{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_49664/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_49664","id":"gutenberg_49664","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49664","summary":null,"tags":["African Americans","Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: History - American","Category: Religion/Spirituality"],"text":"GIDEON BANDS\n\n  FOR WORK WITHIN THE RACE\n  AND FOR WORK WITHOUT\n  THE RACE\n\n  A Message to the Colored People\n  of the United States\n\n  A DISCOURSE DELIVERED IN THE FIFTEENTH STREET\n  PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, WASHINGTON, D. C.,\n  SUNDAY, MARCH THE 2ND, 1913,\n  BY THE PASTOR,\n  REV. FRANCIS J. GRIMKE, D. D.\n\n  \u201cBETTER NOT LIVE AT ALL THAN NOT BE NOBLE.\u201d\n\n  \u201cUNLESS ABOVE HIMSELF HE CAN\n  ERECT HIMSELF, HOW POOR A THING IS MAN!\u201d\n\n  \u201cFOR FREEDOM\u2019S BATTLE ONCE BEGUN,\n  BEQUEATH\u2019D BY BLEEDING SIRE TO SON,\n  THOUGH BAFFLED OFT IS EVER WON.\u201d\n\n  \u201cEVERY BONDMAN IN HIS OWN HAND BEARS\n  THE POWER TO CANCEL HIS CAPTIVITY.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n  R. L. PENDLETON\n  609 F ST. N. W., WASHINGTON, D. C.\n  TELEPHONE MAIN 1148\n\n\n\n\nGIDEON BANDS FOR WORK WITHIN THE RACE AND FOR WORK WITHOUT IT.\n\n\nAnd Jehovah said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too\nmany for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel\nvaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. Now\ntherefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is\nfearful and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Giliad.\nAnd there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there\nremained ten thousand. And Jehovah said unto Gideon, The people are\nyet too many; bring them down to the water, and I will try them for\nthee there; and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall\ngo with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I shall\nsay unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. So\nhe brought them down to the water: and Jehovah said unto Gideon, Every\none that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him\nshalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon\nhis knees to drink. And the number of them that lapped, putting their\nhands to their mouth, was 300; but all the rest of the people bowed\ndown upon their knees to drink water. And Jehovah said unto Gideon,\nBy the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the\nMidianites into thy hand; and let all the people go every man to his\nplace.--JUDGES 7:1-7.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nSeveral years ago this passage formed a part of the annual programme\nof the Young Peoples\u2019 Society of Christian Endeavor, and was discussed\nunder the heading, \u201cWanted: Men for Gideon\u2019s Band.\u201d And this is the\nsubject that I desire to consider this morning. There are several lines\nof thought suggested by the topic. No one can read the narrative out of\nwhich it grows without being profoundly impressed.\n\nI. In ringing terms there is the proclamation of a want. Wanted! is the\nnote that rings out clear and distinct. There is a demand, a pressing\nneed, a crying necessity. Wanted! Wanted! Wanted! We have all heard\nthat cry before. It is not a new one. It is one with which we are all\nfamiliar. Along the street we often see the sign in the windows of\nstores or on the outside, \u201cBoy wanted.\u201d \u201cMan wanted.\u201d Every paper we\ntake up, every magazine we read is full of advertisements of one kind\nor another, all of which are expressions of a want of some kind. They\nare put in and paid for by people who have goods that they want to\nsell, houses that they want to rent, property that they want to dispose\nof, money that they want to put out at interest, or, they want to find\nemployment of some kind.\n\nII. Another thought that grows naturally out of the topic is, Wanted\nby whom? The context leaves us in no doubt as to the answer. Wanted\nby the Lord God of hosts, by Jehovah. The great power that is working\nhere is God:--he it is who is directing everything; he it is with whom\nGideon is in communication and who is planning the whole campaign that\nis to be projected. It is Jehovah who is expressing the need, and who\nis making the appeal. While primarily the reference is to God, in\nanother sense, the need expressed here was felt by the whole Jewish\ncommunity--the state, the church, the family, society at large. These\nwere all in need, and in great and pressing need. No one can read the\nnarrative without feeling the burden of this need pressing upon him.\n\nIII. Another thought that springs naturally into our minds as we think\nof the subject is, What is it that is wanted? And the answer is Men for\nGideon\u2019s Band. Men are what is wanted; men to be welded together in one\ncompact body for a definite and specific purpose. This band, which God\nis seeking to organize here, is called Gideon\u2019s Band. Who was Gideon?\nHe was the son of Joash, of the tribe of Manasseh. He lived in the\nmidst of distressing circumstances. His people were greatly oppressed.\nThere were powerful enemies that harassed them; that made life\nmiserable for them. The writer of this book of Judges gives us this\ninsight into their sad condition: \u201cAnd the hand of Midian prevailed\nagainst Israel. And because of Midian the children of Israel made them\ndens which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.\nAnd so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and\nthe Amalekites, and the children of the east; they came up against\nthem; and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of\nthe earth, till they came unto Gaza, and left no substance in Israel,\nneither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and\ntheir tents; they came in as locusts for multitude; both they and their\ncamels were without number: and they came into the land to destroy it.\nAnd Israel was brought very low.\u201d\n\nWhat is said here of Gideon reveals the same sad condition of things.\n\u201cAnd the angel of Jehovah came and sat under the oak which was in\nOphrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon was\nbeating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.\nAnd the angel of Jehovah appeared unto him, and said unto him, Jehovah\nis with thee, thou mighty man of valor. And Gideon said unto him, Oh,\nmy Lord, if Jehovah is with us, why then is all this befallen us? and\nwhere are all his wondrous work which our fathers told us of, saying,\nDid not Jehovah bring us up from Egypt? but now Jehovah hath cast us\noff, and delivered us into the hand of Midian.\u201d\n\nWhat a wail of distress runs through the whole of this narrative.