Booker T. Washington

Booker T. Washington was born in 1865 on James Burroughs Tobacco farm. His mother was a cook for him, and his dad was a white man from a nearby farm. He went to school in Franklin County- not to learn , but to carry books for one of James' daughters because it was illegal to educate slaves. "My master and his sons all worked together side by side with his slaves." Washington explained in his Autobiography, Up From Slavery, " In this way we all grew up together... there was no overseer, and we got to know our master and he to know us."

The Farm was small, only 207 acres, and he owned only 10 slaves. In April, 1865 The Emancipation Proclamation was read in front of the Burrough's house. Bookers family left and went to join his stepfather in Malden, West Virginia. He took a job at a salt mine that began at 4 a.m. so he could attend school later in the day.

A few years later, Booker was taken in as a house boy by a wealthy towns woman who further encouraged his longing to learn. When he was 16 he walked almost 500 miles back to Malden to enroll in a new school for black students. This school was called Hampton Agricultural Institute and graduated. After that he found a job at another school there and became and instructor, and was employed by Samuel Armstrong to teach Native Americans. In 1880 William Foster and Arthur Brooks won a local election and then used there influence to secure approval for building a negro school called Tuskegee Institute. Samuel Armstrong, principal of Hampton Institute, was asked to recommend a white teacher to take charge of the school, but Samuel suggested that it would be better to employ Washington instead.

The Tuskegee Negro Institute was opened on the 4th of July in 1888. The school received funding of $2,000 a year, that was only enough to pay the teachers. The school taught subjects, but emphasized a practical education. This included Farming, Carpentry, Brick making, Shoemaking, Printing, and Cabinetmaking. Students worked long hours, waking up at 5 a.m. and finishing at 9:30 at night. The school owned 540 acres of land and had over 400 students. And later, Southern whites who were against Washington educating the blacks, started to support is ideas and got for it.

Andrew Carnegie and Collin Huntington donated large amounts of money to his school. Washington soon became a national figure. In 1901 President Theodore Roosevelt invited him to the White House. Some southern whites thought this was "going to far". Washington also had an autobiography published in a magazine called " Up From Slavery". 

Booker Taliaferro Washington was taken ill and entered St. Luke hospital on November 5, 1915. Suffering from Arteriosclerosis, he was warned that he did not have much time to live, so he decided to travel to Tuskegee Institute where he died on the 14th of November. Over 8,000 people attended his funeral held in the Tuskegee Institute Chapel.

8th American History

2005 project