The Washington bee., 1896-03-28
THE NEGRO AND INDUSTRIAL
ARTS.
GIST. WHAT HAS BECOME OF THE
GREAT RACE BENEFACTOR.
Editor BEE:

GREAT RACE BENEFACTOR.
Editor BEE:
beg the use Of space in your paper
to make some references to the recent
address of Prof. Booker I. Washing
ton delivered at Metropolitan A. NJ.
Z. Church on last Tuesday night. |
listened attentively to the address,
but unfortunately heard one of the
darkest and most miserable records,
and saw painted one of the gloomiest
pictures of the negroes in America that
have heard or seen or read of in my
life, save as | read of his trip from
Africa to America as a savage in chain
Of bondage. MIR. Washington, as
Principal of the ruSkegee Institute, is
an honorable citizen and doing COM
mendable work. but Mr. Washington
going to all parts Of the United States,
and being read after in all parts Of tie
world, bartering off the great negro
race OF America to run Tuskegee is a
curse to the negro, and we should not
sit quietly by and allow the other race,
who is SO well pleased with the posi-
ton to which he assigns US; cloth him
with leadership, while they renegade
such men as LangSton, Arnett, Dancy,
Iownshend,. Derrick, Scarborough,
Morgan, and many other great negroes
to the rear, but yet their Ives and in
tiuence stands out as brilliant beacons
on the sea of time. Mr.. Washington
made it appear from his address that
we have no skilled negro laborers in
this country, save the few he is turn
ing out at Tuskegee, that | ieny we
have, II not as many, number of ne
groes in this country skilled in all the
branches oflabor. He did not make any
exceptions or excuses, nor did he take
IN consideration that the negro skilled
laborers in this country, find a great
difficulty in obtaining employment, |
desire to make three direct points
against Mr.. Washington's address,
which believe will stand: First, we
have many negro skilled laborers
secondly, the prejudice against negro
skilled labor, and thirdly, we must in
great number aspire to an intelligence
greater than a skilled laborer. The
first suggestion, none | think, will
deny. 1t stands for itself, that by some
means or other there has ali ways been
some negroes who could do anyt hing
IN the line of labor that a white man
can do, and by the same means, let
1t be SO modern that we can term the
method "Up to Date" We have
skilled laborers employed in our
United States Naval service, and even
there they suffer severe hazing at the
hands of white seaman. We have
under the heads of skilled labor num-
Der OF negroes employed in our
Government Departments, but they
are quickly turned out. Take our Bu-
reau of Engraving and Printing, where
nearly one hundred negro girls were
dismissed in less than eighteen months
and none for inefhciency. Now space
wont permit me here to take up
record of all industrial pursuits, and
show the wonderful advancement and
progress and art and inventive genius
of the negro. Let us take, If YOU
please, the great Atlanta Exposition
and go in that negro building, and
there behold that living example of
negro skilled labor, and thank God,
that the great products of negro brain
and negro hand as were seen at At
lanta will out-live Booker Washing
tons speech, and will stamp as untrue
what any one may say relative to negro
retr "gression along industrial lines.
Now, then, Mr.. Editor, many of our
fathers would have and would now find
encouragement in some of Mr.. Wash |
lngton's. theories, if they knew that
after training their boys to be skilled
laborerS they would have an equal |
competition in this country, but not so.