Newspaper Page Text
THE CAMPUS MIRROR
- NEGRO HISTORY WEEK
THE NEGRO IN EDUCA
TION
Miss Margaret Nabrit, professor of History
at Spelnian, spoke Monday morning, February
6, on “The Negro As an Educator.” Prior to
1861 there were only a few special schools for
Negroes in the South, public schools in the
North and two institutions of higher learning
to which the Negro could go. After 1861 the
Freedmen's Bureau established other schools
for the Negro. This organization planted the
idea of free elementary education in the South.
The next step after 1861 was the building of
private schools by Northern philanthropists. As
time went on, numbers of schools have been
established and there have been some very
prominent leaders in education among the Ne
gro race, such as Frederick Douglas and Book
er T. Washington.
Today we have such leaders as W. E. B. Du-
Bois, who has made a scientific study of the
race question and is author of several books
dealing with the race question; Benjamin
Brawley and Carter Woodson, historians; Ma
jor R. R. Moton, successor of Booker T. Wash
ington ; and Dr. John Hope, President of More
house College and foster father of such leaders
as Benjamin Hubert, Zaccheus Hubert, J. P.
Watson, Mordecai Johnson and John W. Davis.
In these leaders we note a supreme vision.
They had ideals worthy of emulation. The
charge comes to the youth of today to follow
in the footsteps of these worthy fathers and to
press on and on to higher achievements in the
educational field.
Just to show the true worth of the “Y” in
producing leaders, Mr. Dillingham told of sev
eral of the heads of our colored colleges, who
had been active workers in Christian Associa
tions. They were Dr. Watson of Leland Col
lege; Dr. M. Johnson of Howard University
and others.
Mrs. Macklemore and Mrs. Derocott were re
ferred to with praise for the excellent work
done among the women’s associations.
In closing Mr. Dillingham mentioned the
characteristics of the youth of 1928 as being
“sophisticated and different”; a new under
standing of them is necessary, he says. “New
professional technique is suggested.” He gave
a bold challenge as to just what is being ex
pected of the modern youth in carrying on the
association program that our forefathers have
started.
NEGRO PATH-FINDERS IN
ASSOCIATION WORK
As a background to his speech Mr. Dilling
ham related the following conditions found in
American Colleges and Universities during colo
nial times; Immorality and skepticism; few
professed Christians and restraint. These con
ditions delayed the organization of the first
intercollegiate organization in 1883. In 1872
the first Y. W. C. A. was organized. It was
noted that the participation of women in local
organizations was greater than men, hence these
grew more rapidly.
Mr. Dillingham continued by relating to us
the origin of student “Ys.” The first student
‘A " was created at the University of Virginia
in 1858. Eleven years later Howard University
blazed the way for the colored Christian As
sociation by creating the first colored Y. W. C.
A. The growth of the membership in these
associations has been a continuous process. From
these little flames has been kindled the great
fire of colored association work that now burns.
He said that even the interracial association is
an outgrowth of the Christian Associations for
youths.
It was fitting that the speaker should mention
the men who have been influenced in finding
the path for the associations. First mentioned
was Mr. Hunton, the first Negro secretary
of the Young Men's Christian Association. Dr.
Jesse E. Moreland was the second mentioned.
The third and well known path-finder was Mr.
Max Yergan.
NEGRO CONTRIBUTIONS
TO MUSIC
By Lucia Griffin, ’31
Atlanta, Ga., Feb. 10.—As a part of the pro
gram for the observance of Negro History
Week, which takes place annually during the
second week of February, Mr. Kemper Har-
rold, professor of music at Spelman and More
house Colleges, spoke Thursday morning in
Sisters' Chapel on the subject of “The Negro
in Literature and Art.”
Mr. Harrold began his speech by referring
back to the type of music used commonly in
Africa. He said that the Africans were in
terested only in the drum type. ‘The Africans,”
he said, “are the most remarkable drum-makers
in the world.”
He next mentioned the Negro Folk Songs,
which he said may be divided into four types.
Upon mentioning the many kinds of instru
ments used in America, he said, “There is one
instrument that is an American instrument and
that is the banjo.” This instrument is said to
be a negro’s invention.
The remainder of Mr. Harrold’s speech con
sisted of his naming many noted Negro artists
and their work. Some of the most noted
among those named were Roland Hayes, who
ranks as one of the two greatest singers, Lil
lian Evanti, and Coleredge Taylor, a noted com
poser.
In closing Mr. Harrold said: “Success in
music depends upon how early one starts. The
age of five or six is not too early for one to
start.”
rious industries once closed to him. America’s
most important industry is the coal mining in
dustry. In this thousands of Negroes are em
ployed. In the automobile, food packing and
transportation industries also are found large
numbers of Negro employees.
Many of these have been humble laborers but
they have gained training and have greatly im
proved industry. An example of these laborers
is Joe Thompson, who succeeded in getting
himself employed in the Cadillac automobile
factory in Detroit. Through him other Ne
groes have been employed in this factory. To
day whenever a special car is to be built, Joe
Thompson is one of nine men selected from a
group of over 60,000 employees to do the spe
cial work. Other examples of these humble
laborers who have done their bit to improve in
dustry are Sam McKey and William Hodges.
To these there will never be any monuments
erected, but the Sam McKeys, Will Hodges
and Joe Thompsons, humble tools as they are,
have built the foundation of all upper culture,
they have been the revolutionary instruments
of our Negro achievements and in many cases
have done more than any other to raise the
standard of many other phases of life.
THE ECONOMIC PHASE OF
INDUSTRY
Often a study of the Negro’s history, or the
history of any race, for that matter, deals only
with the study of great men or of those who
have achieved some outstanding position in
life, but there is another group whose names
will never go down in history and for whom
no monument will ever be erected. Thus said
Mr. Foster Washington, president of the At
lanta School of Social Work, in an address on
“The Economic Interpretation of Negro His
tory," Friday morning, February 10.
Economic power brings out political changes.
The Negro is now being given positions in va-
SCIENCE
On Tuesday morning, February 7, Mr. Law-
lah, professor of Biology, spoke on “The Ne
gro in Science.” Ele prefaced his talk by say
ing that due to the Negro’s peculiar position
during the period of slavery, there is no doubt
but that he made many discoveries and inven
tions, the credit for which was claimed by an
other.
Benjamine Banneker, an early American me
chanic, invented the first striking clock and
wrote the first almanac in America. James
Forten and Robert Lewis invented machinery
used in building and guiding ships. William B.
Purvis was granted patents on machinery for
making paper bags, cutters for roll-holders and
on electric railway devices. Joseph Hunter
Dickenson has more than a dozen patents on
parts and devices for the player-piano, and
George Murray has several patents for im
provements on farm machinery. Shelby David
son has invented a machine for tabulating the
quarterly reports of the postmasters. Robert
Pelham has perfected a tabulating machine used
by the U. S. Government in recording census
statistics. Grenville Woods of New York,
assisted by his brother, Lyates, has the distinc-
j tion of having been granted more patents than
any other Negro. His chief interest is in de
vices for automatic control of railways. John
Matzeliger invented a machine which performs
all the operations required in making a shoe.
Among Negroes who have recently attained
distinction in science, George Washington Car-
j ver stands foremost. Mr. Carver is a teacher at
J Tuskegee Institute, where he has carried on ex
tensive research in plant chemistry, having pro
duced one hundred and forty-five products from
! the peanut and many from the sweet potato.
Edward Starr Jordan and Dr. Nixon have
j made worthy records for themselves in the prac
tice of surgery and Edward Kendall in the
field of medical chemistry, while E. E. Justs
has done noteworthy work in Embryology.