When the difficulty of learning the English language was subtracted, I found that in the matter of learning trades and in mastering academic studies there was little difference between the coloured and Indian students.
Observing students at Hampton Institute, Washington notes the comparable academic and vocational aptitudes of Black and Native American students, aside from language barriers.
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More from Booker T. Washington
The picture of several dozen boys and girls in a schoolroom engaged in study made a deep impression upon me, and I had the feeling that to get into a schoolhouse and study in this way would be about the same as getting into paradise.
This tenderness and sympathy on the part of those held in bondage was a result of their kindly and generous nature.
When freedom came, the slaves were almost as well fitted to begin life anew as the master, except in the matter of book-learning and ownership of property.