Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-05-12
INCORPORATING UNPATRIoT1c.
No Time for Accusing Race Preju.
dice in America.

To the Editor Of The Star:
OF the many propaganda extant there
| is none. to my mind, so seriously need
| ed as that which has for its object the
| suppression of derisive and inf1amma-
| tory epithets that breed deep-seated
hatreds and crime. The effect of the
misapplied epithet. niger" in a time
| like this to members of that group OF
| 12.000.Q00 Amer lean citizens, wrongly
| termed negroes, is more far-reachine
than many people imagine. Were these
people yet in slavery, or still out of
| touch with civilization and the spirit
and hate making phrases would proba-
bly, suffer only in the lowering of his
own moral status. but every time that
hateful word sounds in colored citi-
through him. and only the restraint of
law and order and lack of opportunity
for expression keeps the hearer in con-
troll The baneful utterance sounding
from the mouth Of an innocent child
| may lead to serious consequences when
the child Is older, il condoned by par
ents when young.
This old world of ours Is undergoing
some vast changes in the human fam
lily. and before 1t Is all over most men
and women of color in this country be-
lieve the world is going to be better for
them. The term Caucasian Is no longer
synonymous with all that is good and
powerful. for the white Hun has dis
Eracea ms section OF great race. while
the Algerian, Moroccan. Senegalese,
East Indian. Chinaman, Japanese and
American colored man have put to
shame the defamers of a Gods human
ity, though colored.
These hateful designations, separa-
tlons and applications are storing IN
resentfulness in the breast of a race
that can't always be treated as a race
OF infants. When at this time the COL
ored man is expected. il necessary, to
make the supreme sacrifice abroad, the
constant hearing of "nigger" and the
ever present propaganda to make him
feel his inferiority are destructive of
the morale Of vital and still devoted
Lynch the Niger" has caused over
100 colored men. innocent Of any great
crime, in the last year to 20 to prema-
ture deaths. and the destruction Of
peace and property In many communf-
ties. The word breeds more than CON
tempt of individuals: it develops a ra j.
cial distrust of friend as well as foe: it
pushes sympathy aside and makes a
suffering and weak people see the hand
of God in disaster to fellow mon az
retribution, and what is worse. undoes
more good that all the preachers and
dollars can do in the spread of the the
DRY of Christianity.
1t is especially gratifying to see that
around the big cantonments there is
little negro-baiting DONE The alI-for-
one slogan against the boche in the
great cause of preservation of democ-
racy has made better brothers of men
than all of the pulpit Grating yet heard.
l believe that If the American people
could read ofs the great feats Of the
colored soldiers of England, France
ana America on the western front and
their numerous citations for bravery
and craftsmanship in war, the use OF
the word "nigger" here in America
would begin to disappear and become
as rare thing as tory" or the lew
"sheeny" VI
The citizens of this country should
know that matters of this kind are he
ing seriously handled in race Journals
and periodicals among colored peonle
IN every community there circuiates
some Journalistic account that bares
the prejudices Of the American neonie
ana stinens the hearts of prosecuted
citizens to resistance toward discrini-
nation and oppression. The battle cry
or America in the war against the Ger,
man still is Give me liberty or give ma
DEATH" and all true patriotic Amerio
cans are as fond of liberty as was PAT.
iicA t1ehry. +. b. HENDERSON,
Falls Church Va