Newspapers / Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.) / March 1, 1934, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
•r rfi AND YE SHALL KNOW THETRUTH, AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE.”— Johr vjli 82. CHARLOTTE, N. C„ THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 1934. VOL. LV. SHOULD INDUSTRIAL TRAINING BE GIVEN IN OUR SCHOOLS ' S .• " ■ , ^ .: ; - By Rev. H. iW. McNair, Nicholasville, Ky. (An address delivered at the Workers' Conference held in the University Church at Johnson C. Smith University, Feb. 6-9.) • The question has been! raised ns to whether industrial work should be longer offered In our schools. Some of our public school officials in order to cut down on their school budgets have been listing this work among the frills of education. The question which I wish to raise here is: Shall oUr Church fall in the band wagon with public school officials, or shall she keep on training the young which come tinder her care ac cording to their needs? To my mind nothing is more practical than the so-called, industrial arts if they are presented in the propejr way. What I mean by in the proper way is, there must not be a makeshift. In other words, the work must exist in actuality and not on paper alone. It must be taught by those prepared to teach the subjects; As one has said, “A little learning is a dan gerous thing; drink deep!” This . applies to industrial knowledge as well as to knowledge along other lines. While it is not my purpose to minimize the literary subjects taught in our schools, may I say that there are boys and girla who will never make their mark in life and be an asset to society if the literary subjects are pursued alone; but if trained along industrial lines they will soar to the stars and mount the summits and wave ihe im perial toga. * m^^a^^some1^^!^ have^ou ’ believe. It is helping the youth to find himself or herself. The modern age has seen the folly of trying to make a boy or girl do that tfor which thjey have no aptitude. It is also folly for the schools fostered by our Church to deny a chance to those who ought to be trained along industrial lines. Of course, scattered all over the great Southland as our schools are, consideration must be given to the kinds of industries each school should offer. ~ Just here it may be of inter est to you to know wnat are some of the conditions that ex ist in any State, the great State cf Kentucky, in respect to the colored people along industrial lines. This finding is the find ing of a commission sent out by the State Department of Kentucky, and) your humble servant was one of the ten col ored members placed on the commission. It has to do with the need for industrial training for colored people. It gives the number of ^colored (people en gaged in industrial pursuits but poorly trained to render effi cient service. The report J?oes jon to say that it will be noted that 33.8 per cent of the Negro workers earn a living in domestic and personal service; 13.5 per cent in manufacturing and mechan ical industries; 8J2 per cent in transportation; 7?5 per cent in extraction of minerals;.and 5.4 per cent in trades. These groups include 68.4 per. cent, or more than two-thirds of the Negro workers of the State; yet there is hardly a public school in the State where they can be trained for any of these pursuits. „ I give you this data to show you what an awful plight our youth will be in if our schools should close the door of indus trial training in their faces. While this finding is the find ing of one State, I believe I am safe in saying that similar con ditions exist in almost aU oth er Southern Statue. Industrial courses are more necessary now than formerly. The home is not what it was once. Many of the functions of the home must of necessity be transferred to the schools if we are to continue in the onward march. Many children do not know what it is to be in a home where such virtues as honesty, industry and other common vir tues are emphasized, and I might add that because of many conditions which obtain nojt only" in the industrial centerst but in the farming regions as wbll, it seems to me that we will lose our opportunity of doing some real service for humanity if we drop our industrial work in otir boarding schools. The only home training that many of our people will get will be in pur boarding pchools. Many thus trained will be an asset, who otherwise will be a liability. It seems to me that in view of existing conditions, our in dustrial work should be expand ?d rather than curtailed, - The three “Rs” will no longer suffice in modern society. I am a believer in democracy. I believe that every individual should have equal opportunity; that is, an opportunity to de velop according to his gifts and capacity. There is as much cul tural value in some of the in dustrial arts as in some of the abstract subjects. Shan we de prive the individual who has mechanical genius an oppor ulhEi ij? industrial