ABSTRACT AN ASSESSMENT OF BOOKER TALIAFERRO WASHINGTON'S EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCE IN THE UNITED STATES AND WEST AFRICA BETWEEN THE YEARS 1880 AND 1925 by William H. Thomas This study is about the educational experiences of Black Americans during the closing years of the 19th and the be- ginning years of the 20th centuries. The purpose of the study is to assess the influence and contributions to these experiences by one man, Booker Taliaferro Washington. He was born in Virginia a few years before the Emanci- pation Proclamation. His mother, Jane Burroughs, was a slave who worked in the kitchen on the Burroughs Plantation. His father was the son of a neighboring plantation owner. By the time Booker was ten years old he was working in the salt and coal mines of West Virginia, and later became a houseboy forthe mine owner's wife. At the age of sixteen, he left for Hampton Institute. While there, he came under the in- fluence of a Civil War hero, General Samuel C. Armstrong; a William H. Thomas relationship developed that was to shape his future philosophy. Five years after his graduation from Hampton, General Armstrong received a request from the village of Tuskegee asking him to recommend someone who would open a school for Negroes modeled after that of Hampton. General Armstrong recommended Washington. The Tuskegee Normal School for Colored Teachers opened j July 4, 1881,with thirty students and one faculty member, Washington. The only funds he had was a $2,000 state appro- priation which was earmarked for teachers' salaries. During this first year, he borrowed $500 from a friend to purchase a lOO-acre farm which became the present site of Tuskegee Institute. The following year he married Miss Fanny N. Smith of Malden, West Virginia. To this marriage a daughter, Portia, was born. He had now erected two small frame buildings on the campus for teaching trades and academic classes and had started night school classes for students who worked during the day. In 1884 Washington addressed the National Education Association at Madison, Wisconsin, where he gained wide re- cognition as a famous public speaker. It was here that he explained his feelings about the racial problem. He believed . \ William H. Thomas it could be solved without confrontation, if both races would commit themselves to work cooperatively to this end. This was the year his first wife died and the next year he married Miss Olivia Davidson, a faculty member. To this marriage two sons, Booker Taliaferro and Ernest Davidson, were born. The growth.of the school was augmented by an allotment of twenty-five acres of mineral land in northern Alabama by the Congress of the United States. In 1890, convinced that he should extend his curriculum to the community, he organized the Farmers Conference at Tuskegee. Two years later, he extended the Conference to in- clude community workers among Negroes such as teachers, doctors, ministers, lawyers, and he changed the name to Annual Farmers and Workers Conference. By this time he had become skilled at conducting special campaigns in northern states to raise the necessary funds to carry on his programs. The Phelps-Stokes sisters began a list of contributions by presenting the Phelps Hall Bible Training School to the Institute. Other notable contributors were Andrew Carnegie and Julius Rosenwald who placed Washington in the position of director of'a program that built 1,000 rural schools and in turn gave employment to over 1,500 teachers. What these rural ~11 i“! f " William H. Thomas schoolhouses have meant in the life of black people of the South, and to the South itself, it is impossible to estimate or adequately describe. In 1893 the Tuskegee Normal School was incorporated by athe Alabama Legislature under the name of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute with an independent Board of Trustees. After the death of his second wife he married Miss Margaret James Murry, a graduate of Fisk University. This marriage took place in the same year (1893). Washington's influence in educational matters began to be felt outside the State of Alabama. In 1894, he appeared before a Congressional committee for a federal grant-in-aid to the Atlanta Cotton States EXposition to be held in 1895. On September 18, 1895, he delivered his now famous Atlanta Exposition Address, for which he received official congratu- lations by President Grover Cleveland. The following year, June 24, 1896, he receivedaulhonorary degree of Master of Arts from Harvard University and later an honorary Doctor of Literature from Dartmouth College. This was the year he in- vited the agricultural scientist, George Washington Carver, to join the staff at Tuskegee Institute, and legislation from the State of Alabama was secured to establish an Agricultural Research and Experiment Station on the campus. William H. Thomas In 1900 he developed the National Negro BuSiness League, the aim of which was to teach consumer education and to enhance the self-concept of Negro businessmen and women, en— couraging them to improve the quality of their entrepre— neurship. He established the first Annual Medical and Surgical Clinic at Tuskegee Institute Hospital. In 1914, he organized the National Negro Health Week which was later sponsored nationwide by the United States Department of Health. Washington served Tuskegee 34 years during which time he directed the organization of an efficiently administered physical plant, assembled an outstanding all Negro faculty, and managed very successful financial campaigns which allowed his staff to engage in educational innovations. He also pioneered a work-study program in higher education. Near the later part of his life, he felt a deep concern to reach his people who could not come to campus day or night. To this end he structured a massive extension course (the movable school) on which the United States Department of Agriculture modeled its extension. Washington's influence extended beyond the geographical area of the United States with Liberia becoming the greatest beneficiary. His students who went to help in Africa in 1900 can be viewed as the forerunners of the modern "Peace Corps." William H. Thomas His greatest contributions were: (1) his ability to solicit northern and southern support in making Tuskegee one of the nation's most respected institutions, and (2) his ability to motivate a large portion of the ex-slavery popu- lation and their children to seek an education and a higher economic standard of life by depending less on others and more on their own initiative. Washington died November 14, 1915. AN ASSESSMENT OF BOOKER TALIAFERRO WASHINGTON'S EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCE IN THE UNITED STATES AND WEST AFRICA BETWEEN THE YEARS 1880 AND 1925 by William H. Thomas A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Philosophical Foundations of Education 1972 © COPYRIGHTED by William Henry Thomas 1972 ii DEDICATION To my wife, the memory of my mother and the significant others who have shaped my life. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENT This study would not have been possible without the ideas and efforts of the Michigan State University faculty who have been my instructors or who have served as advisors and friends during the past few years. The assistance of Dr. Carl H. Gross, my advisor, has been most valuable in my attainment of the objectives in- volved in earning the doctorate. The influence of my first advisor, Dr. John W. Hanson, and still a member of my com- mittee, is readily apparent also, in this thesis. I wish to extend my appreciation to Drs. Henry L. Case and Peter G. Haines, who with Drs. Gross and Hanson served as my doctoral committee. I am deeply grateful for their support during my entire effort. Dr. J. Geoffery Moore, I also thank you. Special thanks are expressed to Mrs. Portia Washington Pittman, Washington's daughter; Mrs. Edith Washington Johnson, granddaughter; Mr. Daniel T. Williams, Archivist, Tuskegee Institute; Dr. Lewis W. Jones, Tuskegee faculty member and head of the Department of Sociology; Dr. Edward Graham, Historian, Hampton Institute, Hampton, Virginia; Mr. Gordon V. Gray, Historian, Booker T. Washington National Monument, iv Hales Ford, Franklin County, Virginia and Mrs. Minnie W. Cooper (friend of Washington's family), Malden, West Virginia. The people with whom I work in the Detroit Public Schools, have contributed much in their own way. The con— stant inquiries from Dr. John Lindsey, the asSistance with bibliography from Misses Bernadette Davis and Gracine Dukes; the proofreading by Mrs. Betty Willmotteuuithe indispensable typing, re-typing, and generous criticisms by Mrs. Alma Fear are all appreciated. A special word of thanks to Dr. Elizabeth Hood for her editorial suggestions, and Mrs. Elizabeth E. Bennett for typing, criticisms and suggestions. Also, there are numerous persons whose names do not appear in this thesis but whose moral support have been invaluable. Without their sustained help and interest this study would have been more difficult to complete. My wife, Cora; daughter, Mrs. Patricia T. Steed; and my sister, Mrs. Jessie H. Brown, have been sympathetic and understand— ing throughout this trying time. Even though I acknowledge and am grateful to all who have contributed directly or indirectly, to this thesis, I alone am culpable for all its faults and limitations. Michigan State University William H. Thomas June, 1972 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENT . . . . - . LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . LIST OF PREFACE Chapter I. II. III. IV. FIGURES . . . . . INTRODUCTION . . Statement of the Problem . . Significance of the Study . Method or Procedure to be Followed Plan of Presentation . . . . AN OVERVIEW OF BOOKER TALIAFERRO WASHINGTON'S LIFE THE SETTING . . . Economic Conditions of Black Americans Political Conditions of Black Americans Social Conditions of Black Americans in the 1880's . in the 1880's . in the 1880's . . . . . . Educational Conditions of Black Americans in the 1880's . BOOKER T. WASHINGTON'S INFLUENCE IN THE UNITED STATES BETWEEN THE YEARS 1880 and 1925 . . . . vi Page iv viii ix H Nmbw 14 34 44 48 54 60 Chapter V. BOOKER T. WASHINGTON'S INFLUENCE The First 18 Years . . . . . . . . Washington's Philosophy . . . . . The Years 1881-1884 . . . . . . . The Years 1885-1889 . . . . . . . The Years 1890—1894 . . . . . . . The Years 1895-1899 . . ... . . . The Second 15 Years . . . . . . . The Years 1900-1904 . . . . . . . The Years 1905-1909 . . . . . . . The Years 1910-1915 . . . . . . AFRICA BETWEEN THE YEARS 1880 AND 1925 The Phelps-Stokes Commission . IN WEST VI. SOME CONCLUDING STATEMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY. . . . . . . . . . . Washington's Early Life Experiences Washington Becomes a Leader . . . Forming a Philosophy . . . . . . Washington's Accomplishments in the Formal Educational Setting . . Washington's Accomplishments in Extending his Educational Program into the Larger Community . . . Need for Further Study . . . . . BIBLImRAPHY O O O I O O O O C . I O O O O O C C APPENDICES APPENDIX A. Transcript of Record of Birth . . . . B. List of Honors Bestowed Upon Booker T. Washington Posthumously . . . . . . C. Interview with Mrs. Portia W. Pittman, Daughter of Booker T. Washington and Fanny N. Smith Washington,his First wife I O O O I O I I O I O I O O 0 vii Page 64 64 77 82 84 90 111 111 120 128 142 159 169 170 172 173 177 182 188 191 211 213 219 APPENDIX Page Interview with Mrs. Edith W. Johnson, Booker T. Washington's Granddaughter . . 224 Act of Legislature Founding in School, 1881 Speech Given by Booker T. Washington, Thirteenth Annual Session of the Tuskegee Negro Conference, February 17, 1904 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 Guidelines for Erection of Rural Schoolhouses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247 Fact Sheet of Tuskegee Today . . . . . . . 250 Biographical Notes on Booker T. Washington with Selected Events in Black History. . 252 viii LIST OF TABLES Table i Page I. Percent Illiterate in the Population, by Race: 1870 to 1969 . . . . . . . . 35 II. Increase in Slaves Between 1800-1860 . . 44 III. Negroes Lynched by Mobs . . . . . . . . . 52 IV. Report of Principal for 1894 . . . . . . 98 V. Twenty-fifth Anniversary Speakers . ... . 121 VI. Board of Trustees . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Percent Illiterate in the Population, by Race: 1870 to 1969 . . . . . . . . . 36 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION For he who makes no use of the past, who finds no relevance in events or trends, finds little mean- ing in the present or direction to the future. Those,therefore, who would solve educational problems must search the past for suggestions.1 The historical content of American education has been predominately the story of an immigrant people making their way in a new and sometimes hostile land. Historically, the content of education for Black Americans has been the story of a minority people doggedly fighting for a more equitable share in the American common school experience and the American dream. The Black educational experience can be classified into three stages. First, there was legally denied educa- tion: then, separate but equal education.‘ In 1954 the separate but equal doctrine was replaced by the Supreme Court decision to desegregate public schools. Integrated 1H. R. White, Foundations of Education: Historical, Sociological,_Philosophical (New York: David McKay Company, Inc., 1968), p. 11. education has become a country-wide goal for many Americans.1 The historical trend has been toward increasing edu— cational opportunity for all Americans. This study, however, will focus on the opportunities that were available to Black Americans—-those 4,000,000 freed from slavery by the Eman- cipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment. In this historical struggle, at certain times, events such as the aftermath of wars, court decisions, and executive orders have been the center of attention. At other times the scene has been a kaleidoscopic one with personalities occupying the center of the stage and with the spotlight of public awareness accentuating their contributions to, and their influences upon the educational policies and practices of that era. This study will focus on one personality and his efficaciousness in the long herculean struggle as it affected the educational opportunity of Black Americans between the years 1880 and 1925. This man was Booker Taliaferro Washington. 1Although the term "Black American" seems to be in vogue today, much of the literature used as source material will use the term "Negro" or "colored." In this study the terms will be used interchangeably according to the ap- propiateness of the discussion. Statement of the Problem Following the Civil War, two approaches to Negro edu- cation manifested themselves. One was an attempt by white reactionaries to circumvent the United States Constitution and its recently passed amendments by enacting prohibitive state legislation; most of which has since been declared un- constitutional. This state legislation segregated Negroes educationally and gave them an appallingly inferior schooling. At the same time, interested philanthropists and the federal Government through the Freedmen's Bureau worked aggressively to provide resources, guidance, and leadership in the develOp- ment of education for Blacks. It was during this period that Booker T. Washington and Tuskegee Normal surged into world prominence. The problem undertaken here is to impartially assess Washington's phil- osophy, his contributions, and his influence on education in the United States and West Africa. The specific problems to be considered in this study then are fourfold in nature: (1) the extent to which Booker T. Washington influenced the educational policies and practices of Negroes in Alabama between the years 1880 and 1925, (2) the extent and degree to which he influenced the educational poli- cies and practices of this country between the years 1880 and 4 1925, (3) the extent that he influenced the policies and practices of West African education during this period, and (4) how he was able to live and work effectively in an en- vironment generally described as hostile and galling to Black Americans and yet exert such influence on the educa- tion that they received. Significance of this Study The contributions that Washington made were not isolated events in American history and need to be seen in proper historical perspective. He played a significant part in the struggle waged for equal opportunity. His philOSOphy and his influence are all part of the trend of increasing cultural advantages and they need to be assessed correctly. Recent research has tended to review some of the former generalizations about Washington, particularly the original view of him as a "Compromiser" or "Uncle Tom." This perception is being drastically revised. It appears now that his strategy was to allow the image of a compro- mising andconciliatory Black leader to persuade the country, while behind this public facade, he secretly but vigorously fought for equality and justice. The term "purposely" is used because he seemingly was never concerned 5 with defending himself against the onslaught of his critics. The degree to which Washington was able to play directly and indirectly a decisive role in the educational policies affecting Black Americans from 1880 to 1925 calls for re— examination. Sadly, most texts on the history of education have devoted less than one page to his heroic life's work. The facts are that Booker T. Washington was a pioneer in Negro higher education including work-study programs. He was the founder and president of a college, as well as director of several associations that supported his efforts. It should be pointed out also, that in his role as an edu- cational leader and counselor he had the sympathy of im- portant educators, such as General Samuel Armstrong and President Theodore Roosevelt. The institution he founded, Tuskegee Normal, was to educate African, as well as American students who would travel and work in foreign schools. He also visited Europe and was consulted on colonial education on numerous oc- casions by officials from abroad. There are several sources which discuss the revised image of Washington. One source states: . . ..he was never able to disavow the interpre- tation of his program as an acceptance of the principles of biracial segregation. New and 6 interesting vieWpoints are now being advanced about Washington's role as a leader. A second source offered in support of the writer's premise is found in a recent publication edited by a his— torian at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. She concludes that: The most important sources for the study of Washington are the Booker T. Washington Papers in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. The papers consist of some 1,000 boxes of manu— script materials, including Washington's personal correspondence, records of Tuskegee Institute, the National Negro Business League, The General Education Board, and other organizations in which Washington was interested. The voluminous cor- respondence with political figures, educators, industrialists, philanthrOpists, writers, jour— nalists, Negro leaders, and rank-and-file Negroes give detailed evidence of the varied aspects of Washington's career and reveals a much more com— plex man Ehan the one shown in his published writings. The most convincing evidence to support the writer's thesis is that offered by the noted historian, Louis R. Harlan. He states: Washington's mind or psyche as the directing force of his private actions on the other hand, was kaleidoscopic and its changing patterns and apparent lack of central design. The source of 1"Booker T. Washington: Leader and Educator," Internatipnal Library of Negro Life and History (Edited by Wilhelmina S. Robinson, New York: Publishers Co., Inc., 1967), p. 141. 2BookerT. Washington: Great Lives Observed (Edited by Emma Lou Thornbrough, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice- Hall, Inc., 1969), p. 178. 7 this complexity, no doubt, was being a black man in white America, with the attendant dualism and ambivalence that black people feel. Washington's life and thought were layered into public, private, and secret and also segmented according to which subgroup of black or white he confronted. For each group he played a different role, wore a different mask. Like the proverbial cat, Washington lived nine lives, but he lived them all at once. Yet there were so few slips of the mask that it is no wonder his intimates called him "The Wizard."1 ******** Despite his public advice to Negroes to abandon voting and officeholding as a solution of their problems, Washington became the leading Negro political broker in the era of TheodOre Roosevelt and Taft. ******** Finally, Washington had an elaborate secret life. In his civil rights activity he presented himself publicly as a social pacifist and accommodationist, while secretly he financed and generated a series of court suits challenging the grandfather clause, denial of jury service to Negroes, Jim Crow cars, and peonage. Working sometimes with the Negro Lawyers of the Afro-American Council, sometimes through his own personal lawyer, Wilford H. Smith, and sometimes with sympathetic Southern white lawyers, Washington took every precaution to keep his collaboration a secret. He used his private secretary and a Tuskegee faculty member as go- betweens, and in the Alabama suffrage cases that were carried to the United States Supreme Court he had his secretary and the lawyer correspond using the code names R. C. Black and J. C. May. 1Louis R. Harlan, "Booker T. Washington in Biographical Perspective," The American Historical Review, Vol. LXXV, No. 6 (Octdber 1970), p. 1582. 2Ibid., p. 1585. 31bid. 8 ******** In each of these compartmentalized worlds Washington displayed a different personality, wore a different mask, played a different role. At Tuskegee he was a benevolent despot. To Northern whites he appeared a racial states- man; to Southern whites he was a safe, sane Negro who advised blacks to "Stay in their place." To Southern Negroes he was a father, to Northern blacks, a stepfather; to politicians he was another political boss. In his paradox- ical secret life he attacked the racial settle- ment that he publicly accepted, and he used ruthless methods of espionage and sabotage that contrasted sharply with his public Sunday-School morality.l Method or Procedure to be Followed The procedure used in this study is defined as histori- cal analysis. The study will analyze the magnitude of the power wielded by one great American, Booker T. Washington, in the trend of ever-expanding educational opportunities for a large minority group of the total population. His actions were mainly geared to helping his own peOple, but his efforts to improve education, in many instances, were for the total pOpulation. Historical analysis, as used in this study, attempts to place an event in its proper perspective; that is, to view the interaction of the man and the times in which he lived. The times in which a man lives will set limits Ibid.. 9 upon the alternatives open to him and the priorities he sets for himself. An analysis of a man's work divorced from the environment in which he lives leads to generalizations that are dubious at best. As the writer proceeds with the study, he will adhere to the good advice of Page Smith, the distinguished biog- rapher of John Adams. He argues in his book that: The historian must recognize that history is not a scientific enterprise but a moral one. It is the study of human beings involved in an extra- ordinary drama, and its dramatic qualities are related to the moral values inherent in all life. History is in large part the story of men and women who have suffered and sacrificed to create the world in which we live. In this sense, it is selective rather than democratic. In history, all men are g9£_created equal. The general is more important than the private; the king, in most instances, is more important than his sub- ject. History is concerned with the actions of individuals and social groups, and since such action almost invariably has been undertaken in the name of certain values and ideals, the his- torian must make judgments on the actors and their actions. He must discriminate, further— more, between that which must be preserved and that which must be discarded. This method of inquiry will necessitate the examin- ation of original documents and personal papers. Also, visitations to Hampton Institute, Tuskegee Institute, and the Library of Congress will be made. At present, there lPage Smith, The Historian and History (New York: Random House, Inc., 1964). p. 229. 10 are 1,185 boxes of material estimated to contain between 300,000 and 1,000,000 items pertaining to Washington's life and activities now housed in the Library of Congress. Their description follows: The Booker T. Washington Papers, numbering ap- proximately 300,000 items, extended from 1882 to 1942 although the bulk of the material falls within the period ca. 1900 to 1915. The collection is exceptionally rich in material on the Negro's role in American educa— tion and educational philosophy, political activities, business, and international rela- tionships. It includes biographical material on Booker T. Washington and manuscript and printed c0pies of his addresses and articles, records of the development of Tuskegee Institute, and extensive correspondence revealing Washington's interests and activities in diverse fields and in such institutions as Hampton Institute, the National Negro Business League, and the General Education Board. Clippings, scrapbooks, pam— phlets, broadsides and photographs complete the collection. Correspondents of Washington's include such prominent political figures, Negro spokesmen, educational leaders, churchmen, industrialists, and philanthropists as William H; Baldwin, Wallace Butterick, Andrew Carnegie, George Washington Carver, James C. Clarkson, James H. Dillard, Frederick Douglass, William E. B. Dubois, Charles W. Eliot, T. E. Gardiner Murphy, Robert C. Ogden, Walter H. Page, Leigh Hunt, Seth Low, Fred R. Moore, Robert R. Moton, George F. Peabody, John D. Rockefeller, Theodore Roosevelt, Julius Rosenwald, Emmett J. Scott, Anson Phelps Stokes, William Howard Taft, Victor H. Tuland, and Oswold Garrison Villard.1 1Booker T. Washington, A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress (Washington: Manuscript Division Reference Department Library of Congress, 1958), p. 2. 11 One of the most complete descriptions of the Booker T. Washington Papers and one of the most careful evaluations of their worth to posterity were given by the late Dr. E. Franklin Frazier, a distinguished black sociologist at Howard University.1 Frazier noted that there were 151 file drawers of correspondence extending back to 1883 or two years after the founding of Tuskegee Institute. In addition, the Washington Papers contain 69 letter file cases, 40 scrap books, 10 boxes of minutes of the executive council of the school, and 12 books of student papers. Frazier acknowledged that the Washington Papers were incomplete in that some of the valuable documents relating l "The Booker T. Washington Papers," Annual Report of the Library of Congress (Washington: Library of Congress, June 27, 1943), pp. 119-120. The writer is unable to ex- plain why, in the past, so little interest has been shown in this collection of materials. At present, there appears to be a growing curiosity about the life of Booker T. Washington. This fact probably can be credited to two men: Dr. August Meier published Negro Thought in America 1880-1915; Racial Ideologies in the Age of Booker T. Washington in 1963. Dr. Louis R. Harlan has published several articles on Washington including "The Secret Life of Booker T. Washington" in The Journal of Southern History. He is currently preparing both a biography of Washington and a selective edition of his papers. 2E. Franklin Frazier (ed.), "The Booker T. Washington Papers,” quoted in the Quarterly Journal of Current Acguisitions, Vol. 2, Washington: Library of Congress, February 1945, pp. 23-31. 12 to Washington's life, his work at Tuskegee, and his role in national affairs were missing. Concluding that relatives of Washington had retained many of these documents, Frazier urged that they be given to the Library of Congress as im- portant historical data. Plan of Presentation This study is organized chronologically. There will be six chapters, the first of which gives the need and purpose of the study. The second gives a thumbnail descrip- tion or biographical sketch of Washington's life. The third is entitled "The Setting" and gives a brief history of the struggle for equal Opportunities by Black Americans from 1619 to 1880. It concludes with a description of the economic, social, and educational conditions of the ex-slaves at the time Washington went to Tuskegee. Chapter IV is divided into five-year segments begin- ning from 1880 to 1925. There is a review of the writings made by Washington to determine his phi1050phy relative to education. The second section discusses his success in working through others. The last section describes Washington's efforts to make his philosophy realistic. In Chapter V the writer examines Tuskegee's records and the collection of papers in the Library of Congress to 13 determine the extent of Washington's influence on educa- tion in West Africa. This chapter is divided into ten- year segments beginning with 1880 to 1925. Chapter VI includes a summary of the findings and makes recommendations for further study. CHAPTER II AN OVERVIEW OF BOOKER T. WASHINGTON'S LIFE Booker T. Washington was born on the James Burroughs' Plantation in Franklin County, Virginia. The exact site was Hales Ford Community, 16 miles southeast of Roanoke, Virginia. Concerning his birth Washington states: I am not quite sure of the exact place or exact date of my birth, but at any rate I suspect I must have been born somewhere and at some time. As nearly as I have been able to learn, I was born near a cross-roads post-office called Hale's Ford, and the year was 1858 or 1859. I do not know the month or the day. The earliest impres- sions I can now recall are of the plantation where the slaves had their cabins.l A visit to the State of Virginia revealed that the site of the cabin in which he was born and the James Burroughs' Plantation on which he spent his early days are now the Booker T. Washington Birthplace Memorial. 1Booker T. Washington, pp From Slavery: An Autobiography (New York: .Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1863), p. 1. 2The writer visited the Booker T. Washington National Monument on August 28, 1971. The Monument is located 16 miles east of Rocky Mount, Virginia, the county seat of Franklin County, and 16 miles southeast of Roanoke, Virginia. The plantation is Open every day of the week during daylight hours. 14 15 It is evident that Washington never knew his exact age. At the time of his death, an inquiry was made of the records of Franklin County, Virginia. His half brother, John, found a family Bible which belonged to James Burroughs, the plan- tation owner. In this Bible, Washington's birth was recorded as April 5, 1856. The Bible was later carried to Tuskegee and was destroyed in a fire. Booker was approximately two years older than he thought he was. A probe into the records of the Burroughs' Planta- tion divulged the fact that he was 13 days older than the generally accepted birth date of April 5, 1856.2 There is a visitor center which contains exhibits on Washington's life and an audiovisual program that interprets his career and contributions. Also, there is a trail that leads one through places of interest on the old Burroughs' plantation. The Booker T. Washington National Monument is admini- stered by the National Park Service, U. S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C. A superintendent is in immediate charge. Working with him are a historian, a park guide and a maintenance man. Mr. Gordon V. Gray, on loan from the Robert Frost Memorial in North Carolina, was on duty the day of this visit. 1Basil Joseph Mathews, Booker T. Washington: Educator and Interracial Interpreter (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1948), p. 3. 2The writer was issued the first birth certificate ever requested according to the clerk in the Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics, Richmond, Virginia. It shows that a colored male child was born on the James Burroughs' Plantation, AprillB, 1856. The birth certificate does not give an official name to this male child, but Washington makes the necessary explanation in his autobiography. The certificate was issued to the writer on the 14th day of August, 1970. 16 Washington knew very little of his mother's family and nothing of his father who was a white man. His mother's name was Jane Burroughs. She took the surname of her owner's family. At the time of Washington's birth, his mother had an older son, John. Jane was married to Booker's step— father, Washington Ferguson, who lived some distance from the Burroughs' Plantation.l Booker remembers seeing his stepfather, ". . . perhaps once a year, that being about Christmas time."2 During the Civil War, Washington Ferguson managed to escape from his owner. He left John, Booker, and Amanda with Jane and followed Federal troops into West Virginia. The court records of Franklin County show that the plantation owner, James Burroughs, had only 10 slaves. This was considered a small number, but the Burroughs' Plantation was a small one, only 207 acres. 1A conversation with the above mentioned historian in- dicated that recently, substantial information has been found which filled many gaps in the scant knowledge concern- ing the early life of Washington. His notes and manuscripts support the belief that John's father was James Benjamin Burroughs, son of James Burroughs. Thomas Benjamin Ferguson, Son of Josiah Ferguson, a nearby plantation owner, is re- £3ponsible for Booker's birth. A slave, Washington Ferguson, tho was owned by Josiah Ferguson,narried Booker's mother 51nd this union produced Jane's only daughter, Amanda. 2Washington, op. cit., p. 18. 17 James Burroughs died of lung disease July 24, 1861, and was buried on the plantation. In the inventory and appraise— ment of the estate personal [Eig7 of James Burroughs, deceased, taken the 23d day of November, 1861, gave the value of each slave. They are listed below: 1 Negro man (Munroe) [Eig7 $600.00 1 Negro woman (Sophia) 250.00 1 Negro woman (Jane) .ZBooker's mothep7 250.00 1 Negro man (Lee) 1,000.00 1 Negro boy (Green) 800.00 1 Negro girl (Mary Jane) 800.00 1 Negro girl (Sa11y[_ 700.00 1 Negro boy (John) [Booker's brothe§7 550.00 1 Negro boy (Booker) 400.00 1 Negro girl (Amanda)_ZBooker's siste§7 Jane and her immediate family were valued at $1,400.00. Washington knew very little of his family's history. Concerning his ancestry he states: Of my ancestry I know almost nothing. In the slave quarters, and even later, I heard whispered conver- sations among the coloured people of the tortures which the slaves, including, no doubt, my ancestors on my mother's side, suffered in the middle passage of the slave ship while being conveyed from Africa to America. I have been unsuccessful in securing any information that would throw any accurate light upon the history of my family beyond my mother. She, I remember, had a half-brother and a half-sister. In the days of slavery not very much attention was given to family history and family records--that is, black family records. My mother, I suppose, attracted the attention of a purchaser who was afterward my owner and hers. Her addition to the slave family attracted about lWill Book 12, p. 150, Rocky Mount, Franklin County, Virginia. 18 as much attention as the purchase of a new horse or cow. Of my father I know even less than of my mother. I do not even know his name. I have heard reports of the effect that he was a white man who lived on one of the near-by plantations. Whoever he was, I never heard of his taking the least interest in me or providing in any way for my rearing. But I do not find especial fault with him. He was simply another unfortunate victim of the insti- tution which the Nation unhappily had engrafted upon it at that time.l ‘/ Education for a slave boy was nonexistent. He de- scribes the educational conditions or lack of them in this way: . I had no schooling whatever while I was a slave, though I remember on several occasions I went as far as the schoolhouse door with one of my young mistresses to carry her books. The picture of several dozen boys and girls in a schoolroom engaged in study made a deep impression upon me,_ jand I had the feeling that to get into a school-; {house and study in this way would be about the 3 same as getting into paradise.2 After the Civil War there were many problems to be faced. Two of these stand out in his memory: After the coming of freedom there were two points upon which practically all the peOple on our place were agreed, and I find that this was generally true throughout the South: that they must change their names, and that they must leave the old plantation for at least a few days or weeks in order that they might really feel sure that they were free.3 1Washington, op. cit., pp. 1-2. Ibid., p. 5. 3Ibid., p. 17. 19 Shortly after freedom was declared, Washington Ferguson sent for his family. Leaving the old plantation for a new home was an emotional experience Washington was long to remember. He describes it in this manner: The parting from our former owners and the members of our own race on the plantation was a serious occasion. From the time of our parting till their death we kept up a correspondence with the older members of the family, and in later years we have kept in touch with those who were the younger members. We were several weeks making the trip, and most of the time we slept in the open air and did our cooking over a log fire out-of-doors. At the time Jane Burroughs and her family reached West Virginia, salt mining was an important industry. Washington Ferguson had secured a small shanty for his family in Malden, 2 , West Virginia and a job for his two stepsons in a salt 1Ibid., p. 18. 2The writer visited Malden, West Virginia, August 27, 1971. Malden is 5 miles east of downtown Charleston. Upon arrival the writer met Mr. Cecil Lewis, chief of Malden's fire department. He pointed out the area in which Booker had lived as a boy, and the African Zion Baptist Church where he taught school. Mr. Lewis suggested that I visit Mrs. Minnie W. Cooper, a retired Black school teacher. According to him, she was the knowledgeable person in Malden on the life of Booker T. Washington. A three hour interview was granted. In 1954 the State of West Virginia erected a granite statue, with a life-size bust to Washington's memory. It is located on U. S. Highway 64, near the Washington home site; and the Citation reads: Booker Taliaferro Washington Born 1856, Born a lowly slave Died 1915, A great American 2O furnace owned by General Lewis Ruffner.l When Washington and his family arrived they found that, All who lived in the little town were in one way or another connected with the salt business. Though I was a mere child, my stepfather put me and my brother at work in one of the furnaces. Often I began work as early as four o'clOck in the morning. Famous educator, author, lecturer and advocate of the doctrine of interracial cooperation. Booker Taliaferro Washington was born near Hales Ford, Franklin County, Virginia. He spent his early life here in Malden, West Virginia. He was employed in the Ruffner Salt Works, and by Mrs. Viola Ruffner, to whom he gave credit for in- spiring him to secure an education. He graduated from Hampton Institute, Hampton, Virginia, in 1875, and returned to Malden, where he taught school for two years. Later he became an in- structor and assistant to the president of his alma mater. By his originality, vision and force, he estab- lished in 1881 the first vocational school for Negroes in America, at Tuskegee in Alabama. Through his emphasis on training the hands as well as the mind, he taught the value of voca- tional education not only to the Negro youth but to the world. "He lifted the veil of ignorance from his t,people and pointed the way to progress ' through industry and education." lWashington, op. cit., p. 19. 2General Lewis Ruffner was the owner of a salt mine and coal mine. Mathews, op. cit., p. 34. The so-called salt mines actually were bored wells reaching down to subterranean reservoirs of water highly charged with salt. The water was pumped to the surface from the numerous wells into containers built on top of furnaces. The salt first formed on the top 21 Soon after the family was settled in West Virginia, Washington states, "I induced my mother to get hold of a book for me." This was his first book. To the best of his memory it was an old copy of Webster's ”blue—back" spelling book. There were no teachers for Black students in Malden at this time. Washington remembers that ". . . I tried in all the ways I could think of to learn . . . all of the course with- out a teacher, for I could find no teacher."2 Washington's struggle for an education was helped along by itinerant teachers who came to West Virginia looking for work. His stepfather forced him to work in the salt furnace during the day, and what education he could garner was at night after a long hard day's work. Once Booker was able to attend school he found the need for a second name. He solved the problem in this way: and then was precipitated to the bottom of the containers as the water evaporated. The miners scooped out the salt and spread it on a high wooden platform. There it was left to dry for some twenty-four hours. The salt was then packed into barrels. Each barrel was supposed to hold two hundred and eighty pounds of salt, which had to be hammered into the barrel until the contents were brought up to the required weight. This packing was Booker's first job. 1Washington, op. cit., p. 20. 