Negro History Bulletin 1944-11: Vol 8 Iss 2

1944
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THE NEGRO HISTORY BULLETIN
NOVEMBER, 1944
Volume VIII Number 2

Published by

The Association for the Study of
Negro Life and History

1538 Ninth St., N. W.
Washington, D. C

PURPOSE: To inculcate an appre-
ciation of the past of the Negro.

EpITorRIAL BOARD

Albert N. D. Brooks
Esther Popel Shaw
Annie E. Duncan
Wilhelmina M. Crosson

Carter G. Woodson
Managing Editor

The subscription fee of this paper is
$1.00 a year, or 15 cents a copy; bulk
subscriptions at special rates have been
discontinued. Bound volumes, seven of
which are now available, sell for $2.15
each.

Published monthly except July, August
and September, at 1538 Ninth St., N. W.,
Washington, D. C.

Entered as second class matter Octo-
ber 31, 1937, at the Post Office at Wash-
ington, D. C., under the Act of March
3, 1879.

CONTENTS
COVER
Learning to Fly

Man Unper His Own VINE
TREE

EVERY
AND Unper His Own Fic
A SIGNIFICANT OUTCOME OF THE PRES-
ENT WAR
By C. G. Woodson
PRESENT STATUS OF THE NEGRO IN THE
ARMED FORCES

By Seymour J. Schoenfeld

A DEFENSE OF THE FREEDOM OF THE
PRESS
By W. Sherman Savage
LEATHER INDUSTRIES IN AFRICA
By A. K. Nyabongo
Famous WomEN IN Haitian History
By Jean F. Brierre

Post-War HEALTH PROGRAM IN WEsT
VIRGINIA

DEVELOPMENT OF THE NeGrRO Com-

MUNITY
CHILDREN’S PAGE
A Boy Hero
QUESTIONS

Book OF THE MontTH

Tue Necro History BULLETIN

Every Man Under His Own Vine
ost Under His Own Fig Tree

HIS is an old expression borrowed from the Orient where

the vine and the fig tree were considered essential to life.

Grapes grew in abundance in those parts and so did figs. In
that unsettled state where men moved from place to place with
their herds they had to.camp sometimes for a considerable period.
It was advisable for them to dwell even temporarily near some place
where they could enjoy the products of the vine and fig tree. Here
they would have grapes during the warm season and figs that re-
mained on the trees during the winter. For this reason this term
became the symbol of the home. A man’s vine and fig tree became
the designation of his permanent dwelling place.

On what ground could a man claim the vine and fig tree as his
home? A man’s home is his property. But what is property? John
Locke gave a good definition of it when he said that property is
what man has taken from a state of nature and mixed his labor
with. If he took this vine and fig tree from the wilds and planted,
cultivated and nurtured them unto the point of bearing fruit, the
vine and fig tree, according to natural law, became his; and no one
had a right of any kind to disturb him in the enjoyment of what
he reaped from that harvest, for this was his home—his permanent
attachment to the community in which he lived.

In our day a home is secured in a different way; and yet the

_procedure is the same. When a man sells his home to another he

merely conveys to him what some one in times far back did to mix
his labor with what he took from a state of nature, and thereafter
labored to improve. By custom and law, therefore, he is permitted
to transfer to another individual what he has acquired from the origi-
nal owner, or his successors and heirs. In this case he is not merely
selling the vine and fig tree but the improvements which have been
made in the fruits produced and the facilities offered there for the
enjoyment of these products. This, of course, included the land on
which the vine and fig tree grew.

The custom in those days was to consider the individual as secure
in his premises as long as he could show his connection or succession
to the persons who originally established and improved these prem-
ises. Any one disregarding these rights was considered an intruder—
a criminal and could be dealt with accordingly. The right to prop-
erty was considered a most important sanction of human society.
To disregard this right meant a step backwards to disorder and
social chaos.

This order of the social system, though primitive, was far in
advance of what we have in the so-called United States of America.

The other day it was discovered that a Negro in Mississippi had oil
(Continued on page 47)

NoveMBER, 1944

A SIGNIFICANT OUTCOME OF THE

NE of the significant develop-
() ments of the present war is
the failure of the expensive
policy of segregation.. Both the
United States Army and Navy
have learned that segregation does
not solve any problem but rather
creates a problem. In fact, segre-
gation is a declaration of war it-
self. When one element of the pop-
ulation says to another you cannot
associate with us because we are
your superiors and you are our in-
feriors, the one caste thus estab-
lished declares war on the other
just as slavery was a state of war.
When a church says to a human
being we do not want you in our
circle and we are going to provide
for you a makeshift system on the
outside for you to get to glory the
best you can, that church declares
war on the principles of Jesus of
Nazareth. When a Young Men’s,
or Young Women’s, Christian As-
sociation says to such a proscribed
person we cannot have you among
us and you must repair to another
building where you may imitate us
the best you can from afar, this so-
ealled Christian body, segregating
persons in the name of God, thus
wages war on the very principles
which it is established to promote.
When a school system turns away
the Negro child and orders him to
an inadequately equipped building
and sometimes to inefficient teach-
ers, that system thus wages war on
education, the foundation on which
real democracy must be _ based.
Such a policy thus impedes the
progress of the country by keeping
a large part of the population in
ignorance and consequently in pov-
erty, squalor, disease and crime.
And so it has worked in both
the Army and Navy of the United
States. The United States Govern-
ment drafted Negroes, designating
the race in all cases in order to
earry out thoroughly the policy of
segregation. No Negro was to
serve except in a subsidiary or
menial capacity. The segregated

PRESENT WAR

By C. G. Woopson

Negro units, the 9th and 10th Cav-
alry and the 24th and 25th Infan-
try, had already been demilitarized
in keeping with this purpose. Some
Negroes were trained for officers,
but they faced the fortune of serv-
ing as foremen in the labor bat-
tallions to which most Negro sol-
diers were sent. Segregation under
such circumstances was a declara-
tion of war on the home front. To
expect one-tenth of the population
to acquiesce in carrying out such a
policy was an evidence of military
ineptitude, and the course thus fol-
lowed led to more problems than it
solved.

To hold the Negro soldiers in
subordination, however, further
segregation was required to keep
them separate and distinct from
the white officers placed over them.
The military forces had to incur
the expense of separate latrines,
separate dormitories, separate din-
ing facilities, and separate amuse-
ments. Separation often meant
nothing at all for Negroes. These
provisions were carried out re-
ligiously outside of the regular
area of the Jim Crow in the United
States and on foreign soil. In Eng-
land Negro soldiers were not per-
mitted to mingle freely with the
people there in whose homes they
were permitted to spend their fur-
loughs. A white soldier seeing a
Negro with an English woman
would slap the Negro in the face
and take the woman away from
him.

Enforcing such a policy of segre-
gation naturally produced many
minor clashes and not a few dis-
turbances which assumed riotous
proportions. The Negro soldiers
thus protesting, of course, were
tried by court martial and sen-
tenced by their white superiors to
imprisonment and sometimes to
death, but this did not stop the
outbreaks against the agents of the
easte of color. Many Negro sol-
diers felt that they had just as well
die fighting for democracy in the

United States as to die for the
cause abroad. Segregation, there-
fore, proved to be a very expensive
policy. In addition to the cost in
material things it entailed a tre-
mendous loss in morale. No mili-
tary force with such problems on
its hands can be efficient, and no
country devoted to the maintenance
of such medievalism can keep
apace with the progress of the
world.

Segregation has failed, too, be-
cause of the failure of the argu-
ment in support of it. The Negroes
have been charged with being so-
cially unfit for association with the
other races which are considered
more advanced. Race, however, it
has been discovered, has nothing to
do with the matter. The faults of
Negroes lie mainly at the door of
those guilty of segregation. If the
Negro is dirty, he was not so when
brought from Africa. The African
takes a bath daily, sometimes twice
a day, morning and evening. If
the Negro suffers from social dis-
eases, he was not thus afflicted in
his native habitat in Africa. These
evils have been introduced among
Negroes by their enslavers, for in
their tribal life of Africa every
man and every woman must keep
sexually clean. If the Negro is un-
educated it is not his fault, the laws
of this country once prevented him
from acquiring an education and
the laws and customs of certain
areas in the United States prevent
his acquiring an education today.
If the Negro is impoverished, the
charge cannot be placed to his ac-
count, for trades unions prevent
him from working for high wages,
and capitalistic combinations block
his way in the business world. Any
people on earth, regardless of the
race to which they belong, manifest
all these weaknesses when thus
handicapped. The causes are purely
environmental, and since the segre-
gationists determine the environ-
ment the resulting evils must be
charged to their account.

28

Segregation has failed in that
those adhering to that policy are
proportionately decreasing. Both
in the military forces and in civil-
ian life are millions of adherents
to this medievalism—a majority of
the people of the United States, but
the strong minority consisting of
the Negroes and white friends of
democracy who have greatly in-
creased in recent years has become
so militant that it is impolitie for
the Federal Government to enforce
it rigidly any longer. The present
national functionaries are gradu-
ally trying to lead the nation away
from the practice in spite of the
vociferous demands of the expo-
nents of the Jim Crow to the con-
trary. This at least is one distinct
gain, for in advancing an argu-
ment for discrimination, as in the
ease of Berea College in Kentucky
which in 1904 prohibited the co-
education of the races there, states
have pointed to such acts of the
United States Government as that
of maintaining separate schools for
Negroes in the District of Colum-
bia. Why should not the States
do what the Federal Government
does ?

It should be noted, moreover,
that a considerable number of those
fighting segregation are soldiers
who have seen service on foreign
shores where the weak have tre-
mendously suffered. This very ex-
perience of lifting the heel of the
oppressor from the necks of unfor-
tunate foreigners has reacted on
some of these veterans in favor of
the Negro. They have been unable
to escape the thought that some-
thing should be done also to re-
move the disabilities from the Ne-
groes in their own country where
they have thus suffered for three
centuries. Not every white soldier
has thus seen the light, and there
will be some returning to stage
race riots and massacres of Negroes
as such men did at the close of the
first World War, but they will find
some opposition in their own ranks,
probably enough of it to prevent
the recurrences of those distur-
bances which disgraced the country
a little more than a generation ago.

Segregation, moreover, has re-

ceived its heaviest blow from the
Negro himself. The Negroes of to-
day are far in advance of what they
were in 1919. They are better edu-
cated and more experienced in the
methods of advancing their re-
forms. Among the Negroes, more-
over, the Uncle Tom leadership of
the race has been discredited and
would be entirely eliminated but
for the possibility of financing
these sychophants with positions
and funds at the disposal of those
who fearlessly contend for the per-
petuation of segregation. Those
speaking effectively for the Negroes
today are financed by the Negroes
themselves, and the rank and file
of the race have learned to combine
and sacrifice for the common good.
For example, in the City of De-
troit alone the local branch of the
National Association for the Ad-
vancement of Colored People raised
$25,000.00 in one campaign. All the
Negroes of the country would not
have raised a much larger sum for
this purpose twenty-five years ago.

The Negroes of the country have
finally discovered the power which
they have and they are beginning
to use it. The Negroes now hold
the balance of power in twelve
pivotal states and will decide the
national election of the President
of the United States and the sena-
tors and representatives from these
states who will be associated with
him in the administration of the
national government. No segrega-
tionist can become the President
of the United States because
neither of the major parties would
dare nominate such a man for the
office of chief executive if the Ne-
groes protested. He would be de-
feated before nominated. The at-
tachment of the segregating area to
its idol of the caste of color will
thereby keep that section a non-
entity in national politics. Some
of that unfortunate section have
seen the light of day and are try-
ing to effect the democratization of
that backward region in order that
it may enjoy the liberty of other
parts of the country.

Both the War Department and
the Navy Department have had to
abandon some of their race dis-

Tue Necro History BULLETIN

crimination, and no administration
which bows to the demands of
medievalism can hope to continue
in office. The clamor for a mixed
Army and Navy, then, is not the
raving of men of idle dreams. The
nation must take this matter into
account and square itself with its
own liberal citizens and with those
with whom it claims to be cooper-
ating abroad for modern democ-
racy. Soldiers in some of the camps
have made some striking recom-
mendations for bringing about

these desirable changes.

Negro History Week
Literature

HE Association for the Study

of Negro Life and History is
frequently appealed to these days
for Negro History Week literature.
Most of these requests come from
persons who imagine that the his-
tory of the Negro can be given in a
brief pamphlet and that it is to be
distributed free of charge. This is a
reflection on the past of the Negro,
or a manifestation of misinforma-
tion by those making these appeals.
The celebration of Negro History
Week was established by the Asso-
ciation in 1926 to give opportunity
for the schools and clubs to drama-
tize what they have learned about
the Negro during the year, the aim
being not to make a boastful dis-
play, but to stimulate the study of
the Negro in other fields not yet
invaded and to arouse those who
are still apathetic.

To give intelligent direction to
the celebration of Negro History
Week the Association launched in
1937 The Negro History Bulletin
in which appear annually the pro-
gram of studies for the year which
are supposed to reach a culmina-
tion the second week in February
when the celebration takes place.
This year the dates are February
11 to 18.

