The Colorado statesman., 1912-08-03
NEGRO SCHOOLS
A RETROSPECT
JUDGE ROBERT II. TERRELL OF
WASHINGTON, D. c., ADDRESSES
GRADUATING CLASS AT TUS-
kEGEE INSTITUTE.

luohc6ce, Ald.- L u6 COIulueuCemeuI
ADDRESS to the graduating class of this
school was delivered by Judge Robert
H. Terrell of the Municipal court Of
the District of Columbia, Washington.
d. G. Judge Terrell is one of the most
prominent colored men l nthe United
States-graduate of Harvard college,
being commencement orator of the
class of 1883, also of the law depart
ment, Howard university, Washington.
d. G. He was appointed by President
Roosevelt to the position of justice Of
the peace of the District of Columbia.
He was reappointed by Mr.. Roosevelt
and promoted by President Taft to
the position of municipal judge of
the District Of Columbia. Judge Ter
relrs address was discussion Of Ne
gro Schools-A Retrospect"
He said in part:
THE negro has advanced an i'm
measurable distance since his ances-
tors first set foot on American soil.
From 1919 to 1868 he yielded his lib
erty and gave his toll unrequited to
master; his body and his intellect
he gave over to an institution that
would have ground to powder less
hardy people. He has done more than
simply survive these hard conditions.
He has proved himself in many par
iculars equal to the severe and ex-
acting demands of American civiliza-
ton in all of its better forms. And
what he has accomplished has been
mainly and chiefly attained in the
nttth Ill hat
what he will do in the future worthy
Of record will be done here where
there is scarcely any industrial preju-
dice against him. In the south he has
the best chance to win a place of
economic importance, If he only takes
advantage of the great opportunities
at his very doors. 1t is for the ne
gro to say whether or not the foreign
labor which is pouring into our coun-
try through the gates of all of its sea-
ports shall successfully invade his
province in the southern industrial
system.
The economic and industrial prob
lem lies in the very heart of the So
cial welfare of any race. Some one
has said that the possibility of hon
est bread and butter is the noblest
possibility of civilization. And for
the negro that possibility is right here
in the south-a section of the country
to which he is already suited and to
which it is net necessary for him to
readjust himself
THE vast resources of the south
have for very long period of time lain
dormant and inactive. But this inert
ness has given way before an indus
trial ferment that is Transforming and
developing this part of our land into
a new country, destined to equal, if
not surpass all other sections in scien-
tific advancement in agriculture and
in a vast expansion in manufactures.
In this revolution, as far as 1t has
gone, the negro has played no incon-
siderable part. And let us indulge the
hope that he is not going to abandon
the opportunity to profit by the great
evolution in industrial methods which
is going on at his very doors; and that
he is not going to throw away his
chances to attain here the substance
by seeking the shadow in other far
away places.
THE south Is the field for the ne
gro along all lines of activity, it mat
ters not whether he be engaged in any
one of the learned professions, or
whether he be the skilled mechanic
or unskilled laborer. Nowhere can we
make men love us, but we can so con-
duct ourselves, and SO do our work
fha Will
of our neighbors and become indispen-
sable to our employers.
"One cannot but be optimistic with
regard to the future of the negro in
this country when he notes the prog
ress he has already made in the first
nalf century of his freedom. And his
accomplishments appear all the more
marvellous when we contemplate the
fact that the conditions which have
| confronted him have not always been
lust and fair and in some localities he
is completely shut off from participa-
| ton in the best industrial activities
which ire freely offered to all of the
other elements in our great cosmopoli-
tan population.
"The spirit of negro progress is Gre
a-ed and fostered in the negro schools
now scattered all over the south.
These institutions kindle in the minds
of our young men and women aspira-
tions for better things; they are pour
ing forth their influence to strength
en- and to invigorate the moral staus
of the negro. Wherever we turn we
see evidences of their benign and salu-
tary effect in constant development Of
the young, not only in intellect but
even in physical appearance. In these
workshops men and women are being
trained and drilled for citizenship in
that empire where numbers are not
the main thing, and where physical
power does not control, but where in
telligence and capability hold sway,