Part 6
"Yes, sar; I is a root doctor from way back; and when I gits done standin' at de forks ob de road at midnight pullin' up roots, twixt de hollowin' ob de owls, and gittin' a little fresh dirt frum de graveyard--honey, dar am su'thin' agwinter drop."
The above is part of a conversation held with me by one of these "herb kings" in South Carolina in 1890. Hence you can see that, like all other evils, these voodoo doctors do not die fast; and even to-day not a few still live.
This being with his weird stories went forth among a people who were rocked, as it were, in the cradle of superstition, and early became monarch of all he surveyed. He or she was known and feared throughout the country. They claimed to be able to cure anything from consumption to an unruly wife or husband, and furnishing charms to make love matches and to keep the wife or husband at home was one of their specialties.
Every patient they called on they diagnosed the trouble thus: he or she was tricked; if pneumonia, they were tricked; if a fever, they were tricked; or if a case of consumption, they were tricked.
Their stock of medicines, if such we must call them, generally consisted of such things as small bags of graveyard soil, rusty nails, needles, pins, goose grease, rabbits' feet, snake skins, and many other such things.
I say that a little more than a generation ago this was the class of so-called colored doctors that predominated in the South, and which for many years was a great stumbling-block to the educated physicians of our race, because it seemed to be understood that all colored doctors were and must be root doctors. But, thanks to Him who holds the destiny of races in his hands, in the flight of years and in this electric age of progress this voodoo doctor has almost--not entirely, but almost--passed away; while his territory is being occupied by colored physicians whose qualifications in education, character, and honor are equal to similar qualifications in the physicians of any other race.
The colored physicians in the South to-day are men and women fully equipped in education, morals, and integrity for the high calling they have elected, as their noble work will show. In the United States to-day there are about one thousand colored physicians, men and women, and more than seven hundred of them are located in the Southern States. While they represent the homeopathic and eclectic schools, yet the regulars are largely in the majority.
The majority of the colored physicians now operating in the South took a college course of education before taking up the study of medicine. Hence, as a general rule, they are exceedingly fine scholars. It is a sad fact, yet it is a hard fact, that less than one-third of the white physicians now practicing in the South, together with those preparing to come out, are college graduates. This cannot be said of the colored physicians. We have them from the leading medical institutions in America. They are here from the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard Medical College, Yale School of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, Howard Medical College, Ann Arbor Medical College, Lenard Medical College, and many of the medical schools of Chicago, Cleveland, and New Orleans. The examinations they pass, often before a prejudiced board, and their excellent record as physicians go to show that these schools are sending us no mean material.
These good men and women are, by their skill and God's help, reducing the death rate of the colored people to a wonderful degree. They are teaching the people the common laws of hygiene, and many other things pertaining to the health of their people that they were never taught before. They are lecturing in the schools in their cities on important topics relative to the care of school buildings and school children. They are in many places school commissioners and city and county physicians. As skilled physicians the fame of some is known far and wide. The whites frequently call a colored physician now. The question now is not, What is his color? but, Can he do me any good? Right here in Atlanta, Ga., I am frequently called to see white patients. Think of it! a colored physician attending white patients here in a city where not forty years ago members of his race were sold like cattle. If thirty-five years have brought this change, what will thirty-five years more bring? Yes, it has not been three hours since two white patients left my office.
The white profession in the South, especially the better class of them, give the colored members of the profession a hearty welcome to the field. They always have a kind word for them. They will consult with them, lend them books or instruments, and do anything they can to push the colored brother forward. This, I say, is the best element. The poor, half-starved fellow will not do this; but, on the contrary, will do all that he can to pull the colored physician down. Hence we have this class to watch, and for this reason I always consult with the best in my city, and would advise all other colored physicians to do the same.
The colored physicians have fine horses, carriages, and beautiful homes. Some own plantations, and others run large bank accounts.
As professors, the colored physicians of the South are holding some high positions with honor to themselves and their race. At New Orleans University Dr. Mellin is dean of the medical department of that institution. At Meharry Medical College we have Dr. R. F. Boyd, professor of the diseases of women and clinical medicine; Dr. H. T. Noel, demonstrator of anatomy; Dr. W. P. Stewart, professor of pathology, and there are other professors in the pharmaceutical and dental departments. Dr. Scruggs is a professor at Lenard Medical School. Besides these, there are several of the colored physicians delivering courses of lectures on various topics in different schools.
