Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-09-22
|WEpNEsDAY.......sEpT'R2 %. 1886.
Race Preindices.

When Mr.. BLAINE, or any othel
man, attempts to make party capital ii
the North by charging upon th'
white people Of the South that they
do not recognize the equality of the ne
groes, be performs the part Of hypo'
critic; for he knows that precisely the
same race prejudice prevails in the
northern States rs in the southern. A
conference Of several hundred OF the
leading colored men of New England
was held recently in Boston, at which
the following true picture OF the con-
dition Of the negro in New England was
drawn. At the conference were pre-
sent GEORGE. T. DOWNING, 4. G..
WALKER, j. NJ. TRoTTER, Rev.
SAMUEL HARRISON, and other promi
psnt negroes. Their picture is as fol-
lows:
"The colored people Of New England
are assembled in conference to make an
expression. They, in common with
the colored people Of the land, are, be-
cause they are colored, unjustly dis
eliminated against. This is keenly felt.
Those who discriminate will not deny
that in Church and State, among ar
lists, in the professions, in the bank, in
the factory, in the counting-house, in
the salesroom, and in selecting sales
men and saleswomeD, or in making ap-
plication to become apprentices to
trades, 10 rebuff, discourage, and hurt
the feelings Of many colOred persons
having aspirations is the rule that pre-
walls to the detriment Of those discrimi-
mated against. 1t prevails regardless of
merit. Nor are political parties guilt
less in this regard"
What is to be done Is this race
feeling unnatural or is it not rather inn
planted in the very nature Of man9 Do
these negroes expect to occupy in
"Charch and State" places side by
side with those occupied by whites?
How many scores or hundreds Of years
will it require to educate the whites up
or down to that point? II New Eng
land fansticism has not hitherto erAdi-
Gated in that section all prejudices
against the negro, what hope has he the
right to entertain that these will ever be
ersdicated, Before the war between
the States, New England for years hated
the South, hated slavery, aud envied the
STAKEHOLDER. She tried to love the
negro because he was slave, and
did hate the stakeholder but
all her efforts have resulted as de-
scribed in the paragraph above quoted.
We submit, then, for the consideration
Of our colored friends this question !:
II under the circumstances recouuted
the people Of New England have be-
come what they are represented to be,
what possible reason can anybody
give for supposing that with no
slaveholders to excite her envy and
no slaves to arouse her indigna.
tion, she will hereafter be able
to divest herself Of race prejudices
Where is the New Highlander, whether
among artists, or in the professions, OF
in banks. or in the Church, or in the
State, or in the factory, or in the count
ing-roOm, or elsewhere, no matter
where, who would not choose his asso
ciates among Caucasians? Aud if New
England is so great an offender, whs
can be expected of the whites Of th'
other States?
We leave the problem to be solved by
those who regard race prejudices as ain
full and eradicable, If any such whit
persons there be.