The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-01-03

Here, TOO. il is that the most Tint has
been accomplished by the race in the
higher aud nohlcr walks of life has to
be done.
Then IL here we arc to live and die.
there must he Il right-ahout-front along
certain lines. There must be harmony
ON the part Of the best people. white
and black Then upon what basis can
such II union SO much desired and SO
essential to the future well being and
prosperity of the Two races be effected
The past. the signs of the times. tell as
that il certainly cannot be political. Tor
amy legislation in the South aimed direct
IL or indirectly against us has been
mothered in the bosom of politics.
| assert without fear of contradiction
that whatever of violence, whatever OF
injustice we have suffered. with rare ex-
ccptions, have been due largely to poll
ties I However. | do not mean 10 say
that there was no other cause. Yet !
maintain that there would have been
more of patience, more Of forhcarance
if the tinge of politics had not entered
therein. To be more definite, there
would he no sign of Il ".lim Crow Car"
hanging over rs in North Carolina II the
past four years were out Of history. And
not the right to be politicians, or to
aspire to the emoluments of office. For
when il comes To the right we are Am
erican citizens clothed with the same
inalienable rights as other citizens. But
of what value is bare, n naked right
that we can neither maintain nor defend,
that has not the moral support of the
people in authority where it is to be
forced IT were better that it never
existed that to exist hut to he trampled
under foot.
Be it remembered also what is right
is not always expedient. We have the
right to contend to the very DEATH but
it is not expedient. my friends. Then
too. there must 10 some other claim
TO privileges BESIDES the mere lung power
to clammer for II EN-. There must be
qualifications. character, property, edu-
cation. First lay fast hold upon thesf
virtues, and all things else will be added
unto MS. For when our Importance to
the community is based upon our brain,
our thrift, our inventive genius. upon
intrinsic merit. there will be no negro
problem in the South. Tt will solve IT.
self here or find a place where it can
be solved.
Let it be remembered that We are not
the brain and capital of the South, but
ours is the Drawn and muscle-nature's
first gift to man. This we must pro-
tect at all hazard. and if need he at the
expense of our idol-suffrage, or all is
lost Here let me sound the alarm
show the way the straws point. Very
recently fifty white families were import
cd TO Newbern to take the places of so
many colorcd families. And now
movement is on foot in Wilmington to
supplant to some extent the colored In
Dor by white. Now / need not tell what
this means. you know. Then shall we
longer go blindly on. disregarding the
signs of the time. or shall we right
about-front and bend our talents and en-
orgies and efforts in establishing our
selves along the real lines of substantial
advancement?
Finally. we must cease to be ciphers in
the business world, in the community.
We must stand for something more than
the six feet OF ground inherited from
Mother Nature. The pennies must be
saved. the tobacco and snuff and wills
key must be turned into churches, into
school honses. books and clothes. The
sinking ship of politics must be abandon
cd. the acquisitions Of property, the
spectacle and peaceabe families, the
proper education and training Of our
children must be our immediate concern,
My friends. if we would meet the is
sues that are upon us, if we would save
ourselves in this crying hour. there must
be liberation of honest difference of
opinion upon all questions; the color of
our skin must no longer be the index to
our political thoughts. Man and meas
ures must he our only guide; n closer
racial union iii the higher and nobler and
more substantial walks of life must exist:
there must be a self-assertion of the in
iividual independent manhood Of the
race"
The exercises were held in the
Academy Of Music. They began at
o'clock and lasted for two hours.
The meeting was called to order by
Norheet Jeffries, who announced that
W. NJ. Graves would preside.
After the national hymn had been sung.
and prayer had been offered by the
Chaplain Rev. w. j. Jordan, President
Graves made short speech, thanking
the audience for the honor they had done
him in making him president. He coun-
selled union among his people. and the
subsection of all things that hinder the
progress of the race.
Il am not speaking politically. I'm
speaking of a race whose conditions are
peculiar. We have been emancipated
and left in the land Of our slavery to
work out our own salvation.
ITO be free means more than to be let
alone. There must be freedom of mind.
as well as of body. What we need to-
day is to teach our people the things
that will tend to lift them up in ma
teral and industrial progress.
There are many things in our years
history-to depreciate and depore. The
prospect is dark. My counsel to you is,
Stand still and see the salvation of the
Lord Surely he who has led us out
Of the land Of bondage is able to take
care Of us. He, it is that taketh up
one nation and putteth down another.
lie it is that will lead this race TO its
destiny And when the impartial his
torian comes to write of the Nineteenth
Century, the Afro-American will come
IN for a place of honor and praise for
The part he has played in the country'S s.