Why Colored People in Philadelphia Are Excluded From Street Cars

Pamphlet 8vo, original wrappers, 27 pp. Backstrip partially lacking, and three small holes along left margin, not affecting text, chip on top margin, holes appear to be for loose-leaf storage, Moderate aging & toning, a few chips on top and corners of wrappers, small piece missing on top, crease in middle of pamphlet but not too obtrusive. Very good overall. This is a first edition of a rare and important work on Civil Rights, which is printed by Benjamin Bacon, one of the compilers of the first statistical study on African Americans in Philadelphia. The pamphlet actually contains some statistics on the numbers of African Americans in various cities in America at that time. While the main thrust of this work is on the refusal of the street car companies to allow African Americans to ride them, it also addresses some broader issues with respect to Civil Rights. He talks about equal rights in education and treatment of black Civil War veterans too. Interestingly, the author sometimes attributes the overt racism of some important people as more of a state of unconsciousness as opposed to being evil. Thus, when the Mayor of Philadelphia at that time said that he didn't want "the ladies of my family riding in street cars with colored people", it was more a fact that he didn't know any better than being a bad person. However, he does lament the fact that, politicians, newspapers, and clergyman have been conspicuously silent on the subject of allowing black people to ride the street cars. This is all the more surprising when you consider that quite a stir was created a year earlier, when Robert Smalls, a black Civil War hero, was ejected from a street car and forced to walk several miles to the navy yard. Hunt didn't seem to be all that impressed with the progress of a high ranking commission that was set up to look at this problem. Especially when the only concession the street car companies made was to allow for a 'car vote' on whether or not black people could ride the street cars. Not surprisingly, whenever this happened, black people were ejected from the cars. The author makes the point that black people are here to stay, and will play an important role in our nation's development, so we might as well get used to the idea, and suggests we extend to them the same rights and privileges we have.