2Ibid. 22 From the time when I could remember anything, I had been called simply "Booker." Before going to school it had never occurred to me that it was needful or apprOpriate to have an additional name. When I heard the school-roll called, I noticed that all the children had at least two names, and some of them indulged in what seemed to me the extravagance of having three. I was in deep perplexity, because I knew that the teacher would demand of me at least two names, and I had only one. By the time the occasion came for the enrolling of my name, an idea occurred to me which I thought would make me equal to the situation; and so, when the teacher asked me what my full name was, I calmly told him "Booker Washington," as if I had been called by that name all my life; and by that name I have since been known. Later in my life I found that my mother had given me the name of "Booker Taliaferro" soon after I was born, but in some way that part of my name seemed to disappear, and for a long while was forgotten, but as soon as I found out about it I revived it, and made my full name "Booker Taliaferro Washington." I think there are not many men in our country who have had the privilege of naming themselves in the way that I have. 1Ibid., p. 25. Note: It is possible that Booker was not nearly as perplexed in searching for a last name as he would have us believe. His stepfather, with whom he was now living was named washington Ferguson. A question, yet to be answered, however, is why John, a half brother, James an adopted brother, and Amanda, his stepfather's daughter also took Washington as their last name. Basil Mathews (see pp. 4-6) offers the following ex- planation for Washington's first and second name: Herbert Mathews (Basil's brother) . . . spent nearly twenty years in government service in Nigeria in constant intercourse with Hause-speaking Africans. Having a Mohammedan back- ground, they startled him while discussing this problem of washington's first name, by saying, "That is the word that most Mohammedan Nigerian mothers use when calling their little sons. They will cry Bukar-~the first syllable being pronounced as in "book"—-just as we might call "Sonny." The name Bukar is one of the numerous Northern Nigerian derivates of the Arab name of the first Caliph of Islam, who succeeded 23 Washington tells us what it is like to have no family memories to cherish when he says: I have no idea, as I have stated elsewhere, who my grandmother was. I have, or have had, uncles and aunts and cousins, but I have no knowledge as to where most of them are. My case will illus- trate that of hundreds of thousands of black peOple in every part of our country. The very fact that the white boy is conscious that, if he fails in life, he will disgrace the whole family record, extending back through many gener- ations is of tremendous value in helping him to resist temptations. The fact that the indi- vidual has behind and surrounding him proud family history and connection serves as a stimu- lus to help him to overcome obstacles when striving for success.1 Years ago I resolved that because I had no an— cestry myself I would leave a record of which my children would be proud, and which might encourage them to still higher effort.2 Mohammad. His name was Abu-Bakr. It is one of the most common names in use for boys throughout the Mohammedan areas of West Africa." Further inquiries showed that a considerable number of West African words were, in fact, carried across the Atlantic to America by the captured slaves and were blended with English on the slave plantations both in the West Indies and the Southern states of America. Some of these words are still used by the descendants on cotton plantations. . . . The second name, Taliaferro, which Washington found in later years that his mother had used soon after he was born but later dropped, was that of a white man living on a neighboring plantation. Booker does not seem to have known this. 1Washington, op. cit., pp. 26—27. 2Ibid. 24 After working in the salt furnace for sometime, Washington was moved into the West Virginia coal mine. It was here that he heard of the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. Immediately he made up his mind to attend this school regardless of obstacles or cost. About this time Mrs. Viola Ruffner, wife Of General Lewis Ruffner-~owner of the salt furnace and coal mine, needed a house boy. Booker cajoled his mother into pre- vailing upon Mrs. Ruffner to give him a chance. Mrs. Ruffner was from Vermont and had a reputation for being very severe. Nothing was to be done in a slovenly or slipshod manner: however, she agreed to hire him at $5.00 a month. They developed a mutual trust, and he never tired of extolling her virtues or the value of her discipline. The meticulousness he learned in her home was later responsible for getting him accepted at Hampton. It was also the cause for his hating the lack of self-discipline in students, faculty and friends wherever he went for as long as he lived. She, in turn, having found a youth whom she could trust, gave him the Opportunity to start a library and the encourage- ment he needed to set out on a career. Throughout the months that Booker worked for Mrs. Ruffner, the desire to go to Hampton still burned within 1Ibid., p. 24. 25 him. In the autumn of 1872, at the age of sixteen he left home. For weeks he traveled like a hobo with no change of clothing and no place to sleep except the ground. Tired and dirty and with only fifty cents he finally arrived at his destination, only to be greeted by a gallingly chilly reception. Miss Mary F. Mackie, one of the head teachers, seeing how insistent he was about entering the institution, said, "The adjoining recitation room needs sweeping. Take the broom and sweep it."l Booker jubilantly grasped at the Opportunity, and beyond a doubt the unrelenting training he had received from Mrs. Ruffner, stood him in good stead. He tells us that he swept the room three times, moved furniture and dusted every inch of wood in the room four times; then he reported to the head teacher. She tOOk her handkerchief and rubbed the tables, benches and other pieces of furniture; she found them all spotless. She then turned to Washington and said, "I guess you will do to enter this institution."2 Mrs. Ruffner and Miss Mackie, although very undeviating in discipline, were most kind to anyone who could meet the challenge. Miss Mackie made Booker janitor of the building, thus insuring him that most of the expenditure for room and Ibid., p. 37. Ibid., p. 38. 26 board would be covered. These two women gave him the self- confidence needed to start on his new vocation and they influenced the development of his prudent philosophy. The school records show that Washington entered Hampton. He graduated with honors on June 18, 1875. He went back home to Malden, West Virginia, to teach. Three years later, he entered Wayland Seminary, but only for one year. In 1889 he received an appointment at Hampton Institute as a teacher. In addition to teaching night school and to super- vising the Indian Dormitory, he was made secretary to General Armstrong, the principal.1 1The writer visited Hampton Institute, Hampton, Virginia, June 25, 1971 and acquired a Bulletin with the following information: General Samuel Armstrong was the founder Of Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (now Hampton Institute). He was born on January 30, 1839, at Wailuku, on Maui Island, Hawaii. Both his parents were missionaries. He studied at Oakhu College, Honolulu. His father died in 1860 and he moved to the United States where he attended Williams College in Massachusetts. The Civil War broke out while Armstrong was still a student. He entered the Union Army and became a colonel in the Negro regiment. He accepted a position with the Freedmen's Bureau in 1866 which gave him full charge of a camp of emancipated Negroes near Hampton, Virginia. Out of this experience grew the desire to establish a teacher training school for Negroes. Enthusi- asm for his plans brought aid from the American Missionary Association and from friends in the North. Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute was founded with Armstrong as its first director in 1868. When Hampton Institute opened its doors, it 27 During Washington's stay at Hampton, General Armstrong was to make an indelible impression on him. In fact, the assumption might be made that Washington worshipped the General to the point that it would be difficult to extricate their philosophies. Washington's philosophy of education and life was simply an extension of what he believed General Armstrong stood for. He explained their relationship in this way: listed as assets, ”two teachers, fifteen students, little equipment, and the faith of its principal in 'learning by doing' and 'education for 1ife.'" The first conditions for admission were simple: sound health, good character, age not less than fourteen years or over twenty—five, ability to read and write intelligibly, knowledge of arithmetic through long division, intention to remain through- out the whole course of three years and to become a teacher. Support in the early days came from philan- thropic and religious groups and individuals, from Federal Land-Grant funds (1872-1920) and numerous other sources. With the help Of the Freedmen's Bureau and northern philanthropists, the school was able to erect a classroom building, the Academy. In 1878 a group Of Indians was sent to Hampton to be educated with the help of federal funds. These appropriations were continued until 1912, and the Indians continued to attend Hampton until 1923, when Indian schools had become more numerous and were well enough equipped for Hampton to dis- continue its successful contribution to Indian education. After the death of General Armstrong, May 11, 1893, the founder's work was continued and expanded for nearly a quarter of a century under the leader— ship of the late Rev. Hollis B. Fisscll. (This information comes from the Hampton Bulletin, Vol. 97, NO. 2, Hampton, Virginia, September, 1969, p. 10.) from took 28 I have spoken of the impression that was made upon me by the buildings and general appearance of the Hampton Institute, but I have not spoken of that which made the greatest and most lasting impression upon me, and that was a great man-— the noblest, rarest human being that it has ever been my privilege to meet. I refer to the late General Samuel C. Armstrong. It has been my fortune to meet personally many Of what are called great characters, both in Europe and America, but I do not hesitate to say that I never met any man who, in my estima— tion, was the equal of General Armstrong. Fresh from the degrading influences of the slave plan- tation and the coal-mines, it was a rare privilege for me to be permitted to come into direct contact with such a character as General Armstrong. I shall always remember that the first time I went into his presence he made the impression upon me of being a perfect man: I was made to feel that there was something about him that was super- human. It was my privilege to know the General personally from the time I entered Hampton till he died, and the more I saw of him the greater he grew in my estimation. One might have re— moved from Hampton all the buildings, class—rooms, teachers, and industries, and given the men and women there the opportunity of coming into daily contact with General Armstrong, and that alone would have been a liberal education. The older I grow, the more I am convinced that there is no education which one can get from books and costly apparatus that is equal to that which can be gotten from contact with great men and women. Instead of studying books so constantly, how I wish that our schools and colleges might learn to study men and things. Washington taught at his alma mater for only one year-- the fall of 1880 to the Spring of 1881. From here he the initial step that led to his life's work. lWashington, op. cit., pp. 38-39. 29 He recalls: In May 1881, near the close of my first year in teaching the night-school, in a way that I had not dared expect, the opportunity opened for me to begin my life-work. One night in the chapel, after the usual chapel exercises were over, General Armstrong referred to the fact that he had received a letter from some gentlemen in Alabama asking him to recommend some one to take charge Of what was to be a normal school for the coloured people in the little town of Tuskegee in that state. These gentlemen seemed to take it for granted that no coloured man suitable for the position could be secured, and they were ex- pecting the General to recommend a white man for the place. The next day General Armstrong sent for me to come to his office, and, much to my surprise, asked me if I thought I could fill the position in Alabama. I told him that I would be willing to try. Accordingly, he wrote to the people who had applied to him for the information, that he did not know of any white man to suggest, but if they would be willing to take a coloured man, he had one whom he could recommend. In this letter he gave them my name. Several days passed before anything more was heard about the matter. Some time afterward, one Sunday evening during the chapel exercises, a messenger came in and handed the General a telegram. At the end Of the exercises he read the telegram to the school. In substance, these were its words: "Booker T. Washington will suit us. Send him at once."1 lIbid., pp. 76—77. Note: The idea of work and study programs was not original with Booker T. Washington or General Armstrong. The Swiss educator, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi had tried it with little success in Switzerland. His experiment failed. In fact Pestalozzian pedagogy gained recognition in several ways. One was through the work Of Emanual Von Fellenberg (1771-1844) who established a school at Hofwyl, Switzerland, designed to give a com— bined industrial and intellectual education. Fellenberg's school was very successful and attracted wide attention. 30 It should be noted here, that General Armstrong's ef— forts were to produce teachers who would combine an industrial with an academic education. This combination of experience has been labeled the "Hampton Model," by this writer. (Washington's work at Tuskegee constitutes Chapters IV and V of this study.) During his lifetime Washington had many honors be- stowed upon him. He turned down positions other Black men would have given everything to have offered them. His daughter, Portia Washington Pittman, stated that her father was offered the governorship of Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, but in both instances, decided to remain at Tuskegee where he was sure he was needed.1 If there is one thing of which the writer is certain, it is the fact that Washington was to be forever motivated by the memory of his mother. She, as much as any other force, would be responsible for whatever success he would This is the first recorded success of the dual approach on the continent. Pestolozzianism reached this country in the year 1860 at the Oswego Movement in Oswego, New York. It is important to indicate here, however, that Hampton Institute and Tuskegee were to be the first known experi- ments in the United States where the work-study approach was used with Blacks at a college level. lTaped interview with Mrs. Portia Washington Pittman, daughter of Booker T. Washington, dated December 7, 1970. (The complete interview is in the Appendix.) 31 achieve. He was keenly aware of the toil and sacrifices she made for the survival of her family. His daughter, Portia, explained the relationship between mother and son in this way. Question: Did your father ever speak of his mother? Answer: Yes, my father often spoke of his mother. He loved her very much. She was his inspiration. She died after he went to Tuskegee. He got his greatness from his mother and his shrewdness from the white people.1 Four other persons were instrumental in shaping his philosophy. Two were Mrs. Viola Ruffner and Miss Mary Mackie, mentioned above. The third person was Miss Nathalie Lord who is given credit for helping the Hampton teacher to become an orator; the fourth was his dear friend, General Armstrong. These were his idols; all of them were white, middle class and successful. His experiences with them had been positive. Undoubtedly, they accounted for his belief that whites would accept those Blacks who were clean, industrious, personable and who exhibited high moral standards. Time, however, has shown him to have been exceedingly naive on this point. lIbid. 32 Washington was married three times and became the father of three children, a daughter, Portia, by his first wife, Fanny Smith, and two sons, Booker T. Jr., and Ernest Davidson by his second wife, Olivia Davidson. There were no children by his third wife, Margaret J. Murry, who died some years after his death. As principal of Tuskegee, he made his last Sunday evening talk to the teachers and students on October 17, 1915, / He died at Tuskegee, Alabama, November 14, 1915. He had , lived 59 years, 6 months, and 26 days. An honorary Master of Arts degree was conferrred on him at the 56th commencement exercises of Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1896. He was one of the speakers at the dinner of the Harvard Alumni Association which followed the commencement exercises. The Latin version of the cita- tion as engrossed on his diploma is: Booker Taliaferro Washington, virum in arte docendi excellentem eundemque genti suae opitulantem, Dei patriaeque ministrum Optimum, Artium Magistrum. In 1901, the degree of Doctor of Philosophy was conferred upon him by Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire. The citation read: 1Information received from Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, letter dated January, 1971. Translation--"A man excelling in the art of teaching, bringing succor to his peOple, a noble servant of God and country, Master of Arts." 33 Booker Taliaferro Washington—-leader of his FQrace out of childhood into manhood. For a list of honors bestowed upon Booker T. Washington posthumously, see the Appendix. lInformation received from Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, letter dated June 9, 1971. CHAPTER III THE SETTING In order to place the career of Booker T. Washington in perspective, a short review of Negro education in the United States will be helpful.1 Historically, the available evidence shows a growing trend in educational attainment for Black Americans. They have always possessed a deep faith in the power of education to bring about improved changes in their social and economic status as well as improving the quality of their personal lives. Table I and Figure 1 below Show the decrease in i11iter— ate Americans, white and Black. This table and figure show that in 1870, approximately 80 percent of non-whites were illiterate. By 1969, i11iteracy.was down to 3.6 percent. Although Blacks have caught up with whites to a considerable degree in elementary education, the gap is still great in graduate education. There is also a lack of quality lSee Chronology Of Negro Education in the Appendix. 34 35 TABLE I PERCENT ILLITERATE IN THE POPULATION, BY RACE: 1870 TO 1969 (Data for 1870 to 1940 are for the population 10 years old and over; data for 1947, 1952, 1959, and 1969 are for the population 14 years old and over) Negro and Year Total White Other Races 1969 1.0 0.7 3.61 1959 2.2 1.6 7.5 1952 2.5 1.8 10.2 1947 2.7 1.8 11.0 1940 2.92 2.02 11.52 1930 4.3 3.0 16.4 1920 6.0 4.0 23.0 1910 7.7 5.0 30.5 1900 10.7 6.2 44.5 1890 13.3 7.7 56.8 1880 17.0 9.4 70.0 1870 20.0 11.5 79.9 lNegro only in 1969. 2 . Estimated Source: "Population Characteristics," Bureau Of the Census-- United States Department of Commerce Publication, Series P-20, NO. 217, Washington, D.C., March 10, 1971, p. 2. Note: This chart is a reproduction. No explanation was given as to why the years 1940 through 1969 are not in ten year intervals, nor why population percentages were estimated for the year 1940. 36 FIGURE I PERCENT ILLITERATE IN THE POPULATION BY RACE: 1870 TO 1969 (Data for 1870 to 1930 are for the population 10 years Old and over; data for 1959 and 1969 are for the pOpulation 14 years old and over.) Percent 80 70 60 50 -Negro and other races 40 3O 20 Total *Negro only in 10% 1969 + 3 ——c- ;:: 1870 1900 1930 1959 1969 Source: "POpulation Characteristics," Bureau of the Census-- United States Department of Commerce Publication, Series P-20, NO. 217, Washington, D.C., March 10, 1971, p. l. I1 education where Black children attend predominately Black schools. The first Negroes were brought to the new colonies in 1619 by the Dutch and were sold to the planters as servants. In the South, the plantations required large numbers of workers and by the 1750's slavery was firmly established.1 To control the slaves, all of the Southern colonies enacted special laws or slave codes. These laws are dis— cussed by a prominent historian, Dr. John Hope Franklin, currently chairman Of the Department of History at the Uni— versity of Chicago. He paints a very vivid picture of life for slaves after 1776 and reports conditions as follows: After the colonies secured their independence and established their own governments they did not neglect the matter of slavery in the laws which they enacted. Where slavery was growing, as in the lower South in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, new and more stringent laws were enacted. All over the South, however, there emerged a body of laws generally regarded as the Black Codes which covered every aspect of the life of the slave. There were variations from lSee Matthew T. Mellon, Negro Slavery (New York: Bergman Publishers, 1969), pp. v-xiii. Note: There are records which show that Christopher Columbus and his com- panions brought a few Christianized Negroes with them on their trips to Hispaniola, but it was approximately 127 years later before slavery (the first group consisted of 20 Negroes) was introduced into the British colonies--not by the British but by the Dutch. 38 state to state, but the general point of view was that slaves were not persons but property; and laws should protect the ownership of such property, should protect the whites against any dangers that were likely to arise from the presence of large numbers of Negroes, and should maintain a position of due subordination on the part of the slaves in order that the optimum of discipline and work could be achieved. Whenever there was an insurrection, or even rumors of one, it was usually the occasion for the enact- ment of more stringent laws to control the activi- ties and movements of Negro slaves. For example, after the Vesey uprising in 1822 South Carolina enacted a law requiring the imprisonment of all Negro seamen during the stay of their vessel in Port. The Nat Turner insurrection of 1831 and the simultaneous drive of the abolitionists against slavery brought forth the enactment of many new repressive measures in other parts of the South as well as in Virginia and neighboring states. Long before the end of the slave period the Black Codes in all the Southern states had become so elaborate that there was hardly need for modification even when new threats arose to shake the foundations of the institution.' One Of the devices set up to enforce the Black Codes was the patrol, which has been aptly de- scribed as an adaptation of the militia to main- tain the institution of slavery. Counties were usually divided into "beats” or areas of patrol, and free white men were called upon tO serve for a stated period of time, one, three, or six months. These patrols were to apprehend Negroes out of place and return them to their masters or commit them to jail, to visit slave quarters and search for various kinds of weapons that might be used in an uprising, and to visit assemblies Of Negroes where disorder might develop or where conspiracy might be planned. This proved so in- convenient to some citizens that they regularly paid the fines that were imposed for dereliction of duty. A corrupted form Of the patrol system was the vigilance committees which came into existence during the emergencies created by 39 uprisings or rumors of them. At such a time, it was not unusual for the committees like these frequently ended up engaging in nothing except a lynching party. In 1831 the State of Alabama passed a law making it a crime to educate a Negro.2 During the years that followed John Chavis of Charleston, South Carolina, taught whites during the day and Negroes at night but was forced to close his school. Prudence Crandall, a young white woman, was taken to court and forced to leave Connecticut for teaching Negroes.3 Probably the most devastating of these laws to affect the education of Black Americans was enacted in South Carolina which tended to set the pattern for the South. The law deprived children of an equal educational oppor— tunity if one or both parents were of African or Indian descent. It was stated in this manner: Be it enacted, (etc.) that all negroes, mulattoes, mestizoes and indians, which may at any time here- ;gtofore have been sold, or are not held or taken to be, or hereafter shall be bought and sold for lJohn Hope Franklin, From Slavery to Freedom (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1967), pp. 187-190. 2White, 0 . cit., p. 27. 3Russell L. Adams, Great Negroes Past and Present (Chicago: Afro—Am Publishing Co., 1964), p. 108. 40 slaves, are hereby declared slaves, and they and their children are hereby made and declared slaves to all intents and purposes. Dr. Franklin describes the Negroes' struggle in the North for an increasingly fair and just opportunity to be educated this way: In their efforts to elevate themselves intellectually in the post-revolutionary period, Negroes benefited from the general trend to establish and improve schools in the new republic. There was, also, the sentiment in favor of the education of Negroes which the various abolition and manumission societies ex- pressed before the turn of the century. The New England and Middle Atlantic states were especially active in this area. Whites in Boston were teach- ing Negro children both privately and in public institutions. In 1798 a separate school for Negro children was established by a white teacher in the home of Primus Hall, a prominent Negro. Two years later the Negroes asked the City of Boston for a separate school, but the citizens refused to accede to the request. The Negroes established the school anyway, and employed two Harvard men as instructors. The school continued to flourish for many years. Finally, in 1820 the City of Boston Opened an elementary school for Negro children. One of the best known schools for Negroes during the period was the New York African Free School established by the Manumission Society in 1787. When it began it had forty students, the number never exceeding sixty in the first keen; but in 1800 interest in the school increased. New impetus for its continued growth came in 1810 when the state required masters to teach all lJohn Codman Hurd, The Law of Freedom and Bondage in the United States (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1858), I, 299-301. Note: A "mulatto“ was a person who was part Negro and part white. A “mestizo” was a person who was part Indian and part white. 41 slave children to read the Scriptures. By 1820 the institution was accommodating more than 500 Negro children. New Jersey began educating her Negro children in 1777. By 1801 there had been short-lived schools set up in Burlington, Salem, and Trenton. In addition Quakers and other humanitarian groups were teaching Negro children privately. As early as 1774 the Quakers of Philadelphia established a school for Negro children, and after the war, thanks to funds provided by philanthropists like Anthony Benezet, the program was enlarged. In 1787 a school was built, and ten years later there were no less than seven schools for Negroes in Philadelphia. This interest in the development of Negro education continued down into the nine- teenth century.l Probably the most paradoxical case on record concerning the early education of Negroes was in 1846. It grew out of an attempt by a Boston Negro to send his child to a white school in that city. The Courts of Massachusetts decreed separate facilities for White and Black as long as they were equal.2 lFranklin, Op. cit., p. 160. 2White, op. cit., pp. 24-25. The paradox is that Boston was the leading U. 5. city in educational progress yet the first to legally prescribe "separate but equal" edu- cational facilities for Blacks. It should be noted here that some of Booker T. Washington's critics credit him with contributing to the "separate but equal" philosophy pertain- ing to Negroes in the Plessy vs. Ferggson, 163, U. S. 537. The historical facts are that the legal precedent had been set, not in the South but in Boston, five years before Washington was born and forty-nine years before Washington's address in Atlanta, Georgia. 42 There are other important milestones along this path to educational opportunity far too numerous to mention in the allotted space. Suffice it to say that after the Civil War schools for Negroes began to spring up throughout the South. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation to become effective January l, 1863.1 On this date Booker T. Washington was nearly seven years old. Eighteen years later, when twenty—five, he became principal \/ of Tuskegee Institute. Between the years 1886 and the end of the century the plight of the Negro became increasingly deplorable. The Reconstruction Era (1865-1877) had been one in which Negroes participated to a very limited degree. The facts are that they made some mistakes and many constructive contributions; yet received more than their share of the blame for whatever shortcomings and ills existed in the lThe Proclamation was a manifesto issued by President Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862. The document pro- claimed all slaves to be free within any Confederate State that was at war with the Union. The Proclamation was not to affect the status of slavery unless a state was at war against the Union. It allowed the institution to exist legally in those states that had not seceeded. Only 11 states left the Union. Although the Proclamation actually freed no slaves, it did add a second cause to pursue the Civil War. The first was to save the Union and the second, after January 1, 1963, was to abolish slavery. 43 post-Civil War South. In support of this position Meier and Rudwick state: The white Southerners who overthrew Reconstruc- tion, and their apologists ever since, have charged Negro domination and corruption as justi- fication for their acts. Actually, at no time can Negroes be said to have been in control of any Southern state. None was ever elected or nominated for governor. Only in the lower house of the South Carolina legislature were colored men ever in a majority. South Carolina was the only state with a Negro serving as Supreme Court Justice. Mississippi the only one that sent Negroes to the United States Senate. Obviously, even in these two states, where Negroes were over half the population, they never really controlled the government since the highest state office eluded them and the majority Of important offices were always in white hands. And for a state like Georgia, where there was only one Negro congressman and no Negroes at all in the high executive or judicial Office, the charge of Negro domination is clearly without substance. ‘ The Compromise of 1877, in which President Rutherford B. Hayes withdrew the Union forces from Southern states, ushered in a reign of terror for Black Americans. In fact, the Negro historian, Rayford W. Logan, has called the period 1877 to 1901 the ”nadir" in the Black man's struggle for equality.2 1August Meier and Elliott M. Rudwick, From Plantation to Ghetto (New York: Hill and Wang, 1969), p. 153. 2Rayford W. Logan, The Negro in American Thought: The Nadir 1877-1901 (New York: Dial Press, 1954). Note: The writer recommends two additional publications that discuss this problem. They are: Theodore Branter Wilson, The Black Codes of the South (University of Alabama; University of Alabama PreSs, 1965) and C. Vann Woodward, The Strange Case Economic Conditions of 44 Black Americans in the 1880's The ex—slave popul his work in Alabama exc shows the increase in s INCREASE Year ation at the time Washington began eeded 4,000,000. The table below laves from 1800 to 1860. TABLE II IN SLAVES BETWEEN 1800-1860 Number ........... .... 1,002,037 .... ........ ... 1,377,800 ............... 1,771,658 .............. . 2,328,642 ............... 2,873,648 ............... 3,638,808 .. ............. 4,441,830 William A. Sinclair, The Aftermath of Slavepy (New The ex-slaves endu some instances, were ac compelled to work under only to them. The laws that nearly all freedom As a people who thought York: Arno Press and The New York Times, 1969), p. 16. red economic conditions that, in tually worse than slavery. They were a series of labor laws applicable Of vagrancy were made so restrictive of movement and transit was denied. they had been freed, they soon found of Jim Crow (New York: Oxford University, Press, 1966). 45 they were not free to sell their time at a fair market price. They were forbidden, in many instances, to compete for jobs in areas where their skills could be used. The Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment had made them free, but the Southern states, one by one, had restored slavery by in- suring econOmic deprivation. A few examples will suffice: Alabama passed a law which allowed the authorities to declare Negroes vagrant, fined fifty dollars and in default of payment, the ex-slave could be hired out for up to a period of six months. This law was used to allow plantation owners to profit from the punishment of Negroes for a portion Of the year when labor in the cotton fields was needed. After the crop had been harVested, the workers were usually released and allowed to shift for themselves. The plantation owner had the services of the worker for paying the small sum; even that small sum did not go to the worker but rather was paid into the county treasury. The affect was to relieve the tax that would have been charged to the plantation owners. Some servants had no place to call home. When they were found to have no fixed residence, they were forced to work for the city for a period as punishment. This resulted in free labor for the city. When the need to hire appeared, the State of Alabama and the city of Mobile agreed to a 46 scheme whereby workers could be hired for twenty—five cents a day. A peck of corn meal and four pounds of bacon were allowed per week for each man.1 The end result of these laws kept the ex-slave in a state of poverty. The records show that once a Negro had been freed, he very often had no other choice than to return to the farm as a farm-worker and in many cases to his former master. The average monthly wage was from $9.00 to $15.00 for men and from $5.00 to $10.00 for women. These Blacks were also given food, shelter, and fuel or in instances one—quarter to half of the cotton and food stuff grown. Whenever possible, they acquired land and tried to become independent farmers on their own.2 In the industrial world deep cleavages developed between Whites and Blacks. Negroes were not accepted in many unions and for the most part were barred from the labor movement. To be a blacksmith, bricklayer, cabinet maker, or any other skilled worker was to be in competition with white artisans and violence was often the result. The Negro's venture as a business manager was destined to failure from the start because of insufficient managerial 1Meier and Rudwick, op. cit., p. 62. 2Ibid. 47 skill and insufficient capital. Some examples are: (l) the Chesapeake and Marion Railway and Dry Dock Company, which was organized in Baltimore during this period with only $40,000 capital. It went out of existence in 1883, two years after Booker T. Washington went to Tuskegee. (2) In Georgia two attempts were made at enterprises by Negroes during those years. They collectively invested $50,000 in one business venture and $40,000 in another, only to have . 1 both fall. During these dark years the Freedmen's Bureau made a valiant effort to relieve much of the suffering. Dr. Franklin states: There can be no doubt that the Freedmen's Bureau relieved much suffering among Negroes and whites. Between 1865 and 1869, for example, the Bureau issued twenty-one million rations, approximately five million going to whites, and fifteen million to Negroes. By 1867 there were 46 hospitals under the Bureau staffed with physicians, surgeons, and nurses. The medical department spent over two million dollars to improve the health of freedmen, and treated more than 450,000 cases of illness. The death rate among freedmen was reduced, and sanitary conditions were improved.2 By 1880 a number Of circumstances worked together to decrease the effectiveness Of the Bureau. The Freedmen's Bank organized April 4, 1865, with headquarters in New York lFranklin, Op. cit., p. 313. 2Ibid., p. 307. 48 for the expressed purpose Of helping recently freed men to Obtain capital, went broke and the blame was put on Negroes. The mule and forty acres of land each ex-slave expected to receive had not been forthcoming and by 1880 there was a desperate need for economic leadership in Alabama as well as in the entire South. Therefore, the inability of the Southern Negro to solve his economic problem was sure to be one of Washington's concerns. The probability of economic help from local and federal sources was decreasing rapidly. Unable to foresee anything but a continuing state of abject poverty, in retrospect it appears that the only logi- cal alternative Open to Washington was to include a doctrine of "self-help" in his announced philoSOphy Of education. Political Conditions Of Black Americans in the 1880's At the time Washington began his educational work in Tuskegee, the political fortunes of Black Americans were skidding to a low ebb mixed metaphor. Segregation was on the increase and disfranchisement of the Southern Black was becoming a shocking reality. 1See: George R. Bently, A History of the Freedmen's Bureau (Philadelphia, 1955), Walter L. Fleming, The Freed— men's Saving Bank (Chapel Hill, 1927), and Paul S. Pierce, The Freedmen's Bureau! A Chapter in the History of Recon- struction (Iowa City, 1904). 49 The Emancipation Proclamation had freed only those slaves in states at war with the Union.1 It is usually for— gotten, or may not be common knowledge to all,that slaves in states not at war with the Union were not freed simultane- ously. The Proclamation did not mention equality of indi- viduals or guarantee the ex-slave the right to vote. The 13th and 14th Amendments were necessary to correct these oversights. During Reconstruction, Black Americans had experienced a small measure of political participation on the national level. Two Negroes, Hiram R. Revels and Blanche K. Bruce were elected from Mississippi. In 1870 and 1871 Revels filled the seat once held by Jefferson Davis; and Bruce served in the Senate from 1875 to 1881. Both men introduced progressive legislation, much of which was considered very liberal for its time. Most Of the Negro members of the House Of Repre- sentatives had been active in state politics. Particularly well-known within their states were 1Franklin, op. cit., p. 307. 2The 13th Amendment was passed by Congress February 1, 1865, ratified December 18, 1865, and the 14th Amendment was passed by Congress June 16, 1966, ratified July 23, 1868. 3Rayford W. Logan and Irving S. Cohen, The American Negro: Old World Background and New World Experience (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1967), p. 120. 50 Alonzo Ransier Of South Carolina, James T. Rapier of Alabama, and John R. Lynch of Mississippi. Some, like Robert Smalls of South Carolina, were Civil War heroes. While most of the Negro repre- sentatives had little formal schooling, they de- voted much of their energy to the improvement of education and civil rights. James G. Blaine, who served as Speaker of the House during most of this period, remarked Of the Negro members of Congress: "They were as a rule studious, earnest, ambitious men, whose public conduct . . . would be honorable to any race."1 Between the years 1867 and 1871 the Republicans had reorganized the Southern states' governments. In the re- building ex-Confederates were excluded from Office. It was this fact that led Southern white Democrats to resort to terror in order to regain political power in their own states. When whites found themselves unable to gain control within the law, they did not hesitate to go outside. They formed several secret societies among which were the Knights of the White Camelia, the White Brotherhood, and the Ku Klux Klan. By far the largest and most powerful of these organ- izations was the Klan. Organized December 24, 1865, in Pulaski, Tennessee, the Klan was made up mainly of returning Confederate veterans. They organized themselves into underground resistance move— ments to harass the Republicans, both white and Black. They knew that a return to political power would call for some Ibid. 51 means by which the Negro could be kept from voting, holding Office or exercising any political authority. William P. Randal argues that the Klan started out quite differently than the infamous image it later assumed. He states: The original Klan evolved almost at once from a purely social club into an active terroristic group. It was motivated by a conviction that federal efforts to give freedmen the rights of American citizenship were in violation of the Constitution and of divine plan. The larger num— ber of white Southerners, even when they deplored the Klan violence, argued that it was justified by the greater crimes committed by the federal authorities. The Klan was only doing what the regional majority wanted--preserving the American way of life as white Southerners defined it. Americans elsewhere had a different definition, but their commitment to the struggle was weaker, and much less durable. As pOpular support waned in the North, the federal drive lost its momentum and finally collapsed. One major lesson from Reconstruction is that a determined minority, convinced of the rightness of its cause, can defeat an effort backed by the national majority if that majority wearies of the struggle.1 An index of the mob violence used by the Klan is the number of persons lynched per year. During the 1880's the number was over 100 each year with a record high Of 241 in 1892, eleven years after Washington started Tuskegee. Many lWilliam Pierce Randal, The Ku Klux Klan: A Century of Infamy (Philadelphia: Chilton Books, 1965), p. x. of them were actually burned at 52 the stake or roasted alive.1 A record Of lynchings was kept by The Chicago Tribune beginning with the year 1882. TABLE I I I NEGROES LYNCHED BY MOBS It is presented below. Year Number 1882 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 1883 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 1884 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 1885 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 1886 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 1887 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 1888 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 1889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 1890 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 1891 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 1892 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241 1893 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 1894 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 1895 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 1896 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 1897 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 1898 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 1899 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Source: Wells-Barnett, Op. cit., p. 46. Along with violence, voting booths were set up to make voting inconvenient. changed without notice. 1 and Literature (New York: 1969), Times, p. 46. Even the polling places were Often The "Jim Crow" laws legally Ida B. Wells-Barnett, The American Negro: His History Arno Press and The New York separating White and Black were numerous and efficient.1 The Poll Taxes which required voters to pay in order to vote, were established. In many instances, Whites were not required to pay and Black voters could not afford to pay. Whites who manned the voting booths usually required the voters to read sections of the state or federal constitution. These prac— tices disfranchised many Black voters. Two other devices commonly used against Black Americans were the grandfather clause and property ownership. It was obvious that all ex-slaves' grandfathers had been slaves and denied the right to vote; and that the majority of the ex- slaves were tenants or sharecroppers thus making them ineligible to vote.2 1Comer Vann Woodward, The Strange Career of Jim Crow, op. cit., p. 7. Lerone Bennett, Jr. writing in Before the Mayflower (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1962), p. 221, states that James Crow was an unknown soldier. Some writers say he was a Cincinnati, Ohio, slave; others say he was a Charleston, South Carolina, slave. Some writers say the Crow came from old Mr. Crow, the slaveowner; others say the Crow came from the simile, black as a crow. 2The "grandfather clause" was an attempt to determine some attribute which was held by whites but not by Blacks. Ancestry was discovered to be the best answer. This clause restricted registration for voting to those persons who had voted prior to 1861 and to their descendants, or to persons who had served in the Federal or Confederate armies or state militias and to their descendants. The United States Supreme Court found these clauses to be unconstitutional under the 15th Amendment in May, 1915. See Guinn v. United States. 54 Social Conditions of Black Americans in the 1880's The Negro church was the major social institution for ex-slaves during post-reconstruction. The masses, mulattoes, and unmixed, belonged to the Methodist and Baptist churches; and they formed social distinctions or stratifications among themselves depending upon their complexions and the length of time their ancestry had been free. The church, with a benign autocrat as its minister, became a powerful agency for social control. Dr. Frazier summarizes the phenomena in this manner: The churches undertodk as organizations to censure unconventional and immoral sex behavior and to punish by expulsion sex offenders and those who violated the monogamous mores. Frazier argues that during these years the church was about all the Black man had that he could call his own. Eliminated from the political life of the community, the church took on increased significance. He states: The church was the main area of social life in which Negroes could aspire to become the leaders of men. It was the area of social life where ambitious individuals could achieve distinction and the symbols of status. The church was the 1E. Franklin Frazier, The Negro Church in America (New York: Schocken Books, 1964), p. 30. 2Ibid., p. 33. 55 arena in which the struggle for powei and the thirst for power could be satisfied. This was especially important to Negro men who had never been able to assert themselves and assume the dominant male role, even in family relations, as defined by American culture. In the Baptist churches with their local autonomy, individual Negro preachers ruled their followers in an arbitrary manner, while the leaders in the hierarchy of the various Methodist denominations were czars, rewarding and punishing their sub- ordinates on the basis of personal loyalties.l For a few brief years after the Emancipation Proclama- tion the hopes and expectations of the ex-slaves were raised. They thought they would be accepted as social equals in the white man's world. Their hopes and dreams were terribly shattered however, when white supremacy was reestablished ix: the South. The social aspects of life were regulated by segregated laws. Black and white Americans could not marry, could not ride public vehicles together, could not sit together in train stations or use the same lavatories. Hotels, restaur- ants and barbershops were all segregated: and in almost every Southern state whites attended separate and much better schools than Blacks. Benjamin Brawley, in his dis- cussion of this era, states: On street cars he was crowded into a few seats, generally in the rear: he entered a railway sta- tion by a side door: in a theater he might occupy 11bid., p. 43. 56 only a side, or more commonly the extreme rear, of the second balcony; a house of ill fame might flourish next to his own little home; and from public libraries he was shut out altogether, ex— cept where a little branch was sometimes pro- vided. Every opportunity for such self-improvement as a city might be expected to afford him was either denied him or given on such terms as his self-respect forced him to refuse. Meanwhile-—and worst of all-—he failed to get justice in the courts. Formally called before the bar, he knew beforehand that the case was probably already decided against him.1 Again we turn to Frazier for an explanation or reason for the Black church's ability to survive during this period. He says: The Negro church with its own forms of religious worship was a world which the white man did not invade but only regarded with an attitude of con- descending amusement. The Negro church could en- joy this freedom so long as it offered no threat to the white man's dominance in both economic and social relations. And, on the whole, the Negro's church was not a threat to the white domination and aided the Negro to become accommodated to any inferior status. The religion of the Negro con- tinued to be other-worldly in its outlook, dis- missing the privations and sufferings and in- justices of this world as temporary and transient. The Negro church remained a refuge despite the fact that the Negro often accepted the diSparage- ment of Negroes by whites and the domination of whites. It should be pointed out also that the Black church was considered an accommodating institution and hindered Blacks lBenjamin Brawley, A Social History of the American Negro (New York: Collier Books, 1971), p. 294. 2Frazier, op. cit., p. 31. 57 from asserting themselves. The emphasis on the hereafter often pacified Blacks and did not dispose them to take action. Actually, Gunnar Mydral contends that many Black preachers were singled out by whites as leaders in order to keep Blacks quiet.l For those who spoke out against this segregated system, the punishment was swift and often death. Washington knew this: and he knew he could not be overtly critical of the system if he were to live and work with his less fortunate brothers. Educational Conditions of Black Americans in the 1880's After the Civil War schools for Negroes began to spring up throughout the South. Northern missionaries, The Freed— men's Bureau, and philanthropic organizations worked to increase the educational opportunities of approximately 4,000,000 ex-slaves. Soon the Freedmen's Bureau came to the end of its money and its educational interest in most instances was turned over to regional and benevolent soci- eties which had cooperated with it. The American Missionary Association became the bene- factor of the Freedmen's hospitality. This was an 1Gunnar Myrdal, "Accommodating Leadership," An American Dilemma, Vol. 2 (New York: Harper and Row, 1944), pp. 720- 735. 58 association that had been organized before the Civil War. It was interdenominational and against slavery. It later passed into the hands of the Congregational Church. Other lprominent agencies were the American Baptist Home Mission \\/ Society and the Freedmen's Aide Society and the Presbyterian Board of Missions.1 On September 17, 1861, the first day school was opened for freed slaves at Hampton, Virginia. The school was taught by Mrs. Mary S. Peake, a Black woman who had a free mother. She was responsible for laying the foundation for Hampton Institute.2 With the Emancipation Proclamation came a great need for education of Blacks. Reverend John Eaton, an Army Chaplain, was placed in charge of satisfying this need. By the close of the Civil War it is estimated that probably 1,000,000 Blacks had learned to read and write.3 College for Blacks getting their start during the Reconstruction Era and immediately after were: Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia, 1867; Clark College, Atlanta, Georgia, 1896: Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee, 1866; Hampton Institute, Hampton, Virginia, 1868; Howard 1Brawley, op. cit., p. 265. 2Ibid., p. 266. 31bid. 59 University, Washington, D.C, 1867; Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia, 1867: Morris Brown College, Atlanta, Georgia, 1881; and Spellman College, Atlanta, Georgia, 1881.1 In 1881, when Washington went to Tuskegee, poor BlaCK people lived in constant fear of their lives. Many of those who would criticize Washington did not know the con- ditions under which he worked or they deliberately chose to ignore the circumstances. There can be no doubt that Washington knew he would need to consider the existing conditions very realistically if he were to survive and be an effective leader under the existing state of affairs. 1Franklin, op. cit., p. 304. (Note: The first Negro in the United States to graduate from college was John B. Russworm, from Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, in 1826. CHAPTER IV BOOKER T. WASHINGTON'S INFLUENCE IN THE UNITED STATES BETWEEN THE YEARS 1880 AND 1925 A. The First 18 Years It was a strange set of circumstances which sent Booker T. Washington to Tuskegee. This is the story: The white man, Colonel W. F. Foster, who had been a slave owner and an officer in the Con- federate Army, had developed political ambi- tions. He desired to win a seat in the state legislature of Alabama. The Negro, Lewis Adams, had become a leader among the colored citizens of Tuskegee, largely because, as a slave, he was a skilled craftsman in metals and leather and had learned to read. Colonel Foster was convinced that if, without alien— ating white support, he could also secure the Negro vote, he would be sure of the coveted seat. In Tuskegee the proportion of white and colored was about equal. In Macon County as a whole three men out of every four were Negro. In Alabama the balance was nearly five to one in favor of the colored pOpulation. And at that time the Negroes in Alabama were not restricted in the use of their votes. Foster, therefore, went to Lewis Adams and asked him what course of action would be most likely to secure the Negro vote. Adams replied without hesitation, out of his own experience, "The Negro wants education and needs teachers. Above all, he needs educa- tion in agriculture and in industry. If you will undertake to do all that you can to get the Alabama state legislature to vote money 60 61 to create such a school for training Negroes here at Tuskegee, I will work to secure the Negro vote for you." To that conversation is due the invitation to Booker Washington to take up what became his life- work and the fact that its focal center was at Tuskegee. The Colonel agreed to do as Adams asked: the bar- gain was struck; and each man did as he had promised. The ex-slave—holder won his seat largely through the votes of ex-slaves. He piloted through the State Senate, as did Arthur L. Brooks through the House of Representatives, an Act, finally approved on February 12, 1881, which apprOpriated two thousand dollars annually to provide the salaries for the staff of "a Normal School for colored teachers at Tuskegee."l Then a letter was sent to Hampton Institute asking General Armstrong, the principal, to recommend someone to head the new school. As told in Chapter II, General Armstrong recommended Washington.2 In 1881, with the small state apprOpriation and a bor- rowed building, Washington made the initial step toward the 1Mathews, op. cit., pp. 62-63. The writer visited Tuskegee Institute on March 13 through March 18th of 1972. A major portion of the time was spent on campus with Mr. Daniel T. Williams, archivist for the Institute. This visit made it possible to obtain a copy of the legislative act that established a Normal School for colored teachers at Tuskegee. This bill passed the House in December 1880, and the Senate February 18, 1881. It was approved by the Demo- cratic Governor of Alabama, The Honorable Rufus W. Cobb on February 12--Lincoln's birthday. A copy of the State Act appears in the Appendix. Hereafter, information secured from the Tuskegee Institute's Archives, and reported herein, will be designated as T I Archives. 2Washington, op. cit., pp. 76-77. 62 kind of institution that he thought would be best for his people--a people who were only 16 years out of slavery. They were without economic means or skills for self-support; furthermore, they existed in a prejudicial and increasingly hostile environment. Arriving early-~May 1881-—two months before school was scheduled to Open, Booker traveled through the nearby com- munities, to personally observe the living conditions of the peOple who would attend Tuskegee's new school. This trip through the countryside was to be a decisive one in determining the curriculum Tuskegee should offer. Basil Mathews states: Young Booker Washington's disappointment on ar- riving at Tuskegee in 1881 . . . was profound. He showed at once, however, that curious quality of elation in combat against apparently uncon- querable enemies that was a hallmark of his character. Borrowing a mule and a little crude wagon, he started out on a strange odyssey. He took to the dust roads across the country to let the poverty-stricken lethargic Negroes in their lSee Mathews, op. cit., p. 69. On reaching Tuskegee, Washington visited with two supporters who had sent the original invitation. They were Lewis Adams and George Campbell. They persuaded the African Methodist Episc0pal Zion Church (Adams was a member) to lend Washington a little dilapidated shanty in which students protected the principal with an umbrella when the rains came. Note that not a single penny was appropriated for a building and that the school was for colored teachers. The name "Industrial” was added some years later. 63 tumble—down cabins know what was planned for them, and to try to recruit the raw material of a new leadership for their race. From the outset, his ambition was to lift a people, not simplypto start a school. To grasp that fact is crucial to our understanding_of the man and all his work.1 What Washington saw of course was abject poverty every- where. Therefore, he was convinced that the greatest need and his highest priority should be to offer the kind of education that would improve the economic conditions under which the people lived. Furthermore, he reasoned that with so many farmers needing immediate financial help and so little coming from the state or the federal govern- ment, "self-help" as a practical and workable solution was their only hope. A significant thrust of Washington's later plan would be to mount a massive adult educational extension program, the objectives of which were to improve the life style of the sharecropper and tenant farmer. The adults, in most instances were too old or too poor to afford the luxury of leaving the fields for classroom academic training. For this reason the immediate community was to be used as a laboratory where Tuskegee's pupils and nearby farmers would experiment with crOps and industrial skills that held some promise for improving their wretched plight. Therefore, a 1Ibid., p. 64. The last sentences were underlined by the writer for emphasis. 64 major portion cu? everyone's educational experience, young— sters and adults, was to be practical rather than vicarious. The need for economic education was urgent and Washington's plan was to meet this need first. Thus, Tuskegee in the real sense was to be a social experiment, one in which the educational effort was to prepare the ex- slaves and their children for increasing degrees of self- sufficiency. His practical educational plans coupled with his intent to involve the total community was to make Tuskegee a unique institution. Related to the above facts and often over— looked, is this point: the invitation to come to Tuskegee was extended to Washington on the expectation that he would reproduce the Hampton Model in Alabama.1 Washington's Philosophy At this point an appropriate question would be: what was Washington's philosophy of education? His writings reveal that he gave the subject much thought. He reflects on his early experiences in this way: . . . after I was made free by the Proclamation of Abraham Lincoln, there came the new Opportun- ity to attend a public school at my home town in West Virginia. When the teacher said that the chief purpose of education was to enable one to speak and write the English language correctly, 1Washington, 0p. cit. 65 the statement found lodgment in mind and stayed there. While at the time I could not put my thoughts into words clearly enough to express instinctive disagreement with my teacher, this definition did not seem adequate, it grated harshly upon my young ears, and I had reasons for feeling that education ought to do more for a person than merely teach him to read and write. While this scheme of education was being held up before me, my mother was living in abject poverty, lacking the commonest necessities of life, and working day and night to give me a chance to go to school for two or three months of the year. And my foremost aim in going to school was to learn ways and means by which I might make life more endurable, and if possible even attractive, for my mother.1 ********************* In our industrial teaching we keep three things in mind:' first, that the student shall be so educated that he shall be enabled to meet con- ditions as they exist now, in the part of the South where he lives--in a word, to be able to; [do the thing which the world wants done: secon , Ethat every student who graduates from the school (shall have enough skill, coupled with intelli- “gence and moral character, to enable him to make a living for himself and others; third, to send every graduate out feeling and knowing that labour is dignified and beautiful-—to make each one love labour instead of trying to escape it. The idea uppermost in my mind, when I began the work of establishing the school at Tuskegee, was to do something that would reach and improve the condition of the masses of the Negro peOple in the South. Up to that time--and even today to a large extent-—education had not touched, in any real and tangible ways the great majority of the peOple in what is known as "The Black Belt."2 1Booker T. Washington, Workingywith the Hands: Being a Sequel to Up From Slavery (New York: 1904), p. 3. 2Booker T. Washington, "Tuskegee: A Retrospect and Prospect," North American Review, CLXXXII (April 1906), pp. 514-15, 519. 66 ******************‘k**** From the very outset of my work, it has been my steadfast purpose to establish an institution that would provide instruction, not for the select few, but for the masses, giving them standards and ideals, and inspiring in them hope and courage to go patiently forward. I wanted to give Negro young men and women an education that would fit them to take up and carry to greater perfection the work that their fathers and mothers had been doing. I saw clearly : that an education that filled them with a ”divine 9,discontent," without ability to change conditions, iwould leave the students, and the masses they were {to guide, worse off than they were in their un- awakened state. It was my aim to teach the students who came to Tuskegee to live a life and to make a living, to the end that they might return to their homes after graduation, and find profit and satisfaction in building up the com- munities from which they had come, and in develop- ing the latent possibilities of the soil and the peOple. . . . I do not care to venture here an opinion about the nature of knowledge in general: but it will be pretty clear to any one who reflects upon the matter that the only kind of knowledge that has any sort of value for a race that is trying to get on its feet is knowledge that has some defi- nite relation to the dail lives of the men and women who are seeking it. *********************** I am convinced that any one who will consider the question with patience will come to the conclu- sion that the only salvation for the Negro peOple, or for any race, is to make themselves so useful to the rest of the world, so indispensable to their neighbors, that the world will not only tolerate, but desire, their presence.2 lIbid. Note: The underlining in the above paragraph was done by the writer for emphasis. 21bid., p. 523. 67 A major emphasis of Washington's philos0phy was to focus on health habits. He would make health a cause celebre with the federal government eventually taking his ideas and sponsoring a "National Health Week." He said: One thing that I have always insisted upon at Tuskegee is that everywhere there should be - absolute cleanliness. Over and over again the students were reminded in those first years-— and are reminded now—-that people would excuse us for our poverty, for our lack of comforts and conveniences, but that they would not ex— cuse us for dirt. '. 01-..! An accurate picture of the former slaves during this period in the United States history was a depressing one of economic servitude. They were in perpetual shackles of debt. They had few choices Open to them except to struggle for survival under the perverse propensities of their former masters. Washington's aim was to go and see at firsthand the need of his peOple and then construct a curriculum to meet this need. Mathews summarized the new principal's thinking in this manner: First the Negro must own his own land. Second, he must with his own hands build on that land his own decent dwelling. Third, to these ends he must know how to cultivate successfully’mul- tiple subsistence food crOps and to rear animals, so that he could not only feed his family off the land instead of by expenditure in the market town, but could sell his own products there, to acquire the money with which to buy the land and 1Washington, gp From Slavery, op. cit., p. 126. 68 to build the house. "Book-learning" was essen- tial for advance. But as a veneer over social crudity and economic serfdom it could by itself only lead to tragic frustration and bitterness. Several historians have summarized Washington's phil- osophy. In Dr. John Hope Franklin's opinion, Washington's statement at Atlanta to "Cast down your bucket where you are" meant that Negroes should cast it down in making friends in every perceivable way with the people of all races by whom they were surrounded. They should, according to Dr. Franklin, cast their buckets down in agriculture, masonry, in commerce, domestic work and in the professions. Moreover, habits and skills that would win them places in their own Southern communities should be developed. He goes on to say: 3 The Washington doctrine of industrial education, or more properly, vocational education, for the great mass of Negroes was hailed by whites in the North and in the South. Northerners, with an eye on markets and a labor supply in the South, applauded Washington's stand, because it would perhaps make possible the greater economic development of the South. Southerners, on the other hand, liked Washing- ton's relative disinterest in political and civil rights for Negroes. They liked the way in which he placed confidence in the Southern whites regarding their good treatment of Negroes who prided themselves to be useful, law-abiding citizens. They agreed with his advocacy of a type of education which they 1Mathews, o . cit., p. 66. 69 believed would consign Negroes to an inferior economic and social status in Southern life. Finally they admired the tact and diplomacy with which he conciliated all groups, North and South.1 Another respected historian, Benjamin Quarles, offers this summary on Washington's philosophy: Washington believed in vocational education, the mastering of trades with the aim of becoming a skilled wage earner. At Hampton Institute, where he had been a student, and at Tuskegee, the young women became proficient at cooking, sewing, and nursing, and the young men learned how to become better farmers or were taught the trades of car- penters, blacksmiths, plumbers, and painters. "I have never seen a commencement like Tuskegee's\ before," wrote Mary Church Terrell, "On the stage'~ before our very eyes students actually performed the work they had learned to do in the school. They showed us how to build houses, how to paint them, how to estimate the cost of the necessary materials and so on down the line." Washington was aware that many Negroes resented industrial education, connecting it with slavery. But the type of education he advocated developed character as well as mechanical skills. In_l907 Washington stated that he had made careful in- \vestigation and had not found a single Tuskegee M}graduate "within the walls of any penetentiary in Kthe United States."2 Two other illustrious historians, August Meier and Elliott Rudwich, commenting on Washington's philos0phy, state: Not perceiving the inexorable trends toward ur- banization and technological change, his program 1Franklin, 0p. cit., p. 384. 2Benjamin Quarles, The Negro in the Making of America (New York: Collier Books), pp. 166-167. 7O stressed farming and animal husbandry and train— ing in the hand crafts. He constantly deplored the tendency of Negro farmers to move to cities, and though his message was most successfully communicated to the Negro urban businessmen Washington's vision was fundamentally of vir- tuous, landowning peasants proving their worth in their native Southland. He even approved literacy and property qualifications for voting; they would stimulate Negroes to obtain education and wealth. Yet, while stressing the need for Negro self-improvement, Washington insisted that Negroes should be proud of their race and should loyally support it. Especially should Negroes support Negro businessmen, in order to advance the race economically. With such solid economic foundations, Negroes would receive their consti- tutional rights and the respect of whites. But Washington was basically tactful, vague, and even ambiguous, so that most whites confused his means for his ends and assumed that for an indefinite period at least he anticipated that Negroes would continue to occupy a subordinate place in American society.1 A fourth distinguished historian, Louis E. Harlan, con- tends that the best possible statement of Washington's philosophy on education can be found in the writings of General Armstrong. It reads: Be thrifty and industrious. Command the respect of your neighbors by a good record and a good character. Own your own houses. Educate your children. Make the best of your difficulties. Live down prejudice. Cultivate peaceful JMeier and Rudwich, op. cit., pp. 180-181. 71 relations with all. As a voter act as you think and not as you are told. In view of that be patient-—thank God and take courage.l Today as one looks back from the vantage point of hind— sight, it appears that the things Washington said, particu- larly in his Atlanta speech, were interpreted differently by different people. The differences depended largely on what they wanted to hear. Dr. Franklin states that Washington's aim was total integration and not the varied personal interpretations for which he has been either villified or defied. He says: Because of their intense interest in the immediate goals of Washington, perhaps few whites saw that this leader looked forward to the complete accep- tance and integration of Negroes in American life. On one occasion he said, "I would set no limits to the attainments of the Negro in arts, in letters or statesmanship, but I believe the surest way to reach those ends is by laying the foundation in the little things of life that lie immediately about one's door. I plead for industrial education and development for the Negro not because I want to cramp him, but because I want to free him. I want to see him enter the all-powerful business and commercial world." He always advocated the entrance of the Negro into the professions and other fields; and it will be recalled, that he urged Negroes to make friends with their white neighbors in every "manly" way. Washington be- lieved that the Negro, starting with so little, would have to work up gradually before he could attain a position of power and respectability in the South. The whites, on the other hand, looking 1Southern Workman, Vol. VI (1877) editorial presumably written by Armstrong. Cited in Harlan, op. cit., p. 1582. 72 at Washington's program of expediency, frequently regarded it as the ultimate solution to the Negro problem and believed that the latter's place would be permanently fixed by the Washington formula.1 Basic to the Washingtonian philosophy of education was a pragmatic, conservative and almost puritanical approach to life. He believed education should be practical and relevant to the present needs of the agrarian population. He saw "industrial" or "vocational" education as the best possible training for those who would continue to live in the South. His plan was designed to improve their economic conditions. Cleanliness, high moral character, and the ability to perform at least one skill successfully were the minimum requirements he envisioned for every Negro under his influence. He was not against an academic education per se, but he felt, very strongly, that meeting one's own personal economic needs-—that is, being self—sufficient, exceptionally clean, and the possession of high moral standards, was far more important than the ability to read the works of Cicero, Shakespeare or the Classics with a hungry stomach and a threadbare derriere. Summarizing his plans for the new school the mentor stated: lFranklin, op. cit., p. 387. 73 From the very beginning, at Tuskegee, I was de- termined to have the students do not only the agricultural and domestic work, but to have them erect their own buildings. My plan was to have them, while performing this service, taught the latest and best methods of labour, so that the school would not only get the benefit of their efforts, but the students themselves would be taught to see not only utility in labour, but beauty and dignity. They would be taught, in fact, how to lift labour up from mere drudgery and toil, and would learn to love work for its own sake. My plan was not to teach them to work in the old way, but to show them how to make the forces of nature--air, water, steam, electricity, horse-power assist them in their labour. As Tuskegee grew, so did the criticisms of Washington's policies and practices. The Black Intelligentsia, led by William Edward Burghardt DuBois, disagreed with him on the place of academic and industrial training for the masses of Negroes. Washington's rejoinder to their denunciation follows: Industrial training will be more potent for good to the race when its relation to the other phases of essential education is more clearly under- stood. There is afloat no end of discussion as to what is the "proper education for the Negro," and much of it is hurtful to the cause it is de- signed to promote. The danger, at present, that most seriously threatens the success of industrial training, is the ill-advised insistence in certain quarters that this form of education should be offered to the exclusion of all other branches of knowledge. If the idea becomes fixed in the minds of the people that industrial education means class education, that it should be con- fined to the Negro because he is a Negro, and that the Negro should be confined to this sort 1Washington, gp From Slavery, op. cit., p. 107. 74 of education, then I fear serious injury will be done the cause of hand-training. It should be emphasized that at such institutions as Hampton Institute and Tuskegee Institute, in- dustrial education is not emphasized because colored people are to receive it, but because the ripest educational thought of the world approves it; because the undevelOped material resources of the South make it peculiarly im- portant for both races; and because it is in the same state of development as the Negro. On the other hand, no one understanding.the real needs of the race would advocate that in— dustrial education should be given to every Negro to the exclusion of the professions and other branches of learning. It is evident that a race so largely segregated as the Negro is, must have an increasing number of its own professional men and women. There is then, a place and an increasing need for the Negro col- lege as well as for the industrial institute, and the two classes of schools should, and as a mat— ter of fact do, cooperate in the common purpose of elevating the masses. There is nothing in hand-training to suggest that it is a class- training. . . . Tuskegee emphasizes industrial training for the Negro, not with the thought that the Negro should be confined to industrialness, the plow, or the hoe, but because the undeveloped material re- sources Of the South offer at this time a field peculiarly advantageous to the worker skilled in agriculture and the industries, and here are found the Negro's most inviting Opportunities for training in the rudimentary elements that ulti- mately make for a permanently progressive civil- ization. . . . As the race gains in knowledge, experience, culture, taste, and wealth, its wants are bound to become more and more diverse; and to satisfy those wants there will be gradually developed within our own ranks--as has already been true of the whites-~a constantly increasing variety of professional men and women. . . . There 75 should be no limit placed upon the development of any individual because of color, and let it be understood that no one kind of trainin can safely be prescribed for any entire race. 1Washington, Tuskegee and Its People (New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1905), pp. 8-12. NOTE: It is understandable why W. E. DuBois did not com— pletely agree with Washington. At the time of his birth, Booker was twelve years old and the forces that shaped the life of the slave boy were quite different from those that would shape the life of the future Black Intellectual. DuBois was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, on February 23, 1868 of well-to-do parents. The parents were a mixture of Dutch, French and African ancestry. He was trained to be a scholar, educated at Fisk Uni- versity (A.B. 1888) and then to Harvard (A.B. 1890: M.A. 1891; Ph.D. 1895). After studying in Berlin, DuBois taught at Wilberforce College and then was professor of sociology at Atlanta University for 13 years. (1897-1910) While at Wilberforce, he published his best book, Th2. Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study. He also sought to in- volve the "talented tenth" of his peOple in the struggle for equality. Although DuBois originally favored the compromise in Washington's famous Atlanta speech of 1895, he became im— patient with gradualism and along with other educated Negroes began to demand equality immediately. He not only resented Washington's views but was jealous of the Great Compromiser's power among both blacks and whites. In 1910, DuBois joined the biracial National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) becoming director of research and editor of its periodical, "The Crisis." He left NAACP in 1943. After World War II, this great adversary of "The Tuskegeean" became so impatient with the slow progress being made in Civil Rights by the United States that he joined the world-wide peace movement, advocated the spread of socialism and became an admirer of the Soviet Union. He won the Lenin Peace Prize in 1959. In 1961, after joining the American Communist Party, he emigrated to Ghana. At the age of 95, on August 27, 1963, he died in Accra, a Ghanaian citizen. He was an aristocrat in the truest sense of the 76 Coming to Washington's defense Edward W. Farrison says: He believed profoundly in industrial education for the masses, but he also believed in liberal and professional education for some. In both his speeches and his published writings Mr. Washington repeatedly disclaimed the advocacy of any one kind of education to the exclusion of all other kinds, and there seems to be no reason to doubt his sincerity.l Most of his philOSOphy was expressed prior to 1900. Obviously, at this time, he did not foresee the exodus from rural America to the urban areas that would take place after the turn of the century, particularly during and after World War I. Urbanity produced a setting where the personal contacts for Blacks were close to other Blacks and close to Whites. In the cities those who held the political power often con- trolled the employment Opportunities, especially those avail- able to minorities. As competition for jobs increased, political participa- tion on the part of minorities became increasingly important for survival and Washington's philOSOphy of non-political participation came under heavy criticism. It had been an the word. How could two men with such divergent early life experiences as DuBois and Washington be expected to view life in the same manner. 1Edward W. Farrison, "Booker T. washington: A Study in Educational Leadership," South Atlantic Quarterly, XLI (1942), p. 318. 77 acceptable alternative in the rural South but it was found to be inadequate in the new social and political matrices where favorable and responsible minority requests were gained by political pressures--pressures that could only be produced by registered voters, organized to act intelli- gently and with coalitions committed to the alleviation of their grievances. The United States he had known in the 1880's was re- markably different from the United States of 1915, the date of his death- Vast new sociOpolitical developments and the rising aspirations by Black Americans combined to create a situation where his educational philosophy stood in need of considerable updating--not total rejection. The Years 1881-1884 Washington started Tuskegee July 4, 1881. He reported that he had one faculty member--himself, thirty students, one building and a $2,000 state appropriation. It is not known why July 4th was chosen as the opening date. It could have had some special significance for him. 1The school began its first session on this date and continued until March 30, 1882. This was a nine month ses— sion. Thereafter the school opened the first Monday in September and continued in session nine months, closing the last Thursday in May of each year. Applicants for admission were to be present for examination the first Monday of the 78 He was just twenty—five, quite young to be a principal, but wise in human relations. He asked the_community of Tuskegee to contribute whatever it could toward the educa- tion of its children, and he convinced many adults of the need to become involved even if they had no children. During his first year as principal, he demonstrated his skill at persuading others to support his cause. A nearby farm became available and his friend, Hampton's treasurer, General J.F.B. Marshall, helped with the purchase. Marshall even loaned $500 from his personal savings for the down session unless excused by the principal, Mr. WashingtOn. From the catalogue: For entrance to the Junior Class, students must be able to pass a satisfactory examination in reading, and in arith- metic, through long division. Students able to read and write and having some knowledge of arithmetic, but who are not able to pass the examination for the Junior Class will be admitted to a Preparatory Class. All applicants, before admission, must be fourteen years of age and must pledge themselves to teach two years on the public schools of this state after they have become qualified, but they are not expected to teach without compensation; they must also fur- nish satisfactory proof of good moral character. The rules governing the school are thoSe which best promote the welfare and happiness of all. The use of in- toxicating drinks or tobacco is not tolerated. Regular habits, as to study, rest and recreation, are required. Students are liable to have their names dropped for inability to master their studies, irregular attendance and for fail- ure to comply with the regulations of the school. The above information is from Tuskegee's First Cata— logue (1881-1882), pp. 10-12, and cited in Tuskegee Institute: The First Fifty Years by Rev. Anson Phelps Stokes, Tuskegee Institute Press, 1931, pp. 69-70. This material was made available to the writer by the T I Archives. 79 payment.1 About this time, Washington talked Olivia Davidson into becoming a faculty member. She was well-edu— cated, widely traveled, and an excellent fund-raiser. After the purchase of the farm and with student help, the principal cleaned the two farm buildings (one a hen house) for classrooms. Along with the new addition to his faculty (now a two-faculty school) he began to plan for the first permanent building on Tuskegee's campus. Some of the money needed for this effort was secured by him and Miss Davidson as gifts from friends in Northampton, Massachusetts: a white man in Alabama gave the lumber that was needed while the students, after several unsuccessful attempts, made the bricks. Thus, it was out of necessity that brick-making became the first "industrial" course to be offered at this school.2 Through these first years, highly respected businessmen and philanthropic men were sought out and invited to serve as members of the school's board of trustees. This act helped to give credibility to his efforts and respectability to him as principal, recognition accorded no other Black man at this time. He could now begin to depend on a tele- phone call or letter of introduction to initiate the 1Washington, Up From Slavery, op. cit., p. 47. 21bid.; pp. 108-111. 80 ”right connection." Washington married his first wife, Fanny N. Smith, in 1882. She was a gracile, vivacious girl from Malden, West Virginia, who had been his teenage sweetheart. Wherever he traveled, in Alabama or out-state, he con- tinued to tell all who would listen of his new and ambitious educational plans to assist the Negro in achieving an im- proved way-of—life. NOtwithstanding, it was the fact that Tuskegee made brick--a commodity that was in short supply throughout the South-~which brought Blacks and whites to the campus. Obviously, filling this need spread the name of the school to every hamlet where bricks were in demand. Thus brick—making had a powerful influence in inducing local support for Tuskegee in its early days. The growth of the student body made it necessary to open a second building, Alabama Hall. An increase in adults who wanted to read the Bible and write their own names, led Washington to add night school classes, an experiment that had been successful at Hampton.1 1Ibid., pp. 142-143. At Hampton, Washington had been placed in charge of night school classes for ex-slaves who wanted to attend school. General Armstrong asked Washington to help them. He was also asked to live with and be in charge of a barracks filled with Indians who were attending Hampton as an experiment financed by the federal government. A third request was to serve as secretary to General Armstrong whenever possible. At Tuskegee, after 10 hours work during the day, at 81 By 1884, his reputation as an educator was spreading. He accepted an invitation to speak at a National Educational Association Session in Madison, Wisconsin. The address was more on racial policy than on education, but it was to es- tablish him as an effective public speaker. Here in Madison, eleven years before his Atlanta oration, he laid out the basis of a plan for racial interdependence and cooperation without racial confrontation. Because this discourse is im— portant to understanding his famous speech in Atlanta, as well as the philoSOphy of his later life, it is reproduced in part: Any movement for the elevation of the Southern Negro, in order to be successful, must have to a certain extent the COOperation Of the Southern whites. They control government and own the property-~whatever benefits the black man benefits the white man. The proper education of all the blacks will benefit the whites. The Governor of Alabama would prObably count it no disgrace to ride in the same railroad coach with a colored man, but the ignorant white man who curries the Governor's horse would turn up his nose in disgust. . . . Brains, property, and character for the Negro will settle the question of civil rights. The best course to pursue in regard to the civil rights bill in the South is to let it alone: let it alone and it will settle itself. Good teachers and plenty of money to pay them will be more potent in settling the race question than many some trade or industry, students who had no money were al- lowed to attend night classes. 