Newspapers / Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.) / Sept. 19, 1935, edition 1 / Page 1
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AND YE SHALL KNOJP THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH ~8HALL MAKE YOU FREE,-Join viii:82. VOL. LVL NEGRO POLITICIANS i - * By Dr.' Kelly Miller This volume, by Prof. Har old F. Gosnell, Associate Pro fessor of Political Science in the University of Chicago, contains the first study we have had of Negro politicians by a compe tent authority in political sci ence. There is an introduction by Dr. Robert E. Park, Head Of the Department of Sociology of the University of Chicago, who gained intimate knowledge cf the Negro while serving as literary adviser t > the 1< te Booker T. Washington. There are a number of illustra tions of noted Negro politicians, mainly local Chicago Celebrities. After a onet survey oi Negro's political activities in general, the bojic confines it bfelf to a close-up study of C u cago politicians. The battle ground was shifted from South to North as the' result of North ward migration Caused by the boll weevil and the World War. These migrants flocked to the large cities where they found themselves segregated, in con gested areas, by race prejudice which was effective in the North ak in the South, although it man ifested itself in a different form. The rapid growth of the Negro population in the various North ern cities may be judged from Chicago whose Negro contin gent rose from 30,000 in 1900 to 243,000 in 1930. The major ity of these migrants were o voting age. These black Chicago newcomers came mainly from thti South Central and South Western States and were at mice made conscious of their political strength in their new emrirsoamenk - Ife. isjaarious . to note that the Chicago political leaders were indigenous to the city and not imported from the South. John R. Lynch, the vet eran Mississippi politician,' is the sole exception and he took up residence in Chicago too late for effective leadership. •Mayor Thompson may be re garded as philosopher, guide and friend Of the Chicago Ne gTO politician. He built up a Republican organization in the Windy City after a model of Tammany Hall which was as Successful and as cor rupt as its New York prototype. Both the Chicago and the New York organizations gave the Negro a square deal and accord ed him office in proportion to his voting strength. Under the tutelage of Big Bill Thompson and Martin B. Madden, the Ne groes began at the foot of the ladder and were encouraged to rise to the highest pMces in their several wards and dis tricts. They were given abun dant patronage in the City Hall as a basis for holding their black constituents in line. They were none too scrupulous in use of this patronage. Bishop A. J. Ca rey, of the A, M. R. Church, and Big Bill Thompson were polit ical- buddies. Hie mayor ap pointed this eminent ecclesiast as civil service commissioner who died under indictment for malfeasance in office. Negro as pirants desisted from Congres sional aspirations long after they had numerically dominat ed the First District, out of def erence to Martin B. Madden, whose local and national prom inence qualified him to serve his black constituents better, than any member of. the. race could do^ Negroes in Chicago filled places of rank and importance, both appointive and elective, in city, and State, . Immediately upon the death of. Congressman Madden, Oscar DePriest was chosen as his sue? cessor. The story of his political rise from a whitewasher to Con gressman, is typical of the po litical history of Chicago Negro politicians. Perhaps the .most significant event in American politics was the sudden shift in 198$ from, the Republican to the ' Democratic party.. . This tidal wave swept the city of Chicago and its Negro contin gent into the Democratic ranks. Throughout the North the Ne gro was transferred from the Republican to the Democratic camp. Oscar DePriest, the rock ribbed Republican, was supplant ed by Arthur W. Mitchell, a con verted Republican, who had be come a staunch Democrat. But those who think DePriest is a political corpse had better fol low the admonition of Josh Billings who said that if he were to preach a mule’s funeral ser mon he would stand at his head. A new thing under the polit ical sun occurred in the De Priest-Mitcjiell campaign ! in 1934. Two Negroes were pitted against each other as the duly chosen candidates of their re spective parties. .Mitchell tri umphed over DePriest because party discipline requires that all Democrats, white and black, shall vote for the party nomi nee. Mitchell was elected main ly by white votes. • While Negroes constitute the overwhelming majority in three Chicago Wards, yet rela tive to the white popuplation, they are insignificant. This is the surest guarantee that ra cial disfranchisement will nev er be attempted in the North as it has been in the South. “Negro Politicians,” though confined in the main to the city of Chicago, is a model for all of the large cities