The work is generally readable but grows a little dull in certain statistical portions. The table of contents is detailed, but the book could have been considerably improved had an index been added. On the whole, the volume is a justification of some change in the political status of the Negro for the good of all. South Africa cannot in its own interest neglect the uplift of the natives, if it would promote the social and economic progress of the whole group. The one element cannot be elevated or kept up while the other is being held down. Persons interested in education of belated peoples and in the missionary enterprises should avail themselves of this volume.
From Slave to Citizen. By Charles M. Melden. The Methodist Book Concern, New York and Cincinnati, 1921. Pp. 271.
This is a work written by one who has spent sixteen years as an educator of Negroes in the South. His experience there was sufficient for him to learn the Negro and his needs and he writes in the vein of one speaking as having authority. Because of his long service among the Negroes, the author has doubtless caught the viewpoint of the aspiring members of the race. He aims, therefore, to present the Negro's claim for recognition as a man, as a member of the human family with the implied rights and privileges belonging to him.
The book presents a definite program. It proceeds on the basis that, in a democracy, citizenship with its duties and its privileges must in the long run be recognized. He does not feel that democracy means the wiping out of racial preferences but the recognition of racial gifts and endowments. The author considers it an injustice to hold the Negro to the standards of democracy without training him to meet the responsibility. He considers it unfair to require every individual of the race to reach a prescribed standard before any of that group shall be recognized. It is, therefore, a plea for treating the Negroes as individuals and not as a single group, for fair treatment will not lead to amalgamation in as much as Christianity has not been known to promote that.
The chief remedy for the evils of racial conflict, according to the author, is cooperation. This must be brought about through growth and development from the contact of the two races on the higher plane of Christian service. Men must learn to work together without surrendering their fundamental connections. They must confer on all matters pertaining to economic welfare. This means that the white man must give the Negro a chance for initiative and leadership in the program of cooperation rather than the eternal superimposed leadership from without. In the language of Bishop W. P. Thirkield, who wrote the introduction to this work: "The Negro must be offered not crutches but a spirit of cooperation to make him strong that he may stand on his feet and walk."
It is evident then that this book is primarily concerned with the solution of the race problem. Yet written by a man who for years lived in the South, it presents a point of view which will be of value to the historian. From such topics as citizenship, social and legal discrimination, disfranchisement, and mob law, the historian will learn much by observing how these things impressed this worker in the South and his reaction on them. Valuable information may be obtained also from the discussion of the work of the Christian teacher in the South, the mission school, and the silent protest in the form of the exodus. There are valuable statistics in the chapters presenting the progress in education, advancement in wealth, achievement in social uplift, attainments in literature and art, and the record of the Negroes in the World War. The last part of the book concerned with the currents and counter-currents, the grinding of the mills of the gods and a possible modus vivendi will decidedly interest the social worker but will not concern very much the student of history. On the whole, however, this volume is a valuable historical document which the student of Negro life must read to be well informed as to what the Negro has been doing in the South during the last generation and what others have been doing for him.
NOTES
The annual meeting of the Association, held at Lynchburg on the 14th and 15th of November, was the most successful conference hitherto held by this organization. The proceedings appear elsewhere in this number.
At this meeting Prof. John R. Hawkins, for years a member of the Executive Council, was elected President. A new Secretary-Treasurer, Mr. S. W. Rutherford, was also elected. Mr. Rutherford is a well-known business man in Washington. The Executive Council was reconstructed to make it national. The following persons were added thereto: Bishop R. A. Carter, R. R. Church, John W. Davis, Clement Richardson, and R. C. Woods. Most of the former members of the Executive Council were retained.
The Associated Publishers, Incorporated, Washington, D. C., have brought out C. G. Woodson's History of the Negro Church. A review of this work will appear in the next number. Another work, the Negro in Our History, will be published some time in March.
The Journal of Negro History has received for review Mason and Furr's With the Red Hand of France, an account of a regiment of Negro soldiers in France with the American Expeditionary Force.
A group of intelligent Negroes in North Carolina have formed a state historical society to preserve the records of the race in that commonwealth.
Dr. C. G. Woodson, the Director of the Association is now making a study of slavery from the point of view of the slave himself. He has sent out a searching questionnaire from which some results are being obtained. He is also consulting local records and documents left by slaves themselves and by those in a position to know their attitude toward the institution. The cooperation of all interested in unearthing the truth is earnestly solicited.
Professor A. A. Taylor, of the West Virginia Collegiate Institute, is now making a scientific study of the influence of the Negro congressmen on the legislation of Congress and on the general policy of the country. He will appreciate any facts which may not be covered by the public documents and books available.
Duffield and Company of Boston have published a new edition of Benjamin Brawley's The Negro in Literature and Art.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF NEGRO LIFE AND HISTORY, HELD AT LYNCHBURG, NOVEMBER 14 AND 15, 1921
The morning session of the annual meeting of the Association on the 14th at the Virginia Theological Seminary and College was called to order by the Director, C. G. Woodson, who briefly traced the history of the organization showing how it had gradually gained influence and power and reached the position which it now occupies as a national organization of concern to the people of both races throughout the country. The Director then introduced Professor Charles H. Wesley of Howard University, who delivered a most instructive and inspiring address on the value of Negro History. After a few remarks by Dr. R. C. Woods, a number of persons expressed their interest in the Association by becoming members.
At two o'clock in the evening, the business session of the Association was held. From the Executive Council, there was presented a recommendation for the following amendments to the constitution, which, after some discussion, were adopted by the Association:
That Article IV be amended so as to change "twelve" to "fourteen," and to incorporate after the words "business committee" therein the words "to fix salaries of employees." This article would then read as follows:
The Officers of this Association shall be a President, a Secretary-Treasurer, a Director and Editor, and an Executive Council, consisting of the three foregoing officers and fourteen other members elected by the Association. The Association shall have three trustees, who ex-officio shall be the President, Secretary-Treasurer, and the Director and Editor. It shall also appoint a Business Committee to fix salaries of employees, to certify bills, and to advise the Director and Editor in matters of administrative nature. These officers shall be elected by ballot through the mail or at each annual meeting of the Association.
That Article V be amended so as to read as follows:
The President shall preside at all meetings of the Association and of the Executive Council. He shall be ex-officio a trustee of the Association, a member of the Business