work, but its expan sion. This is an opportunity for our Church to do some real tarfeible missionary work. Let us still be the good Samaritan. Let’s still continue to look after man's social needs as well as his spiritual needs. MOST VALUABLE PEOPLE (From The Presbyterian) We do not hesitate to state from our observation that reg ular church attendants are, as a rule, the most valuable peo ple in any community. Look about and see if this be not true. As a rule, church 'g^oing’ people are industrious and rarely are forced to the “bread line” even in these hard days, when everybody is a loser. Church attendants form the moral baokbonle of any place, eitjyt village or rural district/ With now and then an excep tion, church-goers keep free from drinking, gambling and 3exual vices. Church attend ants are the most generous in giving of money and labor to aid worthy causes. Observation will show that regular church attendants are most careful in conduct and seldom fall into evil ways. A good churchman has a much larger influence than his neglectful neighbor. We have spent many years in one piade, and;1 we y|ay thlepcf things from actual observation. One political boss in a city of about 100,000 gave us this tes timony: “I always go to church because I know I can do more for my city by the practice.” He never failed to be there while health permitted. Not all church-goers are ! perfectly righteous, but no one can gat 'regularity without gaining ad* vantages which will not be gained in other ways. We never knew a neglecter of church worship who did not degenerate in some ways in the course of years. It is good to go to church: The best people in your com* munity are always there. RACE HfUtTS By IX . KeDy Miller Several years ago I had a Jap anese student in one of my classes, fn course of discussion I had occasion to refer to the “Japs” as the foremost branch of the non-white races in the world arena. I did this perfectly simpliciter, using, as I supposed, the abbreviated form instead of the full name by which the yellow yankees are usually de signated. Upon adjournment of class my Japanese student ap proached me in a very politer manner and courteously re minded me that that term was very off erosive to members of his race, and was as objection able to thenf as “Nigger” is to the American citizen of African descent. He assured me that he felt surfs that I had no such intent, but that he merely wished to let me know the sen sitiveness of his race on that point. This gentle caution re minded me always to be very careful in the use even casually of such terms as “Chink,” “Dago” and “Sheeney” as ap plied to racial groups. Such ep ithets might be opprobious to them and wound their just sen sibilities. The Negro is particularly sensitive concerning any racial designation which differentiates him from the great body of the American people. All such terms as “Colored,” “Negro” and “Afro-American” carry with them connotations of inferior ity. The Chicago Defender has vainly striven to abolish all such terms from its columsjf* and to substitute the awkwwd and meaningless term “Race-' men? /sphere such Resignation.; is necessary. But I do not think that many 9erious publishers, publicists, writers or speakers have any scruples about using any one of the three designa tions where racial distinction becomes necessary. My own method is to use these terms as synonyms, using the one or the other, whichever may seem most approppriate under the circumstances. The colored race 'universally regards such cerms as “Nigger,” “Darkey,” and “Coon” as iiwulting and calculated to belittle and be mean. Members of the rade often use such terms in a jplay ful -idr jocose way but would feel mortally offended when the white man uses them. I recall riding in a racially separate .•oach through Virginia. An ill mannered youngster was smok ing a cigar. The conductor came through and ordered him to cease smoking, saying: i ‘Don’t you see ladies in this car?” The vulgar response was: “I don’t see no ladies; there is nobody in here but nigger wo men!.” Such ugly incidents as this too often confirm and justi fy the white man in character izing the race by offensive epi thets. ‘ Very often leading, well meaning publications use such terms, simpliciter, as I did in the case of my Japanese student. I recall that my late friend and colleague, Dean George W. Cook, in a written complaint, called President Theodore Roosevelt to book for using the term “Darkey’1’ in one of his articles. Mr. Roosevelt respond ed that the race is too sensi tive, that he himself was often called “Dutehy” and thought nothing of it. Will Rogers has recently beer widely denounced in the colored press for using “Nigger” in his broadcast. When called to ac count he disclaimed his insul tive intention, but used the word “Darkey” in his explana tion. The verbiage of his expla nation proved as objectionable as the original offense. Nobody who has followed the method of this good-natured