Without
regard to pay and with little thought of it, I taught any one who
wanted to learn, anything that I could teach him. I was supremely
happy in the opportunity of being able to assist somebody else. I did
receive, however, a small salary from the public fund for my work as a
public school teacher. . . .
In May, 1881, near the close of my first year in teaching the night
school at Hampton Institute, in a way that I had not dared expect, the
opportunity opened for me to begin my life-work. One night in the
chapel, after the usual chapel exercises were over, General Armstrong
referred to the fact that he had received a letter from some gentlemen
in Alabama asking him to recommend some one to take charge of what was
to be a normal school for the coloured people in the little town of
Tuskegee in that State. These gentlemen seemed to take it for granted
that no coloured man suitable for the position could be secured, and
they were expecting the General to recommend a white man for the place.
The next day General Armstrong sent for me to come to his office, and,
much to my surprise, asked me if I thought I could fill the position in
Alabama.
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