The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1906-10-24
A BIG LEAP FORWARD
yALDOSTA NEGROES PASS TIME
LY AND STRONG RESOLUTIONS
Action Followed a Sermon by the
Pastor of Their Baptist Church.
The Fruits of an Old Man.


The Fruits of an Old Man.
(From the Macon telegraph
Last Sunday night Rev. A, w.
Bryant, pastor of the Macedonia
(negro) Baptist church in Valdosta,
according to The Times Of that city,
preached "a very heated sermon
against the loafiing, idle and rape
committing negro of the race, as an
enemy to public peace and destruct-
i've to the whole race.
When the sermon was finished the
following resolutions were intro
duced:
ITO the General Public: That,
whereas, so much is now being said
about the so-called negro problem,
and whereas, the solving of said
problem depends largely on the
classification between the law-abid-
ing negro and the criminal negro,
and, whereas, it is fact that we
cannot rise above the degraded level
of the lawless negroes with our 81
lent lips to the black crimes that
have and are now being perpetrated
by the black f1ends of our race, and,
Whereas, we as race, are
charged up with these black crimes
by our failure in the past to speak
out to the world in condemnation of
such black brutes, and,
Whereas, there has been organ
lied in this city two clubs known
as the mems and women's Sunday
clubs, respectively, and,
Whereas, the said above named
clubs stand for the uplift of the
young people of our race, the sup
preston of crime and vice and for
law and order among us as race,
and,
Whereas, our pastor, Rev. A. w.
Bryant, is waging an uncompromis-
ing war against all vice and evil of
this city, and,
Whereas, we are fully convinced
Of the fact that our pastor is right
in his agitations against the law
less, criminal loafing negro of our
race as the crime breeding negro, be
it resolved,
First, That we, the officers and
members of this old historic First
(colored) Baptist church, do here
by support and defend our pastor
in his untiring fight against the
houses of questionable character,
dives and dens and other places of
vice operated by negroes, and be
it resolved,
Second, That we condemn all
members of this church and severely
denounce them as enemies of pub
lie peace who criticise and villify
our pastor in his agitations against
these evils and vice"
The Times says that at the con-
clusiOn of the reading of these res
olutions they were unanimously
adopted by rising vote Of 500 of
the best negroes in Valdosta'
This action taken by these Valdos-
ia Baptist negroes is a distinct leap
forward for that church, and it
ought to be followed by every negro
organization in the south-every one
at least that pretends to desire the
advancement of the race.
From a somewhat personal knowl-
edge of the old-time Baptist Neck"
negroes in ValdOsta we have no
doubt that these are fruits from the
sowing for many years in that vine
yard of old Uncle Charles Ander-
son, who founded that church at the
close Of the war and who preached
to it for many years-a plain, SEN
sible old-time negro with more char
acter and religion than many white
men we have known.
Bless the memory of "Old
Charles" as he was known to the
white folks who universally re-
spected him.
Annie of niscOrd