Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1905-02-24
Communicated
THE RACE QUESTION.
EDITOR CITIZEN:

EDITOR CITIZEN:
Your writer has heard and read so
many articles written assolutions. etc
of the above heading, and not having
ever seen anything touching ON a
particular and important line, reach.
ing the root of the evil, will attempt
to make few pertinent suggestions. 8.
in the first place the white man can
easily see that if his fore-fathers had
been subjected to slavery, when a
particular people had endeavored to
perpetuate thraldom, that his chill
dren from one generation to the
other could be trained in animosity
to the ruling race. Now is this not
done? Are the colored children of
Virginia not slowly imbribing year
by year from their teachers that
Robt. E. Lee, jackson and all of our
southern heroes were their natural
enemies. and necessarily to be de-
spised? And if these men are
thought of with hatred are we not
naturally heirs to this feeling?
j believe we of the South hold. TO
certain extent, the key to the
situation. 1t is this, we are taking
our money, our taxes and voluntarily
educating a people to despise us and
our posterity. Why is this, and how
can it be corrected? In the first
place we are going to endeavor to
educate the colored children of our
state mentally. But does this do?
| say no! 1t is a well-known fact a
mans mental faculties being devel-
oped make him keen, sharp, educated:
but leaving his morals debased, low
and vicious, you have Oh your hands
most dangerous citizen of any
class. Forgers, bank robbers and
those who practice any and all kinds
of high classes of fraud belong to
the well educated rascals. Now our
public schools are for the benefit of
all. If our school boards and those
in charge of our schools could unite
and see to it that the colored chill
dren of our state are educated to
understand the position occupied by
the tax-paying white people, that
we are doing our best to place the
colored race on higher plain, not
only mentally but especially morally,
this would be small start in the
right direction. How may this be
done? First, in the employment of
teachers for the colored schools, see
to it that those employed are in
perfect sympathy with this line of
work. That they may teach that
such men as Lee and his peers were
not men to risk their lives and fame,
good names, their honor on such
question as slavery, but upon the
question according to the truth as to
whether state had a right to leave
the Union or not-as this was the
real question decided by force of
arms. L believe we are paying for
work done In our schools to do us
injury,and it seems so easily corrected.
Of course it would he necessary for
the school boards to visit and
examine the children, and for which
they should be literally remunerated.
Get rid of a system that is doing
more harm than good, and costing
the white population of this state
thousands of dollars. 1t does not
seem reasonable that a sensible public
should continue such course as the
present if little thinking were done.
The all important question would be
securing the proper teachers, and this
of course would rest on those in
authority; but if those teachers en-
ployed were brought to know that
the different boards meant business
the teachers would readily drop into
the traces.
This question is only touched on
lightly and the writer would gladly
hear from some of our thinking tag
payers along this line. We have a
burden to bear, one that for one
do not wish to shirk, but do believe
we should get the best results for
our money, and raise the colored
man not only mentally, but what is
more important, morally.
Yours,
JNO. CURLETT.