Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland inquirer. (Portland, Or.) 1944-194? | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 1946)
Friday. F e b ru ary 15. 1946 PO RTLAN D IN QU IRER Pag* Two GREAT AMERICANS E ditor's Notes. Joseph W. Brooks, (above p ic ture) prom otion, advertisin g m a n ager of P o rtlan d In q u ire r com piled the m aterial in th is edition in honor of Negro H istory W eek. Brooks is a product of S to rer GREAT AMERICANS F rederick D ouglas as an O rator T w enty y ears before th e C ivil W ar, a t an an ti-slav ery conven tion in N antuck et, Mass., th e re w as present a young N egro of pow erful physique. J u s t th re e years previously he had m ade his w ay from slavery in M aryland to freedom in New England. He had acquired only th e ru d im en ts of an education b u t had a voice of rem ark ab le compass. An ab o li tionist, W illiam C. Coffin, w ho had heard him speak to th e N egro people, sought him out in th e crow d and asked him to say a few w ords to the convention. He a fte r w ard said th a t he could hard ly stand erect or u tte r tw o w ords w ithout stam m ering. The n e * t speaker w as W illiam Lloyd G a r rison, w ho took him as a them e and delivered an address of tr e m endous pow er. T h at occasion m arked th e intro d u ctio n of F re d erick D ouglass to th e people of A m erica. D ouglas w as born a t Tuckahoe, T albot county, Md„ probably in F ebruary, 1817. His fath er was an unknow n w hite m an and his m other, H arriet B ailey, a slave. In his early y ears he w as ta k e n to B altim ore as a serv an t, b u t he learned his lette rs an d becam e eager f.or an education. W hen about 13 y ears of age, he secured a book of speeches. The Colum bian O raior. and th e stirrin g ap peals for lib erty in it th rilled him w ith inspiration. A t 16 he w as sent to w ork on a farm w here the lash w as freely applied to th e ves. O ne day th e sta lw a rt ith resisted th e a tte m p t to him an d never again was ¡jus punished. In 1836 he ;d w ith som e o thers to es- >ut w as th ro w n into jail plot w as divulged. His en arran g ed for his re- B altim ore, w h ere he je tra d e of a calk e r and ¡tted to h ire his tim e. V>r,e 1338, he escaped being th e n 21 y ears ?re he w as given a h an Johnson, a pub- *egro of N ew B rad- •here it w as th ought able to w ork at his w as h elpful in in- '-ys. F rom a reading Lady of th e Lake, the nam e Douglas B ailey, though this "spelled w ith a double s. the n e x t th re e y ears the m an from M a r y l a n d led aro u n d th e docks of th e jd before long he began to ’w ard each w eek to the f G arriso n ’s paper. The i H e w as still a t w o rk ew B radford in th e su m m er 1841 w h en he decided to ta k e w days to a tte n d th e conven- in N an tu ck et. T h en cefo rth ¡m e w as not his ow n; he be- to his people and th e coun- College. H arp ers F erry, W. Va., g ra d u a te of L incoln U niversity S u m m er Bible School in P e n n sy l vania; m em ber of Billy Wobb Lodge No. 1050. E n terp rise Lodge No. 1. C onsistory No. 23 P o rtlan d . R eenlisied in A rm ed Forces after th re e years of service Douglass often co nferred w ith P resid en t Lincoln and assisted w ith en listm en ts for th e 54th and 55th M assachusetts regim ents, his own sons being am ong th e first recruits. A fte r th e w ar he spoke strongly for civil rig h ts; from 1869 to 1872 he conducted in W ashing ton an o th e r w eekly, The New N a tio n al E ra, and la te r w as U nited S tates m arshal, R ecorder of deeds ,for th e D istrict of Colum bia, and M inister to H aiti. A t the W orld’s C olum bian E xposition in 1893 he was in ch arg e of th e ex h ib it from H aiti. In 1884, his first w ife h a v ing died, he m arried H elen P itts, a w h ite w om an, th u s incu