Africo-A„
‘AND YE SHALL KNOW THETRUTH,
VOL. LIIL
CHARLOTTE, N. 0, THURSDAY,
THE LARGER PARISH
PART II. THE MAN FOR THE LARGER PARISH.
By Rev. C. H. Shute, D. D.
(Dr. Shute is Professor of Religious Education and the
English Bible at Johnson C. Smith University. The follow
ing article is an address deliv ered at the Ministers’ Institute,
held at the University, June 27-July 1.)
., From some things said in
Part i, it must be evident that
only a certain type of man will
tit into the larger parish.
This paves the way for the
statement that the only man
who can qualify for a place in
the larger parish is one who
has outgrown the smaller par
ish and its ideas.
There was never a time m the
world's history, perhaps, when
the demand for leadership was
more urgent. From every walk
and sphere of life, from the
humblest station to the most
highly exalted position, comes
the cry for better, safer, san
er, purer leadership.
This demand is one of the ba
sic principles of the parish of
the future. "One thousand six
hundred ministers of the gos
pel are required annually to fill
the pulpits of Negro churches
in this country. But the whole
number of men turned out each
year who are full fledged col
lege and seminary graduates
scarcely reaches the one hun
dred mark,” says John Milton
Moore in "Challenge of
Change.”
Some one has said that only
about two States in the Union
furnish adequate high school
training for Negro youth.
"Since the beginning of the
present century, however, the
enrollment (to say nothin# of
the elementary school) has in
creased ten-fold.” Other means
and sources of information
have kept^ almost equal pace.
These- and other conditions
*'•’/ call for a trained, yes, a spe
cially trained ministry. The
man of the larger parish must
\ know. While his academic and
seminary training may be taken
for granted, his time and cir
cumstance will search for his
knowledge of economics, polit
ical and social sciences, along
with a practical acquaintance
with national, international and
world statesmanship. He must
know his time, and his people,
the product of his time.
It goes without saying that
the pastor of the larger parish
will have knowledge of and in
terest in local conditions, such
as preaching, pastoral visita
tions, finance, benevolence and
social service.
Efforts in the pursuit of
knowledge, in one form or an
other, are required to be in
creasing. Some one has said:
"If a man has finished his edu
cation, his own finish is in
sight.” Man must go forward!
"Beyond the hill-top others
rise,
Like ladder-rungs to loftier
skies,
Till who dare say ere night de
scend,
There can be, ever, such thing
as end.”
To be educated does not ne
cessarily mean that one is edu
cative. Our man’s Christian
personality and outstanding
educative processes will not
cnly be influential in turning
out of their accustomed chan
nels streams of infidelity, athe
ism and agnosticism, etc., but
will be a positive influence in
causing most desirable young
men to enter the gospel minis
try or other forms of Christian
service.
The man of the larger parish
must do. He will have a definite
program of work, not simply
for one but for seven days of
the week. The time worn an
nouncement, “Preaching next
Sabbath and prayer-meeting
Wednesday night,” with no
further statement, will1 never be
used by the pastor of the fu
ture parish. His program for
the year will concern every
body in his parish. .
The full .parish program
leads .easily to the service of
the community. Community re
lations are fostered, therefore,
as follows:
The church and the public
school.
The church - and the play
ground. -
The church, and amusements.
The church and the press.
The church and the commun
ity spirit.
The leading spirit in all these
activities is the (pastor.
In noting what our pastor
should know and do, let it not
be supposed that he should try
to know and do everything. No,
he must not. become “the
book-full blockhead, ignorant
ly read, With loads of learned
lumber in his head.” Nor in
deed a “meddlesome Mattie”*
prying into everybody’s busi
ness. His great labors are re
stricted, his path is narrow.
But far removed from the nar
row guaged, two-by-four type,
the influence of our larger par
ish man will sweep beyond the
bounds of denominational or
creedal lines, assuming state,,
nation and worldwide propor
tiotns. Isolation hats been out
lawed, distances annihilated,
thus making the world one
great “whispering gallery.”
Africa, China, India and Japan
are our near neighbors, just out
there.
walls, removed barriers and
made distance a thing of the
past. Caste and class discrimi
nation, like all other useless,
vicious, outgrown relics which
mankind should have never
known are doomed to go back
down to their place.
The larger view of life will
doubtless give the man of the
larger parish a deep, abiding in
terest in missions, both home
and foreign. This phase of and
field for religious activity will
realize a new day as a result of
the far-reaching vision of the
pastor of the future church of
larger opportunity.
