George A. Newman Sr.

Editors’ note: This speech appears as a separate handwritten manuscript in Newman’s family papers. Based on references to Lee’s surrender occurring thirty-four years prior, alongside a quote from a Thomas Nelson Page essay that was published in 1901, a significant portion of the speech appears to have been composed between 1899 and 1901. Marginal edits, insertions, and the renumbering of pages suggest that in 1913, Newman revised this earlier piece for inclusion in this longer speech. In revising the speech, Newman changed the reference to Lee’s surrender as having occurred forty-eight years prior, marked several individuals as having left particular offices or passed away, and inserted references to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments, both ratified in 1913. In the speech, he refers to having been invited to speak by his audience’s “progressive pastor,” but it is unknown what group, church, or program he is addressing.

 

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen:

Accepting the kind invitation of your energetic and progressive pastor to participate in this program,^[1] I shall introduce my observations by referring to the fact that from far off Australia comes the news that the race issue there has become more pronounced than it now is in the United States, and since the conclusion of the Boer war in Africa, we are informed that the British are confronted with a similar issue there.

And referring to the origin of the races, a famous geologist, in a communication to the “Ram’s Horn,[”]^[2] says there is nothing in the Scripture account of the creation of Adam to contradict the supposition that the Negro may have been created long before that time, notwithstanding the fact that St. Paul, by divine inspiration, very positively asserts that “God hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth.”

Stranger yet is the fact that while such noted educators as Profs. Scudder and Gorton are advocating industrial education as the 20th century idea for all the schools of the North, a wail comes from Prof. Dabney,^[3] of the University of Virginia, that if the Negro is given an industrial education, he will become a dangerous competitor of the white man in the various fields of labor.

But this idea is ridiculed by a leading Richmond daily as unworthy of advocacy by an Anglo-Saxon, and so the merry-go-round continues ad infinitum.

In the midst of these conflicting scenes, we hardly know how to advance, or what to advise. We are sometimes prone to ask ourselves is this the dawn of our future in this country, or is it the dusk of the coming night?

While we are waiting for “something to turn up,” let us study the history of the races and nations of the earth, and if it affords us no other satisfaction, we may at least discover that along the line of time there “were others” who passed through the same stages of humiliation as those through which we are now passing. It is said that even misery loves company.

Josh Billings said there was something to praise even in the tight boots: they cause a man to forget his other miseries.^[4] So, in the study of the struggles and trials of other races, we may gather courage to engage in this educational effort with thankfulness for the past and hope for the future. 50 years have passed away since Lincoln’s immortal proclamation went into effect, and about 48 years have passed since Lee’s surrender,^[5] but the “Negro problem” is still a living issue in the South.

Various solutions have been proposed, ranging all the way from deportation to a repeal of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the national constitution, especially the 15th, which gives the Negro the right to vote.

Glancing over this country’s history from 1804, when the 12th Amendment was adopted to avoid confusion in regard to the election of president and vice-president, down to the present time, it seems that it is hardly possible to amend the Constitution except through the medium of a civil war. Unless it be such as the recently adopted 16 and 17.^[6]

A terrible price was paid for the three amendments, and it would cost, in treasure, tears and blood, a vastly larger price, amount, sum to repeal a single one of them. They may be evaded, suppressed, misconstrued, violated in many ways, but we venture the assertion that they will ever remain a part of the Constitution. Nothing except a successful revolution will ever change a single word in those three amendments.

Then, what avails this senseless and incessant agitation? It is the wails of disappointed hopes and frustrated ambition. In the fulness of time the whole Constitution will be the supreme law of the land in spirit as well as in letter.

As we cannot discuss many of the phases of this great problem, for want of time, we wish to confine ourselves mainly to the educational phase. The South complains that it has spent more than $109,000,000 for the education of the Negro, and that this enormous outlay has injured, rather than benefited, said race. Besides the amount already named, the philanthropic people of the North have spent large sums for Negro education, but the late Dr. J. L. M. Curry, former Agent of the Peabody & Slater Funds, said that all parties were disappointed in the results.^[7] The Negro has failed to fulfill the expectations of his friends, and has fallen too generally a victim to the wise-acres who are always on hand, waiting to say, “I told you so!”

But Thomas Nelson Page, now amb[assador] to Italy, a noted Southern writer,^[8] says: “Looking at the other race in the South, who must be reckoned, if they allow themselves to be so, as a part of the Southern people—whilst there is much to cause regret and even disappointment to those who are their truest friends, yet there is no little from which to draw hope.

[“]No other people ever had more disadvantages to contend with on their issue into freedom. They were made to believe that their only salvation lay in aligning themselves against the other race, and following blindly the adventurers who came to lead them to a new Promised Land.

[“]But now, in place of political leaders, who were simply firebrands, is arising a new class of leaders, which, with a wider horizon, a deeper sagacity, and a truer patriotism, are endeavoring to establish a foundation of morality, industry, and knowledge, and to build upon them a race that shall be capable of availing itself of every opportunity that the future may present, and worthy of whatever fortune it may bring.”^[9] This sounds more encouraging.

