The Washington bee., 1909-03-06


largest reduction of any one decade
was from 1850 to 1900, during which
time the reduction was from 81 TO
AS per cent. During the period
from the Emancipation Proclamation
to January Ist, 1000, in the state of
Ohio, where the first steps to educate
the Negro were taken, illiteracy Of
the race was reduced to I7.9 per cent,
which shows the rapidity with which
we are advancing along educational
lines as compared with other coun-
tries in which the inhuman institution
of slavery never existed
Italy has today 38 per cent. of il
literacy, Spain has 68 per cent, and
Portugal 1872 per cent. These are
white countries with centuries of
civilization behind them; yet the re
duction of illiteracy in the Negro
race in the United States during only
As years of freedom from the master 5
lash and chains has been much great
er than with the people of the coun-
tries named.
As an illustration showing the
great interest manifested by the Ne
gro race in the United States in ed
ucational advancement, | would men
ton the fact that there are now 10000
Negro students in higher institutions
of learning, pursuing all branches of
industrial, classical and scientific
courses of studies. Forty thousand
co!ored youths have graduated from
secondary institutions of learning and
1000 from colleges. The race has
developed 10000 teachers, more than
10000 clergymen, 1000 musicians,
more than 1000 actors and showmen,
more than 100 physicians and sur
geons, about 5000 lawyers, 800
journalists, $50 dentists, 236 artists
and art teachers, 100 literary persons,
I2o civil engineers and surveyors, 81
bankers and brokers and 81 archi-
tects. The race has about 200 insti-
tutions for higher education in the
United States.
In 1904 we owned property
amounting to $I,IOo,ooO,ooo. We
were operating 746,7I5 farms and
owned I87,797 farms, or IS per cent.
of the total In the same year we
were renting 557,I74 farms, or 74.6
per cent. of the total. This is not a
bad showing for a race which the
South has declared unfit to exercise
its rights of citizenship and which is
claimed to be a purchasable quantity
when it comes to the exercise of
suffrage.
In 1000 the farm property belong
ing to us was valued at $500, O,oOo, 900,
almost 5000 for each Negro family.
In the state of Georgia we owned, in
1901. ], 100000 acres of land with an
assessed valuation of ST., 5,269,I8I. The
auditor for the state of Virginia, in
his report for 1904, says the colored
people increased the value of sheir
property in one year $I,o54,626, max
ing the value in that year of their
total property $I9554884, More
than one-fourth of all the farms in
the South are operated by our people.
1t is an acknowledged fact. that the
real backbone of our country is agrl-
culture. We have recognized that
fact and more than 100000 of our
people are engaged in agricultural
pursuits. Nearly 100000 are en-
gagged in domestic and personal ser
vice, 275,ooo are engaged in manu-
featuring and mechanical pursuits
and 47,324 are engaged in profession
al pursuits. We have 10000 churches,
valued at many millions of dollars.
What is there in the progress of
the race that gives rise to unfavorable
comparison with the progress of any
people similarly situated? Where is
the Negro problem we hear so much
about? We have, from the time we
were given the right to use our tai
ents. endeavored to be and have been
Self-supporting and progressive.
Many of us have attained the high
er branches of business and profes-
sionaI life. Others have made mark
ed success in agricultural and mechan-
ical vocations, all of which indicates
that our aim and progress has been