In discussing the importance
of acquiring knowledge of one
kind and another, the kind of
acquaintance on ‘ knowledge
which is the foundation stone
is acquaintance with, and
knowledge of persons, folk;
folk of your own group first, if
you please. Knowledge of books
and of things and of circum
stances without a psychical
and, by all means, practical
knowledge of persons is the
surest guarantee of failure.
The first person to be studied
w.th the view of getting inti
mate acquaintance, is the first
person, self.
“Know thyself,” the maxim
uttered by Socrates centuries
ago, holds good in this our mod
ern day. A knowledge of self re
veals points of strength and
weakness as well as the great
ness of the superhuman, minis
terial task. This knowledge of
one’s self and of one’s task will
cither fill him with a sense of
utter dependence upon power
divine, and with a feeling of un
worthiness, or make him a
mere professionalise an idler
waiting for the month to end
in order that he may draw his
ill-deserved wages.
Jesus alone knew Himself
perfectly. It is, therefore, a
constant life-study for man.
The road leading to the un
derstanding of man is the study
of man. One of the most hope
ful signs of the times in secu
lar education is the shift from
( Continued on page 3)
WHY THE NEGRO SHOULD
By Dr. Kelly Miller
E HIS VOTE
The question is too broad to
be treated in a single release. I
shall therefore divide it into
three parts and devote a re
lease to a single division.
I'. Why the Negro Should
Divide His Vote on General
Principles.
II. Why He Should Divide
His Vote Nationally.
III. , .Why he should Divide
His Vote Locally.
t Why the .Negro Should Di
vide His Vote on General Prin
ciples.
- In this- connection we . limit
our treatment primarily to the
two principal parties which
have< dominated our political
life since the Negro became a
political factor. This is without
prejudice to the various minor
parties which spring up and
die .down from time to time,
such as the Socialists, the La
borjtes, the Prohibitionists, |
and. the like, I expressly efc
cjpjde the Communists from
the category. Although these
latter-day radicals, make a most
flattering appeal to the Negro's
Rride and vanity, yet, since
they do not conform to our coil
ceived, and accepted political
thought, t rule them outside of
the pale oil the present dis
course. To the Negro, in his
present helpless cqpditjion, in
deed, the Constitution is the
ship; all else is the sea.
A one-sided group, in a many
sided civilization is at a serious
disadvantage. It would be un
fortunate, indeed, if all Ne
groes belonged to the same po
litical party, the same religious
denomination, the same occupa
tion, or lived in the same local
ity, so that their color would
ondax^to thohr poK—
Ics’;' religion, cSing, or place
of residence. Other minority
groups of our cosmopolitan
population are fortunate in that
they escape these restrictions
and are distributed among the
general population, without re
gard to such lines of distinc
tion.
No other minority group al
lies itself permanently with any
one political party. All self-un
derstanding minorities will use
their franchise to. secure their
withheld rights and privileges.
These can not be secured and
maintained by one party alli
ance. The folly of carrying all
of your eggs in one bassket is
pertinent. If that basket falls
all of your eggs are smashed.
You can always make a better
bargain when there are two
bidders insteda of one. Unwean
able devotion to any one party
leads that party to assume an
arrogant attitude and to regard
the unyJLeljding attachment as
due to weakness and to treat,
the attache with contempt and
disdain. This has certainly been
the experience of the Negro
and the Republican Party.
Politicians value most those
voters whom they stand in con
stant fear of losing, and pay
least attention to thofce votes
they carry around in their vest
pocxet.
The woman suffragists, the
Labourites, the Prohibitionists
and the anti-Prohibitionists
never pin their permanent faith
or hope in one party. The Cath
olic and the Jew would consid
er it an outrage if any politician
appealed to them to vote the
Republican or Democratic tick
et on the score of race or reli
gion. The two great parties are
more or less so evenly balanced
that, under normal circum
stances, they go up and down
like 'boys playing see-saw. Woe
be to the Negro if he gains the
everlasting spite of the vic
torious party by never ceasing
opposition and antagonism.
Make friends with both sides
with votes so that when one
fails the other will receive you
in its habitation. This policy
certainly has the approval of
Scriptural advice.
In
lican
less
made
hlm’t
entail<
tude.
corded i
down
as the
tinued.
beginning the Repub
espoused the help
cause. It freed him,
a citizen and gave
lot. This beneficence
heavy debt of grati
gratitude was ac
full measure, pressed
rimming over, as long
sneficent attitude con
., by did the lamb love
Mary so; for Mary loved the
lamb, you know.” But the
sweetest wine makes the sour
est vinegar. The best friends
make 1$ji& bitterest enemies.