\nIn order to preserve a little wheat, enough to keep soul and body\ntogether, it had to be hid away: and when the time came for threshing\nit out, it had to be done in secret, in obscure, out-of-the-way places,\nas we find Gideon doing here. They certainly were in a most pitiable\ncondition. It is well for us to remember, in this connection, that the\nevils from which these people were suffering were due to their own\nmisconduct. They had no one to blame but themselves. Their condition\nmight have been very different if they had behaved themselves. And this\nfact is clearly brought out in the narrative: God is very careful to\nbring to their attention the secret of their misfortunes:--\n\n\u201cAnd it came to pass when the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah\nbecause of Midian, that Jehovah sent a prophet unto the children of\nIsrael: and he said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel,\nI brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house\nof bondage; and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and\nout of the hand of all who oppressed you, and gave you their land; and\nI said unto you, I am Jehovah your God; ye shall not fear the gods of\nthe Amorites, in whose land ye dwell. But ye have not harkened unto\nmy voice.\u201d When evils come upon us, it is well to ask ourselves the\nquestion, How far are we responsible for them? How far are they due to\nour own misconduct, or the misconduct of those who have gone before us?\nIt isn\u2019t safe to assume that we are not to blame, that our skirts are\nclear. In nine case out of ten the opposite will be found to be true,\nas we find it here, in regard to these Israelites.\n\nGideon\u2019s Band was a body of men gotten together, in view of the\ndistressing circumstances here set forth for the purpose of fighting\nthe enemy, of shaking off the yoke of the oppressor. Let us study these\nmen for a moment. There were three hundred of them in all. So far as\nthe record goes not one of their names has been preserved to us, save\nthat of the leader only. The names are all omitted, but the qualities\nthat characterized them are preserved. We are not told who they were,\nbut we are told what kind of men they were: and it is to this point\nparticularly that I desire to direct attention just here. A careful\nstudy of what is written here in regard to these men will reveal the\nfollowing facts about them:\n\n(1). They were fully conscious of the evils from which they were\nsuffering, and earnestly desired to be rid of them. It matters not how\nthese evils originated, the point to which I am directing attention\nhere is, that these men recognized them as evil. They were not\nsatisfied with conditions as they were. They wanted a change. They were\ntired of the oppression of the Midianites. They realized that they were\nbeing oppressed, and that it was not good for them to continue in\nthe condition in which they were. And it is only where such a mental\nattitude exists that there can be any successful warfare against\noppressive conditions. Unless the evil to be remedied is felt, and\nkeenly felt, it is not likely that there will be any effort put forth\nto remedy it, or any prospect of securing the cooperation of those who\nare suffering in an effort to do so.\n\n(2). They were men of courage, of splendid daring. They came in\nresponse to a call from Gideon. Gideon had thrown down the altar of\nBaal which his father had erected; and because his father refused to\nturn him over to be put to death by the Midianites, the adherents\nof Baal, a large force was collected to enforce the decree of death\nagainst him. It was under such circumstances that Gideon issued his\ncall. We are told, \u201cThe Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he\nblew a trumpet; and Abiezar was gathered together after him. And he\nsent messengers throughout all Manasseh; and they were also gathered\ntogether after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto\nZebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.\u201d\n\nAs the result of this call some thirty-two thousand men came to his\nrelief. Twenty-two thousand of these, however, came simply because\nthey felt that they must come, but their hearts were not in it. They\nrecognized the fact that there was danger in the step they were taking,\nthat they might lose their lives in the conflict which was sure to\nensue between them and the enemy. As soon therefore as the opportunity\npresented itself they went back to their homes. Of the ten thousand\nwho remained however, who, with the full consciousness of what the\noutcome might be, kept their places, the three hundred of whom we are\nspeaking were a part. The men who went back, who availed themselves\nof the permission granted by the proclamation \u201cWhosoever is fearful\nand trembling, let him return from Mount Gilead,\u201d would have been glad\nto have the oppressors\u2019 yoke broken, to have been relieved of the\nevils from which they were suffering; but they were not willing to\nrisk anything, to expose themselves to any danger. They were timid;\nthey were afraid of making things worse; of bringing upon themselves\nstill greater evils. Not so however with these men. They were willing\nto endure hardship; to encounter danger; to lay down their lives, if\nnecessary. The enemies were all about them, and about them in vast\nnumbers. The record is, \u201cAnd the Midianites and the Amalekites and\nall the children of the east lay along the valley like locusts for\nmultitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand which is\nupon the seashore for multitude.\u201d But there is no fear discoverable in\nthese three hundred men.\n\n(3). They were men of faith. They believed in God. They were willing to\ntrust God; to rest upon his promises. They knew perfectly well that,\nin and of themselves, they were no match for those who were opposed\nto them and with whom they were to measure arms; but they knew that\nJehovah, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob--the God who had\nbrought their forefathers out of Egypt and who had sustained them for\nforty years in the wilderness, was more than a match for them; and\nthat it was under his direction that they were to fight. It was this\nelement of faith in God that enabled them on that night, when the\nassault was made, to go forth as they did a bare handful and to take\ntheir places as indicated to them by Gideon. That their hope of victory\nwas not in their own strength is clear from the manner in which they\nwere armed. There was not a deadly weapon among them. There was not a\nsingle weapon of warfare, either offensive or defensive, among them.\nThey were armed with what? The record is: \u201cAnd he divided the three\nhundred men into three companies, and put into the hands of all of them\ntrumpets and empty pitchers, with torches within the pitchers.