The Washington bee., 1909-10-02


was sure of his position or certain
al 70 the amount of remuneration he
would receive during the following
year. The then Assistant Superin-
tendent was powerless to relieve the
tension under which the teachers
were working to remove the causes
which brought about their doubts and
fears or to squelch the factions that
were at work undermining and sap
ping the life out of the system. Then
came a change. A new head was Sc
cured for our schools. At that time
l was asked what the people
thought of the new Assistant Super
intendent?" to which then answered
that he was regarded by all who knew
him as a huge joke. I think the peo-
pie in exceedingly large numbers are
still of that opinion. The reason for
this Is not hard to find.
Who does not remember the alleg-
ed commencement exercises of our
Normal, High, and Manual Training
chools at Convention Hall lastJunef
A more regTettable, humiliating spec
tacle I never witnessed. Our boys
and girls, fresh from their books,
eager for the words of wisdom and
encouragement which they expected
On that occasion. They were proud
that the President of the United
States would greet them and present
to them their diplomas. But what
met their youthful gaze when they
stepped upon the stage at their COM
mencement? What was the condi-
ton of their young minds when the
orator, selected for the occasion,
arose and began his studied oration
Did they wonder, as I did, and as
hundreds of others wondered wheth-
er or not they were in attendance up
on BOwery ward meeting, some
thing new to them, or were they
really being graduated? I have not
talked with one of these graduates
who was not bitterly disappointed by
this portion of the proceedings. But
when I also noticed the presence of
a number of politicians upon the
stage and a number of vacant chairs
that should have been occupied by
Negro educators and saw that the
President of the School Board had
been superseded in the performance
of certain functions that attached to
his office, then I knew that some
thing, almost a tragedy, was being en-
acted in the name of our schools,
something that was sure to again
hold US up to the world as incompe-
tents and stamp us as people who
have no conception of the eternal fit
ness Of things. How much more #
ting would have been the arrange
ment had it been possible for the per-
son who had this demonstration in
charge to have risen to the occasion
sion and filled the vacant chairs on
the stage with Negro educators, some
with and whose presence would be
persons whose lives were irE4touch
an inspiration to the young people
who were being graduated? These
same educators could have waited un-
til the lordly politicians had clasped
the Presidential hand, hoping to feel
therein few more years of official
could then have been properly intro
longevity. The educators, if need BE-
duced, with some show Of. dignity,
thereby giving the President Of the
United States TO understand, by con-
tact, that there are some Negroes in
Washington who are not office-seek-
ers.
Through the kindness of the As
sistant Superintendent, OIL some other
person, I received tickets for six seats
in Section ID" in the immediate
front Of the stage, among the distin-
guished persons whom the Senators
and members of Congress who had
received tickets had sent to these ex-
erCises in their stead. From this DO
sition I was permitted to observe the
various stunts" Not being salts
fed with my own impressions of this
humiliating spectacle l talked with
dozens upon dozens of representative
citizens and taxpayers concerning
this affair and their opinions are
similar to mine. / am able, therefore,
to give expression to what I believe