nce, and are today men of
public affairs, able to stand, persevere and prevail in the fierce
struggles and competitions of business life. These mercantile strides
the members of our race are taking in the face of proscription and
oppression, in the face of the administration of unjust laws and in
the face of disfranchisement and barbarous lynchings, such as no other
men ever had to face. In fact we are prospering under conditions which
would not only fill other business men with hopelessness and despair,
but would surely drive them into bankruptcy.

It is not true that the business patronage of the Negro is confined to
his own race, nor is it true that he is a cringer, and solicits
patronage among the whites because of the fact that he is a colored
man. We have long since learned that we are entitled to no more
consideration because we are black than other men are who chance to
have red hair, big mouths, or mis-shapen feet. If you will pardon
personal mention, I would say that in my business as a furniture
mover, few customers, indeed, have I among my own people; nor do I ask
to remove any man's goods because of the color of my complexion or the
texture of my hair; but because I have put brains into my humble
calling and made the business of moving furniture a science. What is
true in this instance is true in all others, where progress is made.
We are grasping opportunities and compelling adverse circumstances and
forces to work together for our profit. Under the wise leadership of
Booker T. Washington, we are finding our bearings and casting anchor
in the dark and muddy waters of industrial conditions in which we were
sent adrift without rudder, compass or means of existence less than
thirty-eight years ago.

It is not strange that, as business men, we have made some failures.
It is a long way from the depth of the valley to the summit of the
mountain; from a barbarian to a master mechanic; from the jungles of
Africa to a successful business career, and from the slave cabin to
the professor's chair. We have not all outgrown the feeling of
dependence instilled in us by more than 250 years of chattel bondage;
many of us yet shrink from responsibility, and lack the requisite
amount of ambition. We recognize our shortcomings, our peculiar
environments and the limitations of our experience and powers. We are
beginning to learn that if the Negro is to become more and more a
factor in the business world he must take a more