Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1912-06-07
RACE IDEALS
U, : HICKORY" COMMENTS ON
aook OF GEORGE W. MURRAY
or SOUTH CAROLINA.

nook OF GEORGE w. MoNnAs
or SOUTH CAROLINA.
.p.ce Ideals" Is the name OF .
- land also Of a lecture) written
- ~ sx.Congressman Geo. w. Murphy
y south Carolina. 1t bears the sub
~. "Effects, Cause and Remedy for
ssso. american Troubles" The book
an. profound psychological study
= ma traits, peculiarities. habits and
.a..oms OF the negro in America. In
.ss.r that this investigation into the
s.r..,s of our troubles may be
sss,S,ed by a very large number OF
.son,e we purpose to give q detailed
y.s,ev of same, and later on q crit
~, ANALYSIS Of some Of the authors
.s,.rences and conclusions. Our au-
mar starts out with the proposition
.A.t in passing through two and a
s.w centuries Of training for the ben
.at Of others the Afro.American de-
ss,oned traits and tendencies at va
S.nca with Natures laws, these
.ra,ts characteristics and tendencies
Ming classed as disease. In order
- establish the truth Of this propo-
sition that the negro has traits and
s,snositions at variance with Natures
laws the writer compares the negro
NOW in a secondary state OF free
aon,-with man in the original state
u = freedom; he compares the feelings
and dispositions of the negro OF to-
dov with those of man not cursed by
slavery or it's effects. After defining
tbs term ideal" as being a mans
highest conceptions Of persons, places,
things or qualities, often unattainable
hut always desirable, the author lays
down the proposition that in state OF
natural freedom all races have
their human ideals, their highest con-
eeption Of man, in themselves. And
this finding of the ideal within the
race forms the basis Of race-pride,
interpretation and self-preserva-
tion and is seen not only in man, but
n animals. To a lion no animal
| !, A beautiful as q lion, nor Is there
INV effort to make himself any
fhine other than a lion.. A China
mans ideal is q Chinaman. The In
I dams highest conception Of man Is
an indian, and 80 on with all races
e1cept the negro-he alone looks for
and finds his ideal outside Of his own
! race. AS each race finds its highest
ideals of man within itself 1t paints.
pictures and models man in the phys
ical likeness of itself. its dolls, its de-
scriptions Of man are all made to en-
body the elements that make. up this
IDEAL. And, further, when men reach
the point-and all races inevitably
/ reach it-of avenging' themselves on
God for having made them In his I'm
axe, they reverse the process, and In
yariably picture their gods as having
he same identical qualities, Inca
nents, features, ETC., as they them
selves have. And by subtle proc
ess Of idealistic exaggeration these
gods are made to become nothing
more than an expanded replica or
ihadow of the races that imaged
thenl. That is, the Chinese god or
angel is like the Chinaman, the jap
4 anese is like the Japanese, the Afri-
cans like the African, the white mans
b like the white man. The Afro
American alone of all races presents
L radical variation from this natural
/ Inv. He alone has and yearns to have
I "a God, angels, ideals, dolls, etc., en-
drely unlike himself. And one OF the
surest ways of jolting his religious
faith is to show him the picture of a
black angel or black god! A bust
ness genius some years ago hit upon
the idea of selling pictures of a col
ored Christ to Negroes. A lady &C
quaintance of ours-a devout Chris
tan, too-saw one of these pictures
o. q black Christ and exclaimed: If
that is Christ, I'll pray no more!"
Seeing, then that some mighty
force has operated to dihterentiate the
AFRO American from other races In
ne matter of ideals, feelings, dispo-
sltion-differentiated him not only
rom other men, but. has made him
ashamed Of himself and his kind, thus
reversing If not abrogating law OF
Nature and Of Natures God-the au-
NOR next seeks to determine the ex-
vent OF this variation from man In a
saatural state, and thus measure the
eepth OF the disease. Like some great
Mseon examining with skilled fingers
ne body Of suffering patient, and
living to him, Thou ailest here, and
aele our author diagnoses with rare
Rnetration the manifold weaknesses,
lalltles and ailments of the Afro
american, and what Is more, gives
nelr cause and remedy. S.-.-'
giving the symptoms of, the Afro
american disease, the writer states
uat when a white man buys a doll
~ picture embodying the lineaments
y ms race, he does so with a two
.u.o object in view: to amuse his of.
sung and to keep before it's eyes
u.n an ideal that will foster and
s.selop pride of race, The Afro
uefican, unmindful Of any similar
sIpose as the latter, buys doll or
sA,ure as nearly like that of the
~. me- man as he can find, and in
ae the offspring begins to think
I've y something wrong or degraded
sSoat Itself, and begins to form ideals
.s'sn to its own race. Photograph
y nnd that in taking the picture
! g Aro-American they are likely
= nave to keep the picture unless 1t
Mao aoe pretty white. On the other
MAJ II photographer were to
49, ~ me picture Of white man re-
mn. Ule that of negro, there would
A. day % q funeral on the following