At Hampton I not only learned that it was not a disgrace to labour, but learned to love labour, not alone for its financial value, but for labour’s own sake and for the independence and self-reliance which the ability to do something which the world wants done brings.
Washington explains how his education at Hampton Institute transformed his understanding of labor, embracing its inherent value and the self-reliance it fosters.
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I have long since ceased to cherish any spirit of bitterness against the Southern white people on account of the enslavement of my race.
I have always looked upon fame as something to be used in accomplishing good.
The Negro boy has obstacles, discouragements, and temptations to battle with that are little known to those not situated as he is.
In this connection I have never been able to understand how the slaves throughout the South, completely ignorant as were the masses so far as books or newspapers were concerned, were able to keep themselves so accurately and completely…