I teach them _Power_ to will and do, But only now to learn anew My own great weakness through and through. I teach them _Love_ for all mankind And all God’s creatures; but I find My love comes lagging still behind. Lord, if their guide I still must be, O let the little children see The teacher leaning hard on thee! Employment of Colored Women in Chicago From a Study Made by the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy In considering the field of employment for colored women, the professional women must be discussed separately. They admit fewer difficulties and put a brave face on the matter, but in any case their present position was gained only after a long struggle. The education is the less difficult part. The great effort is to get the work after having prepared themselves for it. The Negro woman, like her white sister, is constantly forced to choose between a lower wage or no work. The pity is that her own people do not know the colored girl needs their help nor realize how much they could do for her. Two of the musicians found the struggle too hard and were compelled to leave Chicago. One girl of twenty-three, a graduate of the Chicago Conservatory of Music, is playing in a low concert hall in one of the worst sections of the city, from 8 in the evening till 4 in the morning. Her wages are $18 a week, and with this she supports a father and mother and younger sister. There are from fifteen to twenty colored teachers in the public schools of Chicago. This information was obtained from the office of the superintendent, where it was said no record was kept of the number of colored teachers. When they are given such a place they are always warned that they are likely to have difficulty. As a rule they are in schools where the majority of the children are Negroes. They are all in the grades, but they say that their opportunities for promotion are equal to those of white women. Indeed, they say that there are two places where they are not discriminated against because of their color. One is in the public schools, the other is under the Civil Service Commission. However, the professional women do not have the greatest difficulty. The real barriers are met by the women who have had only an average education—girls who have finished high school, or perhaps only the eighth grade. These girls, if they were white, would find employment at clerical and office work in Chicago’s department stores, mail order houses and wholesale stores. But these positions are absolutely closed to the Negro girl. She has no choice but housework.