Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

The Rev. D.D. Martin delivered a talk on what he called “the Negro question” to assembled delegates at a national Methodist Church conference in Spokane.

Martin said the usual solutions to the Negro question could be divided into four categories. The first was to “let the Negroes alone – by drifting to the city and living in unsanitary conditions … he will eventually die out.” Martin condemned this “solution” as both impractical and immoral.

The second, he said, was to repeal all laws against intermarriage, and “eventually social prejudice will die out and the Negro will be lost in the larger bulk of American life.” Martin said such laws were “vicious,” yet there was little practical chance they could be repealed.

The third, he said, was to “set aside territory sufficiently large to accommodate all of Negro race … and segregate him in such territory.” Martin said this idea was impractical, unconstitutional and “entertained only by men who have no conception of what it involves.”

The fourth, he said, was to “educate both the white and colored race according to humanitarian ideals, each to deal generously with each other and make our civilization large enough for them to live together without serious friction.” This solution, he said, was the only workable solution and was adhered to by “the Methodist Church and every other great church of this land.”