s
' ^ /» '
k' - v..j
J j
.
Is
1 1 ^F .II I I ^1
I. M-^JM. ViaHw ^i
THE OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AFRICANMETHODIST EPISCOPAL ZION CHURC
VOLUME FORTY-EIGHT
CHARLOTTE. NORTH CAROLINA. THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 1924.
NUMBER
A WHITE-WASHED
GOD.
By Ktily MUIer.
Marcus Garvey would paint God in
his own image. Even the black man
turns from the suggestion with a
feeling of revulsion and disgust. We
have been so long accustomed to re
garding God a* white that we have
identified life visage With his 6<s
sence. Any change in the accustomed
color hhplies alteration in character.
In all the religious schemes of the.
world' the Gods create men in their
own image,' and .their own like
ness. Man, in his turn, fash
ion^ his Gods alter his own phy
ical similitude. Alexander Pope tells
us that; “an honest man’s the noblest
work of God,” Robert Ingersol. with
blasphemic aptness* retorts, that “an
honest God is the noblest work of
man.” All nations, races and peo
pes have been anthropomorphic. A
collection of idols ahd graven images
of all ages, tnd times would make
an interesting and Instructive muse
um. The deities of the different peo
ples and races would be found to
possess the physical idiosyncrasies
of those who fashion them. Some
would be White, some yellow, some
led some brown and some black.
No other conclusion is conceivable.
The human mind is ever prone to
fashion its highest conception after
its own"phys|pul modal ,
Man is by tfature idolatrous. He
bows down and worships before im
ages of wood and stone. This ia
inost especially true of concrete
minded raeeg and nations. It is too
great a tax to focus the emotions on
an abstract idea. The spirit we wor
ship must manifest itself in outward
embodiment. It must have eyes to
' ^ see end^r^to kpiwv ap| visage to
looked^upon. After'M'has been said
and done, idolatry is only personified
selfishness. Our God must have* our
own color and facial features, must
speak our vernacular and typify our
.moral and social aim . ^.
A universal religion must makeitfie.
^universal appeal and must rise above
and transcend the incidents of , race,
color, language, age or clime. ;.The
Asiatic,,jhe European, the African,
in the,fuljnese of self-consciousness,;
will not .accept a religion whose car
nnal peculiarities are built on an
alien pattern.
The „ . H^ijrew-Christian religion
bag th£ -fundamental requirement of
universality. In its essential charac
ter and quality, it 4a all but com
pletely • detached from the incidents
of timp and .place and racial .and;
ethnic idiosyncrasies. It forever t for*
bids racial self-worship by prohibit*
ing idolatry. “Thou shalt not'make
unto thee any graven image or like-;
ness; thou shat not bow down thy
self to them nor serve them. - This
commandment eaves Hebraism fresh
idolatry, frees it from its narrow; ra
cial isolation, and raises it to the
highest reaches of the yearnings of
the human spirit for all peoples and
for all times. There was and i* con
stant apostasy from the great ideal
The Safharitans sought to localize
and raciaKze Jehovah, and to monop
olize his. worship as their particular
end exclusive privilege-. Jesus in re
' baking the narrow intolerant spirit
of the Samaritan woman universaliz
ed the claim of Christianity as the
creed of mankind. ‘‘Woman believe
me, the. hour cometh and now is,
when ye shall Neither hi this moun
tain nor yet in Jerusalem, worship
the Father. The true worshipper
shall worship the Father in spirit and
in truth. For the Father taketh such
to worship him. God Us a spirit anl
thej\that worship him must worship
bim in spirit and in truth ■*? Thi3 |
declaration forever banishes t^me
and place ahd race from the Kingdom
of God which Jesus came to set yp
on earth.' <
But the more cayaally minded of
the European race, which is now
dominant in the material affairs of
the world.'has lapsed into a freshly
idolatry. They have -made a graven
image ofwbitenese and how down
sad worship it with a reverence sur
mmtiag that rendered to any other
fUod. The decree oi* color has the
istrongest controlling sanction. It is
more blessed to be'white than to be
nght. All ideals of beauty and good
ness are made in this mold. White
and black have been made connota
tive of opposite ethical qualities, of
good and bad. The artostic and moral
emotions have become adjusted to the
unity of color and quality. The
Christian religion is interpreted lb
terms of flesh and blood- The Negro
is*- placed af the ^eg|$ive pole . His
color must be apologized for Wheh it
is not belittled. The poet> Cowper,
felt that he was complimenting the
Negro to concede that, “Fleecy locks
and dark complexion cannot fon.«
nature’s claim.” Two apologetic neg
atives never yet made an emphatic
affirmative.'
