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Document Description
Page 1
Title
Page 1
Digital collection
The Carolina Story: A Virtual Museum of University History
Host
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Carolina Digital Library and Archives.
Transcript
[
FREE
AND
EQUAL
]
Just
as
I
had
taken
my
pen
up
for
my
weekly
talk
with
my
daughters
, to-
night
--
my
door
opened
, and in
came
a
mother
to
talk
to
me
about
her
daughter
, and
ask
me
for
advice
, or
help
--or at
least
, for
sympathy
. A
mother
whose
cheeks
were
black
--but
down
them
rolled
tears
that
came
from a
broken
,
bleeding
,
mother's
heart
.
So
I
put
my
pen
and
paper
aside
and
turned
to
hear
, not for the
first
,
nor
the
sixth
time
, the
sad
little
story
.
Powerless
to
help
, or to
advise
,
I
could
only
give
sympathy
, and
say
over
and
over
the
same
words
, and
point
her to
our
common
Lord
, the
Comforter
of His
people
--and
bid
her
hope
it
would
all
come
right
yet
.
I
have
no
doubt
that
it
will, but not in this
world
.
Now
she
is
gone
--
poor
,
lone
,
deserted
mother
,
fumbling
slowly
down
stairs
, and
out
into the
glorious
moonlight
which
brings
her
no
sense
of
pleasure
. And she will
go
to her
dingy
cabin
, and
sit
over
a
bit
of
fire
and
light
her
pipe
and
half
stupify
herself
with
coarse
tobacco
,
trying
to
remember
what
it
was
I
said
about
her
child
,
while
I
turn
to
my
pleasant
work
and
think
of
my
girls
.
Truly
there
is
no
comparison
, but
I
cannot
on that
account
refrain
from
pity
, or from
wondering
at the
irregularities
of
life
. "
All
men
created
free
and
equal
!"
Never
was there a
greater
mistatement
.
All
the
races
of
men
are as
unequally
placed
, and as
unequally
gifted
with this
world's
goods
, as the
individuals
; and
it
would be
impossible
to
reconcile
these
frightful
irregularities
with
our
belief
in a
superintending
beneficent
Providence
, if
it
were not for the
hope
held
out
that the
next
life
will
right
the
wrongs
of this,
make
the
dark
light
, and
vindicate
the
ways
of
God
.
You
,
my
fair
young
country
women
,
sitting
to-
night
in
pleasant
homes
guarded
by
love
and
respect
and
jealous
care
, are not
even
permitted
to
know
all
the
evil
sin
has
wrought
for
your
own
sex
in
all
ages
,
among
all
races
, and in
all
classes
and
conditions
of
life
. And not
till
you
have
advanced
some
way
along
the
dusty
highroad
of
life
, and have
left
behind
you
the
dew
of
early
morning
, and its
fresh
air
, and
unclouded
sky
, not
till
you
are
yourselves
wives
and
mothers
will
you
begin
to
know
how
large
a
part
of
your
work
in
life
consists
in
bearing
the
burdens
of
other
people
.
Smoothing
the
rugged
path
, and
extracting
the
thorns
,--
tying
up
,
bandaging
,
comforting
,
helping
. That
is
your
business
mostly
in this
life
.
Heaven
help
you
all
! This
Civil
Rights
Bill
--
you
know
about
it
--
you
know
what
it
proposes
--to
place
the
colored
people
on a
social
equality
with the
whites
--and
you
know
what its
effect
will be if
it
is
ever
a
law
and
is
enforced
:--to
obliterate
distinctions
of
color
and
race
.
I
cannot
write
of
it
coolly
or
without
a
shudder
. But
I
need
not
write
or
think
of
it
at
all
as
likely
ever
to
become
a
law
, for
I
do
not
believe
it
ever
will. This
I
may
say
of
even
the
attempt
to
make
it
a
law
:
I
fear
it
will
result
in
harm
to the
poor
colored
people
, and will
shut
them
out
from the
kindness
and
sympathy
and
good
will of their
white
neighbors
which
they
so
much
need
, and
so
freely
invoke
, and
so
freely
receive
.
I
had a
visit
to-
day
from
one
of them,
made
I
suspected
with the
express
design
of
learning
what
I
had to
say
about
the "
new
law
" for
most
of them
about
here
think
it
is
already
settled
. "
Is
it
true
"
said
my
visitor
, "there
is
a
law
to
mix
up
black
folks
and
white
folks
whether
they will or
no
?" "
No
"
I
said
--"there
is
no
such
law
--but they are
trying
to
get
something
like
it
made
. What would
you
think
of
it
,
Eliza
?" "
Well
'm
" she
answered
, "
I
think
this,--
no
decent
white
man
would
want
it
, and
no
decent
black
man
would. They would a
heap
rather
keep
to
themselves
, and
stay
separate
, and
no
such
law
is
going
to
do
any
good
." *** The
withdrawal
from
our
colored
people
of the
sympathy
, and
kindness
, and
protection
shown
them by the
white
population
of the
South
at the
present
time
, will be a
frightful
loss
to them. The
setting
up
of
one
race
to
demand
as a
right
what
it
is
impossible
for the
other
race
ever
to
admit
,
is
inaugurating
a
train
of
evil
consequences
to
fall
on the
poor
negro's
head
mainly
. ***
I
don't
know
why
I
have been
led
into
making
these
reflections
to
you
all
.
Perhaps
, as
poor
aunt
Milly
sat
by
my
fire
,
invited
to
take
a
seat
there and be
comfortable
,
while
I
gave
her a
cup
of
coffee
and
talked
to her
without
any
sense
of
distinction
of
color
, the
thought
crossed
my
mind
--if this
visitor
demanded
her
seat
here as a
right
due
her as
my
equal
, would
I
have
allowed
it
? Of
course
not. And
so
I
suppose
it
would be
all
over
the
South
....
