SPEECHES & WRITINGS FILE A Colored Woman in a White World (2) [Washington has been called the C [vispar] [bacut?] [its own?] African one day--Is that true? Do you want me to tell the truth or do you want me to indulge in a little innocent hyperbole? Just tell me the plain unvarnished truth she insisted. Tell me what wd happen to me if I were a col woman lived in Wash. What I cd do & what I cdnt. Well said I if you will promise not to call me bitter I'll tell you what wd stare you in the face if you were a col woman living in Wash. W people so seldom hear the truth [from] as a col woman sees it with reference to her own group that when she tells truth she is called bitter by her own colleagues (being bitter). She promised and I said if you ask me if Wash is the col mans paradise. Well, Wash is not exactly my cup of tea for anybody altho it is a good ground & [?] [?]. But so far as being a col man paradise is concerned. I certainly hope the angels will be more kindly disposed toward me [col people] than some of the good people in my home town are.] [This chance meeting with Mr J Milholland in Lon was the beginning of a friendship with a man who spent much of his time, energy and money trying [in the efforts] to improve the conditions under solo col people live in the U.S. He had the determination courage and zeal which characterized the leaders in the abolition movement and he never stopped working for what he called complete emancipation till he died. It was largely thru his efforts that the Constitutional League was formed in Cooper Union in New York Feb 3, 1906. He invited me to come to New York and allowed me to be the first to sign to sign the papers incorporating the Constitutional League Feb 3, 1906. He was present at a drive for the NAACP [of CW] in Washington once and in his speech he [declared] said that he, Mrs T Dubois, Dubois and I formed the [formed] the Constitutional League in [New York] Cooper Union in N.Y. 15 yrs ago and I am [he declared he was] prouder of the NAACP than of any organization that [had] grew out of that meeting. [ Mrs Ella Wheeler Wilcox also honored me with her friendship and referred to my work for my group in her newspaper articles. She once gave a reception at the Willard Hotel which was largely attended by people well known in the political, literary and artistic life of the Nat capital. In her invitation she wrote me a little personal note stating that when I came she wanted me to remain until after most of the guests had gone so that she cd talk to me a few minutes and give me her picture. I complied with her request and she kept her promise. In my public work I met Mrs John Logan, who was one the most forceful the widow of the famous - She was then writing for the N Y American and made a complimentary reference to some facts I presented on the race problem in a speech delivered before the N C of W which met in Wash. I have often wondered what my fate wd have been if I had married my German friend, after Hitler rose to power and launched his attacks against both non-white people and the Jews - where wd I be today? Wd I have been forced to leave Germany? If I had had any children, what wd be their status today? I thank a beneficent Providence that I was spared the painful ordeal thru which under the circumstances I wd have been obliged to pass if I had married my German friend - During that same speaking tour in Texas while I was riding on a Jim Crow car I am sure the conductor thot I was a prisoner being taken to a convict camp or to some [other] place to be incarcerated. A sheriff had brot his prisoners into the car and he gave the tickets for them to the conductor. I was sitting in front of the sheriff when he was collecting them He [*the conductor*] looked at me, evidently took it for granted that I belonged to the crowd in charge of the sheriff and passed me by without asking for my railroad ticket - For a long time I preserved this ticket as a rare souvenir of an experience which is guaranteed to give a woman a thrill which comes only once in a life time -] Alexander Graham Bell -- Educator at the University of Edinburgh & the University of London was a professor of vocal [ ] in Boston University. -- 1876 exhibition an apparatus embodying the results of his studies in the transmission of sound by electricity & this invention with improvement modifications constitute the modern commercial telephone. Edison Thomas Alva American Inventor at 12 train newsboy on the railway to Detroit Satsfied his youthful interest in chemistry by [ ] [ ing] experiments while travelling. Carried out [ ] & experiments [ ] in electrical science. Before he was 21 he had constructed an automatic [ ] by means of which a message could be transferred from one wire to another without the aid of an operator. He had directed attention to the problem of duplex telegraphy of which he later invented a [ ] system. He went to NY in 1869 (22 yrs old). In 1871 he invented an improved printing telegraph for stock quotations for which he received $40,000. Invented the phonograph. Invented a method of preparing carbon filaments for the incandescent electric lamp. I got tired of playing the same part said Joe [J] I learned another. But the audience wanted [ ]. back to it. Then I made an important discovery [Covered] that every night's audience is different [ ] other and that if I quit thinking about [myself] only about the people I was trying to entertain each [ ] [ ] a new and exciting adventure. Charles F Kettering chief engineer of the General Motors Corporation who [ ] electric starter. Inventor of the college orchestra. [ ] [ ] [ ] [?]cholar [?] who attends a school. [?] [?]ho learns of a teacher - a pupil, a disciple [?] learner ]?] engaged in the pursuit of learning - a l[earn?] [?]son-one versed in any branch of knowledge - [?] person [?] for erudition - a savant [?] acquainted with books only - a pedant [?] in corrupt or reproach- [?] indebtedness to Scholars- [?embers] of the Honor Society Council of the [?strough) High School [?] me to speak at the [induction?] of members into the recently organized Chapter of the National Honor Society - 2PM [?] 2 Save this Book Mary C Terrell 1615 S St N W Wash. DC Case Book Little girl going along street -- Man stops her & makes a [?gesture] for luck she does not realize the meaning until much older. Subject recollection going to her grandfathers house returning laden with fruits & flowers. Delightful buggy rides with father always spirited horses. On the boulevard with [ ] man & dinner served for three. I was overcome ill a couple of days from effects of solid & liquid refreshments. German children with [ ] played taught me to speak German. Sometimes people at home could not understand me [*Dan ] was hid under the tub and [ ] told the policeman where he was. Father planted guber peas and [ ] [ ing] him that thought On Union St. Laura's trunk was taken to the Bayou back of the house burned up. Why? Mrs. McC[ ] used to [ ] to her when I sent to school to her because it was so restless & ran around I wd crawl under the seats to get where I wanted to go. Father bro't me a doll to school one day. That's brother's company, Mrs. H says I explained. It was unlike me. Mother's hair store on Couch St. Remember once a great crowd gathered around me at a picnic to hear me talk. Had a little white satin bonnet with a long pigtail hanging down my back at a picnic - Mother dressed me beautifully. Paid extravagant prices for my clothes. Had a very exclusive dressmaker make me a beautiful silk dress when I came from school so that I might attend a picnic. Mother always dressed me well Sent large boxes every Christmas filled with beautiful things for myself & the rest of the family the Hunster's Dolls. She kept a hair store. The day the Duke of Alexis came to Memphis she began dressing hair in the morning for the big ball to be given that night in Memphis & dressed hair till 11 that night She had such a great reputation as a hair dresser. Followed pater one night when she knew he would be going to see Emmerline & leaned out as he came up on horseback and called him a name. I was taught to dance at an early age. My mother was a beautiful dancer herself and dressed in exquisite Les hommes blancs taste. She made a great deal of money in her store. Capt. Ayres set her up in this store. Aunt Sue and Aunt Sallie Ann helped her. Walter Gerger- Pompey. Walter was so homely. My earliest recollection of Memphis is that a w man drew a picture vulgar one and asked me if I knew what it was. He saw me nicely dressed and called me to him! Story I told about walking up "the steps" the front of a building with graded divisions like this My mother took me to Yellow Springs.- and I went to what was perhaps the 1st kindergarten. It was called the "Model School" a part of Antioch College. Mother had me take private lessons in German from a student. I did not learn much German. My teacher munched apples thruout the lessons but I liked her. "Aren't I pretty," as a child in the girls' cloakroom at Antioch I stood looking into the glass at myself and asked that question "You're pretty black" replied a girl. After that I used to throw the coats down & trample them. Mate Hoag's death. impressed beautiful girl of 18 died with tuberculosis - I loved to make snowballs and used to say "I want to get used of it." I found crepe on the door when returning home from school one day. Mrs Waring was dead - She told her husband she had never been happy since she had married after the birth of the first baby - I nursed her two children Jennie Romelia and George Trevelyan - taught them to dance, to swing corners, swing partners, & sasché all. The little girl & I in long dresses. Jennie loved cod liver oil. She was threatened with T.B. -- went walking in the Glen - Skated pn the ice pond - Passed by the lime kiln - Went for cream with her Hunster early in the morning to make ice cream. I waited on the table Enjoyed it. Ate too much ice cream and dont care for it till this day - Nearly froze one day going to school - Couldnt open the gate- tried to climb the fence but straddled & couldn't get over. Wd have frozen to death, if man hadn't discovered me. Went to Christian Church Recited at Xmas tree celebration. Mud Pies. Mother sent doll for Xmas tree Mother used to keep a scrap book and recited poetry with feeling. Cd not sing. Cd scarcely carry a tune. Never had a headache. Lofty aspirations. Generous to a fault. Spent money freely. Maggie fell out with me about something I said & wd not speak to me. Went to Public school. Miss Jackson boxed my ears. Mrs. Hunster complained & Supt made her apologize. Met her at the World's Fair or the Centennial. Had to go to bed at 9 o'clock, even when Father visited me. John Brown Spring in the glen was one I highly recommend to a Memphis acquaintance. Used to take love notes to George B for Sallie, ran errands cheerfully. Saw the beginning of the fight against liquor. Women sat in front of a grog shop kept by Irishman. Was deeply humiliated when I thot of my own pater. I saw a servant putting something in a waterfall and surmised she was concealing stolen rugs. Leaned over the bannisters-- jerked off her waterfall and found Mrs Waring's rugs tied up- Treated some girls to a dinner at a lawn fete at Antioch[k] and was trusted. They scolded me for doing so and my feelings were greatly hurt. Father sent me $5-per month for candy. Andy had a candy store. They always said I had more than amount charged, my father declared. Practiced 4 hrs per day. Had exercises that consumed 5 min and practiced them 12 