The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1892-04-02
JUDGE TOURGEE.
Lectures Tuesday Night at Bethel A..
M. E. Church.
Relations of the. ,Colored People to the
hepublIc-Whati is to be Accomplished
BY the Equal Rights Association
III An Admirable Address.


BY the Equal Rights Association
~ An Admirable Address. . ..
Tuesday night Judge Albion w. Tour
gee, who is to-day the best friend the
Colored man has, among the whites of
America, lectured at Bethel Church, on
The Relations of the Colored Man in
the United States to Citizenship"
The beautiful church was filled to
overdowing with an intelligent audience
composed principally OF Colored people
with here and there white face.
Judge Tourgee was greeted with the
widest enthusiasm when he entered,
Judge Tuthill presided, and in few we'll
chosen words introduced the lecturer.
JUDGE ToURGEE
In commencing his lecture. alluded to
the refusal of the Bethel audience to
stultify themselves by praising God in
singing lie Sunday night.
1T has been said," said he, that
your action on that night was anarchy.
[ thank God, however, that in all times
the Colored man has been patriotic, and
the only war in which he did not shed
his blood was that with Mexico, which
was for the perpetuation of slavery.
Your blood has been shed ct all times in
patriotism and at no time has the COL
ored man been unpatriotic."
With some interesting figures Judge
Tourgee showed what large part the
Colored soldiers took in the Revolution
airy War. During the late war, although
it took two years to decide that the slave
Was willing and fit to f!ht for his coun-
try, when it was 80 decided 226,OOO Col
ored men enlisted.
mo man." said the lecturer, "dare
impeach such record as that. But it
is mystery to me-"
There is another mystery, too, to me.
L often wonder how on earth any man
who has been slave or whose mother
was slave
COULD BE CHRISTIAN.
"a gentleman in the city told me to-
day that he thought it was an outrage
because the Colored people refused to
sing America I asked him to sit down
few minutes, to try to imagine that he
was dark, that his mother had been a
slave, and then to try and sing that song.
He declared, after the trial, that he
could not do it.
"And I often wonder how the man
who wrote Sweet Land of Liberty could
ever look Colored man or woman in
the face.
'In few months we celebrate the
Columbian anniversary. We have made
great progress in religion since the day
Columbus landed. We have made great
progress in religion, say, but in liberty
we have made. less than people ever
think K 4
A CoLoRED MAN.
may come out of slavery. He NAV
know that his forefathers were in the
bonds, but he may not realize what it
meant. And to reach and appreciate
what this means the Colored man must
first know and fully understand what
slavery was. All was dark to him. He
had no rights. He had no wife, no
children, no life, no body-notbing that
he could call his own. It has been said
that the Colored man should be thankful
for what he has escaped. There is sort
of grim truth in it. If a Colored man
escaped from purgatory he should sure
ly appreciate it,"
''The freedom of the slaves" said
Judge Tourgee, "meant to them step.
ping from slavery absolutely naked.
They were free to walk about and starye
and pray. And this praying was to them
great benefit.
1T MEANT THAT THEY COULD
meet and address the Almighty without
white man being present to see that
the prayers of the Colored men did not
prejudice God against the whites. And
the people at the North had no more
idea of what slavery was like than we
have of what the inside of the Kingdom
of Heaven is like
| THE LECTURER THEN DEFINED
what being an American citizen means.
He declared that if a man has any rights
he is free to express himselfin words.
'That is" said Judge Tourgee, "if he
is white man he has these rights. The
theory of free citizenship is all well
enough. It is beautiful. But if you
think that you can work it out, just go
down South and try it. Just 90 down
there and try to show your citizenship
and your freedom and you will see the
difference. a
"And now we come to the present con.
dition of the Colored man. He is one
who has been granted a right and re.
fused all protection in the exercise Of
that right. You are not like the citizen
of Great Britain, who can 60 all over the
world, and in whatever cline he may
chance to be, he can declare his senti.
ments. conscious that all this time over
him hang the protecting folds of the
British flag.
CATER YOU WERE DECLARED CITIZENS"
we're passed the reconstruction acts,
which made provisional voters of the
South. When these constitutional con.
ventions met they made you voters on
the same basis as white men in those
States. Thus what was privilege be
fore twas granted, became right after
it was granted. A man owning no stock