"We shall prosper in proportion as we learn to
dignify and glorify labor and put brains and skill
into the common occupations of life."
In this era blacks were educated in unprecedented numbers, hundreds
received degrees from institutions of higher learning, and a few, like
W.E.B. DuBois and Carter G. Woodson, went on for the doctorate. While
only a small percentage of the black population had been literate at
the close of the Civil War, by the turn of the twentieth century, the
majority of all African Americans were literate. The Library of
Congress houses the papers of three presidents of Tuskegee Institute:
Booker T. Washington, Robert Russa Moton, and Frederick Douglass
Patterson, and other important manuscripts and photographs relating to
the establishment, operations, aspirations, and success of historically
black colleges and universities.
Washington was born on April 5, 1856, near Hale's Ford, Virginia. His
mother was a slave, so he was born a slave.
When Washington was born, it was illegal for anyone
to teach slaves how to read or write. So Washington did not go to
school like free children. Instead, he worked.
Sometimes the work was very hard. Once a week he had
to take corn to the mill. He hated this job. Someone would throw a
large bag of corn over a
horse's back.
Washington then had to lead the
horse to the mill. Many times the bag of corn would fall off the
horse's back. The bag was too heavy for Washington to lift. He could
not put it back on the horse's back. He would have to wait until
someone came down the road who could lift it for him. Some days he
would have to wait many hours. But he also had to go on to the mill,
even if it was night. And when he got home late from the trip, he would
be beaten for taking so long.
One day while he was working, he saw inside a
school. He saw books and maps. He saw children learning to read and
write. He saw students studying math. More than anything else,
Washington wanted to go to school. But he could not. So he went back to
his work. But he did not forget his dream of getting an education.
When Washington was nine years old, the Civil War
ended. All the slaves were set free. Washington, his mother, his
step-father, and his brothers moved to Malden, West Virginia.
Washington's step-father got a job there as a salt-packer. Because the
family was poor, the boys also had to work in the salt mines.
Salt mines may not seem like a classroom. But Washington learned to
recognize numbers while working in the mines. His mother saw his
interest in learning. She got a book for him. And from the book, he
learned the letters of the alphabet.
Then, a school for blacks opened in Malden.
Washington still had to work. But he also went to school. One day, he
heard two men talking about a school in Virginia for blacks, the
Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. Washington determined to
attend the Hampton Institute. Yet he needed more education before he
could be admitted to Hampton.
He heard of a job openings in the home of General
Lewis Ruffner. Ruffner owned the salt furnace where Washington's father
worked. He also owned mines in which Washington worked.Mrs. Ruffner ran
the household. She was known for being hard to please. In fact, many
people did not want to work for her. They believed her expectations
were too high. But the job paid well. And Washington knew that
household work would be easier than work in the mines. So he took the
job. Mrs. Ruffner made him work hard. She wanted the house very clean.
She also wanted him to learn. So she gave him books. And she taught him
good English, history, and some math. At last his academic sk
ills were
strong enough for him to gain admission to the Hampton Institute.
In
1872, Washington quit his job in the Ruffners' home. He left for the
Hampton Institute. The Hampton Institute was more than 300 miles from
Malden, West Virginia, where he lived. To get there, Washington walked,
hitched buggy rides from other travelers, and sometimes jumped railroad
cars. Hungry and without money, Washington stopped in Richmond,
Virginia, and worked on a ship until he had saved a little money.
He arrived in Hampton, Virginia, dirty and tired. He
had no friends and little money. When he reached the Hampton Institute,
he went in and found Miss Mackie, the head teacher. She looked at his
appearance. Quickly she decided he was not the kind of student Hampton
wanted. But she did not tell him to leave. So Washington stayed. About
an hour later, she told him one of the classrooms needed to be swept.
Washington went to work. He swept the room three
times. He mopped the floor. He dusted all of the furniture. He washed
the walls. When Miss Mackie came in the room was spotless! She
instantly hired Washington as the school's janitor. This job let
Washington work his way through the Hampton Institute. Besides working
many hours each week, Washington also studied hard. He graduated from
Hampton in 1875. He was proud of his success.
After graduation, Washington returned to West
Virginia. He taught there only a short time. Then, he was offered a
teaching position at Hampton. Gladly, he returned. He taught at Hampton
until 1881, when Hampton's founder recommended him as the head of a new
school beginning in Alabama -- the Tuskegee Institute.
