Bernardo Ruiz Suarez - The Color Question in The Two Americas (1922)
Bernardo Ruiz Suarez - The Color Question in The Two Americas (1922)
Bernardo Ruiz Suarez - The Color Question in The Two Americas (1922)
TRANSLATED BY
CO,
WBST
136TH STREET
NEW YORK
1922
IOAN STACK
i
El**
To THE
.Reverend Charles D. Martin, D.D.,
PASTOR OF BETH-TPHILLAH MORAVIAN CHURCH
IN
NEW YORK
IN APPRECIATION OF HIS
AS A
DEDICATED.
MAY HE ACCEPT THE DEDICATION WITH A BENEVOLENCE EQUAL TO THE SINCERITY WITH WHICH
IT
IS
PROFERRED.
572
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Foreign Opinion Regarding
Position of the Black
15
Man
States
and
in Spanish
America
in the
21
Devel
.
25
31
Man
in
Cuba and
37 45
.
From
Politics to Revolution
A A A
Political
Lacuna
in
49
An
Purposes
and
55
61
Nation Within
City Within
Nation
City
67
73
By
Dividing
79
85
91
Democracy
in Spanish- America
97
Woman
in
103
.
107
BY WAY OF EXPLANATION.
R. Bernardo Ruiz Suarez
is
not a physiciaii.
He
is
ation a poet.
may
be surprising to people
who
to referring to a
to
lawyer as
"doctor/
that
what appears
be his middle
name
is
names go
in the
United
The
last
pellation
which distinguishes
lawyer
number
of coun
own surnames
and of
is
This
some
Amend
else,
nothing
know how
the
other half
lives.
to find out
live.
and
tell
how
the
Incidentally, he
how
the people of
start, a
Cuba
live,
and
in
which he
is
particularly interested.
A keen
and utilization of
knowledge.
In undertaking
to express in
and faithfully represent the original work. This notion is not without some basis in fact.
for instance, a letter in Spanish begins with
When,
the salutation
eration, and
Muy
mi
consid
as
"My
English
dear
Sir,"
"Dear
or plain
"Sir,"
to persons ig
it is
quite
To
the readers of
Two
am
justified in of-
may
have been
is,
"something,
nothing.
Some
number and
form of
or subtracted
book.
this
THE TRANSLATOR.
FOEEWOED.
always been seduced by the fantastic
from the pages of the book of life of the people of the United States. Ever more insinuating, ever more persuasive, that seductiveness caused me to abandon the soil of my beloved Cuba and come to
this land of inconceivable potentialities, so as to
its
understanding of
pages
I
its
defects.
have essayed to
of a critic but rather as an apprentice and an ob server, the impressions which I have received of
that phase of
American
life
chiefly connected.
As an apprentice
subject and
for
this
is
"Americanization,"
the
form of
book
may
indicate that I
had hoped to temper the tropical warmth of my race and my country with the soft sunshine and melancholy snow of New York. In
I
which
expressing subjective emotions, which could be of very limited appeal, I have directed my
of
stead
United
States.
In presenting my impressions of the color ques tion, I need hardly state that I have no theory to
offer,
attenuation of the problems arising from the rela tions of the white and colored races in the United
discussing, in the light of my or knowledge of the black man and his experience descendants in parts of Spanish America, my ob
States.
I
am simply
servations with! regard to the colored man as I have seen and known him in New York. Here, I be
lieve, is to
man
be found the synthetic, typical colored of the United States. Following these brief
sketches of the type, I hope to offer a fuller study when I shall have observed the variants, in the
THE AUTHOR.
FOREIGN
OPINION"
KEGAKDING THE
AMERICAN NEGRO.
16
the aid of other right-thinking elements, the improvement of the condition of the colored race in my native land, I early came in contact, and have since kept in touch, through the
periodical press as* well as books devoted to the subject, with the development of thought and ac
tion in regard to the problems affecting the millions of black people of the United States.
is
In the Spanish- American countries, very little known regarding the ability and progress of the
black
man
tical circles
of this country. In the social and poli of colored people as such in those coun
vertible
thing to hear, as* an incontro of racial and intellectual su postulate am not an American periority, the statement:
tries, it is a
"I
common
negro."
dogma with people who, being neither superior nor inferior to the objects of their
contempt, but simply different by training and education and, to some extent, by ancestry, have made themselves the standard bearers of racial
aristocracy.
those
who
Nevertheless, we cannot but forgive think in this way, when we consider the
man
IN
17
which has given rise to the belief, among those who do not know him, that he is docile, indolent and
unprogressive.
The
un
just, or rather mistaken, in their opinion of their Anglo-American brother. The black race in the
its
progressiveness in its churches, its theatres, its manifold efforts for economic independence, in a
word in
all
among
But, unfortunately, I have progressive race. reached the conclusion that the American negro has
not a definite personality, and that such a per sonality cannot be distinguished clearly for many
However, the United States is not the only country where the blacks are struggling against
absorption by the overwhelming influence of the white race. Even in the vastnesses of Africa, the
the
cradle of the black race, white men have gone in name of a superior, civilized and civilizing
race,
ture free.
of influence in
18
the heart of Africa have never represented, in my opinion, the work of humanity. I have always re
garded them as manifestations of boundless egoism and love of conquest. Qf course, it cannot be de
nied that some material progress has been made in the conquered territories and, to those who abuse
the
ples in the
tified.
word humanity, the enslavement of weaker peo name of humanity has been fully jus
It is, therefore, not at all surprising that, in the countries conquered and colonized by and for the white race, the blacks have no fixed personality as a contributing factor in the general activities of
and are merely a negative quantity in the field of collective political rights, which are mo nopolized exclusively by those who consider them selves superior. Throughout history, from the
society
days of Aristotle down to the present time, there have been groups of people who held as their ex
patrimony the right to live the life of ci vilization., which they force to the extent they con
clusive
sider suitable,
ferior
as in
The white
everywhere.
IN
19
and barriers of race and form of society which in Political Science is called Democracy. But the race which colonized and still forms the majority
to level the inequalities
of the people of the United States, with its his torical antecedents and its degrading record of
bloodshed, cannot be classified, in the opLiion of an impartial observer, asi a democratic race.
With peoples, as with individuals, culture is not in itself a sufficient measure of democracy, nor can
it serve its full purpose in civilization, except it be accompanied with the habit of tolerance, of mu
at
tinguished by the the habit of tolerance merely, not to say sacrifice, with regard to the effectively sub
ject race
?
The reply
is
manifestations to the contrary notwithstanding. The look of disdain, the act of discourtesy, of which
the colored people are everywhere the ch~ractertistic objects,
make
specific incidents in
20
Nevertheless, this general dis knowledge. of the whites is not without its positive ad respect
mon
vantages for the colored people. The latter know that they are regarded as inferior. They are not do not have occasion to grasp the deceived. They
proffered hand of hypocrisy. The black people of the United States know just where they stand.
