A study in black and white. An address at the opening of the Armstrong-Slater Trade School Building, November 18, 1896
Gilman, Daniel Coit, 1831-1908
"-,> 4^^ ^^^J J- 'l^ 'i^l ■t -31 ^;- 1 ;% ^mk t TS ^■.■^- :':ShSi ^'^ k O20W ?583 THE EISENHOWl w*^^ ''^N*'*^ •J**'--''. ■*^' ,*^ 1^-J-fi '«li»-4|«^^ i«K* ;4 ^^ «*<i^._^ THE TRUSTEES OF THE JOHN P. SLATER FUND Occasional Papers, No. lo A STUDY BLACK AND WHITE An Address at the Opening of the Armstrong-Slater Trade School Building, November 18, 1896 BY DANIEL C. GILMAN BALTIMORE PUBLISHED BY THE TRUSTEES 1897 Prsce 25 Cents THE TRUSTEES OF THE JOHN F. SLATER FUND Occasional Papers, No. lo A STUDY BLACK AND WHITE An Address at the Opexing of the Armstrong-Slater Trade School Building, November 18, 1896 BY DANIEL C. GILMAN BALTIMORE PUBLISHED BY THE TRUSTEES 1897 T MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. Appointed. 1882. Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio. 1882. Morrison R. Waite, of the District of Columbia. 1882. William E. Dodge, of New York. 1 882. Phillips Brooks, of Massachusetts. 1882. Daniel C. Gilman, of Maryland. 1882. John A. Stewart, of New York. 1882. Alfred H. Colquitt, of Georgia. 1882. Morris K. Jesup, of New York. 1882. James P. Boyce, of Kentucky. 1882. William A. Slater, of Connecticut. Elected. 1883. William E. Dodge, Jr., of New York. 1888. Melville W. Fuller, of the District of Columbia. 1889. John A. Broadus, of Kentucky. 1889. Henry C. Potter, of New York. 1891. J. L. M. Curry, of the District of Columbia. 1894. William J. Northen, of Georgia. 1894. Ellison Capers, of South Carolina. 1894. C. B. Galloway, of Mississippi. 1895. Alexander E. Orr, of New York. 1896. William L. Wilson, of West Virginia. *1893. *1888. *1883. tl889. *1894. *1888. *1895. tl895. From 1882 to 1891, the General Agent of the Trust was Rev. A. G. Hay- GOOD, D. D., of Georgia, who resigned the office when he became a Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Since 1891, the duties of a General Agent have been discharged by Dr. J. L. M. Curry, 1736 M St., N. W., Washington, D. C, who is Chairman of the Educational Committee. * Died in office. t Resigned. ANNOUNCEMENT. The Trustees of the John F. Slater Fund propose to publish from time to time papers that relate to the education of the colored race. These papers are desin:ned to furnish information to those who are concerned in the ad- ministration of schools, and also to those who by their official stations are called upon to act or to advise in respect to the care of such institutions. The Trustees believe that the experimental period in the education of the blacks is drawing to a close. Certain principles that were doubted thirty years ago now appear to be generally recognized as sound. In the next thirty years better systems will undoubtedly prevail, and the aid of the separate States is likely to be more and more freely bestowed. There will also be abundant room for continued generosity on the part of individuals and associations. It is to encourage and assist the workers and the thinkers that these papers will be published. Each paper, excepting the first number (made up chiefly of ofiicial docu- ments), will be the utterance of the writer whose name is attached to it, the Trustees disclaiming in advance all responsibility for the statement of facts and opinions. A STUDY IN BLACK AND WHITE. An Address by President Gilman. Reported by the Southern Workman, and printed in that Journal, December, 1896. An occasion like tliis suggests delightful memories, — such as those to which your attention has been called, — of Slater, the philanthropist ; of Armstrong, the inspiring leader ; and of many others who have worked in their spirit. It suggests congratulations to Dr. Frissell and his staif of teachers, on this addition to their means of instruction. It suggests en- couragement to all who are engaged in the uplifting of the Negro, and anticipations of even better results in the future than have been attained in the past. What does this assembly represent? On the one hand, those who stand for the best that the white race has produced, the fruit of many generations, developed under the sunshine of freedom, religion and education; and, on the other hand, those who represent the capacity, the hopes, and the prospects of races but lately emerging from bondage or barbarism, error and illiteracy. The light-bearers are here, ready to hand to the light-seekers the torch which shall illuminate the path of progress. Have you never seen, in a lecture on Natural Philosophy, two mirrors so constructed and so placed that the rays of a lighted candle are collected upon one reflector, and sent to the opposite reflector, and there so concentrated as to light a candle 5 6 A STUDY IN BLACK AND WHITE. placoil iu the focus of the latter? Tliis image may illustrate our attitude to-day. Those who have freely received the light l)esto\v it uj)ou those who staud in neetl. Giving does not impoverish. The two candles, when they are burning, shed more light and heat tiian one. What does this occasion signify ? It signifies that the work of Hampton, already most successful, is to be enlarged and made better. A new building, constructed by private gener- osity, is now opened for instruction in the methods which underlie those trades that must be practised in every part of the country. Under these circumstances, I invite you to " A Study in Black and White," leading up to an appreciation of the re- wards of skillful work, the pleasures of exertion. Two papers have lately been preparal for the John F. Slater Trustees by Mr. Henry Gannett, of Washington ; the one devoted to the movement of the colored population, its vitality, its rate of increase iu different regions