fun-makei could believe that in either in stance, he intended to reflect uppn or insult the race. He was merely indulging his vernacular. Thf racial objection, however, is justifiable, however simplici teh might have been the au thors indulgence in these tefips. To allow such terms to pass current without remon strance would belittle and de grade the race in the eyes of the supercilious white world. The most unpardonable epi thet tl*at can be applied to an opponent is the phrase which identifies him with the canine species through his maternal descent; and yet this has be come a playful epithet often Passed between friends wholly void of offensive intent. At the recent^ banquet of the Gridiron Oub In Washington, at whicfc the President and the highest officials were guests, “S. 0. B.” was added to the alphabetic list of initials by which the new admijndstr^tfqn ^has designated public activities. The term has gained acceptable usage eVen in polite male society. It is the inferiority complex that mafees thte Negro sensi tive to racial taunts and jibes when used by the white man. Group insults run from the su perior to the inferior, and not contrariwise. Some one has salid fhat “no |pntleman w4l> insult me; no others can." It is none else than Shakespeare who declaims that “The eagle puffers little wrens to sing and is not careful what they mean thereby." A man can easily in suit the sensitivte female ape vvhite race cares little or noth ing about what the Negroes may call them or say about ‘-hem, but the Negro is keenly sensitive of the white man’s jibes and epithets, even where there is no insultive intent. The dependent position of the Negro keeps him forever on the alert defensive in behalf of his racial reputation and good name. Eternal vigilance is the price of race self-respect. MARY ALLEN JUNIOR COLLEGE OBSERVES NE GRO HISTORY WEEK Negro History Week, Febru ary 12-16, was observed a1 Mary Allen Junior College with appropriate exercuses. Each morning members of the Histo ry Club read to the studenl body papers setting forth th< Negro in history and empha sizing his influence on the do Velopment of American civili-j zation. On the evening of Februarj twelfth, birthday of Lincoln the great Emancipator, repre sentatives from the various classes delivered orations cov ering the developments in Ne gro History since the signing of the Emancipation Proclama lion. This indeed marked ai epoch in American history ii that it not only ended the cru elty of slavery but presente< to the nation another problem perhaps greater, the absorp t’on of four million liberate! people into the social and eco nomic life of the United States This situation was well describe! in the following orations | “The Negro in Business,” “Th jNew Day,” “The Negro's Deb | to the Union,” and “Abraham (Lincoln, the Man with a Vis ion.” One notable feature of th evening was the offering of tw hundred dollars fgtfvten by fthji students, faculty and friends o the institution for the work o the Presbyterian Board o Missions in Negro education , This Annual contribution hsfc (Continued on page 3) PLAN OF PRISON REFORM PROPOSED BY SOUTHERN CHURCH LEADERS Savannah, Ga., February 16. —Rt. Rev. Frederick F. Reese, Episcopal Bishop of Georgia, issued today from the Episco-j pal office in Savannah a state-j ment and appeal from religious1 leaders to the people of the| South, urging abolition of the chain gang and a more humane and redemptive treatment of all prisoners. The appeal is signed by sixty well known, re* ligious leaders of the South, in cluding bishops, ministers, edi tors of religious papers, Pres idents of church colleges, and denominational officials. The joint statement of the Southern churchmen points out that the chain gang still exists in three Southern States, that most county jails are breeding places of crime, that prisoners are often cruelly punished by untrained guards, and that the “sweat box” still exists. In their statement the church men protest against political .•ontrol of jails and prisons and advocate a system of probation and also the consolidation and State control of jails. They put forth a fourteen point platform of principles as a guide for the treatment of offenders. The text of the statement is as follows: “In no other particular is the application of the Christian principles of our civilization more necessary than in the treatment of our prisoners. The Christian point of view is the sacredness of every human life and the restoration of the err ing. In spite of the progress of the redemptive--principle , in dealing with offenders as shown by the multiplication of juve nile courts, reformatories, the probation system and the sci entific treatirtent of the indi vidual delinquent, the idea of the punishment instead of the reclamation, of the offender is still deeply imbedded in the public mind, in the procedure of the courts, in the housing of prisoners and in the adminis tration of our jails and pris ons. The situation gives