I never feel so hopeful about the race as I do after
being engaged in a series of these meetings. I know that on such
occasions there is much that comes to the surface that is
superficial and deceptive, but I have had experience enough not
to be deceived by mere signs and fleeting enthusiasms. I have
taken pains to go to the bottom of things and get facts, in a
cold, business-like manner.
I have seen the statement made lately, by one who claims to know
what he is talking about, that, taking the whole Negro race into
account, ninety per cent of the Negro women are not virtuous.
There never was a baser falsehood uttered concerning a race, or a
statement made that was less capable of being proved by actual
facts.
No one can come into contact with the race for twenty years, as I
have done in the heart of the South, without being convinced that
the race is constantly making slow but sure progress materially,
educationally, and morally. One might take up the life of the
worst element in New York City, for example, and prove almost
anything he wanted to prove concerning the white man, but all
will agree that this is not a fair test.
Early in the year 1897 I received a letter inviting me to deliver
an address at the dedication of the Robert Gould Shaw monument in
Boston.
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