82 civil rights bills and investigating commit— tees. . . . Let there be in a community a Negro who by virtue of his superimf knowledge of the chemistry of the soils, his acquaintance with the most improved tools and best breeds of stock, can raise fifty bushels of corn to the acre while his white neighbor only raises thirty, and the white man will come to the black man to learn. Further, they will sit down in the same train, in the same coach and on the same seat to talk about it. Harmony will come in proportion as the black man gets something that the white man wants, whether it be of brains or material. . . . My faith is that reforms in the South are to come from within. Southern peOple have a good deal of human nature. They like to receive the praise of doing good deeds, and they don't like to obey orders that come from Washington telling them that they must lay aside at once customs that they have followed for centuries, and henceforth there must be but one railroad coach, one hotel, and one schoolhouse for ex—master and ex-slave. . . . Now, in regard to what I have said about the re— lations of the two races, there should be no unmanly cowering or stooping to satisfy unreason— able whims of Southern white men, but it is charity and wisdom to keep in mind the two hun- dred years' schooling in prejudice against the Negro which the ex-slaveholders are called upon to conquer. Within this four year period of time, his wife died leaving him to care for Portia, their little daughter. The Years 1885-1889 By this time, the friendship between Booker T. 1"The Educational Outlook in the South," Journals of the Proceedings and Addresses of the National Educational Association! Session Of the Year 1884, at Madison, Wisconsin (Boston: 1885), pp. 126—128. Cited in Thornbrough, Op. cit., pp. 59—60. 83 Washington and Olivia Davidson had deepened into love and in 1885 the ”gentle persuader” made her his wife.1 This proved to be another wise decision on his part, for this brilliant woman was a tremendous power in furthering his career. She immediately began special classes for women students. Above all, she encouraged her husband to enhance his eloquence and helped him to write his resounding speeches. As the student pOpulation increased so did the need for eating and sleeping arrangements. The students were asked to grow a portion of their food and to make their own mattresses. In 1886, mattress making and, in 1888, wagon building and wheelwrighting courses were added for boys. Girls were now being taught skills needed in keeping a home: how to cook, how to sew, and how to prepare a beautiful table. Printing was introduced as a subject in the curriculum in 1885; cabinet making in 1887; tinsmith and harness—making were added in 1889. At one point during this period, Washington observed a Mr. Lewis Adams, the local cobbler, at work and invited him to bring his equipment and skill to the campus. Adams accepted and Tuskegee Opened a course in shoe- making.2 lWashington, Up From Slavery, op. cit., p. 125. 2Ibid., p. 87. Lewis Adams was one of the persons who extended the invitation that brought Washington to Tuskegee. He was an ex-slave but by the time he was set free, he had 84 One of the great sorrows of Booker's life was visited upon him in 1889. While presenting him with their second son, Olivia Davidson Washington died. Now he was alone to care for little Portia and his two baby boys by Olivia. The Years 1890-1894 In 1892, Washington organized the first Annual Negro Conference, out Of which grew numerous state and local con- ferences throughout the South. He stated the purpose of this effort in this manner. The aim will be, as in the four previous years, to bring together for a quiet conference, not the politicians, but the representatives of the common, hardworking farmers and mechanics-~the bone and sinew of the Negro race--ministers and teachers. Two objects will be kept in view, first, to find out from the people themselves, the facts as to their condition and to get their ideas as to the remedies for the present evils. Second to get in- formation as to how the young men and women now being educated can best use their education in helping the masses. managed to learn three trades. They were shoemaking, har- ness-making, and tinsmithing. Pictures of Mr. Adams are to be found throughout Tuskegee's campus. His daughter was Tuskegee's first graduate in 1885. Mr. Williams, the archivist, explained that this was a coincidence; graduates were arranged alpha— betically and Mr. Adam's daughter, Virginia Adams, just happened to be at the tOp of the graduation class. Although the school held no formal graduating classes until 1885, closing exercises were begun on March 30, 1882. Students wrote poems, essays and participated in other closing activities. 85 The principal further stated: It is believed that such a meeting of workers for the elevation of the Negro, held in the "Black Belt" with the lessons and impressions of the direct contact with the masses of the colored peOple fresh before them, can only result in much practical good to the cause of Negro education. The effect of these conferences was so great and at— tended by so many persons from out state that Washington was quick to see the publicity it offered his school and himself. Later the conferences were preceded by a two—week short-course for farmers and a one-day session after the conference for "teachers and others interested in the edu— cational, moral and civic uplift of the Negro people. . . ."2 The popularity of the short-courses usually attracted well over one thousand participants. There were 1,938 present for January 7—21, 1911.3 1Cited in The Tuskegee Messenger (A Tuskegee Institute Monthly Newspaper), Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama, May 9—23, 1931, p. 35, T I Archives. 2An invitation sent out from Tuskegee, February 1, 1906, contained information pertaining to the Annual Conference and the sentence above describing the Workers' Conference, as it was called, was printed on the back of the invitation. Booker T. Washington Papers (319), Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., hereafter BTW Papers. Numbers in parenthesis indicate the container number in which the reference was found. 3The Tuskegee Messenger, Op. cit., January 27, 1911, p. 3, T I Archives. 86 It was customary for the school's principal to address the conferees at the Annual Conference. Then a long period was provided for delegates to relate improvements that had been made or that they desired to have made in their neigh— borhoods. The conference usually ended with the passing of a number of resolutions. Principal Washington's address was always eagerly awaited by the hundreds of delegates because his speeches carried a powerful educational message and yet were simple, emotional and filled with parables that even the least liter- ate could understand. After the conference was underway a typical agenda for the day would read: How I have made farming pay. 1. Truck farming 2. Fruit raising 3. The raising of live stock 4. Poultry raising 5. Cotton raising 6. General farming a) on a small farm b) on a moderate size farm c) on a large farm 7. Attitude of the tenant to the landlord 8. Attitude of the landlord to the tenant. 1The writer found several "opening-day" speeches de- livered by Washington and has included one in the Appendix. More than any of his highly publicized speeches, it reveals the genius of the educator to communicate with the unedu— cated farmers who all but worshipped him. BTW Papers (319). 2 '. The Tuskegee Messenger, op. c1t., p. 2. 87 The agenda for one Workers' Conference was found and ap— pears below: The subjects for discussion hinged about the following: 1. Is there a local conference in your community? If so, what has it done to help the school? What proportion of the public schools' support is contributed by voluntary, local taxation? What are the tendencies? What are the conditions of the country school houses? Who owns them? What are the tendencies? What wages are paid the rural school teachers? Is there a tendency to raise or lower the wages? Are teachers improving in quality? What influence does the school exert upon its immediate surroundings? What are the tendencies? How may the teacher stimulate the community to temperance, economy, and ownership of property? The Annual Conferences ended with a list of admonitions that were tantamount to homework to be done by the partici- pants by the next year. The list read: VISIT THE SCHOOL HOUSE IN YOUR COMMUNITY. RAISE ENOUGH MEAT FOR THE YEAR. PAY YOUR DEBTS. DO NOT LOAF ON SATURDAYS. DO NOT ALLOW YOUR CHILDREN TO RUN AT LARGE. IF YOU DO NOT OWN A HOME BEGIN BUYING ONE. lNewspaper Clipping, undated, BTW Papers (319). 88 DO NOT MORTGAGE YOUR CROPS. HAVE A COMFORTABLE SCHOOL HOUSE IN YOUR COMMUNITY. DO NOT BE CONTENTED WITH A ONE ROOM HOUSE. RAISE COTTON, VEGETABLES, PIGS, cows AND FOWLS. SEE THAT YOUR MINISTER IS NOT IMMORAL. SEND YOUR CHILDREN To SCHOOL. HAVE A COMFORTABLE CHURCH IN YOUR COMMUNITY. LENGTHEN YOUR SCHOOL TERM THIS YEAR. EVERY COMMUNITY SHOULD HAVE A LOCAL CONFERENCE. A THREE MONTHS SCHOOL TERM MEANS LITTLE. ATTEND FARMERS' MEETINGS. HAVE A BANK ACCOUNT. BEAUTIFY YOUR HOME. ENCOURAGE YOUR WIFE To RAISE POULTRY. DO NOT BUY WHAT YOU CAN DO WITHOUT. KEEP THE SCHOOL IN SESSION AT LEAST FIVE OR SIX MONTHS. WOMEN AND GIRLS SHOULD BE KEPT FROM LOAFING ON STREETS AND IN PUBLIC PLACES.1 If one reads only the opening speech (see Appendix) and the list of things that each local community was ex- pected to do from that time on, it would be easy to see how Washington was able to influence the thinking of thousands lIbid. 89 of Negroes, directly or indirectly, through his massive educational program for adults. It is of course difficult to measure the extent or degree of success expended by the program described above, but a conservative evaluation would be to say that it was a godsend to the black farmers in the South as well as a feather in Washington's cap. In fact, Washington never missed an opportunity to en— hance his prestige as well as that of his school. Usually he would give away 4,000 to 5,000 packages of vegetable and flower seeds as a bonus to those farmers in attendance. The seeds were supplied by friends in the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture without any cost to Tuskegee.l 1The first page of a program for the Thirteenth Annual Session of the Tuskegee Negro Conference, February 17, 1904, advertised free seeds. BTW Papers (320). Booker T. Washington knew the Secretary of Agriculture personally and correspondence between them is housed in the National Archives, Section on Documents for Negro Studies, Washington, D.C. ‘ Letter from Washington to Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson, dated December 10, 1909, requested free seed. Let- ter from Wilson to Washington, dated December 12, 1909, stated: ". . .have directed that 4,000 vegetable seeds for your distribution, be forwarded to you." Letter from Washington to Wilson, dated November 8, 1910, ". . .send us 5,000 packages..." Letter from Wilson to Washington, dated November 10, 1910, ". ..will oblige." Letters between the two indicate that Washington was furnished free vegetable seed for his annual conferences until 1915, the year of his death. 90 The year 1894, was a good one for Washington, He married Margaret J. Murry, his third wife. She was a scholarly Quaker—educated school teacher from Mississippi, and she was as helpful to Washington's plans as his other two wives had been. She was particularly adept at lending assistance with the writing of his moving Speeches. One of her first efforts was to organize plantation mothers into a working organization.l As a noteworthy part of Tuskegee's practical curriculum, Washington started Sunday and daily devotional exercises for students and faculty, and much of his wise counseling was to remain with them throughout their lives.2 Near the end of 1894, while on a money-raising tour of several Northern states, he received an invitation to speak before a white audience, The Christian Workers Conference, convening in Atlanta, Georgia. After much deliberation, he left Boston, Massachusetts, by train for Atlanta to make a five-minute address. The Years 1895-1899 In the spring of 1895, a committee of Atlanta's white 1 Washington, gp From Slavery, op. cit., pp. 193—194. 2Ibid., p. 195. A collection of Washington's Addresses entitled Character Building, was published in 1902. 91 businessmen began their plans for an exposition to entice new business to that area of Georgia. Soon after the committee organized itself, it was realized that if the exposition was to be successful, money from the federal government would be necessary. Therefore, a small committee, or sub-committee, was formed to go to Washington, D.C., to persuade a House of Representative's sub—committee to make $200,000 available so that Atlanta could plan an Informational and Educational Exposition.l Some members of this select group had heard Washington's five-minute speech to the Christian Workers the year before, and were profoundly impressed with his ability to persuade and influence an audience. As a result, he was asked to be a part of the detachment that went to Congress. He traveled to Washington, D.C., in a segregated coach, paid his own way, and was last to speak before the sub— committee. In the few minutes allotted him, Mr. Washington was able to make his point. A description of this unprece- dented event follows: . . . I cannot recall in detail what I said, I remember that I tried to impress upon the com— mittee, with all the earnestness and plainness of any language that I could command, that if Congress wanted to do something which would assist in ridding the South of the race 11bid., p. 149. 92 question and making friends between the two races, it should, in every proper way, encourage the material and intellectual growth of both races. I said that the Atlanta Exposition would present an opportunity for both races to show what ad- vance they had made since freedom, and would at the same time afford encouragement to them to make still greater progress. I tried to emphasize the fact that while the Negro should not be deprived by unfair means of the franchise, political agitation alone would not save him, and that back of the ballot he must have property, industry, skill, economy, intelligence, and character, and that no race without these elements could permanently succeed. I said that in granting the appropriation Congress could do something that would prove to be of real and lasting value to both races, and that it was the first great opportunity of the kind that had been presented since the close of the Civil War. I spoke for fifteen or twenty minutes, and was surprised at the close of my address to receive the hearty congratulations of the Georgia commit- tee and of the members of Congress who were present. The committee was unanimous in making a favourable report, and in a few days the bill passed Congress. With the passing of this bill the success of the Atlanta Exposition was assured.1 The appropriation was granted, and Tuskegee was in— vited to exhibit its wares at the fair in Atlanta-—an exhibit that would showcase the progress made by the Southern colored man since 1865. After much soul—searching and several closed—door con- ferences, (there were misgivings by both whites and blacks as to whether a Black American should speak or even sit on lIbid.. pp. 150-151. 93 the same platform with whites in the South) Washington was asked to be one of the platform guests and to speak to the audience which would include dignitaries from every section of the United States including President Grover Cleveland. Being quick to sense the value such an opportunity could afford him to tell Tuskegee's story, he accepted. He hoped to win the sympathy and support of persons with influence and money to underwrite his efforts. History records that Booker T. Washington spoke at the Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 18, 1895. The speech re— ceived world—wide acclaim. It is correct to state that this one incident, more than any on record, served to catapult him and Tuskegee into national prominance. Five excerpts from this speech follow: . . . the opportunity here afforded will awaken among us a new era of industrial progress. Ig- norant and inexperienced, it is not strange that in the first years of our new life we began at the top instead of at the bottom; that a seat in Congress or the state legislature was more sought than real estate or industrial skill. ***~k****************** A ship lost at sea for many days suddenly sighted a friendly vessel. From the mast of the unfor- tunate vessel was seen a signal, "Water, water; we die of thirst!” The answer from the friendly vessel at once came back, "Cast down your bucket where you are." The captain of the distressed vessel, at last heeding the injunction, cast down his bucket, and it came up full of fresh, 94 Sparkling water from the mouth of the Amazon River. To those of my race who depend on bet— tering their condition in a foreign land or who under—estimate the importance of cultivating friendly relations with the Southern white man, who is their next-door neighbor, I would say: ”Cast down your bucket where you are"+-cast it down in making friends in every manly way of the people of all races by whom we are surrounded. Cast it down in agriculture, mechanics, in com— merce, in domestic service, and in the pro— fessions. To those of the white race . . . Casting down your bucket among my people, helping and en-' couraging them as you are doing on these grounds, and to education of head, hand, and heart, you will find that they will buy your surplus land, make blossom the waste places in your fields, and run your factories. In all things that are purely social we can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress. In conclusion, . . . let us pray God, will come, in a blotting out of sectional differences and racial animosities and suspicions, in a deter- mination to administer absolute justice, in a willing obedience among all classes to the man— dates Of law. Thus, this, coupled with our material prosperity, will bring unto our beloved South a new heaven and a new earth.1 Praise for his speech came from many of the nation's leading newspapers. Two articles, one from the South and one from the North, are typical of most editorials reported. From the North: l . . . . T I Archives. Copies of the original speech in Washington's handwriting and typed copies with his notes in margins are housed there. Also see: Ibid., pp. 158- 162. 95 . . . the eyes of the thousands present looked straight at the Negro orator. A strange thing was to happen. A black man was to speak for his people, with none to interrupt him. As Professor Washington strode to the edge of the stage, the low, descending sun shot fiery rays through the windows into his face. A great shout greeted him. He turned his head to avoid the blinding light, and moved about the platform for relief. Then he turned his wonderful countenance to the sun without a blink of the eyelids, and began to talk. There was a remarkable figure; tall, bony, straight as a Sioux chief, high forehead, straight nose, heavy jaws, and strong, determined mouth, with big white teeth, piercing eyes, and a commanding manner. The sinews stood out on his bronzed neck, and his muscular right arm swung high in the air, with a lead-pencil grasped in the clinched brown fist. His big feet were planted squarely, with the heels together and the toes turned out. His voice rang out clear and true, and he paused impressively as he made each point. Within ten minutes the multitude was in an uproar of enthusiasm--handkerchiefs were waved, canes were flourished, hats were tossed in the air. The fairest women of Georgia stood up and cheered. It was as if the orator had bewitched them. And when he held his dusky hand high above his head, with the fingers stretched wide apart, and said to the white people of the South on behalf of his race, ”In all things that are purely social we can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress," the great wave of sound dashed itself against the walls, and the whole audience was on its feet in a delirium of ap— plause, and I thought at that moment of the night when Henry Grady stood among the curling wreaths of tobacco-smoke in Delmonico's banquet-hall and said, "I am a Cavalier among Roundheads.“ I have heard the great orators of many countries, but not even Gladstone himself could have pleaded 96 a cause with more consummate power than did this angular Negro, standing in a nimbus of sunshine, surrounded by the men who once fought to keep his race in bondage. The roar might swell ever so high,_but the expression of his earnest face never changed. A rugged, ebony giant, squatted on the floor in one of the aisles, watched the orator with burn— ing eyes and tremulous face until the supreme burst of applause came, and then the tears ran down his face. Most of the Negroes in the audi- ence were crying, perhaps without knowing just why. At the close of the speech Governor Bullock rushed across the stage and seized the orator's hand. (Another shout greeted this demonstration, and for a few minutes the two men stood facing each other, hand in hand.1 From the South: In all respects it was the most remarkable address ever delivered by a colored man in America, for it was the first time that one of that race ever took so prominent a part in any great national or in- ternational affair not of a political character. The speech stamps Booker T. Washington as a wise counselor and a safe leader. It was a very dignified and eloquent orator, and if it could reach the hearts and minds of the colored people, it would undoubtedly accomplish great good. And yet it was an address leveled at the whites. It will reach these and will go far toward nar— rowing, if not solving, the great problem known as the negro question. There never was any 1Article by James Creelman, writer for the New York World, New York, N.Y., September 19, 1895. This was a clipping found in a scrapbook of clippings, BTW Papers. 97 problem in this question until certain Northern politicians insisted that the prOperty and in- telligence of the South should be placed in charge of those who had neither property or intelligence. This was a little too much of a good thing, and out of it has grown what is called the negro problem. Professor Washington solves it in a few terse words, and what he says ought to illuminate the minds of those Northern philanthropists who imagine that Unapolitical advancement of the negro meant his social ad- vancement.l A fitting climax to Washington's efforts was a two- hour visit by President Cleveland to the exhibits put on by the Negro citizenry. On October 6, 1895, Washington received a letter. It read: I thank you with much enthusiasm for making the address. I have read it with intense interest, and I think the EXposition would be fully justi- fied if it did not do more than furnish the opportunity for its delivery. Your words cannot fail to delight and encourage all who wish well for your race: and if our coloured fellow— citizens do not from your utterances gather new hope and form new determinations to gain every valuable advantage offered them by their citi— zenship, it will be strange indeed.2 lEditorial from the Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia, September 20, 1895. Article was made available from clippings in the T I Archives. The words "Safe Leader" were underlined by the writer for emphasis. These two words were the ones which best described the South's feelings toward him and at the same time they were (and still are) used by some members of his own race to justify their characterization of him as an "Uncle Tom." 2Letter from President Cleveland to Washington dated November 6, 1895. BTW Papers (319). 98 Not only was the President impressed at what he saw but he later used the influence of his office in the interest' of Tuskegee. As Washington's prestige grew so did his school. The principals report to the trustees revealed the source that Washington had tapped in support of Tuskegee.. They are listed in Table IV and reflect the growth of the Institute over a period of fourteen years. TABLE IV REPORT OF PRINCIPAL FOR 18941 Enrollment 790 Money received to date from 1881 through 1894 State of Alabama (now $3,000 raised from $2,000 per year) $37,000.00 Peabody Fund 5,162.50 John Slater Fund 15,450.91 Student Tuition 51,431.92 Gifts from Concerned People 312,840.01 Value of Students' Work 34,893.20 lThe Principal's Report, February 21, 1895, pp. 1-2. BTW Papers. The school had grown considerably in fourteen years but Alabama's appropriation to this effort was only $3,000 per year at this date, $1,000 more per year than had been made available in 1881. 99 Average yearly salary paid teachers (1893—1894), $395.58 NOTE: Slater Fund increased from $2,000 to $4,000 and will be $5,000 next year. An anonymous donor gave the first $1,000 of a $10,000 fund to be established for The Nurse Training Department at Tuskegee.l On May 28, 1896, the Principal of Tuskegee received an important letter from Harvard University. It read: Harvard University desires to confer on you at the approaching Commencement an honorary degree; but it is our custom to confer degrees only on lThe Tuskegee Student (a campus weekly newspaper, published every Saturday) dated November 2, 1907, p. 1, T I Archives, indicated that the Tuskegee Institute Nurses' Training School had been established in 1892. The resident physician needed help in caring for the sick among the school community of several families, scores of teachers and hundreds of students. Thus a num- ber of the students of the institution who were so in— clined were assigned to this work with the double advantage Of learning the art of nursing, and at the same time, earning much of their expenses while taking their academic studies. This was not the most satis- factory method of training nurses, but the best Tuskegee could do at this time. A dormitory room was used as an infirmary. 100 gentlemen who are present. Our Commencement occurs this year on June 24, and your presence would be desirable from about noon till about five O'clock in the afternoon. Would it be possible for you to be in Cambridge on that day?1 The honorary degree was awarded June 24, 1896, under these circumstances: At nine o'clock on the morning of June 24, I met President Eliot, the Board of Overseers of Harvard University, and the other guests, at the designated place on the university grounds, for the purpose of being escorted to Sanders Theatre, where the Com— mencement exercises were to be held and degrees conferred. Among others invited to be present for the purpose of receiving a degree at this time were General Nelson A. Miles, Dr. Bell, the inventor of the Bell telephone, Bishop Vincent, and the Rev. Minot J. Savage. We were placed in line immediately behind the President and the Board of Overseers, and directly afterward the Governor of Massachusetts, escorted by the Lancers, arrived and took-his place in the line of march by the side of President Eliot. In the line there were also various other officers and professors, clad in cap and gown. In this order we marched to Sanders Theatre, where after the usual Commencement exercises, came the conferring of the honorary degrees. This, it seems, is always considered the most interesting feature at Harvard. It is not known, until the individuals appear, upon whom the honorary degrees are to be conferred, and those receiving these honours are cheered by the students and others in proportion to their popu— larity. During the conferring of the degrees ex— citement and enthusiasm are at the highest pitch. 1Letter from Charles W. Eliot, Harvary University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Washington, dated May 25, 1896, Washington, Up From Slavery,_pp. cit., p. 214. 101 When my name was called, I rose, and President Eliot, in beautiful and strong EnglisT, conferred upon me the degree of Master of Arts. When the commencement exercises were over, Washington made an address at the Alumni Dinner. It was also a case for newspaper comments throughout the country. This was the first time a New England University had conferred an honorary degree upon a Negro. During the last years of this decade, Washington was instrumental in securing three important additions to his institution and they were sure to start Tuskegee on its way to international prominence. First, Carolyn and Olivia E. Phelps Stokes presented Tuskegee with a donation to build a splendid chapel. It was built with student labor and student bricks.2 1Ibid., p. 215. 2Carolyn Phelps Stokes (1854-1909) and her sister Olivia Egleston Phelps Stokes (1847-1927) were noted for their philan— thrOpic activities. They were sisters of Anson Phelps Stokes, American businessman, merchant and financier of New York City. He was also a partner in the mercantile firm of Phelps Dodge and Company while the family had extensive real estate hold- ings and banking interests. By the will of Miss Caroline Phelps Stokes of New York City, who died in Redlands, California, April 26, 1909, a board of trustees was constituted for a fund of about $900,000 to be known as the Phelps-Stokes Fund. The trustees were incorporated by the New York Legislature in 1911. The act of incorporation states that the income of the fund is to be used for the "erection and improvement of tenement house dwellings in the city of New York, for the poor families of that city, either directly or by the acquisition of the 102 Second, Washington persuaded the State of Alabama to provide Tuskegee with one of the South's first Experimental Agricultural Stations. Third, and greatest, Washington was able to induce George Washington Carver to teach, to experiment in agri— cultural science, and to head the Agricultural Station. capital stock or obligations of any other corporation organ— ized for that purpose; and for the education of Negroes both in Africa and the United States, North American Indians and needy and deserving white students through industrial schools, the founding of scholarships and the erection or endowment of school buildings or chapels. It shall be within the pur— pose of said corporation to use any means to such ends which shall from time to time seem expedient to its members or trustees including research, publication, the establishment and maintenance of charitable or benevolent activities, agencies or institutions already established. Another extract from her will read: I give and bequeath to the trustees of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama, the sum of TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS for the erection of a chapel; should a chapel have been built before the taking effect of this will, this amount is to be added to the Endowment Fund of the said Institute. The Fund, in cooperation with the United States Bureau of Education, made a comprehensive investigation of Negro Edu- cation, The results of this investigation were published as Bulletins 38 and 39, 1916. The study was made under the direction of Thomas Jesse Jones, Ph.D. formerly Director of Research at Hampton Institute, and later in charge of Negro statistics in connection with the United States Census of 1910. The Fund was further endowed by the will of the elder sister. Dr. Jones was made Educational Director and the Stokes family has continued to play an important role in administering and supporting the Fund. 103 The story of Dr. Carver's life, particularly the cir— cumstances that brought him to Tuskegee, makes fascinating reading. Of all the astute acquisitions Washington made, surely among the most momentous was that of gaining this . 1. Black Genius for the Alabama campus. 2 1George Washington Carver (1861-1943) was born near Diamond Grove, MO., the son of Negro slaves. While he was still an infant his father was killed and his mother, along with George and another child, was kidnapped from her master, Moses Carver. Moses Carver bought back the infant, George for a horse valued at $300. George remained with the Carvers for some years after the signing of the Emancipation Pro- clamation. When he was ten, George left his home and enrolled in school. He finished high school in 1885 and entered college in 1890. He earned a bachelor's degree from the State Agricultural College in Ames, Iowa, in 1894 and was employed by the Ames Experiment Station. The results of Carver's research and-the products of his laboratory became known throughout the world. As a consequence many persons, including Thomas Edison, offered him employment at high salaries, but he would not leave Tuskegee. Moreover, he would not accept a raise in salary above the meager $1,500 a year offered him when he first came to Tuskegee. Carver's first publication from Tuskegee, a pamphlet called "Feeding Acorns to Livestock" (1898) was followed by 43 other publications. Among the honors he received were election to fellowship in the British Royal Society of Arts in 1916 and awards of the Spingarn Medal in 1923, the Roosevelt Medal in 1939, and the Thomas A. Edison Award in 1942. In 1940 the Carver Research Foundation was established at Tuskegee Institute. Carver contributed most of his sav- ings to the foundation. Following his death on January 5, 1943, in Tuskegee, Alabama, his entire estate was added to the foundation's endowment. The Carver Museum at Tuskegee 104 Central to Booker T. Washington's whole philosophy of education was an assumption that Negroes would be farmers for quite some years in the future. Dr. Carver's job then was two-fold: (1) to find a way of putting nutrients back into the soil that had been depleted by the continuous plant- ing of cotton, and (2) to provide another source of income to the farmer, an income that would be of sufficient incen- tive to practice crop rotation and would thus enable Dr. Carver to Carry out his ideas for replenishing the land. which houses many exhibits of Carver's work was dedicated in 1941. In 1943 the George Washington Carver National Monu- ment was established at the site of the original Moses Carver farm. Carver was buried next to his friend Booker on Tuskegee's campus. 2James G. Wilson, American agriculturalist, was instru— mental in securing George Washington Carver's service for Tuskegee. Wilson was born in Ayrshire, Scotland in 1835. He came to the United States in 1851; and began farming in Tama County, Iowa in 1855. There he rose to prominence as a mem- ber of the Iowa Legislature. For six years (1890—1896) he lectured at Iowa Agricultural College, Ames, Iowa. It was during these years as an instructor that he made an important decision concerning one of his students. He wrote Booker T.Washington explaining that he had a student in the science of agriculture, George Washington Carver, who would make an excellent addition to the Tuskegee faculty. Carver joined the faculty in November of that same year. In 1897, James G. Wilson was appointed Secretary of Agriculture by President William McKinley. After the Presi- dent's assassination, Wilson served under Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. The sixteen years Sec. Wilson was in Office, Messrs. Washington and Carver could depend on having a personal friend in the Cabinet. This may help to explain why many ideas born on Tuskegee's campus later became federal policy. Secretary Wilson died in 1920. 105 Relatively few Americans living today have full knowl— edge of the world—wide benefits in agriculture that accrued from Dr. Washington's decision to obtain the services of Dr. Carver for Tuskegee and its people. In 1897, the Slater Fund supplemented the Agricultural Experimental Station by making possible the Armstrong—Slater Memorial Agricultural Building with laboratories, class— rooms, and museums.1 The address delivered at the formal opening of this building was by James G. Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture, another example of Washington's ability to socialize with "the high and the mighty." The following year (1898) Washington decided that a visit from the President, William McKinley, to the Campus should be his next goal. The principal explains how he accomplished this feat: er. John F. Slater of Norwich, Connecticut, in 1882, founded the fund that bears his name. Mr. Slater stated that it was his desire to aid in providing the Negroes with the means of such education as should tend to make them good men and good citizens. . . . He left the details of the execution Of the fund to the judgment of a Board of Trustees. He expressed the thought, however, that he would like to see the money used for the training of colored teachers; or that it be used to stimulate institutions al— ready engaged in the training of teachers. Ex-president of the United States, the Honorable Rutherford B. Hayes, was designated as the first president of the fund. Tuskegee received its first gift from the Fund in 1883. The sum was $1,100. From 1882 to 1911 money from this fund was given to religious and public education; with the money 106 In the fall of 1898 I heard that President McKinley was likely to visit Atlanta, Georgia. . . .I went to Washington, and I was not long in the city be- fore I found my way to the White House. When I got there I found the waiting room full of people, and my heart began to sink, for I feared there would not be much chance of my seeing the Presi- dent that day, if at all. But at any rate, I got an Opportunity to see Mr. J. Addison Porter, the secretary to the President, and explained to him my mission. Mr. Porter kindly sent my card directly to the President, and in a few minutes word came from Mr. McKinley that he would see me. When I saw the President he kindly thanked me for the work which we were doing at Tuskegee for the interest of the country. I then told him, briefly, the object of my visit. I impressed upon him the fact that a visit from the Chief Executive of the Nation would not only encourage our students and teachers, but would help the entire race.l On a second visit to the Capitol, Washington relates: When I told him that I thought that at that time scarcely anything would go farther in giving hope and encouragement to the race than the fact that the President of the Nation would be willing to travel one hundred and forty miles out of his way to Spend a day at a Negro institution, he seemed deeply impressed. . . . The President said he would visit our school on the 16th of December. When it became known that the President was going to visit our school, the white citizens of the town of Tuskegee—~a mile distant from the school--were as much pleased as were our students and teachers. . . . The thing that touched me almost as deeply as the visit of the President himself was the deep pride which all classes of citizens in Alabama seemed to take in our work. for public education going mainly for the establishment and maintenance of industrial and vocational training. lWashington, Up From Slavery,_pp. cit., pp. 219—221. 107 The morning of December 16th brought to the little city of Tuskegee such a crowd as it had never seen before. With the President came Mrs. McKinley and all of the Cabinet Officers but one, and most of them brought their wives or some members of their families. . . . The Alabama Legislature was in session at Montgomery at this time. This body passed a resolution to adjourn for the purpose of visiting Tuskegee. Just before the arrival of the President's party the Legislature arrived, headed by the governor and other state officials. In his address in our large, new chapel, which the students had recently completed, the President said, among other things: "To meet you under such pleasant auspices and to have the opportunity of a personal observation of your work is indeed most gratifying. The Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute is ideal in its conception, and has already a large and growing reputation in the country, and is not unknown abroad. I congratulate all who are associated in this undertaking for the good work it is doing in the education of its students to lead lives of honour and usefulness, thus exalting the race for which it was established. "Nowhere, I think could a more delightful location have been chosen for this unique educational ex- periment, which has attracted the attention and won the support even of conservative philanthro— pists in all sections of the country. "To speak of Tuskegee without paying special tribute to Booker T. Washington's genius and perseverance would be impossible. The inception of this noble enterprise was his, and he deserves high credit for it. His was the enthusiasm and enterprise which made its steady progress possible and established in the institution its present high standard of accomplishment. He has won a worthy reputation as one of the great leaders of his race, widely known and much respected at home and abroad as an accomplished educator, a great orator, and a true philanthropist.l lIbid., pp. 222-224. 108 As the year 1899 neared the end, the student body had grown from 30 in 1881 to 1,164. A distinguished all-black faculty had been assembled; and the sources from which they had come only served to enhance Washington's reputation as a good general who surrounds himself with able lieutenants. The faculty, at the close of the century, included John H. Washington, his brother, and a graduate of Hampton; James Washington, his adopted brother and a graduate of Hampton; J. H. Palmer, Hampton; Jailous Perdue, Tuskegee; RObert Taylor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Thomas Monroe Campbell, Tuskegee; George Washington Carver, Iowa State Agricultural College; Emmett J. Scott, Personal Secretary, Howard University; Warren Logan, Treasurer, Hampton; and Monroe M. Work, Research Specialist and editor of the Negro Yearbook, published later in 1910 and every two years thereafter. Washington had been introduced to wealthy white people in the North; first by General Armstrong who personally took him along and showed him the way. Secondly, one friend would introduce him to another; by this succession of intro- ductions he became the medium through which hundreds of thousands of dollars came to the institution. The donors had been numerous. They included Collis P. 109 Huntington,railroad magnet,l Carolyn and Evelyn Stokes— Phelps, wealthy sisters; John F. Slater Fund; and the Peabody Fund.2 lCollis P.Huntiugton was a very wealthy railroad magnate who, when first approached by Washington gave $2.00. Obviously, he had little faith in Tuskegee. His lack of faith did not deter the principal. As the in- stitution's prestige and success increased, Washington again approached Mr. Hunington who began to make contri— butions and along with his wife, take an interest in the affairs and Welfare of the institution. Before his death he gave Washington a check for $50,000 toward the endow- ment fund. A building on campus was named Huntington Hall. 2Peabody Fund was the first large one to appear after the Civil War. The broad aim of the fund was to aid in the educational development of those states included in that part of the country which had suffered most from the ravages of the Civil War. Mr. George Peabody, who made his fortune in America and England before 1850 set up the philanthropic organiz- ation in 1867. TO a Board of Trustees he intrusted $1,000,000. He also gave $1,000,000 in bonds and interest. The trustees were given the right to use the funds in any way they should deem wise. The fund was used to help establish a permanent system of public education and teacher—training institutions for both races in the South. Tuskegee received its first allowance from the Peabody Fund in 1884, in the amount of $500. Allowances from the fund increased, however, and in 1914, $350,000 the final distribution of the fund, was turned over to the Slater Fund. Except for the grant to Peabody College, Negroes enjoyed the use of the fund along with whites. Turning the last distribution of the fund over to the Slater Fund insured that this final allotment would be used exclusively for Negroes. 