The Story of My Life and Work

Booker T. Washington

Nov. 2007 · Cosimo, Inc.

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He is one of the great voices in African-American history: Booker T. Washington rose from a boyhood in shackles in West Virginia-he was eight when the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution freed all slaves in 1865-to the status of national hero. In this autobiography of his career, Washington details his struggles as head of the school in Alabama that eventually became Tuskegee University, the honors he received from Harvard University, his many public speeches, and his other professional endeavors. A replica of the 1901 edition, this volume is complete with the original photos and illustrations, and remains an invaluable firsthand document of 19th-century America. American author BOOKER T. WASHINGTON (1856-1915) was born to a white father and black slave mother in Virginia. His Atlanta Address of 1895 brought him great acclaim, and for the rest of his life he remained a respected figure in the African American community. Among his most influential writings is an article for Atlantic Monthly called "The Awakening of the Negro" (1896).

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Booker Taliaferro Washington, 1856 - 1915 Booker T. Washington was born a slave in Hales Ford, Virginia, near Roanoke. After the U.S. government freed all slaves in 1865, his family moved to Malden, West Virginia. There, Washington worked in coal mines and salt furnaces. He went on to attend the Hampton, Virginia Normal and Agricultural Institute from 1872-1875 before joining the staff in 1879. In 1881 he was selected to head the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, a new teacher-training school for blacks, which he transformed into a thriving institution, later named Tuskegee University. His controversial conviction that blacks could best gain equality in the U.S. by improving their economic situation through education rather than by demanding equal rights was termed the Atlanta Compromise, because Washington accepted inequality and segregation for blacks in exchange for economic advancement. Washington advised two Presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, on racial problems and policies, as well as influencing the appointment of several blacks to federal offices. Washington became a shrewd political leader and advised not only Presidents, but also members of Congress and governors. He urged wealthy people to contribute to various black organizations. He also owned or financially supported many black newspapers. In 1900, Washington founded the National Negro Business League to help black business firms. Washington fought silently for equal rights, but was eventually usurped by those who ideas were more radical and demanded more action. Washington was replaced by W. E. B. Du Bois as the foremost black leader of the time, after having spent long years listening to Du Bois deride him for his placation of the white man and the plight of the negro. He died in 1915.