The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1911-06-22

"PoH IHe "nlmS or political partie
or color prejudice. There are place
) IN the South for 5000 additiona
dry goods stores, and there are col
ored people enough to support thes
dry goods stores. In the South tn,
Negro Merchants is not dependen
upon trade Of his own race alone
but throughout the South, whil
| there Is prejudice in other lines il
business, the Negro has little pre-
Judlce to contend with along thi:
line. Not only the colored MAJ
trades at the colored mans dr.,
goods store, but the best white peo
pie are not afraid to patroniZe 8
frst-class dry goods store and the
same thing is true of other business
enterprises owned and controlled by
the colored people.
| There are openings in the South
for at least 5000 additional groceY
stores, for $500 additional dr&t
stores. There are openings in the
South for 1900 shoe stores, 2,OOC
millinery stores, and there are COM
| munities in the South where 1000
! additional Negro banks can be open
ed and supported. Further than this
there are places in the South where
at least rs self-governing, self-sup-
porting and self-direCting towns or
cities may be established where the
colored people can have their own
mayor, their own BOARD Of alder
men, their own self-government
from every point Of view. In the
last analysis, local self-governmenr
is the most precious kind of self
government.
IF none Of these opening suit the
ambition Of our educated colored
men and women, there is another
field that is ripe for the harvest,
that of education. There are a mil
lion and a half Negro children of
school age who do not enter any
school in the South, and there are
hundreds of thousands Of others who
are in school only 3 months out Of
the II months. We need 10000 ad-
ditional school houses built in the
South, and we need at Yeast, 20, 900
additional Negro school teachers.
But if the vision Of the educated col-
Ored man cannot be realized in any
CT the callings 20 which | have re-
ferred, there are still further open
ings in the South. l refer to the op-
pOrtunities in professional direc-
tlons. There are individual lOca-
tions in the South for at least q
500 additional doctors and 5000 ad-
ditional pharmacists, 1000 addition
al dentists, and 1000 veterinary
surgeons.
I'm the lines Of religious activities
and service, | want the young col
ored men and women to see the Wis
Ion aside from the opportunities to
preach the gospel. Wherever in any
community there are 2300%or mOre
colored people they are Capable Of
supporting Y NJ. G.. A. building.
There arc Sc cities in the country,
at least, where Y NJ. c.. buildings
could be established and supported.
1--WE must not become discourage
ed by racial relations. True, we
have prejudice to contend with IN
the South, as elsewhere. The color
line is often unjustly drawn through
out the country. We nave to endure
injustice; we have to contend with
Injustice, but instead Of letting pre-
judice discourage US, we should use
it as a spur to urge us on to higher
efforts, to renewed enterprise
'Who, in this audience, would
have thought that within less than
50 years after our race became free,
that the time would come when we
would have President Of the Unit
ed States who WAS strong and brave,
and wise enough to appoint color
ed man to the position Of Assistant
Acknowledgement Of the United
States, who would have thought
that within so snort n period Of time
we would have produced a colcred
man who in education, and refine
ment, and culture, was capable or
filling such position, and yet we
have found within less than nifty
years, in President William Howard
Taft, President who was capable
Of making the appointment, and IN
the person Of William Henry Lewis,
we have found The cOlOred man capa-
bic Of filling the position. When
such occurrences take place within
so short period, who will dare TO
be 80 short-sighted and faithless as
to grow discouraged? Truly we are
living in an era when old men shall
dream dreams and young men shall
see Visions"
| CHARLESTON GIRL MAKING
GOOD.