The Journal of Negro History, Volume 6, 1921Various
History
The Journal of Negro History, Volume 6, 1921
Various
African Americans -- Periodicals
This work presents valuable history in its introduction, which
consists largely of a sketch of the life of the founder of the
Phelps-Stokes Fund, Caroline Phelps Stokes. It is interesting to note
that she was a descendant of English Puritan ancestors, eminent for
their ability and Christian character. They early manifested interest
in the relief of the poor and in the enlightenment of the heathen in
foreign parts. From them, therefore, came much of the assistance given
to promote the Sunday School movement, Bible and tract societies,
missionary organization, the colonization enterprise, and the
abolition of slavery. With this record before her it is not
surprising, therefore, that Miss Caroline Phelps Stokes early united
with the church with a desire "to live the years that still remained
with a fixed and determined purpose to do her duty to God, regardless
of how disagreeable that duty might be."
Measuring up to this ideal Miss Stokes became interested in the Negro
race. She visited the South to inspect the schools for the education
of the Negro and impressed with their needs she thereafter lavished
upon them gifts which had a direct bearing upon the development of
education among these people. Among these were donations to the Haines
Industrial School, Hampton, and Tuskegee. Manifesting interest also in
the local problems of the race, she undertook to secure better housing
for the poor whites and blacks in New York City and established the
Phelps-Stokes Fund for the improvement of tenement house dwelling in
New York City for the poor families of New York City and for
educational purposes in the enlightenment of Negroes, both in Africa
and the United States North American Indians and deserving white
students.
There follows then a brief account of how the provisions of this will
have been carried out. Next one finds set forth a plan for
educational-co-operation and the scope of the work of the committee on
education which finally brought out the two-volume report of Dr.
Thomas Jesse Jones, the Educational Director of the fund. This is
followed by a brief statement on Negro education in the United States,
which is a resume of Dr. Jones's report. The more interesting part of
this volume is that which sets forth in detail the manner in which
this fund is being used by co-operation with the educational and
religious agencies in the South, by giving fellowships to students in
Southern universities to stimulate research into Negro life and
history, by assisting the work of the University Race Commission on
Race Questions, and that of the Southern Publicity Committee.
* * * * *
_The Negro Faces America._ By HERBERT J. SELIGMANN, formerly
Member of the Editorial Staffs of the _New York Evening Post_ and
the _New Republic_. New York and London, Harper and Brothers,
1920. Pp. iv., 319. Price, $1.75 net.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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