Booker T. Washington

Updated May 30, 2023

Overview of Booker T. Washington

Booker T. Washington was a noble and educated American educator and reformer. He was also the first president of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. Booker T Washington was also called the principal developer of the same Institute (now called the Tuskegee University).

This university is also one of the most influential universities, where he was the spokesman for Black Americans. It was exclusively reflective between 1895 and 1915. Booker T. Washington was iconic and was enrolled in the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute.

This is called Hampton University today in Virginia. Booker T. Washington worked as a janitor to help with his expenses in 1872. The educator graduated in 1875 and went back to Malden, West Virginia.

Booker T. Washington taught children in a day school and adults in the evening.

Why Did Booker T. Washington Establish Tuskegee Institute?

• Booker T. Washington founded the school in 1881.
• Here, he served as the principal until he died in 1915.
• At the Tuskegee Institute, he used to teach Washington’s principles. These included practical training for African Americans on how to develop economic self-reliance.
• This was done through mastering manual trades and manual assets like agricultural practices.

About Booker T. Washington

• Booker Taliaferro Washington is sometimes known as Booker T. Washington. He was born on the 5th of April, 1856, in Franklin County, Virginia, in the United States of America.
• The educator died on the 14th of November, 1915, in Tuskegee, Alabama. He was a well-established educator and reformer. Booker T. Washington became the first president and developer of the Institute (today called Tuskegee University).
• Booker T. Washington developed, educated, and reformed American blacks as the most influential spokesman.
• Between 1895 and 1915, the educator actively worked for the self-reliance and education of marginalized Black Americans.
• Booker T. Washington was born in a slave hut and was poor. After emancipation, he relocated to Malden, West Virginia, with his family.
• The educator and reformer couldn’t get regular schooling. The family was poor and faced many problems. Booker T. Washington didn’t give up even at the age of 9. He began working.
• The educator worked at a salt furnace and got his hands on a coal mine. Booker T. Washington stood determined and didn’t want to give up on his education.
• He was motivated to get educated and enrolled in the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (now Hampton University).
• Booker T. Washington worked as a janitor to pay his university fees and graduated in 1875.
• The reformer returned to Malden and taught children for two years every day. He also educated adults at night and made them realize the value of SELF-WORTH.
• Later, Booker T. Washington joined the staff of Hampton, where he was studying at Wayland Seminary in Washington. He started in 1878 and completed the course in 1879.

Reforms

• An administrator selected the educator to lead a newly established African American school in Tuskegee, utilizing small converted buildings.
• The school has no equipment with little money.
• Booker T. Washington gave his soul to the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute- it became a monument of his work. People still recognize the Institute by its name.

Final Thoughts

Booker T Washington taught children the value of education and how to live in tough times. He was a clean example of sacrifices, dedication, and passion for education. He made sure to imbibe the same values as the African Americans.

The school has become well-equipped after 34 years since Booker T. Washington’s death. It boasts 100 well-maintained buildings and enrolls over 1500 students. The dedicated faculty comprises around 200 individuals proficient in 38 trades and professions. The school has received an approximately 2 million American dollars endowment.

Booker T. Washington firmly believed in the value of craft and industrial skills. He emphasized that these skills fostered virtues such as enterprise, thrift, and patience, essential for personal and community growth.

According to Washington, black people possessed these inherent assets and should strive to cultivate them. He advocated for education that specifically targeted illiterate and impoverished individuals within the black community.