Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1924-03-29
preston News Service)

Among those who have aided in the
selection of these ten are: DR.. Gilbert
Haven Jones, dean and vice president
Wilberforce University: Mrs. Mary
Church Terrell, Washington, ID. c.; Al
bion l.. Holsey, secretary Nation@l Ne
gro Business League, Tuskegee. Ala;
IL. X. Wells, president American FED
Grafton of Negro Students, Pittsburgh
Pa. and DR.. Carter G. Woodson, Direc
tor of Research of the Association for
the Study of Negro Life and Hislora.
Washington, D C.
In later installments several of these
persons lists will be published wltn
their comments.
The "Ten" were selected from list
of those who received the majority OF
votes cast by those submitting names.
Each person submitted list without
knowing who else was doing the same,
and was allotted ten days in which to
decide his ten. All efforts at propagan
da were studiously avoided.
ON WHAT SELECTION WAS BASED
I
Greatness was not based upon the
wide extent of the service of those plaI
ed upon the roll of honor, nor was
it based upon the extent to which the
person was known. In the latter case,
both Mamie Smith and Jack Johnson
would usurp important positions on
the roll.
The American Federation of Negro
Students expressed the hope to each
nominator that persons would be select
ed from the several fields in which We
as a race, have labored and that great
ness be based upon service rendered to
the race, or on benefits which might de
rive from such services.
]. j. X. Wells, president Of the Youth
Movement, who originated the idea Of
naming the "Ten Greatest Negroes
whom America has produced" issued
the following statement:
'We realize, partly, the difficulty of
the task of appraising rightly the rela
tive places of mortals, especially when
they live in different times, labor with
different problems under different con
have secured the services of some or
our foremost citizens, noted for their
good Judgment, excellent training and
distinguished and disinterested high
mindedness, to enable us to approx
mately evaluate The Ten Greatest Ne
groes Whom America Has Produced.
'Our reason for engaging in such an
endeavor as this one will be more ap
parent during the course of these in
stallments.
MANY of the persons whom we are
honoring in the Ten are yet living. We
are glad to pay them some honor
while they live. Possibly we can see
people better after they are dead and
men have enshrouded them with saint
ly haloes, but no one can deny the viz
tue of realizing the bigness in mortals
while they live and labor among US.
"There will certainly be some differ
ence Of opinion as to the Ten Greatest
Negroes whom America has produced
However, as truly as we are emitting
these members of our race as the Ten
Greatest Negroes Whom America Has
Produced, these are unquestionably ten
great persons who have produced in
America" Fl tTsTTN
MANY EXPECT DIR. WASHING
TON TO LEAD LIST
AS will appear later, it will be inter
esting to observe how great monds
differe." Many people would expect DR..
nertN tc no no
Of the Big Ten; yet many lists appear
ed in which the name of the distinguish
ed educator was not mentioned.
This weeks release from the Youth
Movement contains the names of two
lusty sons of the race and the nation
One of them is Frederick Douglass. To
this great orator, abolitionist and race
champion who blazed the way for the
Negro in America, goes the honor of
having received the highest number OF
votes
The other person elected to place
as one Of the Ten Greatest is George
Washington Carver, F. R. S. DIR. Cary
err stands out as one Of the great scien
lists Of all time. His work in the field
of agriculture-extractin from the
pecan. sweet potato. and peanut easily |
third of thousand by-products, |
marks him as pioneering figure
opening up to mankind vast unexplor |
ed chamber OF nature which has been
secret to billions of men for thousands
of years. From common clay DR.. Carv-
er unearths dyes and dye secrets bur-
ried with the Egyptians His work will
probably revolutionize the South, the
entire nation and will benefit the world
When informed by the Ameri-
can Federation of Negro stu
dents of his election as a member of
the mythical Ten, he said with charae
An,.i<sfi In cir,nrlinifu. nm s,rrnricad To