Booker T Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington was born
Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington was born a slave shortly before the Civil War (1856) and grew to be the most influential African American of the last half of the 19 th century. His autobiography, Up from Slavery (1901) was very popular and well-known, second only to Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography among Americans. Washington’s life story was inspirational: born a slave, he literally walked the 500 miles to get a college education at Hampton Institute, working his way through college to pay for his education. In 1881, Hampton Institute President Samuel Armstrong recommended that the Alabama legislature hire Washington for a new segregated college for African Americans: Tuskegee Institute.
Remembering Slavery and the Civil War When he was born in 1856 on the Burroughs plantation not too far from Roanoke, Virginia, Booker T. Washington was named “Booker Taliaferro” by his mother, Jane. ‘Taliaferro” was the name of a wealthy Virginia plantation family. Booker took the last name of “Washington” when he enrolled in school. As he records in Up from Slavery, Booker and other slaves were well aware of the Civil War. Living as they did in the Piedmont region of Virginia, they would have heard a lot about the movements of rebel troops under Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee, and the final push by U. S. Grant, that led to the surrender at Appomattox, not all that far from the Burroughs plantation. Cabin (rebuilt) in which Booker T. Washington was born, in Franklin County, VA; is part of the Booker T. Washington National Monument. (Source: http: //www. ohranger. com/booker-t-washington) Washington’s portrait of slavery is factual, but not as visceral as that of Frederick Douglass. Washington recounts his sufferings, but he also tells how slaves helped their masters during the Civil War. Fundamentally, he wants his white audience to see African. Americans as trustworthy.
Young Booker With the name of “Booker, ” it seems inevitable that Booker would be interested in education—and eventually became the premiere African-American educator of his time. When the Civil War ended, his mother moved to West Virginia, near Charleston. There, they joined Booker’s step-father, Washington Ferguson. Booker was hired as a houseboy for Viola Ruffner, wife of General Lewis Ruffner (West Virginia militia). She liked Booker’s diligence, both as houseboy and working in the salt and coal mines owned by her husband. She encouraged Booker to go to school, where he learned to read and write. At sixteen, Booker left West Virginia. Walking most of the 500 miles to the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (now Hampton University). A “Normal” school was a college founded to train teachers. Hampton’s funding came from the Federal government and Protestant churches. Booker was admitted only after he had cleaned a room to the satisfaction of one of the teachers. Early Portrait; illustration in Up from Slavery. Source: http: //docsouth. unc. edu/fpn/washington/illustr. html
Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute Tuskegee Institute began because of a white politician’s need for African. American votes. In the 1880 elections in Alabama, W. F. Foster was a candidate for the state senate; he met with Lewis Adams, an African. American tinsmith and community leader. Foster asked Adams what he wanted in exchange for influencing African-Americans into voting for Foster. Adams said he wanted a college. Foster was good on his promise. On July 4, 1881, the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute was founded, with Adams as one of the Board of Commissioners. (Note: In the 19 th century, a “Normal” school was a college that trained teachers. ) Source: http: //www. historycooperative. org/btw/gallery/v 2_13. html (Paraphrassed from the Tuskegee Institute website: http: //www. tuskegee. edu/Global/story. asp? S=1070392) There was no land, no buildings: just $2000 for teachers’ salaries. As the school was being created, Booker T. Washington was called to be its first president—a position he filled from July 4, 1881 until his death in 1915.
Working Students Booker T. Washington believed in hard work. He had worked as a child; he had worked his way through college. He believed that freed slaves could find a place in American society through hard work. Illustration in Booker T. Washington: Builder of a Civilization by Emmett J. Scott 1916); (source: http: //docsouth. unc. edu/neh/scott/ill 2. html ) Therefore, all students at Tuskegee Institute worked. They had jobs as well as studied. In the early days of the Institute, they built some of the buildings. Their efforts, plus Washington’s skill and persistence as a fundraiser, put Tuskegee Institute on the map. Soon rich white businessmen in the North were taking notice.
“The Atlanta Compromise” "In all things that are purely social we can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress. ” —Booker T. Washington, Address at the opening of the 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta Above: The 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition was essentially a World’s Fair for the South after the end of the Civil War. Source: www. corbis. com Left: A Poster for the exposition. Source: http: //www. hiwassee. us
Finding Philanthropists Booker T. Washington was a great fund-raiser. From the beginning of Tuskegee Institute, he reached out to philanthropists, North and South, to help fund Tuskegee. After the “Atlanta Compromise” speech, his fund-raising grew. Most notably, Scottish. American steel magnate Andrew Carnegie became a featured philanthropist, giving $10, 00 per year four years, and then giving another $600, 000 after a special fundraising speech by Washington in New York City in 1903. Booker T. Washington (with wife, Margaret, on his right), with white philanthropists and Tuskegee faculty, 1902. Andrew Carnegie is the short white-bearded man sitting next to Washington. Source: http: //www. americaslibrary. gov/aa/carnegie/aa_carnegie_phil_2_e. html
Speaker, Leader Young President Theodore Roosevelt famously invited Booker T. Washington to the White House in 1901. This New York Times lithograph commemorated the occasion. (Source: graphics 8. nytimes. com. ) Booker T. Washington addresses a crowd in Lakeland, Florida, March, 1912. After his Atlanta Compromise speech, Washington became a sought-afrter speaker, North and South. Source: http: //www. encyclopediaofalabama. org Senator John Mc. Cain alluded to this event in his concession speech: “A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States” (source: historynotebook. blogspot. com)
George Washington Carver Hired in 1896 to teach agriculture, George Washington Carver helped establish Tuskegee Institute as a pioneer in agriculture and other sciences. Like Washington, Carver was born a slave. Unlike the extrovert Washington, Carver was a true scientist, at home in his laboratory, asking questions and exploring new possibilities. Among his achievements were advancements in the farming of peanuts and sweet potatoes, and the development of fertilizer. In the spirit of Tuskegee, he worked for the practical advancement of the southern farmer. Carver always wore a flower in his lapel. Source: http: //www. gardenofpraise. com/ima ges 2/carver. jpg Carver in his laboratory. Source: http: //www. america. gov/st/educenglish/2008/February/200802111545021 CJsa moh. T 0. 7356531. html
Tuskegee Airmen In 1939, Tuskegee Institute established an aviation course—in part because of a growing effort to integrate the armed forces. The First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt publicized the program and campaigned to get blacks in the Army Air Corps (there was no Air Force yet). When she went up in an airplane piloted by a black airman, she caused a sensation. Racist southern politicians said she was everything from unwise to a traitor. While she caused political trouble for her husband, when war finally came, the U. S. Army did start a training program for black airmen at Tuskegee Institute. True to the racist politics of the time, the “Tuskegee Airmen” of the 332 Fighter Group were bomber escorts (in other words, servants). However, they never lost a bomber in their charge. Postage Stamp, 1940; source: postalmuseum. si. edu (Photo source: www. nps. gov) The Record: • they flew more than 15, 000 sorties • destroyed over 1, 000 German aircraft • received hundreds of Air Medals • more then 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses (Source of statistics and photo: history. sandiego. edu)
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