...[pic] Booker T. Washington was one of the most influential African Americans in history. Raised the son of a slave mother, Washington was self- motivated and committed to his own education from a young age. The tumultuous time in America’s history during which he lived afforded him new freedoms that came from Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and the eventual success of the North in the Civil War.[1] He took the first opportunity to attend a formal school, Hampton Institute, which led to professorship and the founding of one of the most prestigious African American educational institutions of the nineteenth century, Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.[2] When the Civil War ended in 1865, many newly freed black Americans sought education at all levels. But there were few trade schools or public schools that they were allowed to enroll in.[3] Among the first black colleges to meet the need was Tuskegee University, established in 1881.[4] Booker T. Washington was born a slave on a plantation five years before the Civil War began, near Hales Ford, Virginia, on James Burroughs’s plantation in 1856. The slaves on the Burroughs’ farm learned that they were free in spring of 1865. Booker had survived chattel slavery and the Civil War.[5] He moved with his mother and siblings to Charleston, West Virginia to join his step-father, a Union Army veteran.[6] Washington was called only Booker during his early youth and added the name Washington when he entered...
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...Booker T. Washington Booker T. Washington was a great influence for the black community. The efforts he made to become such a wonderful leader were incredible. Booker T. Washington was a man that started up from scratch. He grew up as a Black slave, who did not have many choices in life. He was born on April 5, 1856 in Virginia and he had a white father and a black mother. When he was still a child he went to work in a coal mine after the Emancipation Proclamation. When Booker was seventeen he went to Hampton Normal Agricultural Institute to work as a janitor. He would then use this job to help pay for tuition and attend the school. After all of the struggles and hard work that Booker T Washington went through in his life he ended up becoming a very influential speaker and great leader for the black community. Booker T. Washington had several different qualities that made him a great leader. The first quality is that he was very charismatic. People from all over would follow Booker and listen to what he had to say. He gained a lot of attention at his Atlanta Address of 1895 where he tried to get southern whites and black slaves to work together. The black slaves would listen to the political white views and in exchange get to work weekly and get a basic education. After this is when he became a main leader for African Americans and their movement while also drawing the attention of politicians and philanthropist. Pragmatism was another quality that Booker possessed. He always...
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...Alyssa Castorena History 17B Dr. Manian 28 March 2016 Booker T. Washington Booker T. Washington was born onto a slave plantation in the year 1858 or 1859. He was born in Franklin County, Virginia in an extremely small cabin that housed his mother and siblings. Washington never knew of his father, just that he was one of the white men who may have lived at one of the nearby plantations. Even though his father was never in the picture and had no desire to raise him, Washington never felt any bitterness for his father because he felt that his father was “simply another unfortunate victim of the Nation.” (Washington, 4) The cabin had no glass windows, barely a door, and no beds. They all slept on a bundle of dirty rags on the hard, wood floor. There was also no stove at the cabin, or even anywhere at the plantation. Still with no stove, Washington’s mother was the plantation cook and had to do all the cooking for the whites in the “big house” and all the slaves. She did this by cooking over an open fireplace, which in a way, aided them in the winter since it brought warmth to their cabin, but exhausted them in the summer because of the blistering summer heat. Most of Washington’s childhood was spent cleaning the plantation and hard labor, such as giving water to the men working out in the fields, or going to the mill to have the corn ground. His childhood was definitely not one that one would call “normal.” He was a slave and he knew it. But, he also knew that...
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...Born a slave, Booker T. Washington was a well-known educator and orator. Hardworking and intelligent, he was offered a scholarship to Hampton Institute. Booker T. Washington moved on to find the National Negro Business League and to write fourteen books. However, his greatest accomplishment was forming Tuskegee Normal School, now called Tuskegee University. Appointed by General Samuel Armstrong, Booker Washington served as principal for thirty-four years. Initially using Butler Chapel as the school, Washington bought a former plantation, which was used for the campus. The Tuskegee campus was not only for the students, but also built by students, as they made bricks, classrooms, and barns. All students were required to become competent in their...
