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About The monitor. (Omaha, Neb.) 1915-1928 | View Entire Issue (June 15, 1928)
LIFTIN j/j - LIFT T f ) ============,5: s tr.' i o 5. t £L Co The monitor NEBRASKA’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF COLORED AMERICANS THE REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor. GROWING — THANK YOU $2.00 a Ye: —5 Cents a Copy Omaha, Nebraska, Friday, June 15, 1928 Vol. XIII—No. 10 Whole Number 671 I SURVEY EXPLODES DEGENREACY MYTH OF RACIAL MIXING Illinois University’s Students Study Instructive Data Which Result In Unexpected Con clusions THE RACIALLY PURE A RARITY Champaign, III.—As the result of an extensive scientific research work in the study of racial groups at the University of Illinois, it has been found that there is no racial degen eracy from mixing of race in the United States, it is reported. The scientific authorities state that the Illinois data do not give sup port to the expected degeneracy of races in the United States. Accord , ing to a report the so-called Nordic students at the university as a whole furnished an average scholastic grade showing “marked inferiority” to that of the other races. Racial-Purity Quextioned Writing on the intellectual accom plishment in regards to American “racial” mixture, an authority had the following to say: “One bears much about the de terioration of races and the conse quent need of securing certain types of superiority through the preserva tion of racial integrity. The acri monious discussion of alleged Nordic I superiority and similar themes relat » ing to comparative racial values are still fresh in memory. If the claims ^ that have been advanced are founded \ on indisputable evidence of a char acter convincing to a legitimate skeptic, it becomes a matter for na tional concern to consider how the nost fit may be conserved and pro ioted. “Fortunately or unfortunately, the ‘purity’ of racial character can be established in comparatively few per sons. Even where one would expect a homogeneous group to exist, racial heterogeneity appears from critical study of the individuals to be pre valent. Indeed, a student is some times inclined to ask whether in this country there is any ‘pure stock’ aside from the native American In dian. To those who fear the conse quences of the melting pot, a recent study of racial groups in a large uni versity may give food for thought. Relatively Few Racially Pure “As Hayes, who conducted the in vestigation at the University of Illi nois, has pointed out, racial traits might be expected to stand out defi nitely against such a background of cultural similarity. He has consider ed the scholastic records of thousands of Illinois students in relation to their racial classification. “The foremost feature of his in vestigation was that relatively few of the students at this university could be definitely assigned to any racial group. The student population is thoroughly mixed in blood and is descended mainly from European populations, each of which is mixed. In making the classifications, pri mary importance was given to the factors of physical anthropology—to cephalic index and eye color. Hair color and stature were recognized as less significant but treated as corro borative evidence when, for exam ple, blond hair and high stature ac companied a dolicocephalic index and blue eyes, or when medium stature, stocky build and chestnut hair accom panied a brachycephalic index and hazel eyes. “The race of their parents, as given by the students, and their names were also treated as having \ some corroborative value. Thus the classification was far from a hap hazard one. Among the few students who could be definitely assigned, the majority were Nordics. The latter group as a whole furnished an aver age scholastic grade showing ‘marked , inferiority.’ ” * Mrs. Hattie Smith entertained a Yew friends Tuesday evening at her home, 2872 Binney street, in honor of Mrs. Winnie Davis of Portland, Ore., guest of her brother and sister in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Clem Duncan. f NOTABLE PERSONAGES PRESENT AT FISK *‘U” FOR COMMENCEMENT Nashville, Tenn. — Many notables were present at Fisk university here uring commencement week. John D. Rockefeller, jr., delivered the com mencement day address. Mr. Rock efeller was accompanied by his wife. Included among those present werq Paul D. Cravath, chairman of the board of trustees; Henry James, a trustee of the Carnegie corporation; Leonard Outwaithe, of the Laura Spellman Rockefeller Memorial; Gra ham R. Taylor, of the Commonwealth Fund; George D. Pratt, jr., L. Hol lingsworth Wood, William H. Bald j win, Fisk trustees; Julius Rosenwald, | and Edwin E. Embree, president of the Rosenwald Fund. VETERAN EDITOR DIES AT HOME IN PHILADELPHIA -.—. T. Thomas Fortune, Founder of The New York Age and Dean of Ne gro Journalism, Succumbs at 72 Years. Philadelphia, Pa.