The Present and Future of the Negro in the United States [pp. 289-295]

THE
CATHOLIC WORLD.
Vo~~ XL. DECEMBER, 1884. No. 237.
THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE OF THE NEGRO
IN THE UNITED STATES.*
IT is a mere truism to say that the colored race is but little
known in most of the United States. As a rule the means of
knowing them-the minstrel parody, the stage of the low theatre,
the opportunities afforded by the popular summer resort-are
unfair and untrustworthy. No race can be measured by such
standards. When "there arose a new king over Egypt that
knew not Joseph,' then it was that Israel had to suffer. As long
as the negroes of our land are, in a great measure, unknown,
so long will they be misunderstood, so long will their needs be
neglected. The Southern people, of course, know their black
neighbors well-it could not be otherwise. But the people of
the North, though they will argue for him, sympathize with him,
give money for his education-in short, freely help him-cannot
well, and do not, know their "colored brother." Indeed, their
friendliness is of the sort that asks and requires distance for its
exercise. Yet the negroes, numbering over six millions in our
midst, merit an intelligent recognition.
It is the purpose of this article to give some notions of the
* History of the Negro Race. 2 vols. By Geo. W. Williams, Putnam, N. Y.-Our
Brother in Black. By A. G. Haygood. New York: Phillips & Hunt.-Hot Plowshares. By
Albion W. Tourgee. New York: Fords, Howard & Hurlbert.-Popelar Science Monthly,
February, 1883, "The African in the United States," by Prof. E. W. Gilliam.-Centery
Magazine, April, 1884, "Uncle Tom without a Cabin," by Walter B. Hill.-Agncuitural
Review, January and May, 1884, "What will become of the Colored Race?" by Dr. Geo. Ben.
Johnston.-Census Reports and Reports of the Commissioner of Education.
Copyright. REV. I. T. H~c~~~. 1884.