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...Booker T. Washington was a man beyond words. His perseverance and will to work were well known throughout the United States. He rose from slavery, delivering speech after speech expressing his views on how to uplift America's view of the Negro. He felt that knowledge was power, not just knowledge of "books", but knowledge of agricultural and industrial trades. He felt that the Negro would rise to be an equal in American society through hard work. Washington founded a school on these principles, and it became the world's leader in agricultural and industrial education for the Negro. As the world watched him put his heart and soul into his school, Tuskegee Institute, he gained great respect from both the white and black communities. Many of the country's white leaders agreed with his principals, and so he had a great deal of support. Booker T. Washington was a great man. He put his own needs aside in order to build the reputation of an entire race. He didn't do it by accusing and putting blame on others, but instead through hard work. Booker T. Washington cleared the way for the black community to fully enter the American society. Washington was born into slavery on April 5, 1856, in Franklin County, Virginia, on a small tobacco plantation. His only true relative was his mother, Jane, who was the plantation's cook. His father was probably the white son of one of the neighbors, though it is not known for sure. Washington spent his childhood years on the plantation, but since...
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...Two great leaders of the black community in the late 19th century and 20th century, W.E.B Dubois and Booker T. Washington both had varying views on how to solve the racial issues in America. Washington wanted black people to slowly be integrated into the white society to start at the bottom and gain their way to the top, while DuBois wanted the change to happen as soon as possible he wanted black people to have the rights that he believed they deserved from the very beginning. Booker T. Washington was an educator, reformer and one of the most influential people of his time. He preached a philosophy of self-help, racial solidarity, and accommodation. He urged black people to accept discrimination for the time being and elevating themselves through hard work and material prosperity. He believed in education in the crafts, industrial and farming skills, and he believed this would win the respect of whites, and lead African Americans being fully accepted as citizens and integrated into all strata of society. Booker T. Washington idea of how to receive racial equality was a slow moving machine he wanted black people to work from the bottom and eventually once accepted by white people...
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...Booker T. Washington and Tuskegee Institute In this book Booker T, Washington expresses his ideas about the plight of the African Americans on top of infusing ideas on their empowerment through education. The book entails also ideas he expressed in his speeches and letters which highlight his enigmatic, complex views, as the leader of the black minority group. It is also a recount of the liberation struggles and inner life of the black community which has grown from slavery, struggled to get educated and economic empowerment and more so assimilation in the American society. Washington’s ideas here expressed forging the relationship between the African Americans and whites in the South. However, by careful analysis of the views expressed, serious issues arise as per as his programme of reconciliation of the South, where the whites educate the blacks, highlighting silence and submission on the part of Negroes as opposed to fight for political and civil activism, pointed to his myopic vision. This was unknowingly a way of selling the blacks rights in the hope the same whites who had oppressed them for many years and hampered their humane progress, would help them (Moore, 2003). This is not to mean the ideas he expressed were all negative. He had good ideas for the black community needed to be polished by other black scholars and leaders to acculturate them in the American society. Washington shares his views where he internalizes values got from his godfather (Armstrong)...
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...Amran M. History Booker T. Washington For more than a hundred years, Booker T. Washington has been praised for the efforts in helping the blacks get equality through knowledge. He believed that the African Americans should stick to education and that if the black man could beat or meet the white man at his own game, there would be a recognition of equality. Washington worked to persuade black people that the best way for them to advance in society was by learning skills and showing willingness to do manual labor. Born a slave, Booker T. Washington was a man that gave his life to promote education in black people and believed strongly that education was the first step to acceptance. He was a person whose abilities, determination,and energy took him far past any obstacle life threw at him. Booker T. Washington represented education and that fighting against segregation was not a winning strategy. Rather, he taught patience and understanding. This idea of his put him up at odds with black leaders who wanted to challenge segregation and who believed black people should focus on getting into good colleges and having professional careers, rather than just accepting what seemed like lower ranking jobs in society. “We do not want the men of another color for our brothers-in-law, but we do want them for our brothers.” - Booker T. Washington.Therefore, saying that it didn't matter if the whites and colored were...
