The Colorado statesman., 1912-04-13
AFRO-AMER|CAN CULL|NCS

During the meeting of the Trustee
Board of Tuskegee Institute, at Tus-
kegee, when large number of infiuen-
tial people of the north and west in
terested in southern education, were
present nothing more significant was
said, as reported in The Tuskegee Stu
dent, than the short address of Mr..
Bruce Payne, of the Peabody Normal
college at Nashville, white institu-
tion which does not cater for colored
trade" who said:
81 never was quite as proud of be-
ing southerner as right now. / have
never been to Tuskegee before and
cannot express to you the various and
sundry emotions that have come to me
in these few busy hours l have been
here.
I'VE understand something of the in
heritance that is back of us all and 1t
is difficult to analyze it, but perhaps
one thing that you and | know most
about is the sacrifice and the suffering
and the toll that is back of this genera
tion. In that is a spirit of consecra-
tion which you see in your father and
in your mother and which have seen
III my father and my mother and
which any man of my age in the
south has seen in his father and his
mother, which we must through all
time respect. That spirit of consecra-
tion is fine asset to have behind one.
1t is fine idea to live to and it takes
courage to practice it and prove the
need we have of such priceless her
itage. 1t is a great day to live in the
south.
81 was thinking a minute ago of the
little schoolhouse which was over in
the mountains of North Carolina,
which, because it was the best, my
father sent me to- but it was so poor
ly ventilated and heated that it took
ten years of my life afterwards to re-
cover from the i'll effects upon my own
constitution. These poor school houses
are passing away and every boy and
girl in the south is getting a better
chance. l say it is great day to live
in the south. Even | wish l could go
back ten years and make new start
so that might have the privileges you
are enjoying. 1t is a great day to be
true to all the good things of your
past, of your fathers and mothers
past. 1t is a great day to sacrifice
and toll and suffer and if need be to
die for such country, for such land
as this from which you sprang."
at is a great day to live in the
south, measuring the distance from
1865 to 1912, period of Al years, and
measuring the conditions of both
rapac AT tho hepiDniDp and at the end
ing of that period The white south,
which had education of hand and
head for moral restraint and civil gov
ernment and basis in financial credit
with home and church life firmly fixed
in tradition and practice, has gained
more in education and wealth in the
At years of free labor and opportunity
than it enjoyed under slave labor and
restricted opportunity during the 245
years prior to 1865; but the gain of
the black south has been vastly great
er and more creditable, as it had no
foundation whatsoever to build upon.
1t now has reduced its agony of litter
acy by quite one-half, has built itself
home and school life and a credit.
able labor and business position, has
laid itself good foundation in all
these upon which it is industriously
and persistently building, so that the
rounded century of freedom and oppor-
tunity promises 1t unprecedented re-
suits. If it But holds fast the meta
physical and cultural as it gathers the
material things of life, the martyrs of
freedom will not have lived in vain"