Richmond planet., 1907-05-04
Shall We Go To Africa?



In proving the antiquity of the Ne
gro race, / shall quote freely from
The History OF the Negro Race in
America 10y George W. Williams. a
Negro historian OF no mean ability.
he was the first colored member OF
the Ohio legislature: the first colored
man 20 take a diploma from the
venerable and famed institution,
Newton Seminary. Newton Centre.
Mass. and is himself a living epitome
of the intellectual and moral force
and ability OF the Negro race.
There are those. colorod as well
as white men, who believe that. be-
cause the Negro race has been de-
based and degraded, by many causes
FOR many centuries aud especially
because IL has been subject To and
cnslaved 10y the white race. there is
nothing good in it and nothing good
can come out OF IT,
Much has been written about
Noah's curse upon Canaan. who was
a son of Ham but not the progenitor
OF the Negro race. All historians.
sacred as we'll as profane. set down
Cush, the first son of Ham. as the
progenitor OF the Negro race and
not Canaan the fourth and last son.
] say, much ado mas been made about
this curse of Noah upon one of mis-
sons. but there seems to be ominous
silence as 10 the blessing of God nm
on Noah and all of mis- sons and
therefore upon Ham and Cush and
the Negro race. Read the first and
second verses of the 9th Chapter of
Genesis as follows:
And God blessed Noah and his
sons. and said unto them, Be fruitful.
and multiply. and replenish the
earth And the fear of YOU and the
dread of YOU shall be upon every
beast OF the earth and upon every
ioWl OF the air, upon all that moveth
upon the earth, and upon all the
ilshes OF the sea; into your hand are
they delivered"
To my mind the Importance of
this blessing of Almighty God upon
all the people of the earth far ex-
ceeds and overtowers that of the
curse OF puny and sinful man. inst
awakened from a fit of drunkenness
pronounced against the descendants
or one Of mis- own sons.
Speaking of the antiquity and civ
lilzation OF the Negro race. George
W. Williams in his History of the
Negro Race in America. SAYS:
| before Romulus founded Rome
| before Homer sang. When Greece
was In its infancy. and the world
quite young. hOary Meroe was the
chlei city of the Negroes along tae
Me. It's private and public build.
| ihgs' It's markets and public souares
It's colossal walls and stupendous
gates, Its gorgeous chariots and a.
Iert tootmen. Its inventive genius and
: ripe scholarship. made il the cradle
OF clViilzation and the mother of arr
IL was the queenly city OF Etbio-
Pia,-ior II was founded by colonies
Ol Negroes Through its open gates
Iohs ana ceaseless caravans. laden
win gold silver, ivory, frankincense
ana PAIN oil, poured the riches of
A1rica INTO the capacious lap Of the
clly. The learning of this people
eiipaihled IN the immortal hero
SSyphic' howed down the Nile. and
ishe spray, spread over the delta ot
snaI .lme-honored stream, on bv the
- gSdu uIuI and venerable city OF
iheDes-the city of a hundred gates
dnoIHer monument to Negro genius
anu anu ciFiIlzation, and more ancient
man man tne cities Of the DeIta.-untii
SS tSS ana home stood transfxed
Oe.UTe ..y, the ancient glory OF Ethiopia
homeric mythology borrowed ite
very essence from Negro bierogIv-
phics; Egypt borrowed her Ueht fTo1,
the venerable Negroes up the Nile
Greece went to school to the Ee-n.
,ians' and Rome turned to Greece for
law ana the science of warfare
- Eng siand aug down into Rome twen.
" centuries TO learn to build ana
plant, to establish a government and
maintain it, Thus the flow OF civ.
iization has been from the Fast
.he place OF light-to tae west; from
the Oriental to the Occidental.
Is not this glory enough for one
race And this is not all by far
but space fails me at this time Let
no Negro henceforth believe the Star
der upon his race-that IL came from
nothing; is nothing and never vii
be anything. The Negro was presen