\u201d This\nwas a strange way to equip men to do battle with powerful and deadly\nenemies; and yet this was the way they were armed. The smallness of\ntheir number, as well as the manner in which they were equipped for\nbattle, show, in a very striking manner, their faith in an arm that\nwas mightier than theirs. If it had not been that God was back of\nthem, and that they were conscious of that fact, they never would have\nbudged a step. Gideon might have issued his order, but it would have\nmet with no response. He would have called, and called in vain for\nhelp. Faith in Jehovah--in the Lord God Almighty--becomes important as\nan element of character: (1) Because of the subjective effect upon the\nindividual exercising it. It is a real source of strength to him. And\n(2) because God can help, and does help those who put their trust in\nhim. \u201cAll things are possible to them that believe,\u201d we are told in the\ninspired record. And Jesus said to his disciples: \u201cIf ye have faith as\na grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence\nto yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible\nunto you.\u201d In saying that these were men of faith means a great deal\ntherefore. It is a great thing to be linked with God; to be consciously\nin league with the Almighty.\n\n(4). These men were reliable. They could be depended upon. What they\nwere directed to do; what they undertook to do, they did faithfully.\nThe order which they received from their leader was: \u201cBehold when I\ncome to the outermost part of the camp, it shall be that as I do so\nshall ye do. When I blow the trumpet, I and all that are with me, then\nblow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, For\nJehovah and for Gideon.\u201d This was the order which they received; and\nhere is the record as to how they carried it out: \u201cSo Gideon and the\nthree hundred men that were with him, came to the outermost part of\nthe camp in the beginning of the middle watch, when they had but newly\nset the watch: and brake in pieces the pitchers that were in their\nhands. And the three companies blew the trumpets\u201d--that is what they\nwere directed to do; and brake in pieces the pitchers--that is what\nthey were directed to do; and held the torches in their left hand and\nthe trumpets in their right hand--that is what they were directed to\ndo; and cried the sword of the Lord and of Gideon--that is what they\nwere directed to do. What they were directed to do, they did. Not a man\nfailed. The record is, \u201cAnd there stood every man in his place round\nabout the camp.\u201d They did not skulk away; they were at the post of duty\nto which they had been assigned. Each one answered the call of duty;\neach one proved faithful.\n\n(5). There is still another thing about these men that should be noted.\nIt comes out in connection with the manner in which they drank water.\nThe record is, \u201cAnd Jehovah said unto Gideon, The people are yet too\nmany; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee\nthere; and it shall be that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go\nwith thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto\nthee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. So he brought\ndown the people unto the water: and Jehovah said unto Gideon, Every\none that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him\nshalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon\nhis knees to drink.\u201d The three hundred men, of whom we are speaking,\nlapped the water and because of that fact were selected by Jehovah for\nthe special work which he had in view. It is not quite clear, perhaps,\nexactly what the quality is which this is intended to indicate. The\nfact that they did not get down upon their knees to drink might\nindicate that they were younger, more vigorous, more active than the\nrest; or it might indicate that they were more alert, more vigilant,\nmore watchful. They were surrounded by enemies, and were liable at any\ntime to be assailed. Their not getting down upon their knees would seem\nto indicate that they realized the danger to which they were exposed,\nand kept themselves in an attitude that would enable them instantly\nto defend themselves, to meet the enemy. The test to which they were\nsubjected, if we take this view of the matter, shows that they were men\nof force, that they were active, wide awake. They fully appreciated the\ncircumstances in which they were placed and the necessity on their part\nof being active, wide awake, on the alert.\n\nSuch was the character of the men of whom we are speaking. They were\nmen of conviction--they felt, and felt keenly the evils from which\nthey were suffering, and their minds were fully made up to endure\nthem no longer, if by any effort of theirs they could escape them.\nThey were men of genuine courage--they were not afraid to meet the\nenemy. They were men of faith--faith in God. They were men who were\nthoroughly reliable--who could be depended upon, to whom any duty could\nbe assigned in the confident assurance that it would be faithfully\nattended to. And they were men who were active, vigorous--men of\nphysical and mental stamina.\n\nThe getting together of such a company as this was a great achievement.\nIt wasn\u2019t easily done. Thirty-two thousand men had to be sifted before\nthey could be found; but they were found. When the time comes God is\nalways able to find the men he wants to use. When the great Civil\nWar broke out in this country, it was a singular fact, that there\nwere three such men as Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan ready to lead the\nUnion forces on to victory. And the same was true when the war between\nRussia and Japan occurred: God had already in waiting a Togo to send\nto the bottom of the sea of Japan the combined fleet of the enemy;\nand on the land an Ozama and a Kuroki to overwhelm in a succession of\nunprecedented victories the army of the enemy. And here God found three\nhundred men to do the work which he wanted done, and placed at their\nhead a man who was worthy to lead them.\n\nGIDEON\u2019S BAND was organized for the purpose of fighting the\nMidianites--the enemies that were oppressing the Jews at that time. It\nis not of the Jews, however, that I desire to speak at this time, but\nof ourselves as a race. We too have enemies--present, ever-active, and\npowerful. These enemies may be divided into two general classes--those\nthat are affecting injuriously our moral and economic condition, and\nthose that are affecting injuriously our civil and political status.\n\n(1). Those that are affecting injuriously our moral and economic\ncondition. Under this head are to be classed the evil tendencies\nwithin our own hearts, and, which are not different from the evil\ntendencies in other races; for, after all, human nature is everywhere\nthe same. The same radical tendencies are discoverable in all men.