Emmanuel M. Brown, Mr. Wm. D. Brigham, Mr. Walter Powers, Mr. Edwin W.
Lambert, Mr. W. J. Edwards, Mrs. Francis Carr and Mr. Henry A. Barnes.

"This school is training some three hundred Negro children between the
ages of six and eighteen years in the practical arts necessary to enable
them to make an earnest, comfortable living. There is no attempt made to
teach them foreign languages, either dead or living; but they are well
grounded in the English language. They do not study higher mathematics,
but they learn simple arithmetic. They spend no time on psychology,
economics, sociology, or logic; their time is taken up trying to raise
crops, to manage a small farm, to cook and to sew."

SKETCH OF MY LIFE.

"I was born in Snow Hill, Wilcox County, Alabama, December 24th, 1883.
My parents were Emanuel and Emma McDuffie. I was brought up under the
most adverse conditions. My father died about six months before my
birth, thus leaving my mother with the care of seven children. As I had
never seen my father, I was often referred to by the other children of
the community, as the son of "none." In July, 1893, my mother died and
the burden of caring for the children then fell upon my old grandmother,
who was known throughout the community as "Aunt" Polly. In order to help
secure food and clothing for myself and the rest of the family, I was
compelled to plow an ox on a farm and as we usually made from four to
five bales of cotton and 40 and 50 bushels of corn each year, she was
looked upon as a great farmer. When I was fifteen years of age, my
grandmother was called to her heavenly rest, thus leaving a house full
of children to shift for themselves. After her death I became interested
in education and immediately applied for admittance to Snow Hill Normal
and Industrial Institute, which had recently been established. I was
admitted as a work student, working all day and attending school about
two hours and a half at night. Until I entered Snow Hill Institute, I
had a very vague idea about life as it pertained to the Negro. In fact,
up until that time, I was of the opinion that the Negro had no business
being anything; but after entering the school and being surrounded by a
different atmosphere and seeing what had already been accomplished by
Mr. Edwards, I soon realized that the Negro had as much right to life
and liberty as any other man.

"While it was great joy for me to be in school, I was woefully
unprepared to remain t