. In the
letters which our Secretary, Mr. Cromwell, has received, and which will
be read to us, we are struck by the fact that one cultured man here and
another there,--several minds in different localities,--tell him that
this is just the thing they have desired, and have been looking for.

I congratulate you, therefore, gentlemen, on the opportuneness of your
assemblage here. I felicitate you on the superior and lofty aims which
have drawn you together. And, in behalf of your compeers, resident here
in the city of Washington, I welcome you to the city and to the important
deliberations to which our organization invites you.

Just here, let me call your attention to the uniqueness and specialty of
this conference. It is unlike any other which has ever taken place in
the history of the Negro, on the American Continent. There have been,
since the landing of the first black cargo of slaves at Jamestown, Va.,
in 1619, numerous conventions of men of our race. There have been
Religious Assemblies, Political Conferences, suffrage meetings,
educational conventions. But _our_ meeting is for a purpose which, while
inclusive, in some respects, of these various concerns, is for an object
more distinct and positive than any of them.

What then, it may be asked, is the special undertaking we have before
us, in this Academy? My answer is the civilization of the Negro race in
the United States, by the scientific processes of literature, art, and
philosophy, through the agency of the cultured men of this same Negro
race. And here, let me say, that the special race problem of the Negro
in the United States is his civilization.

I doubt if there is a man in this presence who has a higher conception
of Negro capacity than your speaker; and this of itself, precludes the
idea, on my part, of race disparagement. But, it seems manifest to me
that, as a race in this land, we have no art; we have no science; we
have no philosophy; we have no scholarship. Individuals we have in each
of these lines; but mere individuality cannot be recognized as the
aggregation of a family, a nation, or a race; or as the interpretation
of any of them. And until we attain the role of civilization, we cannot
stand up and hold our place in the world of culture and enlightenment.
And the forfeiture of such a place means, despite, inferiority,
repulsion, drudgery, poverty, and ultimate death! Now gentlemen, for the
creation of a complete and rounded man, you need t