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4. 

(Please bear with me/ if I seem to be advertising/ the good things that have happened to me, but I thought it would explain simply/ what I want to say.) In this year of years, I received the first prize/ at the Carnegie Institute/ for one of my paintings. To say that it was [underlined]unexpected[underlined]/ is putting it mildly. It is one of the most [underlined]coveted prizes[underlined] in America, [underlined] sought [underlined] after by all/ who put paint to canvas. All artists look forward to it, not only for the [underlined] money awarded[underlined], but for the [underlined] honor[underlined] / and[underlined]  regard[underlined]/ that the prize conveys. The exhibition/ is on a national scale, representing the outstanding work/ by the most prominent artists in the contemporary field. To have [underlined]received [underlined]the prize/ at this crucial stage of the war/ seemed almost [underlined]beyond belief [underlined]. It was also [underlined] heartening [underlined]/ to have a fellow [underlined] Negro artist[underlined] / [underlined] singled out [underlined] for a prize in the same exhibition. I could not have[underlined]  wished[underlined]  for this honor/ in any other year but this one, for it not only made me proud, but it [underlined] renewed my faith[underlined]/ as well as that of all [underlined] progressive[underlined]people/ to see democracy in action.

In connection with this, I must tell you of an interesting comparison. My American friends extended their [underlined]"congratulations"[underlined], while the Japanese-Americans/ [underlined]expressed [underlined]their pleasure/ by saying it was a "great honor". I believe there was an [underlined]intentional [underlined] difference in their meaning. The American attitude/ was a natural acknowledgment to a fellow artist; the other [underlined]phrase[underlined]/ had a particular flavor, for they felt that a [underlined] true liberal spirit [underlined] had [underlined] prevailed[underlined] / in the award of the first prize to me.