The Colorado statesman., 1900-01-27
DENVER, COLORADO, SATURDAY, JANUARY 27. 1900

problem exists in all its seriousness. -
he continued. Those of you who un-
derstand the evils wrought by slavery
will agree with me when | say that
slavery wrought as much evil on the
white man as it did on the black man.
1t is eXemplified now. When a Negro
has his ballot stolen from him-as is
often the case-it works but a temDO-
rary injustice to the Negro. but TO the
white man who steals the ballot. it
means death to the soul | do not ap-
peal for any particular class of Ne
groes nor for any particular institution
like the school in Tuskegee. appeal
TO YOU 10 lift up the whole race-whfte
and black.
In everything attempted at Tuske-
gee we have tried to study the actual
conditions with which our people are
surrounded at the present time and aid
them by teaching them to help them
selves. 1t must he remembered that
these people were never obliged to Ia
Dor in their native land They were
brought over here and compelled to
work as slaves for $50 years. The
temptation in such movements is to
run every individual through the same
educational mill without regard to pre-
ViOnS conditions or the individual re-
suits to be accomplished. We must get
to the bedrock in order to lift people up
in the South. Many yeaers ago | be-
lieved that industrial education would
do great things to help us. | do not
wish to underestimate the value of
mental development, but | believe that
it is most important that we should lay
n foundation of Industrial education.
The industrial system gives men feel
ing of self-reliance which they cannot
get in any other way.
Every race must work out its own
salvation. We must work ours out with
the saw, the hammer and the shovel. |
And we must go after it. It's like the
oIu ANNSlO W HO Ia Vu IOl llllet ulSLlS
for the Lord to send him turkey for
Thanksgiving. 1t didn't come. On the |
fourth night he prayed. Lord, send |
this niger to a turkey And he got it |
that very night. For go years God |
made the Negro come in contact with |
the white man in business. Every |
large slave plantation was in sense |
an industrial school. The Negro boys |
were taught farming and the simpler |
mechanical trades until they were able |
to do all the work about the plantation. |
We had more boys taught trades on |
the plantation than you have black !
boys who are being taught trades in |
Denver to-day. These men finally COM
menced to thin out by death. Then we
came to realize that we had no black
white man saw the opportunity and
came to the South. His hands We're
skilled in various crafts and he took
the work from us. Therefore, in or
der TO hold our own. we must learn to
work with our hands as well as our
heads. Years ago Negroes used to be
in almost all the barber shops in the
large cities Now there are few of
them. The white men saw the OppOr-
tunity. He used his intelligence and
made the shop an attractive place. The
Negro went along in the same old rut,
and now has been almost crowded out.
My friends, you must put your brains
and your skill into these industries. 1t
doesn't pay to let them 90. We pro-
pose to keep them and to dignity them.
'Some people get the idea that the
object of industrial education is to
teach people to work in the old way.
That is not my idea. believe in teach
ing them TO work in the new way. To
make labor enjoyable and toll a pleas
nre. Ny object in industrial education
is to give a Negro brains and skill so
hat he can compete with white man
n his work A great deal of preju
lice against the Negro exists in this
but it stops when it comes TO J