The national leader., 1889-04-27
THE DAY OF FREEDOM.
ITS OBSERVANCE BY THE BETHEL
LITERARY ASSOCIATION.
HON. FREDERICK DOUGLASS THE
ORATOR OF THE EVENING.
He Speaks of the People and Their
Prospects.

STREET METROPOLITAN CHURCH
THE CoLoRED MEN HONOR LIN.
COINS NAME-THE CELEBRATION
A GREAT SUCCESS.
The Bethel Literary and Historical
Associations celebration Of the twenty
seventh anniversary of the emancipa-
ton of the slaves In the District of
Columbia, at the Metropolitan A. M.
E. Church. was in every way worthy
of so great an event.
The large edif1ce was crowded with
a highly intelligent audience, who re-
NAMED interested in the proceedings
until nearly IL O'Clock. The excellent
choir Of the church rendered a number
of selections in first. class style; Presid-
ing Elder johnson delivered the OPEN
ing invocation. and Mr.. Award read
the emancipation proclamation.
The large audience was then ad-
dressed for over two hours by Hon.
Fred. Douglass, who received an ova-
tion when he came to the front of the
platform, and was repeatedly applau-
ded during the delivery of his speech.
He spoke as IOllOWS.
FRIENDS AND FELLOW CITIZENS:
I congratulate you upon this the
twenty.seventh anniversary Of the
abolition of slavery in the District of
Columbia, and 1 gracefully acknOwl-
edge the compliment implied in calling
upon me to assist In expressing the
thoughts and sentiments natural to
this and other similar occasions.
For reasons which will become ap.
parent in the course of my address. l
respond to your call with more than
my usual difidence.
One cause, like many other good
causes, has Its ebbs and flows, successes
and failures. joyous hopes and sadden-
ing fears. 1 cannot forget on this oc-
casion that Lewis Hayden, a brave
and wise counselor in the cause of our
people, a moral hero, has laid down
his armor, filled up the measure Of his
days. completed his work on earth,
and left mournful void In our ranks.
am reminded, too, that John Bright,
the Quaker statesman Of England, the
man of matchless elOquence, whose
roof sheltered me when stranger and
anu WHOVC IVA
this republic, was only equaled by his
sympathy for the oppressed of all lands
and nations. has passed away. The
death Of such man is not a loss only to
his own country and people, but to the
oppressed in every quarter of the globe.
We do not stand to-day where we
stood one year ago, and my speech
will be colored by the altered condition
of our surroundings.
It has been our custom to hail the
anniversary of our emancipation as a
Joyous event. We have observed it
with every manifestation of gratitude.
During the years Immediately sue
ceedlng the abolition OF slavery, our
speeches and addresses on such occa-
sions naturally overfiowed with Joy,
gratitude and praise. We remembered
with veneratlon and love the great men
by whose moral testimonies, states
manship, and philanthrophy was
brought about the long delayed and
long prayed for deliveranco of our peO-
pie.
The great names OF Garrison, Whit
tier, Sumner, Phillips, Stevens, Lin
cold, and others were gratefully and
lovingly repeated. We shouted the
praises of these great men as God in
spired benefactors. At that time, too,
it was we'll enough and easy to blow
aloud our braZen trumpets, call out the
crowd, throng the streets with gay
professions, and to shout aloud and
make joyful noise over the event. for
since the great exodus OF the Hebrews
from Egyptian bondage no people had
had greater cause for such joyous de-
monstrations. But the time for such
demonstrations is over. It is not the
past, but the present and the future
that most concern US to-day. Our past
was slavery. We cannot recur to it
with any sense of cOmplacency or
composure. The history of it is a
record of stripes, revelation OF
agony. 1t is written in characters of
blood. It's breath is sigh, Its voice a
groan, and we turn from it with shud-
Ger. The duty Of to-day is to meet the
questions that confront us with intel
ligence and courage.
Without the least desire to awaken
undue alarm, declare to you that, in
my judgment, at no period since the
abolition of slavery in the District of
Columbia, have the moral, social, and
POLITICAL surroundings of the colored
people of this country been more SOL
emn and forboding than they are this
day. If this statement is startling 1t is
only because the facts are startling.
speak only the things have seen.
Nature has given me buoyant dis
position. l like to look upon the bright
aud hopeful side of affairs. No man
can see the silver lining of black
cloud more joyfully than l. But he is
a more hopeful man than I am who
will tell you that the rights and l1ber-
ties of the colored people in this coun-
fry have