Marcus Garvey, finding his race
confounded by such a Color scheme,
calculated to humiliate and: degrade
its spirit, utters an emphatic revolt
which seems grotesque and bizarre to
those who are habituated to the
white man’s norms and feeling. But
why should God be pictured white
rather than black, or yellow or brown?
Except for the fact that the white
man has given his own color to the
graven image which he has made. I
have seen colored angels painted on
the walls of Negro Churches, and an
Involuntary shudder has come over
me because of the unconscious ab
sorption of the white man’s mode
portraying heavenly things as proper
and normal. I recall seeing a maga
zine the Chinese pietoral interpreta
tion of the escapades of the Prodigal,
Son. The truant son and loving fath
er were typical Chinamen with pig
eyes, pig tails and pigmented hue.
It at first struck me as a travesty;
hut the Chinese artist was simply
"true to the artistic genius of his race.
(Continued from page 6)
PLANNING A MOBIL
IZATION DAY FOR
PEACE.
' As a far more constructive and
more needed measure th&n the “Mo
bilization Day” planned by the War
. Department,; the Federal Council of
Churches, through its Commission On
• international Justice and Goodwill, is
; suggesting a “mobilization” of all
forces working for peace. The date
proposed tor such a demonstration is
: the- a'nniversay of-2 • Armt tlce Day,
November eleventh, and the week in
Which' it fails. ' :
All the Churches1, pastors and con-"
. gregation8 of the country are urged
to participate in this interdenomina
tional ' movement tot the observance
of Armistice Day as a time for unit
edly focussing the attention of the
churches upon- the task of ridding the
world of .war.
Preliminary plane have been al
ready announced in folder entitled
“A Gall to 150,0001 Churches to Mo-;
bilize for World Justice and World
World Peace. *• More detailed sug
gestions, including helpful material
for pastors ar© given in a. large pam
phlet now in press, entitled *The
Churches of America Mobilizing' for
World Justice and World Peace."
The appeal ‘from the Federal
Council of Churches for this mobili
zation for peace begins as follows:
“Six years have passed since the
Armistice brought the fighting of the
World Far to an end. But permanent
World Peace and national security
are still to be achieve^ •
“Great Church Assemblies have re
cently issued stirring calls to their
members to grapple with the stu
pendous task of over-throwing the
war system of the world and to out
law and banish war .
“The Federal Council of the
Churches now suggests that all
Churches, pastors and congregations
in the United States observe the
anniversary of the Armistice as ah
appropriate time to mobilize their
forces for this imperative task. This
would be a fitting tribute 'to those
#rho gave their lives in the World
War.”
’The foUo*fag suggestions are made
of ’concrete ways in which the
"(OpntfcnMd to page S)
WHITES CARRY
CHURCH TO COURT.
ATTEMPT ENJOIN N E W
BUILDING CHURCH SCORES
VICTORY IN FIRST HEAR
ING. ? "'v '
Court Room Crowded To Its
Capacity by Members and
Friends of Church.
,}* f •>*' . ' % . ‘ $0 Z-.,'1'
(Special to The Star)
Pastor Stands FKm.
The excavation work preliminary
to the erection of thu New'First A.
M. E. Zion church at the northwest
corner of Eddy St, and Campa-i
Boulevard was stopped by" a restrain
ing order issued by Judge Fred
Bingham in th© St. Joseph Superior
Court Nov 1, in vacation, £jig. 16,
1924. f ' ' "*
The order followed|tbe filing of an
injunction suit against the trustees
of the churcht John Nelson; ftte con
tractor, Fred Pharr wkb id directing
the excavation work, by Harmon C.
Delongf Harvey L. ' Larkin, George
Starka, and Catherine Starka, (all
white). The complaint set forth that
in the excavation the defendants
have threatened to dig up to the
property line( and thereby* causing a
portion of the lot of the plaintiffs to
cave in; f
Church Wins In First Round.