During the year 1943-44 the pro-
gram was to study the Negro .in
the present war. This year the pro-
gram is to study the developments
from the war. In the October issue
the topic discussed was the exten-

(Continued on page 39)

NoveMBER, 1944

29

PRESENT STATUS OF THE NEGRO IN THE

S a result of the various en-
A vironmental factors often
discussed, we find that on
induction into the armed forces the
Negro is often highly suspicious,
often frightened, and at times
somewhat resentful of this new and
apparently inhospitable life he is
called upon to lead. All the past
repressions; discriminations, segre-
gations, insults, and inequalities
are recalled and relived when he
considers if this country has earned
the right to ask him to make the
supreme sacrifice.

Despite all of these elements that
might tend to make a minority dis-
loyal to the nation at a time like
this, the Negro has proved his abil-
ity to understand the basic issues
that are at stake in this global con-
flict. Despite the attempts of Japa-
nese propaganda to convince the
Negro that this is a war against

white domination of the world the
Negro has reached the decision that
this war is one in which the United
Nations are fighting for the best in-
terests of all groups which are

striving for greater democracy
throughout the world. The Negro
people have once again demon-
strated their maturity of judg-
ment and loyalty on the home front
and in the military organizations
of the nation. Although the Negro
has been inducted into the armed
forces and the regulations govern-
ing these forces are quite well
known many difficulties have arisen
which reflect the old racial conflicts
that he had every right to feel were
left behind in civilian life. These
racial conflicts are of course carry-
overs from those prevalent in all
parts of the Nation’s civilian life.
It now becomes the duty of the
military to consider these difficul-
ties and eliminate them as a source
of military inefficiency.

It will be profitable in initiating
this phase of the study to consider
the manner in which the military
euthorities have solved many of the

ARMED FORCES

By Seymour J. ScHOENFELD

acute problems that arose in the
early days of the military mobiliza-
tion and training. It is also neces-
sary to approach this matter from
the correct perspective and realize
that the military organizations are
a part of our democratic govern-
ment and as such are governed by
their respective regulations which
have been approved by Congress.
The Army and Navy Regulations,
as any one familiar with them
knows, represent the principles of
democracy which govern and pro-
tect all phases of the life of the
citizen soldier.

In our consideration of these
problems it is necessary for us to
realize that the many unpleasant
incidents that have occurred in the
various military areas, have not
been the result of any stated mili-
tary policy by the War and Navy
Departments, but on the contrary
have resulted from the faulty in-
terpretation of regulations by indi-
viduals who were not competent to
solve these problems as a result of
lack of understanding or because
they were blinded by race preju-
dice. It is also of primary impor-
tance to realize that in this war as
in past wars there are many indi-
viduals who, despite the open dec-
larations of the Commander-in-
Chief and his Secretaries of War
and Navy and their subordinates,
have undertaken to interpret situ-
ations and conditions in a manner
contrary to previous pronounce-
ments, and regulations.

In the rapid military expansion
that was necessary to make up for
the decades of military unprepared-
ness, the Army had to make several
important decisions. One was to
locate most military training camps
in the South where a greater num-
ber of training days could be de-
pended on due to the favorable
weather conditions. Another fac-
tor in the military organization
that had to be temporarily over-
looked in the need for rapid mobili-

zation was the large number of re-
serve officers that had been trained
in the southern colleges. These
factors are partly responsible for
the maintenance of many of the
prejudices,

However, many military men are
concerned over this problem. This
concern has been reflected by the
military analysis carried in the In-
fantry Journal some time ago. The
Army War College made excerpts
from one of these issues, and oth-
ers were supplied to officers along
with a selected list’ of articles and
books on the race problem.

It has been my privilege in the
past three and a half years in the
naval service to have the op-
portunity ashore and at sea to note
the interest and zeal with which
many of our high ranking naval
officers have administered these
problems within their commands in
the best of naval traditions and
have encouraged their subordinates
to do likewise. In the naval service
I have come into close contact with
my fellow citizens of the Negro
race and have had an opportunity
to learn their problems in the ser-
vice. When occasion arose I have
been able to rely on the Navy Reg-
ulations as a guide to proper han-
dling of problems arising from race
relations in the service coming
under my cognizance, and when
the letter and spirit of these regu-
lations were followed I have noted
that there were no basic problems
which were within the jurisdiction
of the officers on the spot that could
not be solved.

It has also been my experience
that those officers who referred in
a sneering fashion to the Negro and
to executive order No. 8802 were
the ones who had disciplinary
troubles with the Negro sailors.

With this short introduction it
is now proper to study the ad-
vances in race relations that have
been made in the armed forces and
their associated organizations.

30

As the program for the forma-
tion and organization of the armed
forees became publicized various
organizations indicated through
their publicity media the desirabil-
ity for more complete utilization of
Negro manpower. As in other mili-
tary and civilian phases of the war
effort, there was a great waste of
manpower through confusion, lack
of experience, cumbersome and un-
clarified directives from the organi-
zations handling the nation’s man-
power problem, as well as from the
malicious efforts of the unpatriotic
minority to utilize the nation’s pre-
occupation in the general mobiliza-
tion to keep the Negro relegated to
a minor role in the war effort. As
the result of concentrated study
and efforts by the military as well
as public spirited citizens these
facts were carefully investigated.
Many practices were discontinued
and greater opportunities for the
Negro in the services were opened

up.

It is from a study of these in-
novations and advances in dealing
with these problems that the ser-

vices are gaining much valuable
experience, as never since the
American Revolution have certain
policies been in effect in the Army.
This is indeed a great tribute to
the military men of the nation and
indicates a high degree of initiative
that many critics of the profes-
sional soldiers of the nation did not
feel they possessed. It is also highly
indicative of the basic change in
outlook on the part of the Ameri-
ean people who have supported
these changes.

While discussing these changes
it must be borne in mind that since
the American Revolution the Army
has maintained a strict policy of
segregation of the Negro soldier in
its units. Nearly all the changes
made by the Army have as yet not
altered that basic organizational
pattern. The Navy up until 1920
maintained a policy of permitting
mixed crews aboard its ships with
colored men eligible for all ratings.
However, since that time this policy
has been discontinued with the ex-
ception of the steward’s branch. In
addition the Navy has not trained

any Negro officers at any time until
recently.

As a result of the need for offi-
cer personnel the Army initiated a
training program to include Negro
officer candidates in the classes with
white candidates. The racial ‘‘ex-
perts’’ predicted that the. program
would fail for a variety of reasons.
It is of interest to note that these
candidates met the same require-
ments, and undertook the same
studies as the white officer candi-
dates. The program has succeeded.
There has been no racial animosity
in these classes. The work pro-
ceeded smoothly after the first feel-
ing of strangeness wore off. The
success of this program indicates
that the former principle of mili-
tary segregation is not as important
as was thought. This is indeed the
first wedge to be driven into the
principle of military segregation.
It indicates that the Army is be-
ginning to change its attitude to-
wards this policy, as one which is
unnecessary in military organiza-
tion. This is, of course, a small
start, but if military segregation
was such a sacred cow the place to
uphold it would be in training of
the officer groups.

The Navy for the first time in
its history is training Negro offi-
cers. It is at present intended to
use these officers in segregated
naval units. However, the training
of officers in the Navy is indeed a
revolutionary change. In addition
the Navy is training specialists for
commission in the Medical and
Dental Corps. These officer candi-
dates as in the Army are often be-
ing trained in mixed groups. This
is as significant for the Navy as for
the Army.

The Merchant Marine training
program for officers and enlisted
men has been set up in a similar
manner and has also proved suc-
cessful. It is interesting to note the
uniform success in race relations
that these training courses repre-
sent.

In the ranks of enlisted person-
nel in the Navy I have observed
white and some Negroes serving to-
gether in different stations with
great success. This was a great

Tue Necro History BULLETIN

surprise to me and I took the
trouble to question the personnel,
both white and black. Their atti-
tude towards each other was very
friendly and cooperative, which re-
flects the sincere belief of Ameri-
cans in the American way of life
and our national ideals.

Various small vessels are in-
tended for use by colored crews
when there are adequate personnel
and officers trained to take them
over. In the meantime the training
is done by having colored sailors
serve with the more experienced
white crews. These mixed crews
mess and sleep together. At a-cer-
tain station I had the opportunity
to see these men on these ships in
the close contact that life aboard
ship entails, and here as elsewhere
these men were in the friendliest
relationship in their daily duties.

This not only speaks well for the
enlisted men but reflects a high de-
gree of leadership on the part of
the white commissioned officers of
these ships. Several of these offi-
cers thought so well of their Negro
men that they recommended them
as officer candidates.

In England where our colored
troops have been treated, with few
exceptions, in the same hospitable
fashion as have our white troops,
the military authorities have been
wise in using mixed M. P. patrols
and in certain areas these patrols
usually consist of two M. P.s, one
white and one colored.

Of course, it would be too idyllic
to think that no friction develops
from time to time. At one such
occasion when a Negro was un-
justly brought to Captain’s mast at
a certain station, a close examina-
tion of the charges by Captain

indicated that the man
was being framed by a petty officer.
The charges were dismissed and at
the following inspection the entire
personnel received a straightfor-
ward talk on American principles.
It is officers of the calibre of this
captain, who are doing much to
make these programs and first at-
tempts to use Negroes in their
proper capacities successful. These
men, firmly grounded in American

(Continued on page 43)

NOVEMBER, 1944

31

A DEFENSE OF THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

. ‘HE anti-slavery agitation be-
came very intense during the
decade from 1835 to 1845.

James G. Birney and Elijah P.
Lovejoy distinguished themselves
by undertaking the establishment
of printing presses and the publica-
tion of newspapers. Public ques-
tions were to be discussed in these
newspapers. It was only natural
that these periodicals would make
mention of the anti-slavery ques-
tion, because it was one of the most
important issues of the day. It is
obvious, therefore, that the princi-
ple of the freedom of speech and
the press would be tied up with the
controversy over the mails and the
right of petition. These papers took
an active part in the discussion
of slavery and became known as
abolition papers.

James G. Birney, a native of
Kentucky, whose father was re-
puted to be one of the wealthiest
men in the state, had all the advan-
tages which wealth could give. He
was graduated from Princeton
where he received a sound training
that later helped him to carry on
the work of newspaper editing.
Among his many activities he was
both planter and politician; a
fighter for, and a firm believer in
gradual emancipation. He was one
of the most active members in that
organization which had been estab-
lished to do away gradually with
the institution of slavery. His prog-
ress from a gradual to an immedi-
ate abolitionist was slow. By 1835
the society for gradual emancipa-
tion had been abolished, and James
G. Birney had to seek a new associ-
ation because he began to realize
now that gradual emancipation was
of little value for the purpose he
had in mind. On March 19, 1835
he organized in his own home town’
of Danville, Kentucky, an auxiliary
to the American Anti-slavery So-
ciety.”

This period is of great impor-
tance in the life of Birney and the

1W. Birney, James G. Birney and His
Times, 4.

2A. E. Martin, Anti-slavery Movement
in Kentucky Prior to 1850, p. 74.

By W. SHERMAN SAVAGE

JAMES G. BIRNEY

slavery agitation in Kentucky. In
the agitation of 1835 was laid the
germ of the ‘‘Liberty Party.’’ The
motto which prevailed at that time
was to vote for no man who stood
against the right of petition, trial
by jury, or the freedom of speech
and the press.* Birney became one
of the leaders who wished to make
the anti-slavery crusade a political
issue, and he became one of the
leading spirits in the formation of
the Liberty Party in Ohio. It was
at this time that the new crusade
for political abolition came to the
fore. He would apply the test of
immediate abolition to each person

3W. Birney, James G. Birney and His
Times, 201.

ELIJAH P. LOVEJOY

who hoped to be a member of the
Kentucky legislature in order that
the question of slavery might be
discussed throughout the state.*
By 1835 Birney had become a
national figure on account of his
outspoken expression and, too, be-
cause he had freed his own slaves.
He decided to publish a paper in
Kentucky which was to be called
the Philanthropist.’ There was a
mass meeting held in Danville,
Kentucky, which was the climax of
several meetings held in Mercer
County. Here resolutions were pre-
sented and those present pledged
themselves to put a stop to the pro-
posed plan of Birney and take any
means necessary peacefully or
forcefully to prevent the publica-
tion of the Philanthropist.6 A com-
mittee appointed by this mass meet-
ing wrote Birney a letter which was
delivered to him on July 12, 1835.
It demanded that he cease to pub-
lish his proposed paper until an
appeal for rules could be made to
the Legislature.? This was a strange
request since the state had already
set up rules for the establishment
of papers. The uncompromising
Birney, of course, did not and
would not comply with the demand,
for he considered the freedom of
the press one of the most precious
and inalienable rights.* He realized
as fully as anyone the difficulties
that were to be met at that time in
a slaveholding state in starting such
a paper. He wrote Gerrit Smith
that he feared the project would
not go through, but if it did the
paper would be out about July 15.®
The publishers, bribed by his oppo-
nents, would not print the paper,
and so he was tricked. He realized
now that his usefulness in Ken-
tucky was over. He was not even

4Letter to Lewis Tappan, Feb. 3, 1835,
W. Birney, James G. Birney and His
Times, 156.

‘SW. Birney, James G. Birney and His
Times, 180.

8T bid,

TIbid. The committee consisted of
thirty-three persons.

8Letter of Executive, ibid., 181.

9Tbid.

