This was the spirit
that inspired me in my first effort at Hampton, when I was given
the opportunity to sweep and dust that schoolroom. In a degree I
felt that my whole future life depended upon the thoroughness
with which I cleaned that room, and I was determined to do it so
well that no one could find any fault with the job. Few people
ever stopped, I found, when looking at his pictures, to inquire
whether Mr. Tanner was a Negro painter, a French painter, or a
German painter. They simply knew that he was able to produce
something which the world wanted--a great painting--and the
matter of his colour did not enter into their minds. When a Negro
girl learns to cook, to wash dishes, to sew, or write a book, or
a Negro boy learns to groom horses, or to grow sweet potatoes, or
to produce butter, or to build a house, or to be able to practise
medicine, as well or better than some one else, they will be
rewarded regardless of race or colour. In the long run, the world
is going to have the best, and any difference in race, religion,
or previous history will not long keep the world from what it
wants.
I think that the whole future of my race hinges on the question
as to whether or not it can make itself of such indispensible
value that the people in the town and the state where we reside
will feel that our presence is necessary to the happiness and
well-being of the community.
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