22
the foregoing lines the idea is expressed that black man in the United States enjoys an advantage in the rude frankness with which the
IN the
whites
It
is
perhaps
it
American by comparing
with
live in
an appreciable colored population, these people an atmosphere of apparent cordiality with the white race. The latter, perhaps quite as*
prejudiced as the American whites, but not so de monstrative, know how to conceal their sentiment
with the mantle of specious kindness and to throw the same cloak of their hidden but none the less
keen prejudices over the eyes of the colored peo ple who, with rare exceptions, are satisfied to trust
in the hypocritical fraternity of their masters.
community
of principles and ideals, the black peo ple of those countries have no aspirations other than those of their white brothers. The person
ality
self
which the black man might create for him in those countries is nullified and destroyed
IN
23
of the race.
by the
self-seeking tolerance of
Sometimes, as in
appearance of the absence of racial distinction has, through the instrumentality of colored men, been
carried to the extent of absolutely prohibiting the formation, in any guise, of political parties com
the
changed, by pacific means, if possible, or by force, when necessary; nor can this be otherwise, fo*
every violation of right
is
an invitation to violence
and a symptom of
revolt.
extended observation of the operation of the law which prohibits the formation of
politi<
From my
cal parties
on racial
stifle
lines in
is
Cuba,
am
absolutely
cruelly
merely a
bit,
cannot be satisfied to relegate himself to the posi tion of the ignorant masses, devoid of ideals, and
play a role inferior to that for which his culture
24
him.
all, it
After
definite, affirmative racial personality in the AfroCuban as well as the Afro-American, is traceable
to opposite causes.
man
pretends to give
the hand of fellowship, as to a brother reared in the same cradle. The Ameri
him
on the other hand, regards him with haughty not at all as a man, a and a citizen, but simply as a negro, an black man,
can,
Mm
indefinite
Which
and indefinable thing, a beast at most. of these two methods is more likely to
stimulate the progress of the black man? Facing this dilemma, the pusillanimous and simple-mind
ed, the partisans of half-tones, will find acceptable
Spanish-American whites, who set up no appar ent line of distinction on account of race. But to
strong and noble spirits, to sincere and loyal men, the methods of the Anglo-Saxon will be prefer
able.
They may
be,
are,
But they rough and brutal and contemptuous. the black man into a life of activity and, goad consequently, a life creative of ideals which may in time be realized.
26
the preceding chapter we have discussed the of what we call the racial personality of the colored man, not only in Spanish America
INabsence
also,
but
and for
United
States.
man
lack 01 a definite group personality is not abso lute, as it is in the countries to the South. The
black American has no personality, and, indeed, no existence at all, in relation to the life of the
white man.
the black
man
But, isolated
Wherever the two come in contact, is submerged and asphyxiated. by the white man s frank and un
compromising prejudice, the black man is obliged to put forth efforts which result in positive evi
dence of his collective capacity.
To
the black
man
is
accustomed as he
forts looking
in order to preserve a simulated equality of oppor tunity which permits the whites to absorb and rep resent every cultural principle, it is most gratify
ing to observe the accomplishments of his congen ers in the United States in the development of
their
own instruments
of civilization.
and
IN
27
ren
of
his
race,
who
own
receive
instruction
from
black teachers.
He may
financial
may
establish
has business
men and
has
the most striking character money. istics of the black people of the United States, in
itself as jvell as in contrast
But perhaps
with conditions
else
where,
is
members
ored
Not many months ago, the admission of a col man from Cuba to a seminary in the Canary Islands was heralded by the press of the Island Re
public as something of a sensation, and continued for several days to be the favorite theme of the
newspapers. Obviously, the spiritual welfare of the colored Cuban is either neglected or entrusted to
members
birth
and
these, it
may
be
and sympathies*. Consequently, the influence of the clergy, of one orthodox faith, in shaping the racial or even the national aspirations of the colored Cuban,
is
practically nil.
28
from
ad
in which,
no matter
to
what
Author of all things. In his church, the black tempers and invigorates his soul for the strug of the present life. The word of the pastor gles gives form to the heart and mind of his followers and molds their future not only on principles of re
man
of praise and the sincere expression of piety and application to the Almighty, can hardly escape the
religious influences of the United States. Wheth er by gradual adaptation or impelled by sentiments hitherto dormant within him, the irreligious
stranger learns to appreciate the spiritual comfort necessary to mollify the shocks of fate and to give
him
strength for nobler and more difficult enter prises than those hitherto achieved.
contrasted with the religious organization of the Hispanic countries, is the different attitude toward
IN
education.
29
In the
Church and
School are antagonistic terms, for the one is ortho dox and reactionary, while the other is liberal and
progressive in form and substance. The America** School, however, is the complement of the Church,
is
Not only
is
the secular
instruction in large measure supervised trolled by the clergy, but the institution
the
and con
known
as
Sunday School, an immediate adjunct of the church, exerts an immeasurable influence in shap ing the moral and civic as well as the religious
outlook of youth.
The
is
religion of the
to be
garment
times.
spiritual
only.
at
It
all
carried,
It
consciously
permeates the
simple but inspiring spectacle which impels the un accustomed observer to ponder on the greatness of
God and
is
presented by
their seats at
expressions of thanksgiving offered to God by a of the party for the bounty of which they are about to partake.
member
30
The black American has, no doubt, acquired this practice from his white countrymen. But in pre
serving this and
many
and
United States gives evidence of the great senti mental and moral capacity of his race. To main
tain and enhance these virtues
4
is
the ministers of practical religion are performing with singular efficiency and with great promise for
the future of the race.
DIFFEKENT OUTLOOK OF THE BLACK MAN IN CUBA AND IN THE UNITED STATES.
32
a notable difference in training and aspirations. The latter has a more definite point of view toward
He approaches them with the problems of life. more exact rules and with a spirit of accentuated
idealism toward the realities of
there
real.
is
life,
for to him
no
less
maternal tutelage, he begins to form a comprehen sion of the position which he occupies with regard
to the white race.
In the
and
sentiments receive definite shape and are directed toward horizons at once worthy and dignifying.
Living in an atmosphere of activity, he cannot but be industrious. His ideas are accompanied with
action
;
do today, for he knows and appreciates the value of time and of things. Quick to assimilate, he wel
to study, to observe
comes the opportunities which the white race offers and to create. If it cannot now
be said that there exists a distinct and character
istic
man
the time
when he
IN
tracted
33
may
call his
own.
The path
is
All that
needed
some Messiah, who will surely come, to illumine with the constant sunshine of intelligent, courag eous and self-denying leadership, the way of a peo of ple able and eager to go forward on the path,
progress.
The
environments.
In
is
inferior to the white, and the black people of the United States, conscious of their ability, are exert
ing themselves to
make
Kot so the Hispanic black man. Actuated by an essentially different training, he complacently
accepts all the initiatives of the white man witl}out the slightest promptings of a creative spirit
pointing the
way
to a future of
independence for
who
enjoys a
occupies a position of distinction within his race, believes that he has accomplished the fullest mea-
34
sure of service to society when, after pursuing a course of studies at a university, he busies himself
in politics, secures a good job
;
even though of
aspires,
less,
office to
which he
and
down
if
to live in the
vision.
