The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1917-06-08

dreds of men and women have gone
from the halls of Roger Williams to
bless the race and help guide civili- |
Zation in her progress towards per-
lection. The name Of the old school
is dear to our hearts. l say our"
because there drank from the intel
lectual fountain that gave me thirst
for knowledge that time will never
Quench. In this connection / am
made to understand what Solomon
meant when he said. HE that in
creases knowledge, increases sorrow,
Every alumnus who is not blinded
by selfishRess and made deaf by this
bells of emoluments must weep when
he or she reads the deeds of transfer,
or hears the truth of their provisions
made by the American Baptist Home
Mission Society, of New York, in
their sale of the property where old
Roger Williams formerly stood. What
because they refused to rebuild
Roger Williams and took the insur-
andce and sold the property, No!
although we believe that the Negro
Baptists had an equity in the build
| ings, furniture livestock, model
school or something, but such did not
exist. 1t was blessing in disguise,
When our false hopes and misdirect-
ed pride were destroyed, any sons
| and daughters whose admiration for
the old site made it well nigh sacred
| to them, might have contributed
more literally towards the maintain
ence of the University on the new
site had they not been fearful of
repetition of the same thing, that
| happened to the old school. We are
compelled to shed tears over the fol-
, lowing unheard of unwarranted pre-
cedent
The American Baptist Home Ms
sion Society of New York champions
of free speech and equal rights for all
mem sold the ground where old
Roger Williams stood and specified in
every deed that neither the premises
nor any part thereof, shall be sold,
alienated, conveyed or devised TO any
person or persons of African blood
or decent and that no person of
African blood or decent shall own or
acquire title thereto in fee simple
or otherwise or as tenant or leasee,
see r. d. C. book 399, page 500.
The intelligent white man of the
South know when their rights are
encrouChed upon or interest jeopar-
died as refers to the Negro and
they are able to protect them
selves by the law of their own
making without aid from any outside
source Then why should the north
ern Society act as guardian to those
rights against the poor struggling,
self-respecting Negro?
1t was big pill of racial prejudice
not to allow any Negro to buy any
of the property but the limit is reach
ed when the white purchaser is for
hidden to sell one foot of it to any
one of African decent or even mort
gage it to a Negro. Who would have
believed it? A bit of mingled joy
possesses my soul in the thought that
Drs. N. G. Merry, R. B. Vandervall,
NJ. Van, Rev. H. c. Owens and others
whose hearts were spared the sting
of death that such transaction
would have caused had it happened
in their day to their knowledge. If
the labor hope and aspiration of our
fathers were dealt a blow like that
what may we their children expect
from the same source? | am an ad-
mirer of the name Roger Williams
and a lover of the moral, religious
and civic principles she claims to
propagate and support, but hate her
deception of my race and protest
against her ways and the ways of her
Ia1 irt 10
Mission Society of New York and the
Baptist Missionary and Educational
Convention of Tennessee incorporat-
ed. Will the Baptists of Tennessee
support an incorporated convention
, whose record since their incorpora-
tion on the 30th day Of May, 1916 is
one brittle chain of legal steps and
, acrobatical resolutions.
! They voted to refund the money
of nearly one hundred churches who
, would not join in their unbaptistiC
} procedure. They never paid it but
= incorporated so we could not make
= them pay it. They Incorporated Sc
2 that Roger Williams as a corporation
r could make a fictitious conveyance t
| them of property which they had NJ
right to convey because they did no
own it, the trustees of Roger vii
liams said that the Baptist Mission
{ airy and Educational Convention ma!
= own the ground in name but in real
= ity they will have to consult tn
a American Baptist Home Mission So
8 ciety when it comes to final say
a l have asked for the Negro Bap
= lists? who got our five thousand dol
= lars? But no one seems to answer
n l know Brother Haynes can tell us
: he will for he handled it all. Tn
incorporated Convention has serve
. its purpose. Will the Baptists O
'' Tennessee stand for that?
: J. l.. HARDING.