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Educator

Perhaps the most important person in the black effort for complete equality is Booker T. Washington. Born a slave, he struggled upward until he was a major influence in American society.
The poverty of Washington's early life permitted him no formal education. He began working at the age of nine, first in a salt furnace and later in a coal mine. He enrolled in the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute at the age of sixteen and worked as a janitor to support himself. Three years later, he graduated and returned home, where he was a teacher for two years. Washington went back to school for a year, studying theology. Then, he joined the staff of Hampton Institute, where he coordinated a program for educating American Indians.

In 1881, Washington was called to head a new school for blacks in Tuskegee, Alabama. The school had two run-down buildings and very few resources. Over the next three decades, Washington developed the school into one of the leading institutions of higher education in the United States. One of his most important acts was inviting George Washington Carver to join the faculty of Tuskegee Institute. The scientific discoveries that Carver made while he was at Tuskegee drastically changed agriculture in the South.

As am educator, Washington emphasized practical skills for blacks. He believed that vocational skills would afford blacks the quickest entry into the mainstream of American life.

Because of his efforts, Booker T. Washington was perhaps the most influential black in America. He wrote extensively, influencing generations to follow. In recognition of his importance, he was awarded honorary doctorates by both Harvard University and Dartmouth College.

FLASH-FACTS

Founded Tuskegee Institute
Served as a leader and spokesman for blacks
Organized numerous philanthropic funds for education