e for the colored people is one of submission. But there is a
difficulty, which at once confronts us: the unvarying meekness of the
Negro is denied by the very circumstance which brought out this
solution,--the race conflicts. This unquestionable fact, that "race
riots" do crop out in all parts of the South; and the equally
incontrovertible fact that men of character and influence encourage a
spirit of stubborn clinging to rights deemed inalienable, must be held
to justify us in raising the question: which path _is_ the Negro
pursuing, that of submission, or that of resistance. It avails us
nothing to insist that the former is the way of life, the latter, of
extinction; the way of least resistance is, by no means, always, the way
of life. The drunkard follows the path of least resistance, when he
lifts the cup for the twelfth time to his lips; the moth follows the
path of least resistance when it flies into the candle flame. The path
of least resistance is the path, which, whether chosen by ourselves or
forced upon us; whether it lead to life, or to death; we have followed
and are about to follow.

We come back then to the real thought, which is so clouded by that
technical expression. The cry goes up: A black man cannot stand up in
the South! Let him kneel down then, is the answer. It is our duty to
deal with this thought in its nakedness, and each of us answer for
himself, this question: Shall I kneel down?

The issue brings our moral courage to the supreme test. The moral coward
is he who sacrifices what he believes to be the higher from fear, who
sacrifices his inner self to save his skin. If we hold our political
rights dear above all else, if we think our manhood involved, let us be
ready to give up wealth, comfort, and even life itself in their defense;
let us, if attacked at this last point defend our privileges, and, if
defeated turn our faces to the wall and die.

But at such a crisis in our lives let us make no avoidable mistake; let
us not say that our self-respect is in peril, when we mean our pride. To
strike back, even in self-defence, is to turn our backs to the path
which Christ pointed out to us. To fight against almost insuperable
odds, as we must, can be justified only by a cause which we cannot
without degradation surrender, and can in no other way maintain. If we
give up our political rights for love of peace, and because our gentler
nature does not goad us on to return blow for blow, we forfeit