I had learned
from somebody that the way to begin to read was to learn the alphabet,
so I tried in all the ways I could think of to learn it, -- all of
course without a teacher, for I could find no one to teach me. At
that time there was not a single member of my race anywhere near us
who could read, and I was too timid to approach any of the white
people. In some way, within a few weeks, I mastered the greater
portion of the alphabet. In all my efforts to learn to read my mother
shared fully my ambition, and sympathized with me and aided me in
every way that she could. Though she was totally ignorant, she had
high ambitions for her children, and a large fund of good, hard,
common sense, which seemed to enable her to meet and master every
situation. If I have done anything in life worth attention, I feel
sure that I inherited the disposition from my mother.
In the midst of my struggles and longing for an education, a young
coloured boy who had learned to read in the state of Ohio came to
Malden. As soon as the coloured people found out that he could read,
a newspaper was secured, and at the close of nearly every day's work
this young man would be surrounded by a group of men and women who
were anxious to hear him read the news contained in the papers.
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