times. Frightened some times in the room up stairs alone. Read the Hoosier Schoolmaster. The house was very large and I was afraid to practice up stairs alone--was wretched. Nearly froze going to school. Man took me off the top of fence when I had climbed trying to get over. Cd not open the gate because of the cold. Had a calf so lame it was run over by the train. Used to stand at back gate to see the trains. A woman beckoned to me once from the train but I did not go. I have often wondered what she wanted & have romanced about it. Waited on table. Father sent money for me to go to Barnum & Bailey's Circus in Springfield. Paid railroad fare of one who took me. Got my aspiration from my mother, who loved and had beautiful things and was admired by southern white men and women alike. Mother won the suit for divorce & was awarded the custody of both children The little boy was sent home in a carriage to Court St by his father. Had gold garters walked Charlie-Lou. Refused to play the part of servant in a school play. I was always fond of reciting. My earliest recollection is of reciting Give Me Three Grains of Corn, Mother, Only Three grains of corn. "Ma" Hunster listened patiently to me while I followed her about, as she did her work. Took the St. Nicholas and once solved a puzzle. I found in Tennyson's poems the poem represented by a picture and was very proud to see my name in print as having solved the problem. Read a great many books. The Rollo stories and others. Heard a child cry and saved him from a policeman when I lived on Corcoran St. Give me 3 grains of corn Mother &c 1st evidence of public speaking. Entered Oberlin in the A Grammar or 8th grade Miss Chaney taught us Decimal fractions after school so that I could make up. Helped boys in Algebra once & had my mark lowered. Was very ill, when I went to New York one summer nobody thot I wd return I was so ill. Mother fed me well and I went to the bathing beach almost every day. She was most generous in giving Brother and me money. Went to the Centennial while in the H.S. Traveled alone for the first time and saw the horse shoe bend at night. Met in Phil. by mother. Sang in the choir. Prof Rice noticed my voice & said I had a good alto voice. I sang in the Musical Union passing the exam easily. Lead in the choir Mr Brand was a great inspiration. Sang the Halleluia Chorus and the Elijah- Skated. Oberlin College. In Senior Preparatory had a splendid record in Latin and Greek. Pres White at close of year gave me a card perfect lacking only 1/10 and said Miss Church, you shd be proud of this card. It was in Greek Prose Comp as well as in translation. I also made a fine record in Latin. Was praised by Mr. Hall, tutor for scanning the line,Da,pater,augurium,da macina fessis. After 43 yrs I can remember that as well as the day it happened. Was so good in Greek and Latin that Mrs Hayford got permission for me to study with Janey. Was elected Class poet in the Freshman year. W'd have been elected poet for Junior yr if Vincent had not worked to get it. I received a large vote. Was elected disputant to represent Aelioran in discussion with L.L.S.- was considered the best disputant in the society. Ida Beagle, a senior insisted upon bringing me in while I was a Senior Prep. Great contrast. Dont want colored girls now. Invited on sleigh rides with white classmates. Mrs. Hatch said she had more trouble seating me than seating anybody else, I had so many invitations. Frequently invited to other tables. Paul Cravath invited me at one time to show how many cakes he cd eat. Cd dress in 5 min Stepped into Mother Hubbard and slip down in time for prayers - Loved my teacher Miss Wright was not good in Geometry - Mrs Nettleton left me in charge of the girls to whom I gave permission to sleigh ride They came in late at night and I was reproved for doing that - It ws very unjust - Had lots of fun in college. Fine girls associated with me - Effie Chapman a queer genius. We had velvet sun bonnets made and had our pictures taken in these sun bonnets. We loved Dickens and impersonated the characters - She was Betsy Prigg and I was Sairey Gamp - We talked as Sairey or Betsy did by converting "S" in to "dg" "Your nodg nose is "idg" red" One day Mrs Johnson sent for us to inquire why I had to be dunned to pay a bill I had run up at a Confectioner's - It was the result of a joke played upon me Nettie McKelvay who had written the dunning card for fun Mrs Johnson caught me with my skates once - She gave me permission to go to Cleveland to see Lawrence Barrett & Marie Wainwright - I called George Myers up over the long distance and he got seats for Ida Gibbs & myself - Went to see Garfield with students of Oberlin College walked with little lame man - Les Blaus. Perry Scoville invited me to Prin White's reception. I did not go with him but with Ida Gibbs. He urged me to do so. Freddie Vilmar liked me & kissed me once. Am American begged me to marry him coming over on the steamer He wanted to take me to Mexico. He came to see me after we reached New York. In Berlin another Amer. made love to me & took me to the theatre. He came to see me the day I was leaving Berlin. Then the German lover. He was crazy about me and wrote my father for me. Several men, a banker, a wealthy business man and literateur needed only a little encouragement which I of course did not give. Father sees Milton Lee's picture in my room - Liked beaux - Had to create own atmosphere - Early showed a tendency to write poetry - One of my class mates quoted part of a poem I had written when I was about 13 I wrote a poem by the firelight of a stove to my mother. Bought Websters Unabridged Dictionary with money sent me on my 16th birthday - First essay was on birds &c Feeling of justice paramount - If I have ever done an injustice to any human being, I do not know it - I regret the episode of trying to force P to let me dose an atomizer in her nose - The doll episode - In trying to decide questions I always asked myself what you want the other fellow to do, if you were in his power, that is if you two exchanged places. That has saved me & often prevented me from being unjust & never lazy always active. Great powers of endurance - willing to work - Never lazy - Was ill for a year but did not give up - A homeopathic physician came from Cleveland to Oberlin to see me - The 1st husband of the woman with whom I boarded had graduated from the Homepatic Medical School of Cleveland & the woman wrote to one of her husbands teachers - After treating me by letter for one year his bill was $10. Remarkable exhibition of unselfish interest in a little unknown colored girl - Paid his own R R fare both ways - Always had a beau. Mollie has only one fault She always has a beau tied to her apron strings! Grandmother heard her say I would die for him. She was about 12 . Father saw the photo of Milton Lee on my table and spoke to Mrs Hatch about it. His theory was that girls & boys should not be allowed to correspond. Summer vacation spent in Oberlin sometimes. Mother came & stayed all summer in my junior year. We went out camping. Mother bought eggs enough for the breakfast of all of us - Describe the Hunster family & Yellow Springs - With my innate industry if I had had the opportunity of devoting myself exclusively to literary work, and my energy had not been so terribly dissipated in a 1000 ways spread over such a wide surface. I might have succeeded much better. Everything I have done has been done when a large portion of my strength had been consumed in sewing, preserving, cooking in household cares on general principles always had to create my own atmosphere - Began to travel early - Cautions - overcautious - Never did anything on the spur of the moment- My views on church change on account of its attitude to the race question - Radical all over - Always obedient but enjoyed freedom Histories taught in the South showing N were happy & S was right - Supt Dallas public schools admitted Mr. Polk was right when he told him he wd not teach his children according to the histories - Mrs. Kyles in Mobile Ala. was called by first name, resented it and was reprimanded by white women - She and her husband had to move to Cal - Read Bible every night- Once very religious but couldn't understand how a just God could tolerate slavery. Relate experience with Swiss authorities & French soldiers going to St Etienne - Chef de Gare surprised when he saw my ticket]. He said I had gone more Kilometers than I had paid for - Purchased my ticket for St Etienne then told by man who looks at them that I could not go to St. Etienne, as my passport stated definitely that I must cross without stopping. But after while, when it was almost time for train to stop I decided to go on that rushed to have my ticket changed from St. Etienne to Paris, so that my trunk which had been checked to St. Etienne could be changed to Paris. One of the baggage men glared at me, when I asked him to get my trunk off the train going to St. Etienne and put it on the one for Paris. I had only ten minutes in which to make the change. It is a wonder I did not drop dead with heart failure- from the excitement and rush - At any rate I boarded the same train for Paris I intended to. I rode 3rd class with a lot of French soldiers, told them I had a classmate in St. Etienne wanted to see but couldn't They laughed at me for even thinking of changing my plans told me story after story of how they had overstayed their leave without having any serious trouble, advised me when I changed cars at Lyons, as I had to do to take the one "by mistake" going to St. Etienne and said they would me put me on the train going to Paris, tipping each other winks, if I would only follow them I went from Lyons to Paris without seeing a single solitary railroad official so that when I reached there I had my railroad ticket still with me - I had a very thrilling time getting a hotel - There was no cab nothing at the station - I had great difficulty in finding the door thru which I had to pass in order to get into the street - Then I had to walk up a hill to get to the only hotel to which I was directed - The proprietor refused to even open the door, saying there was absolutely no room. Finally he said two men had engaged a room saying they would return at midnight. It wanted only a few minutes to that time and if I would wait, I might be able to get the room. Open the door, I insisted, I must come in - Finally I persuaded him to open the door and when I entered, the clerk said I might have the room - If I had not stated that I had come to see the Amer. cousul, I would have been afraid to stay in the room to which I For it had better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness - Exodus XIV was taken - It was on the top floor. There was not a window in it - It might easily have been used for a prison - But in the ceiling there was a small hole which could be opened - I opened this and at least I imagined I got a breath of fresh air. In the morning I found Ida Gibbs Hunt & her husband thoroughly French - &c A friend told me her troubles today The charge this woman's husband preferred against her was manufactured with the desire to hurt her - There was not a word of truth in the statement that she cared for an unmarried man she said. Her husband had insisted that she go out with this unmarried man much younger than herself and a man whom she had formerly befriended - During the dance craze the husband who never stayed home nights urged the wife to go to a dancing class with the young man - She protested that it was an unwise thing to