nse to | serious consequences and some times to shocking brutalities of which the people are only on occasion made aware. They are confined to no feedtion of the country. The county jails and most prisons are anti-social in stitutions, badly out oi date, and breeders of crime. In the ' North most prisoners live in idleness; in the South they are ’ saved from that calamity. The ’ majority of prisons, especially those with old time cell blocks, are inhumane. They are some , times fire traps and have been > the occasion of frightful loss of 1 the lives of helpless prisoners. ^ “There is no question but that _ our Southern States are rela tively backward in their treat . ment of crime arid prisoners, ’ especially of Negro prisoners. , The chain gang system exists . nowhere else in the nation ex [ eept in a few Southern States. “Prisoners are sometimes in 1 humanely punished by guards [ who are unfitted by training . for their tasks. Food is often unbalanced 'and unpalatable.* j Road gangs of prisoners in two , or three Sattes are still caged j and chained at night in hot and t unsanitary steel wagons after ! a Hard day’s work. They are) _ ometimes shot down or chased by hounds if they attempt to escape. This is not necessary ® for they seldom escape recap y ture. Their health is riot suffi ^ cieptly protected ia iriaay jails £ and road camps. They usual!j £ receive no wages, or only a pit tance for luxuries. Their hours j of work are unnecessarily long i Prisoners in somfei States are 'armed as guards and rewardec when they shoot down fleeing prisoners. “These are not meant to be blanket charges against all our Southern States but they ob- > tain in particular States. Oth ers, as for example, North Car olina, have re-organized their penal systems. Alabama has gotten rid of forced labor in her coal mines. Florida and Alaba ma have established sanitary road camps and do not chain prisoners. Georgia has abolished flogging rind leasing of prison ers to private corporations, but retains the chain gang, sweat box, stocks, and the county sys tem. There are model prisons and reformatories in increasing numbers; but as yet the funda mental evil of exploitation of jthe prisoner for profit, either i directly by the State or by leasing to private corporations, still remains in a few States. The office of sheriff is still a political job and the same is true of wardens and guards in :our prisons. The,fee system in counties tends to corrupt offi cials and sacrifices the welfare | of the prisoner. Political con trol usually ends in graft and ! other forms of corruption. | “We feel it our duty, as spir itual shepherds of our .South land, to protest against these evils. We appeal to governors and legislators of States in which the chain gang system still obtains, to abolish the sys tem, and to enact laws and to put them into effect, which : shall finally recast the entire penal system of these States in accordance with the Christian principles. of the saigredpess; of pereonality and the recovery of the delinquent. These prisoners whom we now still dishonor and r-xploit are such as those of whom Christ spoke when he said, ‘I was in prison and ye (came unto me.’ “Specifically, we offer the fol lowing platform of principles, now well established in dealing iwith crime, as a guide for the I treatment of offenders. We ask I all citizens to ponder them long land deeply: The consistent object and guiding principle in handling prisoners should be the protec tion of society by the reclama tion of the criminal. It is to the interest of society that this shall be done, since the crim inal will return after a while to society. “2. Imprisonment, while ne cessary under present condi tions, is degrading to the pris oner and his family and costly to the taxpayer. A large per centage of all convicted persons might be safely paroled under itbe care of trained probation of j Seers, at great economy to the 'State and advantage to the prisoner. Slightly over one half | of all Federal prisoners are now ’out on parole under probation officers. The indeterminate sen tence and suspended sentence 'are a necessary part of a pro gressive penal code. “3. A trained probation ser vice is needed in every State in the; South. It should be organ ized on a country-wide basis with a state supervisory bu reau. Every • criminal court should have the service of such officers, women as well as men, and there should be colored of ficers, trained for the purpose ’*n colored schools, to deal with l colored offenders. “4. Juvenile offenders, at. least to the age of 16 and preferably . IS, should not be imprisoned or . brought .before courts having , criminal jurisdiction, but before - juvenile courts where the pro . eedure is not criminal but is ( based upon social treatment, and where the delinquent is ' placed under the care of proba l (Continued on page 47
Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 1, 1934, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75