\nHuman nature is not different in the black man from what we find it\nin the white man, or in the men of any other race. Everywhere, in the\nhuman heart are evil tendencies that lead inevitably downward, that\ngravitate towards lower levels. We, as a race, have these tendencies\njust as other races. Under this head may be classed also such organized\nforces of evil as strong drink, the saloon, the whole liquor business;\nimpurity, all gambling institutions, the dance hall, the many agencies\nthat encourage idleness, and frivolity. Everywhere among us these\nforces are at work. And just as the Jews, in the time of Gideon,\nsuffered from the inroads of the Midianites, so are we suffering\nfrom the ravages of these foes. What inroads the saloon is making\namong us. How we are being ruined by it morally! How our physical\nstrength is being depleted by it! How we are being impoverished by it!\nThink of what impurity is doing! How it is dragging down hundreds and\nthousands of our young men--down, down into that deepest hell of moral\ndegradation; for there is nothing that sinks a man so low in the scale\nof being as impurity, as a lustful, lascivious life. Think of what the\ndance hall and the spirit of frivolity which it encourages, are doing\nto demoralize our young people. These and many other forces are at work\namong us, and are steadily, persistently, day and night, operating\nto destroy us, soul and body. The evil tendencies within us, and the\nevil influences without us are conspiring to destroy us--to destroy us\nphysically, morally, economically. It is well for us as a race to know\nwhat these evil influences are and how we are being affected by them.\n\n(2). As a race, in addition to those forces that affect injuriously\nour moral and spiritual, our physical and economic interests, we are\nalso beset by enemies that are laboring earnestly to deprive us of\nour civil and political rights as American citizens. These enemies\nare most persistent in their efforts, and everywhere are endeavoring\nto create a sentiment against us. Every blunder that any member of\nthe race makes, every misstep that any member of the race takes is by\nthem magnified, and by them paraded through the press, and charged\nto the race as a whole. These are the enemies that are clamoring for\nJim-Crow cars, for segregation in our cities, for laws against the\ninter-marriage of the races; and who are endeavoring in every possible\nway to humiliate us and to make life just as hard as possible for us.\nThe marvel is, as a race, that we are doing as well as we are, in view\nof the many and deadly forces that are arrayed against us. The verdict\nseemingly is, If we are allowed to live at all we must be content to be\nmenials, to occupy only the lowest places; and there is a disposition\nto crowd us out of even such places. The feeling is, not only that\nthis is a white man\u2019s government, but that everything in this country\nis for the white man. The right of the colored man to life, liberty\nand the pursuit of happiness, to even the most ordinary courtesies of\nlife, seems to be questioned. He is, nominally, in a Christian land;\nbut when it comes to the treatment which it accords to him, there is\nno thought of Christianity, no effort or endeavor in any way to be\ngoverned by the simplest principle of the religion of Jesus Christ. In\nthe treatment that is accorded to him every principle of Christianity\nis ignored. There is not the slightest disposition to recognize him as\na brother, to treat him as a man. The atmosphere in which he lives is a\nhostile atmosphere. The emigrant from Europe, with all his ignorance\nand degradation is welcomed with outstretched hands; but no such\nspirit greets the Negro. This is as much his home, and he has just as\nmuch right to be here as any other class of citizens; and yet he is\ntreated, is made to feel as if he were an alien. During the Christmas\nholidays I received a Christmas card upon which was represented a very\nforlorn looking little colored boy, and under it was written: \u201cNo one\nloves me.\u201d Whether it was intended by the artist, who was colored, to\nrepresent the condition of the race in this country or not, I do not\nknow; but, in a sense, and to a measure, it certainly does represent\nour condition among this white population in the midst of which we are\nliving. This is not true, of course, of all of the white people. There\nare some who are, in a sense, friendly to us, and who, up to a certain\npoint, are willing to stand by us; but there are comparatively few even\namong these who, in their heart of hearts, recognize us as brothers\nin the sense in which they recognize white men, or who feel that we\nare entitled to precisely the same treatment as white men are entitled\nto. They think we are entitled to some consideration, but not to all\nthat white men are entitled to. The broad Christian principle of the\nbrotherhood of man, not of white men, but of all men, is a principle\nthat, in spite of our professed Christianity, and our professed passion\nfor democratic institutions as a nation, has never been recognized\nin this country except so far as white men are concerned. And this\nis why the struggle of the colored man here for civil and political\nequality has encountered such wide-spread opposition on the part of the\nenemies of the race, and such half-hearted support on the part of even\nhis professed friends. It is because, at bottom, on the part of both\nfriends and foes, there is this denial, consciously or unconsciously,\nof brotherhood, this feeling that they are dealing with a different\norder of beings from themselves. Loyalty to Christianity and to\ndemocratic principles requires, however, that this barrier be broken\ndown. And, sooner or later, I believe it will be broken down. The Negro\ncannot permanently be denied equality of rights and opportunities and\nChristianity and true democracy be maintained. One or the other will be\nsure to succumb. Christianity and true democracy cannot exist anywhere\nand inequality of rights and opportunities continue to exist. The whole\ntendency of both of these forces is to break down walls of separation\nand to bring about a state of universal brotherhood. And these are the\ngreat forces of the future--the forces that will more and more, control\nthe destiny of humanity.\n\nWhat now is our duty, in view of present conditions--in view of\nthe forces that are arrayed against us--the forces that mean, if\nvictorious, physical, intellectual, moral, economic, social, and\npolitical degradation? How are these evils to be met? God\u2019s method of\nmeeting the enemy, as set forth in the passage we are considering, is\nthe one that must be followed.\n\nHow was the yoke of the Midianites thrown off? It was through a band of\nfaithful men, whom he had gotten together, and who worked in dependence\nupon him. And this is all that is needed to-day to bring victory, to\noverthrow the forces of evil, to drive out the enemy.