The Separate Car Bill
February 22, 1896
Summary
A letter to the editor mocks the proposed segregated train car bill.
Transcription
Editor of the Planet:
The presence in the Virginia Legislature of a man like Mr. Radford, the author of the "Separate Car" bill is another evidence that "one has not always to be wise or good to be preferred."
Mr. Radford doubtless esteems himself a very proper law-maker and "one of the Negroes' best friends."
Now, we are very much opposed to “class-legislation" and to that peculiar "friendship" which is constant seeking to humiliate us.
The Negro has no desire to "intrude" himself upon the white man, but if an insistence upon an equality of civil privileges is intrusion, we shall continue to "intrude," separate cars or no separate cars.
The self-respecting Negroes (and there are thousands of them in Virginia) are as much offended by the bad conduct of low people, white and black, on common carriers as are se respecting white people, but they cannot see that one coach for all colored people and another coach for all white people will bring a riddance of the nuisance to either party.
Let us rather have one car for well behaved people and another those who will not behave themselves. Colored people will give their approval to, and grow patriotic under any measure that provides for protection of all people, but they are eternally at war against any legislation which carries with it the idea that all colored people are bad and white people are good.
Yours for justice and statesmanship,
F. D. Banks.
Hampton, VA, Feb. 17,1896.
The presence in the Virginia Legislature of a man like Mr. Radford, the author of the "Separate Car" bill is another evidence that "one has not always to be wise or good to be preferred."
Mr. Radford doubtless esteems himself a very proper law-maker and "one of the Negroes' best friends."
Now, we are very much opposed to “class-legislation" and to that peculiar "friendship" which is constant seeking to humiliate us.
The Negro has no desire to "intrude" himself upon the white man, but if an insistence upon an equality of civil privileges is intrusion, we shall continue to "intrude," separate cars or no separate cars.
The self-respecting Negroes (and there are thousands of them in Virginia) are as much offended by the bad conduct of low people, white and black, on common carriers as are se respecting white people, but they cannot see that one coach for all colored people and another coach for all white people will bring a riddance of the nuisance to either party.
Let us rather have one car for well behaved people and another those who will not behave themselves. Colored people will give their approval to, and grow patriotic under any measure that provides for protection of all people, but they are eternally at war against any legislation which carries with it the idea that all colored people are bad and white people are good.
Yours for justice and statesmanship,
F. D. Banks.
Hampton, VA, Feb. 17,1896.
About this article
Source
Location on Page
Lower Right Quadrant
Topic
Contributed By
Liam Eynan
Citation
“The Separate Car Bill,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed May 12, 2025, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/1777.