The Washington bee., 1910-12-10
Booker 7, WASH gtOD
NEGRO PUBLIC SCHOOLS.


the colored people regarding the I'M
portance of good public schools 1t
has been some months since | have
had anything TO say on this lmpOT-
tant subject / wish to repeat that
which | have tried to emphasize from
time to time, that there are few, II
any, subjects which are of more vital
and far-reaching importance to the
masses of our race in the South at the
present time than that Of building up
a good public school system.
Only a very small per cent OF our
oeopie can ever 90 to a large board
ing school, or any kind Of college, or
industrial school, for their education.
The masses must depend upon the
public schools in their neighborhoOd
for whatever education they get. 1t
the public school is a failure the
masses grow up in ignorance, and so
am making this direct appeal to
eyery minister, teacher and business
man and woman throughout the South
TO take a personal and deep interest
in the condition of the Negro public
schools
First of all, we should bear in mind
that we are American citizens and
of the public school fund. Where we
are not getting our just share OF the
public school fund, a direct appeal
should be made to the public school
authorities for more just distribution
of the public school funds. This
kind of appeal should be repeated
again and again until we do receive
our lust share. We should not give
up or stand still in cases where the
public school authorities are not will
ing or unable to give more money.
II will be no excuse to the future gen
Grafton of children, if they grow up
in ignorance, to tell them that they
might have been educated if the public
school authorities had done their duty.
In travelling through the South, |
have observed that wherever good
public school house is provided, IN
most cases, the result is that that COM
munity will have a good teacher and
a school term of respectable length.
] advise, then, that every community
set to work to secure either through
the public fund or from private gifts
IN that community a good public
school building. In many cases, where
people are not able to give money
toward the erection of a good school
house, they can give the use of their
teams to haul lumber, or they can give
material, or give without charge sc
many days work each week, but II
some way, every community that is
now without a comfortable schoO
house should set to work to secure
one.
In many cases, the school houses il
which the children are taught are no
fit for pigs to live in. The roofs leak
the floors are full of holes, there /.
no stove, and in many cases the
benches and other furniture are Sc
rude and worthless that it is impos
sible for teacher and children to stay
in such houses without being in con
tinual misery.
A school house is not completed
until it has been either painted o.
whitewashed on the inside and out
side; neither is a school house com
plete until it has been Ceiled or plas
tered on the inside, and every schoO
house should be thoroughly furnish
ed with good seats, a teachers desk
good blackbOards, etc, before i
should be considered completed. 1t /!
almost as cheap to build a gooC
school house as it is to build a poo
one.
If every community will organic,
and come together, with the direc
object of providing a good schoO
house, ! am safe in saying | believt
that before the present school yea
passes a large number of communitie
will have good, hrst-class schoo
houses. | also advise that an archi
tectural plan be drawn, whereve
possible, for these school houses. Il
many cases, a good deal of money /
practically thrown away in the ereC
ton of a building, because no plan
have been drawn. Aside from tn
building being almost useless, when
plan is not drawn it does not usual
present a good appearance.
| shall hope to hear, as a result G
this letter, that a large number c
communities throughout the Sout
have erected school houses.
One other thing: My travel
through the South convince me tha
the public schools for our race ar
often crippled and weakened by rea
son of the fact that denominations
jealousies and rivalry enter into til
public school system. 1t should b
understood in every community ths
the public school must be separate
wholly from church influences.
some communities, the public schoC
system is weakened because the Bar
tist element want a Baptist teache
the African Methodist element war
an African Methodist teacher, and th
Zion Methodists want a Zion Meti
odist teacher This kind of confer
ton and jealousy is all nonsense an
results only in weakening the publ
schools. In some communities, til
people are now trying to suppo
three little weak schools, with thrt
different teachers, representing s
many church denominations, whe
the people in the community shoul
have one good. strong public schoc
regardless of denomination. In SON
cases, there are three little publ
schools lasting only three months
the year, when, if the people wer
united, they might have one good pull