cent. The comparative statistics for 1870, 1880, and 1890, showing the illiteracy of the colored race, are given for each of the Southern States in the following table: Illiteracy of the colored population 10 years of age and over. In thirty years 40 per cent of the illiteracy of the colored race had disappeared. In education and in industrial progress this race had accomplished more than it could have achieved in centuries in a different environment without the aid of the whites. The negro has needed the example as well as the aid of the white man. In sections where the colored population is massed and removed from contact with the whites the progress of the negro has been retarded. He is an imitative being, and has a constant desire to attempt whatever he sees the white man do. He believes in educating his children because he can see that an increase of knowledge will enable them to better their condition. But segregate the colored population and you take away its object lessons. The statistics exhibited in the following table in a measure confirm the truth of this position: Colored population and illiteracy in 1890 compared. Here it is shown that in the States where the colored population is greatest in proportion to the total population, or where such colored population is massed, as in the "black belt" of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, there the per cent of illiteracy is highest. In this table the Southern States are arranged with reference to their proportion of colored population, West Virginia standing first with only 4.3 per cent, and South Carolina at the foot of the list with 59.9 per cent colored population. The per cent for each State is shown in the third column. Leaving out of the count the District of Columbia, in which there is a perfected system of city schools, the percentages of illiteracy in column 4 seem to bear a close relation to the percentages of population in column 3. The eight States having less than 30 per cent of colored population have, with a single exception, less than 55 per cent of colored illiteracy. The eight States having more than 30 per cent of colored population have, with two exceptions, more than 60 per cent of illiteracy. In the fifth column the per cent of white illiteracy is given for each State. SECONDARY AND HIGHER EDUCATION. There are in the United States, so far as known to this Bureau, 162 institutions for the secondary and higher education of the colored race. Six of these schools are not located within the boundaries of the former slave States. Of the 162 institutions, 32 are of the grade of colleges, 73 are classed as normal schools, and the remaining 57 are of secondary or high school grade. While all these schools teach pupils in the elementary studies, they also carry instruction beyond the common school branches. State aid is extended to 35 of the 162 institutions, and 18 of these are wholly supported by the States in which they are established. The remaining schools are supported wholly or in part by benevolent societies and from tuition fees. Detailed statistics of the 162 institutions will be found in this chapter. In these schools were employed 1,549 teachers, 711 males and 838 females. The total number of students was 37,102; of these, 23,420 were in elementary grades, 11,724 in secondary grades, and 1,958 were pursuing collegiate studies. The following table shows for each State the number of schools and teachers and the number of students in elementary, secondary, and collegiate grades: Summary of teachers and students in institutions for the colored race in 1894–95. Total 167 100 1,071 1,107 2,178 301 590 801 63 49 112 3,031 165 1, 210 1,703 2,913, 576 641 1,217 121 35 156 4,286 81 556 882 1,438 281 325 606 62 53 115 2,159 149 923 1,356 2,279 424 574 998 85 3 88 3,365 50 61, 114 162, 711 838 1, 519 9, 975 13, 445 23, 420 5, 272 6, 452 11, 724 1, 598 36 1, 958 37, 102 a Two schools not reporting. Of the 13,682 students in secondary and higher grades there were 990 in classical courses, 811 in scientific courses, 295 in business courses, and 9,331 in English courses. The distribution of these students by States, the classification by courses of study, and the apportionment by sex can be seen by consulting the following table (p. 1335). 63 140 1, 699 2, 9021, 077 1,086 2, 163, 151 69 220 5,285 305 54 99 213 Classification of colored students, by courses of study, 1894–95. Students in classi- Students in scien- Students in English Students in busi- course. ness course. There were 4,514 colored students studying to become teachers, 1,902 males and 2,612 females. Many of these students were included among those pursuing the English and other courses noted in the foregoing table. The number of students graduating from high school courses was 649, the number of males being 282 and the number of females 367. There were 844 graduates from normal courses, 357 males and 487 females. The number of college graduates was 186, the number of males being 151 and the number of females 35. The distribution of graduates by States, as well as the number of normal students, can be found in the following table: Number of normal students and graduates in 1894–95. There were 1,166 colored students studying learned professions-1,028 males and 138 females. Of the professional students 585 were studying theology, 310 medicine, 55 law, 45 pharmacy, 25 dentistry, and 8 engineering. The 138 female students were receiving professional training for nurses. There were 42 graduates in theology, 67 in medicine, 21 in law, 2 in dentistry, 16 in pharmacy, and 25 in nurse training. The following table (p. 1336) gives the distribution of professional students and graduates by States. State. Colored professional students and graduates in 1894–95. Graduates. Students. owooowoo.......oo Graduates. ..Ñ.......... Students. 0 Graduates. Students. Graduates. Gooooo....... Students. Graduates. nnoMocob Students. 0 16 6 Graduates. Students. Graduates. 0 0 0 0 13 6 34 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 The importance of industrial training is almost universally recognized by teachers of the colored race, and the negroes themselves are beginning to see its value. This feature of colored education was treated at some length in the Education Report for 1893-94. More complete statistics are presented this year. For the first time the number of students in cach industrial branch has been ascertained. Of the 37,102 students in the 162 colored schools nearly one-third, or 12,058, were receiving industrial training. Of these, 1,061 were learning farm and garden work, 1,786 carpentry, 235 bricklaying, 202 plastering, 259 painting, 67 tin and sheet-metal work, 314 forging, 200 machine-shop work, 147 shoemaking, 706 printing, 1,783 sewing, 5,460 cooking, and 1,017 were learning other industries. An exhibit of the industrial side of colored education is made in the following table: Industrial training of colored students in 1894–95. Colored institutions received benefactions in 1894-95 amounting to $304,822. They received State and municipal aid amounting to $188,936; from productive funds, $98,278; from tuition fees, $101,146. and from other sources and unclassified sums amounting to $534,272. The latter figure includes the sums received by colored agricultural and mechanical colleges from the United States. The income of the colored institutions, so far as reported, amounted to $922,632. In the libraries of the 162 colored schools there were 175,788 volumes, valued at $357,549. The value of grounds, buildings, furniture, and scientific apparatus was $6,475,590, and the value of other property and endowments was $2,381,748. The following table summarizes the financial reports received from the 162 colored institutions: Financial summary of the 162 colored schools. 0 4,450 5, 125 Alabama. Arkansas. Delaware District of Columbia $64, 90315, 212 $11,350 $383, 269 $150, 363 $14, 500 $13, 276 $9, 068 $112, 769 $149, 613 2, 894 132, 200 35, 500 6,000 3,860 2,450 2,594 4, 000 14,904 4,000 Florida 74, 300 2,800 125 250 304, 822 175, 788 357, 549 6, 475, 590 2, 381, 748 188, 936 101, 146 98, 278 534, 272 922, 632 Beginning on the next page is a table giving in detail the statistics of the 162 colored schools so far as reported to this Bureau. In the concluding pages of this chapter are printed two addresses in which are presented two views of the elucation of the colored race. The first was delivered at Brooklyn, N. Y., in January, 1896, at the dinner in honor of Alexander Hamilton by Booker T. Washington, principal of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. The second was delivered before the American Baptist Home Mission Society, at Asbury Park, N. J., May 26, 1896, by Edward C. Mitchell, D. D., president of Leland University, New Orleans, La. Mr. Washington pleads for the industrial as well as the intellectual training of the negro, while Dr. Mitchell advocates the higher education. |