Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1911-04-28
AFRO-AMER|CAN CULu|NCS

mere are tuI00 CldSpoS W Ac8LO
thinkers In this country-the flrst,
who are ultra-optimistic, that might
be styled rainbow chasers and ideal
lists. The second are those who might
be called pessimists, who see nothing
but the dark side Of the race, and i'm
agine all other races are against them.
They see no future for the race IN
this country; they are forever raising
q howl over some imaginary wrongs
done them, both by other races and
their own; in their mind everything
is going to the bow-wows; the world
is constantly growing worse in their
estimation. These are but the fig
ments of their morbid and unculti-
waited imaginations. There is a con-
slant conflict between these two class
es-they are forever clashing. The
one chases butterflies and believes
that the millennium Is not far of;
they dwell forever In the land Of Tito
| pia. Not in 1000 years will their
dreams be realized; they are simply
air castle builders; they contribute a
very little to the sum total to the
races credit.
But the pessimistic class is even
more obnoxious than these; for they
see nothing but bad continually. They
are old croakers and forever whining
and complaining over some imaginary
wrong done them; they are miserable
themselves and make others SO. II
you ask them what do they think Of
the races future, they tell you unhesi-
tatingly, by the shake Of the head, that
the race is going backward; that its
enemies are increasing, and that the
prediction and ruin of the whole
race are not far of, that it is only
question of time when the entire
negro people will be no more; that
he will be has-been rather than an
is. And so the conflict goes on be-
tween these two classes. Neither one
| of these classes is of much benefit
and credit to the race, for they con-
tribute such little of the sum total
of our material and moral well being
that they practically amount to moth
ing, SO far as the races progress and
uplift is concerned. Every race has
them, but it seems that they are In a
greater proportion among our people.
Now, there Is third class who
| take the middle ground. They reason
from experience and history; they
realize that all progress is governed
by the law of evolution; that it takes
time and patience for these great
forces to reach a elimination. They
read the history Of other peoples Of
the world, and learn that their pres.
ent development and civilization have
been gradual, that 1t has taken CEN
turtles for them to reach their present
| degree Of perfection. And they rea
| son that we can be no exception to
the rule. They reason that everything
in the animal, vegetable and mineral
kingdom Is subject to this inevitable
| law of evolution; that God so ordain-
| ed it, and from it there is no escape
This class constitutes our hope for the
| future, for they see things in their
right relation; they know that soci-
ETY. is not what it ought to be, even
among the people who have attained
to the highest plane In civilized life;
that there are numbers Of evils in
the community life, both in England
and America, whose people are re-
garded as the highest type Of civilized
mankind. How can, then, a people
who have just emerged from slavery
expect to reach their full development
", uao y.cC 10 a 1a. 10
absurd. And any class of people who
take gloomy and unreasonable views
Of things is not in the position to do
much to better the conditions Of the
| race.
The truth of the matter is that no
people, under similar circumstances,
could nave made greater progress
than ours since they have been eman-
cipated. Therefore, people, both white
and black, who seem to shut their
eyes to the advancement that the
negro people have made in education,
morals and in wealth within the so
years that they have been emanci-
pated. We submit that he has not
made the progress that it was possible
for him to make. What race has?
We admit that he has made blum
ders that we might reasonably expect
he might not have made. The Dis
patch has always felt that he has al
lowed himself too often to fall into
crimes, especially the petty kind,
which disgraces even worse in the
eyes of the world than those that are
enormous.
For instance, the man who steals q
chicken OF the roost is looked down
upon with more contempt than the
man who steals bank. The negro
woman who steals an old hat from the
place where she serves is looked down
upon with greater scorn than one who
steals diamonds aggregating thou
sands Of dollars in value. OF course,
both are crimes, but that Is the way
the public looks upon 1t.
These are the things the Dispatch
deplores. and wishes that our people
might steer clear of them. 1t would
raise us very greatly in the estima-
ton Of other people II this weakness
was overcome, namely, petty theft.
But, be that as it may, the fact re-
mains that great progress has been
made by the negro people along all
lines. They have reduced their illit-
eracy to less than so per cent; they
pay taxes on nearly $5OO,00O,O00 worth
Of property in this country; they own
thousands and thousands Of acres Of
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Feminine Frlpperles.