e most of them are. My case will
illustrate that of hundreds of thousands of black people in every part
of our country. The very fact that the white boy is conscious that, if
he fails in life, he will disgrace the whole family record, extending
back through many generations, is of tremendous value in helping him
to resist temptations. The fact that the individual has behind and
surrounding him proud family history and connection serves as a stimulus
to help him to overcome obstacles when striving for success.

The time that I was permitted to attend school during the day was short,
and my attendance was irregular. It was not long before I had to stop
attending day-school altogether, and devote all of my time again to
work. I resorted to the night-school again. In fact, the greater part
of the education I secured in my boyhood was gathered through the
night-school after my day's work was done. I had difficulty often in
securing a satisfactory teacher. Sometimes, after I had secured some one
to teach me at night, I would find, much to my disappointment, that
the teacher knew but little more than I did. Often I would have to walk
several miles at night in order to recite my night-school lessons. There
was never a time in my youth, no matter how dark and discouraging the
days might be, when one resolve did not continually remain with me, and
that was a determination to secure an education at any cost.

Soon after we moved to West Virginia, my mother adopted into our family,
notwithstanding our poverty, an orphan boy, to whom afterward we gave
the name of James B. Washington. He has ever since remained a member of
the family.

After I had worked in the salt-furnace for some time, work was secured
for me in a coal-mine which was operated mainly for the purpose of
securing fuel for the salt-furnace. Work in the coal-mine I always
dreaded. One reason for this was that any one who worked in a coal-mine
was always unclean, at least while at work, and it was a very hard job
to get one's skin clean after the day's work was over. Then it was fully
a mile from the opening of the coal-mine to the face of the coal, and
all, of course, was in the blackest darkness. I do not believe that one
ever experiences anywhere else such darkness as he does in a coal-mine.
The mine was divided into a large number of different "rooms" or
departments, and, as I never was able to learn the location of all
these "rooms," I many times found myself los