Omaha daily bee., 1908-09-20
John JASPER: BLACK DIAMOND
Preacher of the Famous "Sun DO
Move" sermon mmOrtal
lied in "a Book.

II has remained for tho kindly hand OF
DR.. Hatcher, Virgina's veteran Baptist
divine to preserve to posterity a fragment
Of ono of the purest specimens Of genius
that ever came out of the institution of
slavery. Like many precious stones, this
genius was rude and earthly to the eye.
until some ray of sunlight touched 1t, and
then how it sparkled.
But # the Rev. John Jasper is 10 he
likcned to a diamond in the rough. the
diamond must be a black diamond, for the
Rev. John was as black as a coal. Never
thelcss a diamond he was, and Of the pur-
est water; those who ever had the privilege
of hearing him preach his famous sun
DO Move sermon know that he threw back
the light that struck through his soul in
most wonderful tints, though in language
that threatened to shatter the ears of his
cultivated hearers aud to sweep with
ecstasy the emotions of his brethren.
In the annals Of the regro race In tho
western hemisphere John Jasper and
Toussaint rOverturc stand as the only true
geniuses it has produced. Blind Tom had
a strange gift, but he was an idiot. There
have been remarkable men of talent, like
Frederick Douglass and Booker T.. Wash
ington. But John Jasper possessed the
divine gift of eloquence. He could read
but one book-the Bible. He picked out
sentences in that with difficulty, and his
dialect, to the day Of his death, was that
OF the plantation darby. He was 40 years
old when the war broke out, a slave, a
ornfield preacher, a mule-driving prophet,
with the ''gif o. CAB lie lived forty
years after the war, and before his death
preached to his thousands every Sunday.
More whites than blacks flocked to hear
him; his fame went over the world, and
Richmond's BLACK Beecher' became her
most widely known citizen.
OF coure, John Jasper's fame really be-
gan with his famous sermon to prove dat
de sun do move" Joshua's miracle of the
sun standing still and the shadow on
| Hezekiah's sundial stirred up all the fiery
faith in the old man, and he threw II out
with wonderful eloqueRee. This specimen
| from one Of his sermons is characteristic
Il amt erquainted wild dem sun dluls
dat de Lord toll Hezekier bout, but enney-
body knows dat hes got a grain NV sense
knows dat dey wus de clocks NV dem ole
times. an dcy marked de travels up DC
sun by dem diuls. When. daTfo', Cord toll
de king dat lie wud mex de shadder go
backward, il mus hev bin jes' LAX putin
de hans NV de clock back, But, mark yer
Izaer 'spressly say dat de sun returned ten
degrees. Thar We are! Amt dat de move
ment NV de sun? Bless my soul Heze-
kier's case bFu Joshuer. Joshuer stop de
sun, but hore de Lord mex de sun wolk
back ten dergrees-an' yet dey say dat Oe
sun stan stone still an nevur move er
| peg. wonder II ennyof dem forlosofers
rs round here dis afternoon? I'd like ter
take a squar' look at one NV dem an ak
him ter 'spllin dis mattur. He carn't 90
IL, my bruyran, lie knows a heap bout
books. maps, nggers. an long distances.
but defy him ter take up Hezekier's case
an 'splain il orr"
Unique as he was, this uncloth figure Of
an old negro preacher, with a soul on fire
and d voice attUned TO Apollo's strings.
his genius was or that apacmercl kind
! which belongs 70 orators and singers and
actors. II would have persisted with him
had not Dr. Hatcher preserved II I'm a LITTLE
book Of genuine literature. rough hewn
and Of tho soil, 81 Is true, but sincere. and
filled with all the passionate faith tina,
burned In the heart Of an old slave.-Wash-
ington Post