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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 . . . <c* GENERAL LITIS SOKZLAS 10 THE CRISIS freedom of trade; autonomous and sovereign in its internal policy, but from its beginning a part of a great society of peoples in which it takes its place with others as co-rulers of the world. In some such words and thoughts as these we seek to express our will and ideal, and the end of our untir- ing effort. To our aid we call all men of the Earth who love Justice and Mercy. Out of the depths we have cried unto the deaf and dumb mas- ters of the world. Out of the depths we cry to our own sleeping souls. The answer is written in the stars. ROBERT T. KERLIN EADERS of The Crisis will remember the appearance a year ago of a compilation of Negro opinion gathered in a volume entitled "The Voice of the Negro." Here for the first time we had a book bringing to the white as well as the colored reader the Ne- gro's criticism, through his own press, of America's treatment of him and his race. The book contained an interesting preface by its com- piler, Prof. Robert T. Kerlin, profes- sor of English at Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Va. Prof. Ker- lin followed this by a pamphlet on "Contemporary Negro Poetry." He might have continued his literary ef- forts undisturbed ; but the immediate wrongs of the Negro pressed upon him, and when he read of the con- demnation to death of the six Ne- groes in Arkansas concerned in the Elaine riots, he used his splendid command of English to publish an open letter to Thomas C. McRae, Governor of Arkansas, entreating the Governor to give earnest consid- eration to the sentence of the courts pronounced upon these Negroes. "Not in the history of our Republic," Prof. Kerlin said, "has a more tre- mendous responsibility before God and the civilized world devolved upon the shoulders of the chief exec- utive of any State than has devolved upon yours in re the Negroes of Phillips County condemned to death in the electric chair and so sentenced by the courts of your State. It is a deed to be contemplated with extreme horror. In the execution of these men, a race is suffering crucifixion." In his letter, Prof. Kerlin explains the iniquities of the peonage system and the travesty of trial given the Elaine Negroes. The letter received much publicity and was so resented by the Board of the Virginia Military Institute that Prof. Kerlin's resigna- tion was called for. Refusing to re- sign, he was thereupon dismissed by the Board, which stated that "he had rendered his further connection with the Virginia Military Institute unde- sirable." We can not express too deeply our appreciation of Prof. Kerlin's course in sending his letter to the Governor of Arkansas, and in standing un- swervingly by his convictions in his dealings with his Board. Virginia Military Institute, designed to pro- mote courage and ardour in youth, has dismissed from its force a man displaying the finest courage the In- stitute is ever likely to see. Only through self criticism can an individual or a nation progress. The South steadily suppresses self criti- cism and thus yearly retrogrades, showing itself more and more and more sterile. It cannot suppress a man like Mr. Kerlin, but judging from its past acts, with the Ku Klux spirit, it will drive him beyond its borders. Perhaps more than any other section of the world, the South refuses to listen to the voice that cries in the wilderness. KU KLUX KLAN HE white knights are on the run. Their flowing robes no longer present the dignified appearance made familiar to millions of Americans by "The Birth OPINION 11 of A Nation." Instead they stream in ridiculous tatters. Since the New York World has described the mis- chievous and dangerous plans plot- ted behind their masks their power is ended. We have learned a great deal about their Grand Wizard and their Kleagles and we know now that the Klan is a money-making affair selling stock based on race prejudice. Congratulations to the New York World for its wonderful exposure. The part that the Association took in the exposure, the assistance that it was able to give, is told in this number under National Association notes. "AMERICA'S MAKING" HE part which each group has had in the development of this land will be clearly shown in "America's Making," a pageant and exhibit which will show three centuries of racial and