I spoke for five minutes to an audience of two thousand people, composed mostly of Southern and Northern whites.
What I said seemed to be received with favour and enthusiasm.

The Atlanta papers of the next day commented in friendly terms on my address, and a good deal was said about it in different parts of the country.

I felt that I had in some degree accomplished my object--that of getting a hearing from the dominant class of the South.
The demands made upon me for public addresses continued to increase, coming in about equal numbers from my own people and from Northern whites.

I gave as much time to these addresses as I could spare from the immediate work at Tuskegee.

Most of the addresses in the North were made for the direct purpose of getting funds with which to support the school.