The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1898-12-17
MEETING OF THE National
AFRO-AMERIGAN CoUN u.


AFRO-AMERIGAN coUN IL,
To the Members that ,oere enrolled
Al tie formation offhe C0Eacil al
R0chesker. N. L, Sept. Is, 1898,
and all the siyners Or the Call for
sgid meeting and al uh0 are Il
sympathy scifh the object of the
COuHcfi, sDhiek Is the Ameli0ra-
ti0a ei the condition of the Afro
AmericaH race, and are sciitiaq to
contribate tive dollars aHnaaisy
foscards the carrying oaf of the
purposes Of the Cosncil.
fou are hereby requested to
meet at Washington, = c., on
Thursday, Dec. 20, 1898 = If any
spology Is needed for the issuing
of this call of the Afro-American
Council 50 soon after its formation
! hope the following reasons viii
be satisfactory:
lst. A, large number of the
leaders of thesrace who 6ere anxi-
Gus TO attend the. convention held
at Rochester, we're prevented from
doing SO because of the limited
time between the issuing of the
call (Aug. pa and the date of the
convention (Sept. l5).
2nd. The place of meeting
Rochester, N. u was considered
BY many as too far removed from
the masses of our people where the
majority of our leaders reside,
necessarily entailing considerable
expense. Mr.. Fortune, who is:
sued the call for the Rochester
meeting, recognizing this fact, gave
the following as his reason for
doing 90:
"My excuse for calling the
meeting at Rochester. is to take
advantage of the race sentimenl
which will be invoked BY the un-
yelling of the monument of
Frederick Douglas in Rochester,
Sept. IA, q city in which Mr..
Douglass spent some of the best
and happiest and most fruitful
years of his life, and one of the
freest and most tolerant cities in the
Republic, whose hotels, homes and
press will receive the conferees
with open arms and generous hos
pitaiity."
3rd. We did not have sufficient
time TO finish up the business OF
the Council as satisfactorily as
desired. These reasons make 1t
necessary that another meeting be
called In q more central locality TO
consummate the work so auspici-
ous!y begun at Rochester, giving
ample time between. the issuing of
the call and the date of the meet
ing for all needed preparation.
The continuation of brutal
lynchings, unjust determinations
on railroads and in hotels, restau-
rants and labor onions, the at
tempted acknowledgements of Afro
Americans in several of the south.
ern states, and a host of other
obstacles which are thrown in the
way of our moral, financial and
EDUCATIONAL progress, make it abb
solueely necessary that We organize
and perpetuate an organization for
self protection.
The Afr0-American press is al
most q unit In It's demand for a
national organization which has
for Its object a fair representation
in the government Of thecountry,
local, state and national; ~ resist
by ali legal and reasonable means
mob and 55nek laS, of which we
are made the special victims, and
TO insist upon the arrest and pun
ishment Of all such offenders
against our legal rights; to resist
Inc tyrannicet usage OF railroads :;
steamboats, and other corporations,
and the violent and Insulting: con-
dnct of their employees; to labor for
the reformation of olf penal IN s
stitutions where barbsrous, 5ernel
and unchristian treat6ent Of con-
victs is prscticed; to- secure q more
equitable distribution of school
funds; to insist on healthy emf.
grafton from terror ridden sections
10 other and more law.sbiding
sections; 70 encourage all kinda of
business enterprises, etc.
Ny reason for calling ma
tioual Council during holiday
week is that the delegates may
take advantage of the reduced rates
made daring that time.
(Signedl A WALTERs,