The American citizen. [volume] (Topeka, Kan.) 1888-1909, 1889-07-19
world and the power which moves it,
must be obtained by the Afro
American if he would be

seen and recognized. Money does
not have to beg recognition, nor does
the man who has money. We, l have
no doubt, make money enough, but !
We do not save it or make good use
of it. We are giving too much to
having what we choose to call having
a good time socially, and gratifying
our sensual desires and appetites. 1t
is my honest belief that colored peo-
pie give too much time to society;
not that | don't like good society, for
l do, but simply because believe
that we should turn our attention
especially to wealth. What does
Jay Gould care about society or what
society people think of him? He is
not seeking after society, but society |
is running after him, or rather his
money, night and day. You may
ask if Frederic Douglas money puts
him in Jay Gould's society, or in
AS, who has no more if as much
money as Douglas, and is white.
No, but here is the point. Douglas
money puts him in higher society,
even white society, than mine does
me, simply because he has money
and | have not. The second weapon
is education. We must become an
, intelligent race; we must stand
shoulder to shoulder as race with
the whites, or higher, before our
r abilities will be recognized. When
o are we as race in science, literature,
2 art, theology, law, medicine and
, music? 1t is true that We have some
y excellent men, land a few women)
r in each of these departments, but
Q they are too few to say that the race
q is educated. Think of such towns as
/ Lawrence, Leavenworth, Atchisen
|, aud Topeka turning out only two
e and three high school graduates a
II year, while the colored population OF
= each reaches the thousands. We
4 must do better than this # we would
be educated.
Or The third thing we must possess
-" is morality. History gives no account
le of high state of civilization for ar
ID immoral people. Morality commands
or higher respect, even among mos
t barbarous peoples, than immortality
" and dissoluteness. The writer Seems
it to think we ought to 60 somewhere
tn and mentions Africa. He speaks o
m the English, French and German
tn planting colonies there, and asks VIII.
e? not us. My dear friend, we hav
tie there now a larger representation
on than the rest of the world put to
a gether, can possibly place there
We Why 90 away from a country who's
be civilization is the ideal of the nine
be teenth century, to a place Whe'
IN. civilization is unknown? We al
N. far enough behind now, witho'
Of going to the foot of the ladder, an
the beginning over again. Is not ii
L Afro-American, a thousand tim
of better off than his brother in Afric
even after he has been enslaved Il
the two centuries? If emigration ia be
We for us, why does not the case
ms Liberia prove it? Are we not bett
.po off than they? l heard missionar
old say. within the last three years, WI
,et. was lust from there, that the Llb'
nj ians were in far worse condition tn
I, we are in this country; and that eve
the time an American vessel stopp
to there. that the natives would
orr alb ard. and would have to be put
ich. they wanted to come away 50 b
low AMI that they would run along {
ken shore and beg to be taken on bot
,ple 30 they could get away, South Am
+ lea il no better. Colonization
inst America or anywhere else should
,ere the last resort.
.,rv To me the future Of the Al
We American looks fiattering; and If
aIli- progress Of the next quarter o
ton century i a. marked as the one