Home Photo Gallery Classroom Documents My Dear Mr. President: I regret that a long journey through the south visiting our schools has prevented me from writing you sooner in reply to your letter of Sept. 23,1935. While on this journey, however, I decided to get the facts concerning the condition of the Negro and attempt to learn whether or not the various government agencies created to sustain and rehabilitate the citizens of the country generally, were really being any great service to the Negro. Our schools, in which we had about ten thousand Negroes enrolled this last year in the regular and special courses, proved a good source from which to gain such information. I am sorry indeed to report that I found the racial discrimination which we know exists has expresses itself in the matter of giving government aid to the Negro. Naturally, a large number of Negroes are on relief and are receiving help in that way. The Negro being at the bottom of the economic scale under normal conditions, had that "bottom" sink beneath him under depressed times. Hundreds of the positions he used to have were taken by whites which forced the Negro to go on relief in larger numbers than ever before. His schools have run shorter terms, he has suffered from every angle and lost a good part of the little he possessed in the matter of property. I am told that the trouble regarding the obtaining of farm loans has been that the final authority regarding these was vested in a local committee and that although appeal could be made to a State committee and then to Washington, in the end the matter was invariable settled by the local committee and the main effect of the appeals was to anger the local committee to the point where it gave the Negro no chance for help. The Negroes to whom I have talked say that the only remedy for these conditions is for Washington to learn the real facts in the case by sending about undercover agents, unknown to anyone locally. I am inclined to agree with them. Racial discrimination works in most subtle ways its ends to accomplish! Strange as it may seem, the Negro resents being on relief. Yet we see today that he gets little or no consideration unless he is in that unhappy state. If he needs financial assistance to educate his children, and noble are the sacrifices being made in that endeavor these days, he can't get that aid from the government unless he is an absolute object for charity. This seems unfortunate indeed and reflects upon our social intelligence as well. Our schools, though containing a very small number of Episcopalians, are denominational institutions and therefore can get little or no Federal aid. Yet they have carried on and furnished full educational terms to Negroes when public schools have been operating only short terms and some not at all during these trying times. However, you will be interested to know that in spite of all the trials and tribulations we have had and the cruel reductions in salary items and every other sort of expense, we have come through these years entirely out of debt and, in several schools, we have been able to add new buildings and equipment. In fact, the Institute is the only branch of the work of the General Church which is in a stable financial condition today. Be assured we are attempting to do all within our power to train Negroes for real citizenship by giving trade as well as academic courses and spending plenty of time in an effort to make the Negro see that he not only has to train himself to make a living and build up his self-respect but he must accept the challenge to use that training to lead his people in the establishment of a civilization for his racial group in this land. On the other side, we are attempting to influence white people to assist the Negro to find his niche in this country and put aside the fears, bitterness, hatred and prejudices which are the obstacles the Negro meets on every hand. A few years ago the white people of the south were doing little or nothing for Negro education. Last year they contributed $45,000. to the schools. We are also encouraging Negroes to support the schools through community drives held annually. Negroes contributed $7,500. for the schools last year and hope to make it $10,000 this year. We feel that these efforts and results are a real contribution to the welfare of America in the solution of one of the greatest problems it has before it and I am anxious that you should know these facts because I believe they prove we are going at our work in the right way. I congratulate you upon the vision you have demonstrated and the accomplishments you have made possible during these trying times. I trust the facts I have brought to your attention in this letter may be of some help to you in making government aid more effective as it relates to the American Negro and I ask God's blessing upon you in the arduous task your office offers a man today. You have wrought well indeed! Respectfully yours,
Cyril E. Bentley, Associate Director
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