CHAPTER XXII

THE NEGRO

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127. Occupations of the American Negro There has long been a feeling among students of the problem that Economic

status of the improvement of the economic status of our colored population is

the Amerione of the most fruitful ways of aiding in the adjustment of this group. can Negro. Industrially the Negro has made marked progress since the days of slavery, and yet it remains true that to-day the masses of American Negroes are unskilled workers, and perilously near the poverty line. The occupations of American Negroes, and their need of industrial education, are the subject of the following extract from a 1917 report of the United States Bureau of Education in the Department of the Interior:

The moral and political condition of any people is closely related The Negroes to their economic condition. Though the Negroes have made strik- have made

progress, ing progress in the acquisition of property, they are still a poor people. but are still They are as yet “hewers of wood and drawers of water.” According

a poor

people. to the United States Census, a larger percentage of colored women and children are breadwinners than of any other group. While this fact indicates that a commendable percentage of the race is gainfully employed, it suggests the necessity of elevating the economic status of the group so that the children may attend school and the women may have a better opportunity to care for the morals and hygiene of the home. The comparatively low economic status of the race is further shown in the following table by the large proportion of all Negro breadwinners who are laborers, and the comparatively small numbers who are in the skilled and professional classes:

a

From the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education. Bulletin, 1916, No. 38. “Negro Education.” Washington, 1917. Vol. I, pp. 84-85.

Occupations of Females

Occupations of Negro females in 1910.

According to this table, the only groups forming a substantial Importance

of industrial proportion of all Negro breadwinners are the laborers, farmers, and

education laundresses. Other than farmers, no skilled or professional group for the

Negro. forms even i per cent of the total. Under a liberal interpretation of terms, the number in these classes is only about 250,000 or 5 per cent of the total. It is apparent, therefore, that the possibilities of the race in skilled occupations have just begun. In view of the increasing demand of the southern states for skilled workmen, it is vitally important to the colored people that they grasp every opportunity for industrial education. ...

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128. Educational needs of the Negro There can be no doubt but that a larger share of industrial education Industrial would prove of great benefit to our colored citizens. But, while education

only one very important, industrial education is only one phase of the general phase of problem of Negro education. The American Negro must be fitted the general

problem of not only for industrial, but as well for social, intellectual and religious Negro eduprogress. In the following selection, the United States Bureau of cation. Education in the Department of the Interior outlines the general educational needs of the Negro: The general poverty of colored schools, the conflicting claims of Educational

needs of various types of education, and the public ignorance of the real situa

with respect to elementary education,

secondary schools and teacher training,

tion, all point to the importance of a statement of the educational needs of colored people. The following outline ... is offered as a suggestion to those whose duty it is to determine the educational policies for colored schools:

Elementary schools. - Elementary education is peculiarly the responsibility of the public school authorities. Though the enrollment of the philanthropic schools is 75 per cent elementary, the pupils comprise only 4 per cent of the Negro children 6 to 14 years of age. The southern states, out of their limited resources, are spending almost $6,000,000 annually for the salaries of teachers in the colored public schools. While this is proportionately not more than a fourth of that spent on teachers in white schools, it is a substantial sum. In comparison with the needs of the elementary school system, however, it is most inadequate. So long as the elementary school facilities are insufficient, every kind of education above the elementary grades is seriously handicapped.

Secondary schools and teacher training. — The primary importance of secondary schools for colored people lies in their contribution to the much needed supply of trained teachers for the elementary schools. According to the state records over 50 per cent of the colored teachers in public schools have an education less than the equivalent of six elementary grades. This lamentable condition can be corrected only by a system of public secondary schools with provision for teacher training, theory and practice of gardening, and manual training. ... College and professional education. — The education of Negroes

in America undoubtedly requires institutions that are genuinely of college grade. The first step in the realization of this need is the agreement that all shall combine in an effort to develop a few well-selected institutions. .. The second requirement of success in this direction is the determination that every college activity shall be adapted to the demands of modern society. Medical education is already centralized in two institutions. It is highly desirable that some coöperative effort shall also be made to improve the standards of schools for colored ministers. No phase of Negro education has been more neglected.

Agricultural and mechanical schools. — The importance of the

higher education,

preparation of colored youth for the industries and for life in rural training in communities is self-evident. In view of the overwhelming propor

the agricul

tural and tion of Negroes in rural districts, the claims of rural education pre- mechanical cede all others. While opportunities for the highly-technical trades industries, should be open to colored pupils, the primary need is emphatically for a knowledge of gardening, small farming, and the simple industries. Teaching methods. Elaborate facilities are useless if the teaching and meth

ods of methods are ineffective. In actual practice teaching is still too

teaching. generally regarded as talking or lecturing. ... The teacher should make every effort to understand the pupil and his needs, his mind processes, his ambitions, his means of support, and his health. He should also know the pupil's home, his community, and, if possible, his vocational outlook. With such knowledge as the basis of instruction, the teacher will not be content with mere lectures to his class. From talking about the subject, he will guide his pupils to observe actual conditions. . . . The teacher will exchange views with pupils and all will mingle their ideas and their experiences in the search for truth. From the artificial conditions of the class room, pupils and teacher will finally proceed to the actual conditions of real life and together they will “learn to do by doing.”

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ment of

129. Statutory protection of the Negro 1 The period following the Civil War has witnessed the develop- Development of numerous laws defining the position and rights of the Negro.

legislation This legislation is of two types: the first type includes laws which affecting restrict the activities of the Negro; the second type includes laws the Negro. which aim to protect him. Among laws grouped under this second type of legislation, the most important statutes have been those which aim to protect the Negro with respect to civil rights, education, and transportation. Something of the nature of protective legislation for the Negro may be illustrated by the following selection by Dr. Franklin Johnson, in which he discusses laws to protect Negroes in the enjoyment of places of public resort: