Up from Slavery

Soon after the opening of our humble boarding department students began coming to us in still larger numbers. For weeks we not only had to contend…

I have heard it stated more than once, both in the North and in the South, that coloured people would not obey and respect each other when one member…

Not very long ago I was making a journey between Dallas (Texas) and Houston. In some way it became known in advance that I was on the train. At…

To add further to the embarrassment of the situation, soon after the supper was placed on the table one of the ladies remembered that she had in…

When we opened our boarding department, we provided rooms in the attic of Porter Hall, our first building, for a number of girls. But the number of…

After having had a preliminary sketch of the needed building made, we found that it would cost about ten thousand dollars. We had no money whatever…

When we seemed at the end of our resources, so far as securing money was concerned, something occurred which showed the greatness of General…

Although he never told me so in so many words, I found that General Armstrong took this method of introducing me to the people of the North, as…

Meetings were held in New York, Brooklyn, Boston, Philadelphia, and other large cities, and at all of these meetings General Armstrong pleaded,…

In order to be successful in any kind of undertaking, I think the main thing is for one to grow to the point where he completely forgets himself;…

Although it has been my privilege to be the medium through which a good many hundred thousand dollars have been received for the work at Tuskegee,…

While the work of going from door to door and from office to office is hard, disagreeable, and costly in bodily strength, yet it has some…

At one time, when I was in Boston, I called at the door of a rather wealthy lady, and was admitted to the vestibule and sent up my card. While I…

In the city of Boston I have rarely called upon an individual for funds that I have not been thanked for calling, usually before I could get an…

I can hardly imagine any occurrence which could have given me more genuine satisfaction than the receipt of this draft. It was by far the largest…

In our case I felt a double responsibility, and this made the anxiety all the more intense. If the institution had been officered by white persons,…

From the beginning of our work to the present I have always had the feeling, and lose no opportunity to impress our teachers with the same idea, that…

The first time I ever saw the late Collis P. Huntington, the great railroad man, he gave me two dollars for our school. The last time I saw him,…

Some people may say that it was Tuskegee’s good luck that brought to us this gift of fifty thousand dollars. No, it was not luck. It was hard work.…

More than once I have found myself in some pretty tight places while collecting money in the North. The following incident I have never related but…

At one of our Commencements I was bold enough to invite the Rev. E. Winchester Donald, D.D., rector of Trinity Church, Boston, to preach the…

It was not very long before the rain ceased and Dr. Donald finished his sermon; and an excellent sermon it was, too, in spite of the weather. After…

Our graduates go to work in every section of the South, and whatever knowledge might be obtained in the library would serve to assist in the…

Such a building as we need could be erected for about $20,000. All of the work for the building, such as brickmaking, brick-masonry, carpentry,…

I have found that strict business methods go a long way in securing the interest of rich people. It has been my constant aim at Tuskegee to carry out…

I have spoken of several large gifts to the school; but by far the greater proportion of the money that has built up the institution has come in…

Soon after beginning our third year’s work we were surprised to receive money from three special sources, and up to the present time we have…

The effort to secure help from the Slater and Peabody Funds brought me into contact with two rare men—men who have had much to do in shaping the…

Mr. Morris K. Jessup, the treasurer of the Slater Fund, I refer to because I know of no man of wealth and large and complicated business…

Soon after the opening of our boarding department, quite a number of students who evidently were worthy, but who were so poor that they did not…

The night-school was organized on a plan similar to the one which I had helped to establish at Hampton. At first it was composed of about a dozen…

There could hardly be a more severe test of a student’s worth than this branch of the Institute’s work. It is largely because it furnishes such a…

After the student has left the night-school he enters the day-school, where he takes academic branches four days in a week, and works at his trade…

While a great deal of stress is laid upon the industrial side of the work at Tuskegee, we do not neglect or overlook in any degree the religious…

In 1885, Miss Olivia Davidson, to whom I have already referred as being largely responsible for the success of the school during its early history,…

On the evening that I spoke before the Association there must have been not far from four thousand persons present. Without my knowing it, there were…

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…

While pursuing this policy I have not failed, at the proper time and in the proper manner, to call attention, in no uncertain terms, to the wrongs…

In this address I said that the whole future of the Negro rested largely upon the question as to whether or not he should make himself, through his…

I spoke of an instance where one of our graduates had produced two hundred and sixty-six bushels of sweet potatoes from an acre of ground, in a…

In my early life I used to cherish a feeling of ill will toward any one who spoke in bitter terms against the Negro, or who advocated measures that…

I was anxious, however, that the way might also be opened for me to speak directly to a representative Southern white audience. A partial opportunity…

I knew that the audience would be largely composed of the most influential class of white men and women, and that it would be a rare opportunity…

The demands made upon me for public addresses continued to increase, coming in about equal numbers from my own people and from Northern whites. I…

I tried to emphasize the fact that while the Negro should not be deprived by unfair means of the franchise, political agitation alone would not…

I spoke for fifteen or twenty minutes, and was surprised at the close of my address to receive the hearty congratulations of the Georgia committee…

After it was decided to have a separate Negro exhibit, the question arose as to who should take care of it. The officials of the Exposition were…

As the day for the opening of the Exposition drew near, the Board of Directors began preparing the programme for the opening exercises. In the…

The receiving of this invitation brought to me a sense of responsibility that it would be hard for any one not placed in my position to appreciate.…

I knew, too, that this was the first time in the entire history of the Negro that a member of my race had been asked to speak from the same…

I was determined to say nothing that I did not feel from the bottom of my heart to be true and right. When the invitation came to me, there was not…

The papers, North and South, had taken up the discussion of my coming speech, and as the time for it drew near this discussion became more and more…

The invitation had come at a time when I was very busy with my school work, as it was the beginning of our school year. After preparing my address, I…

Atlanta was literally packed, at the time, with people from all parts of the country, and with representatives of foreign governments, as well as…

Early in the morning a committee called to escort me to my place in the procession which was to march to the Exposition grounds. In this procession…

One-third of the population of the South is of the Negro race. No enterprise seeking the material, civil, or moral welfare of this section can…

Not only this, but the opportunity here afforded will awaken among us a new era of industrial progress. Ignorant and inexperienced, it is not strange…

Cast it down in agriculture, mechanics, in commerce, in domestic service, and in the professions. And in this connection it is well to bear in mind…

Nearly sixteen millions of hands will aid you in pulling the load upward, or they will pull against you the load downward. We shall constitute…

Gentlemen of the Exposition, as we present to you our humble effort at an exhibition of our progress, you must not expect overmuch. Starting thirty…