The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1911-03-24

same WOllu De true or every German
Frenchman or Engnshman, of every
Chinaman or Japanese.
The Negro is no exception in his
relation to history and to his own
history. We want to make progress
We want the light of experience to
light our pathway How can we Sc
cure this unless we know what has
been orr experience? Growing out of
his study in a course on the History
of the Negro in America" given at
/ Fisk University, a student has pub
lished an article on why We Should
Study Negro History" in the March
issue of the Fisk Herald A para
graph from this article is in point
here He says: Every intelligent
man or woman should be well ac-
quainted with the history of his or
her people, Every intelligent German
when aste1 oG German history knows.
every intelligent American when asked
OF Amer an history knows: every in
telligent Negro when asked OF Negro
| history should know" The fact i'm
piled is that every intelligent Negro
does not know.
The same article goes on to point
out some of the reasons for studying
Nero history, such as an acquaint-
ance with the great Negro characters
Of the past, the economic, the educa-
tional. POLITICAL and religious achieve
ments of the race during its history
in America
Looking at the matter in it's larg-
er bearing, one is justified in saying
that the object of such study is to
furnish confidence for our future
| improvement based upon past achive-
ments. Further. the comparison of
present conditions with the more un-
favorable past gives ground for pa
tience and perseverance in the face
of the ills we have, and gives hope
that the best is yet to De. Now,
cur children study during their gram
mar school, high school and college
years, the history of almost every
people except our own Of course,
they should know the achievements of
the Greeks, of the Romans, of the
Sranish, of the Dutch and of the host
Of others that have followed in their
train, but in addition to this they
should know the record of their own
people. In no other way can they
imbibe the spirit of our kind.
How many of our homes feel the
influence of our Jubilee songs and
how many of our children know the
origin of these songs? How many
children, when they study the story
of the struggle for American INDIE
pendence, know of the black patriots
of the Boston Massacre and that
about 5000 of the troops of General
Washington's army were Negroes?
How many are told of the part their
ancestors had in many of the explo-
ratiors of America from Balboa on
the Pacific to Peary at the North
Pole2 How many are taught to love
the poetry of Phyllis Wheatley along
with that of Philip Freneau and the
sweet strains of Dunbar with that of
Longfellow, Lowell and Lanier? How
many place the name of Tanner, the
artist. beside that of Turner? The
writer found a few months ago that,
in club of seventeen Negro boys
between eleven and sixteen years of
age, only one knew even the name of
Frederick Douglass and that one did
not know why Douglass had noted
name. Then we blame such boys when
they do not show high aspirations
Some other questions may be perth
nent: how many intelligent ones of
us really know what factor the Ne
gro has ben in the nation? What a
labor force he has furnished in the
South since about 1919? How pro-
foundly this affected agriculture and
all other industry of the country?
How there grew out of this economic
problem the serious social and politi-
cal complications which shook the ma
ton ais other things did in its his
tory? And if we put on the seven
leagued boots of the mind and across
the ocean to Africa, how many of us
have clear idea of the civilization
that has there developed among these
blacks, or how many or us think of
Africa as made up of vast deserts and
jungles infested by caravans of canni-
balls?
Race progress is built upon physi-
cal and social heredity. And to know
our inheritance we must study our
ancestors and their record We have
in this sufficient ground for confidence
and hope to buoy us up in the pres
ent and bear us onward into the fu
ture.
GEORGE E. HAYNES.
Fisk University.