Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-26
BY MARY CHURCH TERRELL.

Is happening on earth, Booker 7
4 Washington must have been yer!
ton of Tuskegee's fiftieth anniversary
It is hard to believe that by any pos
sible stretch Of imagination or exercis,
of faith he could have visuallzed such
wonderful school as those who at.
tended the exercises beheld, when 4
opened for its first session July 4, 1881
In dilapidated shanty with 80 pupils
Of whom he was the only teacher. i
is indeed far cry from that poor little
shanty to the 122 substantial buildings
which are well equipped for the pur-
poses for which they are used.
The campus, with its 10 acres, 4
really thing Of beauty and Joy
forever. Wherever one looks there L
a perfectly kept green lawn with q
wealth Of shrubbery and trees. In 9
section where the schools provided fol
colored children are often unsightly
and in need Of repair, the physical sur
roundings Of Tuskegee are object les
sons to the pupils In neatness, clean
illness and order as well as delight
to the eye. DR.. washington felt that
not q penny spent in making the school
Q model in this particular and in cul-
tivating the taste Of the pupils was
wasted.
School Owns 1859 Acres.
In addition to the 10 acres of cam
pus there are 500 acres Of farm land.
which are cultivated, and 1,240 acres
of pasture and woodland, which make
q total Of 1850 acres owned by the
school.
But, as remarkable as has been the
material growth Of the school, the in.
Auence which 1t has exerted upon the
life and character and progress Of the
60 kata @kak
been still more gratifying and striking.
When the school began to function,
only Is out Of every 100 colored people
knew their letters. To-Day approximate
~ 80 out Of every 100 can read In that
section where IS per cent Of the race
lives. In the black belt Of Alabama,
where Tlskegee Is located, 1t has made
getting an education the fashion. Many
more children are attending school to-
day than were enrolled as pupils so
years ago. When Booker Washington
Seople graduated every year from col
tcge. Last year more than 1000 re-
ceived diplomas from accredited tnsti-
kf;tinns Of learning. The value of school
property for colored people has greatly
Increased, as has also the annual ap-
preparation of public school funds for
their group in the Is Southern States.
Many changes have taken place to pro-
mote the welfare of colored people In
While 1t can not be claimed that Tus-
kegee Institute, single handed and
alone, has been instrumental In max
ing these changes for the better, there
Is no doubt whatever that the influence
exerted by II has been an important
factor in achieving this result.
Practical Education.
The founder Of the school believed In
educating the hand as well as the head.
He wanted to give his pupils who be-
longed to q retarded, handicapped
group o practical education. He set
out to teach them Ito do common
things In an uncommon way" In the
language Of another, The refused TO
join In the lockstep parade Of other
institutions" And now that Booker
washington's idea has been carried out
with such gratifying results, 1t IL not
only considered q good thing for the
group for which 1t was originally
planned, but 1t Is highly recommended
for the masses Of all races without re-
gard to color or cline.
From the nature Of the case the
young people who first attended Tuske-
gee had had little training In learning
to do things systematically and scien-
tifically. Mr.. Washington decided to
teach them TO inject system into every
thing which they did. He himself had
been taught the necessity Of doing this
when he attended Hampton Institute,
which was established by Gen. Arm
strong. He was convinced that the
only solution to the vexatiouS race
problem lay in training the colored
Americans hand as well as his head.
This idea was put into practice by hav-
ing the pupils devote as much time to
, their vocational training as they did to
their academic tasks. Sometimes they
1abored longer at the industrial StintS
than they did at the academic. At
present the students attend their classes
In the school room three days and
spend the same length Of time learning
their respective trades. The pupils
who are able to pay for their education
are obliged to work at some trade just
as do the pupils who are helping TO
support themselves through school.
An Must Learn Trade.
raised to the dignity Of q full-fiedged
college. in which ATT students are now
enrolled. There is q good high school,
too. Nevertheless, the school has never
budged an INCH from the system of
education as originally planned. It
clingS tenaciously to the point Of view
entertained by the founder, who de-
clared, I'VE shall prosper in proportion
as we learn TO dignity and glorify labor
and put skill and brain into the COM
mon things Of life" It believes the
better the brain has been trained and
the more knowledge a human being
possesses the better he can master a
trade. There are 40 trades for men
and IL for women. No student Is al
lowed to graduate who has not COM
pleted some definite trade.
A visit through the various trades
buildings Is most impressive. One sees
the boys learning brickmaking, brick
laying, plastering, blackSmithing, wood
turning scroll and machine work, cabi-
net making, printing. mems tailoring,
wheelwr1ghting, carriage trimming,
sheet metal work, tinsmithing, plumb
ing, shoe mending, automobile repair
ing, painting and other trades. The OBJ
jects which the boys have actually
made lie before ones eyes. They speak
for themselves.
The girls learn laundering. plain sew
Ing, dresSmaking, millinery, mattress
making, broom making and basketry.
Some Of the Scarfs, purses and bed
spreads which the girls have woven are
works Of art.
Instrument for Progress.
The students who have been gradu-
ating from these trades for the last so
years have literally been the little
1eaven Of skill and efficiency which has
been leavening the whole lump. 1t does
not require a great stretch of the i'm
agination to understand what q power
full instrument for progress the Tuske-
gee idea has been for half q century
among group Of people who needed
sorely the information and the inSpira-
ton which it alone could impart. The
students have literally buckled on the
armor Of knowledge and skill and have
gone forth to war against ignorance and
inefiiciency, especially In that section