ry, so far as regards
myself, is so complete that at the present time I have no warmer friends
among any class than I have among the clergymen. The improvement in the
character and life of the Negro ministers is one of the most gratifying
evidences of the progress of the race. My experience with them, as well
as other events in my life, convince me that the thing to do, when one
feels sure that he has said or done the right thing, and is condemned,
is to stand still and keep quiet. If he is right, time will show it.

In the midst of the discussion which was going on concerning my Atlanta
speech, I received the letter which I give below, from Dr. Gilman, the
President of Johns Hopkins University, who had been made chairman of the
judges of award in connection with the Atlanta Exposition:--

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore,

President's Office, September 30, 1895.

Dear Mr. Washington: Would it be agreeable to you to be one of the
Judges of Award in the Department of Education at Atlanta? If so, I
shall be glad to place your name upon the list. A line by telegraph will
be welcomed.

Yours very truly,

D.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