The Colorado statesman., 1913-10-04
AFRO-AMER|CAN CU[L|NCS

During the last eight years the ne
groes in Macon county have built
largely by their own efforts fifty-three
schoolhouses. at a total cost OF $40,-
900. Builders of these schools are to
large extent former slaves. planta-
ton folk and their children, who had
no interest in education and no train
ing in organization of any kind. They
came from the cotton and corn fields,
where the only incentive to work was
generous lashing from the over
seer's whip. They had no ideals of
home, of personal comforts, least of
all of planning and constructing
school buildings.
Where. before emancipations, save
in exceptional cases, had the negro
anywhere heard of designing a build
ing, computing the cost of ground, of
various kinds of material or of labor?
His hut had been constructed under
the computation and plans of his
master; nay. even the food he ate and
the one-piece garment which he wore
cost him no concern.
This was true all over the world as
well as in Macon county. Prior to
1905 nearly every negro school in this
county was either a log cabin or a
one-room cottage, with one or two
wooden windows, one door, a rickety
wooden floor. or dirt floor, as chance
happened to will it; a leaky roof de-
caying logs and blocks of wood, brok-
en-backed chairs and benches for
seats; these are the things that made
up the edifice and surroundings for
the children of the ex-slaves to get an
education or a training for life. To
many, this was good enough, far bet
ter than they had had. certainly; but
to others it was wretchedness.
And SO arguments began to circu-
late. The people throughout the
county were poor. Some few of them
we're just getting to their feet in the
matter of land buying. but the masses
were "share-croppers" or tenants.
Now, it is in Macon county, it will
be remembered, that Tuskegee insti-
tute is located. At one of the negro
conferences DR.. Booker T. Washing
ton had pressed very close home the
matter of schoolhouses, justice to
children, employing a, teacher and
lbnRlneHlnR
or five months by their own efforts.
In little while a cry had come up
from a community known as Mag
nolia: I'VE want a new school! Help
us,"
Help us" meant funds to a certain
extent, but most of all it meant some
body with initiative, suggestion. en-
couragement-and the welding of fac
stions This last was especially trou-
blesome The rural colored man is
the stanchest of partisans to his
faith. A man of Baptist convictions
is unwilling to build a schoolhouse
anywhere save face to face with the
Baptist church; so it is with a broth
er of the Methodist faith or of any
faith The people at Magnolia had
raised some money, but how much
they needed before they could break
ground to build, how to go about dis
covering all this, they were at loss
to determine.
Tuskegee institute sent down a
man, a graduate of Fisk university,
who had previous experience in deal
ing with community folk and in
building schools. About half enough
money had been raised to begin the
work. An appeal to the people for
more brought the response that no
more would be raised; the people as
a mass had lost interest Faction
troubles, religious and social. were
boiling at a high heat. The teacher
returned to Tuskegee, reported to DR..