LITTLE BOOKER STARTING FOR HAMPTON INSTITUTE.
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY
== BV ==
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON
The
Story
of
Mv
Life
and
Work
introduction by dr. j. l. m. curry
connissioNER peabody and slater
funds - » » » » :: « :: :: « ::
SEVENTY-FIFTH
THOUSAND
THE ORIGINAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY
BROUGHT UP-TO-DATE WITH
OVER HALE A HUNDRED EULL
PAGE PHOTO AND HALETONE
ENGR7WINGS ftND DRAWINGS
BY ERftNK BE7\RD :: :: :: ::
PUBLISHED BY
"W. H. Ferguson Company
CINCINNATI, OHIO
1902
Copyright, 1901
By BOOKER T. WASHINGTON
AXX, eights reserved
Entered according- to act of Congress, in the year 1900
By BOOKER T. WASHINGTON
In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washing-ton, D. C.
Sold only by subscription, and not to be had in book stores.
Any one desiring- a copy should address the Publishers.
Copyright, 1901
By BOOKER T. WASHINGTON
ai/iv rights reserved
INTRODUCTION,
HAVE cheerfully consented to prefix
a few words introductory to this auto¬
biography. While I have encouraged
its publication, not a sentence has been
submitted to my examination. From my inti¬
mate acquaintance with the subject, because of
my connection with the Peabody and the Slater
Education Funds, I am sure the volume has such
a strong claim upon the people that no com¬
mendation is needed.
The life of Booker T. Washington cannot be
written. Incidents of birth, parentage, schooling,
early struggles, later triumphs, may be detailed
with accuracy, but the life has been so incorpo¬
rated, transfused, into such a multitude of other
lives,—broadening views, exalting ideals, mold¬
ing character,—that no human being can know
its deep and beneficent influence, and no pen can
describe it. Few living Americans have made a
deeper impression on public opinion, softened or
removed so many prejudices, or awakened
greater hopefulness in relation to the solution
of a problem, encompassed with a thousand diffi¬
culties and perplexing the minds of philanthro¬
pists and statesmen. His personality is unique,
ADMIRAL EVANS PRESENTING BOOKER T. WASHINGTON TO
PRINCE HENRX AT THE WALDORF-ASTORIA.
CHAPTER I.
BIRTH AND EARLY CHILDHOOD.
Many requests have been made of me to write
something of the story of my life. Until re¬
cently I have never given much consideration to
these requests, for the reason that I have never
thought that I had done enough in the world to
warrant anything in the way of an autobiography;
and I hope that my life work, by reason of my
present age, lies more in the future than in the
past. My daughter, Portia, said to me, not
long ago: "Papa, do you know that you
have never told me much about your early
life, and your children want to know more about
you." Then it came upon me as never before
that I ought to put something about my life in
writing for the sake of my family, if for no other
reason.
I will not trouble those who read these lines
with any lengthy historical research concerning
my ancestry, for I know nothing of my ancestry
beyond my mother. My mother was a slave on
a plantation near Hale's Ford, in Franklin County,
I am indebted to and beg1 to thank Mr. E. Webber for valu¬
able assistance rendered in connection with the preparation
of this publication. Booker T. Washington.
13
UTTLE BOOKER, A FAVORITE WITH HIS MASTER, IS Air-
LOWED TO PEEP INTO THE PARLOR OF THE
"BIG HOUSE."
14 THE STORY OF MY LIFE AND WORK,
Virginia, and she was, as I now remember it, the
cook for her owners as well as for a large part of
the slaves on the plantation. ' The first time that
I got a knowledge of the fact that my mother and
I were slaves, was by being awakened by my
mother early one morning, while sleeping in a
bed of rags, on the clay floor of our little cabin.
She was kneeling over me, fervently praying as
was her custom to do, that some day she and
her children might be free. The name of my
mother was Jane. She, to me, will always re¬
main the noblest embodiment of womanhood with
which I have come in contact. She was wholly
ignorant, as far as books were concerned, and, I
presume, never had a book in her hands for two
minutes at a time. But the lessons in virtue and
thrift which she instilled into me during the
short period of my life that she lived will never
leave me. Some people blame the Negro for not
being more honest, as judged by the Anglo-
Saxon's standard of honesty; but I can recall
many times when, after all was dark and still, in
the late hours of the night, when her children had
been without sufficient food during the day, my
mother would awaken us, and we would find that
she had gotten from somewhere something in the
way bf eggs or chickens and cooked the food
during the night for us. These eggs and chickens
were gotten without my master's permission or
LITTLE BOOKER AND HIS MOTHER PRAYING TO BE DELIVERED
FROM SLAVERY.
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON.
15
knowledge. Perhaps, by some code of ethics,
this would be classed as stealing, but deep down
in my heart I can never decide that my mother,
under such circumstances, was guilty of theft.
Had she acted thus as a free woman she would
have been a thief, but not so, in my opinion, as a
slave. After our freedom no one was stricter
than my mother in teaching and observing the
highest rules of integrity.
Who my father was, or is, I have never been
able to learn with any degree of certainty.
I only know that he was a white man.
As nearly as I can get at the facts, I was born
in the year 1858 or 1859. Atthe time I came into
the world no careful registry of births of people of
my complexion was kept. My birthplace was near
Hale's Ford, in Franklin County, Virginia.
