The Seattle Republican. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1???-1915, 1901-02-22
BROTHER
IN BLACK
Congressman Geo. E. White
Speaks.

Our Young Men and Women Should
Learn Trades Advantages of Ed
ucating Self-Reliance : Critical
Observations.
The speech recently delivered in
the house by the Hon. George H
White, of North Carolina, the only
Afro-American representative now
in congress, is full of valuable infor-
nation and well worth perusal. The
following excerpts therefrom will no
doubt be read with much interest:
81 would like to advance the state
ment that the rusty records Of 1868,
filed away in the archives of South
ern capitols, as to what the Negro
was thirty-two years ago, is not a
proper standard by which the Negro
living on the threshold Of the twen-
tieth century should be measured.
Since that time we have reduced the
illiteracy of the race at least As per
cent We have written and publish
ed nearly 500 books. We have near
ly 300 newspapers, three Of which are
dailieS. We have now in practice
over 1000 lawyers and a correspond
ing number of doctors. We have ac-
cumulated over $12,0OO,0O0 worth
of school property and about $4O,-
100000 worth of church property.
We have about 100000 farms and
homes, valued at in the neighbor-
hood Of $75O,OO,OOO, and personal
property valued at about S17O, ,OOO,-
600. We have raised about $11, ,O0O,-
900 for educational purposes, and the
property per capita for every colored
man, woman and child in the United
States is estimated at $75.
eve are operating successfully
several banks, commercial enterprises
among our people in the Southland,
including one silk mill and one cot
ton factory. We have $4,000 teach
ers in the schools Of the country; we
have built, with the aid of our
friends, about 1900 churches, and
support seven colleges, seventeen
academies, fifty high schools, five law
schools, five medical schools and
twenty-five theological seminaries.
We have over 100000 acres of land
IN the South alone. The cotton pro-
duced, mainly by black labor, has in
creased from 4,669,77O bales in 1860
to 1895, 900 in 1899. All this we
have done under the most adverse
circumstances. We have done it in
the face of lynching, burning at the
stake, with the humiliation of "iim
crow" cars, the disfranchisement of
our male citizens, SANDER and deg
radiation of our women, with the fac
tories closed against us, no Negro
permitted to be conductor on the
railway cars, whether run through
the streets of our cities or across the
pralrles OF our great country, no Ne
gro permitted to run as engineer on
a locomotive, most of the
mines closed against us. Labor
unlons-carpenters, painters, brick
masons, machinists, hackmen and
those supplying nearly every avoca-
ton for livelihood have banded
themselves together to better theil
condition, but, with few exceptions
the black face has been left out. The
Negroes are seldom employed in ou
mercantile stores. At this we do no
wonder. Some day we hope to have
them employed in our own stores
With all these odds against us, We
are forging our way ahead, slowly
perhaps, but surely. You may tie
us and then taunt us for a lack Of
bravery, but one day we will breaE
the bonds. You may use our labor
for two and a half centuries and ther
taunt us for our poverty, but let MT
remind you we will not always re
main poor. You may withhold ever
the knowledge of how to read God't
word and learn the way from eartI
to glory and then taunt US for ou7
Ignorance, but we would remind yol