When Peter Lewis, an African American man and long-time resident of Lowell, was barred, along with his children, from entering an exhibit of chemical paintings, Lowell's largest newspaper reported the incident and offered its opinion on the state of race relations in the city.
Chemical Paintings: An early form of photography
Mechanics' Hall: Lowell's Mechanic’s Hall was built in 1835 by the Middlesex Mechanics Association as a meeting place and library for skilled craftsmen. In addition to hosting meetings, lectures, and fundraising efforts, a portion of the building was set aside for businesses.
Proprietor: A person who has the legal right or exclusive title to something: owner
OUR COLORED CITIZENS. We very much regret
to learn that the proprietor of the Chemical Paint-
ings now exhibiting at the Mechanics' Hall refu-
ses to permit our colored citizens to go in and wit-
ness the exhibition. Mr. Peter Lewis, a most
respectable and worthy colored citizen, took his
children up to go in with other school children; but
they were refused admission and were not permit-
ted to enter the Hall. We deem it the duty of the
press to protest against this sort of exclusiveness --
having its origin in a narrow-minded prejudice -- and
to stand up manfully for the rights of the colored
citizens when trampled upon in any way. The
children of Mr. Lewis have as much right to visit a
public exhibition as those of the richest and most
influential of our citizens, and his feelings as a pa-
rent are as much to be respected. The proprietor
has very much mistaken the public sentiment of
Lowell by adopting such a course; let him visit our
public schools, and he will see children of col-
ored parents sitting side by side with those of white
parents -- a living evidence of toleration and mutual
respect. … The prejudice against
colored citizens has but a faint existence here; by
their own good conduct they have lived it down,
this solitary instance. We sympathize with Mr.
Lewis in this marked disrespect shown to his chil-
dren, and we have felt it our duty thus publicly to
notice it, and we give warning, that if, in future, a
similar attempt of proscriptive intolerance be made,
we shall speak of it in much stronger terms than
we have now spoken of this.
What happened to Peter Lewis and his children?
What claims does the author make about the public sentiment of Lowell?
What claims does the author make about Lowell schools?
What does the author say he will do if there’s a similar incident of discrimination in the future?
Even though this incident took place 11 years before the report in Document 38, how do Documents 29 and 38 support each other?
This article publicly calls out an incident that the author deems socially unacceptable. Could this piece be described as public shaming? What do you think about public shaming as a means of modifying human behavior
What type of picture about racial harmony in Lowell does the article paint?