New-York tribune., 1906-06-10
Prominent Men Express Their Opin ons-Many Favor
Negro. with a Capital Mothers Like Afro
American Reasons for These Preferences

i, cent Of this race in America are full booded
of admixture with native Indian and almost every
brand of European whites, thus making them run run
bloodless and colorless face Of the octoroon; ;.
not ' of his IS own GS accord ord bleaching @ out win be
observed that the children of muatt0es Desia sS
viii Continue until their descendants are di4
to thSr With tG he SePO face They
never grow whittier and whittier SO as 10 pass 1era S
they become whittier 1t is brought about 10y an ado
ditlonal infusion Of so-called white blood W. Why
the whites? 1t is manifest from these ana n 0tnGr
tant one and no classcation Of the descendants of
the Negroes can scientifically be made that as
The word NegT9 IKE the word ,hlqfb fb6 is tho no
word white" interchangeable with superiority.
The word has only become spotted by evil assocla-
lot and fretting because they Negroes and try
ing to escape ape then rise up ana D Tps 9
ent achievements. Good names are not given; they
made.
T. THOMAS FORTUNE. Editor of The New
York Age:
There would be no confusion about the proper
the Uned States u If the e governing in the case
of others similarly situated had been applied to to
other Of the racial elements that constitute our
all Europeans as raciaIly Homogeneous there is as
much dissimarty in their race traits and tenden-
are divided for the most part into tribes instead of
@ in o the 6aSs Of come fas
known, and proud to be known, however re-
French 19 @ German and the like Ask continontai
Where he from $ and he will fd answe Chat eaG
try in Europe and he will name the country e, M Of hls
tatingy answer Africa; ask him further what part
Subdivisions; if you are stilI unsatsfed and want
to know 10Y M Taaf rSS TSse me as he has and
knows no political snbdvisionE,a1 Hey, a HmQ' b "a a
is an African from this or that tribe. 1t is the
same way with the European. the AsauG nc ana I the
geographical and political relation to the cotn, t
they are referred to by their geographical rather
than their political relation This rule is univeT
nents except that of Africa Ny contention Is tnae
rac h2gd casse aS9 ipPy 9 fere is
have seen advanced why they should not be-.
come - to % adopt opt the term 'Afro-American as the
only proper race designation Of the people OF African
abiding place in all Of the dictionares and much
t, a new race in this country, approximating much
do not need any additional infusion Of white blood
although we are getting plenty OF It; we need Only
race, doing. ultimately to mix the blood
To-day we have Afro-American black and colored
people; the time is coming when we shall have only
ultimately will disappear into the American people
is inevitable. we have no reinforcement OF pure
Blood from Africa and ceaselessly mixing
blood with all the white races here with whom
live and part of whom
1t is Of the highest Importance that we get our
selves Strengthened out on this question Of 'Who
Are We?' Until we get this race designation prop
erly fixed in the language and literature OF the
country shall be kicked and cuffed and sneered
at as q common noun, sufficiently and contemptu-
ously characterized by the vulgar term Negro
The term Negro" adopted from the Latin, has
been used from primitive times to describe the
black people Of Africa they are or have been;
and used, it has been treated, and quite prop
erly, as common noun. 1t IS impossible to get
the writers in America Europe or Asia TO treat It
as proper noun. They never win do It, because
ii is not a term deflnitive OF affnities and
unities sbut of physical pecuiarities of race Of
which color is the visible and nvariable index.
The term Negro has not even respectable
tribe in Africa to dignity It. The tribe desig
mated is rePuted to be one Of the most dscredited
OF all of tho African tribes. An American recently
returned from Abyssinia told me that II person
should call AbysSinian q Negro he would fell
him in his tracks. He would take it as term Of
reprOaCh-aS insult.