The Colorado statesman., 1909-06-19
SOME HOPEFUL PHASES OF THE
RACE PROBLEM OBSERVED IN
THE SOUTHLAND.
CBy Rev. John E. Ford

There are seven really helpful, Op-
timistic signs of racial progress and
uplift to be observed in the Southland
These phases, however, has more to
do with the race per Sc than any
racial relation or adjustment of the
two races living side by side | can
barely mention these phases as time
and space forbid amplifications.
l. Home Buying and Building Yer
sus Rented Property-In the South it
is a disgrace to live in rented prop.
erty; (a.) three, four, five and six
room houses as against the one and
two room cabin of other days: (bJ
artistic home decoration versus house.
hold junk; (c.) consideration OF life,
air, ventilation and health in the home
where these things were not thought
of in the past.
2. Changing Views of Education
The tendency in the South as else
where is to make education count for
something tangible; not culture for
culture sake only, but culture for sery-
ice; not theoretical education, but
practical; not mechanism, but COM
mercialism; an education that can do
something as well as be something
8. Heretofore the trades, artisans
and labor of the South has been the
Negroes exclusive privilege, but there
is a growing disposition to branch out.
The three professions, ministers, doc.
tors and lawyers, today are being sup
plemented by still other occupations
such as insurance, banking and busi-
ness enterprises of many and various
kinds.
4. There is found in the South a
growing acquaintance and respect for
| fundamentals in morals and religion
versus the sensational and emotional
ism of the past. In fact, the whoop-
| ing, bowling, leather-lunged sons of
thunder find less congenial hearers
and followers in the South than in
many of the congregations of the
North and East.
5. One of the surest signs of get.
ting away from the past lies in the
conventions and assembly gatherings.
The Negro is a great lover of associa.
tions, conferences and conventional
bodies. 1t affords social intercourse
and opportunities to display his elo-
quence and learning. Here all of his
sophomore oratory and pent up en-
thusiasm is given ample room for dis
play. His parliamentary knowledge
and skill as dialectician is brought
into service, but for the sake of higher
good and to bring to pass results, he
is learning to forego these things in
the interest of making these assem-
blies practical schools of method and
bringing about Chatauqua plans. The
last meeting of the National Baptist
Sunday School Congress and Baptist
Young Peoples Chatauqua held at
the writer's church in Jacksonville,
Fla, was revelation to the race as
well as to the old-time convention
bosses and veterans. There was no
election of officers, no discussion or
wire pulling on the time and place of
the next meeting, no long, tiresome
appeals for collection; in fact, most
| OF the conventional things were done
away with and new system of
methods inaugurated, the effect of
which was revolutionizing in it's re-
suits.
6. Growth of substantial and genu
inc fraternity spirit in the lodges and
benevolent organizations versus rega-
| liza, paraphernalia and brass band dis
play is another hopeful sign of prog
| ress in the South Every fraternity
has property and commodious halls of
| their own-Masons, Oddfellows, Py-
thians and Good Samaritans being in
the lead. There is spirit developing
among these organizations that in
stead of allowing their surplus funds
| to lie idle in the banks to tempt treas
urers and trust officers, to put these
| idle funds into service in building up
commercial enterprises, hence depart
| ment stores and small businesses of
every conceivable kind are being as
| sisted by the purchase of stock
through funds of these orders, thus
associating and Identifying them with
commercial enterprises.
| 7. The seventh and last helpful
sign of race uplift, for | have limited
rather than expanded these evidences
| of racial progress, lies in enforced
| temperance. Prohibition has made it's
| greatest gains in the South, with Mis-
sissippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee,
| North Carolina, and large portions of
Texas. South Carolina, Kentucky, Ar
kansas and Florida, in the dry col
umns. The Negro is beginning the
awful mistake and fatal results of Civ
ing away his strength and money to
the booze shops. The whole police
and criminal system has been sup
ported by the Negro, but today this
is being changed and instead of the
Negro increasing in criminal tenden
cies, the jails, prison stockades and
chain gangs are not being recruited as
in the past. In some of the county
jails in Florida which | have visited
there is not single Negro prisoner,
the Jail doors stand open and what
few prisoners that may be incarcer-
ated are whites instead of blacks as
heretofore. Here, indeed, is one of the
greatest and most hopeful signs of
racial progress In these seven par
ticulars above mentioned are to be
seen evidences that the race is not
retrograting as some of our accusers