immi- grant contributions to our national life. From October 29 to November 12, through pageants, festivities and exhibits, the gift of each race to America will be set forth. This dem- onstration is under the general su- pervision of the State Board of Edu- cation and of the City of New York. The overhead expense is being cared for by the city and state, but each racial or national group is expected to defray the expenses of its own ex- hibit and pageants. Negroes have been invited to par- ticipate and have had delegates at all the conferences at which the plans of the enterprise have been worked out. The committee on Ne- gro exhibit has as its chairman, James Weldon Johnson and as its secretary, Eugene Kinckle Jones. This committee plans to have a continuous exhibit showing the con- tribution of the Negro in explora- tion, literature, art, music, invention and labor. On Thursday night, Nov- ember 10, "A Festival of Negro Mus- ic" will be staged with a chorus of several hundred voices and an or- chestra of more than fifty pieces. At this time a primer of Negro accom- plishments will be distributed. Thou- sands of people will for the first time gain direct information concerning the Negro's worth to America. The educational value of this exhibit cannot be estimated. For a modest budget of $3000, it is believed that the committee on the Negro exhibit can provide a program which will favorably compare with any other. .at » %&£> 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. <J Granville L. Stewart, tenor, Louie V. Jones, violinist, and William S. Lawrence, pianist-accompanist, have been making a tour of towns in Nova Scotia. Numbers that have particularly pleased their audi- ences are "Reflection," taken from Dunbai by William S. Lawrence; "Rising Sun," by R. Nathaniel Dett; and Negro "Spirituals,' by H. T. Burleigh. G Elmer C. Bartlett has given an organ recital at First A. M. E. Church, Los Ange- les, Cal. His program included works o Bach, Coleridge-Taylor, Guilmant, Dubois and Horatio Parker. C Mayor Hylan's Committee on City Mu- sic, in New York City, included the Ne- gro in its presentations. The 15th Regi- ment Band and Revella E. Hughes, soprano, rendered numbers, among which were Tchaikowsky's "1812," Arditi's "Ah Won- drous Morn" and "II Bacio," and Coleridge Taylor's "Explanation." d Mamie Smith, the colored "jazz" singer for phonograph records, has filled a 3-day engagement at the Regent Theatre, Balti- more, Md., where she was paid $1,000 per day. EDUCATION rT*HE Atlanta School of Social Service is ■*■ conducting its 2nd session at Morehouse College. Courses lead to secretaryships of associated charities, anti-tuberculosis asso- ciations and Urban Leagues; probation and attendance officers; recreation directors and welfare workers in churches, Y. M. C. A.'s, Y. W. C. A.'s and industries. Ct Mildred D. Brown, a colored girl in Jer- sey City, N. J., has entered Lincoln High School at the age of eleven. (I Colored high school students in Brook- lyn, N. Y., have organized the Alpha Chi Sigma Fraternity in the interest of higher scholarship. William A. Hunton, Jr., is the secretary. (I Governor Hyde has released $100,000 for the erection of a dormitory at Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Mo. ([ The State Board of Education has voted to discontinue secondary work at West Vir- ginia Collegiate Institute. Units of work now include colleges of education, engineer- ing, agriculture, industrial education, arts, science, home economics and business ad- ministration. Messrs. F. C. Sumner, Ph.D., psychology; A. P. Hamblin, B.S., biology; and E. L. Kelly, B.S., home economics, have been added to the faculty. The president is John W. Davis. C At the University of Chicago, H. Coun- cill Trenholm has been awarded the de- gree of Bachelor of Philosophy with hon- ors. He is a member of the Alphi Phi Alpha Fraternity. Mr. Trenholm will teach at the State Normal School in Montgomery, Ala., this year. G. Meta L. Christy, a colored girl of Koko- mo, Ind., has received the degree of Doc- tor of Osteopathy from the Philadelphia College and Hospital for Osteopathy. (I Walter L. Smith has been appointed to succeed Garnet G. Wilkinson as principal of Dunbar High School in Washington, D. C. Mr. Smith is a graduate of Howard University. He has been a teacher in Washington since 1902. ([ Prof. Roscoe C. Bruce, formerly Assist- ant Superintendent of Colored Schools, in Washington, D. C, has accepted the po- sition of Rural Supervisor of Schools in Huntington, W. Va. His salary is $3,000 a year. (I Fort Dearborn Hospital and Training School for Nurses has been opened in Chi- cago, 111. Negroes may enter for nurse training and interneship. 