The colored American., 1903-04-18


ously opened upon them. The axe men
ran to the front to cut away the heavy
Instructions Of defense, while 1,OOO
men of the enemy, with their artillery
concentrated, poured from redoubf
heavy fire upon the head OF the
column, hardly wider than the clerk S
desk and 300 yards long, lay the dead
bodies of 543 of my colored comrades
slain In defense of their countrywide
had lain down their lives to uphold its
fiag and its honor as a willing sacri-
flee" At the battle of Milliken's S
Bend, on the Nj sisSippi River, the
colored troops in an engagement with
the Confederate Veterans had a hand
to hand conflict with bayonets. The
engagement .aSted from in the morn
ing until noon, and it is said the col
Ored soldiers covered themselves with
glory. Among many other battles in
which Negro soldiers were engaged
may be mentioned Port Hudson, Five
Forks, Petersburg, and Port Royal;
so that il is clearly proven that the
Negro has a claim upon this country,
IN that he has shed his blood in its
leiense; a thing that the Jew did not
10 for Egypt. Again, the Negro has
contributed largely TO Americas In
duStrial and Commercial progress. He
is the back bone and SineW in agricul-
tural sections of our great country.
re produces three-quarters of the cot
on raised in this country. He is the
most reliable laborer in America; he
is not given to strikes; he is not an
Anarchist; he is patient and fOrbear
.ng unGer the most exasperating cir
cumStanceS.
The 18th, 14th, and 18th Amend
nents ought to secure for him all of
Tue rights, privileges and immunities
Of any other citizen; and yet Louisi-
&na, Mississippi, Alabama, North Car
olina, South Carolina and Virginia
have disfranchised nearly all of their
cOiored constituents, while Northern
States have looked on with apparent
Indifference and unconcern. What has
the Negro accomplished in his forty
years of freedom?
1. Intellectually.
We have $500, 600 Negro children in
public schools, 80, 900 Negro teachers;
$4,000 students in higher institutions;
$4,000 students learning trades, 5000
students pursuing classical and scien-
tic courses; 1.500 students pursuing
bus siEess courses. We have Negro stu
dents and graduates from Yale. Har-
ward, Brown, Cornell. Columbia. Am
herSt, Ob6rl1n, Boston University
Colgate, Chicago University. Ann
Harbor, Penn University, University of
Kansas, Bates, Colby, Wellesley, Vas
sar, Princeton, Drew, Newton Centre
and others. There are 156 Normal
schools for colored people; then there
are any number of colleges, seminar
les, universities, and academies owned
and controlled by our people. We have
254 900 volumes in libraries valued at
$500, ,000-714 Negro doctors, nearly
800 lawyers, and several hundred
newspapers We have raised for edu.
cational purposes SIS, 3,065. 900. For
church property, $4,000, 900. School
property, S15,000,OOO.
II. Our material progress has beeu
| remarkably wonderful. The Jews
when liberated, went to Canaan. their
| own land by lot, and inheritance. The
| Negro, forty years ago, as a race was
| like the Son of Man, nowhere to Law
/ his head. In forty years. in the midst
| of poverty, prejudice, discouragemen
Iln1ustlceS, and in many instances sta r
| Walton wages, we have IFS. 600 homes
valued at 1926, 600. .000-15O.OOO farms
valued at S450,00O. .0O0-personal prom
erty valued at S165. ZOO. 600 Several
banks, cotton factory in North Caro-
lima, several large brick yards a num-
| ber OF stores, business men farmers
| bV 1he- hundreds