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L162 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://www.archive.org/details/crisis2324dubo - .. - - _ _ J. . ,. , r ,,...,.. i i ... i i . ■ i ^ The CR ISIS Vol. 23-No. 1 NOVEMBER, 1921 Whole No. 133 I ^ II V% 11 lb III B&^-^3H // «* k. • • • %. I .' x Si •• " — ■ — ■ '■ -*%■ '' .-■mL"- ■ II ,; ■ it _.. !;^ . v ■ /.... . ■ i 1 }<■'■': ■ • ' ■ 1 ji 1 ONE DOLLAR AND A HALF A YEAR 1 FIFTEEN CENTS A COPY Turning Hard Times into Prosperous Times The year 1921 will ever be remembered as the period of "America's Hardest Times" f lowing the World's War. Conditions would be worse than now were it not for the Hercule efforts of those determined spirits who are forcing the wheels of progress to continue to r> volve. THE SOUTHERN AID SOCIETY OF VA., INC., is proud to be numbered among thos- who are trying to keep the Door of Opportunity open. The cut below shows the new $200,000.00 four-story and basement modern fireproof building erected by the Society at 7th and Tea Streets, N W., Washington, D. C, to help turn Hard Times into Prosperous Times. Not only does the Superior Policy of Protection, issued by the Society, keep the wolf from the door of all Southern Aid Policyholders but its policy of constructing modern office buildings, in the various cities where it operates, makes it possible for our professional and business interests to have suitable quarters — like the best had by other races — in which to display their talents and wares and to do better business. Therefore by its Insurance Policy and, as well, by its Business Policy the Society is daily helping to turn Hard Times into Prosperous Times. SOUTHERN AID SOCIETY OF VIRGINIA, INC. Home Office: 527 N. Second Street, RICHMOND, VA. District Offices and Agencies in Virginia and the District of Columbia Insures Against Sickness, Accidents and Deaths J. T. CARTER, PRES. E. L. JORDAN, SECTY. W. A. JORDAN, ASST. SECTY THE CRISIS A RECORD OF THE DARKER RACES PUBLISHED MONTHLY AND COPYBIGHTED BY THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE, AT 70 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK CITY. CON- DUCTED BY W. E. BURGHARDT DU BOIS; JESSIE REDMON FAUSET, LITERARY EDITOR; AUGUSTUS GRANVILLE DILL, BUSINESS MANAGER. Vol. 23-No. 1 NOVEMBER, 1921 Whole No. 133 PICTURES Page COVER. Figure of Africa typifying "Science" in the Palais Mondial, Brussels, where the Second Pan-African Congress was held. The inscription reads : "I am the one that was, that is, and that shall be. No mortal may unveil my face." GENERAL SORELAS 9 CRESCENT STARS' AMUSEMENT BASEBALL PARK, NEW ORLEANS. . . 19 MEN OF THE MONTH 27-28 AMERICAN NEGRO MINISTERS AT THE ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, LONDON 33 ARTICLES IMPRESSIONS OF THE SECOND PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS. Jessie Fauset 12 MANIFESTO TO THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 18 A NEW ORLEANS BASEBALL PARK 20 DEPARTMENTS OPINION 5 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE 21 MEN OF THE MONTH 26 THE LOOKING GLASS 29 THE HORIZON 34 THE DECEMBER CRISIS The December CRISIS will be a Christmas Number and will show by extracts from leading journals what Europe thought of the Pan-African Congress. FIFTEEN CENTS A COPY; ONE DOLLAR AND A HALF A YEAR FOREIGN SUBSCRIPTIONS TWENTY-FIVE CENTS EXTRA RENEWALS: The date of expiration of each subscription is printed on the wrapper. When the subscription is due, a blue renewal blank is enclosed. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: The address of a subscriber can be changed as often as desired. In ordering a change of address, both the old and the new address must be given. Two weeks' notice is required. MANUSCRIPTS and drawings relating to colored people are desired. They must be accom- panied by return postage. If found unavailable they will be returned. Entered as second class matter November 2, 1910, at the post office at New York, New York, under the Act of March 3, 1879. DD175! THE CRISIS ADVERTISER National Training School DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA i4 School for the Training of Colored Young Men and Women for Service Though it is young in history, tne Institution feels a just pride in the work thus far accomplished, for its graduates are already filling many responsible positions, thus demonstrating the aim of the school to train men and women for useful citizenship. DEPARTMENTS ALREADY ESTABLISHED The Grammar Scheol The Teacher Training Department The Academy The Divinity School The School of Arts and Sciences The Commercial Department The Department of Music The Department of Home Economic! The Department of Social Servict TERM OPENED SEPTEMBER 21, 1920 For farther information and Catalog, address President James E. Shepard, Durham, North Carolina STATE OF NEW JERSEY Manual Training & Industrial School FOR COLORED YOUTH BORPENTOWN, N. J. A high Institution for tha training of colored youth. Excellent equipment, thorough instruction, wholesome surroundings. Academic training for ail students. Courses in carpentry, agriculture and trades for boyz, Including auto repairing. Courses in domestio science and domestic art for girls. A new trades building, thoroughly equipped. New girls' dormitory thoroughly and mederniy equipped. Terms reasonable. Fall term opens September IB, 1921. For Information address W. R. VALENTINE, Principal Wiley University Marshall, Texas Recognized as a college of first class bv Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Okla- homa State Boards of Education. Har- vard. Boston University, University of Illinois and University of Chicago repre- sented or. its faculty. One hundred twenty-seven in College Department, ses- sion 1919-1920. Several new buildings, steam heated and electric lighted. M. W. DOGAN, President NCOLN UNIVERSITY Pioneer in Collegiate and Theological Education Lincoln Men are Leaders in the various professions in Forty States. The College is ranked in Class I. by the American Medical Association. Address : John B. Xend&ll, D.B., Lincoln University, Chester County, Penna. Cheyney Training School For Teafgiers Cheyney, Pa. Made in 1920 an accredited State Normal School, offering, in addition to the regular Normal Course of two years, professional three year courses in Home Economics and Shop Work. A diploma from any of these courses makes a graduate eligible to teach in the public schools of Pennsylvania. A three-year High School Course is offered to all who have com- pleted the eighth grammar grade. Send application now for fall term opening September 20r/j. 1921. For further particulars and catalog, write LESLIE PraCKUTEY HILL, Principal, Cheyney, Pa. THERE WILL BE NO SUMMER SCHOOL FOR \n\ Meation The Ceisis, THE CRISIS Vol. 23. No. 1 NOVEMBER, 1921 Whole No. 133 [Jipiivioiv TO THE WORLD (Manifesto of the Second Pan- African Congress.) HE absolute equality of races, — physical, political and so- cial— is the founding stone of world peace and human ad- vancement. No one denies great differ- ences of gift, capacity and attain- ment among individuals of all races, but the voice of science, religion and practical politics is one in denying the God-appointed existence of su- per-races, or of races naturally and inevitably and eternally inferior. That in the vast range of time, one group should in its industrial technique, or social organization, or spiritual vision, lag a few hundred years behind another, or forge fitfully ahead, or come to differ decidedly in thought, deed and ideal, is proof of the essential richness and variety of human nature, rather than proof of the co-existence of demi-gods and apes in human form. The doctrine of racial equality does not interfere with individual liberty, rather, it ful- fils it. And of all the various cri- teria by which masses of men have in the past been prejudged and class- ified, that of the color of the skin and texture of the hair, is surely the most adventitious and idiotic. It is the duty of the world to as- sist in every way the advance of the backward and suppressed groups of mankind. The rise of all men is a menace to no one and is the highest human ideal; it is not an altruistic benevolence, but the one road to world salvation. For the purpose of raising such peoples to intelligence, self-knowl- edge and self-control, their intelli- gentsia of right ought to be recog- nized as the natural leaders of their groups. The insidious and dishonorable propaganda, which, for selfish ends, so distorts and denies facts as to rep- resent the advancement and devel- opment of certain races of men as impossible and undesirable, should be met with widespread dissemina- tion of the truth. The experiment of making the Negro slave a free citi- zen in the United States is not a fail- ure ; the attempts at autonomous gov- ernment in Haiti and Liberia are not proofs of the impossibility of self- government among black men ; the experience of Spanish America does not prove that mulatto democracy will not eventually succeed there ; the aspirations of Egypt and India are not successfully to be met by sneers at the capacity of darker races. We who resent the attempt to treat civilized men as uncivilized, and who bring in our hearts grievance upon grievance against those who lynch the untried, disfranchise the intelli- gent, deny self-government to edu- cated men, and insult the helpless, we complain ; but not simply or primari- ly for ourselves — more especially for the millions of our fellows, blood of our blood, and flesh of our flesh, who have not even what we have — the power to complain against monstrous wrong, the power to see and to know the source of our oppression. How far the future advance of mankind will depend upon the social (5 THE CRISIS contact and physical intermixture of the various strains of human blood is unknown, but the demand for the interpenetration of countries and in- termingling of blood has come, in modern days, from the white race alone, and has been imposed upon brown and black folks mainly by brute force and fraud. On top of this, the resulting people of mixed race have had to endure innuendo, persecution, and insult, and the pene- trated countries have been forced in- to semi-slavery. If it be proven that absolute world segregation by group, color or his- toric affinity is best for the future, let the white race leave the dark world and the darker races will glad- ly leave the white. But the proposi- tion is absurd. This is a world of men, of men whose likenesses far out- weigh their differences; who mutual- ly need each other in labor and thought and dream, but who can suc- cessfully have each other only on terms of equality, justice and mutual respect. They are the real and only peacemakers who work sincerely and peacefully to this end. The beginning of wisdom in inter- racial contact is the establishment of political institutions among sup- pressed peoples. The habit of democ- racy must be made to encircle the earth. Despite the attempt to prove that its practice is the secret and di- vine gift of the few, no habit is more natural or more widely spread among primitive people, or more easily ca- pable of development among masses. Local self-government with a mini- mum of help and oversight can be established tomorrow in Asia, in Africa, in America and in the Isles of the Sea. It will in many instances need general control and guidance, but it will fail only when that guid- ance seeks ignorantly and conscious- ly its own selfish ends and not the people's liberty and good. Surely in the 20th century of the Prince of Peace, in the millenium of Buddha and Mahmoud, and in the mightiest Age of Human Reason, there can be found in the civilized world enough of altruism, learning and benevolence to develop native in- stitutions for the native's good, rath- er than continue to allow the major- ity of mankind to be brutalized and enslaved by ignorant and selfish agents of commercial institutions, whose one aim is profit and power for the few. And this brings us to the crux of the matter: It is the shame of the world that today the relation between the main groups of mankind and their mutual estimate and respect is determined chiefly by the degree in which one can subject the other to its service, enslaving labor, making ignorance compulsory, uprooting ruthlessly religion and customs, and destroying government, so that the favored Few may luxuriate in the toil of the tortured Many. Science, Reli- gion and Philanthropy have thus been made the slaves of world commerce and industry, and bodies, minds, souls of Fiji and Congo, are judged almost solely by the quotations on the Bourse. The day of such world organiza- tion is past and whatever excuse be made for it in other ages, the 20th century must come to judge men as men and not as material and labor. The great industrial problem which has hitherto been regarded as the domestic problem of culture lands, must be viewed far more broadly, if it is ever to reach just settlement. Labor and capital in Eng- land, France and America can never solve their problem as long as a sim- ilar and vastly greater problem of poverty and injustice marks the re- lations of the whiter and darker peo- ples. It is shameful, unreligious, un- scientific and undemocratic that the estimate, which half the peoples of earth put on the other half, depends mainly on their ability to squeeze profit out of them. OPINION If we are coming to recognize that the great modern problem is to correct maladjustment in the distribution of wealth, it must be remembered that the basic maladjustment is in the outrageously unjust distribution of world income between the dominant and suppressed peoples; in the rape of land and raw material, and mon- opoly of technique and culture. And in this crime white labor is particeps criminis with white capital. Uncon- sciously and consciously, carelessly and deliberately, the vast power of the white labor vote in modern de- mocracies has been cajoled and flat- tered into imperialistic schemes to enslave and debauch black, brown and yellow labor, until with fatal re- tribution, they are themselves today bound and gagged and rendered im- potent by the resulting monopoly of the world's raw material in the hands of a dominant, cruel and irre- sponsible few. And, too, just as curiously, the educated and cultured of the world, the well-born and well-bred, and even the deeply pious and philanthropic, receive their training and comfort and luxury, the ministrations of de- licate beauty and sensibility, on con- dition that they neither inquire in- to the real source of their income and the methods of distribution or interfere with the legal props which rest on a pitiful human foundation of writhing white and yellow and brown and black bodies. We claim no perfectness of our own nor do we seek to escape the blame which of right falls on the backward for failure to advance, but noblesse oblige, and we arraign civil- ization and more especially the col- onial powers for deliberate trans- gressions of our just demands and their own better conscience. England, with her Pax Britannica, her courts of justice, established commerce and a certain apparent re- cognition of native law and customs, has nevertheless systematically fos- tered ignorance among the natives, has enslaved them and is still en- slaving . some of them, has usually declined even to try to train black and brown men in real self-govern- ment, to recognize civilized black folks as civilized, or to grant to col- ored colonies those rights of self- government which it freely gives to white men. Belgium is a nation which has but recently assumed responsibility for her colonies, and has taken some steps to lift them from the worst abuses of the autocratic regime ; but she has not confirmed to the people the possession of their land and la- bor, and she shows no disposition to allow the natives any voice in their own government, or to provide for their political future. Her colonial policy is still mainly dominated by the banks and great corporations. But we are glad to learn that the present government is considering a liberal program of reform for the future. Portugal and Spain have never drawn a legal caste line against per- sons of culture who happen to be of Negro descent. Portugal has a' hu- mane code for the natives and has be- gun their education in some regions. But, unfortunately, the industrial concessions of Portuguese Africa are almost wholly in the hands of for- eigners whom Portugal cannot or will not control, and who are ex- ploiting land and re-establishing the African slave trade. The United States of America af- ter brutally enslaving millions of black folks suddenly emancipated them and began their education ; but it acted without system or fore- thought, throwing the freed men up- on the world penniless and landless, educating them without thorough- ness and system, and subjecting them the while to lynching, lawless- ness, discrimination, insult and slan- der, such as human beings have sel- dom endured and survived. To save THE CRISIS their own government, they enfran- chized the Negro and then when dan- ger passed, allowed hundreds of thousands of educated and civilized black folk to be lawlessly disfran- chised and subjected to a caste sys- tem; and, at the same time, in 1176, 1812, 1861, 1897, and 1917, they asked and allowed thousands of black men to offer up their lives as a sacrifice to the country which de- spised and despises them. France alone of the great colonial powers has sought to place her cul- tured black citizens on a plane of absolute legal and social equality with her white and given them rep- resentation in her highest legisla- ture. In her colonies she has a wide- spread but still imperfect system of state education. This splendid be- ginning must be completed by wi- dening the political basis of her na- tive government, by restoring to the indigenes the ownership of the soil, by protecting native labor against the aggression of established capital, and by asking no man, black or white, to be a soldier unless the country gives him a voice in his own govern- ment. The independence of Abyssinia, Liberia Haiti and San Domingo, is absolutely necessary to any sus- tained belief of the black folk in the sincerity and honesty of the white. These nations have earned the right to be free, they deserve the recogni- tion of the world ; notwithstanding all their faults and mistakes, and the fact that they are behind the most advanced civilization of the day, nev- ertheless they compare favorably with the past, and even more recent, history of most European nations, and it shames civilization that the treaty of London practically invited Italy to aggression in Abyssinia, and that free America has unjustly and cruelly seized Haiti, murdered and for a time enslaved her workmen, overthrown her free institutions by force, and has so far failed in re- turn to give her a single bit of help, aid or sympathy. What do those wish who see these evils of the color line and racial dis- crimination and who believe in the divine right of suppressed and back- ward peoples to learn and aspire and be free? The Negro race through its think- ing intelligentsia is demanding : I — The recognition of civilized men as civilized despite their race or color II — Local self government for backward groups, deliberately rising as experience and knowledge grow to complete self government under the limitations of a . self governed world III — Education in self knowledge, in scientific truth and in industrial technique, undivorced from the art of beauty IV — Freedom in their own reli- gion and social customs, and with the right tc be different and non-con- formist V — Co-operation with the rest of the world in government, indus- try and art on the basis of Justice, Freedom and Peace VI — The ancient common owner- ship of the land and its natural fruits and defence against the un- restrained greed of invested capital VII — The establishment under the League of Nations of an internation- al institution for the study of Negro problems VIII — The establishment of an in- ternational section in the Labor Bur- eau of the League of Nations, charged with the protection of native labor. The world must face two eventu- alities : either the complete assimila- tion of Africa with two or three of the great world states, with political, civil and social power and privileges absolutely equal for its black and white citizens, or the rise of a great black African state founded in Peace and Good Will, based on popular edu- cation, natural art and industry and ,^4-^^^ ^^33 - ■■:'.'■■■■-.■•■.'•'■ . ■■;■;'■ m, _._ : ' ** %te£aH ■^ il p^i ;:"/'; ■•'■'■";;■; Kw . . . X'TJNION CONGOLAISE. BELGIUM l.{> IMPRESSIONS OF THE SECOND PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS Jessie Fauset HPHE dream of a Pan-African Congress ■*■ had already come true in 1919. Yet it was with hearts half-wondering, half fear- ful that we ventured to realize it afresh in 1921. So tenuous, so delicate had been its beginnings. Had the black world, although once stirred by the terrific rumblings of the Great War, relapsed into its lethargy? Then out of Africa just before it was time to cross the Atlantic came a letter, one of many, but this the most appealing word from the Egyptian Sudan: "Sir: We can- not come but we are sending you this small sum ($17.32), to help toward the expenses of the Pan-African Congress. Oh Sir, we are looking to you for we need help sorely!" So with this in mind we crossed the seas not knowing just what would be the plan of action for the Congress, for would not its members come from the four corners of the earth and must there not of necessity be a diversity of opinion, of thought, of pro- ject? But the main thing, the great thing, was that Ethiopia's sons through delegates were stretching out their hands from all over the black and yearning world. II 'TWEEN one day, the 27th of August, we ■*■ met in London in Central Hall, under the shadow of Westminster Abbey. Many significant happenings had those cloisters looked down on, but surely on none more significant than on this group of men and women of African descent, so different in rearing and tradition and yet so similar in purpose. The rod of the common op- pressor had made them feel their own com- munity of blood, of necessity, of problem. Men from strange and diverse lands came together. We were all of us foreign- ers. South Africa was represented, the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Lagos, Gren- ada, the United States of America, Marti- nique, Liberia. No natives of Morocco or of East Africa came, yet men who had lived there presented and discussed their problems, British Guiana and Jamaica were there and the men and women of African blood who were at that time resi- dent in London. That was a wonderful meeting. I think that at first we did not realize how wonder- ful. The first day Dr. Alcindor of London and Rev. Jernagin of Washington presided; the second day Dr. DuBois and Mr. Arch- er, ex-Mayor of Battersea, London. Of necessity those first meetings had to be oc- casions for getting acquainted, for bestow- ing confidences for opening up our hearts. Native African and native Ameri- can stood side by side and said, "Brother, this is my lot; tell me what is yours!" Mr. H. A. Hunt of Fort Valley, Ga., Mr. R. P. Sims of Bluefield, W. Va., Dr. Wilber- force Williams of Chicago, Mrs. Hart Fel- ton of Americus, Ga., Professor Hutto of Bainbridge, Ga., Rev. W. H. Jernagin of Washington, D. C, Dr. H. R. Butler of At- lanta, Mr. Nelson of Kentucky, Dr. DuBois, Mr. White, Mrs. Kelley and Miss Fauset — all these told of America. And in return Dr. Olaribigbee and Mr. Thomas of West Africa, Mr. Augusto of Lagos, Mrs. Davis of South Africa, Mr. Marryshow of Gren- ada, Mr. Norman Leys, a white English- man who knew East Africa well, Mr. Ar- nold, also white, who knew Morocco, Mr. Varma and Mr. Satkalavara of India told the tale of Africa and of other countries of which the Americans knew little or noth- ing. We listened well. What can be more fascinating than learning at first hand that the stranger across the seas, however dif- ferent in phrase or expression, yet knows no difference of heart? We were all one family in London. What small divergences of opinion, slight suspicions, doubtful glances there may have been at first were all quickly dissipated. We felt our com- mon blood with almost unbelievable una- nimity. Out of the flood of talk emerged real fact and purpose for the American dele- gate. First, that West Africa had prac- tically no problems concerning the expro- 12 SECOND PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS 13 priation of land but had imminent some- thing else, the problem of political power and the heavy and insulting problem of segregation. The East African, on the other hand, and also the South African had no vestige of a vote (save in Natal), had been utterly despoiled of the best portions of his land, nor could he buy it back. In addition to this the East African had to consider the influx of the East Indian who might prove a friend, or might prove as harsh a taskmaster as the European de- spoiler. Through the inter-play of speech and de- scription and idea, two propositions flashed out — one, the proposition of Mr. Augusto, a splendid, fearless speaker from Lagos, that the Pan-African Congress should ac- complish something very concrete. He urged that we start with the material in hand and advance to better things. First of all let us begin by financing the Liberian loan. Liberia is a Negro Independency al- ready founded. "Let us," pleaded Mr. Au- gusto, "lend the solid weight of the newly- conscious black world toward its develop- ment." The other proposition was that of Mr. Marryshow, of Grenada, and of Professor Hutto of Georgia. "We must remember," both of them pointed out, "that not words but actions are needed. We must be pre- pared to put our hands in our pockets; we must make sacrifices to help each other. "Tell us what to do," said Mr. Hutto, "and the Knights of Pythias of Georgia stand ready, 80,000 strong, to do their part." Those were fine, constructive words. Then at the last meeting we listened to the resolutions which Dr. DuBois had drawn up. Bold and glorious resolutions they were, couched in winged, unambigu- ous words. Without a single dissenting vote the members of the Congress accepted them. We clasped hands with our newly found brethren and departed, feeling that it was good to be alive and most wonder- ful to be colored. Not one of us but en- visaged in his heart the dawn of a day of new and perfect African brotherhood. Ill 1T\ OWN to Dover we flew, up the English *-* Channel to Ostend, and thence to Brussels. Brussels was different. How shall I ex- plain it? The city was like most other r large cities, alive and bustling, with its share of noise. All about us were beautiful, large buildings and commodious stores, ex- cept in the public squares where the an- cient structures, the town hall and the like, centuries old, recalled the splendor and dig- nity of other days. But over Brussels hung the shadow of monarchical government. True London is the heart of a monarchy, too, but the stranger does not feel it unless he is passing Buckingham Palace or watch- ing the London Horse Guards change. At first it was not so noticeable. We had been invited by Paul Otlet and Senator LaFontaine and had been helped greatly by M. Paul Panda, a native of the Belgian Congo who had been educated in Belgium. The Congress itself was held in the marvellous Palais Mondial, the World Palace situated in the Cinquantenaire Park. We could not have asked for a better set- ting. But there was a difference. In the first place, there were many more white than colored people — there are not many of us in Brussells — and it was not long be- fore we realized that their interest was deeper, more immediately significant than that of the white people we had found else- where. Many of Belgium's economic and material interests centre in Africa in the Belgian Congo. Any interference with the natives might result in an interference with the sources from which so many Belgian capitalists drew their prosperity. After all, who were these dark strangers speaking another tongue and introducing Heaven only knew what ideas to be car- ried into the Congo? Once when speaking of the strides which colored America had made in education I suggested to M. Panda that perhaps some American colored teach- ers might be induced to visit the Congo and help with the instruction of the na- tives. "Oh, no, no, no!" he exclaimed, and add- ed the naive explanation, "Belgium would never permit that, the colored Americans are too malins (clever)." After we had visited the Congo Museum we were better able to understand the un- spoken determination of the Belgians to let nothing interfere with their dominion in the Congo. Such treasures! Such illimit- able riches! What a store-house it must plainly be for them. For the first time in my life I was able to envisage what Af- 14 THE CRISIS rica means to Europe, depleted as she has become through the ages by war and fam- ine and plague. In the museum were the seeds of hundreds of edible plants; there was wood — great trunks of dense, fine- grained mahogany as thick as a man's body is wide and as long as half a New York block. Elephants' tusks gleamed, white and shapely, seven feet long from tip to base without allowing for the curve, and as broad through as a man's arm. All the wealth of the world — skins and furs, gold and copper — would seem to center in the Congo. Nor was this all. Around us in the spa- cious rooms were the expression of an earlier but well developed art, wood-carv- ings showing beyond the shadow of a doubt the inherent artistry of the African. Dear- est of all, yet somehow least surprising to us, was the number of musical instruments. There is not a single musical instrument in the world, I would venture to say, of which the Congo cannot furnish a proto- type. Native wealth, native art lay about us in profusion even in the museum. Small wonder that the Belgian men and women watched us with careful eyes. The program in Brussels was naturally different from that in London. We under- took to learn something of the culture which colored people had achieved in the different parts of the world, but we hoped also to hear of actual native conditions as we had heard of them in the first confer- ence. M. Panda spoke of the general de- velopment of the Congo, Madame Sarolea of the Congolese woman. Miss Fauset told of the colored graduates in the United States and showed the pictures of the first women who had obtained the degree of Doc- tor of Philosophy. Bishop Phillips of Nashville and Bishop Hurst of Baltimore greeted the assembly. Mrs. Curtis told of Liberia, the presiding officer of the Con- ference, M. Diagne, and his white colleague M. Barthelemy from the Pas de Calais, in the French Chamber of Deputies, ably as- sisted. Belgian officialdom was well represent- ed. General Sorelas of Spain spoke of the problem of the mixed race. Another Gen- eral, a Belgian, splendid in ribbons and orders, was on the platform, and two mem- bers of the Belgian Colonial Office were present, "unofficially." There was no doubt but that our assem- bly was noted. A fine, fresh-faced youth from the International University gave us a welcome from students of all nations; we were invited to a reception at the Hotel de Ville (City Hall) in the ancient public square, and on the last day General Sorelas and his beautiful wife and daughters re- ceived us all in their home. And yet the shadow of Colonial dominion governed. Always the careful Belgian eye watched and peered, the Belgian ear lis- tened. For three days we listened to pleas- ant generalities without a word of criti- cism of Colonial Governments, without a murmur of complaint of Black Africa, with- out a suggestion that this was an interna- tional Congress called to define and make intelligible the greatest set of wrongs against human beings that the modern world has known. We realized of course how delicate the Belgian situation was and how sensitive a conscience the nation had because of the atrocities of the Leopold regime. We knew the tremendous power of capital organized to exploit the Congo; but despite this we proposed before the Congress was over to voice the wrongs of Negroes temperately but clearly. We as- sumed of course that this was what Bel- gium expected, but we reckoned without our hosts in a very literal sense. Indeed as we afterward found, we were reckoning without our own presiding officer, for with- out doubt M. Diagne on account of his high position in the French Government had undoubtedly felt called on to assure the Belgian Government that no "radical" step would be taken by the Congress. He sponsored therefore a mild resolution sug- gested by the secretaries of the Palais Mondial stating that Negroes were "sus- ceptible" of education and pledging co- operation of the Pan-African Congress with the international movement in Belgium. When the London resolutions (which are published this month as our leading edi- torial), were read, M. Diagne was greatly alarmed, and our Belgian visitors were ex- cited. The American delegates were firm and for a while it looked as though the main session of the Pan-African Congress was destined to end in a rather disgraceful row. It was here, however, that the Ameri- can delegates under the leadership of Dr. DuBois, showed themselves the real mas- ters of the situation. With only formal SECOND PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS 15 and dignified protest, they allowed M. Diagne to "jam through" his resolutions and adjourn the session; but they kept their own resolutions in place before the Con- gress to come up for final consideration in Paris, and they maintained the closing of the session in Brussels in order and unity. I suppose the white world of Europe has never seen a finer example of unity and trust on the part of Negroes toward a Negro leader. But we left Belgium in thoughtful and puzzled mood. How great was this smoth- ering power which made it impossible for men even in a scientific Congress to be frank and to express their inmost desires? Not one word, for instance, had been said during the whole Congress by Belgian white or black, or French presiding offi- cer which would lead one to suspect that Leopold and his tribe had ever been other than the Congo's tutelary angels. Appar- ently not even an improvement could be hinted at. And the few Africans who were present said nothing. But at that last meeting just before we left, a Congolese came forward and fastened the button of the Congo Union in Dr. DuBois' coat. What lay behind that impassive face? IV AT last Paris! Between Brussels and the queen city of the world we saw blasted town, rav- aged village and plain, ruined in a war whose basic motif had been the rape of Africa. What should we learn of the black man in France? Already we had realized that the black colonial's problem while the same intrinsi- cally, wore on the face of it a different as- pect from that of the black Americans. Or was it that we had learned more quickly and better than they the value of organi- zation, of frankness, of freedom of speech? We wondered then and we wonder still though Heaven knows in all humility. But Paris at last, with its glow and its lights and its indefinable attraction! We met in the Salle des Ingenieurs (En- gineers' Hall) in little Rue Blanche back of the Opera. Logan was there, Be.ton and Dr. Jackson, men who had worked faithfully and well for us even toetfore we had come to Paris. And around us were more strange faces — new types to us — from Senegal, from the French Congo, from M. PAUL PANDA Madagascar, from Annam. I looked at that sea of dark faces and my heart was moved within me. However their white overlords or their minions might plot and plan and thwart, nothing could dislodge from the minds of all of them the knowl- edge that black was at last stretching out to black, hands of hope and the promise of unity though seas and armies divided. On the platform was, I suppose, the in- tellectual efflorescence of the Negro race. To American eyes and, according to the pa- pers, to many others, Dr. DuBois loomed first, for he had first envisaged this move- ment and many of us knew how gigantical- ly he had toiled. Then there was M. Belle- 16 THE CRISIS garde, the Haitian minister to France and Haitian delegate to the assembly of the League of Nations. Beside him sat the grave and dignified delegate from the Liga Africana of Lisbon, Portugal, and on the other side the presiding officer, M. Diagne and his colleague, M. Candace, French dep- uty from Guadeloupe. A little to one side sat the American Rayford Logan, assist- ant secretary of the Pan- African Congress at Paris and our interpreter. His transla- tions, made off-hand without a moment's preparation, were a remarkable exhibition. In the audience besides those faithful American delegates* who had followed us from London on, were other friends, Henry 0. Tanner, Captain and Mrs. Napoleon Marshall, who had joined us in Paris, Bishop and Mrs. Hurst, who had come back from Brussels to Paris with us, Captain and Mrs. Arthur Spingarn, white delegates from America, who had attended the cos- ferences regularly and had laughed and worked with us in between whiles. The situation in Paris was less tense, one felt the difference between monarchy and republic. But again the American was temporarily puzzled. Even allowing for na- tural differences of training and tradition, it seemed absurd to have the floor given re- peatedly to speakers who dwelt on the glories of France and the honor of being a black Frenchman, when what we and most of those humble delegates wanted to learn was about us. The contrast between the speakers of the Eastern and Western hemispheres with but two exceptions was most striking. Messieurs Diagne and Candace gave us fine oratory, magnificent gestures — but plati- tudes. But the speeches of Dr. DuBois, of Edward Frazier, of Walter White, of Dr. Jackson, of a young and and fiery Jamaican and of M. Bellegarde, gave facts and food for thought. The exceptions were the speeches of M. Challaye, a white member of the Society for the Defense of African Natives, and those of the grave and courtly Portuguese, Messieurs Magalhaens and Santos-Pinto. But this audience was different from that in Brussells. To begin with, its members were mainly black and being black, had suffered. More than one man to whom the unusually autocratic presiding officer had *A list of the delegates will be published later. not given the right to speak said to me after hearing Dr. DuBois' exposition of the meaning and purpose of the Pan-Afri- can Congress, "Do you think I could get a chance to speak to Dr. DuBois? There is much I would tell him." France is a colonial power but France is a republic. And so when our resolutions were presented once more to this the final session of the Pan-African Congress, that audience felt that here at last was the fear- less voicing of the long stifled desires of their hearts, here was comprehension, here was the translation of hitherto unsyllabled, unuttered prayers. The few paragraphs about capitalism M. Diagne postponed "for the consideration of the next Pan-African Congress." But the rest that yearning, groping audience accepted With their souls. The last session of the last day was over. It was midnight and spent and happy we found our way home through the streets of Paris which never sleeps. "V7"ET after all the real task was at Gen- ■*■ eva. The city struck us dumb at first with its beauty of sky and water — the blue and white of the September heavens above, Lake Geneva and the Rhone River gliding green and transparent under stone bridges, black and white swans, red-beaked, float- ing lazily about green baby islands, and above and beyond all in the far distance Mont Blanc rising hoary, serene and ma- jestic. In the sunset it looked like bur- nished silver. But scant time we had for looking at that! The Assembly of the League of Na- tions was on. A thousand petitions and resolutions were in process of being pre- sented. Delegates from many nations were here and men of international name and fame were presiding. How were we to gain audience? Fortunately for us Dr. DuBois' name and reputation proved the open sesame. He had not been in the city two hours before invitations and requests for interviews poured in. One of our staunchest helpers was an English woman, Lady Cecelia, wife of that Mr. Roberts who had worked with Montague in India. She presided at meals at a long table in the dining room of the Hotel des Families and here Dr. DuBois was made a welcome guest throughout his whole stay. Here came to meet and con- SECOND PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS 17 fer with him on our cause Mr. Roberts himself, Mr. Lief-Jones, M.P., Professor Gilbert Murray (representing South Afri- ca at the Assembly of the League of Na- tions), and John H. Harris of the Anti- Slavery and Aborigines' Protection Society. M. Bellegarde, Haitian Minister to France and delegate to the Assembly, was also at that hotel and gave us generously of his aid and assistance. On Monday night, September 13, Dr. Du- Bois addressed the English Club of Geneva and conveyed to them some idea of what the black world was thinking, feeling and doing with regard to the Negro problem. I am sure that many of that group of peo- ple, thinkers and students though they were, had never dreamed before that there might even be a black point of view. But they took their instruction bravely and afterwards thanked Dr. DuBois with shin- ing eyes and warm hand clasps. Besides meeting and conferring with these distinguished personages Dr. DuBois had luncheon conferences with Rene. Clapa- rede of the executive committee of the So- ciete Internationale pour la Protection des Indigenes and with William Rappard, head of the Mandates Commission of the League of Nations, a dinner conference with G. Spiller, former secretary of the Races Con- gress, and an interview with Albert Thomas, head of the International Bureau of Labor. At the end of a week of steady driving, by dint of interviewing, of copying, of translating, of recopying, we were ready to present and did present to Sir Eric Drum- mond, secretary of the League of Nations, a copy in French and English of the reso- lutions entitled To The World (see page 5) and of the manifesto (see page 18). Mr. Thomas and M. Rappard who both heartily endorsed the appointment of a "man of Negro descent" to the Mandates Commission, Professor Gilbert Murray, and IvI. Bellegarde also received copies. And between whiles we listened to the world striving to right its wrongs at the Assembly of the League of Nations. Of course we were at a disadvantage be- cause America, not being in the League of Nations, had no delegate. But Professor Murray suggested to M. Bellegarde, the Haitian delegate, that he state the second resolution (see manifesto) during the de- bate on Mandates. This he did, as Pro- fessor Murray writes us, with "quite re- markable success" and "I think that next year it may be quite suitable to put it down as a resolution." VI T* ESULTS are hard to define. But I must •**■ strive to point out a few. First then, out of these two preliminary conferences of 1919 and 1921, a definite organization has been evolved, to be known as the Pan-Af- rican Congress. There will be more of this in these pages. Naturally working with people from all over the world, with the necessity for using at least two languages, with the limited detailed knowledge which the black foreigner is permitted to get of Africa and with the pressure brought to bear on many Africans to prevent them from frank speech — action must be slow and very careful. It will take years for an institution of this sort to function. But it is on its own feet now and the burden no longer is on black America. It must stand or fall by its own merits. We have gained proof that organization on our part arrests the attention of the world. We had no need to seek publicity. If we had wanted to we could not have es- caped it. The press was with us always. The white world is feverishly anxious to know of our thoughts, our hopes, our dreams. Organization is our strongest weapon. It was especially arresting to notice that the Pan-African Congress and the Assem- bly of the League of Nations differed not a whit in essential methods. Neither at- tempted a hard and fast program. Lum- bering and slow were the wheels of both activities. There had to be much talk, many explanations, an infinity of time and patience and then talk again. Neither the wrongs of Africa nor of the world, can be righted in a day nor in a decade. We can only make beginnings. The most important result was our reali- zation that there is an immensity of work ahead of all of us. We have got to learn everything — facts about Africa, the differ- ence between her colonial governments, one foreign language at least (French or Spanish), new points of view, generosity of ideal and of act. All the possibilities of all black men are needed to weld together 18 THE CRISIS the blade men of the world against the day when black and white meet to do battle. God grant that when that day comes we shall be so powerful that the enemy will say, "But behold! these men are our broth- ers." MANIFESTO TO THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS rT',HE second Pan-African Congress which ■*- met in London, Brussels and Paris, August 28, 29 and 31 and September 2, 3, 5 and 6, represented 26 different groups of people of Negro descent: namely, British Nigeria, Gold Coast and Sierra Leone; the Egyptian Sudan, British East Africa, for- mer German East Africa; French Senegal, the French Congo and Madagascar; Bel- gian Congo; Portuguese St. Thome, Angola and Mozambique; Liberia; Abyssinia; Haiti; British Jamaica and Grenada; French Martinique and Guadeloupe; Brit- ish Guiana; the United States of America, Negroes resident in England, France, Bel- gium and Portugal, and fraternal visitors from India, Morocco, the Philippines and Annam. The Congress adopted two sets of reso- lutions differing somewhat in detail but essentially identical. The first set of reso- lutions (adopted unanimously at London) is presented in its original English text; the second set (discussed at Brussels and adopted unanimously at Paris) is presented in its original French text. The Congress directed its executive of- ficers to approach the League of Nations with three earnest requests, believing that the greatest international body in the world must sooner or later turn its attention to the great racial problem as it today affects persons of Negro descent. First: The second Pan-African Con- gress asks that in the International Bureau of Labor a section be set aside to deal par- ticularly and in detail with the conditions and needs of native Negro labor especially in Africa and in the Islands of the Sea. It is the earnest belief of the Congress that the labor problems of the world ean- not be understood or properly settled so long as colored and especially Negro labor is enslaved and neglected, and that a first step toward the world emancipation of la- bor would be through investigation of na- tive labor. Secondly: The second Pan- African Con- gress wishes to suggest that the spirit of the modern world moves toward self-gov- ernment as the ultimate aim of all men and nations and that consequently the mandated areas, being peopled as they are so largely by black folk, have a right to ask that a man of Negro descent, proper- ly fitted in character and training, be ap- pointed a member of the Mandates Com- mission so soon as a vacancy occurs. Thirdly and finally: The second Pan- African Congress desires most earnestly and emphatically to ask the good offices and careful attention of the League of Nations to the condition of civilized persons of Ne- gro descent throughout the world. Con- sciously and unconsciously, there is in the world today a widespread and growing feeling that it is permissible to treat civ- ilized men as uncivilized if they are col- ored and more especially of Negro descent. The result of this attitude and many conse- quent laws, customs and conventions is that a bitter feeling of resentment, per- sonal insult and despair is widespread in the world among those very persons whose rise is the hope of the Negro race. We are fully aware that the League of Nations has little if any direct power to adjust these matters, but it has the vast moral power of world public opinion and of a body conceived to promote peace and justice among men. For this reason we ask and urge that the League of Nations take a firm stand on the absolute equality of races and that it suggest to the Colo- nial Powers connected with the League of Nations the forming of an International Institute for the study of the Negro Prob- lems, and for the Evolution and Protection of the Negro Race. W. E. BURGHARDT DUBOIS, Geneva, September 15, 1921. Secretary. 19 A NEW ORLEANS BASEBALL PARK WALLACE C. MARINE ^"EGROES in New Orleans have de- ■*■ ~ veloped a liking for picnics, fairs and baseball games. For these amusements they were compelled to use the Fair Grounds, which is owned and controlled by white people. The owners charged the col- ored people enormous prices for rental, and would not permit them to rent the grounds on holidays, and seldom on Sundays. This state of affairs became aggravated when a committee of colored men planned an affair for July 4. They succeeded in renting the grounds, paying the required deposit, and began their advertising. When, however, the owners realized that they had inadvertently rented the grounds to col- ored people for July 4, they revoked the privilege, and only through the services of a lawyer were the Negroes given satisfac- tion. Mr. Wallace C. Marine, thereupon, began a search for suitable grounds which col- ored people could own, control and oper- ate. Having succeeded in this step, he ap- proached the Honorable 'Mr. Walter L. Cohen, a Negro, who assisted not only with his broad experience, but also with his influence with the city authorities. A Board of Directors was formed, con- sisting of fourteen men, each of whom bought at least $1,000 worth of stock. Mr. Wallace C. Marine was elected president; Mr. F. V. Fauria, treasurer, and Mr. C. C. Dejoie, secretary. Other members of the Board of Directors are: Messrs. Walter L. Cohen, Dr. P. H. V. Dejoie, Albert Work- man, Bernard Delpit, Arthur P. Bedou, A. J. Bigard, Joseph W. Elliott, Edward E. Woodruff, George Andre, Arnold Dufour- chard, Edwin Fauria, Walter Bemiss and Dr. F. T. Jones. After a capital stock of $25,000 had been subscribed by the members of the Board of Directors, the common stock was opened to the public, and $45,000 was subscribed, the shares being $50 each. The ground has been named The Crescent Stars' Amusement Baseball Park. The site is situated in the Seventh Ward, which is better known as the downtown or Creole District — "Faubourg Treme." It is four squares from St. Bernard Boulevard, which is one of the prettiest thoroughfares in New Orleans. The Park was planned and built by Ne- groes. It has a baseball diamond, a grand- stand, a dancing pavillion and booths for re- freshments. The Crescent Stars' Baseball Club, of -which Mr. Marine is the Manager, is ajgreat attraction. The park has a seat- ing capacity of 4,000 and can be rented at any time for a nominal sum. New Orleans, therefore, can well boast of her amusement place which is owned, controlled and operated solely by Negroes. This enterprise is but one of the many indications of the new spirit which is grad- ually invading one of the most conserva- tive Negro communities of the world. 20 National • Ass ociaiion • for • ike • • • Advancement o/*- Colored- People. mi- of* THE 24THlINFANTRYlPRISONERS;i ON Wednesday, September 28, a delega- tion of 30 leading colored men and women, headed by James Weldon Johnson, Secretary of the N. A. A. C. P., had an audience with President Harding and pre- sented a petition, signed by 50,000 persons, asking for the pardon of the 01 soldiers of the 24th Infantry who are confined in Leav- enworth as a result of rioting in Houston, Texas, in August, 1917. In the delegation with Mr. Johnson, or lending their names to it, were the Hon. NJMr. Archibald Grimke, president of the Washington Branch; Major R. R. Moton, principal of Tuskegee Institute; R. S. Abbott, editor of the Chicago Defender; Emmett J. Scott, special assistant to the Secretary of War during the World War; Prof. George W. Cook and Kelly Miller, of Howard University; Robert R. Church, col- ored Republican leader in Tennessee; Dr. Charles E. Bentley, of Chicago; Miss Nan- nie H. Burroughs; Mrs. Mary B. Talbert, honorary president of the National Asso- ciation of Colored Women's Clubs; Mrs. Mary Church Terrell; Mrs. Alice Dunbar Nelson, Harry JL Pace, John Hope, the Hon. Mr. J. C. Asbury, , member Pennsylva- nia Legislature; Harry E. Davis, member of the Ohio Legislature; Drs. William H. Washington and W. W. Wolfe, of Newark, N. J.; the Rev. Mr. R. H. Singleton, of At- lanta, Ga.; James A. Cobb, counsel for the N. A. A. C. P., and John R. Hawkins, finan- cial secretary of th¥"AT1VTrT^~Church. Mr. Johnson in presenting the petition said: As Secretary of the National Associa- tion for the Advancement of Colored Peo- ple, and spokesman for this delegation, composed of persons and representatives of bodies deeply concerned for America's good name, I have the honor to present a petition signed by 50,000 American citi- zens, white and black, praying that you exercise executive clemency, and pardon the 61 members of the 24th U. S. Infantry now in the Federal Prison at Leavenworth, Kansas, convicted on charges of rioting at Houston, Texas, in August, 1917. We are a delegation representing the 50,000 signers of this petition which we have the honor to lay before you, and we come not only as a representative of those who signed tne petition, but we are spokes- men of the sentiments of the ten millions or more of Negro citizens of the United States. The petition, you will note, asks for their pardon on three grounds: first, the previ- ous record for discipline, service and sol- dierly conduct of the 24th Infantry; second, the provocation of local animosity which manifested itself in insults, threats and acts of violence against colored soldiers; third, the heavy punishment meted out to members of the 24th Infantry of whom 19 were hanged, 13 of them summarily and without right of appeal to the Secretary of War or to the President, their Com- mander-in-Chief. This wholesale, unprece- dented and almost clandestine execution shocked the entire country and appeared to the colored people to savor of vengeance rather than justice. Sixty-one members of the 24th Infantry are still in prison serv- ing life and long time sentences. Contrary to all precedent, the provost guard of this colored regiment had been disarmed in a state and in a city where in- sult was the colored United States soldier's daily experience. Following a long series of humiliating and harassing incidents, one soldier was brutally beaten and a well be- loved non-commissioned officer of the regi- ment was fired upon because they had in- tervened in the mistreatment of a colored woman by local policemen. The report spread among the regiment that their non- commissioned officer, Corporal Baltimore, had been killed. Whatever acts may have been committed by these men were not the result of any premeditated design. The men were goaded to sudden and frenzied action. This is borne out by the long rec- ord of orderly and soldierly conduct on the part of this regiment throughout its whole history up to that time. Moreover, although white citizens of Houston were involved in these riots and the regiment to which these men belonged was officered entirely by white men, none but Negroes, so far as we have been able to learn, have ever been prosecuted or punished. In consequence, the wholesale punishment meted out to these colored sol- diers of their country bore the aspect of a visitation upon their color rather than upon their crime. The attention of colored peo- ple throughout the United States will be 21 22 THE CRISIS focussed upon the action which it may please you to take. In consideration, therefore, of the almost five years already served in prison by the 61 men and of the foregoing facts, and be- cause of the long record for bravery, dis- cipline and soldierly conduct of this partic- ular regiment, and in the name of the stead- fast loyalty of the American Negro in every crisis of the nation, we bespeak your at- tention to the petition which we beg here- with to present to you. The President promised to review the testimony in the cases of the soldiers and to take the request made in this important pe- tition under advisement. Mr. Johnson also made reference to the gratification of the colored people that the government through two channels was investigating the nefar- ious Ku Klux Klan. FIGHTING TREASON HP HE treason which consists of commer- •*• cialized race hatred and masquerades as Americanism has found a dangerous an- tagonist in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. For more than a year the Association has fought the Ku Klux Klan with the weapons of pub- licity and fact-telling, until such a power- ful engine in moulding pubKc opinion as the New York World became convinced of the necessity of taking up the fight. The ex- pose in the World has torn the last rag of secrecy off the Klan's mummery and it is shown to be the lowest and vilest sort of money-making scheme conducted by those who are ready to play upon prejudices of any and every sort for their own advan- tage. This expose travelled the length and breadth of the United States, being reprint- ed in dozens of powerful newspapers. Even before the election of 1920, in which the Ku Klux Klan attempted to intimidate colored voters, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was endeavoring to obtain facts about these bed-sheet heroes. An officer of the Asso- ciation discovered, when he was invited to join the Klan under the mistaken impres- sion that he was a white man, that the Klan intended to organize in New York City. The attention of the New York Po- lice Department, the Mayor and the Dis- trict Attorney was at once called to this menace and both the Mayor and the Dis- trict Attorney assured the people of New York that the Klan would not be permitted within the city's limits. Subsequently, the Association's attention was called to the fact that the Klan was using an address in New York in an attempt to recruit mem- bers. This information was given not only to the city officials but to the New York World, and the Klan's representative was traced to the Army and Navy Club in New York. Meanwhile, through press stories sent broadcast throughout the country, by mass meetings and magazine articles, the Asso- ciation was making known the true nature of the Klan. So well and so thoroughly was this work done that the Searchlight, published in Atlanta as the organ of the Klan, called the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People its most dangerous foe; and denunciation of the Klan began to be heard not only from the pulpit but in the editorial columns of the most reputable white southern newspapers. Among the agencies which denounced the Klan in the South were the inter-racial com- mittees, churches and the United Daughters of the Confederacy in Virginia. In September, 1921, the New York World, after an exhaustive investigation, began a series of twenty articles upon the Ku Klux Klan. Not only was it shown that the Klan was attempting to suppress the Ne- gro, but it was also exposed as spreading anti-Catholic propaganda of a most viru- lent character, and propaganda creating prejudice against Japanese and Jews. The Klan was shown to be bound by un-Ameri- can oaths of obedience and fealty to an "im- perial wizard" and its connection was es- tablished with the profitable sale of regalia. To the World, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People had the privilege of contributing information which was publicly acknowledged in the World's articles. The National Association two months before the articles began to ap- pear had placed its Ku Klux Klan files at the disposal of a representative of the World. Lists of the atrocities attributed to the Ku Klux Klan were published in the World, and public acknowledgment by the Klan of its responsibility in a number of cases. The personal lives of the leaders of the Klan, who pretended to be leading in a cam- paign for moral purity, were laid bare and the World published the fact that two of the leaders of the Klan had been arrested in a disorderly house in Atlanta and fined, N. A. A. C. P. 23 one of those arrested being the chief woman in the Klan. To such an extent was the National As- sociation for the Advancement of Colored People useful in exposing the Klan, that the Klan actually attempted to employ a traitorous colored man to create dissen- sion in the Association's ranks. A former Klansman, C. Anderson Wright, writing in the New York American, of September 16, spoke of this dastardly attempt as follows: Another subject of serious discussion was the realization that the power of the Negro society, known as the Society for the Ad- vancement of Colored people, was becoming a great menace in the expansion of the Ku Klux Klan, as it was continually giving to the press publicity on the Klan's under- handed methods. This society was getting active in State Legislative work, having already succeeded in having introduced by a Negro legislator from Chicago, a bill de- nouncing the Klan in the Illinois Legisla- ture. This bill was passed. It made an appeal to the citizens of Illinois to refrain from joining or associating in any manner with the Ku Klux Klan. This activity on the part of the Negro, in the judgment of Clarke, warranted prompt action, and it was decided to set up a rival organization to the Society for the Advancement of Colored People without de- lay. Clarke began with a Negro in his own employ, a man of unusual intelligence, who was in charge of the servants on his farm on the outskirts of Atlanta. This servant enlisted the services of other Negroes as spies, and they attended the meetings of the society and reported everything that was said and done. Also, these spies sought to create dissatisfaction and discord among the members of the society. It is, therefore, established, practically conclusively, that the Klan has actually been driven to employ spies to try to cre- ate dissension in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The Association is gratified at the Klan's lack of success and feels this attention on the part of the Klan to be a tribute to its ef- fectiveness in fighting the Ku Klux Klan's treason to the principles upon which the American State rests. Following the exposure of the Ku Klux Klan's hypocrisy and treason, the National Association appealed to President Harding in a telegram urging his endorsement of a complete Federal investigation of the Klan's activities and Congressional action should that prove necessary. At about that time, Attorney General Daugherty ordered the Department of Justice to make a report on the Klan, and William J. Burns, head of the Federal secret service, turned over such a report to President Harding. THE ARKANSAS CASES HP HE fight still goes on in the Arkansas ■*■ cases. The six men condemned to be executed in September are still alive. An appeal to the Governor for reprieve was unsuccessful. Then our attorneys ap- plied for a writ of certiorari to act as a stay to the execution. On learning that the writ of certiorari could not be obtained in time to stop the execution, as the judges of the Federal Court would not be in Wash- ington until after the date of execution, application was made for a writ of habeas corpus. This was granted and made re- turnable Monday, September 26. On Tuesday, September 27, a telegram was received, stating that the writ was sus- tained and that the execution was stayed. Evidence is now in hand which should have large weight towards securing the freedom of the prisoners who are yet to come to trial and which will favorably af- fect the fate of those already condemned. The other cases will be tried in Marianna, Ark., in the near future. This will be the first opportunity to use the new evidence. The Association is leaving no stone un- turned in its efforts to secure justice for these men. We urgently appeal for contributions to the Arkansas Defense Fund to meet this critical moment in the defense of these in- nocent men. CERTIFICATE MEMBERSHIP DRIVE A T the Atlanta Conference it was voted *■*> that an attorney be employed by the Association who should give his whole time to its work. It was thought that such an arrangement, supplementing the voluntary service of the Legal Committee of the As- sociation, would make very much more ef- fective the legal work done by our Asso- ciation. At the Detroit Conference it was voted that as soon as the Association found it- self able, it should employ regional secre- taries in order that intensive work might be done towards organization in all sections of the country. The Association so far has found itself unable to carry out these recommendations and also unable to do many other things 24 THE CRISIS that it would like to enter upon because of lack of funds. One dollar from its mem- bers will not furnish sufficient revenue to do the work which needs to be done. It has not been our good fortune to secure many bequests from our well-to-do citi- zens, but we hope that the habit of remem- bering the Association in bequests may soon be established. Over 90 percent of our support comes from colored people, and it is well that this should be so; but most of these are One Dollar members. It is because One Dollar a year will not furnish sufficient means, that the branches are now being urged to conduct some time in October or November a one-week Certificate Mem- bership Drive. In every branch there are persons whose means are such that they should donate each year to the Association $25, $50, $100, or more. Almost every member in all our branches can. without undue sacrifice, become either a Gold or a Blue Certificate member. The Gold Certifi- cate at $10 a year means the spending of less than 20c per week for the work of se- curing justice for our group. The Blue Certificate at $5 a year means spending less than 10c per week for this end. None of our members is so poor that he can- not afford, if he would, 20c or 10c a week. This is very little to pay for liberty. One Dollar members may become Gold or Blue Certificate members by paying $9 or $4, respectively. It is hoped that every branch will enter this one-week intensive campaign. The pioneer in this idea is our branch at Florence, S. C, in which a large proportion of the members are certificate members. The one-week intensive drive is to be con- ducted primarily within the branch. Let every branch take as its motto: One Hun- dred Percent Certificate Membership! DRIVE OF THE N. A. A. C. P. WE have had many queries concerning the final drive report. We are here- with printing it. At the same time we wish to congratulate the branches on the splen- did work they did under the very adverse circumstances produced by the economic de- pression. It will be of interest to review at the same time the previous drives of the Asso- ciation. Moorfield Storey Drive (1918), new membership gained . » 26,916 1919 Drive 22,875 1920 (no drive held) 1921 Driver- New members gained.. 44,200 New branches organized 37 Branches over 1,000 members now 13 Branches over 1,000 members before the Drive 3 Branches over 500 mem- bers now 18 Branches over 500 mem- bers before the Drive 7 Receipts Receipts from the Drive $28,243.53 Disbursements Printing $1,668.84 Buttons 822.92 Salaries 996.46 Postage 600.00 $6,284.11 Sales of buttons and lit- erature 1,360.12 Net disbursements $ 4,923.99 Net receipts from the Drive $23,319.54 THE CASE OF HARLEM HOSPITAL HARLEM HOSPITAL is one of the units under the control of Bellevue and Allied Hospitals' Association — the mu- nicipal hospital organization of New York City. Harlem has 150,000 colored people, and the hospital from its location is fitted to serve their needs. But there have been so many rumors and statements of alleged graft, mistreat- ment and neglect of colored patients in Harlem Hospital that the colored residents prefer to go to any other hospital in the city. It is significant that the 109th Street Hospital states that twenty per cent, of their total admissions are colored, and that eighty per cent, of these are from Harlem. The Presbyterian and St. Luke's Hospitals also have an unusually large percentage of colored admissions. These are all out of the colored district. In spite of their de- sire to go elsewhere, nearly half of the patients of the Harlem Hospital are col- ored. In January, Mr. Cosmo O'Neil, the Su- perintendent of Harlem Hospital, who had been notably fair in his attitude towards colored people and who had placed colored physicians on the hospital staff, was de- moted to a clerical position in Bellevue. N. A. A. C. P„ 25 Alderman George W. Harris, deeming it necessary to have a friend of the colored people at Bellevue, and feeling that the demotion was not the result of any incom- petency, took up the matter with Mayor Hylan, seeking the reinstatement of Mr. O'Neil. At this time, it was thought well to bring up the matter of the treatment of colored patients at Harlem Hospital and to seek a remedy. Mr. Harris, Dr. Allen B. Graves, At- torney Morton, and Mr. Walter F. White, assistant secretary of the N. A. A. C. P., formed a committee representing the col- ored citizens who sought to reinstate the superintendent, but without success. After meeting with the Board, who pushed aside their requests, the committee then brought before the Mayor a mass of data they had collected concerning alleged graft, mis- treatment and shameless neglect of colored patients. The Mayor appointed Commissioner of Accounts Hirschfield to hear the complaints, and the defense. Five hearings in all were held. A mass of evidence was produced in the form of sworn affidavits and personal witnesses, charging the hospital authorities with grave offenses against colored pa- tients. The committee averred that these condi- tions only could be remedied by the pres- ence of colored members on the Medical and Surgical Board of Harlem Hospital, and made as its minimum demand that there be appointed two such members, and that visiting physicians with the full rights of the hospital and visiting surgeons with full rights to the hospital be appointed. Commissioner Hirshfield had the hos- pital records of January and February ex- amined, and when he learned from them that forty-six per cent, of all admissions were colored, he stated that it was but fair that colored people have representation on the Board. Much publicity was given the hearings through the reports in the New York News, the Harlem Home News, and the New York Tribune. As a result of the pressure occasioned by the publicity given to the work of the colored committee, the consultants of the American Hospital Association are alleged to have offered, aftpr the second hearing, to secure a $2,000,000 Negro hospital if the matter would be dropped. The committee is reported to have re- plied that they were interested in procuring the rights of colored patients, nurses, doc- tors and surgeons in a municipal hospital, and not in securing a segregated institu- tion. During the fight the original com- mittee was in close touch with the North Harlem Medical Association, the organiza- tion of colored doctors, surgeons, dentists and pharmacists, who fully endorsed their fight and employed a special investigator and two attorneys to help in the matter. Mr. William N. Colson was employed as in- vestigator and Mr. Aiken Pope and Mr. Ferdinand Morton as counsellors. All of these did excellent work. It was made clear that the crux of the whole question is the admission of colored nurses and internes. The strong objection — it is alleged — is based on the necessary social intermingling this would entail. The entire matter is not yet settled, but there have been certain important imme- diate results. 1. Bellevue and Allied Hospital Boards, together with the local board of Har- lem Hospital, now clearly realize that colored physicians are determined to fight for their full rights. 2. Two physicals who were in the Medi- cal Out-patient Department have been transferred to the Surgical Out-patient Department — a promotion. These are Dr. Louis T. Wright and Dr. Douglass Johnson. Two other physicians have been appointed in the Medical Out-pa- tient Department — Dr. P. M. Murray and Dr. Ralph Young. 3. Two others have been permitted to work in the hospital, Dr. Ernest Alexander in the Skin Department and Dr. Vernon Ayer in the X-Ray Department. 4 Colored Red Cross nurses have been per- mitted to work. 5. The hospital also has promised to admit colored nurses. AVen of (he Month ON October 1, 1888, during the adminis- tration of Lord Sackville West, Charles Fleurence Meline Browne entered the serv- ice of the Chancery of the British Embassy. He has served as a messenger and clerical assistant through the administrations of Lord Paunceforte, Sir Michael Herbert, Sir Mortimer Durand, Viscount Bryce, Sir Cecil A. Spring-Rice, Lord Reading, Sir Ed- ward Grey and the present incumbent, Sir Auckland Geddes, a period of 33 years. The Order of the British Empire was cre- ated by King George in 1917 and is one of the most popular medals given by the Crown. Mr. Browne is the first Negro, and one of the few persons in the United States, to be awarded this medal. Mr. Browne was born in Washington, D. C, December 24, 1871. He studied in the public schools of the District of Columbia and was graduated from the law school of Howard University in 1898. THE late Dr. Samuel John Ross was president of the College of West Africa, Liberia. He was born in British Guiana, South America, September 19, 1880. In 1902 he came to the United States and entered Lincoln University, where he was given the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bache- lor of Divinity in 1907. He was president and valedictorian of his class and the win- ner of three gold medals for oratory. In 1908 he matriculated at the College of Phy- sicians and Surgeons, in Chicago, and was graduated in 1912 with honors. In 1913 Dr. Ross married Miss Pearl F. Thomasson, of Chicago, and during the year they sailed for Porto Rico, where Dr. Ross did interne work at Yauco. He practiced medicine in the United States from 1915-'18; then he was appointed Medical Missionary to Liberia by the Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Under his administration the College of West Af- rica grew from an enrollment of 250 to 356. In collaboration with Mrs. Ross, a Y. W. C. A., a Y. M. C. A., and an athletic association were established, being the first of their kind in Liberia. unteer social service worker in New Jer- sey and New York City. Mrs. Gregory was born in Washington, D. C, 44 years ago, being the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Brooks. She served as a clerk to the super- vising principal of the 13th District schools and was for several years a supervisor of first year work in the public schools of Washington. She married Attorney Eugene M. Gregory, a graduate of Harvard Uni- versity and a member of the Bar of New Jersey and New York. Among Mrs. Gregory's activities in New Jersey were the offices of vice-president of the Newark Branch of the National Asso- ciation for the Advancement of Colored Peo- ple, and chairman of the executive board of the New Jersey Federation of Colored Wom- en's Clubs; in New York City she was Su- perintendent of the Working Girls' Home and the Colored Mission of the Diocesan Auxiliary of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and a director of the Music School Settlement. A scholarship in memory of Mrs. Greg- ory is to be established at the Manual Training and Industrial School for Colored Youth at Bordentown, N. J., by the Fed- eration of Colored Women's Clubs. A URELIO EDUARDO BERMUDEZ was -*■*- born in the Province of Colon, August 1, 1893. He joined the police force when fourteen years of age, being the youngest member of that body, and became attached to the Bureau of Investigation. He is known as the only finger-print expert in Central America. In 1912 Mr. Bermudez was appointed Chief of the Investigation Bureau of the City of Colon, with the rank of Sub-Lieuten- ant. Through Colonel Albert Lamb, In- spector General of the Police Force, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, last October. In January of this year he was appointed Captain of the Investigation De- partment of the Republic, being the first and only Negro Captain on the Isthmus. 'HE late Mrs. Musette Brooks Gregory of Newark, N. J., was a prominent vol- Tj^IFTY years ago, David Jonathan Phil- A lips was born in Jamaica. After a pub- lic school education, he studied at Calabar College and the Pharmacy School of the 26 CHARLES F. M. BROWNE AURELIO E. BERMUDEZ DR. DAVID J. PHILLIPS THE LATE DR. SAMUEL J. ROSS THE LATE MRS. MUSETTE B. GREGORY 27 28 THE CRISIS Dr. Darrington Weaver Dr, Harvey A. Murray Dr. T. E, Stevens Dr. Douglas B. Johnson Public Hospital, in Kingston, and was ap- pointed resident dispenser at the Falmouth Public Hospital. After three years he re- signed from Government service and estab- lished the Midland Dispensary, at Ulster Spring. He came to the United States and enrolled, in 1894, at the Medical Chirugical College of Philadelphia, from which he was graduated in 1898, as the winner of the Spencer Morris Special Prize of $100 for the best examination in medical jurisprudence and toxicology. He passed the Pennsylva- nia Medical State Board Examination, mak- ing the highest average recorded up to that time. Then he studied in Canada, where he was graduated from the Medical School of the University of Bishop's College, tak- ing with first honors the degrees of M.D., CM. Later, in London, he passed the ex- amination of the Royal College of Surgeons and Physicians, and was awarded the de- grees of M.R.C.S. (England), and L.R.C.P. (London). He has served as assistant phy- sician at the Royal South London Opthalmic Hospital and as an assistant at the Royal Victoria Nose and Throat Hospital. In 1917 he was elected a member of the City Council of Kingston. While in Philadelphia, Dr. Phillips was resident physician at the Frederick Doug- lass Memorial Hospital and chairman of the Board of Trustees of Zion Baptist Church. He was a founder of the Banneker Building and Loan Society, and is still its president. TN St. Louis, Mo., Dr. Darrington Weaver * received the appointment of City Post- Mortem Physician, at a salary of $5,000 per year. Dr. Weaver was born in Hearne, Texas, December 31, 1889. He was gradu- ated from Meharry Medical College in 1914. A MEMBER of the Board of Health at ■^ *- Wilmington, Del., is Dr. Harvey Al- len Murray, who is also a member of the staff of the Babies' Hospital and Day Nurs- ery. Dr. Murray was born in Wilmington, November 8, 1891. He is a graduate of the Medical School of Howard University, 1913. "pvR. T. E. STEVENS was born in Tus- *-r kegee, Ala., in 1880. In 1905 he was graduated from Meharry Medical College. In Tennessee, he has served as a member of the Board of Health, at Jellico, and of the Board of Aldermen, at Cleveland. TN 1914 Dr. Douglas B. Johnson was grad- •*• uated from the University of Vermont, College of Medicine. He passed the Vir- ginia State Board, making the highest aver- age among 75 contestants. Dr. Johnson was born February 19, 1888, in Petersburg, Va., where he was one of the founders of the William A. Crowder Memorial Hospi- tal. He served as a Lieutenant in the Med- ical Corps of the United States Army, both in America and abroad. Dr. Johnson is a member of the Visiting Staff of the Har- lem Hospital Out-Patient Department, in New York City. ^he Lookiiva Glass LITERATURE My Race MY life were lost, if I should keep A hope-forlorn and gloomy face, And brood upon my ills, and weep And mourn the travail of my race. Who are my brothers? Only those Who were my own complexion swart? Ah no, but all through whom there flows The blood-stream of a manly art. Wherever the light of dreams is shed, And faith and love to toil are bound, There will I stay to break my bread, For there my kinsmen will be found. Leslie Pinckney Hill, in his "Wings of Oppression." * * * Lyman Abbott writes in The Independent of Booker T. Washington: Only once did I ever know him to "let himself go." This was at the graduating exercises at Hampton Institute. He and I spoke on that occasion on the same plat- form. The senior class certainly — if my memory serves me right, all the Institute students — were gathered on this platform, wnile the visitors, mostly white, were seat- ed upon the floor of the great building. The speaker's task was a difficult one. He had to stand at one side between the two audiences and play the part of Mr. "Facing- Both-Ways." Mr. Washington turned first toward one, then toward the other, of the two audiences as he spoke. He appealed to the members of his race to secure the re- spect of their white neighbors, not by de- manding it, but by deserving it. In an elo- quent appeal to their self-respect and an eloquent portrait of what the race had done since emancipation to justify self-respect he swung himself around as on a pivot and, speaking with unaccustomed vehemence to the white portion of his audience, cried out: "I tell you, we are as proud of our race as you are of yours." It was like a flash from a before silent and supposedly unloaded gun. How the Negroes on the platform cheered him! * * * America's Making News tells of the piece of art to be exhibited by Meta Warrick Ful- ler at the coming exposition, "America's Making." Mrs. Fuller is now at work on a commis- sion given by the Negro Group. She is designing a statue which will be in the cen- tre of the Negro exhibit, showing a female figure emerging from the wrappings of a mummy with hands upraised, symbolizing the seif-emancipation of that race from ignorance into educated, self-reliant citi- zens and makers of America. This statue is being modelled at the artist's Boston studio and will be life size. Mrs. Fuller is a pupil of Rodin and was educated at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. FAR FLUNG PROPAGANDA EVEN Denmark has been penetrated by anti-American Negro propaganda. The "Birth of a Nation" has lifted up its ugly lying head in Copenhagen. Fortunately for us Edward Franklin Frazier, who is now studying at the University of Copenhagen, was there to protest and to publish the main facts of Reconstruction in the Copen- hagen Politiken. The editor says: Mr. Frazier protests against the histori- cal presentation in Griffith's Film. A young American student of Negro de- scent, Mr. E. F. Frazier, who holds here a fellowship of the American Scandinavian Foundation (Niels-Poulsen Foundation), has sent us the following: I write the following criticism of the film, "The Birth of a Nation," merely in the defense of truth. The film might be allowed to pass as any other piece of fiction lacking realism but for its pretense of historical substantiation and its veiled attack upon a righteous cause and the race that benefitted by the triumph of that cause. After the recent World War the South, fearing that the Negroes because of their part in the struggle would thereafter re- sist lynching and disfranchisement, at- tempted to revive the infamous Ku Klux Klan. Even in the Southern States the idea of a secret organization dispensing justice was opposed by some citizens. In the city of New York the police were or- dered to treat the members of the Ku Klux Klan as other criminals. In spite of this opposition an attempt was made to popu- larize the Klan through the most powerful educative force in America — the moving picture. Where the picture was shown, riots generally resulted not only because of the resentment on the part of Negroes but also because of the infuriated ignorant whites. The picture is barred from some cities while in other cities it is only per- mitted to be shown after the more objec- tionable parts have been deleted. Wonder- ful as a piece of photography but lacking real artistic setting, this picture has come to Europe to poison the minds of unsus- pecting Europeans. 