Morning journal and courier., 1893-03-21
GENUINE AFRICA.

The Black Belt of Alabama-Mfs. sionary Work-What Miss DllIing- han of Boston and Miss Thorn of New Haven are Doing-What There Is to Do.
 General s. 0. Armstrong writes to the Boston Transcript as follows:
 A few weeks ago I wrote you from the Sea Islands of South Carolina, the most Africanizsd part of the Atlantic coast, giving, think, rather hopeful view of the situation there am now constrained to write you from tte black belt of Ala bama, the most Africanizsd part of the Gulf Ststee, where, amidst most that is deplorable and sad. there are bright signs and there is hopeful outlook. Here, In Macon county, is the Tuskegee school with its six hundred pupils, whom MT. Washington aud his thirty teachers are fitting to leaven up the great lump of degraded negro life In this neighborhood. The great conference on Tuesday has al ready been reported at the north, and gives us all good grounds of hope for | better things. Two days ago I was at Calhoun, Lowudes county, where Miss | Mabel Dillingham;, of Boston, and Miss | Charlotte R. Thorn, of New Haven, are doing noble work in the blaokest part of the black belt. Ia Calhoun there are about twenty-6 hundred colored and one hundred white. The colored are cot ton raisers, snd the white are lsnd-orn- CTS and rent lands to the blacks. In this great disproportion of white and black population which prevails all over this country there seems to bs no trou- ble politically nor race friction. The lamb lies down inside of the lion and the lion seems content. The work Is missionary work if there is any such thing in the world. The people are des- psrately poor, living as a rule on rented lands, for which they pay about three dollars an acre, and occupy ss e rule one or two room cottages, very few of which have windows or are weather-tight. This living in one room cottages Is destructive to morality; there can be no decent Mv- ing where all are packed this way like 60 many animals. Miss Dillingham; and Miss Thorn were formerly teachers at Hsmp- ton, but wishing to reach the most need ed class possible, came down here in the spirit of crusaders, where they have found | a genuine Africa.
 Here there are many fcores of boys and girls, two hundred and fifty of whom are gathered into @ large school-house.
 The fret thing to do is to clean up, which
 means to take away their wild look. The girls hairs are twisted and wrapped into countless little pigtaiIs sticking out like
 porcupine quills, all clothsd in the most
 ragged manner and bsrefooted. They
 have been wonderfully changed in out
 ward appearance and an excellent educa-
 tionsl work is going on. The Calhoun col-
 ored school deserves the support of all in-
 terested in the progress of the negro in
 America. The ladies who started this
 school have taken upon themselves tho
 hard work of securing the necessary oon-
 tributions to maintain the school by send
 ing their appeals here and there through
 out the land This work is a great tax on
 them and they should bs rid of it The
 first thing have to say to people is, Take
 hold and d1 somsthing for Calhoun; ii
 represents the saddest, hardest, needissi
 phase of negro life in the south
 Not only are the children taught during school hours from eight Jill one, bu. theil
 homes are visited; th= p-r=nts are charae tered snd talked to. and told what to dc
 to make their homes pleasant Many les : sons of cleanliness as to the home life ara taught in the school and carried home by