The False and the True
The progress along material lines is marked,
yet the greatest lesson that we have learned
during the last two decades is that the race
must begin at the bottom, not at the top, that
its foundation must be in truth and not in pretence.
We have learned that our salvation
does not lie in the direction of mere political
agitation or in hating the Southern white man,
but that we are to find a safe and permanent
place in American life by first emphasizing the
cardinal virtues of home, industry, education,
and peace with our next-door neighbor, whether
he is white or black.
Hampton Institute Anniversary, '98.
