Huntsville gazette., 1886-01-09

composed new music He is toe mo st
! spiritual of Americans, for be worships
with his soul and not with his narrow
mind. For him religion is to be believed,
acce opted, like the very voice of God. and
aud marketable, as i. is made by too many
white Amer icaps. AS Mr., Downing who
preceded NE, has referred to the Catholic
religion. / may be pardoned for saying
that there is one religion that knows nei-
ther race nor class nor color; that's offers
God uastint4dy y the riches and glories of
this world in architecture. in painting. in
ID arhle. and music and grand ceremony.
The is no other way to worship God With
the whole soul; though there ara many
other ways of worshipl ing him with the
intellect at 80 many do lars an hour, in an
economical church, a hand organ in the
gallery, and careful committee to keep
down the expenses.
The negro is 4 new man, tree al a
spiritual man, hearty man and he can be
great man if he will avoid model ling
hiins Ii on the whites No race ever
came ilustrious on borrowed ideas or the
initiated qualities of another race Zap
plause].
except by one test-tbe breeding OF great
men, y OF great merchants or reders, not
rich NJ Il, bankers, insurance mcngers, or
directors of gascompanies. But great
thinkers great seers of the world through
their WI eyes great tellers of the truths
and beauties and colors ard evuties as they
alone see them. Great poets-ah, great
oets above all-and their brothers, great
painters and musicians and fashioners sof
Gods beautiful shapes in clay and mar
BILE and bronze.
The negro will never take his stand be-
side or above the white man till be has
given the world proof of the truth and
| beauty and herclsm end power that are in
his soul. And only by the organs of the
soul are these delivered-by the self re-
spect and self reflection, by philosophy,
religion, poetry, and art, sacrifice aud love
One poet will be worth a hundred bankers
and brokers, worth ten Presidents Of the
United States to the negro race. One great
musician will speak to sthe world for the
black man as no thousand editors or pol
| iticians can.
The wealth Of our Western, soil in its
endless miles of fertility is less to iAmerica
than the unworked wealth of the rich me-
gro nature. The negro poet of the future
vii! be worth two Mexicossto America
God send wise guides to my black fellow
cnuntrycen. who will lead them to under-
stand and accept what is true to reject
what is deceptive aud changersble in life
purpose and hope.
| | don't know that should say any more
seeing that this meeting was one more to
4 express political thought than social or
/ racial in this vague way. But it is a great
/ pie sure 10 me to come to colored meet
/ ing in Boston 1t would be greater
| pleasure to 90 down t. Nashville aud al.
| dress a colored meeting there, and God
grant some time that it may be possible for
Boston white man to go down to Nash
vile and address colored men [Applause] ]
| As | said in the beginning so long as
I American citizens and stheir children are
excluded from schools, theaters. hotels
or commcn conveyances, there ought not
/ To he and there is not among those who
love justice and liberty, any question of
race or creed or color; every heart that
eats for humanaity beats with the oppress>
ed The sympathy of the world is with
von md the time is not distant when you
| piil tear DOWN that infamous inscription
from the Nashville depot. [Applause1.
Spe 'rhes followed by f. W. Walker, T.
c Scottron, and Others Boston filot