32

certain that his mail would be de-
livered to him. Birney, therefore,
turned his back on Kentucky and
moved to Cincinnati; the laws of
Ohio, he thought, would be con-
ducive to his work. Having decided
that it would be better not to pub-
lish his paper in the city of Cincin-
nati, he moved it to New Richmond,
a few miles from the city.!° The
city newspapers gave plenty of pub-
licity to this matter. One of the
papers stated that James G. Birney
was about to start an abolitionist
paper near that city after having
failed in both Danville and Cincin-
nati and insisted that the establish-
ment of such a paper was an insult
to the slaveholding states.1! The
Cincinnati Republican was just as
hostile as the Cincinnati Whig in
denouncing Birney. In spite of this
opposition Birney went on with his
work and the paper was published
at New Richmond. The paper was
so well edited and so moderate in
tone that it disarmed all opposi-
tion.’* It was one of the mild papers
of this period ; it discussed the gen-
eral topics of the day as well as the
slave question.

Birney, misled by the subsiding
of the violent opposition, moved his
paper to Cincinnati. He was mis-
taken in this, for those who had
opposed him continued to do so
when he came back to Cincinnati.”
Things went along quietly, how-
ever, for a while and the paper
flourished. Opposition against the
paper soon broke out anew. The of-
fice of the Philanthropist was pil-
laged and ransacked July 14, 1835,
the printing material thrown in
the street and the press defaced."
Birney and his associates appealed
to the mayor of the city to issue a
proclamation and offer a reward
for the apprehension of the person
or persons guilty of the offence. The
mayor refused to act until a deposit

10This shows how
veyed his location.

11Cjncinnati Whig, Dee. 21, 1835.

12H, Wilson, Rise and Fall of Slave
Power, I, 276.

13Paper was
Ohio, April 1836.

14Niles’ Register, L, 397.

carefully he sur-

moved to Cincinnati,

was made; the paper paid the
money and the proclamation was
issued. On July 28 a notice was
sent out by handbills and news-
papers by those opposed to the
paper calling for a meeting to de-
cide the fate of the Philanthropist
in the city of Cincinnati. Reso-
lutions were passed denouncing
Birney and his attempt to publish
an abolition paper detrimental to
the welfare of the sister states. At
this same meeting a committee was
appointed to communicate with
Birney and to determine whether
the paper would cease publication
or not.

A committee of citizens!® met on
July 28, 1836 and passed a single
resolution directing the Executive
Committee of the Ohio Anti-Slav-
ery Society to show to the Citizens
Committee in writing by noon July
29 whether or not it intended to
continue the publication of the
Philanthropist..7 When this work
was done the committee adjourned
to meet again at noon on July 29 in
the office of the Ohio Insurance
Company. This request gave the
Ohio Anti-slavery Society no
chance to take the matter under ad-
visement; it had to say at once
whether or not it proposed to com-
ply with the request. The Execu-
tive Committee along with Birney
responded at once in these plain
words that it could not and would
not comply with the request of the
Citizens’ Committee: ‘‘ Whilst we
feel ourselves constrained alto-
gether to decline complying with
your request as submitted last eve-
ning to discontinue the Philan-
thropist, we think it but just to
ourselves and respectful to our fel-
low citizens: generally to offer a
brief exposition of the reasons that
persuade us to this course. (1) Its
compliance would involve a tame
surrender of the freedom of the
press, the right to discuss. (2) It
would be a surrender to the dic-
tates of the South that slavery shall

15H. Wilson, Rise and Fall of Slave
Power, I, 277.

16Henceforth this body will be known
as the ‘‘ Citizens. Committee.’’

17Xenia Free Press, Xenia, Ohio, Aug.
6, 1836.

Tur Necro History BULLETIN

not be discussed.’’?*

The question was not closed with
this reply. The Cincinnati Whig
insisted that the letter of the abo-
litionists was insulting to the
Southern brethren. The North and
the South had lived happily to-
gether and observed the national
compact for more than forty years.
The paper closed with an appeal to
the citizens of Cincinnati inquiring
if they would longer allow such in-
cumbrances to that peace and hap-
piness which they had known in
the past to remain among them. The
paper was sure that if the people
tolerated this action they had more
forbearance than it had antici-
pated.® It would seem that this
was nothing more than an appeal
to violence. Had it been the plan
of the people of that city to allow
the paper to remain it would have
been difficult indeed, for here was
a direct appeal to the city to get
rid of the paper.

When the answer was received
from the Executive Committee by
the Citizens Committee of which
Burnet was chairman, the latter
committee published a resolution
giving the reason for its assuming
the responsibility which was in-
volved in this affair. It was not to
allay the excitement which was
prevalent at the time. Then it
closed by telling how helpless the
committee had been in its use of
persuasion. In this same letter it
condemned the use of violence and
asked the citizens to abstain from
it.2° This was almost an appeal to
violence for the committee had por-
trayed to the people how deter-
mined the abolition society was to
preserve these rights and privi-
leges.

The resolution was published on
July 30, and that same night the
office of the Philanthropist was
raided again, the material de-
stroyed, the press dragged through

18The answer came the next day, July
29. The committee was composed of
James C. Ludlow, Isaae Colley, William
Donalson, James G. Birney, Thomas May-
lin, John Milandy, C. Donaldson and
Grant Bailey.

19Cincinnati Whig, quoted by the Xenia
Free Press, Aug. 6, 1836.

20Niles’ Register, L, 398.

NovemsBer, 1944

the streets and thrown into the
Ohio River. The search was made
then for Birney and Donalson, but
fortunately they could not be
found; Birney was a fearless indi-
vidual and no doubt would have re-
fused to hide from the mob and ul-
timately would have been handled
violently. The rioters, not finding
these most prominent abolitionists.
turned their attention to the Ne-
groes and tore down some of their
houses.??

This violence in Cincinnati
linked the question of slavery with
the freedom of the press which the
constitution and the laws of Ohio
had guaranteed. The Birney riot
brought others to the rescue of this
fundamental right. Among those
who were thus aroused to protest
was Salmon P. Chase.?? This action
brought Chase to a realization of
the importance of the slave ques-
tion. He decided to give it serious
consideration, although he was not
an abolitionist. John Rankin, one
of the most prominent citizens of
Ohio, was another who continued
his condemnation of slavery which
he had begun before this episode.
He held that slavery was contrary
to the Bible and that it destroyed
the very souls of men.** Another
citizen came out for the cause and
expressed himself by condemning
slavery and speaking for the free-
dom of speech; this was Charles
Hammond, editor of the Cincinnati
Gazette.

After the Birney riot Hammond
called together a meeting which
was taken over by the slavery
forces and all he could do was to
publish his protest.2* He agreed,
as so many before him had, that
slavery was a state matter and be-
longed exclusively to the state
where it was found and that no
state had a right to interfere with
it. While he agreed to this doctrine
and would not suffer those things
to be violated, he could not see the

21The action followed closely the ap-
peal made in the paper.

224A, B. Hart, Salmon P. Chase
(American Statesmen Series), XXVIII,
51.

23John Rankin, ‘‘Pamphlet on Slav-
ery,’’ Oberlin Library Collection, No. 56.

24W. H. Smith, Charles Hammond, 61.

constitution and laws trampled in
the dust. This right, the protest
stated, was the bulwark of all the
rest; namely, the right of free dis-
cussion, and the right of every
citizen to write, speak and print
upon any subject he thought prop-
er.25 The responsibility for these
principles was to be found, he
thought, in the law. It can be seen
that this matter was looked upon as
a contest over the freedom of speech
and the press. The writer thought
the right was too sacred to be given
to any mob and that every free
man should attack those who would
destroy this sacred right.*° This
gives an idea of the importance of
this riot in the city of Cincinnati.
It was not a question of the de-
struction of an abolition paper
owned by Birney, but the right of
the freedom of speech.

The press soon passed from the
hands of Birney to the hands of
Dr. Gamaliel Bailey, who conducted
the paper in the city where it had
been destroyed by the mob.”* This
was not done without difficulty for
twice his press was demolished.
This helped to bring about the free-
dom of the press,

Birney thought that the majority
of persons living in the city were
in favor of the freedom of speech
and had no part in the destruction
of the press. The nearness of Cin-
cinnati to Kentucky made it easy
for those from that state to come
over and take part in the affair.”*
The fact that the paper was still
being published and that Birney
could return to the city without a
hand being laid upon him is sig-
nificant, and shows that the city
was not as hostile as has been sup-
posed. James G. Birney, however,
had become one of the most impor-
tant apostles of the freedom of
press.

Another person who gave his life
in the interest of the freedom of the
press was Elijah Parish Lovejoy.

257 bid., 62.

26Xenia Free Press, Xenia, Ohio, Aug.
13, 1836, quoted by the Cincinnati Daily
Gazette.

27Oliver Johnson, William Lloyd Gar-
rison and His Times, 22.

28W. Birney, James G. Birney and His
Times, 22.

33

He was the son of a Presbyterian
minister and a graduate of Albion
College, Waterville, Maine, in 1826.
He entered early upon the profes-
sion of teaching. In 1826 he heard
the call of the West and moved to
St. Louis where he engaged in
teaching and newspaper work.?®
He was impressed ih January 1832
by a revival and decided to enter
the ministry. Having sensed the
necessity of further training for
his new work, he returned to
Princeton to study theology. He
was called back to St. Louis to edit
a religious paper known as the St.
Louis Observer. This marked a new
phase of activity in the life of
Lovejoy and began another chapter
in the contest over the freedom of
speech and the press.

It must not be supposed that
Lovejoy was an abolitionist or that
he espoused their cause. From the
beginning of his career he under-
stood the feeling of men who had
been reared in the midst of slavery
from their earliest infaney and
who had always thought of slaves
as a part of their estate handed
down to them. He understood that
their right to own slaves was guar-
anteed by the constitutions of their
states and that the constitution of
the United States considered slaves
the same as any other property.®°
He could see why anyone would be
excited when he was asked to give
up this right on ethical grounds.
This act would destroy the wealth
of any individual so situated. In
his early days he was ready to
agree with the abolitionists in their
effort to educate public opinion.
He, however, feared they would
not stick to their program of edu-
cation, but would stir up strife and
prejudice.*4_ The thing which he
feared eventually came to pass;
namely, that abolition societies by

(Continued on page 41)

29N. D. Harris, Negro Servitude in
Illinois, 68. He contributed to the Mis-
souri Republican and the St. Louis Times.
He was assistant editor from Aug. 1830
to Feb. 1832.

30Memoirs of the Reverend E. P. Love-
joy, 118. Hereafter this work. will be
cited as Lovejoy, Memoirs.

317 bid., 120.

Tue Necro History BULLETIN

LEATHER INDUSTRIES

T this particular period of
A world history, men are try-
ing to work out their own
solutions in every walk of life.
While preparing this article the
writer received a letter from Afri-
ea stating:

‘‘Kigambo Kyakweunya nyo mu-
naku zino abantu bazeyo mubiro
ebyeda nga bakomaga Embugo era
nga bawala Amaliba gabwe, Olwo-
kubanga Engoye _ tezikyalabika.
Abantu beunya nga bebuzaganya
nti Omuzungu anaba Antya? Yee,
fee, tunakola tutya?’’

It is surprising to all of us in
these days that people are going
back to their former ways of the
old days, making the bark cloth
and tanning hides for wearing ap-
parel. This is due to the fact that
clothes are so hard to get. People
are wondering and asking among
themselves, ‘‘What is the matter
with the white man, and what
shall we do for ourselves?’’ They

express it in African philosophy:

(Akuwa ekigya. Takusuza kika-
dekyo) which means, he who gives
you a new garment let him not
make you throw your old one away.
So therefore the African will keep
his old way of doing things as well
as keep the Western ways that he
has learned.

Millions of years ago man knew
nothing of garments, nor did he
think in terms of supplying himself
with an artificial supplement of his
hair-covered body. At what stage
man began to supplement his natu-
ral hairy coat through the use of
something artificial in the way of
clothing, it would be difficult to
say. Even in the time of Neander-
tal man the only evidence bearing
on this subject is the omnipresent
flint scraper, a tool admirably
adapted to the cleaning and pre-
paring of skins presumably for
clothing; these were thrown over
the shoulders and secured in some
simple manner.

With the coming together of men

1George G. MacCurdy. The Coming of
Man, p. 101.

By A. K. Nyasonco

into small communities, the mode
of life underwent a decisive change.
Thus man experienced his first eco-
nomic and industrial knowledge.
He had prior to this, created his
simple implements—It had been
shown before that economic and in-
dustrial experience came to stand
for matter-of-factness and knowl-
edge. There is familiarity with the
forms, habits, and behaviour of
plants and animals with certain of
the more obvious and humanly sig-
nificant movements of the celestial
bodies, with the exhilarating and
distracting peculiarities of local
climate. To this equipment must
be added a thorough-going acquain-
tance with the materials available
for industry as well as with the in-
dustrial processes themselves. In
the techniques of industry, more-
over, according to Boas, motor hab-
its develop which are rooted in
knowledge and fed by experience
often of a personal sort, soon to be-
come mechanized by practice. Other
bits of information, perhaps less
objective but equally relevant and
significant, accumulate about the
ways of man himself. In this vast
domain of culture, then, there is
abundant evidence of knowledge
and common sense, persistent ob-
servation, and at least incipient
generalization. Here also logic
rules within limits, and invention
on occasion sows its germinating
seed.

