Silas Xavier Floyd (1869 – September 19, 1923) was an African-American educator, preacher, and journalist. Active in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

, he was a writer and editor at the '' Augusta Sentinel'' and later wrote for the ''

Augusta Chronicle ''The Augusta Chronicle'' is the daily newspaper of Augusta, Georgia, and is one of the oldest newspapers in the United States still in publication. The paper is known for its coverage of the Masters Tournament, which is played in Augusta. Histo ...

''. In 1892 he co-founded the Negro Press Association of Georgia. He was pastor at Augusta's Tabernacle Baptist Church and was a prominent agent of the International Sunday School Convention. He was also a public school principal and an officer of the National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools.

Personal life

Floyd's father, David Floyd was born in 1829 in

Sandersville, Georgia The city of Sandersville is the county seat of Washington County, Georgia, United States. The population was 5,813 in 2020. It is also a part of the Central Savannah River Area. Sandersville is known as the "Kaolin Capital of the World" due to ...

. He was likely born a slave and married a woman named Sarah Jane and had seven children. Silas was born in Augusta on October 2, 1869,Caldwell, Arthur Bunyan, ed
History of the American Negro and His Institutions
Vol. 2. AB Caldwell Publishing Company, 1920, p131-133 four years after the end of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and six years after the

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation had the eff ...

. David Floyd was a preacher and a model for his son. Silas worked as a boy, delivering papers and shining shoes. One noted customer of Floyd's was merchant J. B. White, with whom Floyd would have a lifelong relationship. Floyd also began following a religious path early in his life, aiding in holding religious services at a jail with the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

in 1883. Floyd attended Ware High School where he was valedictorian and was an outstanding and honored student.Caldwell, Lee Ann, Pure in Heart, Brave in Spirit: The Life of Silas X. Floyd, accessed September 19, 2017 at http://www.augustamagazine.com/2015/02/01/pure-in-heart-brave-in-spirit-the-life-of-silas-x-floyd/ He graduated from

Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded on September19, 1865, as Atlanta University, it was the first HBCU in the Southe ...

in May 1891. Floyd gave an oration at the graduation and his class numbered five graduates of the college course including educator Julius Clifton Styles and physician Loring Brainard Palmer and nine graduates of the normal (teaching) course, including Helena Brown Cobb and Adrienne McNeil Herndon. In 1894 he received an A.M. from the school. On May 6, 1900, Silas married Ella Drayton James, who had one child, Marietta, with her former husband barber Owen C. James. Ella had three sisters, Katie, Henrietta and Mary. Mary married a sea captain and moved to Jacksonville, Florida. Their daughter, Ella's niece, Nora, married composer J. Rosamond Johnson. Ella was the daughter of Samuel and Nora Drayton. Silas X. Floyd died in Augusta on September 19, 1923.

Career

After graduation, Floyd continued to be associated with the ''Augusta Sentinel'', for which he was an editor by 1891. In 1892 he cofounded the Negro Press Association of Georgia and later served as the body's president.Historical Marker at 1025 12th St, Augusta, GA, erected by the Georgia Historical Society, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Alpha Chi Lambda Chapter, and Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History, text available at http://lat34north.com/HistoricMarkers/MarkerDetail.cfm?KeyID=121-HS18&MarkerTitle=Silas%20Xavier%20Floyd,%20D.D. Floyd was active in religious life, joining a Baptist church at the age of 12, being licensed to preach in 1896, and soon after being ordained. In 1899 he was pastor of Tabernacle Church. Floyd was also an agent of the International Sunday School Convention beginning at the Boston convention of the organization in 1896. In 1900, Charles T. Walker of Augusta's Tabernacle Baptist Church moved to lead a church in New York City, and Floyd, who had been his assistant, stepped in to lead the body. In 1901, Floyd became the representative of the American Baptist Publication in Alabama and Georgia. In 1903 he received a degree of Doctor of Divinity from

Morris Brown University Morris Brown College (MBC) is a Private university, private African Methodist Episcopal Church, Methodist Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlan ...