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...of improving the quality of life for blacks in America. Many great leaders approached this great and historic debacle with differing leadership styles, strategies, and philosophies that have shaped the progression of the African American race in the United States. This paper will examine the similarities and differences and the effects of opposing leadership styles, strategies and philosophies of prominent African American activists such as Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Dubois. In accompaniment, an original argument on the best strategy for the advancement of African Americans will be explored. Educator, renowned speaker, former slave, mentor, mentee and African American spokesman are but a few adjectives to describe Booker T. Washington. Washington’s strategy for the advancement of Blacks was largely ingrained with subservience, patience, perseverance, and hard-work. It is widely argued that his unusually charmed and positively affected past with Whites shaped his outlook, strategy and message to his fellow people. Washington was favored by Whites at an early age beginning with an employee who would let him study with her own children to even earning the honor of being the first African American to meet and advise the current President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. It comes as no surprise that Washington’s strategy was based on the kindness and fairness...
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...Amid a political and cultural climate of racism and separation, the late 19th century and early 20th century was a very tumultuous time. Nearly four-fifths of the nation’s 10 million African Americans still lived and worked in the South. Most worked in agriculture, while those living in the cities worked at menial jobs. “But a small African American middle class of entrepreneurs and professionals gained a foothold by selling services and products to the black community”(page 553). During this time, Booker T. Washington “won recognition as the most influential black leader of the day” (page 553). He became the “leading spokesperson for racial accommodation, urging blacks to focus on economic improvement and self-reliance, as opposed to political and civil rights” (page 553). He preached a philosophy of self-help, racial solidarity, and accommodation. He urged blacks to accept discrimination for the time being and to elevate themselves through hard work and material prosperity. He strongly believed in education of the crafts, farming skills, industrial skills, and the concentrate on the virtues of patience, thrift, and enterprise. He believed that this would lead to the respect of whites and the possibility of African Americans being fully accepted as citizens and integrated into all areas of society. He felt that the best way for blacks to stabilize their future was to make themselves an indispensable faction of society by providing a necessity. Scholar and activist, W.E.B...
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...Booker T Washington I have chosen Booker T Washington for my topic. I chose him because of his determination, dedication, and hard work for education. Booker T. Washington put himself through school and became a Principal of a University. Booker was also a bi-racial child his mother was a slave and his father was a Caucasian male. He was determined to provide education for African-Americans. Booker T Washington was born a slave in the early 1856. Since he was born a slave he was not allowed to attend school and had to work. Since his mother knew he was interested in learning to read and write, she gave him a book. With this book he learned the alphabet and how to read & write. He was so determined to learn, he was waking up at 4am before he had to be at work. After working 2 years for Mrs. Ruffner she allowed him to attend winter school. Booker faced several obstacles in his life. He was faced with his bi-racial issues. He was made fun of because he didn’t look like other slaves, he only had a mother on the plantation because his father was white. He wasn’t allowed to attend school like other Caucasian kids because he was considered African American. He had to work as a young child instead of going to school. Booker received a lot of criticism after General Armstrong appointed him Principal of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. General Armstrong was asked to recommend a white man but changed his mind...
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...Criticism of Ladder For Booker T. Washington, by Martin Puryear This is an essay to criticize a piece by master woodworker Martin Puryear titled Ladder For Booker T. Washington, created in 1996 from ash and maple wood, displayed at The Modern in the City of Fort Worth, Texas. Made from smooth, light wood the ladder appears to extend great lengths, but when viewed from a different angle the ladder is much shorter. The purpose of a ladder is to reach greater heights with ease and safety, but the ladder appears bent and crooked in different areas making for a difficult climb. The lighting in the room also stood out, making the ladder going upwards towards a large fluorescent fixture. The most obvious element of design Martin Puryear uses is shape to create a one-point perspective illusion, making the ladder appear infinite. Another interesting choice of design was the use of smooth, rounded texture of the wood emphasizing a difficult climb. Lastly the artwork uses the value from actual light to make the ladder recede into a bright light. The main principles of design I see are the use of movement and balance. First he uses curving lines and repetition to show movement. The way Puryear repeats the curves of the steps make your eyes move up. Secondly he uses asymmetrical balance making one side of the ladder different than the other, which is different from a normal symmetrical ladder. Booker T. Washington was an African-American teacher, author, advisor to presidents, and...