29 30 THE CRISIS The most serious indictment against the picture is that it falsifies history and glori- fies the most notorious band of criminals in American history. Congressional inves- tigations proved that the Ku Klux Klan was a dangerous band of criminals bent on mur- dering not only innocent Negroes but also conscientious whites, who sought to erect political institutions on the ruins of the slave oligarchy. Nowhere can one find either in written records or tradition the crimes charged in the picture against Ne- groes during the Reconstruction. Negroes never dominated the legislature of any state during the Reconstruction Period. Only once and then for only two years in the Lower House in South Carolina did the Negroes outnumber the whites; the ratio being 3:2 and not as the picture charges more than 5:1. Laws permitting inter- marriage could not have been passed by Negroes even then, for the whites always had an overwhelming majority in the Up- per Chamber. The picture does not show the fact that Negroes established the first free public school system in the South. Nor do we find in it the fact that suffrage — re- stricted— was not granted the Negroes un- til the South passed the infamous Black Code which re-enslaved the Negro by such subterfuges as: A Negro found without suitable employment shall be hired prefer- ably to his former master for his board and lodging; and a Negro impudent to a white by word or gesture is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be returned to his master on the same terms. Griffith's other play was barred, I under- stand, because it gave offense to Germany. But, alas! the Negro is the defenseless victim of lies and can only appeal to the conscience of mankind. I address these re- marks to the good people of Copenhagen because the world has suffered so much by ignoring the mandate of the Man who said nearly 2,000 years ago: "Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." FROM BRUSSELS THE Belgian L'Exportateur Beige writes of the sessions of the Pan- African Con- gress held in Brussels. Rayford Logan translates : After contributing with their well-known courage and self-sacrifice to the operations of war that finally assured once more the maintenance of threatened civilization, the Negroes, fighting in the ranks of the vari- ous allied armies, began to reflect in the different parts of Europe where they were in contact with a way of living and of or- ganizing life totally unfamiliar to them, and said to one another, that it would per- haps be well to study, in their turn, the means of creating a mode of living similar to that in Europe and at the same time of qualifying themselves to fulfill, like the whites, certain functions and to occupy cer- tain positions in order to free themselves from foreign tutelage. Such was the basic idea of a first Pan- African Congress held in Paris in 1919 and presided over by M. Diagne, the French Deputy from Senegal and High Commis- sioner of the Black Senegalese Troops. There were present at these meetings dele- gates from all of the black races scattered over the globe. The great majority of the delegates came, however, from America where there are at present 12 millions of Negroes emancipated 60 years ago who, aided by the United States, have continued to work out their intellectual, economic and political emancipation. There are several financial institutions in America, founded and run by Negroes, and the fortune of the blacks in the United States is estimated at 5 billions. A similar development has taken place in the intellectual and educational fields. Negroes have created over there, al- ways under the aegis of. the state, schools and even a university attended only by members of their own race so that today the American Negroes have really accom- plished appreciable progress. These colored men, to use a current ex- pression, who came from different parts of the world, and who found themselves dur- ing the war, when all rushed to the defense of a sacred cause, finally felt the desire to found a native organization — that is to say, they asked themselves what, after all, was their original country, and if they should not lay claim to it and show that by their efforts to emancipate themselves, they had conquered the right to aspire to the obtain- ment of positions and functions which they had not been, as it were, "allowed to occu- ply up to the present time. This original country, according to them, is Africa. Hence this Pan-African Con- gress which at the time of its first session in Paris revealed the means of civilization and of emancipation possessed by these col- ored men. The movement is very interesting to study. Those who are engrossed with the question of the future and the evolution of a race that was formerly rather badly treated and — as History tells us — for a long time held in the bonds of slavery are beginning to have that idea. The promoters of the first Congress are planning to hold a second session in Brus- sels. CONCERNING MOB VIOLENCE rT,HE Indianapolis News of Indiana tells ■*■ us: One cannot read the papers even in the most casual way without being impressed and shocked by the growing popularity of lynch law in this country. Whether the vic- tim is driven from his home, whipped, tarred and feathered, burned at the stake or hanged, the act is, in essence, lynching— THE LOOKING GLASS 31 though perhaps not technically so. For it is the execution of a sentence passed by those who have no right to pass it, and the "law" enforced is nothing more than the will or whim of those who set themselves up as the guardians of what is supposed — by the guardians — to be the public welfare. * * * To which the Rochester, N. Y., Herald adds: Racial rancor and anciently implanted antipathies are not peculiar to any section or limited by climatic or political bounda- ries, if recent happenings are to be taken as evidence. Even the rockribbed conserva- tism of New England seems not to be proof against the lynching fever when the neces sary incentive is applied. * * * The Buffalo, N. Y., Evening Times gives us the following thoughts on mob violence, and points out the way to stop it. The "authorities" in the various com- munities seem to be paralyzed with fright or incapacity, and indeed in some instances -show a disposition entirely in sympathy with the mobs. The thing is getting to be a fashion. Cus- tom soon becomes law. It is a serious sit- uation; but it raises a question still more serious, — are we degenerating as a people, or are we merely showing ourselves in our true colors? The war has torn the masks from many nations. Is its influence divest- ing us of a masquerade? Whether these queries are answered in the affirmative or the negative, one thing is certain — this wave of lawlessness could, and can, be stopped forthwith by those who have been sworn to uphold the law. If the President of the United States were to is- sue a proclamation denouncing "lynch law" and directing the Attorney General's De- partment to pursue and punish with merci- less severity within the Federal jurisdic- tion every person convicted of participation in such outrages, and if the President would further appeal to the Governors of the vari- ous States to follow his example with simi- lar proclamations and directions to the District Attorneys of all counties in the different Commonwealths, the cowardly and dastardly "lynching parties" would in- stantly seek cover after the fashion of such gregarious assassins. * * * Through the Herald, of Erie, Pa., we learn : Massachusetts and Tennessee, a northern and a southern state, have just been fur- nishing commendable illustrations of how to prevent lynching. They have both dem- onstrated that mob violence cannot prevail where the constituted authorities are pos- sessed of the moral courage and the will to suppress it. Barnstable and Knoxville were fortunate in the possession of resolute officials at a time when courage and resolution were most needed. In the Massachusetts case the mob displayed the usual mob character- istics and cowered when it saw itself op- posed by armed authority. At Knoxville a little blood-letting was found necessary, but the mob did not stand for much of it and has probably learned its lesson. Promptness and energy in the suppres- sion of lawlessness is always effective. In- decision and a disposition to compromise with the mob spirit always encourages vio- lence. Knoxville and Barnstable have furnished two excellent examples of law enforcement which will have the unqualified approval of all who believe in American ideals. * * * Further, we read in the Cincinnati, Ohio, Commercial Tribune, these encouraging words: In the matter of lynch law and mob exe- cution in protection of women from the menace of brutish baseness there has just been given an expression by southern wom- en that is at once illuminating and inspir- ing. The emanation is in form of a state- ment issued from a special section of the Georgia State Committee on Inter-Racial Co-operation. The membership of this sec- tion, it is stated, is composed entirely of southern women. The statement reads: We believe that no falser appeal can be made to southern manhood than that mob violence is necessary for the protection of womanhood, or that the brutal practice of lynching and burning human beings is an expression of chivalry. We believe that these methods are no protection to anything or anybody, but that they jeopardize eveiry right and every security that we possess. That is a preachment in behalf of orderly observance of law founded on a principle that, adhered to as here set forth, cannot but bring about rigorous, righteous enforce- ment of law. It is an appeal from lawless- ness to law, from the specious argument of curing violence by violence of the sound argument of insuring immunity under law by referring all crimes and misdemeanors to adjudication through law. This may be womanly intuition of which we are wont to prate. It is essentially wo- manly intelligence sensing right which alone is cure for wrong. * * * The Brooklyn, N. Y., Eagle, observes: It is a pleasure to note that women as women, even Georgia women, are tired of what has camouflaged the lynching ter- ror for half a century. Former Governor Hugh Dorsey, whose manly attack on Judge Lynch was univer- sally applauded by right-thinking persons, seemed to have been beaten down by the reactionaries when Hardwick became Gov- ernor and the executive policy was changed. But this new development gives fresh illus- tration to the proposition that right conduct 32 THE CRISIS and true speaking are never without per- manent effect, no matter how unpopular for the moment. The State of Georgia will be brought close to Dorsey's position if these energetic women keep up their work. And to the material industrial interests of Georgia no greater service can be done than the establishment of fair play to the Negroes, on whose skilled and unskilled labor the State must long depend. THE VOTE TN the Call of New York, we read: *• We have had occasion the past year or two to call attention to the changing po- litical conditions of the South as a result of the increasing importance of capitalist production in that section. We have point- ed out that the Republican party has been gradually dumping its Negro traditions to win the support of the southern oligarchy. Today the views of the party as formulated by Lincoln, Sumner and Seward have been practically repudiated. If these men were to return today they would find a rapidly increasing coalition of the Republican party with the southern ruling class and that the terms of the coalition are the sacrifice of the Negro. Over his prostrate body the ruling classes of two sections make peace. A dispatch to the Evening Post from Richmond, Va., shows that the bargain is being consummated. It is agreed by the Republicans of that state that they are to be a "white man's party." More significant still is the statement: "It is understood that this innovation meets with entire ap- proval at Washington." This means that the bargain with southern Democrats has the approval of the national Republican lead- ers. Negro Republicans were barred from the Republican Club of Richmond by the police when they sought to participate in the election of delegates to the state con- vention. "In exchange for the loss of its Negro auxiliaries," we read, "the Republicans in Virginia have gained the support of many men of influence and wealth." Among these are railroad presidents, bankers, cap- italists and business men of R:chmond, Nor- folk, Lynchburg and other cities. In short, the Republican aggregation is admitted to be a consolidation of capitalist wealth and power. It is to maintain an unwritten agreement with the Democratic party for the complete exclusion of the Neqro from elections. The agreement frees the ruling class of Virginia from dependence upon one political machine. One congressional district has been car- ried by the Republicans for a number of years and the Republican vote has been growinsr in other districts. The Republi- can national committee has already taken steps to eliminate the Neerro from its coun- cils and Republican conventions with the expectation that a "lily white" Republican party will increase in power in the South. All this follows the marked economic changes of the last half century which are slowly transforming the South into an im- age of the capitalist North. It indicates the sweep of capitalist production to the Gulf. The old political traditions of Lin- coln and other early leaders of the Repub- lican party are being abandoned and the bargain consists of the complete social, eco- nomic and political degradation of the Ne- gro workers of the South. It also carries with it a similar degradation for many hundreds of thousands of white workers who are excluded from the franchise by various exception laws. The last semblance of difference between both political parties in national politics is being wiped out. Capitalism is national and its parties at last become national in scope. The Negro Republican leaders who have led masses of Negroes to their be- trayal are themselves being kicked in the face for their treachery. A final chapter in the orientation of the two-party machine of capitalism is being written for the in- struction of the working class of all colors and degrees of economic servitude. THE SOUTH AND "MR." T N an article in The Christian States- ■*• man, the Hon. Bolton Smith of Memphis, Tenn., has this to say: The white people in every locality of the South should get in close touch with the conservative local Neerro leaders. They should grant all possible requests coming; from them for the improvement of the schools and living conditions of their peo- ple and for their protection in person and property. Such leaders should be en- couraged to speak with frankness to local white leaders of the conditions of which their people complain and fault sh •ild not readily be found with them for w? it they may say to their own people. If v?q think them mistaken we should reason with them, not threaten them. If they are not avowed a certain freedom in their intercourse with their people, we cannot expect them to have influence with them. We must begi" to show, in our address to the Negro lead- ers for whom we feel respect, some of that respect we should show to the most or- dinary members of our own race. A Negro leader of standing and character is enti- tled to be addressed as Mr., and his wife as Mrs., for in our own tongue we have no other title of respect. We do it now in cor- respondence and I believe we must do it in speech. This will be difficult to many of us, but I can see no other course if we hope to maintain relations of genuine sym- pathy with these leaders. This is the only civilized country in the world in which all Negroes — high and low — are addressed alike. In other lands it has been the ef- fort to so treat the Negro leader that he would side with the white man's gov- ernment. The difficulty of our problem has been increased by our failure to do this, w g 3 M o . H o q w 5 H g O fl O o s & s 33 COMPILED ALLISON MUSIC AND ART STUDENTS of Myrtilla Miner Normal School, Washington, D. C, have pre- sented a pageant, "The Beckoning Spirit," which depicts the history of their school. The work was under the direction of J. Francis Gregory of the English Depart- ment. UT President Harding did not stop here. Indeed he did not be- gin here. Either because he had no adequate view of the end of the fatal path he was treading or because, in his desire to placate the white South, he was careless of consequences, he put first on his program of racial set- tlement a statement which could have been understood and was understood and we fear was intended to be un- derstood to pledge the nation, the Negro race and the world to a doc- trine so utterly inadmissible in the twentieth century, in a Republic of free citizens and in an age of Human- ity that one stands aghast at the mo- tives and the reasons for the pro- nouncement. It may to some seem that this state- ment is overdrawn. Some puzzled persons may say: but Negroes them- selves have told me that they repudi- ate "Social Equality" and amalgama- tion of race ; in fact, right there at Birmingham, Negro applause of the President was audible. All this does not minimize — rather it emphasizes the grave crisis precipi- tated by the President's speech. It emphasizes the fact of our mental skulking or transparent and deliber- ate dishonesty in dealing with the Negro. Social equality may mean two things. The obvious and clear mean- ing is the right of a human being to accept companionship with his fel- low on terms of equal and reciprocal courtesy. In this sense the term is understood and defended by modern men. It has not been denied by any civilized man since the French Revo- lution. It is the foundation of de- mocracy and to bring it into being, the world went through revolution, war, murder and hell. But there is another narrow, stilt- ed and unreal meaning, that is some- times dragged from these words, namely: Social Equality is the right to demand private social companion- ship with another. Or to put it more simply: the real meaning of "social equality" is eligi- bility to association with men, and the forced and illogical meaning is the right to demand private asso- ciation with any particular person. Such a demand as the latter is idiotic and was never made by any sane person ; while on the contrary, for any person to admit that his character is such that he is physically and moral- ly unfit to talk or travel or eat with his fellow-men, or that he has no de- sire to associate with decent people, would be an admission which none but a leper, a criminal or a liar could possibly make. It is the very essence of self respect and human equality and it carries with it no jot of arro- gance or assumption — it is simply Homo Sum. Self -Deception T\ ESPITE this, for fifty years the Southern white man has said to the Negro: Do you mean to say that you consider yourself fit to associate with white people? And the Negro has answered ; but the question which he answered was not the one asked, but rather the other totally different question : Do you mean to say that you want to force your friendship and company on persons who do not want them? The answer to this is obviously an emphatic and indignant No. But when the Negro said No, he knew that he was not answering the question the white man intended to ask and the white man knew that the Negro knew this, and that he him- self had purposely asked a question of double and irreconcilable meaning, when he said, "Do you want Social Equality?" OPINION 55 And so this undeceiving deception has gone on for fifty years until the President of the United States, throwing caution to the winds, has either boldly or unwittingly an- nounced as a national policy that "men of both races may well stand uncompromisingly against every sug- gestion of Social Equality." Or in other words, that no man, no matter how civilized, decent or gifted he may be, shall be permitted to as- sociate with his fellow men on terms of equality or want to associate with them, if he be a Negro or of Negro descent. Let us sweep away all quibbling: Let us assume that the President was sane and serious and could not and d;d not mean by "social equality" anything so inconceivable as the right of a man to invite himself to an- other man's dinner table. No. Mr. Harding meant that the American Negro must acknowledge that it was a wrong and a disgrace for Booker T. Washington to dine with Presi- dent Roosevelt ! The answer to this inconceivably dangerous and undemocratic demand must come with the unanimous ring of 12 million voices, enforced by the voice of every American who believes in Humanity. Let us henceforward frankly ad- mit that which we hitherto have al- ways known ; that no system of social uplift which begins by denying the manhood of a man can end by giving him a free ballot, a real education and a just wage. Race Equality ET us confess that the pseudo- science to which the President unhappily referred as authority, and the guilty philanthropy which has greedily levelled racial barriers and now seeks with the bloodstained hands of a Lugard to rearrange them so that profit may emerge and manhood be dammed — let us confess that all this is vain, wrong and hypo- critical and that every honest soul today who seeks peace, disarmament and the uplift of all men must say with the Pan-African Congress : "The absolute equality of races, — physical, political and social — is the founding stone of world peace and human advancement. No one denies great differences of gift, capacity and attainment among individuals of all races, but the voice of science, religion and practical politics is one in deny- ing the God-appointed existence of superior races, or of races naturally and inevitably and eternally infer- ior." To deny this fact is to throw open the door of the world to a future of hatred, war and murder such as never yet has staggered a bowed and cruci- fied humanity. How can a man bring himself to conceive that the majority of mankind — Chinese, Japanese, In- dians and Negroes are going to stand up and acknowledge to the world that they are unfit to be men or to associ- ate with men, when they know they are men? Amalgamation L> UT President Harding does not stop even here. He declares 'Racial amalgamation there cannot be." What does the President mean? Does he mean that the White and Negro races in this land never have mixed? There are by census reports over two million acknowledged mu- lattoes in the United States today; and without doubt there are, in fact, no less than four million persons with white and. Negro blood. Does he mean that there is no amal- gamation today? Between 1850 and 1921 the mulattoes have increased over 400 per cent. Does he mean there will be no future amalgama- tion? How does he know? Or does he mean that it would be better for Whites and Blacks not to amalgamate? If he meant that, why did he not say so plainly? And if he 56 THE CRISIS had said so, 99 per cent of the Ne- groes would agree with him. We have not asked amalgamation; we have resisted it. It has been forced on us by brute strength, ignorance, poverty, degradation and fraud. It is the white race, roaming the world, that has left its trail of bastards and outraged women and then raised holy hands to heaven and deplored "race mixture." No, we are not demand- ing and do not want amalgamation, but the reasons are ours and not yours. It is not because we are un- worthy of intermarriage — either physically or mentally or morally. It is not because the mingling of races has not and will not bring mighty offspring in its Dumas and Pushkin and Coleridge-Taylor and Booker Washington. It is because no real men accept any alliance except on terms of absolute equal regard and because we are abundantly satisfied with our own race and blood. And at the same time we say and as free men must say that whenever two hu- man beings of any nation or race de- sire each other in marriage, the de- nial of their legal right to marry is not simply wrong — ;it is lewd. Segregation and Race Pride A ND this brings us to the last word of President Harding: He says in one breath : Especially would I appeal to the self respect of the col- ored race. I would inculcate in it the wish to improve it- self as a distinct race with a heredity, a set of traditions, an array of aspira- tions all its own. Out of such racial ambitions and pride will come natural segregations. The one thing we must sedulously avoid is the devel- opment of group and class organizations in this country. There has been a time when we heard too much about the labor vote, the busi- ness vote, the Irish vote, the Scandinav- ian vote, the Italian vote, and so on. But the demagogues who would array class against class and group against group have fortunately found little to re- ward their efforts. Is the President calling himself a demagogue? Does he not realize the logical contradictions of his thought? Can he not see his failure to recog- nize the Universal in the Particular, the menace of all group exclusiveness and segregation in the forced segre- gation of American Negroes? Can he not in this day of days with for- eigners of every race flocking to Washington and the eyes of a blood- weary world strained after them — can he not realize the vast, the awful implications of this appeal to the Frankenstein of race exclu- siveness — that hateful thing which has murdered peace and culture and nations ? Does he not hear the answer that leaps to our lips? For when Warren Harding or any white man comes to teach Negroes pride of race, we answer that our pride is our busi- ness and not theirs, and a thing they would better fear rather than evoke : For the day that Black men love Black men simply because they are Black, is the day they will hate White men simply because they are White. And then, God help us all ! CHAMOUNIX DHAVE seen the League of Na- tions, the Federation of the World, sitting in a little upper room and stared at by report- ers, amidst streams of hopes and fears and of intrigues. After that I came to Chamounix — to cow bells and silence and trickle of waters. Above this world-on-end, lies the vast Thing of Snow, — silent, tremendous, a world apart, remembered and for- gotten ; a place of lights and shadows, unknown to earth. And of mists. I think the real marriage of earth and stars lies somehow in these mists. There is every preparation for it: the calm and pretty valley with its cows, with its homes, its little in- trigues and tragedies, its laughter and flowers. Then gradually and gravely uplifted, the pointing pines ; the fingers of the sullen, steadfast OPINION 57 pines, pointing, always pointing. And then a space of lichen, leaf and brown gorse; and then a wide grey pause of utter rock, weirdly a waste, grim in its sense of age and strength. After that the snows, the white and blue and golden snows with their feet drabbled in the earth. What more fitting approach to the stars, to the thoughts that lie beyond the world, enchained and hallowed? One sees this mirage of earth and skies as a mist, a grey and white un- certainty, where line and point drift, merge and dissolve into something that is just cloud and sky. Last night in the rift of the world formed by the serried snow-broider- ed edge of the Alps, I saw the moon sailing in seas of sounds and tints of tawny green and hurrying waters ; without the narrow rift, lifted their heads, snows of clouds and clouds of snows, mountains real and moun- tains spiritual, clouds of mountains and mountains of clouds, until the world, the great soiled world, was a thing so beautiful, so rare, so still and sweet that life seemed all love and wonder. I could almost hear the sound of stars raining down upon Mont Blanc : the mist of the rain was moon shine there on the dim White Mountain, and the song of the sound of it was as the voice of death calling to the victorious. It was like white age above the brutal strength of youth; it was sweet childhood which is always apart and beyond the scar- red and moaning world. How singular is this ceaseless sound of waters, the dripping and dropping of snows, the roar of fallen mists, the dashing of clouds in the slow, grey and crumpled rivers of riven ice. And yet against the voice of the waters is the voice of the mountain ; it is the mountain audible, the song of snows, the color of space, the feeling of things with- out end. The mountain is unmove- able; day and day, night after night we have flown and whirled about it, changed to city after city and ridden over hill and dale, resting and run- ning, yet the mountain is always there, pale and calm and motionless, curiously eternal. If I lived here long I should pray to Mont Blanc, throwing my hands in ecstacy, screaming my tears. I should heap fire against it and vow gold and jewels. It should be God. For what else can God be but a Mountain or the Sea? In that transforming miracle of the mountain and the mist there is always sinking to earth some solemn 58 THE CRISIS singing as of things and of thoughts that rise above, beyond and athwart the heavy tongued earth and melt to something vaster and truer. It is midnight in the valley. I cannot sleep, for the mountain never sleeps and the moon tonight is widely awake. I sit and scribble and then ever and again creep to my window. The marvel of it, the sheer, inhuman perfectness of it all, the almost pain of its beauty and hurt of its joy! It is there still in the morning. The White Wraith has melted into the sky, throwing earthwards one long pale finger. Its feet are at the founding stones of the universe and its head is lost with the stars. Its thoughts are the thoughts of God. The world is grey and black with purple inter- ludes. The waters wail. At last the long shaft dies there from the top- most shoulder of the mighty hill and with its death the mist drops nearer to the black and burning earth. And always the pines point upward. THE SERMON IN THE CRADLE OW when Jesus was born in Benin of Nigeria in the days of English rule, behold, there | came wise men from the East to London. Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Blacks? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When the Prime Minister had heard these things, he was troubled, and all England with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scholars of the land together, he demanded of them where this new Christ should be born. And they said unto him, in Benin of Nigeria: for thus it was written by the prophet : And thou Benin, in the land of Nigeria, art not the least among the princes of Africa: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my Negro people. Then the Prime Minister, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Benin, and said, "Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also." When they had heard the Premier, they departed ; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they re- joiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they pre- sented unto him gifts : gold and medicine and perfume. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to England, they departed into their own country another way. Save one, and he was black. And his own country was the country where he was; so the black Wise Man lingered by the cradle and the new-born babe. The perfume of his gift rose and filled the house until through it and afar came the dim form of years and multitudes. And the child, seeing the multitudes, opened his mouth and taught them, saying: Blessed are poor folks for they shall go to heaven. Blessed are sad folks for someone will bring them joy. Blessed are they that submit to hurts for they shall sometime own the world. Blessed are they that truly want to do right for they shall get their ivish. Blessed are those who do not seek revenge for vengeance will not seek them. BUYERS OF DREAMS 59 Blessed are the pure for they shall see God. Blessed are those who will not fight for they are God's children. Blessed are those whom people like to injure for they shall sometime be happy. Blessed are you, Black Folk, when men make fun of you and mob you and lie about you. Never mind and be glad for your day will surely come. Always the world has ridiculed its better souls. TO THE PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS (Address delivered by M. Jean Baugniet, in the name of the Inter- national Confederation of Students at Brussels, Belgium, Sept. 2, 1921.) H I HE International Confedera- ! tion of Students would not want the second Pan-African I Congress to close without ex- tending fraternal greetings to the organizers and members of the Con- gress in session here. It therefore takes this opportunity to express at this meeting its most sincere sympathy for the intelli- gentsia of the Negro race. At a mo- ment, and in a day when millions of Negroes are collaborating beyond the Atlantic and beyond the Sahara on the things of the mind, it is no longer possible to ignore them or to leave them ignored. We believe that one of the most sacred duties of the youth of our day is to assemble, re- gardless of prejudice of race or color, the intellectual forces of all nations in the hope of advancing toward a better future. So it is with hearts of ardent hopefulness that we today greet Negro students and their leaders from across the sea. If their desire to know us is as strong as ours to know them, we shall assuredly suc- ceed in evolving a mutually beneficial understanding. Negro brothers, the International Confederation of Stu- dents extends to you its heartfelt sympathy. BUYERS OF DREAMS A Story Ethel M. Caution SPRING and Summer had passed with their promise and visions of life. Now came Autumn — glorious fulfillment. She painted her pathway with reds, and golds, and browns. Boughs that had once been showers of pink petals were now freighted with richly tinted fruits. Leaves to whom the wind had whispered shy little secrets covered the earth with their radiant hues, and as one trampled through them, the wonder and mystery crept up into one's very soul. If with Spring came restlessness and yearning, and with Summer thrills of experimenting, with Autumn came convic- tion and decision. At this season of the year the Seller of Dreams was always very busy with folks wanting various and sundry dreams. So today he busied himself polishing his cases and placing his wares to the best advantage for inspection by Youth, Beauty, and Age who would surely visit him. His whole shop was radiant and inviting with clean- ness. And such dreams as he had! — marvelous things of costly price and others not so at- tractive and therefore to be bought for less. And because in the Autumn people usually paid highly for their purchases, the less expensive, ordinary little dreams were not given the place of honor. It was early in the morning. The shop had scarcely been open when in came a dashing young lady needing a dream. She looked the wares over very carefully and asked prices. One that was all shining and daz- zling appealed to her but the price was rather more than she had thought of pay- ing. "Here are some beautiful ones," said the shopkeeper. "Oh, those!" answered the girl in disgust. 60 THE CRISIS "Well, of course, they are not as gorgeous as the ones you like." The girl pondered and pursed her mouth and made little mental calculations on her fingers. Finally: "If you will agree, I will pay you what I have with me now and you can put the dream aside. I will come with the rest later. Will that be all right?" "Yes, I shall be glad to oblige you if you are sure that is the dream you wish." "Oh, but it is! Just see how it shines! Everyone will turn to look because it is so beautiful." She went away with a satisfied smile on her face. A few hours later another girl came in, dignified and impressive in air, and asked to see the dreams. The shopkeeper showed her the shiny beautiful ones; but she wanted something out of the ordinary, something that every- one didn't have. So he showed her some that were very unique, even peculiar. "That's what I am looking for. I want a dream that will make me stand out as one in a thousand. There can be lots of gorgeous dreams and many drab ones, but very few people would think of taking one like I want. That is why I want it." She paid for her dream and took it away. Then trade lagged until nearly closing time, when a very plain little girl came in and quietly closed the door. "What kind of dream would you like?" asked the keeper. "Oh, I'll look around and see." "I have some very lovely ones, but," eye- ing her plain clothes, "they are very expen- sive." "It won't be a question of money. I have been saving and saving so that I would have enough for whatever dream I picked out." "Do you like this one?" picking out the most gaudy one he had. "No, no. That isn't a real dream. That is only a bubble. It costs a lot, but we can't always measure worth by cost. That dream is for the society butterfly. It means fine clothes, and expensive parties; late hours and breakfasts in bed; yachts and trips; perfume and paint; and in the end, emptiness and dissatisfaction." "Then, maybe you would like this one. I sold one today." "No, that is for the girl who wants a career. She wants a dream that means bringing the world to her feet for some wonderful bit of work she has cornered. She doesn't realize the emptiness of mere fame and of work done just for personal glory." The shopkeeper noticed the wistful twist in her smile and discovered that when she looked him full in the face, there were golden lights in her deep brown eyes. "I think I like that dream over there," she said, indicating a very inconspicuous one off in a corner. "That looks like a real dream and I am glad it is not very expensive, because more girls can buy one. Let me show you how beautiful it is." He handed it out to her and her eyes sparkled and there was a lilt in her voice as she held it up to the light and said: "This dream means comradeship, and love, home and happiness. Can you not see the beautiful babies in it? See their laughing eyes, and the dimples in their hands and plump little knees. See them wriggle their toes and reach their little hands to love and caress your face! I wouldn't pay a penny for your flashy dreams. A pin prick, and they are no more. Neither do I want your dream of a career to end my life in loneliness and emptiness and bitterness. This is a dream I shall buy. Love, babies, life!" And the shopkeeper decided that of the three, she had made the wisest choice. WHAT EUROPE THOUGHT OF THE PAN- AFRICAN CONGRESS Jessie Fauset A CORRESPONDENT of a New York "*■ *■ newspaper speaks of the serious con- sideration which Europe gave to the sit- tings of the Second Pan-African Congress. Judging from the amount of publicity re- ceived from the leading journals of the CELEBRATING THE BIRTH OF DESSALINES IN HAITI 61 62 THE CRISIS world, this meeting impressed Europe in many ways. The London Christian World finds it most impressive in its personnel, its eloquence and its frankness: "There has been a small, but very sig- nificant, group of Africans in London dur- ing the week-end. They hailed from Amer- ica and Africa, from Guiana and the West Indies, etc. They included barristers, jour- nalists, medical men, ministers, merchants and university students, and their purpose was to bring together men of Negro blood for mutual acquaintance and counsel with a view to envisage the Negro problem of the world as a whole, and to lay plans for the raising of the African by strictly con- stitutional means. "Apart from representatives of a few missionary societies and other sympathiz- ers, it was entirely a colored man's Con- gress. Every white man present must have been amazed at the revelation of power and ability. Of course, there was eloquence; that goes without saying when the speakers are Negroes. But most Europeans must have envied some of the speakers' command of lucid English. In certain instances it was only eloquence ; but there was substance in most of the speeches and constructive suggestions in some. One could not fail to be impressed with the sense of potency and possibility. Friendliness was a marked fea- ture. Most of those present had never met before, yet one cannot recall a Congress in which it was easier for a sheer outsider to feel at home. There was courtesy and good- fellowship on every hand. "The soul of the Congress was Dr. W. E. Burghardt DuBois, the author of the pas- sionate and amazing book 'Darkwater.' "But Dr. DuBois is more than a personal force; he is significant of the new Negro. He does not tower as an isolated figure above his fellows. In the Congress there were men of eminence in many walks of life; a kind of Negro intelligentsia, all eager for the raising of their race. They were under no illusions with regard to Ne- groes. They freely criticized themselves, especially for their lack of cohesion. The impression grew on one that they were de- termined to make that sneer impossible for the future." The Aberdeen, Scotland, Free Press thinks such a congress inevitable: "The Pan-African Congress, which is meeting in London this week, is a signifi- cant sign of the times. The educated Negro has become vocal. He has tasted some of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, and has been asking himself questions — questions, some of which even the white man may find it difficult to answer. The upheaval cre- ated by the war has been world-wide, and the wave of political unrest which swept over Europe and led to the downfall of ancient dynasties has been threatening the framework of African Society as well. The black man's mind — like the white man's creeds and philosophies — has been sorely shaken by the war. As General Smuts says, he is losing faith in the white man, in the white man's education, and the white man's religion. The educated native has heard of the principle of "self-determina- tion," and he is proceeding to apply it to his own case. He has heard of the League of Nations, and asks whether the Negro race is to be represented at the great San- hedrin of the Tribes." The Paris Petit Parisien considers it ex- tremely fitting that the Congress should be held in Rue Blanche (White Street). Pierre Bonardi writes: "These blacks who were holding their meetings in White Street gave the effect of a symbolism which was perfectly justified since the members of the Congress have taken upon themselves as their mission the establishment of an equality between the black race and the white race, an equality if not of color at least of values. This concern which they manifest proves, to start with, that the desired equality does not as yet exist, but the high personages who figure in this Congress gave proof by their very presence that some Africans have on the one hand attained to the very high- est degree of civilization, and that they would like, on the other hand, to make it evident that the Negro race is very near the intellectual level of other races." According to the Paris Humanite, France had not suspected the existence of such a group of educated and thoughtful men and women of African descent: "The black and mulatto intelligentsia which the Congress revealed or permitted us to know better, showed by its very exist- ence that the black race is not naturally or essentially an inferior race, and that it is not destined to remain so forever. PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS 63 "How can we consider inferior to white men these orators with their clear thought and their ready words; these audiences at once calm and attentive; these delegates, men and women representing strong organi- zations of tens, yes hundreds and thousands of members; that charming young woman who was the first colored aviatrix of Amer- ica?" No less noted a personage than Sir Harry Johnston, African explorer and writer, re- marks in the London Observer: "There has been meeting in London a Pan-African Congress, attended mainly by American Negroes or Americans with a greater or lesser degree of Negro blood in their composition. But there have also par- ticipated a few educated African Negroes and several men or women wholly of the white race. I, myself, had wished to be there to take part in one or two of the dis- cussions and to meet old friends and ac- quaintances from America who were deeply interested in the growing, intensifying prob- lems of the Negro race in the United States and in Africa." The London African World shows that the spectators must have found the sessions well worth attending: "Throughout the Pan-African Congress' sessions in London it was very wisely steered. Its meetings became more inter- esting and better attended as they contin- ued. All phases of Negro disability in Africa — West, East, North, and South — were touched. Extremes of speech were carefully tempered by succeeding speakers. These men all had something to say, and said it, for the most part excellently. Ideas for the future emerged. But always be- hind it all there was the resentment at the manner of treatment by the ruling white races whatever the Continent to which they belonged. "The impressions of the Congress that remain in one's mind are the intense love of country and race, the boundless enthusi- asm, easily stirred into emotional display, the deep-rooted sense of grievance, the ef- fective manner in which many of the speak- ers marshalled their arguments, and the merriment that so easily bubbled at some of the humorous flicks at the ideas of Euro- peans." Black men have something to contribute to the world thinks the London Challenge: "The Second Pan-African Congress, which has now concluded its sessions, is an event of the gravest import. The growth of a body of public opinion among peoples of Negro descent, broad enough to be called Pan-African, is one of the signs of the times, and while the leader of the Congress, Dr. DuBois, is miles removed from the in- flated ambitions and swaggering attitude of Mr. Marcus Garvey, he, too, stands for the development of a black race-consciousness opposing itself in pride and defiance to the whites. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, of which Dr. DuBois is secretary, is a sane organiza- tion which has already gained considerable influence and succeeded in defending the black man's rights all over the world. The Association has a claim upon the sympa- thy and help of every Christian, not only in view of the terrible recrudescence of lynch- ing and forced labor, but because the Afri- can race must be helped to make its valu- able contribution to the world's life and thought." It is clear to the London Daily Graphic that these black men and women were proud of their cause: "They were so intensely in earnest, both the men and women, so absolutely convinced of the justice of their cause, their right to a citizen's franchise, to representation in the world's councils, to everything, in fact, that civilized humanity offers to her sons, regardless of race, color and creed." The London Public Opinion feels that the race has found itself and calls the Con- gress : "A remarkable exhibition of race-con- sciousness and a revelation of the intellec- tual and moral development of the Negro." The purpose of the Pan-African Congress is defined by the Paris edition of the New York Herald: "The Pan-African Congress is not a scheme of migration either to Africa or elsewhere. It believes in the equality of men and races, but it seeks to realize this through education and opportunity and peri- odic conference. "The question of the status of the Negro in modern society, the leaders declare, is no longer a domestic problem of the United States, or a parochial problem of Jamaica, 64 THE CRISIS or a Colonial problem. It is rather a great world-wide problem to be viewed and con- sidered as a whole." The Paris Petit Parisien elaborates a lit- tle: "To bring about the evolution of the black race which is scattered throughout the entire world, to obtain for it absolute equality with the white race from the po- litical, social and economic standpoint by means of development resulting from the education and the instruction which the former is to receive from the latter, to make it co-operate closely with the white race — such are the main ideas of the new Pan-African Congress which opened its ses- sions yesterday in the Hall of Civil Engi- neers and which was presided over by M. Diagne, Deputy and High Commissioner of black troops in France." A note of selfish fear is sounded by the Paris Matin: "What is the goal of the Pan-African movement? "The liberation of the blacks. This is a legitimate goal and one which will be in- evitably attained. It will be attained the moment that the .men actually under the domination of the superior races will have learned how to know and to co-ordinate their own forces. "We have seen what has been taking place in Japan. We shall learn perhaps to- morrow of the transforming of China and later — it is almost a certainty there will be a transformation of Africa. But what we want is that this movement which we our- selves have helped to create will not turn against us. We are willing to help in an evolution which we ourselves have prepared, but we do not hold with being the victims of a revolution. "The Congress particularly desires that the problems raised by the contact of the black and white races be studied and made public." The Reuter Press Agency reports of the last Paris meeting in the Westminster Ga- zette: "The Congress concluded its sittings yes- terday with the adoption of a document ad- dressed to the world at large, in which the role of each of the colonizing Powers is ex- amined. "The statement in question particularly insists on the necessity of recognizing the equality of the races from both the physical, political and social points of view, and of the constitution, among the colonizing Pow- ers, under the aegis of the League of Na- tions, of an International Committee charged to study the problem raised by the evolution and protection of the Negro race." France at least realizes that black as well as white people are divided into groups of extremists, of conservatives, of hare- brained schemers, of careful thinkers. The Paris Temps submits: "It is the claims of the wiser group which must be studied. As was perfectly natural they turned towards the League of Nations and asked it to establish in its bureau a permanent organization charged with working toward the liberation of black peoples and founded on the principle of equality of races. The League of Nations can't do otherwise than give them some semblance of satisfaction by establishing a commission to which shall be entrusted the study of the question. But it will be prevented by the prejudices of many from proclaiming equality of races as was the case at the Peace Conference when President Wilson absolutely refused to rec- ognize it in the case of Japan. The road will be long for Negroes in the League of Nations toward the liberation, modest though it is, whose program they have elab- orated in their Congress. But there is noth- ing to keep us French from putting into immediate practice in our colonies some articles at least of this program to start with. There is one to which we certainly have no objections since indeed we have already adopted it for a good many years back, namely 'the recognition of civilized men as civilized, regardless of their race or color.' "In the main the Negroes have asked us in their Congress to be treated as brothers, backward ones for the most part, to be in- structed and to be urged toward a higher social level, with good will and with respect for their race so far as its natural rights and its peculiar characteristics are con- cerned. They ask our friendly aid for ad- vance along a road to civilization. Such a request would never find the soul of our France hostile and we are unwilling to PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS 65 doubt that our Colonial ministers will not take time to go to Africa to make some inquiries into the best methods of granting their requests, for our colonies are not only territories for mines, cattle, agricultural products, they are, in addition and above all, men without whom our colonies would soon be sterile wastes, and we must have these men not against us but for us, not constrained by force but allied by their hearts." To some the Congress is indicative of the approach of black -rule. The English Manchester Dispatch observes mournfully: "The white races do not naturally look forward with joyful emotions to the day when a prolific black race will rule. We may salve our fears by pinning our faith to the mollifying effects of education, reli- gion, and civilization, but the time may come when we shall have to submit our- selves to the tender mercies of our dusky conquerors. "A black leader observed in a speech the other day: 'We solemnly warn America that the patience of the colored peoples has its limits.' "A possible precaution might be found in the provision of a black Palestine, a home of their own, in one of the more prom- ising lands of Africa." The members of the Congress had to bat- tle with the obstacle common to all inter- national organizations — that of merging national differences into a racial blend. Pierre Bonardi notes in the Paris Petit Parisien: "Each of these Negroes represents a men- tality which is not racial but which belongs to the particular milieu where he received his education. It will only be by concilia- tion and by the effacing of personalities that they will arrive at anything. If Ne- groes succeed in making one their different points of view, in effacing themselves in the interest of their brothers despite their personal ambitions, we shall have to admit that they will have given an unexpected example to the whites who even then will hardly be able to follow it. "The blacks of Africa certainly have valuable defenders in their brothers who hail from the rest of the world. Every- thing that we have heard at these meetings proves it." But there was unity, and, according to the London West Africa, that was the most significant feature of the Congress: "The fact that so many people could gather, at great expense, from remote places, and disregarding the point that they are nationals of this Power or that, could unite on the vital matter of common griev- ances alleged to be suffered _ solely on ac- count of race, and could speak with such a sense of sincerity and responsibility, is a fact which cannot lightly be passed over. We make no pretense of agreeing with everything in the speeches and resolutions. Probably no single member of the gather- ing differs from us on that point. But, on the whole, the speakers impress one with a sense of their earnestness, their willingness to abide the issue if given equality of op- portunity, and their resolve to work for civil and political freedom within the limits of the Constitutions of their countries." In Brussels indeed there was, however, a serious clash between American and British Negroes on the one hand, and French and Belgian Negroes on the other, with regard to the adoption of the resolutions which had been passed unanimously at London. The Americans and British gave in partly be- cause there was a chance for the resolutions to come up again at the final session in Paris, but still more because they realized that unity between the different black groups was the supreme necessity of the organization. But the bad faith of the French presiding officer, M. Diagne, did not pass unnoticed. Says the London Afri- can World: "The reason of these strenuous American and British efforts to have the London declaration endorsed by the Brussels Con- gress was, unquestionably, 'the resentment at the manner of treatment by the ruling white races' — to quote an expression ir. your last week's 'Impressions of the Meet- ings at Westminster' — a resentment frc quently ventilated during the Congress, and notably by Mr. DuBois. "After some three hours' fierce struggle concerning the refusal by Mr. Diagne (chairman of the Congress) to submit the London declaration to a vote of Congress, this distinguished Senegalese proposed the vote of the Otlet (Belgian) and of the de Magalhaes (Portuguese) motions, motions 66 THE CRISIS asking the creation in each colonial nation of an institution of scientific research, con- cerning the development of the Negroes, in- stitutes of which the works should be cen- tralized by an international body. "These motions voted by M. Diagne and his supporters were proclaimed by him, adopted by the Congress, whilst, in fact, this was not the case, the American and British Negroes (the majority of the Con- gress) not having voted for it." Sometimes a note was sounded which brought back a protest from white audi- tors. Brussels was peculiarly sensitive. Says L'Echo de la Bourse: "A Negro doctor, former deputy in the Portuguese Parliament, declared the policy of spoliation and of oppression must give way to a policy of co-operation. He de- clared also the right of the black race to rise as well as the others, a thing more- over which it was in process of doing, and, he added, since the colonies in the heart of Africa are not adapted to white civiliza- tion, it is in the interest of the whites to have healthy and well instructed workers there. It was necessary, he said, that col- onization, which up to this time was carried on for the profit of the white man, should also be made profitable to the black man, and 'if you are not willing to co-operate in our advance, we shall advance just the same without you and in spite of you.' This was the one note of violence which was heard, but we must take account of the circumstances and must remember that the Portuguese Congo was one of the main countries where slaves were procured and that at this very moment they are still searching for laborers for San Thome, an island, which is a veritable charnel-house for Negroes." One striking instance of the growing feeling of kinship between all the dark races was that an East Indian (Mr. Varma) spoke in the interest of East Africa. The London African World reports : "Mr. Varma stated that the Africans of East Africa had delegated him to represent their grievances before the Colonial Office and any societies. On the basis that Euro- peans in Kenya had argued that to permit Indians to have the vote would be to injure the rights of the natives, he said that the Likipia reserve transfer, the eighty-four days' forced labor — which he called the 'back to slavery' policy — the suggested reduction of natives' wages from six rupees a month, the vote for education for the children of 3,000,000 natives of one-fifth of the sum allocated to the children of 9,000 Euro- peans, showed how Europeans safeguarded the rights of natives. If the Congress wanted to watch the interests of Africans in East Africa, he said, now was the time to do it." The American delegates, according to the Scottish Glasgow Herald, did not always confine themselves to the sufferings of American Negroes — there was also progress to be reported: "Miss Fauset, of Philadelphia, literary editor of The Crisis, spoke on the subject of the colored women in America, who, she said, had been a great moving force behind all the movements for emancipation. Col- ored women had taken up social work in the great cities of America, and were res- cuing many girls who came into the cities from other parts, and who, through their ignorance, might otherwise be exploited. Colored women were everywhere branching out into every field of activity in the pro- fessions and in business. She asked the African delegates to carry a message of friendship and encouragement to Africr.n women from the colored women of Amer- ica." The London Times gives a very fair idea of the program in Brussels: "Mme. Curtis dealt with the state of af- fairs in Liberia. The president of the Con- gress, M. Diagne, pointed out the signifi- cance of the fact that Liberia is included among the signatories to the Treaty of Ver- sailles. He declared that the Entente had specifically recognized the equality of the white and colored races by admitting a Negro representative to the negotiations. "M. Barthelemy, Deputy for Arras, laid stress upon the necessity for sending more doctors, teachers, and missionaries to the colonies, and fewer officials. Miss Fauset described the progress made in America by the establishment of schools for colored peo- ple. M. Panda, a delegate from the Bel- gian Congo, protested against the calumnies published in the German press concerning the black troops belonging to the Army of Occupation in Germany. PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS 67 "After the session had ended an 'African Room' for Colonial exhibits was opened in the World Palace." All the newspapers wrote at length on Dr. DuBois, who was generally recognized as the moving spirit of the Congress. The correspondent of the London Challenge writes : "The question that was most frequently asked by visitors to the Congress was whether Dr. DuBois agreed with the flam- boyant and threatening 'All-Black' policy of Mr. Marcus Garvey. He told me that, while he was in accord with Garvey's main aspiration, he repudiated his methods, which, he thought, were lacking in plain sense, and he questioned the soundness of his financial enterprises." The Belgian Echo de la Bourse thinks General Smuts would choose his words care- fully in the presence of the American lead- er: "Dr. DuBois, head of the American dele- gation, is an intellectual of mark. He gave us an exact account of the lamentable con- ditions throughout the world. "General Smuts would never dare declare in the presence of Dr. DuBois as he did in the presence of the London correspondent of the Belgian Star and of The Neptune, that we would do well to send our colonial officials to stay a while in South Africa in order to learn how to treat black people. "Whether or not you like M. Burghardt DuBois, whether or not you agree with his program, you have to bow to his brilliant in- tellect and his devotion to the black race." Speaking of the resolutions drawn up by Dr. DuBois and presented at all three sit- tings of the Congress, Felicien Challaye, delegate from the Bureau International pour la Defense des Indigenes, says in Les Cahiers : "Such is the program developed by M. DuBois. It seems to me to take into account all the realities and all the possibilities, to present that mingling of realism and of idealism which characterizes great political thought." The Belgian Independance Beige apolo- gizes for the indifference of the whites to- ward the affairs of the black world: "The session (of the Pan-African Con- gress) has caused no little surprise. It has even given rise to some erroneous interpre- tations. We know so little of the black world outside of that of the African colo- nial, in our political preoccupation, it holds certainly less place than that of the Mus- sulmans who are near at hand or that of the more distant Oriental. However 'geo- centric' we may be in our conception of the physical world, we remain 'white centric' with regard to the human societies which live on our planet. "A parallel between the progress wrought since emancipation by the blacks of the United States and the serfs of Russia (lib- erated two years earlier) points to an ad- vance more than twice as great on the part of the Negroes from the economic as well as the intellectual point of view and what has taken place in the United States has also taken place in the Antilles and in many a South American state." Even France, the much-vaunted friend of the blacks, is not entirely blameless. M. Challaye says frankly in Les Cahiers, which is the official organ of the "Societe Des Droits de L'Homme," the organization that freed Dreyfus: "It is true that a black elite is, in France, given equal treatment, but the mass of na- tives in the colonies of France as well as in those of the other powers is too often subjected to a regime of tyranny and of spoliation. I personally recalled to the Pan- African Congress the plight of the na- tives of the French Congo ever since the time the regime of the great concessionary companies had been imposed upon them." It is pleasant to realize that these dele- gates in the midst of their warfare for right and justice took advantage of this oc- casion to honor the dead. The London African World says of their stay in Paris: "Between the afternoon and evening ses- sions a wreath was placed by the delegates on the grave of the unknown French sol- dier buried under the Arch of Triumph — a beautiful and impressive ceremony." So the Second Pan-African Congress came to an impressive end. It made plain to the world not only what it thought of the members of its own race, but pretty plainly what it thought of the members of others. The London Punch points it out shrewdly : " 'no eternally inferior races' "Headlines in The Times. "No, but in the opinion of our colored brothers, some infernally superior ones." 110 DELEGATES TO THE PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS BY COUNTRIES United States of America - R. P. Sims, Bluefield, W. Va. West Virginia Teachers' Association. H. A. Hunt, Fort Valley, Ga., Ga. Ass'n Advancement Negro Education. G. R. Hutto, Bainbridge, Ga., Knights of Pythias. Mrs. A. E. Hutto. P. F. Haynes, St. Joseph, Mo., Odd Fellows. Dr. Henry R. Butler, Atlanta, Ga., Ancient Free Masons. H. R. Butler, Jr., Atlanta, Ga., Mrs. Viola Hart Felton, Americus, Ga., Eastern Star. Lydia G. Brown, Washington, D. C, Dunbar High School. Florence Kelley, New York City, N. A. A. C. P. Rev. W. H. Jernagin, Washington, D. C. National Race Congress of America. Jessie Fauset, New York City, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. William S. Nelson, New York City, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. Dr. A. Wilberforce Williams, Chicago, 111., Chicago Defender Pub. Co. Bishop C. H. Phillips, Nashville, Tenn., C. M. E. Church. Bishop John Hurst, Baltimore, Md., A. M. E. Church. Mrs. John Hurst. Dr. R. T. Brown, Birmingham, Ala., C. M. E. Church. Dr. C. H. Phillips, Jr., St. Louis, Mo., Missouri Negro Republican League Club. Mrs. C. H. Phillips, Jr. Mrs. H. R. Butler, Atlanta, Ga., Colored Parent-Teachers' Association. Miss Lavinia Black, New York City. Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Spingarn, N. A. A. C. P. C. H. Tobias, New York City, International Committee, Y. M. C. A. Bishop Cary and Mrs. Cary, Chicago, 111. A. M. E. Church. Mrs. French, St. Louis, Mo. R. R. Wright, Jr., Philadelphia, Pa., A. M. E. Church. Capt. and Mrs. N. B. Marshall, Walter F. White, New York City, N. A. A. C. P Dr. W. E. B. DuBois, New York City, N. A. A. C. P. England Dr. John Alcindor and wife Alice Werner George Lattimore Ruth Fisher Dr. F. Hoggan Robert Broadhurst Mrs. Fisher Unwin J. R. Archer, ex-Mayor of Battersea Roland Hayes Rev. Mr. A. M. Chirgwin Rev. Mr. Frank Lenwood France Deputy Barthelemy Felicien Challaye Mrs. Ida Gibbs Hunt Senateur Aubert Dr. George Jackson Rayford Logan Mme. L. Chapoteau Mrs. Charles Young Belgium Paul Otlet General Gillain Jean Baugniet Senateur La Fontaine Belgian Congo Paul Panda Members of Union Congolaise (18) Madame Sorolea Sierra Leone Mr. Sutton Dr. Ojo Olaribigbe Rev. Mr. E. G. Granville GROUPS REPRESENTED AT THE SECOND PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS 68 LEAGUE OF NATIONS 69 Gratien Candace Isaac Beton Dr. Vitellian Guadeloupe Abyssinia India Mr. Saklatvala ' Mr. Judhava I. Ghous Portuguese Africa (5 provinces) Nicolas de Santos-Pinto, of the Liga Africana. Portugal Jose de Magalhaes, President of the Liga Africana Morocco Mr. Arnold Spain General Luis Sorelas Denmark Edward F. Frazier Madagascar Jean Razaief Haiti Dantes Bellegarde Villius Gervais Grenada Albert Marryshow Jamaica Nathan S. Russell British Guiana Mr. Callender Southern Nigeria Ibidunni Morondipe Obadende Dr. Peter Thomas South Africa Mrs. Davis Mr. and Mrs. John L. Dube, representing Natal. Senegal Blaise Diagne Liberia Liberian Consul to Brussels Mrs. Helen Curtis East Africa Norman Leys Mr. Banda V. S. Varma Gold Coast J. Eldred Taylor W. T. Hutchinson Nigeria Rev. W. B. Mark Other persons were present from Swaziland, Jamaica, Martinique, French Congo, Trinidad, the Philippines and Liberia; and in addition to these tkere were at least 1,000 visitors. THE INTERNATIONAL BUREAU OF LABOR OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS Sir: T HAVE the honor to acknowledge the re- ■*■ ceipt of a copy of the address to the League of Nations, voted for by the Sec- ond Pan-African Congress, which met in London, Brussels and Paris, the 28th, 29th and 31st of August and the 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th of September, 1921, a copy which you were kind enough to send me on the 15th of last September through the Inter- national Bureau for the Defense of Na- tives. This address contains the following reso- lution which is of special interest to the International Bureau of Labor. "The sec- ond Pan-African Congress asks that in the International Bureau of Labor a section be set aside to deal particularly and in de- tail with the conditions and needs of native labor, especially in Africa and elsewhere. This Congress earnestly believes that the labor problems of the world can never be understood or completely solved so long as colored, and especially black, labor is en- slaved and neglected. The Congress be- lieves furthermore that the first step to- ward the emancipation of labor through- out the world would be the organization of a thorough investigation into native la- bor." 1 learned of this resolution with the ut- most interest because it set before the In- ternational Bureau of Labor the entire problem of the protection of native labor- ers and especially of Negro laborers. This matter of protection indeed has been one of the principal preoccupations of this in- stitution ever since its inception. The International Bureau of Labor has always considered it its duty to protect la- borers without making any race distinction and indeed that its protection ought to ex- tend especially to those men who are sub- jected to the most inhuman conditions of labor, as is the case of a large number of native peoples, particularly of black peo- ples. The principle of the equality of races in the matter of protection which it pretends to afford laborers is with the In- ternational Bureau of Labor a first princi- ple. In proof of this see the preamble and article 427 of part 13 of the Peace Treaty. Although it is true that in this matter as in many others the International Bureau of Labor can interfere only with the great- est difficulty because of the difficulties pre- sented by the very diversity of the govern- ing nations, and although, in general, it has no other weapon than recourse to public opinion, still the International Bureau of Labor is not entirely without some means of protecting native labor. The first of these is revealed in article 70 THE CRISIS 421 of the Peace Treaty, the tenor of which is as follows: "The members promise to put into prac- tice the agreements (covenants, articles, etc.) of which they shall have approved, conformably to the stipulations of the pres- ent part of the present treaty, to those of their colonies or possessions, and to those of their protectorates which have not com- plete self-government, with the following reservations : 1. That the agreement should not be ren- dered inapplicable by local conditions. 2. That the modifications necessary to adapt the agreement to local conditions shall be introduced into the latter (the agreement) . Each of the members will have to notify the International Bureau of Labor of the decision which it proposes to make with re- gard to each of its colonies or possessions or its protectorates which does not have complete self-government." On that day six members ratified, com- pletely or in part, the Agreements of the Washington Conference, namely: Finland, Great Britain, Greece, India, Roumania and Czecho-Slovakia In accordance with article 408 of this same Treaty, the International Bureau of Labor has sent to the British government a formula for an annual report, inviting it (the British government) to make known the measures taken or envisaged by it for putting into execution one of the agree- ments which, it had already ratified .... But native labor should be protected not only in the colonies or protectorates of the nations possessing colonies, but also among the people who are to comply, according to the Peace Treaty, with the regime of the Mandates. Here again the International Bureau of Labor obtained through the organ of the International Bureau of Labor, through negotiations with the League of Nations (an account of which you will find in the copy of the Official Bulletin which I am sending with this letter), the right to be represented by an expert of its choosing in the permanent Commission of Mandates es- tablished by article 22 in the Peace Treaty. Thanks to this representation, the Inter- national Bureau of Labor will have also under its jurisdiction the whole ensemble of the laboring world; and native peoples, even those suffering from the most inhuman treatment, may have the certainty of being protected. The resolution which you sent me shows that the second Pan-African Congress has completely realized that the first step in bringing about the gradual emancipation of native labor is to keep public opin'on in- formed by a meticulous system of presenta- tion of the actual conditions which control this labor at the present time, not only in the colonies and protectorates of the Euro- pean nations, but also in the territories placed according to the regime of the Man- dates under the tutelage of the League of Nations. The resolution also points out the means of carrying on this inquiry continu- ously, namely, the establishment in the In- ternational Bureau of Labor of a section whose special duty shall be the detailed con- sideration of the conditions and needs of native laborers in Africa and elsewhere. I am dwelling on this interesting sugges- tion all the more because for some months past I myself have been trying to bring it to fruition. I have had to renounce this project temporarily for lack of a sufficiently large personnel. Today re-established in my intention through the resolution of the Pan-African Congress, I am going to take up the idea again and try in the near fu- ture to establish a section of Native Labor. Naturally the budget at my disposal is still limited and the section cannot have at its inception a complete development. Never- theless, I am sure that eventually I shall be able to extend its limits to meet the really considerable task which it will have to han- dle. At present an official of the Scientific Division is going to be charged with fol- lowing up the conditions of native, and particularly of Negro labor. I will let you know at some future date the name of this official who furthermore will be in- structed to establish relations between the International Bureau of Labor and you on the one hand, and with the International Bureau for the Defense of Aborigines on the other. I shall take great pleasure in seeing these relations develop into a closely welded, re- liable and cordial collaboration and it is in that hope that I am extending to you the assurance of my complete regard. Albert Thomas. National * Association • for • (he • - Advancement of- Colored.- People A FEDERAL ANTI-LYNCHING BILL! HPHE ten-year fight of the N. A. A. C. P., *• for a Federal Anti-lynching bill, has reached its most successful and most critical point. On October 20, the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representa- tives reported out favorably the Dyer Anti- lynching bill H. R. 13. This action was taken after the bill had been amended and approved by the Attorney-General, remov- ing some of the defects which might have caused it to be attacked on constitutional grounds after its passage. The fight has reached the stage where we must bring to bear every possible bit of pressure on Congress as a whole and on individual Congressmen to force action im- mediately and favorably on this necessary legislation. The National Office of the N. A. A. C. P., through its four hundred branches and through other organizations, is seeking to have thousands of telegrams and letters pour in upon Congress to show the nationwide sentiment behind the bill^ which is demanding its passage by Congress. Every Negro in America and every white person who is opposed to the crime of lynch- ing should immediately send a telegram to his or her representative. Letters are valu- able, but telegrams are more impressive. We must let Congress know that the failure to pass the Dyer bill will be regarded as a betrayal. We must let every representative in Congress know that a vote against the Dyer bill is a vote in favor of lynching. Act now! Send a telegram today! Urge your friends to do the same! Be sure to mention the bill by name and by number! With our united strength we can cause the Dyer bill to be made a law and thus end mob rule in America ! As we go to press we hear that Henry Lincoln Johnson and Perry W. Howard have drafted amendments to the Dyer bill which will ruin its effectiveness. Demand the unamended Dyer bill. ANNUALiMEETING HpHE Annual Meeting of the National As- -"- sociation for the Advancement of Col- ored People will be held in the East Room of the Sage Foundation, 130 East Twenty- second Street, New York City, on the after- noon of Monday, January 2, 1922, at two o'clock. There will be reports from officers and branches, and the nominations for di- rectors will be voted upon. The Nominating Committee for members of the Board of Directors of the National Association for the Advancement of Col- ored People reports these nominees for terms expiring December 31, 1924: E. Burton Ceruti, Esq., Los Angeles, Cal. Mr. George W. Crawford, New Haven, Conn. Bishop John Hurst, Baltimore, Md. Mr. Paul Kennaday, New York City. Mr. Joseph Prince Loud, Boston, Mass. Mrs. Ella Rush Murray, Catskill, N. Y. Dr. W. A. Sinclair, Philadelphia, Pa. Mr. Neval H. Thomas, Washington, D. C. Mr. Charles H. Studin, New York City. Rev. G. R. Waller, Springfield, Mass. Butler R. Wilson, Esq., Boston, Mass. The Nominating Committee: Dr. V. Morton Jones, Chairman Dr. George E. Cannon. Mr. Joel E. Spingarn. THE LIBELOUS FILM TT will be remembered that Miss Katheryn ■*■ Johnson, Mesdames Helen Curtis and Laura Rollock, and Messrs. Edward Frazier and Lleyellyn Rollock were arrested last June, for distributing handbills attacking the "Birth of a Nation." The N. A. A. C. P. undertook their defense. They were given suspended sentences in the Magis- trate's Court and appealed their cases. Judge Talley of the Court of General Ses- sions has just reversed their conviction, saying: "In the opinion of this Court, the defend- ants were well within their rights in dis- tributing the circulars in question, and the 71 72 THE CRISIS complaint against them should have been dismissed. I hold that the ordinance in question was never intended to prevent the lawful distribution of anything other than commercial and business advertising mat- ter, and the circular in question does not come within that category. It would be a dangerous and un-American thing to sus- tain an interpretation of a city ordinance which would prohibit the free distribution by a body of citizens of a pamphlet setting forth their views against what they be- lieved to be a movement subversive of their rights as citizens." This is not only a victory for the N. A. A. C. P., but for freedom of speech as well, and it was won by two colored attorneys, Aiken A. Pope and James C. Thomas. GETHSEMANE AND ARKANSAS TN all the disgraceful record of America's -*- denial of even simple justice to her col- ored citizens, there is no greater example than that of Arkansas in her efforts to put to death twelve innocent men who are accused of participation in the Phillips County riots of October, 1919. In The Crisis for November was told how lawyers employed by the N. A. A. C. P. to defend the men had applied for a writ of habeas corpus, which was granted by the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Arkansas, to prevent the execu- tion of the six men who were to die on Sep- tember 23, 1921. Since that time, a de- murrer to that writ was filed, and that de- murrer was sustained, automatically dismis- sing the writ of habeas corpus, annulling the stay of execution. Attorneys for the defendants thereupon filed an appeal to the United States Supreme Court, basing their appeal on an assignment of errors. Honor- able John H. Cotteral, United States Dis- trict Judge in Arkansas, granted this ap- peal, stating in his decision that "the . petitioners . . . having filed their assignment of errors and the court being of the opinion that there exists prob- able cause for an appeal in this cause, the appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States is allowed." As a result we have finally reached the last court of resort, where we are confident of victory. The petition for a writ of habeas corpus, which includes the errors mentioned above, is so illuminating a document and so clear a statement of the cases, that we are print- ing it in full. Because of its length, one- half of it is being given in the present issue and the remainder will be printed in the January issue of The Crisis. The N. A. A. C. P., together with local organizations in Arkansas, have been fight- ing against the combined strength of forces of prejudice in that Southern State. We have expended to date $11,249.39. We are obligated to pay an additional $2,500. Our balance on hand is less than $200 with which to meet this account. We sincerely urge you to read carefully this amazing document which portrays so clearly the vicious methods which have been used in the attempt to murder these innocent men. Having read this document, we urgently appeal to you to forward a contribution, making it as large as possible, to aid us in our efforts to free these men. THE ARKANSAS PEONS A brief prepared by Scipio Jones review ing the case for presentation to the Supreme Court of the United States. "V7'OUR petitioners, Frank Moore, Ed. ■*■ Hicks, J. E. Knox, Ed. Coleman and Paul Hall, state that they are citizens and residents of the State of Arkansas, and are now residing in Little Rock, confined in the Arkansas State Penitentiary, in the Western Division of the Eastern District of Arkansas, within the jurisdiction of this court; that the defendant is the keeper of the said Arkansas State Penitentiary, and as such is unlawfully restraining your peti- tioners of their liberty, and will, unless pre- vented from so doing by the issuance of the writ herein prayed for, deprive them of their life on the 23rd day of Sept., 1921, in violation of the Constitution and laws of the United States, and the Constitution and laws of the State of Arkansas. Petitioners further say that they are Ne- groes, of African descent, black in color, ARKANSAS PEONS 73 and that prior to the times hereinafter men- tioned were citizens and residents of Phil- lips County, Arkansas, at Elaine; that on the day of October, 1919, they were arrested, placed in the Phillips County jail and thereafter until their trial were kept in close confinement upon an alleged charge of murder in the first degree for the killing of one Clinton Lee, a white man, said to have occurred on the 1st day of October, 1919; that said Clinton Lee was killed, as they are informed, while a member of a posse of white men who were said to be attempt- ing to quell a race riot, growing out of the killing of W. A. Adkins on the night of September 30, 1919, at Hoop Spur in said County and State; that said Adkins was killed, as they are advised, under these cir- cumstances and conditions: Petitioners and a large number of the members of their race were peaceably and lawfully assembled in their church house at or near Hoop Spur, with no unlawful purpose in view, and with no desire or purpose to injure or do any wrong to any one; that while they were thus assembled, white persons began firing guns or pistols from the outside into and through said church house, through the windows and shooting the lights out therein, causing a great disturbance and stampede of those assembled therein; that the white persons so firing on said church came there in automobiles, of which there were several, and came for the purpose of breaking up said meeting; that said Adkins was killed either by members of his own party or by some other persons unknown to your peti- tioners; that the white men sent out the word to Helena, the county seat, that said Adkins had been killed by the Negroes, shot down in cold blood while on a peaceable mis- sion, by an armed force of Negroes, assem- bled at the church, which caused great ex- citement all over the City of Helena and Phillips County; that the report of said killing spread like wild-fire into other coun- ties, all over the State of Arkansas, and into other States, notably the State of Mis- sissippi; that early the next day a large number of white men of said County armed themselves and rushed to the scene of 'he trouble and to adjacent regions, the vicinity of Elaine being one of them, and began the indiscriminate hunting down, shooting and killing of Negroes; that in a short time white men from adjoining counties and from the State of Mississippi likewise armed themselves, rushed to the scene of the trouble and began the indiscriminate shoot- ing down of Negroes, both men and women, particularly the posse from the State of Mississippi, who shot down in cold blood innocent Negro men and women, many of whom were at the time in the fields picking cotton; that highly inflammable articles were published in the press of Arkansas and especially of Helena and throughout the United States, in which the trouble was variously called a "race riot," "an uprising of the Negroes," and a "deliberately planned insurrection among the Negroes against the whites" of that part of Phillips County; that the officers of Phillips County, espe- cially the Sheriff, called upon the Governor of the State, and the Governor in turn called upon the Commanding Officer at Camp Pike for a large number of the United States soldiers to assist the citizens in quelling the so-called "race riot", "upris- ing", or "insurrection"; that a company of soldiers was dispatched to the scene of the trouble who took charge of the situation and finally succeeded in stopping the slaughter. Your petitioners further say that they, together with a large number of their race, both men and women, were taken to the Phillips County jail, at Helena, incarcerat- ed therein and charged with murder; that a committee of seven, composed of leading Helena business men and officials, to wit: Sebastian Straus, Chairman; H. D. Moore, County Judge; F. F. Kitchens, Sheriff; J. G. Knight, Mayor; E. M. A. Lien, J. E. Hor- ner and T. W. Keese, was selected for the purpose of probing into the situation and picking out those to be condemned to death and those to be condemned and sentenced to the penitentiary; that said Committee as- sumed charge of the matter and proceeded to have brought before them a large num- ber of those incarcerated in jail and exam- ined them regarding their own connection and the connection of others charged with participation in said trouble; that if evi- dence unsatisfactory to said Committee was not given they would be sent out and certain of their keepers would take them to a room in the jail which was immediately adjoin- ing, and a part of the Court House building where said Committee was sitting, and tor- ture them by beating and whipping them with leather straps with metal in them, cut- 74 THE CRISIS ting the blood at every lick until the vic- tims would agree to testify to anything their torturers demanded of them; that there was also provided in said jail, to frighten and torture them, an electric chair, in which they would be put naked and the current turned on to shock and frighten them into giving damaging statements against themselves and others, also stran- gling drugs were put up their noses for the same purpose and by these methods and means false evidence was extorted from Negroes to be used and was used against your petitioners. Petitioners further say that on every day from October 1, until after their trial on November 3, 1919, the press of Helena and the State of Arkansas carried inflammatory articles giving accounts of the trouble, which were calculated to arouse and did arouse bitter feeling against your petition- ers and the other members of their race; that shortly after being placed in jail, a mob was formed in the City of Helena, composed of hundreds of men, who marched to the county jail for the purpose and with the intent of lynching your peti- tioners and others, and would have done so but for the interference of United States soldiers and the promise of some of said Committee and other leading officials that if the mob would stay its hand they would execute those found guilty in the form of law. Petitioners further state that prior to October 1, 1919, they were farmers and share croppers; that nearly all the land in Phillips County is owned by white men; that some is rented out to share croppers to be tilled on shares, one-half to the tenant and the other half to the owner; that some years past there has grown up a system among the land owners of furnishing the Negro tenants supplies on which to make crops and which is calculated to deprive and does deprive the Negro tenants of all their interest in the crops produced by them; that in pursuance of this system, they refused to give the share croppers any itemized statement of account of their indebtedness for supplies so furnished, re- fused to let them move or sell any part of their crops, but themselves sell and dispose of the same at such prices as they please, and then give to the Negroes no account thereof, pay them only such amount as they wish, and in this way keep them down, poverty stricken and effectually under their control; that for the purpose of protecting themselves, if possible, against the oppres- sive and ruinous effects of this system, the Negro farmers organized societies, with the view of uniting their financial resources in moral and legal measures to overcome the same, which fact became quickly known to the plantation owners; that such owners were bitterly opposed to such societies, sought to prevent their organization, or- dered the members to discontinue their meeting and sought by every means they could employ to disrupt them; that on the 30th day of September, 1919, petitioners and other members of the Ratio Lodge, near Elaine, learned that some, of the Negro farmers of a nearby plantation had em- ployed U. S. Bratton, an attorney of Little Rock, Arkansas, to represent them in effect- ing a settlement for them with their land- lords, or, if he could not, to institute legal proceedings to protect their interests, and that either he, or his representative, would be there on the following day to meet with all parties concerned, perfect the arrange- ments, and learn all the facts as far as pos- sible, and decided to hold a meeting with the view of seeing him while there, and engaging him as an attorney to protect their interest; that accordingly they met that night in the Hoop Spur church, which resulted, as hereinbefore set out, in the killing of said Adkins and the breaking up of said meeting: that on the morning of October 1, Mr. 0. S. Bratton, son and agent of Attorney U. S. Bratton, arrived in Elaine for consultation with those who might desire to employ his father, was arrested, hardly escaped being mobbed, notwithstanding it was well known that he was there only for the purpose of advising with those Negroes as to their rights, and getting from them such facts as would enable his father intelligently to prepare for their legal rights; that he was carried thence to the County jail, thrown into it and kept closely confined on a charge of murder until the 31st day of the same month, when he was indicted on a charge of barratry, without any evidence to sus- tain the charge; that on that day he was told by officials that he would be discharged, but not to go on the public streets any- where, to keep the matter a secret, to leave ARKANSAS PEONS 75 secretly in a closed automobile and to go to West Helena, four miles away, and there take the train, so as to avoid being mobbed; that he was told he would be mobbed, or would be in great danger of being mobbed if his release became known publicly before he was out of reach; that the Judge of the Circuit Court, the Judge of the same court before whom petitioners were tried, facili- tated the secret departure and himself went to West Helena and there remained until he had seen said Bratton safely on the train and the train departed. Petitioners further say that the Circuit Court of Phillips County convened on Octo- ber 27, 1919; that a grand jury was organ- ized composed wholly of white men, one of whom, W. W. Keese, was a member of the said Committee of Seven, and many of whom were in the posse organized to fight the Negroes; that during its sessions, peti- tioners and many others of the prisoners were frequently carried before it in an effort to extract from them false incrimin- ating admissions and to testify against each other, and that both before and after, they were frequently whipped, beaten and tor- tured ; that those in charge of them had some way of learning when the evidence was unsatisfactory to the grand jury, and this was always followed by beating and whipping; that by these methods, some of the Negro prisoners were forced to testify against others, two against your petitioners, though no one could truthfully testify against them; that on October 29, 1919, a joint indictment was returned against peti- tioners accusing them of the murder of said Clinton Lee, a man petitioners did not know and had never, to their knowledge, even seen; that thereafter on the 3rd day of No- vember, 1919, petitioners were taken into the court room before the judge told of the charge, and were informed that a certain lawyer was appointed to defend them; that they were given no opportunity to employ an attorney of their own choice; that the appointed attorney did not consult with them, took no steps to prepare for their de- fense, asked nothing about their witnesses, though there were many who knew that petitioners had nothing to do with the kill- ing of said Lee; that they were immediately placed on joint trial before an exclusively white jury and the trial closed so far as the evidence was concerned with the State's witnesses alone; that after the court's in- structions, the jury retired just long enough to write a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree, as charged, and returned with it into court — not being out exceeding two or three minutes, and they were promptly sentenced to death by electrocu- tion on December 27, 1919. Petitioners further say that during the course of said trial, which lasted less than an hour, that only two witnesses testified to anything to connect them in any way with the killing of said Clinton Lee; that said witnesses were Walter Ward and John Jef- ferson, both of whom are Negroes and were under indictment at the same time for the killing of said Lee; that they were compelled to testify against them by the same meth- ods and means hereinbefore described ; that their testimony was wholly false and that they gave such testimony through fear of torture and were further told that if they refused to testify they would be killed, but that if they did so testify, and would plead guilty their punishment would be light; that they thereafter pleaded guilty to mur- der in the second degree and were sen- tenced to terms of imprisonment; that they attach hereto the affidavits of each of said witnesses showing the falsity of their tes- timony and the means of its acquisition. Petitioners further say that large crowds of white people bent on petitioners' con- demnation and death thronged the court- house and grounds and streets of Helena all during the trial of petitioners and the other Negro defendants; that on account of the great publicity given theirs and the other cases, on account of their being charged with connection with an insurrection against the white people, and that four or five white men were killed, on account of the fact that they are Negroes, and those who run the court, the Judge upon the bench, the Sheriff, the Clerk and all the jurors are white men, on account of the fact that it was stated and widely published that the pur- pose of the Negroes was to kill the whites and take their property, and on account of all the race prejudice which normally ex- ists and which was enhanced a thousandfold at the time, by bitterness beyond expression, it was impossible for them to get a fair and impartial trial in said court before a jury of white men; that the attorney ap- pointed to defend them knew that the preju- 76 THE CRISIS dice against them was such that they could not get a fair and impartial trial before a white jury of said county, yet he filed no petition for a change of venue, did not ask the court for time to prepare for a defense, and did nothing to protect their interests; that the court did not ask them whether they had counsel, or desired to employ coun- sel, or were able to do so, but simply said a lawyer, whom he named, would defend them; that they have, therefore, not had a trial, have had no opportunity to make a defense but that their case was closed against them as virtually and effectually as if on a plea of guilty; that if they had been given the opportunity they would have em- ployed counsel of their own choice and have made a defense, their ability to do so having been demonstrated since their conviction; that the feeling against petitioners was such that it overawed the Judge on the bench, the jury, the attorney appointed to defend them and every one connected with said court; that all, Judge, jury and coun- sel, were dominated by the mob spirit that was universally present in court and out, so that if any juror had had the courage to investigate said charge with any spirit of fairness, and vote for an acquittal, he, himself, would have been the victim of the mob; that such was the intensity of feel- ing against petitioners and the other de- fendants, that had counsel for them objected to the testimony of the two witnesses against them said Wards, Green and Jeffer- son, on the ground that it was extorted by beating and torture, as they are advised he should have done, he himself would have been the victim of the mob; that it is pos- sible counsel did not know how the evidence against them was obtained, and they do not desire to appear to criticize him, yet he knew that if the evidence against them was acquired as before stated, it was incom- petent and should have been excluded, a fact which petitioners did not know, that petitioners were ignorant of their rights, had never been in court before, and had counsel asked them about this testimony they would have told him how it was ob- tained, that through fear of the mob spirit no witness was called in their behalf and they themselves were advised not to take the stand on their own behalf; that as a result of the mob domination of court, coun- sel and jury, the court, although a court of original jurisdiction in felony cases, lost its jurisdiction by virtue of such mob domina- tion and the result was but an empty cere- mony, carried through in the apparent form of law, and that the verdict of the jury was .really a mob verdict, dictated by the spirit of the mob and pronounced and returned be- cause no other verdict would have been tol- erated, and that the judgment against them is, therefore, a nullity. (To be continued in January) KUTTAN, THE SOUL Coralie Howard Haman I. T AM the joyous dancer, the strong leaper, I am the Soul; I am the perfect Whole. Joy-bringer am I and still the body's keeper. I live within that prison dark and still, But when dawns Death, I go upon the breath, Like sun and flowing wind on a high hill. Through joy and sorrow, ecstasy and pain Of every day, Through life I go my way — From God I come; to God I go again. II. Like to a bird, a butterfly, a cloud, a smoke, a shadow Am I, the Soul. In dreams, in sleep, I leave the tired body, And go forth until the dawn, Upon the wind; When my body wakes, I come back to it. A time will come when my body will not wake, Then I shall go free To dance in sparkling sunbeams in the air, And fly among the clouds, That surge and tower; Leap down into the ocean's deepest water, And then whirl up and up and up to high- est Heaven and God. THE VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE Langston Hughes A FTER the coming of the Spaniards, •*• ^" who brought priests and missionaries, as well as soldiers to conquer Mexico, most of the subdued Indians were converted to the faith of the Catholics. The ancient In- dian temples to barbaric gods were torn down by the Europeans who built new Christian churches in their stead. Thus it :ame about that the brown men learned to worship the saints and idols brought by the invaders and so forgot their old gods. One day a pious follower of the Span- iards' faith, Juan Diego by name, was re- turning from mass across the hill of Gua- dalupe, when suddenly a veiled figure, all light and beauty, appeared before him. The poor Indian was much astonished and filled with surprise when the woman spoke to him and commanded in a soft voice that he go to the bishop and tell His Excellence to construct a church on the hill where the figure was standing. This Juan did, or attempted to do, but the bishop's servants, thinking the man a common, ignorant In- dian, would not give him admission to the house, so Juan Diego went back. For a second time the vision appeared before him, issuing the same command in her beautiful voice, so the Indian returned in search of the bishop. Each time, how- ever, he was refused an entry but the vision told him to persevere. Finally, after many days, he was admitted and the old father asked him what he wished. When Juan Diego told of the beautiful spirit and her message, the bishop could not believe such a tale and thought perhaps that the poor fellow was demented. At last he told the Indian that he would have to bring some sign or token of proof in support of his strange words. Once more the man returned to the hill and there at its foot the bright vision reap- peared. Hearing the message that the bishop had sent, she said, "Pluck those flowers there at your feet." But Juan Diego, standing on the bare and rocky earth, asked, "What flowers?" Then suddenly looking down he saw the ground covered with white blossoms which he began to pick and with which he filled his small woven tilma or mantle, used to wrap about his shoulders on cold mornings. Then he went to the bishop and said, "Here is your sign." Opening the mantle the white flowers rolled out at their feet. The bishop looked, but still more marvellous than the flowers, the surprised priest saw, painted on the mantle where the blossoms had been, the figure of the Virgin surround- ed by a halo of light. "This," he said, "is surely the proof." So they proceeded to erect the church on the top of the hill. Later a magnificent cathedral was built at its foot where the tilma bearing the picture of the Virgin is preserved to this day above the altar and on the spot where the vision first appeared, a spring of water gushed forth and is now covered by a pretty shrine where people may stop to drink. Once a year a great fiesta is held in honor of this patron saint of Mexico and many people come from far away to visit her. Any day when one cares to take a trip out to the stately church where she is housed near Mexico City, her faithful worshippers may be seen going on their knees the long distance from the outside door to the high altar carrying white candles in their hands, crawling up to place them before her — La Virgen de Guadalupe — whose name is known and loved by all Mexico. Aen of (he Aonth . 