The Afro-American., 1896-05-30

JACKSON MIcuIS LII, NHO HAS given |
the best part of her life to temper
ance work among her race, lecture |
Sunday night at Trinity a. Il. +, |
Church. AS a speaker, she Tanks |
among the best known women OF Ter |
race. l would like to give you htll
lecture in full but as forgot to take
paper and pencil, | am unable to 40
SO, but, with the exception OF a rev
statements about the Jim Crow" IN
the South, | have given you only
what can remember. Those VINO
were fortunate enough to hear her
will be able to supply what L cannot
remember, and those who were un-
fortunate will have to be content
with little, in hopes that the near
future will enable them to both see
and hear Mrs. Lucy Thurman ED.
~
The bright-side of the South as
told i'm lecture by Mrs. Thurman,
the temperance lecturer and organ
izer,
Of all the talks and lectures I've
heard of the South, they always rep
resented the dark side. l wanted to
make a trip South in the interest OF
the Temperance cause, but was not
brave enough to attempt it, because
Of the reports so unfavOraDly given.
| was two years making up my mind
to 60 but when | did make up my
mind, | determined that |
would go looking for the bright side
of Southern life and | found it. Ny
longest stay was in Atlanta, Georgia,
where | visited the Spellman Semin
ary for young ladies. You'll find at
Spellman more than seven hundred
girls, who are not only educating the
head, but the hands. The seminary
was founded by two young ladies
from the North about fifteen years
ago, III the gloomy basement of a Bap
tist church owned by cOlOred people.
The teachers were Miss S. B. Pack
ard and Miss Harriet E. Giles. The
school has grown to be the largest
and best equipped school for the
training of colored girls in the south.
| The Seminary was founded wholly
on faith. They worked faithfully,
with faith in God that he would help
| them to educate the young girls OF
the cOlOred race. Rockefeller, the oil
magnate, has endowed the school
with 1926 900. The seminary has
splendid location and all of the build
Wntn~r wits" rifg+E FHtt fF6s1d55f1tP tPeta5iTt eta5iTt
me they were putting In an elevator
costing $1,000 and had every cent of
the money to pay for it except Sl25.
Across the street from this school are
the cottages, the homes of the TWEEN
tg-nine teachers employed. The
school is one "f the best in the coun-
try. | spoke to the girls on temper
an9e, but found they had a we'll
organized society. YO will find wo-
men in their homes, who received
their training at Spellman, instilllng
in the minds of their children the les
sous they learned 50 we'll. | then
went to Mobile, Ala, and also visited
tuskegPe Normal and Industrial In-
stitute, the school of which the great
grand, noble and manly man, Booker
L. Washing ton, is president. He is,
L believe, doing more to solve that
great problem for us than any other
man l know of. | can't describe Tus-
should try, l couldn't tell you what a
grand school they have. The young
men students are noble, manly look
ing men; and as they came in from
their military drill, they looked
really beautiful, and when | address
ed them | told them so if | had been
a siugle woman they might have
thought | was flAttering them but l |
spoke as | thought; they have
splendid brass band, and their string
band is simply grand. Their music
was Sd inspiring that it made one feel
as if they wanted to dance, but am
no dancer now and never was, there
fore | did not dance; but | enjoyed
the music nevertheless. Then, an
other thing, they use no intoxicating
drinks, do not smoke or chew. L felt
delighted to know that was breath
ing pure, fresh air, untaInted by fOul
Oreachs of any KIND. Hundreds OF
students can be seen on the campus
grounds aud not member Of the
i'm sight, yet not one will be
seen chewing or smoking. They are :
manly men aud the night addressed
hem they were packed in the chapel !
ike sardines in box, and | thought =.
What beautiful manly looking set !
# young men, and | told them so. =
'hey were preparing 10 build larger
hapel when l was there ana | guess,
y this time, it is finished. Booker
'. Washington is a great man doing
great work and too much cannot be
aid of him. He stands as the head
f our race, a noble leader, man to ]
. proud of. Z
l then visited Jacksonville, Florida,
5 some of you have heard, Isuppose, i
} be the meanest place in the South. 7
bout twelve years ago there was a s
nall riot there among the white and o
)lpred people over man that the 2
hite people wanted to lyuch. The 1
)lored people, for once, were deter "
ined that he should not be lynched. s
he men armed themselves with =
nbs, shot guns, rifles, pistols and >
her weapons of defence the women 9
ecoming frenzied joined therein, "
med accordingly and united they d
ood firm and said before ths white W
sOple should lynch that man they v
OuId burn every building in toyn, tt
e jail included, resulting in a fair al
ial for the man. Since then the
,ople of Jacksonville have accorded
e colored people their rights and
ere has been heard no more talk OF
ncking, and their prisoners receive
cof trial. Our young people of the L
'-lth are ambitious they desire to te
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