The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-01-02
AN ADDRESS
BY THE NEGROES
They Appeal to the White
People For Help
AGAINST AMENDMENT
THEY SAY IT MEANS THEIR
REINSTATEMENT.
DECLARE THEIR FITNESS FOR CITIZENSHIP
The Emancipation Proclamation Exercises Yes.
terday. An Address by Dr.. Shepard.
A Large Number of People
Witnessed Exercises.
Witnessed Exercises.

As is their custom, the coloTed peopl
Of Raleigh celebrated Emancipatiol
Day yesterday at Metropolitan Hall
which WAS crowded by as orderly IN,
dignitied an audience Of negroes as eve
assembled in this city.
The exercises began al IL O'Clock Tn
chairman OF the committee of arrange
ments, Rev. l.. =, Hunter, called th
assemblage 10 order and introduced tn
president of fine day, w. NJ. Graves
vino, on taking the chair, made SOM
well-conceived remarks. Prayer wa
offered by Rev. G. ii. King, chaplain
A poem was read by Miss Carrie Mabry
The Proclamation of Emancipation wa
read By Lieut.. II. S. Christmas. Tn
grafton was delivered by DR.. j. i
Shepard.
DIR. Shepard's address was regardc
by those who ieard it as ONE of the bes
and most conservative ever delivere,
here. The speaker showed what tn
race has accomplished since slavery. The
pay taxes on over $245.000, 600 hav
2,750,000 children attending school, 81
600 teachers, over 400 newspapers. sey
eral banks, two cotton factories operate
by negro operatives and one of then
owned by negroes He reciited othe
things to show their progress. He mad
a strong plea for industrial education
and advised his people to buy lands an
support themselves. Politically he ad
mitted they had made mistakes, but il
the future must act as men and freed
men.
He paid a tribute to the South, aus
said next to the negro's reliance in llim
self and the strength of his God. hi
best friend was the Southern whites an,
the best friend Of the Southern whit
man was the negro; and the man VIII,
sought to array each against the othe
was friend to neither and an enem.
to society. The negro must stay il
the South and work out his problem sid
and side with the white man. He ad
monished them not TO be discouraged
but to make each obstacle a stepping
stone.
Following are the officers elected unani
mOusly for the ensuing year. all of then
being reelected:
President-W. NJ. Graves.
Secretary-tC. y. Hunter.
Treasurer-W. +. Debnanl.
Delegates to the Emancipation Con
vention: Lieut. II. S. Christmas ar<
DR.. \. +. Roberts.
An address to the white people of tn
State on the Constitutional Amendment
was an important feature Of the pro
ceedings. 1t was prepared by a com
mittee and read by G.. III. Hunter, chair
man. 1t was as follows:
THE ADDRESS.
To the People of North Carolina:
The colored citizens of Raleigh ant
Wake county in mass meeting assemblet
to commemorate the thirty an
niyorsary Of the Proclamation OF Eman
cipation, return grateful thanks to Al
mighty God for the blessings of free
DOM The eventuation which makes thi
day the most memorable and glorious il
the history Of the American Republic
comes to us this year freighted Will
conditions and considerations such a.
have never before confronted the enraTl
cipated race. Tlhirty-seyen years afte
the fiat OF freedom finds the nation fac
to face with the question, What is to b
We status of the negro in these Unite'
is OF the war had forever settled tina
qt- stion. We had thought that neye'
more would the equal citizenship O
any part of American freenlen b.
brought into question. We had nc
thought that any considerable body o
the people of this country would eve
again seriously question the equal polit
ical and civil rights of any class of ON
people But such is not the case ant
we deem ii our highest duty on this oC
casion to put forth these views and t
Invite the just Judgment of the who'll
people of the State and country.
We recognize the fact that, an thi
country, there can be no middle grou1ir
between freedom and slavery. There
no halfway ground upon which men ca:
be neither freemen nor slaves. Ultimate
ly they must be the one or the othe
full and complete. 1t is this fact tina
causes us to view with the creates
alarm the effort now being made in thi
State and in other States of the Sout
to deprive negro citizens OF the RICH
OF franchise which lis guaranteed {
them by the Constitution OF the Unite'
States ard of the several States com
posing the Union. We cannot resist tn
conviction that the proposed amendment
To our State Constitution is the initia
step in the direction Of nullifyng th
Proclamation of Emancipation and alb
rogating, as far as possible. the result
Of the war for freedom. 1t is a.read.
urged by an influential portion IF tn
newspapers OF the South, and rs som
Of it's leading mem that these amend
ments to the State constitution are ten,
porary expedients: that the 18th, lit
and 10Th amendments to the Constitution
of the United States must be repealed
These are the guarantees of our free
dom ard citizenship in this land. Ropes
them and slavery again becomes Lawful
In view of these facts it rs natural tina
we should feel the greatest anxiety a
to the outcome Of efforts now being mad
not only to restrict our right TO vote, bu
to deny that right altogether. We car