title:
Letter to President Frost from John J. Barret; 9 Dec. 1908
creator:
Barret, John J.
subject:
Correspondence
subject:
Equality
subject:
Prejudices
subject:
Lincoln Institute (Simpsonville, Ky.), 1909-1966
subject:
Frost, William G. (William Goodell), 1854-1938
subject:
Barret, John J.
description:
Letter from John J. Barret to President William Goodell Frost; In this letter Barret tells Frost that he feels Berea College will be making a mistake if they have both African American and white teachers. He feels that only white teachers should employed at Berea College. Also, this letter disscusses Barret's opinion that social equality should not and will not happen.
description:
Transcript: Lincoln Institute J. J.Barret JOHN J. BARRET & SON Fire, Torando, Marine Insurance, BOARD OF TRADE BUILDING NW.COR.MAIN AND THIRS STS., TELEPHONES, CUMBERLAND MAIN542; HOME 5426 LOUISVILLE, KY. Dec. 9, 1908. Rev. Wm. G. Frost, D.D., Berea, Ky. Dear Sir:- In your remarks yesterday you made one statement as to the pro- posed school for negroes that I feel I ought to call your attention to. You said that ΓÇ£your teachers would be both white and coloredΓÇ¥. In doing this it seems to me that you will be making a mistake, because it means that the white teachers will be, or the public will consid- er them to be in a position of social equality with the negro teachers. This will to my mind create a prejudice against the school, whereas, if you have entirely while or black teachers this prejudice will not come into ex- istence. I believe you will get the best results by having white teachers, only, provided, they are of the right kind and will unconsciously(written in) instill in the mind of the negro that there can be no such thing as social equality. This question of social equality is one that creates the greatest amount of prejudice against the negro, particularly in the minds of our ig- norant classes and is a condition that a majority of our people fear, fool- ishly it seems to me, because I know that no one is going to be recognized as my social equal unless I permit it, but others do not look at it in this way. I must ask your pardon for making these suggestions to you, be- cause you are an expert in college management, but I am presenting it to you as I see it, and it may be that I, being one of the masses, can under- stand their thoughts, prejudices and feelings better than one who is liv- ing in a different atmosphere and on a more ideal plane than I am. The fact that I am anxious to see your plan for the school succeed is the reason that prompts me to write to you. Yours truly, John J Barret
description:
Original Size: 8 1/2 x 10 7/8 in
publisher:
Special Collections and Archives, Hutchins Library, Berea College, Berea, Ky
date:
1908-12-09
type:
image/jp2
format:
jp2
identifier:
BC-0303-LTR-00021
identifier:
identifier:
source:
RG 03 Papers of William Goodell Frost, Berea College Archives
language:
en-us
relation:
Special Collections and Archives, Hutchins Library, Berea College, Berea, Ky
coverage:
rights:
This resource is provided for educational purposes. Please cite all references to this item.