It must here be noted that in in-
dustry, technique, and matter-of-
fact activities generally, the indi-
vidual is alone with some aspect of
physical nature. He may, to be
sure, be engaged in a communal
enterprise. In hunting and build-
ing, in agriculture and herd-tend-
ing, one frequently finds coopera-
tion, group labor, not uncommonly
accompanied by those rhythms of
communal work, in act and sound,
of which Buecher wrote so elo-
quently—rhythms which, operating
through psychic channels, greatly
further the activities and joys of

labour. But even so, the individual,
technically speaking, remains alone
with his task. When engaged in
manufacturing a pot, basket, or
blanket, tilling the soil, hunting or
fighting an animal, man faces an
individual technical task. In indus-
try he must overcome the resistance
of the material, master the mechani-
eal difficulties; in war, raid,. or
chase, he must become expert in a
great variety of movements and
tricks by means of which the prey,
or enemy, are to be sought, cap-
tured, or killed. The worker, hunt-
er, or warrior here faces natural
conditions with an implied willing-
ness to learn from experience. As
a consequence he does learn, ac-
quires knowledge, becomes familiar
with effective ways of using it. In
all this the individual functions
alone; others may provide a set-
ting, example, stimulation, but no
more. Experience, learning and ac-
quiring skill, are personal, individ-
ual matters. The only active com-
panions of the individual here are
the objective conditions, and these
pull him along towards matter-of-
factness, sober thinking, and effec-
tive action.”

Man, wherever he is found,
whether in Africa, Asia, Europe,
or America, has at one time or an-
other passed through a primitive
state of culture. If he inhabited
Northern Europe, Northern Asia
or North America, he tanned hides
for his clothes. So is the same true
of man in Africa.

Climatic and geographical condi-
tions play an important role in
shaping man’s destiny. In time
man, whether he inhabits Africa,
Asia, Europe or America, will con-
quer and control the environment
nature provided for him. Though
at different times and in different
ways each man wherever he is.
found will eventually achieve this
end.

For one thing the Eskimo lives.

2Alexander Goldweiser, Anthropology,.
p. 410-1.

NOVEMBER, 1944

in a land of almost perpetual cold,
interrupted by relatively short pe-
riods of milder weather. Survival
here necessitates protection against
the extreme low temperature, and
so we find the Eskimo probably the
most warmly clad of primitive
groups, with the possible exception
of the natives of Northeastern Si-
beria. This attire, very similar, for
men and women, is made of rein-
deer hide and comprises trousers, a
shirt, an upper garment in the
shape of a lengthy jacket provided
with a hood which can be either
pulled over the head or pulled back
so that it rests on the shoulders and
back. In addition there are hide
mittens and hide boots made of the
same material. This attire is cut
to pattern and sewed together by
the women. In many instances the
several parts of the garment are
decorated by geometrically pat-
terned pieces of hide. These deco-
rations in dark and light colour,
provide the borders of Eskimo, as
well as Karyak and Chukchee cos-
tumes. The material used for thread
is thin string of hide or sinew, and
the long needle used for sewing is
of bone. These needles, highly
prized by the women are kept,
when not in use, in special ivory
needle cases, of which there are
many varieties and which are usu-
ally highly decorated by surface
earving.®

After Barkcloth we come to an-
other article of dress—leather. “The
art of working leather has been
known for many generations be-
cause hides and skins were formerly
the principal articles of clothing
and the people learned to dress
them, so that they became as flexi-
ble as kid. At that time skins were
not only required for clothing, but
also to sit upon. When barkcloth
had to some extent displaced skins
as clothing, they were still required
as mats. ... In the early days of
the country skins were scarcely ever
dressed beyond being dried in the
sun, stamped on and rubbed with
the hands, to make them soft
enough to use as loincloths; ante-
lope and goat skins, were chiefly
used. Later on the people learned

3Tbid., p. 74-3.

to dress skins, and the art gradu-
ally became more and more ad-
vanced. When a man wished to
dress a skin, he chose a clear place,
free from weeds or grass and
pegged out the hide there leaving
a space under it, so that the air
might circulate, and that the skin
might be protected from insects,
which would have eaten holes into
it, if it had been on the ground. It
was taken in by night, lest wild
animals should carry it off. In two
days’ time it was fairly dry. A
cow’s hide was scraped in thick
places with a knife, and if it was to
be used for clothing it was mois-
tened with water, and worked by
stamping on it, and afterwards by
rubbing it, butter being smeared on
it while it was being worked. The
labour was continued until the hide
was soft enough to be rolled into a
ball. If it was too thick it was
stretched out on a frame eight
inches above the ground, and

35

seraped with a sharp knife to the
desired thinness; during the scrap-
ing process the skin was kept in
the sun to bleach. The skins worn
by gate-keepers were worked until
they were as soft as calico.’”*

There are many different forms
of leather work, and many ways in
which the skins are worn.

Mbwera is the long leather gar-
ment worn by grown up people and
it is as soft as cloth.

Omurubate is a garment worn by
young people.

Akasatu is a small garment worn
by little boys and girls sideways.

Ekyahe is the skin used as a
eover for the bed, usually to lie
upon.

Enketo is the skin used for peo-
ple to sit upon the floor.

Ekthu is the ceremonial rug kept
in the home of chief and never
used.

(Continued on page 41)

4Roseoe J. The Baganda, p. 408.

AFRICAN ARTICLES MADE FROM LEATHER

Tue Necro History BULLETIN

FAMOUS WOMEN IN HAITIAN HISTORY

CHARACTERS
Lucienne, a Haitian schoolgirl
Marie, a Haitian schoolgirl
Sanite Belair
Suzanne Simon (Mme. Toussaint
Louverture)
Henriette St. Marc
Claire Hewreuse (Mme. Dessalines)
Mme. Pageot
Marie Jeanne
Défilée, an old woman

ScenE ONE
(Two little girls, Lucienne and
Marie, are taking a walk in the
country, not far from Jérémie. It
is a holiday. They enter on stage
singing ‘‘When Our Ancestors

Broke Their Chains.’’)
LuciENNE. Isn’t nature beauti-

ful this morning?
Marie. Very. When things are

so beautiful around me, I always
feel like doing something great.

LucreENNE. What do you mean
by ‘‘something great’’?

Marte. Something out of the or-
dinary.

LUCIENNE.
higher ?

Marte. Let’s stay here. It’s so
pretty, with the barracks, the
mountains, and the sea! From here
we might even see the airplane
land.

LuctENNE. But you haven’t ex-
plained what you mean by ‘‘some-
thing great.’’

Marie. Well, Lucienne, every
day I am busy studying my lessons.
My whole life centers aromnd
school, my doll, and my home. But
on certain days, like today, I should
like to escape from all that. Don’t
you understand ?

LucIENNE. But we have escaped.
We are now out in the country,
several hundred meters from the
road.

Marie. Of course we are, but
the same life still holds us impris-
oned. I should like to be a charac-
ter in a legend, have wings like

Shall we climb up

A Onet-Act SKETCH BY
JEAN F. BrRIERRE

(Translated from the French
by Mercer Cook)

that pretty butterfly, know what
happens in the heart of the roses,
whether they suffer and really die.

LucrENNE. How could you know
those things?

Marte. Doesn’t a butterfly know
them, and a bee?

LuciENNE. You’d have to lose
some weight...

Marie. That’s it exactly. I’d
like to leave off this corporeal en-
velope, everything that makes us
heavy, everything that keeps us
from hearing and understanding
the thousand little dramas of the
blade of grass and the ant, every-
thing that makes us prisoners of a
narrow universe.

LucIENNE. Maybe you’d like to
die?

Marre. It would be a kind of
easy death which would allow me
to hear the earth’s heartbeat mere-
ly by placing my ear to the ground.
I believe in the miraculous, I do.
This morning, for example, I should
like to meet on the scene of History
the great men who founded the na-
tion.

LucIENNE. Who, for instance?

Marre. Toussaint Louverture,
Dessalines, Pétion, Lamartiniére.

LucIENNE. There is something
unjust about the teaching of his-
tory in Haiti. As teacher was say-
ing yesterday, they always talk
about the men and forget about the
women, just as if the men could
have founded the nation all by
themselves.

Marie. You’re right! Wouldn’t
you like to meet some of those fa-
mous women this morning?

LucrENNE.. Which ones?

Marte. Oh, Sanite Belair, Suz-
anne Simon, Marie Jeanne, Défilée.

LucIENNE. But how could we
meet them ?

Marre. Simply by asking them
to remove their shroud of fatigue
and to come back to talk with us,
to counsel us. Their life is an edu-
cation which we hardly understand,

and an example the greatness of
which escapes us. Don’t you be-
lieve that they have something to
tell us? I should so like to see them
this morning, to speak to them, to
touch them. ...

LucriENNE. What a lugubrious
idea! You give me goose pimples.
The mere thought that I might see
Défilée makes me almost die of
fright. Let’s move on.

Martz. No. They are our vener-
able Ancestresses who have woven
with their courageous and untiring
hands the glorious colors of our
flag. In the name of all little Hai-
tian girls, let us try, with all our
heart, to call to those century-old
women who are like mothers that
have long been lost and whom we
oe

LuctenneE. Let me sleep a while,
my dear. As for your Ancestresses,
I prefer to see them with my eyes
closed.

Marie. All right! Let’s go to
sleep.

(They start humming a sad mel-
ody, which gradually dies away.
They are asleep. There is a deep
silence. The lighting creates an
atmosphere of umnreality on the
stage.)

Scene Two

(An energetic woman with a gun
hanging over her shoulder comes on
the scene.)

Sanite. Do you recognize me,
children ?

Marte. Unless I’m mistaken, you
are Madame Sanite Belair.

Sanite. How did you recognize
me?

Marie. We learned in the his-
tory of Haiti that you were a fear-
less woman with a proud air, the
image of female bravery.

Sante. It is consoling that after
a century, little Haitian schoolgirls
are hearing of Sanite Belair.

LucrENNE. Tell us something
about yourself. Madame.

(Continued on page 38)

NoveMBER, 1944

CHILDREN’S PAGE

A Boy Hero

Josiah Henson, who led more
than a hundred fugitives from
slavery in Kentucky across the
wilds of Ohio to freedom a century
ago, tells the interesting story of
his fourteen-year-old brother. After
making his escape from slavery
Henson tried to remain content in
Canada and enjoy his freedom, but
his conscience tormented him with
the thought that he had left his
brothers to die in slavery, and he
could not be happy.

Henson returned in disguise, to
Kentucky, therefore, and on a Sat-
urday evening he set out with his
brothers for Cincinnati across the
Ohio. They would not be missed
until Monday when they were sup-
posed to report for work. They
crossed the Ohio unfortunately at
a point above a swollen stream be-
tween them and the city. The only
way to get across was to wade
through the water which in the
midst of the winter was extremely
cold. The older persons in the party
stood the shock of the cold water
all right, but the boy of fourteen
could not throw off its effects. He
was immediately seized with ‘‘ jerks
and serious pains,’’ and they had
difficulty in getting him into the
home of a sympathetic friend in
Cincinnati to treat him. There they
tarried two days before the boy
_was well enough to proceed further.

Finally they started on the way
along the old road toward what was
then the ‘‘Ohio Wilderness’’ and
made such good time that they
thought that they would be success-
ful in the dash for freedom. On
the way, however, the boy was
seized again with ‘‘jerks and seri-
ous pains’’ and could not go any
further. What to do they did: not
know, for they knew that by this
time the slave catchers were well
on their trail. Finally the boy in
his heroism found a solution of the
problem.

He said, ‘‘ You have already lost
two days because of my condition,
and if you delay longer you will

lose the dash for freedom. Go on
to Canada. Leave me here in the
wilderness. Let me die, and let the
wolves devour my body! I am not
worth the price of your freedom!”’

‘*Teave you to die like a beast in
the field? We cannot do such a
eruel-thing! Better would it be for
all of us to die fighting our pur-
suers!’’

**Go on, I pray you, go on. I can-
not live, and you will live on free
soil and will help others to come
unto you. Go on!”’

And they took leave of the sick
boy at his urgent request, and sad
indeed was the parting. Before
they had gone more than three
miles, however, Henson’s_ con-
science spoke to him again.

‘*Henson, you cannot. leave your
own brother to die like that in the
wilderness. The principle which
you sacrifice is worth more to you
than your freedom.”’

Immediately Henson said to the
party, ‘‘We must go back and get
that boy, freedom or no freedom.
He is a human being, and we can-
not abandon him like that.

They rushed back toward the
spot, and on the way saw from afar
a white man whom they suspected
was one of their pursuers, but they
went on boldly to meet him think-
ing that they would not be taken
as fugitives inasmuch as at that
time they were going in the direec-
tion of Kentucky rather than to-
ward Canada. Approaching the
man .with their hearts all but in
their mouths, they spoke to him po-
litely, and he replied, inquiring,
‘*How is it with thee, this morn-
ing.”’

They knew from his language
that he was a Quaker, one of the
religious sect friendly to the fugi-
tive slaves, and they told him their
story. This friend took them in
his wagon to the spot where they
found the boy still alive.

**Go on your way to freedom,’’
the friend said. ‘‘I will nurse this
boy back to life, and some day he
will rejoin you in Canada.’’