It was about as near to Nowhere as any locality
gets to be, so far as I can learn. Hale's Ford,
I think, was a town with one house and a post-
office, and my birth place was on a large planta¬
tion several miles distant from it.
I remember very distinctly the appearance of
the cabin in which I was born and lived until
freedom came. It was a small log cabin about
12x16 feet, and without windows. There was no
floor, except one of dirt. There was a large
opening in the center of the floor, where sweet
potatoes were kept for my master's family dur-
DISTINGUISHED AMERICANS WHO HAVE INTRODUCED MR,
WASHINGTON ON PUBLIC OCCASIONS.
CHAPTER II.
BOYHOOD IN WEST VIRGINIA.
We began life in West Virginia in a little
shanty, and lived in it for several years. My
step-father soon obtained work for my brother
John and myself in the salt furnaces and coal
mines, and we worked alternately in them until
about the year 1871. Soon after we reached
West Virginia a school teacher, Mr. William
Davis, came into the community, and the col¬
ored people induced him to open a school. My
step-father was not able to spare me from work,
so that I could attend this school, when it was
first opened, and this proved a sore disappoint¬
ment to me. I remember that soon after going
to Maiden, West Virginia, I saw a young colored
man among a large number of colored people,
reading a newspaper, and this fired my ambition to
learn to read as nothing had done before. I said
to myself, if I could ever reach the point where I
could read as this man was doing, the acme of
my ambition would be reached. Although I
could not attend the school, I remember that, in
some way, my mother secured a book for me,
and although she could not read herself, she
tried in every way possible to help me to do so.
Every barrel of salt that was packed in the
23
••THIS FIBED MY AMBITION TO LEARN TO READ AS NOTHING HAD
DONE BEFORE"
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON.
31
to where his old master lived in Virginia, and
placed the last dollar, with interest, in his hands.
In talking to me about this, the man told me that
he knew he did not have to pay the debt,
but he had given his word to his master, and
his word he had never broken. He felt that he
could not enjoy his freedom till he had fulfilled
his promise.
In all, I must have spent about four years in
the employ of Mrs. Ruffner, and I here repeat
what I have said more than once, that aside from
the training I got at the Hampton Institute under
General Armstrong, Mrs. Ruffner gave me the
most valuable part of my education. Her habit of
requiring everything about her to be clean, neat and
orderly, gave me an education in these respects
that has been most valuable to me in the work
that I have since tried to accomplish. At first I
thought that her idea of strict honesty and punctu¬
ality in everything meant unkindness, but I soon
learned to understand her and she to understand
me, and she has from the first time that I knew
her until this day proven one of the best friends I
ever possessed.
One day, while I was at work in the coal mine,
I heard some men talking about a school in Vir¬
ginia, where they said that black boys and girls
were permitted to enter, and where poor students
were given an opportunity of working for their
3
THE HOUSE IN VIRGINIA WHERE BOOKER T. WASHINGTON WAS BORN. (STILL STANDING.}
THE STORY OF MY LIFE AND WORK,
board, if they had not money with which to pay
for it. As soon as I heard of this institution, I
made up my mind to go there. After I had lived
with Mrs. Ruffner about four years I decided to
go to the Hampton Institute, in Virginia, the
school of which I had heard. I had no definite
idea about where the Hampton Institute was, or
how long the journey was. Some time before
starting for Hampton, I remember, I joined the
little Baptist church, in Maiden, of which I am
still a member.
Of my ancestry I know almost nothing. While
in slave quarters, and even later, I heard whis¬
pered conversations among the colored people of
the tortures which the slaves, including, no doubt,
my ancestors on my mother's side, suffered in the
middle passage of the slave ship while being con
veyed from Africa to America. I have beer-
unsuccessful in securing information that would
throw any accurate light upon the history of
my family beyond my mother. She, I remem¬
ber, had a half-brother and a half-sister. In the
days of slavery, not very much attention was
given to family history and family records—that
is, black family records. My mother, I suppose,
attracted the attention of a purchaser who was
afterward my owner and hers, Her addition to
the slave family attracted about as much atten¬
tion as the purchase of a new horse or cow. Of
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON AND HIS FAMILY.
CHAPTER III.
LIFE AT HAMPTON INSTITUTE.
After my mother and brother John had
secured me a few extra garments, with what I
could provide for myself, I started for Hampton
about the first of October, 1872. How long I
was xyn this journey I have at this time no very
definite idea. Part of the way I went by rail¬
road, part in a stage, and part on foot. I re¬
member that when I got as far as Richmond,
Virginia, I was completely out of money, and
knew not a single person in the city. Besides, I
had never been in a city before. I think it was
about nine o'clock at night that I reached Rich¬
mond. I was hungry, tired and dirty, and had
no where to go. I wandered about the streets
until about midnight, when I felt completely
exhausted.
By chance I came to a street that had a plank
sidewalk, and I crept under this sidewalk and
spent the night. The next morning I felt very
much rested,, but was still quite hungry, as it had
been some time since I had a good meal. When
I awoke, I noticed some ships not far from where
I had spent the night. I went to one of these
vessels and asked the captain to permit me to
35
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON REHEARSING HIS GRADUATING ORATION
AT HAMPTON. HIS FIRST SPEECH.
