Newspapers / The Star of Zion … / Nov. 30, 1922, edition 1 / Page 5
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BISHOP G. L. BLACKWELL SUF FERS RELAPSE. As the paper goes to press we are In receipt of the following night let ter: Norlina, N. C. Bishop G. 'L. Blackwell has been «ick for several days, takes | worse to day on the way to Wakefield, Va. Had to stop in Suffolk where he Will jbe for a few days under doctor’s care. From: W. H. TAYLOR, Rockingham, N. C. THE AMERICAN NEGRO. (Continued from page 1) • anese delegation sat stern and silent an council while their late allies swept aside their plea for racial 'equality, an observant onlooker reg. istered their ominous bearing. They will not soon forget that painful de feat of the justice which is Chris tianity’s real strength. It is urged that whatever are the faults and crimes of Western civilization, at least it is capable of progress. But the typical American or Briton who wishes to be the cause of as many changes as possible in his environ. VJtoent makes a fetish of progress und adores it even when it is no more than the ethical camouflage of his burning desire for constant change. He glories in the soietatific method of life, whereas the typical 'Chinaman, says Dr. Bertrand Rus. *ell, has a far more ethical concep. tion of the ends of life. This distinc tion, which separates East and West tar more effectively than we suppose, will have to be recognized by those who have substituted pagan for Christian conceptions of races and nations. » Every Negro Entitled to Justice. Much I have said applies to the American Negro. In the language of Senator Calder, “Every colored man and woman in this republic and mil. lions of its white citizens, believe that the Negro wherever he lives within our boundaries, is entitled to justice and fair play at all times, no matter What |the provocation may be." These are the sentiments of true religion and of true statesman snip . The Americans who are not willing to identify themselves with •them and to include the honest, In. dustrious Negro in the range of their good will are not loyal adherents of democracy. In defense of his reac. tion, the white rebel against democ. racy asserts that 'the Negro is ad. dieted to race consciousness. Grant. Ing that the assertion is true is race consciousness an unpardonable of fense, and if so, who is guiltless of ft? I submit that such a conscious, uess, as distinguised from racial pride, tyranny and exaction, is as proper-and seemly as personal self, respect. If it be true, and I think it is true, that since the World War the Negro has shown an intensified desire to assert his rights, I for one am content that he should do this so long as he also asserts his du ties with his rights. Nothing can be permanently done for people who have lost self.con. fidence and self .courage. The resolu. tion to overcome difliculties and to achieve meritorious success depends upon a due respect for one’s self and tor one’s race. Why, then," should the Negro he penalized for traits which we ettcOl in the white man? It 1« highly important that those traits shall be directed by moral mo tives and toward moral ends. Pro. vided they are thus directed, the Negro is justified in his ambition to become what his Creator intends him to be—a man, erect, candid two. handed, capable, self_supporting, and as such a valuable asset to the home and the community. In these rela. tions he is legacy and morally enti tled to the fraternal intercourse of his fellow citizens. I shall not com. ment at length upon the almost in. superable obstacles which the Negro nas had to encounter. Part of the divine account against us for <our treatment of him was paid s in the strife of 60 years ago. A fur. ther settlement is inevitable unless we put into actual and effectual working those measures of equity and benevolence which are intrinsic in a genuinely democratic govern, ment. / 1 • ! r!*af£p A Square Deal for the Negro. The incentive to insist on a “square Y ' , • deal” for the Negro is furthered by his remarkable advance since eman_ dpation. In 1886 he owned but 2 12,000 homes in the country; toda^ " he owns 600,000 homes. Fifty .three years ago he operated less than 20 . ’• 000 farms; today he operates exclu. 1 sively more than a million farms. ■ One year after Lincoln’s death the • Negro conducted 2,100 business es. • tabliifchments. Today he conducts 50,_ • 000 of these establishments.. There was no regular school ing for his children when Lee and Grant met at Appomattox. Now 40,000 Negro schools have been built, with an attendance of 1 800,000 chill, flren and an annual expenditure of $15,00,0,000 for their education Nearly ' 50,000 churches minister to the Negro’s 1 religious needs. They have a mem. bership of 5,000,000 adults and young ' people, and represent an investment of $85,000,000. These statistics are unequaled for magnitude and signif icance in the history of any similar, ly enslaved race since time began. ^ Consider the Israelites, who knew ' the bitterness of human bondage, and filled their early records with • their tears. Yet they did not inherit