34 THE HORIZON 35 C. Since the beginning of the present school session, 15 rural school houses have been opened for Negroes in Tennessee. Julius Rosenwald contributed $50,000 toward fi- nancing this work. C. The Colored High School at Lynchburg, Va., opened this term with a Negro faculty. Many former students, who had dropped out while white teachers were in charge, have re-enrolled. d John W. Lee has been awarded a scholar- ship at the University of Pennsylvania. G. By making Grade A average, Charles H. Houston, a Negro law student at Har- vard University, has automatically become one of the editors of the Harvard Law Re- view. His average, 75 percent, is the high- est ever made by a colored law student. C Estella Lovett has been appointed As- sistant Principal at the Booker T. Wash- ington School in Kansas City, Mo. Miss Lovett was formerly Girls' Work Secretary at the Paseo Branch of the Y. W. C. A. C In Washington, D. C, the Dunbar High School opened this year with an enrollment of 1,267 as against 1,120 last year; the Armstrong Manual Training School reports an enrollment of 731, an increase of 242; at the Shaw Junior High School there are 319 students as compared with 215 on open- ing day last year. (I Charles Chandler, a Negro student in the Yale University Law School, has been ap- pointed a contributing editor of the Yale Law Journal. MEETINGS /"VVER 8,000 people were in attendance ^^ at the National Baptist Convention, Inc., which was held in Chicago. Dr. E. C. Morris, of Little Rock, Ark., was re-elected president. The Rev. Mr. L. G. Jordan re- signed the secretaryship, after 26 years' service. He was made secretary emeritus with a salary of $1,200 per year and a purse of $2,500. Dr. J. E. East, a returned mis- sionary from Africa, was elected to suc- ceed Mr. Jordan. The financial report shows $323,860 raised during the year. Dr. Morris denounced the plan of northern white Baptists to set up regional organiza- tions among Negroes. C The Lott-Carey Foreign Mission Conven- tion and the Women's Auxiliary have been held in Newark, N. J. The sum of $38,000 was raised for work in Africa, South Amer- ica and Haiti. Dr. C. S. Brown and Mrs. J. H. Randolph, of Richmond, Va., are pres- idents of the convention and the auxiliary. d More than 300 delegates attended the 8th triennial convention of St. Joseph's Aid Society, which convened in Jersey City, N. J. The organization has 100,000 mem- bers and property valued at $100,000; its cash balance is $50,000. Dr. Thomas H. B. Walker, of Jacksonville, Fla., is president. C Four thousand people attended the Bap- tist Convention, unincorporated, which was held in New Orleans, with Dr. E. P. Jones presiding. Dr. R. H. Boyd, corresponding secretary of the National Baptist Publish- ing Board, reported that more than $225,- 000 had been collected by the Board. With the addition of the National Baptist Theo- logical Seminary and Training School at Nashville, worth $250,000, the publishing plant is valued at $750,000. INDUSTRY fT,HE Square Deal Realty & Loan Com- ■■■ pany, a Negro enterprise in Kansas City, Mo., is conducting departments in real estate, insurance, mortgage loans and home building. Its capital of $250,000 is fully paid and non-assessable. It is paying quar- terly dividends of 8 percent. Samuel R. Hopkins is president. C At Buffalo, N. Y., the Haitian-African Coffee Company, a Negro concern, owns a 4-story building where colored people are employed in roasting and blending coffee. G Mr. R. S. Cobb, secretary of the Missouri Negro Industrial Commission, has published a bulletin on housing and health conditions in Missouri. (I A Negro clerk in the Jersey City, N. J., Post Office, Robert Evans, has been pro- moted to the position of statistician. C Among employees in the Department of Finance of Jersey City, N. J., are the fol- lowing Negroes: James Tate and Clarence Jones, rent inspectors; Gilbert Brown, jit- ney inspector, and Louis Faulkner, deputy sheriff. (I In Akron, Ohio, Norman Kerr is a sten- ographer in the Engineer's Office, being the first Negro clerk in this office. C Zora E. O. Tinsley, a blind Negro in