"Stretch forth thy hand; Jehovah bids thee come And claim the promise; thou hast had thy doom, If forth in sorrow, weeping, thou hast gone, Rejoicing to thy God thou shalt return. "Stretch forth thy hand, no longer doubt, arise; Look! See the 'signo' in the vaulted skies! Greet the new century with faith sublime, For God is calling now, this is thy time. "Stretch forth thy hand to God, the night is past; The morning cometh, thou art free at last. No brigands draw thee from thy peaceful home, But messengers of love to greet thee come. "Stretch forth thy hand to kindred o'er the sea; Our cause is one, and brothers still are we. Bone of our bone, one destiny we claim; Flesh of our flesh, thy God and ours the same. "Stretch forth thy hand: "What tho' the heathen rage" And fiends of darkness all their wrath engage. The hand of God still writes upon the wall, "Thy days are numbered; all the proud shall fall." "Stretch forth thy hand, nor yet in terror flee; Thick darkness but a swaddling-band shall be The waves and billows which thy way oppose Shall in their bosom bury all thy foes. "Stretch forth thy hand to God, 'tis not for thee To question aught, nor all his purpose see. The hand that led thee through the dreary night Does not thy counsel need when comes the light. "Stretch forth thy hand; stretch forth thy hand to God; Nor falter thou, nor stumble at His word. And if in service thou shalt faithful be, His promise of salvation thou shalt see." A PLEA FOR INDUSTRIAL OPPORTUNITY[30] BY FANNY JACKSON COPPIN FANNY MIRIAM JACKSON COPPIN, _the first Negro woman in America to graduate from college--Oberlin, 1865. From 1837 to 1902, teacher and principal of the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia._ [Note 30: Delivered at a fair in Philadelphia, held in the interest of the _Christian Recorder_.] The great lesson to be taught by this Fair is the value of co-operative effort to make our cents dollars, and to show us what help there is for ourselves in ourselves. That the colored people of this country have enough money to materially alter their financial condition, was clearly demonstrated by the millions of dollars deposited in the Freedmen's Bank; that they have the good sense, and the unanimity to use this power, are now proved by this industrial exhibition and fair.