'T'HE late Mr. Robert Ambrose Caldwell •*• was born in Georgia, in 1843. He was taken to Camp County, Texas, where he later purchased a 340-acre farm and raised cotton, corn, sugar cane, potatoes and fruit. He was the prime factor and largest con- tributor to the building of West Chapel School in 1879. He was elected Magistrate, but because he was colored he could not get a bondsman. In a county election, however, 77 78 THE CRISIS he succeeded in helping to elect a candidate for County Judge who promised that, if elected, he would appoint a Negro on the Board of Examiners for Teachers. Joseph W. Anderson of Fisk University was ap- pointed to this position, being the first Negro to hold such an office in northern Texas. Mr. Caldwell served as county and district chairman of the Republican party and attended every State Convention since the days of President Grant, and the Na- tional Convention that nominated President McKinley. He served on the Federal Grand and Petit Juries at Jefferson, Tex. Mr. Caldwell leaves a wife and 15 chil- dren, most of whom are teachers in Texas. pvR. HENRY M. MINTON of Philadel- *-** phia was graduated from Phillips Ex- eter Academy in 1891, being Class Day Orator; in 1895 he was graduated from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and in 1906 the Jefferson Medical College awarded him the degree of M.D. He opened the first colored drug store in Philadelphia and for 7 years he labored 16 hours a day compounding prescriptions. Dr. Minton took charge of the Tuberculosis Clinic for Negroes at the Henry Phipps Institute of the University of Pennsylvania in 1915. The services of two other physicians and 3 social service workers have been added, and there are as many as 25 patients at each clinic. Since 1907 Dr. Minton has been a member of the staff of Mercy Hos- pital, where he was recently made the Su- perintendent. Dr. Minton was born December 25, 1871. His father was a well-known lawyer and his grandfather was one of the most cele- brated of the Philadelphia group of colored caterers. C\ N January 13, 1847, the late Mr. Loyal ^*T F. Friman was born in Oswego, N. Y. He joined the Union Army and was as- signed to the First Cavalry, United States Colored Volunteers, remaining until honor- ably discharged. In 1869 he went to Spring- field, Mass., where he accumulated property, and conducted one of the best barber shops in the city; he also served as a letter car- rier. Mr. Friman attained the highest rank in the Masonic Order. He was Past Mas- ter of Sumner Lodge of Masons and one of the organizers of the T. Thomas Chap- ter, Royal Arch Masons, and of the Van Horn Commandery, Knights Templar. He was a veteran of the Civil War and a mem- ber of Wilcox Post No. 16, Grand Army of the Republic. MR. CAL F. JOHNSON was born Octo- ber 14, 1844, in Knoxville, Tenn. He has accumulated a fortune estimated at over one-quarter million dollars and is the owner of some of the best brick structures in the city and of a race track of almost 100 acres. The City Commission recently purchased a park and playground, paying $35,000 for it, and named it "The Cal F. Johnson Park." Mr. Johnson is a member of the local branch of the N. A. A. C. P. ^T^HE late Attorney Gustavus W. Wick- ■*■ liffe was the first Negro lawyer admit- ted to practice in the courts of California. He was born in Chattanooga, Tenn., in 1869. He was a graduate of Howard High School, Nashville, Tenn., and of the Law School of Howard University. In 1889 he entered the Federal Service, being employed first as a railway mail clerk and later as a clerk in the Post Office Department in Washington. In Los Angeles, in 1901, Governor Gaze appointed him Clerk of Wharfingers with the State Board of Harbor Commissioners and he served here for seven years. Attorney Wickliffe held many positions of honor and trust in business and frater- nal organizations in Los Angeles. He was a 33rd degree Mason. Besides his widow, he leaves 2 children. TUT R. FRANK A. BYRON came to Wash- ■*■"■■■ ington, D. C, from Chicago, 111., in 1901, with the Hon. Mr. George Edmund Foss, who was Chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs of the House of Represen- tatives. He served as messenger to the Committee for 16 years and for 15 years performed the duties of assistant clerk; at the beginning of the 66th Congress he was appointed assistant clerk by the Hon. Mr. Thomas S. Butler of the 7th Pennsylvania District. On July 6 of this year he was appointed clerk of the Committee on Naval Affairs of the House of Representatives, being the first Negro appointee. His sal- ary is $2,740 per year. Mr. Byron is a graduate of Howard University Law School. THE LATE ROBERT A. CALDWELL THE LATE LOYAL F. FRIMAN FRANK A. BYRON THE LATE ATTORNEY G. W. WICKLIFFE CAL F. JOHNSON DR. HENRY M. MINTON 79 COMPILED MAOEL ICME ALLISON MUSIC AND ART r I '•HE New York American says: "Helen •*• Hagan gave a pleasing demonstration in Aeolian Hall of her skill on the piano. More than that, Miss Hagan brought gen- uine musical feeling to her interpretations and considerable emotional warmth." Miss Hagan is a graduate of the Yale University School of Music, where she was awarded a scholarship. C. During October, the colored musical com- edy "Shuffle Along," playing in New York City, reached 175 performances. The pre- vious record made by Williams and Walker was 98 performances at the Park Theatre in 1910. Included in the cast are the com- posers, Messrs. Miller and Lyles and Sissle and Blake. C The faculty of Huntington High School, Newport News, Va., has appeared in a mu- sicale at First African Baptist Church. They were assisted by the High School Or- chestra. Numbers included vocal works of Burleigh, Schumann, Nevin; organ num- bers of Gounod, Galbraith, Rockwell and Le~ gure; and piano selections of Scharwenka and Chaminade. C Fisk University has celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Jubilee Singers. Four of the original singers — Mable Lewis Imes, of Cleveland; Maggie Porter Cole, of De- troit; Eliza Walker Crump, of Chicago, and Hunter B. Alexander, of Chattanooga, par- ticipated. Under the leadership of Prof. George L. White, they toured the world several times; on their first 3 tours in America, they realized $150,000, which was used for the building of Jubilee Hall. C Musical America of August 20 contains an article, "Bridgetower, Mulatto Friend of Beethoven," written by Mrs. Maud Cuney Hare. The article gives information from German sources, including letters of Bee- thoven, hitherto unknown to the English- speaking public. d Louia Jones, violinist, has gone to Paris to continue his musical studies. Mr. Jones is a graduate of the New England Conserv- atory of Music. (I H. Coleridge-Taylor, son of the late Sam- uel Coleridge-Taylor, has made his debut in London as the conductor of an orchestra. A London critic says: "His control of his forces and sympathetic understanding of the music made a favorable impression." (I The Choral Club in Atlanta, Ga., has given a concert in the City Auditorium. Ne- gro melodies and classical selections were rendered by the club, which is composed of 240 voices, and an orchestra of 20 pieces. The soloists were Clarence Washington, Robert White, D. Crawford, Lilly Carter, W. J. Trent; the pianists, Florence Harris and Mildred Greenwood; Kemper Harreld was the director. There were 500 white and 2000 colored people in the audience. d William Service Bell, baritone, and E. H. Margetson, pianist, have given a recital for the Y. W. C. A., at Newark, N. J. Includ- ed on the program was "Like Stars Which Night Hangs in the Purple Skies," by Mr. Margetson. C Gerald Tyler composed the prologue music of Stevens' Centennial drama, which was presented at the Coliseum in St. Louis, and marked the 100th anniversary of Mis- souri's annexation to the Union. Mr. Tyler is Supervisor of Music at Sumner High School. C The Pace Phonograph Company of New York is presenting Ethel Waters and the Black Swan Troubadours in a coast to coast tour. EDUCATION ■pvR. FRANK G. SMITH, of Chicago, has '*-^ passed the Illinois State Board of Op- tometry by a written examination which included 8 subjects. d There are 40 Negro students enrolled at the University of California. (I At Geneva College, Beaver Falls, Pa., there are 7 Negro students, an increase of 5 over the past 2 years. 80 THE HORIZON 81 C Dr. Gilbert H. Jones, Dean of the Col- lege of Liberal Arts of Wilberforce Uni- versity, has been asked by authorities of Boston University Graduate School for per- mission to translate his inaugural disserta- tion from German into English, for refer- ence use in classes in philosophy. The book is titled "Lotz und Bowne, Eine Verg- leigung Ihrer Philosophischen Arbeit." Dr. Jones received the doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Jena, Germany. (I In football games, Howard has beaten Virginia Theological Seminary by a 19 — 0 score; Hampton vs. St. Paul, 25 — 2; Vir- ginia State Normal vs. St. Augustine, 7 — 0; Hampton vs. Shaw, 7 — 6; Talladega vs. Morris Brown, 23 — 13; Lincoln vs. Morgan, 63 — 3; Howard vs. Virginia State Normal, 26—0; Howard vs. Shaw, 24—0. (I At Lincoln School, Sumter, S. C, there are 13 teachers for an enrollment of nearly 2,000. The Negroes are appealing for re- lief measures. d Wiley University, Marshall, Tex., has a freshman class of 93 and a senior college class of 29; there are 7 professors devoting full time to college work. Every course for which a degree or diploma is given is rec- ognized by the Texas State Board of Ex- aminers. The School has an enclosed ath- letic park with a grandstand seating 1,000. (I This year the John F. Slater Fund in- creased its aid in the maintenance of county training schools for Negroes from 107 to 142 schools; the salary lists amount to $550,000. C For the year ending August 31, 1921, there was a total circulation of 108,207 books in the Colored Department of the Louisville Free Public Library. Since its opening, 11 women have been trained for library work. They were sent from libraries at Houston, Tex.; Birmingham, Ala.; At- lanta, Ga. ; Evansville, Ind.; Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis and Chattanooga, Tenn. Mr. Thomas F. Blue is head of the Louis- ville library. (I The sum of $1,000,000 has been appro- priated by the General Assembly for the support of Negro schools in North Carolina. Ct Ground has been broken for an athletic field at Hampton Institute. There will be a grandstand, a quarter mile track, a 220- yard straightaway, a football and a baseball field. (I Ezekiel H. Miller has been awarded the Master's degree at Columbia University. Mr. Miller is a Federal Board student who has been approved for work leading to the degree of Ph.D. He is a graduate of How- ard, 1917, and an ex-soldier of the 351st Field Artillery. His allotment is $1,200 a year. (J A secret conference on missionary and educational work among Negroes in Africa and elsewhere has been held at Lake Mo- hawk, N. Y. The Negro race was represent- ed by Thomas Jesse Jones and R. R. Moton. CI Negro college women in southeast Vir- ginia have established Lambda Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Mrs. P. S. Puryear, of Virginia Normal and Indus- trial Institute, is president. (I In Cleveland, Ohio, there are 100 colored public school teachers. MEETINGS T^HE Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity will ■*■ hold its 14th annual convention in Bal- timore, Md., December 27-31. Railroads have granted a reduction of one and one- half fare on the certificate plan. C The Delta Sigma Theta Sorority will hold its annual convention in Philadelphia, Pa., December 27-29. C The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority will convene in Indianapolis, Ind., December 27- 31. Ten new chapters will be represented. (I There were 200 delegates present at the meeting of the Pennsylvania State Federa- tion of Negro Women's Club, held in Read- ing. A protest against the Ku Klux Klan was sent to the Governor in the name of the 14,000 colored club women of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Ruth L. Bennett was re-elected presi- dent. Ct The Michigan State Association of Col- ored Women's Clubs has elected Mrs. Ida Postles, of Detroit, as president. A special feature of the convention was an address by Mrs. Mary B. Talbert. (I The national conference of the Y. M. C. A. will be held in Cincinnati, Ohio, De- cember 1-4. THE CHURCH ST. JAMES Presbyterian Church, in New York City, has celebrated the sixth an- niversary of the pastorate of Dr. Frank M. Hyder. The church has a membership of 1,400 of which 1,154 members joined dur- ing the past 6 years; over $65,000 has been raised. d The Men's Club of Dixwell Avenue Con- 82 THE CRISIS TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CATAWBA SYNODICAL gregational Church, New Haven, Conn., is holding its 16th season of "Community Bet- terment" series. Among the speakers is William Pickens, Field Secretary of the N. A. A. C. P. C The Protestant Ministerial Association of South Bend, Ind., has elected the Rev. Mr. B. F. Gordon, a Negro, as secretary- treasurer. Mr. Gordon is pastor of the Taylor A. M. E. Zion Chapel. He is a grad- uate of the University of Chicago, holding the Master's degree. INDUSTRY 'T'HE Tupelo, Miss., Oil & Ice Co., is em- ■*■ ploying John B. Anderson, a Negro, as chief refrigerating engineer. Mr. Anderson has been an employee for 20 years. The operating force of the company is 10 white and 18 colored men. (I Negroes in Dearfield, Colo., are operat- ing the Dearfield Packing & Provision Co. It has a capacity of 10,000 cans daily. ([ Madison Simms, a Negro barber in Knox- ville, Tenn., has been employed in the es- tablishment of Charles Chandler for the past 21 years. He has shaved over 60,000 people. C. Mr. C. H. James, a Negro of Charleston, W. Va., is head of a $250,000 general prod- uce business. C The Wage Earners' Savings Bank of Savannah, Ga., was organized in 1900 with resources of $102; its resources now are $1,000,000, with a paid-in capital of $50,- 000 and a surplus of $25,000; its deposits, among 20,000 depositors, amount to $957,- 498. The institution owns its own banking building, which is appraised at $95,000, and other real estate amounting to $31,500. The officers are L. E. Williams, president; Sol C. Johnson, vice-president; R. A. Harper, cashier; E. C. Blackshear, assistant cashier. d The Columbia Laundry, a Negro enter- prise in Norfolk, Va., is employing 14 work- ers. Mr. Charles H. Robinson is in charge. C A syndicate of Negroes in Los Angeles has purchased 21,800 acres in Lower Cali- fornia for the establishment of a Negro colony. The company has been incorporated for $250,000 and is known as the Lower California Mexican Land & Development Co. Theodore W. Troy is president and Attorney Hugh E. McBeth, secretary. C The Pace Phonograph Corporation, mak- ers of Black Swan Records, has purchased a 3-story building in New York City. After 6-months' business, the company is employ- ing 15 people in its office and shipping-room, an orchestra of 8 men, 7 district managers in the larger cities of the country and 1,000 dealers and agents; it ships 2,500 records every working day. C Colored substitute letter1 carriers in Rich- mond, Va., have displaced white special de- livery boys. (T The Independent Order of St. Luke, in Richmond, Va., has been established 54 years. It has a membership of 67,577 adults and 15,110 children, and has paid THE HORIZON 83 SABBATH SCHOOL CONVENTION, CHARLOTTE, N. C. ),750 in death claims. It edits the St. Luke Herald. C The colored Berry & Rosis Manufactur- ing Company, New York City, has received a $10,000 order from agents on the West Coast of Africa for colored dolls. CRIME rPHE following lynchings have taken ■*■ place since our last record: Jones County, N. C, August 14, Jerome Whitfield, hanged. Allendale, S. C, October 24, Ed. Kirk- land, shot; body burned; murder. Winneboro, La., October 25, Sam Gordon, hanged; murder. THE WORLD WAR A T the outbreak of the war, 5,571 Ne- •*■ ^- groes were serving in the Regular Army and 5,300 in the National Guard; dur- ing the period of hostilities 5,800 volun- teered and 367,710 were inducted into serv- ice, making a total of over 384,000 Negroes, or about 12% of the total enlisted forces of the United States. d The personnel of Negroes in the Army was distributed as follows: Quartermaster Corps, 30.6%; Infantry, 20.7%; Depot Bri- gades, 15.6%; 82nd Division, 7.2%.; Engi- neers, 5.9%; Development Battalions, 2.2%; Cavalry, .9%; Military Aeronautics, .3%; Machine Gun Training Center, .2%; Medi- cal Department, .2%; Miscellaneous, 16.2%r. (I In line organizations 925 Negroes re- ceived commissions; in the Medical Corps, 356; in the Dental Corps, 66; in the Sani- tary Corps, 1; there were 60 chaplains. C There were 9,558 Negroes who made the supreme sacrifice during the world war. Of these, 512 were killed in action, 219 died of wounds received in action, 8,350 died of diseases, and 477 died of miscellaneous causes. POLITICS SINCE the suffrage was granted to women the enrollment of colored voters in Bal- timore, Md., has increased from 16,800 to 37,475. (I New Haven, Conn., has its first Negro Alderman, in the person of Attorney H. G. Tolliver. (I President Harding has sent to the Senate the name of the Rev. Solomon Porter Hood, of New Jersey, for United States Minister to Liberia. Mr. Hood is 68 years of age and a graduate of Lincoln. The position pays $5,000 per year. SOCIAL PROGRESS "pvURING the past 8 years, 14 colored -*-^Y. M. C. A. buildings were erected at a cost of $1,980,000, of which Mr. Julius Ros- enwald contributed $350,000. The buildings are located in Chicago, New York, Brook- lyn, Pittsburgh, Columbus, St. Louis, In- dianapolis, Nashville, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Baltimore, Washington and Atlanta. There are nearly 25,000 paid-up members. 84 THE CRISIS The Chicago branch, of which Mr. George A. Arthur is in charge, had 2,500 members last year; its budget for this year is $89,000, of which the colored people's share is 83%. The 46 colored Y. M. C. A. buildings in the United States are worth $2,880,500. (I The Cleveland Home for Aged Colored People has celebrated its 25th anniversary. The work is supported by the community fund. d Robert Lisby, Jr., has been appointed United States Deputy Marshall at the Post Office building in Philadelphia. Mr. Lisby was formerly a member of the police force. (I Ned Gourdin, the Negro athlete of Har- vard University, is the winner of the na- tional pentathlon championship of the Ama- teur Athletic Union. He led a field of 7 competitors with a score of 12 points. He won the running broad jump with 21 feet 1 inch; the javelin throw with 169 feet 9*4 inches, and the 200 meter dash in 23 minutes and one-fifth second. (I Dr. William H. Browning, a graduate of Meharry, has been appointed to the Dental Staff of the United States Public Health Department. Dr. Browning has been prac- tising dentistry in Los Angeles for the past 6 years. (I The Salvation Army has opened a build- ing in Harlem, the Negro section in New York City. It has a seating capacity of 300 and the work is in charge of Captain Olive Gaines, a colored woman. (I George Young, a Negro in New York City, operates Young's Book Exchange. He started 6 years ago with 6 books; his col- lection has grown to over 8,000 books by and pertaining to the Negro. C Chester K. Gillespie, a Negro in Cleve- land, Ohio, is attorney for the Department of Finance. (I William Lillison, a colored patrolman in Knoxville, Tenn., has been retired. He will receive a pension of $80 a month. (T In Greensburg, Pa., Thomas E. Stokes, a Negro, has been placed in charge of the manufacturing and dispensing department of Westmoreland Hospital. He is a gradu- ate of the University of Pittsburgh, 1919. C The United States Military Hospital for Colored Soldiers and Sailors may be erected in Tuskegee, Ala. Its cost will be between $500,000 and $1,000,000. There is much dissatisfaction with this location. C Maurice Ray, a Negro in Philadelphia, has been appointed to the Prohibition En- forcement Squad. C The 8th colored Regiment of Chicago, 111., has been federalized. It has 1,250 men with FIVE GENERATIONS OF THE PARSONS FAMILY AT SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO. Mrs. Mary C. Parsons, of the First Generation, Died This Year at the Age of 88. THE HORIZON 85 Colonel Otis B. Duncan in command. While at camp, the regiment won range honors and mention for general efficiency. ft In Detroit, a Junior Branch of the N. A. A. C. P. has been formed. John M. Rag- land is chairman of the Junior Committee. ft Motion pictures of the Protest Parade conducted by the Detroit Branch of the N. A. A. C. P., during the Conference last June, are being shown at the Baudette Theatre. Mr. Dudley, who had them made, intends to show the film in other cities. ft On a recent visit to Panama, the Rev. Matthew Anderson, of Philadelphia, was received by President Parros and Governor Morrow. ft Percentages of illiteracy in New York City are: native white, 0.3; foreign born white, 13.8; Negro, 2.1. The number of il- literate Negroes in New York State is 5,032. ft It has been found that the late James Milton Turner, who died in 1915, left an estate valued at over $300,000. Mr. Turner was a former United States Minister to Liberia. ft Grady Hospital Annex, a hospital-school for colored people in Atlanta, Ga., has been dedicated. CE St. Louis University, a Catholic institu- tion, has refused to play a football game with the Engineering School of Milwaukee, because the latter team has a Negro center — McMann. ft As the result of protest by Negro citi- zens, the Huntington School of the Y. M. C. A., in Boston, Mass., has admitted Har- vey Shaw, a Negro. ft Siki, a Negro of Senegal, is middleweight boxing champion of France and of Europe. He won the title by defeating Ercole Bal- zac, in the second round of a contest in Paris. ft Ground has been broken for the Colored 15th Regiment Armory in New York City. ft Dr. M. Russell Nelson has been appointed an interne in charge of the Gynecological Division of Bellevue Hospital, New York City. Dr. Nelson is 24 years of age and a graduate of the University of Pennsylva- nia. ft Negroes at Gary, Ind., have 10 grocery stores, several barber shops and restaurants, 2 undertaking establishments, and 1 drug store, operated by a woman, Dr. Bagby-Car- ter. There are real estate brokers, physi- cians, dentists and lawyers; a Justice of the Peace, a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, truant officers and 8 policemen. In 1919 the Central State Bank was opened and has as- sets of $70,000; the National Realty and In- vestment Company is a business represent- ing $300,000. The Negro population is esti- mated at 10,000. (I On the Isthmus of Panama there are 5 colored American citizens serving as Canai Clubhouse Secretaries. Their duties cor- respond to those of Y. M. C. A. secretaries. They are T. B. Nelly, J. O. Collins, J. E. Waller, K. C. Manning, W. V. Eagleson. NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE AMONG those who participated in the National Urban League's Annual Con- ference, held in Chicago, were Miss Jane Addams, Founder of Hull House; iMiss Julia Lathrop, formerly Director of the United States Children's Bureau and Presi- dent of the National Conference of Social Work; Federal Judge E. O. Brown; Miss Mary McDowell, Head Worker, University Settlement ; Horace J. Bridges, Leader of the Ethical Culture Society, and Kelly Miller, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Howard University. ft Twenty-five cities were formally repre- sented at the conference — some of them having as many as 8 delegates. ft The Men's City Club, the Women's City Club, the Federation of Churches and the Woman's Club — all of the city of Chicago, have given a dinner at the Men's City Club in honor of L. Hollingsworth Wood, Presi- dent; Eugene Kinckle Jones, Executive Sec- retary, and Charles S. Johnson, Director of the Department of Research and Investiga- tion of the National Urban League. There were 200 guests present, among whom were 50 personal guests of Mr. and Mrs. Julius Rosenwald. Mrs. Joseph T. Bowen, Presi- dent of the Woman's City Club Bulletin, was Toastmaster. Miss Mary McDowell ar- ranged the testimonial. ft John C. Dancy, Executive Secretary of the Detroit Urban League, has been appoint- ed by Mayor Couzens as a member of the Mayor's Committee on Unemployment. ft Elmer A. Carter, Executive Secretary of the Louisville Urban League, has been ap- pointed a member of the Mayor's Emergen- cy Committee on Unemployment. The com- mittee is composed of 15 persons from the city at large. This League has appointed a colored woman as Travelers' A:d worker to protect, inform and direct colored travelers 86 THE CRISIS at railway stations in the city of Louisville. (I The six months' record of the Los An- geles Urban League shows that 480 men and women were furnished employment at monthly wages of more than $21,000; 88 women and children were given outings. The County Probation Department has re- ferred cases of colored juvenile offenders to Louis S. Tenette, the Associate Execu- tive Secretary. C The Pittsburgh Urban League has been successful in getting colored people for the first time, to use free settlement houses in outlying districts. ft The Frederick Douglass Community Cen- ter of Toledo, Ohio, which was responsible for the formation of the Toledo Urban League, has taken over larger quarters. At its formal opening, the Mayor and 3 judges of the city attended. Mr. Frank Saunders, a member of the Governing Board, donated the boys' basketball equipment. PERSONAL MRS. HARRIET E. LOWE, of Winston- Salem, N. C, is 100 years old. She is the mother of 4 children, 3 of whom are public school teachers. She is the grand- mother of 32, the great-grandmother of 46, ^nd the great-great-grandmother of 2. Mrs. Lowe has been a consistent member of the Missionary Baptist Church for 55 years. ft W. David Brown, of New York City, is dead. Mr. Brown had been in the under- taking business 21 years and was a promi- nent member of a number of fraternities. ft W. Allison Sweeney, a writer, of Chi- cago, 111., is dead. FOREIGN AT a meeting of the Women's Reform Club of Pretoria, Mrs. Maxeke, a na- tive Bantu, was a speaker. Lady Steel pre- sided. Mrs. Maxeke is president of the Bantu Women's Association. The meeting was called to discuss the existing conditions of life of native women in towns, and pro- posals for their betterment. The Woman's Outlook says: "Mrs. Maxeke spoke fluently, clearly and with dignity. As giving the views of those most nearly concerned, it must be considered as the most important speech of the meeting; it was a striking comment on the disability of the voteless citizen, to whose utterances and wishes so little importance is attached, that during MRS. HARRIET E. LOWE her address the reporters sat back taking no notes, and dismissed her really inter- esting and able speech without any lines in their report." ft There are in Manila, P. I., the follow- ing colored men who are employed in the classified civil service: Robert G. Woodo, chief clerk, and W. A. Caldwell, chief accountant, Bureau of Constabulary; Walter H. Loving, conductor of the Con- stabulary Band, with the rank and pay of Major; Professor J. H. M. Butler, Division Superintendent of Schools, Bureau of Edu- cation; and Davis Lockett, chief veterinar- ian, Bureau of Agriculture. ft The Rhenish Women's League, Berlin- Germany, has been denied a permit for a public exhibition of "The Black Pest," a mo- tion picture dealing with the question of colored troops on the Rhine. The denial was made on the grounds that the film was not only worthless as propaganda but was also calculated to injure German prestige abroad. m K / 1 flnVArU/jMWwH BWTO@ IP S 1 I l i 1 Turning Hard Times into Prosperous Times The year 1921 will ever be remembered as the period of "America's Hardest Times" fol- lowing- the World's War. Conditions would be worse than now were it not for the Herculean efforts of those determined spirits who are forcing- the wheels of progress to continue to re- volve. THE SOUTHERN AID SOCIETY OF VA., INC., is proud to be numbered among those who are trying to keep the Door of Opportunity open, The cut below shows the new $200,000.00 four-story and basement modern fireproof building erected by the Society at 7th and Tea Streets, N W., Washington, D. C, to help turn Hard Times into Prosperous Times. Not only does the Superior Policy of Protection, issued by the Society, keep the wolf from the door of all Southern Aid Policyholders but its policy of constructing modern office buildings, in the various cities where it operates, makes it possible for our professional and business interests to have suitable quarters— like the best had by other races — in which to display their talents and wares and to do better business. Therefore by its Insurance Policy and, as well, by its Business Policy the Society is daily helping- to turn Hard Times into Prosperous Times. SOUTHERN AID SOCIETY OF VIRGINIA, INC. Home Office: 527 N. Second Street, RICHMOND, VA. District Offices and Agencies in Virginia and the District of Columbia Insures Against Sickness, Accidents and Deaths J. T. CARTER, PRES. B. L. JORDAN, SECTY. W. A. JORDAN, ASST. SECTTC. THE CRISIS A RECORD OF THE DARKER RACES PUBLISHED MONTHLY AND COPYRIGHTED BY THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE, AT 70 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK CITY. CON- DUCTED BY W. E. BURGHARDT DU BOIS; JESSIE REDMON FAUSET, LITERARY EDITOR; AUGUSTUS GRANVILLE DILL, BUSINESS MANAGER. Vol. 23— No. 3 JANUARY, 1922 Whole No. 135 Page OPINION THE WORLD AND US; N. A. A. C. P. AND XMAS; THE HARDING POLITICAL PLAN; MR. HOWARD; THE CHURCH; NEGRO ART; CO- OPERATION 103 HAPPY NEW YEAR! KELLY MILLER; L. G. JORDAN; C. C. SPAULDING; BISHOP HURST. . 108 PLACIDO. James Weldon Johnson 109 A TALE OF THZ NORTH CAROLINA WOODS. Arthur Huff Fauset Ill THE NEGRO. A Poem. Langston Hughes . 113 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE 114 THE ARKANSAS PEONS. Conclusion 115 THE HORIZON. Illustrated 118 "LOOKING BACKWARD". Jessie Fauset 126 IN THE FRENCH WEST INDIES. Filogenes Maillard 127 THE LOOKING GLASS 128 THE FEBRUARY CRISIS Will contain an illustrated article on Howard University by E. C. Williams. FIFTEEN CENTS A COPY; ONE DOLLAR AND A HALF A YEAR FOREIGN SUBSCRIPTIONS TWENTY-FIVE CENTS EXTRA RENEWALS: The date of expiration of each subscription is printed on the wrapper. When the subscription is due, a blue renewal blank is enclosed. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: The address of a subscriber can be changed as often as desired. In ordering a change of address, both the old and the new address must be given. Two weeks' notice is required. MANUSCRIPTS and drawings relating to colored people are desired. They must be accom- panied by return postage. If found unavailable they will be returned. Entered as second class matter November 2, 1910, at the pest office at New York, New York, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 25 100 THE CRISIS ADVERTISER National Training School DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA A School for the Training of Colored Young Men and Women for Service Thougk It is young in kistory, the Institution feels a just pride in the work thus far accomplished, for its graduates are already filling many responsible positions, thus demonstrating the aim of the school to train men and women for useful citizenship. DEPARTMENTS ALREADY ESTABLISHED The Grammar Ichooi The Teacher Training Department The Academy The Divinity School The School of Arts and Sciences The Commercial Department The Department of Mask The Department of Home Economic! The Department of Social Service TERM OPENED SEPTEMBER 21, 1920 For farther information and Catalog, address President James E. Shepard, Durham, North Carolina STATE OF NEW JERSEY Manual Training & Industrial School FOR COLORED YOUTH BQRRENTOWN, N. J. A tilth Institution fcr th» training of colored youth. Excellent equipment, thorough instruction, wholesome surroundings. Academic training tor all students. Courses in carpentry, agriculture and trades tor boys. Including auto repairing. Courses in domestic science and domestic art for girls. A new trades building, thoroughly equipped. New girls' dormitory thoroughly and modernly equipped. Terms reasonable. Fall term opens September 15, 1921. For Information address W. R. VALENTINE, Principal Wiley University Marshall, Texas Recognized as a college of first class by Texas, Louisiana. Arkansas and Okla- homa State Boards of Education. Har- vard, Boston University, University of Illinois and University of Chicago repre- sented on its faculty. One hundred twenty-seven in College Department, ses- sion 1919-1920. Several new buildings, steam heated and electric lighted. M. W. DOGAN, President LINCOLN UNIVERSITY Pioneer in Collegiate and Theological Education Lincoln Men are Leaders in the various professions in Forty States. The College is ranked in Class I. by the American Medical Association. Address : John B. Kendall, D.D., Lincoln TJhiveraity, Chester County, Penna. Cheyney Training School For Testifiers Cheyney, Pa. Made in 1980 an accredited State NoHBal School, offering, in addition to the regular Normal Course of two years, professional three year courses in Home Economics and Shop Work. A diploma from any of these courses makes a graduate eligible to teach in the public schools of Pennsylvania. A three-year High School Course is offered to all who have com- pleted the eighth grammar grade. Send application now for fall term opening September 20th, 1921. For further particulars and catalog, write LESLIE PUJCKNEY tttt., PrinelpaJu Cheyney, Pa. THERE WILL BE NO SUMMER SCHOOL FOR 1921 Mention The Ceisis. THE CRISIS Vol. 23. No. 3 JANUARY, 1922 Whole No. 135 ►irviorv o^WE-b-Dulboi* UNEM- PLOY- MENT THE WORLD AND US 0 us the great outstand- ing fact today is lack of work and low wage for such as we get. We suffer with the world in this after- war difficulty, but human misfortune beats the more mercilessly upon those who are already unfortunate. When therefore, we know that between three and five million American work- ingmen are today unemployed, we may shrewdly guess that in their ranks are nearly a million colored men and women. The black man is the first laborer to be discharged, the first one to have his wages decreased, the last one to be re-hired. While we suffer most we are not the only ones that suffer. Throughout the civilized world is this problem of . unemployment, and with it the con- tradictory fact that to retrieve the losses of the war the world needs work as never before to furnish food and clothing and shelter. What is wrong? The answer is War. War past, pres- ent and future. War has destroyed faith and wealth, and human beings. The machinery of industry has broken down and until, slowly and painfully, it is restored, we must suffer. DIS- ARMA- MENT OST of us may think that we have little personal interest in disarmament. We have only to remember that in the last fifty years, the United States Government has spent thirty-four bil- lion dollars for war and onlv ten bil- lions for everything else. This means that every American family contrib- utes two hundred and fourteen dollars a year to pay the 1921 taxes, where the same family paid thirty-three dol- lars a year to pay the 1913 taxes. The burden of this cost of war has become intolerable, and it falls heaviest on the poor and the black. The world is meeting to try and throw it off but no sooner does it meet than the race problem appears. We can disarm only because of faith in each other. The white world is ask- ing how much faith they can have in Japan; but Japan and India and Africa and even the wise ones in China, — in fact, the majority of men — are asking seriously, in view of the past, how much faith we can have in the white world. Take the matter of China : Who are the aggressors upon China ? They are Great Britain, France and Japan ; and of these three the greatest and most persistent aggressor has been Great Britain. Yet there is not the slight- est chance of Great Britain giving up today a single advantage that she has in China, while, on the other hand, insidiously and carefully prepared propaganda, is making the white world think that the only enemy of China is Japan. The whole thing could be easily set- tled. There is Australia, a great empty continent containing five mil- lion people, where it could easily sup- port one hundred million. It is being held for white settlers who do not come, while colored people are being kept out. Let Australia open its doors to its natural colored settlers; let Great Britain give up Tibet, Szechuan, 10? 104 THE CRISIS Hong-Kong, Weihaiwei and her eco- nomic concessions in the Yangtse val- ley; let France surrender Indo-China and her industrial domination in south China ; let Japan get out of Kiao Chow, Mongolia and Manchuria; and let the United States cease her frantic efforts to force white debt slavery on China through a consortium of big banks. Then the East could well af- ford to give up its armies and navies and seek the path of peace. STRIKES HE strike is a method of industrial war- fare by means of which white laborers in the last century have bettered their condition. Colored laborers have not been able to do so because they have been excluded from white unions, and have not themselves yet learned, or been in a position to learn, the secret of organization. They have conse- quently been tossed back and forth as shuttle-cocks between white em- ployer and white union laborer. They look, therefore, today, upon the strike as either something that does not con- cern them or an opportunity to get a job which a white man has given up. Few of them are in the clothing- making industry and are not touched by the garment makers' strike. Very few of them were threatened by the proposed railway strike. Large num- bers of them are always involved in coal and packing house strikes. But whether directly involved or not, they must watch this industrial war with palpitating interest. Undoubtedly the strike as an industrial weapon is too costly and is passing, but the union organization is still here and the col- ored laborer must learn to use it. HE real question of Ireland today is how much of the island is going to be allowed to govern itself and how much of it the industrial interests of Ulster are IRELAND AND INDIA going to be able to keep as a part of England, and as a center of English power. The Treaty of Peace brings Irish Freedom nearer and increases the hope of freedom for all men. In India the case is more compli- cated. Here are hundreds of millions, ignorant and poverty-stricken almost beyond belief, and yet upheld by fine traditions of family, work and reli- gion, who are seeking to gain control of their own lands and their own souls. One party marches toward armed resistance with war on the horizon ; another party proposes non-resistance and refusal to cooperate in any work or government with the British mas- ters. It is a marvellously interesting fight and we should watch its every step. VISIT- ORS AILY there come to our shores, and late- ly in larger numbers than usual, men and women of other nations to see Amer- ica. Very few of them see that tenth of America which we represent. They may meet us casually on Pullman cars or as servants and laborers, but they do not know us and do not try to know us, because they do not realize that there is anything in us worth the knowing. On the other hand, by both deliberate and accidental propaganda, they are told of all the evil concerning us which they do not see and they go home to spread this knowledge or lack of knowledge concerning us. Sometimes, to be sure, a Foch may see a black regiment or the Disarma- ment Conferees may note the power and growth of darker Washington, but we have yet to solve the problem of letting the world really see us. a N. A. A. C. P. AND XMAS N this season of holiday and joy have you thought of your Christmas gift for Freedom? Thinking of what you have OPINION 105 earned and spent for the year, what you have accomplished and enjoyed, does it occur to you that you owe something, not simply to your race and to your country, but to humanity — to the upward striving forces of the world? Have you paid that debt or any part of it? If not, consider the claims of the National Association for the Advance- ment of Colored People. During the year 1921 we have 1. Helped expose the Ku Klux Klan, 2. Pushed the anti-lynching bill out of committee and before the House of Representatives, 3. Saved up to the present time the condemned victims of the Arkan- sas riots, sentenced to die in 1919, and have brought their cases to the Supreme Court of the United States, at an expense of $11,299, 4. Investigated and exposed the Tulsa riot and raised and dis- bursed a fund of $3,500 for phys- ical relief and legal aid, 5. Promoted a Second Pan-African Congress with 110 delegates and 1,000 visitors from 30 countries and 11 states of the United States, 6. Presented a petition to President Harding signed by 50,000 per- sons asking clemency for the sol- diers who were in the Houston riot and who are now incarcer- ated at Leavenworth, 7. Continued to push our efforts to free Haiti and helped secure a Congressional investigating com- mittee which is now sitting in Haiti, 8. Published 600,000 copies of The Crisis and sold them in every corner of the world, 9. In general made every enemy of the Negro fear our power, and every black victim trust our aid. We have not done everything or all we would — but we have done some- thing, have we not? Moreover this work has not been paid for by millionaires. No single individual gift to us has exceeded $500, and only seven have reached that figure. There have been only 17 gifts of $100. The great mass of gifts have come in sums of from $1 to $5 from poor colored folk. Nine-tenths of the funds supporting this organiza- tion come from Negroes. This is fair and proper. It is our work and we must do it. More and more the bur- den of this work is going to fall on the Negro race ! But have you done your share? Why not send the N. A. A. C. P. a Thanksgiving or Christmas or New Year's gift? Why not lift from the backs of the officers enough of the burden of finance so as to leave them strength for investigation, action, re- lief, thought and plan ? THE HARDING'POLITICAL PLAN R. HARDING'S plan for settling various problems in politics is now in full swing and we are not at all sure but what it bids fair to be suc- cessful beyond his dreams. The Harding plan involves (1) White leadership for the black South; (2) A division of the Negro vote. The white leadership of the black South has been strikingly illustrated in Virginia where the white leader, Col. Henry W. Anderson, talked some real, plain English. He said, for in- stance, at Barton Heights, October 22, "Senator Trinkle [his Democratic op- ponent] fears the Negro in Virginia politics. Our platform has eliminated the Negro from Virginia politics. Thirty-two Negroes now hold office in this State. They were appointed by the Democrats. I have asked Sen- ator Trinkle to join with me in a movement to have these Negro judges removed from office. He has never replied to me on this matter. "If I am elected Governor of Vir- ginia, no Negro will ever hold office in this State under my administra- 106 THE CRISIS tion. The white people must rule this commonwealth, and they will." The result of this clear and concise statement, together with the expul- sion of all Negro members from the party convention, was that 25,000 Ne- groes so "divided" their vote that Mr. Anderson did not get a single one of them and the Republicans received their worst defeat in many years. In Louisville, Kentucky, the Repub- licans so slandered and "Jim-Crowed" the Negro that an attempt at a third party movement was made by the Negroes. The strong-arm methods of thugs interfered with its complete success, but it registered a clear warn- ing. On the other hand, in Philadelphia, where the Republicans nominated a Negro magistrate to the disgust of the "Independents" and high-brows, the black voters of the Seventh Ward swept him into office 5000 votes ahead of his independent rivals. If the putting of the direction of the Republican Party in the South into the hands of Slemp and his ilk, the driving of the Negro from the Republican polls and compelling him to vote for black men because they are black is what Mr. Harding wishes, he is accomplishing it. But his meas- ure of success is bringing thought to both colored and white folk. Thoughtful Negroes do not want racial candidates and parties: they see the ultimate contradiction and fu- tility of this. But what is one to do who has to choose between the Demo- cratic devil and the Republican deep sea? Thoughtful whites are also get- ting food for reflection : for what doth it profit a politician to get rid of the Negro in party counsels if he lose the election? And silly as the dilem- ma is, we opine that we can stand it as long as the other fellow and pos- sibly a bit longer. Therefore to our muttons, for the Congressional elections of 1922 ap- proach and we must not hesitate. Let every black voter look up the record of his particular Congressman. If he cannot find it, write us ; and then let us make every effort to defeat our enemies. If we can encompass their defeat by voting for any particular party, do it. If we can encompass the defeat by voting for a new party of our own, do it. Next to defeating our enemies, let us rally to the sup- port of our friends. And there again, whether the friend be labeled Repub- lican, Democrat, Socialist or Farmer- Labor, vote for him. The roll call on the Dyer bill will be a splendid indica- tion of how we ought to vote. Those who vote against the Dyer bill and those who are absent are our enemies. Finally, remember what we did in New York: Ten years ago there was not a single Negro policeman in the metropolis of America. Today there are twenty or more. The Democrats gave them to us. The Democrats swept Harlem in the last election. MR. HOWARD R. PERRY HOWARD com- plains because The Crisis said concerning his ap- pointment to the United States Department of Justice: "The appointment given Mr. Perry How- ard was one that we wish Mr. How- ard had been able to refuse, as it is too unimportant and inadequate to be at all representative." Mr. Howard informs us that his office is important; that it is not "Jim- Crowed" ; that he has charge, as coun- sel for the Government, of all rail- roads suits brought against it in the United States Court of Claims; that he has an assistant in the person of Captain L. R. Mehlinger, a trained young colored attorney ; and that his work is that of practitioner and coun- sel and has not the least semblance of any clerical position. We are glad to know of this and we congratulate Mr. Howard and the Attorney-General. And this makes us all the more in- sistent that both Mr. Howard and Mr. Henry Lincoln Johnson (if the latter OPINION 107 gets his appointment, as we sincerely hope he will), regard themselves as American citizens and Government officials with serious and important work to do, and not as errand boys for the Republican politicians. It was not the business of these two gentle- men to pull the politicians out of a hole by urging amendments to the Dyer Anti-Lynching bill which would emasculate it, and make it meaning- less and worthless. It was not the business of either of these gentlemen to rush into Virginia or elsewhere to tell the colored people to vote for the Republican politicians who had insult- ed and kicked them out of the party. It is rather the duty of these men to set a new and high standard for the Negro office-holder and to let the peo- ple of the United States know that when they appoint colored men of their calibre to office they are not brib- ing voters, but rather they are arrang- ing to get the Government's work done in the best possible manner. And too, it is the duty and privilege of these officials to teach their own race that the best political service which any politician can render his race is to do his duty like a man and to refuse all menial service. THE CHURCH HERE is perhaps no more in- teresting chapter in the his- tory of the American Negro than the rise and expansion of the Negro church. The Crisis, therefore, proposes during the year 1922 to publish a series of articles on the "Romance of the Negro Church", taking up its chief branches and show- ing what their past has been, who their leaders are and what they are doing today for the advancement of the Negro race. NEGRO ART HE Negro race as an interpre- ter of beauty to the world is gradually coming to its own. Not only are our musicians like Burleigh and Dett pursuing their high and successful career, but we are beginning to be listened to in painting and sculpture. Pageantry is appearing and the white artist and writer is beginning to discover us as human beings and not as conven- tional lay figures. Recently in New York City there was held in the branch of the public library which is in Harlem, an exhibit of Negro art with specimens of the work of H. 0. Tanner, Laura Wheeler, W. M. Far- row, Richard Lonsdale Brown, W. E. Scott, Louise Lattimer, Meta Ful- ler and many others. The exhibit was a revelation in its accomplish- ment and a promise in its originality and beauty. COOPERATION OR several years we have sought to interest the colored people of the United States in cooperative business and we have had some beginnings of success. But cooperation among us suffers just as it does among the whites : not everything is "cooperative" that is called cooperative and the first desire of rascals is to call some scheme of doubtful validity "cooperative" so as to attract the pennies of the masses. Recently we have been told that the "Cooperative Society of America" has made a gigantic failure, and this must have scared and warned many colored people. But it is to be hoped that their fear was not misplaced, for the so called "Cooperative Society of America" was not cooperative at all, but was a gigantic fraud. Meantime, the genuine cooperative movement is not only sound but successful. In the State of Illinois, where the fraudu- lent society failed, there are 200 suc- cessful cooperative societies. In Penn- sylvania there are 200 cooperative stores in the mining regions, and throughout Europe the cooperative movement is the only economic move- ment that has successfully withstood the war. HAPPY NEW YEAR! Greetings to the Negro World. r | ""HE World War marks an epochal •*■ change in the progress of the race. The Negro stands in an equivocal mood of mind between the old regime and the new. He looks to the past with mingled feelings of thanksgiving and regret and faces the fu- ture with misgivings and hope. The recent reaffirmation of the age-old dogma of the "fundamental, eternal, inescapable" differ- ence of race, the fountain-head of all our woes, typifies the reactionary tendency of the time. Religion seems disposed to sur- render to race and Christianity to compro- mise with color. On the other hand there is a growing spirit of race cooperation rather than race control as in the past. The Negro is rapidly gaining a consciousness of his own powers and a determination to give these powers efficient expression in con- structive endeavor for the reclamation of the race. Negro leadership must stand un- equivocally for the intellectual, moral and spiritual unity of mankind. To quicken and inspire the dormant energies which lie wrapped up in the ten millions of human beings, to formulate an ideal which shall be sufficiently tangible and definite to ap- peal to the whole race is the immediate program not only for the new year but for the new day upon which we are entering. Kelly Miller. PERSONALLY, I am demonstrating the -■- optimist — he whom someone defines as "one who can scent the harvest while yet the snow covers the ground". Therefore, I hold that the Negro everywhere, and the American Negro in particular, has mani- fold reasons for thanksgiving. At the brink of a "brand new" year, we are thankful for life's possibilities, relig- ious, economic, commercial; for the sense of Race-Pride, of Race-Consciousness which grows continually; for our sane, thought- ful, courageous leaders; for peace and the efforts being made toward a warless world; for the good men and women of our own and other races; for our good friends, many of them undiscussed, unknown, even, yet whose silent influence is of immeasur- able benefit to us; thankful above all else, for the Good Creator Who has promised never to leave nor forsake us. What better advice can one give than that we think constructively, working and praying unceasingly for the freedom which, in God's own time, will come to us; that we bear in mind our individual responsi- bility for doing our best; that in spite of all that we have undergone, are undergoing still, we shall nevertheless "keep our faces towards the East". L. G. Jordan, Secretary Emeritus of the Foreign Mis- sion Board, National Baptist Convention. "V/TEN and Women of African descent in ■*•"-'• America: War and destruction have recently visited the world andi wrought sor- row in their wake. But to the American Negro they have brought unforeseen op- portunities; for which, at the dawn of a New Year, let us give humble thanks. The Great War and the heralded pestilence of the boll weevil have freed thousands of Negro peons. The former thrust them into the industrial world; while the latter re- duced the value of cotton-producing land to the point where it is being offered to and purchased by Negro farm hands. The eco- nomic emancipation of the Negro is in sight. Wherefore, let us give thanks. The novice industrial worker and farm- owner should seek, however, to better fit himself for the position which he now oc- cupies but which he will continue to hold only if he makes himself a master work- man. Moreover, Negro workers, refuse to invest the fruit of your toil in carelessly managed and impossible schemes. The success of Negro business rests upon your judgment in supporting the right kind of enterprise. An unforeseen hand has opened the door to economic freedom. The en- suing years will be crucial tests of our ability to make fitting use of this freedom. Strive, Negro men and women, to make yourselves approved workers and wise in- vestors. C. C. Spaulding, Sec.-Treas., North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co- 108 PLACIDO 109 rT,HE New Year is a season of Thanks- ■*■ giving and resolution — thanksgiving for the accomplishments of the past and a rededication to the ideals held sacred by individuals, nations and races. What, then, of the Negro? Wherein lies his accom- plishment and what his resolution? Nine- teen hundred and twenty-one has surely granted him a larger activity in the finan- cial world; many are the worthy business enterprises he has initiated and would that space might permit their mention other than in abstract. At times, in scanning the press and listening to the spoken word, we feel that his friends may have increased, few still, to be sure, yet certainly they have not abandoned him entirely. But even a larger endowment has been his — one that is from within and of the spirit rather than the flesh: ultimately it will be translated into a greater realism than is now evident. In short, the Negro is manifesting a tend- ency, yes a willingness, for greater racial consciousness, to elect his leadership and determine the type he will follow. He wel- comes friends, but he scans carefully the gifts* they bear, realizing that it is better to have much less than to be compromised by much more. He takes courage in the success of allied movements as the Wo- man's Party, the Labor Party, the Cause of Irish Freedom and the Gandhi Non-Cooper- ationist Plan. Those who sat in the Pan- -African Conference realized his activity in the development of a new inter-nation- alism. His resolution is to prosecute more vigorously "the cause", to shun alignments that weaken, to abhor flattery and cajolery, and to win, ultimately, for all Americans the right to enjoy "life, liberty and the pur- suit of happiness". John Hurst, Bishop of the A. M. E. Church. PLACIDO James Weldon Johnson [The following article is an excerpt from the preface to "The Book of American Ne- gro Verse", a new book by James Weldon Johnson to be published early in the year by Harcourt, Brace & Co.] A MONG the greatest poets of Latln- ■*■ *- America are men of Negro blood. There are Placido and Manzano in Cuba; Vieux and Durand in Haiti, Machado de Assis in Brazil; Leon Laviaux in Marti- nique, and others still that might be men- tioned. Placido and Machado de Assis rank as great in the literatures of their respec- tive countries without any qualifications whatever. They are world figures in the literature of the Latin languages. Ma- chado de Assis is somewhat handicapped in this respect by having as his tongue and medium the lesser known Portuguese, but Placido, writing in the language of Spain, Mexico, Cuba and of almost the whole of South America, is universally known. His works have been republished in the origi- nal in Spain, Mexico and in most of the Latin-American countries; several editions have been published in the United States; translations of his works have been made into French and German. Placido is in some respects the great- #cc'«^> 110 THE CRISIS est of all the Cuban poets. In sheer genius and the fire of inspiration he surpasses even the more finished Heredia. Then, too, his birth, his life and his death ideally contained the tragic elements that go into the making of a halo about a poet's head. Placido was born in Habana in 1809. The first months of his life were passed in a foundling asylum; indeed, his real name, Gabriel de la Concepcion Valdes. was in honor of its founder. His father took him out of the asylum, but shortly afterwards went to Mexico and died there. His early life was a struggle against poverty; his youth and manhood was a struggle for Cuban independence. His death placed him in the list of Cuban martyrs. On the 27th of June, 1844, he was lined up against a wall with ten others and shot by order of the Spanish authorities on a charge of conspiracy. In his short but eventful life he turned out work which bulks more than six hundred pages. During the few hours preceding his execution he wrote three of his best known poems, among them his famous sonnet, "Mother, Farewell!" Placido's sonnet to his mother has been translated into every important language — William Cullen Bryant didi it in English — but in spite of its wide popularity, it is, perhaps, outside of Cuba, the least under- stood of all Placido's poems. It is curious to note how Bryant's translation totally misses the intimate sense of the delicate subtility of the poem. The American poet makes it a tender and loving farewell of a son who is about to die to a heart-broken mother; but that is not the kind of a fare- well that Placido intended to write or did write. The key to the poem is in the first word, and the first word is the Spanish conjunc- tion Si (if). The central idea, then, of the sonnet is, "If the sad fate- which now overwhelms Trie shotdd bring a pang to your heart, weep no more, for I die a glorious death and sound the last note of my lyre to you." Bryant either failed to under- istanl or ignored the opening word, "If", because he was not familiar with the poet's history. While Placido's father was a Negro, his mother was a Spanish white woman, a dancer in one of the Habana theatres. At his birth she abandoned him to a found- ling asylum, and perhaps never saw him again, although it is known that she out- lived her son. When the poet came down to his last hours he remembered that some- where there lived a woman who was his mother; that although she had heartless- ly abandoned him; that although he owed her no filial duty, still she might, perhaps, on hearing of his sad end feel some pang of grief or sadness; so he tells her in his last words that he dies happy and bids her not to weep. This he does with no- bility and dignity, but absolutely without affection. Taking into account these facts, and especially their humiliating and em- bittering effect upon a soul so sensitive as Placido's, this sonnet, in spite of the ob- vious weakness of the sestet as compared with the octave, is a remarkable piece of work. In considering the Aframerican poets of the Latin languages I am impelled to think that, as up to this time the colored poets of greater universality have come out of the Latin-American countries rather than out of the United States, they will continue to do so for a good many years. The rea- son for this I hinted at in the first part of this preface. The colored poet in the United States labors within limitations which he cannot easily pass over. He is always on the defensive or the offensive. The pressure upon him to be propagandic is "well nigh irresistible. These conditions are suffocating to breadth and to real art in poetry. In addition he labors under the handicap of finding culture not entirely colorless in the United States. On the other hand, the colored poet of Latin-America can voice the national spirit without any reservations. And he will be rewarded without any reservations, whether it be to place him among the great or declare him the greatest. So I think it probable that the first world- acknowledged Aframerican poet will come out of Latin-America. Over against this probability, of course, is the great advant- age possessed by the colored poet in the United States of writing in the world-con- quering English language. [We have added Placido's Despida a Mi Madre in the original Spanish with the translation by Bryant and a translation by Mr. Johnson for the benefit of the interested reader. — Lit. Ed.] NORTH CAROLINA WOODS 111 DESPIDA A MI MADRE (En La Capilla) Placido C I la suerte fatal que me ha ^ cabido, Y el triste fin de mi sangrienta historia, Al salir de esta vida transitoria Deja tu corazon. de muerte herido; Baste de llanto : el animo afli- gido Recobre su quietud; moro en la gloria, Y mi placida lira a tu memoria Lanza en la tumba su postrer sonido. Sonido dulce, melodioso y santo, Glorioso, espiritual, puro y divino, Inocente, espontaneo como el llanto Que vertiera al nacer: ya el cuello inclino! Ya de la religion me cubre el manto ! Adios, mi madre! adios — El Feli- grino. FAREWELL TO MY MOTHER (In the Chapel) William Cullen Bryant HP HE appointed lot has come * upon me, mother, The mournful ending of my years of strife, This changing world I leave, and to another In blood and terror goes my spirit's life. But thou, grief-smitten, cease thy mortal weeping And let thy soul her wonted peace regain ; I fall for right, and thoughts of thee are sweeping Across my lyre to wake its dying strain. A strain of joy and gladness, free, unfailing, All glorious and holy, pure, di- vine, And innocent, unconscious as the wailing I uttered on my birth; and I resign Even now, my life; even now de- scending slowly, Faith's mantle folds me to my slumbers holy. Mother farewell! God keep thee — and forever 1 PLACIDO'S FAREWELL TO HIS MOTHER (Written in the chapel of the Hos- pital de Santa Cristina on the night before his execution.) James Weldon Johnson TF the unfortunate fate engulf- ■*■ ing me, The ending of my history of grief, The closing of my span of years so brief, Mother, should wake a single pang in thee, Weep not. No saddening thought to me devote; I calmly go to a death that is glory-filled, My lyre before it is forever stilled Breathes out to thee its last and dying note. A note scarce more than a burden- easing sigh, Tender and sacred, innocent, sin- cere,— Spontaneous and instinctive as the cry I gave at birth — And now the hour is here. O God, thy mantle of mercy o'er my sins! Mother, farewell! The pilgrimage begins. A TALE OF THE NORTH CAROLINA WOODS Arthur Huff Fauset ^"ORTH CAROLINA woods, where the ■*■ ^ tall, gaunt pines "mosey" upward and stretch their towering tops to the blue skies, is a certain haven of rest and comfort to the sojourner weary of the pele-mele and tedium of American city life. Crickets and grasshoppers chirp and play at your feet; toadstools of enormous size and wonderful colors arouse your curiosity and revive the drooping spirits which need so much a touch of nature's tonic. Here and there, splash- ing the verdant earth with colors as numer- ous as the rainbow are colonies of wild flow- ers— sometimes a lonely daisy, or a gay, frisky cowbell looks up from its lowly sta- tion, anxious, no doubt, for you to take no- tice of the part it plays in this wonderful bit of nature's handiwork. Any number of beautiful flowers surround one, large and small, great and tiny, all of them tinted with the most delicate of na- ture's pigments, some in a most complex manner with an almost inexplicable med- ley of color; others, like the dew of the morning, simple, plain, refreshing to the eye, with a power that braces the heart and causes song, even poetry, to burst forth from within — tiny creatures ofttimes, but love- lier than the loveliest rose of the city's floral shop, and primmer than the daintiest violet. It is so cool and quiet in the North Caro- lina woods! We used to enjoy the sparkling wafts of pine-laden breezes, seated by (or over) a little muddy streamlet which coursed its way somewhere, nowhere. Such a sluggish stream I have never seen in any other place. To take a casual look at it you would not know it was flowing water. Just when you had made up your mind that it was a stag- nant pool, you perceived a dim, pluggish, almost imperceptible movement of the murky water. A tiny pine twig thrown on the crest of the stream would gradually move down, inch by inch, stopping on its tedious journey for half hours and even hours, and then slowly moving a few more inches. The stream was only ten or twelve feet wide and scarcely six inches in depth. Oc- casionally you could see something dash through the muddy water, the distinctness of its outline dimmed by the sediment which saturated the water everywhere. "It's a frog," I would cry. "No, it's a water snake," would call an- other. 112 THE CRISIS "You're seeing things/' would be the taunt of Allan, who loved to talk but cared nothing about watching nature. There was a huge tree stretched across the stream over which passersby could cross from one side to the other. This tree was a source of wonder to us because it had taken root on one side of the stream and then, as though prompted by Mother Na- ture herself, had grown straight across to the( other side. There it lay, a living bridge, having for years served the people thereabouts. We would often sit and puzzle about that bridge. We wondered whether the tree had just happened by chance, or whether some crafty woodsman, prompted by a deep civic spirit, had deliberately coerced nature into allowing the tree to assume such a course. Seated upon it, over the stream, we would speculate about it, until some person would come along and make it necessary for us to get off for a few moments while he crossed over. For a long time it did not oc- cur to us that these people who lived in the woods might know something about the tree. A number of persons passed us regularly and we soon knew just who it was who was approaching. One in particular became a special sub- ject of interest. She would have interested anybody. She was an old colored woman, wild-eyed and fierce in the expression of her face, with the appearance of one who was half-witted. She always came by about the same time each day, near eventide. We could tell that she was coming by the songs she always sang as she passed through the woods. Such songs! And the voice of that poor creature! (She seemed happy enough, though.) They were old plantation songs, doubtless, though none of the more familiar ones, which have crept northward, seemed to appear among them. Her whole appearance was odder than anything I have ever seen. She always had something balanced on her head, whether it was a bundle of clothes or merely an old newspaper. Her face was dark brown in color, her eyes somewhat slanty, black and sparkling, with the fire of a maniac. Her clothing, if one may call it such, was a patchwork of rags as dirty as they were old; and her shoes barely acted as a cov- ering for her feet — so ragged and worn were they. Whenever she passed by us at the bridge she would stop her singing, eye us quickly and make a peculiar grimace or grin. Then as she gaily tripped across the natural passageway she would call out: "Good evenin' gen'mens." At which we would nod and perhaps tender a reply. One hot August afternoon we had re- treated to the cool of the stream and pines. We hardly knew what to do to pass the time away. While we were musing on the bridge we heard the familiar voice, loud and clear, echoing and re-echoing through the woods: "Don' 'no wen I'se cum-in', Don' 'no wen I'se cum-in', Sun is still moughty high." "Why not ask her about this tree?" sug- gested Chalfonte. "Good," I replied, and we awaited her as she wended her way toward us. "Good evenin' gen'mens," came the fa- miliar greeting, together with a broad, ex- pressive grin. "Good evening," replied Chalfonte. "We heard you singing through the woods and we've been wondering what your name might be." "Who, me? Don' yuh know me? I'se Queen of Sedalia," and then she went off into a loud laugh, half hysterical. "Yeh, Queen of Sedalia, bin livin' roun' dese parts mos' sixty yeahs." "Well, well, perhaps you can tell us how this bridge came about. Can you?" "Kin I? Well, I guess. I'se Queen of Sedalia, don' yuh know dat?" Later we learned that the district about these woods was known locally as Sedalia. "Queen, eh," Chalfonte answered. "How long have you been queen?" The old woman eyed Chalfonte from shoe to cap, and then glanced at each one of us with suspicion. She must have thought we were quizzing her. "Come," I said quickly, fearing we might lose her. "Could you tell us the story of this tree?" Her eyes gleamed. Her whole body trem- bled with excitement. Then she gave one of those hideous hysterical laughs. "Who, me? I'se Queen of Sedalia, don' yuh know dat? Sho I kin tell yuh! I knows all about ut. Does yuh reely want ter heah ut?" "Do we?" we all cried. Chalfonte jingled THE NEGRO 113 some coins in his pocket. She never seemed to notice this, however. "Set down, den, an' I'll tell yuh all." We sat down on the grassy bank, lest some passerby disturb us as she recounted the story. She sat down with us. This was the story. In the days when Grant was President, this stream was al- most twice as wide as it now is, and con- siderably deeper. This was caused by the amount of rainfall in those days, which was greater by far than the amount of rain- fall at ' the present time. All the land in this region was owned by one Squire Marks ("Ole Man Marks"), who allowed his neigh- bors to take the short cut through his land to the little village on the other side of the stream, but who steadfastly refused to build any sort of bridge across the stream. It was necessary for persons who wished to cross, to wade over, either in bare feet or in rubber boots. Besides the inconvenience which this brought about, there was always the danger of snakes. The stream and its environs were known to be infested by moccasins. Still "Ole Man Marks" stead- fastly refused to build a bridge. Every now and then some child would come tearing through the woods yelling that a snake had bitten him. However it usually proved to be a hallucination on the child's part. Either it had pierced its foot with a thorn, or in some similar manner had done something which would give rise to the no- tion that a snake had bitten it. One day however, the woods were rent with the terrific cries of some one in great terror or pain. Several villagers ran to the place from whence came the yells, and found on the shore of the stream the only son of "Ole Man Marks", prostrate, his limbs tense, his blue eyes glaring up to the burning sun. The "Queen of Sedalia" ar- rived just in time to see a friend make a deep incision, with some steel instrument, in the boy's leg. "It was turrible. Blood black ez ink. ... It flo'd all 'roun. 'Ole Man Marks' son, he kep' right still. Purty soon, along comes de Ole Man, pale ez a ghost en' shiv- erin' all over. . . No use ter weep — the boy wuz daid. . . . "Ole Man Marks went crazy. . . . They did sumpin or other'n for him, killed him I guess, nebber see'd him no mo, po' ole fool. . . . "Eb'rybody 'fraid ub de ribber from den on, 'cep me ... I wuzn't 'fraid. Who, me? I'se Queen of Sedalia. "Eb'ry day I comes to de same spot, jes' where dat boy's black blood done all flo'd about. I prays dere, ebery day, I does. . . . What yuh t'ink? Dis tree start sproutin' up. Up, up it shoots. . . . and den — when it grows so high (pointing about three inches) it starts shootin' dis-away. See! . . . Dat's all. De blood ub dat boy done made seed fo de good Lawd, and dis tree mus' be his body. Yes!" . . . and then she gave another of those laughs. She wouldn't say another word about the tree. She wouldn't take any money. She looked at us and grinned. "Good evenin' gen'mens," she said, and crossed the bridge singing hilariously: "Bridge ub Heben — soul en body, Pepul's givine to leab yuh now!" THE NEGRO Langston Hughes T AM a Negro: ■*■ Black as the night is black, Black like the depths of my Africa. I've been a slave: Caesar told me to keep his door-steps clean. I brushed the boots of Washington. I've been a worker: Under my hand the pyramids arose. I made mortar for the Woolworth Build- ing. I've been a singer: All the way from Africa to Georgia I car- ried my sorrow songs. I made ragtime. I've been a victim : The Belgians cut off my hands in the Congo. They lynch me now in Texas. I am a Negro: Black as the night is black, Black like the depths of my Africa, Naiional-AssociaiionforiKe •-- Advancement of* Colored/ People. THE DYER BILL I?N the December issue of the Crisis we told of the reporting out favorably of the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill by the House Committee on the Judiciary. Opponents of the bill apparently dared not come out openly and fight it and we therefore had to contend with a secret opposition in Congress on which it was hard to place a finger. An attempt was made to recommit the bill to the Judiciary Committee but that was blocked. Both Mr. Johnson and Mr. White have spent much time in Wash- ington working on the matter and keeping an eye on developments. When we found that efforts to change the bill were being considered, we renewed our efforts to secure the passage of the un- amended Dyer Bill. One of the steps taken will show clearly how effectively and efficiently the machinery which we have been eleven years in building, functions. On Monday, November 14, at 3.45 P.M., a telegram was received at the National Of- fice from Mr. Johnson who was then in Washington, stating that two influential Republican members of the House were apathetic in support of the bill and ap- apparently were blocking early considera- tion and a vote on the bill. By 4 o'clock night letter telegrams had been sent to 15 of our large branches in every section of the United States, urging them to send and have sent telegrams to these two men which would show how public opinion was demanding passage of the bill. Within 24 hours, so we have learned, more than 500 telegrams had flooded the office of these two members of Congress! Both men have since assured us of their hearty support. That is the sort of effective organization that we need — that we must have. To show how loyally and ably the branches worked we quote one example — that of the Denver Branch — which secured telegraphic endorse- ment of the bill from Governor Shoup of Colorado, Mayor Baily of Denver, Bishop Johnson of the Diocese of Colorado of the Protestant Episcopal Church, the Rt. Rev. Ingley, Bishop-Coadjutor, Judge Whitford of the Colorado Supreme Court, Republi- can National Committeeman Vivian, Mrs. Redd, President of the Federation of Col- ored Women's Clubs of Colorado and Wy- oming, and from many other prominent white and colored individuals and organi- zations. Congress took up the bill on December 15. "SHUFFLE ALONG" npHE National Office, the Board of Direc- -"■ tors and the entire membership of the N. A. A. C. P. wish to express their sincere appreciation to Messrs. Miller, Lyles, Sissle and Blake and to each member of the "Shuffle Along" company for the very suc- cessful benefit which they gave for the as- sociation at the Lafayette Theatre, New York, on October 17. Each member of the company volunteered his services without cost as his contribution towards the work of the Association. The net proceeds were $1,026. One member of the company who was unable to be present on account of ill- ness sent one dollar as her part. Every seat of the Lafayette Theatre and all stand- ing room was taken, while police reserves were summoned to handle the overflow crowd that almost fought to get into the theatre. Hundreds were turned away. The phenomenal success of the "Shuffle Along" company has been one of the events of recent New York theatrical history. The foremost dramatic critics of New York have united in declaring the show one of the best ever seen on Broadway. All of the music and words are by colored people and every member of the cast is colored. Opening on May 23, the production has had an un- interrupted run, at the time that this is written, of over 200 consecutive perform- ances. The production is tuneful, clever satire, done with the zest and energy which only colored people can achieve. Every person who plans to be in New York dur- 114 ARKANSAS PEONS 115 ing the winter should make it as much his business to see "Shuffle Along" as he would to see Fifth Avenue or the Woolworth Tower. The success of this benefit performance offers an excellent example in raising funds to branches in other cities. Constant ap- peals to the public for contributions in time grow burdensome. These appeals, of course, will be continued, but legitimate entertain- ment in the form of theatrical perform- ances (either professional or amateur), plays, recitals by individual artists or by choral societies, all offer a novelty that will be refreshing and appreciated by the pub- lic at large, as well as by the membership. KF FIELD WORK IELD Secretaries Bagnal and Pickens have been doing intensive work during the months of October, November and De- cember in a number of Southern States, re- viving moribund branches, stimulating and assisting those that have been working and organizing new branches and college chap- ters of the N. A. A. C. P. There has been a slump in the activities of some of our branches due to the threatening of the lives of officers and members by the Ku Klux Klan and other organizations. It is most encouraging that even in small communities and isolated sections of the South these ter- roristic methods have aided the N. A. A. C. P. in large measure by assisting us in keeping the need of a militant, aggressive and uncompromising organization ever fresh in the minds of colored people. En- couraging letters have been received tell- ing of the splendid spirit, of colored men and women in the South, and the high es- teem in which they hold the work of the Association. Mr. Pickens is covering the States of North Carolina, Georgia, Flori- da and Tennessee while Mr. Bagnall is visit- ing branches in North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana. Public mass meetings, conferences with branch of- ficers and executive committees, meetings with clubs, and fraternal, social and busi- ness organizations, as well as interviews with individuals, combined with construc- tive work in effecting organization, are their methods. Mrs. Hunton has been doing similar and very effective work in Indianapolis, Dayton, Columbus and Louisville, while Mr. White has addressed mass meetings in Chicago, Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Buffalo, Providence, Washington and New York. The annual meeting of the N. A. A. C. P. takes place January third and not January second. THE ARKANSAS PEONS A brief prepared by Scipio Jones reviewing the case for presentation to the Supreme Court of the United States. (Concluded from December Crisis) T> ETITIONERS further say that the en- ■*- tire trial, verdict and judgment against them was but an empty ceremony ; that their real trial and condemnation had already taken place before said Committee of Seven ; that said Committee, in advance of the cit- ing of the court, had sat in judgment upon them and all the other cases and had as- sumed and exercised the jurisdiction of the court by determining their guilt or inno- cence of those in jail had acquired the evi- dence in the manner herein set out, and 'de- cided which of the defendants should be electrocuted and which sent to prison and the terms to be given them, and which to discharge; that when court convened, the program laid out by said Committee was carried through and the verdict against pe- titioners was pronounced and returned, not as the independent verdict of an unbiased jury, but as a part of the prearranged scheme and judgment of said Committee; that in doing this the court did not exercise the jurisdiction given it by law and wholly lost its jurisdiction by substituting for its judgment the judgment of condemnation of said Committee. Petitioners further say that, ever since the law of Arkansas for the selection of jury commissioners was enacted, all of the judges of the courts have been and are now white men, and that ever since then said judges have appointed, without exception, 116 THE CRISIS white commissioners to select the jurors, both grand and petit, and that such com- missioners have uniformly selected only- white men on such juries; that all of this has been done in discrimination against the Negro race, on account of their color; that such has been the unbroken practice in Phil- lips County for more than thirty years, not- withstanding the Negro population in said county exceeds the white population by more than five to one, and that a large propor- tion of them are electors and possess the legal, moral and intellectual qualifications required or necessary for such jurors; that the exclusion of said Negroes from the juries was, at all times, intentional and be- cause of their color, of their being Negroes ; that such was the case on the grand jury by which petitioners were indicted, and of the petit jury that pronounced them guilty; that under the law of Arkansas, as con- strued by the Supreme Court of the State, an objection to an indictment on the ground that it was found by a grand jury com- posed only of white men to the exclusion of Negroes on account of their color, must be made at the impanelling of the grand jury and objection to the petit jury must be made before a plea is entered to the in- dictment; that at the time said indictment was found petitioners were confined in jail and did not know the grand jury had been organized, did not know it was in session, did not know they were to be indicted for the killing of said Lee or any other person and did not know they were charged there- with; that it was impossible for them to make any objection to the organization of said grand jury for the very sim- ple reason that they were closely confined, had no attorney, and no opportun- ity to employ an attorney; that at their trial, counsel appointed to defend them made no objection to the petit jury or to any previous proceeding; that their failure to do so was through fear of the mob for petitioners and himself, as they believe. Petitioners further say that after their conviction and sentence to death, their friends employed other counsel to represent them; that through such counsel they filed a motion for a new trial, which was prompt- ly overruled and an appeal was taken to the Supreme Court of Arkansas, the high- est court in said State, where, on the 29th day of March, 1920, the judgment of the Phillips Circuit Court was affirmed; that thereafter they applied to the Supreme Court of the United States for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of Arkan- sas, praying that said court be required to send up the record and proceeding in said cause for review by the Supreme Court of the United States, but that on the 11th day of October, 1920, the application for said writ was denied; that the Governor of the State of Arkansas did on the day of August, 1921, issue a proclamation carry- ing into effect the judgment and sentence of the Phillips Circuit Court against petition- ers and in which he fixed Sept. 23, 1921, as the date of their execution. Petitioners further say that on the 19th day of October, 1920, the Richard L. Kit- chens Post of the American Legion of He- lena, Arkansas, an organization composed of approximately three hundred white ex- service men living in every part of Phillips County, passed a resolution calling on the Governor of the State of Arkansas, for the execution by death of petitioners and the seven other Negroes condemned to death by said Circuit Court at the same time and under the same circumstances as petitioners, and protesting against the commutation of the death sentence of any of said Negroes, which said Resolution was presented to the then Governor of Arkansas ; that at a meet- ing of the Rotary Club of Helena, Arkan- sas, attended by seventy-five members, rep- resenting as many leading industrial and commercial enterprises of said city, and of the Lion's Club of said city, attended by sixty-five members, representing as many of the same kind of enterprises of said city each adopted a resolution approving the ac- tion of the Richard L. Kitchens Post of the American Legion in the premises, which said resolutions were presented to the then Governor of the State of Arkansas; that said resolutions further and conclusively show the existence of the mob spirit preva- lent among all the white people of Phillips County at the time petitioners and the other defendants were put through the form of trials and show that the only reason the mob stayed its hand, the only reason they were not lynched was that the leading citi- zens of the community made a solemn prom- ise to the mob that they should be executed in the form of law. Petitioners further say that to further show the overwhelming ARKANSAS PEONS 117 existence of the mob spirit and mob dom- ination of their and other trials of Negro defendants at the October term, 1919, of the Phillips Circuit Court, there were six de- fendants convicted of murder in the first degree, to wit: John Martin, Alf Banks, Will Wordlow, Albert Giles, Joe Fox and Ed. Ware, whose cases were also appealed to the Supreme Court of Arkansas which were reversed on account of bad verdicts, due to the extreme haste in securing con- victions and executions (Banks vs. State, 143 Ark. 154), and remanded for a new trial; that upon a retrial of said cases, de- fendants were again reversed (Ware vs. State, Vol. 4 Sup. Court Rep. No. 11, Page 674), and remanded for a new trial on De- cember 6, 1920; that said cases were com- ing on for trial at the May term of the Phillips Circuit Court, which convened May 2nd, 1921, and it was represented to the Governor of the State of Arkansas by the white citizens and officials of Phillips County that unless a date of execution was set for petitioners there was grave danger of mob violence to the other six defendants whose cases would be called for trial at the May term of said Court and that in all probability they would be lynched; that in order to appease the mob spirit still preva- lent in Phillips County and in a measure to secure the safety of the six Negroes whose cases were to be called for trial and were called on May 9th, 1921, the Governor issued a proclamation fixing a date of exe- cution of Petitioners for June 10, 1921, which was stayed by Court Proceedings; that these facts conclusively show that mob spirit and mob domination are still univer- sally present in Phillips County. Petitioners further say that on the 8th day of June, 1921, they filed a petition in the Pulaski Chancery Court for a Writ of Habeas Corpus setting out the matters and things herein stated, and that on said date the Pulaski Chancery Court issued its Writ of Habeas Corpus, directed to the defendant, E. H. Dempsey, keeper of the Arkansas State Penitentiary, commanding him to have the bodies of the Petitioners in Court at 2 o'clock P.M. on the 10th day of June, 1921, and then and there state in writing the term and cause of their imprisonment; that on the 9th day of June, 1921, the Attorney Gen- eral for the State of Arkansas filed with the Supreme Court of Arkansas a Petition for Writ of Prohibition against J. E. Mar- tineau, Chancellor of the Pulaski Chancery Court, and your petitioners, and that on the 20th day of June, 1921, the Supreme Court of the State of Arkansas issued its Writ of Prohibition against the Judge of the Pu- laski Chancery Court, prohibiting him from hearing the Petitions for Habeas Corpus pending in his court and quashed the Writ of Habeas Corpus theretofore issued; that thereafter, to wit, on the 4th day of August, 1921, your petitioners made application to the Hon. