From "The Negro and his Relation to the Economic Progress of the South," an address delivered before the Southern Industrial Convention in Huntsville, Alabama on October 12, 1899:
On whites and blacks coexisting in the south --
"...although a negro and an ex-slave myself, there is no white man whose heart is more wrapped up in every interest of the South and loves it more dearly than is true of myself. The South can have no sorrow that I do not share can have no prosperity that I do not rejoice in; can commit no error that I do not deplore, can take no step forward that I do not approve.
Different in race, in color, in history, we can teach the world that, although thus differing, it is possible for us to dwell side by side and live in peace, in material prosperity. We can be one, as I believe we will be in a larger degree in the future, in sympathy, purpose, forbearance, and mutual helpfulness. Let him who would embitter, who would bring strife between your race and mind, 'be accursed in his basket and his store, accursed in the fruit of his body and in the fruit of his land.' No man can plan the degradation of another race without being himself degraded. The highest test of the civilization of a race is its willingness to extend a helping hand to the less fortunate" (79).
[A few additional quotes will be filled in here. I have bad xeroxes.]
"[...]the whole problem of the Negro in the South [rests itself] upon the question as to whether he makes himself of such indispensable service to his neighbor, to his community, that no one can fill his place better in the body politic. There is no other safe course for the [Negro] to pursue. If the black man in the South has a friend in his white neighbor, and a still larger number of friends in his own community, he has a protection and a guarantee of his rights that will be more potent and more lasting than any our Federal Congress or any outside power can confer. While the Negro is grateful for the opportunities which he enjoys in the business of the South, you should remember that you are in debt to the black man for furnishing you with labor that is almost a stranger to strikes, lock-outs, and labor that is one with you in language, sympathy, religion, and patriotism, labor that has never been tempted to follow the red flag of anarchy, but always the safe flag of the country and the spotless banner of the Cross" (81)
"The slave's chain and the master's alike are broken;
The one curse of the race held both in tether;
They are rising, all are rising --
The black and the white together" (86)
From Washington's First Annual Address as President, delivered at the first meeting of the National Negro Business League in Boston, MA on August 24, 1900.
"This organization does not overlook the fact that mere material possessions are not, and should not be made, the chief end of life, but should be used as a means of aiding us in securing our rightful place as citizens and of enlarging out opportunities for securing that education and development which enhance our usefulness and produce that tenderness and goodness of heart which will make us live for the benefit of our fellow men and for the promotion of our country's highest welfare" (88).
"Let every Negro strive to become the most useful and indispensable man in his community. A useless, shiftless, idle class is a menace and a danger to any community. When an individual produces what the world wants, whether it is a product of hand, head, or heart, the world does not long stop to inquire what is the color of the skin of the producer...We must not in any part of our country become discouraged and desolate; we must maintain faith in ourselves and in our country. No race ever got upon its feet without a struggle, without trials and discouragement. The very struggles through which we often pass give us strength and experience that in the end will prove helpful. Every individual and every race that has succeeded has had to pay the price which nature demands from all. We can-[90] not get something for nothing. Every member of the race who succeeds in business, however humble and simple that business may be, because he has learned the important lessons of cleanliness, promptness, system, honesty, and progressiveness, is contributing his share in smoothing the pathway for this and succeeding generations. For the sake of emphasis, I repeat that no one can long succeed unless he keep in mind the important elements of cleanliness, promptness, system, honesty, and progressiveness" (89-90).
"In conclusion may I add that we shall succeed in our purpose in this organization just in proportion as each individual members is able to forget himself, to hide himself behind the great cause which has brought us together" (90).
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