The Colored Men and Cuba
March 12, 1898
Summary
As war approaches with Spain, Americans debate whether the government should deploy black troops to Cuba.
Transcription
The prospect of a war with Spain brings a very important question to the front.
Who will be expected to do the fighting. The Negro-haters have declared that this is a white man’s country, and that Negroes themselves have enquired why should not the white man fight for it?
Another question; the cry has been made that the educated and the wealthy must rule and vote, then why should not these same elements muster in and fight?
If we are not presumed to be food enough to exercise the right of franchise, why should we be good enough to exercise the right to enlist in the service of the United States?
If the state government will not protect us, why should we be expected to protect the state government?
If the national government will not protect us, why should we be expected to protect the national government? Our allegiance to both is based upon a principle of the reciprocity and partakes of the nature of a contract.
The repeated violation of the obligation on the one side, releases the party on the other side.
These thoughts came to us as we noted the increase of the war-spirit and the talk of sending colored troops to Cuba.
But our people are the most forgiving nation on the face of the globe. No other race, living in the republic under similar conditions would respond in such an emergency, and yet colored troops would rally by the thousands whether called upon by a president, democratic or republican, or by the governor of a state in which they had been ostracized, hounded, murdered, and even denied the right of franchise. Truly, we are a peculiar race of people.
Who will be expected to do the fighting. The Negro-haters have declared that this is a white man’s country, and that Negroes themselves have enquired why should not the white man fight for it?
Another question; the cry has been made that the educated and the wealthy must rule and vote, then why should not these same elements muster in and fight?
If we are not presumed to be food enough to exercise the right of franchise, why should we be good enough to exercise the right to enlist in the service of the United States?
If the state government will not protect us, why should we be expected to protect the state government?
If the national government will not protect us, why should we be expected to protect the national government? Our allegiance to both is based upon a principle of the reciprocity and partakes of the nature of a contract.
The repeated violation of the obligation on the one side, releases the party on the other side.
These thoughts came to us as we noted the increase of the war-spirit and the talk of sending colored troops to Cuba.
But our people are the most forgiving nation on the face of the globe. No other race, living in the republic under similar conditions would respond in such an emergency, and yet colored troops would rally by the thousands whether called upon by a president, democratic or republican, or by the governor of a state in which they had been ostracized, hounded, murdered, and even denied the right of franchise. Truly, we are a peculiar race of people.
About this article
Source
Location on Page
Upper Left Quadrant
Topic
Contributed By
Cali Hughes
Citation
“The Colored Men and Cuba,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed September 14, 2026, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/1353.