And so he did. By means of the

Underground Railroad this friend
sent the boy in good health to his
people on free soil in Canada. He
lived to enjoy his freedom and also
to lend a helping hand to other
fugitives.

Questions on the
October Issue

1. What right is the most essential
to the existence of man? In what ways
is the right often violated?

2. Give a brief history of the strike
and show the stages in its development
from the Old to the New World.

3. What evident development of
the present war may be considered as
having reached the factual stage and
how has it affected the people of the
United States?

4. What are the prospects of Li-
beria in view of the present trend in
the war? What of Abyssinia?

5. How would you dispose of the
territory conquered by the Allies in the
present war? What would be your ar-
gument advanced to sustain the posi-
tion you would take?

6. What do we mean when we refer
to such matters as the following:
colony, dependency, protectorate, man-
date, sphere of influence?

7. Are the natives’ of the West In-
dies prepared for self-government?
Are the Filipinos in a position to main-
tain the independence of that archi-
pelago?

8. What do you think of the role
played by Felix Sylvestre Eboué in the
present war? What other choice had
he in the crisis through which he
passed?

9. What lesson may we learn today
from the career of Anthony Bowen
and his coworkers in the District of
Columbia?

10. Does the story of Claflin Col-
lege supply a strong or weak argument
for the coeducation of the sexes?
What special value has this story for
the school?

11. What does the celebration of
Negro History Week mean to you? In
what ways have you seen it observed?

12. What is the cause of depres-
sions? What was the Jewish method
of dealing with depressions?

Book of the Month

Middle America (a production of
W. W. Norton and Company in New
York City, 1944) is one of the many
books now appearing to supply infor-
mation on our neighbors to the south
of the United States. The author for-
tunately does not try to cover all Latin
America as so many other ambitious
writers try to do. He confines himself
to Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador,
Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and

Panama. The reason for treating of
these in particular is that they are
near us and produce raw materials
upon which trade and industry in the
United States must depend. The book,
therefore, has an economic point of
view, but it is sufficiently descriptive
and simplified to interest both young
and old readers. A number of striking
illustrations help the author to tell
his story of the interdependence of
that area and their big neighbor to the
north,

In showing the importance of cor-
rect information of this part of the
Latin area the author makes a good
case with his statistics. They buy from
us more than three-fourths of their
imports and sell us more than four-
fifths of their exports. They are,
therefore, our allies in both peace and
war. To acquaint us better with them,
then, he tells us about the Indian ori-
gin of the people who mixed with
Spaniards and later received Chinese,
East Indians and Negroes to make a
melting pot. The author next tells us
about their quinine, rotenone, hemp,
tropical oils, gum, spices, rubber, tim-
ber and fruits. The author shows, how-
ever, that their methods of production
are crude, and improvements in agri-
culture and transportation must be
made before these crops can be devel-
oped unto full fruition. He believes
that the agricultural laboratory set up
in Honduras is the proper step in this
direction.

Famous Women in
Haitian History

(Continued from page 36)

Sanite. I spent my entire youth
in slavery. Ah! slavery, my chil-
dren, was an unspeakable torture
in which a whole race of men al-
most disappeared. This island was
justly called ‘‘that Inferno, Saint
Domingue.’’ If the very cradle of
our nation is bloodstained, it is be-
eause our hands, our poor black,
mashed, mutilated, our tired hands
have never stopped bleeding. You
know my story. You know my
name, but there are thousands upon
thousands of other women who
were just as great, just as coura-
geous as Sanite Belair.

Marie. And what lesson should
we learn from your life, Madame
Sanite Belair?

Sanite. To know how to share
worthily the ideal of one’s mate.
Like Charles Belair, the uncompro-
mising fugitive slave who stead-
fastly refused to bow his head be-
fore the arrogant and tyrannical
planters, I owe my reputation to
the fact that I too was an uncom-

promising leader of the insurgents.
Facing the firing squad beside the
bullet-riddled body of my husband,
I refused to be blindfolded, I gave
the command ‘‘Fire!’’ and, like a
man, I returned to the granite
arches of Guinea.’ Little Haitian
girls, be courageous, and remem-
ber the lesson of Sanite Belair: To
know how to share worthily the
ideal of one’s mate. (She exits)
SceNE THREE
(Enter Suzanne Simon)

SuZANNE. Wasn’t that the shade
of Sanite Belair that I just saw
leaving ?

Marie. Yes, Madame. Did you
by any chance know her formerly?

Suzanne. Yes, during the War
of Independence. The fortitude
with which she braved death has
stood as an example not only for
the women but also for the men of
Saint Domingue. In Sanite Belair,
my children, you must salute a
great man.

LucrENNE. Who are you, then,
Madame, and from what country
do you come?

Suzanne. I come from the coun-
try of shadows. I have seen one of
the most dazzling military careers
in the entire world, that of Gaou
Guinou’s grandson, born in slavery
on the Bréda plantation, but be-
coming in America the glorious op-
ponent and rival of Napoleon.

Marre. So, you’re Suzanne Si-
mon, the remarkable wife of Tous-
saint Louverture?

SUZANNE. I am.

LuctIENNE. How glorious it was
for you to have been the wife of
‘*The First of the Blacks’’!

Suzanne. Oh! The glorious part
of my réle is very pale. I never
took part in battles. But I fought
adversaries called Anxiety, Dis-
couragement, Cares, and Fatigue.
You see, children, when Toussaint
Louverture would come home, he
was no longer General Louverture,
but a man who often was tired, and
who sometimes needed to be under-
stood, encouraged, loved. That pow-
erful brain which conceived the
greatest dream that has enlight-

ened the world since Bethlehem:

1The slaves believed that after death
they would return to their native Africa.

THE Necro History BuLLETIN

the emancipation of the Black
Race, that broad brow of a deter-
mined thinker and patriot some-
times found repose on a woman’s
shoulder. My only glory, children,
comes from my having understood
that it was necessary to fan the
flame of his energy, the fire of his
patriotism, the ardor of his genius,
and to answer his mute question-
ing. In the days of misfortune,
during the somber hours of his ar-
rest, during the painful, icy exile,
homesick and sorrowful, I wanted
to remain, and I did indeed remain,
in spite of every disaster, the
chosen companion of Toussaint
Louverture.

LuciENNE. That must have been
difficult, Madame.

Suzanne. It was sometimes
tragic. When the last snows of the
Jura Mountains had covered his
great silence, I began my unending
widowhood, the chosen Vestal Vir-
gin of a great dream and of a great
idea.

Scene Four
(Henriette St. Marc arrives)

HENRIETTE. Good afternoon,
Great Shade of Madame Louver-
ture.

Suzanne. Good afternoon, Hen-
riette. Girls, may I introduce Hen-
riette St. Mare Henriette, these
are two pupils from the Pétion La-
forest School,? and they are desir-
ous of meeting the Ancestresses.
Tell them about your death. (She
exits. )

Henriette. Children, I was
beautiful and young as you are,
and seductive, too, according to the
French historian, General Pam-
phile de Lacroix. Under the govern-
ment of Rochambeau—that jackal
with a human face, that monster
who required each day wagon loads
of corpses and buckets of blood—
my role was to provide the insur-
gents with gunpowder and bullets
that I would take from the white
officers who made love to me. They
led me to the gallows, but at the
very instant when they beheaded
me, I experienced the inexpressible
joy of hearing my bullets, my shells
explode under the feet of the plant-

.

2A school for girls in the eity of

Jérémie, in the south of Haiti.

NovEMBER, 1944

ers and on Rochambeau’s palaces.
(She exits)
Scene Five
(Enter Claire Heureuse)

Marre. You seem to be looking
for something, Madame.

CuairRE. Ever since they assassi-
nated him at Pont Rouge, I have
been searching for the African
charm my husband wore on his
chest.

MARIE.
reuse !

LucIENNE. Madame Dessalines?

CuarrE. Yes, children. The 17th
of October, 1806 may be a fatal
date for this country, but for the
heart of a woman and a widow, it
is a dagger that sinks ever deeper.

LucIENNE. You who were so kind
to the French after Independence
was declared.

Marie. That very kindness is
your greatest claim to glory.

CuairE. What glory do I deserve
for having been kind? I caused
children, innocent people, priests,
physicians, scientists to be spared.
Or rather I requested their pardon,
which the Emperor granted. For,
if the Emperor avenged his race
and the sufferings of Saint Do-
mingue, he also had a heart, he was
understanding. And, as a matter
of fact, it wasn’t Claire Heureuse,
it was the Emperor who spared
their lives. Here is Madame Pageot
who knew the General well.

Girits. We are delighted to see
you and to know you, Madame
Pageot.

Pacrot. Good afternoon, Your
Majesty ; good afternoon, Girls.

LucIENNE. Were you the one who
saved Dessalines in 1802?

Paaeort. I had that good fortune,
children. I was Father Videau’s
servant. Dessalines had been in-
vited to lunch at the parish house.
Major Andrieux had been ordered
to arrest him. Dessalines was seated
‘at the table. Understanding at a
given moment that Dessalines was
in danger of being captured, I went
to the door and signaled him to
make his escape. Thus, mine was
the glory of having made possible
Dessalines’s triumphant march to-
ward Independence. (Pageot and
Suzanne exit.)

Why, it’s Claire Heu-

ScENE Six

(Enter Marie Jeanne, singing the
Marseillaise. )

LucIENNE. What, Madame, you
are singing the Marseillaise?

Marig JEANNE. Yes, my child,
just as I did at the Créte 4 Pierrot.*

Marre. It’s Marie Jeanne.

MarilE JEANNE. Before becoming
one of the defenders of the fort, I
fought for liberty in the ranks of
the insurgents. In the great deci-
sive hours of a nation’s existence,
there is no difference in sex, dresses
to one side and trousers to the
other. There are simply men re-
solved to sacrifice their all in order
to merit the name of men. History
is amazed today on finding me
among the soldiers at the Créte, yet
my presence in the fort seemed
quite natural to the Monpoints, the
Magnys, the Lamartiniéres, and the
other Haitian heroes who fought
beside me. I was not a woman; I
was a comrade, a soldier, an insur-
gent, struggling for independence.
And so, my children, do not forget
that you must be courageous in
soul, in spirit, and at heart.

(She exits, singing the ‘‘ Marseil-
laise.’’)

ScENE SEVEN

(Enter an old lady; her arms are
folded as though she were car-
rying something.)

LucIENNE. Old lady, what are
you carrying in your arms?

DeEFILEE. Why, girls, don’t you
recognize the remains of the Em-
peror. I have just come back from

Pont Rouge. See how they muti-

lated him! You didn’t know the

Emperor? He was so handsome,

the Emperor was! Under his im-

perial cloak, he was a bronze god

from the land of Guinea. His silver
spurs sounded like little bells.

When he walked, his steps made the

world tremble. And, on the morn-

3In March 1802, the French Army,
twelve thousand strong, under General
Leclere, surrounded the fort at Créte a
Pierrot, where Dessalines had about one
thousand men. One of the bravest of
those ‘‘men’’ was Marie Jeanne, the wife
of Louis Lamartiniére, who was also a
member of the besieged army. After
thirteen days, during which the French
tried to starve them out, the Haitians
fought their way through Leclere’s

forces.

39

ing of October 17th, you should
have seen his horse rear up at the
sound of the treacherous bullets.
Dessalines was a god who refused
to remain in the heavens. They mu-
tilated him, children, they muti-
lated him, I tell you. And I am
carrying his sacred remains back to
the earth that he bequeathed to us.
Ah! History calls me Crazy Défilée,
but, in truth, children, on the scene
of Pont Rouge, on October 17, 1806,
there was only one sane person, and
that was Crazy Défilée. The others
were criminals and fools.

(She exits, singing a sad song.
The children lie down again. Then
they wake up, and it is understood
that they have been dreaming.)

Scene’ E1eut

LucrENNE. How long have we
been sleeping ?

Marie. Did you dream anything?

LucIENNE. Yes, and you?

Marte. I, too. First there was

silence, and then Sanite Belair
came. She said:
LucIENNE. ‘‘To know how to

share worthily the ideal of one’s
mate.’’ And then all the famous
women of Haitian History: Suz-
anne Simon, Marie Jeanne, Pageot,
Henriette St. Mare, and finally Dé-
filée. Défilée said : ‘‘ There was only
one sane person at Pont Rouge on
October 17, 1806, and that was
Crazy Défilée. The others were
criminals or fools.’’
CURTAIN

Negro History Week
Literature

(Continued from page 28)

sion of the influence of the United
States abroad and the ‘evident re-
sults with respect to the Negro. In
the November issue the topic is the
failure of segregation as a national
policy. Another development will
be discussed in the December issue,
and so on until every aspect is thus
treated. Here then is an excellent
opportunity not only to study what
we are trying to do abroad but
what other nations are thinking
and doing with respect to our atti-
tude toward the Negro and their
own attitude toward the race in
(Continued on page 41)

HE present war like that of
1914-19 has driven home the
importance of the health of

all the citizens of the United States.
Education likewise has been pro-
claimed as the need of a large pro-
portion of our citizenry. It is evi-
dent, however, that the first need of
man is to know how to keep alive
as long as possible, for sickly and
shortlived people cannot be de-
pended upon to discharge the func-
tions of a progressive population.

PRESIDENT JOHN W. DAVIS

With health assured education will
have a better foundation to rest
on than it has had heretofore with
a part of the population diseased
and menacing the health of those
with sound bodies.

