PART I. THE NEW RURAL ORGANIZATION. 



CHAPTER I 



AGRICULTURE AND PREJUDICE 



Since the agricultural interests of the South are so pre- 

 dominant, by far the most pressing problems of the section 

 relate to rural life. Recent efforts for the improvement of 

 colored people have been centered on rural problems with a 

 two- fold purpose. Merely from the standpoint of self- 

 interest, improvement of rural conditions affecting Negroes 

 means improvement in the general welfare of the South and 

 the Nation. From an altruistic standpoint it seems that the 

 greatest benefit to the Negro himself is to be derived from 

 such efforts. 



THE IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE TO THE NEGRO 



The 3,000,000 Negroes engaged in agricultural pursuits 

 constituted (in 1909) 30 per cent of the rural population of 

 the South and 40 per cent of all southern agricultural work- 

 ers. Their skill and industry govern, to a large degree, the 

 prosperity of the southern farmer. The influence of Negro 

 farmers on the general prosperity of the nation is indicated 

 by the fact that they cultivate 41,500,000 acres of land, an 

 area over twice the size of all the land in farms in the New 

 England States. 1 From the standpoint of the Negro him- 

 self the importance of agriculture is emphasized by the fact 

 that 70 per cent of the Negro population lives in rural 

 districts, and the largest numbers of Negroes who are mak- 

 ing money and acquiring property are to be found among the 

 farmers. The stable element of the congregations of rural 



1 U. S. Bureau of Education, "Negro Education in the United 

 States," Bulletin 38, 1917, Page 103. 