\n\n(1). We need the right kind of men and women--men and women who see\nthe evil and deplore it--men and women of moral convictions--men and\nwomen whose sympathies are with the right, whose whole nature rises\nup in protest against the evil. One reason why it is so difficult to\nget anything done along moral lines is because there are so few who\nhave any convictions, so few who feel, as the apostle felt when he\nsaid, \u201cNecessity is laid upon me, yea, woe is me if I preach not the\ngospel.\u201d So profoundly had the truth taken hold of him, such were his\nconvictions in regard to the needs of humanity and the adaptation of\nthe gospel to meet those needs that he simply could not keep still.\n\nWe need also men and women of courage--men and women who are not afraid\nto attack the evil, to speak out in condemnation of the things about\nthem that are demoralizing in their tendency. Another reason why it is\nso difficult to make any headway in moral reforms is because there are\nso many cowards in society, so many who are timid, who are afraid to\nspeak out, to lift up their voices for fear of hurting themselves or of\noffending somebody. Cowardice has silenced many a lip, has paralyzed\nmany an arm that might have wrought mightily for God and truth.\n\nWe need also reliable men and women--men and women who can be depended\nupon; men and women who, when the crisis comes, when the conflict\nbegins, will not desert, but will stand by their colors. There are so\nmany who blow hot and cold on moral issues, who are with you to-day and\nwith the enemy to-morrow.\n\nWe need also earnest men and women--men and women who are zealous in\nthe cause of right--heartily in favor of what is pure, lovely, and\nof good report--who are not disposed to make any compromises with\nevil, who are out and out in their opposition to the forces of evil\nabout them. And here is another reason why it is difficult to do very\nmuch--there are so many who are lukewarm, indifferent, who don\u2019t seem\nto care whether moral reforms go on or not. If they do anything at all\nit is in an indifferent, half-hearted, non-committal way.\n\nWe need also God-fearing men and women--men and women of faith--men and\nwomen who build on God, who stand on the promises of God. One thing\nwe may be assured of--nothing can be effectively done for the moral\nuplift of the race, for the overthrow of the forces of evil that are at\nwork in our midst, unless we have in every community men and women such\nas I have been describing, through whom to operate as the first great\nrequisite.\n\n(2). These men and women ought to be brought together in some form\nof organization. The three hundred men who formed Gideon\u2019s Band were\nwelded together. They understood each other; they saw alike; they felt\nalike--all had the same object in view; all worked according to the\nsame plan; all were under the direction of one leader. An individual\nworking alone may accomplish something; but the most effective way of\nworking, especially where there is much to be done, is in combination,\nis by uniting our forces under intelligent leadership. Three hundred\nmen working together can always do more than one man working by\nhimself, however effectively he may work. The good people in every\ncommunity, the people who feel the need of doing something, must come\ntogether and pull together--must join hands in waging war against the\nforces of evil, by directly opposing them, and by setting up counter\ninfluences. In other words, they must stand together if they are to\nmake their influence felt, if they are to do the most effective work.\nAnd here is another reason why we do so little. The people who ought to\nstand together do not always stand together. The people who ought to\nsay, Amen when a blow is struck for the right, when evils are assailed,\nare the very ones often who criticise the man or the woman who has\nthe courage to speak out. And so the little that is done is often\nneutralized.\n\n(3). We need still another thing. After we get the right kind of men\nand women; and get them organized we need help from God. The real\nsecret of the success which came to these three hundred men was that\nGod was with them. In other words, what I mean is, that we have got to\ncarry on this fight against the forces that are arrayed against us,\nmoral or otherwise, if we hope for success, in dependence upon God; we\nhave got to feel as Luther did:--\n\n  \u201cDid we in our own strength confide,\n     Our striving would be losing;\n   Were not the right man on our side--\n     The man of God\u2019s own choosing:\n   Dost ask who that man may be?\n   Christ Jesus, it is He;\n   Lord Sabaoth His Name,\n   From age to age the same,\n   And He must win the battle.\u201d\n\nUnless we fight in the consciousness that we are not fighting alone;\nunless God actually comes to our aid, our efforts are vain. God has\npromised to help; and he will help. And this we should remember and\navail ourselves of.\n\nWith these conditions fulfilled--with the right kind of men and women\namong us, animated by the same spirit, working towards the same end,\nand linked with God all things in the way of moral uplift, and in the\nway of counteracting the influence of the forces of evil about us are\npossible. The gates of hell will not be able to withstand the united,\naggressive, persistent effort of men and women of this stamp--men and\nwomen who are themselves thoroughly alive to the importance of keeping\nthe standard high, and of waging unceasing warfare against the forces\nof evil. \u201cOne,\u201d we are told, \u201cshall chase a thousand, and two shall put\nten thousand to flight.\u201d And where the conditions are fulfilled the\nrule never fails to work--victory always follows. We are weak, because\nwe haven\u2019t faith; we are weak, because we are not united; we are weak,\nbecause we are not in earnest.\n\nSuch bands of men and women as I have been describing, are everywhere\nneeded to-day--in the home, in the church, in the Sabbath school, in\nthe Young Peoples\u2019 Society of Christian Endeavor, in all our secret\norganizations--among the Masons and Odd Fellows; in all our benevolent\nsocieties, in our schools, colleges, universities, in all business\ncorporations, banking and other establishments--everywhere such bands\nare needed--bands of clean men and women, pure men and women, men and\nwomen who stand up for what is right, who are willing to fight for what\nis right, who can always be depended upon in every moral crisis--who\nfight, and who fight always on the side of right, of honor, of\ndecency--whose influence is always thrown in the interest of the things\nthat are true, and just, and pure, and lovely, and of good report.\n\nAll that I have said in reference to meeting the moral evils that\nassail us, is also true as to meeting those enemies who are assailing\nour civil and political rights, as American citizens. They are to be\nmet in the same way.