The best'part of the Republican
Party to which the Negro owes
a debt of gratitude is under the
ground. i| There is a far cry
from the, party of Grant and
' Stevens to the par
•lidge and Hoover. Dr.
•wkins told us four
that Herbert Hoover
second
was
was to the Negro
Abraham Lincoln. If I
rich enough I would offer him
a thousand dollars to repeat to
day that statement before any
audience^ *of Negroes in Ameri
ca. 1 •
We m#$t now face the living
contingent of the Republican
Party as pf its Democratic riv
al which |s above ground. We
are not dealing with the historic
Republicaju nor with the histor
ic Democratic Party. The choice
is between Herbert Hoover and
Franklin' ^Roosevelt. Historic
friendships and animosities are
buried with those who cher
ished thc|n. The wisdom of a
divided vote seems to me so ap
parent that none but a Republi
can by appetite would dare to
dispute itL and no one above
the meiittfMiferaKe of amoroj
PUTTING SPIRIT INTO
‘spirituals
By Felix J,_ Walker
(Extracts from “The Old
South,” Official Notebook of
the Society for the Preserva
tion of Spirituals.)
Within the last few years
there has been formed in
Charleston a “Society (white)
for the Preservation of Negro
Spirituals.” No trained singers
are accepted in this society and
the most stringent qualifica
tion enforced is that of having
been bred on a plantation.
These singers give recitalfc in
South Carolina and Georgia,
singing in a semi-circle, with
clapping accompaniment and a
stamping of feet. They endeav
or in every way, it is said, to
preserve the spirit of the ear
lier singing of spirituals. Their
researches into the past have
brought to light many interest
ing and forgotten songs. The
majority of the songs used,
they have learned from planta
tion Negroes.
Extracts from a notebook of
this Society, entitled, ^‘The Old
South,” records the following.
“At night the slaves would
gather in front of their huts
and voices were raised in wail
ing minor strains, peculiar to
Negroid singing. The “buckra”
(a term used by the slaves,
meaning . white people) en
sconced in big chairs on the
long porches would listen to the
impromptu concert with under
standing and pleasure. Like a
swelling tide their voices wept
out upon soft, spring air, while
the odors of apopanax (tiny,
golden balls of perfumed fluff)
and drifting flower petals per
fumed the night.
“The ladies’ maid ‘Mae,’ co
coa-colored, with a white shift
her sole covering, would hum,
‘Couldn’t hear nobody pray,’ as
she brought in old Miss Matuti
nal a cup of coffee. Mammy Jo,
kneading biscuit in the kitchen,
would sing in a bass-like alto,
‘Dar’s a man cornin’ aroun’
takin' names,’ and the little
buckra girl, shuddering in the
doorway, would count as Mam
my ticked off the dead ones,
‘He took my sister and my brud
der,—he’s come to take grand
mudder,’ then the child would
run and hide her face in the
lap of paralyzed little grand
ma, while Tante Aimee looked
error-stricken. For waisnft
Mammy Jo a clairvoyant, and
didn’t she always foretell death
in this manner? Old man death
was coming- around, ‘takin’
names!’ .. , ' /
“The butler, the dish-boy, the
cook, Washing dishes in a long,
dark, raftered kitchen with its
great brick fireplace and
swinging cranes, worked them
selves into a state of frenzy
about “Dat sister, dress so
fine, Who ain’t got Jesus on
her mind.” . , v .
“Monotonous, sunlit tasks,
evolved some of the songs we
sing today. In the tinkle of pi
ano accompaniment we use
there is not much harmony,
for we aim to. give a hard-like
background to incomparable
melodies with jumble of words.
An example of this word jum
ble is found in a song an old
Negro coachman used to sing:
“As I went walkin’ out one day,
Oh yes, Lord!
I spied some grapes hang;in’'
high,
Oh yes, Lord!
I plucked'dem grapes, I sucked
dat juice;
Dem grapes was sweet like hon
ey-loose,
Oh yes, Lord!.’
“See me a believer, see-me-a, "
Low down on de altar, see-me-a/’
See me a believer, see-me-a,
Low down on de altar, see
me-a.” c
‘Jew kill my Saviour one day
’fore I know, [ ^
sepiilkreef
'fore I know,
Oh yes, Lord!”
