Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-11-24
WORK AMONG THECOLORED
Statement Made by the American Baptist
Home Mission Society.
Plan Adopted by the Organization
for Betterment of the Race-A
Comparative Statement.

| The American Baptist Home Mission So
| ciety has issued statement regarding its
work amolg the colored people in The
south. The aim of the society is declared
| to be TO uplift the negro race, mentally and
| morally. so that its members may be bet
| ter men and women. and, consequently,
| better citizens. The plan adopted is to give
| pupils, primarily, good English education;
| secondarily, to fit men and women to teach
| others of their race and, thirdly, to give
| to competent persons liberal industrial
| training
1t is desired to turn out men and women
| fitted to be wise, aggressive Leaders for the
masses Of their race. The schools of the
| society are scattered throughout all the
| southern states, the principal ones being a
| Richmond, Raleigh, Atlanta, Nashville and
| Marshall. Besides beng seminaries Of
| learning, they are nurseries for the moral
| development of men and women, and CEN
| ters Of missionary influence. The society's
| schools are a great Improvement on the
ordinary public schools of the south. The
buildings of the latter usually small
and mean. They are not well supplied with
| books or other necessaries, AMI they
open only few months in the year. None
1 of these deficiencies, it is claimed, exist in
| the society's schools.
Rendered seIf-ReIinnt.
| The officers of the society believe 1t wise
| to encourage their proteges to assume
| charge of their own educational affairs as
| soon as possible. They appoint negroes as
| teachers, trustees and financial agents. and
have laid upon them, so far as it seemed
| wise, the burden of responsibility while
sharing with them the honors of the work.
| More than half the negro schools aided by
| the society are under the exclusive con-
| troll of negroes. The society exercises no
or1th Frif t1,r,S1
tends financial aid to them condition
| that their work is satisfactory. While in
| the schools controlled still by the society
| 1t is sought to increase as much as posi-
BILE the negro representation on the boards
| of management, the officers believe that
| 1t would be an unkindness to the negroes
| IN their present stage of advancement to
| turn over to them absolutely all of the
schools that have been established and
maintained for their benefit. The colored
people are not yet prepared financially or
otherwise for that responsibility
The Home Mission Society aims to de-
Velop strong characters among the pupils,
| to train the conscience and the will, so
| that the students may be able to resist
temptation and to perform their obligations
| in any sphere of life: to impart to educa-
| ton practical bent SO that students
may go prepared to perform their common
duties and earn their own living, and to
be industrious, economical, thrifty and self
reliant to make them acquainted with the
Bible, so that they may reverence it and be
influenced practically by it in their
| thoughts, feelings and activities, and TO
| awaken in them an abiding thirst for
| knowledge and aspiration after excellence
In character and conduct
| Work on Professional Lines
Attention is called to the fact that there
| is very inadequate provision in the south
| for giving members of the colored race a
| professional training as teachers, physi-
| Clans and preachers, yet it is decided the
| liberal education of class of men destined
TO have powerful effect in guiding this
great body of American citizens, and
through them affecting the welfare of the
| republic, was surely matter of the highest
Importance to the nation. To allow this mass
| of Afro-Americans to increase in numbers
| and influence without affording them
opportunity fer acquiring a competent ed
uca ton, was regarded as a menace to our
| civilization. To endow Yale and Columbia
| universities magnlficentiy, and neglect to
provide for some degree of culture for s.,
| 100000 colored ciiizebs, it is asserted, was
like building at the top and neglecting the
foundation.
All the educational facilities, it is stated,
for white persons, male and female, in the
| north are immensely superior 10 what they
| were a generation ago. The youth of the
| negro race have not been favored in pro-
portion. 1t is incontrovertihle that the ne
gIoes are fallir g each year further behind
| their white competitors in mental develop
the many educational institutions
established in the last thirty years have
been for use of white persons exclusively.
| No great university has been established
| for the negro.
Changes in Conditions.
The changes Witnessed in the condition
| of the negroes of the south since the So
| cety began it's work among them, some
| thirty years ago, have been great. At that
| time among the 100000 negroes emerging
| from bondage very few could read or write.
| Now the vast majority have a fair English
education. Thirty years ago there We're no
| public schools for negroes in the south.
| Now every southern state contains a pub
| lie school system for their benefit. Then
even the negro pastors were utterly ignor
ant of books; now there are very few pas
| tors unable to read. Thousands of them
| are educated fairly well, while others are
graduates of colleges theological semi
| raries. Then there was not a college
| professional school of any kind open to the
| negro anywhere in the south; now there
| are academies, colleges, normal schools and
| theological seminaries, law schools and
| medical schools all over that region, Going
| invaluable work. Then the prejudice
against negro education among the white
people in the south was almost universal;
now that prejudice is vanishing every
| where, and in many parts of the south has
| been replaced by hearty sympathy and CO.
operation.
a New Death Machiue.