110 By 1899, the name of Tuskegee was well established. The work on campus, and extension courses off campus were progressing. Friends in Boston were aware of the way in which the college president was driving himself. They thought he needed some rest and they arranged for him and Mrs. Washington to visit Europe. The Washingtons sailed May 10, 1899. While in England they were privileged to meet many important people including the American reformer and advocate of women's rights, Susan B. Anthony. She was visiting in England, but took the time to inquire about Tuskegee and its suc- cess. Another incident Washington would never forget was an invitation to tea with Queen Victoria.1 Several hundred students had graduated from Tuskegee by the end Of 1899. They could be found in many Southern states trying to reconstruct their alma mater in miniature size. They were teaching industrial skills, clean personal habits, thrift and self-dependence to thousands of poor who were locked into the share-cropping or tenant—farmer arrange- ment and would never have the good fortune of enrolling in Tuskegee for a single course. lWashington, Op. cit., p. 206. 111 B. The Second Sixtren Yearp The Years 1900--19U4 At the turn of the century Washington's family life was fairly stable. Portia, his daughter, had been enrolled in a prestigous school in South Farmington, Massachusetts. His two boys, Booker Jr. and Ernest Davidson, by his second wife were being cared for at home by their stepmother, wife number three. Tuskegee was well underway as a successful experiment by this time, but Washington felt a need to extend his in— fluence and that of his school to other areas of the United States where Negroes lived. In 1900 he called for a Confer- ence of Negroes engaged in enterprise throughout the country. They met in Boston where thirty—four states were represented. Washington was particularly interested in education for all consumers. He was convinced that if the business men and women who were invited would work together there could be a beneficial exchange of ideas relative to consumer edu— cation. Another objective of the conference was to discuss ways of creating interest and pride in Negro achievement. Out of this first meeting the National Negro Business 112 League was born with a considerable number of state and local chapters. The potency of this single idea is summarized by Samuel R. Spencer in this manner: Approximately four hundred Negro bankers, realtors, grocers, merchants, caterers, manufacturers, con- tractors, druggists, undertakers, bakers, printers, restaurateurs, barbers, plumbers, milliners, dress— makers, jewelers, and publishers gathered in Boston for the first meeting of the Business League in 1900. Though the group was more sophisticated than that which attended the Tuskegee Negro Conference, the program also consisted mainly of success stories by the delegates. Great applause greeted the testimony of a delegate from Florida who related the nineteen years before he had gone to Jacksonville with a dol— lar and ten cents in his pocket and a sUit of under- wear in a paper bag--"and today I pay more taxes than any Negro in Florida." As could have been expected, a sober practical atmosphere prevailed; politics and protest had no place in the meeting. By 1905 the League's three hundred local affiliates had reached into all the urban centers where Negroes were concentrated. John Wanamaker, Robert C. Ogden, and Oswald Garrison Villard, editor of the New York Eveninngost, lent importance to the organization by addressing its annual meeting of that year, and Theodore Roosevelt performed the same function five years later. From the League grew such offshoots as the National Negro Funeral Directors' Associ- ation, and the National Association of Negro Insurance Men. For fifteen years Washington served as president of the Business League and, with the aid of Emmett Scott, personally directed its activities. The existence of the Business League strengthened Washington's influence and aided the projection of his ideas in urban Negro communities.. .for almostten 113 years after the Atlanta speech his position was so strong that both his leadership and his pro- gram went virtually unchallenged.l At the League's tenth annual meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, August 18—20, 1909, Washington, who was still president, disCussed the progress made by Negroes over the last 45 years but made the point that there was yet much to be done educationally to compete favorably for employment in the years ahead, if Negroes were just to hold on to the jobs they had. In his address to the delegates he challenged them as follows: When the League began its work there were few drug stores owned or controlled by black people. Now we have nearly two hundred. A few years ago there were only about half a dozen Negro banks in the country. Now there are forty-seven. Dry goods stores, grocery stores and industrial enterprises to the number of over ten thousand have sprung up in all parts of the country. A little more than forty years ago, when the Negro was made free, he had almost no acres Of land. Now he has an acrage almost as large as New England. Then he had almost no homes. Now he has 400,000 homes. Then he had few farms. Now he has 200,000 farms. Then he had no insurance company. Now he has eighty-five. Then he had no undertakers. Now he has several thousand. When the American Negro was made free only about 3 per cent could read and write. Now 57 per cent can both read and write. Then he had few churches. Now he has 26,000 churches. 1Samuel R. Spencer, Jr. Booker T. Washington and The Negro's Place in American Life (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1955). pp. 123-124. 114 These statistics are impressive in the highest degree. They tell a tale without parallel in the history of any people fresh from bondage. NO friend of progress and Of peace and happiness in America can read them and reflect upon their promise and meaning without a feeling of assurance and satisfaction. They likewise afford the strongest possible argu- ment in favor of education for the Negro. Ignorant men could not have accomplished what is here pre- sented. The banker, the merchant, the insurance agent, the pharmacist, the pastor, must have a reading knowledge of things, and a mental training enabling a ready grasp of subjects relating to their daily employment. They must be equipped for the fray as the fray is conducted in these days of keen competition and investigation. Professor Washington then sounded this note of warning: But we must remember that in the South especially, hitherto, we have had a pretty free field, but in the future we must prepare for competition——compe- tition in the field, in the shop, in the store, in the kitchen. And to hold what we have and gain more this competition must be met, not by race prejudice, but by superior usefulness. The Negro should ponder this, for it is strictly true. In time a liberal portion of the tide from Europe, and especially from Southern Europe, will flow to the South. With the east congested, and the west and northwest rapidly filling up, the south, with its rich lands and mild climate, will attract foreigners, men and women who work with their hands, and in that day the Negro will have to keep an eye on his job. If he is equal to it he will probably be preferred, but competency and industry will, and should, be the principal test. lThe Tuskegee Student, pp. cit., August 28, 1909, p. 1. 115 By 1924, the date of the 25th Anniversary, Dr. Robert Moten, president of the League and second principal of Tuskegee stated that Negro business had increased from 20,000 to 65,000. In the same period, he stated that real estate holdings by Negroes had increased from $300,000 to . . l $1.7 billion. When Up From Slavery was published in 1901, it was an instant success. Not only was it read widely in this Country but translated into several foreign languages. Millions of Black Americans were deeply inspired by this success story of a slave boy who made good. From this year onward the demand on his time as a speaker and writer increased. He was now considered an influential educator and one of the United States' experts on the education of the Negro in this country and abroad. With considerable help, he wrote several additional books but none would garner the success and world-wide acclaim accorded the story of his life. Amidst increasing responsibilities Washington found an opportunity to meet and cultivate the friendship of Andrew Carnegie. By this time in his life, he had developed 1Peter M. Bergman. The Chronological History of the Negro in America (New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1969), p. 140. - 116 the self-confidence and skill needed to secure money for his school, but it is doubtful that he ever dreamed one man, Andrew Carnegie, would contribute as generously as history has recorded.1 1Andrew Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, on November 25, 1835. His parents moved to the United States in 1848 and settled in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, now a part of Pittsburg. Young Andrew began work in a cotton factory at $1.20 per week. He worked in the Office as a clerk while attending night school where he studied bookkeeping. Andrew had several jobs later and as always he did each job to the best of his ability; and he always seized every opportunity to take on new responsibilities. In 1853 he be— came a personal clerk to Thomas A. Scott, a superintendent; and in 1859 he became superintendent of the Pittsburg divi- sion of the railroad. Carnegie was quick to see investment Opportunities in the railroad and related industries such as sleeping car companies, bridge building, ironworks and Oil fields. By 1865 Carnegie was able to retire and devote his time to a scholarly life. He continued to conduct his business com- petitively and by 1890 the Carnegie works were the foremost steel producers in the world. He sold out to J. P. Morgan for $250 million thus allowing for‘a new combination that was the nucleus of the United States Steel Corporation. He believed the wealthy should give their wealth away during their lifetime. This belief explains why he gave away most of his money personally. His writings include numerous articles and books, the best known are Triumphant Democracy, published in 1866 and The Gospel of Wealth, published in 1900. He made many gifts to education ranging from the endow- ment of the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburg to gifts to many smaller institutions. He is also remembered for making free public libraries available to many Americans during the age in which he lived. He died in 1919 at the age of 84. 117 General Armstrong had introduced Carnegie to Washington during one of their joint trips North during Tuskegee's in- fancy. The introduction, however, produced no instant contributions. In fact, it took Washington approximately ten years to convince Carnegie that he was serious and that Tuskegee was important enough to warrant his financial con- sideration. Carnegie's first major contribution was toward a library that was to bear his name. He provided $20,000 for the erection of the building. Out of this sum the principal bought the needed materials, while Tuskegee's students pro— vided the bricks and labor thus making it possible to con- struct a beautiful building for less than the total amount of the gift. In his businesslike manner, the principal returned all of the unused money, thanked Mr. Carnegie again for the donation to the school, and assured him that the library was accepted with grateful recognition of the donor; and that the usability and value of this timely gift could not be fully measured for years to come. Needless to say, the steel magnate was astonished by the scrupulous manner in which this transaction had been handled. He lived long enough to give Tuskegee more money than any other single donor in its history. Most noted was 118 a single gift of $600,000 to be used personally which Washington refused. The money (in United States Steel Bonds) was made a part of Tuskegee's endowment with the interest available to the institution to be used as Washington and the trustees directed. As long as he lived, Carnegie's interest in Washington and Tuskegee never dimmed. His new-found friend was always a welcome guest in his American home and also visited with him in his private home, Skibo Castle in Scotland.1 In 1901, Dartmouth College conferred an Honorary Doctor of Literature on Tuskegee's principal. From that year on- ward, he was Dr. Booker Taliaferro Washington. This was also the year "Teddy" Theodore Roosevelt was elected United States President and the following years wit- nessed a close personal relationship develOping between him and the Tuskegee Mentor. The friendship did not result in lSpencer, op. cit., pp. 106, 115, 117, 163 and 185. Additional information was given the writer by Dr. Lewis W. Jones, Tuskegee faculty member and head of the Department of Sociology. Mrs. Portia Pittman (Washington's daughter) dis— cussed the relationship between her father and Carnegie for a considerable length of time (2nd visit). It was her feel- ing that the $600,000 gift was legally a part of her father's estate. The trustees ruled the gift was a part of the school's endowment fund and as such belonged to the institu- tion. Mrs. Pittman and the Washington family were not too happy with the decision rendered. 119 a sizeable grant or gift from Roosevelt to Tuskegee, but the rewards were great. The President trusted Washington's judgment and sought his advice concerning the appointment of Blacks and whites to high offices. In turn, President Roosevelt delighted in encouraging his friends to consider Tuskegee as one of the ways they should spend some of their money. On one occasion when Roosevelt wanted to discuss some business with Washington, he invited him to visit the White House. They had dinner and later conversed on matters of mutual concern. It is certain that neither expected the adverse publicity that followed. Spencer comments on Washington and the aftermath of this particular visit for which the Commander-in-Chief was severely criticized: He had little reason to expect the storm which broke over his head. He had dined in the same room with President McKinley only three years before at the Chicago Peace Jubilee and with former President Harrison in Paris; the American Ambassadors to England and France, to say nothing of prominent Englishmen and Frenchmen, had enter- tained him in their homes. He had even had tea with Queen Victoria. But to white Southerners the entertainment of a Negro at the White House, even though he was Booker T. Washington, was an implied threat to the continuance of segregation.1 President Roosevelt said little in rebuttal to the criticism for having entertained a Negro. Washington said 1Ibid., p. 132-33. 120 even less, but the incident illustrated the esteem in which Washington was held by officials of the United States, and the close relationship between him and Roosevelt. This incident serVed only to enhance the prestige of Tuskegee's principal. As a gesture of national recognition of Booker T. Washington as an educator, President Roosevelt Visited Tuskegee in 1905 and later became a member Of the Board of Trustees.l. The Years 1905-1909 The date July 4, 1906, marked 25 years of Tuskegee's existence. The driving influence of one man was reflected in the phenomenal growth of the alumni; student enrollment; appropriations and grants; the caliber of faculty and physical plant, and the innovative and experimental curriculum. There were other aspects of his influence far more dif- ficult to measure. They were the large number of poor black boys, girls and adults who had been inspired to im- prove their conditions in life. There were also the phil— anthropists who were in the process of being converted to l . The Tuskegee Student, on October 28, 1905, devoted its entire weekly issue to the President's visit on campus. TI Archives. ' 121 Washington's thinking, and the alumni who would establish miniature Tuskegees throughout the South based on the practical philosophy in which they had been indoctrinated. For this milestone celebration, the great and near great in education and other fields came to honor Washington and the success he had realized with his experiment in in- dustrial education. They said some wonderful things about this extraordinary man. The campus newspaper listed the guest speakers at this unparalleled celebration (April 1—5, 1906). Table V gives a partial list of the eminent citizens who came to pay tribute. TABLE V Twenty-fifth Anniversary Speakersl Charles W. Eliot President of Harvard University Andrew Carnegie Industrialist Robert C. Ogden General Manager of Wanamaker's George McAneny President, Civic Association of America H. B. Frissell President, Hampton Institute Rev. Lyman Abbott Religious Leader J. G. Phelps Stokes Philanthropist 1Information from The Tuskegee Student: Anniversary Edition, April 28, 1906. T I Archives. 122 The principal's anniversary address was a progress report detailing what Tuskegee had accomplished. An excerpt from this report read: At the close Of the school year last May it owned 2,000 acres of land, 83 buildings, large and small, used as dwellings, dormitories, class—rooms, shops and barns, which, together with the equipment, live-stock, stock in trade and other personal property, were valued at about $831,895.32. This does not include 22,000 acres of public land re- maining unsold from the 25,000 granted by Congress valued at $135,000, nor the endowment fund, which amounted January 1, 1906, to $1,275,664. During the year 1904—5, there were enrolled in the regu- lar normal and industrial departments, 1,504 students-~l,000 young men and 504 young women-- with an average attendance of 1,224. This number does not include the 194 in the training-school, or children's house, nor the 56 in the night schools of the village of Greenwood and of the town of Tuskegee, nor the 25 in the night-school Bible classes, nor the 11 in the afternoon cooking Classes in the town of Tuskegee. If these latter were included, the total number of students during the year would be 1,790. Last year there were thirty-seven industries in operation in which students were given training. It will give some idea of the character and ex— tent of this training if I quote a passage from the last annual report: ”During 1904, mainly by student labor, we culti- vated 900 acres of land. Our sweet-potato crop alone amounted to 6,500 bushels. Our dairy herd which has been cared for by the students, con- tains 171 milch cows; and 16,332 pounds of butter were made during the year. In the machinery division 124 students received instruction. One new 7-horse—power engine was built for school use; 6 steam engines were repaired and 163 iron bedsteads built. In the tailor shop, 250 full suits of clothes and 563 pair of overalls were made, besides a large amount of jobs done. 123 During the year, 1,412 articles were made in the millinury division, I, 30‘) in the dressmaking division, 2,505 in the plain—sewing division, 5,118 in the mattress—making division, 1,367 in the broommaking and basketry divisions, and 408,076 pieces were laundered during the year. In the harness shop, 36 sets of new harness were made in addition to the repair work done on all the harness belonging to the school and for out— side parties. In the electrical division, the interior wiring of the academic building, Emery Dormitory No. 2, and three cottages, was done by students, besides extending the electric-light system on the outside of the buildings. In the brickmasonry division, 548,000 bricks have been laid, 224,800 laths have been put on, and 9,018 square yards of plastering completed. In the brickyard, 970,000 bricks have been manufactured. "The value of the products manufactured and sold from the mechanical departments of the school amounted to $100,295. The sales of the products Of the industries carried on exclusively by women amounted to $5,709. The value Of the farm pro- ducts sold was $56,138. This did not include $220 credited to poultry and bees, nor $645 for the sale Of flowers by the school florist. The sales in the commissary department amounted to $75,596. Putting these items together, they give the grand total of $236,655 as the amount of business done by the school last year in the sale Of its own products, and of the food, clothing, etc., used by teachers and students." It has been the constant purpose of the school to turn out not merely trained mechanics and farmers, but also leaders and teachers who will give character to the people, scatter abroad the spirit of industry, enforce the dignity of labor, and improve the condition of the masses so as to make them useful to themselves, their race, and their country. The measure in which the insti— tution at Tuske ee has done this is the measure of its success. 1Booker T. Washington, Twenpyrfive Years of Tuskegee, Tuskegee: The Tuskegee Institute Press, April, 1906, pp. 2-3. BTW Papers (620). 124 Although Washington was cognizant of his acknowledged success to this date, he still sensed the need to "demon- strate" rather than lecture in adult education. Under the direction of the capable agricultural scientist, Dr. George Washington Carver, a Movable School for Farmers was launched. This extension school, staffed by competent agricul- turalists,traveled to the distant poor farmer's little plot of land,tested his soil; advised him on the best seed and fertilizer available; exhibited plants from the special wagon (the plants had been grown as suggested) and helped the farmer in every way possible. This was the first known extension demonstration in the South that serviced Black and white farmers alike. To expand the services on a scale as large as was under- taken here, required a trained faculty and movable equipment far beyond Tuskegee's limited ability to provide. In the past, however, new sources Of money were sought when a need arose and in this instance a new source was found. Help came from millionaire, Norris K. Jessup, and the "Movable School" was under way. Later, the federal government adopted Tuskegee's idea of employing agricultural extension workers in the South.1 1This fact was varified by Mr. Williams, 0 . cit. T I Archives. l25 The director of the Movable School, Thomas Monroe Campbell, a graduate and faculty member of Tuskegee, became the first Field Agent of the Extension Service, United States Department of Agriculture. His book, The Movable School Goes to the Farmer details what was probably an ex— periment in adult education unequalled in the history of the United States. Mr. Campbell explains: In conducting these schools, the men and boys of the community are organized into groups and given practical instruction in making doorsteps, mixing whitewash, building sanitary toilets and poultry houses, sharpening saws, and when in season, in— struction is given in curing and storing sweet potatoes, pruning the orchard, terracing land, innoculating hogs against cholera, butchering and curing meat. Simultaneously the women are organized into groups and given instruction in cleaning the house. They wash the cast away rags, and from them make rugs and mats; they learn to make useful articles from shucks, and pine needles; they are given instruc- tion in cooking, remodeling Old garments and making of new ones. Joint instruction is also given to all in attendance in poultry raising, gardening and home dairying. The rural nurse makes a survey of the community to be worked, looking into the various homes and gives first hand information in home sanitation, with special attention to child welfare, screening the homes, caring for the patient in the home, the eradication of vermin, and directing severe cases Of illness to the community physician. No one can go into the rural districts and mingle with the people without being conscious of the fact that there exists among them a kind of empty and depressing loneliness. Especially is this 120 true of the young people. The Movable School force and county agents are trying to meet this problem. They not only carry tools and imple- ments with which to teach farmers how to work, but, in addition, have a supply of athletic equipment with which to teach these isolated people organized play. At the close of the day the whole group of "students" is brought together at which time they play volley ball, dodge-ball, tug-o-war, and engage in foot races, potato races, jumping, hurdling, and many other simple games directed by the Movable School force. It is interesting to notice how these simple people, old and young, unused to these games, after some little encourage- ment, join in the games. The Archive records indicate that several foreign governments sent representatives to Observe this project with the idea of adopting it for their respective countries or colonial possessions. The person who came to Washington's aid next was a wealthy woman, a Philadelphia Quaker, who was sympathetic and deeply moved by Washington's latest venture. Her name was Anna T.Lk%umnsand she financed the Negro Rural School Fund. The purpose of the fund was to educate teachers to go . 2 . . . into the rural areas. An interesting excerpt from her WI11 1Thomas M. Campbell, "The Movable School in Alabama," The Tuskegee Messenger: Fiftieth Anniversary Edition, Tuskegee: Tuskegee Institute Press, May 9-23, 1931, p. 36. 2Miss Anna T. Jeanes created the fund that bears her name, in the year 1907. However, in 1905, Miss Jeanes had received a request from Mr. George Foster Peabody that she 127 was found in the Library of Congress, it read: The deed of trust which she on Monday signed to make her gift to Negro education imperative reads as follows: "Know all men by these present: That I, Anna T. Jeanes, of the city of Philadelphia, trusting and believing in the practicable and far-reaching good that may result from the moral and elevating in— fluence of rural schools for Negroes in the Southern States, taught by reputable teachers, do hereby make, constitute and appoint Booker T. Washington, Tuske— gee, Ala., and Hollis Burke Frissell, Hampton, Va., and their successors in the trust appointed or created as hereinafter directed, the trustees of an endowment fund in perpetuity of one million dollars, which is hereby created, to be known as "The Fund for Rudimentary Schools for Southern Negroes," the income whereof shall be devoted to the sole purpose of assisting in the Southern United States, community, country and rural schools for the great class of Negroes to whom the small rural and community schools are alone available; and I further nominate,constitute and appoint the Pennsylvania Company for Insurances on Lives and Granting Annuities as and for the 'fiscal agent' of the said trustees and their suc- cessors in the trust, with full power to safely make a gift to Negro education. In April of that year, she gave the sum of $200,000 but added two restrictions. The first was that the sum be used only for rural schools in the South and secondly, that Dr. Booker T. Washington and Dr. Hollis Burke Frissell of Hampton Institute administer the funds. In this same year she gave $200,000 to Tuskegee. The policy of the Fund's Board has been to focus on rural schools through support of supervising teachers, build- ing constructions, traveling expenses to conferences, support of summer schools for Negro teachers. By 1913 the Jeanes Foundation had received $83,900 from the General Education Board which had been created by Mr. John D. Rockerfeller, January 12, 1903, to promote education within the United States of America, and to do so without distinction of race, sex or creed. 128 hold said fund, to collect all income thereon and from time to time, as directed by said trustees, to pay over said income unto them. The Years 1910-1915 Theodore Roosevelt became the ex-president when William H, Taft was elected to the White House in 1910. Washington sensed a golden opportunity to help his school even more by inviting his old friend to join Tuskegee's Board of Trustees. Roosevelt accepted. Using $1,000 of Carnegie's donation, Washington directed the publication of the first edition of the Negro Yearbook. Monroe Work, director of research for the institution, was the editor. The collection included material that had been gathered over the years for Washington's use in answering his volumi- nous mail and in the preparation of his speeches. The sale of the yearbook provided a revolving fund to produce addi- tional yearbooks which were published in alternating years. Newspaper editors, leading libraries and anyone who wanted quick and aCcurate facts on the Negro accepted it as an accurate reference without any reluctance.2 lUndated newspaper clipping, BTW Papers (109). 2Information concerning the publication of the Negro Year Book and two copies, 1918—1919 and 1946—1947 editions, 129 During his last few years, Washington planned a tre— mendously important undertaking. He wanted better school buildings for southern school children, black and white. He persuaded an executive director of the Standard Oil Company, Henry H. Rogers, to give $600.00 per month for one year toward this project. The money was to be used to improve the schools of Macon County, Alabama, the county in which Tuskegee was located. At the end of the first year, Mr. Rogers was so satisfied that he extended the time over which he would give his support, and he increased the number of counties to be helped.1 After this county building program was launched Washington wished to extend it at least state—wide. For this purpose he sought financial support from the midwest and Chicago in particular. In April 1912, he visited Julius Rosenwald to discuss the matter.2 were given the writer by Mr. Williams, Archivist. Because of the increasing cost, a decision was made to discontinue publication with the 1946-1947 issue. 1Spencer, op. cit., p. 117. 2Letter from Washington to Rosenwald, ". . . thanks for the stay at your home." dated March 20, 1912, BTW Papers (69). Julius Rosenwald was born in Springfield, 111., August 12 1862. In 1895 he bought $35,000 worth of Sears & Roebuck Co. stock. By 1925, 30 years later, his investment had grown 130 Knowing that Mr. Rosenwald had already given support to a group of YWCA buildings for black youth in the east and midwest, Washington secured his help in establishing local farmer demonstration units (some referred to as "miniature Tuskegees") that had been started earlier. Rosenwald pre- sented Washington with a sizable sum, actually more than was needed, for this purpose. Washington asked Rosenwald if he might use the overage to build model rural school houses in the deep South. Rosenwald acquiesed and established a fund on the principle that every dollar raised by the community would be matched by one dollar from him. As a result the future of numerous school age Negro boys and girls was redirected. On August 5, 1912 in preparation for his fiftieth birth- day, Mr. Rosenwald wrote the following: to $150,000,000. He became vice president of the company in 1896 and from that year on the company expanded rapidly,becoming one of the largest mail-order houses in the world. In 1910, he became president and in 1925 chairman of the Board of Trustees. Rosenwald was a great business tycoon but he is best known as a philanthropist who gave lavishly to the cause of mankind. His contributions include: Young Men's Christian Associ— ation buildings, libraries, schools, hospitals, universities, museums,relief works, and several Negro charities. In 1917 he established the Julius Rosenwald Fund which ended in 1948. Julius Rosenwald died January 6, 1932. 131 I am in receipt of yours Of the 3rd, enclosing information concerning the distribution of funds for institutions that have grown out of Tuskegee Institute, or where Officered largely by Tuskegee men and women, and are doing the same kind of work as Tuskegee branch schools, and want to thank you very much for the trouble you and your as- sistants have taken in this matter. The plan that I believe I would favor most, pro- vided you concurred in it, would be the following: You select such schools as in your judgment should participate, naming the amount for each and the purpose for which the money is to be used, if you so desire, and, as soon as any school which you have named has raised an equal amount, I will pay to it such an amount as you have designated. I will agree to pay a total of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) to such schools as soon as they furnish a list of bonafide subscriptions equal to the amount you have designated. I expect to celebrate my 50th birthday on the 12th of this month, and would like to announce this gift, together with some others that I am contem— plating. My idea would be to make the announcement as concerns this gift in this manner: "$25,000 for colored schools that have grown out of Tuskegee Institute, or are doing the same kind of work as Tuskegee branch schools, the funds to be distri- buted by Dr. Booker T. Washington, of Tuskegee Institute, under certain conditions and for certain purposes." I would kindly request that you frame this to suit yourself and write me (special delivery) immediately so that I shall have the letter not later than Friday. It might be advisable to send a night letter, charges collect, instead of writing, and make the telegram as full and complete as though it were a letter. It does not matter if it costs $5.00, or even more if necessary. Please express your Opinion freely as to the advisability of the conditions and the method of announcement. If you, for any reason, prefer that the name "Trustees of Tuskegee" be substituted for your name, 132 or the burden not put upon Tuskegee for the dis- tribution, please do not hesitate to so state. I believe it is wise to make the condition as to the raising of an equal amount, because the in- centive will be great for others to give and the trustees of the various institutions will put fimih work under such conditions that they would not be likely to do otherwise.1 The above letter was followed by a second one which read: On this, my fiftieth birthday, I desire to extend a helping hand to the Negro schools that have grown out of Tuskegee Institute or schools that are doing the same kind of work and with which Tuskegee Institute is in close touch. I will contribute to such schools a total of Twenty- five Thousand Dollars ($25,000), to be divided among such schools as in your judgment should participate, you to name the amount for each and in each case the purpose for which the mOney is to be used. As soon as any school which you have named has raised an amount equal to the amount you desig— nate for such school, I will contribute the same amount until the entire sume of $25,000 has been consumed. Being aware of your great interest in these smaller institutions, I take the liberty of asking you to undertake this task. Thankingzyou in advance for your cooperation, I am,. . . 1Letter from Rosenwald to Washington dated August 5, 1912, BTW Papers (65). 2Letter from Rosenwald to Washington dated August 12, 1912, BTW Papers (62). 133 Under Washington's supervision the plan was very suc— cessful. Tuskegee's students and staff drew up plans and Mr. Clinton J. Calloway, Director of the Tuskegee Institute Extension Department was made Rosenwald Agent, and super— vised the building of over 100 schools.1 In fact, the plan was so successful Mr. Rosenwald decided to extend it to the entire Southern States. The following announcement was made: Last week Dr. Booker T. Washington, of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, visited Chicago for the purpose of reporting to Mr. Julius Rosen- wald, the Chicago philanthropist, regarding the use that has been made of certain monies appropriated by Mr. Rosenwald a short while ago for the purpose Of building school houses in some of the rural districts of the South. In each case the people of the community were asked to do as much as they could toward the building of the school house by making cash con- tributions, or contributions in materials, or labor. The report made by Dr. Washington was so satis- factory that Mr. Rosenwald has decided to go ahead with the experiment on a large scale, and has agreed to duplicate dollar for dollar whatever sum is raised in any rural district in the South for school house buildings. The experiment which Dr. Washington has been carry- ing out has been kept very quiet for the reason 1See Appendix for guidelines drawn up by Washington's staff. Washington insisted that every community receiving one penny met every part of the guidelines, that they fur- nish him with a picture before and after the use of the money. He also visited or sent a staff member to visit every recipient. The need for funds was checked, the moral charac- ter of the principal was verified and the list of contributors. 134 that Mr. Rosenwald was anxious to test out the experiment before making any public announcement regarding it. One of the crying needs in the South is good school houses in the country districts where a majority of our people live. Until this need is met the masses of our people will in a large measure remain in ignorance. The securing of these school houses through the generosity of Mr. Rosenwald marks a long step for— ward in the advancement of our race. Any number of communities in the South will, it is expected, within a few months meet the conditions demanded by this gift. Every time a school house is built in one of these country communities it will bring new hope and confidence to your people.1 The fUnd which was established on Rosenwald's 50th birth— day,l912, put millions into the development and expansion Of school buildings for Negroes by the time of his death in 1932. the sum total of which must equal $350, was all collected, verified before Washington notified Rosenwald that a com— munity was eligible for this gift. lClipping from the Southwestern Christian Advocate, no date, BTW Papers (66). The amount provided was an additional $30,000. After this announcement Mr. Rosenwald was deluged with pleas for money. They came from governors, ministers, principals, and individuals without organizational connections. Each was acknowledged and forwarded to Washington to investi- gate and make a determination on its merit. As a Black man, with this power to sit in judgment on every appeal, Washington made some friends and some very bitter enemies. Because each school was required to have a cur- riculum that approximated Tuskegee's he rejected far more requests than he approved. 135 It should be emphasized that hundreds of white schools used the Rosenwald building plans and blueprints which were made at Tuskegee. An additional credit to Washington was the fact that both black and white pupils profited by the Rosenwald-Tuskegee experiment. The direct benefits were obvious. The indirect bene— fits for blacks were such that in many instances where direct requests were denied, community concern was generated to a point the parents and school officials taxed themselves and sought other sources for the funds they needed. Plans to improve the education of white Southern pupils were advanced as a result of Rosenwald's interest in Negro education. An example was the State of Alabama which increased its contribution to local white schools. The state made available: For a one-classroom school $300.00 For a two-classroom school 450.00 For a three-classroom school 600.00 For a four—classroom school 800.00 For a five-classroom school 1,000.00 In addition, $30.00 to $200.00 was provided for books and supplies per school. For every dollar a Negro school received from the Rosenwald Fund, the community was required 136 to give a dollar; for every dollar a white school received under this Alabama State plan, the community was required to raise two dollars. The improvement of the schools and the control of the money was under a county board of edu— cation and each building was required to meet standards set by the Alabama State Department of Education.1 One of Washington's last undertakings can best be described as a mass educational plan to improve the health practices of all American Negroes. He saw a close relation— ship between good health and the ability to profit from formal instructions——a relationship that still haunts the poor in our society today. First, he inaugurated a local Negro Health Week, next a State Negro Health Week. The Mayor of Tuskegee and the Governor of Alabama were persuaded to proclaim such a week along with the collaboration of state health officials. The next step was to prevail upon the Southern Association of State Health Officers and finally the Surgeon General to inaugurate the project on a national scale. The United States Public Health Service accepted the 1Letter from Washington to Rosenwald dated May 26, 1915 commenting on the initiation of their building program and its effect on the State of Alabama's effort to improve schools for white pupils. BTW Papers (78). 137 responsibility of making Washington's plan a national one. The name was modified to become the National Negro Health Week.1 In the year 1914, the federal government took another cue from Washington and Tuskegee. The Smith-Lever Act en- couraging agricultural education, began multiple ”short- course" schools on the farmers' own lands and 4H clubs for boys and girls all over Alabama.2 Because Of the progress Tuskegee made in improving the health of Negroes, the federal government chose land near the campus to erect a $2,500,000 Veterans Hospital. Prin- cipal Robert R. Moton, at its dedication in 1923 by the Honorable Calvin Coolidge, described the new hospital as ". . . the greatest physical achievement of our government for the Negro race since The Emancipation."3 The paradox of Washington, the Negro moving with such ease in the business and financial world lies in the fact lMathew, op. cit., p. 18. 2H. R. Bill 7951, May 8, 1914. An act to provide for cooperative agricultural colleges in the several states receiving the benefits of an Act of Congress approved July 2, 1862, and of Acts supplementary thereto, and the United States Department of Agriculture. 3The Tuskegee Student, op. cit., March 1—5, 1923, p. 4, T I Archives. 