rrin g m uch criticism . He died F e b ru ary 20, 1895. R ichard A llen & A bsalom Jones In th e y e a r 1793 a fea rfu l ep i dem ic of yellow fev er sw ept over the city of P hilad elp h ia. The ca tastro p h e le f t its m ark upon e v ery activ ity in th e grow ing city. O ne m a tte r th a t cam e up in con nection w ith it is of special sig nificance n th e histo ry of th e N e gro. R ichard A llen w as born a slave in P h ilad elp h ia in 1760. W hile still young he w as sold to a fa rm e r n e a r Dover, D elaw are. L ater he w as converted u n d er M ethodist influence and w hile still a young m an began to preach. His m aster p erm itted services to be conduct ed in his home, w as him self con v erted , an d in gen eral show ed a helpful sp irit. By cu ttin g wood, w orking in a b rick y ard , and se rv ing as a w agoner d u rin g th e R ev olution, A llen w as a t len g th able to p u rch ase his fieedom . He tr a v eled th ro u g h th e easte rn p a rt of P en n sy lv an ia, also th e n eig h b o r ing states, and a fte r a w hile b e g in to receive ap p o in tm en ts from Bishop F rancis A shbury o f the M ethodist Episcopal church. R e m oving to P h ilad elp h ia in 1786, he occasionally preached at St. | G eorge’s, an o u tstan d in g church of th e denom ination, had conduct ed p ray er-m eetin g s w ith th e N e groes. In 1787, w hen th e re w as tro u b le ab o u t th e seating in St. G eorge’s, he and his friends w ith d rew and organized th e F ree A frican Society, w hich becam e th e nucleus of fo rm al effort by Negroes in both th e M ethodist and th e Episcopal denom inations. He w as a m an of stric t in teg rity and indom itable perseverance. A bsalom Jones, 13 y ears older th a n A llen, w as bo rn a slave in Sussex, Dela. W hile still young, he w as tak e n by his m aster from th e field to w ork in th e house, and even in those y ears had the good sense to sav e th e pennies given him by v isito rs from tim e to tim e. He b o u g h t a prim er, a spelling-book, an d a T estam en t in th e en d eav o r to use his leisure hours to advantage. W hen he w as 16 y ears of age, his new m aster to P hiladelphia, w h ere his w ork w as to help in a sto re and carry out goods. He got perm ission to a t te n d n ig h t school and w as so th rifty th a t he w as finally able, w ith som e assistance from th e F rien d s, to p u rchase th e freedom e course of th e C ivil W ar first of his w ife an d then of him self. T henceforth his progress w as rapid, and he fig u red p rom i n e n tly in th e incident th a t caused R ichard A llen and o th er N egroes to leave St. G eorge’s, as it w as he w hom an usher sought to pull from his knees d u rin g p rayer. These w ere th e m en w ho h ad to rep ly to th e req u est m ade of the N egroes of P hiladelphia. It w as easy for them to say th a t th e re qu est should no t have been m ade; th a t did not a lte r th e fact th a t it had come or th a t upon th e an sw er hung v ery largely th e fu tu re of th e N egro in th e city. They th o u g h t p ray erfu lly about th e sit uation, about th e ir ow n people and the public distress, and fin al ly decided th a t it w as th e ir d u ty to help th e ir fellow men. W hen the sickness becam e gen erous, several of th e physicians died and m ost of th e survivors w ere ex h au sted by th e ir labors. Dr. B enjam in Rush, know ing th a t A llen and Jo n es could bleed, in form ed them w here to procure m edicine duly p rep ared and at w h at stages of th e diso rd er to act. In th e w eeks th a t follow ed, w hen no physician w as available, they w ere co nstantly on c all and helped to save th e lives of h u n d reds of those w ho w ere stricken. Phillis W heatley In th e su m m er of 1773 a young N egro w om an, 19 y ears of age, w as in E ngland as a