Newspapers / Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.) / Nov. 26, 1936, edition 1 / Page 1
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and YE SHAIL KNOW THETRUTH, AND rHE TRUTH SHALT. MAKE YOU FREE.' - John viUtJte CHARLOTTE, N. C., THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1936 WHITE CITIZENS OF CHATTANOOGA PAY TRIBUTE TO THE REV. JESSE B. BARBER (The Chattanooga Times, Nov, 9) Speakers representing a cress section of Chattanooga’s citi zenship yesterday afternoon lauded the Rev. J. B. Barber, pastor of the Leonard Street colored Presbyterian church, and hailed his ten years as a Chattanooga minister as a fac tor in the civic, religious and social life of the city, which has had deep significance upon the relations between the races. The ceremonies were held in the Rev. Barber’s West Tenth street church, where ten years ago he came to a post which has come to rank as one of the city’s most important Negro churches. The meeting was sponsored by white citizens who have work ed with the minister for the past decade in an effort to im prove racial relations in Chat tanooga. The Rev. Barber has served as chairman of the colored section of the interra cial commission. The commission’s chairman, former Mayor T. C. Thompson, son of a Confederate army offi cer who was an adviser to Jef ferson Davis, sounded the key note at the gathering. “A meeting of this kind could not have happened in Chatta nooga ten years ago,” the form er mayor declared in paying tribute to the Rev. Barber’s work. “Chattanooga,” he con tinued, “today is looked upon as a community having better re lations between the races than any other city in the South. The Negro must have better play grounds, better schools, better housing facilities and better! health. His life and property must be protected. The Negro has asked us to co-operate and work with him.” referred to Br. Barber-as-j “my friend and a friend of man-1 kind.” ! “Dr. Barber is broad in vi sion, wise in counsel and un tiring in his work,” the former mayor asserted.' “I rejoice in his fellowship and lean upon him for counsel.” The subjects embraced in the discussions of the speakers cov ered a wide range. Housing fa 1 cilities for the Negro in Chatta nooga brought shafts of criti cism of the property owners from a number of the speakers. Prof. R. A. Kilburn, of the so ciology department of the Uni versity of Chattanooga, and J. Charles Poe, executive editor of the Chattanooga News, perhaps were most caustic in their crit icisms of the property owners. “Brother Barber, I wish we could promise you better hous ing facilities, but we can’t,” the university professor declared. “We are struggling against powers that rest in the vested interests—in the property owi> ers. As long as selfish interests find comfort in buying and sell ing of property, of receiving the increment from property, we cannot better the housing conditions. “As long as we allow Negro rentals to exist as they are now, there is no use in promising Dr. Barber that housing facilities can be bettered. I wish we could make the promise, but until we start living for the better ment of mankind, instead of liv ing for the betterment of the pocketbook, we will not have better housing facilities in Chat tanooga.” He referred to the Rev. Barber as the “Shepherd of his flock, a leader of his peo ple.” Dr. Kilburn, during the p$st two or three years, con ducted a housing survey of Chattanooga. Mr. Poe, speaking on land planning, said the South has lit tle in prospect “until we have a change of heart.” “The South is on the road to peasantry,” predicted the news paper editor. “I hope I have made it alarming enough. Ne gro schooling in the South, he said, is negligible, and in the southland there still “flits that ghastly spectre of the old plan : tation and King Cotton.” Ten j aiit farming and share cropping, i he declared, are “leading to the ! deterioration of not only the | soil, but the Negro.” Poe said ! that if +he white man keeps the ! Negro down, of necessity the \ white man must fall with him. He recommended a program of j making easier for the people ; land ownership, “and when I j say people I mean white and [colored.” The Negro, he said, should be encouraged, rather Than prohibited, to grow crops which would make him eco nomically independent, rather than “in debt to the landlord at the end of each crop.” Commissioner Eugene Bryan lauded the Negro minister and declared that “it is people like your minister here and you who control the underworld.” “If it was not for the minis ters and churchgoing people of Chattanooga, we could add 5,-] 000 men to the police force and then be unable to control the underworld,” Commissioner Bryan declared. “Crime is like filth, it breeds in the dark places. The ministers and churchgoing citizens rout the filth of crime from the alleys and dark places.” The city of fficial said he came to the meet-j ing “as a private citizen and as j acting mayor of Chattanooga to i mayor of Chattanooga to pay [ pay tribute to an outstanding j man of Chattanooga.” ’ “There must be some sent toi the electric chair and I am not blood-thirsty,” the commission er asserted. Resume of ’Work Given Mrs. Blanche Eisendrath gave a resume of the colored minis ter’s work in Chattanooga and said .she