The Twin City star. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1910-19??, 1911-01-14

williams. Mrs. Cora w. Powell read
a poem entitled 1.-THE Day We Cele.
brate," and Charles B. Coles rendered
a pleasing vocal solo.
Revs. Holland Powell and j. ii. Cor
don also took part In the proceedings.
and there were songs sung by dele
cation Of children from the Brooklyn
Howard Colored Orphan asylum. The
orator of the day was the Rev. DR..
william Maurice Moss, whose theme
was Gods Hand as Seen In the Ne.
gro's History" He said In part:
This fcrty-seventh anniversary Of the
emancipation proclamation affords an ele-
waited viewpoint from which to observe
the Negroes advent. treatment. freedom
and progress In this country. He, as all
other races, IL human. created by Al
mighty God In keeping with his teachings
In Acts of the Apostles xvii. %. T-"God
giveth to all life and breath and hath
made Of one blood all nations OF men for
to dwell on all the face Of the earth"
The eighth commandment. Thou shalt
not steal" was violated when the first
twenty Negroes were stolen and sold as
slaves from the Dutch man-of-war In 1913
on American SOIL The fruits of this long
standing curse are still being reaped.
This sin cannot be covered. but must be
repented Of Armies can't shoot It out.
Naval forces can't drown It, Political
trickery Ia an imperfect cloak for II.
Conventions for peace have failed to
please. Wrongs have a place Of redress.
which II the throne of God. This Is the
court for the nations prayer.
The Negro In this country Is the prob
lem north and south, east and west. as
long as he Ia legislated against. II he Is
received as q part and parcel Of the body
polite there Is no Negro problem. He Is
here and cannot be exterminated He has
been dragged through the iron mills of
slavery. In the furnace Of fire they af-
ficted him from 1919 to 1863. a period OF
"a years. In this period he was forced to
be ignorant, bossed by masters. To know
books and letters was a crime. His priv
ilege to serve God was by permission.
Yet they multiplied. IF God be for us
who can be against us?''
The Negro was possessed with an in
born feeling that at some time and In
some way he would be free. and he pray
cd through generations to that end.
The smoldering fires burned with occa-
sional outbreaks In efforts for freedom,
such a. a. Nat Turner's uprise Aug q.
1881. who. with twenty odd men. shed
blood from house to house. aiming to
throw OF the yoke. e
CD John Browns Harpers Ferry actions,
Oct. II. 1859, were heroic In the same in
forest He was put to death on Dec. 2 Of
the same year. but his manly struggle
for freedom immortalized him In Amer.
lean history.
The underground railroad. Uncle Toms
Cabin" Henry Hyland Garnet. Frederick
Douglass and many others too numerous
to mention formed chapters Of the signs
Of the times. grew
The Negroes prayers have always been
effective. Through them God touched
the heart and hand Of the sixteenth presi-
dent of the United States In the person of
Abraham Lincoln. who signed the eman-
citation proclamation Jan. I. 1858.
From then until now special legislation
has been enacted for his detriment and
to crush from him his manhood. pushed
into dirty Jim Crow cars. disfranchised.
organized out the market OF bread win.
ming by labor unions. given the smallest
wages and toughest work and segregated
In many cities. In the face OF all this II
can be truthfully said there Ia not known
to history a race on the face of the earth
which has made as much progress under
similar circumstances In forty seven years
a. the Negro.
This Ia true In the business world and
every line Of profession. Do not be salts
ned with so little Of this worlds goodsj
not less religion. but more Christianity
more patience and greater confidence h
God.