UP FROM SLAVERY REAL STRUGGLE AND SUCCESS STORY OF BOOKER T. WASHINGTON

 

UP FROM SLAVERY STRUGGLE AND SUCCESS OF BOOKER T. WASHINGTON

This is a story of an American Educator, Author, Orator and a Dominant Leader of the African- American Community Booker Taliaferro Washington born on April 05^TH 1856 in Hale’s Ford, Virginia, The United States. He was born to Slavery and freed by the Civil War in 1865. As a young man he became Head of Tuskegee Institute, and then Head of Teacher’s College for Blacks. He appealed Whites to give a chance to Black to work and develop. Booker T. Washington was supported by all Prominent People of his time including White. Our aim is here only to see his Great Efforts and Struggles to achieve something great for himself and his Race. In 1895 Washington became known nationwide because of his speech at the Atlanta Exposition called The New Negro which was controversial but later benefitted him.

1.BOOKER T. WASHINGTON’S BIRTH AND PARENTAGE:

Booker says in his Second Autobiography Up from Slavery that he was born in Frankline Country Virginia. He used to live in Slave Quarters, where the surrounding was miserable and discouraging. He used to live in 14*16foot Cabin along with his mother, brother and sister. They used to work on a Plantation. He knew nothing of his ancestors except that they came from Africa to America. Their condition was a little bit better than the purchased cows or pigs and there was no record of their Black Community. Booker didn’t know about his father also, only he had an information that his father was a White Man and lived on another Plantation.

Booker’s Mother was a Cook on the Plantation and they lived in the same Kitchen with a wobbly door on the uneven hinges, the kitchen had cracks in the walls to make them suffer in extreme weather conditions, cold air in winter and humidity in summer. Mother had to steal a chicken quite often to cook for her children though all the Plantation cooking was done in the open fireplace itself. They were the Victim of the Institution of Slavery.

2.BOOKER’S STRUGGLE AS A CHILD LABOUR:

Booker was a Slave his life was devoted to Work only. He cleaned yards, carried water, took corn to Mill. Carrying corn was the hardest task above all since he was not very strong and was a small child. Sometimes he was left crying being helpless and frightened in the woods since he had to walk through the deserted forest all alone. His life was hard and suffering were beyond words.

3.BOOKER’S QUEST FOR KNOWLEDGE:

Schooling was a Dream for him and the Schoolhouse, a Paradise. His understanding of his status was known to him very well. For the first time one morning when he heard his mother saying that Lincoln and his Armies would be successful and one day, they would be free. He was amazed to learn that a large number of people of his community were like slaves who were ignorant of books and newspapers. He would linger around the Post Office to hear the White People talking about the great National Questions that were agitating the Country and used to bring the News to the Slave quarters. The seeds of knowledge were germinating in his brain.

4.BOOKER AS A GREAT OBSERVANT AND AMBITIOUS PERSON:

Booker always ate with his hands and since the food was scarce, he ate quickly to satisfy his hunger. He was sent to a rich family to fan flies from the meal on the table he saw how it was shared in a genteel way. He listened to the conversation on the subject of freedom and war and absorbed the news to share with his fellow slaves. He saw his masters eating ginger cakes and had the ambition    to grow to the height to afford the same for himself too. As the war progressed, he felt it easier to accept the deprivation of what the white people had the coffee, tea, sugar and the other articles. Booker’s pair of shoes were wooden at the bottom which made him walk awkwardly and had to wear flex shirt the cheapest and the roughest but still he had no bitter feeling for the white people.

 5.BOOKER’S NEGRO RACE WAS KIND AND GENEROUS:

He points out at his narrative once that he and his people had no bitter feelings for the white people rather their sorrow was great when a white young man was killed in the battle. The slaves used to take care of the white ladies and their children when white men used to go to the battle field. They felt proud to be appointed to look after their (White People) big houses in their (men)absence. They felt honored to sleep in the big houses to take care of their ladies and children. They were Slaves but trustworthy to the White People who depended on them for their comforts. 

6.BOOKER’S GREATEST HOPE WAS FREEDOM:

They were generous didn’t mean they never wanted freedom, in fact freedom was their greatest hope. According to Booker Negroes were better than any other black race in the world. Negroes were made better people by the institutions and the provinces of the white people

7.BOOKER LAID EMPHASES ON SELF-RELIANCE OF ALL:

Slavery was not only hurtful to blacks but for white too because white people had no spirit of self-reliance as they were totally depended on blacks and couldn’t master a single trade or industry. Whites had no idea how to take care of their homes or the refinements of their lives, on the other hand blacks were well prepared for the beginning of their new life. This is the excellent example of being self -reliant.

8.BOOKER CONSIDERED FREEDOM AS A GREATER RESPONSIBILITY:

Then one morning all the slaves were called and proclamation was made that they were free and there was great rejoicing for some minutes. Blacks had no bitterness for their masters but now they were in charge of themselves. Being in-charge of oneself means greater responsibility. Older black people had a strange attachment with their masters and they stealthily went to the big houses and whispered with their former masters.

