Newspapers / Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.) / Jan. 30, 1930, edition 1 / Page 2
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Th%Africo - American! Presbyterian " Established in 1879. ' CONSOLIDATED WITH THE SOUTHERN EVANGELIST Rev. H. L. MeCRQREY, D. D. LL., D., Editor. ■ . E. HILL, Associate Editor. Rev. C. P. PITCHPORD, Beninese Manager. Devoted to th^ Educational, Mate rial, Moral and11 Religious interests of our people in the South, and pub lished at Charlotte, N. C., every Thursday. All questions arising under the va rious subjects above indicated are discussed from a Christian point of view. Each number contains the freshest and best news from the Southern field and from the Church at large. There is carefully selected - reading matter suited to all classes of our people—the farmer, the me chanic, the artisan and the profes sional man. , TERMS OP SUBSCRIPTION: ■ ,,Single copy one year -$1.60 .. Sin. months Three months -- -60 • ■•.Bend all money by P. 0. Money .'iQdear* Registered Letter, or Bank . . Chedc, otherwise it might get lost /.and-th|e; sender alone will be respon sible. ; Entered at the Postoffice at Char lotte, N. C., as second class matter. THURSDAY, JAN. 30, 1930. THE WORKERS’ CONFER ENCE The Annual Conference of workers in the Division of Mis sions for Colored People of the Presbyterian Board of Nation al Missions will convene in Charlotte from February 4-6. The sessions " Will be held in the Johnson C- Smith University church. Ministers and teachers are expected here from all parts of the Sotith, and Charlotte and Johnson C. Smith University ar§ preparing to give them a most cordial welcome. ' MR' PEABODY’S APPEAL Jn another column Will be found a letter written to The Christian Century by Mr. George Foster Peabody in be half of Negro education. Mr. Peabody represents the finest type of American citizenship and his interest in Negro edu cation for nearly half a century has been of untold benefit to the race. He has been for a long time a member of the Boards of Trustees of Hampton ; and Tuskegee Institutes and much of the financial standing of these schools is due to his connection with them. . -The present apeal is not lim ited but is in behalf of all the agencies and schools that are 4 promoting Negro enlighten : mefit. The need of such an ap peal is readily apparent. While much has been done for the ed ucation of the Negro, the task that remains is stupendous, and calls not only for large ap propriations from the States, but for the gifts of individuals as well, if the needs are to be adequately met REV. A. C JOHNSON DIES SUDDENLY. ^ Another valiant Christian warrior has laid his armor by to receive the victor’s crown. Rev. A- C. Johnson passed away - suddenly, Thursday, January 23rd, at the home of a daugh • ter, Mrs. Nettie I. Wright, in Fort Pierce, Fla. His funeral will be held Monday, February J 3, -at 1 o’clock, in Winnsboro, S C- - - .. Rev Johnson formerly lived at York, S. C., and served • churches in Fairfield Presbyte ry. He retired from the active work of the ministry three years ago on account of failing health Following an operation in New York City he had ap parently regained much of his former vigor. During the last two summers he resided in Charlotte with his son, Prof. H D. Johnson, of the city schools, - arid was delighted to preach whenever there was . need for Wa service. He had gone to ^ Florida for the winter. As he b^d lived there in recent years, nothing unusual was thought of his going. His death, therfgjK-. fore, eamo as a jrtiock to. rel*-' » fives and friends in Charlotte. He was genial and likeable, and his brethren in the ministry will cherish his memory. * OMISSIONS The letter to the Editor in last week’s paper, headed, “Thirty Years of Mission Work/’ was written by our es teemed friend, Mrs. M. B. Marks, whose name was left off through oversight. We take this occasion to express appre ciation of the gracious senti ments conveyed in that letter. The article in this week's pa-, per, “How Far Shall I Go With the Crowd?’’ was read by Miss Georgia Donnell, at a re cent meeting of the Yioung People’s League, of the 1st and 2nd Districts of Cape Fear Pres bytery. PRINCIPAL OF HAMPTON All who are concerned about Negro schools will be interested in the announcement that Dr. George P. Phenix has been elected Principal of Hampton Institute in succession to Dr. J. E. Gregg, who resigned some months ago. Dr- Phenix was for a long time Vice-Principai. IN BEHALF OF NEGRO EDUCATION Editor The Christian Century: Sir: May I ask space to call to the attention of men and wo men and their lawyers, who are drawing wills, to an oversight which I cannot but believe is, in very many cases due to a lack of knowledge of actual condi tions respecting most worthy and, even more so, most needy subjects for wise consideration in the matter of bequests. I have noticed for a l0ng time now, in reading the reports pf wills probated anil the distri bution of estate^, t&ht very few of the decedents leave any thing for Negro education and, alas, the few who do, leave so small sums that it seems evi dent to me that there has been no realization, on the part of those making the will, of the vital importance to the United States as a whole of the educa tion