do but the husband pooh poohed her qualms laughed at such a standard that a usher at reception married woman should not go out with a married man - He had often done so himself when he was single he said, and no harm had could of it to anybody So the wife at the husbands insistence went to dances at which he himself was always present with one exception, the private dancing class held at the house of a friend - Three years after the wife had stopped dancing the husband began to say she was wild about this man whom he had thrust upon her - The man the wife said had not come to call on her oftener than once a yr, and sometimes when he called she sent down excuses & did not see him- The husband gave no warning that it was distasteful to him to have his wife dance with the man or have him call at the house. He himself invited the man to his house, sat in the room when he called, conversed with him in the friendliest manner - drank with him - the husband asked the man to be one of several ushers at a reception they gave, the wife said, altho she was very much displeased that her husband had invited this man against her will. She told the husband to recall the invitation because she did not feel that the mans relation to the family had been sufficiently friendly & close to warrant his being invited as an usher - Two years after the reception at which the husband invited the man to be an usher, he told the wife that this man had been making love to her during the reception, I heard him say "what is he looking at," said the husband, and you replied "I don't know" It was comical to hear the emphasis laid upon these words - They were uttered with an emphasis on indignation and an accusatory tone which could not have been intensified if he had claimed he heard the man say, Do you love me and the wife had replied, "Yes I do." The only way the wife can explain this sudden change in the husbands attitude to this man with whom he had urged her to dance with whom he sent her to the dancing class, with whom he drank whom he invited to his own house and whom he called on himself, is that he and the man fell out about something The husband is prone to talk too much & to express his opinion about people in the presence of anyone with whom he happens to be and the listeners report what he says to those whom he criticises or slurs - The man claims that the husband went about ridiculing him because he is a teacher The husband denies this. But the man wrote a fierce attack against the husband which appeared in a newspaper & was widely read - Angry at the attack, [????ked] up with bad liquor the husband came home & abused the wife, charged her with being in love with this man - The husband knows he lies & he does not believe what he himself says but he nags her with these charges because he wants to vent his spleen on somebody and is too big a coward to attack any body but his wife. He has neglected his wife in every conceivable way since they have been married. He has given her nothing has shown her no consideration has never been tender with her even when she was in a delicate condition. After the birth of each of three babies he never remained home nights to keep company with her, When she was at a hospital after the birth of a baby when she had had a terrible time he would come to the sanitarium at noon remain a few minutes, leave & the discouraged wife What he said at the Boule meeting When he arose to state the meanest thing he ever did Wife heartbroken over the loss of a baby which had lived only a few days, then died in a fit because of the maltreatment by a nurse--She had to be on her back in the house alone for a whole month and even then he never came in the daytime to cheer her up a few minutes, as he might well have done, nor did he remain home nights. A college friend boarded in the house & stayed with her, otherwise the ill & wretched woman would have remained alone. Had to create own atmosphere. Early showed a tendency to write poetry. One of my classmates quoted part of a poem I had written. When I was about 13 I wrote a poem by the firelight of a stove to my mother. Bought Webster's Unabridged Dictionary with money sent me on my 16th birthday. First essay was on birds & Feeling of justice paramount. If I have ever done an injustice to any human being I do not know it. I regret the episode of trying to force P to let me dose an atomizer in her nose-- the doll episode. In trying to decide questions I always asked myself what would you want the other fellow to do, if you were in his power, that is , if you two exchanged places. That has saved me & often prevented me from being unjust. Never lazy always active. Great powers of endurance--Willing to work. Never lazy. Was ill for a year but did not give up. A homeopathic physician came from Cleveland to Oberlin to see me - The 1st husband of the woman with whom I boarded had graduated from the Homepatic Medical School of Cleveland & the woman wrote to one of her husbands teachers - After treating me by letter for one year his bill was $10. Remarkable exhibition of unselfish interest in a little unknown colored girl - Paid his own R R fare both ways - Always had a beau. Mollie has only one fault She always has a beau tied to her apron strings! Grandmother heard her say I would die for him. She was about 12 . Father saw the photo of Milton Lee on my table and spoke to Mrs Hatch about it. His theory was that girls & boys should not be allowed to correspond. Summer vacation spent in Oberlin sometimes. Mother came & stayed all summer in my junior year. We went out camping. Mother bought eggs enough for the breakfast of all of us - Describe the Hunster family & Yellow Springs - The Confessions of a Colored Woman Object To show white people how c. feel concerning discrimination, inability to secure employment, attitude of the churches, Inability to attend theatre and lectures hard on cultivated c people- Story of S. Woodward noted tenor, inbility to secure Pullman accommodations. Story of sick col woman who had to travel in Jim Crow & coach died after reaching home. Story of Boston girl dismissed on account of color. Fair colored people who pass for white Mrs. Peters story of the boy who wanted to go to Va. Union University. International Congress of Women, Experiences I have had at two Southern hotels at which I was obliged to stop because the train went no further. Col ministers take me to task for showing perils to which col girls are subjected. What the Editors of Several magazines Said concerning A modern Uncle Toms Cabin. Cant get into a sanitarium no matter how sick. colored girls cannot get into academies in the North - Dodo Francis - My experience - Cook girl at Sage College. Tell about brother's experience. Story of people run out of Wilmington NC because they owned good homes. Segregation laws - Story of a c man who lost his all by that law. For a long time I have wondering whether 2 what would some of my white friends who are so fond of me and [of] whom I love so dearly think of me if they could [look into my heart some time] only read my thoughts some time? I wonder. [For a long time I have been wondering whether it would be wise for me to] shall I or shall I not [tell] reveal the secrets of my heart? Will it do harm or will it do good for the white people of this country to know how a colored woman feels who is subjected to [the] humiliations of all kinds because she has a few drops of African blood in her veins. If I believed it would do harm to the race with which I am identified to [reveal my soul] show how the injustice of which we are victims [to white] practically forces me to lose faith in the Christianity and in the lofty [*charity*] professions which seen even in the good intentions of white people, I should be the last person in the world to reduce [put] my thots and feelings to a public record. But in conversing privately with my white friends of whom I have so many as genuine and as good as human beings grow to be they have so often expressed at the facts related and have confessed ignorance concerning conditions. [*said. Why don't you write an article setting forth these facts or write a book that I have been persuaded to take the advice. And I have done so all the more readily.*] These friends have expressed surprise and have confessed ignorance concerning conditions which confront colored people every day. [In every] The [amazing] thing that amazed me most was the ignorance 4 concerning matters affecting colored people [which are of daily occurrence and [which] incidents which appear in the newspapers] manifested by intelligent, broad-minded men and women some of whom hold diplomas from the best universities in the country and who are abreast of the times on everything except the injustice and brutality of which the best colored people in the US are victims. These friends know nothing about incidents which [are daily] appear in [occurrence] the newspapers nearly everyday. If you could only get such and such a fact before the public they say, there would be such a crusade against this or that condition that it would be wiped out of exsistence in a very short while. Why don't you send articles to the magazines they ask me? because 5 6 [This evening I feel very much discouraged indeed. An article which I wrote on the Convict Lease System as it affects colored people in the South has been returned to me by one of the biggest best and fairest magazines in the country. As absurd as it may appear I am disheartened because I have just discovered that my article has appeared in one of the oldest & best Eng magazines. This article had previously been submitted to every magazine likely to be interested in the matter in the U.S. and had been returned post haste by every one of them. It had been returned by every magazine likely to print such an article in the U.S. There is no reason why it should be for I have stated no facts which were not gathered from southern newspapers and have quoted no opinion except that uttered by southern white men themselves. I should never have thought of sending to an Eng magazine an article which pertains solely to American affairs had it not been for a previous ex. [I shall be] If this article ever sees the light of day it will have to appear in an English magazine as did another I wrote not so long ago. I was [The art] commmissioned to write this article by an editor of a high class magazine] [But when I submitted it, he sent it back by return mail saying he could not print it. [anything which would offered] He gave no reason for [the] taking this stand, but suggested that I might send it to a well known Eng magazine. 