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...failure in life is based on how they were raised. When one looks at American slavery, it seems as if the life of a slave would never turn out to be great due to the horrors of being held captive by the system of slavery. But in spite of how terrible a person’s upbringing may have been, I believe that anyone can be successful in life by faith, hard work, and perseverance. Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington is a great example of how anyone can succeed in life. When I think of the title of Mr. Washington’s autobiography, I think about a slave who decided to forget the past, and press onward to a higher place in life. Consider this quote by Booker T. Washington: “When persons ask me in these days how, in the midst of what sometimes seem hopelessly discouraging conditions, I can have such faith in the future of my race in this country, I remind them of the wilderness through which and out of which, a good Providence has already led us” (Booker T. Washington, 578). I find this quote by Booker T. Washington to be profound considering the circumstances he was in at the time. Mr. Washington had all odds stacked against him as a youth that could have hindered his progress and growth in life. He described the beginnings of his life as being miserable, with disfavored surroundings. He was born a slave; he didn’t know his father; his mother hardly had time to provide any kind of training for him and his siblings due to her responsibilities to the plantation; and he had no schooling...
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...A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE SIGNET CLASSIC EDITION OF BOOKER T. WASHINGTON’S UP FROM SLAVERY By VIRGINIA L. SHEPHARD, Ph.D., Florida State University S E R I E S E D I T O R S : W. GEIGER ELLIS, ED.D., ARTHEA J. S. REED, PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, EMERITUS and UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, RETIRED A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of Booker T. Washington’s Up from Slavery 2 INTRODUCTION Booker T. Washington’s commanding presence and oratory deeply moved his contemporaries. His writings continue to influence readers today. Although Washington claimed his autobiography was “a simple, straightforward story, with no attempt at embellishment,” readers for nearly a century have found it richly rewarding. Today, Up From Slavery appeals to a wide audience from early adolescence through adulthood. More important, however, is the inspiration his story of hard work and positive goals gives to all readers. His life is an example providing hope to all. The complexity and contradictions of his life make his autobiography intellectually intriguing for advanced readers. To some he was known as the Sage of Tuskegee or the Black Moses. One of his prominent biographers, Louis R. Harlan, called him the “Wizard of the Tuskegee Machine.” Others acknowledged him to be a complicated person and public figure. Students of American social and political history have come to see that Washington lived a double life. Publicly he appeased the white establishment...
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...Booker T. Washington was born into slavery in Virginia, and after the Civil War worked in a coal mine and peregrination to school at night. Education was consequential to him, but he withal apperceive that blacks in the South had very little power: little maxima, few rights, and despite the 15th Amendment, were unable to vote. His suggestion, which he made most eminently in Atlanta and became known as the Atlanta Compromise, was that blacks get jobs in blue collar craft work and farming and edifying, which were relatively lower paying jobs. He pushed for the engenderment of agricultural and technical schools, such as Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, which he founded. But by working strenuously and earning veneration, and accepting their inferior licit status for the time being, blacks would ultimately gain the reverence of whites, who would grant them more rights and sanction them to move up the economic ladder. This made Washington very popular with whites at that time, and he was even invited to dine at the White House with Teddy Roosevelt. However, in the next decades, in many ways, Washington was visually perceived as an obstruction to the civil rights kinetics, with his accentuation on slow economic gain, not pushing for rights and accommodation to the whites. While Washington was very authentic and understood the situation for blacks in the South at that time, later people visually perceived him as too inclined to compromise and keep his people down. Educator Booker T. Washington...
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