The experience of officers in the
military forces lead to the conclu-
sion that the health problem is a
national concern. It is so far reach-
ing that the states working indi-
vidually cannot be depended upon
to do what is required to safeguard
the health of the entire nation.
Ilere appears a snag, for the states
are now clamoring for less inter-
ference from the Federal Govern-
ment even when such interference

POST WAR HEALTH PROGRAM IN
WEST VIRGINIA

is helpful as in the case of health.
They fear that the Federal Gov-
ernment may soon deprive the
states altogether of what is com-
monly known as ‘‘sovereignty,’’
and the politicians would lose con-
trol. In this case, they believe, it
would be better to die soon enjoy-
ing the right of state exploitation
than live long to do the biddings
of the Federal Government. The
states loudest in their objections to
the Federal control of such matters
are not able to do much for health
or anything else constructive, and
they do not do what little they can.
Yet to obviate the necessity for the
central authorities to invade the
domain of the states with improve-
ments the states themselves in some
eases have begun to do more for
health and other matters which
they have long neglected.

It was hardly any such motive
which actuated West Virginia to
establish at the West Virginia State
College the outstanding Health
Building among the Negro colleges
of the country. In fact, there are

Tue Necro History BULLETIN

few large universities with such a
building on their grounds. This re-
cently completed building, costing
about one-half a million, is the
pride of the campus. It is a solidly
built and spacious structure which
deeply impresses the observer with
its grandeur and beauty in the
midst of simplicity. And it is not
merely a building. It is well
equipped with everything required
by the staff of physical directors,
doctors and nurses employed to
parallel the development of the
body along with that of the mind.
The spacious swimming pool and
the gymnasiums of regulation di-
mensions are so inviting that both
professors and students enjoy life
around the center and avail them-
selves of every opportunity to ex-
ercise themselves to keep physically
fit. The building is a new chapter
in health education in West Vir-
ginia.

We are assured by President
John W. Davis, of the West Vir-
ginia State College, that West
Virginia was not moved by the

STATE COLLEGE

NoveMBER, 1944

promptings operating in the minds
of the authorities in some other
states with respect to the health of
its citizens. West Virginia, although
handicapped by separate schools,
has usually tried to treat its Negro
citizens with a much larger mea-
sure of justice than what is cus-
tomary in other former slavehold-
ing areas. It is difficult to discuss
West Virginia with a Negro citizen
without having him refer to the
pleasant relations existing between
the races. While bitterness has
tended to develop in other parts
the brotherly attitude shown to the
Negroes in West Virginia has as-
sured recent gains in the advance
toward a real democracy.

Negro History Week
Literature

(Continued from page 39)

their dependencies and possessions.
Such weighty problems cannot be
disposed of in a week as so many
think.

This misconception is due to the
fault in the education of the Negro.
The record of the Negro is just as
creditable and honorable as that of
any other race, but those who have
set up the system for the education
of the Negro have branded the race
as inferior and suppressed its rec-
ord as without noteworthy achieve-
ment. Negroes drilled in this doe-
trine in the social sciences in our
colleges and universities develop
this attitude toward their own peo-
ple and become worthless misfits
without hope. The more the Negro
acquires of the education generally
provided for him the worse off he
is. The useful and great men of
the Negro race are those who did
not get much of this education.

Leather Industries

(Continued from page 35)

Akasatu, a tiny garment with
bells all around it, is used by royal
babies.

Akasatu Kasaraine is worn by
royal children of both sexes when
they are about four years old, this
is made of many different colours

of calfskin in a patch work design.

Endyanga is the bag made from
the pelt of a small goat. To make
this bag the head of the animal is
eut off, and then the pelt is drawn
off as one skins a rabbit. The hole
where the head was cut is sewn,
and the opening of the rectum is
used as the mouth of the bag. The
two black legs are joined by cord,
and this hangs over the neck of the
traveler.

Oruhago is the bladder. As soon
as the animal is killed the bladder
is removed and stamped on until it
grows longer and tougher. Then it
is cleansed with soil and afterwards
well washed and dried. After cur-
ing it is used as a tobacco pouch.

Leather is used for sandals, usu-
ally the skin of a buffalo, Enkaito
Zebibya. These shoes are shaped
like a long oval and are hollow.
There is a soft leather band across
the instep and a loop to hold the
big toe. These bands in the case of
the royal family are of leopard
skin. The hollow of the shoe is cut
and dyed in patterns, the colours
are red and black.

Enkaito sandals for ordinary
people, have two leather straps
across the foot going in reverse di-
rections, and one leather band go-
ing around the heel, and another
strap going across the instep.

Africans use leather not only in
making garments, but also for re-
ligious, festival, and ceremonial
purposes. They tan leather which
is wrapped around ceremonial
drums, religious symbols and tribal
emblems. This leather is painted in
the colors suited for its particular
usage. Africans make bright col-
ored festival leather, and the som-
ber brown of the ceremonial drum
leather. Not only is leather used
for these purposes, but so are the
lizard, leopard, and sheep skins
used for similar purposes. 7

Emambo are the pegs used to
stretch a skin by pinning it down
to dry, and they are driven in 4
inch apart.

Three kinds of animals are re-
served for the use of the royal fam-
ily, those of the lion, leopard and
entahura. The last mentioned is a
small animal about the size of a dog

41

with an unusually hard hide. The
spear of the hunter must be thrown
with great force otherwise it will
not penetrate the hide.

The leather industry is of great
importance and most of the work is
earried on by men. Women take
a part in the'very delicate work
such as sewing bells for babies gar-
ments, and making designs and cut-
ting patchwork, and rounding the
skins, and sewing, but sandal-mak-

ing is entirely a man’s job.
b=]

A Defense of the
Freedom of the Press

(Continued from page 33)

insisting upon their rights would
stir up hostility.

The fearless manner in which
Lovejoy spoke in his editorials was
not satisfactory to the people of St.
Louis. The one question which
brought this matter to the front
was the use of the mails.** On Oc-
tober 15, 1835, a group of citizens
met and suggested to Lovejoy that
he change the temper of his paper,
for the interference of the North-
ern brethren with Southern social
relations and the excitement of the
public mind made it such that the
people would not endure sound doc-
trine.** The citizens said they did
not wish to prescribe the course of
Lovejoy but hoped he would concur
in their desire. He published his
reply to this request in the St.
Louis Observer, November 5, 1835
under the title ‘‘To My Fellow Citi-
zens.’’ He showed how fickle the
public was in allowing a right to
pass one day and demanding it the
next. He saw that in yielding one
single inch a way would be opened
to lose all. Lovejoy said that he felt
that he stood upon firm ground and
he had no intention of giving up,
no matter what happened.** He,
like Birney, was a fearless fighter
and when he had taken a position
he had no intention of abandoning
it unless shown absolutely that he
was wrong.

32This was the controversy over the
mail.

33Lovejoy, Memoirs, 137.

34N,. D. Harris, Negro Servitude in
Illinois, 73.

42

The citizens having passed a set
of resolutions agreed that the free-
dom of speech existed under the
Constitution, the one thing for
which Lovejoy fought. They in-
sisted that this principle had a
fundamental reservation by the
people in their sovereign capac-
ity.5 This did not imply a right
on the part of the abolitionists to
discuss the question of slavery
either orally or through the press.
One wonders how the abolitionists
could be exempted from the privi-
leges which others enjoyed. The
answer came in this same docu-
ment. It was one too closely allied
to the interests of the Southern
States to be discussed publicly. The
work of the abolitionists is not con-
stitutional but seditious in its wid-
est sense. The action of the aboli-
tionists was caleulated to paralyze
every social tie which united the
sections, it was claimed.** In spite
of all this excitement Lovejoy was
not harmed and he thus went on
with his work. He did not agree
with the resolutions and could not
see why there should be one law for
the abolitionists and another for
other citizens.**

During the period from 1835 to
1836 Lovejoy passed from a grad-
ual*to an immediate abolitionist.
He, like John Quincey Adams, had
not been a violent abolitionist but a
mild opponent of slavery. It was
the freedom of the press which he
saw imperiled. The real change did
not come until the years 1836 and
1837 when he agreed to publish the
request for persons to sign the peti-
tion for the abolition of slavery in
the District of Columbia.** This in-
dicates as well as anything can the
change in attitude which Lovejoy
had taken toward the whole matter.

At the time when Lovejoy was
passing through this period of
change and while there was much
excitement over the publication of
the St. Louis Observer, an unusual
affair happened which changed the
whole history of anti-slavery senti-

35Lovejoy, Memoirs, 138.

367 bid., 139. Lovejoy thought the reso-
lution set forth the freedom of the press
on the terms of the slaveholding states.
87Tbid., 80.

387 bid., 82.

ment in Missouri. In April 1836 a
Negro, Francis MelIntosh, killed
two officers to avoid arrest.*® This
was looked upon as a horrible crime
and he was burned at the stake.*°
The matter was taken up by the
grand jury of St. Louis. Judge
Lawless who was in charge of the
case charged that the jury, in deal-
ing with a case of this sort, must
take into consideration the circum-
stances of those who were forced to
live among Negroes. They had a
great deal to fear from these Ne-
groes, he thought.4! The Judge in-
timated that Negroes were danger-
ous and at any time might kill their
masters. He made it plain to the
jury that ordinary criminal pro-
eedure would not work and the
matter was beyond the bounds of
human law.** This was the same
as saying to the lawless citizens
that as individuals they could not
be punished by any law because
what they had done was not a
crime, but an act committed by a
mob. Lovejoy denounced this
charge to the jury as fallacious doc-
trine. He could not see that what
was wrong for the individual
should not be also wrong for the
multitude.** He denounced also the
act itself. His criticism rested up-
on the right of free discussion and
the constitution. This bold speech
brought about, as it might have
been expected, an attack on the
property of the St. Louis Observ-
er.4* The mob destroyed his press,
and he moved to Alton in the state
of Illinois.

The move to Alton, Illinois,
marked a new phase in this contest
over the freedom of the press. Love-
joy did not rid himself of the mob
law by moving to Alton. His press,
when it landed there, was broken
and destroyed. This action shows
how the people of Alton felt to-

39J. F. Darby, Personal Recollections,
237.

490, Johnson, Garrison and His Times,
223.

41§t. Louis Argus, July 1, 1836.

42He did not hesitate to advance this
dangerous precedent.

43Lovejoy, Memoirs, 174. He gave no-
tice in the same paper that he expected
to remove his paper to Alton, Illinois.

44N. D. Harris, Negro Servitude in Illi-
nois, 76.

Tue Necro History BULLETIN

wards the paper and the abolition-
ist group. Yet certain citizens of
Alton felt it was their duty to re-
imburse Lovejoy for the destruc-
tion of his press.** One attack after
another came until his second press
was destroyed. In the contest which
followed in Alton, Lovejoy acted
upon the advice of his friends.*
The action cannot be called wholly
his own. He proposed to his friends
that he be allowed to withdraw, for
he believed that the work might be
done better if in the hands of some-
one else. At the Presbyterian Synod
in November, 1837 at Springfield
the matter was thoroughly dis-
cussed. It was decided that Love-
joy should remain as editor of the
Alton Observer. The decision was
reached with one dissenting vote.*?
This sacrifice was asked of Lovejoy
by his friends, for the great princi-
ple of the freedom of the press was
at stake. Lovejoy considered this
as the voice of God. In a public
meeting held November 3, 1837, he
said that he was impelled to the
course which he had taken by a
fear of God. He realized the sacri-
fice which he was making when he
pledged himself to continue the
contest to the last.** This shows how
passionately Lovejoy pledged him-
self to his work and how he linked
his religious beliefs with the anti-
slavery cause. He further pledged
himself to remain in Alton and die
if need be and be buried in Alton
if death for the cause should be his
end.*®

A letter was written to the fol-
lowing towns in reference to re-
éstablishing the Alton Observer:
Quiney, Jacksonville, Springfield,
Alton and Chatham. The notice
stated that, after consulting the
path of duty, it had been decided
to reéstablish the Alton Observer.
The editor rested his rights upon
the laws of the state and the nation
and could not and would not yield

450, Johnson, Garrison and His Times,
223.

46C, P. Koford, Article in Illinois State
Histori¢al Society Publication No. 10,
1905, 311.

47Tbid., 312.

480, Johnson, Garrison and His Times,
224,

497 bid., 225.

NovemBer, 1944

to any mob. There is a religious
sentiment evident in the letter, for
it closed with the same note which
ended the address before the citi-
zens. Through the fear of God the
supporters of the Observer deter-
mined to sustain the laws and
guard the freedom of the press.°°

The friends of free speech and
the press in Ohio gave Lovejoy a
third press.°! This was the very act
which brought on the final episode
in the contest for the freedom of
speech led by Lovejoy. At almost
the same time the meeting was
called for the purpose of establish-
ing an anti-slavery society, but
this was not conducive to the wel-
fare, peace and harmony of Alton.
The meeting was captured by the
pro-slavery forces. In the midst of
this turmoil the announcement that
the new press was about to arrive
caused even greater excitement.
Lovejoy and Beecher remained to
supervise the storing of the press.
The editor and the abolition friends
made provisions for protecting
their property.52 The action of
these individuals made it conveni-
ent for those who were opposed to
the abolition societies to attack
them. The mayor admitted that a
request for protection was made to
the common council but that the
demand was declined.®

It seemed rather strange that,
since a request for aid had been
made and since the council itself
knew that there was much confu-
sion and uproar, no aid was offered
to help the situation. The mayor
does not tell us why the request
was declined. If he had seen fit to
tell us it probably would have been
interesting indeed. The mayor,
however, tells us that he and the
police authorities did visit the
building after they had heard of
the violence. He places the blame
upon those within the building for
killing the first person. This is

50Letter from E. P. Lovejoy to E.
Young in Journal of Illinois State His-
torical Society, 1905, XX, 333.