In
1881, Booker T. Washington was asked to direct a small school in
Tuskegee, Alabama. When Washington first went to Tuskegee, the task
before him seemed impossible. The school had no property. Classes met
in an old, rented church building. The school had almost no money. Its
first year, only $2,000 had been allowed to pay all expenses--purchase
materials, pay rent, and pay teachers. Its students were poor and could
not afford high tuition. And few teachers were willing or able to work
for the low salaries Tuskegee could pay.
But Washington was not easily discouraged. First, he
started raising money. Within a few weeks, he got a loan that allowed
him to purchase an old
plantation. The
first students at Tuskegee
learned valuable trade skills by turning the plantation into a school
campus. They learned carpentry skills by building classrooms,
dormitories, and a chapel. They learned painting by painting the
newly-built structures. They learned farming skills by growing most of
the food eaten at the school. They learned landscaping by caring for
the school grounds. In just a few short years, the plantation turned
into a beautiful campus.
Washington also worked hard to recruit qualified
teachers. Less than two years after the school began, he had increased
the faculty from four members to nine. The student body also grew
rapidly. Soon after its beginning, Tuskegee enrolled not only
African-American, but also Native American students. As the school's
reputation grew, students came from the West Indies, South America,
African, and Asia.
Washington and Tuskegee were not unopposed.
Washington urged students at Tuskegee to work hard and gain the respect
of the white community because of their work. He also said that
African-Americans should not demand to be given the same rights as
white citizens. Some critics said that African-Americans would never
gain respect only by working. W. E. B. Du Bois was one of Washington's
most vocal critics. Du Bois referred to the school as the "Tuskegee
Machine." He said that Washington was turning African-Americans into a
servant class.
In spite of the criticism the institution received,
Tuskegee Institute became known around the world as one of the best
trade schools for African-American students in the United States.
Washington also earned the respect of both black and white Americans.
One writer has said that Washington "spent his life preaching hard work
and perseverance. By practicing what he preached, he turned Tuskegee
into a model for other black schools and had a major impact on future
black education.
In
1903, Du Bois published The Souls of Black Folk. The Souls of Black
Folk is Du Bois's best-known book. It has also been one of the most
influential books of the twentieth century. In The Souls of Black Folk,
Du Bois criticized Booker T. Washington.
Washington was a well-known black educator. He urged
industrial education for African-Americans. He also founded the
Tuskegee Institute. (The Tuskegee Institute provided industrial
training to African-Americans.) Washington believed that
African-Americans would gain respect from the white community if they
had trade skills. He also believed that trade skills were key to
economic security.
But Du Bois believed that academic education was
more important that trade education. He thought Washington's emphasis
on industrial education actually kept African-Americans trapped in
lower social and economic classes by suggesting they were best suited
to service occupations. Du Bois wanted African-Americans encouraged to
succeed in the arts and sciences.
Du Bois and Washington seemed to take opposite sides
in the educational debate. In real life, though, their educational
practices were somewhat closer. Courses at Washington's Tuskegee
Institute included basic academics like mathematics and literacy
skills. Meantime, Du Bois was a firm believer in excellence. He
encouraged African-Americans to work hard, regardless of their careers.
The greater difference between the two was their
political views. Both Du Bois and Washington wanted African-Americans
to have the same rights as white Americans. But Du Bois encouraged
African-Americans to demand equal rights. Washington, on the other
hand, often ignored discrimination. He believed that it was important
for blacks to develop good relationships with whites. He was afraid
that blacks who demanded equal rights would create ill will between
themselves and white Americans.
Chronology
1856 Born into slavery April 5, 1856, near Hale's Ford, Virginia
1862 Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation September 22,
1862
1865 The Civil War and slavery end; Washington's family moves to
Malden, West Virginia, where his step-father finds work; Washington and
his brothers are put to work in the salt mines.
1872 Attended Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in
Hampton, Virginia
1876 Graduated from Hampton with honors
1879 Returned to the Hampton Institute as an instructor
1881 Recommended by Samuel Armstrong, head of Hampton Institute,
to serve as head of the new Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama.
1895 Washington delivers his infamous "Atlanta Compromise" speech
1896 U. S. Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson that "separate but
equal" facilities are constitutional
1900 Founded the National Negro Business League (NNBL)
1901 Published autobiography Up From Slavery
1901 Met with Theodore Roosevelt
1915 Washington dies November 14, 1915
http://www.theholidayzone.com/black/washington.html
http://www.historycooperative.org/btw/
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart6.html
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aap/bookert.html
