world.

Teach him to love, not to hate. Teach him that the man who hates him
on account of his color is far beneath him, but the man who hates his
condition and strives to lift him up may be his superior. Teach him
that any coward may insult him, may wrong him, may send a bullet
crashing through a man's brain, may warm his dagger in a brother's
lifeblood, but it takes a strong man to take the weak and unfortunate
by the hand and say: "Stand on your feet, my brother, and be a man."
Teach him that that man, that race, is superior which does superior
things to lift mankind to superior conditions. Teach him that that is
the superior man, the superior race, which does most for its country,
fights noblest for man, and lives closest to God.

THE TENNESSEE CENTENNIAL.

Its Benefits to the Negro.

The people of Tennessee will celebrate the one hundredth anniversary
of the admission of their State into the Union by holding, at
Nashville, the capital, in 1897, for a period of six months from the
1st day of May, a great Centennial and International Exposition.

A structure to be known as the

NEGRO BUILDING

will be one of the most attractive in the exposition, and will occupy
a delightful and commanding position on the east bank of Lake Watauga.

The cut on page 28 will give the reader some idea of its magnitude. It
is amply sufficient to accommodate the vast variety of exhibits which
the Afro-American will have to display to the world. The purpose of
this department is to show the progress of our race in the United
States from the old plantation days to the present.

[Illustration: RICHARD HILL, CHIEF.]

This building was erected at a cost of over $12,000, and is the work
of the management, without any solicitation or money from the Negro
himself, which demonstrates an earnest anxiety for our participation
in the event. It is expedient that we respond to the invitation by
bringing forward the very best specimens of our merit and
progress--not for the sake of the temporary praise which our displays
may elicit, but for the more substantial benefits which we hope will
follow.

The same capabilities which are in other people exist in us, and only
want ampler avenues afforded for their exercise. We have abiding faith
in the ultimate amelioration of the present conditions by the best
sentiments of the American people. But the influencing of that
sentiment to a more favorable attitude is in ourselves, and is
a