The Washington herald., 1907-09-13

bouAdelt liidl King an l4iiptiSStblc Elli. III
Charleston there is still another color
line. Il divides tie negroes Of the city
into two classes-browns and blacks. This
is not thing Of yesterday, but division
that was made more than century ago,
and which cannot be blotted out
In 1880. the second year OF George Wash
ington's administration, the free negroes
Of Charleston. organized a Fellowship So
ciety. No city has had so many societies
as Charleston. and the negroes are
always initiative. The members Of the
society We're 10 pay regular dues toward
the establishment Of a fund 10 be used
for burying the dead and pensioning the
widows and orphans of members. only
free negroes were permitted TO belong 10
the society, although it is OF record that
the organization loaned money TO one
member to enable him TO buy the freedom
or his slave wife After four years. the
society had accumulated enough money
10 purchase a lot to be used as a ceme-
terry. No sooner had this lot been bought
than a dissension arose in the ranks Of
the society. the cleavage being marked
by the color line.
In 1924 the society divided. The blacks
formed themselves into the Beersheba
Fellowship Society, and took the northern
half Of the cemetery. The browns organ
lied the Brown Fellowship Society. The
cemetery is in Pitt street. near Calhoun.
and any visitor to Charleston may see it,
The half that was owned by the blacks
is protected from the street 10y wooden
fence the graves are neglected, the
brambles have grown up, and the place
has not known a scythe for ages.
The browns half Of the cemetery IS
quite well kept, has an iron railing about
it, and the monuments and graye-stones
are Well cared for. There is little
mortUary chapel, in which are hung OF
portraits of the founders and the sue
ceeding presidents of the society. At
the centennial celebration In 1898 the
name Of the Brown Fellowship Society
was changed 10 the Century Fellowship
Society The significance Of the word
brown was not abatcd. however for
no black negro can ever become d mem
ber of this limited, exclusive, and ar.s-
tocratic circle, Its membership IS con
fined 10 brown negroes who are descended
from former members Of the order. As
the number of members IS limited U
fifty, the right 10 join descends In the
order Of prim0geniture, and, as a con-
sequence. the society is an organization
made up of the elder sons Of the slave
holding free brown negroes Of Charles
ton There are few organizations SO eZ-
elusive.
+ra centennial celebration g7-
dress was made by J. H. Holloway, a de-
scendaut Of the founder of the society.
y great crowd of people was there. white
brown, and black. lie spoke first 10 the
Representatives Of the dominant race
and explained the relations existing be-
tween his people and theirs. Then he
addressed himself to the members Of
the backward race In explaining %
them why the blacks Were shut out from
the fellowship he declared that the or
ganization had closed both the front and
back doors, and that uo white man nor
black man could come iu. He professed
the kindHest feeling for both. the white
and black races, and regretted that there
was such "a thing as race quarrels any
where in the land
In the old cemetery We're buried. the
founders Of the order, the free negroes
who We're men of wealth as far back as
the days Of the Revolution. There are
their sons, who added 20 their worldly
goods, their graudsOns who came In pow
ct after the civil war and we sent 10
the legislature and % "a dIgre Ind their
other descendants VIII 4 I- buried there
as they pass out of t.ds life from day to
day. The inscription on the tomb OF
James Mitchell founder of the order.
d. j
died In ls2l, that be was "a communicaut
OF ST Philips Church, and then declares:
He was an affectiOnate companion, q
tender parent, and an inGulgent mas
ter" Thus is il recorded that James
Mitchell negro, was kind 20 his negro
slaves.
The number Of slave-oWning negroes in
the rural districts of the South was prob
ably small, but iu the cities there We're
always q few wcil-to-dO free negroes,
who put their money in slaves. Charles
ton had more of these than any other
CITY. The tax assessors books for 1866
show that there were then $50 slaves in
Charleston owned by free persons of
color" There were nearly 1900 free ne
grOes there at the time. but only 30 OF
them were slave holders. One negro
owned twenty-five slaves. The free ne
groes. possessed more than a million dol
lars worth of real estate and had large
bank deposits.
After the war was over they were as
poverty stricken as the white people, OF
course, and TO great extent sympa-
thetic Nearly all of them favored eman-
Cipation, and when the war was over
they were given the franchise, and nat
urally took their places in the Republi-
can party. When the combination Of ne
gro and Carpet-bag government was final
" OverthrOwn I'm South Carolina by the
election Of Gen. Wade Hampton to be
- governor in 1876. there We're many Of the
Charleston brown negroes who voted for
Hampton and considered themselves
Hampton Democrats.
When the native white Democrats re-
turned to power in Charleston they found
many negroes on the police force. For
some reason. probably in appreciation OF
the services of the brown Hampton sup
UOrters, they were not removed. Thus Il
happeus that there are still negro police
men in Charleston Charleston also has
negro fire companies but so have Nash
VILE and several other Southern cities.
But II must not be thought that the color
line has been disTegaTded in giving these
municipal appointments 10 negroes. It is
regarded. The black negroes are shut
out.
The brown negro Of Charleston is not
TO be cOnfOunded with the mulattO. Many
of them have an admiXture Of white blood,
bu. few. If any Of them. have any black
negro blood. They are descended from
free negroes, escaped with white CON-
- mir crf
refugees from the West India Islands. or
a.. .-.-oa caa.s iuLrlLl-ranls alractlL frnrn