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, for a Writ of Error to the Supreme Court of the State of Arkansas in the mat- ter of said Writ of Prohibition, but same was denied. Petitioners, therefore, say that by the proceedings aforesaid, they were deprived of their rights and are about to be deprived of their lives in violation of Section 11, of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and the laws of the United States enacted in pursuance thereto, in that they have been denied the equal pro- tection of the law, and have been convicted, condemned and are about to be deprived of their lives without due process of law; that they are now in custody of the defendant, E. H. Dempsey, Keeper of the Arkansas State Penitentiary, to be electrocuted on the 23rd day of September, 1921; that they are now detained and held in custody by said Keeper and will be electrocuted on said date unless prevented from so doing by the issuance of a Writ of Habeas Corpus. Petitioners therefore pray that a Writ of Habeas Corpus be issued to the end that they may be discharged from said unlawful imprisonment and unlawful judgment and sentence to death. The writ of Habeas Corpus asked for above was granted. Later a demurrer was sustained and the writ discharged. There- upon the attorneys appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States and their appeal was allowed in the United States District Court. Thus, the greatest case against pe- onage and mob-law ever fought in the land and involving 12 human lives, comes before the highest court. Reader, we have already spent $11,299 to save these poor victims; we need $5,000 more. Can you help? CO IV» DlL E.D M AOEL INE ALLISON f~\UR readers will perceive that we have ^S changed the form and content of this department. Hitherto we have tried, in a mass of succinct news notes, to cover the monthly history of the Negro race. This was increasingly difficult to do and in- creasingly unnecessary as the weekly Ne- gro press progressed in efficient news gath- ering. We have decided therefore hereafter to select a few outstanding events and per- sons each month, which seem to us of last- ing significance; these tve shall treat a little more at length and whenever possible il- lustrate them with pictures. We would like our readers to send us accounts of events with pictures and to let us know how they like this new feature as compared with the old. HPHE President has appointed Solomon -*■ P. Hood, of Trenton, N. J., as United States minister to Liberia. Mr. Hood was born in Pennsylvania in 1S56. He was edu- cated at Lincoln University and became a Presbyterian minister. He was associated as a young man with Henry Highland Gar- net and the late J. C. Price, and finally joined the A. M. E. Church, becoming mis- sionary in Haiti. Lately he has served as pastor in New Jersey and was, when ap- pointed, field worker of the Organization of Teachers of Colored Children in New Jersey. Mr. Hood is a widower with one daughter. (T William H. Hunt is in New York City on a two months' leave of absence. During the last 15 years he has been United States Consul at St. Etienne, France. Mr. Hunt was born in Tennessee; educated at Groton Academy in Massachusetts and Williams College, and was for a while secretary to Consul Judge M. W. Gibbs in Madagascar, whom he succeeded as consul in 1901. (I In Gary, Indiana, Arthur B. Whitlock, of Charleston, S. C, was elected council- man from the Fifth Ward at the last elec- tion and took his seat January 1. He is the first colored man to be elected to that position. Mr. Whitlock was born in 1886, educated at Rust University, Mississippi and Tuskegee Institute. He came to Gary as motor inspector in 1917. Consul Hunt Solomon Porter Hood Arthur B. Whitlock 118 A. D. Porter THE HORIZON 119 Theodore Nash J. T. Newsome Mrs. Maggie L. "Walker John Mitchell, .Tr. AT the regular Republican Convention of Virginia three colored delegates whose election was not contested were not al- lowed to enter the hall. A Negro-hater, H. W. Anderson, was nominated for Gov- ernor. As this sort of thing had happened before, the Negroes determined to call a mass convention of all Republicans to meet in Richmond, September 5. At that con- vention the following colored persons were nominated: John Mitchell, Jr., President of the Mechanics' Savings Bank, Governor; Theodore Nash, manager of the American Beneficial Insurance Company, Lieutenant- Governor; J. Thomas Newsome, attorney- at-law, Attorney-General, and Mrs. Mag- gie L. Walker, president of the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, Superintendent of Public Instruction. A heated campaign ensued. Just on the eve of the election the lily-whites paraded with a band of music and 800 people. The following night the colored people paraded with 5 bands and 5,000 people. There are about 36,000 colored voters registered in Virginia. Six thousand of these failed to pay the 1920 taxes and were ineligible. Of the remaining 30,000 the Negroes polled about 25,000 votes, thus helping to defeat the white Republicans and giving the vic- tory to the Democrats by approximately 65,000. The lily-white machine under Congressman C. B. Slemp was smashed. d In Louisville, Ky., a somewhat similar contest took place. The Republican party has refused to permit the Negroes to nomi- nate one of their own member in the tenth ward, where 90 percent of the population is colored. This year when a colored man qualified as a candidate m the primary he was ousted by court proceedings because one of the signers of his petition had regis- tered as a Socialist! The local Republican organization has sponsored "Jim Crow" signs in the parks and had introduced a "Jim Crow" street car ordinance. As a re- sult, the Negroes formed the Lincoln Party and nominated A. D. Porter for Mayor and a complete ticket of city officials. The party was credited with only 274 votes at the polls but as they were not represented at the counting of the ballots and were beaten away from the polls by the police, this probably does not represent one-tenth of the actual ballots cast. d Benjamin Brawley, former dean of Morehouse College and a widely known au- thor, has settled at Brockton, Massachu- setts where he will act as pastor of the Messiah Baptist Church and also devote time to literary work. He issued last spring a short history of the American Drama which will be used as a college text book. His latest book is a social history of the American Negro which he describes as "be- ing a history of the Negro problem in the United States including a history and study of the Republic of Liberia". This book is quite different from his Short History of the Negro Race which is still widely read. A second edition of Mr. Brawley's "Art 120 THE CRISIS George F. Alberg-u Lieut. E. E. Thompson C. C. Spaulding M. S. Stuart and Literature Among American Negroes" is also in preparation. f^ EORGE F. ALBERGU was born in ^J Jamaica in 1892. He was educated at Monroe College, awarded the Jamaica schol- arship of $3,000 and entered McGill Uni- versity, Canada, in 1911. Here he gained the mathematical prize in 1913 and graduated from the engineering course in 1915. He was a notable athlete while in college. Since graduation he has been chief inspector in the Munitions Department of Cement County, for three years a member of thn Canadian Expeditionary Forces in the Con- struction Battalion, for a year in the Chief Engineer's Office of the Canadian Pacific Railway and at present a member of the engineering staff of McGill University. He is a junior member of the Engineering In- stitute of Canada. Our correspondent is impressed "by his modesty and manly bearing". (I Many of our readers know of the success of the colored Syncopated Orchestra in London under the management of Mr. George Lattimore. Recently after a three weeks' successful stay in Glasgow, Scot- land, they left to fill an engagement in Dublin, Ireland. While on the water their ship was sunk by two collisions. As a re- sult, William Bates, Vallie Brown, J. Greer, A. Jaeger, F. L. Lattes, Frank Lacton, J. McDonald, Peter Robinson and Walter B. Williams were drowned. There were many hair-breadth escapes, some of the survivors being in the water three hours before they were rescued. Nearly ail the clothing, in- struments and personal property of all the members of the company were lost. Mr. Lattimore hurried back from Dublin by special steamer and the survivors were re- turned to Glasgow where all the artists and actors in the city united in two benefits by which over $2,500 was raised and dis- tributed among them. The company will reorganize and continue its work. d One of the heroes of the disaster was E. E. Thompson, leader of the orchestra, who served in France with the "Buffaloes". He dragged men, women and children oui of the water on to a life raft. (I A federation of Negro insurance asso- ciations known as the National Negro In- surance Association was formed at Durham in October by representatives from Atlanta and Augusta, Georgia; Jacksonville, Flori- da; Charlotte* Durham, Reidsville, Colum- bia and Winston, North Carolina; Memphis, Tennessee and Richmond, Virginia, there being 13 companies in all. C. C. Spalding, of North Carolina, was elected president and M. S. Stuart of Mississippi was made secretary and T. L. Tate of North Carolina, treasurer. The association will recommend courses of study in insurance in colored colleges, will publish an insurance journal, exchange mortality experiences for the pur- pose of constructing a Negro mortality table, and will seek to induce the companies to establish social service and health de- partments. THE HORIZON 121 FRED (DUKE) SLATER HPHE particular Negro star during the ■*■ recent football season was Duke Slater, of the State University of Iowa. "All ex- perts can see that Slater is the greatest tackle who ever trod a Western gridiron." Slater has been named on FarrelPs second All American Team and on Clark's All Western Team which is confessedly "built around Iowa's great Negro tackle". (I Among colored institutions the results of the season have been as follows: Lincoln 26 Lincoln 63 Lincoln 20 Lincoln 13 Lincoln 0 Lincoln 13 Talladega 27 Talladega 23 Talladega 39 Talladega 21 Talladega 3 Tuskegee 2 Tuskegee 13 Tuskegee 7 Tuskegee 0 Bordentown 0 Morgan 0 Wilberf orce 6 Hampton 0 Union 1 Howard 7 Miles Memorial 0 Morris Brown 13 Tuskegee 7 State Normal 0 Florida A. & M 0 Fisk 7 Atlanta 0 Talladega 39 Florida A. & M 0 Tuskegee 21 Hampton 25 Hampton 7 Hampton 0 Hampton 0 Hampton 3 W. Va. Institute 73 W. Va. Institute 40 W. Va. Institute 0 W. Va. Institute 41 W. Va. Institute 0 W. Va. Institute 14 Morehouse 41 Morehouse 7 Morehouse 41 Morehouse 13 Morehouse 7 Morehouse 6 Howard 19 Howard 33 Howard 26 Howard 3 Howard 24 Paine 0 St. Paul 2 Shaw 6 Lincoln 13 Howard 34 Union 14 Bluefield 0 Simmons 0 Howard 3 Ky. Normal 0 Va. Theo 3 Wilberf orce 0 Camp Benning 18 Morris Brown 0 Biddle 0 Knoxville 0 Atlanta 0 Fisk 0 Virginia Seminary ... 0 North Carolina A. & T. 0 Virginia N. & 1 0 W. Va. Institute 0 Shaw 0 CAPT. J. H. LAW— HALF-BACK ON LINCOLN TEAM 122 THE CRISIS THE HAMPTON FOOTBALL TEAM Howard 34 Howard 6 Fisk 7 Fisk 33 Fisk 13 Fisk 14 Fisk 0 Hampton 0 Lincoln 13 Tuskegee 2 Rust 0 Simmons 7 Wilberforce 0 Morehouse 6 (I The colored school athletic league of New Orleans under the leadership of its president, 0. C. W. Taylor, has, during the past year conducted a successful basket- ball series throughout the 16 public schools; conducted baseball series between 12 schools; compiled a physical athletic rec- ord of 4,200 boys and girls in the grammar grades; staged a track and field meet with over 1,700 participants; distributed 1,269 medals; placed a small amount of athletic material in all of the public schools; paid TRACK AND FIELD MEET OF 1700 PARTICIPANTS THE HORIZON 123 all its debts and accomplished this without a paid physical director. Our illustration shows the second annual track and field meet and a part of the boys and girls who participated. C An unusually large number of Greek let- ter sororities among colored college women met during the holiday season. In Phila- delphia 100 delegates from all over the coun- try and as far West as the Pacific Coast representing the Delta Sigma Theta Soror- ity held their third annual convention at the University of Pennsylvania. Fourteen chapters were represented. The Zeta Phi Beta Sorority met at Mor- gan College, Baltimore. The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority has established Rho Chapter at the University of California. The members consist of girls whose grades have averaged above 80 percent. Mrs. W. E. Green of Chicago is national president of this sorority. Rho Chapter of the Kappa Alpha Psi Sorority has been established at Wash- burn College, Topeka, Kan. C J. A. Hodge, principal of Sumner High School, Kansas City, Kansas, has just been elected president of the Administra- tive Club, which is composed of the high school principals of the city, together with five district supervisiors, the special super- visors, director of continuation schools and the statistical expert. All members are white except Mr. Hodge and A. J. Neely, supervisor of the colored grade schools. (I The colored teachers of Kansas City, Kansas, enjoy a complete democracy. They RHO CHAPTER, ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA are represented on the Teachers' Council by two delegates, one of whom served as treasurer the past year. They have all meetings in common with the whites, as well as all classes in extension work. C The three white high schools and Sum- ner High School are planning a joint con- cert for next March, which will be given in four sections of the city to raise funds for the high school bands. These bands will be uniformed alike and are to be called on to play occasionally as a unit band. NEW ORLEANS COLORED SCHOOL ATHLETIG LEAGUE 124 THE CRISIS UNCLE SAM IS TREMENDOUSLY INTERESTED IN DISARMAMENT rT,HE following lynchings have taken ■*■ place since our last record: November 18, Helena, Ark., Will Turner, charged with assault upon a young white woman, was taken by a mob from a sher- iff's posse while being removed to Mar^an- na for safe-keeping. After being shot to death his body was brought back to Hejeria and burned in the city park. G. November 25, Lake Village, Ark., Robert Hicks, a young Negro was charged with going to the home of a white girl to learn why she had not answered a note he had written her. A mob of about 30 men hid- ing near the front porch seized him, took him about a half mile down a road and riddled his body with bullets. "Death at the hands of unknown persons" was the coroner's verdict. C November 26, Sour Lake, Texas, Henry Cade, lynched by 300 men. He was ac- cused of attacking- an eight-year old girl. The girl's father wounded the Negro and officers who had taken him in charge were overpowered by the mob. The Negro was hanged. C November 30, Ballinger, Texas, Robert Murtore, 15 years old, charged with attack- ing a nine-year-old white girl, was taken from officers and lynched. The sheriff tried to escape with the boy, but he was overpowered, the boy taken and tied to a post and his body riddled with bullets. THE PRIZE HORIZON 771 ACH month events happen which are -*■-' significant in the history of the Ne- gro race. Sometimes the newspapers hear of these things and sometimes they do not. In order to encourage the proper record- ing of all such events the Crisis offers monthly three prizes. For the best account, with facts, names, dates and so forth, of any event which il- lustrates the progress of the Negro race, accompanied by a photograph of the event or of some participants, we will pay $3 ; for the second best account, $2; and for the third best, $1. The editors of the Crisis will be the judges and the results will be announced each month. "LOOKING BACKWARD" Jessie Fauset T7IFTY years from now this agonized * world will look back on the doings of the Peace Conference and the League of Nations, the propositions of the Treaty of Versailles and of the Disarmament Confer- ence and wonder why there was so much pother and ado. By that time issues will have become clarified and that generation will think it strange that the Tightness of the attitude of France as contrasted with the attitude of Great Britain should have been questioned. Or vice versa. It takes time to give perspective. Glancing down the perspective of a fifty years already gone one comes across an- other Reconstruction of a War no less mo- mentous for those days. That period is still known as "The Reconstruction" for this country, and men and women, students of human happenings, looking back can see it as the single finest instance of the effort of a nation to set immediately right an ancient wrong. Of course it was an effort girt with many an attendant injustice and with the bestowal of many unequal privi- leges but still more it bespoke the willing- ness of erring human nature "to try to be good". Above all it gave a thwarted and despised race a chance to show its mettle. Many colored men joined bravely and splendidly in that attempt. Both white and black Americans have occasion to be proud of the statesmanship shown in that day by Rainey, DeLarge, Cain and Smalls. Out of the swelling list of names which occur to me I like most to think of that of Robert Brown Elliott who combined in one mere frame and brain all our best possi- bilities, a sort of precursor of all we may hope to be in industry, in honor and in statesmanship. As a very young man he was a sailor and a printer, but his exceptional training ac- quired in his native town, Boston, and at Eton College in England, fitted him for more useful callings than either of those. Does a man round out his virtues deliber- ately to adopt certain responsibilities or do the high gods, realizing that such or such an individual will respond best to cer- tain stimuli, thrust the responsibilities upon him? I cannot guess. I only know that Elliott, a mere printer in Charleston, S. C, was elected on sheer merit to the Constitution- al Convention, that in this capacity he blocked the passage of a measure engaging to reimburse former slave-owners for the loss of their "chattels"; that thereafter he was elected to the State Legislature, be- came its leader, was chairman of the Re- publican State Executive Committee and following these experiences was quite log- ically elected as representative to the 42nd and 43rd Congresses. In Congress his fame was instant as a brilliant speaker, a keen and logical op- ponent, a fearless and tireless battler for the rights of man. Charles Sumner, the author of the Civil Rights Bill, counted on Elliott; on his (Sumner's) deathbed he besought the colored man, "Don't let my Civil Rights Bill die." But I do not mean to dwell on the mere facts of his career; one can find them easi- ly enough in biographies and histories. What I want to point out is what he meant to us. Consider him then as the model, as the mould in human form, of the possibilities of our race — this by no means especially striking black men of undeniably Negroid appearance with his finely shaped hands and feet, his precise and careful speech and his candid gaze. What made him great? What outside of the secret, inimitable inner force has he left for us to emulate? I repeat his indus- try, his honor and his statesmanship. There is no question as to this first qual- ity. He was born in 1842 and we find him graduating from Eton, one of the colleges of the University of London in 1858! There- after he studied law, but see how purpose- fully he had already filled the first 16 years of his life. And he never gave up his studi- ous habits, for throughout the years he kept up a practical acquaintance with French, German and Spanish; he knew his Latin and was unusually conversant with the Bible. 125 126 THE CRISIS Elliott's sense of honor was so high that short- ly after the death of Sumner he resigned fro mi Congress in order to meet the opposition already starting in South Caro- lina against the Negro in poli- ties. Charges of corruption were coming thick and fast not only against the race but against the Republican party. No one had figured more actively in Republican poli- tics than El- liott, yet his integrity was never serious- ly questioned. And he employed much of his considerable legal and oratorical talent in defending not necessarily his political friends but his political colleagues. As a statesman he had not only the wel- fare of his people but that of his country at heart. There was never any quibbling and no effort at personal advancement. His methods were uncompromising and fear- less. His attacks on his political opponents were launched with "the strength of ten". He knew how to tip his shafts with darts of homely wit, of telling truths, of historic allusions that never failed their mark. At ROBERT BROWN ELLIOTT the time of the fight for the Civil Rights Bill the opposition was headed by Alexander H Stephens of Georgia (even then enlisted on the side of wrong!). He was an old man and infirm, but for all that con- sidered by the Demo crats as their great pro- tagonist. Elliott said to him sternly : "The results of the war, as seen in recon- struction, have settled forever the political status of my race. The passage of this bill will determine the civil status, not only of the Negro, but of any other class of citizens who may feel themselves discriminated against." Men like Elliott do not die. They live on and on in their own people, in the world. Yet their memory must be kept green, their tale be retold in order that we of a later day may take fresh heart. This, then, a little tribute not necessary to Robert Brown Elliott of imperishable fame, but an added spur, a clew, perhaps a draught of cold water to our Negro youth which must not faint nor flag. IN THE FRENCH WEST INDIES FlLOGENES MAILLARD T N the French West Indies, we Negroes ■*■ cannot complain, for all males over 21 years are electors and eligibles ; we are full- fledged French citizens. France is the only white nation in the world which has made the Negro the equal of the white. We elect by indirect vote a Senator who sits in the Senate in Paris ; Berenger, white, is our Senator. We elect by direct popular suf- frage two deputies who sit in the Chambre des Deputes; the present ones are Candace and Boisneuf, both black. Guadeloupe and dependencies are comprised] of 36 cantons; we elect a Counsellor for each canton who sits in the General Council at Basse-Terre, chief city and capital of the Colony. In the Communes, we elect a Municipal Coun- cil composed of 10, 14, 18, 21, 23, or more members, depending on population; the Mu- nicipal Council elects the Mayor. The Gov- ernor, who is generally a European, is named by the Minister of Colonies with the consent of our three Representatives in France. jAiq Lookiivcr Glass THE PRESIDENT COME just concept of the place which the ^ problem of inter-racial relationship holds in the life of the United States may- be gained by the importance given Mr. Harding's speech in the national press. A great many southern newspapers consider the President unusually brave and cour- ageous in voicing such utterances. Thus the Louisville Times declares that "Bravery was required for the utterance that 'men of both races may well stand uncompromis- ingly against every suggestion of social equality.' " The Birmingham News feels "The South will have no quarrel with Pres- ident Harding upon his address," for as the Kinston, N. C, Free Press says his views "are entertained by the best thought in the South." But there is some difference of opinion too. The Roanoke (Va.), World News, states : Mr. Harding's speech offers no solution for the Negro problem. But it was a cour- ageous speech and a helpful speech, and will do. infinitely more good than harm. The Raleigh News and Observer feels likewise but gives a new and unpleasant slant to the President's utterance: Mr. Harding has not contributed a single constructive thought to the solution of the race problem, but there is encouragement in this statement that the people of other sec- tions of the country are coming around to the southern view of the matter. The approach from this to actual disap- proval is easy. Senator Harrison, of Mis- sissippi authorized this remark in the New York Tribune: "The President's speech was unfortunate, but to have been made in the heart of the South, where in many States the Negro population predominates, was unfortunate in the extreme. "Of course, every rational being desires to see the Negro protected in his life, liberty and property. I believe in giving him every right under the law to which he is entitled, but to encourage the Negro, who in some states, as in my own, exceeds the white population, to strive through every political avenue to be placed upon equality with the whites, is a blow to the white civilization of this country." Senator Watson, of Georgia, also took issue. Turning again to the New York Tribune we read: He expressed regret that the President made the Birmingham speech, said the Ne- gro question was Southern and local and similar to the Japanese question which is "vexing the Pacific Coast." He thought it unfortunate that the President, "who did not understand the situation in the South," should "lecture" the Southern people about treatment of the Negro. He denied there was economic discrimination against the Negro in the South. The Tribune reports a very strong word of Senator Spencer, of Missouri, but Re- publican, who says: "The President, with characteristic force and dignity, uttered in the language of the statesman what every man who believes in the Constitution of the United States ac- cepts wholeheartedly. That the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state oh account of race, color or previous condition of servitude, is the fundamental law of the land." Northern white opinion on the speech in general is likewise divided. Thus we find Senator Hitchcock of Nebraska thinking the President "right in principle," but de- claring that "the race question could not be solved by argument and the President's speech would not improve the situation." But on the other hand Senator Willis of Ohio declares: "The President's ringing statement in de- fense of political and economic equality of individual opportunity, with recognition of absolute divergence in things social and racial, is as courageous as it is true. The country will applaud President Harding's clearness of statement and patriotism of purpose." The New Republic (New York), finds the President's "scheme for the solution of the race problem in the South has much to recommend it, so far as its spirit is concerned." It is the belief of the San Francisco Call that he made a courageous speech "not calculated to win any white votes for the Republican party, but well over on the side of justice to the Negro." The editor continues gravely: "It is not pleasant for fairminded men to admit that any bravery is required for a government official to insist on the political aiid economic freedom that is guaranteed 127 128 THE CRISIS every citizen by the constitution of the Unit- ed States. But the fact happens to be true in some sections of the country, and most flagrantly in the South." The colored press runs the gamut of ap- probation, antagonism and cynicism. This last note is frequently struck. The Okla- homa City Black Dispatch opines: "View- ing President Harding's speech from the angle of the purpose for which it was in- tended, it was a pretty good speech." The "purpose" this editor goes on to point out was, af course, to win over the white South. In similarly cynical vein runs this comment of the Houston (Tex.) Informer: "The President is precisely right in his viewpoint, spoken; his actions will be a horse of another color. "We have heard much of and from Presi- dent Harding the "talker;" now let us see something tangible, definite and construc- tive from President Harding the "doer." Amen!" The Boston Chronicle expresses the same wish. James Weldon Johnson, writing in the New York Age, hopes doubtfully that the "net result of the President's speech will be good, but there is grave danger in some of the things he said." But there are some surprises. The Nor- folk Journal and Guide says amazingly: "As a whole President Harding's utter- ances were received with enthusiasm in the North, East and West, and there is every reason to believe that he spoke the senti- ments of thousands of white Southerners. The South as a whole is not disposed to hold any deserving member of the Negro race back politically, economically and edu- cationally." "The speech stands without a parallel among the utterances of the chief executives of the nation," thinks the Omaha Monitor. Less favorable is the criticism of the St. Paul Appeal, which considers that his speech "displayed remarkable misinforma- tion on the subject due to the fact that he hals evidently studied from one side only." * * * POLITICAL EQUALITY Thus much for generalities. The purely political issues involved bring a different kind of comment. Here the colored press feels the motives behind the speech are at least questionable. The Oklahoma Black Dispatch goes into detail : • To those of us who have watched the present administration get into action, we know that it is the desire of the Republican Party to break into the solid south. The activity of the national committee in the Georgia situation, which has well nigh shorn Col. Henry Lincoln Johnson of his power as National Committeeman, together with the other alliances that the Adminis- tration has made with lily-whitism through- out the South loans color to the thought that the President's speech was an attempt to step closer to the white South v/ith an appeal that could later be construed to mean whatever any local condition demanded that it mean. Of course, it was to be expected that any sort of statement that a Republican stand- ard bearer would make in the heart of the South would be attacked by such cheap politicians as Heflin, Pat Harrison, Mc- Kellar and Watson. That had to be counted on. But the main idea was to precipitate a discussion which in the long run would be beneficial to the Republican Party from the standpoint of votes. The Republican chief- tains know that there is no way under hell or heaven to convert Hefln and Pat Harri- son. They do have hopes, however, of run- ning off with their crowd. If the above surmise is not correct, we have no way to account for the otherwise meaningless statement of the President about "social equality" to the whites and the admonition to his Negro auditors to "improve itself as a distinct race, with a heredity, ■ a set of traditions, an array of aspirations all its own." Linking up the President's speech with the Democratic victories occurring shortly after in Kentucky, Virginia and New York City, the Houston Informer says: In both Kentucky and Virginia the col- ored citizens put out indipendent tickets, not that they were confident of winning any offices, but to "get the grand old party" chieftains told and show them where to "head in" in matters political. There is a well-defined program, inidi- ous and infamous, among the white Repub- licans in the South (and Northern Repub- licans are apparently winking at the game) to oust the colored brother from the affairs and councils of the Republican party and render and maintain same absolutely "lily- white" in every particular. The national administration, either con- sciously or unconsciously, wilfully or un- knowingly, has nodded assent and put its stamp of approval upon this unRepublican, unAmerican and undemocratic elimination policy of the "lily-white" regime, clique and coterie. The colored voters have tired of such treatment, and, since Republican leaders have shown the inclination and disposition to give the race a "cold shoulder" and "double-cross", these colored Americans have decided that they have paid the Re- publican party about all they owe it and what the party owes them, they do not ever expect to get. Realizing that they are American citizens, these black voters perfected organizations THE LOOKING GLASS 129 to alienate the colored vote from the Repub- lican party, thereby showing to the party leaders that the "Uncle Tom" type of black man is an extinct specimen of humanity. "It is our contention," declares the At- lanta Independent, "that the Administra- tion has turned the [Republican! party's affairs into the hands of lily-whites who are willing to join the party only on con- dition that the Negro is eliminated." To substantiate this statement it quotes the following from the Athens (Ga.) Evening News : "Republican party chieftains are laying extensive plans to build up a new party or- ganization in the South, based on a greater white representation, it was learned here today. "At the congressional elections one year hence, this new organzation, they hope, will extend the Republican foothold in the South which was gained when Presid nt Harding broke down the opposition in many old line Democratic strongholds last year. Of whom does this new organization con- sist? Lilywhites, as we save just stated, who believe no more in the principles of the Republican party than the rankest Dem- ocrat, and who are Democrats to all in- tents and purposes. They call themselves Republicans simply to secure Republican jobs, but at base, they are nothing more nor less than bourbon Democrats. The Athens News says further: "The drive is aimed at influential white voters of the South and is based on three considerations : "1 — The tremendous number of southern votes received by President Harding last November. "2— The support National Republican policies have received from southern busi- ness men. "3 — Belief of Republican managers that thousands of southern voters will turn Re- publican once they are convinced that the race question would not be raised by Re- publican success. "This view is held by his party officials to be the greatest obstacle to progress in the South and most attention is being direct:d at it just now." However, the division of colored people along political lines is not a bad thing, in- deed "it has been the teaching of many thoughtful colored Americans for years," says the Omaha Monitor. It remains for the Kansas City Call to present reasons of international purport for the real motives underlying the Presi- dent's speech, namely to inspire, while the Disarmament Conference is going on, more faith on the part of the Japanese toward us. The editor argues: They, [the Japanese] wonder will the United States, with its theory and practice of "white supremacy," be fair-minded and share commercial opportunity and political prestige with the yellow man? Will this nation be more kindly disposed toward one race of color than it has been toward the red man and the black man? Is there any sense of fair play and common humanity in the United States, where it deals with a people of color. At all costs the Japanese must be led to believe that America will be fair to a peo- ple of color, and that the subject matter, not the race of those interested, will be the thing considered. Hence the President's Birmingham speech. In it we feel sure that he was far more in- terested in the persuading the white Amer- ican to dealing fair with the black Amer- ican, than he was of proving the divergen- cies between the races. We believe he wants a free ballot and a fair count for Negroes more than he wants to maintain social iso- lation of the races. The President knows that if the American white people are not willing to leal justly with those of color whom they do know, they will not be be- lieved when they claim to be fair-minded with another colored race. The white press comments on the fact that equal political opportunity would eventually mean the placing of Negroes in high legislative positions. And so re- marks the Rochester Herald: In spite of President Harding's hope for a change, the South will remain solid for many years to come. It will remain so be- cause it will not tolerate Negro rule. It will also remain Democratic, as its white voters cannot be convinced that Republican local governments can guarantee them the safeguards they must have for the protec- tion of their property and of their lives. Ap- prove of this stand or regret it, as we may, no person familiar with southern conditions and with the convictions and temperaments of southern white men, will deny that the South has taken it or that it will adhere to it. Nor will the North trouble itself to in- terfere with whatever political system the South adopts for itself. This is certain, if the experience of the past carries any les- son. It is a possibility that the Negro might become even President. The Boston Post inquires : But is it, under our laws and our spirit of liberty, so very appalling? If a Negro had the ability and the character, and could obtain the nomination and get votes enough to win the election, what then? Would the country go upon the rocks because, although its political laws and customs had been fully observed, the successful candidate were to have a dark skin? The Philadelphia Public Ledger backs up this attitude: No one will gainsay the truth of the ISO THE CRISIS President's dictum, that only the Negro who is fit to vote should be permitted to do so; and his further assertion that the same rule should apply to the white as well as to the black citizen went to the root of the prob- lem, so far as concerns its political aspects. When this Nation is ready and has the courage and honesty to eliminate the unfit voter, whether he be white or black, that much the nearer will it attain to the ideal of democracy. But the Pittsburgh Leader observes rather cynically that the white Southerner will feel that all along he has been doing what the President advises as a safe po- litical course. The purifiers of the South will tell Mr. Harding that allowing the Negro citizen to vote when fit and preventing the white citi- zen from voting when unfit has been their unvarying rule of conduct. But — they may also tell him what he probably knows, that, in their opinion, the Negro citizen is never actually fit and the white citizen never is actually unfit. Try as they will the whites of the South have never been able to dis- cover the Negro citizen who is fit to vote. And on the other hand their closest scrutiny has failed to discover the white man who is unfit. . . . If there is one thing that is settled in the South to stay settled it is that no Negro is fit to vote and no white man unfit. Given free translation, that means that no Negro is ever fit to have anything except what the white man permits him to hold. If this is democracy the spirit of American institu- tions— to leave the law and constitution out of all consideration — then the South is the hearthstone of democracy and American- ism. "The President made the mistake," says the Brooklyn Citizen, "of trying at one and the same time to hold the Negro vote for the Republican party, and to capture the white vote." "The speech was a part of the Republi- can campaign," thinks the Springfield Re- publican. We read: For several months the leaders of the Re- publican party have been planning a real campaign to break the Democratic hold on the "solid South". Some have advocated that the way to do it is for some statement to be made which would assure the whites in the South that they could vote the Re- publican ticket without fear of Negro domination. This has indeed been advocated by those Republicans^ who hailed from the South and who knew that some such utter- ance was necessary before the whites could be persuaded to desert the Democratic standard. On the other hand, northern Re- publicans who have been helped in recent years by the influx of Negroes into their congressional districts have feared that such a statement would be regarded as hos- tile by northern Negroes. A unique point of view is voiced by the Buffalo Times : It is a pity for anybody to put a political construction on this Birmingham speech and interpret it as an attempt to "split the solid South." The Birmingham address was not political. It was neither Republican nor Democratic. It was a plea for a truly American spirit of humanity and co-ordina- tion with respect to the Negro question. The opinion gleaned from the white southern press shows that the President's plea for political equality met with little sympathy. In the first place the South dislikes outside interference. The Wash- ington correspondent of the New York Tribune quotes Senator Heflin of Alabama: "There is no escape from the conclusion that absolute political and economic equality between the white man and the Negro means the wiping out of all color lines in 'partner- ships in business and in the election of Ne- groes to office over white people. Social equality is next door to such a humiliating and disgraceful policy. So far as the South is concerned we hold to the doctrine that God Almighty has fixed the limits and boundary lines between the .two races and no Republican living can improve upon his handiwork." Senator McKellar, of Tennessee found the President's discussion of "the race ques- tion in the very heart of the black belt un- fortunate." Frank Diedmeyer, of Birmingham, made in a letter to the New York Herald, a typical southern statement: The white people of the South have a deep conviction that they understand the black man: that they have solved the race problem; that both races, but each in its destined path, will march on to better and higher things, the one helpful to the other. All outside atenvpts to settle! the so-called race problem will fail. Such attempts tend to upset what might be called the Negro psychology, and the white man will continue to consider it imperative for his social and political preservation to remain under the standard of that political party which for more than a generation has guaranteed to him the stability of his institutions, the security of his home and of his well being. "The speech," writes the editor of the Birmingham Post was "a political maneu- ver, ... a tactless address and a vio- lation of the proprieties of the circum- stances of the President's visit' to Birming- ham." The Baltimore American, however, feels that when the President went into the po- THE LOOKING GLASS 131 litical status of the Negro he talked "sense". It is injurious to link the Negro always and only with one party. The Republican party is already well in- trenched; it is the South that needs help, not the party. The article continues: It does not need to break the Solid South in order to carry elections, but the Solid South does need to be broken if it is to march in step with the rest of the country along the road of progress. One-party rule in any section is deadening to the political energies of a people, and deadened political energies make for decay, corruption and economic retardment. That deadening process is one of the major reasons why the South has not kept step with the rest of the country in the ac- cumulation of wealth. The South has lain largely dormant under the somewhat irre- sponsible and slothful rule of a party sure of its power and immune to rebuke. * * * SOCIAL EQUALITY As might have been expected the point in the President's speech which drew the most editorial fire from white and black press alike was his dictum on social equal- ity. North and South realize that there can be no real political equality without conse- quent social equality. A. T. Hall, Sr., writ- ing in the Pittsburgh Dispatch goes right to the heart of the matter: While the president appropriately voiced what has been all along the burden of the black man's plea in relation to equality — - complete civic, industrial and political op- portunity— his references to amalgamation and social equality were certainly far- fetched and uncalled-for, despite his sugges- tion to eliminate all consideration of them, unless they were thrown in as a "sop to Cerebus" or as a bit of rhetorical sugar to offset the other unpalatable facts he was trying to cram down the consciousness of his southern audience. The social side of man- kind is a matter of natural and individual selection which no code of laws of human origin and construction has ever, or can ever, regulate or control. This fact is so patent and obvious that it makes the continued hullabaloo about race purity of professional agitators, or preju- diced persons, assume the character of a smoke screen, behind which the Negro is exploited wantonly, wickedly and in every possible manner. The San Francisco Calf points out: Where the President tried to ride two horses, however, was in his limitation of the sort of freedom a Negro may expect. Presi- dent Harding promised political and eco- nomic equality, but definitely said that no Negro should aspire to social equality, what- ever that is. If it means what most people think it does, however, it means that Presi- dent Harding, while willing to see the Ne- gro elected to congress and becoming the owner of a farm or his own home, might not go so far as to invite1 a Booker T. Wash- ington to dinner at the White House table. "You can't draw a sharp line between politics and social life," declares the New York New Republic. "That one reference to social equality," the New York Nation feels, "fell like a lash upon every thought- ful Negro and offset much of the good Mr. Harding did." The Hartford Times thinks white people all over the country feel alike about con- tact between the races and that Negroes feel no differently from the whites: Social equality of Negroes and whites is no more likely to be recognized in the North than it is in the South. There are differences among races that are "fundamental, eternal and inescapable," as the president said. We doubt if the intelligent Negro has any de- sire to mingle as a social equal with the whites; he undoubtedly prefers to be in the upper stratum of his own race. Indirectly the Boston Transcript links up the Japanese situation with Mr. Hard- ing's views : In saying that "racial amalgamation can- not be," he goes on to associate racial in- tegrity with the highest aims of humanity as well as with American national safety. The race problem, he says, is "becoming more and more a problem of the North, more and more a problem of Africa, of South America, of the Pacific, of the South Seas, of the world." If it is a problem of the world, those who are seeking to force an alien and an Asiatic race upon the Ameri- can people may consider themselves rebuked, and signally rebuked at the very moment when they are preparing to assert their claims before the councils of the whole world. The Negro press throws down the gauntlet. Without social equality there can be no equality. Dr. DuBois challenges in the December Crisis: Let us henceforward frankly admit that which we hitherto have always known ; that no system of social uplift which begins by denying the manhood of a man can end by giving him a free ballot, a real education and a just wage. How can a man bring himself to con- ceive that the majority of mankind — Chi- nese, Japanese, Indians and Negroes are going to stand up and acknowledge to the world that they are unfit to be men or to as- sociate with men, when they know they are men? Social inequality proclaims inferiority of ability. Says the Chicago Whip: How can we expect to receive economic equality and opportunity when social equal- 132 THE CRISIS ity is denied? Nobody wants to work side by side with his inferior. The white man will not allow his black brother to advance be- cause of his intrinsic value as long as he is regarded as a social inferior. How can we expect to become officials in large con- cerns when the social intolerance of Amer- ica and men like Harding prevent it? And the Chicago Enterprise specifies just what this race and social separateness will mean: Complete divergence socially and racially means Jim Crow cars, Jim Crow schools, and segregated cities. Experience has taught us that Jim Crow Schools mean poorly equipped and inefficient schools and segregated districts are always undesirable and neglected districts. How could the idea of our oneness as American citizens prevail if we insist on complete divergence socially and racially? The Pittsburg American feels that "what the president had to say on the question of social equality might better have been left unsaid," but that equal po- litical and economic opportunities are the "only points that vitally concern this great group." Naturally the southern white papers had least to say about social equality since the doctrine of political equality had al- ready aroused their ire. Still a few editors mention it. "A truce to race problem talks! There is no race problem in the South," declares the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "A sensible Negro does not want social equality with the white men and sane white men know that such a thing is impossible." We conclude with the Norfolk Virginian Pilot which thus sums up the racial diffi- culties of the South: "In a very real sense social and racial segregation carries with it an impairment of the equality of opportunity. In a very real and troublesome sense equality of op- portunity encroaches on social and racial separateness. The South's problem is one of blending these two sets of principles for the good of both races. In its practical as- pects the problem begins where the Presi- dent leaves off. The promised land where the two races will dwell together in peace, neither encroaching upon the other, each enjoying equality of opportunity and equal- ity of reward for achievement, but each preserving a dignified racial separateness — this Promised Land has already been shown to us by many a Moses of our own. The President's formula takes us no further than Nebo. We have been admiring the view from Nebo for a long time now, and it does not help much to be told to admire it some more." PRESIDENT HARDING'S Birmingham address challenged by Prof. Kelly Miller, Dean of Howard University. Have you read President Harding's address? Read it but by all means you MUST read what Kelly Miller has to say about President Harding's state- ment of the "fundamental inescapable and eternal differences of the Race." Read his OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT. Keep abreast of the times. In pamphlet form sent to any address for 25c. Agents Wanted Here is your chance to make money, everybody wants a copy of this great "challenge." Six copies for $1.00 post- paid. Be the first in your territory to handle it. WRITE TODAY. Order at least one copy anyway. Austin Jenkins Co. 523 Ninth St. Washington, D. C. Prof. Kelly Miller, Autkor of "Disgrace of Democracy", of which 125,- 000 copies have been sold. fSB 7 1922 The CRISIS FEBRUARY, 1922 FIFTEEN CENTS A COPY Turning Hard Times into Prosperous Times The year 1921 will ever be remembered as the period of "America's Hardest Times" fol- lowing the "World's War. Conditions would be worse than now were it not for the Herculean efforts of those determined spirits who are forcing the wheels of progress to continue to re- volve. THE SOUTHERN AID SOCIETY OF VA., INC., is proud to be numbered among those who are trying to keep the Door of Opportunity open. The cut below shows the new $200,000.00 four-story and basement modern fireproof building erected by the Society at 7th and Tea Streets, N W., Washington, D. C, to help turn Hard Times into Prosperous Times. Not only does the Superior Policy of Protection, issued by the Society, keep the wolf from the door of ail Southern Aid Policyholders but its policy of constructing modern office buildings, in the various cities where it operates, makes it possible for our professional and business interests to have suitable quarters— like the best had by other races — in which to display their talents and wares and to do better business. Therefore by its Insurance Policy and, as well, by its Business Policy the Society is daily helping to turn Hard Times into Prosperous Times. SOUTHERN AID SOCIETY OF VIRGINIA, INC. Home Office: 527 N. Second Street, RICHMOND, VA. District Offices and Agencies in Virginia and the District of Columbia Insures Against Sickness, Accidents and Deaths J. T. CARTER, PRES. B. L. JORDAN, SECTY. W. A. JORDAN, ASST. SECTY. THE CRISIS A RECORD OF THE DARKER RAGES PUBLISHED MONTHLY AND COPYRIGHTED BY THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE, AT 70 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK CITY. CON- DUCTED BY W. E. BURGHARDT DU BOIS; JESSIE REDMON FAUSET, LITERARY EDITOR; AUGUSTUS GRANVILLE DILL, BUSINESS MANAGER. Vol. 23-No. 4 FEBRUARY, 1922 Whole No. 136 Page COVER Drawing by Billie Ellis. OPINION The World and Us; The Year 1921, In Account With the American Negro; The Lynching Bill; Vicious Provisions of a Great Bill; Politics and Power; Africa for the Africans; Charles Young 151 OUR GREATEST FAULT Edward H. Morris; Bishop C. H. Phillips; President John Hope 156 PAINTED POEMS. The Peacock Feather. A Poem Mary Effie Lee Newsome 156 HOWARD UNIVERSITY. E. C. Williams 157 SUNDAY AFTERNOON. An Essay. Jessie Fauset 162 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE 165 A LYNCHING MAP OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Drawn by Madeline G. Allison 166 THE LINK BETWEEN. The late Natalie Curtis Burlin 170 THE HORIZON. Illustrated 171 THE LOOKING GLASS 179 THE MARCH CRISIS The March Crisis will print the Annual Report of the N. A. A. C. P., an article on Gandhi, the Indian leader, and our annual book review, including Maran's "Batouala". FIFTEEN GENTS A COPY; ONE DOLLAR AND A HALF A YEAR FOREIGN SUBSCRIPTION TWENTY-FIVE CENTS EXTRA RENEWALS: The date of expiration of each subscription is printed on the wrapper. When the subscription is due, a blue renewal blank is enclosed. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: The address of a subscriber can lie changed as often as desired. In ordering a change of address, both the old and the new address must be given. Two weeks' notice is required. MANUSCRIPTS and drawings relating to colored people are desired. They must be accom- panied by return postage. If found, unavailable they will be returned. Entered as second class matter November 2, 1910, at the post office at New York, New York, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 148 THE CRISIS ADVERTISER National Training School DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA A School for the Training of Colored Young Men and Women for Service Though it 11 young in history, me Institution feci* a ju*t pride in the work thui far accomplished, for its graduates are already filling many responsible positions, thus demonstrating the aim of the school to train men and women for useful citizenship. DEPARTMENTS ALREADY ESTABLISHED The Grammar Sch©oi The Teacher Training Department The Academy The Divinity School The School of Arts and Sciences The Commercial Department The Department of Music The Department of Home Economics The Department of Social Service For farther information and Catalog, address President James E. Shepard, Durham, North Carolina STATE OF NEW JERSEY Manual Training & Industrial School FOR COLORED YOUTH BORDENTOWN, N. J. A high Institution for th» training ef colored youth. Excellent equipment, thorough Instruction, wholesome surroundings. Academic training for all students. Courses In carpentry, agriculture and trade* for boys, including auto repairing. Courses In domestic science and domestic art for girls. A new trades building, thoroughly equipped. New girls' dormitory thoroughly and modernly equipped. Term* reasonable. For Information address W. R. VALENTINE, Principal Wiley University Marshall, Texas Recognized as a college of first class by Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Okla- homa State Boards of Education. Har- vard, Boston University. University of Illinois and University of Chicago repre- sented on its faculty. One hundred twenty-seven in College Department, ses- sion 1910-1920. Several new buildings, steam heated and electric lighted. M. W. DOGAN, President LINCOLN UNIVERSITY Pioneer in Collegiate and Theological Education Lincoln Men are Leaders in the various professions in Forty States. The College is ranked in Class I. by the American Medical Association. Address: John B. Kendall, D.D., Lincoln University, Chester County, Penna. Cheyney Training School For Teachers Cheyney, Pa. Made in 1930 an accredited State Normal School, offering, in addition to the regular Normal Course of two years, professional three year courses in Home Economics and Shop Work. A diploma from any of these courses makes a graduate eligible to teach in the public schools of Pennsylvania. A three-year High School Course is offered to all who have com- pleted the eighth grammar grade. For further particulars and catalog, write LESLIE pnrCXHZY SILL, Principal, Cheyney, Pa. THERE WILL BE NO SUMMER SCHOOL FOR 1921 Mention Tbm Ctifii. THE CRISIS Vol. 23. No. 4 FEBRUARY, 1922 Whole No. 136 (UVIOIV THE WORLD AND US STHONIA has nationalized the holdings of her great land holders and is beginning to distribute her farm lands to farmers. The United States is in- creasing tenancy and land monopoly. What with this, and our host of politi- cal prisoners, our mobs and lynching, our curb of free speech, our color caste, our unemployment and mock of democracy, we bid fair to lead the world — backwards. The Disarmament Conference has succeeded in limited expenditure for big battleships chiefly because these ships are of doubtful future efficiency and cost more than governments can easily raise by taxation. The confer- ence has not decreased preparation for war, it has not freed China and its guarantee of the islands in the Pacific is a sleight-of-hand performance to conceal the end of a yellow-white alli- ance. Thus the color-line is drawn stronger and war is no less a prospec- tive method of human culture. Ireland faces the question : is a half loaf better than war? Probably it is, but those who stand on principle have a right to be heard. Civilization ad- vances with half loaves usually, but the goal remains the whole loaf. Some Republican politicians are aghast at the appearance of the bloc in Congress — that is, the little group which refuses to vote by parties. The bloc is the hope of democracy. Fu- ture legislatures will more and more consist of little coalescing and divid- ing groups and not of two or three main parties. In the millennium, leg- islatures will consist of Individuals. Two men sit high before the world today — Eugene Debs and Abdul Baha. One is free of chains which should never have bound him — the other of Life which he tried to free of race and national prejudice. THE YEAR 1921 IN ACCOUNT WITH THE AMERICAN NEGRO DEBIT IFTY-NINE Negroes lynched Tulsa Jasper County, Ga. Helpless Haiti Harding at Birmingham Few Presidential appointments Garvey and the Black Star Line Thomas Jesse Jones Dismissal of R. T. Kerlin Loss of the Pennsylvania Civil Rights Bill Delay of Liberian Loan Apostasy of the Woman's Party Death of Dancy, Douglass, Tyree, Brown, Chase, Perry and Carr CREDIT Dyer Bill Second Pan-African Congress "Emperor Jones" Arkansas peons Exposure of the Ku Klux The Haitian Manifesto N.A.A.C.P. drive and 12th annual conference Atlantis The Liberian Commission Relief work of the National Urban League Governor Dorsey 151 152 THE CRISIS 13 Negro Legislators 3 colored women as Ph.D. 461 Bachelors in Arts Gourdin, Johnson, Carter and Slater Negroes at the Fifth Ecumenical Council Elections in Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and New York Duluth vindication Inter-racial committees The Howard Players "Shuffle Along" 8th Illinois Regiment nationalized Solomon Porter Hood A Negro Phonograph Company BALANCE ON HAND 365 days of unflinching courage and undimmed ideals. THE LYNCHING BILL HOSE persons who see techni- cal difficulties and constitu- tional questions in any effort to stop lynching simply do not realize the enormity of this evil. Lynching is wholesale murder pub- licly approved by that section of our land where mob rule is an institution. It is the negation and failure of law, order and government. It is not a punishment for one crime or for any crime: it is simply and purely blood lust unparalleled in the civilized world. Not the bull fights of Spain nor the gladiatorial battles of Rome approach it in indecency, cruelty, monstrous sadism and orgies almost beyond belief. We do not realize the beastliness and barbarism of this national habit. We are drugged by its frequency and by familiarity with its details. But the world is not drugged: In Tokio and Shanghai, in Calcutta and Cairo, in Petrograd and Berlin, in London and Paris, they say : "This is the real America. This is the civilization of a nation that presumes to teach the world morals and religion, that poses as something neiv and fine and 'ad- vanced.' America cannot at one and the same time lynch Negroes and lead civilization." We can stop lynching. Of course it is "unconstitutional" now. It was un- constitutional to stop secession ; it was unconstitutional to take charge of the railways; it was unconstitutional to do a thousand things that the national government has done; we did these things because we had to in order to survive; because no nation can sur- vive which supinely submits to rebel- lion, or cannot regulate its traffic, or permits systematic and continued mob murder as a form of public debauch- ery. The man that opposes the Dyer bill or a similar enactment is a blind fool or worse. Lynching has nothing to do with the Race Question as such — it is a matter of downright decency and civilization. Either the United States can and will end lynching or lynching will end these United States. VICIOUS PROVISIONS OF A GREAT BILL HE Crisis believes and has al- ways believed in national aid to common schools, because of the shameful fact that the South spends only the miserably in- adequate sum of $10.32 a head on the education of white children and only $2.89 for each colored child. The Smith-Towner Education bill now before Congress seeks to appro- priate $7,500,000 annually "to encour- age the States to remove illiteracy", and for this reason is directly in line with our wishes. But on reading the bill we learn : "All funds apportioned to a State for the removal of illiteracy shall be distributed and administered in accordance with the laws of said State in like manner as the funds pro- vided by State and local authorities for the same puwose, and the State and local educational authorities of said State shall determine the courses of study, plans, and methods for car- rying out the purposes of this section within said State in accordance with the laws thereof." Also the fifty millions appropriated for teachers' salaries in rural schools OPINION 153 "shall be distributed and adminis- tered in accordance with the laws of said State in like manner as the funds provided by State and local authori- ties for the same purpose, and the State and local educational authorities of said State shall determine the courses of study, plans and methods for carrying out the purposes of this section." Finally rub your eyes and read this : "Apportionment may be made under the provisions of this section to a State prevented by its constitution from full compliance with the fore- going conditions if said conditions are approximated as nearly as constitu- tional limitations will permit." Do the supporters of this bill realize — can they possibly realize what these provisions mean ? Despite every effort on the part of the South to con- ceal the discrimination which it prac- tices against Negro children, the truth is easily approximated. We re- peat a statement published by the United States government and pre- pared by the government in co-opera- tion with the Phelps-Stokes fund. No one could possibly discover Negro- phile leanings in figures with such an origin. They are as favorable as they could be made : "In the 15 States and the District of Columbia for which salaries by race could be obtained, the public school teachers received $42,510,703 in salaries. Of this sum $36,649,827 was for the teachers of 3,552,431 white children and $5,860,876 for the teachers of 1,852,181 colored chil- dren. On a per capita basis, this is $10.32 for each white child and $2.89 for each colored child." This is the outrageous situation which this bill proposes to perpetu- ate. In this form the bill is not a pro- posal to decrease illiteracy. It is a bill to encourage lynching, peonage and ignorance in the South by per- petuating the present educational dis- crimination against igorant and help- less Negroes. Shame on the men, women and national organizations which have loaned their names and influence to this travesty on educa- tional justice. POLITICS>ND POWER OME persons continue to ad- monish the Negro that politi- cal power is not omnipotent, _ and that without it much may be done to uplift the people; while with it, much may be left undone. The real answer to this argument lies in the facts, and Mr. S. D. Redmond of Jackson, Mississippi, has furnished some facts to the editor of the Com- mercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn., which the editor did not see fit to publish. Mr. Redmond points, for instance, to the fact that in Mississippi there are 525 consolidated rural schools combining grammar and high school grades, teaching vocal and instrumen- tal music, domestic science and man- ual training. They have free teach- ers' homes and agricultural experi- ment plots, and 200 auto cars trans- port pupils to these schools at a cost of $99,477 a month. And yet, while 525 of these schools are furnished to the 175,000 white school children of the state, not a single one is furnished to the 200,000 colored children. Again there are 400 city high schools for whites, but there is not a single separate high school for Ne- groes. There are four colored city schools which have the 9th and 10th grades, and one that has 12 grades. Again there are 49 agricultural high schools for the whites in the State and not a single one for Negroes. Not only is this true, but the Mis- sissippi code of 1917 is so arranged that Negroes cannot even tax them- selves for schools. The code says that whenever the "qualified electors" of a school district or county desire a con- solidated rural school or high school they can, by petitions signed by a certain percentage, have an election 154 THE CRISIS called and issue bonds. Now as Ne- groes are seldom permitted to qualify as electors they cannot demand a bond issue. In only one case in the State, that is, the Negro town of Mound Bayou, have they been permitted to tax themselves and to build a $100,000 school. On the other hand, when the white electors vote a bond issue, Negro property is taxed exactly the same as white property for the support of white schools. At its last session the Mississippi legislature appropriated $3,529,479.64 for the support of the higher educa- tion of the white youth of the State, but only $50,000 for Negroes, in a single college that can not accommo- date more than 350 students. White children are furnished institutions for the feeble-minded and a reform school. Negroes have neither. The State pays $32 a month for the educa- tion and reformation of an errant white youth while the Negro youth is sent to the county farm or peniten- tiary along, with the most hardened criminals. The State provides an in- stitution for the white blind but leaves blind Negroes to beg on the streets. If we turn from the State as a whole and confine our attention to Jackson, the capital city, where the white and Negro population is about equal, the whites have eight fine schools, one of them a city high school which cost nearly $300,000. The Ne- groes have two poor schools, one of six grades and the other of eight grades, no high school whatsoever, and white teachers receive more than twice the salary paid Negro teachers for the same grade work. Yet Mr. Redmond, a Negro citizen of Jackson, paid $4,000 in taxes last year. He calls attention finally to the fact that the Negroes have no public lib- rary, parks or playgrounds, that the streets in their district are unkept, not properly lighted and often with- out sidewalks and that if the Negroes should enter one of the parks for which he is taxed he would be ar- rested ! This is the cost of disfranchisement in Mississippi. AFRICA FOR THE AFRICANS HE Associated Press in a Paris dispatch, put into the mouth of the editor a statement that colored Americans could not withstand the African climate, could not oust the Europeans, and did not desire to do so. It ought to go without saying that the editor never made any such state- ment. The American Negro is just as able to withstand the African clim- ate as American white men and no more able. The climate is severe and trying, but a healthy man who fol- lows the rules of tropical hygiene can live there. There is, therefore, no necessary barrier of climate to keep American Negroes out of Africa. On the other hand, it would be fool- ish for colored folk to assume that because their great grandfathers were Africans that the climate of Africa would have no terrors for them. It has its terrors for all men and these terrors can be overcome. The present opportunity for emi- gration to Africa is, however, exceed- ingly limited. There is absolutely no chance for colored laborers. Men with capital, education and some tech- nical or agricultural skill, who have the courage of pioneers, good health, and are willing to rough it, can find a career in Liberia, in some parts of French, Portuguese and Egyptian Africa (if they speak the language) , and in some parts of British West Africa, if they are British subjects. They will be objects of suspicion in British West Africa and will suffer some caste restrictions. On the other hand, in the Belgian Congo, in British East and South Africa and in Rhodesia, an American Negro would hardly be allowed to enter, much less settle. Black mer- OPINION 155 chants and traders have chances in West Africa but they are at the mercy not only of the governments who are not eager to help them, but also of the great banks, corporations and syndicates who are in position to skim the cream of all profits. Again the editor distinctly believes that Africa should be administered for the Africans and, as soon as may be, by the Africans. He does not mean by this that Africa should be administered by West Indians or American Negroes. They have no more right to administer Africa for the native Africans than native Afri- cans have to administer America. CHARLES YOUNG HE life of Charles Young was a triumph of tragedy. No one ever knew the truth about the Hell he went through at West Point. He seldom even men- tioned it. The pain was too great. Few knew what faced him always in his army life. It was not enough for him to do well — he must always do better; and so much and so con- spicuously better, as to disarm the scoundrels that ever trailed him. He lived in the army surrounded by in- sult and intrigue and yet he set his teeth and kept his soul serene and triumphed. He was one of the few men I know who literally turned the other cheek with Jesus Christ. He was laughed at for it and his own people chided him bitterly, yet he persisted. When a white Southern pigmy at West Point protested at taking food from a dish passed first to Young. Young passed it to him first and afterward to himself. When officers of inferior rank refused to salute a "nigger", he saluted them. Seldom did he lose his temper, seldom complain. With his own people he was always the genial, hearty, half-boyish friend. He kissed the girls, slapped the boys on the back, threw his arms about his friends, scattered his money in char- ity; only now and then behind the Veil did his nearest comrades see the Hurt and Pain graven on his heart; and when it appeared he promptly drowned it in his music — his beloved music, which always poured from his quick, nervous fingers, to caress and bathe his soul. Steadily, unswervingly he did his duty. And Duty to him, as to few modern men, was spelled in capitals. It was his lode-star, his soul; and neither force nor reason swerved him from it. His second going to Africa, after a terrible attack of black water fever, was suicide. He knew it. His wife knew it. His friends knew it. He had been sent to Africa because the Army considered his blood pres- sure too high to let him go to Europe! They sent him there to die. They sent him there because he was one of the very best officers in the service and if he had gone to Europe he could not have been denied the stars of a General. They could not stand a black American General. There- fore they sent him to the fever coast of Africa. They ordered him to make roads back in the haunted jungle. He knew what they wanted and intend- ed. He could have escaped it by ac- cepting his retirement from active service, refusing his call to active duty and then he could have lounged and lived at leisure on his retirement pay. But Africa needed him. He did not yell and collect money and ad- vertise great schemes and parade in crimson — he just went quietly, ig- noring appeal and protest. He is dead. But the heart of the Great Black Race, the Ancient of Days — the Undying and Eternal — rises and salutes his shining memory : Well done! Charles Young, Soldier and Man and unswerving Friend. OUR GREATEST FAULT S HP1 O be learned when we -■■ are unlearned; to be rich when we are poor; to be great while we are small; to know when we don't know; to be true when we are false; to have when we have not. Pretending to be leaders when we are but followers; to be going East when we are running West; to stand for Right when we are walking hand in hand with Wrong; to be brave and out- spoken when we are afraid and silent. Pre- tending to be iproud of our race when we are ashamed of it, — pretending — all the while pretending — and all the world knows it, but us. Edward H. Morris, Grand Master, G.U.O. of Odd Fellows. Lack of Initiative I VENTURE the conviction that the lack of initiative is "Our Greatest Fault". There is so much involved in this lack and' such an interdependence between it and other defects that if the former is elimin- ated, the latter will disappear like the snow before the rays of the sun. One race very often patterns after another race, imper- sonates its achievements, assumes a resem- blance to everything that enobles and dig- nifies and becomes influenced by a use of power acting from without, though the mo- tives may be regarded as forces acting upon the will. But this is not the field which we must seek to cultivate. We must ex- plore, initiate, create and exhibit an ability for original conception and independent ac- tion. We must blaze our own way, and pro- duce forces and agencies that make and stimulate civilization and thus prove to man- kind that if left to ourselves we could evolve a condition of organization and enlighten- ment that would demonstrate the interest, intrinsic, initiative attributes of the race. Fundamental to this idea of "The Lack of Initiative" should be the stern, staunch re- alization by the race of what great benefits would accrue to it when once it learned its own inert strength, the power of organiza- tion, and the lesson of solidarity. Gripped and obsessed by this spirit of oneness the race would experience vast potentialities and out of its new birth a new place would be given the Negro upon the map of the world. C. H. Phillips, Bishop of the Colored M. E. Church. /^\UR greatest fault is hard ^^ to name, but one very Thin- Skinned great fault is that we are thin-skinned. Not only do we fail to thicken up suffi- ciently to get what has not been granted, but we also shrink from asking for what is actually allowed us. Now, what I call thin-skinned among us happens on closer examination really to be culture and Chris- tianity. No matter what stratum you ex- amine, whether the stiff collar or the over- alls, the avenue or the alley, there is found the same attitude of our not desiring to force from (people what they do not want us to have, not going where people do not want us to be. It is beautiful, but it is not American. The American character- istic is to go after things and get what you go after. Looked at in one way, our great fault is a virtue. Must we then allow it further to handicap us while continuing to teach a better Americanism? John Hope, Pres. of Morehouse College, Atlanta, Ga. PAINTED POEMS THE PEACOCK FEATHER Mary Effie Lee Newsome HEAV'N'S deepest blue, Are blent together Earth's richest green, On this lithe brown feather, Minted dust of stars, In a disc of light — Molten sunset sheen, Lithe, light! 156 THE CHAPEL AT HOWARD UNIVERSITY HOWARD UNIVERSITY E. C. Williams /"\N May 1, 1867, in a rented frame build- ^-' ing, the Normal and Preparatory De- partment of Howard University was opened, with five students and without one cent in the treasury. In the year 1920-21, just ended, the University, housed in fourteen buildings, exclusive of Freedmen's Hospi- tal, and owning a campus of twenty acres on what is indisputably the most splendid site in the District of Columbia, ministered to 1,730 collegiate and professional students, to 50 certificate students in music, and 131 correspondence students in religion, or a grand total, less duplications, of 1,893. In the 52 years intervening between the date of the opening and that memorable meeting in February, 1919, at which the trustees voted to uphold the hands of the new ad- ministration and close the doors of the sec- ondary departments, the institution had passed through many changes, but these, however interesting, we have not the space to record here. Suffice it to say, the changes initiated at the meeting of the trustees cited above, and at subsequent meetings, have been the occasion for much comment and contro- versy, and it is the purpose of this brief article to set forth as clearly as may be in a summary fashion just what those changes have been, and what are some, at least, of the University's claims as a na- tional university for the twelve millions of Negroes of the United States. Expressed hastily, and in comprehensive terms, the most obvious changes are the fol- lowing: the elimination of all secondary work, and the reorganization of the collegi- ate work into a division, of which the first two years are called the Junior Col- lege, and the two upper years the Senior Schools, including the Schools of Liberal Arts, Education, Commerce and Finance, Applied Sciences, and Music; the addition of a Department of Architecture to the School of Applied Sciences; the establish- ment of a Department of Public Health and Hygiene in connection with the School of Medicine ; changes in the work of the School of Law which move it up several points in the classification of the Carnegie Founda- tion for the Advancement of Teaching; the establishment of a Registrar's Office on the most modern lines, where all matters con- cerning records and admissions are centered ; the centralization in a Secretary-Treasur- er's office of all the financial and business matters of the University; the creation of a Department of Physical Education; the of- fering of military courses in connection with the work of the Reserve Officers' Training 157 158 THE CRISIS Corps; the establishment of University fel- lowships for the promotion of graduate work; the authorization by the Trustees of a journal to promote scholarship and re- search among Negroes; the substitution of the quarter for the semester system; many changes in the curriculum in line with the best college standards of today; the ob- taining from Congress of an appropriation of $201,000 for a Home Economics build- ing; increases in teachers' salaries since 1917-18 amounting to more than $64,000 annually; and numberless improvements in the grounds, buildings, and physical equip- ment of the University. Since all of these things have been ac- complished in the short space of two and one-half years, and with the school running "full blast," it is no cause for wonder that there should be a little confusion, a little grumbling, and even some misunderstanding and disagreement. In fact, the wonder is that there has not been more. Indeed, the fact that there was not more may be taken as reasonably good evidence that most of the changes commended themselves almost im- mediately to the good sense of those who had to work with them. For many years, both to the minds of many within the University and to disinter- ested schoolmen looking on from without, there had been three weak spots in its or- ganization, namely, the presence of two sec- ondary schools on the same campus with the college departments, and in part taught by the college instructors; the existence of what amounted in reality to two college de- partments running on almost parallel lines in warm rivalry with each other; and the almost autocratic power of the deans within their own departments — in other words, a decentralization of power, and a consequent duplication of work and multiplication of standards, out of all proportion to the size of the university and the resources at its command. And though the fact that these conditions should be remedied was recog- nized by many of the faculty and adminis- trative officers, I presume it is not unnat- ural that, when the remedies were actually applied by a new administration with a res- olute and unflinching hand, the changes made and the inevitable readjustments ne- cessitated by them should cause momentary feeling. It was natural, too, that there should be some who could not see the necessity of this or that change, and who would pre- dict the evil consequences to follow. For example, it was felt by some that the actual elimination of the secondary departments, the Academy and Commercial College, which had planted their roots so deeply in the life of the university, would cause not only a direct loss in numbers alone which would seriously damage the prestige of the uni- versity, but also an indirect loss through the destruction of one of the chief feeders of the college. But what was the actual re- sult? A glance at the figures given below will convince the most skeptical that the closing of the secondary departments has surely worked no injury in the matter of reduced numbers. College Academy Grand Year (exclusive and Total of Commercial for all Music) College Divisions 1911-12 382 457 1409 1912-13 478 490 1453 1915-16 500 369 1507 1916-17 559 417 1565 1917-18 706 413 1583 1918-19 541 282 1360 1919-20 766 None 1567 1920-21 930 None 1893 The educational life of Washington, as far as it concerns the Negro, is unique. There is here presented a combination of opportunities unequalled elsewhere. Since the public schools and Howard University are both supported largely by government appropriations, they may be regarded, for the sake of argument, as parts of a single system, beginning at the kindergarten, and running the whole gamut — grammar schools, vocational schools, atypical schools, outdoor schools, academic, technical and commercial high schools, city normal school, and col- lege and professional schools. And just as the colored public school system of Wash- ington is without question the best of its kind in the world — and this was one very good reason for closing the secondary schools of the university — so is Howard University, the capstone of the local educational struc- ture, unique in its field. Let us see how we can justify this statement. First, it is the only institution in the world devoted mainly to the education of colored men and women that offers bona fide courses in all the more usual branches of college and professional work, that is, in the liberal arts, education, commerce and finance, engineering, architecture, domestic HOWARD UNIVERSITY 159 science, medicine, dentistry, phar- macy, law, religion, and music. Second, it offers no work below collegiate grade to matriculating students, and is the only co-edu- cational school for Negro stu- dents which does not give work below that grade. Third, it has the largest body of Negro stu- dents of college grade ever as- s e m b 1 e d in one institution. Fourth, by its very situation in the capital of the nation, it is able to offer its students, through the presence of such agencies as the Bureau of Education, the Department of Agriculture, the Army Medical Museum, Freedmen's Hos- pital, the Bureau of Standards, and the Li- brary of Congress, opportunities for the de- velopment of scholarship unequalled by any other institution for colored youth. Fifth, in its organization it follows the standards set by the best universities in the country concentrating upon higher education, and its bachelor's degree is accorded recognition toward higher degrees in graduate schools of known standing. Sixth, the American Medical Association, in its bulletin of ap- proved Negro colleges of arts and sciences published in the spring of 1920, lists How- ard as one of the two colleges in Class I. Finally, the University is the first insti- tution for colored youth to promote grad- uate work by the establishment of fellow- ships. I wish that space would permit an ex- pansion on some of these special advan- tages, but one typical illustration must suf- fice. Let us take the School of Medicine. The National Capital affords unusual facil- ities for the study of medicine and allied subjects. The finest medical library in this country is that of the Surgeon-General's Office, which contains more than 200,000 volumes on medicine and collateral sciences, and the Library of Congress contains a very fine medical collection. All of these books are accessible to our students on the same terms as apply to other citizens. The Army Medical Museum is the finest of its kind in the world, having on display about 30,000 specimens, and other agencies for education are the National Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Hygiene, and the Patent Office Museum. On the square fronting that on which our medical buildings stand the government PRESIDENT STANLEY DTTRKEE has erected the magnificent Freed- men's Hospital, at a cost of over $600,000. This hospital, which has the advantage of being de- signed primarily for teaching purposes, has about 300 beds, contains two clinical amphithea- tres, a pathological laboratory, clinical laboratories, and rooms for x-ray diagnostic work and x-ray therapy. The medical fa- culty of Howard University (prac- tically constitutes the hospital staff. Special attention is given to bedside instruction, and clinics are held every day in the year, except Sundays, and examinations are made, prescriptions given, and surgical operations performed in the presence of classes or sections of classes. The clinical laboratories are under the direc- tion of the departments of internal medicine, surgery, gynecology and nervous diseases. They are especially equipped for the scien- tific study of cases, and are freely used by the students. Ward and bedside instruction can be carried out more fully and system- atically than in many other hospitals avail- able for teaching purposes, and the prac- tical hospital work which students are able to do here is excelled by few medical schools. A large number of the cases ad- mitted to this hospital are from a dis- tance, and are of more than ordinary in- terest. Every branch of medicine is repre- sented by numerous and instructive cases. When such a situation is compared with that which confronts most Negro students of medicine in northern medical schools in connection with their practical work in the hospitals, it is not difficult to see why How- ard University claims the possession of un- usual advantages in this regard. What is true of the Medical Department is true in a lesser degree of other depart- ments. For any work requiring the use of books the situation of the university in Washington is peculiarly fortunate. Not only in the study of medicine, but of law, of education, and of countless other sub- jects, are the resources of the Library of Congress, with its two and a half million volumes, the Public Library of the District of Columbia, and the special libraries of the various bureaus and departments of the government, freely at the disposal of the students on the most liberal terms. The university's own library, too, is admittedly 160 THE CRISIS CARNEGIE LIBRARY the best of any institution for colored youth, and includes a special collection of Negro- Americana. So that, from the stand- point of library facilities, the university has absolutely no rival among institutions for Negro youth. The student body of the university is un- usually interesting. The mere assembling in one school of over 1,700 young men and women of college grade, and of Negro de- scent, and drawn from 36 States and more than 10 foreign countries, is in itself tre- mendously significant. The foreign students number over 100, and French and Spanish are heard on the campus almost as freely as English. It may be remembered that it was the boundless energy and intelligent effort of this student group, fired by the enthusiasm of Major Joel E. Spingarn, which, as much as any one factor, made the Des Moines training camp for colored offi- cers a reality. These students come from every class and condition in life, from af- fluence to poverty. A very large proportion of the male students work for all or part of their expenses, and they are, in conse- quence, more than ordinarily independent and self-reliant. As might be expected, the student life at Howard is as rich and varied as such life can well be. Every form of college activity flourishes, and the exuberance of student vitality and interest is spent on football, baseball, basketball, track athletics, tennis, and in debating societies for both men and women, literary societies, German and French clubs, a dramatic club, two glee clubs, a university choir, a very spirited band attached to the R. O. T. C, and many State and regional clubs, which last are very popular at Howard. None of these are dead letter organizations, but every de- partment of normal college life is vigorous- ly represented. The greatest football games in the Negro world are staged here, the great track meets, and a triangular de- bating league is maintained with Lincoln and Atlanta universities. A unique feature of the work of one de- partment is a rather intensive effort to develop among the students dramatic art and a knowledge of dramatic technique, an attempt to stimulate interest in Negro folk- lore and history as materials for dramatic composition, and to train the students not only in the art of acting, but in stage man- agement and in the designing and con- struction of scenery and costumes. In this field the Howard Players represent the dramatic interests and efforts of the Uni- versity before the public. This organiza- tion presents annually a series of plays staged entirely by students. During the past year performances were given of Dun- sany's Tents of the Arabs, Torrence's Simon the Cyrenian, O'Neill's Emperor Jones, and Percy Mackaye's Canterbury Pilgrims. The Emperor Jones was given twice, once with Mr. Charles Gilpin in the title role, and once with a student in that part. Mr. HOWARD UNIVERSITY 161 Gilpin has since shown his appreciation of the work of the students by offering two of them places in his own company. The aim of the Department of Dramatic Art and Public Speaking is, frankly, to develop the dramatic possibilities of the Negro, and to be one of the pioneers in a movement for the establishment of a national Negro the- atre. Fraternity life flourishes at Howard. There are nine national fraternities with chapters on the campus, six for men and three for women. Two of the men's fra- ternities are professional. Five of the fraternities and one of the sororities have chapter houses. Side by side with the larger problems of reorganization has gone the more detailed work on the curriculum. A tremendous amount of checking up has been accom- plished already, and there is still a great deal to do. It may be worth noting at this point that the work of the School of Liberal Arts has just been appraised by a commission representing the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools of the Middle States and Maryland, and the school placed on the "approved" list of that body. This action is without prejudice to the other senior schools of the University, as this commission is at present investigating only schools of liberal arts. Recognizing the importance of the teach- er, as one of the two indispensable compo- nents of any school, the administration of Howard University has in the past three years set about getting into sympathetic touch with every outstanding Negro scholar who might be available for the work of the university, and the faculty has already been strengthened by the addition of several scholarly, aggressive and forward-looking men. Parallel with this effort to add to the faculty new strength and vigor from without has been the generous policy in force toward teachers on the staff who are ambitious to pursue further studies. Four such teachers have spent the past year on leave, engaged in study in the great uni- versities of the North and West. It is in- teresting to record, in connection with this statement about the faculty, that one of the first research fellowships granted by the National Research Council was given to a professor in Howard University. No one, more than the writer of these lines, would deplore the rejection by all our Negro youth of the opportunities open to them in the great institutions of the North and West, and yet, under existing condi- HAXL OF APPLIED SCIENCE AND GYMNASITTM 162 THE CRISIS tions, there is a tremendous opportunity for Negro institutions. Under these con- ditions there is one thing that a distinc- tively Negro institution can offer to our young people which no other type of school pretends to offer, and that is, the chance to develop all sides of the individual under absolutely normal social conditions. This includes those transcendently important ele- ments, the development under natural con- ditions of the capacity for leadership, and the development of race- or group-con- sciousness. This last, though admittedly the father and mother of all wars and of nine tenths of .the evils and abuses in the world, is at this stage of the Negro's de- velopment an absolutely indispensable off- set to those forces so persistently working to degrade him. The new era is upon us. The new spirit is nowhere more manifest than in our col- lege group. What work could be more worth while than the teaching of these young men and women, the very flower of the race, in the opening years of this new age? Howard, like many another univers- ity, is unable to satisfy the needs she has created. Her usefulness is limited only by her equipment and her resources. She needs new buildings, a more extensive equipment, a better library, and a larger teaching force. Every citizen of the United States and every friend of education can help her get them, for Howard is, in more senses than one, a national university. SUNDAY AFTERNOON Jessie Fauset TPO the visual-minded all impressions A come in a series of little pictures. To myself, for instance, who can remember only by opening and closing camera-fashion a little inward shutter — all my life stretches backward in a group of single detached visions. In one of these, more vivid than the rest, I see myself a small gloomy child sitting dejectedly in my little red chair. "What on earth is the matter?" asks a merry older sister. "What are you crying about?" And I answer as my tears break forth without reserve, "Today seems like Sun- day." Always Sunday afternoon has made me sad. But it is a sweet sadness. It must have been connected at first, I think, with the inhibitions which Sunday in a very con- servative, not to say very religious house- hold, placed! upon the small child. I might not sing songs, I might not play, I didn't know how to write letters, it was wrong to read even fairy-tales. I could not spend pennies for candy. And the stretch between dinner and supper — one had old-fashioned suppers in those days, cold beef and prunes ! — the distance between the two meals was interminable. Of course, there was Sun- day School, but even that, which I truly liked, did not remove the feeling of re- straint and forlornness which can come to a child on a dreary enforced holiday. There was a Dante's Inferno in our house, I remember, illustrated by Dore. That was permissible reading. I could not understand the text, but how I pored over those gloomy pictures. And there was a Family Bible, too, a fat leather-bound vol- ume printed on stained brown paper with the old-fashioned s and with an Apocrypha. I was used to the OMl Testament, so used that its queer outlandish names did not seem queer to me. But how I thrilled to those strange new titles, Esdras, Hola- f ernes, Judith, Susanna! Their exotic qual- ity remains with me still. I can almost taste the atmosphere of those far-off times. Myself, with my precious book upstairs on the bed or on the floor, flat on my stomach, heels up, chin propped in my hands, and about me even on bright afternoons an indefinable sense of some- thing gloomy, dark and melancholy. From below floated the sound of my sisters' voices chatting with the casual Sunday Call- er. Sometimes there was a burst of laughter, then presently the welcome clat- ter of tea-things. After supper there was music — hymns, played on the organ; in summer-time a gathering on the front steps, a general sense of good-fellowship and re- union in which I joined gladly. But before that time in the late afternoon, gray or golden as the season might bring, — for me nothing but aloofness and sadness. SUNDAY AFTERNOON 163 Later I came to cherish that period, came to sense its possibilities. I think I recognized it as the period of my greatest mental clarity. I seemed to be penetrated at such times with a startling realization of the value of things. Perhaps in this very realization lay sadness. At first I put, hard- headedly enough, this clarity, this mental keenness to a practical purpose. In col- lege I found that notes reread on Sunday afternoon istayedJ by me, translations came more accurately and yet more delicately But I was never satisfied. Underneath was a longing to be doing something else, to be being, if I may say so, a totally different creature. The something else was always just beyond my ken. I tried to translate it into action. If the chapel-bell rang I thought I wanted to go to chapel. But when I went I found I was disappointed. If I strolled along the path which meant so much to me during my busy week, I found it meant nothing on Sunday. And always there was that sense, of having missed something. My precious Sunday afternoon had gone and I still had not fathomed its meaning. Lately I have found out what it means to me now. The realization came in France, as I sailed — not on a Sunday after- noon— on one of those ridiculous little boats which (ply up' and down the Seine. I was sitting idly apart not talking, not listen- ing even to the other members of our little party, when over me came creeping that familiar Sunday feeling. It was not merely the mental clarity, for that comes too on a lonely railroad journey and is due, I think, to a certain sense of physical de- tachment, but there was the old familiar sweet, sweet wholly satisfactory melan- choly. "Doesn't to-day seem like Sunday?" 