\n\n(1). In every community we have got to have men and women who put a\nproper estimate upon our civil and political rights--men and women who\nknow what rights we are entitled to as American citizens, who value\nthose rights; and who are deeply conscious therefore of the wrong which\nthe enemies of the race are seeking to perpetrate upon us by depriving\nus of those rights. There are some members of our race, unfortunately,\nwho, for one reason or another, have attempted to minify the importance\nof civil and political rights, or who, at least, pretend that they\nsee no great evil in the deprivation of these rights. I say pretend,\nfor, at heart, I do not believe they think anything of the kind. They\ncannot believe as they say they do, if they have any self respect,\nor any appreciation of what citizenship means. Such people are of no\nvalue to us in the fight which we are making for our rights under the\nConstitution: they are rather a hindrance to us, because they are used\nby the enemy in justification of the course which they are pursuing.\nThe fact that there are colored people, and some so-called leaders, who\ndon\u2019t attach much importance to these rights, makes the white assailant\nfeel that, after all, no great injury is done to the Negro. The colored\npeople themselves, they say, in effect, don\u2019t regard it as such,\nand why should we, why should we attach any more importance to the\nmatter than they do. In every community therefore, as a foil to this\npernicious doctrine, there must be men and women to whom these rights\nmean something; there must be men and women who hold them in high\nestimation, who have a deep and abiding sense of their value, of their\nimportance. Everywhere, throughout the race, very little patience ought\nto be shown, or respect either, to Negroes, whether big or little, who\nundervalue, and who are seeking to instill into the race a spirit of\nindifference to civil and political rights. To do so is to encourage\nthe race to commit political suicide; and the race that is willing to\ncommit political suicide is the race that will be driven to the wall,\nthat will be the football of every other race within the Republic.\nStrange, that some of us are so stupid or so blinded by selfishness\nthat we don\u2019t see this! Personally I have absolutely no patience with\nthe Negro, big or little, who is content to live in a country, under\nlaws which are made for his government without his consent and about\nwhich he, not only has nothing to say, but is purposely excluded from\nparticipation in the functions of government. The American colonies\nresisted the imposition of a tax by the British Parliament, because\nthey were taxed without representation; and they were right in the\nresistance which they offered. The position in which our enemies are\nseeking to place us is a humiliating one, and I pity the race or\nindividual who doesn\u2019t see it, and who doesn\u2019t feel the humiliation of\nbeing compelled to submit to laws without having a voice in the making\nof them, while others are accorded that right, and for no reason except\nthe color of their skin. It is humiliating to be thus discriminated\nagainst; and the more deeply this sense of humiliation is felt by the\naverage Negro, the more difficult it will be to permanently deprive him\nof that right.\n\n(2). The men and women of our race, in every community, who value civil\nand political rights, who are not content to be legislated for without\nhaving a voice in saying who the legislators shall be, should work\ntogether, should come together in some form of organization, for the\npurpose:\n\n(_a_). Of asserting in a kindly, but positive manner, whenever it shall\nbe necessary, our claims as American citizens under the constitution.\nWe have rights under the constitutions; we are American citizens, and\nwe are not to forget this ourselves, nor are we to let others lose\nsight of it. The manly assertion of our rights is a duty which we owe\nto ourselves; and which at the proper time, we should never hesitate to\nperform.\n\n(_b_). We should come together for the purpose of resisting, in\nevery lawful way, all attempts to abridge our rights, to curtail\nour privileges as citizens. Whatever other citizens enjoy we have a\nright to enjoy; and we ought not to submit quietly to discriminations\nwhich violate this principle. If we can\u2019t do anything else, at least,\nprotest; cry aloud. Let those who are responsible know that we know\nthat we are unjustly discriminated against.\n\n(_c_). We ought also, as far as possible, to carry on a campaign of\neducation, the design of which should be to strengthen our hold on the\nfriends that we have among the whites, and to so present the facts\ntouching the race, as to make a favorable impression upon, and, win\nover, if possible, our enemies, or, at least, to get them thinking\nalong right lines. In this connection the _Crisis_, a magazine that\nis published under the auspices of The National Association for the\nAdvancement of Colored People, ought to appeal to our people in every\ncommunity, and ought, through their support, to be given the widest\ncirculation. It presents, as no other organ does, the bare naked facts\nas to our race along all lines; and, after all, the facts are the\nthings that tell, that win their way, and that produce conviction. The\nmore widely we can get this magazine distributed among the whites, the\nmore hopeful will be the outlook for us.\n\n(_d_). In every community also, through our churches, through our\nschools--Sunday and day schools, and through every other agency by\nwhich they may be reached, we should endeavor to impress upon our\npeople the importance of being respectable, of behaving themselves,\nespecially in their public deportment, when they are before the eyes\nof those who are prejudiced against them, and who will be sure to view\nthem with a much more critical eye than they would their own race. We\nshould impress upon them also, in every possible way, whenever the\nopportunity presents itself, the importance of being trustworthy,\nreliable, of qualifying themselves to do well whatever they undertake\nto do, so that as they come in contact with the whites, as they may\nfind employment among the whites, the fact of their respectability,\ntheir efficiency, their reliability, their trustworthiness will stand\nout conspicuously. In this way much can be done to create a sentiment\nfavorable to us, to set us in a better light, to give us a better\nstanding with those who have been indifferent or hostile to us. We\nneed, as a race, every one of us, to understand and to lay to heart,\nand to get our children to understand and lay to heart, that in the\nenvironment in which we find ourselves, we can do very much through our\npersonal conduct, through the manner in which we bear ourselves, the\nmanner in which we acquit ourselves, through what we make of ourselves\nand of our children, to intensify or to diminish this opposition to\nus. This won\u2019t accomplish everything, of course, but it will aid\nmightily in removing some of the obstacles out of the way. The better\nwe behave ourselves, the more we make of ourselves, the more, I know,\nwe are hated by some, but that doesn\u2019t destroy the force of the general\nprinciple we are here laying down.\n\n(3). There is still another force that we can utilize in the great\nstruggle that we are making against our enemies, and that is the force\nthat lies in effectual, fervent prayer, the force that links us with\nGod, with the Mighty God. We have the reputation of being a religious\npeople. I don\u2019t know whether we are really religious or not. We have, I\nknow, a great many professors of religion among us; but as to whether\nthere is a great deal real true religion, which consists in loving\nGod and in keeping his commandments, among us, may be a question. One\nthing I know, however, in the days of slavery, when the iron heel of\nphysical oppression was upon our necks, there were many, many of the\nfathers and mothers of the race who believed in God and in the power of\nprayer, and who by day and by night, in the cotton fields and in the\nrice swamps, sent up their petitions to heaven. And while I know that\nGarrison and Philips and the noble band of anti-slavery worker labored\nearnestly and faithfully to quicken the national conscience; and that\nthe armies of the North, under Grant, and Sherman, and Sheridan and\nothers, marched in the South and grappled in a death struggle with\nthe forces of rebellion; and that Lincoln issued his Emancipation\nProclamation, nevertheless, I believe that among the mightiest forces\nthat wrought for the slave were the prayers which they themselves sent\nup to Almighty God. Prayer became a power in their hands mightier than\narmies and proclamations. And that power we can wield to-day and ought\nto be wielding it. God can do wonders for us if we will rely upon him,\nif we will put our trust in him. He can soften the hard hearts of our\nenemies; he can raise up friends for us; he can open ways for us that\nwe know not of. I have just been reading over the Book of Esther,\nknown as the book of God\u2019s Providential Care. How wonderfully did he\ninterpose in behalf of the Jews; but it came as the result of days\nof fasting and prayer. When Esther suggested three days of fasting\nand prayer, everything seemed to be against them. Their arch enemy\nwas highest in the favor of the king; and he had not only obtained\npermission to destroy the Jews throughout the empire, but the decree\nhad already been issued and the day fixed for its execution. It was at\nthis juncture that earnest, incessant prayer was made to Jehovah, and\nthe result was the man that sought their ruin was hurled from power,\nand hurled into eternity to answer at a higher than earthly tribunal\nfor his infamous conduct. We, as a people, would do well to ponder\ncarefully the words of Esther to Mordicai in our struggle against\nthe enemies in this country that are bent on our destruction just as\ntruly as Haman was bent on the destruction of the Jews, and for the\nsame reason, because we are not disposed to bow and cringe and debase\nourselves before them. The statement is \u201cWhen Haman saw that Mordicai\nbowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.\u201d It was\nthen that he formed the determination to destroy, not only Mordicai,\nbut the whole race with which he was identified. And at the bottom it\nis the same spirit against which we have to struggle in this country.\nIf we were willing to efface ourselves, to accept the position assigned\nus by our enemies there would be no trouble. The thing that offends,\nthat excites the ire of the whites is the assertion or exhibition of\nmanhood on the part of the Negro; it is because he has the temerity\nto claim for himself what they claim for themselves, and precisely\non the same ground. The thought of the Negro as a slave has so taken\npossession of them as to entirely obliterate from their minds the\nthought of him as a man and citizen. And these are the people who are\nin the seat of power; these are the people who have the ears of the\ncountry, the people who control, largely, the press and pulpit, the\nbusiness and labor organizations, and who command, in virtue of their\nwealth, the best legal talents of the country. We seem to be hopelessly\nin their power, as hopelessly as the Jews seemed to be in the power\nof Haman. But Haman did not succeed in carrying out his diabolical\npurpose; and the power that checked him, and that overthrew him, was\nthe power of prayer. We, as a race, must use this power more than we\nhave been in the habit of doing. Those among us, in every community,\nwho believe in God, and who are trying earnestly to serve him in\nsincerity, for unless we are our prayers will avail nothing, should\nmake it a business to take our race troubles to him as well as our\nindividual and family troubles. God has promised to help, and to help\nright early if we call upon him. And this is what we must do; and do\nmore largely than we have been in the habit of doing. The exhortation\nof the apostle is, \u201cBe careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer\nand supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto\nGod.\u201d--Phil. 4:6. A praying race or people has nothing to fear from\nenemies, however numerous or powerful. And the sooner we learn this the\nbetter it will be for us.\n\nAnd now with the thought of Gideon\u2019s Band before us, the thought of\nthe kind of men they were, and what they accomplished under the divine\ndirection, and in reliance upon God, in view of the adverse influences\nagainst which we have to contend, we may well ask ourselves the\nquestion:\n\n(1). Are we seeking, as members of this race, to possess the noble\nqualities of the men of Gideon\u2019s Band? They were men of character; men\nof courage; men dominated by a great purpose; men who fully realized\nthe seriousness of the business in which they were engaged: they were\nnot of the giddy, frivolous, pleasure-seeking, namby pamby type that\nis so often met with to-day, especially among our young people, and,\noften, it is no better among the older ones.\n\n(2). Are we binding ourselves together in Gideon Bands in every\ncommunity, to help uplift the race; to help battle against the evils\nwhich tend to drag us down, to undermine our health, our character, our\ngood name? Are we coming to realize, more and more, the importance of\ncooperation, of working together for the general good?