In 1884 I graduated from high school. There were seven of us boys and six girls, and I was the only Black who had ever graduated. Our ceremony was held at the town hall in June, and each of us was to deliver a speech.

Wendell Phillips, the great anti-slavery agitator, and the conscience of New England abolitionism, had died in February. And I chose to deliver my oration on him.

My classmate, Minnie Ford's speech on the pleasures of reading was warmly received. The class validictorian, Abbie Joyner spoke on "Knownothingism." But my oration on Wendell Phillips received several standing ovations.

The face of my dear mother, whose health had been constantly fading, beamed with pride.