Business enterprises are outside the range of hisr He is not concerned about the reform of
the legal systems which keep him in subjection. He has no desire to inform himself about the hid
collective personality.
He
friendship of
Unlike his American brother, the black Cuban has no minister of his own color to
preach to him the practical religion of race ideals. His teachers may be of his own color, but the ra
cial consciousness of the black
be cul
so,
the
colored
Cuban who
ideals of
and
On
man
of the United
IN
States
is
35
not merely allowed, but is stimulated and compelled by the outspoken prejudice of the whites,
to develop a distinctive racial consciousness
an<
when
entails
And the excessive rivalry and conflict. stimulation, external as well as internal, of the ra
American, is ac with the ever present danger of a sud companied den and violent reaction. The frequent clashes be tween whites and blacks in various parts of this
cial consciousness of the colored
American
s characteristic
patience and
humility are not dictated by servile complacency. His latent spirit of revolt is merely kept in check
by considerations of expediency.
Unable
to resist
the superior strength of the whites, the black Amer ican bears the indignities and hardships inflicted
upon him, with the hope and purpose of ultimately finding in them the courage and strength to en force his claim to a fuller and fairer share of the
Despite the foregoing remarks, it is the opinion of this observer that the proper course to be pur
36
keeping with his capacity for progress, lies in peaceful evolution. This is a slow process, but it
is
The
relentless effort
toward
continue to be, as it now is, far more effec Revolution tive than any outbreak of violence.
ers, will
would be suicidal for the black people of the United States. Peaceful and patient evolution is the formula for the salvation of a race which is
eager to
live.
Undue
must
al
to retrogression
and destruc
pages
38
T T
XDER
the
name
^^
ban
Political
Party and
1
with
Cu
Evaristo Estenoz, an officer of the of Liberation, founded the organization iaiArmy der discussion, in the city of Havana, in 1909.
sociations,
While
it is
in
means of appeasing
At
man
of courage, of
industry and of
tellect,
undertook the difficult task of organizing the political forces of the black people. At times violent in the language of his initial campaign, but
always alarm
he sounded a note of
Feigning
indifference to the growing intensity of the efforts of the black leader, they quietly prepared to de
De
spite the opinion of so distinguished a critic as Pro fessor Eernando Ortiz, of the Law School of
Ha
IN
a
39
campaign of incitement to violence against the and property of the whiter. In the judgment of all impartial observers, it was merely an effort
life
of a group of people. to obtain, through the peace ful activities of a political organization, a fuller
and a greater measure of respect and consideration from those with whom they had shared the trials
and
common independ
com
mon
At
its
weal.
first
of General Jose
Miguel Gomez, appeared to lend moral snipport to the just demands of the party of Estenoz, and this apparent sympathy of the au
impetus to the movement.
colored people began to see, in a not distant future, the triumph of their aspirations for equal
ity in fact as well as in the theory of the law. Beautiful dream, which was shortly to be inter
The
The government, rupted by a rude awakening. which had winked at the formation of a political
force which
it
its
own
ad-*
vantage, soon began to realize that that force was becoming toe great to be exploited and controlled from without. It must be suppressed, and without
40
delay. So, in April, 1910, the leaders of the Inde pendent Colored Party were arrested on the charge
of conspiracy to rebellion, and incarcerated for sev eral months. Finally, it was clearly established that there had been no conspiracy against the
safety of the state or the stability of the govern ment, and the courts provisionally dismissed the in
leaders
struggle.
of
the
received the support of the overwhelming majority of the colored peo ple throughout the country. Pressed by the public
the natural rights of a despoiled people, but an as sault upon the traditional prerogatives of white su
premacy by divine
right, the
government secured
tin
The author of this law was a colored man, Mar Morua Delgado, a man of uncommon erudition
to
everything ex-
IN
.
41
race.
ate,
He was
representing in that body the Province of Havana, and had been Minister of Agriculture.
It is difficult to justify, in the light of clear rea
Those who son, the action of Morua Delgado. think superficially and are carried away with highsounding phrases will say that Morua considered
himself as a citizen of Cuba and not as a black
man.
But
those
who
the penetrating quest of truth will say that thai otherwise brilliant man was so blinded by selfish
ness that he could not see that while he could live
as
pariahs or he feared the prospect of the ascend ancy of the leader of the Independent Colored
Party and was willing to endanger the future of his race in order to maintain his own position
man
But, whatever may have been the motives of Senator Morua in introducing and sponsoring a
which prohibited the formation of political parties composed exclusively of avowed members of one race, the fact is that, once in force, this law
bill
42
furnished the spark that inflamed the Independenv Colored Party to a disastrous revolution. Martin
Morua Delgado,
come sooner or
as a colored
man, never should It would have but the idea and its execu
by white
natural
but rather
In 1912, the leaders of the prohibited Independent Colored Party gath ered their followers for an armed protest which
was heralded throughout the Island and abroad as a general uprising of the black Cubans against the white population. But the Independent Colored Party, it may be solemnly affirmed, never contem
plated a rebellion against the white people. The Party and its adherents rebelled only and exclusive
ly against the
destroyed a
and just
objectives.
With the revolution in progress, it was* inevitable that the white people, within and without the coun try, should form an opinion adverse to the causes which had provoked the uprising and against the
IN
black
43
political servitude to
All the bitterness, all the hatred, all the ancestral prejudices of the white race against the black, were
While the machine guns of the govern ment troops were mowing down thousands of col
let loose.
ored men, not alone those in arms, but the peace ful inhabitants of towns and villages in the East
ern Province of Cuba, in the larger cities and even in the Capital of the Republic, white men armed
went about ordering any and every withdraw from the streets and public places on pain of death, and the mere color of his skin was sufficient reason to send a man to prison
to the teeth
black
man
to
The number
shortlived and
of colored
men who
perished in the
of
unhappy revolution
thousand.
timated at
five
ment on
of order,
was subjected
or
Ley de
Fuga,
Law
euphemism
by
44
regular
of the Republic of Cuba and a soldier whose achievements on the field of battle
had won him the rank of a general of the Army These men made the supreme sac rifice in defense of the ideals and interests of their If there was a touch of egoism in them, as race.
of Liberation.
of heart.
was overshadowed by their largeness And, as martyrs to their principles, they have found consolation for their martyrdom.
in all men,
it
46
the surviving participants in the movement were rounded up and, after summary trials before the
ordinary courts, were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment. After 3ome months the gov
ernment, impelled perhaps rather by political ex pediency than by motives of generosity and for giveness, secured the passage of a Law of Amnesty,
tr
return to
nullifies the
pen
alty for acts which have been adjudged as crimin al and may even void the juridical basis of the
criminal charge,
it
men
to blot
and could not be so general in its effect as out the resentment of the white people
On
the con
inspiring the white masses with the sense of char ity and commiseration for the weak, which is char
acteristic of moral strength, only served as an in centive to the frank expression of the half-sup-
IN
47
Then began
of trials and privation. loyally under the banner of the Republic in the late revolution were expelled from the army. Pub
Soldiers
lic officials,
even in the most humble capacity, were removed from their positions because of their col
or.
and
Those who had not been exterminated by shot shell were apparently to be annihilated by
hunger.
had achieved for their devotion to the common cause of the Xational Independence and in recognition of the ca pacity of individuals, were lost in the attempt to
the race
by
force.
