The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1917-01-20

Following Is the address delivered
by 1. M. Terrell, principal of Prairie
View college for colored youths before
the State Association of Negro Teach
ers at the recent session in Calvert:
"Three-fourths, or T5 per cent, of
the Negro population of Texas live in
the rural districts. But during the
decade between 1900 and 1910 urban
population increased nearly 7 per cent,
while rural population had a CORE
spending decrease, due largely to I'M
settled and unattractive conditions In
country communities. The conditions
are the result of poor educational adj
vantages. Over $4,000, or 81 per cent,
of the 361 900 Negroes ten years Of age
and over living in the rural districts
in 1910 were unable to read and write
were illiterate. There is no reason
why the country folk should not be
quite as intelligent as the city or town
people.
My object in quoting the above sta
tstics is simply to impress you with
the fact that a great responsibility
rests upon the teachers In the rural
districts. Unless we are able to i'm
prove conditions among our people in
these parts they will begin to grow
more restless and finally to drift or
Hook to the cities in great quantities,
n even to other states. There is no
greater proof of this fact now than
the recent wholesale migration Of Ne
groes to various sections of the coun-
try from other southern states. Texas
has not suffered appreciably in this re-
spect, so far, attributable in large part,
L believe, to the fact that so far educa-
uonal advantages in this state, so far
as the Negro is concerned, surpass
those of most southern states. And
yet, while Texas has done a good part
by its Negro population in an educa-
tional way, 1 am convinced that the
situation is not yet safe, and some
thing more must be done in order to
torestall the same restlessness and ex-
odus of the Negro population as now
Is occurring in other states.
"The Negro does not seem to have
been fully imbued with the spirit of
rural betterment that is gripping the
country. Somebody has been delin-
quent. The character of the average
public school is not such as to insure
the trmness of the educational sys-
TEN as represented by the Negro ele-
ment. There have been too few eff
forts in the state at the establishment
or rural high schools among colored
people. And l am sure we all appreci-
ate the need of such schools both as a
means of affording opportunities for
better preparation for life to those
who will not find it possible to secure
college education as well as for those
who wish to go direct from their home
to college.
I'm order to obtain or build up such
schools, there must be cooperation be-
tween teachers and parents. The
teacher must show his interest in the
community's welfare. If he allows
himself to be actuated by selfish mo-
tives, he can e hope to build I'D q
school community. He must put the
interests of the community first. He
must subordinate his own to society's
welfare.
"The building-up of higher educa-
tional institutions is dependent upon
the efficiency of the public schools.
Seven-eighths of the attendance in the
colleges of the state is made I'D of
pupils from rural districts. Where
fore, it behooves us to look to the
strengthening of the public school sys-
TEN, if we would insure the steady
progress and development of our
schools for higher learning.