1 asked my astonished companions. It was in the blessed period before the war. Paris was still gay, the Seine was alive with small craft, its banks crowded with fishing gentry. Nothing could be farther from the old-fashioned American idea of Sunday. But my heart knew. Let me see if I can put it into words. It is so nebulous, yet to me so real. I found I wanted nothing at those times but the Sunday afternoon itself (or the time that seemed like that) and the sense of com- pleteness which it brings. And perhaps it is this sense of wanting nothing beyond, which as a child made me so sad. The feel- ing which comes to me then is its own ex- cuse for being. Am I triste? I would not be merry. Do I ipine? The desire is sweeter than its satisfaction. Do I dream? No dream that has ever come true is sweeter than those dreams on Sunday afternoons when I brood "on no great things done, but great things undone". In that sweet do-nothingness of attitude, men- tal and physical — everything takes on an exquisitely true value which is immediately recognizable without any extra adjustment. It is as though the picture, the view had been focussed just for my special degree of short-sightedness. My heart and my mind are without strain. Just to think, then, becomes for me a joy on Sunday afternoons. At first, T used to save problems for that happy sea- son, but I soon learned better. Now I re- lax and let the thoughts come to me. How the difficulties resolve themselves. Some- times it is a really vexing material puzzle, sometimes it is a bit of verse, sometimes a situation in a play, an abstruse expression that baffles. If my mind reverts to the puzzle and! I pick up the book I find myself poring oven it with the same intense con- centration with which in my childhood I pored over Dore or the Apochrypha. And like then there is! no sense of effort. If I fail to give an idea of the ineffable satisfaction which now I gain on these beatific afternoons, I have written vainly. Everything is perfect. I would not hurry or hold back one moment. I am like the gourmet caressing his wine against his palate, yet letting it go, knowing he must not try too long to hold its flavor. What- ever I elect to do in those so brief hours is in itself an end. Sometimes I take out letters knowing that I shall not answer them then. Or I may hunt feverishly among a heap of papers for a half finished poem. Perhaps I add a line or two, but oftenest my content is complete in having unearthed it. Rarely I get out my accounts, but I believe I have never checked them up. What I like most is to sit or lie motion- less and let the stray sound or the glimps- ing of a picture bring me my thought. Churchbells on Sunday afternoon throw me into an ecstasy of pleasant feeling — my college days drift back to me, and later 164 THE CRISIS wanderings in Quebec, — fpriests toiling laboriously up, those tortuous streets to some house of prayer. The church-bells remind me, too, of a French story, so exquisite, so complete as to give one the sensation of assisting at the creation, the unfolding of a rare and per- fect thing, a flower, a poem, an utterly melodious song. In the story the church- bells take wing on good Friday and fly to Rome, whence they return on Easter Sun- day. If one can spy them in their stately flight above the clouds, one's dearest wish will be granted. It seems to me nothing could be more exquisite, more French. I know I have found no conceit so restful, so pillow-y for the overstrung mind. There is a (picture on my wall that in- trigues me repeatedly. On Sunday after- noons I let its atmosphere envelop me, ab- sorb me. It is Rossetti's "Dorigen of Brit- tany", a picture none too well-known in this country. The artist is illustrating a line from that much older artist, Chaucer. The picture, a soft platinotype, is full of all those har- monious unlikely things which the pre- Raphaelites insisted on grouping — there is a pipe-organ, a winding stair, a missal book, and a lady her arms outflung in de- spair to the sea just glimpsed through the open casement. "Is there not any ship on all the seas that will bring back to me my dearest lord?" Such is her plaint. Poor, mute, sad lady! If she only knew, she might be con- tent. She has me to suffer vicariously for her. I picture the Breton fishing village, the angry sea, the tortured hearts of wait- ing women and my heart breaks with her own. Sundays in winter are sweetest. The soft, gray closing-in of the afternoons be- tween November and March induces a pleas- ant, restful melancholy. Whereas the hot glare of summer Sundays, in the park, say, the gay dresses, the motors, the boats;, the very vividness of the trees — all thesei things cry for happiness. And if one because of some lack either within or without cannot achieve it one suffers more by contrast. On the other hand Sunday afternoon in a warm room with many books and few pictures and fewer or no people! Without, a hint of snow or the lowering that means rain; within, a flash of fire on the walls! Pain becomes a pleasure. Of late I have spent my afternoons reaid>- ing. Always the same thing. The Apology for Socrates and Crito — I cannot get away from it. And every perusal brings me fresh pleasure, a new and growing satis- faction. Here, in this old mian's sublime and fearless attitude toward death, lies, it seems to me, the world's greatest brief for personal honor and probity. See him a man of seventy, with only a short while left. Surely he might be accounted blame- less if accepting Crito's offer, he left the thankless Athenians and spent his few re- maining years in Thessaly. But, listen to his noble simplicity, — "Not life, Crito," he says, "but living well is to be prized." Other men perhaps have said the same thing, but for me these words are un- speakably touching from the lips of this grand oidi pagan. All that he says is so sane, so balanced, so possible to weave into the stuff of one's own life. "In all times of peril," he continues, "there are ways of escape if one will sub- mit to any baseness. Athenians, it is not so hard to shun death, but hard indeed to shun evil, for that runs more swiftly than death. I, you see, an old man and slow of gait, have been overtaken by the slower runner." I find myself transported with his dig- nity and sonorousness. The years pass and! I with them have passed from the childhood of that melan- choly little girl to the not unmixed pleas- ures of womanhood. Through the bye- gone days gleam to my visual mind those precious afternoons like little emerald is- lands in a vast watery expanse. Not a joy but has been made fuller, not a grief but has been calmed and soothed by the in- fluence of those few hours which induce, That sweet mood when pleasant thoughts Bring sad thought to the mind. The warfare of modern living beats and seethes about my consciousness as it does about the rest of the world. But on Sun- days, I lose some of its overwhelming im- pingement. Through the long years to come I see stretching before me a vista of blessed oases, little havens whither my tired heart and mind shall, not vainly, seek re- pose. And this vision is not the least of my indebtedness to Sunday afternoon. National • Associaiion • for • (he • - Advancement of Colored.- People. LYNCHINGS IN THE UNITED STATES 'T'ABULATED figures as to lynching in ■*- the United States begin with 1885. From January 1, 1885, to January 1, 1922, 4,015 persons are known to have been lynched, as follows: 1885 181 1904 ... 86 1886 133 1905 ... 65 1887 123 1906 ... 68 1888 142 1907 ... 62 1889 .... 175 1908 ... 100 1890 91 1909 ... 89 1891 194 1910 ... 90 1892 226 1911 ... 71 1893 153 1912 ... 64 1894 182 1913 ... 48 1895 178 1914 . . . • 54 1896 125 1915 ... 96 1897 162 1916 ... 58 1898 .... 127 1917 . . . . 50 1899 .... .... 109 1918 ... 67 1900 .... .... 101 1919 ... 83 1901 .... 135 1920 ... 65 1902 94 1921 ..... ... 64 1903 .... 104 Total. .. ...4,015 Georgia 429 Mississippi 405 Texas 354 Louisiana 326 Alabama 292 Arkansas1 231 Florida 201 Tennessee 199 Kentucky 171 South Carolina . 128 Oklahoma 99 Missouri 85 Virginia 80 North Carolina 63 Wyoming 34 West Virginia . . 32 California 29 Illinois 24 Kansas 24 Montana 23 Colorado 20 Indiana 19 Nebraska 18 Maryland 17 Washington ... 17 New Mexico. . . 13 South Dakota. . 13 Ohio 13 Idaho 11 Arizona 8 Iowa 8 Minnesota . 7 Alaska 4 Michigan 4 Nevada 4 Oregon 4 Pennsylvania . . 1 Wisconsin 4 New York 3 North Dakota . 2 Delaware 1 Maine 1 New Jersey ... 1 State unknown. 11 Total 3,436 The following states have had no lynch- ings: Utah, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and the District of Columbia. It 85 \h: 200 \ A P i A — ' IOO o y\ i— ^V "N j- x/ V-/N V INCREASE AND DECREASE OF LYNCHING BY YEARS The figures for lynching before 1889 were not kept in enough detail to allow us to use more than the totals. The follow- ing figures therefore, except where notedi, refer to the period from January 1, 1889 to Jaunary 1, 1922, in which ptriod 3,436 persons are known to have been lynched. These lynchings have been distributed as follows by states: If we confine ourselves simply to Negroes who have been lynched we have the follow- ing table, showing a total of 3,038 between 1885 and 1921: 1885 78 1892 .... 155 1886 .... 71 1893 114 1887 .... 80 1894 128 1888 .... 95 1895 110 1889 95 1896 79 1890 .... 88 1897 124 1891 127 1898 103 165 166 THE CRISIS 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 87 89 108 84 87 79 60 64 59 92 75 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 80 63 61 47 49 53 51 48 63 77 57 58 Total 3,038 For the alleged causes of these lynchings of Negroes we must again confine ourselves to the years 1889-1921, and to the 2,714 lynchings of Negroes which took place in those years. Murder 957—35.3% Rape 527—19.4 " Attacks upon women 245 — 9.0 " Other crimes against the person 276 — 10.2 " Crimes against property 214 — 7.9 " Miscellaneous crimes 330 — 12.1 " Absence of crime 165 — 6.1 " N. A. A. C. P. ANNUAL MEETING y I ^HE National Association for the Ad- A vancement of Colored People held its annual meeting in New York on January 3, receiving the report of work done during 1921 at an afternoon session and reporting progress on the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill at a night mass meeting in the Palace Casino. At the afternoon session, Dr. Ernest H. Gruening, Managing Editor of the Nation, who accompanied the Senate investigating committee to Haiti, charged the senators with having "whitewashed" the occupation of the black republic and with having spent insufficient time there to take the necessary testimony on atrocities alleged against marines. The Annual Report of the officers of the Association recited the work of the Asso- ciation for the year. These reports will be published in condensed form in the March Crisis and later will be issued in pamphlet form. 7.9J& P 6.1$ N 35. 3# 19.4$ 12. 1$ 10.2$ 9.0# R 0 0 MURDER RAPE MISC. PERSOM ASSAULT P E R V Y C R I M E CAUSES OF THE LYNCHING OF 2,714 NEGROES, 1889-1921 During 1921, 58 Negroes and 6 white per- sons were lynched, making a total of 64. Of these, 62 were men and 2 were colored women. Of those lynched 32 were hanged, 17 were shot, 4 were burned, and 2 were drowned; in 9 cases the method of lynching was not reported. Of the 58 Negroes lynched, 21 were accused of rape and at- tacks upon women, 16 of murder, 10 of mis- cellaneous crimes, 7 of crimes against the person (outside of those mentioned), 1 of crime against property, and 3 of no crime. Georgia led the lynching states with 14 cases; in Mississippi there were 13 lynch- ings ; Texas and Arkansas each had 6 cases ; South Carolina, Louisiana and Florida had 5 cases each; North Carolina 4; Alabama 2, and 1 each in Kentucky, Missouri, Vir- ginia and Tennessee. Charles Edward Russell, orator "and author, spoke at the night mass meeting of the Association, at which there was music by the band of the 15th Regiment N. Y. N. G., New York's crack colored regiment. Mr. Russell welcomed the advent of the new Negro who, he declared, was ready to stand up for his rights. Mr. Russell ridi- culed President Harding's assertion that there was an "impassable gulf" between white and colored people in the United States and advocated that, before attempt- ing to lead the world to disarmament, the United States disarm the lyncher within her own borders. Walter F. White, urging continued and vigorous support of the Dyer Bill, asserted that lynching was one of the means of per- petuating peonage and the economic exploi- N. A. A. C. P. 167 tation of the Negro in the (Tnited States. "Lynching protects montj," saidi Mr. White, "and money is being sp^nt through- out the United States to keep up lynching so that the exploitation of the Negro may be continued." Mordecai W. Johnson spoke also on lynch- ing. At the meeting telegrams were read from Representative Dyer, Representative Mar- tin Madden of Illinois and from James Wel- don Johnson, Secretary of the Association, who had to be in Washington on the night of the meeting in order to confer with Re- publican leaders on the progress of the Dyer Bill. In his telegram to the N. A. A. C. P., Representative Madden said: "The time has arrived when the crime of lynching should be recognized by the nation as outlawed and all who participate in it as outlaws, I am heartily in favor of the anti-lynching bill now before Congress." Mary White Ovington, chairman of the Board of Directors of the N. A. A. C. P., presided at both afternoon and evening meetings and made a stirring (plea that in the coming struggle for passage of the Dyer Bill colored Americans continue their efforts in its behalf unabated. Secretary John- son's telegram reported that Republican leaders were confident of the Bill's passage but that steady support of the Bill must not be slackened. At the business meeting of the Associa- tion, the following were elected directors to serve until 1924: E. Burton Ceruti, Los Angeles, Cal. ; George W. Crawford, New Haven, Conn.; Bishop John Hurst, Baltimore, Md. ; Paul Kennaday, New York City; Joseph Prince Loud, Boston, Mass.; Mrs. Ella Rush Mur- ray, Catskill, N. Y.; Dr. W. A. Sinclair, Philadelphia, Pa.; Charles H. Studin, New York City; Neval H. Thomas, Washington, D. C; Rev. G. R. Waller, Springfield, Mass.; Butler R. Wilson, Boston, Mass. EARLY VOTE EXPECTED ON DYER BILL A T the time that this is written, Congress ■*■ ^ has reconvened after the holiday re- cess and now has under consideration the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill, H. R. 13. South- ern Democrats are vigorously opposing the bill. James Weldon Johnson is in Washing- ton in daily conference with the members of Congress who are fighting for the bill, and will remain in the capital until a vote is taken. At this time, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People wishes to urge strongly and solemnly every colored voter and every right-minded white voter to watch how his Congressman votes. In November every member of the House of Representatives and 32 members of the Senate are to come up for re-election. If your Congressman votes against the Dyer Bill, mark him down as your betrayer in the hour of trial and defeat him by every legitimate means when he asks your suf- frage next fall. In the same way, reward those who met the test without flinching. HOW LYNCHINGS HAPPEN /"\N August 13, about seven o'clock in ^^ the morning, Miss Jessie Parker, a white school teacher, was attacked while on her way to school in Inskip, greater Knox- ville. Her assailant dragged her from the railway, along which she was walking, into a cornfield where she was beaten and left unconscious. When she recovered con- sciousness, Miss Parker found her way to the home of a friend to whom she related her story. She reported that she had been attacked by a Negro who carried a bundle. This was all she could remember then about her assailant. Citizens gathered and went to the scene of the attack. From the top of a passing freight train, Frank Martin, a colored man, was forced at the point of guns; but the posse became convinced by physical facts that he was not the man. He, however, was arrested and taken before the girl, who was not positive that he was the man who had attacked her. When he was taken be- fore her the second time, she said that she believed that he was the man but that she did not want to harm an innocent man. When he was brought before her on the next day for the third time, she stated tr--t she was positive that he was her assailant. Martin was then confined to the county jail. That night a mob formed near the jail for the purpose of lynching Martin; how- ever, the sheriff and his deputies dispersed the would-be lynchers after wounding more than a score of them. Frank Martin established his alibi and the judge ordered him released. — r i i •' i i V \ " v.'-A u _.i..r A LYNCHING MAP OF THE I Drawn hj Ma c Each dot on this map represents one of the 3,436 lynchings which took place in the United States between 1889 and 19: in the exact localities of the lyi 168 ITED STATES OF AMERICA le G. Allison ji period of 32 years. The dots are all in the states where the lynchings occurred, but naturally they could not he placed ngs within the state boundaries. 169 THE LINK BETWEEN "^T7"HAT gives us hope for the final solu- * " tion of this trying race problem is the willingness of persons in each encamp- ment to link hands occasionally across the dividing line. Sometimes the impetus is given by common interests in art, in work, in religion Sometimes it is stirred by sheer human kindness. Whatever the cause the phenomenon recurs. One such figure, Natalie Curtis Burlin, died' last October in France, but not before she had devoted years to the work of in- terpreting one group to the other. Natalie Curtis, daugh- ter of Dr. Edward and Augusta Stacey Cur- tis, was born in New York City. She was al- ways a mu- sician 'and was fortu- nate enough to have op- portunity to cult ivate her favorite i n t e rest. Hers was no mean training, — F r iedheim, Dvorak, Gi- raudet i n Paris, Wolff in Bonn, Busoni in Berlin and Julius Kniese at the Wagner- Her methods were practical. She suc- ceeded in interesting President Roosevelt in her plan to such an extent that he in- cluded in his annual message to Congress a plea for the preservation of Indian Art. She visited the Indian Reservations in an attempt to learn, to compare and to contrast their distinctive melodies and rhythms. It was the task of years to work out a comprehensive system of musical notation which should adequately transcribe the melodies which she had recorded. By 1907 the work was completed. She had already issued sep- arately in 1905 the songs sung by the Pueblo Indians when grind- ing corn. These were called "Songs of Ancient A m erica". The later book, being natura 1 1 y more inclu- sive, was called "The In d i a n s' Book" and contained a collection of the songs and legends of the various tribes. It was an instant suc- cess both for its accur- Schule in Bayreuth were the late natalie curtis burlin acy of transcription and her teachers. Primitive music attracted her most. Bit by bit she became immersed in musi- cal myth and folk-lore of primitive peo- ples. She sensed so completely the cultural and interpretive possibilities of this class of music that she determined to turn her in- terest to some open manifestation, The In- dians and their vanishing tales and music claimed he» attention first and she set about planning a compilation in which the Indians themselves should record their native effusions. notation, and for the knowledge which it gave of primitive man. Her success in this field induced friends of Hampton Institute to request her to record Negro Folk Music of the South. This she readily undertook to do and so in 1919 produced "Songs and Tales from the Dark Continent". This book is really of surpassing value since she was helped in its compilation by Kamba Simango, a Portu- guese East African, and Madikane Cele, from Zululand. In this work Miss Curtis did her best to prove to the world that Af- 170 THE HORIZON 171 rican and American Negroes are something more than a mere "labor supply". The fame of this compilation was even more instant and more widely spread than that brought by her former volume. Isn't it a splendid thing that she lived and that she did come to know us? Think of the entirely new impression of colored people which she was able to get and to disseminate. And think of the much more valuable effect she was able to produce on colored people by showing them that here was some one willing1 and eager to learn to know them, and to exhibit them at their best. Although her husband, Paul Burlin, and her family must grieve for her sorely, yet they may take comfort with us in the thought that her comparatively short life has left on both races its ineffaceable im- print. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MRS. BURLIN'S WORKS "Dearest Where Thy Shadow Falls", G. Schirmer, New York, 1898. "Songs from a Child's Garden of Verses", G. Schirmer, New York, 1902. "Songs of Ancient America", G. Schirmer, New York, 1905. "The Indians' Book", Harper Brothers, New York, 1907. "Hymn of Freedom" , G. Schirmer, New York, 1918. "Negro Folk Songs", G. Schirmer, New York, 1919. "Mary's Baby", Huntzinger & Dilworth, New York, 1919. "Dar's a Star in de East", Huntzinger & Dilworth, New York, 1919. "Songs and Tales from the Dark Conti- nent", G. Schirmer, New York, 1920. "Victory Song of the Pawnees", G. Schir- mer, New York, 1920. "A Cow-boy Song", G. Schirmer, New York, 1920. COMPILED BY MADE npHE Railway Men's International Asso- ■*- ciation will hold a three days' convention beginning February 12, in Birmingham, Ala. The American Negro Academy has held its 25th annual meeting in Washington, D. C. The speakers included Prof. Leo Wiener of Harvard University, on "The Problems of African Civilization"; Duse Mahomed of London, on "The Necessity of a Chair in Negro History in Our Colleges" ; L. M. Hershaw, on "The Growth of Negro Population in the United States"; Alain Le Roy Locke, on "The Problem of Race and Culture"; and Arthur A. Schomburg, pres- ident of the organization, on "The Negro Soldier in the Civilization of America." The Louisiana Federation of Colored Women's Clubs held its third annual con- vention in Monroe. Reports told of play- grounds being established in Lake Charles, a Y. W. C. A. in Baton Rouge, and the se- curing of lights and night police protection for the colored section of Oakdale. The State Board of Education has taken LIME Q. ALLISON . control of Cheyney Training School for Teachers, at Cheyney, Pa. The school has been a private institution under the direc- tion of the Society of Friends. Professor Leslie Pinckney Hill is the principal and the institution has an enrollment of 106 stu- dents. The State obtained the property for $75,000; it is estimated to be worth $300,- 000. A teacher of four classes in Freshman English at the Parker High School, Dayton, Ohio, writes us: "In two of them, the only classes in which there were colored children, the best work during the past month was done by colored children. The highest aver- age for the month was secured by Emma Buckner and Gwendolen Overly, both col- ored— and admirable girls in every particu- lar." Fisk University at Nashville, Tenn., has been admitted as a beneficiary of the Car- negie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. An appropriation of $100,000 has bee^ 172 THE CRISIS Y. W. C. A. TRAINING COURSE AT HAMPTON granted by the legislature of North Caro- lina for a tuberculosis sanitarium for Ne- groes. The institution will be manned by Negro 'physicians and nurses. A Negro church in Philadelphia, — East Calvary, has the largest Methodist congre- gation in America; its communicants num- ber 3,420. St. Mark's, in New York City, has 1,946 members. The strongest white congregation, — North Woodward in Detroit, has a membership of 3,117. M. Albert M. Pourriere, a French West African merchant, has been promoted from a Chevalier to an Officier de la Legion d'Honneur. In recognition of his work, pieces of handsome silver-plat0 were pre- sented to him at the Liverpool offices of the Compagnie Frangaise de I'Afrique Occiden- tale. According to Mr. Milne Stewart, Comp- troller of Customs in Nigeria, the total vol- ume of trade for the year amounted to £42,- 515,000, being an increase over the 1919 figures of no less than £15,498,000. There was an increase of £13,200,000 in the im- port trade and of £2,260,000 in the export trade, as compared with 1919. Duties on imports amounted to £2,279,000; on exports, £838,000. The National Board of the Y. W. C. A. recently conducted a three weeks' training course at Hampton Institute. Eighteen THE SECOND PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS IN BRUSSELS THE HORIZON 173 women, representing 15 states, attended. Most of these women have already had ex- perience as girls' work, departmental and branch secretaries in city organizations. They went to Hampton for special training in the technique of the organization, in order to render more efficient service. The instructors were leaders from the National Board. During the second Pan-African Congress, a group of members was photographed in the garden of the Palais Mondial in the Park Cinquantenaire, Brussels, Belgium. In the group are Senator and Mrs. La Fon- ored majors, Major W. Hubert Jackson, served in the Spanish-American war. Re- cently the State and city of New York ap- propriated $500,000 for a new armory. The ceremony of breaking the ground for the armory, which is situated at 142d Street and Fifth Avenue, New York City, was attended by a parade and speeches. Our illustration shows the reviewing stand with Mayor Hylan, Colonel Little, Comptroller Craig and W. E. B. DuBois, who acted as chairman. Roland Hayes, the Negro tenor, recently sang in Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool; at THE MAYOR OF NEW YORK AND PARTY REVIEWING THE 15TH N. Y. N. G. taine; Professor and Mrs. Paul Otlet; Blaise Diagne, president of the Congress; W. E. B. Du Bois, secretary; Paul Panda, assistant secretary; groups from America, France, the Congo, and other delegates. The 15th New York National Guard which made such a brilliant record in the World War as the 369th Regiment has been reorganized. Arthur Little, one of the white officers who was with the regiment in France, is the colonel and the officers are both white and colored. One of the col- the concert of the Madrigal Society in Hali- fax; and in Mayfair houses where he re- ceived very warm congratulations. West Africa reports: "On 5 consecutive nights — March 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31— he is to sing before a society whose subscribing members number 12,000. As the hall has only a seating capacity for 2,000, there is already some speculation locally as to who will be unable to secure admission to hear the gifted singer." Mr. Hayes has an outstanding engagement in the spring in Scotland. 174 THE CRISIS HOME OFFICE N. C. MUTUAL INSURANCE CO. Ten state organizations have been allied with the National Colored Women's Legisla- tive Bureau of Washington, D. C. The pur- pose of this Bureau is to keep colored women in touch with all the legislative bodies, and to send out from time to time statements as to the action that is necessary for therm to take along the line of national legislation and in the interest of their race. Mrs. Mazie Mossell Griffin is national director. The opera "Martha" has been successfully rendered by a Negro cast in Chicago. Mr. James Mundy was general director, and Cleo Dickerson musical director. Leading roles were sung by Nellie Dobson and Lil- lian Hawkins Jones. The 43d annual fair of North Carolina was held in Raleigh under the presidency of Berry 0 'Kelly. The exhibits were large and varied and the fair was visited by the Governor and numbers of visitors. The new home office of the North Caro- lina Mutual Life Insurance Company, in Durham, was erected at a cost of $250,000. The company has $33,444,396 worth of in- surance in force; its bank has assets of $1,- 115,312; the company employs 1,444 persons and operates in Alabama, Arkansas, Flor- ida, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Ten- nessee, Virginia and the District of Colum- bia. The officers and directors are: A. M. Moore, president; J. M. Avery, vice-presi- dent; C. C. Spaulding, secretary-treasurer; C. H. Donnell, medical director; W. J. Ken- nedy, director. The first Negro agent to do extension work among Negro farmers was appointed in 1905. In 1908, 7 agents were being em- ployed at a cost of $4,184; last year the force had increased to 224 agents employed at a cost of $302,798. Of these, 157 are men and 67 are women. As a result of ex- tension work, Negro farmers in 1920 intro- duced pure bred live stock as follows: 377 horses, 1,688 dairy cattle, 149 beef cattle, 2,848 hogs, and 700 sheep. There were 68,199 cattle dipped, and 134,799 head of live stock were treated for diseases and "M INTERIOR OF ONE OF THE N. C. MUTUAL OFFICES THE HORIZON 175 pests. A total of 329 farmers' clubs were organized with a membership of 16,960. At the George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, Tenn., a white insti- tution, R. H. Levell has been appointed Professor of Race. Relations. Mr. Levell, al- though a white Texan, is liberal-minded and proposes to offer courses which will make the teachers trained at that great in- stitution "aware of the Negro population as a part of the community". The Brit'.sh Colonial Office is beginning to take some notice of the needs and de mands of the crown colonies especially in the West Indies where the overwhelming majority of the population is of Negro de- scent. A deputation is being sent to Grenada and other islands to inquire into their re- cent demands for representative govern- ment, and a West Indian agricultural col- lege is to be established probably in Trini- dsH; The Prix Goncourt is a highly coveted French prize. It carries five thousand francs in cash, assures a large sale for the book that received the prize and means a continued market for the future productions of the author. This prize for 1921 has been awarded to Rene Maran. Maran is a full- blooded Negro, born in Martinique. He is in the French Colonial Service and is now at his post near Lake Tchad in Central Africa. It was there that he gathered the material for his novel "Batouala," which won the prize. Batouala is an African chief to whose land the white man has brought — Underwood & Underwood RENE MARAN "their magic, their invention, their evil ways." In the preface of his book Maran makes a strong defense of the Negro and charges the white colonists with much of the evil that occurs. On the other hand, in the book he has given a real picture, with the good and the bad of the native life. Howard University conferred the de- gree of Doctor of Laws upon Ferdinand HOWARD UNIVERSITY CONFERRING A DEGREE ON MARSHAL FOCH 176 THE CRISIS CARTER, JOHNSTON AND GOURDIN Foch, Marshal of France. There is a rumor that strenuous effort was made by army officials and others in Wash- ington to keep Marshal Foch from visiting the University, but he came and a demon- stration in his honor was held. The choir sang the Hallelujah Chorus. President Durkee greeted the Marshal and the Mar- shal responded. The degree was conferred by Justice Peelle, President of the Board of Trustees. At the track meet of the Y. M. C. A. held at the 13th Regiment Armory in Brooklyn, N. Y., Joseph Carter, Ned Gourdin and Earl Johnston outclassed their white rivals. Gourdin finished the 100-yard dash in 10 1/5 seconds; Carter won the 70-yard dash in 7 3/5 seconds ; in the two-mile handicap Johnston won, his time being 9 minutes 36 4/5 seconds. Joseph Carter is from Bos- ton University; Earl Johnston, of Pitts- burgh, is national ten-mile champion; Ned Gourdin, of Harvard University, is the holder of the world's running broad jump record. Freedmen's Hospital cared for 3,318 pa- tients during last year. Of these, 1,833 re- covered from their ailments, 1,394 improved, 215 were unimproved, 12 were not treated and 210 died. There were 854 ipay-patients whose fees amounted to $24,219. Total re- ceipts for the year, including Congressional appropriations, were $173,739 ; disburse- ments, $173,246. The report says that lim- ited funds prevented proper development of the professional side of the work, but "in a general way the results of the activities at the hospital show improvement over the preceding year." There are 449 nurses holding certificates from Freedmen's. Sometime ago wide publicity was given to the suit brought against Dr. R. B. Mc- Rary, a colored physician of Lexington, N. C, by a white man who accused the doctor of alienating the affections of the white man's wife. Dr. McRary was prominent in the city and in the M. E. Church and was reputed to be well to do. After long delay, the case has been settled and Dr. McRary's attorney writes that all charges against him have been withdrawn by the accuser and settlement made on the basis of Dr. Mc- Rary's innocence. TWENTIETH NATIONAL CONFEEENGE THE HORIZON 1?? In Cincinnati the 20th national confer- ence of the colored men's department of the Y. M. C. A. was held in the beautiful local building. Among the speakers were Dr. Mott, President John Hope, Bishop R. E. Jones, Dr. R. R. Moton, President J. S. Durkee, and others. The conference was under the general direction of Mr. J. E. Moorland. Half a century ago Dr. Barth wrote that the province of Katsena in the Sudan, Africa, was one of the finest parts of Ne- groland. It was situated just at the water shed of the Tchad and the Niger, at a gen- eral elevation of twelve to fifteen hundred feet. It was well watered and well drained and its productions were rich and varied. Katsena became one of the leading coun- tries of Negroland during the 17th and 18th centuries. In the latter ipart of the 18th century it was at the height of its prosperity. It was important not only in commerce and politics, but also in learning and literature. After the Moorish con- quests and the conquests by the Fula, the importance of Katsena declined; but never- theless it is today an important country. It has a population of 400,000 people and an annual revenue from direct taxation of $400,000. Recently Mohama Giko, the 'pres- ent Emir, visited England. He was re- ceived by the King, visited the theatres and the stores, was interested in the school of tropical medicine, the museums, the banks, etc. He remained in England from June 17 to July 16, when he departed for his country. A recent meeting of the New York 1HE EMIK OF KATSENA Cameraderie, affiliated with the League for Industrial Democracy, held at the Civic Club of New York, was devoted to a presen- tation of "Negro Spirituals and Some Mod- ern Negro Music". The demonstrating artists were Charlotte Wallace Murray, So- prano; Garfield Warren Tarrant, Baritone; and Hall Johnson, Violinist. In addition to examples of the old Spirituals, the program included works of Coleridge-Taylor, Dett, Burleigh, Johnson and Cook. Augustus Granville Dill was the speaker and also the accompanist. Miss Maria Baldwin, the most distin- OF COLOF.ED Y. M. C. ASSOCIATIONS 178 THE CRISIS The Late Dr, Jackson guished public school teacher of the Negro race, died suddenly in Boston while lectur- ing before the Robert Gould Shaw Society at Copley Plaza Hotel. Garnet C. Wilkinson, formerly principal of Dunbar High School, Washington, has been made Assistant Superintendent of Schools in succession to R. C. Bruce. Mr. Wilkinson was born in South Carolina in 1879, was educated at Oberlin and has been teaching in the Washington schools since 1902. Among graduates from Wilberforce Uni- versity who have distinguished themselves is the late Dr. Thomas Henry Jackson. Dr. Jackson entered Wilberforce at the age of 14, graduating with the first class, in 1870. In 1865, he was converted and entered the active ministry of the A. M. E. Church, thus serving 56 years. He pastored churches in Ohio, Arkansas and South Car- olina and was a delegate to every General Conference since 1872 and to the Ecumeni- cal Conference in London in 1901. As an educator he served as a Professor at Wil- berforce University; President and Dean at Shorter College, Little Rock, Ark., and Professor at Payne Seminary, Wilberforce. He was also treasurer of Wilberforce Uni- versity for the last 5 years. He was born in Philadelphia, Pa., March 13, 1844 and died in Wilberforce, Ohio, November 24, 1921. There have been few cases where Ameri- can Negroes have been appointed to a chair in the larger universities. This is chiefly because prejudice of race prevents them from securing fellowships and instructor- ships. In a few cases, however, there have E. Davis been such appointments. One is the case of Mr. L. M. Peace, who is one of the oldest teachers in the University of Kansas, at Lawrence. Mr. Peace is instructor in the Department of Biology. He is a graduate of the University, a successful teacher, and well-liked. Professor George Edward Davis was born at Wilmington, N. C, March 24, 1862. In 1883 he was graduated from Biddle Uni- versity with first honor; then he studied medicine for 2 years at Howard University. He was the first colored teacher appointed to Biddle, where he has served 34 years and held the chairsi of Latin, Science and Sociol- ogy; for 30 years he was secretary of the Faculty and for 15 years, Dean. He re- signed the Deanship on October 15, 1920, to become Rosenwald Building Agent and Director of Negro Interest in the Public Schools of North Carolina. On September 16, 1889, Mr. Davis married Miss Mary E. Gaston, a public school teacher of Savan- nah, Ga. They are the parents of 5 living children, 2 of whom are teachers. Through Congressman George S. Graham of Philadelphia, the Congressional Record contains the full text of a report on "a pri- vate investigation of discriminations be- tween colored and white employees in the Panama Canal Zone", by the Rev. Dr. Mat- thew Anderson of Philadelphia. The editors of The Crisis were so en- grossed with the changes in the arrangement of the January issue that they failed to give the name of the artist who designed the cover. We take great pleasure in announc- ing it as the work of Miss Hilda Rue Wil- kinson. J71 he Lookiiva Glass LITERATURE 'T'HOMAS CURTIS CLARK in Unity. In every meanest face I see A iperfected humanity; All men, though brothers of the clod, Bear promise of the sons of Godi. No human ore that does not hold A precious element of gold; No heart so blackened and debased But has for Him some treasure chaste. * * * One of the important literary phenomena of the year is the publication of the Revue des Coloniaux {Colonial Review) which is owned by its editor Isaac Beton. M. Beton is a native of Guadeloupe, a man of wide classical and literary training and a teacher in one of the lycees (institutions of high school rank) of Paris. The magazine contains articles relative to the lives and problems of France's colonials. It also attempts to give an inter- national review of events to colored people all over the world. Thus the volume at hand contains not only accounts of the sugar industry of Madagascar and of the second Pan-African Congress, but of the Olympic contests and pictures of black ath- letes from all over the world including our own Gourdin and Butler. The Crisis hopes that the Revue des Coloniaux will gain the following which it so richly deserves. THE DYER BILL HPHE Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill is a dras- ■*■ tic measure but proposes to punish a drastic crime, by employing, after all other methods have failed, the only ones which promise relief. The New York Evening Post says;: To punish a local official who fails to do everything within his power to prevent a lynching; to punish anybody who partici- pates in a lynching mob, and to make any county in which any person is lynched liable to the victim's family in the sum of $10,000— these are the "teeth" in the Anti- Lynching Bill now before Congress. The Federal Government bases its right to act upon the Fourteenth Amendment, which provides that no State shall deny to any person the equal protection of the laws. A State which does not protect its residents against a mob is deemed to have denied them the equal protection of the laws. The section of the bill holding a county liable for damages embodies a principle which has already been recognized by statute in the South. Gov. Dorsey has recommended its extension to Georgia. The Federal Gov- ernment cannot be charged with hasty action in this matter. Sentiment the coun- try over favors more effective measures against lynching. The bill should be given a trial. The passage of this bill will establish a precedent for the federal centralization of the powers and rights of the various States thinks the New York World in a bitter edi- torial entitled "Lynching the Constitution": If Congress can validly make this kind of offending a Federal crime, there is no felony or misdemeanor known to the laws of any State which cannot be made a Fed- eral crime and imposed upon the Federal authority for detection, prosecution and punishment. . . . The Dyer bill is a mischievous and essen- tially a lawless measure and every effort should be made to prevent its enactment. * * * The Springfield, Mass., Republican has a ready answer for those who feel that this bill means the federal usurpation of state rights: The need of such a law as this has been glaringly apparent for a long time. Un- der an easy-going theory of state respon- sibility for the policing of its own domains both the rights guaranteed to citizens by the federal constitution for the equal pro- tection of the laws and the treaty obliga- tions toward alien residents have too long been neglected. State responsibility will remain if the law is passed, but the ri^ht of the state to neglect its responsibility will have been effectivelv denied. * * * A striking feature in the controversy is that advocacy for and against the bill seems to be based on sectional lines, the South of course showing passionate dis- favor. The New York Globe points out the evil attendant on such a stand, for the Dyer Bill no matter how severe is certainly an attempt to enforce lawr andi order: If the white South could bring itself to stand as a unit for the enforcement instead of the breaking of the law it would gain 179 180 THE CRISIS the respect of the world and the co-opera- tion of law-abiding southern Negroes. Its present attitude naturally wins it the dis- trust of the world and the bitterness of its colored population. If the Negro is a dan- ger in the South, lynching will not make him less dangerous. If he is in need of im- provement it will not improve him. Bar- barity begets barbarity, not civilization. This is what Mr. Garrett and the South must learn. * * * The New York Tribune considers such a stand only natural in the circumstances: Even apart from the international as- pect lynching is a disgrace too long endured. It is the negation of law and civilized meth- ods of justice. It influences savage pas- sions. It lowers the morale of a community. Since state authority has failed to suppress this evil, and Federal intervention is per- fectly legitimate, it is only common sense for Congress to take a hand in making lynching more hazardous and expensive for tho?e who countenance it or take part in it. * * * How can anybody prate of the machinery of law when a scene is enacted in Paris, Tex., which makes the Rev. L. C. Kirkes of that town declare: I cannot agree with those who say the burning was justifiable, but the dragging of the dead bodies over the streets made it an act of inhuman cruelty. That does not appeal to me. After liquid fire has been appliedi to the quivering flesh of living men, it is a matter of nothing in comparison when their life- less bodies are subjected to ghoulish in- humanities. * * * Yet in spite of these horrors the special grand jury appointed to investigate the condition of that lynching reports: We have been in session fourteen days and examined 112 witnesses. We have done our best in trying to locate the guilty par- ties and have worked hard and faithfully. After doing all that we could to locate the guilty parties we are unable to find out whether the parties committing the crime lived in this county or came from some other locality except the ones we returned the bills against. . We herewith hand you five bills of indict- ment for felonies and ask to be discharged. * * * If the Dyer Bill passes, the members of that Grand Jury will find their wits con- siderably sharper. NEW POLITICS FOR OLD A CORRESPONDENT of a Houston, *• ^- Tex., paper writes: A Negro candidate for governor of Vir- ginia polled 20,000 votes in the recent elec- tion. There it is, gentlemen. It is coming. President Harding's pitiful blunder is going to precipitate more trouble, more bloodshed and discord in the South than any utterance that ever came from any President save when Lincoln ordered the advance of northern troops. Negroes buoyed by the President's words will seek to secure office, amdi in places where there is a preponderance of Negro voters will attempt to take charge of county and municipal affairs, and you know where that will lead to, don't you? I am just asking you. We may expect a string of saddle-col- ored aspirants for office all over the South. We may have one or two limelight-iseeking Negroes in Houston, but we will have no Negro officers, not as long as the Ku Klux lives and breathes. Boys, we may as well understand this thing right now. This country is rapidly shaping itself into a condition where it cannot do without the Ku Klux Klan. * * * The Brooklyn Eagle thus characterizes the political tactics of the now famous Con- gressman Slemp from Virginia: Mr. Slemp conceived the idea that if the G. O. P. would simply ignore the Negroes, ostracize them, rob them of their weight in Republican conventions, it could win the Commonwealth with white votes, "Lily White" votes, alone. The plan was widely advertised. Gossip is that it was more than half indorsed by President Harding and by Will H. Hays as Republican national chair- man. It was not openly indorsed. At any rate it won a test. The blacks were indignant. They formed a "Lily Black" party and nominated a can- didate. But the Democrats were somewhat divided and with an imperfect organiza- tion, and Slemp had hopes. His friends were claiming the State by 25,000 the day before election. The returns show a Demo- cratic victory by 60,000. Only abovt 20,000 votes were polled by the "Lily Blacks." The assumption is that a much larger num- ber voted the Democratic ucket. This may be fa;rly called the fading away of the "Lily Whites" in southern poli- tics. It is a warning to a Republican Ad- ministration that there is no hope in desert- ing their Negro allies. * * * The colored St. Luke's Herald of Rich- mond, Va., hopes that the triumph of the Democrats will effect a reconciliation be- tween white and black Republicans: The "Lily Whites" who compassed the heavens and the earth in their cock-sure campaign "On the Race Question", who maintained a whole floor of clerks at the Jefferson Hotel, who threw away thousands of dollars trying to capture the Governor- ship, are now sensible of the futility of their ill-advised procedure by whitewashing their THE LOOKING GLASS 181 party at Norfolk. They have earned the full force of the joint-rebuke which the Democrats and colored Republicans admin- istered. Instead of gaining in-roads on the electorate, the "Lily Whites" lost eight dele- gates in the Virginia House. Instead of twelve delegates which were in the House before "The Colonel" ousted the Negroes, the Republican party now has only four delegates in the 1922 House. This sure decline and convincing failure should bring about a reconciliation of the two Republi- can wings of the party in the State. * * * James Stemons writes in the Philadel- phia, Pa., Public Ledger of the unfairness of political parties toward their colored constituents. There is a very large group of Negro voters in Philadelphia. Yet they are rarely recognized and this of course leads to their voting along racial lines. Mr. Stemons asserts: Not more than twice in twenty years have the independents sought the confidence and co-operation of Negroes by nominating one for the most insignificant office. George Edward Dickerson, for example, is a col- ored lawyer of high standing. For more than fifteen years Mr. Dickerson has stood squarely behind every independent move- ment that this city has had. Yet he in- forms me that he has been virtually read out of the movement by its present leaders, simply because of his modest request for some recognition of his race. It is such short-sightedness that forces the Negro to vote on purely racial lines. Personally, I believe it would have been far better for the race had some Negro of education and recognized abi/ty, preferably a man versed in the law, ')een nominated and elected as a magistrate instead of Mr. Scott. Mr. Scott was nominated and elected by the political faction to which he adhered. Colored people knew that with them it was a choice between Scott and no one. They are becoming sick and tired of having no representation in a government of which they form so large an integral part. They knew that a movement was under way to rob them of this petty recognition by merci- lessly cutting Scott (chiefly because of his race), and they, to my mind, most wisely decided to do a little cutting on their own account, thereby teaching politicians of this city a lesson in political strategy that they will not soon forget. IN THE LAND OF THE FREE HP HIS is what can happen to colored -*- people in America. Vardaman's Weekly reports : An affair happening in Jackson, or rather close to Jackson, Sunday, that has attracted some little attention, is the alleged taking of Drummond Leonard, a Yazoo City Negro, from the Y. and M. V. train by white men and the administering to him of a rather sound thrashing. According to the story, Leonard, a well- to-do Yazoo City barber, desired to send his two daughters to school at Atlanta. For the purpose he wanted sleeping car accom- modations and attempted to reserve them in Yazoo City where the agent informed him he would, if a sleeper was desired, do well to engage a drawing room in order that the children would not come into con- tact with other passengers. According to the story, Leonard came to Jackson Sunday afternoon and asked for his sleeper tickets, which the agent refused to sell him. He is said to have then become indignant and to have cited the law to the effect the agent could not refuse to sell him. He later is said to have obtained a drawing room and placed his daughters on the A. & V. train. Leonard took the Y. & M. V. train to Yazoo City and when the train reached Annie, a short distance from Jackson, he is said to have been taken off by some white men of this city, carried into the woods and thrashed; after the whipping, he was told to run and is said made good time obeying orders. A conversation with a gentleman at Yazoo City revealed that Leonard returned to his home yesterday morning, that his shop had been closed all day and the im- pression prevailed he had left the city for good. . . . White supremacy is going to prevail in Mississippi. * * * The New Orleans Times-Picayune gives an account of southern courtesy at Meri- dian, Miss: Dr. Robinson had driven his car up to a local ice plant, and asked the Negro, Ed- wards, an employee, who waited on custom- ers, to bring him out a piece of ice. The Negro complied but the ice he brought was white with ammonia, and the physician told him to carry it back and bring a better piece. Edwards is alleged to have insult- ingly replied: "You are mighty hard to please." Dr. Robinson stepped quickly from his car and slapped the Negro, saying that he would go and select the kind of ice he wanted. He walked towards the salesroom and the Negro, who had gone off a short distance, opened fire. After emptying his pistol, Edwards fled and every effort to locate him had failed at a late hour tonight. But the hunt had in no way abated and it is feared that a lynching is likely should the Negro be captured. Hopes are held out for the recovery of Dr. Robinson, the bullet, according to phy- sicians, having glanced downward passing into the fleshy part of the neck to the rear, but it as yet has not been located. 182 THE CRISIS A colored student at the 1921 summer- school of the University of Pennsylvania writes us: From the time school opened up to Thurs- day, July 21, things went as well as could be expected, in a group of this kind. On the morning of the above date, Mr. Cromie, director of our department, gave out notices in class that a Class Picture would be taken in the gymnasium on the following Friday. Following that, he read out the names of the colored students and notified those not present to meet him in the office at ten o'clock. We reported at said time. He opened his remarks by saying that he supposed that we knew that social condi- tions were quite different in the South from what they were here and that colored and white people did not mix, etc. He con- cluded by saying that there were southern students in the school and also southern teachers, who were told when they accepted their positions that there would be colored students who must be treated the same as other students. He felt, however, that there were some things that were expedient and right to do, namely, asking us not to report when the class was called for the picture and not to attend the Friday dances. Personally, he didn't object, but there were southern women in the class who ob- jected to being photographed with us, and as it was purely a social affair, he felt that their wishes should be respected. He stated further that this is a white man's school and the picture will be used for advertising purposes, "and we don't want an influx of Negroes, although we can handle a certain number." After he told us how much he thought of colored folk, etc., he stated that no differ- ence had been shown in classes, although there had been much contention about our going into the swimming pool, and that no darky had ever been mistreated in his classes or something similar. BITS FROM EVERYWHERE TTENRY JOHNS GIBBONS writes in ■"•-J- the Philadelphia, Pa., Public Ledger: Ledger: A headline in this morning's issue of the Public Ledger reads, "Bandits Ate Marine in Haiti, Witness Says," by which I am reminded of a bon mot by James WeMon Johnson, the brilliant Negro poet. He got this off in a discussion of Caribbean Sea affairs in New York recently, which I at- tended. It was to this effect: "I don't know personally about rumored cannibalism in Haiti and San Domingo, but you can take your choice between eating your human flesh without cooking it in that benighted island and cooking your human flesh with- out eating it in possibly no less benighted Mississippi." The Bishop of Peterborough said recently in an address at Leicester, England: "We ought to attempt more than we have done to make people realize the danger to the future of a colossal world conflict between the white and colored races. "The world is drifting rapidly to dissen- sion in the matter of color division." $ $ H* Peggy Shippen, a staff writer of the Philadelphia Public Ledger, recites two in- teresting happenings based on color: When at school in Paris about that time [1862], I remember two mulatto girls ap- pearing one day who were assigned desks next to mine in the classroom. My mother being a Southerner and the owner of a plantation in Louisiana, I had been brought uip with unreasonably strong race preju- dice, and being only a little girl, I stub- bornly declined to sit next to the girls. In my country, I stoutly declared, such a thing would have been unheard of. It was ex- plained to me that these colored girls were the daughters of the president of Haiti, Pres- ident Geffrard — if I remember right. The fact did not interest me. I stuck it out. So did the authorities; and I was put in Cov- entry. But in the end I won, as they moved eventually. Of course, I was wrong and I deserved all I got. But it was an ordeal and I had to bring to bear upon the ques- tion the influence of my guardian in Paris. Apropos of the lack of race feeling among the French, one of my elders told me that she was paying an afternoon visit to a friend on her way at home, where among others present, was a quiet, good-looking woman of the brunette type. The conver- sation turned on Alexandre Dumas the elder, and one of the guests asked if it were true that he was a Negro. After some dis- cussion as to the amount of negroid blood in the famous novelist's veins, the quietlook- ing woman settled the point for the com- pany, adding: "I think you may credit my statement, as I am Alexandre Dumas' daugh- ter!" Tableau! Embarrassed silence! ! ! M. Georges Scelle, professor of inter- national law of the Faculty of Dijon, writes in V Information (Paris) of M. Louis, Dantes Bellegarde, Haitian Minister to France: We knew that French culture was still preserved in the largest island of the Antilles, but we would have had difficulty in imagining that the black republic could send us a man of this worth and ability. As soon as he began to speak on the ques- tion of the organization of intellectual work, the Haitian minister made an impression. His discourse on the mandates was a mas- terpiece of logical construction, of solid thought, of measured eloquence. When he spoke of the Pan-African Con- gress, when he demanded for a colored man a position on the Commission of Colonial Mandates, M. Bellegarde not only convinced but aroused the entire Assembly. M\> -—___ i- •} IfiOO The CRISIS Vol. 23-No. 5 MARCH, 1922 Whole No. 137 | ONE DOLLAR AND A HALF A YEAR FIFTEEN GENTS A COPY 28th Annual Financial Statement of the Southern Aid Society of Virginia, Inc. (Condensed) RECEIPTS 1921 Jan. 1, 1921, Cash Balance Brought Forward $ 98,688.17 Dec. 31, 1921, Annual Income 781,392.32 Gross Receipts for 1921 $880,080.49 DISBURSEMENTS Dec. 31, 1921, Total Paid Out (Including investments made during the year) $807,957.60 Cash Balance Dec. 31, 1921 .$72,122.89 ASSETS LIABILITIES Cash Balance Dec. 31, 1921 $72,122.89 Capital Stock $30,000.00 Real Estate 362,266.71 Bills Payable (Unmatured notes on Real Estate Mortgages 86,082.48 Purchase Price of another Company's Federal, State and City Bonds 42,258.00 debit) 60,412.2i4 Bills Receivable 12,774.29 Real Estate Mortgage (Mortgage as- Furniture and Fixtures 7,500.00 sumed on recent purchase) 4,000.00 Inventories of Sundry Accts 5,210.81 Deposits of Employees 17,400.63 Ledger Accounts 7,510.00 SURPLUS FUND 468,892.31 Total $588,215.18 Total $588,215.18 CAPITAL AND SURPLUS $ 498,892.31 Total Amount of Claims Paid to Dec. 31, 1921 2,511,894.92 The unusual business depression of 1921 was a fiery trial to practically all businesses. The Industrial Sick Benefit Business was especially adversely affected by the lack of employment of thousands of policyholders. Some were forced to retire. Most of them experienced a great slump in the year's business. Only a few were able to show an increase in business over the former year. The Southern Aid Society of Va., Inc., was numbered among the favored few. The Society did its largest business during 1921. It served acceptably a larger number of people than ever before. It is now better prepared to protect its membership — through its New Liberal Policy — which provides for One Small Premium, protection against Sickness, Accident and Death. District Offices and Agencies located throughout the State of Virginia and the District of Columbia. Southern Aid Society of Virginia, Inc. Home Office : 527 N. Second Street RICHMOND, VA. THE CRISIS A RECORD OF THE DARKER RACES PUBLISHED MONTHLY AND COPYRIGHTED BY THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE, AT 70 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK CITY. CON- DUCTED BY W. E. BURGHARDT DU BOIS; JESSIE REDMON FAUSET, LITERARY EDITOR; AUGUSTUS GRANVILLE DILL, BUSINESS MANAGER. Vol. 23-No. 5 MARCH, 1922 Whole No. 137 Page COVER Drawing by John Henry Adams OPINION Boddy, Black France, Homicides, The Woman's National Foundation, Mr. Dyer to Mr. Johnson 199 GANDHI AND INDIA 203 NO END OF BOOKS. Jessie Fauset 208 POEMS. Langston Hughes 210 TWELFTH ANNUAL REPORT (Abridged) OF THE NATIONAL ASSO- CIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE 211 MAP OF N. A. A. C. P. BRANCHES 213 TWELVE PRESIDENTS OF BRANCHES OF THE N. A. A. C. P 215 THE HORIZON Illustrated 216 THE RULING PASSION. An Estimate of Joseph C. Price 224 THE LOOKING GLASS 225 THE APRIL CRISIS The April Crisis will be our Easter Number. It will contain an article on Negro banks and a striking story by Robert W. Bagnall. A beautiful cover, of course. FIFTEEN GENTS A COPY; ONE DOLLAR AND A HALF A YEAR FOREIGN SUBSCRIPTION TWENTY-FIVE CENTS EXTRA RENEWALS: The date of expiration of each subscription is printed on the wrapper. When the subscription is due, a blue renewal blank is enclosed. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: The address of a subscriber can be changed as often as desired. In ordering a change of address, both the old and the new address must be given. Two weeks' notice is required. MANUSCRIPTS and drawings relating to colored people are desired. They must be accom- panied by return postage. If found unavailable they will be returned. Entered as second class matter November 2, 1910, at the post office at New York, New York, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 196 THE CRISIS ADVERTISER National Training School DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA A School for the Training of Colored Young Men and Women for Service Though it is young in history, the Institution feels a just pride in the work thus far accomplished, for its graduates are already filling many responsible positions, thus demonstrating the aim of the school to train men and women for useful citizenship. DEPARTMENTS ALREADY ESTABLISHED The Grammar Schwol The Teacher Training Department The Academy The Divinity School The School of Arts and Sciences The Commercial Department The Department of Music The Department of Home Economics The Department of Social Service For farther information and Catalog, address President James E. Shepard, Durham, North Carolina STATE OF NEW JERSEY Manual Training & Industrial School FOR COLORED YOUTH BORDENTOWN, N. J. A hlfh Inttltutlen far tha training of wlorw! youth. Excellent equlpmtnt, thorough Instruction, wholesome surrounding*. Academic training for all students. Courses In carpentry, agriculture and trades for boys. Including auto repairing. Courses In domestic solenee and domestic art for girls. A new trades building, thoroughly equipped. New girls' dormitory thoroughly and modernly equipped. Terms reasonable. For Information address W. R. VALENTINE, Principal Wiley University Marshall, Texas Recognized as a college of first class by Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Okla- homa State Boards of Education. Har- vard, Boston University, University of Illinois and University of Chicago repre- sented on its faculty. One hundred twenty-seven in College Department, ses- sion 1910-1920. Several new buildings, steam heated and electric lighted. M. W. DGGAN, President LINCOLN UNIVERSITY Pioneer in Collegiate and Theological Education Lincoln Men are Leaders in the various professions in Forty States. The College is ranked in Class I. by the American Medical Association. Address : John B. Kendall, D.D., Lincoln University, Chester County, Penna. Cheyney Training School For Teachers Cheyney, Pa. Made in 1930 an accredited State Normal School, offering, in addition to the regular Normal Course of two years, professional three year courses in Home Economics and Shop Work. A diploma from any of these courses makes a graduate eligible to teach in the public schools of Pennsylvania. A three-year High School Course is offered to all who have com- pleted the eighth grammar grade. For further particulars and catalog, write LESLIE PDrOKDTZY HILL, Principal, Cheyney, 7a. THERE WILL BE NO SUMMER SCHOOL FOR 1121 Mention Tn Cusu. THE CRISIS Vol. 23. No. 5 MARCH, 1922 Whole No. 137 tUvlOIV BODDY HAT more pathetic, baffling, and heartrending case can one conceive? Here is a boy of nineteen — too young even to have begun to live. He is comely, straight, quick of brain, and with lightning speed of hands. He can read and write. He has spent two years in the high school. And yet he stands today a murderer, frank and red-handed. He has been in jail; he has been in the penitentiary; he has been in the army. He has stolen ; he has killed. Now society is going to kill him. Why? Whose fault is it? Who made this boy what he is? Society assumes that he is to blame, but he is not wholly to blame and it is barely possible that he is not a bit to blame. How fair a chance to live has he had? First, it is a question if his own family and companions and race have shown any real and con- tinued interest in him. They have been content to call his energy and quickness and revolt against bonds, "badness". They have withdrawn from him and let him go his way. He has figured for years as one of the "bad boys" of Harlem, for whose re- form his own people have had no ade- quate program and for whose type they have had no sympathetic under- standing. His city and his country have laughed at him, insulted him, hated him, given him few places for play or recreation, and filled his ears with too true stories of outrage and lynch- ing. We can kill this boy, and per- haps in the horrible muddle of our penal code there is nothing else to do. But one or two things must ring in our ears forever. He said: "They kick and knock you about for two or three hours in the station house." They do and we know it; it is one of the greatest outrages of our present police system. It has been said that Boddy himself has been beaten by the police a dozen times when they could prove nothing against him. It is said the dead detectives have beaten and killed unconvicted Negroes, and slapped and insulted black women. His mother said, "They taught him to shoot in the army." They did. Millions of boys have lately been taught to shoot in the armies of the world, and civilization is to blame for the murders which they did in the army and for those which they are doing outside the army. And finally, when this boy is dead, remember that the same forces which made him what he was are alive and powerful arid working to make others like him. BLACK FRANCE a HE article by Norman Angel 1 in The Freeman reveals an astonishing attitude of mind in higher quarters than we had hitherto looked to see it. To the ordinary American or Englishman, we have always realized, the race question is at bottom simply a matter of the ownership of women ; white men want the right to own and use all women, colored and white, and they resent any intrusion of colored men into this domain. 199 200 THE CRISIS This, as we have said, has long been the attitude of the ordinary white man, but we had scarcely thought to see this attitude illustrat- ed in an article by Norman Angell. Mr. Angell by way of climax re- minds us of the use of white French prostitutes for colored soldiers in France; and his use of this illustra- tion is apparently not to make us hate prostitution — for when was there an army that did not thrive on prostitu- tion and rape — but rather to make his readers feel that social equality in France on any plane is a menace to the modern Anglo-Saxon world! Of course Mr. Angell does not say this in so many words; how- ever, every implication of his ar- ticle points this way. The Negroes of Anglo-Saxon lands are uniting to fight intolerable aggressions; they are thinking black in the face of a white world. French Negroes, on the other hand, (at least the civilized and the cultured), are thinking French because they have been treat- ed as men by Frenchmen. This to Mr. Angell's mind constitutes a grave danger and that danger is that the French policy of treating Negroes decently may in the end compel Eng- land and America to do the same and open parlors and brothels to black gentlemen and soldiers. This is what he calls the "Negro conquest of France", and this is what he fears with a perfect Fear! HOMICIDES HERE is a species of propa- ganda going on against the Negro which is so subtle that most people do not notice it. For instance, The Spectator, an in- surance magazine periodical, records from year to year all homicides, — that is all persons killed in the United States by criminal violence. It notes that for every million of population in 31 cities there are 85 homicides and that the rate is increasing. Then the statement, which is writ- ten by Frederick L. Hoffman, goes on to say (the italics are ours) : "Fur- thermore, it will be noted that the cities experiencing the highest rates are those having a large colored popu- lation." And comparing North and South, he says that the homicide rate among the whites in the South "is but little higher than for the New Eng- land and Middle Atlantic States and below that for the West. For the col- ored race the incidence is shown to be four times as frequent as among the whites in the South." Now what is the inference that any number of papers quoting this pass- age have made? It is that the Negro is a murderer and causes the great murder rate in the South. And yet as a matter of fact, what is the truth? The truth is that the Negro is MUR- DERED four times as fast as the whites and that the unfortunate pre- eminence of the South in murder is because there are so many black folk there to be killed. In other words, a fact which is to the shame of the white race and pitia- ble for the colored race, is, we had almost said, deliberately so stated that nine people out of ten in the United States have twisted the facts to the discredit of the black South. The Crisis itself was so puzzled at the figures that it wrote Mr. Hoffman to be certain, and received from him a letter confirming the fact: "The term homicide as used in my articles ... is strictly limited to deaths from homicide." He also adds: "I have always stood clearly upon the position that it was immaterial whether the persons killed were white or colored. The Negro's life economically as well as socially is as valuable and as worthy as that of a white man." All of which sounds very well and yet OPINION 201 Mr. Hoffman has allowed an ambigu- ous statement to go out under his sig- nature, and he may still be counted as he was when he published that vicious book "Race Traits and Ten- dencies of the American Negro", — as one of the most persistent and subtle enemies of the Negro race. THE WOMAN'S NATIONAL FOUNDATION UR attention has been called in two separate instances to the Woman's National Foun- dation of Washington, D. C. It is an imposing organization. It calls itself : "A nationwide movement to unify the woman power of the country along civic, welfare and patriotic lines. . . . "Great enthusiasm for the movement is reported from all sections of the country. Although the Foundation is less than six months old it has secured thousands of mem- bers, acquired a million dollar national site in Washington, and is endorsed and backed by leading financiers, statesmen, educators and officials. "The board of governors of the Founda- tion includes such nationally known women as Mrs. George Barne'ct, wife of a major general of the U. S. Marine Corps; Mrs. Stephen B. Elkins, widow of former Sena- tor Underwood of Alabama; Mrs. Charles B. Howry, wife of Judge Howry of the U. S. Court of Claims; Miss Janet Richards, the noted woman lecturer; Mrs. John Hays Hammond, Mrs. J. Borden Harriman, Mrs. James McDonald, Mrs. Henry R. Rea of Pittsburgh; Mrs. Sidney Ballou, Mrs. Marie Moore Forrest, the celebrated pageant writ- er; Mrs. James Carroll Frazier, head of the Comforts Committee of the Navy League, Mrs. Henry D. Flood, wife of Representa- tive Flood of Virginia, and Mrs. Maud Wood Park, national chairman of the League of Women Voters." This organization has high ideals. Its prospectus issued November 15, 1921, says: "It is the aim of the Foundation to edu- cate its members in citizenship and to teach the same rights and responsibilities of women so that they may thoroughly under- stand the duties they owe to their country. "Organized womanhood is now recognized to be the greatest dynamic force for good in the world today. If women are united, nothing is now outside of their power." It would have been ordinary hon- esty for this organization to have said that they wished to confine their membership to white women, that all their great and high aims were to be held strictly within the barriers of race. But they did not do this, — they did not dare do it. They were too cowardly to let the world know what they really believed, and there- by they have made to our knowledge two horrible mistakes. In the first place, they appointed October 21, 1921, Mrs. Ailene Par- son of Keystone, W. Va., by unani- mous action to their board of gov- ernors as organization chairman for her city and its environs. They said : "You have been selected for this official position of the Foundation from a number of nominations made by members of the Board of Governors of the Foundation, by United States Senators and Representatives in Congress from your State, as well as by nationally prominent club women, and other reliable sources who are cognizant of your standing and ability." Mrs. Parson went to work, organ- ized her units and sent in her units' checks, whereupon December 12, 1921, she received from Mrs. Charles 6 />///// fY///* // . jy^fY///;//,',// ///'MS/ //J , ///7/7//V// - /f'tf //'/?, ffy/fM. \T WASHINGTON D1SIRICT OF . /f/fj/f .J f/y.j pj/ HAS BEEN CHOSEN TO REPRESENT THE FOUNDATION iN T,\\ CITY OP HEX! RESIDENCE -AS ORGANIZATION CHAIRMAN WITH ALL POWERS \! PfiEl XATM s WHICH ARE CONFERRED UPON THIS OFFICE UNDER THE 1 LAWS AND CONSTITUTION OF THE FOUNDATION (( '/// A:j////uw// //■/////?/. SHE IS HEREBY UlTHORIZED AND REQUESTED To ANNOUNCE THAT UNDER HER DIRECTION AT THE HOUR AND PIACE DESIGNATED BY HER' SHE \NTIJ. CALL TOGETHER ON THE FOUNDATION'S WORLD ORGANIZATION DAY . hr,;/,Av///< /;/////,/// , ffjte/tr* ///// . Iff At //,-.'/ . A',Y,///W//W TMr//mra _/ . '/j ('/////iff// A'/v/ .A/ri./- , '< 202 THE CRISIS B. Howry, financial secretary, a letter which stated : "We appreciate your interest in so promptly forming a unit to carry on our work in your locality, but are sorry to say that we cannot under our by-laws accept your membership as this organization is made up entirely of Caucasians. "We regret very much that through in- advertence this situation was not brought to your attention." The same thing happened in Wash- ington. A prominent colored artist, whose color is not entirely visible, was importuned by letter to join the Foundation. Assuming that they must know that she had a great- grandfather who was a Negro, she went to one of their meetings. She was welcomed effusively, she was im- portuned to say how she could help and what she could do. She told them frankly that as a Negro she was interested in Negro sculpture. Her hostess gasped and fluttered and fin- ally with maladroit boorishness told her that Negroes were not admitted to this organization. What does this all mean ? That we are losing something by being ex- cluded from the Woman's National Foundation? Certainly not ! This is but a cheap advertisement for social climbers. But it does mean that to- day movements that are foolish enough to try to draw the color line have not the courage to say so. They sneak down back alleys in order to keen the Negro "in his place." MR. DYER TO MR. JOHNSON WISH to congratulate you, and through you, the officers and members of your organization, for the splendid assistance that you have rendered to me in carrying on the fight for the enactment into law of legislation that will make lynching a crime against the United States. The Bill has passed the House of Rep- resentatives and is now pending in the United States Senate. The Sen- ate has over a year in which to take action upon the Bill that passed the House. I feel sure that the United States Senate will promptly and fa- vorably consider this very important legislation. In my opinion, the Con- gress has not undertaken more im- portant legislation for a long time, than the enactment into law of this bill. It is to safeguard life from mobs. The greatest blot upon the other- wise proud record of the United States of America is the crime of lynching, that has been so prevalent in so many portions of this country for the last 35 to 4Q years. Simple justice and our obligations as a Na- tion to the people under the Four- teenth Amendment to the Constitu- tion of the United States demands that we act with promptness. We have already delayed this matter too long, resulting in the sacrificing of lives of many innocent people. We must end this horrible crime, and this leg- islation when enacted into law will do it. My best efforts in that direc- tion will be continued till this legis- lation is put upon the statute books and enforced to the letter. I trust that you, your organization, and all friends of this legislation will continue the campaign till same is en- acted into the law of the land. We are sure to succeed if we work to- gether and in earnest. The people of the United States and the press of the whole country are for this legislation. There can be and there must be no failure. FRED PROCTOR-FRAUD OMPLAINTS are coming to us from persons who paid money for Crisis subscrip- tions to one Fred Proctor. He is not an agent for The CRISIS. If he comes to your community, please escort him to the police. The Crisis does not employ traveling agents in any capacity. GANDHI AND INDIA TNDIA has been called a land of saints, ■* the home of religions, and, living up to her well earned reputation, she produces in our own time a man who from sheer im- peccability of character, and extraordinary personality, and from loftiness and origi- nality of doctrine and ideas, takes rank at once among the great men of the world whose mark is high enough to make for them a perm a n e n t niche in the re- pository of the benefactors o f mankind. No man who is in the least interested in the throbbing mass of peoples of the earth can fail to take notice of this exceptional soul called forth by a great need and destined to make a signifi- c a n t contribu- tion to the very human effort which man is putting forth to get himself out of the encircling gloom into the promised land. I say "destined", but that is to detract from the glory which al- ready enshrines Mohandas Kar- amchand Gandhi. I should speak in the pres- ent instead of the future tense, for the man about whom I write, not only will be but is. Indeed he is so vital a factor that he is called at once the most dangerous yet the most beloved man in India today. When Lord Reading, the newly appoint- MOHANDAS KARAMCHAND GANDHI ed viceroy of India, reached that country, one of his first acts was a long heart to heart talk with Mr. Gandhi. Writing in the London Nation, a member of parlia- ment says: "The saint, or Mahatma (Gandhi) has India at his feet. The 'intellegentsia' dif- fer from him sometimes in private, rarely in public; prop- erty differs from him and trem- bles ; the gov- ernment— a n y government dif- fers from him and thinks it is best to — wait." To ask who this man Gandhi is, is to ask more than one can properly answer. To many of his In- dian countrymen he is Mahatma, or saint, a hu- man being in touch with the divine, to bring relief to the suf- fering, food to the hungry, and satisfaction t o the other physi- cal wants of In- dia; to enthusi- astic and ideal- i s t i c students and members of the e d u c a ted class, and to many leaders in political life he is the embodi- ment of a great challenge, which, if an- swered, must lead out into the possession of not only that which the body needs and must have, but into that indefinable realm of the mind and spirit, the imponderable kingdom of the soul — a possession which may sound very theoretical and impractic- 203 204 THE CRISIS able, yet one which is the very stuff that life, and living, human well being, and achievement are made of. Mr. Ben Spoor of the British Labor Party, who went to India to represent that organi- zation at the Indian National Congress, writes : "The West has produced a Lenin, strong, masterful, relentless alike in logic and method. The East has given birth to a Gandhi, equally strong, masterful and re- lentless. But whilst the former pins his faith on force, the latter relies on non-re- sistance. One trusts the sword, the other the spirit. In an extraordinary manner these men appear to incarnate those fund- amentally opposing forces that — behind all the surface struggle of our day — are striv- ing for the mastery." A learned man of India writes that no one can understand Mr. Gandhi's crusade who does not know Mr. Gandhi. Let us dispose briefly of the common facts of his life and then undertake to see the man as he is. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born of an old Bania family, resident in Kath- iawar, India, October 2, 1869. Politics ap- pears to be the heritage of his fathers. Through business enterprise they had ac- cumulated some wealth. His mother, an orthodox Hindu lady, rigidly observing re- ligious obligations, performing in the high- est manner her duties as wife and mother, could be expected to demand of her children the most desirable qualities of character. From the records one reads, young Gandhi was no disappointment' to her. Mohandas Gandhi received his early training in Kath- iawar and his final academic instruction in London, where he qualified as a barrister- at-law. It is reported of him during his stay in London, that he was rich and clever, of a cultivated family, gentle and modest in manner. He dressed and behaved like other people. There was nothing particu- lar about him: to show that he had taken a Jain vow to abstain from wine, from flesh, and from sexual intercourse. He took his degree and became a successful lawyer in Bombay, but he cared more for religion than for law. Gradually his as- ceticism began to show itself. He gave away all his money to good causes, except the most meagre allowance. He took vows of poverty. He gradually ceased a large part of his practice at law because his religion forbade him to take part in a system which tried to do right by violence. The beginning of Mr. Gandhi's larger life was in South Africa, whither he had been induced to go in connection with an Indian legal case of some difficulty. It is worth while to relate his first experience after disembarking at the port of Durban in Natal. Brought up in the British tradition of the equality of all British subjects, an honored guest in the capital of the Empire, he found that in the colony of Natal he was regarded as an outcast. When he ap- plied for admission as an advocate of the supreme court of Natal, he was opposed by the law society on the ground that the law did not contemplate that a colored person should practice. Fortunately, the supreme court viewed the matter in another light and granted the application, but Mr. Gandhi received sudden warning of what awaited him in years to come. If this was the test of fire through which a great man was to pass, it was certainly not a fire which consumed, but rather one which kindled all the nobler qualities of his soul, and sent him forth purged of whatever dross he may have had — Mahat- ma Gandhi, both feared and loved. Pro- fessor Gilbert Murray, writing in the Hib- bert Journal, relates the significant part of Mr. Gandhi's South African experience: "In South Africa, there are some 150,- 000 Indians, chiefly in Natal, and the South African government, feeling that the color question in its territories was quite suf- ficiently difficult already, determined to pre- vent the immigration of any more Indians and if possible to expel those who were al- ready there. This could not be done. It violated a treaty; it was opposed by Natal, where much of the industry depended on Indian labor; and it was objected to by the Indian government and the home gov- ernment. Then began a long struggle. The whites of South Africa determined to make life in South Africa undesirable, if not for all Indians, at least for all Indians above the coolie class. Indians were specially taxed; were made to register in a degrad- ing way; their thumb prints were taken by the police as if they were criminals. If, owing to the scruples of the government, the law was in any case too lenient, patri- otic mobs undertook to remedy the defect. Quite early in the struggle the Indians in South Africa asked Mr. Gandhi to come and help them- He came as a barrister in 1893 ; he was forbidden to plead; he proved his right to plead; he won his case against the GANDHI AND INDIA 205 Asiatic Exclusion Act on grounds of con- stitutional law and returned to India. "Gandhi came again in 1895. He was amost mobbed and nearly killed at Durban. I will not tell in detail how he settled down eventually in South Africa as a leader and counsellor to his people; how he began a settlement in the country outside Durban where the workers should live directly on the land and be bound by a vow of poverty. For many years he was engaged in con- stant passive resistance to the government and constant efforts to raise and ennoble the inward life of the Indian community. But he was unlike other strikers or re- sisters in this : that mostly the resister takes advantage of any difficulty of the government in order to press his claim the harder. Mr. Gandhi, when the government was1 in any difficulty that he thought seri- ous, always relaxed his resistance and of- fered help. In 1899 came the Boer War. Gandhi immediately organized an Indian Red Cross Unit. There arose a popular movement for refusing it and treating it as seditious. But it was needed. The sol- diers wanted it; it served throughout the war, and was mentioned in dispatches and thanked publicly for its skillful work and courage under fire. In 1904 there was an outbreak of plague in Johannesburg, and Mr. Gandhi had a private hospital opened before the government had begun to act. In 1906 there was a native rebellion in Natal. Gandhi raised and personally led a corps of stretcher bearers whose work seems to have proved particularly dangerous and painful- Gandhi was thanked by the gov- ernor of Natal ^nd shortly afterward thrown in jail in Johannesburg. "Lastly, in 1913, when he was being re- peatedly thrown into prison among prison- ers of the lowest class and his followers in jail were to the number of 2,500 ; in the very midst of the general strike of Indians in the Transvaal and in Natal, there occurred the sudden and dangerous strike which en- dangered for a time the very existence of the organized society in South Africa. From the ordinary agitator's point of view, the game was in Gandhi's hands. He had only to strike his hardest. Instead, he gave or- ders for his people to resume work until the government should be safe again. I cannot say how often he was imprisoned, how often mobbed and assaulted, and what pains wer^ taken to mortify and humiliate him in public. But by 1913 the Indian case had been taken up by Lord Hardinge and the government of India. An imperial com- mission reported in his favor on most of the points at issue and an act was passed entitled the Indian Relief Act." Manifestly, a man of such lofty ideals, so perfectly displayed in practice is bound to exert no small influence in. a country like India at this period of her life. In order to understand the man himself in re- lation to his country it is perhaps neces- sary to observe a few facts of the political history of India. India was the contemporary of great Egypt, ancient Assyria and Persia, but un- like her contemporaries of antiquity, she lives. They are dead. Through a continu- ous period running back to most archaic times, she has come with her literature, her religions, her customs — in short — with all that makes her justly proud today. One could go on and state what has become the classic theme of the demands of con- temporary India. We cannot consider here the interesting facts of her kingdoms and empires, her wars and warriors, of which the Mahabharata so gloriously sings; nor of the coming of Islam and the great em- pires of the Moguls. It is certainly not possible to write here of Indian society — of caste; of poverty widespread and dazz- ling wealth ; of the depth of illiteracy which grips the country octopus-like and a cul- ture and education as noted for their lit- erary and scholarly achievements as for their far reach back into the haze of un- historical days; of marriage, home, and the family. India has for centuries been a land much desired by Europe. Every school boy re- members that it was this land that Colum- bus sought in 1492. The immense wealth of that country as it lured on the bold dis- coverer of America, in the same way was the object of expeditions of the Portuguese, Dutch, French, Austrians and Germans. The tragic results of their seeking, both to themselves and to India, form interesting yet harrowing reading. Intrigue, murder, robbery — wholesale pillage — all for the wealth of the Indies! In 1600 Queen Elizabeth granted a char- ter to what became known later as the East India Company. This company estab- lished in India trading-posts and settle- ments and built forts to protect its ports and settlements. It sent out governors and a governor-general and when it applied at London for charters and courts of justice, it »-ot charters and courts of justice; then fol- lows the sordid yet romantic periods of Warren Hastings, Lord Clive and others (see Macaulay and Burke), until the East India Company ceased to exist in the Sepoy War of 1857 and the British crown assumed the sovereignty of this country and its mil- 206 THE CRISIS lions in 1858. Upon and out of this more than half-century of foreign rule, a rule of which one reads great good and much evil, comes what is today termed "Indian unrest", and upon the very crest of this wave Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi occu- pies his position. These 315,000,000 people, largely poor and illiterate, though with a highly cultured and educated leadership, what is it they want and in what is it that Gandhi is for many of them the spokesman? In the past the leaders have with their might protested against a bureaucratic government vested in a foreign civil service. Indian national gatherings of the past have recommended again and again that "measures be taken by government to organize and develop In- dian industries", and also "that invidious distinctions here and abroad between his Majesty's Indian and other subjects be re- moved by redeeming pledges of provincial autonomy and recognizing India as a com- ponent part of a federated empire. At the December meeting of the National Liberal Federation the Hon. Mr. Srinivasa Sastri moved that in the opinion of the Federation, the inauguration of the new regime con- ferring a measure of self-government on the people of India must be signalized by a comprehensive measure abolishing all dis- tinctions in law based merely on the race of an individual, and urged in particular that provisions in the criminal law of India conferring upon Europeans and Americans certain privileges and rights must be re- pealed at an early date." One could mention an almost unending list of complaints, demands, memorials and resolutions. Each year it appears the lead- ers of the people have become more bold and have given increased expression to their larger and national aspiration. A demand granted has only served to reveal their mis- erable weakness and the mighty strength of the power that granted it. Thus has a new state of mind come upon this country almost with the suddenness of the dawn of day but with the same surety of travel and background as that upon which dawn de- pends. Instead of a half loaf, the whole is desired. The same sort of patience is no longer advocated and a conditional loyalty to the British Empire is preached. Without doubt the war primarily and other subsequent developments have given the immediate impetus to the rising tide of new and popular thought. But it is pos- sible for almost every Indian to name spe- cifically definite overt acts and administra- tive measures which led an erstwhile pa- tient and philosophic people into a state which an unfriendly reporter characterizes as "an atmosphere surcharged with heat and an horizon obscured by smoke screens of racial passion". Of the overt acts, the one which touched the very quick of the people's heart, was the Amritsar massacre whereby several hundred Indian men, women and children were shot dead under the order of a British general and hundreds of others were left wounded. And this because these unarmed people refused to obey the order of the British general to disperse! In the second place, the Moslems of In- dia are dissatisfied over the turn events have taken during the past three years which, they claim, humiliate Islam and com- pletely subjugates the Mohammedan world to the Christian. Their deepest feelings are stirred over what is to them a studied insult to their religion. The very heart of India's racial self-respect is stirred. But behind these two questions just referred to the New Republic states: "There is a great- er and all embracing one, that of national wrong and shame of which every Indian is sensitive." Upon a governmental report on the Am- ritsar massacre Mr. Gandhi writes : "The condonation of the Punjab atrocities has completely shattered my faith in the good intentions of the government and the na- tion supporting it." Writing on "the situa- tion and the remedy", Mr. G. A. Natesan, an Indian, finishes with the remark, "The people of India have lost faith in British justice". Thus begins the newer attitude of In- dian leaders towards Britain! New terms, or rather old terms with new meanings are now the order of the day. Swaraj, non- cooperation, non-violence, and Gandhism, are the terms which have turned the eyes of the world upon the man responsible for their use, and have won for him the de- voted following of great masses of his own people. At the 35th session of the Indian National Congress, held at Nagpur, India, in De- cember, 1920, Mr. Gandhi moved in the open Congress: "That the object of this GANDHI AND INDIA 207 THE NON-COOPERATIVE CONGRESS Congress is the attainment of Swaraj by all legitimate and peaceful ends". The motion was opposed, but it was carried with a large majority and by its passage it made Mr. Gandhi the most powerful man in the Con- gress. Mr. Gandhi explains what is meant by Sivaraj, or home rule or national rule as follows: "Swaraj means a state such that we, can maintain our separate existence without the presence of the English. If it is to be a partnership, it must be a partnership at will. There can be no Swaraj without our feeling and being the equals of Englishmen. Today we feel that we are dependent upon them for our internal and external secur- ity, Ifor our armed peace between Hindus and Mussulmans for our education, and for the supply of our daily wants. The Rajahs are dependent upon the British for their power, and the millionaires for their mil- lions. The British know our helplessness * * * to get Sivaraj then is to get rid of our helplessness." But how is this great miracle to be wrought in India? Non-cooperation is the war-cry of Mr. Gandhi's non-violent cru- sade. It is his first and most powerful weapon. This is the general scheme of the principle of non-cooperation as proposed by the Indian National Congress: 1. Giving up of all British titles and hon- orary offices 2. Boycott of all official functions 3. Withdrawal of all students from all government owned or aided schools, and the establishment of Indian Na- tional schools 4. Boycott of British courts by Indian law- yers and litigants and the establish- ment of private courts of arbitration 5. Refusal of Indians to be candidates for the new assemblies and the total ab- stinence from all voting 6. Boycott of English-made goods. In commenting on the effectiveness of non-cooperation in Mr. Gandhi's program, Mr. B. K. Roy, a Hindu, writes in the In- dependent : "Mr. Gandhi has fired the imaginations of the people, and the non-cooperation movement is meeting with tremendous suc- cess. Many titleholders like Rabindranath Tagore have given up their titles. Women like Sarajina Neidee and Sarala Devi have given back their medals of honor for war- service, thousands of students have left British colleges and national institutions are being established." The second outstanding factor in Mr. Gandhi's program is the idea and practice of non-violence or passive resistance. Like the principle of non-cooperation, it kills without striking its adversary. More than that, it disarms its enemies. Behold a man who has ancient and great India at his feet; whom a powerful govern- ment is afraid to arrest; who causes visit- ing members of royalty to be snubbed; who threatens as a last resort to lead his peo- ple in an anti-tax paying crusade, thus striking at the very root of government; a man who professes to love his enemies and who refuses to take advantage of or em- barrass government in a crisis! NO END OF BOOKS Jessie Fauset The Wings of Oppression. By Leslie Pinckney Hill. The Stratford Company, Boston. Batouala. By Rene Mar an. Albin Michel Publisher, Paris. Unsung tierces. By Elizabeth Ross Haynes. DuBois and Dill Publishers, New York. History of Liberia. By Thomas H. B. Walker. The Cornhill Publishing Com- pany, Boston. Ringworm. By John P. Turner, M.D., F. A. Davis Company, Philadelphia. The Slaughter of the Jeivs in the Ukraine in 1919. By Elias Heifetz. J.U.D. Thomas Seltzer Publisher, New York. The History of the Negro Church. By Carter Godwin Woodson. The Associated Publishers, Washington, D. C. Fifty Years in the Gospel Ministry. By Chaplain T. G. Steward. A. M. E. Book Concern, Philadelphia. r^pHOSE of us who read Mr. Hill's "Ar- •*■ mageddon" a few years ago doubtless expected something in a "higher mood" than what we find in his present volume. For his verse, while very sweet and musi- cal, fails with but few exceptions to reach great heights. Yet on the other hand an attraction persists and finally outweighs the sense of disappointment for these poems are a manifestation of the reaction which so many of us feel, but cannot express, to beauty, to truth, to the presence of im- ponderable things. So we are grateful to Mr. Hill for his sensitiveness of spirit and his happy feeling for words which makes the expression possible. He makes one think of Wordsworth at his best and worst. What one does like one likes immensely and won- ders how he found just the words to say it. And what one does not like, one does not like at all. In the "Lines Written In The Alps Above Chamounix", Mr. Hill has caught the very essence of the feeling which comes to one confronted by such a spectacle of nature. Life beyond these natural bound- aries may seethe and roar. But here is rest. As an interpreter of the emotions aroused by certain stimuli either of the times or of environments Mr. Hill excels. It is only when he writes in the vein of the Sunday- school teacher that one becomes impatient and wishes he would cease to dwarf and restrain his fine and decidedly classical gift. "Batouala" is really what its sub-title in- dicates, a story of actual Negro life (verit- able roman negre) and because it is it dif- fers absolutely from any concept which we in this Western World have of life. In fact it is extremely probable that this de- scription of Negro existence differs from its manifestation in other parts of Africa. For Maran is writing of the people of the equatorial regions whose customs differ from those of the people of the coast towns. Batouala is an African chief and the novel is an account of his life, his love and his death. The familiar romantic situation is there, the husband Batouala, the wife (one of nine), Yassiguindji, and the favored lover Bissibingui. But the telling and the setting are anything but familiar. Rene Maran, though a native of Guadaloupe, has lived with these people many years and he tells with a wealth of detail and great plainness what he has seen. His methods are realistic and objective and the result is that we see the drowsy African village, its awful pov- erty, its lassitude, its domestic life as typi- fied by the "mokoundji" (chief) and his family, its hunting expeditions, its calls on the tom-tom. And last, but not least, the orgies of the native feasts and dances. These last shock us ; from our point of view they are too raw, too unvarnished. Yet Maran is never offensive, never suggestive. The genius of the French language takes care of that. The color problem is only in- directly indicated in the story proper, but the preface contains a white-hot indictment against "civilization, the pride of Europeans but the slaughter-house of innocents * * * not a torch, but a conflagration which con- sumes everything it touches." This is really a great novel. It is artistic, overwhelming in its almost cinema-like sharpness of picturization. And there lies its strength. No propaganda, no preach- 208 NO END OF BOOKS 209 ments, just an actual portrayal of life from the moment when Batouala awakes, yawn- ing, scratching himself, meditating on the relative values of going back to sleep and getting up, to the moment when in the agony caused by his noisome, festering wound he rises in his death jealousy and confronts the lovers, aghast, shrinking, al- most plastering themselves against the wall. No one can doubt the value of "Unsung Heroes". It is just the sort of book we need to offset the tendency of American schools to impress upon children of both races that the only heroes in the world have been white heroes. For "Unsung Heroes" tells the story of those black men, Douglass and Attucks, Henson and Washington, and others, who did their part in adding to the glory of American History. It is a book that ought to be in every home and a sup- plementary text-book at least in every school. The influence of the printed word is so great that these stories gain greater au- thenticity by the mere placing of them between the covers of a volume, instead of leaving them as we have too long in the form of anecdotes and personal recollec- tions to be handed down from father to son. It is because of this influence that we wish Mrs. Haynes had looked more care- fully to her diction and to the rounding of her periods. Noble subjects are still more enhanced by noble treatment. However, the stories are there to fulfill the need of our children and that is the main thing. A pleasing and novel feature of the book is its illustrations which also are the work of colored artists, Laura Wheeler, Hilda Wilkinson, Carlton Thorpe and Marcellus Hawkins. The "History of Liberia" might also be called a "History of Slavery", for almost a third of the book is devoted to a study of that institution. For the rest it is a work of careful though uninspired research and the student of Africa who wishes to clear up his ideas about the Dark Continent be- ginning with Liberia would do well to put in two or three hours reading Mr. Walker's effort. He would learn that the plant and animal life of the little republic are differ- ent for some strange reason from the other countries of West Africa, that the bulk of the population consists of uncivilized na- tives constantly seeping in from the hinter- land and yet that the governing class is composed of some 12,000 American-Liber- ians. The country is rich in practically untapped supplies of gold, garnets, mica and sapphires. The Kru and Vai tribes have played a large part in the development of Liberia, and France and England have done their share toward its retardation. Most of us will agree with the author's desire that missionaries should no longer try to thrust the customs of the white man upon the natives. We should like to see Liberia while developing creeds and customs which will enable her to cope with foreign meth- ods, stick to her own system of dress and ethics and traditions. Dr. Turner's little book is especially val- uable to colored people because the ring- worm, it has been proved, works more rav- ages among Negroes than among whites. All phases of this disease are traced, its history given, its manifestations differenti- ated, a diagnosis and a definite remedy pre- sented. Already a bad epidemic of ring- worm in one of the Philadelphia public schools has been wiped out by Dr. Turner's efforts. The book has the endorsement of Walter S. Cornell, M.D., Director of Medi- cal Inspection in the public schools of Phila- delphia. Dr. Heifetz's chronicle adds another chapter to the history of prejudice. In 182 pages he gives an account of the cruellest and bloodiest butcheries of human beings that the world can ever have known. The pogroms of the eighties of the 19th century were different from those of more recent times. They were instituted under the czaristic regime to divert the attention of the dissatisfied masses from social and 'po- litical abuses, but they were aimed at the destruction of the possessions of the Jews rather than at their lives. Women were violated, "men were beaten (but not to death)", and property was wantonly and completely destroyed. In the later pog- roms from 1903 on, cold-blooded murder was introduced reaching its culmination in 1919 in a total of 30,500 people killed in the Ukraine alone. All this bloodshed and madness arose from the conviction real or pretended of Denikin and his associates in the Ukraine that the Soviet power was a 210 THE CRISIS Jewish power and that "the armed fight against the Soviet power must be supported and strengthened by Jewish pogroms." The terrible statements of the text of this book are supported by an appendix containing signed reports of participants and specta- tors. The whole volume is a bloodstained commentary on latter-day civilization. With his usual scholarly thoroughness Dr. Woodson has traced for us the history of the church from its slightest manifestations in Latin America to the form in which we know it today. It makes an attractive and interesting narrative much more readable than most of its author's former works, and by the same token not as good a text book, but there can be no question as to its authenticity and Dr. Woodson's complete acquaintance with his subject. The Angli- cans and Quakers were the first to take up the work of proselyting Negroes. But the ritual of the one and the supreme simplicity of the other alike baffled the mentality of the ordinary 17th century Negro, who turned with better results to the Methodist and Baptist sects and in these camps he has practically remained ever since. Dr. Woodson looks on the latter-day Negro Church as a social institution whose role is "to keep the fire burning on the altar until the day when men again become rev- erent". The loss of interest in the church which the white world has experienced is fittingly stressed as well as the iniquitc part played by Thomas Jesse Jones as . tool of capitalists to keep the colored Amt icans out of Africa. The book contains careful index and several instructive ai interesting foot-notes and is profusely i lustrated. The personal note running through Chap- lain Steward's narrative frees it from the usual dry-as-dust quality of a history. His fifty years in the ministry have been spent in visiting and meeting many places and people and his book is an account of all he has seen and done. Secular affairs are in- terwoven with his pulpit adventures. He has seen the Civil War and the Reconstruc- tion, encounters between freedom and ex- slave holders, as well as the development of the A. M. E. Church. Out of his copious notes he gives us selections from sermons and addresses and little pictures of his re- lationships with men well known to those familiar with outstanding figures in Negro history. His book is not at any time his- torical in the sense of Dr.Woodson's book. It is too personal for that. Thus the latter third of the narrative is almost entirely confined to the account of his life in the army and his travels abroad. But it often furnishes a good commentary for nearly three-quarters of a century on the happen- ings among colored people in the United States. POEMS Langston Hughes QUESTION WHEN the old junk man Death Comes to gather up our bodies And toss them into the sack of oblivion. I wonder if he will find The corpse of a white multi-millionaire Worth more pennies of eternity, Than the black torso of A Nesrro cotton-nicker9 THE NEW MOON fT1 HERE'S a new, young moon riding the -*• hills tonight; There's a sprightly, young moon exploring the clouds; There's a half-shy, young moon veiling her face like a virgin, Waiting for her lover. MEXICAN MARKET WOMAN nnHIS ancient hag ■*■ Who sits upon the ground Selling her scanty wares Day in, day round, Has known high wind-swept mountains; And the sun has made Her skin so brown. r iional * Ass ociaiion • for • £ke • - - variccmenfo^ Colored.- People. -it, TWELFTH ANNUAL REPORT (The full report is in press) ATI/" G. SIMMONS, "Imperial Wizard" ™ * • of the Ku Klux Klan, has called the N. A. A. C. P. the chief opponent of the Klan. At the trial of John Williams, accused of murdering Negro peons, in Jas- per County, Ga., a special challenge was made of the talesmen to see if they were members of the N. A. A. C. P. or if vol- untary counsel in the case had received any part of their pay from our Associa- tion. Such strains indicate our growing influence. During the last year our chief work has been to influence the administration in our behalf at Washington, to push the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill, to continue legal de-, fense of the Arkansas peons and numbers of other victims, to investigate race riots, to investigate peonage, to take up cases of discrimination, to fight the Ku Klux Klan, to promote the Second Pan-African Con- gress, to hold the usual Annual Conference, and to forward our publicity work, includ- ing the publication of The Crisis. The membership and contributions re- ceived by the N. A. A. C. P. during the last four years are as follows : 1918 — Memberships $24,372.71 Contributions 5,704.40 30,077.13 1919— Memberships 39,576.33 Contributions 8,398.93 47,975.26 1920— Memberships 27,945.99 Contributions 15,388.00 43.333.99 1921— Memberships 42,684.40 Contributions 18,523.97 $61,208.37 In Washington /"V N April 4, the secre- ^-' tary conferred at the White House with President Harding. He asked the President to include a recom- mendation for action against lynching in his annual message, to make an investigation of peonage, to investigate disfranchisement in the South, to appoint a national Inter- racial Committee, to investigate the situa- tion in Haiti, to appoint colored assistant secretaries in the Departments of Labor and Agriculture, and to end race segrega- tion in the Executive Department. Of these recommendations the President took note as follows : He said in his annual message that Congress ought "to wipe out the stain of barbaric lynching from the banner of a free and orderly rep- resentative democracy." Later the secretary headed a delegation of 30 leading colored men and women who presented a petition to the President for the pardon of the soldiers of the 24th In- fantry. This petition was signed by 50,000 persons. y I SHE chief work of the year Lynching , , , , ■■■ nas been our endeavor to push the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill. This bill was introduced in the 67th Congress by Kepresentative L. C. Dyer of Missouri, April 11, 1921. On July 20, a hearing was held before the Committee on the Ju- diciary. On October 20 the bill was favor- ably reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary. Untoward efforts to amend the bill were warded off and the favorable opinion of the Attorney- General was se- cured. After long effort and repeated in- terviews with leading members of Congress a special rule on the bill was decided upon. This special rule came up for action Mon- day, December 19, and after considerable difficulty, on account of a filibuster by the Southern members, the rule was adopted. On December 20 the House went into the Committee as a whole and the bill was read. On Wednesday, January 4, after the recess, by a vote of 184 to 86 the Anti-Lynching Bill was taken up again. On Tuesday, Jan- uary 10, it was again debated. A great vic- tory was won on January 27 when the House passed the bill by a vote of 230 to 119. 211 212 THE CRISIS The Association has kept careful records of all lynchings. ' It investigated the burning of Henry Lowry in Arkansas and published the results; it urged the Gov- ernor of South Carolina to bring lynchers to trial and to proceed against them under the State Constitution. As a result of this the widow of Joe Stewart who was hanged in April, 1920, has been given a verdict of $2,000 against the county. Through the activities of the Association, bills against lynching have been passed in West Virginia and Minnesota. SINCE October, 1919, the Association has been defend- ing the 12 men sentenced to death and the 67 others sentenced to prison terms in con- nection with the so-called "massacre" in Phillips County, Ark. These men have re- peatedly been saved from execution and the cases of 6 of them have finally been brought to the Supreme Court of the United States by appeal on an assignment of errors. The other six are to be tried again in Lee County, Ark., at the Spring term of that court. To date the Association has expend- ed $11,249.39 and is obligated to pay $2,- 500 more, besides the cost of litigation in the Supreme Court. With regard to peonage, the Association has brought every case reported to it to the attention of the Department of Justice. In this and other ways it encouraged the De- partment to investigate peonage, and thus was brought to light the terrible John Wil- liams murder case in Jasper County, Ga. Williams is now serving a life sentence in the Georgia State Penitentiary. against Negroes. Their cases have not LiOUS ■the Legal Defense *" I i HE Association has also been ■*■ interested either through its main office or through its branches in the following cases: The defense of Maurice Mays in Tennessee; un- justly charged of murder. The defense of 13 men accused of rape in Dnluth, Minn., after several colored men had been lynched. Of the 13, one was acquitted by jury, 5 were dismissed by order of the court, and 6 were dismissed at the request of the prosecuting attorney. One man was found guilty. His case was appealed and is now before the Supreme Court of Minnesota. A special investigation of the Tulsa riot was made and the results widely published. Of the 88 indictments returned against al- leged participants in the riots, 74 were come up. Meantime, we have establic and administered a relief and defense'? of $3,506.24. ns * and DURING the year the . 51. relation has kept its work of seeking to prevent the extradi- tion of colored men from Northern to Southern States when there is danger of their being lynched. In pursuance of this policy, Thomas Ray has been saved from being extradited from Michigan to Georgia. He had killed a white man and alleged that it was in self-defense. Gov- ernor Sleeper allowed the extradition, but the Association kept the matter in the courts until the succeeding Governor, Groes- beck, refused the extradition. The extra- dition of Ed Knox from West Virginia to Tennessee has been prevented by the Charleston, W. Va. branch. The extradi- tion of Will Whitfield from New York to North Carolina is being fought in the courts. The extradition of a white man, H. F. Smiddy, is being opposed. He went from Arkansas to Kansas and is willing to testify that the whites were the aggres- sors in the Arkansas riot. Charles P. Smithie has so far been prevented from being extradited from Minnesota to Tulsa, Okla., where he was indicted as one of the rioters. He is now free on bail. Successful efforts were made at Kansas City, Mo., to prevent the extradition of two colored boys, Wilbur and Castoria Styles, to Arkansas, on the claim that they owe a white man eighty dollars. npH ROUGH publicity DISCRIMINATION 1 furnighed by ^ N< A. A. C. P. and upon request of the Asso- ciation of Colored Railway Trainmen, steps have been taken to stop the murder and maiming of colored trainmen and two white men have been arrested in Mississippi on a charge of intimidation. In the Harlem Hospital, New York City, effort has been made by the Association in conjunction with other organizations and prominent persons to bring about better treatment of patients, and representation of Negroes on the Board. THE Association during 1921 continued its fight against Klan the Ku Klux Klan, mainly through the publication of facts which it 213 214 THE CRISIS collected and sent to members of Congress and also furnished to the New York World, and which were part of the proof of the expose which the World made of the Klan. At last reports the affairs of the Ku Klux Klan were involved in litigation. HP1 HE Association continues to Special conferences were held with the English Labor Party and with the Aborigi- nes' Protection Society. The Committee also presented a petition to the League of Nations and suggestions to the Internation- al Labor Bureau. fight slanderous moving pic- The Crisis Moving Pictures tureg_ We picketed «The Birth of a Nation" when it recently appeared in New Yoi-k and distributed printed matter. Our pickets were arrested but we secured an opinion of the court which pronounced the distribution of printed matter under such circumstances legal. Our branches stopped this film in the State of California and helped induce the Board of Censors to refuse permission to exhibit it in Boston. rT1HE Crisis during the •*• years of its publication, T 'HE twelfth annual confer- Annual X ence of the Association was Conference heW in Detroit> Mick> June 26 to July 1. The conference was opened with an enormous protest parade on Sun- day afternoon. There were 4,000 persons in line, representing every organization among colored people in Detroit. In this parade banners were borne protesting against injustices perpetrated upon the Negro in America. The principal speakers at the Conference were Mr. Moorfield Storey, Judge John I. W. Jayne, Dr. I. Gar- land Penn, Rev. E. W. Daniel, Messrs. B. Forrester Washington, John E. Clark, Har- ry H. Pace, Sol Plaafje of the South Afri- can Native Congress, James H. Maurer, President of the Pennsylvania State Feder- ation of Labor, Rev. R. L. Bradby; Prof. Robert Kerlin, who was dismissed from the Lexington, Va., Institute because of his ap- pearance here, and M. Stenio Vincent, for- mer President of the Haitian Senate. The Spingarn Medal was awarded to Charles S. Gilpin for his contribution to Negro art. THE First Pan- African Congress African Congress wag organized and financed by the N. A. A. C. P. in 1919. The Second Pan-African Congress was or- ganized and financed by the Association in the summer of 1921 under Dr. DuBois, who acted as secretary. The Congress was held in London, Brussels and Paris. It was at- tended by 112 accredited delegates from dif- ferent countries, and by 1,000 visitors. since November, 1910, has distributed 5,- 259,899 copies. The figures showing its in- come, average net paid monthly circulation and total circulation follow: Circulation Total Income per month Circulation 1910 1,750 copies 3,500 copies $375 1911 9,000 " 108,000 n 6,572 1912 22.000 " 264,000 « 13,217 1913 27,000 " 336,000 << 19,739 1914 31,450 " 377,400 (1 22,124 1915 32,156 " 385,872 it 23,865 1916 37,625 " 451,500 ti 28,193 1917 41,289 " 495,477 « 32,836 1918 75,187 " 902,250 M 57,367 1919 94,908 " 1,138,900 M 70,502 1920 62,417 " 749,000 « 77,706 1921 49,750 " 597,000 M 62,582 The total income of The Crisis since its inception, November, 1910, has been $414,- 979.75. rT1 WO main tasks were un- Publicity A dertaken by the publicity department in 1921. One was the complete showing up of the Ku Klux Klan, the other was to work unceasingly to make the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill a national issue. In the regular course of work, some 139 press stories were sent out as compared with 131 in 1920. Of these, 30 were de- voted either to the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill or to some aspect of the lynching prob- lem. To the Ku Klux Klan, 8 stories were devoted and to the Tulsa riot and the Hai- tian situation, and the Association's mem- bership drive, 7 each. The Association also gave first publicity to the dismissal of Rob- ert T. Kerlin from Virginia Military Insti- tute, and stimulated strongly worded edi- torials in the chief New York newspapers, including the Times, the Evening Post, and several of the liberal weekly magazines. A book review service to the colored press was also begun. Special acknowledgment must be made of the splendid cooperation dur- ing the year by colored editors throughout the country. TWELVE PRESIDENTS OF BRANCHES OF THE N. A. A. C. P. DR. C. E. BENTLEY Chicago, 111. J. C. BANKS Los Angles, Cal. GEORGE W. GROSS Denver, Colo. W. H. McKINNEY Detroit, Mich. A. H. GRIMKE Washington, D. C. I. N. FITCH Winston-Salem, N. C. REV. R. H. SINGLETON Atlanta, Ga. JOHN D. DRAKE Oakland, Cal. JOHN L. LOVE Kansas City, Mo. G. W. STEWART Newark, N. J. DR. B. J. ANDERSON Birmingham, Ala. ISADORE MARTIN Philadelphia, Pa. 215 COrvi»lL.£_D B^ MADELINE A. l_ LISON TUT ERCY Hospital and School for Nurses ■*-**- was founded in 1907 in a small dwell- ing at 17th and Fitzwater Streets, Philadel- phia. In 1919 the hospital acquired a beau- tiful location consisting of 6ZA acres of ground with four large buildings at 50th Street and Woodland Avenue. The new Mercy Hospital has had a wonderful growth and is endorsed by the State officials. It has an organized staff of over 50 members, a training school of 37 nurses and 4 grad- uate nurses, and 85 beds. Dr. Henry M. Minton is superintendent and Fleming B. Tucker assistant superintendent. Dr. Hen- ry L. Phillips, archdeacon of Pennsylvania, a well known colored episcopal clergyman, is ^resident of the Board of Directors. Nellie Harris, a colored nurse, has won admittance to the Post-Graduate course at the Woman's Hospital, New York City. When authorities at the hospital refused Miss Harris on account of her race, she brought suit under the Civil Rights Act, through Attorney N. B. Marshall. The case was settled out of court. By the will of the late Mrs. Calista S. Mayhew, a white woman of New York, four colored schools in the South will re- ceive legacies: Atlanta University, Tuske- gee Institute, Hampton Institute and Snow Hill Normal School, Snow Hill, Alabama. Robert G. Doggett is dead in New York City as the result of an operation for acute appendicitis. He was born in Calvert, Texas, 28 years ago and was educated at Howard University. For some time he was associated with the late J. Leubrie Hill, playwright and actor. A lover of the beau- tiful in literature and art and himself pos- sessed of considerable dramatic ability, Mr. MEECY HOSPITAL AND SCHOOL FOR NURSES, PHILADELPHIA, PA. 216 THE HORIZON 217 DR. C. B. POWELL Doggett had striven to bring larger oppor- tunities to the Negro actor and the Negro musician. Dr. Clyde B. Powell has been appointed to the X-ray staff of the Bellevue Hospital in New York City. Objections were made on account of his color but the superintendent of the hospital refused to consider the complaints. James E. Harris of Brooklyn, N. Y., head- ed the list in an examination of 75 candi- dates for license as teacher of English in the New York City high schools. There were four who passed. Mr. Harris is at present a teacher of Civics at Manual Training High School, and of English at the evening Eastside High School. At the senior recital of the Emerson Col- lege of Oratory, Boston, Gertrude McBrown, a colored literary interpreter, was chosen among 5 students to represent the insti- tution. Her number "Mother and Daugh- ter", by Dickens, was well received by a critical audience. Miss McBrown's platform deportment was perfect, the interpretations of characters and the picturing of scenes showed splendid artistry and skilful tech- nique; the narrative links in the play dis- played the lyrical quality of her voice, while the interpretations of characters revealed her remarkable dramatic ability. The total native Negro population living in the United States on January 1, 1920, was 10,389,328, including 8,019 Negroes born in outlying possessions and 38,575 for whom the state of birth was not reported. Wesley Barry, "Sunshine Sammy" Mor- rison, Frank Morrison and Gordon Griffith STARS OF THE MOVIE "WORLD 218 THE CRISIS (Prize Picture, March, 1922) are "stars" of the movie world. They are now playing in Marshal Neilan's "Penrod", adapted from Booth Tarkington's book. "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison (second from top) recently signed a five year contract calling for $10,000 per year. At the fourth annual convention of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, held in In- dianapolis, there were more than 100 dek • gates and members in attendance, repre- senting 18 chapters. Special features of the convention were the sending of a tele- gram to President Harding, urging the support of the administration in O'e passage of the Dyer anti-lynching bill, and an in- vitation to sororities ar.J fraternities to meet with the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority in a Pan-Hellenic Conference during 1922, MRS. W. E. GREEN MITCHELL AT THE CONVENTION OF THE ALPHA the date and place of meeting to be named later. Mrs. Wendell E. Green of Chicago, 111., is National President; Miss L. Pearl Mitchell of Kalamazoo, Mich., is National Secretary. Many have been the tributes paid to the memory of Frederick Douglass, but his re- cent post-humous election to Omega Chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity was perhaps one of the most touching and im- pressive ceremonies ever held in connection with the life of the great Douglass. Three hundred young college men, assembled in the 14th annual convention of their fra- ternity, at Baltimore, made a pilgrimage to the Douglass Home in Anacostia, D. C, on December 28, and there at the shrine of their great leader, stood with bared heads in solemn silence for one minute. The cere- monies were brief but effective. Mrs. L. A. Pendleton, on behalf of the committee in charge of the home, welcomed the pilgrims. Professor George W. Cook of Howard Uni- versity delivered the oratorical address, which was followed by remarks from Dr. George C. Hall of Chicago, and Simeon S. Booker, president of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. Oscar C. Brown, of Howard University, presided; George B. Kelly, one of the founders of the fraternity, made the presentation of the shingle bearing witness of Douglass' membership in Alpha Phi Alpha. To aid with much-needed re- pairs and improvements to the home, the fraternity presented the Committee of Ladies with a check for $100. The Federal Council of the Churches of THE HORIZON 219 PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY, BALTIMORE, MD. Christ in America has appointed Dr. George E. Haynes to promote the work of its Com- mission on the Church and Race Relations. Among purposes of this Commission are: "To array the sentiment of the Christian churches against mob violence and to en- list their thorough-going support in a special program of education on the sub- ject for a period of at least five years; to develop a public conscience which will se- cure in the Negro equitable provision for education, health, housing, recreation and all other aspects of community welfare." Harry T. Burleigh offers a new art-song, "Adoration", and four Negro folk-songs, "Oh! Rock Me, Julie", "Scandalize My Name", "De Ha'nt" and "Don' Yo' Dream of Turnin' Back". Musical America says: "In putting forward these Negro folk-songs Mr. Burleigh has inaugurated another de- partment of activity in his work as a cre- ative musician. His success both with his art-songs and Negro spirituals has been noteworthy and we would predict that he will duplicate it with his settings of those songs of his race, the texts of which, un- like the spirituals, have no religious char- acter; it is in this that they differ from them." G. Ricordi, New York, is the pub- lisher. Countee P. Cullen, a Negro senior in De- Witt Clinton High School, has become rec- ognized as the premier poet of New York's high schools. His poem "I Have a Rendez- vous With Life" was awarded first prize in a contest held under the auspices of the Empire Federation of Women's Clubs; m- (Article by Victor Daly) other, "In Memory of Lincoln", won second prize in a contest conducted by the Sorosis Club. He has demonstrated his ability as a speaker by winning the Douglas Fairbanks oratorical contest, and as a journalist by working his way to the editorship of the Clinton News, the high school weekly. All this has earned for him the highest honor that Clinton can bestow — the leadership of the Arista. He is vice-president of the Senior Class, First Lieutenant of the Dotey Squad, a member of the Clinton Club and of the Inter-High School Poetry Society. Mr. Summerson of Darby, Pa., sends us THE HOME OF MR. SUMMERSON 220 THE CRISIS Arthur A. Schomhurg Max Yergan Edward F. Frazier Charles C. Allison, Jr. a picture of his comfortable little home. This is just one of many such homes. Arthur A. Schomburg was born January 24, 1874. He was educated in public and private schools and at the Institute Ensen- anza Populair, St. Thomas College, Porto Rico. He has held various offices in politi- cal, Masonic and historical organizations. He is employed by the Bankers' Trust Com- pany of New York as head of the Mailing Department. Mr. Schomburg, however, pos- sesses rare skill as a collector of books, prints, engravings, etc. His library, de- voted exclusively to books pertaining to the Negro race and by persons of Negro de- scent, is one of the most remarkable librar- ies of its kind in existence. Many of the items are exceedingly rare. He is constant- ly receiving consignments of books from all parts of the world, hence many of his vol- umes are in foreign languages, such as Portuguese, Spanish, French, Dutch, Ger- man, Russian, Latin, Hebrew, Amharic, Arabic and various other tongues. His col- lection of books by the celebrated Ludolph who wrote the history of Ethiopia and the Kingdom of Abyssinia, together with the books of reference pertaining to that sub- ject is of exceeding great value as a source of Negro history. The value of Mr. Schom- burg's library is attested fully by the fact that his home in Brooklyn, N. Y., has be- come the Mecca for scholars from all parts of the United States and many have come from abroad to do research work therein. Mr. Schomburg has immortalized himself in the great zeal with which he has applied himself to the task of preserving the evi- dences of Negro culture in all ages. After considerable hesitancy and long correspondence, Max Yergan has been allowed to depart for South Africa to be- gin Y. M. C. A. work among the natives. This is probably an epoch-making step and beginning of a new effort on the part of American Negroes to serve their African brothers. It has been decided that associa- tion work in Africa is in the future to be done by Negro Americans and supported by the colored Y. M. C. A.'s. Mr. Yergan was born July 19, 1892, in Raleigh, N. C, where he attended the grade and high schools and was graduated from Shaw University in 1914 with honors. In 1916 he enlisted for war service and sailed for Africa where he was mentioned in dis- patches for "meritorious service on the field". He has served the War Work Coun- cil as Recruiting Officer for colored work- ers for France and as Overseas Field Sec- retary; in the United States Army he was a Chaplain with the rank of First Lieutenant. Mr. Yergan is accompanied by his wife and Frederick Max Yergan, aged 5 months. Edward Franklin Frazier has a note- worthy record for scholarship. He was born in Baltimore, Md. When quite young he finished the elementary school as vale- dictorian; in 1912 he was graduated from high school with a scholarship to Howard University, from which he was graduated in 1916 as a Bachelor of Arts with cum laude rank. In 1920, through a scholarship, he was graduated from Clark University, THE HORIZON 221 Worcester, Mass. where he studied sociology and was awarded the degree of Master of Arts. By competitive examination, in which 31 colleges participated, he won a fellowship of $850 to the New York School of Social Work, 1920-21. Through a fel- lowship of $1,000 awarded him by the Amer- ican-Scandinavian Foundation, he is now studying sociology and economics at the University of Copenhagen. Mr. Frazier has been a teacher of mathematics, English and history in colored schools of the South ; dur- ing 1918-19 he taught mathematics and French in the Baltimore High School. He plans to teach sociology and inaugurate co- operative farming among Negro farmers. In 1916, Charles C. Allison, Jr., was one of 700 men who took the examination for Municipal Parole Officer in New York City. He was certified as eighth on the list and received appointment July 16, 1916, be- ing the youngest officer appointed. Mr. Alli- son was born in New York City, September 26, 1889. He attended the High School of Commerce and in 1912 took up social service work with the National Urban League. He has served as the first colored field worker in the employ of the Big Brother Movement; in 1915 he was among officers invited to witness the execution of 5 men at Sing Sing, at which time a record was estab- lished— the 5 executions being completed in 65 minutes; in 1916 he was the only colored delegate present at the International Con- ference of Children's Court Workers, which convened in Grand Rapids, Mich. Mr. Alli- son's duties as parole officer are to make investigations of all men living in the 38th Precinct boundaries — the Harlem Negro section — who have been released from the penitentiary, the city reformatory and the work-house. Among probationers as- signed to him was Luther Boddy. Mr. Alli- son has given supervision to almost 1,000 men, over 70 percent of whom have "made good". Lt. E. P. Frierson, U. S. Army, retired, has been appointed a clerk in the Mailing Division of the Chicago Post Office. In the Civil Service examination he made a gen- eral average of 98.88 percent. During its first 11 months of business the Black Swan Phonograph Company had to- tal receipts amounting to $104,628; dis- bursements, $101,327. Its income is over $12,000 per month. Since May 1, it has organized a selling force throughout the United States through which it supplies thousands of agents and dealers with a total of 40,000 records per month. It man- ufactures and distributes Black Swan rec- ords, the Black Swan needle, and Swanola, a phonograph. Its shipments are made to every part of the United States, Mexico, :# •3 76,0.5-3 A* \51S,0$b Up75,1 ' 3U,J?v ',67* /373,35l I m. K»f,3ty # * ' • 4fc> , . x \„ . •ItyM X r . . * 585,386 XjiJ* „ . x . XTO .* . * M* X • x. p-^- jj#l. | X .x x r . * • /. • * x« 4 V5 • * 1311,301 . • X » :| x. • (I * ' * ** 1 X X _x X * * K x'5 *? IS31,M± — si—vi^- * * x * (o*V ;mi iV% sV.oJMi <* Ib.Sl* -430,511' -i,01,3J.l> ■1,113, Sib DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM OF BLACK SWAN PHONOGRAPH RECORDS (#=6 agents. + = 5 dealers. J distributors and jobbers. Figures refer to population.) 222 THE CRISIS 1 1 i «£ ;.* .???'«' r iT. Mas. ki M. E. Chub. THE PROPOSED NEW ST. MARK'S M. E. CHURCH, NEW YORK CITY the Virgin Isles, South America, the Philip- pines and Hawaii. Recently the company purchased its own building at 2289 Seventh Avenue, New York City, where it employs an executive, clerical and shipping force of 20 people. Harry H. Pace is president of the company. The new St. Mark's M. E. Church, New York City, will be located between 137 and 138th Streets, Saint Nicholas and Edge- combe Avenues. The entire cost, $400,000, has been secured in cash or five-year sub- scriptions, and no money is required from the Centenary. The $40,000 given by the Centenary assisted in paying for the lot. The edifice takes the form of a modern aud- itorium 124 feet long, 39 feet high and 53 feet wide, covering 68 percent of the total lot area; the remaining 32 percent will be utilized for the parish-house and the par- sonage. The walls and ceilings will be fin- ished in a rough cast plaster of beautiful color and texture, simply decorated; the woodwork of the chancel and seating will be of oak; the floors and aisles will be of cork, making them noiseless; the electric lighting will be what is known as indirect, no fixtures being necessary as the lights are placed in reflectors. The heating and ven- tilating will consist of intake and exhaust fans which will insure warm fresh air in winter and thorough ventilation in the sum- mer. The Building Committee has "under consideration a complete vacuum cleaning system. There will be a seating capacity for 2,200, and an organ which will cost $25,000. Sibley & Featherston of New York are the architects. Last October, St. Mark's celebrated its 50th anniversary. Dr. William H. 1 .rooks is the pastor. An African pageant, Asheeko, has been successfully presented at the Academy of Music, Philadelphia, by Mrs. Casely Hay- ford, Miss Kathleen Easmon, Madakane Cele, C. Kamba Simango and G. L. Taylor, native Africans. They were assisted by a generous number of Philadelphia's musical and dramatic people. The music of Asheeko was written by Mr. Taylor. Chorus sing- ers, from the choir of Central Presbyterian Church and others, rendered the "Chemale- bvu", native song and chant in the Chindau dialect; the men sang the Betrothal Song "Gogogo" in the Zulu tongue. Admirable song talent was shown by Miss Hattie Sa- voy, contralto, in the "Chililio" (Chindau), and Clarence L. E. Monroe, baritone, in the Invocation to the Chief. The following lynchings have taken place since our last record: Williamsburg County, S. C, January 8, two unknown men; assaulting white woman Eufaula, Ala., January 10, Willie Jen- kins; insulting white woman Oklahoma City, Okla., January 14, John Brooks Mayo, Fla., January 17, unknown man; shooting white mail carrier THE HORIZON 223 AT THE CONFERENCE OF THE NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE, HELD IN CHICAGO Bollinger, Ala., January 28, Drew Con- ner (white), burned; reason unknown Pontotoc, Miss., January 29, Will Bell; attacking white woman Crystal Springs, Miss., February 1, Will Thrasher; attacking white teacher Malvern, Ark., February 2, Harry Harri- son, shot. The Conference of the National Urban League held in Chicago, brought together a group of specialists in the economic and so- cial problems of Negroes. Sixty represent- atives from 20 States attended. Mr. E. K. Jones, summarizing the year's work, stated that more than 70,000 Negroes had been placed in positions, and over $220,000 spent by various organizations of the League. "The Health Office of Newark," said Mr. Jones, "has announced that as a result of Child Hygiene work conducted there at the instance of the League and through nurses appointed by it and working under its di- rection, the mortality among colored babies dropped from 173.2 in 1920 to 106.0 in 1921." Two new departments have been added to the national organization — a Department of Research and Investigation and a De- partment of Extension. Of the latter de- partment Mr. J. R. E. Lee, for 18 years the Director of the Academic Department of Tuskegee Institute, is in charge. The Association of Colleges for Colored Youth held its annual meeting at Wilber- force University, with the following pres- ent: Dean H. M. Tilford, Knoxville Col- lege; President John Hope, Morehouse Col- lege; Dean M. W. Adams, Atlanta Uni- versity; President J. A. Gregg, Wilberforce University; Dean J. T. Cater, Talladega College; President J. L. Peacock, Shaw Uni- versity; President C. H. Maxson, Bishop College; President W. J. Clarke, Virginia Union University; Dean Gilbert H. Jones, Wilberforce University; Dean D. O. W. Holmes, Howard University. DELEGATES TO CONVENTION OF ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES FOR COLORED YOUTH THE RULING PASSION An Estimate of Joseph C. Price rT,HOSE years immediately following the -1- Emancipation Proclamation startle one at times with their record of astounding achievement on the part of ex-slaves. It is only when we stop to realize that they rep- resented the first outlet for centuries of the stifled desire and ambition of a thwarted people that we can understand how inevit- ably dynamic they had to be, a sort of meta- morphosis of time into action. Men were single-minded in those days, possessing that attribute which is the first ingredient in the mixture of qualities that make for an individ- ual success. It is easy to see how the black boy of 70 years ago was already be- ginning to say to himself, "If ever I am free, there's one thing I will do." And then when freedom unbe- lievably, amazingly came he said to him- self again: "If Free- dom were possible, all things are pos- sible. I must let nothing stand in my way." The star of achievement to which Joseph Price, a black boy of those days, hitched his wagon was the founding of a school for colored youth, a sort of black Harvard. It turned out in the course of his career that he was to be offered many prizes — a government position, a seat in the Li- berian mission, a bishopric, but each of these he steadfastly refused in order to pursue his cherished dream, the establishment of Livingstone College at Salisbury, N. C. These were remarkable prizes for those days, but Joseph Price would none of them. From the day on which in 1862 he entered the Sunday School in St. Andrew's Chapel in Newbern, N. C, his heart was fixed. He THE LATE JOSEPH C. PRICE was 8 years old then, small and black and barefooted, of "stern but pleasant looks". That sternness of expression no doubt was due to the singleness, the concentration of purpose which was even then beginning to show in his face. From the beginning he himself must have felt that he was destined "to be somebody". Else why his eagerness to know all things? He beleaguered his teachers with questions. He answered those of other people. He had to have a mastery of wisdom for some day he meant to be a fountain himself for thirsty seekers after knowledge. A good teacher makes a good pupil. As young as he was Price realized this for although in 1866 we find him a stu- dent in the St. Cy- prian Episcopal School, by 1871 at the age of 17 he was teaching at Wilson, N. C. But being a teacher he learned his own limitations and back he went to school at Shaw Uni- versity (already in action for those ea- ger freedmen and their sons) and then on to Lincoln Uni- versity at Oxford, Pa. He had meanwhile become interested in religion and had connected himself with the A. M. E,. Zion church. After the fashion of those days it seemed to him to be the thing to combine pedagogy with the- ology so during his senior year in college he entered the junior theological department graduating thence in 1881. It was while he was at Lincoln that Con- gressman John A. Hyman, of Newbern, of- fered him a government position. The of- fice paid $1,200 a year, a fortune in those days for a black man, but Joseph Price had 224 THE LOOKING GLASS 225 the artist's sense of values, he knew what he wanted and that was not gold. He was like the poet preferring to mull over his precious verse, starving in an attic rather than opulently to finger the tape in a broker's office. The gods had bestowed on him that not infrequent gift of his race, the art of per- suasive oratory. He had already distin- guished himself along this line in college. When he graduated in 1879 he was valedic- torian. Before he came out of the theo- logical school he was sent as a delegate to the A. M. E. Zion general conference in Montgomery and because of his gift he was ordained elder before even he had ob- tained his degree as a minister. After his graduation he was sent in 1881 to the Ecu- menical Conference which convened in Lon- don. He directed the golden flow of his gift into one channel only, that of interesting people in the project of his school. At the close of the Ecumenical Conference he re- mained abroad to lecture in England, Scot- land and Ireland. He returned with $10,- 000, with which in conjunction with another $1,000 given by the white merchants of Salisbury, he purchased the site of Living- stone College. Of course he did other things and met with other honors. He became the ac- knowledged orator of his day, he was ac- claimed a new leader, he was delegate at the Centenary of American Methodism in Baltimore in 1884. He was chairman of the A. M. E. and A. M. E. Zion Church Commission held in those days in Washing- ton, D. C. He was president of the Afro- American League. Preparations were made for a Grand Southern Exposition and he was appointed Commissioner-General. But the outstanding facts of his life are these. He was born in slavery and by the time he was 28 he had started a great school which 14 years after his death in 1893, at its quarto-centenary, had grown to astounding proportions. It had real estate valued at $250,000. In the course of its existence it had enrolled 6,500 pupils from 26 states. Its large faculty was comprised mainly of graduates from the collegiate, theological and normal departments. Among its alumni were numbered a bishop, presid- ing elders, well-known ministers, successful teachers and physicians, and all of these arose and called the name of Joseph Price blessed. We Americans ascribe to Englishmen the quality of political diplomacy, to French- men that of finesse and to ourselves the quality of grit. I like to think of Joseph Price, tall, majestic, superb of physique, of unmixed African blood as the epitome of his country's national characteristic. BIBLIOGRAPHY The Story of the Negro: Booker T. Wash- ington, Dottbleday, Page & Co. Men of Mark: William J. Simmons. The Negro in American History: John Wesley Cromwell. Publications of the American Negro Academy. Mie Lookiiva Glass LITERATURE EDMUND VANCE COOK, in "The Un- ■*-' common Commoner" : The North! the South! the West! the East! No one the most and none the least. Each one a part and none the whole. But all together form one soul. That soul, Our country at its best, No North, no South, no East, No West. No yours, no mine, but only Ours, Merged in one power, our lesser powers, But all for each and each for all! * * * Rene Maran, whose novel "Batouala" brought him the Goncourt prize is, writes Alvan F. Sanbourne, in the Boston Evening Transcript, "a very close approach to a full- blooded Negro." He was born in 1887 at Fort-de-France in Martinique, but left there at the age of three to accompany his father who was in the French Colonial Service, to Libreville in Gabon, West Africa. Per- sistent ill health made it necessary for him to go to France. Mr. Sanborn gives the future author's own account of his school- days: I was sent to the Lycee of Taleuce which is an annex of the Lycee of Bordeaux for the "petits", in the open country. In 1894 a Negro was still a rarity in that part of France, and from the day I entered the school I was made to realize it. But after a little, thanks to my fists, I got my- self respected. 226 THE CRISIS I learned to read in a month, and I was almost always near the head of my class. I was what, is commonly styled a brilliant pupil, but was very capricious. We were ten colonials. Each one, in his respective class, obtained a prize in French. It was a point of honor with us — our re- venge for railleries and the petty naggings of our schoolmates. In the fourth class, I put into modern French verse the chanson of Roland and attacked that of Guillaume-au-court-Nez and that of the Chevalier Griese-Gonelles. During nearly all of that year I read thirty- two volumes a week on an average. I de- voured Lombard, Maupassant and Zola as well as Hugo, Lamartine, Gautier and es- pecially Alfred de Vigny. In fact, I read fantastically. * * * Dr. E. J. Dillon in his "Mexico" (Doran) declares that the United States has treated Haiti just as she did Mexico. Haiti was de- liberately misrepresented, advantage was taken of her financial condition, and treaty demands were forced upon her. Her weak- ness was the State Department's oppor- tunity and the latter's attitude in Dr. Dil- lon's opinion was tantamount to saying: "We care nothing about your Constitu- tion, nor whether your President is or is not authorized by it to sign treaties. We insist on his signing a treaty and our will must be done by hook or by crook". What the United States did in Haiti "has burned itself into the souls of all Central Ameri- cans", declares Dr. Dillon. TWO LOSSES r I iHE death of Colonel Charles Young in ■*■ far away Nigeria awakens many mem- ories of his famous "Tenth Regiment". The New York Sun says: He was that rare bird, a Negro graduate of West Point, and he was soaked with the spirit that has given the Tenth United States Cavalry worldwide prestige as a crack regiment. New Yorkers who saw the Black Tenth jingle up Fifth Avenue after their return from hard service in the Philippines will never forget the storm of joyous admira- tion showered upon them by city crowds, who were carried away by the matchless elan and childlike good nature of those first class fighting men. In later years, when a detachment of the regiment while hunting for Villa in Mexico was ambushed at Parral by an out- numbering Mexican force, it was Charles Young, then Major, who commanded the squad that Pershing dispatched to their relief. Pershing himself had fought Redskins as a Lieutenant of the Black Tenth, and like every other white officer that ever served with it, he holds the regiment in peculiar affection and admiration. Its supremely soldierly traditions have been accumulating for fifty-six years. Its history has been written in a book. Its deeds have been sung. Its qualities have been praised to the skies by European military observers. "They grew to be to our army what the Numidian horse was to the Roman legions," wrote Major Frank Keck, formerly of the Seventy-first Regiment, N. G. N. Y., when the Black Tenth celebrated its fiftieth anni- versary in 1916. "Their life in the long reaches of the Western country developed courage, initiative and pride. Hunger, thirst, exposure, sudden skirmishes with foes fighting from ambush made the troop- ers of the Tenth not only first class fighting men individually, but shaped them into a military machine. "From post to post the Tenth was trans- ferred through the great Western country. The Sioux, the Cheyennes and the Apaches fled before their intrepid charges. "As the need for fighting grew less, the Tenth took on more of the function of mounted police, and yet, such was the pride of tradition, war-service was the ideal al- ways uppermost in the mind of every mem- ber. Many of the original recruits remained as long as the Government would let them, for they hated to retire. So it was that the Tenth in peace had in reserve its deadly efficiency, and it went into the Spanish War with veteran officers and many a grizzled sergeant who was himself a tower of strength. "The achievements of the Tenth were the admiration of the foreign military ob- servers who accompanied our expedition to Cuba, and they were impartial witnesses. They did not hesitate to assert their belief that the dismounted colored troopers were the very backbone of the American attack. Certain it was that the Tenth got the Rough Riders out of a very bad hole at Las Guasi- mas. Their timely arrival averted a greater disaster to the Rough Riders in the first land engagement near Santiago. "The charge of the Tenth up the steep and tangled slope of San Juan Hill will always have a place in the military annals of the world. It kept raw troops from fir- ing on their comrades in the distance, for the Tenth was used to wars of the ambus- cade." * * * Before colored Americans could recover from the shock of Colonel Young's death, they were stunned afresh by news of the passing away of that splendid lady Miss Maria Baldwin. She met her death while addressing a meeting in behalf of the Rob- ert Gould Shaw House at the Copley Plaza in Boston. Francis G. Peabody relates the sad happening in the Boston Transcript: Everything seemed to assure a cheering THE LOOKING GLASS 227 and profitable gathering. Then Miss Maria Baldwin, long the principal of the Agas- siz School in Cambridge, and for the last six years its master, a colored woman of whose distinguished public service all Cam- bridge citizens are proud, rose to commend the Robert Gould Shaw House, of whose council she was a member, and to describe its congested conditions, with five hundred attendants, crowded classrooms and multi- plying needs. Suddenly, when she was con- cluding this appeal, the strain of the occa- sion overtaxed her enfeebled heart, and she sank on the platform, dying almost im- mediately. The shock to those present was overwhelming, and the audience which had gathered to enjoy and encourage quietly dis- persed to mourn. . . . Hundreds of parents are indebted to her for the discerning and discriminating edu- cation of their children; hundreds of hear- ers have listened with gratitude to her wise and brilliant addresses, in which academic precision was softened by the mellow accent of her own race. Her undisputed position as teacher and principal gave to her school distinction throughout the country. THE REVERSE OF THE MEDAL T7RANCE has been pretty generally ac- ■*• claimed as lacking in color prejudice and as therefore treating her black subjects just as well as her white. But what is the actual case? Norman Angell, in the Free- man paints France as a veritable Utopia for Negroes : Speaking broadly, the Negro living in France is all but unaware of the monstrous shadow that darkens every hour of the Negro's life in Anglo-Saxon communities. In France the Negro members of the Cham- ber of Deputies, or of the legal profession, or of the governmental administration, or of the Army and the Church, have not merely no official difficulties, they have no social difficulties in their relationship with their white colleagues. They dine in the homes of members of the Cabinet, plead for white clients in the Courts, and it would never even occur to their French colleagues to treat them with any sort of social exclu- * * * The Negroes described by Mr. Angell would all seem to be the members of a black elite. But when it comes to the treatment of the common black man, in this case the native in French Colonial Africa, quite another method is employed. Rene Boisneuf, black deputy from Guadeloupe, scores France heavily in the Chamber of Deputies for her injustice to her dependents. Guy Hickok reports in the Brooklyn, N. Y., Eagle : "Everywhere arbitrary force, everywhere injustice, [said Deputy Boisneuf], every- where blundering, everywhere ruin or the peril of ruin, budgets collapsing under the cost of government personnel, and nothing being done to further social or economic progress of the natives." He turned from generalizations to the ex- posure of abuses in particular colonies re- ducing to absurdity the pretension that the occupation of semi-civilized countries is for the benefit of the population. The black deputy revealed that in the great colony of Indo-China the colonial ad- ministration had forced the sale of opium in districts which had hitherto been free from the drug. When his statement was denied he read both orders and letters from the Governor- General directing that steps be taken to increase opium sales, and showed that opium paid 40 percent of the colonial budget. He emphasized the inconsistency of rig- idly prohibiting the sale of opium in France while forcing it on one of the colonies whose inhabitants are, according to the French political theory, equal to white Frenchmen. "You do not admit that the life of an Annamite or a Cambodian is worth less than that of a Parisian; that the life of a colo- nial is worth less than that of a native Frenchman. Therefore I cannot see how you can reconcile the consumption of opium in Indo-China, even for budgetary reasons, when it is rigidly prohibited in France. What a comedy! What hypocrisy!" . . . Boisneuf charged that in his own col- ony, Guadaloupe, the white governors main- tained a native militai-y force used express- ly for the purpose of defrauding the elec- tions, and read several orders to the mili- tary bolstering up his statement. Still more serious, he charged that Af- rica had been "decimated" since the French regime began there; that epidemics had carried off many; that intensive exploita- tion by French concession companies of the native labor had intensified the mortality rate; that in French Congo a great part of the native population had fled to neighbor- ing colonies to escape the forced labor regime of concession companies. * * * Rene Claparede, president of the Execu- tive Committee of the Society for the De- fence of Aborigines, sends us a list of the leagues formed since the days of Wilber- force for the protection of black peoples. In the lists of wrongs which caused the forma- tion of these leagues he does not omit those of France. He mentions: First the "Congo Reform Association" in 1903, then the French league in 1908, the Swiss in 1908, and the German in 1910, in Europe; — one in Sidney, Australia; in Lima, South America, and in the United States, the National Association for the Advance- ment of Colored People (1909). For in the 228 THE CRISIS United States, in spite of Lincoln's effort of reform, "emancipation" was by no means worthy of that name. What Channing had feared was unfortunately true; the "free" Black remained a slave to the domination, spirit and haughtiness of the White. Leagues for the Defense of Natives must actually fight such abuses as these : Spoliation of territories (Rhodesia, etc.) Torture of Portage (French Congo, etc.) Poisoning and depopulation through alco- hol (New Hebrides and all colonies in gen- eral) Driving of the Aborigines back into un- productive Reserves (Australia, Rhodesia, etc.) Forced labor (Kenia Colony, British East Africa, Mozambique, etc.) Indentured labor (Fiji Islands, etc.) Kidnapping (Oceania) Condemnation without judgment, and death sentence aggravated by tortures worthy of Middle Age customs (lynching, etc.) Unjustifiable scorn of the Whites toward the Blacks (color bar in South Africa, United States, etc.) Slavery for debts or peonage (certain South American States) Domestic Slavery (Africa, South Ameri- ca). CONSTITUTIONALITY vs. COMMON SENSE HHHE enemies of the Dyer Bill base their ■*■ antagonism on its unconstitutionality. "An anti-lynching bill of this kind," cries the New World, "will lynch the Constitu- tion." "But what of that?" replies the Charleston News and Courier. All^ this talk about the anti-lyching bill lynching the Constitution is nonsense. We never heard of anybody being lynched more than once and the Constitution was lynched long ago. But maybe the constitution has as many lives as a cat. * * * As a matter of fact the Dyer Bill is sim- ply a fresh interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Representative Fess of Ohio gives as his exposition: This much I am satisfied with, that while the constitutional question will be involved, and while I am sensitive as to taking any- thing for granted that is extremely in doubt, I do not believe there is any serious doubt upon the constitutionality of this particular legislation. I think the authority is spe- cific by the force of the Fourteenth Amend- ment to the Constitution. So far as the argument on authority is concerned, we can build up a body of authority of the highest judgment in the world sustaining the basis of this legislation as being constitutional. Consequently that is not disturbing me very much. I think there is no doubt about our freedom to do it in view of the specific dele- gation of the power therein specified and also because of the authority that has been announced by men who know the signifi- cance of the legislation. $ $ sfc Posterity a hundred years from now will surely be moved either to tears or to laugh- ter that a bill to make the Constitution of the United States more adequate in bestow- ing protection could be thus bitterly de- bated. Surely it is only common sense to take such measures. If our colored citizens could be sure of a fair trial it is probable that the flight of Matthew Bullock from North Carolina to Canada would never have taken place. As it is we read in the Pitts- burgh, Pa., Dispatch: The authorities of Ontario, Can., have refused to comply with the requisition de- mands of North Carolina for the surrender of a young Negro [Matthew Bullock], at present a fugitive under arrest at Hamil- ton. The Tar Heel officials are pressing their demands through conventional legal channels against a growing popular sen- timent in Ontario that is urging provincial action against delivery of the prisoner ex- cept under certain conditions. With the Dyer anti-lynching bill coming to debate in the House this week the refusal of a neighboring country to surrender a Ne- gro fugitive because of the virtual certain- ty that he will be lynched, establishes a co- incidence that will not be lost upon the American public, perhaps not wasted upon Congress. The fact that the Canadian ipris- oner's brother has been lynched for his share in a brawl between whites and Negroes over a trifling business transaction, is the principal obstacle to a surrender by the On- tario authorities. The Canadian officials presume that if officers of the law in the North Carolina town where the demand for extradition originated would not prevent lynching of this man's brother there is no reason to suppose they would prevent a second mob- bing. If the Dyer Bill or its equivalent should be passed there would be a chance of no repetition of the Tulsa Riot, the effects of which have been so far reaching. A. J. Smitherson, a colored editor of Tulsa, de- scribes in the Boston Herald, the riot's ter- rible aftermath: While some few are rebuilding their homes and business places with their own money, or money obtained outside of Tulsa (because there is a tacit understanding among those who control the money in Tulsa that no financial assistance will be given colored men with which to rebuild their property in the business district of the THE LOOKING GLASS 229 burned area), yet there are thousands who are not so fortunate. Hundreds of huts now stand where comfortable homes stood before June 1, and in these huts thousands of women and children "black in color, to be sure, but guilty of no other offense", are now huddling closely together in an effort to protect their scantily garbed and under- fed bodies from the ravages of winter, a little less tolerable, perhaps, than the cold indifference of their white brothers and sis- ters, who recently paid the Rev. Billy Sun- day $17,000 for preaching their sins away. In the wake, above the din of a one-sided battle with machine guns and the roar of flames, above the cannonading sounds of ex- plosives dropped from airplanes, which still linger in the minds of many of these poor people, come the heart-rending cries of suffering women and children begging for clothes and food to sustain life through the winter — pleading for justice! But their cries evidently die in the dis- tance before reaching the law-making body of our country, where a few days ago the solons were debating the constitutionality of a bill which, if enacted, would make ef- fective the 14th Amendment to the Consti- tution of the United States. Surely justice sleeps while injustice runs amuck! Puzzle: Why is a Constitution? AFRICA A FRICA remains the riddle of riddles. -*•*• Can Europe afford to arm the blacks for military service? asks the German edi- tor of the Berliner Tageblatt. The Buffalo, N. Y., Times translates : The Temps of Paris recently published figures showing that the French army now consists of 665,000 men, of whom 551,000 were in the French continent and 218,000 in the North African, Colonial and their colored contingents. Eighty-seven thousand men are stationed in the Rhineland, but it is not mentioned how many of each color. Now the length of military service is to be shortened from two years to one and one- half, and at the same time, in order to make up for the decrease in population, the number of colored troops will be increased to 300,000 and the French army will consist of about equal parts of black and white. We know very well that white men are often anything but virtuous, and that the Euro- pean skin often hides barbarian instincts. The last years have shown this clearly enough. And, after all, who can say if there exists no black Plato, or Raffael, or Shakespeare in some of the Hottentot vil- lages. But is it indifferent to the colonial peoples that Africa will soon be overrun by native soldiers who have been trained for military service in Europe? We hear so much of the decline in Eastern lands and it is a fact that the East has "cold and shriv- elled up ears" and other signs which Hippo- crates called signs of death, but in arming Africa, France, in order to stuff up a hole in the garden wall, is pulling down the dam which until now kept the Black Sea within its bounds. * * * The Reuter Press Agency reports that antagonism toward the white invader is rapidly increasing throughout Africa. The account continues : Reuter's informant emphasizes the grow- ing cohesion of native races throughout the continent. He says the strongest factor in the development of antagonism to the whites is skillful propaganda fostered by an ex- treme section of American Negroes. Circulars coming from nationalist sources in India and Egypt and from Pan-African societies in the United States, translated into five of the principal African languages, are distributed in enormous numbers throughout Africa. Booklets of 25 to 30 pages urge that the time has arrived for the black races to assert themselves and throw off the white yoke. It is only fair to say that these are not received with universal sympathy, but the very unsettling effect is easily to be ob- served. It has been met in the Union of South Africa. In French equatorial Africa and in a lesser degree in Uganda, in Nyasaland, Belgian Congo, Abyssinia and Kenia. It is wonderful the extent to which the war has produced fraternal feelings among natives, but in present circumstances they tend to become anti-European. The main reason is the growth of race consciousness through the world. If, as seems likely, Africa is destined to overrun Europe, the opinion in the London Observer of General Mangin, the famous French leader of black troops on the West- ern Front, must prove a solace to the Ne- grophobe : Potentially the black race is probably as good as the white. Consider for a moment of what recent date is our scientific civiliza- tion. We have gone ahead, and the records of our dealings with the black peoples, armed as we were with certain advantages, is not flattering to us. We looked upon them as slaves, and we continue in some sense to regard them as slaves. But what in the history of the world is an advance of a few hundred years? If one takes a wider view than Africa, if one looks at the colored peo- ples in general — and I have spent some years in the Far East, as well as in Africa — one sees that our own civilization has its sources in Asia, which is yellow; in India, which is bronzed; and in Egypt, which is black. Greece and Rome are comparatively 230 THE CRISIS ADVERTISER late-comers. We owe much to the Arabs. Our alphabets come from Asia, and our figures from Arabia, and long before Eu- rope was settled there existed great civili- zations. We, white men, are not the first, and we may not be the last, representatives of civilization. It is necessary to cultivate the world sense and to think in less limited periods of time. . . . We have to distinguish between moral progress and scientific progress. I am con- vinced that morally many Africans have nothing to learn from us. All that vast zone which stretches from Senegal to Abyssinia, from Egypt to Morocco, from Algeria to Ni- geria, is filled with monuments which testi- fy to an immemorial civilization. They are states which for centuries have had an ex- cellent organization as we understand it — with an army, a budget, a political, a re- ligious, and an administrative service. There are spiritualistic religions which have ex- isted for thousands of years, having at their base the idea of the unity of God, the im- mortality of the soul, and punishment for wrong-doing — cults which are free from idolatry or any kind of fetichism. The Mossi, for example, on the Niger, with whom I lived in 1890, have fine civic virtues and an admirable social order. TAKE YOUR CHOICE Art In The South FIND several Southerners whom I have asked about Gilpin's probable reception in the South almost equally divided in their opinions. Those who feel he will get the same more or less impartial hearing he has had in the North are quite as positive in their opinion as those who think he will not be tolerated for a moment by white South- ern audiences. Exponents of the latter view explain that it is not the mere fact of a successful Negro actor, to which objection will be taken. It is the "glorification" of a Negro in the leading and only important role of a rday. They assure me that a white man blacked up could play the part any- where in the South without trouble. — Bruce Bliven, in the New York Globe and Com- mercial Advertiser. A Clever r I ""O most persons baling wire jyrAN -i- is simply wire, but to Allen Dixon, looking at all the rusty wire going to waste from bales of hay shipped into Nashville, rusty wire was rat traps. He pulled some wire off a bale, ex- perimented with it and; — got a patent. m Hardy & Hart, No. 100 Fifth Avenue, this city, are negotiating for permission to sell the patent right. Mr. Hardy admits the Negro will probably make a lot of money. He is said to have received already an offer of $25,000 in cash, or $5,000 down and 5 cents royalty on every trap sold. — New York World, The Negro and the White A Study in Race Relations Is there a growing hostility between the Negro and White races in the United States? Some careful observers think so. Do the teachings of Jesus furnish principles on which friendship between them could be firmly based? THE WORLD TOMORROW for March will take up these questions. Ar- ticles on the contribution of the Negro to American life; the economic cause of Negro subjugation; the poison of race prejudice; the question of racial inferi- ority, intermarriage, social equality, etc. Reading list and topics' for group dis- cussion. Each month THE WORLD TOMORROW discusses some single outstanding- subject of social, economic and industrial import- ance, 108 Lexington Avenue New York, N. Y. SUBSCRIBE NOW TEN CENTS PER COPY ONE DOLLAR A YEAR HAVE YOU A COPY OF THE CRISIS Calendar for 1922? It is our "Negro Homes Calendar" and contains twelve elegant pictures of beau- tiful and attractive homes in possession of Negroes in various parts of the United States. The cover carries a remarkable picture of "Villa Lewaro", the home of the late Madam C. J. Walker, at Irvington-on-the- Hudson, N. Y. Price Fifty Cents. Supply limited. Let your orders come at once. Immediate attention assured them. SPECIAL OFFER:— A copy of our 1922 CRISIS Calendar will be sent free to any one sending us at one time three paid up yearly subscriptions to THE CRISIS. THE CRISIS is $1.50 per year. Address THE CRISIS 70 Fifth Avenue New York, N. Y. Is there a CRISIS agent in your com- munity? If not, will you recommend some energetic and reliable person who will serve us in your locality ? Our terms to agents are liberal. \S CRISIS SPRING NUMBER APRIL, 1922 15 CENTS A COPY 28th Annual Financial Statement of the Southern Aid Society of Virginia, Inc. (Condensed) RECEIPTS 1921 Jan. 1, 1921, Cash Balance Brought Forward $ 98,688.17 Dec. 31, 1921, Annual Income 781,392.32 Gross Receipts for 1921 $880,080.49 DISBURSEMENTS Dec. 31, 1921, Total Paid Out (Including investments made during the year) $807,957.60 Cash Balance Dec. 31, 1921 $72,122.89 ASSETS LIABILITIES Cash Balance Dec. 31, 1921 $72,122.89 Capital Stock $30,000.00 Real Estate 362,266.71 Bills Payable (Unmatured notes on Real Estate Mortgages 86,082.48 Purchase Price of another Company's Federal, State and City Bonds 42,258.00 debit) 60,412.24 Bills Receivable 12,774.29 Real Estate Mortgage (Mortgage as- Furniture and Fixtures 7,500.00 sumed on recent purchase) 4,000.00 Inventories of Sundry Accts 5,210.81 Deposits of Employees 17,400.63 Ledger Accounts 7,510.00 SURPLUS FUND 468,892.31 Total $588,215.18 Total $588,215,18 CAPITAL AND SURPLUS $ 498,892.31 Total Amount of Claims Paid to Dec. 31, 1921 2,511,894.92 The unusual business depression of 1921 was a fiery trial to practically all businesses. The Industrial Sick Benefit Business was especially adversely affected by the lack of employment of thousands of policyholders. Some were forced to retire. Most of them experienced a great slump in the year's business. Only a few were able to show an increase in business over the former year. The Southern Aid Society of Va., Inc., was numbered among the favored few. The Society did its largest business during 1921. It served acceptably a larger number of people than ever before. It is now better prepared to protect its membership — through its New Liberal Policy — which provides for One Small Premium, protection against Sickness, Accident and Death. District Offices and Agencies located throughout the State of Virginia and the District of Columbia. Southern Aid Society of Virginia, Inc. Home Office: 527 N. Second Street RICHMOND, VA. THE CRISIS A RECORD OF THE DARKER RAGES PUBLISHED MONTHLY AND COPYRIGHTED BY THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE, AT 70 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK CITY. CON- DUCTED BY W. E. BURGHARDT DU BOIS; JESSIE REDMON FAUSET, LITERARY EDITOR; AUGUSTUS GRANVILLE DILL, BUSINESS MANAGER. Vol. 23-No. 6 APRIL, 1922 Whole No. 138 Page COVER "Spring." Drawing by Yolande Du Bois. OPINION The World and Us; The Dyer Bill in the Senate; The Sterling-Towner Bill; Maria Baldwin; The Case of Samuel Moore; The Spanish Fandango; Show Us, Missouri; Again Africa; The Demagog; Help 247 THE NEGRO BANK. Illustrated 253 LEX TALIONIS. A Story. Robert W. Bagnall 254 THE PORTUGUESE NEGRO. Nicolas Santos-Pinto 259 BRAWLEY'S "SOCIAL HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN NEGRO" 260 SONG OF THE SON. A Poem. Jean Toomer 261 THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE 262 PRIDE. A Poem. Mortimer G. Mitchell 265 THE HORIZON. Illustrated 266 THE LOOKING GLASS '. 275 THE RICH BEGGAR. A Poem. Mary Effie Lee Newsome 280 THE MAY CRISIS The cover will be Albert Smith's fine painting of Rene Maran. The special articles will be on the late Bert Williams and on the leaders of Negro fraternities. FIFTEEN CENTS A COPY; ONE DOLLAR AND A HALF A YEAR FOREIGN SUBSCRIPTION TWENTY-FIVE CENTS EXTRA RENEWALS: The date of expiration of eack subscription is printed on the wrapper. When the subscription is due, a blue renewal blank is enclosed. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: The address of a subscriber can be changed as often as desired. In ordering a change of address, both the old and the new address must be given. Two weeks' notice is required. MANUSCRIPTS and drawings relating to colored people are desired. They must be accom- panied by return postage. If found unavailable they will be returned. Entered as second class matter November 2, 1910, at the post office at New York, New York, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 244 THE CRISIS ADVERTISER National Training School DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA A School for the Training of Colored Young Men and Women for Service Thougk it is young In history, the Institution feels a just pride in the work thus far accomplished, for its graduates are already filling many responsible positions, thus demonstrating the aim of the school to train men and women for useful citizenship. DEPARTMENTS ALREADY ESTABLISHED The Grammar School The Teacher Training Department The Academy The Divinity School The School of Arts and Science* The Commercial Department The Department of Music The Department of Home Economic! The Department of Social Service For farther information and Catalog, address President James E. Shepard, Durham, North Carolina STATE OF NEW JERSEY Manual Training & Industrial School FOR COLORED YOUTH BORDENTOWN, N. J. A high Inttltutlsa ftr tha training *f aolorod yeuth. Excellent equipment, thorough Instruction. wholesome surrounding*. Academic training for all students. Courses In carpentry, agriculture and trade* tor hoys. Including auto repairing. Courses In domestic science and domestic art for girls. A new trade* building, thoroughly equipped. New girls' dormitory thoroughly and modernly equipped. Terms reasonable. For Information address W. R. VALENTINE, Principal Wiley University Marshall, Texas Recognized as a college of first class by Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Okla- homa State Boards of Education. Har- vard, Boston University, University of Illinois and University of Chicago repre- sented on its faculty. One hundred twenty-seven in College Department, ses- sion 1919-1920. Several new buildings, steam heated and electric lighted. M. W. DOGAN, President LINCOLN UNIVERSITY Pioneer in Collegiate and Theological Education Lincoln Men are Leaders in the- various professions in Forty States. The College is ranked in Class I. by the American Medical Association. Address : Jokn 1, Kendall, D.D., Lincoln University, Chester County, Fenna. The Cheyney Training School for Teachers Cheyney, Pa. A Pennsylvania State Normal School offering, in addition to the regular Normal Course of two years, professional three year courses in Home Economics and Shop Work. A diploma from any of these courses makes a graduate eligihle to teach in the public schools of Pennsylvania. A three-year High School Course is offered to all who have completed the eighth grammer grade. Next term begins September 18, 1922. For further particulars and catalog, write Leslie Pinckney Hill, Principal Cheyney, Pa. There Will Be No Summer School for 1922 Mention The Crisis. THE CRISIS Vol. 23. No. 6 APRIL, 1922 Whole No. 138 Uipuxioiv THE WORLD AND US APAN won at Washington. The Anglo-S axon Entente sought to drive a wedge be- tween the two great repre- sentatives of the yellow race, but Japan foiled them. China and Japan stand nearer than ever before and the day is in sight when they will present an unbroken front to the ag- gressions of the whites. America posed as the friend of China but she was simply the friend of exploitation in China and she was out-witted both by Japan and England. The British Empire is yielding to the darker races, not because it wants to but because it must. The white races are split with hatred. The ap- proaching entente between England and Germany is as yet abortive. France is openly catering to the dark- er races, both yellow and black. For the first time in history England is willing to give Egypt with its Ne- groid inhabitants the beginnings of political autonomy. She has grant- ed something to India and must grant more. The colored West Indians are pounding on her doors. Black West Africa cannot long keep still. Everywhere effort is being made in America to make the wage laborer bear most of the burden of reduced prices. The coal barons seek to main- tain their outrageous profits by the starvation of miners. Everywhere the pressure goes on and labor is im- potent because through the aristo- cratic trades unions of the American Federation of Labor it has so long been exploited itself that it cannot now easily accomplish union. Russia is the most amazing and most hopeful phenomenon of the post-war period. She has been mur- dered, bullied, lied about and starved and yet she maintains her govern- ment, possesses her soul and is sim- ply compelling the world to recognize her right to freedom even if that free- dom involves the industrial recon- struction of her society. France is incurring the condem- nation of the world largely because of her attitude towards Negroes. She paid in blood, destruction and cash more than any other people on earth in order to smash the German mili- tary machine. She is now asked to put her trust in England and Amer- ica rather than in Africa for regen- eration and unless she does she is threatened. But threats work two ways. There is a new pope in Rome, an 11th Pius, succeeding the war pope Benedict XV as the 260th successor of St. Peter. He is undoubtedly go- ing to come to better understanding with Italy. But the question that concerns us is whether or not he is going to continue the catering of the Holy See to the wealth of American Catholics ; will he continue to allow the American hierarchy, despite some of its nobler souls, to refuse to train and ordain Negro priests? 