The black people of the United States have far more ground for discontent and complaint than had the leaders of the Cuban revolution of 1912, These were citizens dissatisfied with their appor
tioned lot in the
nation.
management of the affairs of the The black American, generally and prac
is*
tically speaking,
try.
He
privileges accorded
tively enjoyed
by law
to citizens,
and
effec
48
songs of rnirth the strains of anguish that come swelling from the heartstrings of an outraged peo
Sometimes a different note is struck, virile ple. and resonant, revealing the grim determination of a beast^ perhaps, but a beast at bay
:
"If
we must
die, let it
"Hunted
T
"If
"So
and penned in an inglorious spot. w e must die oh, let us nobly die, that our precious blood may not be shed
;
"In
"Shall
vain then even the monsters we defy be constrained to honor us though dead."
CLAUDE McKxy
This
is
beasts-.
It is
the
speech of a people who must not die and who need not die, least of all by suicide. The black
American cannot afford to risk on a throw of the dice the success which he has achieved an the con quests which the future will open to him through his assimilative capacity. Patience, plodding and
peace must be the watchwords of a people who prove their fitness to survive only by surviving.
50-
I
*
F
is
in countries like
Cuba
race
black people as a distinct collectivity, because the laws and customs of this country, far from inhibiting the
field for the beneficient action of the
separatist aspirations of the colored population, tend to promote them. proper appreciation of
people opportunities which they have apparently failed to utilize for the advantage of the race.
In the
district of
New York
posed of
City, there
no
political party
com
members of the
and
race.
Such
a part;/, prop
erly organized
an appreciable influence in the interest of the race by throwing its strength, at the opportune moment, Such co to one or other of the dominant parties.
operation does not imply permanent attachment or fusion, which would be tantamount to dissolution.
composed of colored citi zens, would lend its support, on occasions such as electoral contests, only to the party which gave the
virile political party,
IN
51
With
ization
its
organ
and
mutual ad
vantage with the dominant parties, the colored peo ple of the United States- would be a very much
more weighty
present.
Indeed,
understand
why
such a party,
working
has not been organized. This anomaly cannot be attributed to the hatred and prejudice of the whites, because they themselves have insisted on
absolute separation as the basdc principle of their relations with the black race, and it cannot be pre
sumed
forcing
that they
in all
this principle
it
to the
are inextricably associated with the political rignts and duties of free citizens. Nor is it to be feared
that,
from
intelligently exercising their political rights for the collective well being and not for selfish, in dividual advantage, the white people would as sume the responsibility before civilization fo-r the dire consequences of an ultimate appeal to forca.
is
fully pre-
52
citizens.
all, among these people an unde; niable spirit of association secondly, there are mil lions of potential members of such an organiza
;
tion
and non-interference of
the white race with regard to the colored race ar once justify and facilitate the formation of a col
ored party. The absence of a colored political is not due to a lack of intelligence to con party
ceive, capacity to organize, ability to direct, will
All these requisites are to ingness to co-operate. be found in plenty among black Americans. The
is
the will.
Once
this is creat
nothing Utopian, nothing chimerical, in the ideas here expressed. Twenty years ago, ter
is
There
years ago, the black people of the United States did not dream of living as they do today. It is their duty to better the present conditions, even as
these are an
decade ago.
when
it is
possible to go ahead.
The waters
of the
sea are
flux
and
reflux of the
IN
53
The black
mus t
waves of the
sea.
in
mo
tion, even though a forward movement may ulti mately spend itself against obstacles and.be dissi
pated returning to its source. They must constant ly renovate their ideals, their customs, their modefc, of action. Otherwise, they may not perish as a
race, but they will
ization.
be useless as a factor in
civil
AN
ASSOCIATION"
NEGATIVE IN
ITS
56
the preceding chapter we have discussed the need of a national organization of the colored
people for the recognition of the race as an element of strength and usefulness within the territory of
the Union.
ganized efforts have been generally misdirected and totally ineffective. Especially s this true of an
?
black people who aspire to bring about the wholesale migration of the race to Africa.
association o
the partisans of this move does not find the support of the gen eral mass of colored population, certainly arouses
ment, while
their
always the consequence of some interest. The African migration scheme and its associated
als,
is
ideas constitute an important feature of the group interests of black Americans and, as such, are worthy of consideration wholly without regard to
the mental capacity of the leaders of this
move
ment.
the ultimate purpose of an organization ostensibly comprising the black race through
is
What
is to
pro-
IN
57
We
are told that this gathering will create a civilized African State able to make itself felt as ?, power
among
the nations.
it
is
But, for the realization of this surely not necessary for all black
away with
is
the as
our geographic
The concept
association, of
of nationality
is
based not so
much
on geographical boundaries
as
on sentiments of
community of
interest, sentiments
of far greater weight in the mind of the individual than tb laws governing the acquisition of a new
citizenship.
Assuming that
move
people went and hoisted on that continent the flag of a new nation, their mission would have been purely speculative but at best one of conquest and
and bred on
reasonably certain that no black man born this side of the Atlantic knows what
it is to feel genuinely African, and it is doubtful whether any black alien has even a superficial sense of a common nationality with the African.
of the
American
countries, in so
58
far as they have sought to inform themselves on the subject, know no more about Africa than what
and
history.
The
line of
without leaving
cans might
black.
The descendants
na
and their congeners from overseas in one com mon nationality, would lack the very bond of moral identity on which such a union is predicated. Bui
absence of its imagin would the conjectural African State possess the physical means to maintain itself Is population the only of and for black people. factor in the maintenance of a nation ? The alien
aside
effective
from the
ary moral
basis,
is inevit-
IN
59
effective,
The
ous conception and artificial foundation, would be merely conventional and subject to the conditions
And
usually imposed on a State regarded as inferior. our African nation would be worse than backIt
ward.
It
would
and
who have absorbed the civilization of the white race and who may impart to their own race the culture
which they have acquired. these men are not sufficient in number and
civilization
and
But
influ
ence to mould a characteristic, definite African cul ture with elements derived from a civilization not
of African origin.
certainly
claim for equal may of opportunity with other men and to secure ity full recognition of the extent to which he has used
be, to enforce his
If
the black people cf one country can find inspiration and encouragement in the fact that their fellows
60
may
in acquainting one group with the failures or suc cesses of the others. Such an association, however,-
not only loses its usefulness, but becomes a danger ous and destructive element among the black people
when
it
invites
them
to
of their birth and take passage to Africa as to some terrestrial paradise where black men toil not nor
spin, but
wear gorgeous
robes.