—T. Thomas For tune, known as the dean of Negro journalism, and one of the founders of The New York Age, a weekly newspaper, and at the time of his | death editor of The Negro World, j died at the home of his son, Dr. Fred-, j erick W. Fortune here recently. He was born in 185f> at Marianna, Fla., and in 1873 became private sec retary to General Josiah T. Walls, congressman from Florida, and latei; was employed on the staff of The New York Sun, then owned by Charles A. Daha. He became inter ested in Negro publications and aided many papers and magazines to gain a footing. j He was a close friend of the late ; Booker T. Washington and aided in i ! the preparation of the latter’s biog raphy, “My Life and Work,” and also | in editing “Up From Slavery.” He j was appointed as a special commis sioner to the Philippine islands by President Roosevelt. Survivors, in addition to his son, are his widow, Mrs. Carrie Fortune, and a daughter, Mrs. Jessie F. Bower, I also of this city. — •this colored farmer MAKES REAL SUCCESS [ _ ■ Black Hawk, Mixixippi, Man Give» an Example of How to Profit off Farm. _ Lexington, Miss.—From this little I town comes the story of the remark able success of a race farmer that j might be a profitable hint to all col- . I ored farmers. ! John Bailey of Black Hawk, Miss., j near here, disclosed what diversifica tion in farming can do and the cash j benefits that accrue during the year, i During 1927 this good farmer sold: milk, butter, eggs, vegetables, meat, | feed, corn, cotton and all products | off the farm during the year. For his milk and butter he received | | $26.85; eggs, $33.21; chickens, $28.50; roasting ears, $39.95; peas, $19.39; vegetables, $81.34; cattle, $42.00; sweet potatoes, $126.00; 'hogs, $87.26; cotton, $101. He has an orchard of 120 trees, i raises all his foodstuff and food for family demands, has plenty of stock | I most of them home raised. He has , | bought and paid for 200 acres of land-built pastures and has four ponds for water and owns a $2,000 home, paid for. He expects to add poultry to his list this fall, building the houses and necessary equipment. He has a barn full of hay, a crib full of corn, a smoke house full of meat, lives at home and does not owe a cent. $1,000,000 ENDOWMENT FOR FISK UNIVERSITY Nashville, Term.—Fisk University, through liberal gifts from philanthro pists and educational funds, will re ceive a new $1,000,000 endowment. Donors include Julius Rosenwald, the Carnegie Corporation, Cyrus H. Mc Cormick and the Rockefeller Funda tion. EDITORIAL It is gratifying to notice the steadily increasing number of Negro students who are attending and graduating from our local high schools and higher institutions of learning. It is not so long ago that if there were four or five graduates of our race in one of the large graduating classes it was regarded as a good average. This year, however, our graduates from Cen tral and Technical High schools and the University of Omaha number about thirty, a radical increase. Many of these high school graduates are planning to enter higher institutions to better prepare themselves for avocations which appeal to them and for which they think themselves to be adapted. This is well. It shows the educational and cultural advance of our people and the desire for advancement and improvement. Despite handicaps which would easily discourage and palsy the efforts of those made of poorer man-timber and woman timber our young people are making intellectual progress, and notwithstanding statements to the contrary, we believe they are making corresponding moral and spiritual progress. May God bless them all and keep them steadfast in His grace and favor that they may be able to render acceptable service in their day and generation looming large with opportunities and corresponding responsibilities. We are indeed proud of our young people who are trying to make the best of themselves and who are animated and in spired by a lofty idealism. They are not perfect, although some of us feign would have them so, but all things considered, they average high intellectually, morally and spiritually, as high in the latter qualifications, if not higher than preceding generations, and we should do all in our power to help and encourage them. It is regrettable that we are doing so little to make places in the business world for our ambitious youth. There is much that we could do and must do in pooling our earnings and sup porting business enterprise that will give employment to those of our youth who are preparing themselves to take their places in the business world. We must unite our forces, too, to see to it that opportunities are provided here in our schools and other public institutions which our taxes help support for some of our cultured young men and women who are qualified for such positions. The cultural life of our people in this city needs the reten tion of some of our best educated youth here. Not only our group, but the city at large would be benefitted thereby. It does not raise our intellectual tone or standards if when our youth have secured advanced education they must go else where to find a field of employment. Omaha must see not only the justice but the wisdom of giving employment in her public school system and other public institutions to her sons and daughters of the Negro race if she would raise the tone and standard of her general citizenship. Why should we train our youth here and send them to enrich other communities at the impoverishment of our own? The battle must be pressed until this victory is won. And in the meantime we urge upon our youth to take advantage of every educational opportunity