When one takes a broad survey of the country, he will find that the most useful and influential people in it are those who take the deepest interest in institutions that exist for the purpose of making the world better.
From his autobiography, observing the characteristics of truly useful and influential individuals in society.
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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.
The whole machinery of slavery was so constructed as to cause labour, as a rule, to be looked upon as a badge of degradation, of inferiority.
The hurtful influences of the institution were not by any means confined to the Negro.
Even to this day I can recall accurately the tortures that I underwent when putting on one of these garments.