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154    THE CRISIS

You are engaged in an effort to advance the colored race, and it occurs to me that if you would left your efforts take a more practical turn you would do this race a greater service. There is a race prejudice that exists between the white and Negro races wherever the Negroes are found in large numbers, world-wide in its scope and by no means confined to the South. On the other hand, the prejudice against the. Negroes, when they become a menace by their increasing numbers, is much stronger in your section of the Union that in the South.

You will understand in the county where this lynching occurred that the Negroes outnumber either the white or Indian race. Just yesterday I received a communication from the Secretary of the State, calling my attention to the fact that Oklahoma Negroes were going to Canada, and that there was an effort on the part of the Canadian government to exclude them from that province, and asking that I call the same to the attention of the Oklahoma Negroes to prevent this migration. I hold that the Negro has as much right to seek his fortune where he thinks his opportunities are better as any white man has, and if he thinks he can better his condition by going to New York or Canada, he should be given the privilege of going there. Yet the chivalry of the North, speaking through the Secretary of State, to the chivalry of the South, says, "keep the Negro in the South-- we don't want them in our section of the world."

Just this week the announcement comes as a shock that the Secretary of the Interior, another chivalrous Northern man, has appointed a Negro from Kansas to come to Oklahoma and take charge of the supervision of the Indian schools of this State. There is no race of people on earth that has more antipathy for the Negro race than the Indian race, and yet these people, numbering many of the best citizens of this State and nation, are to be humbled and their prejudices and passions are to be increased by having this outrage imposed on them by one of the highest officials of the Federal government.

If your organization would interest itself to the extent of seeing that such outrages as this are not perpetrated against our people, there would be fewer lynchings in the South than at this time, and you can do a great deal more to aid the Negro by seeing that other people of our section of the country are considered in these matters than you can issuing abusive statements against this country when a crime of this kind is committed. 

I am much opposed to mob law as any man on earth, and don't think that conditions ever justify a mob taking the law into its own hands. Oklahoma is especially favored as being practically free from any attempt to take the law in its own hands. There have been since Statehood six hangings in this State by mob, and four of these were white men.

Our laws are adequate and our juries competent, and except in cases of extreme passion, which no law and no civilization can control, the administration of justice is attended in this State with as little cause for criticism as in any other section of this country.
Very respectfully,
(signed) Lee Cruce,
Governor of Oklahoma.

At the same time the Chairman received the following quite unexpected letter from an Oklahoma citizen:

Dear Sir: Oklahoma City, Okla.
Send you a clipping I saw and cut out of the automobile magazine, which, think will convince you, as a whole, are from the North and are as whole law abiding, and try to give the Negro the privileges of advancements; certainly we have a few of the rougher border element which are fast disappearing.
Very respectfully,
B.R. Harrington.

After diligent searching of the newspapers, and after correspondence with friends in Oklahoma, we cannot find that anything has been done to convict the guilty parties.  The Negro knows, how difficult it is to secure justice on "simply a question of passion and race prejudice."

Dr. Du Bois In England.
From London the Director of Research and Publicity reports a most successful campaign.  The address before the Ethical Culture Society was made to an audience apparently most appreciative.  The Society gave a dinner in honor of Dr. DuBois on July 7.

On June 26 Dr. DuBois was the guest of honor at the Lyceum Club dinner.  The Lyceum Club from time to time entertains various distinguished guests and assembles other distinguished persons to hear them speak.  on this occasion her Highness the Ranee of Sarawak, who was in London to take part in the coronation ceremonies, presided at the dinner.  The guests of honor invited to meet Dr. DuBois were: The Countess of Bective; Muriel, Viscountess Helsley; the Rt. Rev. the Bishop of British Honduras and Mrs. Bury; Mr. Maurice Hewlett, Sir Harry and Lady Johnston, Sir Percy and Lady Bunting, Sir Robert and Lady Morant, Sir Lawrence and Lady Gomme, Sir James Chricton-Browne, Lady Low, Miess Elizabeth Robins, Mrs. Comings, Mr. Henry Nevinson, Mr. Fairbanks, Mr. Milholland.

Dr. DuBois' address was listened to with great interest.  The Bishop of Brit-

THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION 155

ish Honduras and Central America spoke on the subject; Miss Elizabeth Robins, the author; Mrs. Arthur Philip and Mr. Maurice Hewlett also made brief addresses.