Hearing on the fentraining order
was had before Judge gingham of
Superior Court No. j|., Friday morn
ing August 19th. life attorneys for
the defendants filed potions*to quash
summons' on the part|of the trustees
of the church, and :ijt abatement on
behalf of theeontracior.-The motion
to quash summons was sustained t on.
the ground of improper Service, after
a brief hearing ^jibunsels from
solved the restraftjih®‘ didder against
all defendants without tal&ng Up their
their motions or going intoHhe merits
of the case.
The. ruling ?ot the court brought
smiles >to the faces of the members
and friends of the church; who
crowded the court room, and gloom
to {he faces of the defeated whites
who marched out with drooped
heads.
Whit«s 8®ek Compromise. '
> Judge Bingam after being acquaint*
ed with the racial feeling that had en
tered into the case on the part of the
whites refused to giant a second re
straining order without hearing coun
sel for defendant®.
As a result of the strong and de
| termined defense offered against any
delay or hindrance to the erection of
the new church manifested at the
hearing, by the attorneys and , pastor
of the churchy and with the knowl
edge that they would eventually loose
on the merit® of the case and thereby
suffer damages fer delaying the
work, the attorneys for the complain
ing neighbors immediately sought
compromise.
The complaining whites: defeated
m their malicious attempt to delay
.and prevent the erection of this
church on said premises, feigned act
ual fear of damage to their adjoining
property, and agreed to abandon suit
at .their own cost upon written agree
ment by the conractor to indemnify
them for any damages done to their
property as a result of said excava
tion.
Since the law secures that protec
tion to all adjoining land owners,, the
attorneys for the defendants readily
consented as a matter of form.
Tile plaintiffs were represented by
Edwin F. Hunter, who jff associated
wtth Harry Taylor, the candidate for
pros. Attorney who is endorsed by
the Ku Klux Klan- The Negro citi
zens here understand that Taylor,
the Klan lawyer, was loading counsel
in thig suit, but withheld his appear
ance* at the hearing; they are going
to vote solidly against him in Novem
ber. .
The trustees of the church were
represented by the law firms Wills
and Carter, and Yeagley and Wolf .
Wills sind Carter are the attorneys
for the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People in
this city, and are always willing to
take a decided stand for questions af
fecting the race. Omacht and Ham
mond appeared especially for John
Nelson> the contractor.
Rev. Gordon, Pastor, 8tands Firm
Against Race Restriction.
Every effort" has been put forth
by the whites of this Community^ to
make this section of the city a dis
tinctive white district. Rev. Gordon
has been untiring in his efforts to
prevent such from being, by encour
aging his members and friends to
buy rather than rent; and . b& taking
option on such real- estate as is de
sirable _ and turning it over to those
of his race.
The whites of this community arc
much worried because of the rapid
growth o f this church and the con
tinued purchasing of homes 'by the
better class of race people. T
church is only sixteetttyears 'Old
is no’vf located on o^TtS^*the' mah*'
thoroughfares of th^ city at the cor
ner of Eddy fit- and Campau Bird.
'The-proposed structure is to cost
$30,000.00, and .wjhen- completed wfh
be one of the most beautiful edifices
of the city, and is specially designed
for community work, having gymnr
$ium, shower bath®, club rooms, and
recreation hall. The white® of the
community have offered every possi
ble opposition to this program. In
spite of the opposition Rev. Gordon
and his members have been success
ful in raising $23,500 since the J
launching of the building campaign.
So. Bend,Ind.
CRANES COMMENT.
' ■ - .
By Dri Frank Crane.
George.
Why do all Pullman travelers
call -the colored porter “George?’*
and Gilbert and Ebenezer, and so
forth., but. the Pullman porta* re
mains George in spite of all their ef
forts to enjoy other denominations.
It looks as though he had been the
recipient of a promise made, in Holy
Writ: “I will, give them an everlast
ing name which will not be cut off.”