g u est of the C ountess of H untingdon. She was n e a t in ap pearance and b rig h t in conversation. All w ho m et her w ere im pressed by h e r in telli gence and piety. M any regarded h er as a prodigy. In 1761, w hen about seven years of age, she had been b ro u g h t on a slave-ship from S enegal to Bos ton. H er brig h t eyes a ttra c te d the a tte n tio n of S usannah W heatley, w ife of J o h n W heatley, a tailor, w ho desired to have a girl w ho m ight be train ed as h er personal atten d a n t. A ccordingly she w as purchased, tak en home, and given th e nam e Phyllis. F rom the first she received unusual care. A ssist e d by M ary W heatley, the d au g h te r of th e fam ily, ten years older th a n herself, she learned to read, and soon w as com posing verses a fte r th e m an n er of A lexander Pope. In tim e she show ed special ab ility in the study of L atin. In 1770, w hen 16 years of age, P h il lis w rote h er poem “O n the D eath of th e R everend G eorge W hite- field ,” th e first ctf h e r pieces to be published. She now becam e “a kind of poet lau re a te in the dom estic circles of B oston.” By th e sp rin g of 1773, as h er health was failing, the physician advised th a t sh e have th e b en efit of the aii of th e sea. A son of th e fam ily w as ab o ut to go to E ngland on business and it w as decided th a t she should go w ith him . Mrs. W heatley, not w illing to have her go as a slave, saw to it th a t she w as m an u m itted before she sailed. Even th e strange history of P h y llis an d h er ab ility to w rite verses could h ard ly account for th e in te re st she aw akened. To h e r unassum ing courtesy she ad d ed a w it tem pered by gentleness. P re se n ts w ere show ered upon her. A m ong o thers w as a copy of the 1770 G lasgow folio edition of P arad ise Lost, given to h er by the Lord M ayor of London. T his was sold a fte r h er death in paym ent of h er h u sb an d ’s debts and is now in th e lib ra ry of H arv ard U niver sity. A t th e top of one of th e first CLUB ACME < t ( i < - > > * » Is Proud Indeed in INTRODUCING The Ultimate Lady of Song Miss Effie Smith Creator o f . . . "Effie's Blues" SINGING YOUR FAVORITE SONGS SWEET ... BLUES ... SWING \ pages, in her ow n handw riting, a re the words, “Mr. Brook W at son to Phillis W heatley, London, Ju ly , 1773.” H ere as elsew here she spelled h e r nam e w ith an i ra th e r th an a y. Phillis W heatley gained from h er reading of th e g reater L atin authors, b u t th e w riter w ho in fluenced her m ost w as Pope. She used th a t p oet’s verse form , and th e ease w ith w hich she chiseled th e heroic couplet w hen only six teen or eighteen years of age w as am azing. The diction also— ‘fleecy care,” "tuneful n ine,” “feathered vengeance”— is con stan tly in the eig h teen th -cen tu ry tradition. W hat one m isses is th e personal note. W ith the e x ception of th e sh o rt juvenile piece, “O n Being B rought from A frica to A m erica,” th e only poem su g gested by a N egro subject is “To S. M., a Young A frican P ain ter, on Seeing His W orks,” and even in this the only reference to race is in the title. Em phasis is m ain ly on abstractions; seldom is th ere a genuine lyric. In all this Phillis W heatley w as like most o th er w riters of the tim e. If she had lived fifty y ears later, w hen the rom antic w riters had given a m ore n a tu ra l tone to English po etry , she m ight have been con siderably d ifferen t; but even then, vyith her sense of the fitness of things, she w ould doubtless have exercised restraint. T ypical of th e q u ality of the th irty -e ig h t pieces in th e book is the poem “On Im agination,” in w hich the best lines are t hese: T here in one view w e grasp the m ighty whole, O r w ith new w orlds am aze the unbounded soul. C rispus