in the North with a considerable Negro con tingency, where there is no re gtotion in the franchise^ The, Negroes in Chicago are bolder and more courageous as polit ical pioneers than in any other city. New York has a much larg er Negro population than Chica go but less political solidarity and audacity. Congressman De Priest toured the large cities including New York, Philadel phia, Baltimore, Cleveland, De troit, and St. Louis, Missouri, and urged the Negroes to as sert their /racial independence and dominate political units to which race prejudice had as signed them as Chicago had shown the way. He called upon them to elect their own aider men, State legislators and mem bers of Congress wherever race' predominance justified it. Thus Prof. Gosnell has given us Chicago as a model and guide post for the repercussions upon the Southern political situation; but the fact that two Negro magistrates were chosen on the Democratic ticket in a Southern city in the last election is sig nificant and suggestive. A CHRISTIAN BURIAL (Rev. E. Philip Ellis, In The Palmetto Leader.) Startling information was brought to |an Interdenomina tional Ministers’ Union that numbers of persons were being buried yearly* from hospitals and similar institutions without the presence of a single minis ter to administer religious cer emonies. A feeble effort was made to lay the blame of this condition at the door of the min isters for lack of interest in the people. Hence the Union under discussion made alphabetical as signment of its ministers to per form such service when notified by the undertakers officiating. Now this ill nothing'mote than a mere gesture . At the remedy for these deplorable conditions. The dead persona are solely re sponsible for their being buried like a faithful yard dog or a good old house cat. There are more than 65 Negro churches in the city limits of Charleston to say nothing of white church es. In larger cities that number is double if not treble. In small (Continued on page 4) WELCOME ADDRESS TO CA TAWBA CONVENTION AD . BETHPAGE CHURCH (Welcome address on behalf of Bethpsge church, delivered by Mrs. Annie Thompson Parka to the Sabbath School Confer ence of Catawba Presbytery, August 8, 1985. Printed by re quest.) f President Stinson, Officials, [Delegates, Visitors and Friends: I assure you that it affords me no little degree of pleasure and a great spnount of honest pride to be aide to welcome yon this evening on behalf of the Bethpage church. We feel like, little children who jhave (heed longing to see Santa. After waiting for, to, , these many years without we glimpse of him. we awoke this morning and to our delight found him present. We are the children who have been longing to see you. You are the Santa whom we have been hoping would come to us, bringing gifts of information, encouragement and enlighten ment. We were anxious to meet you became you are the law making body of pur Church. You are our Meal, are your imi tators for a ^ehurch fully equipped and conducted accord ing to the standards given by you to our forme* delegates and superintendents. We are glad to lave you here because of the contact, because of the inspiration, because the knowledge of church activ ities that our members will re ceive by seeing and hearing you in actual operation .wilt be of more bene$t than a dozen del egates would be, by bringing a verbal or written revert. this organization were giants, hecause through your govern ing influence so much has been done towards standardizing uur local churches. We are glad, however, this evening to find that you are only humans after all, and we now know and un derstand why it is that you have helped us so much. It is because you are a part of us. We welcome you because you stand for Christianity. If the world is saved today, it must be saved by God's Christian peo ple here on earth. There is no institution that has stood the test, weathered the storm and made the port, except the Chris-, tian Church. We are glad to welcome you because you are re presentatives of that great in stitution. . We welcome you because we are all serving one heavenly Father. Ye are the vine or the main stem; we are the branches and tendrils, growing and servr ing together, each in his or her own place, doing what he or she can for the advancement of God’s kingdom here on earth. We welcome you because you stand for unity. In unity there is strength. Nothing of note has ever been accomplished by a group unleshi they worked to* gether. Banded together to train children for future servic es; to bring young men and young women to a fuller reali zation of the richer and deeper life that is hid in Christ Jesus; to give oldermen and older wo men a clearer understanding and a more comprehensive view of God’s word that it may ena ble them to Jay it up in their ' hearts and practice it in their lives; working together, for one common purpose, success can and must.come. “For all have a share in the beauty, All have a part in His plan. What does it matter what duty Falls to the lot of