VOLUME FORTY-EIGHT NUMBER TWB&TV. CHARLOTTE. NORTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, MAY 15, 1924 BISHOP.L. W. KYLES APPLAUDED WHILE DELIVERING SENTIMENT OF BISHOPS TO DELEGATES, l ' By W. H. Davenport. ' When Bishop J. S. Caldwell,, the senior Bishop of the A. M. E. Zion denomination called the General Con ference to order Thursday morning it was crowded from pit to dome to hear the Quadrennial Address of Bishop L. W. Kyles of North Carolina. Next to the election of Bishops and General Officers this is said to be the most important event of. the sessions. The rapturous singing by the chorus of trained voices had filled the delegates with the spifit of praise and prayer and during the delivery of the ad dress vigorously applauded. Of America and the Negro the bishop said, “The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church is co-existent with the great American Republic. George Washington, the founder of our country became president of a free American Republic in T796 which had revolted from the rule of England. And in the same year James Varick, the founder of our Church became the leader of a great spiritual denomina tional democracy which hail wrested itself from the bands of racial caste and spiritual dependence. •• . . Our nation has been over-shadowed with gloom recently, by the passing oi two I of its great men, the late President! Warren G. Harding and ex-President Woodrow Wilson. 'President Harding , made a profound impression on the nation and the world by the infusTon of Christian ideals in his policies for the conductThe the wotk of race development and character building. Lincoln uttered a maxim when he said 'This nation can half slave/ It is true today that the nation can not enjoy the largest pros perity with one-half free and exercis ing all the rights of the Constitution and the other half oppressed and de nied the fundamental righ'§ of. citi zenship/’ The Bishop disavowed any purposes of race amalgamation. He said, “The position we take on this subject is not based upon any de sire on our part for. the amalgamation of the races. We are 'content to fol low the divergent trend of the races in things purely racial. We are the descendants of a great and noble race. We are' willing to develop our distinct racial characteristics and t<> shape our character after the stand ards of Christianity. We believe that in t he maintenance of our racial inden tity and the development of our char acter after the true, the beaiutiful and the good in our Christian system we lay -the foundation for a great and prosperous future.* Our contention is based upon the desiire for the full en joyment of all the rights of citizen ship guaranteed by the Constitution.” The Volstead Act and Prohibition i “We are pleased with the progress prohibition is making in this country. *We take great pride in the contribu tion which: the Methodist Church has - . .— -y—• peoples of earth; have a staunch friend Who believes in thtejr rights, • and also, that in*no way should; the ; work of the Church he hindered in its missionary, endeavor or- its ex I tension of the Jringdom of Jesus Christ by legislative enactments that are dihcrminating «nd unjust. (Continued to page 5) -rir Missionaries Address ' Meeting. QUADRENNI •THE WO ARY SOCI Mrs. Rosa L. SESSION OP MISSION. *V Reporter.. . The Fifth Quadrennial Convention of the Woman’s Home and Foreign Missionary Society of the African Methodist •Episcopal Zion Church convened Sunday afternoon. May 4th, 1»24. at three o’clock,, in the New Jones Tabernacle| A* M. E. Zion church. Michisanf and. Blackford streets. Rev. S. 13. Davis, pastor. Rt. Rev. P. . Wallace, presiding bishoo. with Mrs. Daisy V. Johnson, genera? president, presiding. De?p>ga?es who' registered from all section of. the United States from South America. th| West Indies an'd Africa assembled to be present at the opening of thereonveption. Prior to this-service Bishop Geo. C. Cle ment .had preached'a profound ser mon in the niorninf from the subject, “The Great Woman.” 1 The sermon Was k masterpiece and served well to out: the delegates in tune with the Ideal Missionary. A very spirited |nd inspiring song service was conducted by Mesdames Lizzie' Evans Pierdjs; Dnyna Clemente and Anna Weaver. .The SiCriptuit was read by '-timer i OPENING DAY OF THE A. M. E. ZlGN GENERAL CONFERENCE. \, 4,1 '"ij 1 Tuesday night wtlb iMown as Afrin can night and the program Was sole ly in charge of Dr. W. W. Mat thews, general rpissidnary secretary. Thud closed the. 5th Quadrennial Convention of the W. p. and F. Missionary Society, of the A. M. E. Zion Church . ^ ' A Broader "Y” Policy The election of Mrs. George E. 'Haynes as a member of the national board of the Young Women’s Chris tian Association is indicative of the broader policy that .has obtained among the members of this ultra con servative welfare organization. An other phase *of this policy was the re laxing' of the qualification for Mem bership by vote of the convention, which no longer requires the appli cants to be affiliated with one of the evangelical churches. The fact that Mrs. Haynes is a member of the New York branch of the organization and of,the council on colored wOrk, with many years experience in such work, amply qualifies her tfor the honor of being the first ’tfroman cf the race to become a member of v^he national governing body. v This national body comprises some twenty New York women as resident, board members, besides a number" of non-resident members from other sec tions of the country divided into t|te Eastern, Southern, Central, South western, Pacific . Coast' and Rocky Mountain regions. Women from Ala c°n When the Twenty-seventh Quad rennial Session of the A.' M. E< Zion General Conference was called io <pr * der by Bishop Paris A. Wallace iof Brooklyn, N. .Y., in ^Tomlinson1 Halb Wednesday morning, May 7, it wga beaentifully festooned with military ' decorations. A Choir of three hun dred voices sang' “And Are We Yet Alive,” announced by Bishop /. S. Caldwell *df Philadelphia.' Scripture lesson was read by Bishop L. W. Kyles of Nc?Jrth Carolina, followed by the reading in concert of-the’twenty seventh Psalm, led by Bishop George L Blackwell Of Chicago, ill. Prayer was offered by Bishop George C. Clement of Lou'sville, Ky. Bishop J* ' W. Wood led in reading the Beatitudes, 1 and the choir, assisted by a thousand 5. voices in the congregation, sang • “Zion Stands With Hills Surrounded.” j The Quadrennial sermon was deliv ered by Bishop W. L. Lee of Brooklyn, N. Y., who selected - for his text: “Walk about. Zion; go about her; mark well her bulwarks; tell the1* towers thereof." Psalm 48:18. Among , other things the Bishop said! “W? all believe in some sort of fesur rection, but we are not all agreed oil the resurrection of the body. We must either preach Christ as a God of limited power, something' like our selves, or a God of the resurrection. I^have not much sympathy With, a long white rohl .and gohleh slippers preaching. I don’t see What wfe are going to do with long white'robes and golden slippers. The problem of human salvation is not a problem of science and ohiloseDhv. but a hrob B. G. Shaw, E. D. W. Jones, W. I Walls, J. W. Martin, G. C. Alleyne Elected Bishops at General Conference. nation was shocked at his passing. Hie death of ex-President Woodrow Wilson saddened the nation also. We are too near the stirring event's of his career to give a correct appraisal of his value ttf the world as a man and statesman. But that history will record his as one of the greatest characters of all times we have no hesitancy in affirming. The patriotic soul of Zion shares the nation’s sor row and grief. Bishop Kyles declared that the re cent revelations in Washington, Sep arate and distinct from their political aspect, hav‘e shocked thg sensibilities of mankind and is a moral conse quence of that general disregard for law as affecting smaller racial groups of greed and injustice. Having de voured the weak they turn now upon each o'her for blood'and satisfaction. It is the result of an unchangeable law written in nature, in history and in the Holy Scriptures, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Referring to the relations between -the races Bishop Kyjtes remarked: “Among the great evils which threaten the peace of America and endanger Its future is the growing antipathy between the races and the indifference of the national government toward the. perplexing problAns incident' to race relations in America. Hie danger consists not so much in the'possi bility of any harm the oppressed may do, for we are law-abiding citizens, but in fact that the hand of' God is against the oppressor. ' The questions affecting race relations in America and the rights of Negroes as citizens, is ho lpnger a question to be dealt with by the south alone. It is rapidly be * coming a national tissue. A question involving great interests and affect ing so vitally the morale of “a ■jrhole nation cannot be left to the whims' of the people of any section for adjudi cation, but must be finally regulated by the government itself so ' that the fifteen millions of black people in , ^America may go on unhindered with made to the success /of this move ment. It has stood courageously and consistently for temperance and prohi bition. The rum shop for a century was the bane of our material life. It came near wrecking ; the nation. Homes disrupted, reason dethroned, crimes ^committed, treason and arson followed the trail of the, rum fiend. .The victory is not yet complete. We feel that the contest for sobriety and Recency should be continued Until ever bootlegger is run to earth and every distillery demolished. The A. M. E. Zion Church sets itself flint like and immovable on the side of law enforcement. • We believe in the regnancy of the law and especially are we both loyal and obedient to the Constitution. We-call on our com munion particulaly to uphold at what ever cost the Constitution of the gov-j , ernment of these United S.ates, not only however one' amendment, hut all amendments. We here today warn 'our nation that if the 18th amend ment is ever to be enforced it will only so be done because equal force ] and emphasis is placed upon the en forcement of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendements* The guarantee of hu man rights and justice are as neces sary to the life and perpetuity of a great nation as the moral corrections we seek to make by acts of legisla tion. . ' Denounces the Japanese Exclusion. •As churchmen we regret the action of Our representatives in Congress in the passage of the Japanese exclusion fry of ours with its large undeyelop ed territory, with its enormous wealth, and with its loud exclama tions of making our shores the land of the free and the home of the brave, that no nationality seeking better ^economic advantages should be re fused admission at our ports. It is the belief of the Church that even national sovereignity should not sup press the spirit And tendency toward world brotherhood. In the A. M. E. Zion Church, not only Japan but all .