9
THE OmCIAL ORGAN OF THE AfRI
1ST EPISCOPAL ZION CHURCH W
►AY, FEBRUARY 16, 192a.
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA.
VOLUME FORTY-SIX.
NUMBER SEVEN
Tri-Council oflBishops in Montgomery
-V RACIAL’ UPLIFT IS SLOGAN .
ADOPTED BY BISHOPS’ COUNCIL
“Union of the Methodist of Ameri
ca for a great racial uplift program.” ,
is the slogan of the tri-council of Ne
gro Methodists in session in St. John
A. M. E. church, Madison
Avenue near Ripley street. There was
not enough room in the church to ac
commodate the large crowd in the
Auditorium of the church Friday morti.
. ing.
Bishop R. S. Williams of the Col
ored Methodist Episcopal Church pre
sided, and in his opening remarks,
declared that the time was that Ne
e groes should all unite for mutual up
lift and good . 'We are enemies to sin,
and since sin is united we would over
i throw the devil and his kingdom then
* we must unite. ’ Bishop I. N. Ross of
the A. M. E. Church led in the opeil
ing hymn. ‘Blest Be the Tie that
Binds,’ and this was followed by a
prayer by Rev. Isaac Lane of the Col.
ored Methodist Episcopal church—a
manjvho has been preaching over a
half century and who is superannu
ated because of his age. Thfe prayer
brought tears to many eyes as well
as shouts of ‘amen’ from many
threats. The venerable prelate told
God about the trials and struggles of
*' the Negroes on earth, especially in
the United States and asked God to
take a hand in uniting them in faith,
in leve, in spirit and in one greilt
. . standing army against the devil and
his forces.
•n. Scripture Readfrig.
. BishopiN. C. Cleaves of the C. M.
•■■IE; Chutch, read the Scripture lesson
• and the second hymn was lined by
Bishop G. C. Glemeht of the A. M.
£. Zion Church and this was followed
by the opening sermon by Bishop
Blackwell of the A. M. E. Zion
Chureh. It was. a practical sermon,
. filled with information. ‘Suicide’ was
the theme discussed, and the bishop
took up first the world unrest caus
ed by the bloody war, resulting in the
destruction of human lives and proper
ty and followed by the unrest of to
, day, the unsettled condition of hu
man minds, which had caused many
human destructions. In his opinion
the destruction of human lives was
not the only self murder now, because
men who were careless in character,
who disregarded the truth, who were
destroyers of virtue committed un
aware at times suicide and often led
to.the murdeT of others.
Bishop Blackwell made a strong ap
peal for the ministers to be the pre
' . ’ servers of home life, that they live in
keeping with the doctrine they preach
ed. He is one of the strongest young
men in the Zion Church and is doing
a great work for his people.
Commuinion Service.
Holy Communion was administered
by a representative bishop from each
of the churches. Remarks were made
by Bishop Benjamin Franklin Lee, of
Wilberforce, Ohio, who is presiding
over Alabama. He is one of the most
remarkable men of his race. He has
served the A. M. E. Church as
* ; bishop for thirty years and has 'been
in the active ministry for the past
fifty-four years.
During the past "thirty years Bishop
Lee has presided over thirty states^
and has brought thousands into tHe
» " church. He w£s at one time president
of Wilberforce University, the oldest
C distinct Negro religious institution
in the United States.
Many Bishops Present.
The following bishops were pres
ent and took part in the meeting:
A. M. E., F. Lee, senior, C. S.
Smith, historian; L. J. Coppin, J. S.
Flipper, William p. Chappelle, John
Hurst, William H. Heard, W. W.
- . Beckett, I. N. Ross, Joshua A. Jones,
RACE RELATIONS PLANS EN
DORSED BY METHODIST LEAD
ERS.
The Tri-Council of the Board of.
Bishops of the A. M. E., fi.. M, E.
Zion and C. M. E. Churches conven
ed at llo’clock Friday morning in St.
John’s A. M.f E. church, Madison
(Avenue.
The church was crowded long before
time set for service.
The sermon of the occasion was
preached by the Rt. Rev. G. L,
Blackwell, LL. D., presiding bishop
of the Third Episcopal District of the
A. M. E. Zion Church. The bishop
took for his text Acts 16:28. “Do thy_
self no harm.” Subject: “Suicide.” „
He clearly brought out examples
of suicide and the tendency towards
it in recent time.
He dealt effectively with his sub
ject dealing at length with the cure,
which he said could be made poss
ible .
(lj By the elimination of the read
ing of- bad literature.
(2) By the stopping of defamation
of character.
(3) By the strict observance of
temperance—especially in the drink
habit.
(4) By the observance of right, and
; the discarding of those things which
are sinful.
The sermon was well received *and
The following aims and purposes of
! the Federal Council of Churches were
endorsed by the college of bishops
of the A. M. E., A. M. E. Zion
‘and C. M. E. Churches .
From time to time the Federal
Council has considered what might
be done to bring about a better situ
ation in race relations in America;
on several occasions the Council has
issued statements setting forth what
it cpnceived to be an application of
the principles of brotherhood in this
connection.
