demonstrated to the world that he does not represent a race of mere imitators, but a race, which, under the same conditions, is capable of doing all the Anglo-Saxon race can accomplish.
No agency has been more potent in compelling a just recognition of the negro, as a man and a citizen, than the Press in his hands. Through this agency he shows what the race is doing in the world of letters and in all the other departments of life, with a minuteness which would otherwise be impossible; thereby inspiring an earnestness and enthusiasm in his own race, and compelling the respect and admiration of all others. Through his paper, the editor stamps his individuality upon the public opinion of the day, and this individuality permeates the entire field of his circulation, making him a part of the body politic, and gives him a power for good or evil, which no other agency possibly can. The editor is a daily teacher and the reading public are his pupils, and with a well-filled mind and a trenchant pen, his capacity for good is only limited by his ability and his industry.
The Afro-American editor has done more, probably, than any other to acquaint the world with the exact condition of his race, and to him, more than any other, belongs the credit and honor of opening the way through which the negro is able to make his just demands upon those in high places, to whom is intrusted the guardianship of every right that belongs to him as a man and a citizen, as well as a member of a political party, He has made it impossible to oppress his race in secrecy and silence, and has established a sure and permanent medium through which the doings for and against his race are given to the world. He has done all this and more; he has exploded the doctrine of race inferiority, and established the moral and intellectual equality of his race, as well as his ability to win success and distinction, whenever and wherever the opportunity is given.
