When I first came to Tuskegee, I determined that I would make it my home, that I would take as much pride in the right actions of the people of the town as any white man could do, and that I would, at the same time, deplore the wrong-doing of the people as much as any white man.
Upon arriving in Tuskegee, Washington outlines his personal commitment to the community, embracing both its successes and failures.
Share
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.
But taking place at the time it did, and for the reason that it did, no one could ever make me believe that my mother was guilty of thieving.
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.
As soon as it was learned that he was not an American Negro, all the signs of indignation disappeared.