The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-18

r"hy Tor the college. and often tha
"ilter mas seen some poor woman give
more IN collection for a school than
she made during that week at her
Washlng or in the kitchen
Inc negro is making no sacrifice In
maintaining his schools He does nor
consider it sacrifice 1t is his reli.
g1on. And there is no way of l<eenin,
large proportion of black boys and
girls from receiving an education so
long as their fathers and mothers ara
imoued with this great and efficacioua
spirit OF self help
The churches are better and doing
more effective work. More and more
the people are becoming to appreciate
feai worth In the minister, and ara
demanding an educated and conse-
Grated ministry They will follow the
minister wherever he leads, but tho
educated negro is demanding that his
minister shall lead him Alright. The
increase in education demands better
churches. better forms of worship, more
dignifed services. and 1t is coming.
Coming faster than negroes themselves
are able to realize
Better churches come in response to
this demand and to the demand Great
ed by higher type of negro home
life. The churches in Birmin CHAM are
fair example. Sixteenth Street Bap-
list church, which cost upward of $780,
ooo and Sixth Avenue Baptist church
at cost of about $4,000, come as the
inevitable supply following the demand.
The negro, like every other people.
does not care to go to school. receive
a good education, nave his sensibtlitiea
renned, enjoy the comforts of a good
nome' and nave to make a strenuous
ehort 10 reconcile these twentieth CEN
tury advantages with ante-b bellum wor-
snip. He does not care to do 1t, and
he goes ahead and remedies the condi-
ton.
Perhaps negro ministers themselves
DO not realize how much of the effort
they are expending nowadays in pro-
Viding better churches and more dig
nitied services, is the direct result of
this demand on the part of the educated
negro layman.
Other Organizations
Inc Sunday school and the Young
Mems Christian association have been
important factors in the religious de-
Velopment. OF the negro. Local asso-
clatlohs have been formed in 40 cities
ana other important centers, In 15
states and the District of Columbia.
and in SO institutions, which include
practically all of the important schools
In the country for the higher, indus
trial and professional education of col
ored men. Twenty one of these city
associations own buildings: New Hay-
/ en-, Conn; Brooklyn, New York city,
Baltimore, Washington Richmond, Nor
folk ST Louis, Bluehelds, w. Va;
Ashevllle, n. c.; Atlanta, Augusta, CO.
| lumbus, Mobile, New Orleans, SPRING
iieid. Ohio; Kansas City, Buxton, Ia;
Knoxville and Louisville.
Much Of the progress which the ne
gro has made has been brought about
through the establishment of large
funds, as well as in the noble philan-
| thropy expressed in smaller gifts
! Nearly every one of tho institutions
OF learning for negroes. as well as
praclcally all of the negro churches
| nave received help from white friends.
Forth and south. The white neighbors
OF the negroes have helped them no lit
tie IN their accomplishment by en-
| couragement. by friendly advice, and
! giving freely of their time and money.
Many of the millions of dollars that
nave gone in the property of negro
schools and churches have been given
| ~ the white people of the south In
| The aggregate the amount of dollars
| given by white people toward negro
church and school work amounts to
the thousands annually, and there is
no way of keeping a record.
1t is we'll that this spirit exists. The
negro feels keenly his obligation to
! the white man for all this kind of help
| Feeling this obligation so keenly helps
| MIN often TO reconcile himself to many
| of the injustices he is called upon TO
| bear. His progress Is well worth the
| price, for more and more the white
| man in the south is learning that the
| progress of the negro is in fact the
| progress of the south. He is such a
! considerable portion of tho south.