The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1914-12-05
As to Race Segregation

The question often put to those who
oppose segregation is this why do
Negroes object to associating with
one another?' "Why do they seek to
force themselves on white people?"
The answer to this two-fold question
is simple: Negroes do not object to
associating with one another; Negroes
do not seek to force themselves on
white people. When Negroes as
semble in any public place where
white also assemble, they will invari-
ably, If given free choice, seggegate
themselves. Let me instance our To-
cal Teachers Institute.
That body consists of about eleven
hundred teachers, about 10 per cent of
whom are Negroes. A stranger visit
ing the Institute would be struck by
the fact that all the Negro teachers
sit together, and would wonder, per-
haps, If Jim Crowism prevails. Jim
Crowism does not prevail, and is not
have deliberately segregated them
selves. They have selected a part of
the hall where they invariably sit,
and they show no inclination whatever
either to get away from themselves
or to force themselves on anybody.
Yet those same teachers would warm
ly resent any effort from an external
source to seggregate them.
AS matter of fact few years ago
such an effort was made, when a
committee of white principals brought
in a report requesting that the white
teachers sit where they please; all
Negro teachers sit in Section D." Now
Section d is much better situated for
seeing and hearing than the seats
where the Negroe teachers sit, but
the Negroes were highly indignant at
the report and refused to be segre-
gated. Only one teacher ever did go
down to occupy Section D. And so
the questions which really came up
for solution are these: G) why will
Negroes, IL left to a free choice in
variably segregate themselves; and
90 why will they invariably resent
forcible segregation" The answers
to these questions reflect fundamental
aspects of human nature, and the one
phenomenon is as natural as the other.
Prof Franklin H. Giddings, the soci-
ologist has theorized intelligently and
convincingly as to the psychic bases
of the group, and he argues that in
dividuals tend to group themselves to-
gether on the basis of consciousness
of kind" or like-mindedness." This
simple principle is ably elaborated by
him in his works on sociology, and
largely accounts for a great many
groups both large and small. 1t ac-
counts for the fact that Negroes and
others segregate themselves naturally
1t also leaves inference very clear that
if the ardent segregationists would
only exercise a little scientific sense,
and would intelligently acquaint them
selves with the psychic laws underly-
ing human behavior, without being so
anxious to remake and improve the
universe, many of these questions
and normally.
Now, while Negroes will freely and
willingly segregase themselves, on ac-
count of consciousness of kind" per-
sonal friendships, or community of in
terests they nevertheless do not like
ohave segregation forced upon them.
This is not because they do not like
to be together, nor yet because they
desire to force themselves on any
body. 1t is because OF condition as
old as humanity itself-namely, the
tendency to resent an insult.
Negroes profoundly sense the fact
that far more is involved in involun-
tary segregation than the mere matter
of keeping the two races apart 1t in
wolves the assumption of superiority
on the part of the group trying to en-
force segregation, and requires the
other group to acquiesce in the doc
trine of it's own inferiority. This ac
knowledgement no considerable group