Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1912-06-07

WORK lot MEMBER OF his own race,
and when SO working he invariably
make up In shirk for what he lacks
In work. Hence in every community
occupied by Afro-Americans the In.
dustrial captain IL white. unless q
white man refuses to be q competitor
for the place. The idea merchant
for the Afro-American Is white. and
he will pass by business places Of
another Afro-American, to give his
patronage and influence to his ideal
merchant, right in the face of the
fact that the members of every other
race, including that of his ideal mer-
chant, are universally discriminating
In favor Of members of their own
tribe and going out Of their way to
reach them. This causes all the
profits from the patronage of the
black man to be left with members
OF other races and results In giving to
others the power to own the business
community and to make those men,
bers the masters of the political and
social world. The Afro-American's
ideal lawyer, doctor and other pro-
fessional men are white, and his ideal
man or women Is the one who is
either white or near white. In our
organizations, schools, dance halls,
churches and other social gatherings
preference Is given to those who in
complexion most nearly resemble that
ideal. Such preference is most dis
t1nctly seen in schools controlled en-
tirely by Negroes, and where wom-
an applicant with a black skin Is
accorded about the same treatment
as pheasant hen finds among gang
of coyotes. When the man with a
black skin reaches the heights, he
does SO by sheer force Of brain power
and unquestioned efficiency, and with
no fortuitous aid from color-he
rises not because of but in spite of
his black face. The Afro-American's
ideal IN the way Of hair is straight,
and he Tor shall we precipitate riot
by saying "she") is ransacking the
earth and pricing up hell in order
to find something with which to trans
form the hair given him or (sha1l we
say 'her'J by nature. With their
ideals within their own race, all other
people are involuntarily drawn to-
wards members of their own race;
but having his ideal outside of his
race, the Afro-American Involuntary
draws away from his race and yolun-
tarily to other races. The white man,
observing this unnatural tendency on
the part Of the Afro-American to get
away from himself, has very wisely
drawn up sundry restrictions around
his own race certain dead lines"
and has said to the Negro: Thus far
and no further" The Afro-American
finding all races fenced of from him,
can not scale those bars. but he
spends q great deal Of time In peer
ing longingly through them. "Ac-
tons, impelled by the diseased spirit.
which is responsible for all these,
symptoms, have resulted in making
the Afro-American pauper, criminal,
outcast and laughing stock, in de-
stroying his influence, ballot and citi-
zenship, in depriving him of all en-
ployment In the economic world
above that of menials and scavengers
and in cheapening his personality and
life" Such and SO many are the ef-
fects and symptoms of the disease
from which, according to our author.
the Afro-American is suffering. In
reading over them, we could not but
recall the searching question asked
by Macbeth of the physician attend
ing upon his ailing wife: "Canst thou
minister to mind diseased? Pluck
from the memory a rooted sorrow.
Raze out the written troubles Of the
brain, and with some sweet oblivious
antidote cleanse the stuffed bosom of
that perilous stuff which weighs upon
the hearth" The answer given by
the physician is significant, and we
think applicable to our case: There
in the patient must minister to him
SELF"
We have seen that the Negro has
developed tendencies, dispositions,
habits, customs, not traceable In men
in a natural state of freedom, and
differentiating him today from the
members Of all other races.
/. This shows that some powerful and
destructive external influence has
wrought havoc with natures law, and
has inflicted incalculable injury on the
Negro, inner or spiritual being.
Instead of the spirit implanted by
nature, there has been substituted and
developed a spirit which despises the
body in which it is, placed, and the
race with which it is identified. And
this distorted unnatural spirit Is nur-
tured in the cradle, continued in the
home, encouraged in the church and
finished in the schools and colleges.
The result is, being ashamed OF. at
war with, and necessarily trying to
"steal away" from itself.
When the Negro was first brought
to this country and thrown in contact
with the white man, his ideal man.
his highest conception OF man. was IN
himself. He was not only too proud
and self-respecting> to be slave, but
considered himself better than the
white man.
! It cost too much in, care. cash and
effort to try to retain him with that
spirit in state of slavery, therefore
the first work Of the Shareholder was
to break this spirit, and to reduce his
pride and self-respect to the low level
in which it is seen today. How was
this done? -"
The victims ancestral and tradi-
tional plan Of life was 50 changed as