36 THE STORY OF MY LIFE AND WORK,
work for him, so that I could earn some money
to get some food. The captain very kindly gave
me work, which was that of helping to unload
pig iron from the vessel. In my rather weak
and hungry condition I found this hard work,
but I stuck to it, and was given enough money
to buy a little food. My work seemed to have
pleased the master of the vessel so much that he
furnished me with work for several days, but I
continued to sleep under the sidewalk each night,
for I was anxious to save enough money to pay
my passage to Hampton.
After working on this vessel for some days, I
started again for Hampton, and arrived there in
a day or two, with a surplus of fifty cents in my
pocket. I did not let any one know how forlorn
my condition was. I feared that if I did, I
would be rejected as one that was altogether too
unpromising. The first person I saw after
reaching the Hampton Institute was Miss Mary
F. Mackie, the Lady Principal. After she had
asked me many searching questions, with a
good deal of doubt and hesitation in her man¬
ner, I was assigned to a room. She remarked
at the same time that it would be decided later
whether I could be admitted as a student. I
shall not soon forget the impression that the
sight of a good, clean, comfortable room and bed
made upon me, for I had not slept in a bed since
CHAPTER IV.
HOW THE FIRST SIX YEARS AFTER GRADUATION
FROM HAMPTON WERE SPENT.
In the fall of 1875 I returned to Maiden and
was elected as the teacher in the school at Maiden,
the first school that I ever attended. I taught
this school for three years. The thing that
I recall most pleasantly in connection with my
teaching was the fact that I induced several of
my pupils to go to Hampton and that most of
them have become strong and useful men. One
of them, Dr. Samuel E. Courtney, is now a suc¬
cessful physician in Boston and has been a mem¬
ber of the Boston Board of Education. While
teaching I insisted that each pupil should come
to school clean, should have his or her hands and
face washed and hair combed, and should keep
the buttons on his or her clothing.
I not only taught school in the day, but for a
great portion of the time taught night school. In
addition to this I had two Sunday schools, one at
a place called Snow Hill, about two miles from
Maiden, in the morning, and another in Maiden in
the afternoon. The average attendance in my
day school, was, I think, between eighty and
43
44 THE STORY OF MY LIFE AND WORK,
ninety. As I had no assistant teacher it was
a very difficult task to keep all the pupils inter¬
ested and to see that they made progress in their
studies. I had few unpleasant experiences, how¬
ever, in connection with my teaching. Most of
the parents, notwithstanding the fact that they
and many of the children knew me as a boy,
seemed to have the greatest confidence in me
and respect for me, and did everything in their
power to make the work pleasant and agreeable.
One thing that gave me a great deal of satis¬
faction and pleasure in teaching this school was
the conducting of a debating society which met
weekly and was largely attended both by the
young and older people., It was in this debating
society and the societies of a similar character at
Hampton that I began to cultivate whatever tal¬
ent I may have for public-speaking. While in
Maiden, our debating society would very often
arrange for debates with other similar organiza¬
tions in Charleston and elsewhere.
Soon after I began teaching, I resolved to
induce my brother John to attend the Hampton
Institute. He had been good enough to work
for the family while I was being educated, and
besides had helped me in all the ways he could,
by working in the coal mines while I had been
away. Within a few months he started for Hamp¬
ton and by his own efforts and my aid he went
TEACHERS AT TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE.
50 THE STORY OF MY LIFE AND WORK,
An example of what I mean is shown in a story
told of George Washington, who, meeting a col¬
ored man in the road once, who politely lifted his
hat, lifted his own in return. Some of his white
friends who saw the incident, criticised Washing*
ton for his action. In reply to their criticism,
George Washington said: "Do you suppose that
I am going to permit a poor, ignorant colored man
to be more polite than I am?"
At the end of my second year at Hampton as
a teacher, in 1881, there came a call from the
little town of Tuskegee, Alabama, to Gen. Arm¬
strong for some one to organize and become the
Principal of a Normal School, which the people
wanted to start in that town. The letter to Gen.
Armstrong was written on behalf of the colored
people of the town of Tuskegee by Mr. Geo. W.
Campbell, one of the foremost white citizens of
Tuskegee. Mr. Campbell is still the president of
the Board of Trustees of the Tuskegee Normal
and Industrial Institute, and has from the first
been one of its warmest and most steadfast friends.
When Mr. Campbell wrote to Gen. Armstrong
he had in mind the securing of a white man to
take the principalship of the school. Gen. Arm¬
strong replied that he knew of no suitable white
man for the position, but that he could recom¬
mend a colored man. Mr. Campbell wrote in
reply that a competent colored man would be
CHAPTER V.
THE BEGINNING OF THE WORK AT TUSKEGEE.
Before starting for Tuskegee I found it almost
impossible to find the town on any map, and
had difficulty in learning its exact location. I
reached Tuskegee about the middle of June,
1881. I found it to be a town of some 2,000
inhabitants, about half of whom were Negroes,
and located in what is commonly called the
"Black Belt," that is, the section of the South
where the Negro race largely outnumbers the
white population. The county in which Tuske¬
gee is located is named Macon. Of Tuskegee
and Macon County I prefer to quote the words
of Maj. W. W. Screws, the editor of the "Mont¬
gomery (Alabama) Daily Advertiser," who vis¬
ited Tuskegee in 1898, seventeen years after the
Tuskegee Institute was founded. Maj. Screws
says:
"Just at this time there is probably no place in
the United States, of similar size, so well known
to the people of the country, as this lovely little
city. It has always possessed merits which
brought it conspicuously before Alabamians, for
in every locality in this and many Southern
53
MES. OLIVIA DAVIDSON WASHINGTON.
