The Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny of the Colored People of the United StatesDelany, Martin Robison
History
The Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States
Delany, Martin Robison
African Americans
The laws of the Republic of Liberia provide for a common school in
every town. It is supposed, however, that where there is a mission
school, accessible to all children of suitable age, no other school
exists; so that, in fact, nearly all the common schools in Liberia
are connected with the different missions, the missionaries have
the superintendence of their studies, and the Missionary Societies
defray a large portion of the expense. Yet it must be remembered
that a large majority of the missionaries are citizens of the
Republic, and some of them native Africans; so that the immediate
control of the schools is not generally in foreign hands. A
portion, also, of the missionary funds, is contributed in Liberia;
and something is paid by parents for the tuition of their children.
Yet the Republic evidently needs an educational system more
independent of missionary aid and control; and for that purpose,
needs a supply of teachers who are not raised up in mission
schools. And we have it in testimony, that the missions themselves
might be more efficient for good, if well supplied with teachers of
higher qualifications.
Here, then, we have a Republic of some 300,000 inhabitants, of whom
7,000 or 8,000 may be regarded as civilized, and the remainder as
having a right to expect, and a large part of them actually
expecting and demanding the means of civilization and Christianity.
We have,--supplying as well as we can by estimate, the numbers not
definitely given,--more than 2,000 communicants in Christian
churches, and more than 1,500 children in Sabbath Schools; some 40
day schools containing, exclusive of the Methodists, who are the
most numerous, and of whose numbers in school we have no report,
about 635 scholars. The whole number in day schools, therefore, is
probably not less than 1,200. We have the Alexander High School at
Monrovia, where instruction is given to some extent in the
classics; the English High School, at the same place, under Mr.
James; the Methodist Manual Labor School and Female Academy at
Millsburg; the Baptist Boarding School at Bexley; and the
Protestant Episcopal High School at Cape Palmas. These institutions
must furnish some students for a higher seminary, such as we
propose to establish; and such a population must need their labors
when educated.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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