Richmond planet., 1896-04-18
An Appeal to My White Brother.
[By o. NJ. steward.l

BY y. Nj. Steward.
Aren't thou my brother? Am not
thine?
OF one blood, formed by hands divine?
Same human nature in each breast,
Upon whose base most actions rest?
Thou claim'st in Christ an humble part
Yet this same hope elates my heart
A.T:.h icy which ne'er can be exnre ssed
For God made both and both he bless
ed.
The grand divisions of the earth
Were formed of old ere man had birth,
The trees of Eden cast their shade
Ere God had Eve and Adam made.
To Europe thou, Ethiopia |
Did wander meath the same blue sky
The sons of Shem in Asia dwelt
Ana round the ancient altar knelt.
Thus separate these brothers three
Began To delve their destiny.
Ham. Shem and Japheth, of one stoct ),
As chips hewn from common block.
A common lot befell them all,
In sin and folly they did fall;
In superstition see them prone
As, Blind, they worship stocks and
stone.
In grossest darkness see them grope,
Without one ray of sweet fond hope,
Till God in mercy lends hand
Enabling them again to stand
Erect in righteousness and peace,
And caused their doom of sin TO cease.
Butn at once TO all did He
The power give to righteous be,
To know again the living God,
Whose paths their fathers feet had
trod.
Long intervals did intervene
lwixt dawning lights in distance seen
Which broke forth first on Africa
shore,
Whence Europe fondly caught the
glow.
Then Asia and America
Game in for their own lawful share,
But the last named did quite out run
The former by score to one.
As dawning follows shades of night,
So Africa's darkness did her light,
For now in darkness lieth prone,
The land whereon this light tirst shone
Her forlorn sons, their blighting lot
Hath been in foreign lands to rot;
Oppressed, enslaved, degraded, they
Like Job hath often cursed the day
That they were born, and longed to die
That death might hush the fruitlesi
sigh
For human rights and true manhood,
Are all by those terms understood !
Again her dawning hath begun,
And we have seen her rising sun,
Which holds a promise in each ray,
OF Ethiope's hope-a brighter day
A day of reason justice right
When judges will not rule by might,
But mete to all what's simply just.
And thus discharge their sacred trust
Morals, wealth and education,
Essentials are in every station,
True culture and true Cody fear,
Their blessed fruit will surely bear.
One day 's as Thousands in His sight,
Who ordered forth this la ter light,
Which first on Calvary's mount wa
seen,
A light sent down from God TO men.
That promised day, that perfect day
Will come sure as to God we pray,
When with the best of human kind
Wen stand, and favor with them FIND
Receive the treatment due to man,
Our color then no more ban;
When Justice, reason, right Will rule
And there shall be different school
OF ethics and philosophy,
And draft be present sOphistry.
When that day comes you will
proud,
To say YOU helped to rend the shrOu
That did impall our darkened reason
And kept US back so long a season.
know thou wilt, for, at thy best,
Thou 'rt not unkind and will not re
Beneath a sense of what IS unjust
Nor grind thy brother in the dust
For, thou 'rt my brother, am thin
OF one blood formed by hands divin
Same human nature in each breast,
Upon whose base most actions rest.