as much during their first 500 years • of residence in the Promised land 1 as the Negro has created in the last [ iialf century by h{s own arduous ef. forts in this land. How much more ' he might have created had his strug gles against a hard fate been sooner ^ welcomed and aided by his white ■ brother. Negro Remains Isolated. Let us suppose that this platform ' is rejected by extremists of both ’ races. The alternatives are that the ’ Negro will either sink into inertia and sullen discontent or else build up his own organizations for im. provement. Bn both cases he remains isolated, and the isolation is any. thing but healthy for us all. What temporary advantages he may secure will be at the sacrifice of construc tive contact with the whites. Nor does it need great prevision to detect in that isolation abundant material for further race friction. One could sicaroely censure the Negro if he decided to go forward independent, ly. He has been rebuffed cheated, made the pawn of politicians and the butt of dishonest tradesmen and landlords. If a colored Sinn Fein should start and prosper and un. doubtedly reasons coulid be adduced in its behalf—it would be a dangerous development. Negroes Up and Doing. How many Negroes in this and other cities are up and doing with men like Dr. Proctor, William EL zy, Mr. Baldwin and with the splen. did Georgia Plan for Racial Better, ment,? Surely there is ‘no* need of race hatred in this republic. The best men and women of both races involved should combine against their common enemy. And he is that man, be he black or white, who sows disaffection, contempt calum ny and lies. In this relation’I advise you to procure and read'the Report on the Chicago Race Riots issued by the committee appointed by ex. Governor Lowden. Mark how in that disgraceful episode, yellow journal ism) fou’ quarters, bad housing and the plunderbunds which rob the Ne. gro, played the principal part. The old dodge of suppressing these caus es of serious trouble will not serve again. To punish the Negrd'for de. fending himself and his home against wanton and unprovoked attacks is a sure wa of arousing the slow but inevitable and righteous wrath of the American people. Our Southern brethren are increasingly determin. ed to end-the lynchings which have stained their annals with barbarism and butchery. Our Northern brethren are nonplussed and outraged by those ferocious exhibitions of animus against the Negro from which they were wont to thJnk themselves im mune. Unless the states, north or south? cleanse themselves of the in. ; iquity of lynching, the AntLLynch law will be made sternly effectual I against those whose unspeakable savageries have made Americans blush | for their nation. Public sentiment is i crystallizing on this question, and ’ the economic situation of the south j I which requires, colore i labor for the I I cultivation, of its crops, accelerates ! i the process. I send forth a word pf j t good cneer to our colored citizens I < and bid them stand fast, play the ’ £ man, and by self.improvement, thrift g and perseverance build a solid foun. v. r dation for their sons and daughters. _ To be productive instead o£ non_pro. t ductJve, to be polite instead of boor. r i|h, to endure today what* can and i shall be abolished tomorrow because . of your patience; these are the . routes to fair play and justice. The* standards of Negro loyalty, religious. > ness and devotion to benefactors . are, on the whole, still intact, and maintained. But the hour has struck when every Negro must either be a credit to his race or else its be. i trayer, and when every white man ■ who treasures our domesti unity and integrity will have to cheerfully co_ operate for these ends with all like. ; minded people. —Brooklyn Daily Eagle. METHODISM’S EAGERNESS FOR ROME. . “ (Continued from Page One) the Roman Catholic Church may come to see the folly of trying to impose medievalism on modern peo. pies, of trying to save men through religious rites largely pagan and politics yet more pagan. Why is an appeal made at this time for the strengthening of our work in Rome? Because a great door and effect, ual is opened to us, and the adver. saries are not only many, but are more determined, than ever to hinder if not wholly destroy our work. Be. cause Roman prelates in this coun. try, who would if they could subject all Americans to the domination of Rome? are misrepresenting the char, acter of the work we are doing and are seeking to create a prejudice against Methodism at home and lumbus have bi.jn incited by Roman authorities to counter our work. That the* dOor may not be closed against us and an opportunity for large service to a people in need and iin peril from unbelief and discour, agement be lost, the appeal now be. ing made on behalf of our whoie work in Italy, and especially of the Monte Mario enterprise, should re. ceijre prompt and liberal response. —Pittsburgh Christian Advocate. “OUR PEOPLE DIE !WELL.H|— JOHN WESLEY. ——•—- iH^::A***** We prepare ourselves for the Great Adventure called death, not by thinking about death, but by thinking about Christ; not by living constantly in the shadow of the grave, but by living constantly in the light of eternity. If we follow the Master whithersoever He leads us in our daily life here and now we shall find Him waiting to lead us when we drhw near the valley of the shadow, and that means that there will be no fear there. As Phillips Brooks so beautifully puts it, “To welcome all His leadings now so cordially that we shall know our Leader when He opens the last great dooiy to be always following Him so obediently that we shall have faith to follow Him when He leads us into the river and into darkness— this, and only this, is readiness for death.”