had arrived at, the corn elusion that “he is not one per son, he is an institution.” She praised his work at the Newton center and said the many activ ities he carries on mark him as a “pre-eminent leader.” The Rev. Dr. Lin D. Cart wright, pastor of the First Christian church, and the Rev. Dr. T. B. Cowan, pastor of the iflira I'resuy-wsrum ciiuicn, both paid, glowing tributes to the Negro minister. Dr. Cart wright s*aid he knew of no event “which has gladdened my heart mere than the opportunity to come here today and speak praise of this fine Christian man.” Dr. Cowan said the Pres byterian church is proud to hail the Rev. Barber and told the audience the Negro minister is welcomed in the church organi zation. Cartwright referred to Bar ber as a man of “fine culture, a rare sense of humility and de pendable.” Joe Dobbs, president of the Chattanooga Central Labor Union, said the Rev. Barber is a “true friend to organized la bor.” Organized labor, he said, during the past few months has increased the colored member ship to 500 and said the protec tion of. the rights of the work ing people lies in “organization so we can bargain collectively with our employers without in terference.” In that way, he continued, “we can have a bet ter life.” « Commissioner R. M. Cooke, of the parks and playgrounds de partment, too ill to attend the meeting, sent Ed Hargraves, di rector of recreation. Mr. Har graves said the Rev. Barber had been of considerable help to the department in its recreation program, and welcomes feis fu ture help. The department, he said, “is working and schem ing” for a better recreation pro gram for both colored and white in Chattanoga. The swimming pool project at Lincoln park has been approved by local authori ties and forwarded to the works progress administration for fin al approval, he announced. Program Outlined A. M. Pennybaclcer, secreta ry of the Chattanooga Young Men’s Christian Association, I outlined a program for better-' ment of the colored race in this city, which, he said, has been approved by an interested group. The program he outlined was better library facilities, better recreation facilities (gymnasi ums in the schools of the thick ly populated colored sections and of playgrounds), swimming pool at Lincoln park, adequate hospital facilities, religious leadership training,, crime abatement, better housing fa cilities and better streets, a colored camp and camping fa cilities, good-will and racial un derstanding. W. G. Foster, speaking on press relations, said the news papers of Chattanooga are anx ious to co-operate with the Ne gro in betterment of relations. Publicity, he held, is a strong deterrent to crime. Many fear to commit crime, he said, be er use they fear publicity. Estes Kefauver, attorney, said that enough laws have been enacted to protect the Ne gro and pointed out that he has the right to vote, to own prop erty and have it protected. The attorney, however, said the ad ministration of the law is not always for the benefit of the colored man. He urged the Ne gro to use his ballot to a better advantage and declared that too often the white and colored per mit their vote to be influenced by ulterior forces. The white people who compose the juries should be educated to the ne cessity of dealing with Negro criminals, when they commit the offenses against members of their own race, in the most stern manner, he declared. Commissioner T. H. McMil lan, of the city schools depart ment, discussing municipal pro gram, said the school is the agency through which crime, disease and other sinister forces arq combatted. R. C.* Reynolds presided iaif the meeting and introduced the speakers. Rev. Barber ac knowledged the tributes which were paid him. He is happy, he said, that the group which met to honor him “have been courageous enough to rise above the barrier of racial difference.” The membership of his church, the Rev. Barber declared, “is glorious in its fidelity—the Ne gro people of Chattanooga are my friends.” MICHIGAN AVE. BRANCH Y. M. C. A., BUFFALO, N. Y. The Michigan Avenue Y. M. C. A.’s Campaign for 1936 is over and it was a success! There is a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation in the hearts of those in the leadership of the Campaign to every one who helped in achieving the victory we enjoy. We went out for $3000.00, and on Monday night $3393.00 were reported. This means, as usual, that Michigan Avenue is over the top with a comfortable margin to spare. Personally, I am grateful for the privilege of again being the General Chairman of our Campaign. I hereby express my heartfelt thanks to Mr. Her bert T. Miller, our Campaign Director; Mr. Wm. H. Jackson, Executive Secretary; Mr. W. H. Jones, Chairman of Committee of Management; Mr. Mitchell Miles, Chairman of Special Gifts Committee; all the divi sion leaders and every worker who co-operated to make vic tory a realized fact in just 10 days of intensive campaigning. There are certain inescapable impressions one must have re garding the Campaign at Mich igan Avenue “Y”. First, to ob tain such a splendid corps of workers as we had means there are those who are so interested in our “Y” that they are willing to enter into sacrificial service for it. Secondly, it means that there is a discriminating sense of appreciation