and its tenden- cies toward city life ; the other, an original study (not to be found elsewhere) of the occupations of the Negro, as shown by the data collected in the last United States Census. With these statistics should be read Dr. Curry's paper in the same series, on the Progress of the Education of the Negro ; and a still more recent summary, by the same high authority, on the general progress of Education in the Southern states during the last thirty years, presented last October to the Trustees of the Peabody Educational Fund. The study of these papers will assure anybody that the results that have been accomplished since the war are simply astounding. Great exertions, indeed, have been put forth, and great sacrifices has'e been made. Large sums of money have been contributed by private individuals, and generous appropriations have been devoted to public instruction in almost every Southern state ; but the outcome far surpasses the highest anticipations. For example, iu the Hampton Institute, we may see, in a microcosm, what is in progress A STUDY IN BLACK AND WHITE. 7 throughout the vast territory of the United States. I will not, however, deny that Hampton stands at the front among the agencies devoted to the education of the colored people. Never in the record of mankind, before our times, have millions of slaves — whose ancestors in former generations had been the children of ignorance and superstition — re- ceived in a day the privileges of citizens, become equal before the law and entitled to all the rights, duties and responsi- bilities of freemen. We are dealing at Hampton with a few hundreds of the more intelligent and capable of their race. The same work goes on at Tuskegee and elsewhere, but these select and favored scholars are chosen out of eight millions of the blacks, and these eight millions are but the forerunners of a hundred millions who will come after them. It is no wouder that the statesmen, the philanthropists and the sci- entific men of the world are looking with profound interest upon the solution of a problem which is unprecedented in the history of mankind. Now let us bring to mind the actual condition of affairs in this country. Congress has conferred upon the Negro the rights and duties and responsibilities of citizenship. Churches of all denominations are spreading the gracious influences of the Christian religion. Private philanthropy gives special education. The action of every state in the Union maintains public schools. Thus we may say that, in this country, the black man is receiving or has received through the white man three great benefits — political freedom, the Christian religion and the opportunity to acquire knowledge. At the present time we can only consider the third of these great opportunities. As I have already said, the public school system is open to the blacks as to the whites through- out the Union. Opportunities are also provided for the exceptional cases that require professional instruction. There are also special foundations, some managed by the states and some by beneficent associations, some supported by public 8 A STUDY IN BLACK AND WHITE. funds ami some by private or ecclesiastical liberality, and some by partial aitl from tlie Slater and Peabody funds. Such is the work now going forward. Let us look toward the future. The education of a race is a very complex subject if we think of it as a whole; but if we remember that the education of a race means the educa- tion of the individuals in that race, the problem is simplified, for we quickly perceive that the training of every person involves three elements — the formation of habits, the acqui- sition of skill and the performance of work. Accordingly, that institution or school is best which enforces habits of order, attention, obedience, discrimination, memory ; which then secures skill in handcraft and redecraft, and likewise shows how these habits and this skill may be applied in useful avocations. Careful observers are agreed that among the blacks there is at this time the special need of well trained teachers, artisans, and tillers of the soil, and that Hampton and other Institu- tions engaged in kindred work should introduce, as far as possible, the methods of "the new education" which have been developed among the whites during the last half century. This " new education," as it is called, is largely the education of the hand. During the present generation, there has been a remarkable change in the instruction of whites in scliools of every grade, from the Kindergarten to the University. In one form or another, handcraft has been restored to the place from which it was long excluded by rede-craft. The change has not been accomplished without experiment, controversy, difficulty, and failure ; but, at last, I think we may claim that the victory is won and that no scheme of study am be regarded as complete unless the study of books is constantly supplemented by the study of objects. The young must be taught to acquire knowl- edge by the observation of nature and her forces, as well as by reading the observations of others respecting nature; and the character must be developed not merely by the exercise of A STUDY IN BLACK AND WHITE. 