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258 connection with Africa. They and their fathers have been absent from this soil for centuries. In the course of time their blood has been mingled somewhat with that of other peoples and races. They have been brought up and habituated to customs entirely diverse from those of their ancestors in this land; and while the race here are in barbarism, they on the other hand are civilized and enlightened.

But, notwithstanding these pleas, there are other great facts which grapple hold of these men and bind them to this darkened, wretched, negro race by indissoluble bonds. There is the fact of kinship, which a lofty manhood and a proud generosity keep them now, and ever will keep them, from disclaiming. There are the strong currents of kindred blood which neither time nor circumstance can ever entirely wash out. There are the bitter memories of ancestral wrongs, of hereditary servitude, which cannot be forgotten till "the last syllable of recorded time." There is the bitter pressure of legal proscription and of inveterate caste, which will crowd closer and closer their ranks, deepening brotherhood and sympathy, and preserving vital the deep consciousness of distinctive race. There still remains the low imputation of negro inferiority, necessitating a protracted and an earnest battle, creative of a generous pride to vindicate their race, and inciting to noble endeavor to illustrate its virtues and its genius. How then can these men ever forget Africa? How cut the links which bind them to the land of their lathers? I affirm, therefore, that it is the duty of black men in foreign lands to live and to labor for