Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1912-02-23
'SAYS COLOR line IS
| DRAWN In JAMAICA
Native Jamaican Asserts That
Blacks Are Disseminated
Against,

DIFFERS FROM De coRDovA--
-THADDEUs /. MCDONALD
MAINTAINS WEST INDIAN
DOES NOT ENJOY SUPERIOR
ADVANTAGES IN NATIVE LAND.
Baltimore, Md.-Thaddeus l.. NC
Donald, student at Morgan college,
and native of Jamaica, West indles'
has attracted mere than passing at
tention by challenging some OF the
statements OF Counselor O'Connor DE
Cordova regarding conditions In the
West Indies Mr.. Mcdonald contends
that the West Indian, especially the
jamaican, does as whole enjoy su-
perior advantages in his native land.
and the charge is made that the color
line is drawn in the West Indies be-
tween the blacks and the mulattoes.
Conditions as they exist in Jamal'
ca, according to Mr.. McDonald's view
point, are as follows:
CAS- Jamaican ! felt very much
interested in the remarks OF Mr..
O'Connor De Cordova. The hundreds
Of West Indians, especially Jamaicans,
who come to America yearly make
their boasts of the superior advan-
tages which they have in their native
land doubtful; but when we hear
white men Of intellectual attainment,
social status and an unblemished
character speak Of the negroes in the
West Indies as enjoying the rights
and privileges of man, all doubts
concerning the favorable conditions
under which the negroes labor in the
West Indies are likely to be removed.
THE statement made by Mr.. De
Cordova that in the West Indies ne
groes are prominent in all walks of
life is true. Mr. De Cordova further
makes clear what he means by the
word negro. He says, Let 1t be un-
derstood that l use the expression
negro" as it is accepted in this coun-
try and that Is, include in the term
men Of color, not black men only
This acceptation Of the word ne
gro, as 1t Is used in Am erica, by Mr..
De Cordova should be specially no.
ticed since the man OF color Is not
regarded as a negro in Jamaica. The
mulattoes in Jamaica are considerd
a distinct people from -the blacks or
negroes. This distinction between
the mulattoes and blacks in Jamaica
Is evident In its commercial, profess
sional and social life. II the word
negro, which designates more than
three-fourths of the Inhabitants Of the
island, was to be used in the same
sense as it is used in the West In
dies, the statement of Mr.. De Cor
dova would be untrue.
while the term negro, as 1t is
accepted by Mr.. De Cordova, has
made his statement. true, that negroes
in Jamaica are prominent In all walks
Of life, we must not feel that Jamaica
is a mecca for the negro. Mr.. De
Cordova is one I must respect and
honor as man with true sympathies
and an earnest conviction in the in
tegrity of my race; but he has made
the fatal mistake of confounding the
prosperity Of the few with the welfare
of the many. II the recognition of
a few members Of another race is to
be taken as the standard for the rela-
tionship between the two races. then
it can be said that the negro In the
United States enjoys equal privileges
with his white brother
mr. De Cordova has cited specific
cases in which negroes Of Jamaica
are highly recognized. But the same
thing, or even more, can be said con-
corning negroes in America. Mr.. De
Cordova says: The church has
among it's officials as archdeacons and
rectors men of color, who are re-
vered and respected by all classes of
the community The same thing is
true in this country. There are arch
deacons, rectors and bishops-black
men, too, who are revered and re-
spected. Mr.. De Cordova also speaks
Of negro physicians who have white
patients, lawyers who hold distin-
guished positions in the government,
and negroes AZ members Of the legis-
lative council of Jamaica. The COM
parison that has been just made be-
tween the negro clergyman in Jamai-,
ca and America is just as fitting in
the cases Of the negro physician, law
yer and statesman of America as in
Jamaica.
1.-THE gentleman has also mentioned
that the negro occupies such positions
as Justice Of the peace, Custos Rotu-
forum, and member Of the privy coun-
Gil, all of which are in the power Of
the governor, the chief executive Of
the island, to bestow on those whom
he thinks fit. Allow me to say here
that these seeming honors that may
fall to some negroes in Jamaica are
only a blind to the real conditions Of
the negro in Jamaica, and in fact, it
is mere pretext to strengthen the
disadvantages and injustices under
which the black man Of Jamaica is Ia
boring. Who are these men Of whom
Mr.. LIE Cordova has spoken? Rich
men, In some cases learned men; and
in most cases men who do not regard
themselves as negroes. BY virtue of
their complexion they have been able
to 70 to England and sometimes come
to America, where they pass as white
and even marry white women.
1T is this class Of negroes chiefly
that enjoys that much boosted social
equality with the whites in the West
Indies; this class that forms small
percentage Of the negroes in Jamaica
has been so carried away by the rec