a man. Some one has blended the plas ter, Some one has carried the stone, Neither man nor master Ever builded alone. ’ Building a roof from the weath er, Making a house for a king, Only by working together Men may accomplish a thing.” We welcome you to our church, the doors swing ajar on oiled hinges. The steps are strongly built, so do not be afraid to walk in, sit down, and make yourselves at home. We give you free use .of well and grounds. We want you to enjoy yourselves. We welcome you to our tables. Some of our chick ens have been on a wonder; they are wondering no longer. Our gardens and melon patches are t at your disposal ; So eat, drink and be merry, ifor tomorrow no one knows. We welcome you to our homes. Our beds' are ready prepared, invit ing your bodies to a night of peaceful rest after your day's journey and evening’s work. % Last of all, we are proud you are here. We are proud we ar a part of you. We feel humbly grateful that you have conde scended to honor us with you august presence, and I assure you that no stone will be lef. unturned by the members o. Bethpage church to render to your external and internal needs While you sojourn in our midst. We want our church to be on record as a place well remem bered for its hospitality to the officials and delegates of the Sabbath School Conference, August 8, 1935. Take as much gratitude as you !■;■ can, Multiply that by two; <j)ne half is for your presence here . ■ -%■ The other Bethpage’s welcome to you. VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL | Church—Hodge Presbytery 1 We are proud to note the com mendable fact that for four consecutive years Rev. W. D. Wood, pastor of our church at Washington, Ga., has held the most representative semi-inde pendent Vacation Bible School in Hodge Presbytery. Owing to his profound interest, constant study and signal success in this Work, we. considered ourselves very ’fortunate ip securing Rev. Wood as a tjeacher of Vacation Bible School Methods at our Junior School of Methods last summer. In the midst oi adverse ui cumstances, the Bible School enrollment at Washington this year was 135; there was an ef ficient faculty of 19 and the school offered ten distinct cours es. Sensing, the/ fact that some visible sign of accomplishment is the best ad^rtiser, the hand craft teachers were asked to have every child carry home an item made in this department on the very first day °f school. One of tfee climaxing feat ures of this Model School is “open house day” when the ex hibits of the various depart ments are placed on display and an invitation is extended to par ents and the public at large to witness the “two-week session of progress.’ ’ It works. If you should' ask Rev. Wood what accounts 1 for the excep tional and lasting response on the part of the ? local populace of Wilkes County, he would, very likely, say that a real pre cedent in this work was estab lished in the outset and the sub sequent successes:, are but the results of the “lingering melo dy of that first »«ong.” H. R. PINKNEY. One sure mark of greatness in a man is his .capacity for spiritual perception. This ap plies in , all' realms—business, politics and the arts. The see ing soul is the true success. John stands out from the other disciples because he best under stood the Master, and was most beloved by Him.-Dr. W. T. El lis. nr THE WAT By Unde Billie To get a man’s true value of your inner powers, let him feel and believe that he is telling you something that you don't know. Of course, this requires tolerance reflecting culture deeply rooted and most care fully drawn out and refined by an injected, winning personali ty. And it is not far afield to af firm that without such tolerance you quite often hear on tfie oth er side of the street: “Tell me something I don’t know;” “Teh a man something new;” “You can t tell me anything.” These sharp retorts—and it might jbe you did tpot ,expect them—often close the source whence the supposed informa tion comes. But, on the other hand, give your supposed light bearer the privilege of the floor and become a meek auditor; nod neither assent nor punctuate his unsolicited knowledge with an amen to speed him on into whai he feels and believes to be your ignorance. Be quiet and know what he thinks of what you have acquired; .and mastered through well-directed forces of your intellect. Remain dumb while ybur self-styled mentor attempts to unfold mysteries, interpret men and analyze meas ures; ana you: are uxeiy to see at a glance just how much val ue sucli an assuming fellow places on your sense of feeling. Be quiet and at ease apd get his valuation of your will pow er by observing what consider ation he gives your^- choice of persons and things. . The unfortunate thing to a large Jbiij&iSg feel that We are m tBe worlcrio give out something that has not dawned upon the vision of some poor, unassuming fellow — and quite often he is. our superior in our own line of work—instead of performing in our humble task when called upon. To give a man the floor, who feels