The colored physician in the South, for fear of being refused, has never made an application to become a member of any of the medical associations; but, knowing the great good that comes from contact, in several of the states they have organized themselves into associations, and are doing a noble work in their yearly meetings. Texas, North Carolina, and Georgia have excellent state medical associations, composed entirely of colored physicians. One of the beautiful points about the colored physicians of the South is that the majority of them are Christian men and women. This has much to do with their success.
The South is the field for well-equipped colored physicians. If they want to do good work, let them come South; if they want to be felt as a leader of the people, let them come South; if they want to make money, let them come South; if they are looking for work, let them come South; and if they wish to do charity work, the South is the field.
THE FIRST COLORED SPECIALIST.
Dr. Samuel J. Harris is a young man of eminent ability and skill, and has the mental capabilities to become one of the leading physicians of this country. He is the first colored specialist of the eye, ear, and throat in the United States. He is not only a young man who demonstrated marked ability as a student, but he is a doctor who possesses ample means to supply himself with all of the instruments and literature which are required to advance him in his professional work.
Dr. Harris is the son of Mr. Sam Harris, the well-known merchant of Williamsburg, Va., who does probably the largest business of its kind of any colored man in the United States.
ESPECIAL COMPANY.
(FROM CHICAGO APPEAL.)
Should a young lady accept the attentions of one young man to the exclusion of all others before betrothal takes place? It is not wise to do so. A girl may be interested in a man and think that she cares for him enough to marry him, and yet there may be others whom she would love more dearly could she know them. She should not deprive herself of the opportunity to make comparisons. A young man is very foolish when he insists upon a girl receiving attentions from no one but himself, even after betrothal. A girl is equally foolish when she objects to her lover paying attentions to other girls. If either can become more interested in another, it certainly ought to be known before marriage. There would be fewer unhappy marriages and fewer divorces if young people of both sexes could be impressed with the idea that they must decide what characteristics their happiness requires in a life partner and that they must not marry until they have found some one possessing such characteristics. This can only be learned by companionship, and is seldom considered by those whose first thought is that no one else can be studied but the object of their present fancy.
Again, it places a young girl at a great disadvantage to be looked upon as the "exclusive property" of any young man. An honorable man hesitates to offer attentions to a young lady under such conditions, even though he may be sure that the man is not in earnest or that such a union could not be happy or that the young lady possesses exactly the qualities which he himself would find harmonious. Under present social conditions a girl may not make known her preferences unless the man first declares himself, and if she happens to make a mistake and is known as the sweetheart of the wrong young man, there is little chance that she may find the right one. Not only before, but after betrothal, both parties should feel free to associate with whomsoever they please, and no objection should be raised by the other simply on the ground that "we belong to each other now." That such freedom may be assured, I believe that the betrothal should be kept an absolute secret between the parties concerned.
THE SPHERE OF WOMAN.
BY MRS. R. E. LAWSON, WASHINGTON, D. C.
The time has come when woman no longer accepts the hearthstone as the circumscribed arena of her activities. Amid the busy whirl of this nineteenth century we behold her stepping with well-shod feet boldly across the threshold where hitherto her ambitions have been smothered or held in check by social customs and prejudice, taking her place in the various avocations which bring to mankind peace and happiness, through an honest dollar for its equivalent in honest toil.
If we will notice the index finger in the plane of human advancement and limit its progress to the strides made in civilization within the last forty years, it will be readily acknowledged that the woman movement during these years has made no insignificant ripple in the tide of human achievements. There is scarcely a profession which has not felt the impress of her presence; scarcely a moral reform, from the antislavery cause of the past to the great temperance movement of to-day, which has not received her sanction and hearty support.
Wherever she has gone forth she has acquitted herself creditably, and successfully lived down all attempts to ridicule and cast opprobrium upon her adventure. This forward march, which has been likened to a great tidal wave, has carried in its course higher education for woman, including her entrance to the medical, legal, and clerical professions, the position as trustee on school boards in various sections, the restoration to married women of a right to their own property, and various other reforms tending to broaden her sphere, increase her activities, and heighten her self-respect.
