Booker T. Washington: “I want you to put that question to yourselves to-night: ask yourselves what course of action will pay.”

When they saw that I was not afraid or ashamed to work, they began to assist with more enthusiasm.

I have never seen one who did not want to be free, or one who would return to slavery.

Even the most ignorant members of my race on the remote plantations felt in their hearts, with a certainty that admitted of no doubt, that the freedom of the slaves would be the one great result of the war, if the Northern armies conquered.

This tenderness and sympathy on the part of those held in bondage was a result of their kindly and generous nature.