A ttucks A bout the early life of A ttucks little is know n. It seem s th a t he w as born in F ram ingham , Massa- chuseets, about 1723 and th a t he w orked on a w haling-ship. At any rate, in his m atu re m anhood he w as alm ost a g iant in sta tu re and had th e qualities of a lead er. As one w ho spent m uch tim e about the docks in low er Bos ton, he knew w ell th e public tem per and the sp irit of th e B rit ish soldiers. Jo h n O ’Reilly, in his spirited poem looked not only to th e past b u t to th e future. Said he in part: A nd honor to C rispus A ttucks, w ho w as leader and voice th a t day; The first to defy, and th e first to die, w ith M averick, C arr, and G ray. • Call it rio t or revolution, or mob or crow d, as you m ay, Sueh d eath s hav e been seed o f nations, such lives shall be honored for ay. T hey w ere law less hinds to the lackeys, b u t m a rty rs to Paul | R evere; A nd O tis and H ancock and W ar re n read sp irit and m eaning clear. Ye teachers, answ er: w hat be done ju st m en stan d in the dock; W hen th e c a itiff is robed in e r m ine and his sw orders keep Im agination! w ho can sing thy th e lock; force? O r w ho describe the sw iftness of W hen law is a sa tra p ’s menace, and o rd er th e d rill of a th y course: horde— Soaring through air to find the S hall th e people kneel to be b right abode, tram pled, and b a re th e ir T h ’ em pyreal palace of the th u n d necks to th e sw ord? ering God, We ¡v th y opinions can surpass Ch, w e w ho have toiled for free dom ’s law , have w e sought the w ind, for freedom ’s soul? A nd leave th e rolling universe H ave w e learn ed a t last th a t hu- behind: F r^m star to .star th e m ental op , , (C ontinued on page 3) tics rove. M easure the skies, and range the realm s above. WHATii WRONG? D O N ’T W O R R Y a b o u t L o v e , M oney, H o m e , E n e m ie s , C r o s s in g s . T h e r e ’s a W a y o u t o f a l l t h in g s . W r it e t o d a y LADIES' STONE RING M. CAROLYN 2 3 3 2 S o u t h M ic h ig a n , C h ic a g o 16, 111. 1 0 X t . S o lid G o ld $9.95 2 0 % t a x in c lu d e d F o r L a d ie s : B e a u t if u l im i t a t io n s t o n e s f o r e a c h m o n t h In t h e y e a r . C u t a n d t in t e d t o lo o k g e n u in e . M e n tio n m o n t h w a n t e d . Jan. D a rk Red G arn et F eb. P u r p le A m e t h y s t M a r. A q u a m a r i n e A pr. W h i t e S a p p h i r e M ay P a le G reen S pinel J u n e AlexancLerite J u ly R e d R u b y A ug. L ig h t G reen P eridot S e p t. B l u e S a p p h i r e O c t. P i n k S a p p h i r e N ov. G olden S ap p h ire D ec. B l u e Z irco n Send m oney o rd e r or pay p o stm a n on a r r i v a l. W e a r r in g 1 w e e k on m oney-back guarantee. W e p a y t a x e s a n d m a il in g c h a r g e s LOMO NOVELTY COMPANY D e p t . F I -1 7 11 W . 4 2 n d S t . N ew Y ork , N . T . ROY LIV INSTO N MOVING Hauling of Any Kind NO JO B TOO SM A L L N O N E TOO L A R G E M U 4423 61 N . 22. S a n R a f a e l S t. LIND & POMEROY F l o w e r s “A s n ear as your p hone” 2617 NE U nion Ave—G A 1181 DANCE TO THE MUSIC OF ART R O W L A N D NANCE'S 31 N. E. CHERRY CT. AND HIS ORCHESTRA Floor Show Nightly . . . Featuring . . . BAR-B-Q Good Meals Served All Hours Home Cooking Our Specialty DINNERS — BARBECUi SANDWICHES EAst 9044 David Nance. Prop. MARION FULLILOVE . . Portland's Own Vocalist • • RUMMAGE SALE TEDDY FELTON . . . MC. WHEN—25th. 26th. 27th—Hours 10 to 5 . . . Open Tuesday Evening, 26th—7 to 10 • • DANNY ALEXANDER . . . Sensational Rope Dancer • • ARVELL W. DENTON, Manager WHERE— 1230 S. W. Main, corner 13th & Main WHAT—Clothing, evening and lovely day time mens suits and childrens; Antiques; China; Pictures; Books; Objects of Art.- Something for each member of the family Given by the Temple Beth Israel Sisterhood