KinSource - Tale of the Week - A Civil Rights Question

KinSource

Minnesota Tales

The St. Paul Daily Globe, August 6, 1890, p. 2

A CIVIL RIGHTS QUESTION.

Colored People Will Test It in the Matter of Theater Seats.

There are plenty of lawsuits awaiting Litt's Grand opera house, providing the same policy is carried out here as characterized that gentleman's play house in Milwaukee - the exclusion of colored people. In anticipation of discriminations against the race, a member of the leading colored men of the city are quietly organizing with a view to meeting the move. It will be recollected that when the People's theater was taken by Pat Harris trouble arose over the effort to keep colored people from the parquette seats. The intelligent colored people secured diagrams of the theater, and through attorneys and others purchased seats in the parquette. They knew just where their seats were and were always in them early. Numerous artifices were resorted to, to get them out. The ushers would try to convince them they were in the wrong seats, or endeavor to get them out by saying the manager desired to see them in his office. Of course, once out of their seats, some person was ready to drop into and hold them. On one occasion a well known and very respectable colored man who occupied conspicuous seats was approached by an usher with the remark, "Manager _______ would like to speak to you at his office." Very politely the colored man remarked: "Here is my card. Tell him he can find me at my office after 9 o'clock in the morning. If I should not be in, he can state his business to my bookkeeper." This representative of the Afro-American race has done more to protect the rights of his people, without being obnoxious to the friends of the colored man, than any other of his race in the city, and he is credited with having quietly formed a secret society of the pick of the St. Paul colored people. The intention is to be on hand at the opening of the Litt opera house, and to be represented every night by some of the best colored people in St. Paul. The society holds frequent meetings and has a comfortable emergency fund. The general public will await developments with interest.