Side by side with this uniform impulse on the part of woman to know and to be known in life's arena have come to its twin sister the progress and unprecedented achievements of the Negro in America. The school may instruct and the Church may teach, but the home is an institution older than the Church and antedates the school, the place where the children should be trained for useful citizenship on earth and hope of holy communion in heaven.
Our hands have ever been firm upon the rudder, guiding and governing the education of our youth for years of future usefulness.
I take it that we, as colored women, must regard ourselves as a peculiar people in these advanced movements. We cannot afford to be swept along in the current of daily happenings without thoughtfully comparing our status and conditions with all that surround us, questioning for a moment whether the experiment will prove an expensive luxury or wholesome and digestible food. Economy of time, economy of means, economy of action, must be our constant watchwords. The Negro woman, being the most potent factor in the intellectual development of the race, must be aroused to a consideration of the fact that to improve the intellect and neglect the moral and physical growth of our youth will be to impose upon society dangerous citizens.
THE MOURNING PREACHER.
BY J. C. M'ADAMS, SHELBYVILLE, TENN.
Why do our educated ministers "mourn" when preaching? There are honorable exceptions, but the rule is as stated. We have heard ministers whose educational qualifications were all that could be desired, whose exegeses were faultless, who in their perorations would depart from all standards. They exhume the dead, they picture the beatific splendors of the New Jerusalem, they paint the horrors of hell, they describe deathbed scenes, etc. They do this whether or not it has any connection with the subject in hand. Then it is that the "spirit" comes. I do not think that I have overdrawn. I have heard some of our best ministers, and the general statement is true. Our educated ministers are making a serious mistake. This pulpit mannerism is a relic of the days of slavery, and the minister who indulges in it is simply perpetuating a barbarism and is retarding the religious progress of the race. It is true, perhaps, that in most of our congregations large numbers of people love to hear the "tone," but when and how are the people ever to become acquainted with higher religious ideas? How can a minister elevate his congregation when he persistently clings to the practices of thirty years ago?
These ministers seem not to know that nine-tenths of the young, educated, and progressive classes are disgusted with them. This explains the lethargy manifested by the above-minded classes toward the Church. The Church, like all other institutions, must be progressive. The fact that these men are keeping the Church back in the dingy past puts them out of sympathy with it. I recently heard a well-known minister, after howling and ranting and mourning to his heart's content, speak of himself as the "wild presiding elder." He certainly made that impression on several of his audience.
One of the great mistakes of our religious life is our mistaking noise for religion. With many of our unthinking classes it is the "mourn" which they enjoy in the sermons. Instead of carrying home some practical thought and trying to weave it into their lives, they become infatuated with certain tones and give vent to their "feelings" by making the welkin ring. If this is religion, I have been mistaken. If this kind of preaching is an inspiration, it is peculiar to us as a people. If noise and demonstrations are necessary parts of religious worship, then other races are largely wanting in this essential.
The mourning preachers will admit in private that there is no virtue in the mourn, and that they do it simply to "touch up" the old folks. They ought to be ashamed. Such conduct is sinful. They should hate the sins that make them mourn, and drive them from their breast. The religious status of a people is a pretty good index of their civilization. If there are idiosyncrasies in our religious life--in short, if we are not up to the standard--we will be judged accordingly. Though my voice be as one crying in the wilderness, I wish to suggest this religious slogan: "Down with the mourning preacher!"
OUR GREATEST DRAWBACK.
BY E. E. BROCK, NEW YORK, N. Y.
I doubt if there has ever been an enterprise started by Afro-Americans, no matter how lofty the aim or however honest the intentions, that there were not a few envious souls that stood ready to cry it down. This is to-day the greatest barrier to Afro-American success and the chief reason why we are no further advanced in commercial spheres than we are. In this advanced age of civilization and enlightenment such a state of affairs is sadly to be deplored, for we find that not only among the illiterate class does this exist, but in a greater and more marked degree by those who claim superior intelligence and are looked upon as leaders and shining lights of the race. If one attempts to gain a certain goal, there always stands another ready to pull him back. "You must and shall not get above me" seems to be their fixed motto. Ah! brothers and sisters, you have much yet to learn. If you cannot help another up the hill, you certainly will gain nothing by trying to pull him back. Enviousness is a demon and a monster, and until you learn to live in union and love thy neighbor as thyself, you may never hope to win the respect and esteem of other races.
THE RACE PROBLEM.
Views of Several Prominent Negroes.
