  244. ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN NEGRO.—Early in the seventeenth century the scarcity of labor in the American colonies led to the introduction of African Negroes as slaves. In response to the demand for slave labor on the southern plantations, the importation of Negroes increased steadily during the next century. The slave trade was nominally abolished in 1808, but Negroes continued to be brought in until the Civil War period. In September, 1862, President Lincoln proclaimed abolished both the slave trade and the institution of slavery in the United States. The legality of this act was substantiated in 1865 by the Thirteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution. 245. RISE OF THE NEGRO PROBLEM.—The Emancipation Proclamation, followed by the Thirteenth Amendment, conferred freedom upon four million slaves. In 1868 the Fourteenth Amendment made the freed Negroes citizens of the United States, and in 1870 the Fifteenth Amendment enfranchised them. Largely as the result of these measures, the problem of the slave developed into the present Negro problem. The racial differences between the white and the Negro, as well as the demoralizing effects of slavery, promised to render difficult the adjustment of the Negro to American life. The situation was made more serious by the suddenness of emancipation, and by the fact that the vote was extended the Negroes before most of them were ready for it. The economic, social, and political upheaval effected in the South by the war, together with the bitterness with which many southern white men regarded the newly freed Negroes, also contributed to the difficulty of the situation. Lastly, the Negro became a problem because of the lack of a national program in his behalf. 246. NUMBERS AND DISTRIBUTION.—In 1920 the Federal census gave 10,463,131 as the Negro population of the United States. According to these figures the Negro constitutes slightly less than one tenth of our total population. Eighty-five per cent of the Negroes live in the South. In Mississippi and South Carolina the Negro exceeds the white population, while in several other southern states the Negro constitutes from one fourth to one half of the total population. About three fourths of our Negroes live in the rural districts. There is, however, an important migratory movement which operates to decrease this percentage. There is a growing tendency for southern Negroes to leave the rural districts and to move cityward. Chiefly because of the economic attractions of urban life, many rural Negroes are moving toward the southern city; in search of social equality as well as greater economic opportunities, many southern Negroes are migrating to the cities of the North. 247. ADAPTABILITY OF THE NEGRO.—From one important angle, civilization is the process of getting along with one's environment, partly by changing that environment, and partly by adapting one's self to external conditions. An important characteristic of the Negro, not usually taken into account, is his adaptability. Ours is predominantly a white man's civilization, and we are accustomed to think of the Negro as an individual who finds it more or less difficult to fit into our way of living. And yet one reason for believing that the Negro has a capacity for modern civilization is that he has survived until the present time. Compare the Negro in this regard with the American Indian, who, despite his many noble traits, has fared poorly under the white man's civilization. The Indians of Cuba, for example, were so proud and unbending that they died out under the slavery which the early Spanish imposed upon them; the Negro, because of his teachableness and his passive strength, not only survived slavery, but has weathered freedom under very disadvantageous circumstances. 248. PROGRESS SINCE THE CIVIL WAR.—The Negro has made considerable progress since the Civil War. Many Negroes have become independent farmers and artisans, owning a considerable amount of property. Despite the backwardness of Negro schools, great progress has been made in the matter of decreasing Negro illiteracy. Whereas at the close of the Civil War some ninety per cent of the Negroes were illiterate, less than a third of our present Negro population is illiterate. In art, literature and science the Negro has already made a tolerable showing. Altogether it is likely that an able and constructive leadership is being developed among the Negroes. 249. PRESENT ECONOMIC CONDITION.—In spite of the substantial progress made since the Civil War, however, the present economic condition of the Negro is unsatisfactory. The great majority of Negroes are unskilled laborers of a shiftless disposition. Because he is frequently neither a dependable nor an efficient worker, the average Negro tends to receive low wages. The Negro is not skilled in manufacturing or mechanical lines, and he is kept out of the higher trades and professions by reason of illiteracy and social barriers. Very often the southern Negro is a tenant farmer, carelessly tilling a small plot of land and mortgaging his crop in order to secure the bare necessities of life. Large families, inadequately supported, and reared under insanitary living conditions, are characteristic of the southern Negro. The failure to save money, and the inability to protect themselves against exploitation by unscrupulous white men, are characteristic weaknesses of many Negroes. 250. PRESENT SOCIAL CONDITION.—Though decreasing steadily, Negro illiteracy is still high. This is a serious evil. Not only does illiteracy bar the Negro from the education and training of which he is in such great need, but it allows unscrupulous persons to swindle and exploit him. The Negro furnishes an abnormally large proportion of our prison population. Whether or not this is partly the result of racial characteristics, it is certain that the bad economic and social conditions surrounding Negro life lead to a high degree of criminality. In justice to the Negro it should be noted that in many communities he is apprehended and convicted more often than is the white culprit. Acts which would go unpunished or even unnoticed if committed by white men often arouse the community and lead to severe punishment when committed by Negroes. Statistics on Negro crime are also influenced by the fact that the poverty of the Negro often causes him to go to jail while the white offender escapes with a fine. A serious evil is race mixture between Negroes and whites. This has gone on since colonial times, until at the present time probably more than half of the Negroes in the United States have some degree of white blood. Such mixtures, while probably not disastrous from the standpoint of biology, have unfortunate consequences socially. Generally the mulatto offspring are forced to remain members of the Negro group, where they are subjected to social surroundings which too often encourage disease, vice, and degeneracy. The majority of the states now have laws forbidding marriage between Negroes and whites. Both white and Negro leaders agree that race mixture ought to be stopped. 251. PRESENT POLITICAL CONDITION.—The Fifteenth Amendment declared that "the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Yet in many southern states the Negro is barred from the polls. In many northern cities where the Negro is allowed the ballot, his ignorance and irresponsibility make him the prey of political "bosses" who control his vote. The question of Negro suffrage will be treated later; [Footnote: See Chapter XXXIII.] here we may content ourselves with noting that the Negro's right to vote is often restricted. In the South, at least, it is also true that the Negro has but little share either in making the laws or in administering them. 252. URGENT NATURE OF THE NEGRO PROBLEM.