9 memory and by the iDterpretation of written documents, but also by the training of our youth to useful occupations. It is hardly necessary to say that useful occupations are as varied as the ages of men and the wants of civilized society. The pen, the pencil, the needle, the knife, the retort, the lathe, the carpenter's chest, the blacksmith's forge, the microscope and the telescope, the dynamo, the steam engine — all of these, vastly as they differ from one another, are implements by which handcraft is acquired, by which work is performed. Experience has shown that this training may have four objects, — any one of them, or all. First : — The training of the hand, which should begin in very early life and should never be given up, — or Manual education. Second : — The employment of this training in useful pur- suits and occupations, especially those of fundamental value, like working in wood, metals, bricks, stone, etc. — or Industrial education. Third : — The acquisition of some important art or trade, the making of artisans, builders, mechanics, skilled farmers, etc. — or Technical training. Fourth : — The advancement of knowledge and the prosecu- tion of research, — or Scientific training. Do not suppose that the boundary lines between these four groups are sharp and clear ; each overlaps the other. The most advanced chemist and electrician is still disciplining his hand to greater facility. The work of the surgeon, as long as he practices, is in the discipline of his hand. He is fitly called a chirurgeon, a hand-worker. Let us now think of three callings in which many, perhaps most of the Hampton graduates, are likely to be engaged. 1. Teachers. It used to be thought that anybody could teach who knew a little more than the scholar. Now it is demonstrated that methods of instruction are just as im- portant as the matter of instruction ; that good teachers must know the best arts of awaking the dull, guiding the way- 10 A STUDY IN BLACK AND WHITE. ward, and developing the promising ; ami that they themselves should be trained in handcraft. Women are especially fitted for this work, particularly in elementary schools. Dr. Stan- ley Hall, in a recent speech at South Hadley, pleads for chairs of pcxlagogics for women, * not only because she does most of the teaching in the world, but because the school is good almost in direct proportion as it becomes like home.' Now teachers must be themselves fitted for their vocation. They must learn how to awaken in their scholars a love of exertion. 2. Farmers. The whites have only just waked up to the importance of training men to be farmers. In a recent notice in the North American Review, IVIr. Harwood has summed up the experience of the United States since the first Agri- cultural College in the United States was established in Michigan in 1857, and the first Experiment Station in Con- necticut in 1875. Anyone who will look at that report, or at the papers printed by the U. S. Department of Agricul- ture, or at such illustrations of the work of that department as are on exhibition constantly in Washington and occa- sionally elsewhere (as at Chicago, Atlanta, &c.), will perceive that to be skilled in agriculture is to be skilled in one of the most interesting, the most complex, the most difficult and the most useful of all human occupations. When intelligence guides the operations of the farm, those operations, those pursuits are elevating, stimulating and rewarding. 3. Artisans. Under this term may be included all who work in any branch of the mechanical arts or with any kind of instrument or machine. The progress made in industrial education, within the limits of a single generation, is mar- vellous. Prior to the great exhibition in Philadelphia, little was known as to the methods suitable for training artisans. Scientific schools had indeed been established for advanced professional life, and, to some extent, technical institutes were provided for the training of chemists, engineers and the like; but, in this country at least, the training of mechanics had A STUDY IN BLACK AND WHITE. 11 been very much neglected. The exhibition just referred to brought clearly before the American teachers the processes devised by Dellavos, a Russian, in 1868. The keynote to the methods that he employed was this, " Instruction before Construction." Professor Woodward, of St. Louis, declares that this made a revolution in industrial training. Read his article on Manual Training in the new edition of Johnson's Encyclopsedia. In a valuable report by Mr. Addis on Negro Education, lately printed (U. S. Bureau of Education) I noticed the remark : that nearly all the schools for the blacks, say, in their cata- logues, that their principal object is to teach the ' Dignity of Labor ' ; and another writer, in the Southern Workman. makes a similar remark. I would rather speak of the Enjoy- ment of Work ; enjoyment which may have these elements : the acquisition of a livelihood for oneself and others, or pecuniary reward ; the pleasure of exercising the powers of body with which we are endowed ; and the employment of skill. In other words, there may be, there should be, in rightly directed labor, moral, physical and intellectual enjoy- ment. The very history of the word " work," if you will look it up, is an epitome of the history of civilization. From the Greeks to the Saxons, from the Saxons to the English, from the English to the Americans, from the Americans to the Africans, the word is handed down. ' Work, work, work/ has distinguished every progressive and prosperous race. ' Sloth, sloth, sloth,' has been the characteristic of decadence and imbecility. The writer, the poet, the musical composer, tiie artist, are remembered by their ' Works.' The builder, the farmer, the artisan are good or bad workmen. The president of the United States, the editor of a great newspaper, the head of a large school, the owner of great factories, the leader of an army, and the navigator of a ship, work harder, if they are successful, than the clerks, the type-setters, the assis- tants, the soldiers and the sailors they employ. 12 A STUDY IN BLACK AND WHITE. Those who are interestetl in the iij^lifting of the blacks, believe that, next to freedom and religion, the greatest boon that the more favoretl can bestow upon the less favored, is to give them opportunities for becoming skilled 'workmen.'