Fifty Years of Freedom: with matters of vital importance to both the white and colored people of the United States — John Shaqi
Fifty Years of Freedom: with matters of vital importance to both the white and colored people of the United StatesGrimké, Francis J. (Francis James)
History
Fifty Years of Freedom: with matters of vital importance to both the white and colored people of the United States
Grimké, Francis J. (Francis James)
African Americans
It is not necessary, he admits, to know anything personally of the
candidate—anything about his character or qualifications; it is enough
to know that he is a Negro or of Negro descent, to disqualify him for
any office under the Government. And this, he affirms, is the sentiment
of all Southern senators. Even a man like President Wilson, with all his
brains and culture and high Christian character, or rather, I would say,
avowal of high Christian principles, after nominating Patterson for the
position permitted him to withdraw from the contest in the face of
Vardaman's declaration, "No government office should be held by a
Negro." And instead of sending in the name of another colored man, in
order to rebuke that sentiment, he sent in the name of an Indian, which
was a virtual acceptance, on the part of the President, of the position
taken by Vardaman and other Negro-hating senators. And the fact that a
white man was named almost immediately afterwards for the post at Hayti
shows how completely the President has surrendered to the dictation of
Southern Negro haters. If the progress we have made during these fifty
years has had so little effect upon a man like Woodrow Wilson, how much
is it likely to have upon the average white man? Any one who has kept in
touch with the movements of the last half century that have had to do
with this vexed question, cannot fail to see that the two phases of the
race issue have very little to do with each other. The development
within the race has had no appreciable influence in creating within the
white man a disposition to behave any better towards the colored man, to
accord to him his rights, to treat him as a man, as a citizen, as a
brother. So far as we may judge from the experiences of the last fifty
years and from what is transpiring about us to-day, there is no hope of
things ever being any better as the result of race improvement. It is
right, of course, for us to make the most of our opportunities, and to
press forward as rapidly as possible along all lines of endeavor,
material, intellectual, moral, spiritual; but let us not be deceived,
let us not imagine, though we ourselves will be greatly benefited by
such a course, that the attitude of the white man towards us will change
for the better in consequence. There may be a change in him, let us hope
that there may be, but if it comes at all, it will come in some other
way. It will not be because we are improving ourselves, because we are
getting to be more intelligent, are getting more property, getting on a
higher social plane, getting to be more virtuous, more self-respecting.
That kind of thing has little or no influence in favorably inclining the
average white man towards the Negro. It makes no difference what he has,
what he has achieved, what he has made of himself, he is still only a
Negro, is still undesirable, is still to be hedged about by limitations
and restrictions.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account