The writer wishes gratefully to acknowledge copies of the West- e ern Clarion, weekly published and edited by E. L. Hubbard in Los An- geles; and also a copy of the Pasa- dena Evening Post which contained the following interesting news items under the title "High school girl shows remarkable ability as artist. Laura Brock, 15 years old, a local high school girl, who shows rare 1. promise in field of art, an oppor- e tunity for her to attend an art e school is being sought by the Urban h League of Los Angeles."
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"After winning more than twenty prizes for art work contributed to e the Los Angeles Junior Times Times magazine, Miss Laura Brock, 15-year-old Pasadena high school -student, has attracted the attention e of Mrs. Katherine J. Barr, executive secretary of the Los Angeles Urban league, who came to Pasadena yes- terday to arrange ways and means for Miss Brock to develop her re- markable talent by advanced art study. Noah D. Thompson, industri- al secretary of the league, and a member of the Los Angeles housing committee, accompanied Mrs. Barr. , "The Pasadena girl has designed nine prize winning covers for the Junior Times and has won a dozen or more special awards. She has done many illustrations for the
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1 'Aunt Dolly' column and for some time contributed a weekly comic strip. At the sevententh national orange show at San Bernardino last 5 year, she was awarded third prize e over a large field of competing artists.
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"The Urban league has as its pur- pose the creation of openings in industry, business and professional life for Negroes of marked ability and talents, besides doing a great amount of welfare work among members of the colored Thompson said yesterday Brock is the most promising find ever discovered by the league. An attempt will be made to raise funds to enable her to pursue her educa- tion, and develop her talent in some recognized art school.'"
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Continuing, the article said: "Noah D. Thompson was formerly a daily newspaper man, having been employed for a number of years on a Los Angeles paper, and the object of this visit was to meet this girl and bring her prominently before the reading public through an article which he will write and publish in 'Opportunity,' a maga- zine published in New York city on the study of Negro life. It is the official organ of the National Urban League, of which the Los Angeles league is but a branch."
EMANCIPATION DAY ADDRESS. George M. Johnson, of San Ber- nardina, delivered the the principal address on New Year's day at the Emancipation Day celebration ex- ercises held in the Third Baptist church of San Francisco, under the auspices of the junior branch N. A. A. C. P. of that city. He spoke on the "Emancipation, its history and significance." His address was well received by a large audience. John- son is a University of California graduate with the class of 1923, with the degree of A. B., majoring in anthropology with a minor in bacteriology and philosophy. He is t at present enrolled in the U. of C. S as a graduate student, candidate for the degree of J. D. He is one of the C founders of and an active member a of Epsilon chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity of the Univer- sity of California.
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He is also one of the founders S and an active member of the Young People's Lyceum of Oakland, and i was instrumental in getting the or- r ganization to establish a scholar-s ship fund to be given to the mem- ber of the lyceum who, upon enter- ing college, has maintained the a highest scholastic average for his or her entire high school career. The high schools of the bay district b have cooperated in this movement t by furnishing scholastic records up- on request. The lyceum has but very C recently awarded. its first annual scholarship of $75 to Regnald Jones I of San Francisco. William A. Johnson, mentioned s through this column last summer o as graduating from the college of medicine of Howard university in Washington, D. C., is a brother of George M. Johnson. He is now serv- ing as an interne in the old city hos- pital in Kansas City, Kansas. These young men are descendants of an old and highly respected California t family whose activities are en- twined into the history of the t
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state. CHORAL CLUB GIVES CONCERT S The Pacific Union college, locat-p ed at St. Helena, California at in-r tervals during the year presents the student body and the commun- h ity a series of lectures and concerts b in which the participants are dis-r tinguished persons in their particu- iz lar line. In accordance with this policy they invited the Golden Gate Choral club of Oakland to render a
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concert this evening in the college t auditorium. The club has been in- vited to also render a short pro- n gram in the afternoon in Saint A Helena sanitarium, which is about n eight miles from the college. The Golden Gate Choral club is a product of Oakland, consisting of thirty selected Negro singers whose t voices have been trained by Rev. Owen A. Troy, pastor of Market ra
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ostreet Seventh Day Adventist -church. He was trained in the Col- d lege of Music at San Fernando and -is considered especially fine as a -violinist.
d The program this club will ren- sder this evening will be educational, -1 tending to show the development of . Negro spirituals music by modern 1 Negro musicians. Such noted men e in the music world as Clarence -Cameron White, who is recognized tas one of America's great violinists, n and Nathaniel Dett, the president of the American Negro Musicians' y association, at one time connected with Hampton Institute of Virginia. The program will conclude with a group of songs arranged by Rev. Troy. Miss Margaret. Johnson, mes- so-soprano, of Oakland, will be e guest soloist, while Mesdames Chas.