within their reach to more fully equip themselves for a life of service which is the purpose of all true education. EDITOR OF MONITOR FILES LIBEL SUIT AGAINST OMAHA GUIDE The editor of The Monitor has filed i suit for ten thousand dollars against The Omaha Guide Publishing com pany, Herman J. Ford, editor; Ed Cooper, F. M. Michael, A. L. Chase and the Linograph company of Dav enport, Iowa, alleging he was am aged by an article published in The Omaha Guide, March 23, 1928. The article charged that the editor of The Monitor had forged names to letters commending his editorial stand relative to the suicidal policy of two colored candidates filing in the same legislative district. The Guide article publicly branded the editor of 'The Monitor as a liar. The editor of The Monitor wrote the edi tor of The Guide advising him that in the opinion of the county attorney’s office and others, the article was ac tionable as criminal libel and also made him liable for damages and re questing a public retraction. The let ter was ignored. The Guide having declined to make any reparation al though it has been given ample time and opportunity to do so, the suit for damages has been filed. WASHINGTON HAS OLDEST ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Washington, D. C.—The oldest and one of the largest colored Roman Catholic churches in the United States is located in this city and is known as St. Augustine’s Roman Catholic Church. The parish was or ganizel in 1867 by Father Felix Ba rotti, an Italian. The present church was erected in 1874. Father Barotti died in 1881. Wenh the church was first organ ized an old colored parishioner called upon President “Abe” Lincoln and asked permission to hold a lawn fete on the White House grounds. The fete was a huge financial success, be ing attended by the President and many members of the cabinet and congress. MONROE WORK PUBLISHES BIBLIOGRAPHY OF NEGRO IN AFRICA AND AMERICA New York, N. Y.—Monroe N. Work, director of records and re search at Tuskegee Institute, has com pleted a biblography of the Negro in Africa and America, which is to be published in the coming month by H. W. Wilson company, of this city. In the introduction to the bibli ography, Anson Phelps Stokes, a trustee of Tuskegee, states that it is an effort to furnish “an accurate and comprehensive handbook of the titles and authors of valuable books, pam phlets and articles from periodicals on the Negro in Africa and Ameri ca.” It contains 17,000 entries cover ing publications in this field before 1028. Mr. Work has been engaged on this task for'2 5 years and has been in con tact with librarians and authorities in all parts of the world. PULLMAN PORTERS’ STRIKE CALLED OFF New York, N. Y.—The threatened strike of Pullman porters, set for June 8, was called off by A. Phillip Randolph, general organizer for the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. It is understood that the plans for the strike had failed, according to those informed. Randolph said, however, the action was taken at the request of William Green, president of the American Federation of Labor, who said that although he felt the porters were fully justified in striking, the public had not been fully informed of con ditions. “I am of the opinion it would be unwise to engage in a strike now,” the federation president said in a telegram. “Economic conditions are unfavorable to the success of such an undertaking.” Randolph said the strike machinery would be kept intact “to be set in motion at a more propitious time.” MISS BERLACK, SCHOLARSHIP HOLDER, GRADUATED FROM NEW YORK UNIVERSITY New York, N. Y.—Thelma E. Ber lack, who was awarded a scholarship four years ago by the National As sociation for the Advancement of Colored People, through the women’s committee of 100, is being graduated this year from the school of com merce, accounts and finance of New York university. During the course of her college career Miss Berlack was elected to Delta Mu Delta, an honorary scholas tic society, being the first Negro to achieve this distinction. Miss Berlack was for some time an efficient member of the office staff at the national offices of the N. A. A. C. P. AFRICANS REVOLT AGAINST BRITISH OVER-LORDSHIP Natives Bitterly Resent Attitude of English and Stage Open Dem onstrations of Dislike of Oppressors. Capetown, South Africa.—A wave of hatred for the British and their oppression is sweeping over the na tives of South Africa. Violent anti British demonstrations have occur red here, the most flagrant being a riot in which a mob of Negro natives took the lead. Scores of persons were injured in the outbreak and ninety persons were arrested. Police re inforcements from all parts of the peninsula were called into Capetown to meet the threatening situation. The unrest among the natives is said to be growing more prevalent each day. Large crowds of natives march up and down the streets con tinually. They carry banners, some of which are inscribed: “Independent Colored Workers’ Union,” “Africans, Arise,” “Away With Slavery,’* “Down With Anti-Native Laws,” and similar sentiments. GENERAL EDUCATION BOARD OFFERS MOREHOUSE COLEGE $300,000 ENDOWMENT FUND Institution Given Three Years to Raise Equal Sum. Has Trained Outstanding Leaders Since Its Organization. Atlanta, Ga.