Booker T. Washington was one of the most important figures in the campaign for racial equality in the U.S.A. He believed in co-operation rather than confrontation and his Atlanta Compromise address in 1895 is regarded as one of the most important speeches in American history. Born into slavery in Virginia, Washington was freed at the age of nine and worked as a salt packer, in a coal mine, on a steamboat and in domestic service before training as a teacher.Because of his energy and vision he was appointed as the first ...
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Booker T. Washington was one of the most important figures in the campaign for racial equality in the U.S.A. He believed in co-operation rather than confrontation and his Atlanta Compromise address in 1895 is regarded as one of the most important speeches in American history. Born into slavery in Virginia, Washington was freed at the age of nine and worked as a salt packer, in a coal mine, on a steamboat and in domestic service before training as a teacher.Because of his energy and vision he was appointed as the first president of what is now Tuskegee University in Alabama, a position which gave him the status to expound his view that black Americans could achieve equality by demonstrating their patience, industry, thrift, reliability and social usefulness. This approach won him friends in high places, including Carnegie, Rockefeller and Taft and he was the first African American to be invited to the White House, as a guest of Theodore Roosevelt. "Up from Slavery" is a fascinating account of his life and work in his own words.
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Booker T. Washington was a Christian man. This book can only truly be understood by a fellow Christian. If you are not a Christian you will come up with all sorts of ideas about this book that are wrong, such as it was written for the white reader, or that he was playing a part just to get money for his fellow blacks. Fact is, Jesus Christ changes men. He makes them better, more like Himself. This writers life was changed by Jesus Christ the same way I was, so it resonates well and I know it's true in the best sense. A great book by a great man!
