Half a Man: The Status of the Negro in New YorkOvington, Mary White
History
Half a Man: The Status of the Negro in New York
Ovington, Mary White
African Americans -- New York (State) -- New York
Printing establishments, tailors' shops,[1] express and van companies,
and many other small enterprises help to make up the Negro business
world. One colored printer brings out an important white magazine. There
are seven weekly colored newspapers, of which the New York _Age_ is the
most important, and two musical publishing companies. All these
enterprises are useful, not only to the proprietor and his patrons, but
especially to the clerks and assistants who thus are able to secure some
training in mercantile work. In the white man's office, white and
colored boys start out together, but as their trousers lengthen and
their ambitions quicken, the former secures promotion while the latter
is still given the letters to put into the mail box. If the Negro lad,
discouraged at lack of advancement, leaves the white man and ventures
with a tiny capital into some business of his own, his ignorance is
almost certain to lead to his disaster. He is indeed fortunate if he can
first work in the office of a successful colored man.[2]
We have one more census division to consider, Professional Service. The
table runs as follows:
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Key to column headers--
A: Total number of males in each occupation.
B: Number of Negroes in each occupation.
C: Number of Negroes to each 1000 workers in occupation.
========================================================
| A | B | C
------------------------------------+--------+-----+----
Actors, professional showmen, etc. | 4,733 | 254 | 54
Architects, designers, draftsmen | 3,966 | 2 | 0
Artists, teachers of art | 2,924 | 13 | 4
Clergymen | 2,833 | 90 | 32
Dentists | 1,509 | 25 | 16
Physicians and surgeons | 6,577 | 32 | 5
Veterinary surgeons | 320 | 2 | 6
Electricians | 8,131 | 18 | 2
Engineers (civil) and surveyors | 3,321 | 7 | 2
Journalists | 2,833 | 7 | 2
Lawyers | 7,811 | 26 | 3
Literary and scientific | 1,709 | 10 | 5
Musicians | 6,429 | 195 | 30
Officials (government) | 3,934 | 9 | 2
Teachers and professors in colleges | 3,409 | 32 | 9
| | |
Total including some occupations | | |
not specified | 60,853 | 729 | 12
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Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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