51Article in Illinois State Historical
Society Publication No. 10, 1905, 311.

52Niles’ Register, LIII, 196, quoted
from Alton Spectator, Nov. 9, 1837.

53Mayor J. M. Krum of Alton gives
an interesting account of the riot. Niles’
Register, LIII, 196.

probably true, but it must ever be
kept in mind that this affair might
have been avoided at this time if
the council had been willing to take
a little precaution.

The fact was that the civil au-
thorities did little to protect the
property or to disperse those on
either side. This negligence re-
sulted in the death of Elijah P.
Lovejoy and Bishop, a member of
the pro-slavery party.** It was
unfortunate at the time, for it could
be looked upon in.no other sense
than that Lovejoy was one who had
given his life for the freedom of the
press. From the other side of the
question some consideration for the
action which had been taken must
be given. The opposition looked
upon this as an interference with
the rights that belonged exclusively
to them. They also thought a paper
of this sort would destroy the peace
and harmony of the city and the
community.

In general the papers of the
Northern States condemned the ac-
tion at Alton and some of the
Southern papers were just as out-
spoken. The Louisville Herald
stated that the spilling of the blood
of Lovejoy was far worse than
‘‘sowing dragons’ teeth,’’ and that
every drop would cause a new abo-
lition society to spring up.™ This
publication was as ready as any-
one to condemn the abolition pub-
lications, but this murder seemed
like going a bit too far. It could
find nowhere in the moral or legal
code a justification for such action.
There were papers which, though
absolutely pro-slavery in sentiment,
condemned this attack upon the
freedom of the press.5®

The Columbus, Ohio, Journal
and Register stated, speaking edi-
torially, that it could find no words
to paint the abhorrence which it
felt at such an outrage on property
and person.®* The editor was will-
ing to wait and see what the city
of Alton would do to redeem its
fair name. It could punish those

54Niles’ Register, LIII, 197.
55Cincinnati Daily Gazette, Nov. 16,
1886, quoted from the Louisville Herald.
56N. D. Harris, Negro Servitude in
Illinois, $6.
57Nov. 16, 1837.

43

who committed the crime by bring-
ing them to justice. This paper saw
in this affair something like the
Birney riots in Cincinnati.

There were other individual ex-
pressions on the seriousness of the
crime. One prominent person, at
a later date, said Lovejoy was de-
liberately and systematically has-
tened to his death for no other rea-
son than that he insisted that slav-
ery was a sin.®® Lovejoy, Greeley
thought, had come to the conclusion
that slavery and freedom could not
exist in the same place and there-
fore felt it his duty to destroy
slavery. John Quincy Adams
thought such religious men as Love-
joy were often doomed to die as
martyrs. Such, then, was the fate
of Lovejoy, who had given his life
in the cause of human freedom.*®
The motive that actuated Lovejoy
was religious duty; he felt that it
was a call of God to edit his paper
and distribute it. Those who were
opposed to him knew that to per-
mit the paper to be printed was to
allow its distribution, which must
be prohibited at all hazards. Alton
was much too close to St. Louis for
a paper of the same type to be
started as the one previously pro-
hibited in the city. It was bad
judgment which brought on this
catastrophe. Had the paper been
started in some city farther away
from St. Louis it might have fared
better. It was especially bad policy
which caused Lovejoy and his
friend to undertake to defend their
press. If they had followed the
method of Birney, there would
probably have been no loss of life.
It must be understood that in both
cases it was a contest over the free-
dom of speech.

Present Status of the
Negro in the Armed

Forces
(Continued from page 30)

ideals and military traditions are
doing much to improve the effi-
ciency of our fighting forces and
to improve military morale.
Perhaps with the success the

58Horace Greeley, Recollections, 287.
59Nevins, Diary, 489.

44

Navy is meeting in these cases
where mixed crews and station per-
sonnel are serving with such har-
mony, it may be considered worth-
while to continue and enlarge
rather than curtail these activities.
It certainly would make the person-
nel problems of securing ships’
complements and other related mat-
ters much simpler.

In the Merchant Marine we ob-
serve that there are several noted
examples of mixed crews serving
together on a regular basis under
Negro as well as white officers. Sev-
eral of these ships have colored cap-
tains who are respected by their
mixed white and colored crews.

Recently the Army Nurse Corps
opened its ranks to Negro nurses on
a non-segregated basis. This is one
of the very few known cases where
Army personnel both white and
eolored are serving together. This
new policy of the Army will do
much to supply the 5,000 nurses
who are needed by the Army by the
end of the year to care for the
many Americans who have fallen
casualties on the widespread fight-
ing fronts.

The Marine Corps has been ac-
cepting Negroes since June 1942.
Colonel Samuel A. Woods, Jr.,
stated: ‘‘I have found that any
soldier anywhere will respond to
his duties if treated like a human
being. The same is true of the Ne-
gro Marines as of all other persons
in the service.’’*

In addition to these specific
ehanges and increased opportuni-
ties for Negroes there has been a
steady improvement in conditions
throughout the camps in the U. 8.
In a recent conversation with an
official of the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored
People I was informed that the
recreation facilities and other con-
ditions in the camps had noticeably
improved since 1943.

This war has also witnessed the
inclusion of the Negro in all the
various branches of the Army,
something that was not done in the
last war. We can see that the Negro
in this war has advanced far since
the last war, and is making steady

*The Journal of Negro Education, Vol.
XII, Summer 1943, No. 3, pg. 348.

strides. However, in order to make
these beginnings more effective and
to raise the morale of the Negroes
throughout the country there are
several things that require immedi-
ate attention, since they do not con-
form to the principles of good mili-
tary administration and are not
conducive to the maintenance of
high morale among the troops of
the white and black sections of the
army.

These are mainly matters of local
military administration in which a
definite improvement has _ been
noted even in the past year. How-
ever, we still read of local friction

between white and Negro soldiers.

and between white civilians and
Negro troops in the South. It is
along these lines that the next
phase of this study is directed,
so that we may see what improve-
ments may be made under the pres-
ent military policies and organiza-
tion.

Potential Status of the Negro: Im-
provements Possible under
Present Military Policies
and Organization

The main improvements possible
under present conditions are in the
field of race relations in the Army
and between the Negro troops and
white southern population.

Perhaps increased quotas of Ne-
gro troops in the various technical
branches of the services are also
required, but since the matters of
personnel assignments are vital
military information and the sta-
tistics are unavailable this is not
a question the writer feels he is in
a position to discuss.

Though the incidents of race vio-
lence in the military services have
decreased considerably there is
much room for a more basic under-
standing between the white and
colored troops. This understanding
ean be made more satisfactory by
increased education. In case some
take this idea too lightly and con-
sider it a too utopian prospect they
must be reminded of the success
of various army pocket guides to
instruct the military personnel how
to act towards various peoples, and
to acquaint them with their virtues
and similarities to ourselves as well

Tue Necro History BULLETIN

as the significance of their culture
and the necessity to cultivate their
good will to insure the success of
the military undertaking that
brings our troops to their home-
land. Such a pamphlet is the guide
to West Africa, where the popula-
tion is Negro and in a less devel-
oped stage of industrial advance-
ment than our own Negro troops.
This education could take the form
of an indoctrination course. It
should include a basic understand-
ing of anthropology, and the rela-
tionships of the various races, their
apparent differences and their ac-
tual similarities in mental ability
as well as other abilities.

This will do much to correct
many of the erroneous and unsci-
entific impressions and ideas that
have been prevalent about the Ne-
groes which have existed for many
years.

A study of the role of the Negro
in the military history of the na-
tion will help his fellow soldier to
accept him as a comrade in arms
on whom he can depend.

By studying the contribution the
Negro has made to American civili-
zation a firmer understanding will
be developed between the white and
colored Americans in the armed
services.

Such a course can be made short
but interesting and will pay divi-
dends in preventing wasteful mis-
understanding in the military or-
ganizations, race frictions in the
military areas,-and in the post-war
era will act to stabilize race rela-
tions and minimize the possibility
of race riots.

The dangers of race hatred to the
war effort and the republican form
of government are understandable
to almost every man in the ranks
when discussed in the proper fash-
ion. It has been my experience that
Southerners in both the Army and
the Navy are capable of appreciat-
ing and putting into practice in
race relationships the principles of
democracy when the subject is
properly presented.

A special course for all officers
should precede any indoctrination
for the men in the ranks so that
they may be prepared to discuss
these questions with their men and

NoveMBER, 1944

by their example strengthen the de-
sire on the part of their men to act
towards their fellow Americans as
they should. In addition all officers
should be directed to utilize fully
the technical abilities of all men in
their command.

An important factor in the mo-
rale is the segregation of blood do-
nated for use as plasma. The entire
practice is a ridiculous one since
there is no difference between blood
from Negroes and blood from
whites. Both races have the four
identical blood types. In many of
the city hospitals of the northern
cities thousands of lives are saved
annually through the use of blood
of the opposite race, blood donors
are accepted as they appear from
the blood donor services with no
thought given in the matter of race.
The plasma I have seen used in the
Navy has not been marked with the
race of the donor. It is safe to con-
clude that the dry plasma is dehy-
drated from common stocks of
mixed blood plasma. There is no
medical reason to segregate blood.
It only complicates the entire prob-
lem and wastes time, materials, and
effort at a time when we are all
urged by the Government to avoid
such waste. The most sensible thing
to do would be for the military au-
thorities to direct the Red Cross to
cease its ridiculous and unscientific
policy.

Coupled with this it is advisable
to impress on all military personnel
the importance of this phase of the
war, and for all commanders to
make certain that the military reg-
ulations are applied with fairness
to all personnel.

In addition any personnel guilty
of stimulating or participating in
racial intolerance or violence should
be punished as quickly and as
sternly as the regulations permit.
In order to minimize interracial
feeling, officers in charge of Negro
units should be specially chosen, as
this type of command requires a
high degree of understanding. In
Negro units the best results will
probably be observed by the more
widespread use of Negro officers
including the higher positions of
command. The indiscriminate use
of southern M.P.s and S.P.s in

areas where Negro troops are sta-
tioned should be looked upon with
disfavor. ‘A more widespread utili-
zation of Negro M.P.s and §.P.s
who will be able to maintain order
among Negro servicemen more eas-
ily than whites who, as a result of
the association in the mind of the
Negroes with some civilian police
forces, cause only a deep resent-
ment based on the old suspicion
stemming from the segregation
evils. The white and colored M.P.s
should receive short courses to-
gether so as to get to know one an-
other and to establish proper pro-
cedures for the cooperation in
maintenance of order and the
minimizing of racial friction.

Wherever possible Negro troops
should be stationed outside the
Southern States, as experience has
shown that most interracial vio-
lence oceurs there. When Negro
troops are stationed in the South
state laws should be explained to
the men in a proper manner in or-
der to minimize friction with the
local population. The army public-
ity departments should carry on
through the local press a program
of public education in the role of
the Negro in the war. This should
also be extended to the local cham-
bers of commerce with emphasis on
the economic value to the commu-
nity of the nearby army camp. Lo-
eal business men are stable ele-
ments in the society of the southern
towns and their influence on the
press and the local town and city
governments is considerable.

In this respect it is important to
note that the large body of South-
erners are not the irresponsibles
who are causing racial strife. How-
ever, they can be aroused by skill-
ful fanatics and native fascist ele-
ments by the use of the familiar
patterns of racial propaganda. By
the cooperation of the military au-
thorities with the respectable ele-
ments in the Southern communities
the small irresponsible elements
will be held in check and discred-
ited.

In the few cases of communities
that fail to respond to this ap-
proach, and where violence against
men in uniform occurs, several al-
ternatives are available to the local

45

commander. The first is the power
to declare the community ‘‘out of
bounds.’’ This should be done for
both white and colored troops so as
to exert the maximum economic
sanction against a community so
unpatriotic as to be unwilling to
aid in this phase of the war effort.
A change of attitude usually will
follow as a result of pressure from
the business elements of the com-
munity. Where this measure does
not prove satisfactory strong repre-
sentations should be made by the
commander to the military authori-
ties in Washington with a request
for an investigation by the F.B.I.
so that the elements that are vio-
lating any of the wartime statutes
dealing with impairing the morale
of the armed forces can be swiftly
apprehended and brought to jus-
tice.

Any officer who permits acts of
violence against members of the
armed forces to go unchallenged or
attempts a weak policy of appease-
ment in the face of these challenges
to the authority of the Federal Gov-
ernment is as guilty as the actual
mob that commits them. These acts
of violence against men in uniform
are in effect rebellions against the
national authority and should be
handled as such. Any officer who
has not the courage to challenge
this violence against the men of his
command has no respect for his na-
tion’s uniform and has little right
to wear it.