Notwithstanding these facts, there are so-called statesmen and mis-named philanthropists who every once in a while and sometimes^[10] twice in a while, speak of sending the Negro to his native home. It is paradoxical to speak of sending him to a place when he is already there. We are to the manor born. This is now our native home, and as the song says of Satan, we’ll never care to wander from our own fireside, but with our children on our knee, we’re as happy as can be, and are ready for a jubilee today.

Expatriation has always been considered a terrible punishment, and the reader of history will readily call to mind the captive Britons who graced the triumph of Cesar [sic] at Rome, the Hebrew exiles who sat by the rivers of Babylon and wept when they remembered Zion, or the Acadian peasants who were scattered far and wide throughout the English colonies because they loved their country, and were true to their king.

In each of these cases there was widespread distress, the severing of family and social ties, and as general unrest created that only the grave could allay or appease. Bishop H. M. Turner says the best place for the Negro is in Africa, and he has spent years trying to induce the Negro to agree with him.^[11] His efforts have not met with much success, because the Negro, somehow or other, prefers to face present ills rather than fly to those he knows not of. ^[12]

Ex-Senator Butler thinks it is expatriation for the Negro or death, for, says he, the superior race will never submit to Negro domination, and the result of a contest of that sort will always leave the Negro the under dog in the fight.^[13]

The late Senator Vance, in speaking to Northern Senators about their championship of the Negro, said he agreed with them in one respect, and “If the Negro is a good thing,” said he “spread him out. Let him go into all the States, and then the Northern whites would understand better the existing conditions in the South.”^[14] So the idea Senator Vance held was to spread the Negro out in the United States. I agree with one of S.V.’s ideas, that is in his spreading out but let the Negro spread himself out. He is now in Every State, and T[erritory] and wealth $400,000,000. Va. $4,900,000.^[15]

If he wishes to face the blizzards and cyclones of the great West, the long winters of the North and East, or to bask in the baking breezes of the Sunny South, the voice of freedom says “let him spread.” The truth of the matter is that the Negro, like any other human being must work out his own destiny, choose his own habitat, and take his own chances in the battle of life. And just as freely as the dualists choose their own weapons, or the prize-fighters shape their own rules, so the Negro should choose his own occupation, his own home, his own country. To ask more of him is to make him a slave; to ask less is to degrade his manhood. It is not wise nor politic to do either. Let him spread himself out. To rise above one’s environment, if it is unfavorable to development, is the price one must pay for distinction, but this is a price too high for a great many to pay. And even when one rises above his environment, he still has its evil influences to combat, for generally he has to labor among those who have made no struggle to rise, and who can see no advancement in anything that does not appeal to the five senses. The contemplation of the beautiful, the good, and the true, has no charms for the multitude. The love of learning for learning’s sake is foolishness to a great many, and unless you appeal to the bread-and-butter idea in education, many consider you a fanatic. This idea has undoubtedly led many astray, and there has also been too much stress put upon the fallacy that if you get an education you can make a living without engaging in manual labor. The truth is that whether educated or not, one should choose and follow the occupation best suited to his talents and temperament. The Negro, while gaining many excellent ideas in the midst of his surroundings, has also imbibed many false ones of what should be the object of his ambition. The city Negro takes great pride in pointing out the various grand buildings, conveniences and enterprises of the city in which he happens to sojourn, not reflecting that he shares very little in the actual benefits; the country Negro is just as enthusiastic in calling attention to the many excellent farms around him, not remembering that most of them belong to another race.^[16] It is hard for us to realize that in the midst of all our brilliant surroundings, we are as “a wheel in the middle of a wheel,” and must, as distinctly, almost, as the Israelites in Egypt, “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.”^[17]

I take it, that this is the hardest part of our problem. It takes us years to see that we are in a peculiar situation as a race, and some of us never see it.

Not that we are incapable of seeing it, but we are not reflective enough. This generation cannot, by any means whatever, reap all the fruits of emancipation. Generations of our race, yet unborn, will rise up and call A[braham] Lincoln blessed for “relying upon the gracious favor of Almighty God, and the considerate judgement of mankind” in assuring the great proclamation.

Right education will do much for us. Whether the 20th century idea of industrial education is to be the way through which we are to come up out of Egypt, remains to be seen. It is well for everyone to know how to do some kind of manual labor, but you can no more make an intelligent man follow carpentering than you can make him follow the profession of law. Anyone who is capable of being trained is also capable of choosing his occupation.

We would not say a word against any particular line of education for the Negro, but we believe that ultimately each must fill the place for which he is best filled. Our young people must ever bear in mind that the eyes of the nation are on them, and they can do a great deal toward making a more favorable impression by being manly and womanly in their deportment. There are at least four agencies in almost constant operation for the training of the young. These are: the home, the church, the Sunday School, and the day school. I need hardly say that the home should stand very high in importance as an agency for this training.

If we are to show progress in the future, it will be largely the result of the influence that emanates from our firesides. We must lay the foundation there. If I were asked what should first be taught at home, I would say, “Obedience.” Teach obedience first, last and all the time. Then teach cleanliness, industry, sobriety and honesty.