Muskogee, Okla., owns 45 miles of tele- phone service. He has 49 subscribers who pay from $2.50 to $3.50 per month. Mr. Tinsley does his own line work, repairs in- struments and makes installations. (I Fourteen years ago, Charles Copper, a 36 THE CRISIS Negro, entered the Civil Service of Chicago, 111., as a junior clerk. He now holds a position in the Division of Pipe Yards and Stores, with 17 clerks, 13 of whom are white, under his charge. CI Up to April 30, 1921, the colored Berry & Ross Manufacturing Company, in New York City, made a net sale of $37,312; it paid to its colored workers, $14,560. G The report of the Laborers' Penny Sav- ings and Loan Company, in Waycross, Ga., shows that during the fiscal year ending August 31, 1921, the paid-in capital had increased from $28,811 to $47,463; deposits, from $68,318 to $97,060; total resources, from $107,705 to $149,677. The bank owns $16,025 worth of real estate, $7,301 in stock and Liberty Bonds, and has no bills pay- able. A dividend of 8 percent was declared. The officers are: Carlton W. Gains, presi- dent; Dr. H. C. Scarlett, vice-president; J. C. McGraw, treasurer; and O. R. Harper, cashier. G William A. Cornelius, a Negro in New York City, has been appointed to a clerk- ship in the Office of the Collector of In- ternal Revenue. His salary is $1,600 per year. G In the City Tax Office in Philadelphia, Pa., there are 2 colored deputy delinquent tax collectors, 2 deputy collectors, 7 senior grade clerks and 2 janitors. CRIME HP HE following lynchings have taken ■*■ place since our last record: Aiken, S. C, September 8, Mansfield Butler, shot; attacking woman. Aiken, S. C, September 8, Charlie Thompson, shot; attacking woman. Columbia, La., September 13, Gilman Holmes, burned; attacking ticket agent. Pittsboro, N. C, September 18, Ernest Daniels, hanged; attacking woman. McComb, Miss., September 19, Edward McDowell. POLITICS ^"EGROES have for the first time been -*-^ appointed to the Hudson County, N. J., Board of Election. The appointees are Mrs. Florence Jerome, Mrs. Rosa Frazier, Miss M. Goldsborough, Mrs. Ella Barksdale Brown, Dr. G. Warren Hooper, C. Bion Jones and Alderwin Thomas. G In the primary election in Baltimore, two Negro Republicans won nomination as delegates to the Maryland Legislature. The nominees are Attorney Arthur E. Briscoe, who has served a clerkship in the Legisla- ture, and David Robinson, a business man. Each candidate was fourth on his district list, with 1,148 and 1,700 votes, respec- tively. G Amos W. Scott, a Negro in Philadelphia, won Republican nomination for City Magis- trate. G In the primary election in New York City, two Negro members of the Board of Aldermen — Dr. Charles H. Roberts and George W. Harris, were re-nominated. G Negroes in Louisville, Ky., have organ- ized the Lincoln Independent Party. A full city and county ticket, with the exception of the judiciary, will be put into the field. FRATERNITIES IN Jacksonville, Fla., the Progressive Order of Men and Women has held its first Grand Congress. The Order, which was organized 10 years ago, has a member- ship of 1,500. Dr. H. W. James, Dr. John E. Ford and Professor N. W. Collier are officials, and the Hon. Mr. George E. Tay- lor is general organizer. Among measures adopted by the Congress is the erection of a $100,000 temple. G Masons in Indianapolis, Ind., have laid the cornerstone of a $100,000 temple. G The mortgage on the Masonic Temple in Jacksonville, Fla., has been burned. The temple is valued at $500,000. Mr. O. D. Powell is Grand Master. NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE HPHIRTEEN meetings to promote health ■*■ educational plans were held last month for ministers, physicians and leaders of public thought in Chicago by the Chicago Urban League. Dr. Ralph B. Stewart, of the United States Public Health Service, and Franklin O. Nichols, of the American Social Hygiene Association, were the speak- ers. G T. Arnold Hill, Executive Secretary of the Chicago Urban League, is serving as a member of the Executive Committee of the Unemployment Conference formed to han- dle unemployment in that city. G Through the Armstrong Association of Philadelphia, affiliated with the National Urban League, an athletic director for girls at the Durham Public School has been ap- pointed. Besides her athletic work with THE HORIZON 37 girls during the period allotted for recrea- tion, she is developing self-governing clubs. C