'But, remember, said he [that] "the relations existing between the U.S. and Eng are very cordial. You will have to blue pencil some of the statements you have made.] I reread the article very carefully. But for the life of me I could not discover anything objectionable in the facts. [I had made no] Every statement [staement which] made had appeared in a Southern newspaper and every quotation cited had fallen from the lips of a southern white man. I had consumed weeks carefully [reviewing] going over old files a reputable Southern newspaper which had given exhaustive reports of [the] unbelievable conditions which had been carefully investigated by the governor of the State. I sent the article Just as [the article] it was returned to me by the Amer. Mag. to one of the oldest and best magazines in England. It was accepted and it appeared without the change of a "the" or an "and". This proved conclusively that the article was not rejected because the style was inferior or the matter objectionable from any point of view. [I saw then] And now a second article which has been rejected by every A [mag] [?] to which [other accep] it was submitted has been accepted by an Eng mag. It is truly discouraging because it proves conclusively the attitude assumed by the Amer mag [press] toward the race problem. So far as in it lies the average [newspaper or] mag is determined that it will give no publicity to [?] [injustice] or barbarities perpetrated upon the Col American The editors of the magazines have evidently decided not to [illuminate] enlighten the public on the Convict Lease System for instance as it affects the colored man in the South. It is as amazing as it is discouraging to see how little the average northern man or woman knows about the Convict Lease System. Once [in addressing] In a [?] town a speaker once addressed an audience of white women, most of whom were college graduates. A casual reference was made to the Convict Lease System. The President of the Society stopped the speaker and asked her to explain what she meant by the Convict Lease System. Since [The] [speaker] sensing she felt certain that the majority of those present understood what she meant. And if you [had been allotted only a certain length of time] will explain what the Convict Lease System is I'll increase your time ten minutes. O This evening I feel very much discouraged indeed. As absurd as it may appear I am disheartened because I have just discovered that one of my articles has appeared in an Eng magazine. This article had been submitted to every periodical in the U.S likely to be interested in the subject discussed and had been returned post haste to me. I should never have thought of sending to an Eng magazine an article pertaining solely to Amer matters had it not have been for a previous experience. One day [I had prev] I went to an editor who had accepted one of my articles bearing on the race and outlined one which I thot might appeal to him. He said it did and commissioned me to write it. But when I submitted it to him he sent to me by return mail saying he could not possiby accept it - However, he suggested that I submit it to a certain Eng magazine. "But remember ," he cautioned, the relations existing between the US and Eng are very cordial indeed For that reason you must blue pencil some of your statements. It was a surprise to many to learn the facts Altho I am tired and my nerves are on edge I must compose myself long enough to record a thrilling experience I had last night - Since I had to ride all day thru the states of La en route to Texas I made up my mind that I would not start in the Jim Crow Car tho the Heavens fall - I [was obliged] once had to ride a Jim Crow car all day starting from a city in Ark about five o'clock in the morning and reaching my destination, a point in the same state that evening between six and seven - During the whole day, a journey of more than twelve hours, I had not tasted a morsel of food - It was impossible for me to eat in the dining car unless I waited till the white people finished, and I would not do that. I could not have eaten under those circumstances. I should have choked I think. When I reached my destination I had a splitting head ache and was so ill I had to go to bed. [But it would make no difference to a white to treat to withhold any colored people no matter how cultured or worthy she may be like. What may be her attainments] When I learned therefore that I had an all days ride before me I decided not to stay in the Jim Crow Car. [After] It took all the courage I could summon to enter the car. Naturally I was nervous and miserable when I [For I do not] My complexion is swarthy like that of a Spaniard or Porto Rican I am by no means fair as a lily. But I screwed my courage up to the sticking point and entered the car as calmly as I could. The conductor became so interested in me that he started a conversation. At first I was very uncommunicative for I feared I might betray myself but finally I thawed out. "You are evidently a stranger in this section" he volunteered. are you travelling to see what its like down here", he inquired. I answered in the affirmative As we were passing the wretched cabins of colored people in varying degrees of rags, My heart bleeds for those poor unfortunate creatures I remarked. It is a wonder they get along as well as they do. "Yes", they are not very prosperous, he replied, but they are the happiest people in the world replied. Before I realized what was happening we had launched into a heated discussion of the race problem. [When] The conductor emphasized the vices of colored people. It is not the wrong doing of colored people which discourages me, I told him, but it is the evil deeds of white people which concern me most, I said. Then he launched forth into such a tirade against white women as made me shudder- He told of mothers who deliberately sold their daughters. [I know this] Only last week $ to a mother who was carrying her daughter- The Poro College as this Hair Emporium is called owns the building worth at least $280000 carries on its extensive operations in its own building worth at least $250000 affords employment to a large number of the race - The Poro College as the Hair Emporium is called carries on its extensive operations in its own building worth at least $250,000 and affords employment to a large number of the race - Monore Montgomery Morgan [*18 8*] Some of her work Miss W's work attracted the [Rod] attention of the great sculptor Rodin and he made an appointment with her to examine carefully what she had done [*who made an appointment with her to [look at] examine what she had done.*] When he came to the figure in Silent Sorrow he paused a while then declared with genuine enthusiasm Some of her work attracted the attention of the great sculptor Rodin [the sculptor] and he was sufficiently impressed with it to appoint a day on which to examine what she had done. In [looking] over her pieces When he came to the figure in [*In going there*] Silent Sorrow he stopped look at it critically then said with genuine admiration & enthusiasm 2 2 80 3 291 73 59 2968 4 2 47 5 8 2 1 62 1 2 2 37 3 2 11 2 16 5 232 65 36 2358 0 18 5 252 5 5 1 185 3 119 31 23 1737 3 35 1 20 5 1 2 51 5 2 21 1 10 7 105 24 19 1345 Lack of Self Control - If C instead of A had behaved in this way, it would be cited as proof positive of the inferiority of the c - The world would be wagging its head wisely & talking about the impossibility of civilizing & Christanizing such a barbarous people - We would be told that after all these years of civilizing & years of opportunity, if we cod not behave ourselves now, we prove conclusively we are inherently wrong- While in France he began to see spider webs in the air all around him a great deal. The patients at the hosp while pretending to be his friends really had it in for him & wd put some in his food Read the bible very diligently & as result of knowledge gained from it he wd see signs in the sky that made him know the Kingdom of God was at hand but that a bunch of indid-acting the part of devils began to poison his urine & body with gas. They gave him Spanish Fly & put mustard gas in his clothes [* Nov. 3 1918 Meuse Argonne*] 1 Before & After Taking What I said & believe before " I see now now. Must believe optimist need not be ignorant not only work out our own Salvation but that of the w. They have done so much for us it is our duty to return the compliment by showing we have learned the lessons they so delight to teach. Democracy - freedom we mean to do everything in our power to make the whole world safe for Dem by getting a still ourselves. We will show them how much better it is to get it peacefully if possible for their own good not only for our own sakes 2 We will present insults every attempt a aking us Serfs & slaves making of this country that from wh we have fought to free Europe We must come to their rescue Proved positively they can not do it by themselves- The d- must help or there will be no such thing as real civilization. Christian religion the highest ideal & yet they have made no attempt to live up to its precepts. We write ourselves down as brainless & thot lesswhen we say we believe Ch as actually practiced can solve the race problem. It is very bad for the character of a child to allow it to 3 abuse & mistreat others with impunity. It is worse to allow grown people such privileges_ Get in my london experience about African Society. Wells Countess of Warwick. Attitude since the war shows they did not mean what they said. Country did not grant the meaning of Dem as I had hoped. Omaha _ Boston Riot in which col people did not take part. W looted the store pursued women into institutions [?] of from which it was difficult to rescue them Cowardice of mobs. 1000 to one man caught like a rat in a trap- Ones duty to another Proof positive given by war that w cannot be either theirs or civ in highest sense of word - War is proof Brutalities com against each other - Lack of gratitude since - proof of inferior people children are not grateful because they have not sense enough to understand what a great debt they owe their parents - Same is true of races - Still lynch - Boston riot - Broil here with reference to police. After years of intelligence & experience they do not know what to do - Selfish narrow - Make a fable - Euphroist slated - hyperactive meddlesome but not impulsive - No def - hallucinatory or delusional trends - memory orientation & retention tests somewhat impaired [*marked flight of ideas distractability Story of a man who had been round a hosp & heard medical terms Afflicted with psychomotor overactivity*] [*Claimant alleges that he entered the service at __ on the __ day of __ and was discharged at __ on the __ day of __ because of __ He claims to be disabled as a result of __ __ suffered or contracted at __ and that he was treated at __ on or about the __ day of __ for said __ His rank and organization while in the service were as follows __*] 1.55 From Paris to Greenville Toms Troupe gone to Fort Smith Capt Shelton, Paris. Miss Porters experience at a lecture given for the teachers. When she ran there a car full of men smoking. Trunks can not be checked. Tickets can be bought at window. Mr Franklin's experience as a letter carrier. Stood first in the examination. Told not to bring mail to man's house. Went first to P O then followed him several blocks & told him not to come. Whites told him he was about to be jobbed. Man who stood second could not take position either. Prin of School & girls w.m.n. tattles on teachers. Does not want the best he can get. Girl only 17 about to graduate left home. Dirty stuffy cars to ride in tho I pay the same price as do people who ride in clean cars.. On the Midland from Paris to Greenville Hetty Greens sons road On the Motor Car of the Rock Island from McAlister to Paris thru seats for Col people -- Italian woman sat down by Colored woman. Conductor said you people must not sit here. She moved then and learned her superiority to the N. A valiant white woman did the same and was moved. The Italian woman borrowed a drinking cup from the c woman and drank out of it without having it rinsed - Showing she had no prejudice at all - Next time she will not want to sit by a c person even if she is asked to. This Italian and all the rest take their prejudice abroad as do all the other foreigners who learn prejudice from the South. I had to sit in the Jim Crow behind a smoking car for white men Door was