In 1915, in the months leading up to the ballot initiative to enact a segregation ordinance in the City of St. Louis (February 1916 election), Rev. George Stevens of Central Baptist Church in St. Louis offered these powerful words that are just as true today as they were a century ago: We bought our citizenship with a great price. . . . The American Negro was in this country before the Pilgrim Fathers arrived. We came it is true, in a manner of which none of us are proud. but the fact is we were here when there was no nation and Americanism has been burnt into our very souls. . . . This land everywhere has been saturated with the black mans blood and sweat and tears. We are at home. From: Negro Segregation, a Measure to Assassinate a Race in St. Louis, MO: A Statement of Principles, a Review of Race Relations, and a Protest (1915)
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 16:12:03 +0000
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