of the ten per cent of our population sharply assigned by custom and law to the Negro race. We may recall Booker Wash ington’s notable saying that' the “Negroes were the only people who came to the United States with a most urgent invitation that they were not free to de cline.” Following this, their condition of slavery of both body and mind practically and their being set free in the midst of a devastated land wherein the dominant white race was but' slightly better off material ly than they. Apart from the ownership of the land and even as to that usually “land poor” and certainly equally poverty stricken by the deadly incubus which the ownership of slaves puts upon mind, conscience and heart'. It is the fact that today the vast majority of the white pop ulation in our Southern States is poor in wordly goods and, therefore, poor in educational opportunities. Alas they are not helped by this, to be “poor in spirit ” This possession of pow er by the ignorant who are dom inated by its vigorous child pre judice is. of course, equally dangerous to those having it and subject to it- Therefore, it restricts the educational oppor tunities for both the dominant and the unprivileged popula tion. As thirty percent in round fig ures of the population of the United States reside in these Southern States and of that thirty per cent nearly one-third are of the Negro race, the rela tion of this Negro citizenship to the future of the country is one of immeasurable impor tance because they, in effect, dominate through a white pri mary all the political activities of these sections and largely eliminate aH fundamental polit ical issues from consideration Eqr tie voters. Only in; the in ■ tance of sumptuary legislation is there manifest a definite con sideration cf issues frioor elec tion to election. • f think readers erf thfc will realize that money wisely left for aid to the education of Ne groes serves not only the bene ficent impulses but also greatly serves the future welfare of our country. There are, of course, many efforts for educational as sistance that are not wise be cause of the uncertainties of continuance- Therefore, aid that leaches unto the strengthening of the noble and ever more widely spreading efforts of the materially poor southern people in the education of the Negro is cf largest benefit and eliminates the risk of waste most surely. The Rosenwald fund, Jeanes fund, . Phelps-Stokes >u fund, American Church Institute for Negroes, the many Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian col leges and other church schools that cooperate with the state and local educational officials af ford a wide selection for the lov er of his ountry arid humanity to provide for this, I believe, most important subject of bene ficence—the education of the Negro ten per cent of the pop ulation of the United States. I assume to ask for i the pub lication of this letter because for sixty years I have had the privilege of active relationship with many education boards and, therefore, have personal knowledge which I believe jus tifies my urging the considera tion of this subject by all of those who are making wills and very particularly those who are privileged to draw the. wills for their clients. GEORGE FOSTER PEABODY Saratoga Springs, N. Y. HOW CAPE FEAR PRESBY TERY STANDS To the AHrico-American Presbyterian: t. ' On January tenth, ^herejW^re eighteen churches ^vithin. the bounds of Cape Fear Presby tery that had not * jgiven as much, as a penny to benevolence this church year- The4e church es are supplied by graduates of our schools, all of which re ceived their training at the ex pense of the great Church. The thing that puzzles irje is that' these men have sufficient cour age to come up to Jerusalem, year afte^ year, to he recom mended for aid. Many of these churches, if not all of them, received loans or grants, pledging { to make annual payments, and they do not keep up the insurance nor interest on the investment. Let us redeem our pledges. C DILLARD) Chairman of Committee on Field Activities, Cape Fear Presbytery. “I HAPPIED HIM UP’ Agnes is a little girl with such a bright, happy face that it is a pleasure to look at her. One day, in answer to her mother’s call, she came running borne from a neighbor’s, two or three doors away. Her eyes were bright, her lips fco smiling that her mother sm'iled too. “Did you want me, [mother?” asked Agnes. “No, dear,” said her moth er “Not for anything impor tant I missed you; that is all. Where were, you, daughter?” “At the Brown’s. And 0, mother, Walter was Cross, but I happied him up, sb that he got all over it; and then the baby cried, and I had to happy her up; then someone stepped on the kitten’s tail, and I was just going to happy her up when you called me.” “Why, what a happying time you have had!” laughed her mother. “Tt must make you happy yourself to happy up little boys and babies and kit tens, for you look as happy as possible.” And this is true. The more we try to make others happy, the happier we shall be our selves. Then put away frowns and pouting lips. Try to “hap py up” those who are troubled, or sick, and soon you1, will find yourself so happy $hat your face will shine with <smiles.