The Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1931-1952, 1931-10-08

BY DIR. CARTER G. WooDSON =
Director OF the Association for the
Study of Negro Life and History
The other Cay was charged
with being a preacher fighter. This
critic considers such thing has
phemy. I must plead guilty to
fighting worthless preachers who
have made racket of religion. but
| am fighting hard for the honest
minister's who through the church
are trying to elevate the Negro.
The race has too many preachers
of the wrong kind, but it has not
sufficient number of the right
kind.
The large majority of Negro
preachers are both unnecessary and
undesirable. While the other. pro-
LESSONS among Negroes are under
manned. the number of Negro
preachers considered in proportion
TO the Negro population exceeds
that of the white preachers. Ae-
cording to the last estimate made
by the United States Bureau of the
| Census, the whites had one clergy
man for every $40 persons, and the
| Negroes one for every 562.
In the professions in general, how
ever. when taken together, Negroes
had only one professional man for
every lac, and the whites one for
every 81. The population for each
physician or surgeon. at that time,
fer example. was 3,194. among Ne
groes and 553 for whites; for each
dentist 20.560 among Negroes, and
2.070 among whites: for each col
lege president or professor, ISL
among Negroes, and 5.301 among
whites; for each lawyer, judge or
Justice, 12.315 among Negroes, and
us among whites for each mu-
stefan or teacher of music, l,753
among Negroes, and 612 among
whites; for each school teacher, 334
among Negroes, and las among
whites; for each trained nurse. a.
039 among Negroes, and 1,o24
among whites.
Because the Negro church Is such
free field and 1t Is controlled
largely by the Negroes themselves,
1t seems that practically all the In.
competents and undesrables who
have been barred from other walks
of life have rushed into the ministr,
for the exploitation OF the people
! Honest ministers who are trying Il
! do their duty, then, find their task
/ made difficult by these men wht
stoop to almost anything conceiy
! able.
Almost anybody of the loves
? type may go into the Negro MN
{ istry. The Methodists claim tina
they have strict regulations to pre-
, vent this, but their net draws II
: proportionately as many skates a
you find among the Baptists.
friend In Cincinnati recently toll
4 me OF case of railroad hand VIII
/ lost his Job and later ali his earn
ngs In a crap game in denize
: of vice in that city. To stage
: Comeback" he took an old blac
e frotk coat and Bible and went In
r to the heart OF Tennessee. wher
he conducted series of distracte
protracted meetings at various point
which Melted him 299 converts I
! the faith and $500 In cash. II
!. was enabled thereby to return to Tn
:, game in Cincinnati and he is sti
!. In the lead. 49,.
When say lowest type 1 do nc
. refer particularly to the iliterat
: and deprayed Negro preacher VIII
! preys upon the ignorant people
: True enough, such imposters are
{ public nuisance and should be 81
eneed, but the worst sort of preacl
= err IL the educated man who, a
e though he does not believe in an
II kind OF religion. goes into the churc
r and works it for what it is wort
), to him. Men of this class NAH
II their money out of the church an
p spend it in worldly fashion.
]. For example, persons In Was
r ington claim that they often $,
4 passing through the city a promil
II ent clmrchman carrying with him
his fryst MS attractive paramo'
1t for whom he maintains hon
~ somewh removed from that
k. which lives HIS legal wife. Recon
Is Iy | met man, not In Alabam
$. complaining that girl whom
id wanted TO marry has been TAKE
al ever altogether by a bishop wi
x supports her in luxury with mon'
= he EFFORTS from thoughtless peopl
This is the sort of thing that
mai C4ulEHtS LdhS up tOlisItloH -
a. on Sunday Ministers who are TT
~ ing to initiate Christ. then, have
~ hard time and will fare worse
~ the church Is not 40 reorganized
= 10 eliminate these hopelessly &C
- rupt hypocrltes.
~ When you speak of these thin
passing daily before your eyes y
a = are said to be antagonistic to t
- church. ! am OF the opinion, no
AZ ever, that the man who knows t
p facts and does not speak out Is t
MS real enemy OF the church, for I
ne criminals guilty of these things a
rapidly discredlting an institute
at which has done some good al
tn should be saved for further usef,
ness.
ve The main trouble with the Neg
"A church is that 1t has no progfa
- A serious organization with yisi
- and program for realizing
~ dreams could not use the nndes
s ables now affecting the institute
- for such incom netents and hvpoeri
20, could not have any function in
IN real church. But az long az [
IL church IS merely paying a man.
whoop up shout twice on Sund
!. and sweat out IN a class meeting
III prayer meeting once a week m
u, OF the lowest type viii figure il
as conspicuously In the institute
as men of Intelligence and Chr
tan character Almost anyb0
---@ \ .s,..t.r 49,. oa,f ~ Z