During the past year the executive
committee of the council has earnestly
considered what might be done to pro
mote justice and brotherly good-will
between the races.
To this end the commission on the
church and race relations was form
ed to give attention to the things
which will bring about a situation
in i;ace relations more consistent with
the ideals of Christian Brotherhood.
Surely amicable adjustment of, race
relations on this basis is a sharp chal
lenge to the churches.
At its first meeting in Washington
July, 1921 the new commission adopted
the following purposes:
1. To assist the sufficiency of Chris
tianity as the solution of race rela
tions in America and the duty of the
churches and all their organizations
to give the most careful attention to
this question.
2. To provide a central clearing
house and meeting place for the
churches’ agencies dealing with the
relations of-the white and Negro race
and to encourage and support their
activities along this line.
3/ Ttf promote mutual confidence
and acquaintance both nationally and
locally between the white and Negro
churches, especially by state and local
conferences between white and Negro
ministers, Christian educators and
Other leaders for the consideration of
their common problems.
4. To array the sentiment of the
Christian churches against mob Vio
lence and enlist their thorough-going
support in a special program of edu
cation on the subject for a period of
at least five years.
6. To secure and distribute accurate
knowledge of the facts regarding
racial relations and racial attitudes
in general and regarding particular
•. Continued to page 5.
ND ZION.
Forecast.
dison
I am thii
vey Goler, a
M. E. Zion
Jias he served
untiring, un<
It would be
value of his ii
church and ract
in the output
morale in the
ed the noblest
of Jesus Christ. j
resources of
ed economy .
.has been liberal
to institutions
sympathy he
and helped the
him . As a fri<
the needle is
In learning
with the ripest
His very int
and'association
guished Dr. J.
. William Har.
rock in the A.
For forty years
general church,
and unrivaled,
lit to estimate the
for good in the
. fie has superceded
and women and
. He has reflect
ts of the ministry
has conserved thp
lurch and advocat
man of means, he
his contributions
^the church. Full of
icored the poor
Peering ones about
; he is as true as
pole.
■ISoler is classed
of the time,
acquaintance
late distin
ielvOuld seem
■GEORGE WASHINGTON, Father of
His Country Born February 22, 1732
to entitle him to the honor of prepar
ing a replete biography of the great
orator and educator. This work
would naturally include both the his
tory of Livingstone College and at
the same time an autobiography of
the writer. To say the least such
work would find eager acceptance
with thousands and would be an in
valuable contribution to the litera
ture of the j*ace and nation. I wond
er if the venerable Doctor could be
induced to take up his pen and
write ? *
When the General Conference met
at St. Louis in 1904 the personnel of
the Board of Bishops was entirely
different to that of today.Eight bish
ops were at the opening of the session.
We have similar number of chief
pastors in the church today. Four
of the twelve who have “passed over
She river” since 1904 were elected
prior to that date. The field is larger
by far than ever before in the his
tory of our church and the work more
exacting and taxing. There is much
more being accomplished along cer
tain lines of endeavor in the church,
and the present Board of Bishops are
worked too hard to be criticized for
not doing more. It must be said to
the credit o3: the pastors and people
that the spirit of co-operation and
! Christian tolerance is evidenced to
a marked degree. Much can be done,
and a great deal is being done on
the part of our gallant loyal pastors
and laymen to relieve the strain and
i lessen the weight of responsibilities
1 on the over-worked bishops of the A.
M. E. Zion Church. To over tax the
capacity of a steel truck with weight
and friction is disasterousi to the
machine. Human capacity for load
bearing must be taken into account
by the legislature of the church, if
the lives and powers of the men elect,
ed to the bench are to be conserved.
We should eliminate such anxieties
from the duties of a bishop as cleri
cal intricacies, compiling of disciplin
es and other such matters.
Pittsburgh, Pa. v
IMPERFECT IN ORIGINAL I
Cithens of Athens Hear Dr. Moton
By Jesse O- Thomas.
Under the auspices of the Exten
sion Department of the Univetsity of
Georgia, a meeting on “Inter-Racial
Relationships Thru Religious ,£°-°P
eration” was held in the Colonial
Theatre, Wednesday night, January
25th. The principal speaker of the
occasion was Dr. R. R. Moton of
Tuskegee. Other speeches were made
by Judge Andrew J. Cobb of Athens;
Dr. James H. Dillard of the Jeans
Slater Fund; Dr. James R. Gregg
of Hampton Institute, Virginia; and
Mr. George Foster Peabody, Philan
thropist, Saratoga, N. Yj.