In foreign countries all comman-
ders should be scrupulous about the
feelings of the inhabitants on
whom the success of a military op-
eration and post-war peace may
depend. They should adopt the
American principle that national
racial theories are not for export.
They should never interfere in the
voluntary social relations that any
American troops regardless of race
have with any inhabitants of a
country on whose soil the army is
operating. These relations have no
bearing on the military campaign,
and are solely the business of the
persons involved. Such attempts in
the past which have never been
sanctioned by the War or Navy De-
partments can only embarrass the
High Command and the United

46

States Government.

There is, as we can see, much im-
provement in race relationships
that can be instituted or encour-
aged by the armed forces for the
protection of the white and colored
man in uniform and for the raising
of the morale of all.

Complete Integration of the Negro
in the Armed Forces

We have seen what can be done
under the present conditions in the
armed forces and ean appreciate
how such steps would immeasur-
ably advance our war effort and
our post-war international relation-
ships. However, much as this will
aid in reaching our goal it is far
from adequate. The military situ-
ation calls for a more complete in-
tegration of the Negro in our fight-
ing forces. In effect, this means
nothing less than mixed military
units. At first there will be a ten-
dency to deprecate the military
value of such units. In order to
demonstrate the value of such or-
ganizations in military operations
we must review some of the basic
considerations which are motivat-
ing the various peoples of the world
in their respective attitudes during
this global struggle.

Let us first examine the Japanese
military propaganda line and its
effect on the Asiaties in the early
phases of the war. Large sections
of Asia were held as colonies by
various European nations who are
white. These nations instead of
permitting the colonial peoples to
share in the defense, the govern-
ment and the profit of the colonial
enterprises drew the color line and
excluded non-whites which meant
all native people. These people are
of a proud and sensitive nature.
Though not all of the Negro race,
they are all colored. The Japanese
appealed to these suppressed peo-
ples under the slogan of ‘‘ Asia for
the Asiatics’’ and other slogans
that were derogatory to the white
race. This was very effective as can
be seen during the campaigns for
Burma, Singapore, and the Dutch
East Indies. The native popula-
tions were at best apathetic in the
defense of these colonies but just
as often they sabotaged, spied on

military operations, formed guer-
rilla bands to harass the retreating
colonial troops, assassinated planta-
tion owners and any white men
they found. Had they been inte-
grated in the various government
agencies and military organizations
these acts would not have occurred
and the fall of at least some, if not
all of these strategic areas would
have never occurred. Others would
never have collapsed so rapidly.
These people will quickly organize
their forces to help drive out the
invader who has failed in his prom-
ises if they are convinced that they
will not be returned to the low and
despised status they held previ-
ously. They can act for us as sabo-
teurs, spies, guerrillas, and auxili-
aries. To convince them that this
should be done, actions speak loud-
er than words.

Such an action as the use of
mixed units will do more than a
bookful of promises. Such help will
be greatly needed, as we shall be
operating in difficult country and
terrain. We can not be as sure of
the support of these people as we
were of the natives of New Guinea,
Gaudaleanal, ete., who were never
intensively exploited by the white
man. The former are quite familiar
with the ways of the white man and
will require tangible proof of a
change in attitude. The latter are
unsophisticated aborigines who suf-
fered under the Japanese and were
prepared to welcome any invaders.

In the war against Germany the
Nazi propagandists still hold out
the hope to the German people that
we are a divided nation and they
themselves believe that there is still
hope for an easy peace as they are
convinced that the various elements
of the American population are
hostile to one another. Any severe
blow to that philosophy will knock
out another psychological prop
from under the German war ma-
chine. This can only stimulate the
growing defeatist sentiment in the
German army and hasten its col-
lapse.

As this is being written the dis-
integration of the German armies
is progressing rapidly on all fronts.
However, the Nazi high command
is looking forward to the. peace

Tue Nearo History BULLETIN

table. It hopes that internal strife
through racial and religious mis-
understandings can be utilized to
weaken the Untied States. Mixed
units will crush this hope effec-
tively.

Men volunteering for these
mixed units will be of a high cali-
bre and desirous of proving the
validity of this principle of mili-
tary organization. This will make
for exceptionally high morale.
Troops of this type having an ag-
gressive democratic background
and high morale, may be used for
dangerous missions and at crucial
points on the battle field.

The military value of this type
of organization is inealeulable, and
adequate use of these units will
help reduce American and Allied
casualties to a minimum. Any pro-
gram which will accomplish these
ends deserves fullest consideration,
and must not be hampered by do-
mestic prejudices.

Since this is an important weap-
on of war, we must now explore the
most productive manner to utilize
it to its fullest without disrupting
the prosecution of the war or arous-
ing the feeling of the Southern see-
tions of the nation to whom indis-
eriminate application of this pro-
gram would be highly unaccept-
able.

The proper approach to this
problem would envisage a call for
volunteers from among the present
units of the military services to be
integrated in mixed organizations.
If the claims of the skeptics are cor-
rect that the whites will not volun-
teer and that the Negroes prefer to
be among their own exclusively,
then they need not fear such a pro-
gram as there is no element of com-
pulsion involved. If, however, there
are volunteers for the program,
then we shall have a true indication
of the feelings of American soldiers
and we shall have strengthened our
offensive ability in the directions
already indicated.

A certain Negro organization has
recently advocated the formation
of one mixed division. From the
military standpoint as outlined far
more than one division could be
used in the theatres of war that
have been previously indicated. The

NOVEMBER, 1944

present situation is one of national
necessity and not one which calls
for a token military organization,
in order to sooth the racial pride of
the American Negroes. The need is
for as many mixed units as can be
formed in order that our military
objectives can be achieved in a man-
ner that will conserve the greatest
number of American lives. These
organizations are as important as
any other specialized military or-
_ganizations. Their part as we have
seen is a military and post-war ne-
eessity and not a racial or political
football to be exploited for partisan
gain.

In this program no intelligent
and patriotic Southerner can find
cause for objection. There will be
loud opposition and this must be
expected. However, this will come
from men who are the spiritual de-
secendants of the opponents of our
founding fathers who in the dark-
est days of the nation’s struggle
for freedom utilized this measure
as the salvation of the Revolution.

As has been pointed out this is
not a radical or untried program.
The British Army has at least one
division of mixed troops recruited
from the Caribbean area. The ar-
mies of the Soviet Union contain
many units of mixed races.

It should be the firm conviction
of every American that what any
other nation can do the United
States can do at least as well and
often better. There is no basic rea-
son why volunteer units should not
succeed. We have seen that the
United States has done it before
and in certain categories is doing
it at present. The American citizen
soldier can be trusted to carry this
larger program to a successful con-
clusion as he is doing on the pres-
ent limited scale.

In addition this program is in
conformity with the best American
military traditions and constitu-
tional ideals. It is voluntary, and
cannot be attacked as dictatorial to
certain of our people whose tradi-
tions have been contrary to its
aims.

Nothing in this program is aimed
at forcing individuals to accept so-
cial contacts they might not wish.

There are many Americans, and we

must realize this as a fact, who are
willing to associate themselves
with peoples of other religious or
racial groups during the normal
business or military pursuits of
life, but who are desirous of main-
taining a certain social distance at
other times. This program would
not be contrary to the desires of
these people who have every right
to choose their social contacts as
they see fit.

After serving at stations and
aboard ship where this problem
has been present it is my opinion
that. this question in the armed
forces can be resolved. This is pos-
sible because of the patriotic zeal
and courage, democratic traditions,
liberal education, and religious
teachings which form the backbone
of every American. This heritage,
as well as the basic desire for an
understanding which exists among
the vast majority of white and col-
ored Americans can and must con-
tribute to the success of this pro-
gram without affront to any sec-
tion of the nation, if we are to gain
the victory with the fewest casual-
ties and within the shortest period
of time. It cannot fail to strengthen
the democratic foundations of the
Republic against the efforts of our
enemies’ fascist propaganda. Such
a program will lead to greater co-
operation in the military field by
our many Asiatic, African, and
Latin American allies who feel a
close kinship to our Negro eiti-
zens. It will also strengthen the
regard and admiration of these
people to the end that post-war
diplomatic and economic relation-
ships shall be very friendly and
economically profitable.

Development of the
Negro Community

(Continued from page 48)

organizing housewives’ leagues and
civic associations which have done
more than merely pass resolutions.
These organizations have stimu-
lated so much business among Ne-
groes that the foreign merchants
seeking to exploit the Negro neigh-
borhoods have a hard time. In fact,
these enterprising Negroes have

47

made so many of these foreign es-
tablishments hazardous that they
have had to give way to Negro en-
terprises. In this way a Negro
community may defend itself from
economic and social degradation.
A community, like an individual,
cannot expect others to be drawn
to it unless it makes itself attrac-
tive. This is the fatal weapon by
which segregation may be de-
stroyed. The Negro can not expect
to maintain his present attitude
and bring others unto him. Mem-
bers of the other race will never
seek the Negro nor remain in his
community until the Negro de-
velops some of the essentials which
they consider indispensable.

Every Man Under His
Own Vine and Under
His Own Fig Tree

(Continued from page 26)

on his land, and his white neigh-
bors immediately commanded him
to abandon his claim and hasten to
some other part of the world, or his
life would be in danger. Desiring
to protect himself, the Negro owner
secured the services of a lawyer;
and for taking this step he was
promptly taken from his home and
lynched by a mob. In the same way
Negroes and Indians were deprived
of their lands in the Southwest as
soon as the greedy landgrabbers
found out that they were valuable
oil areas.

It seems, therefore, that in the
United States of America, where
we have attained the leadership of
the modern world, we are not yet
beyond the primitive stage. We of-
ten bring this charge against Ger-
many, and rightly so; but we are
not any better off in the United
States. For centuries the rights of
the Negroes have been disregarded,
and now the mob is trying to treat
in like fashion the Jew, the Catho-
lies, and other minorities of their
own race. Germany, it is said,
should be supervised for the next
generation to assure a healthful at-
titude toward modernism, and we
must conclude that the United
States of America is in need of the
same treatment.

48

THE Neoro History BULLETIN

DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEGRO COMMUNITY

F segregation is to go, as it now seems it must,

.something must.be done to develop in the

Negro community an immunity against an-
other evil which may be its sequel. Segregation is
the sequel of slavery—the means by which the
control of the Negro could be assured after he
ceased to be dealt with as goods and chattels. His-
tory should warn us, then, against those agents of
race-hate who even after they become a minority
may contrive to keep the Negro down in some
other way. So many of the so-called friends of
the Negro have supported such movements which
in the beginning had apparently no menacing as-
pects but became evils as the years passed by.

If the Negro will learn to do more for himself
and depend less on others, he will have a better
chance for establishing an immunity against an-
other sort of vicious control. For example, segre-
gation while restricting the Negro to the ghetto
permits nevertheless a sufficient number of white
men to fleece the Negro community through the
business establishments maintained on the corners
of the streets and up and down the alleys where
they are permitted to dwell. Negroes with insufh-
cient capital and lack of enterprise in most of these
communities have become adjusted to living out-
side of the business world and serve the foreign
traders and peddlers only as objects of exploitation.

While imitating the exploiter in few of his vir-
tues the Negroes are permitted to practice all his
vices without limit. Negroes crowd these stores
of foreigners, smoking cigarettes, chewing gum,
drinking pop, gulping down liquor, or carting away
cases of these beverages to buffet apartments to
quench the thirst of the inmates after the stores
have closed their doors for the night. As these
foreigners prosper, moreover, they acquire the
property in which their victims live and crowd
into these run-down structures more families than
they are built to house and thus reduce the Negro
community to the slum level to which no members
of another race desire to go and from which every
decent Negro tries to escape. In a few years the
enriched exploiter himself moves out and brings

to take his place another recently arrived from a
foreign shore.

Before the days of the depression when about
a million immigrants came to the United States
annually the possibilities of the Negro community
for exploitation were figured out mathematically
and information to this effect was made available
to European prospects for this exploitation. A
foreigner knew beforehand where Negroes were
concentrated and how many were necessary to sup-
port the respective enterprises projected. These
exploiters figured out how many Negro families
were necessary to support a local grocery, how
many for a shoe repairing establishment, how many
for a restaurant, how many for a fruit stand, how
many for a laundry, how many for a second-hand
store, and how many for a loan shark centre. And
it was seldom that their calculations went awry,
for millions of these foreigners owe their pros-
perity in the United States to the economic in-
eptitude of the Negro.

These conditions widely obtain. In the rural
areas where there is not much concentration of
population the Negro escapes the claws of these
harpies, but in the large cities they reign supreme
except in a few centers like Atlanta, Durham,
Richmond, New York, Detroit, and Chicago. En-
terprising Negroes in the South have changed
these conditions here and there, but the Negro
migrants to the North, as a rule, have not shown
such capacity. What the Negro has achieved in
the economic liberation of his peop!e in some parts
in the North, moreover, has been due in a consider-
able measure to the ability and perseverance of
the better selected West Indian Negroes. This
is especially true of Harlem where they have de-
veloped most of the businesses to the credit of the
Negro in New York City. Too many of the na-
tive Negroes there are content to labor for a
weekly and monthly handout to be wasted in
smoke, wine and song over the week-end.

Detroit, however, may be taken as an example
of the awakened Negroes who have migrated to

the North. During recent years they have been
(Continued on page 47)

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