THE NEGRO IS KNOWN.                      417

and so with the Negro standing before him, " eye to eye and face
to face," he appears in a formidable light for the future, and as
the thoughts of the possibilities of the Negro gradually force
themselves upon him, his face whitens, his hands clench, and
grindling his teeth in rage he turns away, saying, "We will not
have this man to rule over us."
  It is an Esau and Jacob question, a Saul and David-whose is
the Divine right ?  It is settled and not settled-" coming events
casts their shadows before"-an undefinable something. It is
Pharaoh and Israel-wealth and intelligence versus right and
poverty.  Wealth and intelligence shall rule, and it is right that
it should, if done in righteousness, but not on the color of the
skin or the texture of a man's hair.
  "Stand up like a man," and fairly state conditions truthfully;
honestly and respectfully state facts; claim that which is just and
proper as a man, not by vilification and abuse; not by belittling
the physical characteristics of a man, and not by snarling at the
color of his skin or the curl of his hair.
  I pity the poor little editor who, in attacking Messrs. Bruce
and Langston, said," They had nothing to recommend them but
the color of their skin." Such a method of warfare is unmanly
and cowardly. It is appealing to the prejudices of the ignorant
and weak of a certain color and of certain hair. The blatant
ass who goes crying that certain others are "a no nation " fitly
deserves to be hissed from public notice. It shows and evidences
a dissatisfied state of mind at what nature has done in the acci-
dent of color and hair, and the envy of the apparent favor which
another's color secures. It is a tacit admission of the superiority
of those who differ in color from the complainer, and thus "Esau
despises Jacob " and engenders a caste spirit.
  Are you a man ?  Then take your chances as a man in the
race of life, and don't stand blubbering around like the schoolboy
who, being whipped, says of his victor, " He whipped me 'cause
he was bigger'n me;" or like a certain prize-fighter who, after his
defeat, claimed sickness as the cause. Do not try to fight Goliath
unless you are sure of victory or, at least, able to meet him; and
don't go to war without counting the cost; do not clamor for the
rights of a citizen unless you intend and will be a citizen; and do
not cry after the stars. Little men must fight (all other things
being equal) little things, and not to claim any more room than
they are able to occupy.
   The white man is not drowsy or dull of understanding, nor is
he ignorant of historical facts. He sees as far into the millstone
as the sable orator who pecks it. He is reserving and gathering
his forces for the "to-morrow."  It is a race for the throne of
power or to hold it. His motto, living and dying, is to keep the
Negro from seats of power,and in this he is using every reason-
ing faculty, straining every nerve, seizing with avidity every
occasion to demonstrate the " upas growth of the Negro," and




			

African Methodist Episcopal Church Review, Vol. 07, Num. 4

Negro is Known

R.

Volume:  07
Issue Number:  04
Page Number:  412
Date:  04/1891