Character Building
Booker Taliaferro Washington (1856-1915), the former slave and founder of Tuskegee Institute, was a leading educator, author, and statesman who rose from slavery to become internationally famous. As a black man in America during times of extreme racial turbulence, Washington had the privilege of being personally acquainted with prominent public figures such as Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Carnegie, Frederick Douglass, H.G. Wells and Mark Twain. The distinguished Booker T. Washington was also the first black man to dine with the president of the United States, to have tea with the Queen of England, and to receive honorary degrees from Harvard and Dartmouth.Washington was only twenty-five years old when he founded Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute on July 4, 1881. He started with absolutely no capital and built the institution on sheer faith and determination. Virtually every building on campus was built by Tuskegee students, and they also manufactured the dormitory pillows and mattresses.In addition to providing Tuskegee students with quality academic programs, Booker T. Washington also emphasized personal discipline, morality, integrity, cleanliness, and the practical aspects of life that could not be learned in textbooks alone. Washington even once said, The cleaning of rooms has a great deal to do with forming one s character.As a monument to a great leader, the centerpiece of the Tuskegee University campus in Alabama is a bronze statue of a dignified and well-dressed Booker T. Washington next to a poor black man with a textbook. The message beneath the compelling figures states, He lifted the veil of ignorance from his people and pointed the way to progress through education and industry.Booker T. Washington s life proves that he gave up his rights to help the less fortunate achieve greater progress in many ways. As one who was a friend to presidents, millionaires and other world leaders, he was one of the most influential black men in America. Yet he still chose a life of great sacrifice in order to improve conditions for others rather than simply indulge in the benefits of his fame and influence.--This text refers to an alternatePaperbackedition.