of one born
of white mother. Let as have rights for
the colored man-civii. political, business,
church, Slate, everything. ] plead no
special legisstion-no favor OF grace.
am no sycophant want right.
You can net legisaie man
TO ny hreside, but there is no law but
thst OF brute force TO protect my family
against the white. As Judge Taylor said on
this floor the other day that laws are not for
the rich nor the majority, bat for the
minority aud the poor. True. Mr.. Brown
ing said as much. We have long appealed
for perfect freedom. We have asked the
pulpit for 260 years. We now appeal to this
General Assembly. If refused. we can ask
as We have asked since 1920 and look 70
heaven Tor aid. This much We must say
aud that is that we put more faith il God
| than we DO in political parties.
Mr.. GOODING: Regarding the militia
| the Constitution forbids that; the Lsgisla-
| tuIe abolished discrimination in public
| schools; and as to marriage, there is no dis
| elimination, as a white man is as much for
| hidden 10 marry a colored womsn as
colored man to marry q white woman.
| As 70 any other things tbs laws allow civil