—The Negro problem was never of more pressing importance than it is to-day. Illiteracy is still perilously high, Negro crime is becoming more serious, and the cityward tendency of the Negro is increasing his susceptibility to disease and vice. In spite of prohibitive laws, racial intermixture is continuing, and the problem of the mixed blood is becoming more and more acute. Social unrest among the masses of southern Negroes is increasing. The World War created new aims and aspirations among thousands of Negroes. New leaders are arising to preach racial equality for the Negro; old leaders are in many cases becoming more impatient with the attitude of the white population. 253. HESITANCY IN ATTACKING THE PROBLEM.—The American people have been singularly backward about grappling with the problem of fitting ten million Negro citizens into the fabric of American democracy. One explanation of this backwardness is that until recently many have believed that the Negro would die out under freedom. This expectation has not been realized, for while the Negro population is increasing less rapidly than is the white population, it is nevertheless increasing. The Negro is not dying out. Nor can he be deported to Liberia or other colonies, as was often suggested in the last century. The Negro is here to stay, and his problems must be solved. 254. NEED OF A CONSISTENT PROGRAM.—Many institutions and individuals have attacked various phases of the Negro problem with courage and success, but we are in need of a unified and comprehensive program rather than of a series of unrelated endeavors. Above all what is needed is not impassioned opinion or cure-all schemes, but rather the development of a sound and comprehensive program which shall attack the problem from a number of angles at the same time. Such a program must have a double end in view: First, the immediate needs of the Negro must be met; second, we must permit the Negro to be trained toward a position in which he will be able to play a useful and honorable role in our national life. Thus the great comprehensive purpose of this program is to help the Negro adapt himself to American life, to aid him in fitting in with our economic, social, and political institutions, and to encourage him to contribute to the development of American culture to the best of his ability. 255. EDUCATION.—Education is the most important element of any program designed to help the Negro. Ability to read and write, the habit of study, training in correct thinking, all are of such basic value that it is difficult to understand why we have so long neglected the education of the Negro. We spend three or four times as much for the education of the white child per capita as for the education of the Negro child. Negro schools are sparsely distributed; they are poorly equipped, and they are sadly hampered by lack of competent teachers. Clearly we must spend vast sums on Negro education, if we are to expect marked improvement in the Negro's social and economic condition. We cannot expect the Negro to cease being a problem until he has been trained in the fundamentals of citizenship. "The inadequate provision for the education of the Negro," says the Southern University Race Commission, "is more than an injustice to him; it is an injury to the white man. The South cannot realize its destiny if one third of its population is undeveloped and inefficient." 256. ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT.—The Negro cannot be expected to become a thrifty, responsible citizen until he is rendered capable of earning a decent living at productive work. He must acquire the habit of working steadily and efficiently under a system of free contract. This economic readjustment, many students of the Negro problem believe, will be attained largely through industrial education. We already have several excellent industrial training schools for Negroes, including Hampton and Tuskegee. The latter was made famous by Booker T. Washington, an ex-slave who devoted his life to the economic readjustment of his people. A great deal more must be done in this direction. In spite of the excellent beginnings made at Hampton and Tuskegee, not more than one per cent of our Negroes have the privilege of industrial education. More adequate instruction is needed in methods of agriculture and stock raising, in the various crafts, and in those professions for which the Negro seems fitted. The South needs labor badly, but she cannot use her millions of Negroes effectively until they are turned into competent and dependable workers. The Negro appears to have little aptitude for mechanical work, or for mill and factory employment. Diversified agriculture on a small scale seems to be the most promising industry for him, and one in which he ought consistently to be encouraged. 257. THE NEED FOR COÖPERATION.—No permanent solution of the Negro's difficulties can be attained without the friendly coÖperation of all parties concerned. Most of our Negroes live in the South, but the Negro is no more a purely southern question than Japanese immigration is a purely Californian problem. We are one nation, and the problems of one section are the problems of the whole. The South must not be left alone, either to neglect the Negro, or to struggle with his difficulties as best she can. Generous aid must be extended her by the North, East, and West, before we can expect a solution of the Negro question. Furthermore, there must be coÖperation between the leaders of the Negro and white races, otherwise energy will be wasted and inter- racial bitterness created. Very promising beginnings in this direction have recently been made in the South. Nevertheless it is to be regretted that many leaders, both white and Negro, are still prone to propose "remedies" for the Negro problem which serve their own interests, but which show little or no regard for the rights of the other group, or for the welfare of the nation. Above all, there must be a firm resolve to work toward a fair solution, and an earnest desire to be just and humane. Hard and unpleasant facts cannot be argued away, but at least they can be treated rationally. No solution can be reached except through law and order. Neither violence nor deceit can solve this or any other problem. Race riots and lynchings are proof that those who engage in them are unfit to carry on the work of American democracy. 258. THE PROMISE OF THE NEGRO.—There is a good deal of discussion as to whether or not the Negro race is merely backward, or whether it is an inferior race. Those contending that the Negro is only backward believe that ultimately he can be fitted into the fabric of American life; those insisting that he is inferior declare that all attempts to adapt the Negro to American life will prove unavailing. Academic discussions of this sort are not to the point. As to whether or not the Negro is backward or inferior, and as to precisely what each of these terms implies, there must always be a good deal of dispute. For practical purposes it is enough to admit that the Negro cannot now do many of the things which the average white man can do, and that in so far as this is true, the Negro is less effective as a citizen. |
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