In a speech recently delivered before the graduating class of Meharry Medical College, at Nashville, Gov. Taylor said: "There is no Negro problem of the South. That has been settled long ago. I belong to a generation that has grown up since the war, a generation of young white men who thank God that the shackles of slavery have been stricken from the limbs of the black man." I have observed that in any community where our people respect themselves and encourage the enterprise of each other the white people not only patronize and encourage us, but they treat our women respectfully, and the lives of our men are as safe as if we were white; but where we act the brute and traitor to each other the race, both good and bad, fare hard, and nothing more is to be expected by any sensible person. It is human nature for the strong to prey upon the weak. Hence the Negro must be his own first strength by his moral life and faithfulness to each other. Unless this, we are as a race doomed either in Africa or America. (Caesar A. A. Taylor, Ocala, Fla.)
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The race problem is a moral one. It is a question entirely of ideas. Its solution will come especially from the domain of principles. Like all the other great battles of humanity, it is to be fought out with the weapons of truth; it cannot be settled by extinction of race; no amalgamation process can eliminate it. The social idea is to be entirely excluded from consideration. It is absolutely a personal matter, regulated by taste, condition, racial or family affinities, and there it must remain undisturbed forever. (W. H. Council)
The colored race of this country should aim at the highest success and make themselves the best citizens and the most useful members of society. We should be guided by right principles and prove ourselves worthy of the liberty granted us by the emancipation. There should be no better schools than ours, no grander statesmen, no more shining lights in professional life, no happier homes, no more cultured women, no people more moral and upright. It is safe to say that we can do it, because many noble and worthy men and women of our race have already achieved great success. They have climbed high in their endeavors, have grasped the prize held out before them, and by their brilliant achievements have conferred honor upon their people and have written their names indelibly upon the hearts of their countrymen. Where are our rising young men and women? We call them to come forward. We bid them lift their eyes to the highest of knowledge and power. We point them to those whose names have become household words, and bid them press on to the front rank in the struggle for life. Here lies our hope for the future; and the Negro problem, which is one of the greatest problems of the present age, will have solved itself. (Harvey Johnson.)
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All that we want is the unmolested enjoyment of the rights and privileges guaranteed us in the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the national constitution. If we are allowed the exercising of these in every state in the Union, we will be satisfied, and will in an almost incredibly short period of time solve for our white brethren that ever perplexing race problem which, like Banquo's ghost, will not down. Our Southern white brethren need entertain no fears of "Negro domination" or "black supremacy" in the government of the Southern States, for the Southern Negro is rapidly leaving the low and uncertain plane of political honor or gain for a higher one of morals, education, and the amassing of wealth. During the past, with the rights guaranteed us by the constitution nullified in the states containing the larger portion of the colored population--the black belt of the South--we have made marvelous progress along the lines of securing classical and industrial education and the accumulation of wealth. With these restrictions or nullifications of our constitutional rights removed, is it either fair or reasonable to believe that a race with so grand and wonderful a record of progress along this line of prosperity as ours is at this late day going to drop into the quagmire of retrogradation? No. We have but begun, and though the wheels of Negro prosperity may continue to be checked by the brakes of race prejudice, we will nevertheless continue to climb upward to the very top of the hill of wealth, honor, and fame. (National Reflector, Wichita, Kans.)
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The key to the solution of the race problem in the South is in the commercial and industrial development of the Negro, a development along this line that shall rest upon the broadest and highest culture. Under God, as bad as slavery was, it prepared the way for the solving of the problem by this method. Friction will disappear and the two races in the South will be as one in all their civil and commercial relations just in proportion as the Negro, by reason of skill and educated brains, produces something that the white man wants or respects; and when you pursue that question to its last analysis one white man cares little for another white man, except as the other has something that he wants. In all history we cannot find a race that possessed property, industry, intelligence, and character in a high degree that has long been denied its rights. If the possession of these elements does not bring to the Negro every right enjoyed by any other class of citizens, then the Bible and the teachings of the Great Jehovah are wrong. I propose that the Negro take his position on the high and undisputed ground of generosity, usefulness, forgiveness, and honesty in all things, and that he invite the white man to step up and occupy this ground with him. If the white man in every part of our country cannot accept this invitation, we will thus prove that the problem is a white man's problem rather than a Negro problem. (Booker T. Washington.)
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