54 THE STORY OF MY LIFE AND WORK,
States are noble men and women who received
their educational training here,.
"Thomas S.Woodward was one of the earliest
white settlers in Macon County, and was one of
the commissioners appointed to lay off the site
for the court house. He built the first house in
the new town, which they called Tuskekee, a
corruption of the old Indian name, Tuskigi,
which is said by Di\ Gatschet to be a contrac¬
tion of Taskialgi (warriors). The old Indian
town stood in the fork of the Coosa and was
the home, part of the time, of the famous half-
breed statesman, Alexander McGillivray. The
name passed in its present form to the county
seat of the new county.
"Tuskegee was settled by men who were well
to do in a material point of view. They owned
rich lands on the creeks and streams and in the
prairie section of the county. This point is on a
high, dry ridge, and from time immemorial has
been noted for its healthfulness. Here came
those who wished to build homes for their fam¬
ilies, to have congenial company and to give
their children educational advantages. They did
not desire the projectors of the Montgomery and
West Point Railroad to put the town on its
route, because of the interruption it was feared
would be occasioned to the schools. From the
very beginning of its existence, education has
THE FACULTY, TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE.—125 OFFICERS AND TEACHERS.
CHAPTER VI.
THE FIRST YEAR AT TUSKEGEE.
After the school had been in session in the old
church and little shanty for several months, I
began to see the necessity of having a permanent
location for the institution, where we could have
the students not only in their class rooms, but get
hold of them in their home life, and teach them
how to take care of their bodies in the matter of
bathing, care of the teeth, and in general cleanli¬
ness. We also felt that we must not only teach
the students how to prepare their food, but how
to serve and eat it properly. So long as we had
the students only a few hours in the class room
during the day, we could give attention to none of
these important matters, which our students had
not had an opportunity of learning before leaving
their homes. Few of the students who came
during the first year were able to remain during
the nine months' session, for lack of money,
so we felt the necessity of having industries
where the students could pay a part of their
board in cash. It was rather noticeable that, not¬
withstanding the poverty of most of the students
who came to us in the earlier months of the in
riO THE STORY OF MY LIFE AND WORK,
stitution, most of them had the idea of getting an
education in order that they might find some
method of living without manual labor; that is,
they had the feeling that to work with the hands
was not conducive to the development of the
highest type of lady or gentleman. This feeling
we wanted to change as fast as possible, by teach¬
ing students the dignity, beauty and civilizing
power of intelligent labor.
After a few months had passed, I wrote
Gen. J. F. B. Marshall, at that time treasurer of
the Hampton Institute, and put our condition
before him, telling him that there was an
abandoned farm about a mile from the town of
Tuskegee in the market which I could secure at
a very cheap price for our institution. As I had
absolutely no money with which to make the first
payment on the farm, I summoned the courage to
ask Gen. Marshall to lend me $500 with which
to make the first payment. To my surprise a
letter came back in a few days enclosing a check
for $500. A contract was made for the purchase
of the farm, which at that time consisted of 100
acres. Subsequent purchases and gifts of
adjacent lands have increased the number of
acres at this place to 700, and this is the present
site of the Tuskegee Institute. This has again
been enlarged from time to time by purchases
and gifts of land not adjacent until at present
POULTRY RAISING, TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE.
CHAPTER VII.
THE STRUGGLES AND SUCCESS OF THE WORKERS
AT TUSKEGEE FROM 1882 TO 1884.
Soon after securing possession of the farm we
set about putting it into a condition so that a
crop of some kind might be secured from it
during the next year. At the close of school
hours each afternoon, I would call for volunteers
to take their axes and go into the woods to
assist in clearing up the grounds. The students
were most anxious to give their service in this
way, and very soon a large acreage was put into
condition for cultivation. We had no horse or
mule with which to begin the cultivation of the
farm. Mr. George W. Campbell, however, the
president of the Board of Trustees, very kindly
gave us a horse. This was the first animal that
the school ever possessed. On the farm there
was an old building that had formerly been used
as a stable, another that had been used as a
chicken coop, and still a third that had been used
as a kitchen during ante-bellum days. All of
these three buildings or shanties were duly
repaired and made to do service as class-rooms
and dormitories.
67
5b THE STORY OF MY LIFE AND WORK,
We had our first services in Porter Hall on
Thanksgiving Day, 1882. Rev. R. C. Bedford,
who was then pastor of the Congregational
Church in Montgomery, and who has since been
one of our trustees and warmest friends,
preached the Thanksgiving sermon. This was
the first Thanksgiving service, I think, that was
ever held in the town of Tuskegee, and a joyous
one it was to the people.
