The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1912-12-13

lieVe That after boiling down my con
tention "to its final analysis" ] mean
that the time Is mot ripe" for a Ne
gro president to preside over Fisk
University, you do me an injustice.
And l am quite sure you do not mean
to do that. Especially, when the
"ripcness" is construed to mean In.
competency. In order to ease your
own conscience, will you please give
your readers the benefit Of the ex
preston, by quoting my words, which
indicated such a thing?
But for fear that something I may
have said might have been so CON
strued by others than yourself, / wish
to say most emphatically, that / be-
lieve that there are no less than one
hundred d~ied-in-wool Negro men, ca.
pable of holding the position of presi.
dent Of Fisk University. The wonder
to me Is, how you could see nothing
In my article but a plea for Fisk'a
greatness, and the i~ncompetency OF
the Negro race. Read the article
again.
You say that l admit that the con.
~tention of the Globe is right" In
this, you again mislead the reader.
did not admit that the contention of
the Globe is. right" with respect to
the temper of the Board Of Trustees
to put a Negro at the head of Fisk.
! agreed with you with reference to
something you taid in a special para.
graph, and if you take my article and
read 1t again you will find that You
are mistaken.
In discussing this question, / wish
again to insist that the opposition
stick to the text" You say. I'VE
wonder what there Is about Fish Uni.
veritsy that makes Negroes Aeve
that this institution will 20 to pieces
If entrusted to the care of Negroes.r'
Now, in all fairness, did / say that
the Negroes believed such a thing?
was expressing my own individual
opinion, and ever then l did not give
expression to such an u~tterance,
neither did what / said, have such a
significance.
You say again, 1T cannot be said
that all Negroes have failed as presi.
dents Of colleges" That statement Is
purely gratuitous. Who has said
such a thing as that? On the contra
ry, | called attention to a number of
Negro colleges land l did not name
them ALL where Negroes were sue.
cessfully managing Negro colleges.
But again, l agree with you when you
say, some Of our largest and most
successful institutions are guided by
minds of black men," But you con.
stantly lose sight of my contention. or
else you are unfair in your discus
sion.
The crux of my contention is, that
Fisk University is not a Negro school,
but a white mans school; that it is
controlled by0white men, and that Ne
1groes have mo- right O fccontend for
atwdotes not belong to them. You say
again, Does DR.. Jones mean that the
Negro has not learning, nor the train
ing, TO- the Executive ability to
handle such an institution" No. |
do not mean any such thing, and
nothing l have said can be possibly
interpreted to have such a meaning.
How could ! believe it, in the face
OF the fact that there are scores of
Negro men even now holding such
positions
But when you mention the Booker
7. Washington school, the State Nor
NAL and the Wiley University in con.
n%ection with this discussion, it is sim.
ply begging the question. There Is
no comparison. First, Booker T.
Washington organized his own school,
and although 1t is now owned and
controlled by the whites, there has
never been any other but a Negro
at It's head and probably win never
AS to the State Normal. a9it was
never intended that any one but a
Negro should preside over Il. So
that needs no argument. But you
strike me a knock OUT, you think,
when you say, wiley University is
owned and controlled by white people,
and DR.. M. W. Dogan is president
and he is every semblance Of being a
Negro" Are you sure you are right?
Suppose you become a little better in.
formed as to who owns Wiley Uni
versity. Suppose you ask any we'll
informed Methodist minister, and
especially one of the M. E. Church
colored. See what he will say. II
YOU and / are in partnership in a
business, you may own a controlling
colored man at its head, it is theft
share, but you do not own the bust
ness absolutely
No, Mr.. Editor, Fisk and every
other Congregational school in the
country stand in a class by them
selves. If the American Missionary
Association, which controls Fisk Uni
versity, sees fit to establish a prepa
ratory school somewhere and put q
colored man at It's head, it is theiI
privilege. And 1t occurs to me thai
they have done so in two or three
instances. But they have lever done
1t at the dictation Of the Negroes
The Anglo-Saxon has always don,
what he pleased with his own. Ant
my opinion is that it will be a lonr
time before they will be pleased t
put a MAJ at the head of Fisk, sim
ply because he, is a Negro, and becaus,
they consider the institution a Negrt
school.
Now, l did say in closing my las
article that there were other reasons
which I might give, for my position
| will name n in closing this arti
4 Gle