Unfettered: A NovelGriggs, Sutton E. (Sutton Elbert)
General
Unfettered: A Novel
Griggs, Sutton E. (Sutton Elbert)
African Americans -- Fiction; United States -- Race relations -- Fiction
At the appointed hour Dorlan entered the building from the rear door,
walked across the platform and took his seat. Somehow the world expects the
body of a man to give some indication of the soul within; wherefore all
pictures of Satan represent him as being ugly. Those who came to the
meeting hating Dorlan felt a more kindly feeling creeping into their
consciousness as they saw that heaven had thought kindly enough of him to
grant unto him the form of a prince, an intellectual brow, a truly handsome
face that wore a look of earnest, honest purpose.
As Dorlan scanned the audience his heart swelled with joy at its immense
proportions. Wrong though they sometimes were, Dorlan had the most profound
faith in the good intentions of the Negro masses. He held that the
intentions of no people on earth were better, and that the sole need of the
Negroes was proper light.
Dorlan's analysis of the situation was as follows: The feeling encountered
was largely a religious one. The Negroes believed unqualifiedly in the
direct interposition of God in the affairs of men. They believed in the
personality, activity and insidiousness of the Devil. They believed that
God had specifically created the Republican party to bring about their
emancipation. On the other hand they regarded the Democratic party as the
earthly abode of the devil, created specifically and solely for the purpose
of harassing them. Thus, whoever opposed the Republican party was sinning
against God; and whoever voted against that party was in league with the
devil.
Such were the views held by the less enlightened, Dorlan felt. In order to
meet the situation he had prepared a speech that traced from a human point
of view the development of the two parties. Once disabuse their minds of
the direct, specific heavenly origin of the Republican party, and the way
would be open to show, that as men made it, men could improve upon its
policies. So at the appointed hour he arose and began his speech. It
riveted the attention of his hearers, and they listened with eager ears to
Dorlan's recital of the workings of the forces and counter forces that
brought about their emancipation. Freedom had burst upon them so suddenly,
was so glorious a boon, that their simple minds readily concluded that it
dropped bodily, as it were, from the skies. They were now glad to gain a
clear understanding of that phenomenal happening. Their feelings of
resentment died away entirely, and they who came to jeer, frequently broke
forth into applause.
Dorlan closed his speech with a thrilling peroration, urging the Negroes to
gird themselves for the holy task of carrying to the uttermost parts of the
earth the doctrine of the inherent, inalienable equality of all men.
Morlene could scarcely repress tears of joy over the happy turn of events.
But her joy was to be short lived.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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