opened frequently. Naturally the smoke blew back white men came thru the car and took a good look at me. What would Great opportunities We Minister Have of solving problems- Truitt eloquent & touching sermon was a good warfare. The colored child in the US Hearing Nothing but the inferiority of the race in everything he sees & hears leads him to believe in his innate inferiority. Everything is separate for him. He is set aside in the street cars, He must take a back seat and see dark skinned people of other races walk ahead of him and at aside people. Mexicans, Indians, Turks Italians are all considered white. The fair col child sees a dark Mexican or Turk walk ahead of him and go into the coach or section reserved for white people. So he knows it is not because of his color He sees the Indian darker than himself enjoying sights and privileges which he himself has been denied and classified by the law as white, so he knows that he is discriminated against not because he belongs to a race which is less intelligent than another. He is well aware that the Indian is not so progressive and as [?] is the race with which he is most identified. they do, if a prepossessing young girl were there? How can this condition be remedied? It is useless to appeal to the W man's sense of justice for he has none - He does everything he can to crush the manhood and womanhood out of the N. Write letters to Friend Rock Island - Fort Smith & Western- Midland - Refused to sell a berth to Mrs. Grant Train was help up several minutes because conductor refused to take his train out. After moving several White women, he consulted to let his train start. Conductor asked Mrs Porter if she was crying because he had emptied a whole car for her. Cannot get chair car and a berth but must sit all night Porters do not help col women with their packages. Do not put box down for them to sit on paper torn on the walls. matting & carpet & oil cloth several kind of each Matting full of holes & oil cloth worn into irregular shapes. Behind the stove a narrow open box like space filled with shelves filled with books, magazines & papers heterogenously thrown in scuttle sitting on the floor. a dingy curtain & towel hanging [together] [?] behind of the silver as tho it were trying to screen them from view. On a chair behind the stove a soiled dress of one of the girls was lying and a coat hanging on the back belonging to the boy. A big oil stove in the corner behind the chair. Hanging on the wall directly over that was a boys cap & a little lower down was a coat. On the floor by the oil stove was a white shoebox me by a most floridly idiotic speech piling the Rocky Mountains top of the Himalaya the Appalachian on the Andes and then after all the scar and mountains had been gathered together he said Mrs M.C.T. would be standing above all this huge pile singing the doxology to the world. Dr. Atkinson stopped taking a daily paper because the little boys who delivered it would throw it at his children and hit them as hard as he could. In Fort Worth w wom live with c m They tell them open & above board they prefer it - The Story of the colored hand with whom the farmer's daughter became infatuated. She became jealous of his wife and did not want the husband to take her anywhere on top of which was a pair of shoes Next to it was a small trunk behind which was the leaf of an extension table full of bits of paper which had been left when a large piece had been torn off. Over the table leaf hanging on the wall was a man's coat & vest has a coat hanger Underneath this suspended from a nail on the wall was a pair of a small boy's trousers very soiled. Beside the small trunk was a wooden box promiscuously filled with clothing of all descriptions books and magazines. On top of this a newspaper was spread on which were resting two caps. Over the box hanging from the wall were dresses belonging to a girl about 12 yrs old skirt & checked gingham. Many blue and white and blouse of checked gingham deep red and black. Then came the door - Hanging beside the door were dresses evidently belonging the the Mother of the family - a dark blue and white work dress on which rested a black fur boa this hot day in May Next a winter coat, a rain coat over which a mouseline scarf was hung. The back a rocking chair rested against the blue work dress, the brown coat and the rain coat & rested a rocking chair on the back of which was hung a dark brown dress trimmed with snuff colored fringe next to which a clean white pillow slip trimmed with coarse lace reposed. Then came the bed peeping from behind which hanging on the wall was a woman's green blouse - Under which was a side chair lying across the back of which was an [?] The W woman had her arrested saying she had called her a wench When Dr A remonstrated with the officer for arresting his wife he said he could not allow a nigger woman to sass a white woman. Dr. A's lawyer cautioned him not to utter one word against the character of this [?] w woman Some of the court officers who who knew Dr A dismissed the case. (2) Mrs. A was snow-balled and retaliated. She finally had to take refuge in a drug store. A friend wired him and he went to the store asked the proprietor what was the matter. And finally was able to take his wife home. (3) Dr A saw some little white boys stoning colored girls going to school. The little c girls were doing nothing but dodging the stones He did not dare to interfere (4) Then he bought his new buggy little white boy and which drove just as close as he could and yelled look here nigger, don't get too sporty (5) When he went to purchase a paper stopped his buggy in front of news store. She asked the boy selling papers if his paper was ready - "Do you want your paper " asked the boy. "Yes," replied Dr. A. Dont say Yes. You must say "Yes sir" to me demanded the boy - Dr A drove on - 4 A T & S.F - had chair cars for w but common stuffy cars for c. At Wallace - May 27 - coming from where? C men dare not protect their wives & children - If they do it means loss of life to all of them. Dr saw the Col boy burned at Greenville. He saw a man stomping [shoe]his forhead to jelly with the heels of his boot. He was beaten and stabbed There was no evidence against him. The girl for whom he was burned to death later on gave birth to a white baby. There is a ring in the middle of the square where the bricks were warped by the burning. The teachers are immoral & incompetent. The principal introduced flannel nightgown-- pink-- a little distance from the chair suspended from the wall was a pair of trousers for a man on top of which being a gray soft hat. on the wall at right angles to this being a gray coat at a little distance from which being what was evidently a covering for or a a suit of clothes. This extended nearly [to]from the ceiling to the floor and was made of cotton material covered with large red roses considerably faded. Underneath this was a large trunk and then came the door- On the other side of the door suspended from the wall was a heavy black coat imitating fur over had and rested a brown fur boa - then came a small black and white check coat considerably worn. Resting against the door were two guns - Next to which on the floor was a large pasteboard box containing the much worn playthings of a child, a dolls bed, an old teddy bear, a bright red doll dress and a miniature merry go round with small boys gaily riding prancing goats. Then came a large trunk on top of which was a huge pile of something covered with a very thin piece of table cloth full of holes - One side of this bundle was big [?] the either on top of the elevated portion was a soiled white straw hat over which hanging from the wall was a sharply pointed coarse straw hat - Beside this was a faded green neck ribbon supporting a red rib[?]on the far astride of which was a chemise miserable soiled collars belonging to a man Directly this were boxers various kind one above the other. [?] all these reposed a very pretty white slip elaborately trimmed with embroidery. Then came the dresser with all sorts of boxes a lamp in the center, books Many large balls of light blue embroidery floss Beside the bureau being a fine imitation of a bear, tan & red, used for a pin cushion. Beside the dresser was a machine in the middle of which stood a lamp and several other [?] Next to the machine a big piece of ticking protruded from an open space in the wall, a sort of glass it was a used for depositing soiled clothes--and everything else that needed to be thrown out of the way. On the shelves were articles of every description used by a house. In front of this alcove hung a faded curtain, covered with big red flowers. Around the 4 walls there was scarcely an inch of vacant space. A W woman lived with some [?] C women in Greenville. Dr. Atkinson tried to induce the police to remove her. They produced but refusal. Then he went to the sheriff & the constable. They did nothing. Finally he went to one of the leading judges in the city and he had the woman removed. Somebody mentioned her husband owed money for horses took them. The W woman loudly even demeaned Dr. Atkinson calling him vile names in his wife's hearing. Mrs. A tried to explain to the woman that her husband had nothing to do with removing the horses. George Collier 1 2 Billy Williams sent 2 daughters to Atlanta U. } Macon, Ga } 3 Ross, Kate Nyann / colored woman } 4 John Benner R married Adelaide Nesbitt } Josephine Hawse R colored woman lived with Mrs. Moore's father-- } Geo. Lowe, white, left property to children Mrs. Dr. Moore --2000 acres of land and 16000 in cash. Stopped with them in Macon Whole white family came to Mr. Hawse funeral. "Miss Mary," white grandmother had rooming house - Played with colored grandchildren . Adeline Nesbitt 5. Lee Clower - Mrs Josephine Hawse's sister left all to his colored children. 