— Ex.' \ NANNIE HELEN BURROUGHS By Joseph V. Baker (For Associated Negro Press) ^They shall never hunger nor thirst, neither shall the sun smite them, even by rivers of water sjiall He lead them-” I have inserted that verse be fore my sketch of Miss Bur roughs, because as an eternal promise of the Almighty, it suggests the kind of material upon which Miss Burroughs has based all of her efforts; an un shaken faith in the promises of her Maker. In sketching Miss Burroughs life, one cannot go very far without speaking of the con crete evidence of her personal ity—the National Training School, for this school is Nan nie Burroughs; her entire be ing is connected and fused with its welfare; and is, as Prof. Kelly Miller has said, “as much the outgrowth of her personal ity as Tuskegee was the pro jected shadow of Booker T. Washington. rne most. remaraaDie iean ure of Miss Burrough’s venture in establishing her school is the fact that it is the direct pro duct of the singularness of her personality; singular, in that it defied even the advice of her closest friends to put her school in the South, instead of in the nation’s capital. But Nan nie Burroughs was right, as some of those same friends will tell you now, for the one beau tiful, romantic spark left in the nation’s capital,—romantic in that it represents the upward climb of one who has kept the faith, one whose personality alone as , a basis, has created something tangible and dedi cated it to the progress of a race,—is Ihe story of Nannie Burroughs and her school. As an example of her tena cious personality, we quote her answer to Prof. Kelly Miller, at Louisville, quite some time ago, after he hfd suggested that she plant her institution some place else, as Washington was al ready full of schools. Prof. Mil ler ^quotes her as answering, “Even if the schools were as thick as the tiles on the houses, I am going to plant my school in the midst thereof, and that right early.” To my mind no other state ment ever made by this truly outstanding personality, sums up the trend of her greatness, the almost fathomless depths of her trusting soul, as this. Miss Burroughs was born in Orange, Va., and at about the age of five years, moved with her mother to Washington. To quote Dr. Pickens, m his “Nannie Burroughs and the School of the Three B’s,” “The battle of this young woman for an opportunity began before she was out of school. She had been promised the position of assistant to the domestic sci ence teacher, and had shaped all of her studies, her plans and conduct accordingly. The posi tion of assistant was open; she did everything to merit it. She could do the work, and we have in recent years, often heard her former teachers proudly pro claim from the public plat form her superiority as a pu pil and student. But she was doomed to ugly disappointment. In spite of promise and open understanding, she was myste riously side-tracked, and was not appointed to the position.” But she did not stop, and we cite the incident to show that even by the time she was ready td strike the chilly waters of a rather cruel world, she had al ready been introduced in strik ing terms to the disconcerting ghost of disappointment; to the harshness of human incon sistency ; and hence by the time she was ready to found what; in all probability will be a lasting memorial to her name and personality she had “steel ed” her face, as it were, to crit icism, and daringly pushed on to her mark- Indeed that was greatness of personality. It is not our intention to survey the resources and assets of the training school that Miss Bur roughs has founded; for we are writing of personalities, but ii it were, it would indeed be an altra romantic story, from be ginning to ending—of how one great woman dreamed of how she could help other women; flow, after much battling, on a six-acre plot of land, mostly [>n a hill, and in an old eight room house, she began to make her dream come true; and last ly, how in less than twenty years that dream has come to represent a property value of more than one hundred thous and dollars, and an immeasura ble amount of work done in bringing the women of a rising race “unto here”. Another truly great character istic of this “maker of things” is that she takes unto herself little or nc credit' for the great work she has done. In a recent letter to me, in answer to my missive, announcing her selec tion, she wrote: “I appreciate your kind consideration, but my good friend, I am not among the immortals, I am just begin ning to get our work where it should command the support of people who believe in helping those who help themselves.” And so we leave her, this levi athan of personalities, on the banks of the romantic Potom ac still striving to make tangi ble her dreams, still pushing onward toward her goal; her goal of unselfish purpose, to contribute her bit to make an assured fact of the assertion, “WE ARE RISING.” FROM DANVILLE, VA . Mr. Editor:—Please allow space in your valuable paper to say a word about Holbrook St. Presbyterian church- We have good congregations each Sun day and good attendance at Sunday school, with Miss Nan nie Green as Superintendent. We have been successful in getting some one to preach for us each Sunday. Sunday, the 16th, we had Rev. John Paxton (white), missionary to China. The past Sunday we had Mr. Spiers of