The northwestern bulletin., 1922-04-29
CONTEMPORARIES
THE COLORED COLOR" LINE
(By VIM. Pickens for A. N. P.)

(By Wm Pickens for A. N. P.)
Leslies Weekly published article color lin
American Negro racial group, and the artc
extensively quoted by the Literary Digest The au
thor the article be coored man, but it
the of these two awaken
by wrong things IA falsehood "A half-truth
which dangerous than falsehood for 1t is speci
and harder to show The falsehood is That th
Negro draws rigid lines within his thar
white draws against the Negro (notng the
parison The halftruth that the American Negro does
boast about his features and physical characters
tics and that therefore the author falsely deduces, hs
has group pride.
We do not need to prove to American Negroes thai
such rigid color lines drawn within the group
drawn against the group by the AngoSaxon. The col
mania within the group is mostly individual nicianess
and local popularity due to historical conditions. But
this has been passing out in New Orleans and Charlie
ston IS c. where three cornered problem came
nearest to developing. To say that considerable
group of Negro Americans interested in color
than white people, is not only false statement but
tends offer the white for its terri
Bile colorm against the whole Colored group.
The "seven" colors which the author of the article
mentions, only distinct" lines among Color
ed people but they just merely the creation of the
vaudeville stage the pool and the and
splendid exhibition of the ncessant Negro humor The
old about the yaller gal perfectly natural
mulattoes still in the minority but were formerly
much than they and any feature in
is the object of special sentiment and
attention just as the blondes among the whites But,
if the white were all blonde with just few dark
haired people scattered in it, of the
lies would then be written about
girls We have heard songs about the black girl" and
these would have been if the black
gals had been relatively more scarce.
But the greatest mistake of all is that the half
truth for which white person, outsider might be
but wb otel
easily understand. The American Negro is accused of
being without group pride This illusion is derived from
the fact that he is not bgot about his color and
And for good he is not; because he has all the
color and features within his group Physically the Col
ored American is the cosmopolitan group humans
the world If he is boast of his features which
one must he boast? How a group with every color
known to nature, say II am proud Of my color?" OF
which color?" How can group of people with every
shape of hair olce and every
tically round and straight Mongoan almost and
kinky African boast about our kind of hair? Which
kind? The American Negro boast for any part-
euar shape of arch of foot for blue eyes
brown eyes black eyes. He has all of them as a
group In given American city. if the Negro is brag
on his physical features, each Negro will have "brag
on himself"
In Africa when child born with a nose too
nearly aquiline, its parents have been known to bind
down its and fatten it. But in that whole tribe
How can the American Negro group which has every
color, feature and every Characteristic feel the
normality of have boastful pride in merely ONE?
Can the rainbow brag about Its COLOR subtropical
flower bed get stuck its singular and peculiar tint?
But to that this featured and motet-colored
group of people cannot unite the superiority" of
physical feature is not prove that they
have not pride of the The American Negro
not shout for black merely shout for any color
would be disintegrating not unifying, shout The tie
must be other than physical features And gath
erng together of Colored Americans for
pose, in New York, Chicago, in Atlanta, in New Or
leans, is today the most varegated thing earth.
The cry of color USUALLY the cry of black, which
has several times been raised this group
but has yet met with response for the
reason that it is both inconsistent and unhepful.
To that the Negro is color prejudiced than
the whites, those of the white who would
color And to that the American Negro lacks
pride is to those who have tried dscredt
the by claiming that altho white wants to
be Negro, every Negro wants to be a white Ne
Of all colors and features have disputed this Doug
lass Washington, Motion, Dubois, and Garvey.
Christianity is strange. bids to recognize our