6. Glover white man who lived with colored woman left all to his 9 colored children one of whom married Mrs. Moore's sister lived in Clinton, Ga - not very wealth 7. David Hill Brown's Crossing, 10 mile from Millidgeville, Ga - immensely rich, left large amount of cash and acres of land - Eula Hill travels North a great deal, dislikes colored people, about 30 yrs old, wants to marry white, rejects Mrs Moore's brother, writes to people she doesn't know - Had governess in family, never attended colored school. Girls look white enough and old mother went into Jim Crow car. at her own request Parted at station door - White man, Hill left large drug store in Millidgeville, Ga to girls recently enlarged and Rents for $75 a month - 8 Gus Riley, Riley Alal - white man's child 9 Miss Stevens moved from South to "Chicago - Mrs." Moore's sister -- knows & visits them - 10 Tom Danforth, one of richest Augusta Ga - wh man in Aug with col woman, dark one of wealthiest men in Au- lives with Evans, woman, has 3 children one Dr. Evans & 2 girls at Howard - 11 J.B. White-- lives with dark woman has big apartment store one of richest men in Aug - 12 Mrs Newton and 13 Dr Hope white husbands of Mrs. Lyon's mother Miss Butts - 14 Fix. poor white man with col woman fair, has child who goes to see white grandparents - 15 John Smith, white man with dark woman - 16 Dr. Palmer Atlanta Ga - 17- Keyser Jew who visits girl 18 Cade girls brot up by white aunt in Aug - go to soda water fountains, altho show color a bit - one warned col man - 2 discussed - They say they are interested in the subject - Managers of lecture bureaus & Open Forums say the same thing as rule- Editors of the newspapers & magazines [write those who] return to them [send in] articles on the work done by colored women [that] by return mail - It is not at all astonishing therefore that altho the average white American thinks he knows a great deal about the conditions confronting colored people the truth of the matter is he knows very little indeed - For that person certain leaders among colored are trying to present the facts to their more favored sisters whenever they get the chance Depressing I I idle innocence + M.C. misplaced confidence 1 D C damn carelessness She did not speak to me but rushed away as quick as she could I was in the central market [and] had [just] bought some spinach and was putting it in my basket - I turned around just as she too had finished making a purchase and was starting off. So we met face to face. But just as soon as our eyes met anew she turned on her heel and walked away rapidly - I was stunned for a minute - There was no doubt in my mind that it was Aunt Sallie Ann - She had been an institution in our house for many years, ever since I was a child, in fact. She had cooked for me off & on - She nursed us when we were ill and when mother was in a great hurry and could not find a dressmaker who would promise a frock when one of us girls just had to have it for a certain day, she simply went over to see Sallie Ann, if she happened not to be working for us then; - explained the circumstances to her Office of the Director DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE BUREAU OF THE CENSUS WASHINGTON Dear Sir: Your card schedule has just been received, and I am inclosing schedule as requested. Please return in the accompanying official envelope, which requires no postage. The interest you have taken in the matter is cordially appreciated, and I thank you in anticipation of your cooperation. Very respectfully, Sam. L. Rogers Director. Inclosures. 2 Then the faithful, versatile woman I never could th[ought]ink of her as a servant, altho that is what she really was would drop everything she was doing come to out house right away and the frock would be finished on schedule time _ Often cudgeling my brain concerning the reason that Aunt Sallie Ann had refused to speak to me, I decided that the whole thing was an optical delusion - that it simply couldn't be this woman whom I had know intimately for so many years - About ten days after the incident just narrated I was in the same market again - Quite a distance ahead of me I noticed a woman whose frame was familiar. She was acting so peculiarly that my attention was attracted to her right away - She wd stand perfectly still close to one of the uprights [look] glance all around her carefully as tho she was looking for somebody whom she was expecting but did not want to see, then having satisfied herself that the coast was clear wd move along - 3 I had followed at a distance but a few seconds before it dawned upon me that it was Aunt Sallie Ann - There was absolutely no doubt in mind this time that it was she & none other altho I was not so close to her - I decided on the impulse of the moment that I would overtake her & speak to her but I turned my head away just for a second to answer the greeting of the man who kept the stall at which I usually get my vegetables, and when I looked up Aunt Sallie Ann was gone, whether she had seen me & run away or whether she had left because finished her marketing I did not know. I Altho I went to the market regularly for several months after that in the hope of seeing Aunt Sallie Ann again I did not succeed - In addition to feeling bad that a woman who I had know for so many years would refuse to speak and actually run away my curiosity was piqued what could be the reason for such strange conduct. I wondered [3]4 whether she had got into trouble. But what kind of trouble? For the woman was as honest as the day was long - I cd not imagine what she could have done. Nearly a year had flown by. One morning I glanced up in the streetcar & I saw sitting opposite me a handsome young man who strongly resembled somebody I had once known The more I looked at him the more certain I felt that I must have seen him before - I tried to avoid gazing at him but it was difficult not to do so. Once his eyes met mine, but there was plainly no recognition in them. I must be mistaken I said and tried to look out of the window. But who can explain the workings of the mind. In a flash I knew it was Aunt Sallie Ann's son - Without hesitating a second I arose and stood in front of the young holding on to the strap - Will you please let me speak to you a minute, I said to the young fellow - Certainly madam he said answering and lifting his hat as he arose. His face however was like a flame of fire and I never saw a human being more embarrassed in my life - Are you Aunt Sallie Ann's son I asked looking straight in the face with such eager genuine interest 5 that he was covered with confusion & one might have lighted a candle by his face Why do you ask me, he inquired, after pausing a second - Because I want to know - I have known her for years she is in this city. I have seen her twice and I want to know what earthly reason she has for avoiding me - You dont mean to say that Jack Mason has left his poor old mother all alone, after she has educated him, spent every cent she could rake and scrape to send him to school - And now that he is in a position to help her he has deserted her - I fairly boiled with indignation at this outrage - I have always thought that giving negroes the higher education spoiled them and now I know it, I said, For if Jack Mason could desert his mother in her old age, the good Lord above knows what the average N wd do - Jack was a nice boy, I must say that - Poor old aunt Sallie Ann I was so full of indignation I could not continue - [I was boiling with indignation] Altho my sister was in the room where I was expressing myself so forcibly I was [really] talking at her rather than to her - I was really soliloquizing - I loved Aunt Sallie Ann. She had nursed me when I was a baby - She had been an institution in our family for years. She had cooked for us off and on since I was a child, had been a trained nurse when one of us was [I never did believe in] The woman who had nursed me when I was a baby was in distress, I heard, and it seemed to me it was my duty to go to see her. Aunt Sallie Ann had been an institution in our family for years. She had cooked for us "off and on" since I was a child, had been a nurse, when one of us was ill, had even sewed when necessity called for that service. She was a truly a maid of all work and good at everything she had laid her hands to. She had one son, a fine handsome youth who showed very little traces of his African blood, for Aunt Sallie Ann herself was fair and so was Jack's father who had died when the child was a baby. She had educated Office of the Director DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE BUREAU OF THE CENSUS WASHINGTON Dear Sir: Your card schedule has just been, and I am inclosing schedule as requested. Please return in the accompanying official envelope, which requires no postage. The interest you have taken in the matter is cordially appreciated, and I thank you in antici- pation of your further cooperation. Very respectfully, Sam L. Rogers Director. Inclosures. I was perfectly sure I knew this [old] woman I had seen her [several times in the] once before market, but she had tried to dodge me every time. 41 - State - 41 (3-4) C fr City R= Rural (0 1) 135 began to take notes. As a rule I wd be asked immediately why and what I was writing and when I informed the visitor that I wd use the notes when I presented to the proper committee the facts he or she was giving me, invariably my informant wd become greatly agitate and declare excitedly that his or her name could not under any circumstances be mentioned. I can not now recall any exception to this general rule. With two exceptions I never cast a vote to remove a teacher from the public schools. [In one case] there was a public record [against a teacher] which anyone might have seen if he had gone to the Court and read the testimony given by eye witnesses under oath. The other case was that of a colored woman teacher who had associated for a long time with a white man. There was no doubt in my mind that this teacher had a right to do this on genuine principles if this white man were her choice. I believe in absolute equality with reference to all races in all matters. Theoretically I believe in the intermarriage of races when the two parties to the contract are agreed, altho personally I myself wd never have married a white man in the U.S. I wd not do so because I know that my usefulness wd be at an end and because of the unhappiness and suffering which it wd entail upon any children as a result of such a union. But altho this colored teacher had a perfect right to associate with a white man theoretically it was the 136 Consensus of opinion among some of the best citizens of the Nat Cap and among some of the most thoughtful [the majority of the Board] members of the Board of education that she had destroyed her usefulness as a teacher in our schools. It was thought that in associating with a white man in a Southern city-- like Washington that this teacher was not setting a good example to the girls in the schools - I could not help feeling that this was the correct view to take of the matter and on that occasion I cast my vote with the majority of the members of the Board - So far as I can recall these were the only occasions on which I voted to dismiss a teacher - But over and over again I fought desperately to save a teacher against whom charges of various kinds were preferred if I believed he or she was innocent of the charge. More than one teacher could testify to the success of my efforts when I took up the cudgel in his or her defense - When I recall my record in this respect, I have no regrets 37 that I pursued this course. One of my friends congratulated me once by saying the only fight you have ever made as a member of the Board of Education is to keep a teacher in the system and not to put one out. Several times as a member of the Board I stood alone in casting my vote to decide some point. The case which was probably the most celebrated was the one in which it was decided to remove from the white schools a beautiful little girl whose mother was white and whose father was a very fair man in whose veins about a teaspoonful of African blood was supposed to flow. The parents of the little girl lived in a suburb of Washington. When the child who was about nine years old had always attended the public school for white children. Someone had discovered that her father had a few drops of African blood in his veins had reported the matter to the school officials and the "leading citizens" of that suburb had insisted that the child be forced to attend the public school for colored children. [Her parents] [One day] The little Adams, Mrs O. H. 41 Norton St. , Rochester, New York Bucks, Mrs Geo. 108 Cypress St. , " Hayes , Mrs Nathan 11 Euclid St. , " Jameson, Mrs A.S. 38 Danforth St. , " Smith, Mrs W. J. 14 Danforth St. , " Green Mrs Marie 125 Ford St. , " Jefferson Mrs. Theo. 69 Elba St. , " Kennedy Mrs H. F. 58 Favor St. , " Morse, Mrs Adam 60 Favor St. , " Matthews, Mrs Edw. 96 Caledonia Ave. , " David, Mra Frank 353 Tremont St. , " Gorham Mrs A. J. 91 Caledonia Ave. , " Bennett Miss Nettle 14 Waverly Pl " Rowe, Mrs Carrie 15 Waverly Pl. " Derham, Mrs Emma 60 Cypress St. , " Stockton, Mrs Paris 632 Bay St. , " Lyons, Mrs Paris 650 Wilkens St., " Du Bois, Mrs Leon 21 Fair Place., " Gibbs, Mrs Georgia 187 Caledonia Ave., " Nyland, Mrs Frank 201 West Main St., " Claybourne, Mrs Henry 214 Spring St., Stewart, Mrs Ida 48 Thomas St. , " Richardson, Mrs Lena 19 Ford St. , " Foster, Miss Clara 395 University Ave., " Mack, Mrs Harriet 66 Chapel St., " FMarshall. Mrs J.F. 4 Chapel St. , " Burks, Mrs. 108 Cypress St. , " Howard, Mrs R. J. 3 Falrmont St. , " Wallace, Mrs J. J. 244 Caledonia Ave., " Keeyes, Miss, M. E. 384 Troup St., " Robinson, Mrs H. 3 Lee Pl. " 138 girl was brought [into] to the Board of Education one afternoon while the matter was being discussed. She had long golden curls, blue eyes was as fair as a lily and as beautiful as an angel. [To the] One seldom sees such a vision of loveliness as this child presented. Those who wanted to remove her from the white school argued that the fact her father was known to have the slightest infusion of African blood was sufficient reason for excluding her from the white schools. I contended that it was customary even in Slave States for the child to follow the condition of its mother and since the childs mother was white, she should be [considered] allowed to attend the white school. [To the statement that when I] I insisted that this child be allowed to attend the white schools and not be forced to go to the colored schools is a reflection upon the colored schools, I was told by the white members of the Board as well as the two colored men But I replied that a comparison of the respective merits of the two schools was not involved at all. A white woman wanted her child to attend a white school and she had a right to insist upon this privilege. [*Fairmount Chapman Done Mrs Kiner Pocahontas*] Trotman, Mrs. . . 