—Andrew Gillies. _ —Christian Advocate ROBERT SPEER SPEAKS We sat at a luncheon in honor of Dr. Robert Speer, president of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America, who was able to give Chicago, a few hours last Thursday. Hundreds of churchmen were present to hear his words of greeting after his visit to the Far and Near East. Dr. Speer comes back with a tremendous burden on his soul. Pleasing catch words that were framed before the war have faded away.i The rosy view of Christian, civilization held previous to that awful event has vanished. There is no such thing as a Tbenevolent development. There is an eternal battle _ waging even though - treaties are signed and armies are dissolved. War is raging yet in even a more crit ical sense than in the years 1914-4&, Dr. Speer differentiates between the political convictions and policies and those held by the common people. > Tiie-fact that every nation in Europe to-day is suspicious of every other na tion and that armies are held in readi ness for another conflict, is not due to the feeling of the common people. He declared ther* was no racial hate among the people only as it is en- 1 gendered by political leaders. There / is abroad in tfce world, notwithstand ing the reports of dissension given to us through the public press, a deep undercurrent of brotherhood. This feeling is intensified by the common pangs of pain. ' Hunger is hunger, wherever you find it. Poverty is pov erty, whether in Hongkong or New York. The interest of the world is a single interest, born of common in stincts, nourished by common emo tions. “Who can devise a prescription for l the common, good?” he asked. The speaker then went on to say that all foreign peoples are looking to Amer ica for this prescription. They imag ine us to be unified in spirit and in action. They lose sight of our hetero genous composition. They think only , of the fact that we are a great people* possessed of an idealism that can be of aid to them if it is only exercised in their behalf. Are we to come to their assistance? That is the question he raised, and no one can dispute the an swer he gives. Dr. Speer declared that the greatest moral contribution that can be made to the world to-day is comprehended in the. principles of Jesus Christ as exemplified in evangelical Protestant ism. He reviewed the many problems, that are confronting the American people, such as the church and indus try, the church and the race question, and the church and international re lations. Under the subject of indus try he quoted Paul’s declaration, “The head of every man jis Christ.” “If that be true, then Christ is the head of the Standard Oil; he is the head of Quaker Oats; he is the head of the United States Steel.” He enforced up on his hearers that the proyince of the church is to press the principles of Je sus Christ upon institutions as well as on men. A Christianity that is content with merely being individualized, and not being institutionalized, is unequal to the task of to-day. Under the question of race he made the impressive statement that it was not the fault of the white man that the 12,000,000 blacks of this country have not by this time reacted in dis astrous manner. It is only the pa tience of the Negro race and their in born Christian impulses that have kept them peaceful and given them a grip on themselves. y" The speaker concluded with a most telling appeal for the church of Jesus Christ working through the Federal Council of Churches as the only or ganization not controlled by “mixed motives.” It is the “unmixed motive” that must prevail.—Northwesterif Christian Advocate. ECHOES FROM THE LAND pF THE SKY.— PARAG^RAphJrlC COMMENTS ON MEN AND MEASURES, ETC. The Perplexing Condition that Con_ fronts Us By Rev. E. M. Argyle, B. D. It is an undeniable fact that today the bishops of our Church are bedmg put to it to get men to fit in certain charges in their respective districts. It is a worry and mental tax to please certain men and at the same time please certain churches. There is a clasps of men known as ministe rial migratory birds of passage who tjtensfer from one conference to another and usually seem to be only fit for big churches. Most of ^em have about gone abound and big churches are not being developed out of small ones fast enough to fur. niish places for these big men; there, fore the bishops have a hard time in trying to satisfy these two condi tions that confront them. The class of young men coming