62 T
*
LLUSTEATIVE
s
movement and
of the black
people
appreciate and
tolerate good,
migrant, traveling at his own expense, has got any where nearer to Africa than the one hundred and
in
highway running straight east and west York. Along this route, some few are said to be awaiting passage. One or two have crossed
thirty-fifth
New
the Atlantic
Ocean
they
lost
news
no time in recrossing to bring back the tnat blackwater fever is no respecter of black
is
is
persons born outside of West Africa. And this about as much as the go-to-Africa association
likely to accomplish, for the creation of an enduring nation of black people, respected and recognized by all civilization. So far as black Americans are
concerned, their nation is within the boundaries of the United States*. If they must be independent, they must find a sphere for the exercise of their
Black Nation within a White Nation would perhaps be the formula for a satisfactory solution of the race problem in the United States. It would meet the demand of a majority of the whites for
IN
63
the social
and
the
At political activities of the dominant race. same time, the black man would have the portunity to develop his own political and govern
or>-
mental institutions without imperiling his progress by absolutely isolating himself from contact with the whites. In his present stage of development,
may
encounter, the
man
tunity of ht least observing the ways of the white man so as to adapt some of them to his needs.
nation in Africa, embracing the black peoples, would indicate the inability of the race to strive
and survive in the midst of white civilization. It would mean the loss of three or four centuries of effort and of achievement in human progress. On
the other hand, a Black Nation within a White Nation would have a fair prospect not only of con
serving its gains, but of rapidly increasing them, once freed from the encumbrancer of race
prejudice.
The ideal country for carrying out an experi ment of this kind is the United States. Here may
be found, in the districts occupied by Colored peo ple in the cities and other centers of population,
miniature nations in
all
64
juridical aspects. In all else, in all those activities on which the law and politics depend, these com
munities of colored people are distinct from the surrounding aggregations of white people. Reas
sembled in some territory of sufficient extent, all or most of these miniature nations of colored peo
ple would constitute an important Black Nation within a White Nation, and its establishment would be justified if it could be accomplished by
man s
International Law.
pean settlements in Chinese cities, in elsewhere in Asia, have for generations been inde pendent, in every practical sense, of the local and
In much the same way, the national authority. Canal Zone, in the heart of the Republic of Pana ma, is entirely free, so far as the authority of the The United Isthmian Republic is concerned. for the occupancy of the Canal States pays rent
Zone, thereby acquiring the right to fortify this territory against its Panamanian owners.
IN
65
recognized in principle by
the people of the country. The entry of black people into a residential district occupied by
almost
all
followed, sometimes slowly but always surely, by the withdrawal of the latter, who regard as unholy the ground on which niggers tread.
whites
is
There
of
is
members
building, the
city,
^o
two races occupying the same street, the same section of the matter how much they would like to re
of the
same
must abandon their homes, to the would be harder even to kill them off
than
to live
near them.
may
not
custom and public opinion have made it rather more than second nature. There is no disposition
to change the present frame of the national mind, which asserts that fundamental, inescapable differ
man
man whenever
possible.
the United States would be distinguished not only by the color of its inhabitants, but, in all probabil
creation with instruments of peace and without bloodshed. The essential weapons for such
ity,
by
its
66
an enterprise would be, in the phrase of Napoleon, money, money and more money. Next in import ance and value would be the disposition on the part
of the colored people to make the best possible use of a situation which they cannot change, as they have done in the district of Harlem, in New York.
6#
nPO
*
New
to
York, no
leas
than to foreigners
Harlem is reputed to keep away from. For Harlem is the name of the most compact and most thickly settlement of black people in the world. populated This fact alone would be sufficient to make the rest
of
distant origin,
more
be a good place
quite foreign to Harlem. But, as a city of black people must thinks, inevitably be a city of black deeds. So the fame of New York s colored city has gone abroad, and it is
the world
of
New York
now
An
York than
in
can metropolis. It may possibly be shown that there is less crime in black New York than in some
other sections of the cit}^ inhabited by peoples of
the
intellectual plane,
But what
certain
doings of malefactors can give no idea of the usual doings of more than one hundred thousand law-
black
New York,
IN
to live in it
69
and observe
with an unprejudiced
eye.
To the stranger expecting to find the typical kennels of the underdog, such as the hovels of the
poor which disgrace
tive quarters in
many
European
city, the
na
South Africa, or the old Chinatown in Havana, the colored section of New York is an
Externally,
it
agreeable revelation.
attractive than
is
far
more
city.
and
apartment houses in many other sections of the Private houses compare favorably with city.
residential
dis
many may show evidence of a lack of adequate economic and cul tural preparation of the occupants. There is some crowding and discomfort in the flats and apart
In
instances, the interior
ments.
But many
And, withal,
if
one
tions of cordiality
rmd citizen? of
70
Most of black New York goes out of its residen But tial limits to work for white ~New York. remains at home, in Harlem, to consti enough tute an Association of Trade,, which comprises the business and professional men of the community. Wholesome social and moral influences are exerted by the churches, the Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A., as well equipped and as efficiently managed as the branches for white people, and numerous institu A public library in the heart of tions and clubs.
the district
not merely a well patronized booklending institution, but through the booklovers clubs and other organizations which meet there, it
is
is
there was held in this library an exhibition of the work of colored artists and wri
ters. Among the many admirable paintings was a canvas representing Christ washing the feet of the
was awarded
a first
prize
One
was devoted
to
embroidery; another
African
handicraft, showing cloths, iron implements and other useful objects produced by the natives. Tht,
IN
71
book section contained thousands of volumes, in va rious languages, patiently collected lay two colored
gentlemen whose hobby is to gather from all parts of the world books written by or relating to mem
bers of their race, and whose modesty forbids the disclosure of their names, for fear that they may
receive the unsought recognition of their unique service to the cause of human understanding.
It is said that this exhibition will be held
an
In time
it
of Harlem.
And
more numerous
What
New York, they can do and are doing, sometimes with even greater success, in other cities. If they
enjoyed everywhere the same freedom from inter
ference, the
the
same guaranties of life and property, same opportunities to utilize for their own de
velopment the educational facilities afforded to all other elements in the community, as they do in New York, the colored people of the United States would do their full share of the work of civiliza tion, whether the City within a City reached its logical conclusion in the Nation within a Nation, or by its sheer merits disproved the need for its
existence.
