Los Angeles herald., 1906-07-03
WILL COLLECT FOR
ST. LOUIS MUSEUM
NEGRO EDUCATOR ARRIVES IN
LOS ANGELES
Says Blacks Must Rise Through Own
Efforts aid Given Equal oppor-
tunities viii Attain Honor
able Place

Prof. Arthur d. Langston, principa
of one Of the public schools Of st
Louis, is in Los Angeles in the inter
est of the public school museum in tina
city. He is making tour of the wes
and north for the purpose of collecting
botanical, mineral and animal speci
mems ior that Institution.
Prof Langston is one of the most
noted negro educators in the country
and his career has been a rather re-
markable one. He has been connected
with the public schools of st. Louis for
twenty-nine years, the last twelve as
principal of the Dumas school, which
has an enrolment of about 14OO negro
pupils. There are twenty-five teachers
in this school and free textbooks and
appliances are furnished the children
who attend it.
viii Collect Specimens
The professor is greatly interested IN
the museum maintained by the city of
St. Louis for the public schools, as he
is in everything else that tends toward
free education, especially for the negro
children of the country, and he has
decided to devote his vacation period
this year to an effort to add to its col
lection.
He called upon Acting Superintendent
Monlux of the Los Angeles schools yes
terday and interested him in his plan,
and he will; also try to secure the CO.
operation of the normal school authori-
ties. He is desirous of securing dis
tinctive specimens for the museum from
all of the northern and western states,
and with this in view has planned an
extensive tour.
Prof. Langston's father was Con-
gressman John M. Langston of the
Petersburg, Va district, and the father,
son and two grandsons are graduates
of Oberlin college. This is believed to
be the only instance in the history of
the negro race where three generations
are represented in the alumni of any
great college, and Prof. Langston takes
a great deal of pride in that fact.
OF the professors two sons, one is
following his fathers vocation and has
become a teacher in the st. Louis
public schools and the other holds re-
sponsible position in a Nashville bank.
Pupils Share Alike
ST was one of eleven negroes who
were employed as teachers in the
public schools Of st. Louis twenty-nine
Prof. Langston yesterday. THAT the
experiment has proved successful is
shown by the fact that today there are
140 teacher and an enrolment of 5000
negro pupils.
Separate schools are maintained for
the negroes in that city, but the ad-
vantages enjoyed by these pupils are
the same as those in the schools at
tended by the white children. There is
no discrimination whatever, and every
effort is made to give the negro child
exactly the same opportunity to rise
in the world as is afforded his white
brother.
MY motto in all my school work is
that the negro must rise by his own
efforts, and, given equal opportunities,
there is no reason why he should not
rise and occupy an honorable position
in all legitimate fields of endeavor.
Il shall probably remain in Los
Angeles for several days, as I wish to |
make this city my central point in |
California for the collection of speci- |
mems for the public school museum in !
St. Louis. l am confident of securing
an excellent collection from this state. |
/ am greatly interested in this work
and find in it a welcome relief from
the severe mental strain imposed by
ten months Of close attention to my
school duties"