583 Franklin Brooklyn, N.Y. Mrs. Lawton President State Federation " Mrs. E.A. Mars, 465 Quincy Street " Mrs. Wm. McKinney 41 Grand Street " Dr. V. Morton Jones 105 Fleet Place " Mrs. Maude Hall 576 Greene Avenue " Miss Sarah Pearson 117 Chauncey Street " Miss Sara Bailey 1131 Herkimer Street " Mrs. Lottie Henderson Concord Baptist " Mrs. V.L. Van Horne 294 Clifton Place " Mrs. Jerome Burge 102 Court Street " Mr. John W. Thompson Att'ys General's Office Albany, N.Y. Mrs. W.R. Lawton 173 Willoughby Street Brooklyn Mrs. W. H. Tolliver 521 Michigan Street Buffalo, N.Y. Mrs. Hoffman Sherriffs Office Westchester, N.Y. Mrs. Lula Niles Fisher 14 St. George Terrace Staten Island Mrs. Driscilla Porter 39 Alaska [Alasks] Street " Mrs. Frank P. Downing 28 Jefferson Street Richmond Hill Mrs. Char;es Barnes Pacific Street Near Wash. Jamaica, L.I. Mrs. M.B. Trotman 583 Franklin Avenue Brooklyn Mrs. Mayfield 45 E. 132 Street New York City. Mrs. Lulie Niles Fisher 55 West 139th Street " Mrs. Cornelia Bone 202 West 140th Street " Mrs. Marie L. Burke 218 West 141st Street " Mrs. Mary M. Johnson 100 West 37th Street " Mrs. Sadie P. Wright 222 West 140th Street " Mrs. Mary E. Williams 131 West 138th Street " Mrs. Lila A. Kenny 552 Lenox Avenue " Mrs. Lucretia M. Porter 43 E. 134th Street " Mrs. Tessis [Tessie?] L. King 2382 7th Avenue " 139 Moreover, I said, everybody knows that as a white [woman] child she will [be spared many] [every mode] have many more advantages than she can enjoy as a colored [woman] girl and she will also be spared many of the hardships, humiliations and injustices of which she will be the victim if she has to cast her lot among colored children. [But every [body] member of the Board voted to exclude the beautiful little girl. But] Every member of the Board of Education of the National Capital including the two colored men [both of whom were very fair] voted to exclude the little girl from the white school except myself. On another occasion the elligibility of a certain candidate had expired - She had taken the examination in music and wanted very much to secure a position in that department. She was the daughter of a man who had caused a great deal of trouble in the schools. He made great demands upon the members of the Board and wrote scurrilous articles about them when they did not accede to them. A motion was made to extend the elligibility of this man's daughter another year. So far as I could ascertain this had never been done before and I believed it was a bad precedent to establish so voted against this motion. [My] I was 140 the only member of the Board who cast a negative vote and I asked the Secretary to be sure to make a record of it. Altho there were many citizens in Washington who believed that it was possible to bribe members of the Board to secure desirable positions in the schools, this opinion was not founded in fact, so far as I was able to ascertain. Altho I served on the Board of Education many years only once did anybody even attempt to bribe me. A well-known [man] citizen offered to give me $50 if I wd appoint as janitor a man in whom he was interested. The man had been highly recommended to me and I was going to give him the job. But after his over zealous friend had offered to pay me for [the job] it, I gave it to another. Then the man went to my husband & said, "See here your wife cd have [stooped down and] picked up 50 this morning *Saturday June 5* and she kicked it away from her as tho it were a piece of filthy lucre sure enough - Rather an amusing incident, viewed once when I decided to do everything I could to have 141 a director of music for the public schools appointed. After talking about the matter with Mr. S.F. T. Cook the Supt., I learned that there was no salary available for the position of director of music for the colored schools. When I presented the matter to the members of the Board of Education they all agreed that such a position was needed in the colored schools and promised to vote to create it. But where was the salary to be found? I was informed that there was a salary for a teacher in the sixth grade which cd be used for the position. But a teacher in the 5th grade wd soon be promoted to the 6th and that salary wd have to go to her unless she wd agree to teach the rest of the year on the salary she was then receiving in the 5th grade. When I explained the matter to the teacher, she readily consented to the arrangement and thus was the 142 position. Director of Music for the colored schools created. But shortly after that a certain man who was an Unconscientious Objector to almost everything that was proposed by the school officials threatened to sue me for using money designated for a teacher of the 6th grade as a salary for the Director of Music in the Colored Schools. But when he discovered that there was nothing illegal about transferring the salary as it was voted by the School trustees he let this suit against me drop. As a member of the Board of Education I tried to promote the welfare of the School System as a whole and I did not confine my activities exclusively to the group which I was appointed to represent. I was the first member of the Board of Education to suggest an Easter Holiday for the teachers & pupils of the Public Schools of the District of Columbia. Some of the teachers in the white as well as in the colored schools 143 helped me get data from other school systems showing that both teachers and pupils needed the rest just at that time of the year and that the benefit from the Easter Holiday was strikingly apparent in the work done both by the instructor and those they taught. Marshalling these facts before the Board I had little or no difficulty in inducing the trustees as they were then called to give the public schools a short vacation at Easter. After Frederick Douglass' Death it occurred to me that a day should be set apart in the colored schools in his honor. Without mentioning my intention to either one of the colored trustees introduced the following resolution at the regular meeting. [The resoution passed without a single dissenting voice.] There had been a slight friction between the Hon B.K. Bruce who was then one of the two colored trustees and Frederick Douglass as so frequently happens between public men of all races & kinds and I feared if I notified the colored members too far in advance some opposition to introducing Douglass Day in the schools might be made. 144 As it was the resolution passed immediately without a single dissenting voice. Of all the efforts I exerted while I was on the School Board I should rather have been the one thru whose instrumentality Douglass Day was introduced into the Public Schools than to have done anything else-- P 50 Nothing is more necessary than to teach colored children that certain representatives of their race have achieved some thing worth while and have reached lofty heights in spite of the fearful disadvantages under which they labored. The colored child cannot generate much respect for his racial group, if he knows nothing about the success its representatives have accomplished along various lines of human endeavor. While I was studying abroad I met a young colored man who had a wonderful talent for music. Joachim the great violinist was teaching him and Joachim wd not waste his time and energy on anybody but a genius. I predicted that he wd one day rival Joachim himself and be the greatest violinist that 145 this country had ever produced. "No colored person can ever amount to much", he said The trouble with us is we have no background. We are descended from slaves. And no human being who has such a little to build on can ever amount to much." He was thoroughly imbued with that idea. But he has since amounted to a great deal as a composer, nevertheless. But having a Douglass Day will teach colored children that their racial group has produced great men who have fought their way from the lowest depths to the loftiest heights. And the knowledge of this fact is absolutely essential to the development, growth and achievement among representatives of the handicapped race. But I failed to introduce Animal Day into the public school system of the Washington public schools, altho I tried very hard to do so. I urged the School Board to set aside one day in the year on which the children w'd be taught kindness to animals. I wanted to have their attention called to the fact that people could be very cruel to animals even if they did not beat them and kick them about. I wanted to teach children that if they didn't attend to their pets properly, if they failed to give them water and food regularly, and keep them clean 146 if they left birds confined in a cage without talking to them for instance, they were being cruel to these helpless creatures, even if they did not inflict upon them physical pain - all this and kindred information might have been given on Animal's Day by holding exercises consisting of recitations essays and speeches on animals - The Washington Post had a fine editorial commending the idea and urging the Board to adopt the suggestion - But Mr Powell who was then Supt of Schools opposed it vigorously. "If you have Animal's Day," he said, "children will think they need be kind to animals only one day in the year." "But you can celebrate Washington's Birthday," I replied, to inculcate patriotism and nobody thinks he need be patriotic only one day in the year" - Some of my friends said the reason Animals Day was not introduced into the Public Schools of Washington was because it was suggested by a colored woman and the Powers That Be were not willing that this should be done - But I did introduce a measure which completely revolutionized the methods previously used for admitting pupils to the Normal School - 147 Before this measure was adopted. After graduating from the High School people who wished