74
the
OF
ing
many
is
Afro-American group itself. Democracy, balked and thwarted in every attempt to exert its leveling influence against the rigid barrier between the white race and the colored, finds a generous mea
sure of compensation in the sniccess of
its
on
complexion in one group and the other. The color question in the United States, difficult of solution,
and reactionary as it is in so many of its manifestations, nevertheless represents a long step in the progress of civilization. For, after all, there
cruel
only one color question in the United States, whereas there might be two or three or half a doz
is
The
munity
is
a so
com
color
man
to
man.
of ebony and the perfectly white man of African descent, there is nothing to suggest that the former considers himself superior because of the purity ol
his African blood, nor that the latter finds superi ority in the scanty pigmentation of his skin. One
IN
75
word
is
The
The
latter,
though the
evidence cannot be suppressed, of a composite and extremely varied ethnic origin. Striving and look ing forward to the recognition of the oneness of the
human
race, they
Xot only by the orthodox whites, but also by the orthodox blacks, some of the mixed people are of
ten accused of
what
to get
is
crime of
"passing
"trying
for
white."
surprising how few of those who, by every physical standard ought to be classed as "white people," do avail themselves of the opportunity of severing
their connection with the despised black race. Ra cial distinction in the United States, rigid as it is
when visibl^ and real, does not require that citi zens be labeled in order to give them a classification which nature did not establish. Custom forbids the contact of "white" people with "colored" peo-
76
any moral obligation to deny himself the opportun ity afforded by his physical and mental qualities to earn an honest living, because of any false sense
of respect for friends or pride of ancestry. ever, most of those Afro- Americans who might be
How
altogether
"white"
prefer to be
"colored"
people
and some of them seem to enjoy being negroes. But there can be no doubt that the sacrifice is often more apparent than real, for not a little of what passes for greatness among the weak would be
recognized as mediocrity among the strong. Democracy, the ideal for the attainment
of
is
constantly striving,
established in his
own
men
In a must be an thorough-going democracy everybody aristocrat. White America is not such a democ
equality in things spiritual and intellectual.
racy, either in itself or in relation to other peoples and especially to black America. If it were, it
it
now
good
title,
despite
its
IN
77
Afro-American de
mocracy
good.
is
thorough-going
too
much
so for its
own
thinks himself the equal of anybody else, nobody is willing to be guided by the In such a community, there counsels of another.
Where everybody
can be no leader, because there are no followers. There can be no efficient organization foi the gen
eral gvod, for every organizer
dominated by essentially
ideas there
realizr.irr
selfish aims.
may
be,
them
ening or destruction of the effect. The Afro- Amer ican, fighting against color and caste discrimina
tion
from
in his
he would remove
others, he
itations.
must recognize
own
individual lim
and jealousy
all lines of
and in
may bet attempt do and to rejoice in bringing about the common ter failure rather than tolerate the possibility of an
other s success. Intense individualism
the
is
78
aggerated in the character of the black American, of whatever shade he may be. Virtuous democracy
calls for the self-assertion of the individual in the
interest
and not
good.
it is
Democracy
common when
it
own
conservation that
de
stroys the power of men to appreciate and utilize the special and distinct, if not superior, aptitudes
of their neighbors. Afro-American democracy is at once a virtue and a vice in variable quantities.
the establishment of a rational proportion de pends the progress of the race.
On
KULING BY DIVIDING.
80
Cuba.
toes
American countries, least of all in Between the pure blacks, the brown mulatand the yellow-white quadroons, there exist
almost impassable social barriers. The black man regards the man of mixed African and European
blood as a natural enemy, while the mixed man looked upon his black half-brother in much the
same way
the
as
so-
Cuban mulatto,
altogether
unnatural.
Of
The barriers are sometimes removed, not ceptions in the ordinary relations of individuals, but only by marriage. And then, if the children happen,
as is likely, to
vary greatly in
color,
they establish
It
is
mat
Cuban
black children by a first a second marriage of the same mother, the differ ence of color made it impossible for members of
both broods to attend a social function together. Especially in Santiago de Cuba, the blacks, the
IN
81
mulattoes and the quadroons have their separate clubs and social institutions, and they do not ex
it
must be noted, by no
means implies the existence among Afro-Cubans of an instinctive and inexorable caste system which
might be interpreted
as justifying
The hierarchy of
Cuba was established as a part of Spanish The aristocratic landowners did, a more humane and natural at perhaps, adopt titude towards their children by enslaved moth
colonial policy.
ers than did the planters of the southern
States.
United
differentiation between
the partly and the wholly black people of Cuba was further stimulated as a means of continuing their
mon
exploitation for the safety and profit of the com master. With the development of the struggle
for independence, the Spanish government saw to it that grandee and commoner, white and black and
yellow and brown, were kept as far apart as pos sible. But most of them got together on the side of Free Cuba. And Cuba believes that the surest way to maintain her freedom is to have three or four color questions which neutralize each other.
82
itself
value, in relation to others, depends upon the nu merical and economic strength of those who share In Cuba, the the same pride of class or race.
and are even disproportionately strong in wealth and education, while the pure blacks are lowest in numbers and
white people outnumber
all
others
in influence.
They may
feel as
of their purity of race and color, but they cannot escape the cumulative effect of the pride and preju dice of all the other elements of the population.
They cannot
fail to
hopelessness of attempting to rise, with their color, above the position which tradition accords them in
the community.
ple, they must in the work of
upon the
In Cuba possession of a more or less white skin. the black man may comfort himself with pride in his color. But so long as everybody else believes
that the black color is a disgrace and an evidence of mental incapacity, there can be little effort, and that doomed to failure, for the development of a
racial pride based
of
men
IN
83
But there is no danger that a white majority greater than that of South Caro lina and others of the United States would cease
of the white people.
to rule in
Cuba
if
veloped a spirit of mutual respect and tolerance which would enable them to co-operate effectively
for their
common
welfare and, therefore, for the the people of the Island Republic.
much
"white"
blood they
may
have in their veins, the mixed people are not re garded asf of the white race. No matter how little
"black"
blood they
they have in
may have, it is an element which common with the black people. In the
word, the partly white
cannot be of the same race as the wholly black. But they can form and ought to form a racial unit
for the development
ers the respect
which
should accord to
itself.
86
PVESPITE
*-^
toes
tinction between the various types of mulatand the pure black people of Cuba, there is a
representative ele ments of all these divergent groups to get into closer contact for the promotion of their common welfare.
the
Following the
the various sections of the colored race began to perceive that they could not expect to mitigate the
prejudice and discrimination which they suffered alike from the whites, while they continued to
Espe practice the same evils among themselves. cially in the smaller towns and villages, where the
lines of caste
scantier the colored population the keener were the which separated them, the blacks and
come
to associate
more
freely,
not alone for the pursuit of objects which they recognize as of their common interest, but also in
more intimate sense of personal friendliness. In the larger cities this wholesome tendency is The small, exclusive circles still more in evidence.
the
composed of people possessing as nearly as possible the same degree of skin coloration, have been ex
panding, not only in their composition but also as regards their activities. A typical product of the new spirit is the ciub "Atenas" in the city of Ha-
IN
vana.
its
87
an organization which comprises in active membership men and women of all shades
This
is
of the colored race and counts as honorary members many white persons of the highest distinction.
