C. Gilman
I think I was even more surprised to receive this invitation than
I had been to receive the invitation to speak at the opening of
the Exposition. It was to be a part of my duty, as one of the
jurors, to pass not only upon the exhibits of the coloured
schools, but also upon those of the white schools. I accepted the
position, and spent a month in Atlanta in performance of the
duties which it entailed. The board of jurors was a large one,
containing in all of sixty members. It was about equally divided
between Southern white people and Northern white people. Among
them were college presidents, leading scientists and men of
letters, and specialists in many subjects. When the group of
jurors to which I was assigned met for organization, Mr. Thomas
Nelson Page, who was one of the number, moved that I be made
secretary of that division, and the motion was unanimously
adopted. Nearly half of our division were Southern people. In
performing my duties in the inspection of the exhibits of white
schools I was in every case treated with respect, and at the
close of our labours I parted from my associates with regret.
I am often asked to express myself more freely than I do upon the
political condition and the political future of my race. These
recollections of my experience in Atlanta give me the opportunity
to do so briefly.
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