—Dr. John Hope, pres ident of Morehouse college, announc ed at the close of the commencement exercises, June 5, that the general education board of New York City has offered to the college the sum of $300,000 toward an endowment fund. The offer is a condition alone, and depends upon the raising of an equal amount by the institution within a time limit of three years. The total sum is to form an endow ment for the support of the faculty. During its 61 years of existence and growth, Morehouse college has been noted for its training in leadership and character, made possible by an unusually strong, though compara tively small, Christian faculty. Un der the guidance of such teachers, the college has sent out graduates who are leaders in the religious, bus iness, educational, and social life of the Negro. Today the presidents of 10 colleges are graduates of More house college, and four of these head land grant colleges, state supported institutions. Many of the race’s strongest and most helpful ministers claim the college as their alma mater, as do scores of business men, profes sional men, and social workers. The commencement exercises mark the 61st anniversary of the college, and the 30th anniversary of Dr. Hope’s connection with the college. Sixty-one years have resulted'in add ed physical equipment, an enlarged faculty, and a greatly increased stu dent body. But in spite of this last indication of growth, the college de partment now has an enrollment of 411, and more and more emphasis is being laid on its development, the institution still has the atmosphere of a progressive, small Christian college, the only one of its kind devoted sole ly to the education of Negro boys and men. NEGRO NOVELIST HAS BEEN AWARDED SPINGARN MEDAL Charles Wadell Chestnutt, Brilliant Man of Letters, Honored for Outstanding Services in Chosen Field. HAS HAD AN EVENTFUL CAREER Acknowledged Pioneer in Depicting the Life and Struggle of Americans of African Descent. New York City, June 14—The 14th annual award of the Spingam medal this year was made to Charles Wad dell Chestnutt, of Cleveland, novelist, short story writer, and public spirit ed citizen, according to an announce ment by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The medal, which goes each year to the man or woman of African de scent and United States citizenship for most distinguished achievement in some field of honorable endeavor, is given to Mr. Chestnutt for his “pio neer work as a literary artist depict ing the life and struggle of Ameri cans of Negro descent, and for his long and useful career as scholar, worker, and freeman of one of Amer ica’s greatest cities.” The medal is to be presented in Los Angeles on July 3, by Lieutenant-Governor Bu ron L. Fitts of California, at the 19th annual conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Mr. Chestnutt was born in Cleve land, June 20, 1868, and moved in early youth with his family to North Carolina, where at the age of 16 he began teaching in the public schools. At 23 years of age he was principal of the State Normal school at Fay etteville. He came to New York City in 1883 to do newspaper work and then went to Cleveland where he obtained employment as a stenogra pher, being admitted to the bar in 1887. In that year he began in The At lantic Monthly a series of stories lat er collected in a book entitled “The Conjure Woman.” Mr. Chestnutt published two books in 1899, “The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color Line,” and a “Life of Frederick Douglass.” They were fol io we in 1900 by “The House Behind the Cedars,” in 1901 by “The Marrow of Tradition” and in 1905 by “The Colonel’s Dream.” Mr. Chestnutt is one of the first writers to have carefully studied the dialect and the ways of southern Ne groes, as well as of white people in their relation to Negroes, and to give literary form to these studies in his stories and novels. A new novel by Mr. Chestnutt is in preparation. Previous winners of the Spingam medal are as follows: 1915, Dr. E. E. Just, professor of physiology at Howard university medical school, for researches in biology; 1916, Major Charles Young, U. S. A., for services in organizing the Liberian Constab ulary and developing roads in Liberia; 1917, Harry T. Burleigh, for excel lence in the field of creative music; 1918, William Stanley Braithewaite, for distinguished achievement in lit erature; 1919, Archibald H. Grimke, for 70 years of distinguished services to his country and his race; 1920, Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois, for founding and calUhg together the Pan-African congress; 1921, Charles S. Gilpin, for his achievement in the title role of Eugene O’Neill’s “Emperor Jones;” 1922, Mary B. Talbert, for service to colored women and for the restora tion of the home of Frederick Doug lass; 1923, Prof. George W. Carver, for distinguished research in agricul tural chemistry; 1924, Roland Hayes, for achievement in singing; 1926, James Weldon Johnson, author, dip lomat, and public servant; 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, for research in the history of the Negro; 1927, An thony Overton, for achievement in the field of business, particularly insur ance. The committee making the award this year is composed of Bishop John (Continued on Page 4)