^ It may strike some of you with surprise when I say, that work is one of the greatest privileges enjoyed by mankind. For one, I give thanks every day that I have the capacity, the opportunity and the taste for work, and I wish that every man and woman in the land could have the same satisfaction that I enjoy in tlie performance of daily tasks. May I urge upon you, my hearers, a like recognition of the pleasure of work — not mere animal exertion, although that may have its pleasures, but the combination of intelli- gence with labor. As President Hayes said : 'Add to labor intelligence and to scholarship handicraft.' Or, as Booker Washington said in his Fifteenth Report : 'Right here comes the value of industrial education combined with first-class literary training; it lias a modifying, sobering influence, re- sulting in teaching the colored youth that the road to the highest permanent success and development is by slow grada- tions, and nature permits of no reversal of the process.' It is idle to suppose that the evils of poverty, of ignorance, or of misfortune can be removed by simple acts of legislation. Good government can do much to protect the society over which it rules ; but it can never affect the operation of the natural law that work brings prosperity and sloth brings misery. We all do well to remember what President Cleveland said at Princeton : ' When the attempt is made to delude the people into the belief that their suffrage can change the operation of natural laws, I would have our universities and colleges proclaim that those laws are in- exorable and far removed from political control.' My appeal, then, to the scholars of Hampton is this: wherever your lot may be cast, in the city or in the town, in the schoolroom or the shop, on the farm or on the railroad, be exemplars of skilled labor, and never listen to those who \ A STUDY IN BLACK AND WHITE. 13 would lead you to think that you can rise by any other process than the exercise of your own free will and the exertion of your own intelligence. The same laws govern the whites and the blacks ; human nature is the same every- where, and the sooner everybody discovers that the con- ditions of success in life are dependent upon toil, intellectual or physical, or both combined, the better it will be for the entire community. Here are the words of a distinguished economist of Eng- land, addressed to his own countrymen, and all the more impressive to us because the lesson was not called out by any desire to deal with questions which divide and concern us : ' The growth of society has been distorted by partial and injurious laws, and the distortion will not be removed by the removal of the causes which induced it. You cauiiol 'as .the adventurer in the Greek comedy does, take the nation, and, by some magic bath, restore it from decrepitude, disease, vice, dirt, drunkenness, and ignorance, to manliness, health, virtue, self-respect, sobriety, knowledge, forethought, and wisdom, at a stroke. It will need long years of patient and disappointing labor before the marks imprinted by centuries of misrule and wrong doing are effaced. And furthermore, the renewal, if it is to come, cannot be imposed from without. It must be developed from within. Beyond the removal of positive mis- chief, which it has in past times created, the legislature can do little more than give every freedom it can for innocent energy, and check all the mischief, as far as is possible, which comes from the strong domineering over the weak. If it does too much, it enfeebles enterprise and discourages practical wisdom. If it neglects to adequately protect the weak, and thereby gives license to selfishness and fraud, it permits a trouble for which it has assuredly to find a remedy.' In concluding these remarks, let me express a belief that the distinction between the two races is as permanent as the distinction between the colors white and black ; that this distinction is natural and cannot be set aside by human 14 A STUDY IN BLACK AND WHITE. action ; that the lessons of history make it clear that ditfer- eiices of race are ineffaceable, by legislation or volition. They are doubtless implanted in us for some j)ur{)ose which our limited intelligence is unable to descry. It is of no conse- quence whether we Mike to think so' or not. The stars move in their orbits without regard to mortal wishes. Whites or Blacks, it is our duty to recognize what is true ; to make each race as good as it can be made; to discover and develop such (jualities as tend to its improvement; to eradicate those which are degrading; to help the peoj)le that are downcast, by giving them the uplifting influences of freedom, religion and education ; and especially to teach them the uses of skilled labor ; and then — it is our duty to leave the outcome to Prov'dence — never forgetting and never hiding the fact and uevei fearing to say, that deeper than all distinctions of ra^^e, is the basis of human nature ; lower down than all the idiosyncracies by which human nature is differentiated we find the Brotherhood of man and the Fatherhood of God. In a Northern University, looking westward over Cayuga Lake, stands a granite bench on which Goldwin Smith has engraved the words, 'Above all nations is Humanity.' Here, facing southward, on the portal of one of these halls I would inscribe, 'Beneath all race distinctions is the Brotherhood of man ; above all men is the Fatherhood of God.' JOHN MCEPHY A CO., PRINTERS, BALTIMORE. 3 1151 00182 81 48 FRAGILE DOES KOT CIRCULATE p,,,#'". ,„l^^ ■^ .jMss,'-;^ .f SKi*.ilil*%^ s- • ■ if: v'?:^^ ".*^' '^-'^4 -^^^ >>.^:;r :>*- :. 