Berry and Owen Troy will serve as -accompanists. Rev. Troy will ren- sder a group of songs arranged for
the violin, one of which, while Ne- tgroid in type, is not considered a
spiritual but a very fine composi- ation. It is "From the Canebrake," 5 by Gardner. Other singers render- ing solo parts will be, sopranos, Mesdames B. Greenly and Fisher; e tenors, Messrs. Wm. Johnson and J. Dent; baritone soloist, H. Scott, Sand H. Mitchell, base; soloist, F. eW. Gatliff. Rev. Reed will give an illustrated lecture on the Life of Christ tonight in Market Street Day Adventist church of Oakland.
ART AND INDUSTRIAL CLUB · SPONSORS CONCERT.
The Art and Industrial club, while anxious to begin building its club house, also believes in prac- ticing its motto, "Lifting as
climb." The club members pur- chased $10 worth of tickets to the Charity Ball given during the holl- days, the proceeds of which were equally divided between the Home for Aged and Infirm Colored Peo- ple, and the Fanny Wall Home and Day Nursery. The club next de- cided to assist Eugene Anderson of Oakland in his efforts to raise funds to go east and complete his musical education. This club presented him in song recital Thursday eve- ning at First A. M. E. church to a crowded house. He has a fine ten- or voice, and rendered an entire program of classical music in seve- ral languages, covering a wide range of composers, He closed with a group of Negro spirituals which had been arranged by Jas. Weldon Johnson and Harry Burleigh. He was most fortunate in having as his accompanist Mrs. Lillian Jetter Davis, a well trained and exper- ienced musician, who is a product of a Philadelphia school of music, and the Neff School of Elocution and Oratory.
The following committee was re- sponsible for the success of the af- fair: Mrs. Lawrence Sledge, presi- dent; Mrs. M. W. Saddler, chair- man; Mrs. P. A. de Bigney, and Mrs. J. R. Hoskins, members of the Art and Industrial club.
NEGRO SPIRITUALS. The reader will notice that Ne- gro spirituals were included in the program of both these Negro con- certs. Not until the Colored Amer- ican clubwomen began to glorify these songs would any Negro singer include them on a program. Following their activities on behalf of preserving them, Percy Gran- ager, the great musician, in a lengthy article in the daily press, spoke of their beauty and classed them as "the only American folk songs.",
The tremendous hold Negro spir- ituals have taken on the public mind can be perhaps better under- stood when it is recalled that the Harmon Awards judges did not think the Negro race had created anything new in music during the year; nevertheless they did award a prize to James Weldon Johnson's book on Negro Spirituals and its fine historical introduction.
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The American Review," under date of August, 1926, p. 465, con- tained a review written by Read Bain of the University of Wash- ington of Johnson's book of Negro spirituals, The review, among other things, said: "The "The Negro artists who are justifying and glorifying their race are doing a work of the utmost sociological interest and social value. They are creating and stimulating the self- respect and pride the Negroes have so long lacked and without which they cannot achieve their real a emancipation. At the same time they are doing yeoman service in breaking down the traditions of superiority which prevents white people from treating Negroes as real human beings. "When one hears Roland Hayes holding white audiences spell- bound, compelling their highest respect and admiration, one real- izes that he is in the presence of a most significant sociological phe- nmenon. The same may be said of the lecturing of Kelly-Miller, and the writings of Dr. DuBois."
The above quotation recalls to mind a statement made by Dr. Alexander Stewart, a a California musician of note, who said, after listening to a high-class Negro concert during the P. P. I. E., "I believe that music will be one of the greatest means of creating a better understanding between the races."
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