of the program and service of the “Y” in our community, evidenced by the hearty support given the Cam paign to the tune of $3393. (Continued on Page 3) BISHOP WILBUR P. THIRKIELD BY DR. KELLY MILLER Dr. Thirkield belongs to the later half of the generation of philanthropists who came South on the wave of enthusiasm for humanity which swept over the nation immediately after the Civil War. When he heard the call in 1883 to go to Atlanta as founder of the Gammon Theo logical Seminary, Presidents Ware of Atlanta, Tupper of Shaw, Cravath of Fisk, Howard of Howard, Rendall of Lincoln, Mattoon of Birld’e and Arm strong of Hampton had already been working in the missionary held for a decade and a half, and had founded the principal Negro colleges and universities for the higher education of the Negro race. When Thirkield entered the missionary arena in 1883 the wave of enthusi asm had reached its crest and wa$ perhaps beginning to re cede. An Iowa farmer and mer chant donated a quarter of a million dollars to the Methodist Episcopal Church to found at Atlanta an institution for the education of Negro ministers which was to bear the name of the donor and to be known as Gammon Theological Seminary. Rev. Thirkield, then a young man bubbling with enthusiasm and missionary zeal, was put in charge of this educational and religious enterprise. He threw into the work the fullest meas ure of enthusiasm, consecration and devotion of which his ar dent nature was capable. He gathered around him men of cognate spirit, .consecrated to the' uplift and reclamation of the Negro race through an ed ucated Christian ministry. Can didates for the ministry, under the persuasion of President TMrkield, flocked to this new Institution. Gammon Theolog ical Seminary was then, and still is, the only well endowed institution for the preparation of Negro ministers. The young men who were brought into close contact with Dr. Thir kield’s highly surcharged per sonality quickly caught a full measure of his enthusiasm and spirit. In a few years Gammon Theological Seminary turned out perhaps the most remark able group of Negro ministers to be found in any of our de nominations. Dr. M. C. B. Mason, secre tary of the Freedmen’s Aid So ciety; Dr. Pzavious O’Connor, Dean of Morgan College; Dr. C. N. Grandison, the most elo quent of them all, whose un timely dropping out was a trag ic calamity; Dr. Ernest Lyon, ex-Minister to Liberia; and Bishop Robert E. Jones are but samples of the fruition of Dr. Thirkield’s early labors. Six Bishops of the several Metho dist denominations are attribu table to his influence and pow er as an educator and inspirer of men. When Gammon had reached its zenith, Dr. Thirkield became Secretary of the Freedmen s Aid Society in charge of the ed ucational work of the Metho dist Episcopal Church among Negroes throughout the coun try. After serving efficiently in this capacity for a number of years he accepted the call to be come President of Howard Uni versity, the premier institution for higher education of the Ne gro, located at the National Cap ital. At the time he took charge of Howard, the cause of higher education had reached the low water mark in the mind of the philanthropic public. Industrial education, as symbolized by Hampton and Tuskegee, had all but monopolized the field. At lanta, Fisk, and Howard were thriving as a root out of dry ground, and living at a poor, dying rate. Dr. Thirkield threw into this field the full measure of his well known enthusiasm and ardor and gave to Howard University a newness of life. I was Dean of the College throughout his administration, and can speak with authority of the intensity of his devotion and the abundant success which was brought to Howard under his administration. Up to that time, the college was based on the admission requirement of Latin, Greek and mathematics after the traditional plan of the old New England Academy. He shifted the admission basis to the modern high school curricu lum upon which the subsequent growth and expansion of the college has since been based. In 1879 Congress appropri ated $10,000 for maintenance and instruction of Howard Uni versity. This initial appropri ation has been increased year by year until now it has reach ed over a million dollars. But until the coming of Dr. Thfr kield, the Government never had been known to contribute! a building to a private institu tion of any kind, tyPe or char acter. With unheard of audaci ty, Dr. Thirkield asked Congress to appropriate $100,000 for a new science building. At the time I conferred with Dr. Book er T. Washington, who was the world’s greatest expert on con tributions for the cause of Ne gro education. He was of the opinion that such a proposition was utterly impossible as it was contrary to the history and pol icy of the Federal Government to contribute buildings to pri vate institutions. But Dr. Thirkield accomplished the im possible. Thirkield Science Hall, which adorns the campus of the university, is a living monu ment to his audacity. This building might well be called “Thirkield’s Miracle.” He also secured from the government an engineering building and a modern heating plant. Under the last two adminis trations the Federal* Govern ment has placed on the Howard campus buildings to the amount of three or four