Page 60: Excerpt from A Nickel and a Prayer
In spare moments, I visited with my own people From both races I learned of the cordial relationship of the Negroes and whites. The educated Negro was held in high esteem among those of both races.
The Negro servant who gave loyalty to his employer in his long years of service was contented and happy. The employer, in most cases considerate and kind-hearted, exercised a continual paternal interest in the welfare and advancement of his Negro employees. He was interested even to the point of giving free legal service in the courts when there seemed to be imposition upon the Negro.
Because of his trustworthiness and loyalty to his employer, great responsibility was often put upon him. The training the Negro received, through his contact as an individual with the white man in the South, laid the foundation stone for his rapid progress. Especially does the Negro in business need to remember the days when such contacts and training enabled him to make the shoes and clothes worn by the white population, when machinery was less in vogue, and competition not so keen as it is today. In a measure, the Negro’s early vision for his future was enlarged by these opportunities.
In 1933 I returned to Summerville to find it more beautiful than ever. In passing through the town, I paused to inquire about the families there I had once served. Dr. Shepard had passed away, but on the main street I spied on the second floor of a building
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Hunter, Jane Edna. A Nickel and a Prayer. 2nd edition. Nashville: Elli Kani Publishing Co., 1941.
In spare moments, I visited with my own people From both races I learned of the cordial relationship of the Negroes and whites. The educated Negro was held in high esteem among those of both races.
The Negro servant who gave loyalty to his employer in his long years of service was contented and happy. The employer, in most cases considerate and kind-hearted, exercised a continual paternal interest in the welfare and advancement of his Negro employees. He was interested even to the point of giving free legal service in the courts when there seemed to be imposition upon the Negro.
Because of his trustworthiness and loyalty to his employer, great responsibility was often put upon him. The training the Negro received, through his contact as an individual with the white man in the South, laid the foundation stone for his rapid progress. Especially does the Negro in business need to remember the days when such contacts and training enabled him to make the shoes and clothes worn by the white population, when machinery was less in vogue, and competition not so keen as it is today. In a measure, the Negro’s early vision for his future was enlarged by these opportunities.
In 1933 I returned to Summerville to find it more beautiful than ever. In passing through the town, I paused to inquire about the families there I had once served. Dr. Shepard had passed away, but on the main street I spied on the second floor of a building
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Hunter, Jane Edna. A Nickel and a Prayer. 2nd edition. Nashville: Elli Kani Publishing Co., 1941.
© 2009 Jane Edna Hunter Project
