The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-05-24
MEMORIAL HELD
 FOR ". H. COUNCILL
WELL KNOWN NEGROES PAY TRIBUTE TO LEADER FOR WORK DONE AS HEAD OF THE lNSTI- TUTE AT NORMAL.

Before a large audience of represen=
 tative negroes of Birmingham, fnelud- ing about 150 graduates and students i from Normal. pr. Hiram E. Archer, vice president of the Agricultural and
 Mechanical college for negroes, deliv-
 cred the principal address at a me morial service held In honor of the late
 Prof William H. Council. founder and for 35 years head of the famous negro school located at Normal near Hunts vile yesterday.
 The meeting was arranged by the
 Birmingham District Alumni assoeia-
 ton of the school, of which Dr. ]. T.
 Thomas is president, who acted as mas
 ter of ceremonies. Various representa- tive clergymen and prominent negroes
 of the district occupied places on the
 rostrum and the building was appro-
 priately decorated for the occasion.
 pr. Archer, who has been for 15 years associated with Professor Councill in
 the work at Normal delivered strong address, having for it's caption "Presi- dent Council at Normal" In which he detailed the motives and principles of
 work which the well known negro edu- , cator used so effectively in building 1 character in the thousands of negro boys and girls that attended his school
 He declared that Professor Couneill seemed specially endowed by nature for the work he performed and that he
 was one of the few great men with a
 message to the people, which he de- livered regardless of the popularity or unpopularity of his course.
 He stated that the lessons ProfesA r Counctll taught the boys and girls froin the rostrum at Normal were Identical
 with those he sought to teach his peo-
 pie on the public platform, and that it
 was his personal imprint and influence
 that made the Normal graduate so dis 1 tinctive. History will give him an honored place as man of achieve
 ments," he declared, "a man of brains l who had reached the rarified atmos- 1 phere of soaring intelleets and free and
 untrammeled soul life"
 He continued in part: Tt was emil nently fitting that such man as he
 should give such lessons to the boys i Under him Normal had no room for shirkers and idlers. Often his training
 appeared almost Spartan in it's rigor
 and his discipline Draconian, yet he turned out men and women with red l blood. His discipline was rigid, striv- l Ing toward making the boy conquer self. This aim he accomplish ed by dis l cipline, when necessary, but more often i by holding up high ideals, by appeals 1 to reason, by Christian influence and
  a masterly way and succeeded in ma terially aiding fin developing a worthy cittzenry for the state and country. President Councill honored the Cau- l casian for what he had accomplished He admired him for the mighty things 1 he had done. He admired him too for | the mighty faith in himself and for his 1 desire to keep invlolate his racial in 1 tegrity. But he was desirous In seeing l in his own race some of those same 1 splendid characteristics that he ad- 1 mired in the white man. lie tried to | develop in the negro boy whatever na- | tive ability he had. If he could sing 1 let him sing as a negro the music writ | ten by negroes. If he could write, let | him write poems and songs to inspire 1 the negro youth. If he could paint let him paint pictures of black men and l black women. If he could build let him construct homes for negroes. If he could till the soil. let him do it for himself and become independent. Through 1t all, he had faith in the ultimate advancement of the race and the love for It's distinctive character lstics. l have heard him pleading to the girls and women of the race to avoid bleaching powders and hair straighteners. but to make kinky hair, black skins and flat features honorable by the worth of the owner as man or woman or race.
 He strove to develop strong, self
 reliant boys and girls, that the race al Its crucial times might have strong, self reliant men and women. He saw that in many instances with hls race free dom had become license, and that many
 thought it meant freedom from obliga- tions, from responsibilities and that on the other hand, that a man had the right to be loafer if he desired. He saw that labor by the educated was
 looked upon as an indignity. He saw the lurking danger in this to the race and like the true prophet that he was began to use all the means in his power to avert the trouble. He often spoke of the struggle for the loaf which he believed would soon come. if the negro would not improve as a laborer." Dr. Archer gave some experiences with misguided young people at Nor mal, and declared that even In that school 1t took long time 10 overcome the prejudice against learning how to do even the most ordinary things, add ing, that now young people of the negro race are clamoring for just the kind of education that was so distaste- ful a few years go." He paid a high tribute to Professor Councills great ness as man. his sympathy and gem erosity to poor and dependent young people and concluded by delaring that his spirit still lived In the lives of the thousands of negro boys and girls who came under his influence.
 Dr. Archer was introduced by Oscar w. Adams, editor of the Birmingham Reporter. The speaker paid a high tribute to Dr. Archer's work at Normal and bespoke for him brilliant future among the people of his race. Other addresses were delivered by ]. A. Well
 ton, manager of the Union Mutual Aid
 association of Mobile: Rev. l.. B. Bas-
 comb principal of the Miller Memorial
 school; Rev. William Miles and Dr. w.
 l.. Iauderdale. Special music was fur
 nish ed by union choir. Maggie Caters.
 James K. Moore and Aaron Thrift rem
 ..4..s f.~ frAa