. While a college student, Floyd taught school in the region during the summers and spent one year working in Boston. He returned south and served as principal of a public school in Augusta from the early 1890s into the late 1910s. Starting in 1915, Floyd was the corresponding secretary and the chairman of the publicity committee of the National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools then led by John Manuel Gandy. In 1918, the association established the ''National Note-Book'' quarterly magazine with Floyd as its editor. Floyd was an outspoken proponent of religious education, industrial education, and labor rights. He also spoke in favor of limiting black involvement in politics, recommending focus on development and advancement of African Americans. This position was similar to that of

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite#United S ...

, who influenced Floyd. Floyd was appointed secretary of the Colored State Food Conservation Board of Georgia by Governor

Hugh Dorsey Hugh Manson Dorsey (July 10, 1871 – June 11, 1948) was an American lawyer from Georgia. He was the prosecuting attorney in the Leo Frank prosecution of 1913, that subsequently led to a lynching after Frank's death sentence was reduced to lif ...

in early 1918.Don't Desert the South, The Times (Shreveport, Louisiana) February 12, 1918, page 8, accessed September 9, 2017 at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13863228/dont_desert_the_south_the_times/ Floyd became an important civic leader. In 1916, Floyd chaired the Colored Charitable Relief Fund in the aftermath of the Great Augusta Fire.Historical Marker at 1025 12th St, Augusta, GA, erected by the Georgia Historical Society, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Alpha Chi Lambda Chapter, and Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History, text available at http://lat34north.com/HistoricMarkers/MarkerDetail.cfm?KeyID=121-HS18&MarkerTitle=Silas%20Xavier%20Floyd,%20D.D. Floyd and Walker were liaisons between the black and white communities in Augusta. After the death of his old friend and benefactor, J. B White, Floyd was appointed as a member of the committee to decide how his money would be spent, advocating for some of the money to be put towards the building of a new grammar school for black students. Politically, Floyd was a Republican and was a member of the Richmond County and State Executive Committees. Floyd’s published writings include a biography of Charles T. Walker, a children’s book titled ''Floyd’s Flowers'', a book of sermons titled ''The Gospel of Service and Other Sermons'', and numerous poems and articles in national publications including ''

Lippincott's Monthly Magazine ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine'' was a 19th-century literary magazine published in Philadelphia from 1868 to 1915, when it relocated to New York to become ''Robert M. McBride, McBride's Magazine''. It merged with ''Scribner's Magazine'' in 1916. ...

''. In 1902 he was elected a member of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, and the ''Augusta Chronicle'' called Floyd the "

Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 – February 9, 1906) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Dayton, Ohio, to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American C ...

of the South". ''Floyd's Flowers'' argued for optimism, hard work, and determination in the face of violence and racial lynching and is often paired with books by Edward A. Johnson in its literary reevaluation of slavery and

reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

by African American post-Reconstruction authors. After Floyd's death, his library was donated to Atlanta University.Race Leaders Make Gifts to Atlanta "U", The Pittsburgh Courier (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) October 15, 1927, page 3, accessed September 19, 2017 at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13863406/ Members of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the ...

fraternity purchased the house where he lived from 1906 to his death for their chapter house in 1953 and placed a historical marker about Floyd in the front of the building. Floyd was a member of the historic Bannaker Lodge #3 F & A.M. PHA, the third oldest Prince Hall-affiliated masonic lodge in the state of Georgia. The former Silas X. Floyd Elementary School was named for Floyd.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Floyd, Silas X. 19th-century African-American educators 19th-century American educators African-American journalists 1869 births 1923 deaths People from Augusta, Georgia Atlanta University alumni African-American religious leaders Morris Brown College alumni People from Sandersville, Georgia American Prince Hall Freemasons 20th-century African-American educators 20th-century American educators