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Progress and Achievements of the Colored People / Containing the Story of the Wonderful Advancement of the Colored Americans—the Most Marvelous in the History of Nations—Their Past Accomplishments, Together With Their Present-day Opportunities and a Glimpse Into the Future for Further Developments—the Dawn of a Triumphant Era. A Handbook for Self-improvement Which Leads to Greater Success cover

Progress and Achievements of the Colored People / Containing the Story of the Wonderful Advancement of the Colored Americans—the Most Marvelous in the History of Nations—Their Past Accomplishments, Together With Their Present-day Opportunities and a Glimpse Into the Future for Further Developments—the Dawn of a Triumphant Era. A Handbook for Self-improvement Which Leads to Greater Success

Chapter 143: DON’T BE A PESSIMIST, BE AN OPTIMIST
By Kelly Miller
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History - AmericanHistory - Modern (1750+)

About This Book

The text surveys the social, educational, economic, and moral advancement of Colored Americans since emancipation, combining narrative chapters on leadership, labor, business, religion, health, and physical training with a detailed compendium of institutions. It presents statistics and government-sourced reports, profiles of schools and agencies (more than three hundred institutions described) and numerous photographs and portraits (over sixty illustrations), and offers practical advice on self-improvement, professional development, and community organization. Chapters address education, vocational and professional training, entrepreneurship, public employment, and civic life, aiming to document achievements and to guide further progress.

DON’T BE A PESSIMIST, BE AN OPTIMIST

A pessimist is a man who has a constant grievance against somebody or something.

He is forever standing in his own light, and thinks the whole world has picked him out to be the scapegoat for everything that is bad.

He says: “Everybody and everything is against me and I can not succeed. It’s no use trying.”

Before you give up to despair, friend, bear this in mind:

You say you have not the same opportunities every other man has.

You will not believe that if you stop to think a moment.

The average Colored American has ten times the opportunities his father had, and a hundred times the opportunities his grandfather possessed.

You are one of the average Colored Americans, perhaps. Well then, your grandfather had no opportunities at all. If he had one, he was not permitted to grasp it. Your father had more opportunities than his father, but opportunities were just beginning to show themselves.

You live in a far advanced age when the very air is full of opportunities, and yet you think you have none.

The reason why you are a pessimist is because you want to be. You think it is too much trouble to reach out and take the opportunities offered you, sometimes even forced upon you.

Instead of being a pessimist you ought to laugh and thank God that the bright side of life is always turned toward you, and you can see it by merely turning your eyes in its direction.

Keep your eyes open; laugh and the world will laugh with you; weep, and you weep alone.