The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1907-07-04
Strikes Pr,esi,dle q ent
Some Hard: Blows .
And Foraker is Ranked Vith
Stevens summer BY Bishop
4. Walters in = Fiery : 8 (.
: Address ..,.>

African Methodist Episcopal church,
Saratoga street near Gay, on Wed
nesday morning. Bishop Alexander
Waters, D. p, of the A. M. E. Zion
church, presided. ~. ? - AZ
AFTER the usual devotional, exercia.
es, conducted by Rev. A. B. Calls, ;,
y. D., who offered prayer, the open
ing address was delivered by. Rev. A.
L. Gaines, pastor OF Bethel church,
the chairman Of the local committee.
Among other things, DR.. Gaines said; /
=, 1t is not my purpose here to- de-
liver a welcome address. That duty
was been assigned ito persons fully
capable Of welcoming you. Permit
me to say, however, that in assem-
bling in this city. your labors will be
put forth among ninety thousand, Of
the most progressive and best housed
Negroes of the United States. = Your
opening session is held In q church
chat has had a congregation wor-
Shipping EOn this spot Of ground for
more than 100 years; and, almost ey-
cry movement for the last forty years
which have been put forth for the
uplift of the race has prospered
around this church - =
I'VE understand that the Council
is wedded to the principle that this
government is not permanent until
because of the genius of the Ameri-
Constitution is accorded to every
American citizen. Ten millions Of
American citizens of whatever race
they may be must be reckoned with.
BECAUSE of the genius of the Ameri-
can experiment. of government I'll
|is the Qninion of the local committee
and We believe it to be the opinion
of the National Council that ten mil
lions OF American citizens are denied
by: American prejudice complete en-
joytnent OF their national rights, In
that that they are diacriminAted agalhat
as ito life liberty and the pursuit Of
|SAssIpninsag, ana 1T 10 the fda$Yof every pa
hage organization to :. right these
WRONGS. ~; - = - ,... -
American prejudice has grown to
the extent that for ten million Negro
American citizens, the constitutional
guarantee OF jury trial, evidence and
punishment means absolutely moth
ing; and we have the sad spectacle
of four -tho oHsand cases of lynching
within the last twenty-five years,
with ninety-five per cent of the sub
jects taken from among the Negro
race.
American prejudice, in almost
every Southern State, in endeavor-
ing to perpetually doom the Negroes
Of these States to the present state
of degradation, iby depriving them,
by Constitutional methods, of all
means Of Defense against wrongs byl
taking from their hands the ballot,
the only weapon Of defense in the
American experiment of government
In this studiously planned work of
,dfsfranehistng the Negro, the South
Is forcing the North to accept the
verdict that the men who fought to
save the Union, and who; in the Re-
construction, placed the ballot tn
the hands of the Negro as one of the
conditions Of that Reconstruction
that the accepted defenders and say.
iours Of the country were traitors
where they had written in the Ameri-
can Constitution the fourteenth ana
fifteenth amendments -
'If those Of our white friends who
discuss the race problem from this
homes of representative, educated
and refined Negroes, they would be
ashamed of their folly at being pa
trons Of such senseless arguments.
Culture, luxury, music, literature,
devotion to home and family ties
would be apparent in the homes OF
the Negroes Of the South undreamed
Of by those who accuse the Negro
OF longing for social equality. But,
this is not the class Of Negroes
known to these vile Slanderers of the
race; and hence the only answer we
can make to them is to fling the ac-
cuSation back into their faces and
dismiss them with the remark that
| those who represent the best
thought and respectabihty Of the
| race that the Negro seeks social
| equality with no one even among
his own race, unless that equality is
mutually desirable.
Are ten millions Of American Ne
groes helpless. If we contemplate
armed resistance we are helpless.
Our strength is in the faithfulness of
the American people to the ConDtt-
tuition. II the Constitution is strong,
then we have strength. If we are
weak then the Constitution Is weak
| If these prejudices continue to oper-
ate against us, then the Constitu-
ton Is destroyed. On it's SUBMITS
alone let >us mount our guns. The
most startling evidence Of our doom
is the idea with some that the Con-
BtMution can do us no good. My
only hope for white or black in this
country is in the belief that the
| Constitution IS not dead---i8 not
helpless 30 not believe that the
spirit Of the immortaIs Of 1778 is
dead. The Constitution has been
disregarded abandoned and tram
pied upon, l admit, but the enemies
Of the Constitution, blinded by the
| prejudice, are too reckless. Their
purpose is being seen.
III i am in error III the EoB8titu-
i Aira.. La. AInA Ia