9.BOOKER’S LIFE AND A WAY TO BOOKISH KNOWLEDGE:

After freedom Booker had to move to West Virginia with his family members. They had to secure a little cabin to live in now which was worse than the slave quarter. They were crowded and the filth was intolerable. People were colored and poor.

Now Booker had to go for work at 4:00 a.m. He started working in salt furnace. He learnt his first book knowledge by number “18” as it was put by his Boss on his all barrels. As a result, he developed an intense desire to learn to read. It was Mother who procured a Webster” blue -black’ spelling book for him which contained alphabets and meaningless phonic sounds. Booker devoured it realizing that alphabet would lead him to words. Mother shared, aided and abetted him in his desire to learn. She was a great support to him in his journey of Education.

10.BOOKER’S OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO SCHOOL:

Now to Booker, attending school was a great challenge. The purpose of reading was to read the newspaper and the Bible. While working it was impossible to continue school and to quit work was not possible so mother with great effort arranged a teacher at night for his education. Finally, after some time he could arrange to attend the school also after his wok in furnace. To attend it he had to arrange a cap as it was compulsory at school. Mother by sewing two pieces of homespun jeans could arrange that too for him. Second problem was when once teacher asked him his name, he missed his second name and it was mother who reminded him that she had given him the name Booker Taliaferro at his birth so his name was Booker Taliaferro Washington. He was Booker T. Washington thereafter.

11.BOOKER PREFERRED TO OVERCOME OBSTACLES TO MEASURE SUCCESS NOT POSITION: 

With a cap and with a name he was determined to get an education. He noted that life in a coalmine will not only dwarf him physically but also mentally so he determined to get education day and night. He learned that success is not measured in position you have reached in life but the obstacles you have overcome to get there. Race Black or White will not carry one forward unless he has individual worth and he was proud of the race he belonged to.

12.BOOKER LEARNT THE HUMAN PSYCOLOGY TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS:

He left salt mines and to earn he got a job in the home of an owner of the mines. Owner’s wife Mrs. Ruffner was very stern boss and Booker learnt in no time that she wanted things clean, promptly done with honesty and frankness and thus he developed great friendship with her and started his first library. Now he wanted to go to the school for colored where he could study as well as work to earn at the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia.

Reaching Hampton was not easy he struggled a lot due to his color and poverty and learnt to earn more to reach his destination. At Hampton due to his color and dirty clothes his teacher didn’t make very favorable impression and made him sweep and clean the rooms and offered him the position of a janitor. The work was hard but he stuck to it to continue his study there, considering it to be his college entrance examination. Later she -Miss Mary F. Mackie became one of his helpful friends.

General Samuel C. Armstrong was one of the noblest, rarest human being and made great impression on Booker. He was very unselfish and was worshipped by the students as he was determined to assist in lifting up the Negro Race. His teachers once helped him to obtain more clothing’s according to the strict rules of the school even. Booker in Hampton only learnt to sleep well on the bed with sheets on them. This was a transition period of his life.

13.BOOKER READ BIBLE AND LITERATURE AND STARTED PUBLIC SPEAKING:

Though he never liked public speaking but Miss Nathalie Lord taught him the use and value of Bible. Booker learnt the importance of spiritual help in life and importance of literature. He made it a rule from then to read a chapter or portion of it every morning. Eventually he started sharing his views in his community and was gratified by the respect showed by them. This was the beginning of his spiritual journey which led him to public speaking.

14.BOOKER’S RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD CHANGES MAKE DIFFERENCES:

Booker observed in Washington that more schools were there for colored people so he took a great interest in the lives of his people. Meanwhile Booker’s reputation as a speaker grew and he was encouraged to join politics. He refused since he thought it would be a selfish kind of success. His reputation preceded him and was honored by an invitation to give a post graduate address at the Hampton Commencement. He entitled his address The Force That Wins. His speech pleased everyone and later received a letter from General Armstrong asking him to return to Hempton as a teacher and to pursue some supplementary studies.

15.BOOKER CHOSEN TO HEAD THE TUSKEGEE INSTITUE:

Later he got an offer as an In- charge of a normal school in Tuskegee. Tuskegee Institute grew in reputation and received visits from well -known people from Hampton, his old school. Washington designed, developed, and guided the Tuskegee Institute. It became a powerhouse of African- American education and political influence in United States. He laid emphasis on the students to keep themselves and their surroundings clean. He believed in hard work to get good result. After 20 years Booker was happy to see his school had 23 acres of land ,66 buildings. Now his school had 30 industrial departments with proper arrangement for Academic and Religious Training. The school which had once 30 students crossed the strength of 1400 students. His efforts for Girl Students’ studies too flourished with gardening, fruit growing dairying and bee culture. Booker organized meetings for ex-students. Through the support of wealthy philanthropists, he was able to raise funds to establish and operate thousands of community schools and institutions of higher education for the betterment of the Blacks throughout the South.

CONCLUSION  

It is an inspiring story of Booker’s Up from Slavery to Rags to Riches and from Name to Fame. He never lost hope as he knew that if he lost hope his whole community would suffer and would never be able to improve the condition of the people of his race. We Salute to all the great people and leaders who were born poor but made rich to their race and community.

 

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