The church comes next, and should teach reverence for the word of God, the Sabbath and the Sanctuary. The work of the church as such can be greatly strengthened by faithful Sunday School work, where the decalogue and the Golden Rule should be thoroughly taught. Add to these agencies the day school, whether public or private, and we have four great levers for elevating the race, and they can be in operation in almost every community.

Resuming our thought upon the money the South has spent for Negro education, it may not be improper to say a word about the amount expended for the Indians, by way of comparison.

In his annual report for 1901 Mr. W. A. Jones, former U. S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs, states that, taken as a whole, the present system of Indian education is practically a failure, and is not calculated to produce the results which ought to be attained.^[18] He refers to the fact that within the last 20 years $45,000,000 have been spent by the government alone for the education of Indian pupils, and it is a liberal estimate to put the number so educated at not over 20,000. Besides this, the government has spent in maintaining the Indians on their reservations in the last 33 years the sum of $240,000,000! And this upon an Indian population not exceeding 180,000! Surely, the Negro has not been as great a charge upon the South as the Indian has been upon the whole country, and the Negro certainly, in some way, provides for himself. He saw the handwriting on the wall immediately after Lee’s surrender. In 1899 there were in the U. S. 2,912,910 Negroes of school age, and of these 1,511,618 were enrolled in the public schools, while 43,430 were enrolled in secondary schools, making a total of 1,555,048. According to Com. Jones, the 20,000 Indians were educated at an expenditure of $45,000,000, or at the rate of $2,250 each. Evidently, the Indian is a costly citizen to educate, and he won’t stay educated, for in many cases he soon discards his costume of civilization for the Indian blanket and the wig-wam of his fathers. It is an open question as to whether the government should have made the Negro the ward of the nation to the extent that the Indian is, but it can hardly be doubted that if $45,000,000 had been spent on 20,000 Negroes, there would be now something more tangible in results than is shown in the case of the Indians. But, in either case, this is part of the white man’s burden. He took the very earth from under the Indian’s feet, and he must therefore give the Indians’ descendants something in return.

Further, he took the Negro off the very earth, transported him, nolens volens,^[19] across the stormy Atlantic, and made him a “hewer of wood and drawer of water” for generations; so he now has, as a result, this same Negro to reckon with. And it seems the very irony of fate that the white man of the U. S. now has more of the colored races on his hands than ever. In Porto Rico, the Philippines, and Hawaii millions of dollars must be spent to educate the dusky sons of Ham.^[20] Let us hope that as the people of this country become better acquainted with their task, they may become convinced that the only way to solve the great problems before them is to face them “with malice towards none and charity to all.”^[21]

By so doing, problem after problem will yield to heroic treatment, and these very Negroes of the U. S. having imbibed more of the genius of American institutions than any other of the so-called inferior races, will assist very materially in bringing about the much longed-for millennial dawn.

But, so far, have we not played the game of the soldier who ran into the Confederate camp puffing and blowing, and said: “Boys I have just ran a^[22] Yankee to death!” All were surprised at his bravery, and were ready to admire him as a hero until he added: “And yet he didn’t catch me!” They then realized who was in front in the race. Haven’t we nearly run real progress a fearful race? And can’t many of us say: “But it didn’t catch me?” Was not our first conception of freedom a false one? Was not that the cause of many running wild? Don’t you believe that many of us will have to revise our ideas of what it means to be a citizen of a great Republic like this? Taking the whole period of freedom have we not succeeded about as well as any other people would have succeeded in like circumstances? Are we prepared to say that the whites who were our friends did not make some mistakes, and have not we, as a whole, made some mistakes also?

Take the educational qualification for suffrage in the South as an example. Has it not driven many children into the schoolhouse of the South, whose parents would not have sent them there if they had not been aroused by this adverse legislation? Isn’t it a blessing in disguise? I know these are hard nuts to crack, but my “poke”^[23] is full of them, and I am willing to divide with my brothers and sisters.

Again: the property qualification will only serve to make our race more thrifty, more economical, more self-reliant. When a difficulty is to be surmounted, we generally find a way to surmount it, and, in a general way, as each individual surmounts or overcomes, it counts for, or in favor of, the race. But, once more, we must educate. We must learn more about the institutions of our country. I mean the political institutions. I mean the primary basis of our citizenship, and the privileges included therein, as well as the responsibilities. Take a familiar instance. Many of us tell our children that we have the right to go to public school because we pay taxes. There never was a greater fallacy. The truth is that the public school system is based upon an entirely different foundation. It is based upon the sound principle of political economy that an educated citizen is, on the whole, a more desirable citizen than an ignorant one, and for the good of the State, it has been found wise to raise money by taxation to educate all children of said State, without regard to the amount of tax paid by a particular individual, yea though a man have 20 children between 7 & 20 y[ea]rs of age, and though he is too poor to be assessed 20¢ taxes, he has the same right to send his children to the public school as the millionaire who lives in the same district. Then the money necessary to carry on the public schools is regarded as just as legitimate an expenditure as that raised to carry on the other departments of the State.

The State educates its children to help make better fathers, mothers, citizens; to protect itself against a flood-tide of ignorance; yea, verily, for self-preservation.^[24]

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