Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-05-13
Commissioner-in- Chief Penn Says It
Will Be Success.
ORGANIZED EFFORTS In FIFTEEN STATES
Every Facility for Proper Display
Will Be Afforded.
TWO NATIONAL CONGRESSES

chief OF the negro exhibit or the cotton
states and International exposition,
| rived in this city today to confer with
| the local commissioners as to the part the
| colored people of the District of Columbia
are to take in the coming international
| exhibit.
The local commissioners have been much
| perturbed for fear that the rumors of race
| prejudice existing would lessen the interest
| of the colored people here in the proposed
| exhibit.
A representative of The Star met Com
| missioner Penn today before he had seen
any of the commissioners. and when asked
concerning the prospects of the negro ex-
| hibit said:
Il have travelled over fifteen different
states and the colored people everywhere
seem enthusiastic over the exhibit and are
| making every effort to make 1t success.
Enough exhibits have been secured already
to cover the space which has been al
| lotted to the colored people. The business.
mercantile, educational and agricultural
progress of the negro will be thoroughly
represented. The people generally are en-
thusiastic over the work, and even those
who were at first inclined to oppose the
I egro exhibit are laying aside their preju-
dices and are lending their support to the
enterprise The True Reformers' Bank at
Richmond and the Birmingham Bank in
Alabama will make the most credita5le
exhibits and will operate their banks on
the grounds, and it is hoped that the Capt.
tai Savings Bank of this city will do the
same.
Organized in Fifteen States.
THE people in fifteen states have been
thoroughly organized, and it will cost at
least $1,000 to make an exhibit from each
state. and it is a great credit, think, to
them that they are willing to expend $4,000
to make an exhibit at the exposition: it
shows that they willing to help them
selves in making creditabie exhibit. The
Hampton Normal School will make
hibit that will surpass the one made by it
at the Chicago worlds fair, and similar eX-
hibits will be made by Howard University.
TuSkeeSee Normal and other institutions OF
learning. / receive letters daily from all
| parts of the country, from institutions
among colored people asking If opportuni-
ty will be given them to make displays. 1t
shows that the colored people everywhere
are anxious to come together and show to
the world just what progress we have
made since the war. The exposition people
| have the kindest feelings for the olored
people, and hoping that the colored
people will accept this opportunity N good
faith.
THE truth Of the matter is that these
| men are representative southerners. and
they want to disabuse the minds of the
colored people of the idea that the south
erners were responsible for there being
negro exhibit at the worlds fair There
will be no discrimination at Atlanta, so far
the managers of the exposition are con-
cerned The colored people ride on the
street cars in Atlanta and have access to
the different parks that for the ac-
commodation of the public. The only build
ings in which the negroes are not allowed
to ride in the elevators those which
are operated in the buildings controlled by
northern capitalists. OF course you find
some of that prejudice existing in Atlanta
that exists in other southern cities, but not
to such an extent as has been represented.
and far the managers OF the EXPOSE
ton are concerned the colored people will
be treated kindly. The colored people who
go from this city and from cities further
north will not have to accept of any Jim
Crow car arrangements the Southern
road and the Seaboard Air Line will run
their trains into the exposition grounds
without any change of cars, and people
will have the same accommodations COM
ing back.
the erection of the buildings for the expo
sition, and n colored contractor has the con-
tract for the negro building, which is now
| being erected. The building is large and
! commodous one; there will be plenty of
space for creditable exhibit of our peo-
pie, and we have reason to believe that IL
more space is necessary it can be obtained.
Two Negro Consresses.
There will be two national negro con-
crosses during the exposition, one in No
vember and the other in December. The
first day of the November congress will be
I devoted to display of all the colored mill
tary organizations in the country and they
will be the guests of the twenty-five mill
tary companies of the state of Georgia The
second and third days will be devoted to a
religious aSsemblage of all the different
colored churches of America, in connection
with which the colored Sunday schools and
Y. NJ. c. AS will make an elaborate dis
play. The fifth day viii be devoted to the
| discussion of the agricultural and mechan-
zeal status of the negro in America. The
sixth day will be devoted to the discussion
of the banking and business requirements
of the colored people, in which will be
shown the progress made along these lines.
On the seventh day will be held a national
negro temperance congress, under the d.
rection of Profs Jones and VaSsar of Rich
mond Va, and in which some of the lead
ing men of the race will participate. The
last day of the November congress will be
| devoted to the different professions in
| which the negro is engaged, such as medical.
legal and others.
THE December congress will be an edu-
cational congress, and the first two days
will be devoted to the sessions of the
American Association of Educators of Col
ored Youths. Then there will be .eradu-
ateS day. when graduates from colored
schools all over the country will hold
meeting and discuss the different phases of
their work Then there will be teachers
day.: when the teachers of colored schools
from all over the south will discuss how
to make the education of the negro a future
success and show to the north and the
south that the money that has. been do
mated and legislated for the support of col
ored schools has not been thrown away.
Ample Accommodations to BE ProvId-
ed.
Accommodations are being arranged :or
all of the colored visitors to the city, and a
citizens committee of prominent colored
men has been appointed to look out for
all visitors. A commodious hotel is being
b,,i1t
accommodation of colored visitors. We
hope by this exhibit to show to the north
that the negro has not been idle since his
emancipation and that the money that it
has donated for the advancement of the
colored people has been well used We
want by the negro exhibit to show the
south that we appreciate this opportunity
to present to the world what material prog
ress we have made along all lines.
THE negro exhibit will be big success,
and it will do much toward breaking down
the odous color line in the south. Colored
people everywhere are helping to make it