138 that he was always a gentleman and possessed the social graces so necessary to attract important people. Scott and Stowe say it this way: He had not only the naturalness and the goodness of heart which are the fundamentals; but he had also the breeding and the polish which distinguiih the finished gentleman from the "rough diamond." He was always careful to invite prospective trustees whose service on the Board would be instrumental in making new friends for his institution. The letterhead on Tuskegee's stationery of that time gives the names of those on the Board of Trustees. They are listed in Table VI below. The reader can imagine the potential benefits and resources that were available to Tuskegee Institute from having this roster of distinguished persons serving it. Washington delivered his last speech October 23, 1915 in New Haven, Connecticut. He left New Haven on the night of October 25th for New York City and a meeting of Tuskegee's Trustees at 11:00 AM on the morning of the 26th. He appeared to be sick and the Trustees persuaded him to have a physical examination. Three days later he consented and was found to be in serious lEmmett J. Scott and Lyman Beecher Stowe, Booker T. Washington: Builder of a Civilization (New York: Doubleday Page and Co., 1916), p. 317. III I! 1‘. I I.’ (I1 139 TABLE VI 1 BOARD OF TRUSTEES *Seth Low, Chairman ---------- New York City, N. Y. Wright W. Campbell, Vice-Chairman ----- Tuskegee, Alabama William G. Willcox ----------- New YOrk City, N. Y. R. 0. Simpson ---------------- Furman, Alabama V. H. Tulane --------- u - - - - - - Montgomery, Alabama Belton Gilreath ------------- Birmingham, Alabama Charles W. Hare ---------- - - - - Tuskegee, Alabama Warren Logan — — - - ------ - Tuskegee Institute, Alabama A. J. Wilborn - - ------------- Tuskegee, Alabama William J. Schieffelin ----- — - — - New York City, N. Y. Charles E. Mason - - ------ - - - - Boston, Massachusetts Frank Trumbull - - - ---------- New York City, N. Y. Theodore Roosevelt ----------- Oyster Bay, New York Julius Rosenwald ------------- Chicago, Illinois William M. Scott - - ——————— Philadelphia, Pennsylvania George McAneny ------------- New York City, N. Y. Edgar A. Bancroft ------------- Chicago, Illinois Alexander Mann, D.D. --------- Boston, Massachusetts Robert R. Moton --------- Tuskegee Institute, Alabama Emmett J. Scott, Secretary - — - Tuskegee Institute, Alabama *Died, September 17, 1916. g 1Information is from letters found in the BTW Papers, (78) 1Library of Congress dated for the year 1915. 140 condition by physicians at Rockerfeller Institute. On the evening of November 4, 1915, he was carried to St. Luke's Hospital in the city and placed under the care of a trained nurse and physicians who sent for Mrs. Washington. On the morning of the 10th of November the following statement appeared in the Montgomery Advertiser: Suffering from nervous breakdown, Dr. Booker T. Washington, principal of Tuskegee Institute, is confined in a private room in St. Luke's Hospital. "Dr. Washington has been suffering from severe head- aches for more than a month; said, Dr. Bastedo to- night. His condition became serious enough to alarm the trustees who I understand have no successor in mind for the position as principal. I made an exam— ination of Dr. Washington a few days ago and found him completely worn out. He has been overworking and was in no condition to resume his work at Tuskegee. There is a noticeable hardening of the arteries and he is extremely nervous." In the New York hospital, Dr. Washington had been told by a physician that he had only a few hours to live. He said: "Take me home. I was born in the South, I have lived and labored in the South, and I wish to die and be buried in the South."2 Mr. Rosenwald, then trustee of Tuskegee, was on campus when a telegram arrived from Charlotte, North Carolina. It 1Montgomery (Alabama) Advertiser, dated November 10, 1915, BTW Papers (78). 2Scott and Stowe, op. cit., p. 321. 141 was sent by Mrs. Washington stating that she was on the way from New York, the time she expected to arrive and instruc- tions that Mr. EmmettJ. Scott (Washington's personal secretary) should have an ambulance meet the train.1 About ten minutes past midnight, November 13, 1915, the train reached Chehaw, Alabama, the nearest stOp to Tuskegee. Dr. Washington was in a comatose condition and never regained consciousness. At 4:15 AM, Sunday, November 14th, he died. For 34 years, 10 months and 4 days he had given of himself unsparingly to the school, the community and the world he so dearly loved. 1Telegram from Mrs. Booker T. Washington to Mr. Emmett J. Scott, dated November 13, 1915, BTW Papers (78). CHAPTER V BOOKER T. WASHINGTON'S INFLUENCE IN WEST AFRICA BETWEEN THE YEARS 1880 AND 1925 Washington's influence was not limited to the geograph— ical boundaries of the United States. Although the great educator never Visited Africa, widespread knowledge of his work in the Southern United States inspired Liberia and several colonial powers in West Africa to mold their edu- cational systems on the Tuskegee model. Commenting on Washington's role, Louis R. Harlan states: This involvement, however, did not require any fundamental readjustment of Washington's outlook. The Negroes' position in American society at the turn of the twentieth century was, after all, roughly analogous to that of Negroes in the Afri— can colonies. Both groups were politically dis- franchised, socially subordinated, and economi— cally eXploited. Negro Americans were engaged largely in raw material production in the South, that "under-developed" part of the American land empire that closely resembled a colony. The Darwinist mode of social thought supported both European colonialism and proscriptive American racial practices. Washington's cooperation with white colonial authorities and promoters in Africa, likewise was consistent with his public acceptance of most of the southern white racial practices and his partnership with American white elite groups of both North and South.1 lLouis R. Harlan, "Booker T. Washington and the White 142 143 In January 1901, when three students from Tuskegee landed in the German colony of Togo, Washington's direct involvement overseas began. He explained the arrangements as follows: . . .upon the recommendation of Secretary Wilson of the Department of Agriculture, three graduates of Tuskegee went to Africa in 1900 to teach cotton- raising to the natives of the German Provinces. At the end of the second year, the officers were so well satisfied with their services that they sent for three other students, and in 1903 a hundred bales of cotton were shipped from Togo, Africa to Berlin. . . .the school at Tuskegee is an example of what the Negro can do under favorable circumstances, and even these circumstances are not so favorable when compared with opportunities that members of the other race have in other parts of the country.1 Verification of these facts appeared in the media. One paper carried this story: Mr. J. N. Calloway, one of the teachers of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama, is in New York with a party of five students from Tuskegee en route to Togo, West Man's Burden," The American Historical Review, LXXI, No. 2 (January 1966), p. 441. 1"Washington Looks at the Past 25 Years," The Tuskegee Student, April 28, 1906, BTW Papers (1096). For a detailed description of this Tuskegee-to-Africa contact, the hard- ships experienced, and its results in the production of cotton, see: George Shepperson, "Notes of African National- ism," Journal of African History, L, No. 2 (1960). PP. 310-11; Harold R. Isaacs, "The American Negro and Africa: Some Notes," Phylon, XX (Fall 1959), pp. 223-33; and Harlan, op. cit., pp. 441-47. 144 Africa. Mr. Calloway went to Togo eighteen months ago with a party of three Tuskegee graduates under the auspices of the German government to intro— duce the raising of cotton in the German colony of Togo, and the authorities have been so much pleased with the experiment that they asked Mr. Calloway to return a month ago for additional Tuskegee students. It was largely in connection with this enterprise that Prince Henry, when in New York, asked to have Booker T. Washington presented to him. The records show that Tuskegee graduates helped to introduce the cultivation of cotton into several other countries of Africa, including Nigeria, the Belgian Congo and the Sudan.2 As early as 1901, the English Board of Education's Michael Sadler visited Hampton Institute and noted its rele- vance for education in West Africa.3 In 1909, the Governor of The Gold Coast, J. P. Rodger, after visiting both Hampton and Tuskegee, made a decision to change his educational system in order to bring it more in line with these schools, lClipping, undated, BTW Papers (Scrapbook #1) 2See Harlan, "Booker T. Washington and The White Man's Burden," op. cit., Washington Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, that document these early contacts. 3Letter from Sadler to Washington, September 23, 1901, BTW Papers (Box 209); also, see M. E. Sadler, "The Education of the Coloured Race," _pecia1 Reports on Educational Subjects, XI, XXIX (London, 1902) cited in Kenneth J. King, ”Africa and the Southern States of the USA: Notes on J. H. Oldham and American Negro Education for Africans," Journal of African History, x, No. 4 (1969), pp. 659-677. 14S and enthusiasm for the Tuskegee—Hampton type of education for the Africans grew.l In 1910 a World Missionary Conference was held in Edin— 2 burgh, Scotland. J. H. Oldham was organizer and secretary of the Conference. The members formed a Commission to deter— mine the best type of education for the Africans. In their search Hampton and Tuskegee attracted much attention. The following paragraph from one of their reports indicates concern for an industrial—type of education. It reads: . . .in the eyes of the Commission, while industrial education was a general recommendation for the mis- sion field, its application to Africa was "especially urgent." The judgments of the Commission on Africa were thus mainly concerned to correct the absence of industrial and agricultural instruction; and in no less than three conspicuous places missions were notified that "the value of industrial and agri— cultural training for the Negro 1§i§7 race is abundantly proved by the experience of the Normal and Industrial Institute at Hampton, Virginia, and the Normal and Industrial School at Tuskegee, Alabama.3 After the Commission's meeting, Oldham issued a state- ment on colonial education which later became a part of 1Ibid., p. 660. 2Ibid., p. 661. 3See: Education in Relation to the Christianization of National Life: Report of Commission III, World Missionary Conference, Edinburg, 1910, p. 302. Cited in King, op. cit., p. 661. 1.46 Britain's official policy. Oldham's assessment read: It is insisted that education be closely related to the actual life of those who have to be taught. It must take account of their instincts, experi— ences, different conditions. Its aim must be to equip them for the life which they have to live. Hence, the main emphasis must not be on a purely literary curriculum, such as still prevails in many schools, but on training in such necessities of actual life, as health, hygiene, the making and keeping of a home, the earning of a livelihood and civic knowledge and spirit. This assessment reflects the influence Tuskegee's edu- cational philosophy had on British educational concerns for their West African Colonies. A brief history of Liberia is helpful to understanding this country's plight during the first decade of the twen— tieth century. The placing of the Negro on the American shores by the Dutch has been discussed above. Liberia re— sulted from a back-to-Africa movement by the American . . . . . . 2 Colonization Soc1ety beginning in 1820. Today, it is thought that two motives were operating in this venture. First, freed Negroes were beginning to agitate for the right to vote as well as other rights of citizenship guaranteed under the United States Constitution; 1J. H. Oldham, "Christian Missions and the Education of the Negro," I.R.M., VII (1918), pp. 242—47. Cited in King, op. cit., p. 663. 2Franklin, op. cit., pp. 235-38. 147 so a need to disentangle the United States from an embar— rassing situation arose. Secondly, the society wanted to secure a place for Negroes where they could be truly free. Liberia proclaimed itself an independent republic in 1847} It drew up a constitution modeled after that of the United States, and was immediately recognized as an inde— pendent country by most of the European powers but American recognition was withheld until 1862.2 It has been estimated that by this time, approximately 4,000 American-Liberians (ex-slaves) were located there. They had little or no education; no financial or scientific experience, and no practice in self—government. Roads to the hinterland or interior were nonexistent and the American- Liberians were outnumbered by the native tribes. In 1904, a West Indian, Arthur S. Barclay, was elected president. His election precipitated several crises for the troubled country. One crisis resulted from an attempt to strengthen his country's financial position by negotiating for a loan with Great Britain and consequently making con— cessions that nearly ruined his country. 1Ibid. 2 Ibid. 3See Harlan, "Booker T. Washington and the White Man's Burden," op. cit., PP. 452—53. 148 A second crisis resulted from the fighting of natives over poorly defined borders. France's colonial population and native Liberians often fought over this matter. The loan President Barclay secured from Britain, made France fearful to the point of threatening war. Several Americo-Liberians and some American mission— aries living in Liberia, decided to seek Washington's in- fluence. On June 29, 1907, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Liberia, Bishop Isaiah P. Scott, wrote Washington saying, "The greatest need of Liberia is a first- class industrial school and a proper supply of books."1 In reply to Bishop Scott, Washington asked that he send a delegation of Africa's dedicated workers to this country 2 for a conference on education and other problems. He also wrote President Roosevelt: You know, I think, the history of Liberia, Africa, how it was established by Americans during Presi- dent Monroe's administration and how its interests have been safeguarded in many ways by Americans since its foundation. I have information from reliable sources that both France and England are seeking to take large parts of the Liberian ter- ritory. I am sure that you will prevent this if it can be done.3 1Letter from Bishop Scott to Washington dated June 29, 1907. Cited in Mathews, op. cit., p. 243. 2 ibid. Letter from Washington to Scott, dated July 27, 1907, 3Letter from Washington to Roosevelt, September 19, 1907, ibid., p. 244. 149 When in March of 1908, Washington learned a commission from Liberia would soon arrive in the United States, he wrote a second letter to the President. It read: As I understand it, the Liberian Commission is coming here to see you in reference to the en- croachments of foreign government from Liberian soil. I do not know, of course, what the custom of the State Department is regarding such matters, but I am wondering if, in some way, some special attention cannot be shown to this Commission com- posed of Negroes, has visited this country, and I am most anxious that they be treated with just as much courtesy as the custom of the United States will allow. Even if an exception has to be made,I think it will be a fine thing. I understand, of course, the delicacy of handling the situation. I am already planning in connection with others to pay this Commission a good deal of attention. I am hoping among other things to have them visit Tuskegee. . . . If I can serve you in any manner in carrying out the wishes of yourself or the State Department, please be good enough to command me. Whatever is done, or is not done, will attract a good deal of attention and result in wide comment among the colored people.1 The Commission arrived in the United States May 1908, and while in this country Washington became its guide. He took them to State Department meetings and hosted the party during a three-day visit at Tuskegee. His services were so deeply appreciated that he was offered a post with the Liberian government as Liberian charge d'affaires in the 1Letter from Washington to Roosevelt, March 21, 1908, ibid. 150 United States. He declined.1 The visit by the Liberian Commission created enough interest, however, for Washington to ask President Roosevelt to send an American Commission to Liberia. Their purpose would be to view conditions firsthand. Because Washington's name was suggested as a possible member of the Commission he wanted to knOw the extent to which the chief executive was willing to commit the United States in the defense of Liberia. For further clarification on this delicate matter he sent his personal secretary to the White House. Mr. Scott's report to Washington follows: Mr. Washington: I called to see President Roose- velt, last Friday, September 27, as per your direction and wire you of my visit, as follows: Liberian matter being amicably settled, will go to limit of moral force to protect. I now desire to confirm that telegram and to say that I found the President most anxious to be of whatever service he could in the Liberian matter. He said, however, that hecfid not want to give any- body the idea that he would go to war with Great Britain over the Liberian question. I assured him that you only desired that he should use his good office in a moral way, so that both France and England would understand that the American government greatly desired the settlement of the question on the broad ground of the square deal 1Letter from Washington to Root, June 15, 1908, and Lyon to Washington, June 23, 1908. BTW Papers (1090). Both letters related that the Liberian Commission was very ap- preciative of the work Washington did on their behalf while they were visiting the United States. They also extended him an invitation to visit their country. to the Liberian Republic. He assured me that he would go to the limit of his power in this direc- tion. Representation has been made that the Liberian Republic is unable to police its own borders and that the French aggressions are due to the fact that they wish to protect their own property, etc. Of course you recognize that the President is at a disadvantage when another govern— ment makes a representation of this kind. It is impossible for him directly to question the truth of the statement. Notwithstanding the above statement, he is willing to go the limit, as he assured me, of his power domain. He had cable advice the day I was in his office, which led him to assure me that the matter had been settled amicably, and as he said, to the satisfaction of President Barclay.l President Howard Taft, with Washington's help did appoint a commission to visit Liberia. He had been in office only a short time and wanted Washington to remain in the United States as adviser on race relations during these first few months. Mr. Scott was offered as a substitute for the princi- pal and the United States Commission sailed for Liberia in 1909.2 Little was done for Liberia at this time. The visit, however, resulted in an internationally financed loan of $1,700,000 to the troubled country some two years later. 1Letter from Scott to Washington, dated September 27, 1908, BTW Papers (1). 2Washington to Robert C. Ogden, March 4, 1909 (895) also see New York Evening Post, March 2, 1908, BTW Papers (1052). Considerable trouble developed surrounding this Commission. Washington suggested his secretary, Emmett Scott, but because he was a Negro some others appointed by 152 The arrangements which secured the loan appear below: Washington, January 13. -— The only obstacle in the way of the proposed plan for the rehabilita— tion of Liberia was removed today by the signing in Paris by Minister Crommelin of Liberia of the agreement with France for the delimitation of boundaries. The plan for refunding the Liberian national debt contemplates the participation of financial in— terests of France, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States, subject to proper guarantees for the repayment of the loan out of the Liberian customs receipts. The original proposition pro- vided that the loan should be taken by a syndicate of American bankers only, but later, in view of the English, French, and German interests in that part of the world, the plan was changed to permit their participation.1 While Washington was deeply interested in improving education for Africans in their own countries, he also worked to bring African students to Tuskegee to educate and then to return them to help in their native countries. In this effort a number of sources were tapped for transportation and support. Usually, a church or missionary organization responded to the request. If additional help was needed, however, dependable friends of the Institute were contacted. President Taft resigned and some ships did not welcome the idea of having a Negro travel as a first class passenger. After much haggling, things were settled and the appointed commission sailed for Liberia. lThe Tuskegee Student,_pp. cit., dated January 21, 1911, p. 2, T I Archives. 153 In 1908, Olivia Phelps—Stokes provided $500.00 toward the support of one Liberian student at Tuskegee.l A year later, she provided $1,000.00 to be used as follows: Personal expenses money for two Liberian students now at Tuskegee $ 64.32 Indebtedness of two Liberian students at Tuskegee 150.00 Money to bring two additional students to Tuskegee and maintain them for one year 625.00 (remainder not specified)2 The following year, Washington assured Miss Stokes her gift was appreciated by the Institute and the African stu- dents. He included a picture of six Liberian boys with the comment, "I thought you might like to see them. They seem to be doing well."3 The principal's long-range plans called for the estab- lishment of a mini-Tuskegee in the tiny African Republic. One of his letters to Miss Olivia Stokes expressed his 1Letter from Olivia Phelps—Stokes to Washington, dated August 16, 1908. BTW Papers (47). In this letter Miss Stokes said, "Africa will most likely be developed by European Nations but I would like to see some Liberian students come over and I'm willing to help." 2Letter from Olivia Phelps-Stokes to Washington, dated November 16, 1909. BTW Papers (47). She stated, "I hope students will return to Liberia and begin their own school following Tuskegee's methods." 3Letter from Washington to Olivia Phelps—Stokes, dated November 25, 1910. BTW Papers (47). 154 feelings. It read: Miss . . . I think we can see our way clear to make the right move in the direction of establishing a first-class industrial school. . . . Of course it is not possible for us to go very far or do very much until we know more definitely what money is in sight and can be depended upon for the develop- ment and maintenance of the school.1 Stokes replied: If an interest is shown to start and properly control an industrial school similar to Tuskegee, in Liberia, I will aid toward the building fund and maintenance of the school. I think it best not to say anything further before having some proposition submitted that will cover these points.2 Washington's feelings toward Liberia are probably best summed up in the following statement he made concerning the political and educational future. He remarked: For years, both in Liberia and Haiti, literary education and politics have been emphasized, but while doing this the people have failed to apply themselves to the development of the soil, mines and forests. The result is that, from an economic point of view, those two republics have become de— pendent upon other nations and races. In both republics the control of finances is in the hands of other nations, notwithstanding the fact that the two countries have natural resources greater than other countries similar in size. . . . We must not be afraid to pay the price of success in 1Letter from Washington to Miss Olivia Phelps—Stokes, dated November 25, 1910. BTW Papers (47). 11, 2Letter from Miss Stokes to Washington, dated February 1911. BTW Papers (48). 155 business--the price of sleepless nights, the price of toil when others rest, the price of planning today for tomorrow, this year for next year. If someone else endures the hardships, does the thinking and pays the salaries, someone else will reap the harvest and enjoy the reward.1 Sensing the need for a systematic plan for the educa- tion of Africans, and believing the Tuskegee model to be a useful one, Washington called for an International Conference on the Negro. He explained his plans in this manner: For some years past I have had in mind to invite here from different parts of the world—~from Europe, Africa, the West Indies and North and South America--persons who are actively inter- ested, or directly engaged as missionaries, or otherwise, in the work that is going on in Africa and elsewhere for the education and upbuilding of Negro peoples. ‘ For this purpose it has been determined to hold at Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, April 17, 18, and 19, 1912, a little more than a year from this time an International Conference on the Negro. Such a Conference as this will offer the opportunity for those engaged in any kind of service in Africa, or the countries above mentioned, to become more intimately ac- quainted with the work and the problems of Africa and these other countries. Such a meeting will be valuable and helpful, also, in so far as it will give opportunity for a general interchange of ideas in organizing and systematizing the work of edu- cation of the native peoples in Africa and else— where and the preparation of teachers for that work. Wider knowledge of the work that each is doing should open means of co-operation that do not now exist. lMathews, o . cit., p. 251. 156 The object of calling this Conference at Tuskegee Institute is to afford an opportunity for study- ing the methods employed in helping the Negro People of the United States, with a view of de- ciding to what extent Tuskegee and Hampton methods may be applied to conditions, in these countries, as well as to conditions in Africa. It is hoped that numbers of people representing the different governments interested in Africa and the West Indies, as well as representatives from the United States, and the countries of South America, will decide to attend this Conference. Especially is it urged that missionary and other workers in these various countries be present and take an active part in the deliberations of the Conference. It is desirable, in any case, to have any suggestions as to what might be done to make the work of the Conference more helpful to all concerned. The names of persons who would like to be present, with whom you are acquainted, will be appreciated, and through you they are invited to be present and take part in the deliberations of the Conference. Those who come to Tuskegee properly accredited will be welcomed and entertained as guests of the In- stitution and will be under no expense during their stay here.1 The State Department helped publicize the Conference among those European countries that had colonies in Africa and after communication had been received from most of the invited countries, further clarification appeared. It read: Twenty-one foreign countries, or colonies of foreign countries, and thirty-six different missionary societies,representing sixteen different religious lThe Tuskegee Student, dated February 10, 1912, p. l. T I Archives. ' 157 denominations, will be represented officially, or unofficially, at the International Conference on the Negro, which meets at Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama, April 17, 18, and 19. The local governments of Jamaica and Barbados, British West Indies, have selected three official representatives to attend the Conference for the purpose of studying the work of the Tuskegee In- stitute, and to follow the deliberation of the Conference. Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Nicaragua, British Guiana and possibly Venezuela, will also be represented. Missionary organizations from Sweden, Germany and England have announced their intention of sending delegates. The little Negro Republic of Liberia, will be represented by Consul General to the United States, Ernest Lyon, Vice-President S. G. Harmon, former Secretary of State, F. E. R. Johnson, and a number of other persons, represent- ing schools and other missionary enterprises in that country. Mr. Maurice S. Evans of London, England, will represent the British African Society at the Con- ference; Mr. R. F. Hunter, Head of the Fourah Bay College of Sierra Leone, will be present in the interest of that colony. Among those who have announced their determination to be present are a number of noted Africans, among others Mm. Casely Hayford, a native Barrister-at- law, of Sekondi, Gold Coast, Africa, author of a very interesting book, EthigpiagUnbound, which is perhaps one of the first books ever written by a native African for the purpose of expressing the hopes and aspirations of an African nationality. In addition to the native Africans, the mission- aries and representatives of some of the West Indian colonies, several distinguished sociologists have promised to be present; among others Prof. W. I. 158 Thomas, of the University of Chicago, author of "Sex and Society.“1 The Congress convened on Tuskegee's campus April 16, 1912, and lasted three days. The president of the school gave the keynote address. Several speakers concerned themselves with the problem of educating their colonial natives. They all were given an opportunity to see the "show place," Tuskegee, as being representative of what might be possible if the colonial powers were willing to commit themselves to the industrial self-help philosophy. Little else was accomplished except to decide there should be a second conference. Washington died before this could be arranged. In later years as the colonial governments of West Africa began to assume increasing responsibilities for native education, they were influenced by the report-—Education in Africa: A Study of West, South, and Equatorial Africa by the African Education Commission. Under the Auspices of the PhelpseStokes Fund and Foreign Mispion Societies of North America and Europe, prepared by Thomas Jesse Jones, chairman of the commission, and published in 1922. 1The Southern Letter (a newsletter for Farmers), Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama, April, 1912, P. 4. T I Archives. In assessing Washington's influence in WeSt Africa, two things are of interest: (1) the thinking and educational philosophy of the persons who were appointed to the Commis- sion and (2) the extent to which the Commission's recom— mendations reflect the experiences of Tuskegee and its past president. The trustees of the Phelps-Stokes Fund and the Foreign Mission Board appointed the members of this Commission. Because they tried to ensure a broad spectrum of thinking on the problems facing education, both men and women from Europe, Africa, and America were invited to serve. The Phelps-Stokes Commission Dr. Thomas Jesse Jones—-Chairman Dr. Jones was educational director of the Phelps- Stokes Fund and was thought to be well qualified to give the leadership this Commission would need. He was born in Wales, Great Britain; educated in sociology at Columbia University; and had been director of the Research Depart- ment at Hampton Institute for a number of years. He was considered an authority on Negro Education. He had worked for the United States Government compiling special reports on racial groups after having helped with the census 160 in 1910. It was his work in preparing a voluminous study, Negro Education: A Study of the Private and Higher Schools for Colored People in the United States, that won him acclaim as a specialist in Negro Education. The report was prepared in cooperation with the Phelps-Stokes Fund and published by the Government Printing Office in 1917.1 James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey A second appointment to the Commission was an African, James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey. He came to this country in 1893 at the age of 23 and began his studies at Livingston College, Salisbury, North Carolina, which was operated by the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. For 22 years he had either gone to school or taught in the Southern States of America. Kenneth King, Professor, Department of History, University College Nairobi, describes Aggrey's uniqueness for this assignment in this way: Aggrey grew to be synonymous with the Good African, a man who could effect by his powers of inter— racial sensitivity such a reconciliation of black with white that colonialism could be made ac— ceptable and the black revolution unnecessary. lSee Education in Africa: A Study of West, South and Equatorial Africa, by the African Education Commission, under the auspices of the Phelps-Stokes Fund and Europe. (Report prepared by Thomas Jesse Jones, Chairman of the Commission. New York: Phelps-Stokes Fund, 1922), pp. xii-xvii. Intro- duction. Note: Aggrey's home was in Ghana. 161 Aggrey thus became the . . . colleague white mis- sionaries and officials would welcome . . . . For the blacks . . . Aggrey became a symbol of racial solidarity and for the independent African, in ad- dition, he personified the pan—African movement, both in its continental aspects as he a West African, preached race pride to mass audiences throughout Africa, and also in its connections with the New World, since he represented . . . the social and educational opportunities which Negro America could offer the African. The fact there— fore, that Aggrey could appear to different parts of the same mixed audience as both Good African and as Independent African makes it all the more neces— sary also to consider his place within the long and increasingly complex traditions of African nation- alist thought. Even though the commission was made up of several dis— tinguished people who were pro-Tuskegee, it was Aggrey's job to sell the native Africans on the Hampton-Tuskegee educa- tional experience as being adaptable to their needs and best interest. Henry Stanley Hallenbeck, M.D. Henry Stanley Hallenbeck, M.D. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was appointed because he had served as a medical missionary for the American Missionary Board in Angola for twelve years. Mr. and Mrs. Arthur W. Wilkie Mr. and Mrs. Arthur W. Wilkie of Scotland were appointed 1Kenneth J. King, "James E. K. Aggrey: Collaborator, Nationalist, Pan-African," Canadian Journal of African Studies, IV, No. 3 (Fall 1970), pp. 511—16. 162 by the Missionary Societies of Great Britain and Ireland because they were successful missionaries. Both had con- siderable experience on the African Continent and both had visited Tuskegee and believed the "Movable School" for farmers a useful idea easily adaptable to rural settings in Africa. Leo A. Roy Leo A. Roy of New York, an appointee, was considered very knowledgeable on Negro education. During World War I he had held a position as government supervisor for technical training of colored soldiers. Rev. John T. Tucker Rev. John T. Tucker received an appointment to the Commission because of his experience in Africa with the American Missionary Board. Once the Commission had been formed, the scope of its study was outlined as follows: 1. To inquire as to the educational work being done at present in each of the areas to be studied. 2. To investigate the educational needs of the people in the light of the religious, social, hygienic, and economic conditions. 3. To ascertain to what extent these needs are being met. 163 4. To assist in the formulation of plans designed to meet the educational needs of the Native races, making adequate use of the Native re— sources and providing for the present and pros— pective demands of the country itself. 5. To make available the full results of this study.1 This Commission's African visit is of interest. They sailed from Liverpool for Africa August 25, 1920. Their itinerary (they divided themselves into two groups) follows: Sept. 4 to 19 -- Sierra Leone Sept. 20 to Oct. 1 -- Liberia Oct. 4 to Nov. 4 -— Gold Coast Nov. 4 to Dec. 16 ~- Nigeria Dec. 19 to 25 —- Duala, Cameroon Jan. 1, 1921 to Jan. 25 —— Lower Congo Jan. 27 to Feb. 2 and March 10 -- Angola Feb. 11 to April 1 —- South Africa The chairman of the Commission reported the results of the tour to the governments and mission boards of Belgium, France, and England, and Mr. Aggrey delivered numerous addresses to important missionary groups in England.2 1Jones, 0 . cit., p. xvi. 2Ibid., pp. xxiii—xxiv. 164 The Commission created great interest throughout Africa and the Jones Commission's Report (as it was called) listed the following visitors who came to get a firsthand look at the flourishing educational programs at Tuskegee with the hope of adapting them to their countries. From The Gold Coast D. J. Oman, Director of Education, and Mrs. Oman. A. W. Wilkie, Superintendent of the Scottish Mission Schools, and Mrs. Wilkie. Mrs. A. I. Chandler, wife of the Supervisor of the Church Missionary Society work on the Coast. Archdeacon G. W. Morrison, from the Church Missionary School at Coomassie. From Sierra Leone Mrs. Adelaide Casely Harford and Miss Kathleen Easmon; both interested in industrial education for the Native girls of West Africa. From Nigeria Mr. E. F. Wilkinson, who was to have charge of a training school for teachers of the Church Missionary Society. From Belgian Congo Mr. W. L. Edwards, of the Disciples Mission at Bolenge Mr. C. H. Padfield, of the Bololo Mission Mr. S. C. Gordon, of the British Baptist Mission at Matadi From South Africa Mr. D. M. Malcolm, chief inspector of schools of Natal Mr. Alexander Kerr, principal of the South African Native College Mr. J. DuPlessis, of the Stellenbosh University, a man influential in educational affairs in South Africa From Kenya Colony Archdeacon W. E. Owens, in charge of Church Missionary Society work in the colony.1 The Commission included a number of persons who were impressed by the work of General Armstrong at Hampton Insti- tute and Washington at Tuskegee. This is reflected in their recommendations which read in summary: 1. Any educational system proposed for Africans should be adapted to the specific needs of the rural populations. Emphasis should be placed on-- a. health hygiene and cleanliness b. character development c. moral and religious training d. development of an appreciation for the importance of agriculture e. better care in the rearing and use of domestic animals f. improved methods of agriculture The Commission's recommendations depended largely on the success that had been visible at Tuskegee. They said: Ibid., Pp. XVii-XViii. 166 It is probable that the methods of rural education organized by Hampton and Tuskegee, and extended by such educational agencies as the General Education Board, thy Jeanes and Slater Funds, and the United States Department of Agriculture, are the most sig- nificant for all those who have the responsibility for the education of Central Africa. 2. There should be improvement in the organization and administration of the educational efforts in Africa. There was, the Commission felt, duplication of effort and programs with con— centration in the urban centers while the rural or interiors were being negledted. This recommendation included: "The ideal type of local school is illustrated in the American systemzby what is known as the Rosenwald school. 3. There should be educational opportunities provided for the masses and for Native Leadership. According to the Commission, the school had a great responsibility and an opportunity to take the lead in the education of the native peoples. While there was a need to train leaders they saw a parallel need for industrial education that would improve housing, household utensils, farm implements, mechanical tools and simple vehicles to carry heavy loads. Also, they saw a need for village industries such as weaving, leather—work, basket-making, pottery, mat-making and other handicraft. The social value of industrial education was supported by statements from the writings of General Armstrong that guided the formation of Tuskegee. lIbid., p. 29. 2L. J. Lewis, Phelps-Stokes Reports on Education in ‘Africa (London: Oxford University Press, 1962), p. 117. 31bid., p. 102. 167 The Commission, in its search for a successful model to recommend for rural education in Africa, was impressed with They efforts made at Tuskegee. They said: . . . Mr. Julius Rosenwald . . . who with the late Dr. Booker T. Washington conceived the idea of encouraging the development of rural schools by offering to co—operate with the school authorities and the Negro people of any com— munity in the erection of a rural school intended to influence community life. The plan has had remarkable success. The Commission recommended this plan for rural Africans. explained: The main building is so arranged as to make possible additional rooms as the demands of the community increase. The simplest form of school has one large room, with alcove for the teaching of special activities, such as cooking, sewing, and simple handicrafts. There is in all schools space for gardening and recreation. In the more complete schools there are classrooms for at least three teachers, a comfortable home for the head teacher and his wife, and smaller buildings for the teaching of work in wood and iron and other handicrafts. The teacher's home is a vital part of the instructional system. The girls share in all the duties of home life. As the needs of the teacher's family necessitate the maintenance of a garden and such domestic animals as the cow, the pig, and chickens, the school activities are made real by participation in the care of these simple but vital needs of the rural home. Such a school becomes the neighborhood center. From it there radiate influences that make for the improvement of economic conditions, sanitation and health, recreation and morals.2 lIbid., pp. 144-45. 21bid., p. 145. 168 Two additional recommendations were: 4. There should be greater cooperation between the Colonial governments, Commercial Interest, the various Missionary groups and the natives for whom the programs are to be designed. 