to enter the Normal School were required to take and pass an examination and submit also to a physical test - For many years there had been a great deal of satisfaction as a result of this examination. The oral test was conducted by and counted in the mark as a whole - It was frequently asserted by disgruntled parents and pupils who failed to pass that a great deal of favoritism had been shown and much dissatisfaction and bitterness resulted from this - When the Board passed the resolution to allow all the graduates from the High Schools to enter the Normal School, there was great rejoicing in the land - Then Everybody had a chance to make good as a teacher - For it had frequently happened that the pupils who made the lowest mark in their examinations after graduating from the H. School stood at the head of their class when they graduated from the Normal School. And pupils who had received the best marks in the High School often stood at the foot of their class in the Normal School - These facts seemed to me to justify the strenuous 131 was no friction whatever between us on account of race - nobody patronized me because of my color and nobody seemed to object to any opinion I expressed because it came from a colored woman [*Over*]- [on the contrary] [I was frequently] [embarrassed because the various] [members of the Board inquired about] [conditions which existed in the schools] [and asked my opinion about matters under] [discussion] *It occurred to me finally that reference was too often made to the fact that I was more thoroughly acquainted with conditions in the schools than the other members of the Board. It began to embarrass me considerably. One day after there had been a lengthy discussion in the Board about something affecting the teachers and I had been asked as a former teacher to express an opinion several times, I requested one of the white men to let me speak to him a few minutes after the meeting. "I would rather not be asked so often to give an opinion because I have been a teacher in the schools, I said. If you think there is any information I can give you because I have taught here, Ill be glad to give it to you either before or after the meeting but not during the session. I have often [*I was the only member of the Board, white or colored, who had taught in the Public Schools. For that reason, I was often requested to describe certain conditions which existed in the schools and the members frequently requested me to express an opinion about matters under discussion. * p 131*] [Finally it occurred] Washington, D. C., November 14, 1925. Mrs. Mary C. Terrell 1615 S Street, N. W. Washington, D. C. Dear Mrs. Terrell: You are hereby requested to be present at a meeting of the Oak Park Realty Company, on Tuesday, November 17', [instant] at the Law Offices of Zeph P. Moore, 2001 Eleventh Street, N. W., Room 107- 7 o'clock P. M. Respectfully, Sterling N. Brown President James M. Carter Secretary BY R 132 observed that no matter how broad and liberal white people are as a rule, they do not like to have it appear that colored people know more than they do about anything in the world, not even about themselves. As a member of the Board I tried to protect the interests of [the particular group which I was appointed to represent] the children, the teachers, and the parents of the particular group which I was appointed to represent. [*Over*] I was amazed to learn how eager some people are to cause others to lose their positions. Both men and women would come to my house to tell me some scandal about a teacher, generally a woman teacher, of course, and urge me to have her removed. I did not know how to handle such a situation at first. I wanted to impress upon those who came to report the evil deeds of teachers that my own standards are high that I personally wanted nobody in the schools whose standards are low but I also wanted to impress upon them that I would never make a move against any teacher solely on hearsay evidence. [* I had scarcely been appointed before people began coming to my house to tell me about the short comings and evil deeds of some of the teachers O P132 *] THE COLLEGE ALUMNAE CLUB October 31, 1925 Dear Member, Because of the sudden illness of Mrs. Charlotte Wallace Murray, she cannot appear for us as scheduled on November 10. Although we regret this fact, we feel ourselves fortunate in securing the services of Marian Anderson, contralto, of Philadelphia, Pa., whom we shall present in the recital November 10 at the First Congregational Church. Miss Anderson, as you know, possesses a beautifully rich voice which is well trained. Last summer she was chosen among three hundred contestants to sing to the accompaniment of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in one of the artist recitals in the Stadium of the New York City College. We are asking each member to be especially active not only in explaining the change of artist, but in selling tickets. The same tickets will be used for Miss Anderson as for Mrs. Murray. Kindly report to Miss Europe or to the President names and money for patrons not later than November 6, so that programs may then be printed. Other money and unsold tickets, if any, please turn over before the concert. Remember our expenses have increased, for more printing must be done and the artist's rates are about twice as much as Mrs. Murray's. Let us put forth united effort to pack the house! Miss Anderson deserves a good audience and our scholarship fund must be increased! Relying upon your heartiest cooperation, Sincerely, Juanita P. Howard President Leanna L. Johnson Secretary 133 One day a very bad case was reported to me and I was urged to have the teacher removed. I explained that I could not do that single handed and alone. My informant insisted that my own standards could not be very high if I did not act upon the information she had given me immediately. [*Over*] I arose [immediately] got paper and pencil and returned. I began to write. 'What are you doing inquired my informant?" "Simply jotting down the facts you have presented to me for fear I shall forget some of the details." When I had finished I said, "I shall notify the proper committee concerning this matter and let them take suitable action. And- but before I got any further she interrupted me. "You will not tell anybody who gave you this information? inquired my visitor [informant] greatly agitated. "Are you not willing in the interest of the schools to let me tell the committee from whom I received this valuable information?' I asked. "No indeed, I am not willing" she replied very forcibly. I do not want my name dragged into this affair in any way shape or form." "Then, I replied, "do you expect me to have this or any other teacher dismissed [*3 Will you be kind enough to tell a small committee what you have just related to me? I inquired No indeed, I will not tell anybody." There will only be three members of the Board and they will not divulge what you relate I argued - But my visitor cd not be persuaded to relate to any other human being what she had just told me. P 133000*] [*4 Did you see this yourself? I asked. No she had not but she had heard it from a friend whose name she had promised not to mention- Then B*] Mimeographing 1860 Third St., N.W. Stenography Washington, D.C. Typewriting Telephone N5675 Tabulating Addressing 7 March 1921. Folding Stamping Mailing "THE SATISFACTORY SHOP" Mrs. Mary Church Terrel, 1323 Tea St., N.W. Washington, D.C. Dear Mrs. Terrel: Some weeks ago, on the occasion of our formal opening, we mailed to you a circular letter with enclosed specimens of our work. To date we note that among our numerous patrons your name does not appear and we therefore again beg the liberty of addressing you. Without stressing the fact that so far we are the only colored office handling expert and extensive work along secretarial and duplicating lines, we would call your attention to our method of advertising. Our method of DIRECT APPEAL is not only economical and distinctive but insures results and is recommended most highly by all. NOTE: We do all forms of expert secretarial and duplicating work at special rates and under special contracts that are sure to please. Economical forms of advertising by circular letters, cards, bulletins, etc., are our specialty. Promptness, neatness and accuracy are the underlying principles upon which our work is done. Orders given us eliminate the vexatious delays of printers, the expense of an extra clerk's hire and are filled without the slightest inconvenience to you. Contract mailing done if desired. References furnished upon request. GIVE US ONE TRIAL. WE ASK NO MORE. Very truly yours, Jackson and Caldwell 134 on hear-say evidence brought to me by a woman who isnt willing to let me tell the proper authorities from whom I received the information upon which I am asked to prefer these grave charges? It is a very serious thing", I said" to cause a woman to lose a position in our public schools on account of improper or immoral conduct. Would you expect me to attempt to remove a teacher on the unsupported testimony of one woman? My visitor arose immediately insisting vigorously that she wd not permit me to drag her name into it "but that it was my duty to put the teacher out of the schools. I tried to make her see that her interest in the schools was not so great or deep as she represented it to be, if she were not willing to assist in having removed from the schools a teacher whom she had depicted as being altogether bad. But I did not succeed. This experience was a valuable lesson to me. After that I knew exactly how to handle each and every similar case. (Over * as OOO soon as I was aware that somebody had come to tell me about the misdeed of a teacher I immediately *I always had pencil and paper ready-Page 134 000 National Association of College Women January 29, 1926. To the Members of The National Association of College Women: The Executive Committee of the National Association of College Women is planning now the program for the third Annual meeting of the Association to be held in New York City on Friday and Saturday, April ninth and tenth. The Committee hopes that every member will make suggestions for the program of this meeting in order that it may be representative of the Will of the majority of the membership. Please send your suggestions for the program to the secretary, Miss Carrie E. Lee, 940 S. Street, N. W., Washington, D. C., not later than February tenth. Your thought concerning any matter of interest to the Association will be welcomed by the officers. Many problems of Negro Women in Schools and Colleges throughout the land need our earnest consideration and careful handling. It is highly important that you think seriously of how this Association may serve best those who need its ministrations. The Officers hope that every Branch of the Association will send a delegate to New York, and that each Branch will have some definite constructive suggestions for furthering the educational work which we are pledged to do. There never was a time when a strong organization of college women, National in scope, was more needed than the present. Every Branch should be a strong link in this National chain. Do not fail to send suggestions for the program including names of speakers desired. Do not fail to send at least one delegate. Do not fail to see to it that your Branch is in good financial standing. Very sincerely your, Lucy D. Stowe President Transcribed and reviewed by contributors participating in the By The People project at crowd.loc.gov.