the Y. M- C. A., of Schofields, to speak for us. He gave us a very interesting talk. It is Christianlike in our white friends to help us in the time of distress. They all know how the colored Presbyterian church was organized. It came out of the First Presbyterian church (white) of this city We will have to preach for us on the first Sunday in Feb ruary Rev. Thomas H. Amos, of Hillbum, N. Y. Mr. Preston Brown, of White Rock Hill, departed this life last Friday, the 24th of Janu ary. His funeral was held at Loyal Baptist' church, Sunday afternoon, at 1 o’clock. Rev. Melton, his pastor, officiated. Mr- Brown was one of the lead ing members of Loyal Baptist church. He leaves a wife, two daughters and one son to mourn their loss Mr Henry Love departed this life, January 16th. He was at a church meeting at the time of his death, in Alamagro, Va. He was one of the leading offi cers of Shiloh Baptist church. His funeral was held Monday afternoon, from Shiloh church. His pastor, Rev- C. C. Harvey, officiated. The funeral was largely attended. He leaves a sister and sister-in-law to mourn their loss. We are going to have anoth er undertaker in the city, Mr. Brevard Flipper. We have had some undertakers here, but they have been charging our people too much to bury their loved ones, charging as high as $700 or $800. So our white friends have taken it in charge. When will some Negroes lean how to treat their people? JAMES GARLAND. -o SOUTHERN WHITE EDU* f (Continued from page 1) cr condemned while the Nordic i is daily eulogized because of his superiority as exhibited by such oppressors of the weak as i Bismarck and Gladstone. These Negroes, too, have been misled equally as much by the study of such marplots and murderers as Alexander, CJae i sar and Napoleon. Unusual s characters of African blood s like Antar, (Es-Sadii, Pushkin, > and Dumas have not crossed s their path in their college ca ! reer. Believing, then, that they belong to an inferior group these NegrO' intellectuals spend their whole lives complaining about what the Negro cannot do and howling because white groups socially exclude them from their circles. White peo ple tell these Negroes that they do not care to associate with them because they do not rep— resent anything, and instead of refuting the charge by actual achievement these unfortunates spend practically all of their time trying to secure the en actment of laws to make the whites do what laws cannot force them to do without pub lic opinior behind them. inis answers tne question, then, as to why the uneducat ed Negroes of the country tiave accomplished so much more than these so-called educa ted but misinformed ones. The reason is simple. Men like S. W. Rutherford and Jesse Binga, who did not attend any school very long never had the oppor tunity to learn in the higher institutions any such theory as the inferiority of the Negro or the impossibility of his rising to a position of usefulness and recognition in the Country. These practical men, therefore, never lost faith in their own group. They believed in their possibilities and organized them for constructive work while the so-called educated Negroes have been keeping up their howling in a corner. These practical men are developing the race from within and will eventually break down the bar riers by actual achievement, by demonstrating to the world that the Negro has done and can do what others have done and thus make the Negro race so attractive to other groups that instead of desiring to be separated from them they will seek contact with them AMERICA THE GRAND America the Grand, The nature-favored land, The land we love. Thy hills are verdure-dressed; Thy mountains treasure-pressed; Thy valleys plenty-blessed, All lands above. Thy loyal sons—and strong, And virtuous daughters throng Thy portals wide. The nations’ family Justly acknowledge thee The fairest land to be— Of earth the pride. E’er in prosperity, Virtue, and verity, Lead thou the van. Ever oppression flee; Ever be tyranny And all iniquity Beneath thy ban. Let arrogance and strife And hostile rumors rife Forever cease. From war’s disaster hold; Thy martial banners fold; Thy armaments remold, In bonds of peace. America thr Grand. The nature—favored land, All lands above, God give to every clime Deliverance from crime And, to remotest time, Abounding love. fFrom Random Rhymes, by Dungee. Appropriate to be sung by all Amer icans). OPEN LETTER TO PRESBYr TERY OF SOUTHERN VIRGINIA Dear Brethren: A few more weeks and then will come the close of our Church year. Judging from the reports coming in to me we are yet far from the goal of raising cur benevolence. We know what "the past rec ord of the Presbytery of South ern Virginia has been, but the question today is what the future will be? We can answer this question by meeting our every obligation to the Boards and by raising our benevolence. May not we ask God’s help in this great work? Yours in His Service FRED D. NANCE, Treasurer of Benevolence of the Presbytery, So. Va. Never do what you cannot ask Christ to bless, or go where you could not take Him.
Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.)
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Jan. 30, 1930, edition 1
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