By the middle of the second year's work the
existence of the school had begun to be adver¬
tised pretty thoroughly through the state of
Alabama and even in some* of the adjoining
states. This brought to us an increasing num¬
ber of students, and the problem as to what to
do with them was becoming a serious one. We
put the girls who did not live in town on the
third floor of Porter Hall to sleep. The boys we
scattered around in whatever places we were able
to secure. In order to provide a dining room,
kitchen and laundry, to be used by the boarding
department, our young men volunteered to dig
out the basement under Porter Hall, which was
soon bricked up and made to answer its purpose
very well. Old students, however, who to-day
return to Tuskegee and see the large new dining
room, kitchen, and laundry run by steam, are
very much interested in noting the change and
contrast.
PRINCIPAL WASHINGTON IN HIS PRIVATE OFFICE, TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE HISTORY OF TUSKEGEE FROM 1884 TO 1894.
From 1884 to 1894 comparatively little was
heard of the school in the public press, yet
that was a period of constant and solid growth.
In 1884 the enrollment was 169. In 1894 the
enrollment had increased to 712, and 54 officers
and teachers were employed. Besides the
growth in the number of students and instruct¬
ors, there had also been quite an increase in
the number of buildings, and in every way the
students were made more comfortable in their
surroundings. By 1893 we had upon the school
grounds thirty buildings of various kinds and sizes,
practically all built by the labor of the students.
Between 1884 and 1894, I think, the hardest
work was done in securing money. Regularly,
during this period, we were compelled, on
account of lack of accommodations, to refuse
many students, but very often they would come
to us under such circumstances that, though
lacking in accommodations, we could not have
the heart to turn them away, especially after
they had traveled long distances, as was true in
many cases- Students seemed willing to put up
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON.
89
with almost any kind of accommodations if they
were given a chance to secure an education.
During this period either Miss Davidson or
myself, or sometimes both of us, spent a great
deal of time in the North getting funds with
which to meet our ever increasing demands.
This, of course, was the hardest and most trying
part of the work. Beginning early in the morn¬
ing, the day was spent in seeing individuals at
their homes or in their offices; and in the even¬
ing,and sometimes during the day, too, addresses
were delivered before churches, Sunday Schools,
or other organizations. On many occasions I
have spoken as many as five times at different
churches on the same Sabbath.
The large increase in the number of students
tempted us often to put up buildings for which
we had no money. In the early days of the
institution by far the larger proportion of the
buildings were begun on faith. I remember at
one time we began a building which cost in the
end about $8,000, and we had only $200 in cash
with which to pay for it; nevertheless the build¬
ing was completed after a hard struggle and is
now in constant use.
I remember at one time we were verj
much in need of money with which to meet
pressing obligations. I borrowed $400 from a
friend, with the understanding that the money
NEW RESIDENCE OF PRINCIPAL BOOKER T. WASHINGTON.
CHAPTER IX.
INVITED TO DELIVER A LECTURE AT FISK
UNIVERSITY.
In the spring of 1895 I was pleasantly sur¬
prised to receive an invitation from the Fisk Uni¬
versity'Lecture Bureau, in Nashville, Tennessee,
to deliver a lecture before that organization. Mr.
Edgar Webber was the president, and presided at
the meeting when I spoke. This was among the
first addresses which I had delivered in the South
that was fully reported by the Southern press. A
full description of the meeting was given by the
Nashville Daily American and the Nashville Ban¬
ner, and papers throughout many portions of the
South contained editorials based upon this address.
It was also my first opportunity to speak before
any large number of educated and representative
colored people, and I accepted the invitation very
reluctantly and went to Nashville with a good
deal of fear and trembling, but my effort seemed
to meet with the hearty approval of the greater
portion of the audience.
As the address delivered at Fisk University
on this occasion constitutes in a large measure the
basis for many of my other addresses and much
1X3
114 the story of my life ANd work,
of the work I have tried to do, I give in full what
the Nashville American said:
"An intelligent and appreciative audience
composed of prominent colored citizens, students
and quite a large number of white people, crowded
the beautiful and commodious Fisk memorial
chapel last night to hear Prof. Booker T. Wash¬
ington lecture on 'Industrial Education.' The
lecture was the first given under the auspices of
the Student's Lecture Bureau of Fisk University,
and was in every way a complete success. Mr.
Washington is a powerful and convincing speaker.
His simplicity and utter unselfishness, both in
speech and action, are impressive. He speaks to
the point. He does not waste words in painting
beautiful pictures, but deals mostly with plain
facts. Nevertheless, he is witty and caused his
audience last night to laugh and applaud repeated¬
ly the jokes and striking points of his address.
"Booker T. Washington is doing a great
work for his race and the South. He has the
right views.
"Prof. Washington was introduced by Edgar
Webber, President of the Lecture Bureau, and
among other things he said:
4I am exceedingly anxious that every young
man and woman should keep a hopeful and cheer¬
ful spirit as to the future. Despite all of our dis¬
advantages and hardships, ever since our fore-
CHAPTER X.
THE SPEECH AT THE OPENING OF THE COTTON
STATES' EXPOSITION, AND INCIDENTS
CONNECTED THEREWITH.
So much has been said and written concerning
the address which I delivered at the opening of
the Atlanta Exposition in September, 1895, that it
may not be out of place for me to explain in some
detail how and why I received the invitation to
deliver this address.