that he is telling you some thing that you don’t know, is to give you ah insight of his inner powers. You can not judge the speed of a race horse by looking him over but by “letting him out.” About fifteen years ago uue 3f our humble Presbyterian min isters was suddenly called upon one Sabbath morning to come over to a large, institutional sister church, of a city of no mean standing among cities of this country, to teach the pas tor’s large Bible class, which was composed of lawyers, phy sicians, school teachers and high brows who happen to drop in. This ipinister complied. He went around the comer a few blocks away and walked into the class room of this highly cultured group; they were the Greeks of the city. He greeted them fraternally; and they re plied in like planner. But before the minister could ask for back ground or plot of the lesson, of which David was the chief char acter, you could hear one after another calling for ‘‘Mr. Teacher’s” attention on some point in the lesson. There was no consecutive method of pur suing the beautiful, helpful les son. It seemed that every fellow had a “hard question” to test the teacher’s ability in matters Scriptural; and.before the min ister could help apy one on* why that one had gone on to an swer his own question. During all of this precious time the minister had nothing to say; for he could *not get a word ip edgewise. But he soon learned just what valuation this profes sional group ' had placed upon his knowledge of that Sabbath school lesson; yet they were kind. After their supply of steam had been exhausted, one very quiet, unassuming lawyer said: “Reverend, give us your idea, of the core of this lesson.” the 'humble minister gladly com plied with the mild request by consuming about eight minutes in giving a plot, background, ’^1 and sin and restitution as ex hibited in David. 'When the minister thanked ,the young professional men for such rapt attention and was about to take his seat, one of the leading phy sicians , who happened to “drop in” from a large city, arose calmly and sai{l: “Excuse me, gentlemen; out had we not been such big fools this morning we would* have learned more about this lesson.” And they all with one consent began to say, “Amen!” To perform a duty well to which you are called, as a rule, causes assumed mentors to change their valuation of your inner powers and see themselves as fools; and that bespeaks hope for any man. Edisto Island, S. G. McClelland convention AND SCHOOL OF METHODS The Presbyterial ' Sabbath School Convention and School pf Methods of McClelland Pres bytery met at Harbison Insti tute, Irmo, South Carolina, July 16-19, 1936. Dr. and Mrs. J. G. Porter and their friends on the campus and in the coimnunity spared no pains in seeing that the members of the Convention were ’Well cared for in every way. The attendance and the inter est were good from the begin ning to the end. The attendance was iiicreased because of an idea advahced by 0ur versatile Presi dent Mrs. M. V. Marion, of An derson, S. C. At her suggestion, PfvJ. G. Porter sent his school bus to Anderson where a num ber of representatives from the congenial bunch had a most en joyable bus trip to the Conven tion at a very reasonable fare. It is hoped that this will become a regular feature. Class Work The classes were well attend ed and much interest was shown in all of ■ the subjects presented. Much helpful infor mation and many progressive ideas for use in the local Sab bath schools were passed on to the attendants. tHhe assembly period and the devotional pe riod were both unusually inter esting. * Business sessions Business sessions were held each afternoon from 2 to 3 o’clock. These sessions were presided over by the President. Recreation, Games, etc. The recreation period was from 3 t0 5 P. M. The games were in charge of Mr. E. McAd ams. There was much rivalry between the “Reds” and the “Blues.” Vespers Vespers each evening at 6:30 were in charge of Rev. C. W. Francis, our Synodical Evange list. The evening songs and talks were truly inspirational. Popular Meetings The evening meetings were held at eight o’clock. The high light of Tuesday evening’s pro gram was the timely address by the President, Mrs. M. V. Mari on, on “Signals of Our Upward Way.” Many helpful pointers for traveling 'the Christian Highway were given and much encouragement was given to travel forward trustingly. The social * Wednesday eve ning was most enjoyable. Af fairs were in charge of Mis3 Jennie Young and Mr. E. Mc Adams. Years and cares were forgotten for the evening. . Rev. D. T. Murray, Dean of the School of Methods, assisted by Dr. C. H. Shute and Dr. L. B. West, of Charlotte, N. C., con ducted devotionals Thursday evening. Rev; A. S. Powe, of Co lumbia, S. C., in a very pleasing address, brought greetings from the Fairfield Convention. A most helpful. address by Dr. A. B. McCoy closed the eve (Continued on page 4)
Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 19, 1935, edition 1
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