Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1900-03-24
DR. wALKHR's PLEA.

shOf DsPsios u&tutnJoEs conference
(white) of New York. His subject was
Truth From Another Angle on the
Negro Question"
Among other things DIR. WALKER
said:
THE Negro Question or N egro Prob
lem 10 one of the most important topics
OF the age. I5 10 the subject OF public
discussion for the platform, pulpit,
press, national halls or legislature, and
III ali political circles.
The question Ii, whether q race Of
people once enslsved, now emancipat-
ed, can De raised Co q position of poll
tical and social equality with other
races IN the land which was the thea.
ire Of his servIspde aud degradation.
Some say that this question will be
settled by patience sumo say by the
Negro acquiring monev, property and
,ntelligence others have said INDUS
trial 81 ucatiUn will settle it; and still
others have said il thegNegro will let
politics alone, surrender his citiz an
ship, say away from the polls, tnst
will settIe it.
The Negro was stolen and brought to
this counGrY against his most positive
protest. For more than $50 years he
was slave, Ignorant, wretched and
depraved morality debased, ambition
numiliated, family ties sundered and
disrespected, sold from the auction
block as chettei; shen emsncipated :;
penniless, ignorant and friendless, he
Is still hated, rejected and despised,
He is the subject of criticism, ridicule
and censure. His chains have been
broken but he is not yes q free man !;
his privileges are limited and restrict
90 he is denied liberty and Justice
YeS he 10 patient, long suffering and
| accomplishing. He sees his rights
aud liberties taken and ia not project
ed by the flag he has honored and to
which he has been loyal and true. He
sees MS race lynched, murdered, and
burnt, and only asks the Almighty God,
how Ions! J"
He quoted statistics as follows:
by reference to preceding reports
OF the United States Bureau of Educa
tion in which this subject has been
treated we find that for 1897 and 1898.
GIG 1888 Negro children in the l8 former
slave state and The District of Column
Ola attending scnool, making 90 per
cent OF the colored enrollmens. There
are about $50 schools in the United
states for the secondary and higher
education OF colored youth exclusive
ly. In l6l OF these institutions there
were employed 1908 teachers. The TO-
tai enroilment being AZ ,828 students.
La the collegiate grades there were
2492 students. In the secondsrS
grades there were 1s ,669 students. In
the elementary grades there were 28,
1877 pupils. There were I'LL students
in classical courses, 1900 in seiensific
courses, S724 in English courses, 244 in
business Courses, and 4449 in normal
courses. There were l67 graduates
from college courses, S59 from normal
| courses, and S53 from high school
courses l2S5 students in professional
courses. There were $50 students and
% graduates in theology. 116 stu
dents and rs graduates in medicine. 43
students and 8 graduates in dentistry.
A students and IL graduates in phar-
macy, and $50 graduates in nurse
sraining. OF the AZ, 1928 students in the
lol schools for the colored race, IL 400
were receiving industrial training. liz
IS shown that 1880 of these were being
trained in farm or garden work, 1904
in carpentry, 107 in orick laying, o. ia
plastering, lSO in painting, AZ in tin or
sheet metal wUrk, 274 in forging. 222
in machine shop work, 21e in shoe
making, $50 in printing, 6,923 in sew
ing, 1922 10 cooking, and AL 4 in 9TH
or industrial branches. These schools
had in their libraries 237, las volumes
valued at $2l5 9Os 28,Oo0 Negroes are
engaged in teaching school. Nor 9
than 1900 young men and women are
attending our colleges, more that go
| normal schools, more than 40 schools
1 fOv no dor -
and universities, 40 schools OF theology
schools for the deaf, dumb and blind,
and several schools of law. We have a
multiplicity of preachers and q sur
plus OF school teachers.
He pursued the discussion further:
"The Negro has made progress in
science, literature and art. A Negro
was the chosen graduating orator for
Harvard. They have stood the equal
of Others &C Yale, Brown, Colgate, Chi
csgo University and other great
schools. The equatorial TELESCOPES in
Lawrence University of Wisconsin was
made by Negro students. Paul Lau-
renee Dunbar Is one of the leading liz.
erary characters OF the present centu.
ry. Tanners Raising of Lazarus" il
. proof Of Negroes ability az a painter,
| Williams, Brown, Dubois and johnson
have proven their ability AZ historians
7. Thomas Fortune OF the New Yorl
Age; Cooper of The Oolored American
Knox of The Freeman; Mitchell O.
The PLANET (; White of The Georgis
Baptist have settled their status a,
Journalists. Booker T. Washington
w. 81. Oouncill, Jones and Vassar o.
the University Of Virginia; Wright
president OF the State College OF Geor
gia Gilbert of Brown University ana
the American College at Athens
Greece; Scarborough, author of ,
Greek Text Book (; Hope and Page from
Brown University; and W. e. Holme,
of Atlanta Baptist College and Chicago
University, have proven their sbilit,
to educate their own race.
He paid AgrscsfuI tribute to on,
benefactors in the following language
"The Negro is grateful to his north
ern and southern friends for assistanc,
rendered him in the enlightenment o
his race, and in removing illIterac,
among the colored people. He i
, placed under renewed obligations I,
northern philanthropists such as Mes