In the spring of 1895 I received a telegram at
Tuskegee from prominent citizens in Atlanta,ask¬
ing me to accompany a committee composed of
Atlanta people,—all white, I think, except Bishop
Gaines and Bishop Grant,—to Washington to ap¬
pear before the Committee on Appropriations for
the purpose of inducing Congress to make an ap¬
propriation to help forward the Exposition which
the citizens of Atlanta were at that time planning
to hold. I accepted this invitation and went to
Washington with the committee. A number of
the white people in the delegation spoke, among
them the Mayor and other officials of Atlanta,
and then Bishop Gaines and Bishop Grant were
called upon. My name was last, I think, on
the list of speakers. I had never before appeared
125
A GROUP OF MR. WASHINGTON'S WARM FRIENDS AND
SUPPORTERS,
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON.
137
aMr. President and Gentlemen of the Board of
Directors and Citizens :
"One third of the population of the South is
of the Negro race. No enterprise seeking the
material, civil, or moral welfare of this section
can disregard this element of our population and
reach the highest success. I but convey to you,
Mr. President and Directors, the sentiment of
the masses of my race when I say that in no
way have the value and manhood of the Ameri¬
can Negro been more fittingly and generously
recognized than by the managers of this magnifi¬
cent Exposition at every stage of its progress.
It is a recognition that will do more to cement
the friendship of the two races than any occur¬
rence since the dawn of our freedom.
"Not only this, but the opportunity here
afforded will awaken among us a new era of
industrial progress. Ignorant and inexperienced,
it is not strange that in the first years of our new
life we began at the top instead of at the
bottom; that a seat in Congress or the State
Legislature was more sought than real estate or
industrial skill; that the political convention or
stump speaking had more attractions than start¬
ing a dairy farm or truck garden.
'A ship lost at sea for many days suddenly
sighted a friendly vessel. From the mast of the
CHAPTER XL
AN APPEAL FOR JUSTICE.
While the Atlanta Exposition was ii\ progress,
the State Constitutional Convention of South
Carolina was in session, having been convened
for the specific purpose of passing a law that
would result in disfranchising the greater pro¬
portion of the Negro voters. While this Con¬
vention was in session, I addressed an open letter-
to Senator Benj. Tillman of South Carolina^
which read as follows:
"I am no politician. I never made a political
speech, and do not know as I ever shall make
one, so it is not on a political subject that I
address you. I was bora a slave; you a free
man. I am but an humble member of an
unfortunate race; you are a member of the
greatest legislative body on earth, and of the
great intelligent Caucasian race. The differ¬
ence between us is great, yet I do not believe
you will scorn the appeal I make to you in
behalf of the 650,000 of my race in your State,
who are to-day suppliants at your feet, and
whose destiny and progress for the next century
you hold largely in your hands. I have been
told that you are brave and generous, and one
11 159
BEADING OF THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION. THE SMALL LAD WITH SLOUCH HAT, AND STICK IN RIGHT
HAND, IS BOOKER—Text Page 19.
!60 THE STORY OF MY LIFE AND WORK,
too great to harm the weak and dependent;
that you represent the chivalry of the South,
which has claimed no higher praise than that
of being the protectors of the defenseless. I
address you because I believe that you and
those associated with you in convention, have
been misunderstood in the following dispatch to
a number of papers:
" 1 An appalling fact that may not be obvious
at a first glance, is that the course proposed
means the end of Negro education and Negro
progress in South Carolina. This is openly
admitted by Senator Tillman and his friends.'
" It has been said that the truest test of the
civilization of a race is the desire of the race
to assist the unfortunate. Judged by this stand¬
ard, the Southern States as a whole have reason
to feel proud of what they have done in helping
in the education of the Negro.
" I cannot believe that on the eve of the twen¬
tieth century, when there is more enlightenment,
more generosity, more progress, more self-
sacrifice, more love for humanity than ever
existed in any other stage of the world's history,
when our memories are pregnant with the scenes
that took place at Chattanooga and Missionary
Ridge but a few days ago, where brave men
who wore the blue and gray clasped forgiving
hands and pledged that henceforth the interests
CHAPTER XII.
HONORED BY HARVARD UNIVERSITY.
One of the most helpful things accomplished
during the year 1896 was an exhibit of the
industrial products of the Tuskegee Institute made
in New York City, Boston and Philadelphia, in
connection with a similar exhibit from the
Hampton Institute. The Armstrong Associa¬
tion in New York City was instrumental in
bringing about this exhibit. A large number of
people who had no idea of the extent of our
industrial work had an opportunity at these
exhibits to see for themselves just what was
being done by Hampton and Tuskegee. Our
industrial exhibit included wagons, carriages and
wearing apparel of all kinds, manufactured by
the students. The exhibit, however, was not
confined to industrial products; a thorough ex¬
hibit of academic work was also made.
Some people have an idea that because indus¬
trial education is emphasized at Tuskegee and
Hampton, very little attention is • given to
academic training. This is an error. A close
examination will prove that both at Hampton and
Tuskegee the academic training is very thorough
and far-reaching; in fact, if we had only called
PRESIDENT ELIOT CONFERRING HONORARY DEGREE UPON MR,
WASHINGTON, AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY, JUNE 24th, 1896.
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON. 177
Several times I have been asked what was the
most surprising incident in my life. I have no
hesitation in saying that it was the following let¬
ter from Harvard University, asking me to be
present at the commencement at Harvard in
June, 1896, for the purpose of having an honorary
degree conferred upon me.
"Harvard University.
"Cambridge, May 28, 1896.