The Home and School Vistors, formerly employed by the Armstrong Association as a demonstration of the possibilities of school visiting, have been taken over by the public school system — thus justifying the experiment of the Armstrong Association. (I In the neighborhood of one public school in Philadelphia, which has about 1,400 col- ored pupils, the work of a Home and School Vistor has resulted in the establishment of one of the best equipped day nurseries in Philadelphia, the Harrison Day Nursery. It has accommodations for 70 children. (T The Mayor's Unemployment Committee of New York City has as one of its mem- bers, James H. Hubert, Executive Secre- tary of the New York Urban League. C The "Fellows" appointed by the Nation- al Urban League for the school year 1921- 22 are: T. Lloyd Hickman, graduate of Denison University, assigned to the New York School of Social Work; Miss Kather- ine B. Watts, graduate of Fisk University, assigned to the New York School of Social Work; and Miss Myrtle D. Hull, graduate of Spelman Seminary, assigned to the School of Economics of the University of Pittsburgh. C The Annual Conference of the National Urban League was held in Chicago, October 19 to 22. Among subjects discussed were unemployment, the Negro migrant, plans for recording and interpreting statistics as a basis for practical social effort, industrial relations and co-operation between the races. (I The Department of Research and Inves- tigations of the National Urban League, of which Charles S. Johnson is the director, has completed a social survey of the Ne- groes in Flushing, L. I., and is now at work on a similar study in Hartford, Conn. It is working under the immediate auspices of the Mayor's Americanization Commit- tee. (I As a result of the child hygiene work which is being done in Newark, N. J., by three colored nurses appointed through the efforts of the New Jersey Urban League, Dr. Julius Levy, Director of the Bureau of Child Hygiene, reports that infant mortal- ity among colored babies for the first six months of 1921 was 106 per 1,000 births, while for 1920 it was 173 per 1,000 births, and for 1919 it was 171 per 1,000 births. This is a reduction in one year of 67 points. C Dr. George E. Haynes was appointed a member of President Harding's Unemploy- ment Conference, following protests of the National Urban League and its branches against the omission of Negro representa- tion. Dr. Haynes was assigned special work with the Committee on Community Civic and Emergency Measures in dealing with unemployment. Col. Arthur Woods, of New York, is chairman of this commit- tee. SOCIAL PROGRESS THE Reconnaissance Francaise, a bronze medal, has been awarded to Dr. Har- riet A. Rice by the French Government for services in the French military hospitals during the world war. Dr. Rice is a Negro graduate of Wellesley College and of the Women's Medical College of New York. G Victor R. Daly has been appointed to the staff of the Journal of Negro History, in Washington, D. C, as business manager. Mr. Daly is a graduate of Cornell. He served as a Lieutenant in the 367 "Buffalo" Regiment. C Mrs. E. D. Cannaday, a colored woman of Portland, Ore., has been admitted to the Bar. She recently pleaded a case in Judge Morrow's court and won her action. C New York City has its first Negro detec- tive sergeant, in the person of Wesley Red- ding. Mr. Redding has been connected with the Police Department 18 months. C A tablet in memory of Hayward Shep- pard is to be erected in Harper's Ferry, W. Va., by the Daughters of the Confed- eracy. Mr. Sheppard, a Negro porter, was the first person killed in the raid of John Brown. (I The price of business property which Dr. Charles E. Herriot purchased in St. Louis, Mo., is $30,000 instead of $80,000. C Mr. C. G. Williams, of Booneville, has been appointed Inspector of Negro Schools in Missouri. C The 25th anniversary of the Northeast- ern Federation of Colored Women's Clubs has been celebrated in Baltimore, Md. Miss Elizabeth Carter, of New Bedford, Mass., is president. (I In the national tennis championship meet, Tally Holmes, of Washington, D. C, won in men's singles, defeating Dr. O. B. Wil- liams, of Chicago. The scores were 6 — 4, 38 THE CRISIS 9 — 7, 6 — 3. In the women's singles, Miss Lucy Slowe, of Washington, D. C, defeated Miss Isadore Channels, of Chicago. Tally Holmes and Sylvester Smith were victors in the finals of the men's