^ fervent, soul-stiring prayer. The Joc^l dffoir under the direction oi Mr. Hr B. Hall as chorister and Mrs. Mildred King as organist was nt its best in the rendition of rpusio for the occasion. The Buds of Prom ise of St. Mark’s church favored the audience with a selection. A, piano solo was rendered by a representa tive of Campbell’s chapel after which Mrs * R. N. Davis, of Evansville, Ind., wafted the convention away as it were with the rendition of a vocal solo. • - The president then fittingly intro duced to the convention Rev. Mrs. Florence Randolph, of Jersey City, an ex-general president and returned missionary from Africa, who electri fied the convention with vivid scriofiong and made a wonderfud ap peal for the needs of Africa . Mrs. M. M. Davis, a returned missionary from Monrovia, Lib-aria, and Mr. A. A. Adjahoe, a native African, now studying at the John son C. Smith University.s Charlotte, N. C., also brought to the conven tion wonderful information of the missionary work and the need of an enlarged program for, the Father^ land. The 'finance committee called for and received a collection of $100.00. The convention then ad journed . ' ' , x ,, Monday riiorning the consecration 'service Jed !by the ReV. Mrs. Mary J. Small and Mrs. Ada Stone was beneficial. Registration of delegates eh sudd after which committees were appointed by the' president and the reports o ftbe various Episconal Dis tricts were made by the delegates. The reception was held on Monday night, ft was a beautiful sight to see the choir lead the processional followed by the general officers and all delegates present- After addresses of welcome on behalf of the various missionary societies of the church and city which were fittingly re sponded to by Mrs. Anna Smith, of Pittsburgh, Pa., the convention was given a splendid coalition. The Tuesday morning session opened at 10:30 o'clock. After the regular-song service the convention was opened for business by the pres ident, Mrs. Daisy Johnson. The - re ports which were completed showed progress for the past four years. The afternoon session was given ovfer to the reports of the variou m m —i ■■■ PA a .» • .> v ' f wV hm .. ference those from Massachusetts and Connefcticut in working for the uplift of womanhood all over the country. It is eminently fit and proper that the women of the race should be represented in all phases of this work.\ Witli this broadening policy grow ing in the field of “Y” work among women, the need for a similar growth in the direction of the work among men ig naturally suggested. While some of the Negro organizations formed for work' among men and boys have prospered under intelligent and actful leadership on the part of the local management, others have been hampered by the iack of such qual ities. In the absence of racial repre sentation on the* central boards, which override the decisions' of the local boards, there has been a failure to establish a sympathetic under standing of the needs and gelations of these branches. Proper represen tation on the central board might (Continued.^o page 8.) More Than $373,000 Raised For Education. Livingstone College, Salisbury, N< C.,. is 'the chief school of the de nomination. Tnis school has 27 teachers, and more than two thou ; sand students have attended It dur ing the quadrennium. Dr. D. C/ Suggs, the ‘.'President, reported that these students cultivated a farm of ! 316 aereis to ass^ in the maintenance ! of the institution. The school has raised for its support 8188,658.78. It Is maintained very largely by the support of hard working people Of color. Dr. J. W. Martin, Secretary , of Education, said that the * African 1 Metlfodist ■ Episcopal Zion Church stands for education- is proved be yond a shadow of & doubt by the fact that she has established , her schools and colleges at strategic points in the south and southwest for the training of boys •schools are mm ne lem of love. More and more the Church is taking God at His Word, increasing its- financial interest' arid enlarging its vision. Let us hope 1 that tl^e li tie men. will rise upland be larger men or lie down mid die”. The African Methodist Episcopal , Zion Church is in the one hundred twenty-eighth year of its existence. Comnyjnion was administered/after the sermon to the 500 delegates pres ent. There are ten Episcopal Dis tricts, four" bishops having died dur , ing the quadrennium. The death of Dr. Marion Lawrence, International Sunday School Superin tendent, was announce^ and the Con ference stood for five minutes in si lent prayer. Upon motion of J. W. Eichelberger, General Superintend ent of the Sunday Schools, the secre tary was instructed to send a' tele gram to memjbers of the family, ex pressing the sympathy of the Gen eral Conference. The Conference derided to issue a daily paper, to be known* as the Daily Star; of Zion. The Press Cominittee was announced as follows: W> JEL Davenpo*rt, chairman; W. J. . Walls, P. S Cooper, H. C. Weeden, W. J. J. Byers, E. U. A.' Brooks. /Assistant secretaries to Dr. F. M. Jacobs, Gen eral Secretary, aretl iR aR. -BaMl G. M. - Oliver, W. E. Wpp^yard, J. * W. Younge, R. J. Crockett, W. A. Stew rt, R. E. Clement. * Last night’s sejs* sions were devoted to welcome exer cises. following persons deliv ered addresses: On behalf,of the Con ference, Rev. S. D. Davis; op behalf of the church, Lawyer R. L. Broken burr; on behalf of the Ministerial Alliance, Rev. B. F. Farrell; on be half of the city, His Honc^ lfayor

Page Text

This is the computer-generated OCR text representation of this newspaper page. It may be empty, if no text could be automatically recognized. This data is also available in Plain Text and XML formats.

Return to page view