To sing spirituals one must
understand that they are not to
be exhibitions of vocal tech
nique as explained by the Work
Brothers in their "booklet of
tunes (given helpfully and rev
erently to the wqrld, lacking,
perhaps, in harmonious beau
ty, but sincerely and ingenu
ously confiding)- but to be sung
with a wailing slide of tone
just as the slaves sung them.
Vocal color may not be requi
site, but spiritual insight is.
If one intends to sing, e. g.,
“Going to Walk nil Over God’s
Heaven,” one should visualize
a barefoot, wistful Negro think
ing of the glorious day when
he, too, will wear shoes like
white Miss, and walk and talk
with Jesus just as the buckra
would.
Spirituals are the spirit
gropings of confiding intellects.
It isn’t the educated, musical
Negro, unfortunately, who
makes spirituals; it is the
back country one sweating on
a hot summer day in a fly-bit
ten, white-washed country
church, swaying to the chant
ing of the liner-out who gives a
thread of melody which many
voices take up and play upon
irridescently until it is woven
into a pattern. It is beginning
to be a spiritual. This idea and
the melody are then carried,
with varying melodic sequenc
es, to some other locality by an
itinerant farm-hand. Perhaps
thirty miles away it is stabil
ized by repetition and made
coherent throughout its melo
dy. Thus another spiritual is
established.
The Charleston Society for
the Preservation of Spirituals
is one of those spontaneous ait
movements that help to keep
refreshed the soul of humani
ty. It was born when a group
of young folk (white) of
Charleston, S. C., in the Fall of
1922 began meeting from
house to house to sing the old
songs of plantation life that
they so much loved. With no
thought of public career they
began collecting for preserva
tion those melodies and verses
indigenous to the Negroes dur
ing the same period,
A chance appearance at a
charity church festival started
an interest in their work
which was taken then not alone
to their Southern neighboring
communities, but even to New
York, Philadelphia, Boston, Sa
lem and Wilmington, Delaware.
Maintaining their original al
truistic spirit the proceeds from
these concerts and from their
book of collected , spirituals are
devoted to the relief of aged
and needy Negroes.—Editorial
Note.)
THE EDUCATIONAL AND
FINANCIAL VALUE OF
CHURCH SCHOOL DAYS
(A paper read by Mrs. Mary
Robertson Bryan at the 2nd
District Sunday School Conven
tion of the Cape Fear Presby
tery.)
v The subject for discussion is:
“The Educational and Financial
Value of Church School Days:
Children’s Day, Rally Day,
Lincoln Day, etc.” The Schools
that observe these various
days are laying up treasures
for themselves; for where
there is knowledge there is pow
er. For each of these days the
purposes and objectives are so
plainly set forth that it does
more to enlighten and inform
the people than any other
phase of the work, Whenever
people can see what they are
doing and for whom or what
they are working, it gives real
pleasure and confidence in
what is being attempted and
accomplished. r
Even though material for
the observance of evei*y one of
these days is sent free of
charge, some of our churches
or schools fail’to observe all of
ifeem^mainly- because of the *
work involved, and in some cas
es due to the scarcity of work
ers.
This should be looked into.
More consecrated workers is
the crying need of the day.
One of the best ways of hold
ing the children and of keeping
them happy, as well as busy, is
to observe these days. In activ
ity there is healthy and whole
some growth; in stagnation
there is lukewarmness, indiffer
ence and certain death. In thus
training the children we are
making them better and
stronger adult members. Are
net the children the future
church? One educator has said,
‘ Gi\e me the chi’d the first
seven years, and you may have
him the rest of the time.”
So it behooves us to make
double time, as it were, during
this period and thereby
strengthen our Church.
Therefore another education
al value is promoting the
growth and welfare of the
Church; for surely if our youth
an be carefully nurtured in the
rudiments of the Church, it in
sures a thoughtful and loyal
membership, and a Church
working for the kingdom.
Then, too, in observing these
days it brings the people or
the children of the foreign
field near, and makes real the
Fatherhood of God and the
Brotherhood of Man. How much
more effective is a touch of the
hand, an exchange of letters or
gifts, or of some little treas
ure, maybe? In this way the
whole wide world may be bound
together with cords of love.
It is scarcely possible to
arouse interest and to increase
knowledge and eventually to
create love for our fellowmen
without touching the purse
strings. As surely as one is
filled with love for his neighbor
he will go down into his purse
and share with his brother in
need. If Christian love does
not loosen a man’s purse
strings, then there is not much
faith or hope to be put in his
love or religon. “The Lord lov
eth a cheerful giver.”
So along with the education
I
(Continued on page S)