I had
learned from somebody that the way to begin to read was to learn
the alphabet, so I tried in all the ways I could think of to
learn it,--all of course without a teacher, for I could find no
one to teach me. At that time there was not a single member of my
race anywhere near us who could read, and I was too timid to
approach any of the white people. In some way, within a few
weeks, I mastered the greater portion of the alphabet. In all my
efforts to learn to read my mother shared fully my ambition, and
sympathized with me and aided me in every way that she could.
Though she was totally ignorant, she had high ambitions for her
children, and a large fund of good, hard, common sense, which
seemed to enable her to meet and master every situation. If I
have done anything in life worth attention, I feel sure that I
inherited the disposition from my mother.
In the midst of my struggles and longing for an education, a
young coloured boy who had learned to read in the state of Ohio
came to Malden. As soon as the coloured people found out that he
could read, a newspaper was secured, and at the close of nearly
every day's work this young man would be surrounded by a group of
men and women who were anxious to hear him read the news
contained in the papers.
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