The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1909-08-28

not But it is idle to say either that
/ it cannot or may not occur.
I As with the matter of movements
tof population, so with that OF the
intermixture OF races: the history of
the world IS the history OF such phe
nomena. But, apparently, racial in
ter1nixture has long since ceased to
mean anything more than the alb
sorption OF one or more races by
another or others. Nature seems no
/ longer to create new races There
are but two alternatives to weaker
race when it finds itself i'll contact
with one greatly its superior in num-
bers: it can either fight for its ex-
istence, and. by refusing intermac-
riage with the other. can maintain
for a more or less indefinite period
its racial identity. or it can accept
internarrige or illicit relations and
suffer itself to be absorbed by the
stronger. The Jewish people in some
parts of Europe, and more particu-
larly ID America, furnish an iilustrd-
ton of the first course. But the
Jews have a long and an honorable
history. They have literature and
a religion Above all, they have
pride of race The negro has no
race history, in the usual sense, no
literature, no religion peculiar to
himself, and thus far he has not de
veloped race pride As a conse-
quence, he has never refused alliance
with any people with whom he has
come in contact. Not only this, but
he has accepted it on terms pro
.posed by any other race. The only
bar to the absorption of the negro
by other races is the attitude of the
latter. In varying numbers the ne
gro has been physically assmilated
by Arabs, Moors, Spanish and Por-
tuguese in modern times, and prob
ably by some of the races of an
tiquity The Ang1o-Saxon stocks
have intermixed with negroes, IN
greater or less degree, wherever the
two races have been thrown togeth-
er, but they have refused to absorb
the darker race There has always,
in the case of such stocks. whether
in the United States or in the British
West Indies, been a denial of the
social privileges and status OF the
white race This offspring. even
when the degree of negro blood Is
so small as to be almost indisting-
Unstable. is always assigned to the
darker race. The result of this pol
icy is to prevent the absorption OF
the negro, through intermixture. into
the body of the white race.
This does not mean, however, that
no mixed b1oods have crossed the line,
for questionably. in the great ag
gregate. a large number have done
so The transition has been affected
by such persons removing from
places where their ancestry was
known. In other words. it has been
clandestine and illegitimate in char
acter The question is, could the
absorption and disappearance of 4
large mass of people be accomplished
in this manner on the one hand-or,
on the other. is it possible that public
sentiment will ever undergo such 4
change as to make the white race.
or any section of it willing to re
ceive the negro openly and on equal
terms Both of these contingencies
depend upon the movement OF the
negro population Racial antipathy
is latent under some conditions. It
does not make itself felt as a con
trolling force except in the presence
of situation potently capable of de
stroying the race which the normal
operation of antipathy serves to pro-
tect agasrst such contingency.
Societst protects itself whether by
written legislation or drastic social
code only in those communities
which contain d relatively heavy ne
gro population When the negro
forms only an insignificant racial
element. such laws are either repeal
ed or ignored and the blended off
spring of white and negro parentagc
occupies generally a better status
than the unmixed negro. In such
communities it IS conceivable that
white public opinion might in time
tolerate the idea OF accepting such
mixed product as part of the white
| popuiation-uns and no
f1onger set apart unto itself 1t IS
| reasonably certain that in such event
the final absorption of the negro will
| be accomplished through slow pro
cess of intermixture.
| 1t is safe to say that a condition
precedent to such an outcome of our
| present race relations would be al
entire altering of the bias of racial
| contact The negro would first have
| to become relatively numerically
uniInportant racial element This
might be accomplished through i
marked decline in the relative grow
| tn of the negro population in those
| places in which it is now numerous.
or by a diffusing process through