5. There should be increased emphasis placed on the education of women and girls in the native populations. Washington had been dead seven years by the time these recommendations were written, yet the similarities between them and those drawn up by him in the 1880's are so striking that his influence is easily recognizable. CHAPTER VI CONCLUSIONS History has failed to accord Booker T. Washington the same prominence of a Heinrich Johann Pestalozzi, a Joahnn Fredrich Herbart, or a John Dewey, but history cannot deny , that he was the most influential black educator to have lived in the United States to date. Because of his promi— nence, black and white Americans have formed an opinion of his leadership, but too often the sources of their informa- tion were either insufficient, erroneous or both. Then, too, it should never be forgotten that his early experiences in— cluded being a slave while most of his critics, whose writings are often cited, were never owned as chattel nor felt the slavedriver's lash on their naked backs. To understand the importance of his life's work, or to appraise the contributions of his policies and practices, it is necessary to know fully the debilitating experiences of slavery, the Reconstruction compromises and the vicissitudes of the Post-Reconstruction Era. Only through a well-founded knowledge of the disadvantagement of the Negro, during slavery and immediately following, is it possible to grasp 169 170 how far the American Black man has advanced over the last 100 years, and Booker T. Washington was a product of this turbulent period in America's history. Washington's Early Life Experiences Booker T. Washington was born and grew up at a time in which the white South, convinced of its racial superiority, was becoming increasingly antagonistic toward its former slaves and their children. The racial tensions of the Civil War era, the Reconstruction era, and the Post—Reconstruction era, are all well-known history. A charismatic personality that could effectuate some degree of cooperation between the races, lest genocide or extermination become the order of the day, was absolutely essential. He was that man. Southern white children received a paltry anemic educa— tion at best; while for the most part, Southern black children received none. In general, the Northern philan- thropic potential wanted to help ameliorate the poor con— ditions in Southern education, but an avenue acceptable to the South had not been opened to them. This Washington provided. These were special times that needed a man with skill Vin human relations which Washington either possessed or developed. History has shown him as a remarkable creature, J71 uniquely prepared to serve at this time. Living a hundred years earlier,because he would have been a slave, this country would have been denied his genius. Living a hundred years later, his leadership would have been challenged for more than it was and his amazing ability might have remained undeveloped. ‘ Not only was Washington a remarkable man; he was also a very complex one. He was born a slave, and educated by 'a former Civil War General, who believed he had found the best answer to Negro education for that time. At the early age of twenty-five, he received a mandate from a small group in Alabama to create, in the town of Tuskegee, not a tradi- tional school, but a model of the Hampton Industrial Training School. His critics often overlook this fact. He accepted the position of principal with the understanding he was to build a particular kind of school for a people who had almost nothing in worldly possessions. Tuskegee, then, came into being in an attempt to solve a problem-—how to improve the economic conditions of poor Southern Negroes. Washington had two alternatives: (1) to try a ready—made curriculum in use at an existing school, or (2) to study the conditions of the people nearby and then adapt the courses in the school to meet the needs of these conditions. He chose to create a practical curriculum 172 to solve the pressing needs of the people. This approach to the solution was a two—part one: (1) there was formal education given those who enrolled in school, and (2) there was the extension of the school into the communities where adults could have the benefits of up-to-date information about farming, business and health. Based on the paucity of money, physical facilities, and personnel available, he did an outstanding job. Washington Becomes A Leader Some knowledge of the circumstances accompanying two pivotal experiences in Washington's life are crucial to understanding his rise to leadership. First, Frederick Douglas, a black leader whom he reverently admired, died February 20, 1895, leaving no acknowledged Negro leader. Secondly, this was the same year he spelled out his formula for racial cooperation without racial confrontation at the Atlanta Exposition, September 18, 1895. Following these historical events, he found himself suddenly catapulted to the position of "Negro Leader." A few years later Africans, Europeans and educators from the Carribean and the West Indies sought his counsel and advice in improving their educational systems. 173 Forming a Philosophyyof Education Washington's beliefs concerning what type of education could be best for his brothers and sisters of the South were based partly on his experiences at Hampton Institute. There, under the teachings of Samuel Chapman Armstrong, he formed the basis of a philosophy that would guide his action for life. Armstrong's thinking was an outgrowth of his living and attending school in Hawaii. There he observed: There were two institutions: the Lahaini-luna (government) Seminary for young men, where, manual labor, mathematics and other higher branches were taught; and the Hilo Boarding and Manual Labor (missionary) School for boys, on a simpler basis under the devoted David B. Lyman and his wife. As a rule the former turned out more brilliant, the latter, less advanced but more solid men. In making the plan of the Hampton Institute, that of the Hilo School seemed the best to follow. Mr. Lyman's boys had become among the best teachers and workers for their people, while graduates of the high school, though many had done nobly at home and in foreign fields, had frequently been disap- pointing. Hence came our policy of only English and generally elementary and industrial teaching at Hampton, and its system of training the hand, head, and heart. Its graduates are to be not only good teachers, but skilled workers, able to build homes and earn a living for themselves and encourage others to do the same.1 lSamuel Chapman Armstrong, Twenty-two Years Work of Hampton Institute, Norman School Press, Hampton: 1893, p. l. Cited in Horace Mann Bond, The Education of the Negro in the Social Order (New York: Octagon Books, 1966), p. 119. 174 When Washington became principal in 1881, he committed himself to translating these ideals into a reality where . . .the feeling and knowledge that labor is dignified and beautiful."1 As the new principal he visited the homes of his potential students, and as he moved from home to home he realized a need for a second emancipation, an emancipation from ignorance and poverty. He reasoned that political freedom would be of little value without economic freedom. Toward that end he directed his educationalefforts. For him the need of the itinerant workers, the sharecropper and tenant farmers for economic security was a prerequisite to political freedom, and both could be achieved without racial confrontation or violence. In summary the goals of his educational philosophy were: 1. To develop attitudes and habits of industry, honesty and to discipline the raw, country youth through institutionalized activities. 2. To develop specific skills in definite crafts and occupations. 3. To prepare teachers for the public and private schools of the South who might, through spread- ing the gospel of thrift, industry and racial conciliation aid in constructing a firm eco- nomic foundation upon which the future aspirations of the race might stand. 1Washington,_Up From Slavepy, op. cit., p. 131. 175 To achieve these goals he dedicated the remainder of his life. He drove himself and those under him relentlessly; those he could not drive, he persuaded to contribute to his program in the amounts befitting their status. Those who knew him best credited him with putting first things first. His concerns were to find ways of helping destitute and impoverished youngsters become proud, clean, moral, healthy, self-supporting and productive members of society, and to find ways of reaching out to instruct the most rural, unproductive tenants and sharecroppers in new agricultural methods and consumer practices, which included knowledge of new seeds, new fertilizers and new crop rotation practices that produced greater yields. His single—minded devotion to this lifework all but consumed him. Looking back from the vantage point of history, it appears that there were some erroneous assumptions under- lying the Washingtonian philosophy of education. The com— pensatory values that were expected to have accrued because of an industrious and conciliatory life were not forthcoming. Two examples follow: 1. Washington assumed that the Negro was to remain a farmer for decades to come, and therefore should be trained in the art and science of farming and domesticity. 176 By the time of his death (1915) a large scale migra- tion from rural to urban areas was underway. The industrial revolution in agriculture was beginning to make the small farm unprofitable. Negroes being the smallest of the small farmers, were now arriving in Northern cities with no saleable skills. A good Negro farmer in a big city was ill equipped to compete with an industrially trained immigrant for any job in the labor market except the lowest menial task. The act of decision-making, however, has always been hazardous, especially when one has only limited information concerning the future. In this respect Washington was no exception. Many skills taught to farmers such as how to select the best seeds for planting, or how to select the best fertilizer to increase the yield were of little value ‘ when applying for work in an urban setting. 2. Washington's admonition to "get a good industrial education, be a good neighbor who is clean, morally good, and honest" was excellent. It was the advice that was re- quired at this time in the Negroes' history. Time has proved that this assumption--if a Negro were a model citizen, full and equal civil rights would be accorded him without a militant struggle or confrontation-~was incorrect. The hypothesis or underlying assumption that has guided 177 this research through a maze of references over the last few years has been: Booker Taliaferro Washington was in- fluential in the educational policies and practices of the United States and West Africa between the years 1881 and 1925. This hypothesis can now be substantiated by the indices listed below. Washington's Accomplishments In the Formal Educational Setting 1. He directed the construction of a physical plant worthy of great_praise- By 1915 the land held by Tuskegee had grown to an estimated value of $150,289. The school owned 2,110 acres in Macon County, the homesite, plus 25,000 acres of mineral lands that had been given it by the federal government. The mineral acres were in the northern part of the State of Alabama. In 1914, inventory listed eighty—eight buildings. The movable equipment, consisting of agricultural equipment, dormitory furniture, classroom furniture and library books were valued at approximately $250,697. In thirty-four years (1881-1915) the Tuskegee educational plant grew from a 1T I Archives. Information on the following pages relative to budget figures and courses of study came from the same source. 178 2. He assembled an outstanding all Negro faculty. Beginning with one faculty member, himself, Washing- ton worked earnestly to assemble an outstanding staff which by the time of his death consisted of 184 men and women. Many believed such an accomplishment nearly impossible. 3. Through hisypublications and_persuasive oratory he attracted and motivated hundreds of young people to attend Tuskegee or some other school of their choice. The fame accorded Washington and Tuskegee Institute attracted a variety of students, and in large numbers for this period in history. In the year Washington died the student body consisted of Elementary students 900 Secondary students 366 Special students ,_1g Total 1,338 The student population came to Tuskegee from: (1) Alabama-4approximately 50 per cent) (2) Thirty-two states other than Alabama (approximately 45 percent) (3) Nineteen foreign countries (approximately 5 percent) 4. Washingtonypersonally managed a very successful financial campaign which sustained his educational innovations. The financial records of the school year 1913-1914 reveal that the school's finances had increased considerably since its first appropriation in 1880. 179 Income 1913—1914 Source Amount General Donations $134,094 Student's Entrance Fees 15,055 Endowment Funds 91,598 General Education Board 10,000 Slater Fund 9,000 State of Alabama 4,500 Land Sale 1,713 Total $265,960 5. He designed and offered his pupils an innovative yet _practical curriculum . Tuskegee Institute was the first institution of higher learning to pioneer the work—study concept of learn— ing for Negroes. An analysis of the school's curricular offerings and an understanding of the educational level of the students accepted, however, would suggest that its in— dustrial training was more "industrial in name" than in reality. In fact, Alabama provided little money and pp equipment to insure training for an industrial labor market. The industrial training might have been more correctly described as vocational or practical arts. On—Campus Courses Offered in 1913-1914 Elementary: English, spelling, reading Secondary: Algebra, geometry, ancient history, physics, chemistry,modern history, commercial geography, economics, book- keeping, solid geometry, botany, civics, Teacher Training:' Mechanical Trades: Girls InduStries: Agriculture: Nurse Training: Music: Discipline: Religions Training: 180 education, psychology, Negro history, methods, management, and practice teaching. Psychology, history of education, methods, management, school administration, reviews and methods in elementary subjects, drawing, physical training, nature study, and ten weeks of practice teaching. Brickmasonry, carpentry, electrical en— gineering, shoemaking, harness making, machine work, machinery, plumbing, paint— ing, tailoring, tinsmithing, wheelwrighting. Sewing, dressmaking, ladies' tailoring, millinery, cooking, laundering, mattress making, basketry, broom making. Soils, drainage, insects, farm crops, garden crops, orchard crops, botany, animal husbandry, chemistry, farm manage— ment, farm sanitation, crops, feeds and feeding, darying, plant breeding, poultry, farm insects, agricultural economics, and research work. A three-year nurse training course was given in a well-equipped hospital. Vocal music, plantation melodies, piano. Order, neatness, obedience, physical training. Bible study, preparation of sermons, study of church and neighborhood work, Young Men's Christian Association, Young Women's Christian Association, Christian Endeavor Society, Temperance Union, and Missionary Society. 181 Tuskegee's two main educational thrusts were (1) basic training for self-sufficiency in an agrarian economy and (2) teacher preparation for rural schools. To have equipped students for an industrialized economy would have been a contradiction in Washington's philosophy, for he believed the South to be the best of all possible places to "let your bucket down." He was a very perceptive man. Even though the develop— ment of teachers for basic education was one of the Negro's most urgent needs, he saw that the Southern white man would not object to any course offered as long as it was done under the guise of "industrial training" and did not threaten to deplete the labor supply. Coupled with this realization was a second one which grew out of his attempts to solicit money. It was a revelation that Northern philanthropists, some of whom would not make a contribution toward a strong Harvard—type curriculum for Negroes would, however, gener— ously contribute to a program labeled "industrial." They, too, saw this as the proper education for Negroes and sup- porting this type of an educational program did not infuriate the South. In Washington's sensitivity to these two facts lay the key to his success. 182 6. He motivated a large portion of the ex—slavegpopulation and their children to seek an education, Unlike some other institutions of higher learning, Tuskegee had an open-door policy. Students were not turned away or refused admittance. Whatever level of proficiency the student had, the help he needed to stay in school was pro- vided. Because of Washington's exemplary life, thousands who had lost all hope, due to years of crushing defeat, were motivated to take the first step. Washington's Accomplishments in Extending His Educational Program into the Larger Community Tuskegee Institute as it grew and developed, was drawn into practically all matters relating to the Negro. Where students (mostly adults) could not enroll on campus day or night, Washington with the help of his faculty (demonstra- tion teachers and extension workers sent out to help the school's program) designed courses that were taught wherever concern and interest were found. 1. Washington established the annual Tuskegee Negro Conference in 1891 This was a two-day conference. The first day was devoted to discussing land ownership, better schools, better homes, better churches and better health. The second day, 183 leaders among the people (particularly preachers and teachers) met and debated the problems raised on the first day. Farmers were encouraged to go back to their respective communities and establish conferences in which local con— cernments could be settled. Many such conferences on state and local levels grew out of this annual one at Tuskegee. 2. In 1892 Washington organized and established the Phelps Hall Bible Training School The aim of this school was to give a comprehensive knowledge of the Bible and other religious training con- sidered necessary. A night Bible class was organized to give ministers, who were not able to attend the day classes, opportunities to learn the history of their religious be- liefs, and ways of adding dignity to their religious services. 3. In 1900 Washington organized the National Negro Business League The aim of this organization was to bring together the large number of Negroes who were engaged in entrepreneur- ship throughout the country. By meeting annually, he hoped they would gain information and inspiration from each other and that each community would establish its own chapter. Some of the important organizations that developed out of the League were: 184 The National Negro Bankers' Association The National Negro Insurance Association The National Negro Bar Association The National Negro Funeral Directors' Association 4. Washington expressed his concern for the Negro's health and hygienic education by making Tuskegee a health center for Southern states During Washington's life a hospital and a nurses' training school became a part of Tuskegee Institute. After his death, the federal government erected a veterans' hos— pital for Negro soldiers near the campus, and in 1918 the John A. Andrew Clinical Society was established. The aim of the Society was to provide advanced training for Negro physicians and surgeons. It held annual sessions at which representatives of leading hospitals were invited to perform demonstrations in up—to-date medical techniques. 5. In 1914 he called for a Negro Health Week The movement became an immediate success. Eradi- cating disease among Negroes became an interest to men and women of all colors. Different Negro organizations joined in observance and many white organizations assisted. National Negro Health Week was a very effective agency for educating Negroes nationwide. The United States Public Health Service saw the potential here for country—wide 185 health education and began financing it. They changed the name of the movement to The National Negro Health Week. 6. Under the principal's leadership, Tuskegee published the Negro Yearbook_beginpinq in 1912. The Yearbook gave a summary of current events with respect to the Negro, both in the United States and in other places around the world. The publication was ac- cepted as an authoritative source of information on all phases of Negro life. Its distribution was world—wide. 7. With the help of a philanthropist he placed schools in rural areas throughout the South With Julius Rosenwald's money and an efficient staff, he provided for the education of three-quarters of a million children. The project he supervised built over 1,000 rural schools and gave employment to approximately 1,500 teachers. It is difficult to describe the value this undertaking had on the life of Southern Black people. 8. Washingpon was called upon for counsel and advice py foreign countries relative to theyproper education of Africansyynunorityggroupsy Americo-Liberians and others Africa was the greatest beneficiary of foreign countries but not the only country. The Booker T. Washington Papers show Washington was consulted by Puerto Rico, the Philippine Islands, and countries of the Carribean area. 186 His interest in the education of all minorities led him to call for a conference of all interested African nations and non-African nations with possessions on this continent. The Conference was held at Tuskegee. The prestigious Phelps- Stokes Commission after visiting Tuskegee and Africa, recom— mended a Tuskegee type of education be adapted whenever possible for the elevation of the natives. 9. He had some success in changing the attitudes of many influential white Americans who feared educating the former slaves Washington was able to change the attitudes and reduce the fears of many white Americans relative to the need and economic advantage of educating their black brothers. Before the days of Tuskegee many whites were sure that a black man with even a few years of education would seek re— venge for having been subjected to the humiliating and debilitating experiences of slavery. He was able to achieve success in this area because of the parallel between his life and that of other great leaders of the past. Even though he bore the stigma of il— legitimacy, he never expressed hate for the race to which the man responsible for his birth belonged. 187 10. He was able to solicit northern and southern support in making Tuskegee one of the nation's most respected insti- tutions of learning. This accomplishment could never have been achieved by a militant Frederick Douglass or a scholarly but impatient William DuBois. It took a patient, courageous, practical, and unusual man. In fact his greatest critic, DuBois had this to say: He was the greatest Negro leader since Frederick Douglass and the most distinguished man, white or black, who has come out of the South since the Civil War. His fame was international and his influence far-reaching. Of the good that he accomplished there can be no doubt: he directed the attention of the Negro race in America to the pressing necessity of economic development; he emphasized technical educa- tion and he did much to pave the way for an under- standing between the white and darker races. In summary, he espoused the Protestant ethic as a means to an end and not as an end in itself. Freedom for him was not a bequest but a conquest. On this point, differences in ideology and tactics developed between him and some of his contemporaries. They argued that by virtue of birth in this country, full American citizenship was a right, and should be so regarded. Washington contended that full American citizenship must be earned by the performance of those duties which entitle one to be worthy of its blessings. For him, those who did not meet certain minimum requirements, white or black, should be denied full participation in the American dream. This issue made for a great debate that is by no means an irrelevant one for today. 1The Chicago Post, Decemberl3, 1915, p. 2. 188 Taking American rhetoric seriously, i.e., equal justice and freedom for all would be accorded his Black brothers and sisters as a result of good character, thrift, honesty and hard work, was Washington's greatest mistake. Because he placed a higher priority on economic security than he did on political rights or social equality, he was often called a "compromiser" and even an Uncle Tom. At various times in history, however, compromise has been the markany, 1953. . The Negro in the Making of America. New York: Collier Books, 1964. Randel, William Pierce. The Ku Klux Klan: A Century of Infamy. New York: Chilton Books, 1964. Riley, B. F. The Life and Times of Booker T. Washington. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1916. Robinson, Wilhelmena S. (ed.). .International Library_of Negro Life and History. New York: Scott, Emmett J. and Stowe, Lyman Beecher. Booker T. Washington: Builder of a Civilization. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1916. Sinclair, William A. The Aftermath of Slavery. New York: Arno Press and The New York Times, 1969. Smith, Page. The Historian and History. New York: Knopf, 1964. Spencer, Samuel R. Jr., Booker T. Washington and the Negro's Place in American Life. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1955. 204 Stampp, Kenneth Milton. The Era of Reconstruction 1865- 1867 (A Revisionist View). New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1965. . The Peculiar Institution: Slaverypin the Ante— Bellum South. New York: Vantage Books, 1956. Stokes, Rev. Anson Phelps. Tuskegee Institute: The First Fifty Years: Being the Founder's Day Historical Address. Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee Institute Press, 1931. Talbert, Edith Armstrong. Samuel Chapman Armstrong. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1904. Tannerbaum, Frank. Slave and Citizen: The Negro in the Americas. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1947. The Negro in American History. Publication Number 61. Washington, D. C. Service Center for Teachers of History American Historical Association. Thornbrough, Emma Lou, (ed.). Booker T. Washington: Great Lives Observed. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice- Hall, 1969. Toppin, Edgar A. Blacks in America: Then and Now. Boston: The Christian Science Publishing SOCiety, 1969. Woodson, Carter G. History of the Negro Church. (2nd ed.) Washington, D.C.: The Associated Publishers, 1945. Wells-Barnett, Ida. The American Negro: His History and Literature. New York: Arno Press and The New York Times, 1969. White, H. R. Foundations of Education: Historical, Sociological, Philosqphical. New York: David McKay Company, Inc., 1968. Whiting, Helen A. Booker T. Washington's Contributions to Education. Atlanta, Ga.: Morris Brown College Press, 1946. Whiting, J. C. Shopyand Class at Tuskegee. Boston: Chapman & Grimes, 1940. 205 Wilson, Theodore Branter. The Black Codes of the South. University of Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 1965. Woodward, Comer Vann. Reunion and Reaction: .The Compromise of 1877 and the End of Reconstruction. Boston: Little, Brown, 1966. . Origins of the New South 1877-1913. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press, 1951. . The Strange Career of Jim Crow. rev. ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1957. Reprint: Galaxy, 1966. Work, Monroe N. (ed.). Negro Year Book, 1918-1919. Tuskegee Institute: Negro Year Book Publishing Co., 1919. Wynes, Charles E. (ed.). The Negro in the South Since 1865. Writings of Booker T. Washington's Family Washington, Ernest Davidson. Selected Speeches of Booker T. Washington. Garden City, N. Y.: Doubleday and Co., 1932. Washington, Edith Shehee. Booker T. Washington: A Compilation of Statements Made About Booker T. Washington and A Partial Listing of Honors Bestowed Upon Booker T. Washington. No date or Publisher. Articles in Professional Journals and Magazines Abramowitz, J. "The Emergence of Booker T. Washington as a National Negro Leader.” Social Education, XXXII (May 1968). PP. 445-51. Armstrong, W. L. "Booker T. Washington, Apostle of Good- will." Reader's Digest, February 1947, pp. 25—30. 206 Brown, W. L. “Booker T. Washington as a Philosopher." Negro History Bulletin, XX (November 1956), pp. 35-36. Bruce, R. C. “He Came Up From Slavery." Southern Workman, LXIV (February 1935), pp. 54-59. Cable, George W. "Booker T. Washington." Journal of Negro Education, XVII, No. 4 (April 1948), pp. 462-68. Farrison, Edward W. "Booker T. Washington: A Study in Educational Leadership." South Atlantic Quarterly. XLI (Spring 1942). pp. 310-19. Flynn, J. P. "Booker T. Washington: Uncle Tom or Wooden Horse." Journal of Negro History, LIV (July 1969), pp. 262-74. Frazier, Franklin E. "The Booker T. Washington Papers." _Quarterly Journal of Current Acquisitions, II Washington: Library of Congress (February 1945). pp. 23-31. . Harlan, Louis R. "Booker T. Washington in Biographical Perspective." The Americep Historical Review, LXXV, No. 6 (October 1970), pp. 1582-89. . "Booker T. Washington and the White Man's Burden." The American Histgrical Review, LXXI,,No. 2 (January 1966). pp. 430-50. . "Secret Life of Booker T. Washington." Journal of Southern History, XXXVII (August 1971), pp. 393-416. Issacs, Harold R. "The American Negro and Africa: Some Notes." Phylon, xx (Fall 1959). pp. 223-33. King, Kenneth J. "Africa and the Southern States of the U.S.A." Notes on J. H. Oldham and American Negro Education for Africans. Journal of African History, x, No. 4 (1969). pp. 659-677. . -"James E. K. Aggrey: Collaborator, Nationalist, Pan-African." Canadian Journalgof African Studies, IV, No. 3 (Fall 1970). pp. 511-16. 207 Meier, August. "Toward a Reinterpretation of Booker T. Washington." The Journal of Southern History, XXIII (May 1957). pp- 220-27. Rudwick, E. M. "Booker T. Washington's Relation with the NAACP." Journal of Negro Education, XXIX, No. 2 (Spring, 1960). pp. 134-44. Richardson, C. "Spirit of Tuskegee.“ Survey, XXXV (December 1915), p. 255. Scott, Emmett J. "Twenty Years After: An Apprisal of Booker T. Washington." Journal of Negro Education, V, No. 4 (October 1936), pp. 543-554. Sadler, M. E. "The Education of the Colored Race." Special Reports on Educational Subjects, XXIX. London: (1902). Shepperson, George. "Notes of African Nationalism." Journal of African History, L, No. 2 (1960), pp. 310-11. Sutton, W. S. "Contributions of Booker T. Washington to the Education of the Negro." School and Societyy IV (September 23, 1916). pp. 457-63. Tambi, N. "Booker T. Washington and Gandhi." Peabody Journal of Education, VL (September 1967), pp. 94-97. Thompson, C. H. "Booker T. Washington is Elected to Hall of Fame." Journal of Negro Education, XV (January 1946). PP. 1-3. Thrope, E. E. "Frederick Douglas, W. E. B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington." Negro History Bulletin, XX (November 1956), pp. 39-42. Thrasher, M. B. "Tuskegee Institute and Its President." Popular Science Monthly, LV (September 1899). PP. 592- 610. . "Personality of Washington." Outlook, LXIX (November 9, 1901), pp. 629-33. Work, M. N. ”Tuskegee Institute More Than an Educational Institution." Journal of Educational Sociology, VII (November 1933), pp. 203-17. 208 Official Documents, Reports,and Proceedings Jones, Lewis W. "A Southerner's Answer to Booker T. Washington?" An address delivered before the Macon County Chamber of Commerce, Macon County, Alabama, January 7, 1958. Price, Joseph C. "Education and the Problem of the Negro." National Education Association Journal of Proceedings and Addresses. Session of the Year 1890, held at St. Paul, Minnesota. Topeka: 1890. Newspapers Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta, Georgia. September 20, 1895. Chicaqe Post. Chicago, Illinois: December 13, 1915. Montgomery Advertiser. Montgomery, Alabama. November 10, 1915. New York Evening Post. New York, New York. March 2, 1908. Southwestern Christian Advocate. (Clipping, no date or city). BTW Papers. Library of Congress. New York World. New York, New York. September 19, 1895. APPENDICES APPENDIX A TRANSCRIPT OF RECORD OF BIRTH 211 APPENDIX A.--TRANSCRIPT OF RECORD OF BIRTH VS2lI-—2-GG COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA oennmsm or HEAtTH sumo or vmu asconns mo unmu sunsucs RICHMOND, vunemm Transcript of a record of birth secured by the Commissioner of the Revenue between 1853 and 1896 as required by Chapter 104, Page 8‘16, Section 21, Code of 1873, Acts of 1852, and now in the keeping of the Virginia Bureau of Vital Statistics, in accordance with Chapter 118, Page 226, Acts of 1918. Place of birth County of- -..- frank-110-. -._----..- . -. .- .-.- Page - -59 -_ --.- Line No. ,- .93.... Magisterial District of ; "" - - . .. - . - --. .-.- .-- ------ - -.-- -. -- or 3 City of _ - “7.1-:- .- .- -- -- ..-- ..-. - -- ...--- -- -- -w....._h-_.- . -__-__-_ Date of birth ..-.Ap til 18--.1856--- - .. ...--------.___.-----.-__ --....- .-.-.._-_.- -- ...__ __ Name of child - . -Unnamed Color - - CO‘ 11.4..- Sex ----M._-l-e.- --.__ Born alive or dead .-.--- -..-- A1-1.1/_§.-_ .-.--. -.-- -....." - . .....- Owner' 5 “Mia name- -.---.. - James Burroughs. ..- - . ..-- --_._-.- .- _. -..---.._...______._-__._-__-_ Owner's imxs occupation ---. farmer---- -.-_ .- -....- - ...-.. ----...... - ---- --- _-_______-__-_.. Owner's . Ranks residence- - FrankllnCL_ ..-. .. -..---_--..------.._-- -- - __-.._-.-- ...-----.-- -, _ Mother's name -- -_ .. ._ _ - 5.5.7:- ......- .._.- -..---..-. ----..--.. .. - - -- - -..-.--.-- - - .. -_ _ Name of person giving information of birth-- . J3@.e_§.§9.r’f_°}‘9_h.§-- - -. - -.-. Relation of informant to person born---- _ _,_-__1_‘_‘0wnery -_ - - - -- - . _, _ - _ - ,- Commissioner of the Revenue ---. --- - - _ _ .- -,__- - Filed in the State Oflice- .. - . _ _ -_ 3.6-tween 1856 5- 1898 I hereby certify that the above is a true copy of the record on file in the Virginia Bureau of Vital Statistics. Witness my hand and the seal of the Bureau of Vital Statistics at Richmond, Virginia, this ”it“. .-.. day of ..-- .- .-./1999:]; -.- _ .__-_-._ _.., 19-2.0- ._ ...-...__.:Z_L.LL.._1..L. ...-41...;figwmw- ASS i S tant State Registrar. APPENDIX B LIST OF HONORS BESTOWED UPON BOOKER T. WASHINGTON POSTHUMOUSLY 213 LIST OF HONORS BESTOWED UPON BOOKER T. WASHINGTON POSTHUMOUSLY The Booker T. Washington Monument A beautiful bronze and granite monument, sixteen feet tall, was erected on the Tuskegee Institute campus on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary, April 5, 1922, a gift from a "Committee of One Hundred Thousand" appreciative American Negroes. Inscription: He lifted the veil of ignorance from his people and pointed the way to progress through education and to industry. The Booker T. Washington Commemorative Stamp 1940 "Famous American Commemorative Series," comprised of thirty—five stamps, issued in seven groups of five stamps for each group (Booker T. Washington stamp issued April 7th). The "5.8. Booker T. Washington" 1942 A United States Merchant Marine Liberty Ship, the 8.8. Booker T. Washington was launched at Wilmington, California, September, 1942 and was christened by Marian Anderson. 214 The Booker T. Washington Birthplace Memorial 1945 Founded in Franklin County, Virginia, by S. J. Phillips, a Tuskegee graduate.1 The State Legislature of Virginia voted an appropriation (1946) of $15,000 for the develOpment of the site. A replica of the cabin in which Booker Washington was born was erected by the State of Virginia. A United States Post Office and a community under the name of Booker Washington Birthplace, Virginia, was established February 12, 1948. t . 2 Booker T. Washington Elected to the Hall of Fame A bronze bust of Dr. washington was unveiled at im— pressive ceremonies at the Hall of Fame for Great Americans 1NOTE: A second visit with Mrs. Portia W. Pittman, August 29, 1971, revealed that S. J. Phillips is now de- ceased, but was a good friend of Tuskegee and the Washington family. In 1945 he was informed that the Burroughs Planta- tion was to be sold. At that time he was working for the Coca Cola Bottling Company and asked their help in raising the necessary money to purchase the plantation. According to Mrs. Pittman, the bottling company provided the money for Mr. Phillips to make the purchase. On this plantation he formed the Booker T. Washington Birthplace Memorial. 2The writer visited the Hall of Fame for Great Americans at New York University, 18lst Street and University Avenue on September 11, 1971. The hall is located in the Bronx Burrough of New York City and is a national shrine contain- ing bronzes of 95 men and women. Booker T. washington was the only Black American that the writer saw in the shrine. On a plaque, located under washington's bust, is the following-inscription: 215 in New York, May 3, 1946. Booker T. Washington Memorial Half Dollar Coinage of five million Booker T. Washington memorial half dollars was authorized by the Congress of the United States in May, 1946. The first coins were released in December of that year. A Plague of Booker T. Washington A plaque was placed in the Alabama Hall of Fame, Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama, 1954. School Named for Booker T. Washington - 1951 On a site donated by the Memorial, the Franklin County School Board of Virginia erected the Booker T. Washington Elementary School (1951) at a cost of $80,000. Federal Government Creates a Monument to Booker T. Washington 1956 In March, 1956, President Eisenhower signed a bill, passed by both houses of Congress without a dissenting vote, authorizing the creation of a National Monument of the Birthplace of Booker T. washington. An apprOpriation of $200,000 was granted. Booker T. Washington 1858 - 1915 The highest test of the civilization of a race is its willingness to_extend a helping hand to the less fortunate. 216 A letter from President Eisenhower to S. J. Phillips, President of the Booker T. Washington Centennial Commission, is reproduced below: THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON March 29, 1956 With all participating in the observance of the one hun- dredth anniversary of the birth of Booker T. Washington I join in tribute to him. His achievements as an educator and a leader in the betterment of human living are an in- spiration to men and women of every race and an enduring memorial to his great gifts of mind and heart and charac- ter. I earnestly hOpe that this observance will enlarge the capacity of our people to work with wisdom and mag- nanimity, as he did, to advance the individual citizen's opportunity for self-fulfillment and a useful life, to uphold a high standard of personal industry and educa- tional performance, and to foster human brotherhood and friendship under the Fatherhood of God. Sincerely, (signed) Dwight D. Eisenhower Mr. S. J. Phillips President Booker T. Washington Centennial Commission Booker Washington Birthplace, Virginia The Booker T. Washington Centennial Stamp Released by the United States Post Office at the Birthplace Memorial in Virginia, April 5, 1956. Booker T. Washington Roadside Park A roadside park located about five miles from Tuskegee on the Atlanta Highway was named for him. 217 The Library of Congress Acquires the Booker T. Washington Papers Through the efforts of Dr. E. Franklin Frazier of Howard University, the Booker T. Washington papers are now reposited in the Library of Congress. They are greatly valued and constitute perhaps the largest collection of personal writings in the Library . . . other than the Presidential papers. APPENDIX C INTERVIEW WITH MRS. PORTIA W. PITTMAN, DAUGHTER OF BOOKER T. WASHINGTON AND FANNY N. SMITH WASHINGTON, HIS FIRST WIFE DECEMBER 7, 1970 219 INTERVIEW WITH MRS. PORTIA W. PITTMAN, DAUGHTER OF BOOKER T. WASHINGTON AND FANNY N. SMITH WASHINGTON, HIS FIRST WIFE, DECEMBER 7, 1970 Booker T. Washington was married to Fanny Smith in 1882 and she died in 1884. One child was born to this marriage and that was Portia who now lives at 1436 "R" Street, Washington, 1970. Question: Answer: Question: Answer: Question: Answer: Question: Answer: D.C. The date of this interview was December 7, Mrs. Pittman can you tell me something about where your father was born? My father was born in Franklin County, Virginia, and I think it was on a Mr. Furgerson's planta- tion. He said, he was told that Mr. Furgerson was his father. His mother moved to a Burrough's plantation in West Virginia when he was very young. His first memories were of working on the Burrough's plantation. How many children did your father have? My father had three children. One by his first wife, Fanny. I am that child. There were two boys by his second wife, whose name was Olivia Davidson. He was married to Olivia Davidson from 1885 to 1889. In 1893 he married his third wife, Margaret James Murry, from Mississippi. My father died in 1915 and she died a few years later. I don't remember the exact year. My mother died when she was 26 years old. How many children did you have Mrs. Pittman? I've had three children, one girl and two boys. Both of my boys are dead and my daughter Eliana Pittman lives here with me. Mrs. Pittman, how old are you? I am 87 years old. I can remember back in 1895 when my father spoke in Atlanta, Georgia, at the World Exposition. ' Question: Answer: Question: Answer : Question: 220 Mrs. Pittman, can you tell me something about your husband? My husband, Mr. Pittman, was an architect and I met him at Tuskegee Institute. He came there as a student from Mississippi and received several scholarships to study after he finished Tuskegee. After he finished school he came to work at Tuskegee and drew the plans for many of the build- ings at Tuskegee today. He left Tuskegee and moved to Washington, D.C., where he opened an office and designed some of the buildings in Washington, D.C. He also designed a beautiful home for us here in Washington. He died . After his death I sold the home and moved into an apartment. The building for which he is best known is the colored YMCA. When I finished high school in Tuskegee my father sent me to Bradford Junior College in Haver, Massachusetts. I finished there and studied music in Germany under a pupil of Franz Von Liszt. I came back to America and married Mr. Pittman. I had three children, two boys and a girl. One was Sidney who died in Washington. Booker died in South America just one year ago._ Can you tell me something about your father? What was he like? My father was not a militant. I would say he was in the middle of the road. He was a man who was very smart and could accomplish everything he wanted to. There were a lot of people who wanted to kill him including many Negroes. I would say my father was probably a man like Martin Luther King, but he certainly was not an "Uncle Tom." He just knew how to handle peOple. He was very shrewd. He knew how to handle the Southern white people and they did not refuse him a thing. He just knew how to work his points. What would you consider to be an outstanding event in your father's life? Answer: Question: Answer: Question: Answer: Question: Answer: Question: Answer: Question: Answer: 221 It was probably when we went to visit Theodore Roosevelt. President Roosevelt would ask my father's opinion on any appointments he was going to make. Are there any other presidents that your father was familiar with? President Taft, but they didn't get along too well. He liked President McKinley and McKinley spoke at Tuskegee. He was also friendly with Franklin D. Roosevelt. Are there any other famous peOple that you re- member in your father's life? As I can remember we visited Andrew Carnegie who offered my father $6,000,000 but my father would not take it. My father asked him to make an endowment to Tuskegee and he lived off the interest of the $6,000,000 for a salary. There were two other peOple; the Stokes and the Huntingtons. What was his attitude toward the Southern white man? It was tolerance. He felt the Southern white man was a victim of a way of life that was thrust upon him. He found many of them not very intelligent and they were not adjusted to the black man being anything but a servant. Did your father ever speak of his mother? Yes, my father often spoke of his mother. He loved her very much. She was his inspiration. She died after he went to Tuskegee. He got his greatness from his mother and his shrewdness from the white people. How did you and your father get along? I loved my father. we had a very intense love for each other. He was brilliant, and Oh.God, would he scold me if he thought I didn't work Question: Answer: Question: Answer: Question: Answer: Question: Answer: Question: Answer: "Thank you, 222 like he thought I should. My father had some very close white friends in Alabama and if you go there get to see the Varners. How did your father feel about Dr. Dubois? They did not agree but in a speech at Howard University in 1930 Dubois said, "After living in the South for awhile I conceded that Booker T..Washington was right." What information would you give young people today? * I would say to them, "Do whatever you want to do but do it the best that you can." What sources of income do you have? I get some royalty from my father's books, social security, and a little pension from Tuskegee Institute. What is the most important thing that you can remember about your father? 