The Negro is progressing morally. From whatever standpoint you view
him he is getting away from the past and wiping the reproach of Egypt
from him. Any careful observer will see at once that in the field of
ethics and morals a veritable revolution has taken place among the
Negroes during the present generation. There is still, however, much
room for improvement, and to this perhaps, more than to any one thing,
the race must now turn its attention. Some questions regarding his
inability to learn have all been settled by the remarkable
achievements which he has made in all lines of intellectual endeavor,
but it must still be confessed that in the field of morals and
manners, the charge is still made, and that not without some semblance
of truth, that evidences of the essential qualities of sturdy and
manly character are not as clearly manifest among us as they should
be.

Here the problem comes home and the Negro, as ever, is the most
important factor. The pertinent question is not what shall be done
with the Negro, but rather what will the Negro do with himself. This
is the question, and the answer he gives to it will largely depend, in
no small degree, whether he shall continue to be an insignificant
element in this Nation or become more a living factor in its growth
and development. Here I repeat it, is the question and this is the
problem. Intellectual ability is good, but individual purity is
better. Rights and privileges are in themselves good, but to make
ourselves worthy of them is infinitely better. It is encouraging and
gratifying to know that so many are getting a correct interpretation
of life's deeper meanings and are daily coming into possession of
higher and purer ideals. Who can say that the Negro has not made
progress commensurate with his opportunities?