* There is a Society Jfpr the Preven
tion of - Calling Pullman , Porters
George; whcli society is supposed to
pe out to get a hundred thousand
membe|:is> It took in one hundred at
one fell swoop the other da^ in Wash
ington including all the Senators
who have George for first name or
last. George Clemenceau and George
M. Cohan are honorary members and
George Washington 1® the patron
saint. Every member takes oath to
call no porter by the name George;
In spite of this th^ condition con
tinues . There is no use talking
against a universal custom. It is said
that while George Washington may
have been the Father of his Country,
George M. Pullman was the Father
of the Sleeping-car System, j It is
possible that George remains the
cognomen of preference because It
is smooth-sounding and euphonious
He might have been called Tom after
Uncle Tom, but Tom id too much like
a diminutive and suggests tom-toms
and tomahawks. George, however,
fits the mouth and is full sounding.
There is no accounting for named.
Why was Nicholas applied to the Old
Nick, and does tom-tom refer to .a
sort of drum, and does Paul indicate
Paul Pry.
George has an honorable ancestry
that reaches back to St. George, the
killer of dragons, and the four Georg
es of English history, down to
Georges Carpenter who fell several
times for the glory of bis country.
There is no diminutive of George. It
probably represented a farmer in the
first place as Virgil’s Georgies hate
held their place among the classics
for years,
George is also linked in most
American minds with, tyranny as they
remember King George m as the
author of those previous measures
the American Revolution.
Perhaps the name George appeals
to the American sense of humor as
the porter of a Pullman car is at
1
Elder
We believe* ‘ikV
ing” of the UnM
multitudinous .hoc
we have read*|m;^
con; but becajjjpt||
ing the 'writt*S||j
God. The Fftiljl
1 uhe
on the occasion.«!
'*2* "*r'Zr’
to
even His dispipes j
to fit up His httjg
evidence of
“He spake ■:lf$jj|
was nigh unt6^v$J
cause they thoural
of God shoulckjtfth
iBMQM
ceive for himse^^
RETURN.”" ' iM
v ' .■-;■■■ ' , -4
We believe that
Spoken to Illti^pl
tp *kis peopl^- ^l
was to go ap# fii
His own depart*^”
The time pl$ej&o
Saviour’g speaking
parable all point,
His departure?\ ||^
regal authofltyX^
reign; He,
King, especially $i?
His brief ministry
1 out Great High •'
for us; when lie
especially to $1.1
■those.who lpyifM ,r. ^
be His subjects, tad Hie, ^Kingdom
will be everlasting;.-.,?. H y ?
There are mahyfpfiiS^litppiifies of
the Saviour's retphih; which buttress
the evident teachi«g; of thifi remark
last four ”
why, or how can we brieve the
promise “I go to'prepare, a place lor
you?” Where doWe get .the Iibefrty
to accept one part qf fcutsh a Verse
of the Bible as t«», an$ respect the
other. part ? All through the Gospels
Jesus is teacing the great fact that
>sftm of the
Wonderful
wtmsb. to
stur^^with
£§H§f •.^
driest, ap<k..
is uovr
being King, He to the
leather, but that He? would . return
again, to set lip , an ;eyeriastlng King
dom;—even at the'end of . His min
istry the disciples, WhonvHe had for
■neatly three'-yesriy'ih^ej
'■to, teach
to be a suff^riJBjg^lyfi
that a reigning Kingk*
rant of the
Saviour's teaqhftig^&a
Him, t'Eord;
restore the Kingddwtw
could He restore'^(>4
rael when they
from being Kiiijg'f^l&lr'rj
lifetime
h^-ltbw
a
dP ^Hin*
irjri&s,
“We have no k?n|j|aHHH
"Shortly
of Lhe Pounds, He, the pW
‘'the nobienuu;
to be invested
and He, ag
able will retiirp
lasting Kingdoinv;:'iyjj§
“As He wdnt tip behold t
sto:-d by the lyatbh^f^P^
said “Ye men-of (Salti^e^SI
ye gazing into heaven?
Jesus which is token lb -
• , "it . *V
into heaven, shifct^
manner as ye have.’
heaven. ” Mark' ‘the
ic statements, “Ti
“Shall so roBe^
"Why not b^ifb^
fhe heavenly''oM
than accept- the 'fir
ings, and the cojtttc
lectors of the Word
every book and cht
Testament speaks {
coming of our broil
warns us to he
Let us be
|| words, of
. rather
$wHt torn
dif ike re
porter by
species of r(ea®
cendo which, a p
mind . At least
to get tbe Am<
i ■
(Copyright, 1