'My father was proud and very reverent. He seemed to always have a very heavy burden. He prayed every morning, all through the day, and every night. Was your father very religious?‘ Yes, he was very religious. In fact deeply religious. Originally he belonged to the Baptist Church but later in life he did not belong to any special church. I originally joined the Episcopal Church and still do even though I don't get to church very often. When my father died some schools in the United States closed. I have to go and I'd like to come back and talk with you sometime.” ”Yes, please do but don't wait too long. I am 87 remember and I won't be here much longer." APPENDIX D INTERVIEW WITH MRS. EDITH W. JOHNSON, BOOKER T. WASHINGTON'S GRANDDAUGHTER 224 AN INTERVIEW WITH MRS. EDITH W. JOHNSON IN DAYTON, OHIO NOVEMBER 21, 1970 Good afternoon, my name is William Thomas. I am writ— ing a dissertation at Michigan State University on the influence of Booker T. Washington on education in the United States and Africa. I would like to ask your help in this task. I am willing to pay you for this service or provide you with a c0py of the dissertation. Question: Answer: My first question is, will you state your name and relationship to Mr. Washington please? My name is Edith Washington Johnson and I am the granddaughter of Booker Washington.' I am the daughter of Ernest Davidson Washington, the youngest son of Booker Washington. Booker Washington, as you know, had three wives. The first wife was Fanny Smith. The second wife was Olivia Davidson who died in the early days of Tuskegee Institute. I believe when he married her, Olivia Davidson was assistant principal there. She had two sons, Booker Jr., and Ernest Davidson. She died in childbirth with Ernest Davidson. Ernest Davidson Washington was my father. By his first wife, Fanny Smith, Booker Washington had one child and that was Portia. She is now Portia Washington Pittman. She lives in Washing~ ton, D.C., and she is in her 80's. Portia had three children. The oldest child I believe was Booker Pittman. The next child was Sidney, another son. The youngest child was a daughter by the name of Fanny. Fanny lives with her mother in Washington, D.C. Booker and Sidney are both deceased. Booker Pittman lived in South America for many, many years and that is where he recently died. Then after the death of his first wife, Fanny Smith, Booker Washington married Olivia Davidson 225 and as I said, she had two sons, the oldest of whom was Booker Jr. Then the youngest boy, Ernest Davidson was my father. My Uncle Booker Jr. had two children. He mar- ried a woman by the name of Nettie Hancock and they had two children. Booker Washington III who lives in New York City and who is an architect and Nettie who lives in Washington, D.C. At one time she was married to the grandson of Frederick Douglas. She married Frederick Douglas III. Then my father had four girls. My oldest sister, Louise O'Neal lives in Oakland, California. The next sister, Margaret Cabin, also lives in Oakland and I am the third child living here in Wilbere force. The youngest child, Gloria Jackson, lives in Los Angeles. So those are all of the grand- children of Booker Washington. Then the great grandchildren, my goodness, there are a great number of them. Let's see Nettie. . . Portia has no grandchildren. None of her children had children. BOoker had a stepdaughter but there is no child directly from any of their marriages. Nettie, my cousin, has a daughter and Booker, my cousin, has a son. The daughter and the son of these two marriages live in Washington, D.C. One of them is Larry Washington who lives with his grandmother in Washington; and little Nettie Douglas who is actually the great-great granddaughter of Frederick Douglas and she would also be the great— great granddaughter of Booker Washington. I think her married name is Nettie Morris. Then my oldest sister has four children. Three are in California and one is in Flint, Michigan. The next sister has three children and one of them, the youngest, is the only direct relative of Booker Washington who is at Tuskegee Institute. 'She is there in college now. Her name is Robin Cabiness. Then she also had two sons both of them are out in Oakland, California, with her. Question: Answer: Question: 226 Then I have two sons. Both of my children are by a previous marriage. My oldest son, Ernest Hughes, is a first lieutenant in the Air Force and he is now stationed in Thailand. My youngest son, Eric Hughes, is in Howard University. He was just elected the first student to the board of trustees at Howard University and that is the second in our family. My maternal grandfather was the first alumnus trustee elected to the board of trustees at Howard University. My youngest Sister has five children and they are all in Los Angeles, California. 2 Mrs. Johnson I was able to secure a birth certifi- cate in Richmond, Virginia for Booker Washington but I noticed it did not indicate a name. Will you comment on how he became known as Booker Taliaferro Washington? As I have the story, and I can't tell you whether you'll find this completely authentic or not, you'll have to check it out. But Booker Washing- ton tells his story in Up From Slavery. As you know, Booker Washington was born in Virginia on the Burroughs Plantation. After the Emancipation his mother went to West Virginia where his step- father had already gone. It was there that Booker worked as a very young child. He worked with his stepfather until the opportunity came for him to go to school even though it created a little bit of a hardship for the family. When he first went to school he knew only the name Booker and as the teacher began to ask around for the children's names he had to decide on a name. He chose a name that was George Washington's and this is how he became Booker Washington. Later on he told his mother the name he has chosen; his mother told him that at birth she called him Booker Taliaferro and so he didn't drop the name Washing- ton but simply became Booker Taliaferro Washington. At this point I'd like to ask you what in your opinion, was your grandfather's major contribu- tion to the field of education. Answer: Question: 227 I can best attempt to answer that by using.his own words; and he said that (and this is one of the quotations on the monument at Tuskegee) "We shall prosper in proportion as we learn to dig- nify and glorify labor and put brains and skills into the common occupations of life." And another quotation there is, "There is no defense or security for any of us except in the highest in- telligence and development of all." I think I can further answer that question by quoting someone who has described what was hap— pening at Tuskegee as far back as 1940 when Mr. Paul Monroe of the Department of History and Principles of Education at Columbia had this to say about Booker Washington's works, "He was first to draw the subject matter of education of the stuff of schoolroom work directly from the life of the pupils and second to relate the out- come of education to life's activities, occupa- tions and duties of the pupils in such a way that the connection is made directly and immediately between schoolroom work and the other activities of the person being educated." This is the ideal at Tuskegee and to a much greater extent than at any other institution I know. The institution is working along not only lines of practical endeavor but of the most advanced educational thought. I think these three things that I have quoted are what Booker Washington contributed to education, and he was ahead of his time because I think that they, in a way, are what we talk about today in cooperative education and they are also some of the ideas of John Dewey in the Progressive Education idea. Yet, back in 1904 Booker Washington was putting these things into practice at Tuskegee. Mrs. Johnson, at this time, I'm going to ask you about the criticism that your grandfather re- ceived. Your grandfather has been criticized by some black Americans and I'm going to ask you if you would please comment on his position on racial injustice and if you feel that Washington's Answer: 228 position on racial injustice was misunderstood, particularly by those who have criticized him? I very definitely think so. Of course, I might be prejudiced because of my relationship to him but I really don't think so. When more people have read between the lines or subleties, I think that they will find that Booker Washington, in his day and in the context of the time, was really fighting with everything he knew how to fight the injustices of the day. I think he felt the way to help his peOple best was to fight so that he could go on with his work and still be heard. I believe that he felt that -what he was doing was going to accomplish more for the masses in that day than anything else he could possibly do. I think he felt, and I think that he really was using his influence (if you look at it in the context of the times) the only way that he could use it and continue to be heard. I think that you should go back and read The Story of My Life and Work by Booker Washington which is now out of print. If you read the things that he was saying then and think of them—-even today he was saying a great deal relative to protesting the indignities toward his race. APPENDIX E ACT OF LEGISLATURE FOUNDING THE SCHOOL, 1881 230 Act of Legislature Founding the School, 1881 'AN ACT To establish a Normal School for colored teachers at Tuskegee. Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Alabama, There shall be established, at Tuskegee, in this State, a normal school for the education of colored teachers. Pupils shall be admitted free of charge for tuition in the school, on giving an obligation in writing to teach in the free schools in this State for two years after they be- come qualified. The school shall not be begun or continued with a less number than twenty-five pUpils, nor shall the school he taught for a less period than nine months in each year. Section 2. Be it further enacted, There is appr0priated out of the general school revenue, set apart to the colored children, the sum of two thousand dollars, annually, for the maintenance and support of the school; and the apportionment of the general fund for the colored race shall be made to the different counties of this state, after the de— duction of the sum of two thousand dollars herein appropriated for the school at Tuskegee. Section 3. Be it further enacted, The school shall be under the di- rection, control and supervision of a board of three commissioners, who shall consist of the following persons, to-wit: Thos. B. Dryer, M. B. Swanson, and Lewis Adams, who may fill any vacancy that may occur in the board of commissioners. The commissioners shall elect one of their number chairman, and they shall report quarterly to the Superintendent of Education, how many pupils have been in atten- dance, what branches have been taught, and other facts of interest and importance appertaining to the school. Section 4. Be it further enacted, The chairman of the board of commissioners shall give bond in double the amount of the appropria- tion of the school, for the legal and faithful application of the sum appropriated, the bond to be approved by the judge of probate, of Macon County, and a certified copy thereof sent to the Superinten- dent of Education to be filed in his office. Section 5. Be it further enacted, The chairman of the board of commissioners, after having given bond as hercinbefore provided, and the bond shall have been approved as herein provided, and a certified copy thereof filed in the office of Superintendent of Educa- tion, shall present to the Superintendent of Education a requisition for the amount herein appropriated ; and the Superintendent of , Edus ’ cation shall thereupon certify the amount of two thousand dollars to the State Auditor, who shall draw his warrant for the sum on the State Treasurer, payable to the chairman of the board of commission- ers, for the maintenance and support of the normal school. Approved February 10, 1881. APPENDIX F SPEECH GIVEN BY BOOKER T. WASHINGTON, THIRTEENTH ANNUAL SESSION OF THE TUSKEGEE NEGRO CONFERENCE, FEBRUARY 17, 1904 232 SPEECH GIVEN BY BOOKER T. WASHINGTON, .THIRTEENTH ANNUAL SESSION OF THE TUSKEGEE NEGRO CONFERENCE, FEBRUARY 17, 1904 The thirteenth annual session of the Tuskegee Negro Conference met in the Chapel Building at 10:30 a.m., Wednes- day Morning, February' 17th, Principal Booker T. Washington presiding. There was a good attendance of the farmers and peOple from the country districts, as well as quite a number from several cities in other states. The Conference was opened by singing, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow." The scriptures were read by Rev. E. D. Hubbard, of Miss., and prayer was offered by Rev. S. S. Scott, of Alabama. Sang, "Am Ila soldier of the cross." Mr. Washington made the following remarks in Opening: These meetings had their beginning in the effort on the part of a very few peOple in this immediate vicinity, to find out in the first place what their moral, educational and religious conditions were; and in the second place to try to set on foot fundamental and various means that would improve these Conditions, and I hope that so far,--a1though the gatherings have grown in their work from year to year,-- we have not departed from that simple, but I think funda- mental, object of our first gathering. There are one or 233 two things from the first we have insisted upon. First, we thought you should tell the truth regarding your condition, that we should have the absolute truth, whether the reports were discouraging or encouraging. The truth in the long run never hurts anybody. We do not care for exaggeration. If conditions in your community are bad, say they are bad; if they are encouraging, say they are encouraging. That is to say, if few people in your community own land, say that. If a large prOportion of the people in your community have their crops mortgaged and are deeply in debt, say so. If a large proportion of the peOple in your community are owning lands and more are buying land, say that right out. If you have a good school lasting three months or eight months, say that; if you have a poor school lasting three months or eight months, say that. If you have got a good teacher praise him; if you have a bad teacher condemn him. And now I am going to say that which is a little hard for you to do, and that is, if you have a good minister praise him, but if you have got a bad one condemn him. Now that is getting down to business, and it is a pretty hard thing to do. Let us have the facts. Some peOple say we exaggerate in these meetings. Let us not say that there is more morality in the community than actually exists, but let us get down to the exact facts in relation to our condition, just as far as possible. 234 Now, at the present time there are a great many things which concern us, a great many things present and a great many far away, but there are a few simple things perhaps which we can take hold of ourselves and change. These things are so fundamental that no race of people, whether they are black people or white peOple, whether living in America or living in some other country, have ever gone to the front, have ever gotten into civilization, without taking hold and changing them; In the first place, no people can get upon their feet unless in a very large degree they own land. They have got to own land in small quantities and in large quantities the land that they cultivate and the land upon which they live. Now, one of the questions which we have always considered, and which I hOpe we will consider at this meeting, is the prOportion of land owned by our people in the South. We cannot get upon our feet so long as we talk about owning land and own none, so long as we live upon somebody elsetsland, but we have got to get land ourselves. I want you wives to help your husbands get land. In talking with men sometimes about buying land they say they would own land but their wives do not sympathize with them and help them secure land. Well, do you know the reason of that? It is this: In many cases the wife does not know anything about the husband's business: does not know anything about 235 his debts, when they were made, what they were made for, how much he gets per month or week, in fact knows nothing about the husband's business. How can you expect your wife to sympathize with you under these conditions? You should tell your wife about your business, your debts, etc., and when your wife knows about your business then she can sympathize with you. That is one thing we have got to learn and I hOpe you will learn that today, and that is to take your wife in your confidence, I want you to take your wife in your con- fidence; let her share your business cares and your business ambitions. Let us remember when we get land we have got to put upon that land somewhere a decent house. Some men keep their wives and children living in houses not fit for stables,-- some men right in here to-day do that. I had a picture of a man's house who visited this Conference three or four years ago, who was reputed to be worth twenty thousand dollars, so when he went away I asked him to send me a picture of his house when he went home. He sent me the picture of the house and from its outward appearance it was not fit for a horse to live in. That man had plenty of money and could have built a decent, comfortable house for his wife and children and should have done it. Every man here should put your wife and children in comfortable houses. Now, after you have built a house with three or four rooms to it you must 236 not stop until you put some whitewash or paint on this house. Remember again, that back of all our getting land and houses that we have got to keep in mind that we cannot get on very far so long as we continue to mortgage our crOps from year to year. I would like to ask how many of you in this room represent mortgages. It is very often a man gets to the point where he has to give a mortgage on his land, but that is not so bad as giving a mortgage on your crops. We have got to have the mortgages cease and with cotton selling 16¢ and 17¢ there is no reason in the world why any man should have a mortgage on his crOp very long, and if you cannot get it off this year or next year I am sure there is no hOpe for you if you cannot get it off with cotton selling for 16¢ and 17¢. Now if you have not made a mortgage this year make up your mind not to give a mortgage this year if you possibly can avoid it, if you do make one borrow just as little money as possible. Again, we have got to have good schools. In some communities we have school three months in the year and the child in school three months and out of school nine months, and the child cannot make much progress. A child forgets more in three months than it can learn in nine months. Then we have got to extend the school term. In some of the com— munities the trustees tell the people we cannot give you 237 more than three or four months, and the people in the com- munities say if they will give us four months we will extend the time to five months, six months or seven months, and we want to hear this morning from some of the communities where this has been done. Some of the schools have school farms and they raise cotton, etc. and extend the school term with the money from these things. Then, again, you have no right to send your child as many of you do, to a miserable, filthy, cold, unattractive, inconvenient schoolhouse. Some of you have good homes and when your children are at home they are reasonably comfortable, but when they go to the schoolhouse the winds come up through the floor and on the sides of the wall, and worse than that they have no where to sit down; they cannot study because they have rail seats to sit on, no backs on them. Now you say you love your children, but you don't love them very much when you let them go and sit all day in an old schoolhouse like that. You could change all of that if you would take some of the money you spend in candy and help the school-~that is build a schoolhouse for your children. I say candy, because one of the most dis- gusting sights to me is to see a man, a great big man going around the streets eating a red stick of candy on Saturdays. I can understand it in the case of a child, but I don't like to see it even in a child, standing around eating a big stick 238 of red, common candy, and when it comes to a great big man spending his money eating this common candy I cannot under- stand it, when he should be putting that money into buying seats for the schoolhouse, painting schoolhouse, and extend- ing the school term. In some of these communities the people cannot find enough ways to spend their money, so they have to support the dispensaries. The colored peOple support the dispensaries in most of the counties. It is pretty hard to support these dispensaries and your home too. They have everything beautified in these dispensaries, and it costs a good deal more to support these dispensaries than to support your home, because they want everything so fine. We are always ready to say that the Lord is blessing these white people, and half the time we are blessing them ourselves. I heard of a man sometime ago, a white man, who lived in a house with 10 rooms, nicely painted. Ten years before he was a poor man, had hardly a dollar in money. Two colored men were going along the road and one of them said, "Do you see how the Lord is blessing that man?" The other man said, "The Lord had nothing to do with it, we colored people blessed him." Ten years before that time he started a little barroom and the colored peOple went there every Saturday night and gave him their nickles, dimes, and quarters, and after while they kept on blessing him so that he stOpped the colored 239 peOple from coming into his barroom and moved it to another corner and shut the doors on them, they blessed him so much. We have got to stOp giving so much money to these dispensaries and barrooms if we are going to put up decent schoolhouses and put decent furniture in these school houses and have the school terms not less than six and eights months. If you have got a good schoolhouse or an old schoolhouse, remember that the school does not amount to a great deal unless you have got a clean, intelligent, progressive, unselfish teacher in that schoolhouse, and it is better to have no teacher than to have an immoral teacher: better have no teacher than to have one that is not clean in his conduct, and be sure that you have got a teacher that is interested in something aside from his salary. Be sure you have got a teacher who will not teach here three months and somewhere else three months and at another place three months. Some of these school teachers I call them traveling school teachers, they travel from one community to the other and teach two or three months. These kind of teachers don't pay. Get a teacher who is willing to stick down and share your sacrifices and take an interest in the community and willing to stay there and help the peOple increase the school term from three to six months and eight months, and when you get this kind of teacher he is worth having. But we must not only teach our people how to live 240 in these communities, but through all the encouragements and discouragements, in a very large degree, in a much larger sense, we must become taxpayers in the communities in which we live. Many of you do not pay your tax; you do not pay your polltax, and still we complain a great deal about the disfranchising law. We disfranchise ourselves in nine cases out of ten because we do not exercise enough forethought to pay our polltax. we should pay our polltax whether under the law we are allowed to vote or not. Every time you pay your polltax that much goes in the education of your children. In all of these counties the polltax is a condition for voting, and you cannot expect to vote unless you pay your polltax, and even if you cannot vote it is better for you to pay your polltax as it goes into the education of your children. I want to say to you, go home and encourage your peOple and instruct them to become taXpayers. Don't wait for the tax- collector to come around for your taxes, but go to him and pay your taxes and get a receipt from him for your taxes. I want the colored people to become taxpayers. And then again, I want the colored people to become interested in building good public reads in every part of the southland. Few people travel as much as we do, and we want to be sure to do our part in building up first-class public roads. Now, remember that with education, teams, homes, taxpayers, there is 241 something else needed. You know some peOple say no matter how much land the colored people own, how much his bank account, no matter how good their homes are, no matter how high his education, after all the weak point in the race is in connection with his moral life, he does not know how to treat the women. And they say again we draw no line between the good and the bad, we mix up everybody together,--cannot tell the gambler from the upright, the vicious from the righteous. If this is true, let us go out from this Con- ference and do our part so far as our influence is concerned, and mark those of no value, and let us see that morality is encouraged and immorality is discouraged,--that is, if immorality exists in the teacher put him out: if in the minister put him out: and you fathers and mothers see to it that no young man who is guilty of crime crosses the threshold of your door,--see to it that the line is drawn between the good and the bad. In some of the communities we go so far as to take in our homes in our social circle, peOple from the jails and the penitentiaries, knowing that they are guilty of crime, we draw no line between them and the clean, upright young men and women in our communities. Where this is true we want to see to it that this condition is changed and improved. Now, I know my friends there are a great many things in the atmosphere to discourage you. There are a great many 242 things to make us look gloomy and feel gloomy, but after all the great man is the man who can rise up above discourage— ment, above all these things that discourage us and that would seem to bewilder us and make us feel that life is not worth living, and that our race has had from the beginning a hard time. Every individual has had a hard time who has amounted to anything, and I would not give a snap of my finger for a race or individual who has not had a hard time. We can look back and see periods in our lives which have been darker. Many of you in this room have been slaves, and have heard the crack of the masters whip, driven by cruel overseers from year to year and you did not think there was any break- ing of the light, but the day did begin to break and you know the things are not so discouraging now as they were then. Let us be encouraged, let us make up our minds we are going to do our part, that we are going to make men of ourselves, and afterawhile the people who seem to discourage us and trample us down will be our warmest and most exalted friends. I heard a story sometime ago about an old mule, an old white mule, you know an old white mule lives a long time,-- some of you have white mules and you know how long they live. This old mule had lived so long and had gotten so slow, and gotten to the point where it seemed no matter how much corn they gave him, oats, or grass she never got any fatter. The 243 white people who owned this mule got tired of her and gave her to a colored family. This family had wanted a mule, and so the man said to his wife now that we have a mule we will make a good crOp. They tried to fatten the mule too, but they soon got discouraged and turned her out in the pasture to die. The mule's name was Sal. So they turned the mule out in the pasture and did not give her any oats, corn, or water, just turned her out to die. The white peOple tried the same thing but old Sal would not die. The old mule had been in the pasture several months and they went to look for her one morning and they did not see her. There was an old well left open in the pasture and old Sal had gotten in this well and they could just see her ears. The man told his wife, we have got her now, we will get rid of old Sal, you get a spade and I will get a shovel and all we have got to do is to throw some dirt in on old Sal and bury her. So they got the shovel and spade and began to throw in dirt, and after shoveling for about half an hour they peeped in the well to see what progress they were making, and they found instead of the mule being covered up she was tramping the dirt down as they were throwing it in, and instead of being buried she was nearly up to the top of the well. So they began to throw in more dirt, working just as hard as they could to bury old Sal, but finally saw she was about up to the top of the well, 244 and the man said to his wife, we have tried to starve old Sal and tried to bury her, in fact, tried every way to get rid of her and we cannot, now the only thing to do with old Sal is to build her a decent stable and give her plenty of corn, oats, and get a new curry comb and take care of her. These people will say we have tried to starve the negro, tried' in every way to keep him down, no matter what we do with them they will keep living and prospering, and they will say of us we are brave, noble American citizens. All peOple like to be on the side of the strong, succeszul race, and if we make up our minds to be progressive and successful everybody will want to be on our side, but if we make up our minds we.are going around mourning all the time, every- body wants to get away from us. If you ever hear of a store- keeper who thinks he is going to fail and who goes around the community saying his creditors are after him and he thinks he will have to close up, and he is always having a hard time, you want to get away from that storekeeper as soon as possible. You want to get rid of him and don't want any— body to know you had anything to do with him. But when a storekeeper is in the community and he is always succeding, got money in the bank, and whenever you see him he has more than he can do, everybody in the community want to get attached to that fellow. All the world likes to be connected 245 with a successful, truthful race. We want to go out from here and teach our peOple to go ahead, hold up their hands, get land, and high Christian character and come to our aid and will be proud they are great successful and progressive race. We die out; we are not going backward, we are every year, and I hope through the mediums the world will friends of a are not going to going forward of this and other conferences held throughout the southland it will be known that the Negro is in this country to stay, that we are not going to the Philippine Islands, we are not going to Hayti, but we are going to buy homes and settle down here and become a part of this great country. The following committee was appointed on declaration: Mr. P. W. Dawkins, South Carolina. Mr. Scott Bond, Arkansas. Mr. J. H. Palmer, Alabama. Mr. O. E. Ansley, Tenn. Mr. Senior Ernest, Ga. Mr. Robt. Reese, Miss. This committee was requested to make their report before the adjournment of the Conference. APPENDIX G GUIDELINES FOR ERECTION OF RURAL SCHOOLHOUSES 247 GUIDELINES FOR ERECTION OF RURAL SCHOOLHOUSES (1) Money given to Mr. Julius Rosenwald. (2) To be used in a way to encourage public school of- ficers and the people in the community in erecting school- houses in rural and village districts by supplementing what the public schOol officers or the peOple themselves may do. (3) As far as possible before beginning work in any county or community, the approval and cooperation of the state, county or township school officers is to be secured. (4) In the erection of schoolhouses care is to be exer- cised with the Jeanes Fund Supervisors and State Supervisors of Negro rural schools wherever possible the idea of such c00peration is to make one kind of work supplement the other. Later on it is hoped to do the work of building schoolhouses through the agency of any large school that might be located in that county: for example; when the proper time comes it might be possible and best to build schoolhouses, in Wilcox County through the agency of the Snow Hill Normal and Industrial Institute. (5) The money is to be used in providing schoolhouses in the rural districts preferably the one-teacher schoolhouses on condition that the peOple shall secure from the public school fund or raise among themselves an amount equal to or larger than that given by Mr. Rosenwald which will not, in any case, exceed $350 for each house. Traveling and other expenses in connection with working up interest in the schoolhouses, guiding the people in erecting them, is to be taken out of the amount allotted to each schoolhouse. In every case, the money given to Mr. Rosenwald is to be the partial payment for com- pletion of building, including furnishing. (6) The kind of building to be erected is to be approved by the Extension Department of the Tuskegee Normal and In- dustrial Institute and where required by State Department of Education. (7) It is thought best at present to concentrate upon' supplying schoolhouses for the following three counties: 248 Montgomery, Lowndes and Lee in Alabama. One of these counties contains the capital of the State. It is thought wise for advertising and for the purpose of creating public sentiment to put the county containing the capital of the state and near-by counties in good shape first; by concentrating upon a few counties may serve the further purpose of bringing about a rivalry between the communities that will prove of value. (8) It is also recommended that while at present these three (3) counties are to be concentrated upon, any exceptional communities and other counties in and out of Alabama will be considered. (9) At present it is thought wise to confine the school- house building to the State of Alabama with the view of getting experience that will enable us to render the best service for the least money, and in the shortest time possible. As stated, however, exceptions may be made to this general policy whenever it is thought necessary. (10) That until further'notice from Mr. Rosenwald, the plan shall be to construct about 100 rural schoolhouses at a cost to Mr. Rosenwald, representing his contribution toward the total cost, of not to exceed $30,000; that not to exceed $350 shall be paid by him for any one such schoolhouse: and that this offer shall be effective for a period of five years from August 1, A.D. 1914. (11) Any publication to the effect that Mr. Rosenwald has promised to give dollar for dollar for rural schools for colored children in the South without limitation as to the number and location has been made without Mr. Rosenwald's authority or knowledge. ' APPENDIX H FACT SHEET OF TUSKEGEE TODAY 250 HISTORY Founded July 4, I88I First class graduated (ten members) in 1885 Founder Booker T. Washington died in 1915 Second principal Robert R. Moton inaugurated May 24, 1916 College department organized in 1927 President Frederick D. Patterson inaugurated October 28, I935 Graduate program started in 1943 President L. H. Foster inaugurated November 1, I953 PROFESSIONAL ACCREDITATIONS Tuskegee Institute .............................. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools School of Engineering ................. Engineers' Council for Professional Development School of Veterinary Medicine ............... American Veterinary Medical Association School of Nursing The National League of Nursing ENROLLMENT Enrollment (first semester, 1970-71) 2,918 Number of men . , , . 1,453 Number OI women .................................. L465 Number of freshmen 79l Number ofvgraduate students 215 Number of foreign students (19 countries) I45 Number of Alabama counties represented 57 Counties with largest representation .................................... Macon, Jefferson, Mobile and Montgomery Number of states represented 37 FACULTY AND STAFF Number of teaching faculty 247 General Administration 2I Staff and supporting personnel 932 Total personnel 1,200 ACADEMIC PROGRAMS 8.5., B.A., B.Arch., M.S., M.Ed., D.V.M.,' 33 degree-granting undergraduate coarses; 23 graduate and one hospital dietetics ADA Certificate. Principal areas of instruction include Schools of Applied Sciences, Education, Engineering, Nursing, Veterinary Medicine and College of Arts and Sciences. COST OF ATTENDING Course and incidental fees (tuition) $1,075 per year Room and board S 725 per year PHYSICAL PLANT Size of campus 5,189acres Main campu, 268 acres Number of buildings . I6I Number of dormitories 19 Library 158,500 volumes; 1,523 periodicals; L600 reels of microfilms; 12,000 items by and about Negroes in Booker T. Washington collection. ' Architecture, Engineering, Nursing, Veteri- nary Medicine and Curriculum laboratory Departmental libraries APPENDIX I BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES ON BOOKER T. WASHINGTON WITH SELECTED EVENTS IN BLACK HISTORY 1619 1680 1717 1831 1856 1865 1865 1866 1867 252 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES ON BOOKER T. WASHINGTON WITH SELECTED EVENTS IN BLACK HISTORY A group of Africans arrived in Jamestown, Virginia. First Insurrection Laws passed prohibiting slaves from gathering in large assemblies. Cotton Mather opened schools for Negroes and Indians. First law passed making it a crime to educate a Negro. Booker T. washington born near Hales Ford, in Franklin County, Virginia. Emancipation Proclamation issued. End of the Civil war. Adaption of the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery. Washington's family moved to Malden, West Virginia. He began work in the salt mines of that state. Fisk University was founded. Ku Klux Klan was organized. The first Negroes (two) ever to be elected to an American legislature were sworn in for the House of Representatives in the State of Massachusetts. Negro suffrage in District of Columbia was established by Act of Congress. Reconstruction Bill was adapted, dividing ten former Confederate states into five military districts and permitting their restoration into the Union upon reorganization on basis of Negro suffrage, disfran- chisement of rebels and ratification of Fourteenth Amendment. 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1875 1877 1878 1881 1882 1883 1884 Morehouse College, Howard University, Talladega were opened and Atlanta University chartered. Fourteenth Amendment was adopted. Hampton Institute was Opened. Clark and Morgan Colleges were founded. Fifteenth Amendment was adOpted, forbidding any state from depriving citizens of their vote because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Washington began work as houseboy for Mrs. Lewis Raffner. He entered Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. He graduated from Hampton and began teaching in home- town of Malden, West Virginia. Reconstruction ended. Hayes-Tilden Compromise settled disputed presidential election by giving the Presidency to the Republican candidate and withdrawing federal trOOps from the South. Left Wayland Seminary and began teaching at Hampton. He was appointed as teacher in charge of the Indian dormitory, teacher in charge of the night school. was also secretary to General Samuel Armstrong, the principal. He He founded and became the first principal of the Normal School for Colored Teachers at Tuskegee, Alabama. Married Fannie N. Smith of Malden, West Virginia. Supreme Court declared Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional. Fanny Smith washington died. Washington delivered an address, ”The Educational Outlook in the South" before the National Educa— tional Association, Madison, Wisconsin. This 1884 1885 1889 1892 1893 1895 1896 1898 1899 1900 254 speech began his public speaking career. He founded Teacher's Institute at Tuskegee. Married Olivia A. Davidson. Began the distribution of the Southern Letter, a monthly, to persons whose interest and support he sought. Olivia Davidson Washington died. Washington inaugurated the Annual Tuskegee Negro Conference. Married Margaret James Murry of Mississippi. Started a Night School for Ministers. Delivered an address at the opening of the Cotton States and International Exposition at Atlanta, Georgia. He established a "Building and Loan Association" on campus for students and faculty. President Eliot of Harvard University conferred upon him the M.A. degree and he spoke at the alumni dinner. This was the first such degree conferred upon a Negro by any New England University. The Supreme Court handed down a decision in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson (163 U.S. S37). Ironically, this case involved the segregated seating of Negroes on trains but was transferred in principle to segregation in education. President William McKinley visited Tuskegee. Washington visited Europe. He organized the National Negro Business League at Boston. His.autobiography Up From Slavery, was published as a magazine serial. 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1909 1910 1911 255 His autobiography appeared in book form. He dined with President Theodore Roosevelt at the White House. Dartmouth College conferred the honorary Doctorate degree upon him. Greenwood Village Improvement Association was established under his guidance. William Monroe Trotter began publication of Boston Guardian, attacking Booker T. Washington for his leadership of Negroes. W.E.B. DuBois published "Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others" in Souls of Black Folk, -- a public attack on the principal. Washington started Rural School Improvement Campaign. He founded a weekly farm paper, a circulating library, and a Minister's Institute. Negro delegates from fourteen states, led by W.E.B. DuBois met at Niagara Falls to call for abolition of all racial distinctions. Washington started the Jesup Agricultural Wagon-- an agricultural school on wheels. Inaugurated the Farmers' Cooperate Demonstration Work. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded. Washington began a "Rural Improvement" speaking tour. DuBois was made editor of the NAACP magazine, Crisis. The National Urban League was organized. washington visited Denmark. He published My Larger Education. 256 -- Julius Rosenwald Fund was established. 1912 -- He published The Man Farthest Down. 1914 -- Established "Baldwin Farms," a farming community for the graduates of the Agricultural Department of Tuskegee. 1915 -- Made his last Sunday evening talk to the teachers and students at Tuskegee on Octdber 17th. -- He died at Tuskegee, Alabama, November 14th. -- The "grandfather clause" disfranchising Negroes was held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. -- Association for the Study of Negro Life and History was founded by Carter G. Woodson. 1916 -- Journal of Negro History began publication. 1954 -- The Supreme Court, on May 17, 1954, in the historic decision in Brown v. Board of Education, held "separate but equal" doctrine to be unconstitutional. "llllllllllllllllllllf