The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1911-12-09

day, my experiences as black man
in the world, my struggles as a black
man, my triumphs as black man. nv
victories and my defeats as a black
man, my friends good enough to live
With, good enough to die with. good
enough to remember forever. I cant
sacrifice them without COMPROMISING
my manhood; can't deny my parent.
age without violating the command
ment and despising myself. I can't
hate, my color without hating my God
who made it and stultifying myself
by permitting the hatred, and I
wouldn't if l could, sell myself for
some temporary advantage, when I
90 1t voluntarily, is a slavery worse
than the involuntary servitude of
ante-bellum days
; finding it's voice, for the development
of race consciousness.
| For the idealism and scholarship
:. OF Dubois, for the realism and prac.
ticality of Booker Washington, for the
crisis and the age and the free man
and the planet, the Palladium and the
Guardian, the Chronicle and the Idea
and our own Appeal, for the editors
and teachers and lawyers and doctors,
and divines, for it's associations, re-
ligions, charitable, reformatory and
preventive; for it's business COM
panies and corporations, declarations
and alliances. I am thankful for an
increasing output of Negro literature,
for "The Marrow of Tradition and
"The House Behind the Cedars": for
''The Soul of Black Folks and "The
Quest of the Silver Fleece; for Cup
from Slavery" and "The Story of My
Life; for the songs of Dunbar and
Braithwaite and Katherine Tillman
OF James Edwin Campbell, William II.
A. Moore; for the. essays of Kelley
Miller. I am thankful for the growth
of the art Of illustration, for the Hamp-
ton Art Club and it's illustrations of
Dunbars poems; for the Douglass
Calendar Co., and it's beautiful cal
endars; for the illustrations and car
toons in our journals and magazines;
for the manufacturers of Negro dolls;
the continued existence of these
things means that they are filling a
want, that they come in answer to a
demand; they are prophetic of COM
ing day when growing sense of self
respect will make caricatures rare;
when other needs will be supplied, a
just appreciation and support of what
is being done, will induce those who
are now doing to do more and those
who are not doing to try. 1t means
the development of our own lines of
business, the employment of our own
boys and girls, and at the same time
1T is an unanSwerable argument to
every charge of racial incompetency,
!, irrefutable evidence to racial CO.
operation and business integrity-the
final word as to the possession Of
race ideals, a concrete expression of
a purpose to do our own thinking,
reach our own conclusions, and act as
our Judgment dictates.
We should be thankful for a. clear.
er conception of the constituent ele-
ments in the foundation of permanent
progress.
That falsehood, pretense, bald as
sumption, trickery, cannot uphold any
thing with assurance of permanent
security. That ignorance and i'm
morality empowered are alike danger
GUS to the rulers and the ruled; that
it is better for all concerned that
reah worth should accompany great
responsibility; that exceptional abil-
ity should go hand in hand with the
use of great power; that constit-
uency must be strong enough to sus-
tain and support its representa-
tives, strong enough in every essential
feature Thus the conditions estao-
lished in the reconstruction period
could not continue, when Negro
judges, legislators, state officials, etc.,
were prevalent. There was nothing to
sustain it in the race itself, the con-
dition was anomalous, it was a chain
, OF sand, it was superstructure with
out a foundation. 1t represented a
reversal of every sound principle Of
government. In my Judgment the only
possible solution to the problem then
existing was the one found, there was
much that was good came out of the
policy Of reconstruction, only negroes
| remained loyal to the government,
| and new government could not be
made out of disloyal element, but
permanent condition of government
| made of freedmen and Yankees was
impossible, it could be only temporary,
| there was not cohesiveness, nor con-
sistency in the race itself, not general
intelligence, not strength of influence
: : nor aff1uence. We have learned the
causes of former failure, we are profit
ing by our earlier mistakes and when
we come again to be governing class
we shall have made the preparations
necessary to success.
[ am thankful for all the material
prosperity of my people.
For every home they own and every
acre they till, for every bank they
have established and every dollar they
| have deposited and all the capital they
have paid in; I am thankful for every
sheep, horse, COW, mule, OK, that we
possess, for every business enterprise,
drug store, shoe store, grocery store,
we own and operate, for every mill and
every factory I am thankful for
every town we have established, for
every mayor and councilman, every
policeman and sheriff, every market
master and clerk. I am thankful for
every real estate man, every milliner,
every dressmaker, blacksmith, wheel
wright, electrician, every engineer and
fireman and conductor, for every
colonel and major and captain and
lieutenant, every quartermaster, and
inspector of rifle practice, for the
bakers and candlestick makers, for
moulders and polishers and pattern
makers; may their tribe like that of
Ben Adhem, continually increase.
And l am thankful for the increased
power and influence which this pros
perity brings us. s-a