At that institution I got my first taste of what it meant to live a life of unselfishness, my first knowledge of the fact that the happiest individuals are those who do the most to make others useful and happy.
Washington recounts a profound moral lesson learned at Hampton Institute about the intrinsic link between unselfishness and true happiness.
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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.
From any point of view, I had rather be what I am, a member of the Negro race, than be able to claim membership with the most favoured of any other race.
When they saw that I was not afraid or ashamed to work, they began to assist with more enthusiasm.
I pity from the bottom of my heart any nation or body of people that is so unfortunate as to get entangled in the net of slavery.