Booker T.

Washington and the Black Experience

BreAnna Bell
BreAnna Bell

Intro to Black Politics

Prof. Daryl B. Harris

Paper 1

Overtime, many things have been discovered to be true of the black experience and what

it has meant to be a black person living in America. The definition has come to evolve over time,

but what remains constant are the core values of each black individual. The core values being,

resistance, freedom, social justice, equality, unity, community, education, and self-determination.

These values are so prevalent in the black community because black people are always having to

exhibit this behavior in order to co-exist somewhat peacefully in America. Black individuals

have showed these different values during many different points in our journey and resistance in

America such as the Civil Rights Era, The Abolition Movement, and through the creation of

different organizations to further spearhead this movement for equality (Freedmans Bureau,

NAACP, etc.) One individual in particular, by the name of Booker T. Washington has embodied

these values in our history. Through his countless works within the black community to inspire,

educate, and unify, it becomes evident that he has upheld most of the core values and played a

major role of taking steps to overturn the handle of white dominance over the black community.

Booker Taliaferro Washington, the man who would later come to be described as a

schoolbook black hero (Harlan), was himself, born a slave in 1856 and lived through the

institution until it was abolished after the end of the Civil War. He embodies the core value of
 Bell II

self determination through his will to learn. Washington, as a child, worked in a salt furnace

from four to nine in the morning and went to school, which started at nine a.m. as well, in a town

one mile away from the salt furnace. Then, upon finishing his school day, he had to come back to

the furnace to work another two hours. He was so determined to learn, he completed school this

way because it was the only way his stepfather would let him attend school. There is another

instance

where Booker T. Washington shows his will to learn and his character to make a way when he

travels to the Hampton Institute in Virginia to enroll in classes. The Lady Principal, Miss Mary

Mackie met with Washington and told him it would need to be decided later if he could attend

the school, as he was already late to enroll. Mackie then assigned him to a room which she

handed him a broom and had him clean. Once she returned to the room and saw that Mr.

Washington had cleaned the room spotless, she decided he had earned his admittance. These

anecdotes show his self-determination and his willingness to do for himself. This would help him

develop his future endeavors.

Booker T. Washington, after his graduation from Hampton Institute, became a teacher. At

first, he taught Sunday School at two different places, Father Rices Zion Baptist Church and

Snow Hill salt furnace. After his short time teaching Sunday school, he went back to Hampton to

teach night school. In his time in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, he taught a class titled The Plucky

Class, which was catered to mostly an Indian student body. He would later go on to take part in

the founding of, as well as teach at, Tuskegee University. While he was in Alabama teaching at
Tuskegee, he also founded a new school inside the African Methodist Episcopal Baptist Church

where he had three classes: the Juniors Class, and A and B preparatory students. Booker T.

Bell III

Washington made a home of Tuskegee. He ran the school as far as following rules, making sure

they were enforced, as well as running the faculty. These facts come to show how Booker T.

Washington embodied another of the black core values: education. Through his efforts to build

the black community by teaching no matter the capacity- whether Sunday school in the Snow

Hill salt furnace or night school at his Alma Mater, Hampton Institute. He showed his interest in

changing the status of black men and women in this way, along with many other ways as well.

Booker T. Washingtons showed his dedication to the community through his work with the

NAACP. He participated in multiple conferences to speak on how to advance the status of black

people such as the NAACP meetings during its rise in the early 1900s. While typically

disagreed with on most points due to Washingtons being from a different era in the history of

black people, he spoke on his ideas for the advancement of colored people which also shows his

commitment to the black community.

His critics tend to find that Booker T. Washington opened his hands to the promises of

white men too often; many called him, later on in life, an Uncle Tom. However, it can be said

that Washington was a smart player. Washington was called these things mostly due to his stance

on respectability politics and his eager acceptance to work with white people without due

skepticism. Washington was a very misunderstood individual which stemmed mostly from the

lack of understanding that he was from a different time. Many fail to realize that Washington

was still alive for the tail end of the slavery. He witnessed the work of the reconstruction era, was
raised differently to accommodate for the new lives they lived as freed men and women and

therefore, had differing opinions from those of his colleagues. There was much to say about the

Bell IV

outward appearance of his actions, but many were unaware of what happened behind the scenes

with Washingtons work. While it was seen in public that Washington was an accommodationist,

Booker T. had developed a secret lifein which he kept his true interests to himself. Behind

closed doors, it is said, Washington had secret meetings where he fought against the injustices of

the world such as disenfranchisement, Jim Crow segregation, and other injustices black people

faced. These acts alone follow the black core values of resistance because he is resisting the

social status forced on him and other black people of the time; social justice because of the issues

that he is fighting to put an end to (disenfranchisement, exclusion of black people in federal

appointed offices); and freedom by constantly seeking these ideals, while not always in the

public eye or under false pretenses, but still seeking freedom from a system of oppression.

Over time, Booker T. Washington has come to be seen as a complex but revered figure in

the black community. As many disagree with his tactics or ideals, he is still praised for the

dedication of his life to amending the status of colored people in America through his works to

educate, fight for social justice, resist the status of black people as dictated by the white people,

and argue for freedom for the community. Though he may not have wanted to get into politics,

as he said publicly many times, he has become a great political figure for his beliefs and his

works which the black community can still benefit from today.
 Works Cited

1. Bieze, Michael. Booker T. Washington and the Art of Self-representation. New York:

Peter Lang, 2008. Print.

2. Harlan, Louis R. Booker T. Washington: The Making of a Black Leader, 1856-1901.

New York: Oxford UP, 1972. Print.

3. Harlan, Louis R. Booker T. Washington The Wizard of Tuskegee (1901-1915).

Oxford: Oxford UP, 1983. Print.