millions of dol lars. But all of these are based upon the foundation which Dr. Thirkield laid. An account of President Thirkield’s administration of Howard would not be complete without mentioning the fact that on the 40th anniversary of this institution, he brought to the platform perhaps the great est aggregation of celebrities that has ever appeared, at once, on the rostrum of any in stitution in America, including President Theodore Roosevelt, Ambassador James Bryce, the author of “The American Com monwealth Andrew Carne gie, the world famous philan thropist ; Dr.' William T. Har ris, the philosophic Commis sioner of Education; the Hon. James A. Garfield, Secretary of the Interior, and son of Presi dent Garfield. Dr. Thirkield’s devotion to the high standard of education may be judged from the fact that he brought to the institu tion such men as Dr. E. E. Just, who has gained world recogni tion in the field of biological re search, and Dr. Alain Leroy Locke, the only Negro Rhodes scholar. Dr. Thirkield, impelled by the ambition of every Methodist preacher to become a Prince of his Church, resigned the presi dency of 'Howard University to become a'^Bishop of the Meth odist Episcopal Church, where he spent the last twelve years of his activ£ life. Though as Bishop he was a General Sup erintendent of the Methodist Episcopal Church at large, nev ertheless, he considered him self, and was regarded, as the special champion of the Negro membership in this great de nomination. He was active in securing the election of three Negro Bishops, with full status as Princes of the Church. Bishop Thirkield was the last of the great missionaries who gave themselves with detached consecration arid devotion for the uplift and redemption of the Negro race. THE REV. THOMAS B. HAR GRAVE, SR., PASSES TO HIS REWARD wer?th<fnt -I G°d* wel1 done” dose 0^^ ^marked the of tjle eventful life of sac nfice and service of the Rev. ter of tt%raVl’ <retired niinis r °f tke Presbytenan Church, born ^ r Mr‘ Har«rave was \ Lexington, N. C., in 11 19?fi dei?arted this «fe Nov. 11, 1936. He attended Lincoln wasVthetoIri? 1P?-ni?syIvania and was the oldest living graduate ?877WaST?raiUated ln the year was a Tn?m?eV‘ Hargrave was a pioneer, having done KV°rest?blish the <**rcto to in the e«ly SKS, H ield Pastorates at Carthage, Cameron, Laurin burg and Mt. Airy, and after 31 years 0f sacrificial service he Smilv " r9°a H«mov«ihi» tamfiy to Cincinnati where his children could receive better op portunities and early school ad vantages. Although he lived in a# distant State he never loaf sight of the value of our Chris ta11 schools and his children ail attended our Presbyterian schods m the South: Johnson V; kmith, Barber-Scotia, and Margaret Barber. The family is active in the religious arid civ £ lrffTof the city and the Rev. Mr. Hargrave was recognized *or1 contribution in service and Christian life. Paul Sulli van of the WLW radio news room, who is an acquaintance of the family, was the first to call and he gave a brief resume of his life. John Acklemrre, of the Cincinnati Post, and also the In quirer carried articles on the life of this humble saint. Funeral Service The funeral service was held at the Carmel Presbyterian church, the Rev. J. T. Douglas, pastor. Dr. Earl R. North, Ex ecutive Secretary of the Cin cinnati Presbytery, led in the invocation. The hymn, “He That Goeth Forth and Weep eth” led by Mr. Matthews, was sung by the choir. His favo rite Bible passages were read by the Rev. Dr. D. D. Turpeau, Dist. Supt. of the Lexington Conference of the M.E. Church. The Rev. Mr. Douglas made re marks. Rev. Samuel Isa, of the Ohio State University and a former pastor, made remarks. The choir then sang “Stand Up and Bless the Lord.7 The Rev. Army, a close friend, made the prayer. The pipe organ softly sent forth the Rev. Mr. Hargrave’s favorite hymns as the body was committed at the church. Active Pallbearers The officers of the church act ed as pallbearers as follows: W. C. Weatherly, Chester Dix, Robert Williams, Taylor Blatr, Edgar Gibson and Travis Dins more. * Honorary Pallbearers The honorary pallbearers were as follows: Father Oxley, St. Andrews Episcopal church; the Rev. L. W. Gray, Bethel Baptist church; the Rev. Dr. Sumter, Allen Temple A. M. E. church; Mr. Howard Greer, Mr. Jerry Guthrie, Mr. W. B. Young and Mr. Jesse Childs. Although nearing his 90th birthday, the Rev. Mr. Har grave was active until the day he was stricken with appendi citis. He was conscious of the fact that he was nearing his goal. Some time ago he wrote a beautiful sermon and called all the family around him and delivered it. The text was Matt. 7:13-14, “Enter ye in at the straight gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be that go in there-* at; Because straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” A few weeks ago he made his last visit to his old home in Lexington, and then wrote that he desired to see all his chilr. dren and grand children. When this desire was just about ful filled, he said “I am ready to de part,” and “Like one who wraps (Continued on Page 4)
Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.)
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Nov. 26, 1936, edition 1
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