University of Virginia Library

Bootblacking as an Art

Still another opportunity is going, and we
laugh when we mention it. When we think

of what we could have done to elevate it in
the same way that white persons have elevated
it, we realize that after all it was an opportunity;
and that was boot-blacking. Of course,
here in the South we have that to a large extent,
because the competition is not quite so sharp
as in the North. You go into Montgomery,
and want to get your shoes blacked. Very
soon you will meet a boy with a box thrown
over his shoulders. When he begins to polish
your shoes, you will very likely see that he
uses a very worn shoe-brush, and unless you
watch him very closely, the chances are
he will polish your shoes with stove-polish.
But you go into any Northern city, and you will
find that such a boot-black as you meet in
Montgomery does not stand any chance of
making a living.

Sunday Evening Tuskegee Talks.