doubles. The mixed doubles championship went to Miss Esther Hawkins and Harold Freeman. Ted Thompson won the national junior title. d Miss Bessie Coleman, a colored woman of Chicago, 111., has become a certified avia- trix, after a course in aviation at the Con- drau School in France. (L Charles S. Gilpin, the Negro star in Eu- gene O'Neill's "The Emperor Jones," has been received in private audience by Presi- dent Harding. G At its recent session in Milwaukee, Wis., the Army and Navy Union elected John E. Smith, a Negro of Washington, D. C, as national historian. The vote was 149-17. C John H. Pride, a Negro in Elizabeth, N. J., is the winner of the 50 target mer- chandise event of the Duane Gun Club. Mr. Pride broke 49 clay birds out of a pos- sible 50; he had two competitors trying for second honors, with 47. In a 100 target match, Mr. Pride broke 97 birds. (T Samuel A. Barnett has been awarded a verdict of $100 against the Philadelphia Confectionery Company of Hackensack, N. J., for discrimination. C Earl Johnson, a Negro athlete, of Brad- dock, Pa., won the Masonic marathon race in Detroit. He finished 22% miles in 2 hours, 17 minutes and one-fifth of a second. (I Frank R. Willis, a Negro poultryman, won the Grand Championship at the Ken- tucky State Fair, defeating 3,850 fowls of all breeds for the honor. C The "Committee of One Hundred" to en- tertain visitors to the conference on the Limitation of Armament, to be held in Washington, D. C, has the following Ne- gro members: Messrs. Emmett J. Scott, D. W. Wiseman, W. L. Houston, George Cook, Henry Lincoln Johnson, W. A. War- field and James A. Cobb. C The African Progress Union of London, England, gave a public reception to Dr. W. E. B. DuBois, September 29, at the Portman Rooms, Baker Street. Dr. John Alcindor presided. C A pageant on the history of the Negro race called "The Open Door" will be given in New York City, November 22, at Car- negie Hall. It is for the benefit of Atlanta University. Educate Your Girl at The National Training School for Women and Girls Lincoln Heights, Washington, D. C. Among the best schools for women and girls in the United States. The School that develops CHARAC- TER and PERSONALITY. We fill our students with a burning desire to go out into the world and make not only a LIVING but a LIFE. COURSES 6th, 7th and 8th Grades, Normal Preparatory and Normal, Music, Business, Domestic Scieace and Arts Social Service Beauty Culture Physical Culture Ideal Location High Grade Teachers Thorough Training SEND FOR CATALOG Nannie H. Burroughs, President Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College Offers short courses in Auto Mechan- ics, Battery Repair, Acetylene Weld- ing, Ignition and Vulcanizing. For full information address: Division of Mechanic Arts Prairie View, Tex. MANASSAS INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL MANASSAS, VIRGINIA Beautiful location, 191 acres, fourteen buildings. Di- rect railroad connections. The only school of Its kind In historic Northern Virginia <*tate standard Four-Tear High School Course. Advanced Grade School. Business and Trade Courses. High moral standards. Prepares boys and girls to become useful men and women ; terms reasonable. For information address EDWARD D. HOWE, Principal Atlanta U niversity Studies of the Negro Problems 20 Monographs Sold Separately Addrwa ATLANTA UNIVERSITY CONFERENCE ATLANTA UNIVERSITY " ATLANTA, GA. Mention The Crisis. ONE DOLLAR AND A HALF A YEAR 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 tha 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, makns it possible for our professional and business interests to have suitable quarters— like the best had ty 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 FOB THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLOBED PEOPLE, AT 70 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YOBK CITY. CON- DUCTED BY "W. E. BUBGHABDT DU BOIS; JESSIE EEDMON FAUSET, LITEBABY EDITOB; AUGUSTUS GBANVILLE DILL, BUSINESS MANAGES. Vol. 23— No. 2 DECEMBER, 1921 Whole No. 134 PICTURES Page COVER. REPRODUCTION OF THE PLAQUE "THE THREE KINGS." By Meta Warrick Fuller. CELEBRATING THE BIRTH OF DESS ALINES IN HAITI 61 MEN OF THE MONTH 79 ARTICLES BUYERS OF DREAMS. A Story. Ethel M. Caution 59 WHAT EUROPE THOUGHT OF THE PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS. Jessie Fauset 60 PAN- AFRICAN DELEGATES 68 THE INTERNATIONAL BUREAU OF LABOR OF THE LEAGUE OF NA- TIONS 69 THE ARKANSAS PEONS 72 KUTTAN, THE SOUL. A Poem. Coralie Howard Haman 76 THE VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE. Langston Hughes 77 DEPARTMENTS OPINION 53 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE 71 MEN OF THE MONTH 77 THE HORIZON 80 THE CRISIS FOR 1922 We plan striking fiction ot Negro life, stories with pictures of Negro economic development, studies of present conditions in America, the West Indies and Africa. 