"My Dear Sir: Harvard University desires to confer on
you at the approaching commencement an honorary degree; but
it is our custom to confer degrees only on gentlemen who are
present. Our commencement occurs this year on June 24th,
and your presence would be desirable from about noon till about
five o'clock in the afternoon. Would it be possible for you to be
in Cambridge on that day?
"Believe me, with great regard,
"Very truly yours,
"Charles W. Eliot.
"President Booker T. Washington."
Up to the time of receiving this letter I had
not the faintest idea that any college, much less
the oldest and highest educational institution in
the country, was about to or would ever confer
upon me any honorary degree. It took me, of
course, greatly by surprise.
Commencement day at Harvard, June 24,
1896, was a memorable one, certainly one that I
shall never forget. At the appointed hour I met
President Eliot and the overseers of the College
at the designated place on the grounds, for the
CHAPTER XIII.
URGED FOR A CABINET POSITION.
Soon after the election of Major McKinley
to the office of President in 1896, the Washington
Post, to the surprise of nearly everybody, came
out with a strong editorial urging the President-
Elect to give me a place in his cabinet. The
name of the late Hon. B. K. Bruce was also sug¬
gested in the same connection. This editorial
created quite a journalistic discussion which ex¬
tended to all parts of the country. I give a few
extracts from newspapers that may indicate the
character of this discussion.
The Washington Post, which, I think, was the
first paper to discuss the propriety of my selection
as a cabinet officer, opened the discussion with
the following article:
" There is one problem which Mr. McKinley, if
he be a just and grateful man—as we think he is
—will have to consider, and consider very seri¬
ously. We have in mind the problem of what the
Republican party proposes to do by way of rec¬
ognizing its obligations to the colored voter.
That party has owed much to the loyal and un¬
selfish devotion of the race in times gone by, but
193
AN AGEICULTUEAL AND BEE CULTURAL EXHIBIT, TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE.
The story of my life and wor£,
never so much as in the campaign which it has
conducted to a triumphant conclusion. What,
now, will Mr. McKinley do to testify his grati¬
tude?
"At every stage of his personal fight Mr. Mc¬
Kinley has been indebted to the Negro. It was
the Negro contingent at St. Louis that made his
nomination certain. It was the Negro's firm stand
for gold that forced the sound money issue upon
the convention. It was the Negro's vote in such
States as Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky,
Ohio, Delaware and Indiana that made his victory
possible. We all know now that McKinley would
have had next to no chance at all had not the St.
Louis convention declared emphatically and un¬
equivocally for the gold standard- As between a
simple declaration for tariff revision on the one
hand and for free silver coinage without tariff dis¬
turbances on the other, the great Eastern and
Middle States would have had but a languid
choice. It was the solid sound money front pre¬
sented by the colored delegates that compelled the
adoption of the gold clause in the platform, and
furnished Mr. McKinley with the issue upon which
he rallied to his banner the merchants, the manu*
facturers, and the moneyed corporations through¬
out the land. Mr. McKinley could not have been
elected but by the course pursued by the Negroes
before, during, and after the assembling of the SL
HUNTINGTON HALL, A GIRLS' DORMITORY, TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE SHAW MONUMENT SPEECH, THE VISIT OF
SECRETARY JAMES WILSON, AND THE LETTER
TO THE LOUISIANA CONVENTION.
In the spring of 1897 I received a letter from
Hon. Edward Atkinson, of Boston, inviting me
to deliver an address at the dedication of the
Robert Gouid Shaw monument in Boston. I
take it for granted that my readers already
know all about the history and achievements of
Robert Gould Shaw. The monument dedicated
to his memory stands on the historic Boston
Common, facing Beacon Street, and is said to be
the most perfect piece of art of the kind in this
country.
The meeting in connection with the dedicatory
exercises was held in Music Hall, Boston, which
was packed from bottom to top with perhaps
one of the most distinguished audiences that has
ever assembled in Boston. In fact, there was a
large number of the old anti-slavery element
present than will perhaps ever assemble again in
this country. Hon. Roger Wolcott, Governor
of Massachusetts, was the presiding officer. On
the platform were the Mayor of Boston, the
Lieutenant Governor, members of the Governor's
201
ME. WASHINGTON MAKING A SPEECH AT THE CHICAGO PEACE JUBILEE, OCT. 16, 1898, IN THE
AUDITORIUM.—See page 224.
CHAPTER XV.
CUBAN EDUCATION AND THE CHICAGO PEACE JUB¬
ILEE ADDRESS.
Immediately after the close of the Spanish-
American war the Tuskegee Institute started a
movement to bring a number of Cuban and Porto
Rican students to Tuskegee, for the purpose of
receiving training. The idea was pretty generally
endorsed, and within a reasonably short time
enough funds were donated by individuals
throughout the country to provide for the educa¬
tion of ten students from Cuba and Porto Rico.
These students are now at Tuskegee taking the
regular courses of training and are making a
creditable record. It is the plan to have them
return to their island homes and give their people
the benefit of their education.
Perhaps no single agency has been more potent
during the last ten years in assisting the Negro to
better his condition than the John F. Slater Fund,
to which I have already referred. The trustees
of this fund are among the most successful and
generous business men in the country, and they
are using the fund very largely as a means of
pointing the proper direction of the education of
222
Gov. Johnston, Pres. McKinley. Principal Washington,
In Reviewing Stand.