Dr. DuBois described conditions in America, the denial of civil rights, the insults and humiliation the colored man and woman must face:

"Why is this? It is not because the American white people are unusually devilish - they are on the whole about the same kind of people that you are and you under similar circumstances in India and Africa have shown similar tendencies.  Consequently the Americans interpret the public opinion of Europe as justify them to make what I may call the three refusals:

"1. The refusal to treat civilized black men as civilized.
"2. The refusal to allow particular black men to become civilized.
"3. The refusal to assume the possibility of civilizing most black men.

"Among the whites they give rise to insulting manners toward the lowly; they prevent the contact of the cultured and the undeveloped; they lead to an absurd lack of logic, as, for instance, accusing of bad manners those against whom every effort is made to give them no chance to see good manners, and above all crying for purity of race after the whites have been responsible for two or three million mulattoes.  Further than this the three refusals lead to injustice in the courts and a terrible paradox in religion, for while professing a religion of humility and equality the Christian Church in America has for the most part refused fellowship with black men.

"Among Negroes these three refusals lead to a loss of self-respect or immoderate self-assertation; they hinder the natural differentiation into classes according to culture and efficiency, and they force thinking Negroes either into subservient hypocrisy or paralyzing bitterness.

"How far now is America's interpretations of Europe's attitude toward the darker world justified?  It must be confessed with sorrow that modern European civilization has fallen victim to the temptation of all former civilizations - the temptation of despising men; of assuming that no other peoples are worth consideration and respect but those who share their own culture.  The tendency is to assume an inevitable aristocracy of races, with whites at the top and blacks at the bottom.  No sooner is the assumption boldly stated, however, than we remember that the same assumption was made less than a century ago concerning classes in the same nation, and that today European culture is largely sustained by descendants of social classes whom the eighteenth century pronounced incapable of uplift.

Moreover, science to-day places no meets and bounds to the development of races given the favorable environment and there is no scientific proof that an individual of any race may not reach the highest.  For this reason is it not the wisest and best course to refuse to tread the paths of exclusion and human despisery and to see that the gates of opportunity are absolutely closed in the faces of no race or people?"

On July 19 Dr. DuBois spoke before the Sociological Society, of which ex-Premier Blafour is president.  Sir Sidney Olivier, Governor of Jamaica, presided.  On July 24 he spoke before the Subject Races Society.

Dr. DuBois has met and been entertained by many persons interested in social problems as well as by a number of persons distinguished in literature, Sir Harry Johnston, Sir Percy Bunting, editor of the Temporary Review; Mr. Kier Harding, the labor leader; Mr. Herbert Burrowes, the socialist; Mr. Arthur Ponsonby, the M.P.; Mr. Maurice Hewlett, Mr. and Mrs. Havelock Ellis, Miss Elizabeth Robins and many others.

The Ranee of Sarawak has been particularly interested in the problem of the color line in this country.  On July 11 she gave a reception in honor of Dr. DuBois, inviting the Archbishop of Canterbury and various distinguished guests to meet him.  Receptions to the delegates of the Races Congress have been given by the Countess of Warwick and one of the Indian princes.

INCORPORATION.

The National Association is now a duly incorporated body.  The incorporation took place June 19, 1911.  Lack of space prevents our giving the articles and by-laws in this issue, but next month we hope to present them to our readers.  At the first meeting of the Board of Directors, June 20, the officers already serving the committee were nominated:

President, Mr. Moorfield Storey; vice-president, Mr. John E. Milholland; vice-president, Bishop Alexander Walters; chairman of board, Oswald G. Villard; secretary, Miss Mary Ovington; treasurer, Mr. Walter Sachs; director of publicity and research, Dr. W.E.B. DuBois.

The following appointments of committees were announced by the chairman;

Finance - Walter E. Sachs, chairman; Oswald G. Villard, Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, Miss Mary Ovington. Legal Redress - O.G. Villard, Thomas Ewing, Jr., chairman; William M. Wherry, Jr., C. Ames Brooks.  Publications - Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, chairman; Mrs. M.D. Maclean, W.L. Bulkley. Membership - Miss L. O'Reilly, Mrs. M. D. Maclean, Rev. Clayton Powell.  General Attorney - C. Ames Brooks.