Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: m ORATOES AND ACTOES, PEEACHEES AND SINGEES The aspirations and convictions of the Negroes of to-day were well voiced in a speech I heard at Harlem. I had been warned that I ought to hear the red-hot orator of the Afro-American race, and so I went to hear him. The orator was Dean Pickens, of Morgan College, Baltimore. When he came to the platform the colored audience not only cheered him by clapping, but stood up and cried aloud three times: Yea, Pic-kens! The chairman had said he would have to leave about half after five, but the speaker must not allow himself to be disturbed by that, but go right on. Pickens, who was one of the very black and very cheerful types of his race, turned to the chairman and said: You won’t disturb me, brother I But if you’re going at half after five, let’s shake hands right now, and then I can go straight ahead. And they shook hands with great gusto, and everyone laughed and felt at ease. Pickens was going to speak; nothing could disturb Pickens;they relaxed themselves to a joyful, anticipatory calm. Just before the turn of Pickens to speak a white lady journalist had rushed on to the platform and rushed off between two pressing engagements, and had given the audience a heart-to-heart talk on Bolsheviks and agitators, and had told them how thankful they ought to be that they were in America and not in the Congo still. She gained a good deal of applause because she was a woman, and a White, and was glib, but the thinking Negroes did not care for her doctrine, and were sorry she could not wait to hear it debated. Brothers, they’re always telling us what we ought to be, said the orator, with an engaging smile. But there are many different opinions about what ought to be; it’s what we are that matters. As a colored pasto…