'Twentieth Century Negro Literature or A Cyclopedia of Thought on the Vital Topics Relating to the American Negro' Summary

This is a profound exploration of the intellectual and societal issues surrounding African-American life in the United States. Structured as a series of essays, the book covers topics that range from the challenges of racial prejudice and civil rights to economic self-sufficiency, education, and the role of the church in African-American communities. Authors address questions about the American Negro’s achievements, social standing, and future prospects, examining pressing issues like voting rights, access to quality education, and economic independence. Contributors include prominent thinkers who provide varied perspectives on how to improve the standing and rights of African-Americans through both self-help and broader social reform. Culp’s anthology is not only an insight into the attitudes and debates of its time but also a hopeful testament to the resilience, intellectual rigor, and ambitions of African-American leaders dedicated to shaping a more equitable future.

This book examines the following topics:

1. Did the American Negro make, in the nineteenth century, achievements along the lines of wealth, morality, education, etc., commensurate with his opportunities? If so, what achievements did he make?

2. Will it be possible for the Negro to attain, in this country, unto the American type of civilization? 

3. How can the friendly relations now existing between the two races in the South be strengthened and maintained?

4. Should the Negro be given an education different from that given to the white?

5. Should the ignorant and non-property holding Negro be allowed to vote?

6. Is the criminal Negro justly dealt with in the courts of the South?

7. To what extent is the Negro pulpit uplifting the race?

8. Is it time for the Negro colleges in the South to be put into the hands of Negro teachers?

9. Will the education of the Negro solve the race problem?

10. What role is the educated Negro woman to play in the uplifting of her race?

11. How can the Negroes be induced to rally more to Negro business enterprises and to their professional men?

12. What are the causes of the great mortality among the Negroes in the cities of the South and how is that mortality to be lessened?

13. What should be the Negro's attitude in politics?

14. Is the Negro as morally depraved as he is reputed to be?

15. Is the young Negro an improvement morally on his father?

16. The Negro as a writer

17. Did the American Negro prove, in the nineteenth century, that he is intellectually equal to the white man?

18. What progress did the American white man make in the nineteenth century along the line of conceding to the Negro his religious, political and civil rights?

19. The Negro as a laborer

20. The Negro as a Christian

21. Does the North afford to the Negro better opportunities of making a living than the South?

22. What is the Negro teacher doing in the matter of uplifting his race?

23. Is the Negro newspaper an important factor in the elevation of the Negro?

24. Are other than Baptist and Methodist Churches adapted to the present Negro?

25. The Negro as a business man

26. The Negro as a farmer

27. The Negro as an inventor

28. What the omen?

29. Why the Negro race survives

30. The signs of a brighter future for the American Negro

31. Negro criminality

32. The American Negro's opportunities in Africa

33. The Negro and education

34. A Negro in it

35. The Negro's adversities help him

36. The American Negro and his possibilities

37. Important lessons from the awful tragedy

38. How to help the Negro to help himself