247 248 THE CRISIS THE DYER BILL IN THE SENATE HE Republican Party at its last convention advocated legislation against lynching in its platform. The Presi- dent of the United States in his message asked for such legislation. The Republican Party has a large majority in both the House and the Senate. The Republican Party is therefore responsible absolutely for the success or the failure of the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill. Moreover among those voting for this bill in the House there are 8 Democrats ! One from Illinois, 1 from Kentucky, 1 from Massachusetts, 1 from New Jersey, 3 from New York, and 1 from Pennsylvania. Bourke Cockran and Anthony Griffin, Demo- crats of New York, and Myer Lon- don, a Socialist, spoke in favor of the bill. This puts a double responsi- bility upon the Republicans because the Democratic help of which they are sure makes their ability to pass the bill beyond any question. Nor is there any need to fear a filibuster in the Senate. According to rule 22, any 16 Senators can de- mand a vote on the limitation of de- bate, and debate can be definitely lim- ited by a two-thirds vote of the Sen- ate. The Republicans with Demo- cratic support can command a two- thirds majority in the Senate for this bill. If then the Senate does not pass the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill, any Ne- gro who votes for the Republican Party at the next election writes himself down as a gullible fool. THE STERLING-TOWNER BILL E spoke in February of the vicious provisions in the bill now before Congress and designed to furnish na- tional aid for common school train- ing. By mistake we called this the Smith-Towner Bill because we have become used to looking to Hoke Smith of Georgia for every anti-Ne- gro atrocity introduced in Congress. This was a mistake because, thank God, Hoke Smith is out of Congress, as we trust, forever. The bill now under consideration is known as the Sterling-Towner Bill. But after all, what's in a name? The provisions by which the South is to be allowed and encouraged to make ignorance among Negroes permanent, while white children are educated from the pro- ceeds of taxes paid by Negro citizens, is a disgrace so unspeakable that it deserves the denunciation of every decent American citizen. MARIA BALDWIN MET Maria Baldwin first in 1885. She was already a, school teacher — already the quiet, al- most diffident personality, with beautiful brown face and speaking eyes and with a low voice full of earn- est inquiry. She had a few of us at her house of an evening, once a week. It was a sort of salon, unnamed, unor- ganized, but palpitating with spirit. I was then in my hottest, narrowest, self-centered, confident period, with only faint beginnings of doubts and revolt. Most things I knew defi- nitely and argued with scathing, un- sympathetic finality that scared some into silence. But Maria Baldwin was always serene, just slightly mocking, refusing to be thundered or domi- neered into silence and answering al- ways in that low, rich voice — with questionings, with frank admission of uncertainty which seemed to me then as exasperatingly weak. Yet she grew on us all. Her poise commanded greater and greater re- spect. Her courage — her splendid, quiet courage astonished us, and so she came to larger life and accom- plishment. She fought domestic troubles and the bitter never-ending insults of race difference. But s>ie OPINION 249 emerged always the quiet, well-bred lady, the fine and lovely Woman. She died a teacher, teaching men, women and children ; and how strange a mockery of our democracy it is that most Americans are chiefly interested to know that her pupils, her thou- sands of public-school pupils, were white Massachusetts school children. THE CASE OF SAMUEL MOORE AMUEL MOORE, a Negro prisoner in the Atlanta Pen- itentiary, has recently been brought into prominence through the friendship of Eugene V. Debs. Moore had served 30 years for the unintentional killing of Har- ry Jandorf when he was 17 years old. Out of 48 years he has spent less than 11 years in freedom. He was in a reformatory between the ages of 7 and 11 and was serving a year's sentence in the District of Co- lumbia jail when Jandorf was killed. He was tried by a white jury for kill- ing a white man. The trial lasted two days and the Prosecuting Attor- ney congratulated the jury on "one cf the qjuickest convictions ever se- cured in the district". The testi- mony was conflicting. Moore main- tained, and has always maintained, that he killed Jandorf in self-defense, hitting him with a shovel while Jan- dorf was attacking him with a knife. He said that Jandorf had threatened to kill him and that he had appealed without success to the officers on guard for protection. Moore was sentenced to be hanged in 1892 but President Harrison com- muted his sentence to life imprison- ment "on account of his youth and the lack of premeditation of the crime". Moore has been at Atlanta since 1902 and has been treated with such cruelty there and knows so much of what has happened that it is impossible to get consideration for his case. Under the parole law he was eligible for parole in 1906 but his case was not even considered until 1913 and was denied then and also in 1916, 1919 and 1920. In 1921 the case was taken up with Attorney General Daugherty and the Attorney General promised to look into the matter. Utterly base- less statements have been made that Moore has assaulted his guards and other prisoners. There is absolutely no record of any such facts. There is, however, a statement of his jailer that unless he is soon released he will go insane. Moore is today the oldest prisoner in 'Atlanta. Many people of intelligence and integrity speak highly of his character. One of the deputy wardens, who was in charge of him for 10 years, has only good to say of him and offers to do anything to bring about his release and yet he remains in the Atlanta Peniten- tiary. He is 48 years old and he has been a slave and a prisoner for 37 years. Martha Gruening of New York has for years interested herself in this pitiful case and has secured thou- sands of names to a petition for Moore's release. Frank Miller of the Mission Inn at Riverside, New York, stands ready to take charge of Moore. President Harding and Attorney General Daugherty are playing golf in Florida. THE SPANISH FANDANGO HE audience was ideal — small, rapt and responsive. After- ward in the Parish House we danced amid fresh young joy. Then in an upper room at midnight we foregathered : there was Dabney, of course, master without ceremony ; and Gilpin with his voice — that won- derful rolling depth of sounding re- verberations, shot with laughter. One of us had run for the Legislature last year — another handled autos, etc. We drank ginger-ale that had a 250 THE CRISIS reminiscent — slightly suspicious — taste. (Gilpin didn't like it — he said he didn't want the flavor spoiled with ginger-ale!) Then one at the piano played an obligato to our talk and laughter, low enticing things, yet not interrupting. We ate — there were biscuits and tender golden chicken and more — and talked reminiscently. Next Dabney bringing out his banjo rollicked Gilpin dancing to his feet. Dabney told an inimitable story of an Uncle Tom's Cabin Company in old Richmond days, all colored: Eliza came in from the wrong side and met the dogs instead of fleeing from them. The dogs got to fighting — the audience was entranced, convulsed. Then at last— it was 2 A.M.— Dab- ney took down the Golden Guitar and all was still. He played softly the Spanish Fandango. Have you ever heard Dabney play the Spanish Fandango? Dear God! There will be threads of smoke, and sprawling, indistinct men ; a tiny tuning as of drops of musical rain and then a swell of silvery sound softening to a wail. The swish and swirl of dark and lacy skirts and flicker of slim young limbs, all crim- son beauty. There are skies and trickling waters, lifting and falling to music — whispering and crying; soft, so soft, that at last they drift away to utter music almost soundless, pulsing in ecstacy, with now and anon the rough whir and roll of the recov- ering bass, out of which the silvery music emerges — re-born, alive, wail- ing, dancing and dying — I slept the night fitfully with quiv- ering nerves and rose hurriedly — for I had a deed. You see I was tired from talking into the burning eyes of 3,000 school children on yesterday, and from the holy revel of the night, and I had to get to Huntington. There are three lines — two round-about and slow; one, the Chesapeake & Ohio, direct, but through "Jim Crow" Ken- tucky. I hurried to the city ticket of- fice. Useless — the clerk lied suavely — "the diagram is at the depot — you can easily get a seat there." I did not try. I knew. I walked straight to the Pullman with a porter. The conductor was rough and curt. "Go to the ticket office — I can't sell you a seat." I hesitated. There we stood: a depot porter with golden face and sombre eyes ; a black inscrutable train porter. A big fat angry white con- ductor. Then I girded myself for War. "You can assign me when the diagram comes," I said. "Put the bags on." I stumbled on through the car aflame and bitter. I sank to an empty corner seat. Suppose he con- tinued to refuse. The car was filling. I would buy the whole drawing-room — it was taken, just then. We moved across the slimy Ohio to Kentucky. Ah! he would have me there — Law and Gospel against me. But I stuck, grim, with throbbing temples. After a thousand years, he slouched in: "Pullman ticket!" he growled. "I have none — a seat to Hunting- ton." "$1.20," he mumbled. It was over and I had won. I leaned back. The thoughtful porter brought me a pillow. I closed my eyes and listened again to the dim se- ductive strains of the Spanish Fan- dango. SHOW US, MISSOURI HE colored people of Missouri have takem a tremendous step in advance. Throughout the Border States and the South it has long been the custom to tax colored people for State universities to which only white students were admitted. If an institution for col- ored youth was maintained, it was a cheap, inferior caricature. Grad- ually the colored people of the nation are waking up to this unspeakable OPINION 251 injustice. West Virginia has secured a State Negro college with a fair ap- propriation. Some improvements in higher educational facilities have been made in Tennessee, Florida, and Louisiana. But only in Missouri have any ade- quate steps been taken. There a Ne- gro university is planned. A board of curators consisting of a few prom- inent white and colored men and women have been appointed. For the most part they are educated per- sons of experience. The State has appropriated $500,000 for new and adequate buildings on the site occu- pied by the institution known for- merly as Lincoln Institute. Here a new Lincoln University is to be built. This is a splendid beginning. Now, Missouri, show us! Estab- lish a scale of decent salaries which will enable the officers and teachers to be self-supporting. Select as pres- ident and members of the faculty, men of thorough training, well- known accomplishment, and dither wide experience or unusual promise. Do not take old men who have lived their lives and fulfilled their prom- ise— select young men. You have the pick of the black nation to choose from. Most colored teachers are to- day wretchedly underpaid and out- rageously overworked. There is so little chance for advancement or re- search or decent support of a family that our best men are being driven out of the profession. Yet we have today 15 young men and women with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the highest institutions of the land; scores of students who have made the highest record and are men and women of character and experi- ence. Let Missouri select such a fac- ulty that, beginning with that State, we can sweep through the South and demand and man our schools. AGAIN, AFRICA HAT we want today is the use of every weapon of civilization to bring about a change of attitude on the part of the world toward Africa. To this end we have commerce, educa- tion, religion and continuous and in- telligent propaganda. These we have and these are all we have. We have neither armies nor navies, nor air- ships nor submarines, to apply force to the embattled powers of the world, whose grip today holds Africa. Perhaps it is our greatest opportun- ity that we are thus weak in our phys- ical demand for justice. With this physical weakness and armed with the rightfulness of our cause, we have a chance to work for a mighty victory by industrial, intelligent and moral means; and with us are working to- day all the forces that stand for peace and disarmament, that stand for de- mocracy, that stand for human broth- erhood. These are powerful allies. We may fail and they may fail. It may be that the appeal to brute force will continue to be the last resource of the oppressed down into the twenty- first and twenty-second centuries ; but today and for Africa — no matter what may be true for India and Ireland — for Africa our program is clear : 1 . To promote modern education of the natives aiming at intelli- gence as well as technique, and carried out by indigenous schools and native students trained in culture lands. 2. To bring together for periodic conference and acquaintance- ship the leading Negroes of the world and their friends. 3. To promote industry, commerce and credit among black groups. This does not mean yelling and lying and ranting about gigan- tic projects that never existed, and squandering hard-earned 252 THE CRISIS wealth in crazy and ill-conceived us" ; "They are copying the white schemes. It means small, effi- /man's color line" — he shrieks, as he cient, honest enterprises, quietlyTxrtexterously fills his own pockets and wastes the pennies of the N/ and carefully carried on fori years, until in fifty years or a century we shall have knit the Negro world together in thrift. After this program has been care- fully and devotedly and successfully followed, Africa will belong to the Africans and no man will dare gain- say them — and perhaps no one will want to. THE DEMAGOG ROM now on in our new awak- ening, our self-criticism, or impatience and passion, we must expect the Demagog 'among Negroes more and more. He will come to lead, inflame, lie and steal. He will gather large follow- Njigs and then burst and disappear. Loss and despair will follow his fall L^imtil new false prophets arise. This is almost inevitable in every grow- ing, surging group of low intelli- gence and poverty. But it is perma- nently dangerous only as the Dema- gog finds the cleft between our in- cipient social classes wide and grow- ing. This, under old economic and social conditions, is the day when we would naturally breed aristocracies of birth, wealth, training and talent, and uncared-for masses of brute and criminal poor. Our common social oppression and serfdom to the white world has saved us from these ex- tremes and left us with smaller in- equalities of wealth and education than most groups of 12 millions. Nevertheless the ties between our privileged and exploited, our edu- cated and ignorant, our rich and poor, our light and dark, are not what they should be and what we can and must make them. It is here that the New Negro Demagog thrives and yells and steals. "They are ashamed of their race" ; "They are exploiting pennies oi tne poor. Now the difficulty is that back of his exaggerations and dishonesty lies that kernel of truth that gains him his following; there are plenty of black folk who are bitterly ashamed of their color, who shrink with blind repulsion from the uglier aspects of rheir race's degradation, and who willingly batten on the black poor. They are few in the aggregate, but they exist ; and beside them stand the vast number of us who believe in our race and seek its weal, and yet make no effort to reach down and draw up. These latter see no personal duty of theirs toward black thieves and pros- titutes, no responsibility for black poverty. For this attitude we must substi- tute a feeling of group responsibility, realizing that if we do not know and befriend our unfortunate, scoundrels will use them to their own ends and to our undoing. And such demagogs will be doubly strong because they can count on the applause and back- ing of the sinister whites; of those who advertise and pat on the back every skunk among us who combines with his filth sufficient ridicule and criticism for our better efforts. HELP N October 17, 1921, the "Shuf- fle Along" Company of New York gave a benefit perform- ance for the N. A. A. C. P. which netted $1,026. On October 21, the Ladies' Service Group of Wash- ington, D. C, gave a costume assem- bly which netted $309. On February 24, 1922, the Committee of 300 of New "York gave a Pre-Lenten Card Tournament and Dance which netted $2,000.00. Three efforts and $3,335 for Freedom! Next? THE NEGRO BANK L E. "Williams, Wage Earners', Savannah PRESIDENTS OF NEGRO BANKS Jesse Binga, J. W. Sanford, Binga State, Chicago Solvent, Memphis T. E. Erwin, Commercial, Richmond NEGRO banking may be said to have begun with the philanthropic effort known as the Freedmen's Savings Bank of shameful memory. It was incorporated by Congress in March, 1865, as the "Freed- men's Savings and Trust Company" and among its incorporators were Peter Cooper, William Cullen Bryant, John Jay, Edward Atkinson, Levy Coffin and many others of equal prominence. This bank lived until 1874 and received in all fifty-five million dollars of the poor freedmen's hard earned cash. It appears to have been decently conducted until 1870 when the charter was amended so as to allow investment in real estate mortgages. The bank failed in 1874, having at the time 32 branches and 61,131 depositors, whom it owed $3,013,699. A part of this was repaid slowly during the next 20 years, but somebody still owes the defrauded blacks $1,291,121! "Of all dis- graceful swindles perpetrated on a strug- gling people, the Freedmen's Bank was among the worst and the Negro did well not to wait for justice but to go to bank- ing himself as soon as his ignorance and poverty allowed." The first Negro bank was the Capitol Savings Bank of Washington, D. C, which opened in 1888 and lasted 16 years, when it failed. This was followed by the Alabama Penny Savings Bank in 1890, the Memphis Solvent Savings & Trust Company in 1906, and three banks in Richmond, Va. — the True Reformers, the Mechanics, and the St. Luke. Of these the Alabama and the True Reformers have gone out of busi- ness. The other three still survive. The Crisis has secured a list of 49 Negro banks. A few of these banks (1 in Georgia, 1 or 2 in Virginia, and 1 in Florida) have recently failed. On the other hand, there are a number of small banks from which we have not been able to get reports. There are then probably about 60 Negro banks in the country at present distributed as fol- Tows: In the South 34: Virginia 14, North Car- olina 8, Georgia 6, Texas 2, South Carolina 2, Alabama 1, Florida 1; in the Border States 10: Tennessee 4, District of Colum- bia 2, Missouri 2, Kentucky 1, West Virginia 1 ; in the' North 5 : Pennsylvania 2, Illinois 2, Ohio 1; and about ten other small ones whose exact location we have not learned. The laws as to banking and state re- quirements differ vastly throughout the country. In the South they are .very le- nient and the banks are practically private institutions with little state supervision ex- 253 254 THE CRISIS cept in the case of the larger ones. In the North, on the other hand, the state supervision is very rigid. The largest Negro banks, according to their date of establishment, are as follows: The Wage Earners' Savings Bank of Sa- vannah, Ga., was established in October, 1900. It had a paid up capital of $50,000 and resources, September 6, 1921, amount- ing to $1,059,046.43. It had on deposit $925,773.29. It is regularly examined by the state and its president is L. E. Williams. The St. Luke Penny Savings Bank of Richmond, Va., was established in August, 1903. It had a paid up capital of $50,000 and total resources, September 6, 1921, of $538,020.81. Its deposits amounted to 8458,804.69. It is examined regularly by the state and its president is a woman, Mrs. Maggie L. Walker. The Solvent Savings Bank and Trust Company of Memphis, Tenn., was estab- lished in July, 1906. It has a paid up cap- ital of $81,072.28. Its total resources amounted, April 28, 1921, to $981,806.75. It had deposits of $879,316.77. It is regu- larly examined by the state and its presi- dent is J. W. Sanford. The Binga State Bank of Chicago, 111., was established as a private bank in 1908, and chartered as a state institution in 1920. It has a capital stock paid in of $100,000. Its total resources, September 6, 1921, were $425,735.58. Its deposits amounted to $299,522.68. It is examined by the state. Its president is J. W. Binga. The Modern Savings Bank of Pittsburgh, Pa., was just opened for business in 1921 with a paid in capital stock of $125,000. Its assets already amount to $188,614.67. It has deposits amounting to $46,617.67. It is regularly examined by the state and its president is Jacob L. Phillips. The Metropolitan Bank and Trust Com- pany of Norfolk, Va., was established in 1909. It has a paid in capital of $150,000. The total resources are $916,755.22 Its deposits, September, 1921, amounted to $678,709.70. The Tidewater Bank and Trust Company of Norfolk, Va., was established in 1919. It has a capital stock of $103,700. The total resources, June 30, 1921, were $555,774.06. Its deposits amounted to $343,859.57. Brown and Stevens, Bankers of Philadel- phia, Pa., have a private bank which is not examined by the state. The capital is $100,000. The total resources, September 8, 1921, were $1,233,031.13. Their deposits amounted to $823,356. Some of the small banks are as follows: The Commercial Bank and Trust Company of Richmond, Va., with resources of $132,- 212; the People's Savings Bank and Trust Company of Nashville Tenn., with a capi- tal stock of $25,604; the Mutual Savings Bank of Charleston, S. C, with a capital stock of $22,081, and deposits of $148,053; the First Standard of Louisville, Ky., with a capital stock of $63,727 ; the Farmers and Merchants' Bank of Boley, Okla., with a $20,000 capital and total resources of $198,- 723; the Mutual Savings Bank of Ports- mouth, Va., with resources amounting to $456,664. It is regularly examined by the state. Many interesting and growing institu- tions have been omitted in this list because we ;have not received information zfrom them. We hope to hear from such banks in the near future and to publish a sup- plementary article. LEX TALIONIS A Story Robert W. Bagnall TT was good to be home again after twelve -"- years' absence in foreign lands. Even when business is good and your firm has treated you as liberally as mine, you long for home and country. These thoughts were in my mind as I sat in an easy chair in my friend's office, awaiting his return from the telephone. The wood-fire on the hearth and its glow warmed the cockles of one's heart. As I puffed my pipe, I thought of the past days I had spent with this man who was my best friend, days of college life with all of their intimate associations. He was a big fellow, big in body, mind, and heart. He had gone far in his profession. Doctor Townes was now recognized as a surgeon of rare ability. Mine host came in and we sat on into the night, smoking pipe after pipe, talking of old times and of old associates. SOME NEGRO BANKS FIRST STANDARD, Louisville BINGA STATE, Chicago BINGA STATE, Chicago WAGE EARNERS', Savannah METROPOLITAN, Norfolk FIRST STANDARD, Louisville 255 256 THE CRISIS "What became of Langston?" I asked. "You remember him, — old Czar Langston, the proud Southerner. I think he was from this town and came back here to practice law." My friend sat up straight. "Didn't you hear of his strange case?" he asked. "No," I answered. "The last I heard of him was that he was establishing a practice in this city." Townes arose and walking over to his book shelves, pulled out a scrap-book and opened it to a clipping. "Read this," he said. It was a clipping from a local paper, the M Inquirer, dated some eight years back. I read: "The whole city is stirred over the mys- terious disappearance of John Langston, one of our prominent attorneys and a mem- ber of one of the first families of the South, who left his home to see a client five days ago and has not since been heard of. Mr. Langston was called up by Mr. Ketz, the wealthy brewer, whose attorney he is, and requested to come over to his residence at once as he needed his advice on a matter which would not permit delay. Mr. Langs- ton left his house as the clock was striking ten, his wife testifies, saying that he would be home before midnight. He was seen by several citizens on the street and when last observed was entering a secluded park which provides a short cut to Mr. Ketz's residence. No one has seen him since. "Mr. Ketz states that he did not telephone Mr. Langston on the evening in question and that some one must have impersonated him. The missing attorney's accounts have been examined and found to be in excellent condition, his health was good, and his habits regular. It is feared that he has met with foul play. "Attorney Langston had no enemies and was liked by all except the Negroes, whom he profoundly detested. His wife and two children are prostrated with worry. "A careful search has revealed no trace of the missing man." "This is strange", I said. "Do you mean to tell me that they never found any trace of Langston?" "From that day to this, the world has neither seen nor heard of Langston, so far as it knows", answered my friend. Something in the voice of my friend as he uttered the words — "so far as it knows" — startled me. "Doc", I said "you know far more about this than appears. You have some inside knowledge, something that contains a deep- er tragedy than even appears on the sur- face. Come, tell me, if you can do so, what it is." Townes paced the floor for several min- utes, puffing furiously at his pipe. Finally he stopped in front of the fire-place and said: "We have shared many confidences, Bob, old man, and there is no reason why I shouldn't tell you what I know. I know you will be as silent about it as if you didn't know it. I think I shall feel better when I have shared my knowledge with some one." He began: "Langston, you will remember, always hated colored people. You will recall the quarrel we had in college over Flournoy, the big colored half-back and baseball star. "You remember Flournoy, a giant of a fellow, a crack athlete, a splendid scholar, a gentlemanly chap, jolly but considerate and well liked. He was a fine looking fel- low whose Negro blood showed only in his olive complexion and a slight crinkle in his hair. You and I both liked him, you will remember, and when he beat me in the honors contest I didn't begrudge him the place. I knew that the better man had won. "Langston, you will recall, raved about it, saying that such cattle as Flournoy had no business in the university and that the 'nigger-loving' professors had cheated for Flournoy. "I told Langston that he was a cad and a disgrace to the university, and that there wasn't a finer gentleman in the en- tire university than Flournoy. "Well when I came down here to prac- tice, Langston hunted me up. I think it was largely at the instigation of his wife, who came from the same little New Eng- land town as myself and whom I had known from the days when she was a little tot. I used to drop over to his home quite frequently at first. He, like most of the Southerners, was afflicted with Negro- phobia. He couldn't talk an hour without referring to the so-called Negro problem. He could not tolerate the Negro in any but a menial position. He thought it a crime for >a Negro to show that he had self-re- spect and he always claimed that education ruined the Negro. His own Negro servants feared and hated him. "He tried in vain to bring me to his viewpoint and was continually calling me to task for calling colored people mister and LEX TALIONIS 257 FLOURNOY'S SISTER madam. He told me that I was ruining myself by accepting invitations to their meetings and holding conferences with them. It was this color matter which final- ly estranged us. I found Flournoy settled here. He had gone in for chemistry at the university and had secured a position here. He had inherited a little money and had his own little laboratory where he was con- stantly making experiments. "I hunted him up and had him over often for a pipe and a chat and frequently I would drop in to see him. Langston, when he learned this, remonstrated vehemently and when I told him that I reserved to my- self the privilege of choosing my own friends, gave me to understand that no man who took 'a damn nigger' as an inti- mate associate could come to his home. "Langston and I thus became estranged, although we were friendly enough when we (passed each other on the street. I noted, however, that he was beginning to drink considerably and going with a rather gay set. Once too when we met on the street we were near to quarrelling. "It happened that Flournoy had gone to New York on a business trip. He had me over to his home to tea the night before. His mother, who always reminded me of an old ivory cameo, acted as hostess, and after- wards his little sister, a delicate and pretty child of sixteen, who possessed a voice which gave great promise of rare sweet- ness, sang for us. "The next day just as I met Langston the sister passed us on the street and smiled sweetly. I raised my hat. " 'Who's that?' asked Langston, raising his hat and at the same time whirling about and staring with his usual, frank, South- ern interest in women. " 'Flournoy's sister', said I a bit ma- liciously. He was angry at having mis- taken her for white and made a slurring remark. I resented it hotly. "'Pish!' he retorted, 'they're all alike. I'll show you whom she was grinning at', and he walked away. "How it happened I do not know. Per- haps it was an accident. Perhaps he was drunk. At any rate the night before Flour- noy returned, his sister was found prone in the park cruelly assaulted. She died on the third day but not before she had told us all. Langston had met her again and spok- en to her. She recognized him as an ac- quaintance of mine and responded. He followed her and attempted to take her arm as they reached the park. Frightened, she cried out and ran. He overtook her, made an open proposition and when she recoiled in horror, he brutally attacked her. "When she died Flournoy sat in silence, his head in his hands. A half hour later I missed him. I found afterwards that he had been to Langston's house but found him out of town. Still the gentleman, he said nothing to Langston's wife. "A month later Flournoy's mother died, broken hearted. "The world knew nothing of the cause of the little girl's death. He commanded me to secrecy. The little girl had died of brain fever, I reported. When a white man is the guilty party the law jests at such cases, which are too frequent here in the South. "Bob, a passion will burn out a man's life like a stroke of lightning. Never have I before seen a man change as did Flournoy. He had been an upstanding giant, with a straight back and a light step. He had been jolly, enthusiastic, ardent. Now he became stoop-shouldered and old. His hair grew white and his face became furrowed with deep lines. He grew morose and si- 258 THE CRISIS lent and would brood for hours. He be- came careless of bis dress and deserted his acquaintances. He gave up his position and devoted himself to secret experiments, shutting himself up for days in his labora- tory, refusing everyone entrance. The old woman who kept house for him said that at such times he would not even come to his meals but ordered her to pass them in to him through a crack in the door. "He wouldn't come to see me, so I per- sistently looked him up. I looked for some- thing to happen. Langston had returned and had built himself up more and more in his profession. He knew that the girl had died, but what was the life of a Negro girl to him? He seemed more concerned because I always refused to speak to him than about her death. "Why didn't Flournoy kill him, you are about to ask? You or I would have done so. But, Bob, men of mixed blood are some- times different. His first passion over, Flournoy did nothing and never spoke of the tragedy or of Langston. He was no coward, I knew that. He had been a fel- low who went in a great deal for religion, but now he never went to church and never prayed. Sometimes while talking to me he would grow silent all at once and turn white and shiver as if with the ague, while his eyes would glare like those of a mad- man. I feared that he was going insane under the strain. "I remember one night just a week be- fore Langston disappeared, I went to see Flournoy. His eyes were bright with tri- umph and he seemed more like himself of old, but suddenly he began to glare and shiver and then he burst without apparent cause into wild laughter like that of a fiend from hell. "It caused my blood to curdle. I broke out: 'My God, man, if you don't get away from here you will go mad!' "Instantly he calmed himself and said: 'I beg your pardon, but I haven't slept for four days and nights because of an experi- ment. I am not myself.' "I left him with my mind very much dis- turbed about his state. "A week later Langston disappeared. I was at first inclined to suspect Flournoy but found that he had left the city for At- lanta the day before the disappearance and did not return until the day after it hap- pened. When I learned that I was as much at sea as the public. "Now comes a queer thing. Read these, Bob." Townes took out of his scrap-book two old newspaper clippings, dated three weeks after the disappearance of Langston. One was a short clipping. It read: Demented Negro Imagines Himself Langston "A queer incident following the disap- pearance three weeks ago of Attorney Langston, of whom no trace has been found, is the mysterious dementia of a strange Ne- gro. This man imagines himself to be the missing attorney turned black. He went to Langston's office and insisted upon entrance. When he was ejected he went up to the house and tried to force his way to Mrs. Langston and the children, crying out that he was their husband and father. The serv- ants shut the doors in his face and kept him from disturbing Mrs. Langston, who has been prostrated since her husband's death. Attorney Marsh, the missing man's partner, when interviewed, said that the strange thing about the Negro who is a pure black, is that he somehow reminds him of Langston. The police are looking for the insane man." The second clipping was longer. It had big scare-heads of type: "Negro Brute Tries to Assault Wife of Missing Attorney" It told how the insane Negro, who thought himself Langston, had gone to the Langston home and forced his way through a window. He suddenly appeared in Mrs. Langston's bedroom when she was prepar- ing to retire for the night. She was so frightened that at first she was speechless. He advanced toward her with outstretched arms, crying — "Wife, don't you know me?" When he seized her in his arms, the horror- stricken woman screamed and Langston's uncle, who was in the house, rushed into the room and shot the Negro, wounding him. A mob of the best citizens soon gath- ered and dragged the monster into the pub- lic square. There they kindled a fire and burned the Negro to death. Until the end, the man, moaning and crying and crazed with pain, declared that he was Langston. The article then entered upon an argu- ment that the incident showed the danger of educating Negroes, for the creature burned was clearly an educated man. I felt an uncanny feeling creep over me as I finished the article. THE PORTUGUESE NEGRO 259 "What do you make of it?" asked Townes. "I didn't know what to make of it," I answered. "I will continue," said the doctor. "Three months ago Flournoy died. He was ter- ribly injured by an explosion of chemicals. He sent for me and I sat beside him when he died. He told me all. "Bob, that man they burned alive was John Langston!" "But the paper says that he was a black Negro and had kinky hair!" I objected. "Nevertheless he was Langston. It was Flournoy's revenge. He had planned it during the months of brooding after his sister's awful death. "It was Flournoy who impersonated the brewer whom Langston last left home to see. He had left town the day before, doubled on his tracks, got off the train five miles away and secretly made his way to his laboratory. Flournoy met him in the deserted park, over-powered him, bound and gagged him, and took him to his lab- oratory. There for three weeks he kept him, treating his entire body with a chemi- cal solution he had discovered. With acids he so damaged his vocal cords that no one would recognize his voice. "This was the object of those long, se- cret experiments to find something which would turn human skin permanently black, with the blackness of a Negro; to find some- thing else which would turn the hair un- alterably kinky. The day Flournoy burst into his laugh of triumph, he had at last been successful in his experiments. Dur- ing those three weeks he pointed out to the helpless Langston in full and graphic detail what awaited him as a Negro. The white man's mind gave way under the strain when he finally looked into the glass and saw himself black with kinky hair, and he became utterly insane. But one lucid thought remained — he was Langston! He wandered to his office and home with the results we have learned. "Langston's relatives and friends had burned him alive because he dared to take his own wife in his arms." My friend fell silent. We gazed into the fire with horror in our eyes, our pipes cold and forgotten. Did the world ever parallel such a re- venge ? THE PORTUGUESE NEGRO Nicolas Santos-Pinto [A paper read at the Second Pan-African Congress, Paris, September, 1921.] "1X7 HEN I say we, I mean to speak of * * the great association of Portuguese Negroes with headquarters at Lisbon which is called the Liga Africana — an actual fed- eration of all the indigenous associations scattered throughout the five provinces of Portuguese Africa and representing several million individuals. This federation is di- rected and presided over by an illustrious colleague of African descent, a scientific man of clear talent and culture. This Liga Africana, which functions at Lisbon in the very heart of Portugal so to speak, has a commission from all the other native organi- zations and knows how to express to the government in no ambiguous terms but in a highly dignified manner all that should be said to avoid injustice or to bring about the repeal of harsh laws. That is why the Liga Africana of Lisbon is the director of the Portuguese African movement, — but only in the good sense of the word without making any appeal to violence and without leaving constitutional limits. To do otherwise would be to stir up prejudice against a great un- dertaking and to lose all that has been gained. It has been our dream and ambition to make of our Portuguese Africa from the moral, intellectual and material point of view, a prosperous country, — a dream and ambition to whose realization we will never refuse any sacrifice, but to which on the contrary we will give the very best of our intelligence, of our energy, of our minidis and of our purse. It is indisputable that the different Afri- can races which are under the domain of the Portuguese state have not yet attained the degree of development common among white people. I am speaking always of the mass of people for we have with us Portuguese Negroes and half castes who are splendid physicians, inspired poets, engi- neers, lawyers, musicians, publicists, paint- 260 THE CRISIS ers, financiers, in a word a real and numer- ous intelligentsia. To attain to a general development we must transform these groups, we must imbue them with a feeling for order, with economic foresight, teach them love of work and give them schools, many schools, both trade and art schools. The thrifty are the strongest. A people which does not know how to practice co- operation is a people ignorant of the con- ditions of life and more than that without a right to live for it becomes a trouble- some element in the human community. Economic action is basic action. This sort of conformity in envisaging the prob- lem with fundamental principles of con- temporary sociological science is the heart of all history. To my way of thinking eco- nomic action ought to 'precede all political action, for without fairly comfortable con- ditions of life we risk suffering surprises which will retard the future of our race. My decided opinion is that when Portu- guese Africans know how to get together in strong economic organizations as our brothers have done in North America, they will see their rise as citizens met with great respect. Furthermore I hold that we ought to start this work immediately in the interest of the future of our race which needs to overcome its native tendency to- ward lack of foresight. BRAWLEY'S "SOCIAL HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN NEGRO" &u 'T^HE recent awakening on the part of ■*■ American Negroes to a sense of racial consciousness is phenomenal when we real- ize that there is nothing in our secular or religious life to warrant it. For unlike the Jews we have given up our early religious beliefs and forms of worship and have taken on the religious custom of the country. To such a degree indeed that we bade fair for a time to out-Christian the Christians. And it is hardly necessary for me to point out how the secular history of America and in- deed of other countries is presented to us in school and college with literally no refer- ence at all to the deeds and exploits of dis- tinguished black men. Our race consciousness arose then spon- taneously as a result of a vague straining after the facts which we dimly felt must belong to our racial development. By sheer analogy we evolved the idea that if such and such conditions were a part of the life of other races, they must be a part of ours. And now comes Benjamin Brawley's* "So- cial History of the American Negro", a book which substantiates all those vague feelings, which by collecting and re-thread- ing the scattered beads in the chain of our racial existence presents to us our racial life as a whole. ^Here is our pre- American life, our posi- tion in colonial days, our priceless gift of labor which as Dr. DuBois has so often pointed out laid the foundation for the country's prosperity. We learn of early slave insurrections before the Revolution as magnificent even in their futility as the revolt of the Colonies! against England. We are heartened to learn in detail of the very real part which we played in 1776, and to see the Revolution in the light of what it meant to us. This indeed is the chief merit of the book in that it presents American history as it must have appeared to black men. Through the long years Mr. Brawley leads us up to the Missouri Compromise when the Negro Problem really begins, past Vesey and Turner to the Abolitionists, and the cir- cumstances presaging the Civil War. A special chapter is devoted to Liberia. The last five chapters present a review of civic and social conditions among Negroes. Mr. Brawley's contribution to* the Negro problem calls for our gratitude. For the first time we are able to grasp as a whole our life and its many ramifications in this country. When we see the arduous road we have followed and realize that always the struggle has been upward, we know that our hopes for the future are not in vain. J. F. *The MacMillan Company, New York. SONG OF THE SON 261 *&r nSh fSf iSj iSr tSr <3f *8* t3> iS> iS? «/ tS; ofir tS> *f* lS> I SONG OF THE SON I ^!T JEAN TOOMER ^ IS* iSr *S* *8> & tt* «J iSf tSf *S*
<•> -^J^ '%!>' ^1^ ^l^ ^J*" ',S^r" ''S^ *y/*~ '*&*' "*¥*" "•*•* •* '%!>' -^I^ "" -• ^-^ ^i^ '*$/*■ **&*■ "*^ *»J"^ /*T^ W^ ^"r*. ^4-»* ^W W-*. <»+^ W-»> W^ *»+»* -^r*. ^f^ *v*. >«-r^ -*+" .-^J^. *■"£*• ^T-^ *•+*. ^+»* National • Associaiion • for • {he • - - Advancement of Colored- People. >j\{-of THE DYER BILL T70LL0WING our victory when the House ■*■ of Representatives on January 26 passed the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill by a vote of 230 to 11&, the National Office is bending every effort towards prompt and favorable action by the Senate. The bill is now in the hands of the Senate Commit- tee on the Judiciary composed of the fol- lowing: Knute Nelson, Minnesota, Chairman William, P. Dillingham, Vermont Frank B. Brandegee, Connecticut William E. Borah, Idaho Albert B. Cummins, Iowa LeBaron B. Colt, Rhode Island Thomas Sterling, South Dakota George W. N orris, Nebraska Richard P. Ernst, Kentucky Samuel M. Shortridge, California. Charles A. Culberson, Texas Lee S. Overman, North Carolina James A. Reed, Missouri Henry F. Ashurst, Arizona John K. Shields, Tennessee Thomas J. Walsh, Montana The names italicized are Republicans. The bill has been referred to a sub-com- mittee of the Judiciary Committee com- posed of Senator Borah, Chairman, and Senators Colt, Dillingham, Overman and Shields. Our immediate task is to show the sub-committee and the committee as a whole that public sentiment throughout the country demands early and favorable ac- tion on the bill. Every interested person is urged to send telegrams or letters to one or all of the names above. A few dollars spent in this fashion will do almost incon- ceivable good. You have often wanted to do something tangible against lynching. Here is your opportunity! If you cannot afford to send each a wire, send as many as you can. Or get several friends to join you, signing all of your names to the wires. This is an old method but it is most ef- fective. One of the means which the National Of- fice has evolved of demonstrating to the Senate the public sentiment behind the bill is the drafting of a memorial to be signed by eminent citizens. This reads: "Memorial to the United States Senate "The killing and burning alive of hu- man beings by mobs in the United States is a reproach upon our country through- out the civilized world and threatens or- ganized government in the nation. "Since 1889 there have been 3,443 known mob murders, 64 of the victims being women. In only a few instances has prosecution of the lynchers been at- tempted. American mobs murdered 64 persons in 1921, of whom 4 were public- ly burned at the stake. "The House of Representatives on Jan- uary 26, 1922, in response to insistent country-wide demand, passed the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill, which invokes the power of the Federal government to end the infamy of American mob murder. "This bill is now in the hands of the United States Senate. The undersigned United States citizens earnestly urge its prompt enactment." This appeal was sent to a selected list of representative persons in America. It has already been signed by 160 individuals, the number including 19 state governors, 18 mayors of large cities, among them the mayors of New York City, Boston, Milwau- kee, Louisville, Baltimore and Charleston, S. C; 87 arch-bishops, bishops and promi- nent churchmen — Protestant, Catholic and Jewish; 24 college presidents and professors in Harvard, Radcliffe, Columbia, Chicago, California, Howard, Atlanta, Morehouse, Hampton, Pennsylvania, Wellesley, Michi- gan and other institutions; 33 newspaper and magazine editors, including the New York Evening Post, the Chicago Daily News, the Nation, the New Republic, the Omaha Bee, the Emporia Gazette through the famous author and editor, William Al- len White, and many other white and col- ored journals; 24 eminent jurists and law- yers, including George W. Wickersham, former Attorney- General of the United States, John G. Milburn, president of the New York Bar Association, Judge Julian 262 N. A. A. C. P. 263 W. Mack of Chicago, Judge Edward Osgood Brown of Chicago, and Moorfield Storey; and 18 other prominent citizens, including Edward W. Bok, owner and former editor of the Ladies' Home Journal, Samuel S. Fels of Philadelphia, L. S. Rowe, president of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Talcott Williams, former head of the Columbia University School of ing the afternoon there was considerable discussion in the town and Bullock's "of- fense" grew with each telling. Towards nightfall threats were made to lynch him. That night Bullock's father, a respected minister of the town, had the sheriff lock up his son over night for safe-keeping. A few hours later a mob formed and start- ed to the jail. On meeting a crowd of col- Journalism, and Louis F. Post of New York J ored men and boys a fight followed, in Another step was the impressive mass which several white and colored men were meeting held at Town Hall, in New York injured. Later in the night the mob re- City, on March 1. At that meeting Con- formed, went to the jail, seized Plummer gressman Dyer, Mr. Storey, Dr. Du Bois Bullock and another colored man and and Mr. Johnson were the principal speakers. No stone is being left unturned. Our biggest problem is securing funds to carry on the fight. We urge every per- son to contribute as liberally as he can, whether the amount be large or small. If you want to do your share in this fight, act now. The one dollar, or five dollars, or hundred dollars, that you give now may he the margin between victory and defeat! During our eleven year fight we have expended $35,- 000. This, however, is less than $3,000 a year to end lynching. During the next three months "we could use legitimately and without extravagance, $100,000! America must be aroused! Will you help awaken her? THE BULLOCK CASE TN January, 1921, Plummer Bullock, a •*- young colored man, went into a store in Norlina, N. C, to purchase some apples. After paying for some of the better grade, the clerk, a young white youth, attempted to give him some rotten ones. Bullock pro- tested, and wlhen he stoutly maintained that he should receive what he had paid for a dispute arose. Bullock left the store when threats were made to beat him for daring to talk back to a white man. Dur- lynched them. The mob then set out to find and lynch Matthew Bullock, a brother of Plummer; but Matthew Bullock escaped and reached Buffalo, N. Y., and later crossed the bor- der into Canada. Bullock resided at Hamilton, Ontario, for some ten months, working every day and leading an ex- emplary life. One day he was recog- nized by a former North Carolinian who informed the authorities at North Carolina, who in turn wired the Chief of Police in Canada, and asked that Bul- lock be held "for inciting to riot and shoot- ing a white man." The citizens of Norlina expressed themselves as being "greatly de- lighted" on hearing of Bullock's arrest and it is declared that they "eagerly anticipated Bullock's return." In this fashion began a case which has aroused greater interna- tional interest than any case since pre-Civil War days when fugitive slaves fled to Can- ada for refuge. The Buffalo Branch asked Mr. White to go to Hamilton, where he spent several days assisting Rev. J. D. Howell, who led the fight to prevent Bullock's extradition, and Treleaven & Treleaven, attorneys em- ployed to defend Bullock. The National Office was also instrumental in securing copies of court records and other necessary CONGRESSMAN L. C. DYER 264 THE CRISIS information from North Carolina. A great deal of publicity was gained in the Ameri can and Canadian press, presenting the facts regarding lynching in the United States and proving that Bullock could not be given a fair trial if returned to North Carolina. On January 18, the Canadian Immigra- tion Board, sitting at Hamilton, ordered Bullock to be deported to the United States on the ground that he had not properly re- ported to immigration officials when he entered Canada. An appeal was immedi- ately taken to the Canadian Commissioner of Immigration, at Ottawa. On hearing the evidence, the Hamilton decision was set aside and Bullock was freed. Early in February, however, Bullock was re-arrested on the demand of the De- partment of State at Washington, acting at the request of the governor of North Carolina, and was held for extradition on a charge of attempted murder. On Febru- ary 25, a hearing on the extradition de- mand was held before Judge Snider at Hamilton. Judge Snider demanded that the state of North Carolina produce wit- nesses to prove that Bullock was guilty of the charge of crime against him and to disprove that the demand for extradition was solely subterfuge to get Bullock back where he could be railroaded to jail and perhaps lynched, as was generally felt throughout Canada. He adjourned the hear- ings for one week to allow the producing of such witnesses. Judge Snider acted well within his legal rights in taking such a step. Bullock admitted freely that he fired several shots in defense of his life when attacked by the mob while the mob was on its way to the jail to lynch Plum- mer Bullock. Under the provisions of the treaty between Canada and the United States, shooting in defense of one's life is not an extraditable offense, while at- tempted murder is. Governor Morrison of North Carolina at this juncture proved himself either ill-ad- vised or ignorant of the law when he re- fused to send witnesses to Hamilton. On March 3, Judge Snider ordered that Bul- lock be released from custody. The National Race Congress at Wash- ington, of Which Rev. W. H. Jernagin is president, was exceedingly active in this case and deserves full share of the credit for the victory. The Buffalo Branch of the N. A. A. C. P. was also active, holding three large mass meetings to arouse public interest in the Bullock case, raising funds to aid the National Office in handling the case, and in employing an attorney of Buf- falo to defend Bullock in the event that he had been deported to the United States. To Rev. J. D. Howell, of Hamilton, the major portion of the credit should go for his splendid efforts in leading the fight for Bullock. FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR YEAR 1921 T ACK of space in the March issue of •*-' The Crisis, made it necessary for us to defer publication of our financial state- ment for the year 1921. The report in full, is given below: TREASURER'S REPORT of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE AD- VANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE Year Ending December 31, 1921 BALANCE SHEET Assets Cash in banks, Dec. 31, 1921.. $1,992.72 Value of emblems on hand 127.50 Furniture and fixtures 3,746.81 Petty cash fund 100.00 Tulsa fund 26.37 Anti-lynching fund 151.25 $6,144.65 Liabilities Due special funds: — - Arkansas defense fund $1,087.23 Pan-African congress fund . . 60.39 Maclean memorial fund 69.10 Special gift fund 27.00 The Crisis 875.79 Accounts payable 3,631.48 $5,751.05 Net worth 393.60 $6,144.65 INCOME AND EXPENSE General Fund INCOME Contributions : — Branches $8,4,38.76 Miscellaneous 10,081.67 Memberships : — Branches 37,395.77 Members at large 3,166.68 $59,082.88 Literature sales $897.50 Branch card files sold 176.50 Profit on emblems sold 70.40 $1,144.40 $60,227.28 Net loss 3,438.62 $63,665.90 EXPENSE Advertising t $186.8(0 Branch Bulletin 700.82 Clippings 257.52 General expense and supplies. 1,886.70 Appropriations for legal de- fense 3U9.55 Light 184.65 Meetings 182.00 Multigraphing 186.85 Postage 3,900.01 Printing 3,889.55 N. A. A. C. P. 265 Rent of offices. Salaries :- 1,839.96 10,407.68 21,250.00 5,724.09 15,154.52 1,225.00 3i90'.13 555.37 6,877.45 8. SO 850.00 197.20 1,359.77 3,631.48 ID 0 Miscellaneous disbursements . . Appropriation towards expenses of Pan-African congress. . . . SPECIAL FTO ANTI-LYNCHING FUND Balance in bank, Dec. 31, 192 $63,665.90 .$1,556.10 1,663.89 Expenses during the year. Deficit ARKANSAS DEFENSE FUND Balance in bank Dec. 31, 1920 Contributions received during year. Expenses during the year. Balance Dec. 31, 1921.. TULSA RELIEF FUND Contributions received Expenses Deficit PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS FUND Contributions received Expenses Balance Dec. 31, 1921. $2,221.99 2,373.24 $151.35 $1,214.51 2,678.34 $3,892.85 2,805.62 $1,087.23 $3,506.24 3,532.61 $26.37 $2,813.14 2,752.75 $60.39 CRISIS FINANCIAL STATEMENT Revenue Dr. Cr. Sales $3S,596.75 Subscriptions $16,047.50 Less unexpired subs... 6,308.74 9,738.76 Advertising revenue 14,918.79 Interest on Liberty Bonds.... 63.75 Total revenue Expenses Crisis book accounts $154.75 Paper purchases 11,727.60 Printing 13,89i8..31 $63,318.0." Engraving 1,079.65 General expense 6,105.89 Salaries 21,780.00 Postage 4,591.46 Stationery and supplies 1,172.50 Bad debts 3,965.58 Depreciation 201.42 Total expenses $64,677.16 ASSETS AND LIABILITIES Assets Liabilities Cash in bank.. $32.89 Accts. payable: Petty cash fund 25.00 (schedule 1) $3,728.67 Accts. receivable: "History of Ne- Advertisers .. 9,300.11 gro in the War" 83.25 Agents 17,309.20 Reserve for un- N. A. A. C. P. 875.79 expired subs. 6,308.74 Depos. w. P. O. 325.00 Net worth 23,784.31 Liberty Bonds.. 1,500.00 Paper inventory 602.12 Crisis bank ac- counts inven. 99.17 Furn. & fix 3,826.96 Unexpired insur. 8.73 $33,904.97 $33,904.97 A CONTRIBUTING MEMBER AN appreciated action was that of the Supreme Lodge, Knights of Pythias of the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, at a session recently held in New York City, when it voted to take out a contrib- uting membership as a body in the National Association for the Advancement of Col- ored People. We should be happy to have other fra- ternal organizations of the country follow the Pythiahs' example. The letter making application for mem- bership reads: The Supreme Lodge of the Knights of Pythias of the Eastern and Western Hemi- spheres, at its session recently held in New York City, voted to ally itself with your or- ganization as a contributing member there- of, if such is permissible, and to pay each year for said membership the sum of $100. (Signed) W. Ashbie Hawkins. PRIDE Mortimer G. Mitchell f\ H! Negro youth, V-' Let me say to you That pride should swell Your heart bands too, When e'er you hear A national air, Or see the flag Float free and fair; For in the days That have gone by, Your father's blood Has helped to dye The glorious hue Of every stripe. He fought To give this country might; On many a battlefield He's bled, And in foreign sod He's left his dead. COMPILED MADEL IME ALLISON MESSIAH Baptist Church in Yonkers, N. Y., and Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, in New York City, have appointed women as members of the Board of Trustees. The ap- pointees are Mrs. Emily Brown at Messiah and Mrs. Richetta R. Wallace at Mt. Olivet. C Bishop Brooks, formerly of Baltimore, Md.» is now Chaplain for the Supreme Court of Liberia. C A 10 percent dividend has been declared by the Sumter Investment Corporation, a Negro real estate enterprise in Sumter, S. C. Messrs. W. T. Andrews is president; R. M. Andrews, vice-president; and H. D. McNight, secretary-treasurer. (I Anita Patti Brown, the noted Negro singer of Chicago, 111., is studying in Eu- rope under Herr Victor Beigel. Miss Brown is attended by her accompanist, Miss Doxie. They will resume recitals in America in the fall of 1922. C_ Messrs. James B. and Benjamin N. Duke have donated $75,000 toward a hospital for Negroes in Durham, N. C. A similar sum is now to be raised by colored and white citizens. The following persons have been elected members of the Board of Trustees for the hospital: Dr. S. L. Warren, presi- dent; W. G. Pearson, vice-president; I. M. Avery, treasurer; W. Gomez, secretary. C During 1921, over 1,200 homes were con- structed in Atlanta, Ga. The Negro race built 25 per cent, of thest homes. C During the 20th National Conference of the Y. M. C. A., the overseas secretaries held a reunion. In the picture are Messrs. B. F. Lee, Jr.; J. E. Blanton, B. F. Hubert, Robert E. Parks, William Stevenson, George Thompson, John Hope, A. L. James and B. F. Seldon. OVERSEAS SECRETARIES OF THE Y. M. C. A. 266 THE HORIZON 267 REAR VIEW OF VILLA LEWARO, IRVINGTON-ON-THE-HUDSON, NEW YORK C Mrs. Lelia Walker-Wilson, daughter of the late Madam C. J. Walker, has arrived in Cairo, Egypt. This is her first stop en- route from Paris to Palestine. Mrs. Wil- son recently contributed $1,000 to the Na- tional Child Welfare Association to aid in its work among the colored children of the country. The photograph is a reproduc- tion of Villa Lewaro, Mrs. Wilson's man- sion at Irvington-on-the-Hudson, New York. La Tribuna of Rome reported Mrs. Wil- son's presence during the papal election as follows: "We could not fail to mention in our inventory of those present, as most prominent among the vast throng, Mrs. Lelia Walker Wilson of New York." C. Gross receipts of the Southern Aid So- ciety of Virginia, Inc., for 1921, amounted to $880,080; disbursements, $807,957. Its cash balance December 31, 1921, was $72,- 122, with a capital and surplus of $498,- 892; its assets are $588,215. During 28 years of business the company has paid claims amounting to $2,511,894. Messrs. J. T. Carter is president; B. L. Jordan, sec- retary, and W. A. Jordan, assistant secre- tary. (I R. Augustus Lawson, pianist of Hart- ford, Conn., has been heard in pianoforte recitals at Fisk University, Talladega Col- lege, Spelman Seminary, Tuskegee Insti- tute, and in St. Louis, Mo. C. In Detroit, Mich., Robert L. Ward, a Negro, has been elected a constable. Mr. Ward was a former overseas officer. f£^ v STAFF OF GENERAL THE HORIZON 271 position connected with this hospital is filled by a' colored person. The Superintendent is Dr. William J. Thompkins. C Three white and two Negro members of a lynching party have been sentenced to life imprisonment at Oklahoma City, Okla., for the lynching on January 14 of Jake Brooks, a Negro packing-house worker. They are Lee Whitley, 29; Charles Polk, 18; Elmert Yearta, 19; Robert Allen, 27; Nathan Butler, 40. The last two are Ne- groes. Judge James I. Phelps in pronounc- ing sentence told the defendants that their conduct warranted the electric chair. C The Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity has granted two scholarships of $50 each out of its Douglass Scholarship Fund. At the last convention this fund was reorganized and in the future the scholarships will be larger. Dr. Thomas W. Turner, of How- ard University, is chairman of the fund. G Mt. Moriah Baptist Church of Camden, S. C, has celebrated its 56th anniversary. Judge Mindle L. Smith was the principal speaker. The church was established by the Rev. Monroe L. Boykin who served un- til 1898 and has been made pastor emeri- tus. He has been succeeded by his son, the Rev. J. W. Boykin. G The sum of $30,000 has been given to the National Association of Audubon So- cieties to aid in the study of wild birds. Mr. T. Gilbert Pearson, who is president of the organization, at 1924 Broadway, New York City, states that teachers who form Junior Audubon Clubs will receive free material to aid in their work of teach- ing bird study. C Among those elected to fill vacancies on the Board of Trustees at Howard Uni- versity, is Dr. M. O. Dumas, a Negro phy- sician of Washington. Others are Milton E. Ailes, vice-president of the Riggs Na- tional Bank of Washington, and General John H. Sherburne, who led a colored ar- tillery regiment in France during the World War. C A scholarship of $2,000 is to be estab- lished for Harvard University in memory of the late Maria L. Baldwin, the Negro principal of the Agassiz School in Cam- bridge, Mass. C Edward Jones has been awarded $5 in gold for the best design for a letterhead to be used by the Musical Art Society of Hampton Institute. This society is respon- sible for the series of concerts during the winter at Hampton. Among attractions this year is the Russian Symphony Orches- tra. . . G The Elbridge L. Adams Prize Debate has been held at Hampton Institute. The subject was "Resolved, That the United States Government Should Own and Con- trol Its Mining Industry". The Douglass Literary Society presented the negative argument and won with the following team — John T. Jones, S. Miller Johnson, Harry E. Cook. Each one was presented with a gold medal. The Dunbar Literary Society presented the affirmative side. The Adams Prize Essay Medals were awarded as fol- HOSPITAL, KANSAS CITY 272 THE CRISIS lows: W. A. Shields, silver; J. W. Wil- liams, bronze. The subject related to gov- ernment ownership and control of the min- ing industry, with special reference to coal, iron and petroleum industries. C Abyssinia Baptist Church, in the down- town section of New York City, has been sold for $190,000 and property has been purchased in the Harlem Negro section, 138th Street and Seventh Avenue, where a $335,000 edifice will be erected. This church was organized 114 years ago. The Rev. A. Clayton Powell has been pastor for the past 14 years. The membership is 4,000. G The Florida Sentinel Publishing Com- pany at Jacksonville, has declared a divi- dend of 5 percent on its stock. The com- pany owns and operates a printing plant valued at $30,000. The business of the cor- poration during last year amounted to $41,- 000. (I The Choral Society of Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute recently sang be- fore legislators in the hall of the House of Delegates, in Richmond. Miss Anna L. Lindsay was the musical director and Miss Johnnella Frazier, the accompanist. Two quartettes were composed of Misses Ac- quilla Matthews, Gladys Sears, Beatrice Robinson, Ruth Robinson and Messrs. Archie Richardson, Clifton Averette, James Fuller, Leroy Turner. Professor John M. Gandy is principal of the school. (I The Radiator, a Negro bi-monthly insur- ance magazine, is being published at Dur- ham, N. C. Its purpose is to fill a need among colored insurance sellers and buy- ers for a closer association with each other and a greater knowledge of insurance prac- tises. It requests every Negro insurance company to appoint a contributor to supply it with news about his company. The edi- tor is Sadie Tanner Mossell. C. Among numbers presented at a Cappella concert of the Oratorio Society of New York, held at Carnegie Hall, was "Music in the Mine", by R. Nathaniel Dett, the Negro pianist-composer. This number was the only one repeated. C Three plays for benevolent purposes have been presented since 1919 by the I. X. L. DRAMATIC CXTJB, MINNEAPOLIS THE HORIZON 273 •<9k W iik vLis «r» - ' **. .wt, > *^* , .- • 1 1 AT THE CONVENTION OF THE DELTA SIGMA THETA SORORITY IN PHILADELPHIA I X L Dramatic Club of Minneapolis, Minn. The success of the players is due to the in- terest and direction of Miss Eva B. Walker. Among plays which the club will present in the future are works of Albert Hurt, a promising young Negro writer of Minneapo- lis. Each member of the I X L Dramatic Club is also a member of the local branch of the N. A. A. C. P. d The Delta Sigma Theta Sorority held its annual convention at Gamma Chapter, Uni- versity of Pennsylvania. The convention headquarters were located at Bennett Club House, this being the first time that a col- ored organization has convened within the walls of this institution. A plan was for- mulated for the establishment of a National Federation Board which shall control cer- tain activities and relations between the existing colored sororities in the United States. The next convention will be held December 27 to 29, 1922, at the University of Iowa. (I Henry O. Tanner, the Negro artist in Europe, has been selected among 25 of the world's most eminent artists whose work will be shown in Pittsburgh, Pa., at the 21st International Art Exhibit. Eleven of Mr. Tanner's paintings were recently on exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Since 1895 Mr. Tanner's work has been exhibited annually in the Paris salon. In 1897 his picture "The Raising of Lazarus" won a medal and was purchased by the French government for the Luxembourg. C After three weeks' operation, the col- ored Carnegie Branch Library in Oklahoma City, Okla., had issued cards to 206 per- sons, with a record of an average daily loan of 60 books. (I Among the 15,000 waiters, cooks, and pantry attendants of the Pennsylvania Railroad, not a single case of contagious or communicable disease was found dur- ing two months' examination. C. In the Legislature of New Jersey, Dr. W. G. Alexander, a Negro, has begun his second term of office. d The City Council of Philadelphia has passed an ordinance appropriating $100,- 000 for the erection of a recreation center to be named in honor of the late Fannie Jackson Coppin. Mrs. Coppin was the wife of Bishop L. J. Coppin and a well-known social worker. (I Twelve million dollars worth of insur- ance was written during last year by the Standard Life Insurance Company of At- lanta, Ga. It paid $149,000 in death claims among 132 policyholders. It has a total of $20,700,000 worth of insurance in force. The officers of the company are Messrs. Heman E. Perry, president; N. B. Young, T. H. Hayes and A. L. Lewis, vice-presi- dents; J. A. Robinson, secretary; C. A. Shaw and C. E. Arnold, assistant secretar- ies; T. J. Ferguson, cashier; R. L. Isaacs, treasurer; Dr. C. C. Cater, medical direc- tor; W. H. King, director of agencies; George D. Eldridge, actuary. 274 THE CRISIS CE In the high school at Rockford, 111., Ro- land Williams finished the 4 year course in 3^ years. He had 36 credits, while only 32 are required. William Garrett per- formed so well as a football player that he was picked as an all star man on the cir- cuit team. C At the first annual meeting of stockhold- ers of the People's Ice & Fuel Company, Little Rock, Ark., nine-tenths of the stock was represented in person or by proxy. After 5 months' operation, the management reported a net profit of $12,000. (I The Progressive Choral Society of Bowl- ing Green, Ky., has presented Mme. Flor- ence Cole-Talbert, coloratura soprano, in a recital at State Street Baptist Church. There was a large and appreciative audi- ence. Mrs. Talbert was assisted by Charles R. Taylor, a student of Howard University. Miss R. Lillian Carpenter was at the piano. (I Daisy Payne, colored, has been elected a member of the executive committee of students at Indiana University which will have general executive supervision of the million dollar memorial campaign. Mem- bers were chosen on a basis of scholarship and prominence in student affairs. ([ On February 14, in Boston, Mass., Gov- ernor Cox and Mayor Curley were speakers at the celebration marking the 105th anni- versary of the birth of Frederick Doug- lass and the 5th anniversary of the dedi- cation of Frederick Douglass Square. Flags at the City Hall, Faneuil Hall and the State House were flown at half mast until noon. G The Coleridge-Taylor Chorus of Toronto, Canada, has given a recital. The aim of the group is to become a permanent Ca- nadian chorus. Since last April the or- ganization has grown from 19 to 50 mem- bers, with Messrs. Robert P. Edwards and Earnest A. Richardson as conductor and associate conductor, respectively. (I A new site, which cost $155,000, has been purchased for Walden University in Nash- ville, Tenn. The old property has been ad- joined to Meharry Medical College, for which the General Education Board and the Carnegie Foundation have appropriated a cash endowment of $500,000. (I The Board of Education in Washington has adopted a resolution which will give all persons, regardless of race or creed, ac- cess to and use of the branch libraries to be established in the District public schools. (I The following lynchjngs have taken place since our last record: Texarkana, Ark., February 11, P. Nor- man; threatening a white man. Ellaville, Ga., February 13, Will Jones; shooting two white farmers. " / Indianola, Ga., February 17, John Glover; shooting up Negro school-house. : (I Virginia D. Suttort, a colored woman of Chicago, has won a judgment for $50 against the Missouri Pacific Railroad. Mrs. Sutton purchased a ticket for Little Rock, Ark. A conductor required her to ride in the Negro smoking-car, as the Negro pass- enger coach was filled; when she refused to do so, the train was stopped and she was put off. C Lawrence Warner, for 25 years an em- ployee of the City National Bank, New York, and for 30 years a resident of Brook- lyn, is dead at the age of 68. He was born in Alexandria, Va., and is survived by a widow, 3 sons, 1 daughter, and 1 brother. (I In Little Rock, Ark., a new colored Y. W. C. A. building has been erected by the National Headquarters at a cost of $40,- 000. The colored people, themselves, fur- nished the building at a cost of $7,000. CLAYDA CLUB Y. W. C. A. GIRL RESERVES, NORFOLK, VA. Y. W. C. A., LITTLE ROCK, ARK. jTiiQ Lookiivcf Glass LITERATURE WHERE the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken into fragments by narrow domestic walls ; Where words come out from the depths of truth ; Where tireless striving stretches its arms toward perfection; Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever-widening thought and ac- tion— Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country wake. — Rabindranath Tagore. * * * The success of New York Negroes on the stage has been duplicated recently in Los Angeles by the production of "Afri- canus", a two-act play by Eloise Bibb Thompson. The Los Angeles Record says approvingly : Working with pliable material sensitive to color and rhythm, Olga Grey Zacsek, di- rector, produced some interesting results with "Africanus". There was nothing stiff nor ungraceful about the work of these Ne- gro actors and actresses and the lilt of their musical voices was pleasing to the ear. . . . The play is rich in Negro humor, some of it of a delicious order, and the audience was kept laughing most of the time. The epilogue was unusual in its sensuous beauty, no little part of the effect being due to the artistic dancing of Anita Thompson. In stage settings Miss Zacsek has struck a note entirely new to Los Angeles, follow ing the lead of Arthur Hopkins and Ed- mund Johnson, disciples of Gordon Craig. Tracy and Oliver were the artists. * * * H. W. Hanemann writes in Life of Ach- med Abdullah's "Night Drums" (Mc- Cann's) : The native drums (which go rub-rub- rub- rumbeddy-rub and then banng) whisper the sinister news of "rinderpest striking the long horned cattle of the Massais . . . of a M'pongwe medicine-man brewing dead mysteries" and of a fast black Master Mind plotting to become the 'Imperial Wizard of an All-African Ku Klux Klan to over- throw the white control, Unfortunately, they also whisper a lot of indigenous names which might have been made up out of the top row of letters on a typewriter keyboard. These choice cuts of native dialect stick up throughout the book like seven foot fences. Just as soon as you are able to take M'yanu M'bi-likini without holding on the pommel, along comes Rakaiz al-'Utabs and knocks you for a row of zaouias. Ai! Likewise, gewald! Unless you are terribly wrought up over African intramural affairs, you'll probably fall right off at the first etymological jump. * * * An exhibit of Negro art was held recent- ly in the 135th St. Branch of the New York Public Library. Here, through the activity of Mr. A. G. Dill, the work of some 38 col- ored artists was shown. Worth Tuttle commenting on the exhibit in The Freeman, asks: What does one expect to find in such an exhibition of Negro art: the imagination and humor of such yarns as Uncle Remus used to spin; the unique pathos of the spir- ituals; or the depth of tragic feeling which Mr. Du Bois and others have revealed in Negro literature? One feels, however, that it is not quite fair to make such demands of a first exhibit of Negro painting. The painter, especially the young painter, is likely to be unconscious of anything so lim- iting as race; and if, in the peculiar case of the Negro, he is conscious of it, he is likely to be sensitive about revealing it. Both his temperament and his training un- der white masters, with white models, in classes with students of other races incline him towards catholic views or a lack of interest in racial work. Yet in the field of painting and sculpture the American Neero has a freedom for self- expression that has been denied him in lit- erature. For such expression, three sources of inspiration and material are open to him. There is the history of the race, there are the contemporary types of Afro-Amer- icans; there is also, as Mr. Benjamin Braw- ley remarks in "The Neoro in Literature and Art", the racial temperament The historical material for the Negro artist lies in the story of the pre-dynastic empires of Africa and the incidents of slave-days in America. It would be ab- surd to see anything more than an artificial connection between the Ethiopians of an- cient Africa and the Negroes of modern America. The American Negro today, however, reading of the discoveries of the remains of early African culture, can ex- perience the same thrill of racial and na- tional pride which the American Jew ex- 275 276 THE CRISIS periences when he thinks of the restoration of Jerusalem and the Sinn Feiner feels about the Celtic revival. Who knows but that the Negro, with all his innate appre- ciation of beauty, and fired by the knowl- edge of the past glories of his race, may develop in the country an art as natively expressive as that of Nubia at the height of its civilization? It is interesting to note as the first utilization of this African ma- terial, the symbolic Egyptianesque figure of a Negro girl recently presented to the New York Public Library by Meta War- rick Fuller, the Negro sculptor whom Ro- din commended. ALL ABOUT THE DYER BILL A SUMMARY of press reports on the Anti-Lynching Bill follows. First as to party feeling: The Petersburg Index-Appeal feels that "it is a matter of deep regret that the democrats in Congress should have lent themselves to the republicans for a cheap political trick", since, so far as it "can re- call the House democrats have not made such an issue of any other measure which has come up recently". "So bitter has been the democratic opposition that the bill may be regarded virtually as a party measure", states the Pittsburgh Press, which prompts its neighbor the Leader, to inquire "What can be expected of a non-progressive and largely illiterate population, which has been virtually standing still since the surrender at Appomattox, when 25 per cent of its national political representatives in official places defend the right to commit capital crimes?" The St. Louis Post Dispatch thinks that "political cowardice carried the measure through the House, and the hope that the Senate will kill it is a compliment to the judgment and courage of the Sen- ate," though the Baltimore Sun feels that republican leaders in the House have thus "incurred a grave political liability without surely paying off a debt" since by this "single stroke Mr. Harding's conciliatory policy toward the Southern States has been killed aborning". * * * As to the effect of the law, editors differ. The Grand Rapids Press says: "A jury is a jury, filled with as many prejudices in a federal as in a state court", and the Minnesota Star feels that even if such a law were sustained "one may doubt whether it will end lynching", since "be- hind the lynching of Negroes is nearly three centuries of social injustice which has fostered lynch law". The Memphis News- Scimitar states that "the passage of the law will be equivalent to serving notice upon state officials that they have been re lieved of responsibility", and the Richmond Times Dispatch thinks "the criminal ele- ment among the Negroes will be embold- ened to commit crimes which inspire lynch law, in the belief that they will receive a measure of federal protection under the act not now enjoyed". "The existing statutes of every state afford ample grounds for prosecution and punishment of persons guilty of the crime of lynching . . . Wherein would the offense be heightened cr the execution of justice upon the of- fender be made more certain by restating those statutes in federal terms?" inquires the Atlanta Journal. But the Springfield Republican cham- pions the bill on the ground that "Ameri- ca's right to be called a civilized country is at stake", and, while admitting the inva- sion of local government, concludes that "if the states will not or cannot put a stop to lynchings, the federal government must intervene to the extent of its power". * * * It means progress: The Providence Journal feels the meas- ure is a "long step toward wiping out one of our worst national disgraces", in agree- ment with the New York Globe, which thinks that "the prompt passage of the bill by the Senate will be a step forward in American civilization". * * * In the present circumstances it is inevit- able thinks the Columbia, S. C, State: "If states persist in placing lawlessness above law, it is certain that the United States, soon or late, will intervene and, in so doing, have the moral support of the great majority of the people except in the states at which intervention is aimed." * * * The Houston Post chimes in: We don't want federal laws infringing upon every activity of our state govern- ment; but we are going to get federal laws unless we enforce our state laws. The strongest plea for reform in lynch- ing comes out of the heart of the South, from the Greensboro, N. C, Daily News. As everybody knows, Canada has refused to turn Matthew Bullock over to the au- thorities of his native state. The editor of the News replies to Governor Morrison's comment : The governor might as well face the truth now as later. The Canadian authori- ties are refusing to extradite Matthew Bul- lock simply because they have heard that down here in North Carolina where the odds in population are two and three to one, the wealth and power of the whites 100 to 1, the laws and the courts are the whites' in the ratio of 2,500,000 to 0, whites, unwilling to live under the laws of their own making, practice murder on corporate scale and rarely ever come to account for it. THE LOOKING CLASS 277 What makes Governor Morrison so sure that Warren County officials who informed him a year ago that there was no danger of a "so-called lynching" which took place while the assurance was being transmitted by telephone, would know any better now if another "so-called lynching" were being conspired? It lays no great burden on one's credulity to believe another lynching unlikely; but the faith is prompted by no history of the state in dealing with this crime. Indeed, North Carolina's official attitude toward lynching has been except in rare instances a record of cowardice and dis- grace. Governor Morrison declares that "lynchings are never winked at by the au- thorities and are always prevented where the authorities have any knowledge of the approach of danger and an opportunity to prevent .it". Often the authorities do not take the trouble even to "wink". The his- tory of our state is replete with lynchings which did not cause our officers even to bat an eye. * * * This honest editor does not stop with the bare accusation; he gives page and line: But how long has it been since a mob in Governor Morrison's town went to a hospital, ran over the women nurses, took from a ward a wounded Negro and lynched him as easily as an undertaker could have taken him out and buried bim? What did Charlotte do to punish the men who dese- crated the soil of the signers? And how long before that was it when a Rowan County mob broke into jail during a special term of court which had been called to try a group of prisoners kept many weeks in Charlotte jail, lynched three of them while 13 special deputies and a military company looked helplessly on because the sheriff openly said he would "shoot no white men to save a damned nigger"? And how long prior to the visit of that Rowan mob was it that the same "people as a whole" could not prevent the lynching of two black brats, aged 13 and 11? How long has it been since Solicitor H. E. Norris, perhaps the most powerful prose- cutor in North Carolina, conducted three futile investigations, filled with perjury, into lynchings, one of which occurred in a churchyard in Governor Bickett's home county, another in Wake after the officers had captured the criminal, and a third growing out of a Franklin lynching with the prisoner safely behind the bars? Who has forgotten Lee Robinson's effort to convict 25 lynchers in a county 100 per cent mum in its attitude? Who doesn't recall the Greene County sortie into Lenoir to get Old Joe Black who was taken from jail and murdered on a 'simple misde- meanor? * * * Why shouldn't mob rule flourish in North Carolina? Who prevents it? The editor cor eludes : Who doesn't recollect Governor Craig's call on the resident judge to conduct an in- vestigation, the jurist's declination and the subsequent inquiry of Solicitor Henry E. Shaw ^nd Judge W. M. Bond into that community murder? And who can name one man in Greene or Lenoir counties who lifted up h's voice in support of a solemn investigation which Chief Justice Walter Clark called 'the Kinston performance"? Who will ever forget the Goldsboro mob's easy victory over the jailer and the twitting of the late Justice Allen by Judge Clark because Judge Allen did not prevent mob murder in his home town? Omit Golds- boro's 1920 resistance and Winston-Salem's 1918 fight against the mob and North Caro- lina's record is shameful, indeed. QUESTION AND ANSWER HTTHE constant anxiety in the mind of the -*■ white man during the World War, es- pecially after the introduction of black troops into the struggle, was speculation as to the ultimate effects on colored popu- lations. Alfred L. P. Dennis writes in the New York Times: Africa and Asia had seen the skeleton in the closet of European civilization. What would the backward races now think of their white lords and masters? Would they be lost in wonder and in fear at the tragic mysteries of modern warefare? Would they bow as heretofore in the pres- ence of inventors and captains of aircraft and high explosives, of poison gas and tanks? Or would they remember that on occasion White men had fled before African soldiers who had been welcomed by white women? Would Asiatic troops recall that they had been summoned from their homes to aid Europeans in a desperate struggle for existence and that at times they had been set as guards over white prisoners? * * * The same speculation, differently direct- ed, Mr. Dennis points out, was in the air at the time of the Disarmament Confer- ence: At the recent conference in Washington, the exact problem of the use of native Asi- atic or African troops in western wars did not arise. The entire subject of land arm- aments was pigeonholed because there was no adequate substitute guarantee for inter- national security provided or proposed by this conference. Nevertheless, in a larger sense the general subject of the relation of Asia to America and Europe, whether for peace or war, was indeed the main oc- casion and material of the' Washington Conference. That gathering took its bear- ing first of all from the fact that the west- ern world had not only engaged in contro- 278 THE CRISIS versies with Asiatics but also_ had direct concern in disputes between Asiatic States. * * * Just what the material and physical ef- fect on the attitude of the black world to the white will be, remains to be sem. But certainly from the psychological side the soundness of the statement, the truth shall make you free, has been pro1 en. A veil has been torn from the eyes oi the East and Europe suffers from the new vision thus turned upon her. In his book the "Scourge of Christianity", Paul Richards tells how Europe practices Christianity — in Asia. And his words have been eagerly heard and quoted by Asiatics, in particular the Hin- dus, who find in the theme the very essence of their own feeling for the mockery of white religions. Some passages most quoted in Indian papers follow: Christians worship one Son of Asia . . . at a great cost to the others. Europe finds it natural to take one Man of Asia as Master, and all his brothers as slaves. Christians think that since one Asiatic alone is the Son of God, the rest can fairly be treated as sons of the Devil. The Christianity of Christ died when Asia ceased to teach it. * * * When Christ comes again He will have to give up being an Asiatic and a Carpen- ter if He wishes to be admitted into the Christian countries of America and Aus- tralia. If it pleased the "native" of Judea to reappear as a "native of India", how many Englishmen would remain Christians? If Christ came again, would He not choose again to be a son of the enslaved people rather than a citizen of the Em- pire? The Christ, if He comes, will not be of the white race; the colored peoples could not put their faith in Him. If Christ has not changed His ideas, Christians will have, when He returns, to change their habits. * * * The Gospel is not only for individuals; it is also for the nations. The nation too must learn: Thou shalt not steal the land of others; thou shalt not kill defenseless nationalities; thou shalt not commit adultery with colonies and do- minions; thou shalt not bear false witness against enemy governments. . . . And the supreme command: Thou shalt love thy neighbor — all peoples whatsoever, black, yellow, white, African or Asiatic, strong or weak, small or great — thou shalt love as thyself. It is for the nations that this was writ- ten: This is my commandment, that ye love one another ... ye are members one of another ... do not unto others what ye would not, they should do unto you. Judge not that ye be not judged. . . . Let him who is without sin throw the first stone. . . . Remit your debts to one another. . . . Forgive your enemies. For the nations it is written: Thou wicked servant, because thou hast not .for- given the debt of another, thou shalt be de- livered to the executioner. . . . Agree quickly with thine adversary, lest haply thine adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge to the officer and thou be cast into prison. Verily, I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out until thou hast paid the last farthing. So shall it be done to you, 0 nation! if you forgive not everyone your brother nation from your heart. If thou wouldst be perfect, first go, liber- ate all thy colonies, and then come, follow me, said Jesus to the rich nation. MUSIC HATH CHARMS TJENRY NEVINSON, the explorer, pays *■ ■*■ a tribute in the Baltimore, Md., Sun, to the people who could produce the spirit- uals which recently he heard in Lexington, Va.: Dwellers in the Southern States often bid us beware of sentiment in thinking of the Negro. Well, without being anything but a hardened old cynic who has seen all the evils of the world, and feels no surprise at them, I certainly find something irresist- ably attractive in the humor, the pathos, and the music of the Negro people, whether dark black or almost pale enough to be white. Partly, I suppose, it comes from the sight of a people suffering for the sins, not of their own race or of their own fathers, but of my race and my fathers, whose atrocious sins are visited upon the descend- ants of victims long ago. Southerners (and not Southerners only!) tell me that if I lived among "colored'' people, I should soon hate or fear or despise them just like everyone else. It might be so, but I cannot yet believe it. For I have known the African in his native forests of Central Africa, among the hills of Zulu- land, along the shores of Mozambique, and among the poisonous swamps of the West Coast; and though I have often been in danger in Africa, it was never from an African that the danger came. I have watched their savage rites of fetish and magic; have shared their savage games, and listened to their wild music of drum and ochisangi as they danced all night un- der the full moon outside their forest kraals. To some extent I have come to know their nature, and it is a fine peculiar- ity of man that sympathetic knowledge gen- erally brings liking. In the American "colored" people I seem to find much the same old traits that still THE LOOKING GLASS 279 distinguish the main family of their race — the generous good-humor, the irresistible laughter, the faithful response to the man who keeps his word to them, and above all, the delight in music and emotional art. Americans tells me I am wrong. They tell me it is actually dangerous even to suggest decent qualities in a Negro. It may be so; my experience in this country is very brief. But I have known the Negro at far lower levels of what is called civilization than here, and even at his lowest levels I have found some decent qualities. THE GLORY THAT WAS AFRICA \ FRICA emerges at the very beginning ***• of history, says the New York Eve- ning Post: The view that the Negro's place in his- tory and civilization dates from about the time a Dutch ship brought the first slaves to Virginia is not confined to our South, but it is an utterly fantastic view. Not merely did the Negro build up powerful kingdoms in the Nile Valley. He traded with Solomon when Jerusalem was at its greatest importance, and sent gold, ivory, jewels and cloth to the first Greek and Sem- itic colonies in North Africa. When the advance of Mohammedanism began Negro converts to Islam helped to conquer North- ern Africa and Spain. Kingdoms almost worthy of comparison with Ethiopia arose and sank in various other parts of Africa. Archaeology is expected to supply much- more information upon the history and cul- ture of the Negro in earliest times, and will do its part to give the Negro a larger background and greater dignity. * * * One of those wonderful kingdoms was and is Abyssinia. The Boston, Mass. Transcript tells us: Yet here is a land where the reputed descendant of King Solomon still sits on a golden throne and rules over a Biblical peo- ple. . . . The Emperor, or Negus, seeks to stand pat on his descent from King Solomon, and receives the homage of his feudal princes, or rases, until, some day, they cease to pay homage, and overthrow him for another. From time to time, as we have said, Abyssinia is brought to the attention of the outside world by some rude collision with civilization. British citizens are abused by some King Theodore; some Sir Robert Napier goes with an army, chas- tises him, and returns Lord Napier or Mag- dala. Or Italy seeks to add Abyssinia to her colonial possessions, and undergoes the awful and overwhelming defeat at Adowa — a victory of barbarism over civilization which has left Abyssinia comparatively un- disturbed by European adventurers ever since. With it all, Abyssinia is a most interest- ing country. No country could fail to be interesting where the ruling classes, though claiming descent from the Jews of David's and Solomon's time have been Christians since the fourth century; where princes still live in castles and pay and ex- act feudal tribute; where a strong army lives by plunder, and the state bases a most singular financial system on a currency consisting of bars of rock salt and cart- ridges! Abyssinia is one of the most pic- turesque of lands, mountainous but not un- fruitful. Its farmers, as well as its towns, are those of the Old Testament. Its peo- ple, though mixed with Negro blood through the importation of black women as wives, are by the paternal line of an- cient Hamitic descent, and if well bred are of straight and handsome features, of an olive tint or quite fair. Hopelessly me- diaeval, "back numbers" to the extent of many centuries, they are nevertheless brightly intelligent. They are an anomaly among the nations. * * * What does Africa mean today to the American Negro? Certainly a dear Fath- erland but not, as the Mississippi Legisla- ture would seem to indicate, a place of re- turn. As the St. Louis, Mo., Globe Demo- crat points out: Any suggestion that the Negro popula- tion in this country can be materially re- duced by migration to Africa is fatuous. In the days of slavery the wishes of the individual counted for little after satisfac- tory arrangements had been made with his owner. But how could free-born American citizens of color be "sent" as the Mississip- pi resolutions request, to Africa if they did not want to be sent? Obviously the greater number would not want to be sent. The Negro is here to stay. His presence here may long give rise to a race problem, but proposed solutions must assume that his presence is going to continue. Solutions predicted on the possibility that he won't be present involve so violent an assumption as to be worthless. IN PASSING To William Edward Burghardt Du Bois: Du Bois in f)EA* WILLIAM: As an Cleveland ^ au£h.or' elltor' scholar and public speaker, your con- tribution to the advancement of your race has been one of the greatest. You are a big asset to these United States, and to the world at large. — Moses Cleaveland, Cleve- land, Ohio, Press. In /COLORED- kiddies of New- \^J ark, N. J., keep the statue Memoriam of Lincoln spotlessly clean. Each morning from three to five girls and boys in this tender and practical way show their appreciation of what the emancipator did for their race. — Detroit Free Press. 