Tuskegee & Its People: Their Ideals and Achievements

rge W.

d thus it was not recorded, but I think I was born in the month of Febr

econd son of eleven children,

I was very young, but I most vividly rememb

feet must have been made for the express purpose of treading "the mills of toil." When seven years of age my stepfather put a hoe in my little hands an

et various pictures of myself, either as picking, hoeing, or planting cotton, of pullin

to believe that he must have been an excellent one, for I can not remember in all my life when a day's w

f how my young life and the lives of my mother, sisters, and brothers were burdened with t

forlorn and as wretchedly poor as we were before. This failure of the crops because of drouths unduly long, wet seasons, the ravages of worms, caterpillars, and other uncontrollable circumstances, not only meant that the whole of that year's labor was to bring no tangible rewards, but that much p

en. Even after the privilege of attending school two months of the year-July and August-had been accorded me, I am certain that the instruction received was of

t tend to firmly impress upon one's

re ample time in which to exhaust their store of knowledge, and, as examinati

majority of the pupils began with the "A, B, C," the alphabet, and went as far as "horseback," while apt pupils

s given to us, and that in broken doses, for I reached manhood without

ook, newspaper, or magazine was ever seen in our home. It was most u

make my life more useful, to make it better than it was. But how long these years were!

rty dollars ahead. I then decided to go to school somewhere and to learn something. I found my fi

great, grown man, in the class with little children, who looked upon me as a curiosity, something to be wondered at. I, too, l

upils. I was awkward, and I discovered that the cit

y of the board of trustees of the Tuskegee Institute, and who travels among and reports upon the work of Tuskegee graduates and former students, but who was at that time pastor of the First Con

this advice, if heeded, would work for my good. I was admitted to Tuskegee for th

ossible for a colored man to make a living by doing something besides farming, splitting rails, or picking and hoeing cotton, I would be one of that number.

PRUNING P

seful, and throughout my whole school life at Tuskegee I had visions of myself seated in an office pondering

was able to pass the State examination for a second-grade certificate, and to teach, during the vacation

Tuskegee Institute, gradua

thized with this larger vision, but seemed to think I ought to have more education. I suspect he was right. However, I was determined to make an effort to realize my ambit

State of Alabama from May, 1888, until

th. My salary had been meager, I had paid every cent I owed the school, and ha

t hour of uncertainty and embarrassment he proved himself to be "the friend in need." With his aid I was not lon

y to meet my regular bills but to save something, and soon began to collect a law library. I worked at the Navy-Yard for three years. It was my privilege to w

eedingly difficult to get examined. After trying for five months, I succeeded in getting a lawyer, a Mr. Thompson, of Macon County, Ala., to recommend me to the chancery cour

yed-my dream was nea

8, 1892, and have practised law there from that time to the present date. Though I have met many obstacles and have had man

d juries have discussed cases with me in the same manner that they woul

t problem I have had to solve, for I find that men a

think I should be a Baptist, others would have me a Methodist, and others still suggest that I should embrace the Catholic faith. I should also belon

juries, and lawyers, and unused to dealing with one of their own, I feel that I am still winning my

was at that time a student at the Tuskegee Institute. We have been happily married for ten year

rift, industry, and integrity dwelt upon by Principal Washington and his coworkers, I shall never forget. My heart thrills an

e and call her bl