"Atenas"
is,
as its
name
Its club
manner
opened for lectures, concerts and other manifestations of intellectual activity. With these efforts and through the medium of its
"
Atenas"
reveals to
own
fare. At the same time, without making abstract and objective demands for political and other
rights or advantages, it exerts a powerful Influence in securing the respect and consideration of the
best elements of white people. Not with a sense of condescension, but with a
feeling of ease
and genuine appreciation of the opportunity to meet people of a different group but of their own intellectual and moral level, white friends attend, on invitation, the entertainments of
"Atenas."
88
reception in honor of a distinguished Cuban wri a lady ter and generous friend of the colored race who frequently visits this country, where she en
joys a large acquaintance. This reception was at tended by many persons of the highest standing in public affairs and in the various spheres of the
arts.
mark
the beginning of a
new epoch in the relations of white and colored people in Cuba. In that Island, as in the rest of
the Latin countries, there
is
nothing extraordinary
in the meeting of people of pure European lineage with persons of mixed race at private or public gatherings. But in such cases the mixed people are
admitted not only as a necessary recognition of their standing in the community, but because of
their partly
their
cal
European origin. The genuineness of welcome depends on the extent of their physi them affinity to the white people, which they
always seek
to
selves
regard as complete.
u
Atenas"
On
represents the ef
non-European an cestry the principal motive for contact and co-oper The fair mulatto is no longer ashamed of ation. his African blood. The pure black man is no long
fort of people
who
find in their
own
col-
IN
or, for
89
be
the indispensable basis for the constitution of a race or people. The white friends, and those who
are not friends of
"Atenas"
can
now
sibility of the parallel development and neighbor ly existence of two groups of people, each respect
ing the other as well as itself, without a thought of the absorption or asphyxiation of one by the other. The influence of this club is making itself felt
up in the smaller
cities
which
92
THE
its
unquestionably a demo
cratic country, if
frankness of
people.
But
not comprehensive of all the people its applica tion is limited to specific groups of the population, characterized by affinity or identity of ethnic orig
is
in,
it
The
spir
and mutual respect among the mem bers of one group is converted into a feeling of dis respect and hostility when applied to members of
of tolerance
another group.
The play of
one upon the other serves as a restraining influ ence upon them all and produces as regards most of
them an external atmosphere of harmony and at times, or cordiality. But this system of democracy
has not yet been extended to include white and col* ored people. Between these two major groups there
still
remains in
all its
which separates autocracy and privi lege from dependency and exploitation. Throughout the civilized world the United States
dividing line
This regarded as the symbol of democracy. is well founded if we consider the guiding opinion principles of the political institutions of the coun
is*
try,
the examples of
men
of
IN
have risen
tivities of
ple.
93
But
the nation and in the opinion of its peo as compared with the France that de
stroyed the Bastille and proclaimed the Rights of Man, the France that accords those rights to the
black
man
Hugo
only if
the superficial is more important than the funda mental in the structure of a democratic people.
real democracy must be built up on the principles of equity summarized by Jose Marti in his cam Repub paign for the Independence of Cuba, r lic cordial with all and for all. Such a nation
"a
was what the great restorer of the American Na tion had in mind when he expressed the hope that the government and people of this country would,
like himself, be
tice to all,
"with
jus
The people and the public powers of the United States havo fallen far short of the ideal of Lin
coln, not only in the relations oi the various
groups
of the population, but especially as regards the attitude of the white man toward the black man.
Democracy may subsist without intimate fellow ship among those who share it, but it ceases to be real when one section of the people abuse their pow-
94
er in denying to
So
long- as there
among the white people of the United States* to commit crime under pre text of punishing the perpetrators of other crimes
;
and thinking elements of the population, including the executive and legis
so long as the responsible
lative powers, do not take steps for the effective
suppression of Lynch Law, the United States will not have earned the place which, in many other respects, it so richly deserves, among the leadingprogress. great democracy cannot be constituted mere ly by the declaration of certain fundamental prin ciples which are thereafter violated with impunity.
forces of
human
not enough for the basic law of the land to set forth the equality of citizens, if in practice the rights accruing therefrom are systematically and
It
is
persistently abridged or denied to certain citizens. Democracy can hardly be said to have progressed
when women
is openly and admittedly taken from men to whom it had been granted because they had made themselves entitled to it.
nation that deprives its own citizens of their rights is not likely to have much genuine respect
IN
95
for the rights of other nations. great democracy must not only be a democracy at heart for and to
all
those
whom
it
comprises, but
its relations
same principles in
must respect and seek to preserve rather than to destroy the liberty of weak er peoples. No matter what is said to the contrary, and there is much truth that may be said, the United States of America have by no means lived up to their professed abhorrence of autocracy and
aggressive imperialism in their international af
fairs.
to be truly
As with wealthy
individuals, their
economic power is accompanied with a proportional haughtiness and pride and with progressively clear
er expressions of autocracy.
is
The United
States
country in the world. it is the most autocratic country, de Conseqvently, spite the existence, in some quarters, of a current of opinion which is as yet too weak to make itself
at present the wealthiest
felt to
any appreciable
extent.
May
until the democracy of the United States embraces all its citizens in the application of equal justice
before the law and in the mind of the people, upon whose will depends the enforcement of the law.
98
THE
CoLoit QUESTION
IN
*
tory and his own position in the community may bring to a man a greater measure of respect and consideration for his person than would be the
case in the United States, and class and individual distinctions are perhaps more marked in the form
er colonies of aristocratic Spain than in the re publican descendant of England, yet it cannot be said with truth, as it often is affirmed on insuffi
cient
cal
and misinterpreted evidence, that the politi institutions of Latin America are essentially
If for
autocratic.
American
are poor in realized wealth and are dependent on foreign capital to develop their economic resources
;
and
as
it is difficult
for a
moneyed country
to
be
easy and necessary for econom countries to be democratic. ically dependent The Latin American peoples are essentially and
democratic, so
is it
of passionately democratic in all things outside their homes and personal relationships, for their
economic development has not absorbed their atten tion. They have had time to keep alive the mem
and
ories of their heroic struggles against autocracy to foster the cult of Liberty. In all those coun
IN
ment,
99
is democratic with an all inclusive democ which the people are always ready and de racy, termined to maintain unabridged. Contrary to
the accepted opinion in other countries, the fre quent revolutions in some of the Latin American
they
countries are not necessarily harmful, for while may temporarily interfere with the economic
activity, they tend to ensure the political
and moral
integrity of the nation. With rare exceptions, revolutions are not start
to counteract,
personal
The attempt
to overthrow a govern
ment
is
selfish motives,
being progressively deprived got into power by lawful means and in obedience to
the public will, have failed to resist the temptation to extend their powers or the duration of office,
sometimes for their personal advantage, sometimes in the sincere belief that they are the best and only
qualified to
manage
ways obeying the dictate of unbridled egoism. typical illustration of the motive factors in a
is
the following.
its
A
can-
100
didate for president, by peaceful means and in ac cordance with constitutional procedure. When his
term
is
drawing
re-election, which,
tries, is
in the Latin
American coun
regarded as a principle of autocracy and is prohibited either by the letter of the law or the
spirit of the people. But the retiring president and his associates or advisers avail themselves of the
army
The
suspended; and the president is re-elected. This is a situation which many a Latin Ameri
can country has been called upon to face. The ulti mate remedy, no doubt, is education or occupation, not by alien authorities, but of the mind and hand of the native masses. Meantime, must an outraged
people
bow
?
usurper termined to remain free, as were the men ed their British tea in Boston Harbor.
