racter, have come into
contact and severe competition with the blacks. The result has been
intense race feeling."[4] In one of the large towns of the Delta last
summer, a prosperous Negro merchant said to me, in discussing the
comparative opportunities of different sections: "I would not be allowed
to have a store on the main street in such a good location in many
places." Yet, his store is patronized by whites; and this would be true
in many towns in the black belt. Other evidences of the difference in
feeling towards the Negroes is afforded by the epithets of
"hill-billies" and "red-necks" applied to the whites of the hill country
by the lowland planters, and the retaliatory compliments
"yellow-bellies" and "nigger-lovers." Does this geographical segregation
help to explain the strikingly diverse reports coming from various parts
of the South regarding the Negro? Why does Dr. Paul Barringer, of
Virginia, find that race antagonism is rapidly growing, while Mr. Stone
of Mississippi, says that their problem is to get more Negroes?

The influence that this segregation has upon school facilities for both
races should not be overlooked. The separation of the two races in the
schools is to be viewed as the settled policy of the South. Here, then,
is a farming community in which there are only a few Negroes. What sort
of a separate school will be maintained for their children? Probably
they are unable to support a good school, even should they so desire.
The opportunities of their children must necessarily be limited. Will
they make greater progress than children in the districts where the
blacks are in large numbers and command good schools? If the situation
be reversed and there are a few whites in a black community, the whites
will be able to command excellent private schools for their children, if
necessary. At present among the males over 21, the greatest illiteracy
is found in the black counties. This may be accounted for by the
presence of the older generation, which had little chance in the
schools, and by the fact that perhaps those moving away have been the
more progressive. It is a matter of regret that the census does not
permit us to ascertain the illiteracy among the children from 10 to 21
years of age, to see if any difference was manifest. It would seem,
however, that this segregation, coupled with race antagonism, is bound
to affect the educational opportunities for the blacks. A problem which
becomes more se