Avenue Jae: Portrait In History

Synopsis

Booker T. Washington was born a slave during the 1850s. Booker T. Washington was able to get a college degree that he paid for and afterward he became a teacher after the Civil War. Washington founded the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in 1881 (Tuskegee University) this institution helped African Americans evolve in agricultural studies. Washington was known for being a writer and advising political candidates, and being in disagreement with W.E.B Du Bois "over the best avenues for racial uplift."

Born on April 5, 1856, in Franklin County, Virginia Booker T. Washington life had no promise at all. Because Washington was born to a slave this automatically made him one. Washington's mother Jane worked as a cook and his father was an unknown white man from a plantation. Early in Washington's childhood, he began work as a sack carrier for plantation's mill. While working as a sack carrier Booker was exposed to children his age receiving an education, but since it was illegal for slaves to read and write he couldn't. When Washington was nine years old his mother remarried and she moved Booker and herself to Malden, West Virginia. Booker T. Washington's mother bought him a book that taught him his alphabet and how to read and write basic words. Washington's boss saw his interest in education and she allowed him to go to school for an hour a day.

In 1872, Booker T. Washington left home and decided to attend college at Hampton University. After working several jobs to support himself through school, the school's headmaster saw how hard Washington was working and rewarded him with a scholarship. In 1975, Booker graduated from Hampton University and became a teacher at his old grade school. Appointed to lead the Tuskegee Institution, Washington was able to help build and evolve the institution by raising funds and spreading the word about the school.

According to experts, Booker T. Washington was a difficult person to understand. Washington was "openly supportive of African Americans taking a "back seat" to whites, while on the other he secretly financed several court cases challenging segregation." By 1913, critics say Washington was not an influence anymore, but Washington remained the president for Tuskegee University until his death on November 14, 1915. Booker T. Washington died from congestive heart failure.

The reason I chose Booker T. Washington for this blog is because I am passionate about education. I wanted to spread knowledge about an African American man who wasn't afraid to do something different during a challenging time in life. I wanted people to know that African American males are more than what the media tries to portray. I salute Booker T. Washington for working hard and walking to work and school to get the job done. I was inspired on how he started working at an early age and how he valued his education. Learning that he worked hard to raise money for Tuskegee University gave me so much hope.