ISTot
in supine resignation to the will of the while virile men are free and de
who
seep
IN
101
at
invariably wrong and that the governments which they are aimed are always right. Having
as
sumed the role of big brother to the contentious small boys or creeping infants to the South, the Great Republic of North America has of recent years declared war on revolution by imposing on offending countries the penalty of non-recognition of a government empowered by revolution or, when practicable, by itself directly assuming the suc cession of the government which has been over thrown. Revolutions have lately been on the de crease in Latin America, but autocracy, native or
foreign, has
century of struggle for the maintenance of democratic government, in theory and practice. An intelligent and helpful interest on the pan of the United States with regard to the political affairs of the Latin American countries would not
be based on the policy at present pursued by the
The government and Washington government. people of the United States must understand that revolution is not an unmixed evil, and that every such occurrence must be judged impartially and
with a full knowledge of the facts by any foreign power which proposes to further, and not to hind er, the progress of democracy in the Latin Ameri can countries.
WOMAN
IN THE
TWO AMERICAS.
104
FROM woman
Anglo-American
known to her Spanish-American sister. In the United States, the education of women, while it aims to conserve feminine charm and idealism, al
lows the fullest opportunity for the development
and
women
in the
ma
The woman of the terial, practical spheres of life. United States appreciates the spiritual value of familiarity with the plays of Shakespeare and the
music of Verdi, but she also appreciates the value of the dollar which she has earned with her own brain and hand. She can diseuss the subtleties of
philosophy and religion while she plies her knit ting in the subway. With her sex the world ovet,
she shares the ideals of
home and
when
assume responsibilities which, in upon other countries, are borne exclusively and often imperfectly by men. Trained to a life of activity, the American
of her education, ceases
When
she marries, her actual or potential contribution to the maintenance of the home places her in a po-
IN
105
sition of equality
She
is
the
partner and
the
She
it
is
no
less
Maintaining and asserting her personality in the home than in the office, the studio or
is
on the
in languages
them become
The women
of the poorer
classes, unable to attend the convent, imbibe as much as they can of feminine ideals or ideal fem
ininity from their more favored sisters. Among rich and poor alike, the paramount service and
duty of woman to society is to become as early as possible an obedient wife and as often as possible thereafter a fond and solicitous mother.
Without discarding these ideals, within recent years the Spanish American woman has been en joying greater personal liberty and wider oppor
tunity for the development of her abilities.
In
106
many
women now
attend
the universities and professional schools on the same terms as men. Before marriage they occupy
clerical positions
to the exclusive perquisite of
ing.,
they utilize
and practise professions hither men. After marry their training to help their hus
bands maintain and increase the conjugal estate. If they have wealth and leisure, their social and
altruistic
activities no longer center exclusively about the church, but extend to the more general
woman
in
in Latin
America
some coun is, The modern woman tries, hardly appreciable. meets with much opposition, not only from the men, but from within the ranks of her own sex. It cannot be denied, however, that the most pro
of course,
slow and,
gressive countries are those which, without per mitting woman to participate actively in the af fairs of the State, at least do not unduly hamper her in the development and exercise of her talents
wherever she can unquestionably exert a benefi cent influence on the community. The new woman in South America is largely a product of the in creasing contact between that region and North America. She is one product of definite, indis putable value, and her growing popularity can never be seriously affected by competition.
108
TO
people of this country is the multiplicity of religi ous sects and secret societies. Although, as previous ly stated, the observations of the writer of these
notes have been in large measure confined to the colored people, it is quite true that, in the matter of secret societies as in the other characteristics
flect
of their civilization, the colored people merely re the habits and customs of their white coun
trymen.
The writer
freedom
of worship in the United States was produced by the spectacle of the members of a sect marching
through the streets of Harlem to or from their temple, two abreast, each carrying a copy of their
prayer-book, all dressed alike in flowing blue the masculine element being particularly
rol>es,
distinguished by wearing the hair and beard a& long as nature allows. On inquiry as to the iden
tity of these
formation could be obtained; according to some informers, the gentlemen and ladies of the Sacred Order of the Blue Gown are black Jews who, like their white co-religionists, manage to keep alive their customs in a land of absolute libertv and
IN
09
limited democracy; others say that they are dis ciples of the spiritualist Allan Kardeck.
"black
Whatever may be the faith that moves these Jews/ the interesting feature about them
that they are able to go about peacefully in the In E"ew York and in their blue robes.
if
is
streets of
mo
lested
by
vestigate their
procession into a free circus. But an exhibition that would draw out the whole population of a
is
so
commonplace that
York.
it
New
civilized or sav
many
so
secret organizations as in
is
none
where secrecy
have
is
Hedge about
with mystery the most significant acts and you at once the nucleus of an association for
some glorious object. But be sure to give half the secret away by displaying in public, in the sum
mer
order.
or at other suitable times, the insignia of the The American secret society is, like the
secret police, always ready to lose its sec.-ecy showing a button or badge.
by
110
of the organizations of this character in the United States are to be found in Europe and
Many
in Latin America, but not on the streets. The Ma sons, the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Columbus,
ened with their secrets that they share them pe riodically with the public by parading in their
regalia.
One
by allowing
its
members
to display
resenting in its
in the lower part the head and antlers of a deer. The type of a really secret society is probably Klux Klan, but even best represented by the
Ku
most of
its
members
performances. The activity of this society is largely confined to the southern states and con
sists,
besides the parades, of the exploitation of al ready thoroughly established and recognized preju
dices of color
and
religion.
The
Ku Klux
Klan
has been accused, apparently with ample founda tion, of perpetrating, under cover of the white
sheets, the most barbarous and inhuman acts not only against colored people, but also against the other objects of the organization s displeasure. As the members of this society never reveal to out-
IN
111
ing their faces when on parade or when torturing a victim, the secrecy of the society is so complete
that
it
ization or to discover
and bring
men.
to justice those
of
its
guilty of deeds
unworthy of
Happily, the activities of the other secret so cieties, as regards the general public, are usually
limited to the display of their regalia. With rare exceptions, they do not seek to exercise any collec
tive influence
tions.
on general social and political ques They do not undertake to regulate the pri
members.
sponds
to
own The American secret society merely re the demand of normal human beings for
fellowship and friendship, and the desire to pene trate the specious mysteries of a fraternal organ
ization furnishes the occasion for contacts
sociations
and as
of
difficult
who
are by training
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