Evening star., 1898-03-07
THE NEGRO AND SUFFRAGE
A Plea for Fair Play to the Black Voter in
the Southern States.
Education Demanded for Both Races
Alike and Citizenship to Rest
SquaEeIy on Qualifications.

negro youth of Alabama. sent the follow
ing letter on the suffrage question to, the
Louisiana constitutional convention:
'TUSKEGEE, Ala, February 10. 1898.
'"To the Louisiana State Constitutional
Convention:
I'm addressing you this letter 1 know
that am running the risk of appearing to
meddle with something that does not con-
cern me. But since 1 know that nothing
but sincere love for our beautiful south
land, which ] hold near my heart as
any of you can, and sincerer love for
every black and white man within her
borders, is the only thing actuating me to
| write L am willing to be misjudged, If need
be, if l can accomplish little good
But l do not believe that you, gentle
men of the convention, will misinterpret
my motives What | say will, ] believe.
be considered III the earnest spirit
! in which l write.
Il am politician. On the other hand,
nave always advised my race to give
attention to acquiring property. intelli-
gence and character as the necessary
bases of good citizenship rather than ta
mere political agitation. But the question
upon which | write is out of the region OF
ordinary politics. 1t affects the civilization
OF two races, not for today alone, but for Il
very long time to. come. 1t is up in the
region OF duty of man to man, of Christian
| to Christian.
Since the war state has had such an
opportunity to settle for all time the race
question as far as it concerns politics as is
| now given to Louisiana. Will your conven-
ton set an example to the world in this
respect? VIII Louisiana take such high
and Just grounds in respect to the negro
that no one can doubt that the south is as
good a friend to the negro as he possesses
elsewhere? In all this. gentlemen of the
| convention, | am not pleading for the negro
alone. but for the morals, the higher life
of the white man as we'll for the more |
study this question the more l am con-
Vlnced that 1t is not SO much question
as TO what the white man will do with the
negro as to what the Eogro will do with
the white mans civilization.
The negro agrees with you that it is
necessary to the salvation of the south
that restriction be put upon the ballot |
know that you nave two serious problems
before you-ign0rant and corrupt govern
ment on the one hand, ana on the other a
way to restrict the ballot so that control
Will be in the hands of the intelligent with
| out regard to race. With the sinCercst
! sympathy with YOU in your efforts to hnd
way out of the difficulty, l want 10 sag-
Sest that no state in the south can make
a law that Will provide an opportunity or
temptation for an ignorant white man to
vote and withhold the same opportunity
| from an ignorant colored man without in
| Juring both men. No state can maize a
law that can thus be executed without
dwariing for all time the morals of the
Nhite man in the south. Any law c.ntroll-
ing the ballot that is not absolutely lust
and fair to both races viii work more per
manent injury to the whites than 10 the
blacks.
The negro does not object to an educa-
tional or property test, out let the law be
so clear that no one clothed with state au-
thorlty VIII be tempted to perjure and de-
| grade himself by putting one interpreta-
| ton upon it for the white man and another
| Tor the black man. Study the history of
the south, and you will find that where
| there has been the most dishonesty in the
matter OF voting there you will find TO-DAY
The lowest moral condition of both races
| First. there was the temptation to act
wrongly with the negro's ballot From this
| IL was an easy step to dishonesty with the
Whlte mans ballot, to thc carrying of con-
| coated weapons, TO the murder of a negro,
| and then to The murder of a white man.
ana then to lynching. ] entreat you not to
pass such law as will prove an eternal
mlllstone about the neck of your children
No man can have respect for govern
ment and officers Of the law when he knows
| deep DOWN IL mis- heart that the exercise
of the franchise is tainted with fraud.
The road that the south has been COM
| PEELED to travel during the last thirty years
has been strewn with thorns and thstles
1t has been as one groping through the long
darEn SIS into the light. The time is not far
distant when the world will begin 10 sp-
preclate the real character of the burden
that was imposed upon the south when L.
JD,Goo ex-slaves, ignorant and impoverish-
ed, were given the franchise. No people
had ever been given such problem to
solve. History had blaZed no path through
the wilderness that could be followed. For
thirty years we have wandered in the will
derness. We are beginning to get out
But there is but one road out, and all
makeshifts expedients, profit and loss cal
| culations,' but lead into the swamps, quick
sands, quagmires and jungles. There is a
highway that will lead both races out into
| the pure beautiful sunshine, where there
| VIII be nothing to hide and nothing to eX-
| plain, where both races can grow strong
and true and useful in every fiber of their
| being. l believe that your convention will
find this highway, that it will enact a fun
oamental law which will be absolutely just
and fair to white and black alike.
| Il beg of you further that in the degree
| that you close the ballot box against the
| ignorant that you open the school house.
More than one-half of the people of your
| state are negroes. No state can long pros
| Per when Il large percentage of it's citizen
ship is in ignorance and poverty, and has
no interest in government. 1 beg of you
| that you do not treat us alien people.
| We not aliens. You know us. You
know that We have cleared your forests
titled your fields, nUrsed your children and
protected your families. There is an at
| tachmeHt between us that few unders tand.
While l do not presume to be able to advise
you, yet 1t is in my heart to say that If
your convention would do something that
would prevent for all time strained rela-
tions between the two races, and would
| permanently settle the matter of political
relations in one southern state at least, let
the very best educational opportunities be
| provided for both races; and added to this
the enactment of an elec ton law that shall
be incapable of unjust discrimina ton, at
the same time providing that in proportion
as the ignorant secure education, property
and character, they will be given the right
of citizenship. Any other course will take
from one-half your citizens interest in thu
stale and hope and ambition to become in
teligent producers and taxpayers-to be-
come useful and virtuous citizens. Any
other course will tie the white citizens of
Louisiana to body of death.
The negroes are not unmindful of the
fact that the white people of your state
pay the greater proportion of the school
taxes. and that the poverty of the state
prevents it from doing all that it desires
for public education yet l believe you will
agree with me that ignorance is more cost
ly to the state than educaton-that it will
cost Louisiana more not to educate her
negroes than it will to educate them In
connection with a generous provision for
public schools, believe that nothing will so
help my own people in your state as pro-
vision at some institution for the highest
academic and normal training in connec-
ton with thorough training in agriculture,
mechanics and domestic economy. The
fact is that 80 per cent of our people de-
pend uDon the common occupations for