The bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-06-01

clans, our fighting black soldiers, our
preachers, our sturdy toilers and our
successful business men and women
and other gifted ones of our race.
Those who from poverty have
threshed out wealth, who have gone
forth bravely when "the drum said
come; those who have lifted the ring
ing tones of oratory when needed, and
those who amid "the wailing voices
and dreary noises" have struck the
beautiful chords of poetry and song.
One might question whether it were
possible for the women of the piney
woods in the far away black belt of
Mississippi to do anything for the
betterment Of mankind, but could you
attend meeting Of the Piney Woods
Mothers club you would no longer
question.
These noble women-about twenty
of thena-meet the Friday before the
third Sunday of each month. They
hold their meetings either in the
school library or in the dining hall.
Sometimes it is rainy or their work
keeps them at home and the attend
ance is small, but the meetings are al
ways interesting and very helpful to
those who attend. They are very sim
cere, devout women and always ask
Divine guidance in the very beginning
of their meetings.
They discuss subjects such as the
care of the orphans-(Any of them
would gladly open her heart and home
to two or three more children when
one wonders how she is able to clothe
and feed her own-how to encourage
| the boys corn clubs, and at the last
meeting before the close of the Piney
| Woods school they talked over plan
of Offering prize to the boy who
would raise the most corn on an acre
of ground and also prize to the girl
who would do the best needlework
during the summer vacation. Thus
| you will understand that they are
alive, energetic mothers, anxious that
their sons and daughters shall grow to
be useful men and women in the world.
Mrs. Taylor, wife Of E. N. Taylor,
the ex-slave who gave the first forty
acres of land toward the foundation
of the Piney Woods Country Life
School, president of the Mothers club,
herself the mother Of twelve children,
is now taking care of three of the
grandchildren and sending them to
school. A Mrs. McLaurin, who has a
dozen girls who are so anxious for an
education they walk eight miles each
day to attend the Piney Woods school.
Some of Mrs. McClaurin's girls an
swer to A. c., R. E. and A. D. One
day Mrs. Jones, my dear little partner
--one of your own girls known to many
of you as Grace Morse Allen of Burl-
ington, Iowa-a flower of Iowa COL
ored womanhood, who is now doing So
. cial service work at the Piney Woods
school in the black belt Of the south,
asked her what those initials stood for.
| She said A. c., R. E. and A. D., but
after persistent questioning on the
part of Mrs Jones, she finally said in
sheer desperation, "Lawd, Mrs. Jones,
I Jest got so many of dem, dat l didn't
know what else to call dem, so l jest
called them after de alphabets.
Would you, my dear ladies, walk
! four or five miles over rough roads to
sit on hard benches in a school dining
hall and discuss ways and means
whereby their children can have bet
ter education than it was possible for
YOU to have? Our Mothers club in
the black belt Of Mississippi does this.
CITY women talk about civic i'm
provement-these women talk about
whitewashing their cabins inside and
out. and of cleaning the rubbish from
under their houses. City club women
now are talking about the all import
ant question of food supply-these
women have that question before them
all the time. In one place they have
given up their flower gardens and
planted potatoes in the front yard in
stead of flowers. in another place
where they were in the habit of hav-
ing ornamental vines, this year there
are pla nted beans which will make the
shade and also produce some food for
the fall and winter, so it will be seen
that after all the problems are not SO
different as one might think.
The colored American woman of to-
day is indeed a worthy descendant Of
the freed mother; she has never fall
tered since her mother started her on
life's journey and bade her "Climb up,
keep on climbing!" (And you of to-
day have added, Lift as we climb.)
And for which her ideals, earnestness,
endeavor and usefulness stands among