Dr. Moton spoke in part: “If I am
permitted to do so I shall follow my
usual custom in speaking on occa
sions of this kind. Whatever I am
to say for the few moments I am
to occupy on your program shall be
said in all sincerity, and with the ut
most frankness. I have long been
convinced that without frankness it
is impossible fdr any race to under
stand the longings, ambitions and as.
pirations of the other; and if I. have
any criticism on the policy of the
past, it would be that neither the
representatives of the white race, nor
the representatives of my own race
have been frank in discussing these
problems effecting so vitally our mu
tual understanding.”
to say a few words to
the average
that we all as an individual and as a
race may disabuse his mind of. He
has accused us^ of being shiftless,
lazy and non-reliable. It is our re
sponsibility. to convince him by actu
al example that we can be just as
reliable, and depended upon to dis
charge an obligation as they. Our
word is taken just as seriously by us
as the white man’s; or any other
man’s for that matter; and wherever
we are employed it is our duty *t0
demonstrate that the cost of unit pro
duction is not any greater when color,
ed people are employed than when
white people are employed; if any
thing, less. We can only do this by
practicing thrift and efficiency. The
average white man feels that the Ne
gro is ashamed of his race. Here
again we must disabuse his mind of
this erroneous conception of our at
titude toward our own racial group.
He must be convinced that we are
proud of our race, with its history and
its accomplishments; as the whitest
man that walks the face of God’s
earth.’ ”
“Now a few words, if you please
to the white friends: ‘Many white
people think that when a Negro seeks
the accommodation of pullman cars,
he wants to get near white people.
Now this is not true. The Negro
seeks pullman cars because he wants
to get a place to sleep' comfortably;
and would not give a rap of his
finger if there were not a wkite per
son ydthin 1000 miles of the berth
which he is occupying. When the
Negro fights the measure of segrega.
tion, some white people think its
because he wants to get near them.
To tell you frankly, the Negro is dia
metrically opposed, to any form of
segregation other than voluntary and
natural segregation. Negroes are op
posed to segregation by 'Legislative
enactment, for they know that so far
as they and their families and their
race are concerned, it means degrada
tion. It means poor lights, bad
streets, poor if indeed any, water
connections. Poor and almost some
times no police Mid fire protection.
The white people sometimes wonder
why colored people mistrust them—
question sometimes not only their sin
cerity, but their Christianity. My
friends, it is because there are so
many evidences of what seems to be
an organized effort to humiliate and
otherwise inconvenience the Negro ev
ei*yvifheite ho'turns, every day of his
life. Take the railroad' stations and
compare the accommodation given to
the colored people with the accommo_
dation accorded to the white people,
in waiting rooms, restaurants, etc.
The white peoplecan drive up to the
station and get out ofN their automo
bile or carriage under a shelter at
the station without being exposed to
the weather.. In comparison colored
people have to walk from one to two
hundred feet in the rain and other in
clement weather, however much they
may bje indisposed or feeble. Take
the accommodation on the railroad
train: The white ,people ride in steel
coaches and the Negroes ride in wood
en coaches, yet they both pay the
same fare. I know that Judge Cobb
and the other people here in this
building are not the representatives
of the people who are guilty of en
couraging' such indignities as are
mentioned. But my friends, it is not
sufficient that you yourselves refrain
from these cruelties and mal-treat
ments. We want that you should use
your influence to see our democracy
of which we boast, is not a mock;
and that it -can be applied with the
same practicality and force in Georgia
Continued to page 5.
^^ot^^rc^cai
the articles of Bishop C. Si Smith
of the A. M.E. Church of Detroit
Michigan, on the subject of: a Relief
Fund for the protection of our minis
ters and our genial Or. Moppin, pas
tor of the Metropolitan A* -M. E.
Zion Church: of St. Louis, Mo. on
his views of Organic Union of these
three great independent Negro Meth
odist organizations of America* and
heartily agree with these two high
Church prelates that the time has
come when something constructive
should be done by these three great
bodies that would set the whole Chris
tian Church in motion and unity, that *
would bring the spirit of Christ to
every human soul, and melt the, lit
tle selfish spirit to predominize rath
er than socialize.
Never before in the history of the
Negro race of America has the op
portunity to place the race upon the
highest plane of civilization and Chris
tianity been greater than that now be
ing held out to us through Organic
Union of the 3 great deliberate church
organizations. It wcrtild not only lay
the foundation for a new era of Chris
tian prosperity in the Negro race in
America, but would arouse the spirit
of unity in all civilized nations which
would cause them to rally their forces
on the line of unity, which would in
the future move many obstacles that
have a tendency to hinder the work
of 'Christianity, and set the world ef
humanity free, which they are en
titled to from the shedding of the
blood of our blessed Christ on Mount
Calvary, which gave every soul a
right to the Tree of Life.
Organic Union will not only cement
and concrete our spiritual welfare, but
will safeguaitf our domestic future
which is threatened with disaster
for the waptof unity. I do pray and
trust that the men at the head of
these three great Church organiza
tions, who stand for Christianity-will
take the lead in bringing about the
unity and our meeting at Montgom
ery en Feb. 8th will settle this ques
tion and the dawn of a brighter day
will soon prevail among us as a race
both in Church and State.
Now regarding Bishop Smith's Re
lief Fund for ministers: I heartily
agree with him,- that some general
plan should be put in operation that
Continued to page 5.
■