Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1911-07-14
NEGRO WORK FOR THE KEGRO
ADDRESS DELIVERED BY e. 6.
MORRIS, D. D., TO THE 4AP-
list WORLD ALLIANCE
AT PHILADELPHIA, PA.

j
tte.. E7it- ta5s&E ------ * s.t.easHI r. y 5.4
am asked to speak upon THE Ne.
gro Work for the Negro" This theme
as indicated is In plain accord with
the policy of American Baptists as
we'll as with my own ideas as to the
most effective way to direct religious
efforts among any people. 1t is not
to be understood. however, that there
are, or should be any color or racial
lines drawn In the kingdom of grace,
but rather 1t Is my purpose to give
emphasis to the fact that In under
taking any great work, the matter Of
adaptability must be taken into &C.
count in the employment Of factors.
If success is to abundantly follow the
effort.
There are no examples set or com
mands given by the Son of God that
cannot be followed with assurance Of
success, and in sending forth his dis.
ciples on one occasion, he said to
them. BE We. therefore, wise as SER
pents, and harmless as doves" and
in going forth to bear the precious
message OF the Gospel It Is well to
consider this saying of the Master
SO as to be fully able to overcome
whatever idiosyncrasies, superstitions.
jealousies and prejudtces that may be
encountered in the non-Christian
world
Then again, may be pardoned for
saying that in the employment of agen-
ctes, an All-wise God may choose to
send Michael to Daniel. or send
him to defend Moses against the
Imperialism of Satan; or he may send
Gabriel to Zacharias to convey
Heavens message as to the forerun-
ner of the worlds Redeemer, and while
It is not given to men to reason why.
we know that these heavenly mes.
sages were adapted to the specific
duties they performed, and there is
no ground for believing one to be In.
ferior to the other
Let me locaIize my subject for a
brief moment. For number of years
following the Civil war In this coun-.
try, the great heart of the Christian
people north and south went out to
the emanctpated, and many devout
white Christians came among the me-
gro people to do missionary and edu-
cational work among them. Their eff
forts met with signal success. But
as the negro people became educated
it developed that they preferred
teachers and preachers from among
their own people; hence the strength
Of the race was turned towards educat-
ing preachers and teachers. so as to
supply their schools and churches.
The negroes felt. and rightly so,
think, that their ministers and teach
ers should associate with them,
should eat and drink in their humble
homes, and do by contact, by social
example much that could not be done
by anyone In the schoolroom or pulpit
alone. Owing to the wider race dis
tinctions, this could not become rule
with the white ministers and teachers,
and the most that they could do with.
out sacrificing their social standing
among their own people was to preach,
teach and baptize the negroes. The
negroes as rule were opposed to the
social intermingling of the races, pre-
ferring to maintain their peculiar RAJ
cial identity. Hence the demand for
negro churches and negro preachers
became imperative.
In the matter of separation in the
church life of the people on this con-
t1nent, the blacks have been the bene-
ticiaries to very large extent. This
has enabled them in the forty-five
years of thier freedom to establish
more than one hundred high schools
and colleges. twenty.seven thousand
church houses with a valuation of
forty million dollars. They have also
twenty-five thousand ordained minis
tiers. and more than ten thousand well
educated men and women who are
teaching IN schools and preaching in
churches, while others are successfully
following the professions of law and
medicine and all other vocations. Then
again, the negroes have enrolled fully
fifty per cent. of the entire race in
this country in Christian churches.
This, in my opinion, is showing
which cannot be made by any other
race In so short a time, and Is due
largely to the fact that the negro peo-
pie regard their ministers as their
God-appointed leaders, and, as rule,
accept their teaching without ques-
ton.
But in speaking of THE Negro Work
for the Negro" we are including
larger range of thought and territory
than that which applies to the negroes
Of the United States, and we hope to
make it plain that the negroes of the
United States are the logical Christian
leaders OF the black people of the
world.
In the beginning Of the negroes life
as freemen in the United States, a
wise Providence directed that the
race should make as the base OF its
future the principles Of Christianity,
taking as guide that scripture which
says. Seek ye first the kingdom Of
God and ais righteousness, and Ill
things shall be added unto YOU" They
believed then and believe now that
whatever else Is necessary to COM
plete . we'll rounded Christian civiliza.
ton must follow In its time.
The blacks Of South America were
liberated more than q score Of years
before freedom came to the negroes
Of the United States. and I mean no
unfavorable criticism when say that
1t appears from present conditions
that the hlack nennlo Of South Anoa.i