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. 50 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 juit 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 Artt andJIciencea The Commercial Department The Department of Muiic\ 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 BORDENTOWN, N. J. A hl|h Institution for tht training of colored youth. Excellent equipment, thorough Instruction, wholesome surroundings. Academic training for all students. Courses in carpentry, agriculture and trades 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 medernly equipped. Terms reasonable. Fall term opens September IS, 1921. For Information address 7.\ 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 1980 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 20th, 1921. For further particulars and catalog, write LESLIE PnrCXXEY HILL, Principal, Cheyney, Pa. THERE WILL BE NO SUMMER SCHOOL FOR 1921 Mention Thb Caisis, THE CRISIS Vol. 23. No. 2 DECEMBER, 1921 Whole No. 134 ►uviorv Q^\i/-E-&-D\ifboLf PRESIDENT HARDING AND SOCIAL EQUALITY OR fifty years we who, pro and con, have discussed the Negro Problem, have been skulking behind a phrase — "Social Equality." Today President Harding's speech, like sudden thun- der in blue skies, ends the hiding and drives us all into the clear light of truth. We had our excuses perhaps in the past: about every problem of human relations lurks a penumbra of sha- dowing possibilities, which we would not discuss. It seems unnecessary, inappropriate, beside the point. And so defenders of the higher training of women have hestitated to explore sex freedom for females ; and lovers of democracy have declined to con- sider the possibility of the masses vot- ing their own wages. It is not that we have denied the ensuing problems that shadow our main object, but we have said with a certain truth : suffi- cient unto the present tangle is the obvious evil thereof. Let us follow the clear light and afterward turn to other darknesses. But sometimes this becomes sud- denly impossible. Sometimes the so- considered minor problem is so tre- mendous and insistent that it leaps to the fore and demands examination and honest facing. This is particu- larly so when we have not simply ig- nored the problem but have deliber- ately and cynically lied about it, de- nied it, and said not that "Social Equality" was not a pertinent and pressing problem ; but rather that it was no problem at all. The Birmingham Speech A ND now comes President Har- ^*" ding's Birmingham speech when unwittingly or deliberately the Pres- ident brings the crisis. We may no longer dodge nor hesitate. We must all, black or white, Northerner or Southerner, stand in the light and speak plain words. The President must not for a mo- ment be blamed because, when invit- ed to the semi-centennial of a great southern city of industry, he talked of the Negro instead of the results of profitable mining. There is but one subject in the South. The South- erners themselves can speak no other, think no other, act no other. The eternal and inevitable southern topic is and has been and will be the Black Man. Moreover, the President laid down three theses with which no American can disagree without a degree of self- stultification almost inconceivable, namely: 1. The Negro must vote on the same terms that white folk vote. -2. The Negro must be educated. 3. The Negro must have economic Justice. The sensitive may note that the President qualified these demands somewhat, even dangerously, and yet they stand out so clearly in his speech that he must be credited with mean- ing to give them their real signifi- cance. And in this the President 53 54 THE CRISIS made a braver, clearer utterance than Theodore Roosevelt ever dared to make or than William Taft or Wil- liam McKinley ever dreamed of. For this let us give him every ounce of credit he deserves. Social Equality T> 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