into the mim istry out of our schools look for the best charges^ hnd because of their literary training they are often given some of the best, and they go to big churches without experience in or adaptability to the work, and they usually fail^ and through favoritism they are shifted to another charge; and so on until they learn by bitten experience the lesson of "go, get ’em.” It is known throughout the connection that some of our strong, est (?) men are failures, yet they seem to have a “pull” -of some sort, and they, are kept on the roost. No one can or should wonder that so many of our bishops become physical wrecks—torn to pieces by thes-j mental worries of “placing men ” They sooh. become nervous and sleep less? and then break down. W"a: is 2 o of a real full bench of bishops, and. p the blending of the districts. 8 Who is Wft0 in Zion. * In this column of “who is who in ’ Zion" we do not dedicate our scrih. blings to the great and mighty men who are constantly being spoken of in the press and lauded to the sky by a class of writers who’ either wish to curry favors or be spoken of in f soothing words themselves. TJiis s smacks of truckling to us. I There is a class of men in the . church, doing herculean work stand. . ing on the watchtowers of the churchy coming up to the conference . each .year with splendid reports. T These men do not complain orgrum. , ble. They are not of the favored ; class. They toil on not doubting that [ in good time they will come into their . own. In this class is a young man ; who came before the writer many years ago—who was an the Commit, tee on examination of applicants for ; admission into the annual conference ; of one of our southern conferences. [ This young man became peeved at s what he thought was an unfair ques. - tion, and irritated the committee, i. The writer plead with the committee i to recommend him for admission and . fiinally they yielded. He joined the , conference and at once entered Liv. . ingstone College, and Lincoln Uni. - versiity, to prepare himself for the i %ministry. This young man is one of : the mpstanding young men of the i church, with a splendid home a cul. : tured wife, who is one of the best ! women the writer has ever met. That • young man today pastors one of the s leading charges; is a splendid • preacher, and pastor. He is loved i and respected by all who know him. ; That young man is Rev. E. O. Cow. an, A. B., of Statesville, N. C. ■ Rev. W. D. Lyons, D. D., comnec. tional evangelist, is not only a whirl, wind pulpiteer, hut a successful pas. tor. His earnestness in pleading, with men to forsake the path of sin his enthusiasm in. spiritual singing, make him a mighty force in a revhr- ’ al. He has a record of many years of success in his labors for Zion. He Ik 1 one of Zion’s wat^hmeh. .. r; It is a shame that some of our gen. : •! '■> eral preachers can only spare an af_ ; ter collection to a general officer. It ■ ’* ’ is an insult to the. dignity ofthe of. ': i ;? fice, and yet many of our brethren ’ are so close they camnot spare any .. - more than an after collection. . Everybody knows that all our bish, ops head the list of “who is who In Zion,” but we fear to put them in this column and speak of the splendid achievements of any one of them, for some of them, when you desire to speak, of them in terms of endear, rnent^ and point to them with pride as a galaxy of the greatest mem among ua, think W@ are trying to find fault and spend useless moments in - futile attehipts to muzzle the minds of free thinker's and free mem. After years of wrangling over what kind of matter is suitable for the columns _ of The Star of Zion, and after many fruitless efforts to intim. idate and frighten the, editor, and his. half score of correspondents, the bishops of our churfch have wakened to the fact 'that there were others in the church who knew what was fit to print, and that the editor of The Star , of Zion Was.responsible to the Gen. , eral Conference for the conduct ot the editorial policy of the paper; ;and. not solely to the bench of bishops. , Therefore, one had better say but 1ft. tie about»the bishops of Zion, if he* don’t want to be cajlpd' down. Maryville, Tenn. SPECIAL NOTICE. I am appealing to all wh0 send iiv r orders and subscribe to The Star of Zion to make all money orders pay. able to the A. M. E. Zi0n Publish, ing House. If this is done there will be no trouble in the money matters. Please do not give money to any one without receiving a receipt for the same. If you do you must hold your, self responsible. I have received a good many letters stating that money has been paid for literature and sub. scriptions to The Star, but no records of this money are to be found in our office. We are doing business for the general church and we are/ responsi. ble for the operation of The'House. We shall expect you to observe the above statement and govern yourself accordingly. " 8. D. Watkins, Manager A. M. E. Zion Publication House.
The Star of Zion (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Nov. 30, 1922, edition 1
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