Activities Among Negroes
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Negro Leader
CHARLES
SATCHEL MORRIS, negro lecturer, who
is giving a series of addresses in
bay cities.
Charles Satchell Morris Jr. of Norfolk, Va., the greatest negro orator now before the American public, delivered his celebrated lecture on "The Measure of the Man" Tuesday evening in the thea- ter of the Municipal Auditorium of Oakland. He had a large rep- resentative audience of both races who listened with intense inter- est to his eloquent adress.
The object of his tour of lec- turing is to arouse in the negro of today a greater race pride. He said: "The man of tomorrow will be measured not by his wealth, color, or social position, but by his character, his courage, faith and loyalty to his race, and to his government, or coutry. The Negro in America is the acid test of the Christianity and courage of the American white man. In propor- tion as my weaker and often-" times defenseless race is just 'y treated will the dominant group succeed not only in the realms ci trade and commerce, but in the grander domain of human serv- [ice."
Morris is the grandson of the late Frederick Douglass. And while Douglass reached the high- est recognition of any colored man that has ever lived, for he was recognized as a peer among men both in America, Europe, Eng- land, Scotland and Wales, never- theless he was self-educated and had been a slave, whereas his granson has Been highly educated in the best universities of America, holding degrees from both the Chicago and the Columbia uni- versities.
The appearance of Morris in Oakland will go down into his- tory as truly a great event. The men sponsoring the visit are to be congratulated. The jubilee chorus, under the direction of Mrs. Lillian Jetter Davis, was splendidly done, also the solo by Mrs. Johns. There is but one re- gretable feature about the while affair. The writer does not feel that she should permit it to pass unnoticed. It was so unnecessary and unkind to the memory of that grand old man, the late Fred Douglass. The speaker who in- troduced Morris said in his open- ing remarks after he had 'called attention to Morris being the gandson of the late Fred Doug- lass, added that "It recalled to his mind the World's Columbian Exposition, held some years ago in the city of Chicago, and that he had charge of the Callfornia exhibit, and back of the screen they had some California wines. And he remembered quite well that Fred Douglass would fre- 'quently visit the California booth. He further added that he "always rode" in a wheel chair, the colored oys made lots of money pushing people over the grounds that were too old or could not-walk. He then immediately began telling the audience something else, leaving the picture in the minds of his hearers that Fred Douglass vis- ited the California booth because of the California wines. He told it in such a way the audience giggled. The writer failed to see the funny point in the story.
The world knows that Fred Douglass was a champion of tem- perance. He lectured both in England and America in the cause of the Women's Christian Tem- perance Union. The last public address he made was at the re- quest of the late Frances E. Wil- lard at a W. C. T. U. convention which was being held in Washing- ton, D. C., and just after the lose of his forceful address, in which he implored the country to enact some law to do away with liquor, he delivered another address be- fore leaving the platform in favor of "Votes for Women," Miss Susan B. Anthony asking him to say something concerning votes for women. He said that he saw no logical reason why women should not vote, and if they ever had a chance they would purify politics. It was just one-half hour after he delivered this address that he dropped dead in the hall of his home in Anacosta, a suburb of Washington, D. C.
The speaker the other evening said "He did not know just why Douglass remained so long at the World's Columbian Exposition. The writer will state that previous to this celebration Fred Douglass had been appointed by the United States government as minister to the republic of Halti. When the commissioners of the World's Co- lumbian Exposition sent out invi- tations to the different govern- ments of the world to participate in this exposition this negro re- public was also invited. The Hai- tian government sent Fred Doug- lass as their ambassador to rep- resent their government at the ex- position during the entire period of its existence. The republic of Haiti is in the tropics, and men of prominence dress in white, hence Douglass dressed in white broadcloth, and whenever travel- ing over the massive exposition grounds rode in a wheel chair, or some other vehicle befitting his position as ambassador of the re- public of Haiti.
No doubt his constant visits to the California booth was because he could not forget that the first colored men to assist him after he had run away from his master were Rev. J. B. Sanderson, David Ruggles and Arthur Tappan, all of whom came to San Francisco and Oakland, California, after the first colored convention held in the East. They had, however, spent some years in working with Doug- lass, Wm. Lloyd Garrison, Charles Sumner, Wendel Phillips and oth- ers in the cause of freedom for the negro. These men were the great- est trail blazers California has ever known. But they could not, with all their letter writing, per- suade Fred Douglass to come to California to live. He did. how- ever, have some cousins who lo- cated in Marysville, California. Prof. Elmer Keeton and Mrs. St. Cyre Robinson are making ex- tensive preparations for the Paul Laurence Dunbar recital to be given shortly at the Taylor Memo- rial M. E. church of Oakland. The August Crisis magazine, in the department "The Horizon," has the following Interesting items: "J. Frances Mores, baritone, as- sisted by Miss Eveline Dove, so- prano, of Sierra Leone, West Af- rica, has appeared in successful recitals at Wigmore hall, London. England. Later he appeared again at the Royal "pavilion, Brighton, in the famous music room of King George I." It also states that "at the Institute for a Christian Basis of World Relations held in
