Sumner High School - Maroon and White Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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The Negro woman, too, has played an im- portant role on the stage of Negro poetry. Mrs. G. D. Johnson, through her Heart of a Woman , has written much of her sadness. Though not one word or hint of race is pres- ent, still the unwritable tragedy of the Ne- groes' sufferings is described. Langston Hughes comes with his new form of poetry and his novel, Not Without Laugh- ter . Du Bois, Kelly Miller, and R. Nathaniel Dett, composer, pianist, and poet, belong to this class. Dialect and fpoetry of protest against segregation voice the sentiment of the Negro masses. Here and there in magazines we find a poem by some unheard of Negro, perhaps a student. Another generation rises, another voice is heard, the voice of Negro youth. And so, upward through trials We climb the slopes of life with throbbing hearts to grasp our cherished star. Naomi C. Long. ...i..i.- Banking of an Oppressed People From the beginning of time there has al- ways been a struggle for the accumulation of wealth. After means of acquiring were found, ways of keeping were sought. At first the cave dwellers hid their treasures in niches and secret passages of their caves. Men of the far East, after bringing their tithes to be placed at the foot of the emperor, stored their immense Wealth for their posterity. With the advancement of civilization, mod- ern means of saving have come into existence. Money was placed in banks and banking de- veloped into a paying enterprise. In this venture none have had more obstacles to overcome than the Negro, who, we can say with pride, has come forward from subjuga- tion, and in seventy-five years has, at least, established a place in this field. When the Emancipation of Proclamation freed the Negro slaves, a Freedman's Bank was established, supposedly to encourage fru- gality and thrift among the newly liberated slaves. The institution became a detriment to Negro progress, taking advantage of the ignorance and superstition which was prev- alent among those whose opportunities for acquiring knowledge were little or none. In- stead of providing a non-profit concern for the depositing of Negro savings, it was soon dissolved, leaving the depositors destitute. Page Sixty Dread of repetition of this disastrous affair left the Negro populace, for a time, appre- hensive of further banking endeavors. To overcome this fear has taken years of not altogether successful work. But, as the Ne- groes increased in number and importance, the necessity for improving the economic con- ditions led to the establishment of the Capitol Savings Bank of Washington, D. C. This was the first private bank opened and operated for business by Negroes in the United States. After sixteen years of commendable service, this bank failed, and the Alabama Penny Sav- ings Bank, of Birmingham, came into exist- ence. During the operation of this bank more than two hundred thousand dollars was de- posited by more than ten thousand persons. Probably the expansion and branching out of this bank caused its failure. These bank- ing failures, along with others, began to quell enthusiasm, and the Negroes became discour- aged. Later, because of the need of the rap- idly spread-fraternal societies for depositories for their funds, the Savings Bank of the Grand Fountain was established. This movement was the first great effort of the Negro to organize a bank. Contributing much to its failure were the lax business methods within the institution and meager banking experi- ence of the officers. Not all of the banking institutions have failed, however, for a few have lived and others more recently organized are going for- ward. In Nashville, Tennessee, the Citizens' Savings Band and Trust Company, under the presidency of H. A. Boyd, is serving its pur- pose. The Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank of Durham and Raleigh, North Carolina, is pro- gressing under its president, C. C. Spaulding. The Citizens' Trust Company, of Atlanta, has been operating since August, 1921, and is certainly worthy of mention. Tribute should also be paid to Jesse Binga, under whose guidance the Binga State Bank was organized in Chicago. It is by no means fitting for the progress of a race, removed only seventy-five years from slavery, to be compared with one whose natural heritage is freedom and a chance for advancement, but it is altogether fitting, when writing of Negro progress in the past seventy- five years, that banking be mentioned as an achievement. Elizabeth Wallace. MAROON AND WHITE

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Finding Inspiration by Press It is true that the Negro race has progressed since its emancipation, but there is much to be done towards his improvement. Because certain ambitious and far-seeing individuals have journeyed on ahead, the race has been given a path on which to follow. To help him along, new fields of work are continually be- ing opened up to him. We find that in the realms of education, with which we are im- mediately concerned, the newspaper has played an important part. Since everything that exists must have had a beginning, I will give a brief history of the Negro newspaper. Our history of the Negro in the newspaper field goes back to the early part of the eighteenth century. Of the early pioneers in the newspaper work, John Brown Russworn deserves the most credit. He came to the United States from Jamaica, his birth- place, to attend college. The first Negro to obtain a college degree in the United States, he placed his efforts in the field entirely new to the race-the colored newspaper. Mr. Russwurn edited and published the first newspaper, called the Freedmen's Journal , in the year of 1827, in New York City. Short- ly afterwards he published another paper, called The Rights of All . These early papers proved to be powerful and useful in promoting intelligence of the race. In 1837 there appeared another newspaper under the name of The Weekly Advocate , edited by one Samuel E. Carnish. Later the paper adopted the name of The Colored American . It, like The Freedmen's Journal , filled its columns with select and important bits of in- formation. It boldly advocated the emanci- pation and elevation of the Negroes. In the northern states, before the Civil War, a number of fpapers, forty-one to be exact, were published by Negroes. This had much to do with bringing about the success of the anti-slavery movements. It was through this medium that the Negro, just out of slavery, was gradually made aware of the affairs of the world and how they affected them. It helped considerably in answering his questions of where he was to go and what he could or should do in this new life. As time passed, progress was made, and bigger and better newspapers were developed. One of the most important later publica- tions was called the Northern Star , and was edited by Frederick Douglass. He later be- came the most influential editor among the Negroes. He had already made a deep im- pression on the public in presenting his own interesting story in what he called the Nar- rative . MAROON AND WHITE These early newspapers consisted of only a few sheets and treated of things of the ut- most importance to the race. They were, in a sense, acting as teachers. 