280 THE CRISIS Youth's ITTLE Sammy Lincoln Troubles "^ ^ee *s Jes^ as ^lack as he kin be, an' he is pitchin fer our nine 'cause we don't draw no color line. Sam's got de coives; he's got de speed dat always keeps us in de lead, so we don't mind if he is black an' lives down by det railroad track. Las' week he strikes out fifteen guys, an' makes the rest hit pop-up flies. He's got a shine-ball dat's immense, an' when he t'rows dere ain't no dents put in it we'en dey swings dere clubs; Sam makes dem look like busher-dubs. But dere's de pity of it all — w'en Sammy grows up big an' tall, he won't be on no big league club, not even on de bench as sub, 'cause big league players must be white, an' Sammy Lee is black as night. Las' Sunday, me an' Sammy seen a big league battle played between de Panthers an' de Kangaroos, an' little Sammy got de blues, fer as we watched it from a tree, he's puzzled an' he says ter me, "Where is de colored players at? I ain't see one go up ter bat!" So Billy Briggs an' me jest dream an' wonder if dere ain't some scheme to change Sam's color, black as tar, an' make him white like us kids are. — George Moriarty, in Ballads of Baseball. The Worm Turns LOUIS WESLEY, George Smith and George Nelson, Negroes who compose the board of School District No. 61, Nevada County, yesterday filed in the Supreme Court their appeal from a peremptory mandamus issued by Judge Haynie of the Nevada Circuit Court requiring them to build and maintain a school for white children of the district. The mandamus was issued in August, on petition of white residents of the districts, who declared that the Negro directors had made no provision for the white children, although they maintained a school for Ne- gro children. They testified that there were 12 white children in the district. In their reply the directors said that there was no schoolhouse for children, but that a Negro school had been operated in the district for 38 years. They alleged that there were 100 Negro children of school age in the district, and that they had no funds with which to make provision for the white children. — Little Rock, Ark., Gazette. Guess The Answer pROFESSOR FLINDERS PETRIE says that nearly all the people that have been poured into America are Europeans, and they are all "at the same political and so- cial stage, of the same senility of civiliza- tion." We need to be mixed, he says, with "a race less sensitive in nerves, though not less perceptive in thought; and above all, it must be a race 'Which commands the re- spect and affection of those who have lived among it and know it best. I leave the read- er to think what cultivated race of the pres- ent world would fulfill these conditions." What race is it? Is it the Jewish race? If so, America must be all right. It cannot be the Eskimos; they are not a cultivated race. — Boston Transcript. Honor ^T^HE Avalanche believes firm- In Texas ■=- ly in giving the white folks preference every time, but until just recently it has been impossible to se- cure the help of white people in the homes, except at wages that none other than a rich man could afford, and to ask a white person two months ago to wash, would have been considered an insult. To ask a white man to sweep the floor of an office or a shop would have been considered equally such. Things have changed, however, and the writer is now employing two colored folks and ten to fifteen white people, but if the party who wrote this article [applying for a job], will apply at our office, we will give him or her either positions that these col- ored folks occupy, at the same wages, or even fifty percent above the wages they are drawing, and will do so cheerfully. — Lub- bock, Tex., Avalanche. THE RICH BEGGAR Mary Effie Lee Newsome T N jasper and onyx and gold -1- His city I soon shall behold. 0 Paradise! Though on earth naught to me has been told Of jasper, in onyx and gold, Yet in spite of what earth may have doled, I've Paradise! May, 1922 .X n tmm 15 cents a copy Another Lighthouse to Help Chart Negro Business into The Right Channel. The Southern Aid Society's New Modern 3 story and basement building located at 106 and 106A South Ave., Petersburg, Va. Petersburg's first colored bank and its leading pro- fessional and business in- terests now have modern quarters within which to display their talents and wares. The Society's Dis- trict Office is located on 3rd floor. In addition to providing a superior policy of protection to its policyholders — the Society renders a threefold service to the race: It gives employment to hundreds of young women and men — It provides ready cash to its policyholders in times of sickness, accident and death — It provides, in the largest cities in its field of operation, modern office facilities to the colored professional and business interests. It is indeed a Servant of the People. SOUTHERN AID SOCIETY OF VIRGINIA, INC. Home Office: 527 N. Second Street, RICHMOND, VA. District Offices and Agencies in Virginia and the District of Columbia J. T. CARTER, Pres. and Gen'l Counsel W. A. JORDAN, Asst. Secty. B. L, JORDAN, Secty. THE CRISIS A RECORD OF THE DARKER RAGES PUBLISHED MONTHLY AND COPYRIGHTED BY THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE, AT 70 FIFTH AVENUE. NEW YORK CITY. CON- DUCTED BY W. E. BURGHARDT DU BOIS; JESSIE REDMON FAUSET, LITERARY EDITOR- AUGUSTUS GRANVILLE DILL, BUSINESS MANAGER. Vol. 24 -No. 1 MAY, 1922 Whole No. 139 Page COVER Painting by Albert Smith. OPINION The World and Us; Fighters or Cowards; Social Equality; Art for Noth- ing; Publicity; The Negro Farmer; Kicking Us Out; Wanted- • 7 THE SYMBOLISM OF BERT WILLIAMS . Illustrated. Jessie Fauset 12 THE LIBERIAN EXCURSION. Dr. L. G. Jordan 15 MAY AGAIN. A Poem. Leslie Pinckney Hill 16 THE FOOLISH AND THE WISE. A Story.' Leila Amos Pendleton 17 SOME FRATERNAL ORDERS. Illustrated . ,23 TO A DEAD FRIEND. A Poem. Langston Hughes 21 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE • • 22 THE HORIZON. Illustrated 26 MY LOVES. A Poem. Langston Hughes 32 AN AFRICAN PROGRAM. I. M. Obadende 33 THE LOOKING GLASS • • 31 FIFTEEN GENTS A COPY; ONE DOLLAR AND A HALF A YEAR FOREIGN SUBSCRIPTION TWENTY-FINE CENTS EXTRA RENEWALS: The data of expiration of each subscription is printed on the wrapper. When the subscription is due, a blue renewal blank is enclosed. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: The address of a subscriber can, be changed as often as desired. In ordering a change of address, both the old and the new addres^ must be given. Two weeks' notice is required. MANUSCRIPTS and drawings relating to colored people are desired. They must be accom- panied by return postage. If found unavailable they will be returned. Entered as second class matter November 2, 1910, at the post office at New York, New York, under the Act of March 3. 1879, THE CRISIS ADVERTISER National Training School DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA A School for the Training of Colored Young Men and Women for Service Thougk it is young in history, the Institution feels a just pride in the work thus far accomplished, for its graduates are already filling many responsible positions, thus demonstrating the aim of the school to train men and women for useful citizenship. DEPARTMENTS ALREADY ESTABLISHED The Grammar Sckeol The Teacher Training Department The Academy The Divinity School The School of Arts and Sciences The Commercial Department The Department of Music The Department of Home Economics The Department of Social Semes For farther information and Catalog, address President James E« Shepard, Durham, North Carolina STATE OF NEW JERSEY Manual Training & Industrial School FOR COLORED YOUTH BORDENTOWN, N. J. A high InttltuttoB for th« training ef eolored youth. Exeellant equipment, thorough Instruction, wholesome surrounding*. Academic training (or all students. Courses In carpentry, agriculture and trade* for boys, Including auto repairing. Course* In domestls sclenee and domestle art for girls. A new trades building, thoroughly equipped. New* girls' dormitory thoroughly and ntedernly equipped. Terms 'easonable. For Information address W. R. VALENTINE, Principal Wiley University Marshall, Texas Recognized as a college of first class by Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Okla- homa State Boards of Education. Har- vard, Boston University, University of Illinois and University of Chicago repre- sented on its faculty. One hundred twenty-seven in College Department, ses- sion 1910-1920. Several new buildings, steam heated and electric lighted. M. W. DOGAN, President LINCOLN UNIVERSITY Pioneer in Collegiate and Theological Education Lincoln Men are Leaders in the various professions in Forty States. The College is ranked in Class I. by the American Medical Association. Address : John S. Senda.ll, D.D., Lincoln University, Chester County, Penna. The Cheyney Training School for Teachers Cheyney, Pa. A Pennsylvania Stat© Normal School offering, in addition to the regular Normal Course of two years, professional three year courses in Home Economics and Shop Work. A diploma from any of these courses makes a graduate eligible to teach in the public schools of Pennsylvania. A three-year High School Course is offered to all who have completed the eighth grammer grade. Next term begins September 18, 1922. For further particulars and catalog, write Leslie Pinckney Hill, Principal Cheyney, Pa. There Will Be No Summer S.chool for 1922 Mention The Cr.sis. 7-zH- THE CRISIS Vol. 24. No. 1 MAY, 1922 Whole No. 139 Llipiivioiv THE WORLD AND US HERE has been war in South Africa. The editor of the Times tells us, "It was the blacks of the Rand who stood by the government best, for among the strikers they could not look for friends". And there you are again. In Chicago, in St. Louis, in New Or- leans and Oklahoma, in Liverpool and South Africa, it has been the white laborer who has driven the black man out into the desert and then stands stupidly wondering why black folks are "scabs" and do not "understand" the labor movement. White Christianity stood before Gandhi the other day and, let us all confess, it cut a sorry figure. This brown man looked into the eyes of the nervous white judge and said calmly, "It is your business to enforce the law and send me to jail; or if you do not believe that the law is right, it is your business to resign." Can you imagine such a judge resigning? Gandhi is in jail. So is English Chris- tianity. Again there is a King in Egypt. It is 6699 years ago since Menes, the so- called first king, reigned. Since his day many a Pharoah has ruled, black and red and white. The land has seen conquest and destruction, glory and misery; slavery under the Hyksos, the Greeks, the Persians, the Arabs, the Turks, and the English. It is filled today with Arabs, Negroes and Negroids, Turks, Jews, Armenians, and the mixture called "Egyptians". Its partial rebirth brings a new dark nation to the world; but England still remains its profit-taking master. In the Near East trouble still broods. The Turks are fighting for Constantinople backed by the French, against the ambitions of the Greeks backed more or less openly by Eng- land. Beneath lie the miserable mil- lions of the Balkans, crushed and raped for a thousand years. A bonus for soldiers or for sailors, for carpenters or for housewives is wrong in principle and illogical in practice. It is robbing Peter to pay Paul. It is taking from one pocket to fill another. It is setting false standards of justice and right. But the men who are to blame in the present demand for a soldiers' bonus are not the soldiers. They are the suave and lying politicians who prom- ised the bonus and anything else, easily, during the last campaign. There is a singular fight in the Methodist Church in which the black man is arbiter. The majority of white Methodists have realized long since that.it is false to say that all dancing, all card-playing, all theatre- going, and all "worldly amusements" are wrong. They wish to change the dictum of the church so as to accord with universal Christian practice. The black wing of the Methodist Church has long prevented this change. This is not only wrong; it is dangerous. THE CRISIS FIGHTERS OR COWARDS EVER has there been a time when the National Associa- tion for the Advancement of Colored People more sorely needed undivided support than to- day. The American Negro must learn, and indeed is learning, that the achievement of his aims in this coun- try necessitates the possession and the use of power. Some few crumbs may be thrown to him through phi- lanthropy, some few privileges may be granted him because of his pray- ers and petitions, but the funda- mental and enduring rights which he seeks can come only through the ex- ercise of power, power possessed by the Negro and exercised by him. For nearly eleven years, against what appeared at times to be insur- mountable opposition and unmovable apathy, in the face of numerous de- feats and discouragements, with meagre funds at our command, we have fought on in our efforts to arouse the public conscience of America to the dangers of the lynching evil. Our most signal victory in this struggle thus far was the passage of the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill by the House of Representatives in January. There are those who feel that the fight is over with the gaining of that result. Far from it! Our most dif- ficult and bitter fight is now upon us ! Nearly everything that we have won can and will be lost if the Senate does not pass the bill ! We have some friends in that body but we also have many enemies. They are working night and day to prevent the bill from ever being brought to a vote. The N. A. A. C. P. is determined that there shall be no defeat — no equivocation — no compromise ! To that end it is launching its member- ship drive that more members, more money, more power may see the Dyer Bill passed by the Senate, and this great step forward taken toward the wiping out of mob murder. We urge — we plead — we pray that every lib- erty loving man and woman in America may hear our cry and work with us toward the reaching of our goal: the end of lynch law in Amer- ica! R. W. Bagnall. SOCIAL EQUAtlTY 0 I want Social Equality? Certainly I do. Every nor- mal decent human being wants to associate with his fellowmen on terms of equality. We like to be invited out. We want peo- ple to want us. We are unhappy if we are ostracised and ignored and despised and forgotten. Booker T. Washington wanted social equality and got it. R. R. Moton accepts it whenever and wherever it is offered. I, he, they, everybody wants men to want us. If they do not want us — if they hate and despise us, very well. There may be little or nothing which we can do to change their attitude. But one thing we can do: we can refuse to hate and despise them or to say that we think hatred and contempi are fine human habits. We will surely never stultify our souls by seeking those who despise us, but equally we will refuse to lie and say that we ivish to be despised. The despising of men, regardle^i of gift and character, is a cruel crime. It must be abolished with other crimes and barbarities. Of course, we want it abolished. Of course, we want social equality and we know that we will never be real men until we get it. ART FOR NOTHING HERE is a deep feeling among many people and particularly among colored people that Art should not be paid for. Tfc? feeling is based on an ancient and OPINION fine idea of human Freedom in the quest of Beauty and on a dream that the artist rises and should rise above paltry consideration of dollars and food. At the same time everybody knows that artists must live if their art is to live. Everybody knows that if the people who enjoy the artist's work do not pay for it, somebody else must or his work cannot go on. Despite this practical, obvious fact, we are united with singular unity to starve colored artists. Mrs. Meta Warrick Fuller, the sculptor, recently did a beautiful piece of work for a great social movement. She was wretchedly and inadequate- ly paid for it; in fact, it would not be too much to say that she was not paid at all. And the movement con- gratulated itself upon its economy. Mrs. May Howard Jackson, whose portrait busts are a marvelous con- tribution to the history of the Negro, in years of work has not received a month's decent income. Mr. William A. Scott, whose painting is one of the finest things the Negro race has produced in America, has had a des- perate struggle to make a living. Richard Brown died of privation while yet a boy. Only in the case of our musicians have we been willing to pay anything like a return for their services, and even in their case we continually complain if they do not give their services for "charity". We have a few men who are trying to entertain and instruct the public through the writing of books and papers and by carefully prepared lectures. Few buy their books — they borrow them. The men are severely criticized by many because they ask pay for lec- tures. All this is wrong; it is miserably wrong; it is warning away exactly the type of men who would do more than any others to establish the righc of the black race to universal recog- nition. If work is honorable, then pay is honorable, and what we should be afraid of is not overpaying the artist; it is underpaying and starv- ing and killing him. PUBLICITY E learned during the Great War what Publicity could do. We saw its good ef- fects in bringing the truth before the people; we saw its bad effects in making millions believe lies. We are thinking of these bad effects so persistently since the war that Propaganda is in bad odor. But let us remember that in pitiless Publicity we have perhaps the greatest militant organ of social reform at our hands. In our own problem, the N. A. A. C. P. at the very beginning looked upon The Crisis as a first and abso- lutely necessary step. Until the best black and white people realized the facts concerning the Negro problem, there was no use discussing remedies. It is as true today as it was then. But further than that, if we want the economic conditions upon which modern life is based to be changed and changed for the better, we need first of all Publicity. The mass of men do not know the facts and there is not today any adequate effort to make all these facts known to the public. Not only that, but law and custom conspire to conceal the truth. What is the first knowledge which any reformer should have who wishes to improve or rebuild modern indus- try? It is the facts concerning In- come. The income of every human being, far from being a closely guarded secret, should be the most easily ascertainable economic fact. Secondly, the basis of that income should be known. It should be a matter of public knowledge by what work each individual gains his 10 THE CRISIS income and the character and extent of this work everybody should know or be able to find out. If the institution of private prop- erty is to persist and if it ought to persist, the fundamental fact con- cerning it should be easily ascertain- able; and that is, its exact and pre- cise ownership and whence that own- ership came ; and if the property is alienated, to whom the ownership is transferred. If individuals must be called upon to support the government, as they certainly must, it should be a matter of public information as to how much each individual contributes toward the public support. These are all simple fundamental facts. Progress, to be sure, has been made in the last few years in mak- ing these facts known. It is not too much to say that economic reform has succeeded in so far and only in so far as it was based upon the reve- lation of such facts. There was a time when a man's income was con- sidered an absolutely private matter. Today it is at least partially public through the working of the income tax. Tomorrow it will be absolutely public. Today it is only with great difficulty that we can surmise the ownership of anonymous corpora- tions. Tomorrow we will allow no corporation to exist whose ownership and control is not always a matter of accessible public record. Today a man's occupation is considered his own business. Tomorrow it will be the business and the prime business of each one of his neighbors. THE NEGRO FARMER N 1920 there were 218,612 farms owned by Negroes. The Negroes owned in 1920, 13,- 948,512 acres of land. The land and buildings were valued at $554,158,003. In numbers of owner- ships and acreage the Negro farmer has apparently just held his own in the war decade, but in value his land and buildings have increased as fol- lows: 1900 $123,754,396 1910 275,323,227 1920 554,158,003 The figures for 1920 are, of course, largely due to the prevailing price in- flation. The colored sub-committee of the National Agricultural Confer- ence have made a report in which they say among other things : "Due to the fact that slightly more than 75 per cent of the Negro farmers are in the tenant class, we feel that an intensive and sympathetic study should be made of all conditions peculiar to this form of land tenure, to the end that we may be able to offer recommendations for the social and economic betterment of this class of our farming population. "As there is great suffering throughout the country among Negro farmers on ac- count of the lack of ready money, and as there are large quantities of farm products on hand for which they have not been able to find a market, we urge that special at- tention be given to the formation of co- operative marketing associations among this groups and wherever possible these farmers be accorded the same advantages in existing organizations in their respec- tive communities as other subscribing members. "There is much disisatisf action among the rural districts on account of poor school facilities which, in many cases, have been the cause for a general migration from the farms to the cities. Because of this we urge a more liberal support from the state and local governments. "We need a more generous Federal and State support of our Negro agricultural colleges and a closer supervision of their activities, as they constitute the principal sources for intelligent agricultural lead- ership. "There should be a more adequate dis- tribution of Federal funds that are allo- cated to the different states under the Smith-Lever and the Smith-Hughes Acts so that Negro farmers may receive a greater benefit, to the end that we may have a larger number of well-trained men and women to advise and to work in the rural districts. This is especially necessary be- cause of the fact that this class of our farming population has had less advantage than most of the other farming groups. This is, of course, a mild and tem- perate statement of the fact that there is widespread effort in the OPINION 11 South to keep Negro farmers ignor- ant, to hold them in peonage, and to refuse them their share of Federal funds. KICKING US OUT ROM Emancipation in 1863 up until 1912 Negroes voted the Republican ticket as a matter of religion. The ef- fort of Taft to get rid of his obliga- tions to the Negro vote so disgusted black men that a concerted effort, led by the late Alexander Walters, was made to get Negro support for the Democrats in 1912. A special sec- tion of the National Democratic Campaign organization was devoted to this work and Candidate Wilson promised the Negro "Justice, and not mere grudging Justice." He was elected and did as near nothing to help the Negro as he possibly could. Some concessions came by sheer com- pulsion and war necessity but the net result was that the Democratic party said: We do not want Negro votes. In 1916 the Negro was between the Devil of Wilson and the Deep Sea of Taft, while Roosevelt rejected them from Bull Moose and catered to Louisiana. In 1920 Cox refused even to receive a Negro delegation and Harding got the Negro vote. Im- mediately he went to Texas and Flo- rida and consorted with the white southern politicians. Since then it has been reported again and again that he is very desirous of building up a white Republican party in the South; that he advises the Negro to follow white leaders and not aspire to lead himself. Finally Mr. Harding has openly and authoritatively invited at least half the Negroes to leave the Republican party. To some of our bewildered race this may appear not simply as a ca- lamity but as the absolute nullification of our political power. The Demo- crats won't have us and the Republi- cans don't want us. Is there any- thing to do but impotently wring our empty hands? There is. This is our opportunity ; this spells our political emancipation. Mr. Harding's sincere invitation should be accepted forthwith, and Mr. Cox's rejection should not be forgot- ten. We are invited not to support either of the old, discredited and bankrupt political parties. In other words, we are being compelled to do what every honest thinking American wants to do — namely, support some third party which represents char- acter, decency and ideals. Just as the two old parties have combined against us to nullify our power by a "gentleman's agreement" of non-re- cognition, no matter how we vote — in the same way they have agreed to nullify the vote of every forward- looking, thinking, honest American, The revolt against this smug and idiotic defiance of the demand for advanced legislation and intelligence is slowly sweeping the country. The longer it is held back by Czar- istic methods the more radical and bitter will be the eventual recoil. We are invited to join this radical re- action. We are compelled to join. We accept the invitation and rejoice in the compulsion. May God write us down as asses if ever again we are found putting our trust in either the Republican or the Democratic Parties. WANTED A YOUNG colored man of educa- T- tion and character to become tra- velling representative of The Crisis throughout the United States and to supervise our 800 agents and the re- newal of subscriptions. Apply by let- ter, giving the facts as to training and experience and copies of testi- monials. W. E. B. Dubois. THE SYMBOLISM OF BERT WILLIAMS Jessie Fauset HPO say that the average Negro is the Ne- -*■ gro artist's harshest critic would be un- doubtedly to state a truism whose deepest meaning would not be immediately appar- ent. Thus among many colored theatre- goers Charles Gilpin's rendition of The Em- peror Jones caused a deep sense of irri- tation. They could not distinguish between the artistic interpretation of a type and the deliberate travestying of a race, and so their appreciation was clouded. Our great fault is our inability to distinguish between a horizontal or class and a vertical or racial section of life. I need hardly add that the character of Emperor Jones is a class type. The Man EGBERT AUSTIN WILLIAMS The Child No such irritation bemused our under- standing of Bert Williams, for he was to us the racial type itself. That is why he is symbolic. By a, strange and amazing contradiction this Comedian symbolized that deep, in- eluctable strain of melancholy, which no Negro in a mixed civilization ever lacks. He was supposed to make the world laugh and so he did but not by the welling over of his own spontaneous subjective joy, but by the humorously objective presentation of his personal woes and sorrows. His role was always that of the poor, shunted, cheat- ed, out-of-luck Negro and he fostered and deliberately trained his genius toward the delineation of this type because his mental as well as his artistic sense told him that here was a true racial vein. This does not mean that he leaped by in- spiration into the portrayal of the black roustabout. Mr. Williams first took stock of his own limitation®. • He was used to 12 BERT WILLIAMS 13 considering these as a boy in the High School in California whence he had been brought some years after leaving his home in Nassau in the Bahamas. His first glance at those limitations revealed that he could not afford to attend Leland Stanford Uni- versity as he had dreamed; his second re- vealed that though he had a decided liking for the stage and even a slight possibility of gratifying his liking, color would proba- bly keep him from ever making "the legiti- mate." The field that) lay open to him then and in which he started was that of minstrelsy. During those first few months with his troupe it fell to his lot to brush shoes and press dress-suits, to polish the nickel on the banjos, to arrange the chairs in a semi- circle and finally to take his place in that same semi-circle. How his youthful eyes would have stared if he could have looked forward to the setting of a Ziegfeld pro- duction! Could he but have foreseen the weariness of the way! One day he took in as partner George Walker and the two appeared in vaudeville at the Midway Plaisance in San Francisco where they tasted the beginning of a fame destined to spread the world over. At first Williams was the clever man and Walker the fool, but very shortly they reversed their positions: "I'm funnier along this line than ycu," Williams said to his partner and so he proved himself. From that day on he never forsook the character of the sham- bling, stupid, wholly pathetic dupe. As his success grew, his ambitions soared, but always they brought him up against his boundaries, the wall of prejudice. Subjec- tively his power was limitless ; objectively it had to soar up but not outwards. With that most fundamental characteristic of true genius he took up the task of making the most of his restricted opportunities. With- out the slightest knowledge of the dialect of the American Negro, he set to work to acquire it. He watched, he listened, he visited various Negro districts North and South, he studied phonetics. He could make his listener distinguish between variations of different localities. He affected, his ad- mirers will remember, a shambling, shuf- fling gait Which at intervals in his act would change into a grotesque sliding and gliding— the essence of awkward natural- ness. But awkward or graceful, it was not natural to him, but simply the evolution of a walk and dance which he had worked out by long and patient observation of Negro prototypes. It took him years of practice and constant watchfulness to be able to portray to its fullest the shiftlessness, the dolefulness, the "easiness" of the type of Negro whose per- sistent ill-luck somehow endeared him to our hearts. He was so real, so simple, so credu- lous. His colored auditors laughed but often with a touch of rue, — this characterization was too near to us; his hardluck was our own universal fate. Everyone knows of the dramatic triumphs of the Williams and Walker troupe, from California to Chicago, then to New York where they played a thirty weeks' engage- ment with Koster and Bials (a record- breaker for those days) and finally an ap- pearance before King Edward VII at Buck- ingham Palace. This triumph would have meant to another the zenith of a career, not only would he have failed to go beyond, he would have thought there was no beyond. To Mr. Williams it was only the stepping- stone to the attainment of greater perfec- tion. While in London he studied with Pietro the art of pantomime and from him he evolved those curiously short-ranged, awkward but sure gestures which supple- mented so well the workings of his face. That wonderful face mobile and expressive even under its black paint! Painstakingly, bit by bit, he made himself a great artist; what power of mimicry he possessed natively he used; what he lacked he picked up by careful study until that, too, 'Was his own; at last constructively and spontaneously he became a great luminary in the world of comic art. Ziegfeld realized this and after the death of Walker took him on in the "Follies" where for a long time he struck the truest artistic note in that medley of banality, rich costumes and shining flesh. His marriage was unusually happy, his coffers were sufficiently full, his friends were many, his love of books for which he possessed an unusually nice appre- ciation was gratified. He found pleasure in his music. But something irked. He could not forget his color and the limitations it imposed on him in his chosen field. In spite of his greatness he was un- usually modest. He did not push himself, he was tolerant in the presence of intoler- 14 THE CRISIS ance, but he simply could not understand "what it was all about. I breathe like ether people," he said, "I eat like them — put me at a dinner and I'll use the right fork. I think like other people. In London I am presented to the King, in France I have sat at dinner with the president of the republic, while here in the United States I am often treated with an air of personal and social condescension by the gentleman who sweeps out my dressing room or by the gentleman whose duty it is to turn the spotlight on me. "And yet it was here in the United States that a war was fought in the sixties about a certain principle. It seems strange, doesn't it?" Others of us find it strange, too. At last, this very year, he was billed to feature in a play written specially for him, in which he was the star, in which all the action centered about him. "Under the Bamboo Tree" was a charming farce and admirably suited to the quiet drollery of the man whom Al Weeks styled our "gentlest comedian". And in the midst of it after he had isung for a few nights his song called "Puppy Dog" in which he likened his own loneliness in the play to that of a homeless, friendless mutt to whom he said "when you die no one will care because they'll say 'only a puppy dog has gone' " — after all this he collapsed one night quite suddenly in the theatre and came back to New York to die. But everybody cared! The press was instant with expressions of sympathy, regret and appreciation. He was called our greatest comedian and compared, as indeed he deserved to be, with those other great wits of the world, Shakespeare and Moliere and Mark Twain. In the bitter bleakness of a March day fifteen thousand people thronged the streets to his funeral; there were two services, one at St. Philip's in Harlem, another at the Temple of the Grand Lodge of the Order of Masons. We were all proud to know of his plaudits, we knew he merited them, but with our pride was mingled a passionate strain of resent- ment. If the world knew of his great possi- bilities why had it doomed this stalwart, handsome creature, to hide his golden skin, his silken hair, his beautiful, sensitive hands under the hideousness of the eternal black make-up. Why should he and we obscure our talents forever under the bushel of preju- dice, jealousy, stupidity — whatever it is that makes the white world say: "No genuine colored artist; coons, clowns, end^men, clap- trap, but no undisguisedly beautiful presen- tation of Negro ability." The irony of it has made us all a little sadder so much so that when this morning I. who unfortunately did not know him, read in the Tribune: "Eddie Cantor gets a clean face", my eyelids stung with the prick of sudden tears. That is a fine concept which Oliver Wen- dell Holmes gave to mankind from his con- templation of "The Chambered Nautilus". He bids us rear for life one stately mansion after another, each embracing and overtow- ering the preceding one: "Let each new temple nobler than the last Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, Till thou at length art free." It is pleasant to think of Mr. Williams thus building the structures of his life : first his little profession of minstrelsy, then his partnership and success with Mr. Walker; his appearance before nobility and royalty; bis entre, as a feature-artist into the Fol- lies— an unprecedented stride that for the colored man; — and finally his triumphant emergence as a star — still in black-face. And beyond and around all these structures he reared the unfailing quality and preci- sion of style which was the impress of his art. But greater than any of these tow- ered the temple of his character, of that disposition which left him for all his great- ness gentle, modest, unenvious; which for all his heartbreak left him without bitter- ness, able to oppose to intolerance a mild and thoughtful kindliness, and to offer an intense appreciation to those who without prejudice recognized and loved him. The dome of this temple grew so vast that it touched the sky — and he "at length is free." His resignation to suffering took the sting out of the malevolence of fate. I have tried jealously to keep Bert Wil- liams with his struggles, his triumphs, his heartbreaks and his consolations as the sym- bol of our own struggling race. But is not the part he played as the helpless creature, — always beaten, always conquered,: — sym- bolic of all poor human flesh which is ever THE LIBERIAN EXCURSION 15 Worsted by life or the things of life, by love or the lack of love, by poverty or riches, by loneliness or a satiety of companionship? Yet does not this same poor human flesh meet all this with a tear, a sigh, a shrug, a brave smile and the realization that this is life? All that the most unfortunate can do — provided he wills to live — is to buckle down to life and try it again. In one of the plays which Mr. Williams shared with Mr. Walker, the latter in the role of the haughty, ungrateful sharper or- ders his victim from his doors. Bert can not believe that he means this but Walker assures him that he does. "All right," says Bert sadly, shambling, stumbling inimitably across the stage, "I'll go." But as he reaches the exit he straightens up and thunders in that wonderful voice of his: "But I shall return." It was pitiful, it was funny, it was life. Without hope we could not live. And so we hope that Bert has found the answer to his song "somewhere the sun is shining — but where?" — and that he is basking in the warmth and glow of unstinted artistic com- radeship and appreciation. But more than that we hope that his death and the stream of appreciation which it evoked — alas too tardily — will teach this silly, suffering old world to lay aside its prejudices, its tradi- tions, its petty reserves and to bestow honor where it is due — when it is due. Thus at length shall we all be free. 'FIFTEEN THOUSAND PEOPLE THRONGED THE STREETS TO HIS FUNERAL' THE LIBERIAN EXCURSION Dr. L. G. Jordan A S to our ship proposition, it temporar- ■*■*• ily failed. The facts are: First: We negotiated with the American Travel Club of Baltimore to whom we paid $4,000, and on a technicality were thrown down by them; and with boldness they are attempting to keep our money. We are sue- ing them for the $4,000 and damages, and a good law firm says we have a fine case. Second: We got in touch with Mr. An- thony Crawford of the Inter-Colonial Steamship & Trading Company, 198 Broad- way, New York. We paid him $2,500 on the chartering of a ship, at which time he authorized us to advertise our cruise to sail on December 10. With faith in him and a belief that all was well, we proceeded to advertise the dedication of our boat and the sailing; then finally he told us that the company refused at the last minute to 16 THE CRISIS charter the boat, but would sell for $65,- 000, allowing us eight months to pay for the boat. We were to pay $8,125 down, and to give a bonding company's security for $57,000. We got this Sum together as re- quired; then we were informed that the bond must be made by one man, not by the company as a whole. We met this demand, and were next confronted with the notifica- tion that the boat could not be turned over to us unless we paid $45,000 cash down; there we struck. However, the promoters, who are Bishop Heard, Dr. Jernigan, Dr. Wright, Jr., Major R. R. Wright, Sr., Dr Callis, Major York and the undersigned, are in duty bound to see that those who secured tickets are re- funded their money. Some of these have already received theirs, and if the Lord spares my life, with the co-operation of my colleagues, not one shall lose the money he paid for his ticket. Because of the slowness of the courts, we may be tardy; but I believe all will come right. Nine of our party have gone for- ward to Africa, one by England, one by France, and seven by Spain. Of the amount refunded, I have paid $425 personally and only one other of my companions has paid $30. I hope we shall have the brotherly sym- pathy of all, since I am reasonably sure none of us wishes to do wrong in the mat- ter. It has been an honest effort to get our people in touch with Africa, the oppressed and needy Africa. Her redemption will yet come to pass. I believe from the depths of my heart that our coming here in 1619 was directly providential, in order that a pre- pared number should in time return and rave the continent from which we were stolen. God is just. It will yet come to pass. Meantime we have made arrangements with the American and African Tourist Company, a Spanish firm, to act as their agents in securing passage for persons wish- ing to go to Africa via the Canary Islands and Cadiz. First-class passage is $460; second, $319; and third, $211. Steerage is $155. There is a 10 percent reduction for round-trip tickets. MAY AGAIN Leslie Pinckney Hill A GAIN the southern winds at ease **■ * Caress the blossom-laden trees, While o'er the heavens gay Is writ in gold and hues of wine, A brightly-blazoned script divine — "May comes again, sweet May." Again what glories wake the dawn, And how old warrior Trouble, wan And weak, is driven out; With what clear throats the grackles sing, How musical the drone bee's wing, And how the children shout! Four walls are all too narrow now — I follow where the sturdy plow Has turned the fragrant mead; Where growing green things rise in line Like soldiers, or where soft-eyed kine On new-sprung grasses feed. And sweeter than all nature rife With song and bloom, that zest of life Which fills the spirit up With joy new-born of homely food, And peace that whispers "God is good," And overruns my cup. 0 what of the dream that faded fast, Or the fickle "gleam" that glanced and passed, Or the wine that turned to rue! 1 hold a wand, as May can vow, With magic healing, and somehow The heavens and earth are new. Reborn of hope, in courage clad, I am a bold Sir Galahad On quests that cannot fail; For with new vision now I see That One Who daily walks with me Holds up the Holy Grail. l'envoi O wonder love, whose tender might Through checkered years of cloud and light Has been both balm and goad, Be thou my May when winters chill, My Sarras set upon a hill, The ending of my road! THE FOOLISH AND THE WISE Sanctum 777 N. S. D. C. 0. U. Meets Cleopatra A STORY Leila Amos Pendleton THE hour for opening had passed but, strange to say, Sister Sallie Runner, the All Highest Mogul of Sanctum 777, "Notable Sons and Daughters of Come On Up," had not yet arrived. The members stood around in groups and wondered what had happened, for Sis Runner was never late. True the Vice-All Highest, Sister Susan Haslum, was present and technically it was her duty to open the meeting; but the members of the Sanctum had a very poor opinion of her ability. Sally had once voiced the general feeling when she said to her: "Sis Haslum, seems lak to me dat yo knowlidge box is alius onjinted an' de mentals of yo mind clean upsot. How yo spect to rule dis Sanctum wen yo time come I cain't tell. Pears lak to me de bes' thing we kin do will be to 'lect yo Grand Past All Highest an' give yo de grand claps now an' be done wid it. Den we won't have to worry wid yo settin' in dis cheer an' trying to zide." The suggestion was not acted upon, but as the members waited tonight they wished very earnestly it had been; for then Sister Tulip Bawler would have been in line to preside (as she was Most Mightiest), and no one doubted her ability. When the thoughts of the members had reached this uncertain state, Notable Brother Brown spoke up: "High Notables, Sons and Daughters, Brothers and Sisters, Officers and Mem- bers," he said, "I moves dat we close dis here Sanctum tonight befo' we opens it an' journey 'round to Sis Runner's house to see what all's de matter wid her." "Sho! Sho! To be certingly," responded the Sanctum unanimously, but just as they were putting on their wraps, in bustled Sallie, breathless but smiling. "I knowd it," said she, as soon as she could catch her breath, "I jes knowd you all would git tired a waitin'. I tole Rev- eral Runner so. But dat man is some sick an' whut part ain't sick is scared to death ; an' no wonder, as much debilmunt as he's alius up to. Jes as I were puttin' on my hat to come here he dragged in de doe, lookin' lak a ghost. 'Brudder Runner', says I, 'Is dat yo or yo apparutus?' He diden make no answer but jes pinted to his chist. Wal, yo orter seen me hop 'round. Yo know he already done had newmonny twict. I had some creso an' dats good for de longs; den I chopped up some Turmooda onyuns an' bound him up in dat an' salt. When he mence to feel better I turned him over to Obellina. She's jes as gooda nuss as me an' she are wrapped up in her pa cause she ain't on to his curbs. Come on, chilluns, less open de lodge. We'll leave off de gowns an' crowns an' mit de regular openin' cause it's so late, but I gotta fine ole anncienty story to tel yo an' dis time it's 'bout a cullud lady." At this the Sanctum was all excitement and officers and members hurriedly took their stations. Sallie gave the altar in front of her five raps, then said she, "High Notibuls, yo kin pass to de .secertary's desk one by one an' pay yo dues. Sis Dolum an' Sis Spots tend to passin' de cookies. Does yo all think you kin do all dem things an' lissen to me too?" "Oh yas, All Highest," came a number of voices. "We's jes crazy to hear yo." "Wal," proceeded Sallie, in her stateli- est manner, "dis here lady Pse goin' to tell 'bout tonight were bornd right spang in Egupt an' dats in Afriky. She were a sho nuff queen too, wid lords an' ladies an' scjers an' servunts. Her name were Clea Patrick." "All Highest," cautiously inquired Sis- ter Ann Tunkett, Vice-Most Mightiest, "is yo rale sho she were cullud?" "I is," responded Sallie. "Cose, Mis Oddry beat me down she warat, but I knows better 'cause I were lookin' right at her. She were one a dese here high browns wid. wavy hair an' rosy cheeks, lookin' jes lak dat Donarine Elett whut were runnin' arter Reveral Runner dat time. Least he 'cuse her of runnin' arter him wen dey got cot up wid, but I knows who were doin' de most runnin'." 17 18 THE CRISIS "Is Mis Oddry got Clea Patrick's picter, All Highest?" inquired Sis Tunkett. "Yas; an' de nex' time yo come 'round I'll show it to yo. Clea Patrick were one cf dese here long-haided, long-nosed, long- eyed, slim gals dat jes nachel come into de world to make trubble. An' she sho made it. Fust off her King pa died wen she were only eighteen years ole an' lef his kentry fur her an' her lil brudder Tallmy to rule over togedder. But whut should Tallmy's gardeens do but grab de whole bisn ss an' leave Clea wid nuffin." "Now ain't dat jes lak some men!" ex- claimed Sis Bawler. "Seem lak de vurry idear of Wimmin rulin' anything but de cook kitching sets um wild." "It's de fack— trufe," replied Sallie. "Yo all knows dat as long as I were settin' on dis floor Brudder Runner were a jim-dandy member of de 'Come On Ups'. Soon as I mence to move 'round de cheers, he mence to git restless. Den wen yo all 'lect me All Highest he jes nachel coulden stan' it. So he goes off an' jines dat 'Everlastin' Order of Hezzakites' an' he aint been back here sence." "Dats right, All Highest. Dats jes whut he done, but I nuvver seen through it be- fo'," said Vice-Most Mightiest Tunkett. "Wal I seen through him. He's jes da same as a winda-pane to me. But ef I'da knowd whut I knows now or ef I'da liss- ened to my ma he'd nuwer got me in his clinches. Longs as I diden do nuthin but work fur him an' be a skillyun he were as pleased as punch, but jes as soon as peepul act lak dey thot I could do sumpin else sides dat he got sore. An' dat was de vurry way dem men acted wid Clea Pat- rick. But dey diden know her yit! Ha! Ha! Dey haden foamed her quaintence. She skipped 'round an' got herself a big army an' de way she fout um were sumpin pretty, 'cause evry one of dem sojers was in love wid her. Den right in de middle of all dat here come dat Julyus Siezer." "Who were he, All Highest?" inquired Sis Haslum. "Why he were dat great Roaming gin- eral sumpin lak Elleckzandry, only he were borned a long time arterward. Wal as soon as he got in gunshot of her, Clea Patrick mence rollin' dem long eyes at him. She done a right cute thing doe — she wind hersef all up in a big bufull rug an' make her servunts carry it to Siezer an' say, 'Here's a present Queen Clea Patrick sont you.' Den wen dey onroll it, out she jump an' dat ole jack went crazy over her. Now he were ole nuff to be her grandpa an' he had a wife at home, sides bein' bald-haided, an' dey warn't no scuse fur de way he carried on." "Wal, All Highest," drawled Most Might- iest Bawler, "Yo know whut dey say bout a ole fool." "Yas," returned Sallie, "an' I aint nuv- ver seen dat sayin' fail yit. Dis here Siezer were a good zample of it, too. Why he took Clea Patrick back to Roam wid him an' put her in a fine palace an' was gittin' ready to go. fum extreemity to ex- tremity. But dem Roamings say, 'Looka here, we's tired a dis foolishness. Nuff's good as a feast. We all caint die togedder — somebuddy is got to die fust an' it might's well be yo.' So dey jump on Siezer in de State House one day an' fill him fulla daggers." "Oh! Oh! My! My!" cried the Sanctum. "Yas indeedyj" replied Sally nonchalant- ly. "Cose when I fust got quainted wid dem ole anncienties, dat murdari/n' an' momockin' way dey had worried me a lot. But Ise usedta it now. Yo know you kin git usedta anybuddy dyin' but yosef. Wal wen dis here Siezer died, Clea Patrick lit out fur home an' took dey lil son Siezeron wid her. An' its a good thing dey got away so slick 'cause dem Roamings woulda finished um bofe. But it do seem lak pee- pul nuwer knows whut dey ralely wants. When Siezer were daid evrybuddy got sor- ry an' when his will were read an' dey found out dat he had left a whole lotta money to de vurry ones dat had kilt him, why dem Roamings rose up an' made dose killers fly an' burnt up all dey homes an' done um up so bad dey wisht dey nuwer hada seen dat Siezer, less mo' kilt him." "Wal," Most Mightiest Bawler inter- posed, "doesn't yo think dat were fair an' square, All Highest?" "Oh, I guess so," the All Highest re- plied, "but dem ole anncienties done so many quare things yo nuwer coud tell whedder dey was comin' or goin'. Wal, arter Siezer were daid his main frend name Mark an Tony took up de battle. Arter fightin' in evry derection he wint sailin' down to Egupt. When Clea Patrick heerd he were THE FOOLISH AND THE WISE 19 comin' she diden git into no carpet dis time. No indeedy! She puts on her glad- des' rags an' jewls an' fumes an' gits in her fines' boat all kiwered wid gold an' silver, an' has her servunts all decked in dey grandes' clothes holdin' parasols over her an' wavin' fans at her an' way she sail to meet Mark an Tony. She already knowd him wen she were in Roam wid dat Siezer an' mebbe dey lak one another den, yo can't tell. Anyhow dey sho lak each udder arter at meetin'. Sho did!" "Ef she look anything lak Donarina an' was all fixed up lak 3rou says, I knows she were one uwermo hartbreaker," put in Sis Haslum. Sallie transfixed her with a look and went on. "Mark an Tony furgot all erbout Roam an' home an' wife an' everything but Clea Patrick. He warnt no ole man lak Siezer so dey was mo' on a quality. Dey played games togedder an' went a huntin' an' a fishin' togedder lak lil boy an' gurl. Sides, Clea would sing to Mark an' play fur him an' talk to him in seben langwitches." "It's a wunder Mark's wife haden got onto urn," commented Sis Tunkett. "She did. She were one of dem strong-arm wimmin an' she starts up a great war, hopin' dat Mark will come on home an' git into it; but he were too busy. He an' Clea useter dress up in masks an' servunt's clothes at nights an' run up an' down de streets an' play Holler Ween pranks on peepul when it warnt no Holler Ween. Den agin dey would put on dey grandes' robes an' crowns an' give de bigges' kinda ceptions to dey frends an' eat an' drink tel dey coulden see. An' den in the middle of dem doins Mark's wife urped an' died." "Ah, de pore soul!" sighed Sis Haslum, "Dat Clea Patrick orta be shamed a her- sef." "Wal," resumed the All Highest, "Mark went on to meet the yuther great Roaming gineral name Tavius an' what should he do but make up a match 'tween his sister an' Mark." "Good gosh!" excaimed Sis Bawler, "an' Clea Patrick yit livin'? Now don't you know dere's trubble comin' in lobs an' gobs ? Diden dat Tavius had gumption nuff to know dat a man whut wont be true to one wife, won't be true to two?" "Wal," Sallie replied, "pears lak of he uvver knowd it he furgot it or else he were hopin' fur de bes'. Anyhow, fur a while Mark kep' rale straight. But arter while he hadta leave home to go to de wars agin an' when he got not so fur fum Clea Patrick — uh! uh! — he sont fur her an' give her not rings an' bracelits an' things lak dat, but rivers an' mountings an' cities an' countries." "Jes whut I knowd!" triumphed Sis Bawler. "Dese here madeup matches al- us scares me. Land knows deres times wen its harda nuff to stand a match yo done made yosef, less mo 'one dats made fur yo." "Mark an Tony found dat out aright. He done a lil mo' fightin' 'round erbout den he hikes hissef spang down to Egupt an' dar he stays wid Clea Patrick." "Ah ha!" Sis Bawler cried. "Tole yo so! Tole yo so!" "But," Sallie went on, "clem Roamings feel dersef much more degraced by Mark an Tony's doins, an' dey is tired a Clea Patrick hoodoodlin' dey bes' ginerals so dey clar war agin her." "Serve her jes right!" Sis Tunkett cried indignantly. "Don't care ef she were a cullud queen. I don't hole wid no sich capers. She orta lef dem wimmins' hus- bunds lone." "Dats right! Dats right!" chorused the Sanctum. "Yas," Sallie agreed. "My ole mudder alius said dat 'Right wrongs no one.' Wal, Mark an Tony an' Clea Patrick gethered all dey sojers an' sailurs an' off dey go to f.ght de Roamings. Wen de battle got hot, Clea got scared an' back home she went ascootin. Stidda Mark an Tony stayin' dere an' fightin' lak a rale sojer, whut muss he do but take a fast boat an' lite out arter Clea Patrick. Cose wen de leaders lef, the sojers stop fightin' an' de inimy captured dem all an' den hiked out arter Clea an' Mark." "Wal warn't dat sumpin!" exclaimed Sis Haslum. "Dem two," continued Sallie, "knowd evrything were over den, so dey et an' drunk an' carried on wusser dan uwer, tel dem Roaming^ come clean into de city. Den Clea Patrick hide sersef wid her maids in a big monimint an' made her ser- vunts tell Mark she were daid. I caint imagine why she done dat 'cause dat news THE CRISIS on top a all de res' of his trubbles jes nachel broke his heart an' he run his own swoad clean fru his body. Den when dey come back an' say Clea Patrick warnt daid he made dem carry him to her. I reckon dey love one another much as dem kinda peepul kin, 'cause when she saw him dyin' at her feet, she 'cides she diden wanta live widout him. So she put a pizenous wiper in her breast to sting her an' in a lil while she were dead." "Poe thing," Sis Haslum sighed. "Poe thing. Mebbe ef her ma hada lived she woulda been a better gurl." "Mebbe so," answered Sallie, "mebbe so. High Notabuls, de hour is late. We will close by singin' 'Dy soul be on dy gard\ " SOME FRATERNAL ORDERS FROM an unorganized inchoate group which had the church as its sole so- cial center, the Negroes of the United States have in the last thirty years be- come intricately and effectively organized. Much of the information concerning these organizations is difficult to obtain because the written reports have to do with prac- tical matters rather than with history and development. However, the Crisis is at- tempting to gather up some of these most interesting facts. Next to the church among us come the secret and fraternal orders. They date back to the 18th century and include not only the well known orders current among the whites but many new and interesting experiments. At the session of the white order of the Knights of Pythias in 1869, an application for a charter for colored citizens of Phila- delphia was refused. Thereupon certain colored men in Mississippi who had been initiated into the order established on March 26, 1880, the "Knights of Pythias of North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa." In 1887 the order di- vided into two parts, one keeping the old name and the other known as the "Knights cf Pythias of the Eastern and Western Hemispheres." This latter organization we shall consider in a future article. The original order had 27,212 members in 1901; 69,331 in 1905; 126,227 in 1919; 158,442 in 1921. In 1921 there were 3,723 lodges. The national, state and local or- ganizations have invested $2,321,641 in real property and their total resources in- cluding this property and funds on hand amounted in 1921 to $3,920,818. The order cwns a beautiful national temple in New Orleans, numbers of other buildings, and has established a bathhouse and sanitarium in Hot Springs. It has an endowment in- surance department with sick and death benefits and a department for women known as the Order of Calanthe. The Su- preme Commander is Mr. S. W. Green, of New Orleans. The "Independent, Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks of the World" was also founded because the white order re- fused Negroes. It was organized in 1899. For a while it met difficulties and became divided into two parts. Finally in 1911 it was united into one body and the report for 1920 shows a total membership of 29,- 143. It has 209 lodges and owns proper- ty worth $216,100, together with cash on deposit amounting to $165,239. It pays sick and death benefits and does a good deal of charitable work. In 1920, $28,813 was paid in, in sick benefits and $27,525 for deaths; $11,565 was expended in charity. Mr. George W. F. McMechen of Baltimore is the Grand Exalted Ruler. The "Mosaic Templars of America" is one of the orders founded by Negroes and originating with them. It was organized in 1882, being founded by the late Mr. C. E. Bush, of Little Rock, Ark. Since 1917 it has grown steadily and now claims over 100,000 members. The main office in Lit- tle Rock, has a force of 22 clerks and han- dles assets of the order amounting in 1921 to $1,032,981, a large increase over the $298,988 income of 1917. It does an in- surance business and is regularly examined by the insurance commissioners of several TO A DEAD FRIEND 21 G. "W. F. McMeclien S. W. Green S. J. Elliot states. The order reports 2,115 local or- ganizations added since 1917 but makes no report of the number before that time, which was probably small. Most of these organizations are in Arkansas, Louisiana and Alabama, and the order is chiefly a Southern organization. It has paid $850,- 043 in death claims since July 1, 1917. It owns in real estate, $515,000, of wnich $360,000 is in Arkansas, $50,000 in Louisi- ana, and $85,000 in Alabama. The Nation- al Grand Master is Mr. S. J. Elliott. One of the newest organizations is that of the "American Woodmen". It was or- ganized in the State of Colorado, April 4, 1921, by white men and patterned after similar societies among the whites. It had white officers and went on with only fair success, until 1910 when the white officers resigned and colored ones were appointed at the widespread demand of the colored members. Mr. C. M. White, of Austin, Texas, became the Supreme Commander and still holds that position. In 1910 the organization had a member- ship of 1,846 and in 1920 the membership had grown to nearly 60,000. The net available funds grew in the same period from $7,223 to $621,236. Its total assets were estimated at $1,000,000 in 1921, and its membership that year was near 70,000. It employs over 600 field officers, deputies and clerks. Its headquarters, in Denver, has 25 employees and a finely equipped and modern office. In future articles we hope to present facts concerning the Masons, the Odd Fellows, and other organizations. TO A DEAD FRIEND Langston Hughes 'THHE moon still sends its mellow light ■■" Through the purple blackness of the night; The .morning star is palely bright Before the dawn. The sun still shines just as before; The rose still grows beside my door, But you have gone. The sky is blue and the robin sings; The butterflies dance on rainbow wings Though I am sad. In all the earth no joy can be; Happiness comes no more to me, For you are dead. National • Associaiion for • (he • • - Advancement of Colored- People. ml- of- TO THE BRANCHES : GREETING! A YEAR ago I was returning from my trip across the continent, filled with a sense of the extent of the N. A. A. C. P., its work, its immense possibilities. There were so many new things I had to propose to the oi'ganization, so many plans for the branches! This year I have not gone afield, but I want now, when the member- ship drive is beginning, to greet my old friends among the branches, and the other friends whom I hope sometime to be able to see. My word of greeting is this : There was never a time when we had so excellent a chance to do constructive work as now. We had to spend many years chiefly in propaganda to get our idea before the pub- lic. Just as men advertise a new product for the market for months before they expect sales, so we for a long time had to be content with getting our ideas be- fore the country. But now we are begin- ning to be able to reckon our returns. The passage of the anti-lynching bill by the House and the favorable position it occupies in the Senate mark what I mean. The position of the Arkansas cases is an- other sign of our advancement. The time for constructive work is here. If the colonels, the captains, the lieu- tenants, the hundreds of workers who will go from meeting to meeting and from house to house canvassing for membership can only sell this idea of constructive work the drive must be an enormous success. And that means our work must be a suc- cess, for the work depends absolutely upon the support that the Negroes and their sympathizers give to the drive. We can't do our work unless you are back of us. Every day in our office, with its manifold activities, is your day, made possible by your support. If you stop, we must stop, if you double your energy, if you roll up a membership that is really worthy of the anti-lynching fight in Congress that your secretary has conducted, then we can quad- ruple its power. For we are at a point where our efficiency would multiply fast if we were able to increase our steno- graphic force, add a new worker here or there. We have not been able to do this. Our staff in New York is little if any larger than it was three years ago, and see our need! The stars are on our side in our battle today. Oppressed people are rising as they have never risen before. Comrades in Ireland, in India, in Egypt, hold out their hands to us. Every effort the Amer- ican Negro makes to better his position in the republic is an effort that helps the oppressed of the world. The National Association for the Ad- vancement of Colored People stands for the manhood of the Negro race. Every self- respecting colored working man and wo- man should be in it. It says to the nation that Negroes must be treated as men. So many white people like to treat them as children. Many Negroes, the Southern white tells us, want to be treated as chil- dren. Do they? Our southern branches must give the lie to that. We hold to the belief that the black child, quite as truly as the white child, is capable of the highest development, and is entitled to every oppor- tunity offered by the republic. We have fought for this for twelve years, and we have accomplished much. With a great backing behind us we can accomplish im- measurably more. Workers in the drive, see that this great constructive work goes on better than ever before. Carry our message to the people and in such a way that they must, if they are to avoid self-contempt, join in our cause. Mary White Ovington. THE ANTI-LYNCHING MEMBERSHIP DRIVE OF 1922 AFTER eleven years of fight, victory against the great lynching evil of America seems to be in sight. The anti- lynching bill has been passed by the House; it is now in the hands of the Sen- 22 N. A. A. C. P. 23 ate. If it becomes law it will end lynch- ing by mobs. But it will become law only through the united efforts of our people. These efforts must be focussed through a central body. They must be wisely and ef- ficiently directed by that body. Scattered rnd contrary plans will work havoc to our cause. The splendid work already done by the N. A. A. C. P., through whose ef- forts sentiment against lynching has been awakened and the forces organized that pushed the bill through the House, proves that this is the logical central body through which the race should work in its fight to end lynching. But the N. A. A. C. P. must have larger numbers and greater funds to help in its efforts to get the Senate to pass the anti- lynching bill. This is the reason for the present Anti-Lynching Membership Drive. Never before has the N. A. A. C. P. been so highly regarded by the public. Every man not blinded by prejudice, ig- norant of its accomplishments, or utterly indifferent to the advancement of his race, realizes that its work must go on and should be willing to sacrifice for it. Our branches all over the country are making preparations for the drive — North and South, East and West. Over two hun- dred branches have already indicated that their drive machinery is ready or nearly so. Other branches are sending in mes- sages each day stating their preparation. The National Office is as busy as a bee hive, sending out supplies and answering drive queries and appeals. The southern branches are regaining their aggressiveness in their campaigns for membership. Houston, Texas, has of- fered to organize the dormant branches in that state which became inactive after the Shillady assault. Houston, itself, shows that it is unafraid by using win- dow cards for families that join the asso- ciation with this legend: "This Family is 100 Per Cent Members of the N. A. A. C. P. for 1922." New Orleans is already in the midst of a vigorous campaign for 5,000 members, with a splendidly organized canvassing team. Shreveport, La., of notorious Ku Klux reputation, is actively engaged in a membership drive. In the extreme North, Portland, Me., and Duluth, Minn., stand ready, while in the extreme West, Los Angeles and Northern California along with many others, are girding up their loins for the gaining of great numbers of members. Washington, D. C, is out for 25,000 members and is lining up 2,000 lieutenants. New York City is determinetl to gain at least 10,000 members, and Phila- delphia is in the last stages of a campaign for 5,000 members. Rochester, N. Y., in- tends to win seventy-five per cent of its colored population for the Association. All this is most encouraging, and we urge every branch of the Association to fall in line, and to begin the preparation for the drive. Preparation is the key word. We cannot emphasize too much that a successful drive is impossible without adequate prepara- tion. Many people imagine that they can decide tonight to have a drive and start to conduct it the day after tomorrow. It just can't be done. Preparation is seventy-five per cent of the success in a drive. If the actual drive is to take two weeks, it will normally need from three to five weeks' preparation. If proper preparation is made — and that includes the obtaining of canvassers who will work and the training of these, the proper division of responsibil- ity and the awakening of the community to interest in and enthusiasm for the drive — there is no question of success. That they make thorough preparation, we strongly urge our branches. That they may re- ceive the aid and help of the National Office in the methods of preparation, we urge that they keep in close contact with the National Office. We have most carefully prepared and are furnishing full directions for planning and conducting the drive, for the publicity work, the training of workers, the management of details, and the canvassing campaign. We have ajso prepared interesting propaganda lit- erature for use in the drive in our pamph- let— "Reasons for Joining the N. A. A. C. P." Again remember — LYNCH LAW MUST GO! The anti-lynching bill if it passes the Senate and becomes a law will stop lynching by mobs. This bill will not pass without the work of the N. A. A. C. P. Our Association must have more members and greater funds to carry on its fight in a larger way. The drive will provide this for the Association. Will you not then 24 THE CRISIS enter the Anti- Lynching Membership Drive with the determination that nothing shall stop your branch from going over the top? SHIP STEWARDS THROUGH the efforts of the National Office and the District of Columbia Branch a decision has just been secured which affects the employment of thousands of colored stewards and chief stewards em- ployed on ocean-going vessels under the control of the United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation. Dur- ing the war there were employed out of the port of New York alone approximately 5,000 colored stewards and chief stewards. Since the Armistice, however, active ef- forts have been made by certain officials at the New York port to eliminate all col- ored men. In a number of instances col- ored men who have worked as stewards for more than twenty years were dis- charged and have been out of employment for more than a year. When applying for assignments they were told bluntly that no Negroes would be employed as long as white men were available, irrespective of length of service or efficiency of the col- ored stewards. The stewards as a last resort formed an organization, The Committee for the Re- lief of Unemployed Colored Chief Stew- ards, with headquarters at 28 Whitehall Street, New York City. In January a com- mittee from this organization called at the office of the N. A. A. C. P. for a confer- ence with Messrs. Johnson and White to request that the N. A. A. C. P. aid them in their efforts for reinstatement. A plan of action was mapped out and the stew- ards' committee was requested to secure certain information in the form of affi- davits proving the charges of discrimina- tion. These affidavits, together with copies of the records of the various men being denied employment were forwarded by the National Office to the District of Co- lumbia Branch, with the request that an appointment be made with the proper of- ficial of the United States Shipping Board, at which time a demand could be made for correction of the conditions complained of. On February 17, a conference was held with Mr. A. J. Frey, Vice-President in Charge of Operation of the United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corpor- ation, at which time a representative of the Stewards' Committee, together with Mr. Davidson of the District of Columbia Branch, presented the complaints of the stewards. After examining the official correspondence and the affidavits presented by our committee, Mr. Frey took action as follows: First, he stated that R. H. Gregory, agent at the New York port, according to letters and reports he had received seemed to be the chief offender against the col- ored stewards and he would be removed to a more subordinate position. Second, Mr. Frey issued the following order, ef- fective upon issuance. "United States Shipping Board Emerg- ency Fleet Corporation, Washington, Operations Order No. 11 To Managing Agents District Directors District Managers Employees of the Emergency Fleet Corporation Subject: Employment of Colored Men in Commissary Department Evidence has been laid before me by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which indicates that in one district at least, there has been dis- crimination against American citizens in the employment of personnel for the Com- missary Department of our vessels; such discrimination being purely on account of color and without regard to the competency of the applicant for a position. Such a policy cannot be permitted. There are many colored men who have spent the greater part of their lives work- ing in the Commissary Department of ves- sels, and who from long experience have become most proficient in the work of that department. When positions in the Com- missary Department are to be filled, there must be no discrimination on account of color, and employees must be selected sole- ly on the basis of their competency, hon- esty and previous good record, but subject of course to the provisions of Chairman's General Order No. 11 and Operations Or- der No. 7, directing that preference be given to competent American citizens. A. J. Frey, Vice-President In Charge of Operation." Especial commendation should be given N. A. A. C. P. 25 to the Stewards' Committee which worked unceasingly, and to Mr. Shelby J. David- son, of the District of Columbia Branch. THE STATUS OF THE DYER BILL THE Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill after be- ing passed by the House of Representa- tives was read in the Senate and referred to the Senate Committe on the Judiciary. It is. now in the hands of a sub-committee consisting of Senator Borah, chairman, Senators Dillingham, Sterling, Shields and Overman. The first three are Republicans and the last two are Democrats. This com- mittee has its advantages and its draw- backs. On one hand, no stronger man could be found in the Senate to champion the Bill than Senator Borah and if he can be induced to make the sort of fight for the Bill that he is capable of making, its pass- age may be looked upon as assured. On the other hand, not one of the Republican members is from a state with a constituency that would give him any particular interest in colored people. Senator Borah is from Idaho, Senator Dillingham is from Ver- mont and Senator Sterling is from South Dakota. The two Democrats are. the only members from states having an appreciable colored constituency. However, Senators Borah, Dillingham and Sterling have all ex- pressed themselves as being in favor of Anti-Lynching Legislation and as willing to support the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill if the committee is satisfied ais to its constitu- tionality. The steps yet necessary for the enactment of the anti-lynching measure into law are the following: (a) The sub-committee must report the Bill favorably to the whole Commit- tee. (b) The Senate Judiciary Committee must report the Bill to the Senate. (c) The Senate must pass the Bill. A great deal of work yet remains to be done in order to accomplish these three steps. In order that the question of the bill's constitutionality may be adequacy established, the National Office is busily en- gaged in gathering the most eminent group of constitutional lawyers in the country to appear before the Senate Sub- Committee. It will be good news that Mr. Moorfield Storey, our national president and former president of the American Bar Associa- tion, who fought and won the famous Louis- ville Segregation Case in 1917, will per- sonally appear before the committee. For- mer United States Attorney-General Wade H. Ellis will also argue the constitutionality of the measure, as will former Assistant Attorney of the District of Columbia, James A. Cobb. Other prominent lawyers are be- ing secured. The marshalling of so impres- sive an array of legal talent augurs well for favorable action on the bill by the Judiciary Committee. Every effort must be made to have the first two of the above steps taken before the summer recess of the Senate which is scheduled for June. If all of the steps are left for the short session, the chances for success will be greatly lessened. We must use every effort to bring home to the com- mittee in charge of the bill and to the Sen- ate as a whole the wide-spread public senti- ment which is in favor of the passage of the Anti-Lynching Bill. Every person who reads these lines should, if he has not al- ready done so, send a telegram or letter to the members of the Committee on the Judiciary and to the Senators from his state urging the pasteage of the Dyer Anti- Lynching Bill. In addition to that each one who reads these lines should make an effort to induce other individuals and or- ganizations of all kinds, religious, secular, fraternal and labor to send letters and tele- grams. If the Senate fails to pass the present bill, we may never again have such a favor- able opportunity to secure federal legisla- tion against lynching. But they must not fail and if we use the power which is at our command they will not fail. HELPFUL CO-OPERATION ' I ^HERE has been no more splendid ex- -*• ample of co-operation during recent years than the work of a number of colored women throughout the country in their ef- forts to raise funds for the anti-lynching fight of the N. A. A. C. P. Some time ago Mrs. Hunton wrote to a number of women of her acquaintance in all parts of the country asking them if they would undertake the raising of one hundred dollars each. Twenty- five of these letters were sent out. Prac- tically every person responded by raising more than the amount requested. *aw. COMPlLtD B V MADELINE Q. ALLISON THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COLORED BASEBALL CLUBS C. Few people realize that in Oklahoma there are 23 colored towns where no white person lives. These towns are Boley, Ver- non, Bookertee, Foreman, Grayson, Lima, Langston, Rentisville, Clearview, Tolen, Ran, Inconium, Dover, Red Bird, Taft, Tatum, Tullahassee, Wybard, Brooksville, New Yorkie, Summit, Richardson and Tabor. The largest of the towns is Boley, which is a well-known and enterprising center. Our picture shows the Ft. Smith and Western depot in Boley, where E. R. Cavil is ticket agent, Eugene Hyder, operator; Herbert McCormick, express agent. (I The National Association of Colored Professional Base-Ball Clubs was organized in Kansas City, Mo., February 14, 1920. Its second annual convention was held recently in Chicago. The president, Andrew Rube Foster, in submitting the secretary's report IN THE DEPOT, AT BOLEY, OKLAHOMA 26 THE HORIZON 27 said : Dealing with the 10 leagues and as- sociated club presidents, and the 30 club officers and managers, together with com- munications received from the many play- ers, and in getting evidence in many dis- puted ca.-;es for submission to the National Board, more than 2000 letters have been handled, 350 telegrams received and 300 transmitted; 210 players' contracts were recorded and promulgated; 12 releases were promulgated; 10 official bulletins were is- sued; 20 players were released by purchase from one club member of the association to another. The record established the first year under organized effort was 565,000 paid admissions. Last year the league played within 20 per cent, of this number, under the readjustment period, and paid in salaries to its players, $166,000. Dave Wyatt is publicity agent. d The Committee of Three Hundred of New York City whose recent entertainment netted $2000 for the N. A. A. C. P. is much too modest to be photographed. We have, however, surreptitiously obtained the pic- tures of a few. Mrs. Helen Curtis was General-Chairman, Mrs. Owen M. Waller was at the head of the committee on prizes and Mrs. Nina G. DuBois was assistant- treasurer. Mrs. Grace N. Johnson was Chairman of the Publicity Committee, Mrs. Laura Rollock of the Committee on Tables, while Mrs. Bernie Austin and Mrs. Lottie Cooper were among the most active of the workers. And there were 293 others whose pictures we anxiously await. C Benjamin Franklin Davis, Post Quarter- MESDAMES DIT BOIS, WALLER AND CURTIS master Sergeant of the United States Army, retired, died November 9, 1921. He was born in Chester County, Pa., in 1849, and was in the military service of the United States for more than 31 years, being a veteran of the Civil War. In 1885 he was made Post Quartermaster Sergeant and was retired in April, 1895. He served in Cuba during and after the Spanish-Ameri- can War, and the Quartermaster said, "I cannot speak too highly of the assistance he has rendered me in establishing the treasury system of Cuba." He was buried Mrs. Cooper Mrs. Johnson Mrs. Austin Mrs. Rollock 28 THE CRISIS Mr. Davis Mr. Samples Dr. McClennan Mr. Gunner with full military honors at the Soldiers' Home Cemetery in Washington. A wife, 3 daughters and 3 grandchildren survive him. He was a member of the N. A. A. C. P. (I Walter Wentworth Samples, who has just died in Springfield, Mass., was a worthy citizen, and member of the Repub- lican Town Committee. His father was a Civil War veteran and served as sailor on the famous "Monitor". One grandfather served in the war of 1812 and another in the Revolutionary War. (I Dr. Ridley U. McClennan was the son of the noted physician A. C. McClennan of Charleston, S. C, and was born in Charles- ton in 1887. He was trained at Avery In- stitute, Howard University and Clafiin Col- lege. He succeeded his father eventually as surgeon-in-chief of the local colored hos- pital, and had a large practice at the time of his sudden death November 29, 1921. d The Rev. Byron Gunner was born in Alabama in 1858 and recently died at Read- ing, Pa., where he was pastor of the col- ored Presbyterian Church. He had a varied and interesting career, beginning his work in Louisiana where he was driven out by a mob and his church burned. He afterward served in Newport, R. I., and Hillburn, N. Y. His last church service was devoted to the work of the N. A. A. C. P. (I St. John's A. M. E. Sunday School in Cleveland, Ohio, has an enrollment of 1650 with an average attendance of 900. There are 87 classes and 140 officers and teachers. For the past 15 years Mr. Peyton W. Lemon has been superintendent of the Sunday School. The pastor is the Rev. Edward A. Clark. ST. JOHN'S A. M. E. SUNDAY THE HORIZON 29 THE BESMANBOMARA LITERARY SOCIETY (I The Besmanbomara Literary Society has been organized by colored students at Col- gate University, Hamilton, N. Y. Its ob- ject is the production of a deeper knowledge and appreciation of the achievements of the Negro in all the higher pursuits of life. All men who fulfill the following requirements are eligible for membership: "Sympathy with the objects of society and affiliation by blood with the darker races." The society meets weekly, each meeting being featured by a paper on some phase of racial progress. It is the hope of the members that each paper presented shall show original, con- structive research work in some particular field. The organization has met with much success and is filling an important place in the life of Negro students at Colgate by giving them a real understanding of the geat past and even greater future of the Negro race. The officers are: N. M. Smith, president; W. S. Ravenell, secretary- treas- urer; M. B. Anderson, corresponding secre- tary. C. The Ladies' Group for Service is one of the latest organizations in Washington, D. SCHOOL, CLEVELAND, OHIO 30 THE CRISIS THE WASHINGTON LADIES' GROUP FOR SERVICE C. It is composed of the wives of prominent professional and business men of the city and gives itself to social service. Once a month a meeting of one hour and a half is devoted to sewing and the articles are dis- tributed to needy persons. Last fall the Group arranged an entertainment for the benefit of the N. A. A. C. P. from which there was a substantial donation made to both the National and the Home Offices. The Washington Group for Service is com- posed of Mesdames James C. Dowling, Mil- ton A. Francis, B. Price Hurst, John R. Francis, Jr., Clifford C. Fry, Robert W. Miss Johnson Miss Taylor Mrs. Bryant-Jones Miss Reeves THE HORIZON 31 Rutherford, N. W. Cuney, W. J. Howard, Jr., Roy W. Tibbs, Montgomery Gregory, and E. C. Williams. 0 When Mildred Bryant Jones, formerly of Louisville and now of Chicago, sought to take the examination for musical director in the high schools of Chicago, every effort was made to persuade her not to do so. When she finally appeared before the ex- aminers they sat fully five minutes quite dumb looking at this apparition of a petite brown woman. Finally she said, "Is it really as bad as all that?" Then someone smiled and the examination took place in December, 1918. At first they Wanted to segregate her and have her examined in a room by herself without supervision. This she re- fused. There was a two days' written ex- amination in music, history, harmony, Eng- lish and civics; and afterward practical tests before five judges in singing, piano and sight-reading. Mrs. Bryant-Jones had had experience as a teacher for many years in Louisville and was certain she had passed, but she received no report from her examination. Finally she went to ask about it and was told that she had not passed. She asked to see her papers so as to apply for a revision of the examina- tion according to the rules, but the papers were refused. She then applied to the col- ored Assistant Corporation Counsel, E. H. Wright, and got an audience with the presi- dent of the Board of Education. He sent for the southern man who was the ex- aminer and ordered him to produce the papers. The examiner absented but after leaving the president's office calmly told Mrs. Jones that the papers had been de- stroyed! Mrs. Jones immediately offered to take the examination again which she did in June, 1919. Thereupon she received a notice that she had passed but was not told what percentage she had made. She was appointed to night work in the Wendell Phillips High School in September, 1919, and was refused even substitute day work. In April, 1920, in spite of the opposition of the white principal, Mrs. Jones was finally appointed musical director in that school, January 31, 1921. Thereupon she learned that all the time she had stood highest in the examination but that she was not appointed because "such matters were difficult of adjustment"! C Miss Ida L. Taylor is a graduate of the Chicago Normal School and of the Uni- versity of Chicago. Last year she was ap- pointed to the Department of English and Mathematics in the Wendell Phillips High School in Chicago. (I Two young women of Boston have re- cently gained attention. Leanna S. Johnson of Norfolk, Mass., a graduate of Simmons College, won some time ago a $200 prize offered by Charles Sumner Bird at the Wal- pole High School. The authorities were so astonished that they refused to offer the prize for another year. Miss Johnson stu- died law at the Portia Law School in Bos- ton and recently passed the Bar examina- tion, becoming a full fledged lawyer and notary public at the age of 24. She is now law clerk in Clark Rudnick's office. (I Miss Maryrose Reeves is a student of the Sargeant School in Cambridge. At the athletic meet in the summer camp she gained first place in the running broad jump, the high and low hurdles and the 75- yard dash, and second place in the high jump, the high step and jump and the shot COLORED DELEGATES AT THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF WOMEN 32 THE CRISIS put. In some of these events she broke the camp record. She was winner of the highest number of points and was given a loving-cup and her letter "S". She also has the highest "pep" test in the school, Which is one of Dr. Sargeant's inventions for testing energy. G At the National Council of Women, held at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Phila- delphia, there were 4 colored women dele- gates, Mrs. Dickerson and Mrs. Bennett of Pennsylvania, Mrs. Hunt of Georgia, and Mrs. Hunton of New York who was chair- man. Others who attended were Mrs. John- son, New York; Mrs. Carry, Oklahoma; Mrs. Griffin, Mrs. Jackson and Mrs. Wright, Pennsylvania. (([ Charles Keck has made a statue of the late Dr. Booker T. Washington. The monument was unveiled at Tuskegee last month. <[ New York City has a Women's Po- lice Reserve of 62 members, some of whom were stationed recently to regulate traffic in the Negro section. Notable among these women are Lt. Rosa Hall, who con- ducts a modiste establishment; Sergt. Mary Simmons, a notary public and Commissioner