\n\n(3). Are we, in our personal character and conduct, in all our\nbearings and relations so clearly, so distinctly of Gideon\u2019s Band--so\nunquestionably on the side of what is best and noblest, as to be a\nsteady uplifting influence for good among ourselves: and in our contact\nand relation with the whites, as to lead them to think more highly of\nthe race because of what they see and know of us? Gideon Bands we need\neverywhere--men and women of the highest character, whose clean pure\nlives will be not only an incentive to the race to live nobly, but\nalso an unanswerable argument against the traducers of the race. We\ncannot, as a race, present in any considerable numbers, men and women\nconspicuous for moral and spiritual worth without producing a favorable\nimpression for the race. Gideon Bands everywhere are needed, for work\nwithin the race, and for work without the race, upon those who need\nto be mollified, changed, converted. Such bands should not only be\norganized, but we should see to it, that we are members of them.\n\n(4). Are we keeping alive within our own breasts, as individuals, and\nwithin the consciousness of the race the value of citizenship and of\ncitizenship rights? It is our duty to cherish these rights ourselves,\nand to instill into our children a like appreciation of them. And it\nis our duty also, and the duty of our children to stand up manfully\nfor them. It may not be a popular thing to do, but it must be done\nnevertheless. We may not be able to hold the pass of Thermopyl\u00e6, but\nit should never be surrendered. It may be taken, but it should be\nonly when there is no one left to hold it. It is always more glorious\nto perish in a righteous cause than to survive with dishonor. And I\nbelieve as long as there is a spark of manhood left in the race the\nstruggle for our rights, as American citizens, will go on. I do not\nbelieve that the time will ever come, when the Negro will be quiescent\non his rights until those rights are fully accorded to him.\n\nThe call that I am making to this race to-day is for the\nself-respecting men and women of it, in every community, to band\nthemselves together for the building up of character; for the setting\nup of lofty ideals; for the maintenance of a high standard of morals\namong men as well as women; for waging uncompromising warfare against\nall the forces of corruption--against the saloon, the gambling den, the\nbawdy house and every other demoralizing institution; for keeping alive\nin the race an interest in matters civil and political; and for active,\naggressive work in resisting encroachments upon our rights. It is a\ncall, I trust, that will be heeded; that, all over this land, there\nwill be a rallying of the better elements of the race in concerted\neffort for race betterment; for enlarged opportunities; and for the\nfull enjoyment of all of our rights as American citizens.\n\nOnce in four years, in connection with a Presidential Inauguration, is\na good time to look each other in the face; to reaffirm our principles;\nand to pledge ourselves anew to go fearlessly forward in the good work\nwhich we have begun. If we do our part faithfully--if we work; if we do\nright; if we eschew evil; if we put our trust in God and make his word\na lamp to our feet and a light to our path, there is no power anywhere\nthat can defeat us in our purpose to rise to the full measure of a\nman, and to the full enjoyment of all the rights that belong to us as\nAmerican citizens. We cannot fail; we will not fail, if we are wise,\nactive, wide-awake, persistent, resistant, in earnest. Our future is\nlargely within our own hands.\n\n  \u201cIn the field of destiny,\n   We reap as we have sown,\u201d\n\nis what the poet says. And that is true of races as well as\nindividuals. It is important that we realize this, and that every\nlatent energy within us, as a race, be aroused and enlisted in the\ngreat work of sowing such seeds as will insure a glorious harvest. If\nwe sow frivolity, idleness, improvidence, intemperance; if we are lax\nin morals, if we put material things above spiritual things, if we\nare indifferent to our rights, as citizens, if we are content to be\nlike dumb driven cattle, we will reap accordingly. And vice versa, if\nwe discourage frivolity, idleness, improvidence, intemperance, if we\ninsist upon enforcing a high standard of morals, if we put spiritual\nthings above material things, if we stand up for our rights as men, and\ncultivate a divine unrest, keeping the eyes of the soul ever turned\ntowards the heights, we will also reap accordingly. Every thing depends\nupon the sowing, and therefore let every member of this race, in the\nconsciousness of his or her responsibility, say, as one of old, \u201cGod\ndo so to me and more also,\u201d if, in my personal character and life, in\nwhat I may do or say, I sow anything that will jeopardize the moral,\neconomic, or political future of this race. If we, in this generation,\nwill sow in the hearts of our people the right kind of seeds--seeds\nof morality, and religion, of civil and political equality, the next\ngeneration will catch our spirit and go on sowing the same kind of\nseeds, and when the harvest time comes we know what the reaping will\nbe. Up then every member of this race! Let us do our level best to\nensure a good harvest--a harvest of good men and women and children, of\nGod-fearing men and women and children, of men, women, and children who\nknow what their rights are and how to maintain them. To this end let\nevery one of us here this morning pledge ourselves, and go forth with\nthe solemn purpose and determination to inoculate every man, woman, and\nchild of the race, with the same spirit, with the same purpose, with\nthe same determination.\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Note:\n\nChanges to the original publication have been made as follows:\n\n  Page 4\n    enemies that harrassed them _changed to_\n    enemies that harassed them\n\n    an delivered us into _changed to_\n    and delivered us into\n\n  Page 8\n    three companies blew the trumpets _changed to_\n    three companies blew the trumpets\u201d\n\n  Page 9\n    land a Ozama and _changed to_\n    land an Ozama and\n\n    tendencies that lead inevitablly _changed to_\n    tendencies that lead inevitably\n\n  Page 12\n    cause of right _changed to_\n    the cause of right\n\n  Page 14\n    upon our civil and poltical _changed to_\n    upon our civil and political\n\n  Page 15\n    under laws which are are made _changed to_\n    under laws which are made\n\n    reason except except _changed to_\n    reason except\n\n  Page 16\n    to our race along all line _changed to_\n    to our race along all lines\n\n  Page 18\n    at a higher than earthly tribunals _changed to_\n    at a higher than earthly tribunal","title":"Gideon Bands for work within the race and for work without the race: a message to the colored people of the United States","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":9662}