The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-12-20
PLAN OF COUNCIL ORGANIZATION
President Fortune Formulates it on
the Eve of LeaVinu the Country

tne Eve OF Leaving the Country.
To the Officers and Members of the
- National Afro-American Council:
i AS ! shall leave the United States
shortly for the far East, to be absent,
perhaps six months, my last thought
in doing SO is the Afro-American. Coun-
Gil and its future Well-being, as the
one organization of the race whose
primal object is the preservation and
proper defense of the civil and political
rights of the Afro-American people.
My best thought, sympathy and effort
have been devoted, during the past
twelve years, dating from the organ
ization of the National Afro-American
League, at Chicago, January Is, 1885,
to the paramount necessity of effective
race organization for mutual protection
and defense of civil rights and mutual
interests. Effective organization is
the only supreme power in modern
society. The greatest misfortune of
the race has been it's refusal to recog-
nize and live up to this principle of
social security and progress. We have
depended too much upon others to
do for us what we could and should do
for ourselves: Mankind is selfish by
nature and the enforced conditions of
social life; and the man or men who
neglect their own interests will find
to their sorrow, that others are too
busy to attend to them for them,
What is everybody's business is no.
body's business, is faithful old saw.
The main difficulty with and draw
back to the National Afro-American
Council today is that it has no sub
}stantial basic organization. The mass
es OF the people do not belong to it
or support it with their sympathy and
money. It's annual conventions are
composed of fraternal delegates and
delegates representing business and
professional interests, who are willing
to pay IS for participation in the DELHI
eratfOns Of the convention and who
cease to be active members when the
convention adjourns sine die. The Of
t1aal board of the organization really
constitutes the only membership of the
National Council from the adjourn
ment of one annual convention to the
assembling of another; with the ex-
ceptlon, OF course, of the state council
in California, which has changed from
the Afro-American League of Califor-
MIA to the Afro-American Council of
California at a state convention held
since the adjournment of the National
Council, at St. Paul, last August. T..
No organization constituted as the
National Afro-Ame rican Council is to-
day, as to it's basic membership, can
90 the, Important work mapped out by
its founders and expected by the peo-
pie at large. Believing that my action
in this matter will be approved by the
next annual convention, and hoping
that it will result in basic member
ship OF the council, and basing my act
ion primarily on Article vi of the plan
OF state organization of the constitu-
ton Of the National Afro-American
Council, 1 submit the following plan of
local organization: r. E
i. Ten persons shall be competent
to organize a. local council circle to be
be ofticered as provided for in Article
II of the bylaws for local Organization
the local circle to be restricted in
membership to ten persons, such local
circle to be entitled to one delegate in
state conventions upon payment of as
sessment provided in Article XVIII of
plan of state organization and to one
delegate in annual National Council
conventions upon payment of the tax
provided in Article III, section q. of
the constitution Of the National Afro
American Council. s5sE
2.Women may organize separate To-
cal circles upon precisely the same
conditions prescribed for men in speei-
ication l herewith. ~
8. Ten circles may organize state.
council, as provided by Article TX of
the national constitution.
sincerely hope, in every community
I where where there are ten persons congenial
70 each other and interested in the
welfare of the race, that they will at
once organize a local council circle. i
am reasonably certain that the women
OF the race will take hold of the work
When the council meets next year at
Louisville there should be at least I'VE,
hundred circles reported and repre-.
scented
William a. Pledger, frse vice-presi-
dent of the National Afro-American
Council, is hereby authorized to act as
president during my absence.
THOMAS FORTUNE.
President.
Secretary.
Dated at Redbank, N D., December