'Today there are hundreds of colored newspapers all over the country, far better than those of the past in the way of written material, but I ask you to stop and think of how little progress they have made morally-in the things that really count. Those early papers did not show as much achievement and fields of experience as the present papers. Yet, our modern papers deal largely with sensationalism and social life. There is a philosophy concerning the newspapers that always rings true: People read seven out of ten columns of crime simply because the papers print it. Today, of the better class, we have such newspapers as the Pittsburgh Courier, the Chicago Defender, and Afro-American, and others which space will not permit me to mention. In concluding, I wish for you to keep in mind these facts. The early appearance of Negro editors is significant. Some of them did not know as much as those today, but they appreciated the importance of a daily record and the prestige which it gives. They knew the value of the press in fighting the battles of humanity. It must be remembered, however, that al- though Negroes were doing difiicult things efficiently, they had the help and cooperation of friendly whites. Without their assistance these efforts would have failed. Austin N ichols. , rv ll ' , f 3-itll I e W F .I Sf- '- EJL i 1 6 n ..,,,oo is N Page Sixty-one

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many unusual ideas about architecture, rem- iniscent of the great Frank Lloyd Wright, for he believed that houses should be built around the personality of the people who are to live in them, and that above all, houses are to grow naturally out of the landscape and become a part of it, just as trees spring from the ground and are always an intimate part of the landscape. Besides these factors, Wil- liams believes in the importance of color in connection with buildings of all kind. Some of his color schemes have been declared the most satisfactory in the realm of domestic architecture. Besides Williams, two other outstanding architects have been Albert I. Cassell and Hilyard R. Robinson. Cassellfs work at How- ard University has already been mentioned. The outstanding work of Robinson to date has been the great Langston Housing project in Washington, D. C. This project ranks among the most spectacular and yet the most success- ful of its kind yet done in America. It is curious that members of Robinson's group seem to be almost oblivious of this great tri- umph. Robinson has been for many years a top flight draughtsman, employed by the U. S. Housing Projects Authority. More recently he has entered private business, and has been associated in many recent plans with Paul Williams. Emma Cane. i The Negro Writes There are far too many Negro prose writers of note to name here. Indeed, the Negro has written of politics, religion, art, and every conceivable subject as the white man has done. lt is not for me to say, that because a man's skin is light or dark he more fully compre- hends the different 'phases of our civilization. But on race problems and achievements, surely he should excel who has actually felt the slave- driver's whip. It is the same story that our grandparents told to our parents, our parents to us, we to our children, and on. We, who know this subject best, shall continue to write of our race's obstacles, faith, and achieve- ments. The white man cannot approach us here. We write of a Congo he never knew. We sing of a lash he never felt. We are alone and unsurpassed in knowledge and on us falls the duty to impart it. I have not heretofore written of individual achievements, but some few cannot possibly go without mention. Jessie Fauset, for in- stance, is outstanding as the author of The Chinaberry Tree , and three other novels, and Zora Neale Hurston of Their Eyes Were Watching God , a startling story of southern Negroes. Her Jonah's Gourd Vine is a highly praised novel. Carter G. Woodson, who is the editor of the Journal of Negro History , is responsible for many important researches in Negro history. Throughout the years, the Negro poet has thought in black, has spoken in black, and thus has written in black. He has been well aware of his dusky skin and his heritage of song. But we do not criticise him for wearing his grievances on his sleeve. He has a song to sing, different from that of all others. From the untaught melodies, the folk songs and MAROON AND WHITE spirituals, through the newest forms of Negro poetry, his song has been one loyal to his Creator and determined to overcome his earthly tribulations. Truly, the Negro has suffered. The early folk songs were of little worth. They were like Mother Goose Rhymes, learned and chanted, and were in dialect. The spirituals, the earliest type of true American music, are one of the most notable contributions of any people, similarly circum- stanced, to the world's treasury of song. These show the great faith and religious feeling of the Negro people and can never die. Jupiter Hammond was the first American Negro poet of whom any record exists. Here begins the earlier poetry of art. Following him came Phyllis Wheatley. These laid foun- dation-a strong and secure one-for all this. Paul Lawrence Dunbar was outstanding in this period. The present renaissance of the Negro brings with it poems that sing of love, beauty, nature, his beloved southland, and always religion and the wrongs inflicted ufpon his race. Yet, he bears malice in his heart toward no one. Everyone should know something of the vivid words that flowed from the pen of the late James Weldon Johnson. He was, to my mind, one of the best representatives of the present era. Another who stands high in my estimation is Leslie Pinckney Hill, who comes on the wings of oppression to contribute to the Negro's greatest gift. Countee Cullen, outstanding in many ways, has written many excellent poems and a novel, One Way to Heaven . Page Fifty-nine