Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1912-02-02
OUR CoLoRsD AUTHORS
wHo THEY ARE AND THEIR CON-
TRiBUrioN TO THE WORLDS
LITERATURE.

l. .TRJ6UTION " lVG WSVsS
LITERATURE.
BY IRENE Y. MCCOY. 2els WABAsh
AVE, CHICAGO, ILL.
The evening was very dreary. TIT
rain beat q dismal tattoo on the win
dow psnes. Just how long had beer
studying my literature lesson can
not tell, but my eyelids grew very
heavy and could not resist the WOO
ing OF Morpheus. ~,
Suddenly | seemed to be standing
before a dream palace. A waning sur
cast it's rays of elfln gold on the "lde
marble stairs. Lifting my eyes TO tne
Inscription over the entrance, ga"
the words: The Worlds Literature
Building.
Traversing the brilliantly hghted
hallway. 7 stood on the threshhold OF
a spacious, high vaulted ROOM open
Ing into similar ones beyond. was
greeted by a group Of friendly per
sons who volunteered to escort me
through this wonderful building. the
first room that we visited was Hlstor'
ians' hall
In this interesting apartment there
were magnificent paintings OF the
worlds great historians. ! was sur
prised by seeing SO many black races
Who are those distinguished looking
black men wearing turbans? | ASK
ed, THE first Is Mollamann koti an
eminent negro writer born In the year
1460, in a little Sudanese village" His
life and works date from the third
quarter of the fifteenth century to the
wear 1850, His most celebrated work,
"Fatassi." is a history Of the king
doms OF Ganata, Songhai, and the city
of Timbuctoo, the Queen OF the su'
dan.
The second painting was that OF
Ahmen Bahia, called 1.-THE unique
Pearl Of His Time" This great man
WAS born in Arawan, Africa, a city OF
the Sudan, in the year 1856. He Is
the author Of twenty known BOOKS
dealing with philosophy. law, ethics
traditions, theology, rhetoric and as
tronomy. His text books were used
in such noted universities as those OF
Fee, Tunis, sankore. and Cairo. M.
Du Bois, celebrated French scholar
and African traveller. was 80 I'M
pressed with the writings and scholar
ship of tho sudanese negroes, that he
spoke Of them in these words OF
praise:
The learning and scholarship OF
the Sudanese blacks were genuine
and 80 thorough that during their So
1ourns in foreign universities they as
founded tho most learned men Of Is
lam by their erudition. That these
negroes we're on the level with the
Arabian savants, their teachers. Is
proved by the fact that they were in
stalled as professors in Morocco and
Cairo"
By tho sixteenth century these
black scholars became 80 learned that
they were regarded as dangerous and
1t was this that brought upon them
the Moorish exile in Morocco. While
there our distinguished author. An.
men Bahia, taught rhetoric. law. and
theology. His decisions in the courts
were regarded a. hnai After some
years he was allowed to return to his
beloved country, whore he died IN
1897. Among his works we find an
astronomical treatise written in verso.
"Miraz." a work written by Bahia
while In exile, is a wonderful descrip-
ton Of the erudition Of tho Negratc
peoples residing In the very heart OF
Africa. BY this work the attention Of
Morocco and the whole of northern
Africa was called to the culture and
scholarship Of tho Sudan negro. On
account Of "El 1bitihadj.' his large
Biographical dictionary Of the Mussul.
man doctors OF the Malekite sect
completed in 1850. It has been pos
sible to reconstruct the intellectual
past Of Timbuct9o. showing the cul-
ture and civilization Of our race In tho
Sudan, Africa: for this reason tho
name OF Ahmen Bahia should be held
in plbus memory by every lover Of
the race. His sreat-sreat-grandchil-
dren are now living in Timbuctoo,
near the mosque Of Sankore.
Adjoining Historians hall was an
other spacious room in which there
were thousands OF books. CHANGING
through the catalogue. I came across
many other negro historians. There
was John sarbar, author Of "Fanti
Customary Laws" written near the
close OF the nineteenth century, and
said to be the most authoritative work
on native laws and customs. The au-
thor, an educated native Of the gold
coast. West Africa, tells understand
ingly and truly every phase Of the
customary laws Of his people. This
valuable work has done as much, II
not moro, than any other. to place the
African and his institutions before the
world in something like their true
light and condition.
Perhaps there IL no continent and
no people held in such little esteem
through ignorance Of their true LIE,
culture and, character as Africa and
its races, and against whom there IL
80 much unfounded prejudice. That
the African race is now producing its
own authors to interpret Africa and
her people to tho nations Of tho earth.
ought to be an inspiration to negroes
and mankind everywhere. BY his
wide Acquaintance with native life
and conditions, his great command Of
literary form and style, Hayford may
we'll be mentioned with Sarbar, whose
literary prominence recalls the fade
less fame of Koti. Babs. and Sadi,
who gave the heart Of Africa to tho
highest forms Of literature more than