The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1912-01-05
Or. Riley.

Negroes of this city had an oppor-
tunity to meet DR.. B. F. Riley, of
Birmingham, Ala, face to face. DR.. +
Riley is the author of a book enti-
tied 1.-The White Mans Burden" He
is ex-president of one of the leading
white universities in the South, and
three years ago he resigned the pas
torate of a church that was paying
him $4,000 a year He stated at the
time of his resignation that he had
decided to take up the cause of an
oppressed people, namely, the Ameri-
can Negroes. He made his plans
known to both white and black, and
without any aid from any source
whatever, he set about to write
book and publish the same.
When man attempts any reform,
he is at first considered crank or
man who intends to defraud the
people It makes no difference what
the mans reputation may be, the
first impressions in these cases are
always the same. But DR.. Riley
paid no attention to these things,
for he knew in the outset that he
would be criticized, and that it was
up to him to prove to the world his
sincerity, and now his book is out
of press, several thousand copies
have been sold, and the author is go
ing from state to state and from
community to community meeting
the people and discussing with them
in an impassionate way the mission
of his coming At first sight DR..
Riley impresses one favorably. He
has no airs and styles himself a
plain, common Irishman, born in the
black belt of Alabama of slave-own-
ing parents, and choosing himself to
eat his meals from the tray with a
dozen or more slave Negro children
raher than at his mama's table.
In an address Sunday to large
audience in this city, he related an
experience that he had when child.
He said after his father had told
him one day that he was the smart
est of several boys, in pondering
over the praise shortly thereafter,
the condition of his playmates came
to him, and he discussed in his mind
what their fate would be when they
had reached maturity. He could
see nothing but that B. F. Riley as
man would be living in pomp and
J splendor, wearing the honors OF his
state and country, and those little
black boys and girls with whom he
had played in childhood, he could
| picture nothing for them except hard
} toll day in and day out. To use
: his own words, he could see only
for them that they would get up In
: the morning, harness their mules,
. go to the field and plough all day
, return to the house at night, put W
+ their stock and feed them and then
: cook their supper, and after they
!. had eaten, go to bed, sleep till morn
j ing, get up and return to the field
p This they would do from day to day
:. Continuing he said, decided thel
y that human slavery was wrong, ant
t | am of the same opinion to-day. II
/ listen to his story, and to look int
It the face of the man, would impress
s the most skeptical that DR.. B. +
y Riley is in earnest, and that hi
# motives are pure.
q AS was said by the speaker II
d his addresses in this city last Sur
g day, the duty of changing the ser
W timent in this country from an III
q just to a just attitude toward tn
s. Negro is a tremendous task; bu
le there are thousands of men in tn
le white race born and reared in tn
s South who believe that every maj
e regardless of race or color, shoul
x receive justice. True they hav
O. been backward in expressing wha
" they believe but DR.. Riley is DARN
st to do so, and as he goes from plac
D. to place fearlessly but modestly an
1t earnestly stating his position on tn
d. question, he is making friends, and h
,e is forcing scores of white men, old an
re young, to speak out on this questio
" and to declare that they have alwa!
n held to the opinion as expressed
n. DR.. Riley, and as men begin
It speak out as Dr. Riley is doing II
OF plain and simple justice to the Neg
an il. the South, and in fact in all par
ut of this country, sentiment will chang
at in his favor, and those in authorl
I'D will come to realize that fact that it
to the best interest of all that eve
as man be given an equal chance
to. life, whether that man be blac
,rs white, yellow or red.
to,
TX Nashville manufacturers are me
me ing a determined fight to have sh