CHAPTER X.
AS A NATIONAL FIGURE.
The first National Baptist Convention of Negro Baptists ever held in the United States convened at the Second Baptist Church, St. Louis, Mo., August 25, 1886, at 10 a. m. It was called to order by the late lamented Rev. William J. Simmons, D. D., President of the State University of Kentucky, who had been chiefly instrumental in having the Convention called. There were large delegations present from nearly all of the Southern States and a few from the East and West. Georgia sent only three delegates to this first meeting, while now she sends annually about one hundred. The three delegates from Georgia who attended the St. Louis meeting were the late Rev. E. K. Love, D. D., of Savannah, and the Revs. G. H. Dwelle and C. T. Walker, of Augusta. The Rev. Mr. Walker took a prominent part in the deliberations of the Convention, and served on the Committee on Permanent Organization. It was because of a wise, conservative and, considering the make-up of the Convention, bold stand that he took at this meeting, that he leaped, so to say, at one bound into national prominence as a fearless leader. It happened this way. On the second day of the meeting, one Rev. H. C. Bailey, of Florida, spoke on “Southern Ostracism.” After abusing Southern white people for their treatment of the colored people, the Rev. Mr. Bailey said, among other things, that the Southern white Baptists were figureheads. Biding his time, the next day the Rev. Mr. Walker arose and addressing the chairman, said that he thought the statement made by the Rev. Mr. Bailey concerning the Southern white Baptists did them great injustice and ought not to be allowed to go unchallenged. Immediately every eye was turned toward the young champion from Georgia and there followed from him the most impassioned address of the entire meeting. He concluded by offering the following resolution, which, though vigorously opposed by many members of the Convention, was adopted by a good majority:
“Whereas, In the speech of H. C. Bailey, of Florida, yesterday, before this body, the statement was made that, as a whole, the Southern white Baptists were figureheads who do not follow Baptist teachings and who believe that there are separate heavens for white and colored people; and
“Whereas, Such an assertion does great injustice to the white Baptists of the South from the fact that they have many colored missionaries in the South paid by them to labor among our people; and
“Whereas, The Southern Baptist Convention at its meeting in January, 1886, in the city of Montgomery, Ala., passed a resolution to raise $10,000 to expend in mission work among the colored Baptists of the South; and
“Whereas, Such a statement as that referred to is likely to prove detrimental to the 800,000 colored Baptists of the South; therefore, be it
“_Resolved_, _First_, That this Convention does not endorse the statement of the brother referred to.
“_Resolved_, _Second_, That this Convention hears with the greatest gratification of the efforts now being made by the Southern Baptist Convention to expend $10,000 for missionary work among the colored people.”
This resolution was published in many of the Southern newspapers and in all denominational organs; there was nothing but praise for the author. The Rev. Mr. Walker left home practically unknown outside of his own State; he returned one of the acknowledged leaders of the Baptist brotherhood of the country. The advertising he received from this incident doubtless in no small measure paved the way for his success in the East, whither he went a month later to solicit funds to assist him in his church work at Augusta.
Again, in 1889, at Indianapolis, while attending the National Baptist Convention, he added to his already growing reputation. Then, as in 1886, the Southern question was up for discussion. Many speakers indulged in wholesale abuse of the South: the white people of the South were pictured as heathen; they were vilified and maligned; race feeling ran high; there was great excitement. The Rev. Mr. Walker gained the floor and made an able speech counselling wisdom and moderation, and stating that he believed that the best element of white people in the South was trying to create such a public sentiment as would make lynching impossible. At any rate, he stated that the best thing for the colored people to do was to make the friendship of and seek the protection of the people among whom they lived. His speech acted like magic. Oil was poured on the troubled waters. Reason returned, and the resolutions under consideration were defeated. Again his name got into the newspapers; his speech was published North and South; his name was on every tongue; some of the papers referred to him as “a strong man in a crisis.”
It was at this meeting that he preached the Conventional sermon. It aroused and stirred all who heard it. At its conclusion, the late Rev. Dr. Simmons, the President of the Convention, walked over to the preacher, shook his hand, and said: “You have won your ‘D. D.,’ and I’ll see that you get it.” The following summer, true to his word, he had the trustees of the State University of Kentucky, of which he was President, to confer upon the Rev. Mr. Walker the honorary degree of “Doctor of Divinity,” which he has worthily worn ever since.
From the beginning, Dr. Walker was one of the leading figures of the National Baptist Convention, and he is such to-day. For three years he was its Treasurer, and for many years was Vice President for Georgia. He is now Vice President for New York. He has attended every annual meeting since the beginning, without missing a single one. Not a partisan, not a factionist, not a stirrer up of strife among the brethren, not a division-maker, a man of peace, probably no man has a larger and more loyal following among the Negro Baptists of America than he has.
In June, 1898, he was appointed a Chaplain with the rank of Captain in the U. S. V., and assigned to duty with the Ninth Immunes. The appointment was made by the late President McKinley out of a list of more than 500 applicants. He secured a leave of absence from his Augusta church, and joined his regiment at San Luis, Cuba, about thirty miles inland from Santiago, in November, 1898. The regiment was only doing garrison duty at the time, the leading events in the Spanish-American War having already been long since concluded. During his absence, his church at Augusta was supplied by the Rev. Silas X. Floyd, at that time one of the Field Workers of the International Sunday School Convention.
The International Sunday School Convention is the largest and most important Sunday School organization in the world. It embraces in its membership the United States, the Dominion of Canada and South America, with corresponding representatives from Europe. It has a constituency of more than 23,000,000. It is sponsor for the International Lesson Series, which was inaugurated in 1872 by Mr. B. F. Jacobs, of Chicago, for many years past the able and honorable and venerable Chairman of the Executive Committee of the International Sunday School Convention. Closely associated with Mr. Jacobs in this great work have been, for many years, Dr. Geo. W. Bailey, of Philadelphia, the Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance Committee; Mr. John R. Pepper, of Memphis, Chairman of the Committee on Work Among the Colored People; Mr. John Wanamaker, of Philadelphia, and Mr. W. K. Crosby, of Wilmington, Del. The International Convention meets once every three years. At its last meeting, in 1899, in Atlanta, Ga., the Hon. Hoke Smith, Secretary of the Interior under Cleveland’s second administration, was elected President, and Dr. Walker was elected one of the five Vice Presidents. He was unanimously presented for this place by the colored delegates present at the meeting, and these delegates represented many different denominations. It is an honor not lightly to be esteemed for a Negro to hold an office in such an important religious body.
During the past fifteen years, Dr. Walker has received calls from the following churches: First Baptist Church, Nashville, Tenn.; the First Baptist Church, St. Louis; and the Second Baptist Church, Indianapolis. No one of these calls was accepted by the distinguished pastor. He preferred to remain with the people of Augusta.