WAITING FOR THE PROCESSION TO PASS AT THE TIME OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY'S VISIT TO TUSKEGEE.
DECEMBER 16, 1898.
CHAPTER XVI.
THE VISIT OF PRESIDENT WM. McKINLEY TO TUS-
KEGEE.
Soon after starting the Tuskegee Institute I
earnestly desired to have the President of the
United States visit it. The chance of securing
such a visit seemed to be so unattainable that
I dared not mention it to my nearest friend; still,
I resolved that such a visit should be made. The
more I thought of it, the more I became con¬
vinced that there was but one way to secure the
attention and the interest of the President of the
United States, and that was by making the
institution so useful to the country that the atten¬
tion of the President would necessarily be
attracted to it. From the first day that the
school was opened, I tried to impress upon teach¬
ers and students the fact that by reason of our
former condition of servitude, and prejudice
against our color, we must try to perform every
duty entrusted to us, not only as well, but better
than any one else, so as to receive proper con¬
sideration. To-day this is the spirit which per¬
vades the entire school. We strive to have our
students understand that no possible prejudice
can explain away the influence of a Negro living
CHAPTER XVII.
THE TUSKEGEE NEGRO CONFERENCE.
Tuesday, February 23, 1892, was a day mem¬
orable in the lives and fortunes of the great bulk
of the Negro population in the "Black Belt" of the
South. This day saw the beginning of a strange
and altogether new movement in which the Negro
was called upon to participate.
From the time I first began working at Tuske-
gee J began to study closely not only the young
people,but the condition, the weak points and the
strong points, of the older people. I was very
often surprised to see how much common sense
and wisdom these older people possessed, notwith¬
standing they were wholly ignorant as far as the
letter of the book was concerned.
About the first of January, 1892,1 sent out invi¬
tations to about seventy-five of the common, hard¬
working farmers, as well as to mechanics, min¬
isters and teachers, asking them to assemble at
Tuskegee on the 23d of February and spend the
day in talking over their present condition, their
helps and their hindrances, and to see if it were pos¬
sible to suggest any means by which the rank and
file of the people might be able to benefit themselves.
255
17
THREE BLOODED STALLIONS, TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE.
240 THE STORY OF MY LIFE AND WORK,
in a nicely painted house, with well-kept flower
yards, gardens, farm, poultry and live stock and
who is at the same time a large tax-payer in his
county.
After nearly eighteen years of work and
struggle, I was more than ever determined to
secure a visit from the highest official of my
country, not only that he and the members of his
cabinet might see what ex-slaves had accom¬
plished in the way of building an institution of
learning, but also for the sake of the encourage¬
ment that such a recognition from the Nation's
Chief Executive would give the whole Negro
race in America.
In October, 1898, I saw it mentioned in several
newspapers that President McKinley was likely
to visit the Atlanta Peace Jubilee, in December.
I went at once to Washington, and was not there
a great while before I found my way to the
White House. There was quite a crowd of peo¬
ple in the various reception rooms, many of whom
had been waiting some time for an audience with
the President. The size of the crowd somewhat
discouraged me, and I concluded that my chances
of seeing the President were very slim. I at
once sought the Secretary to the President, Mr.
J. Addison Porter, and very frankly told him my
errand. Mr. Porter kindly sent my card in to
the President, and in a few minutes Mr.
A FRONT VIEW OF AGRICULTURAL BUILDING, TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE.
CHAPTER XVIII.
A VACATION IN EUROPE.
In the spring of 1899 a rather notable meeting
was held in Boston, in the afternoon, at the Hollis
Street Theatre. This meeting was gotten up in
the interest of the Tuskegee Institute, by friends
of the institution, in Boston for the purpose of
raising money for the school. It was presided
over by Bishop Lawrence, Bishop of Massachu¬
setts. I invited to speak with me at this meeting
Dr. W. E. B. DuBois and Mr. Paul Laurence
Dunbar. Dr. DuBois read an original story,and
Mr. Dunbar recited from his own poems. The
theatre was filled with representatives of the most
cultured and wealthy men and women in Boston,
and was said to be the most successful meeting of
the kind that had been held for a good while. An
admission was charged at the door, and a gener¬
ous sum was raised for the school. This was the
first time that Mr. Dunbar had appeared in Bos¬
ton,and his readings produced a most favorable
effect. The same was true of Dr. DuBois.
During this same year I received an invitation
which surprised me somewhat. It was an invita¬
tion from the secretary of the Birmingham, Ala¬
bama, Lyceum, a white literary organization,
18 271
•
THE CHAPEL
DOROTHY HALL—GIELS' INDUSTRIAL BUILDING, TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE.
CHAPTER XIX.
the west virginia and other receptions
after european trip.
Early in August we sailed for America from
Southampton, and had a very pleasant voyage on
the magnificent ocean steamer "St. Louis" On
the voyage I was called upon to speak again to
the passengers, and made many friends for our
cause.
While in Europe I received the following invi¬
tation:
"Charleston, W. Va., May 16, 1899.
"Prof. B. T. Washington,
"Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama.
"Dear Sir:—Many of the best citizens of
West Virginia have united in liberal expressions
of admiration and praise of your worth and work,
and desire that on your return from Europe, you
should favor them with your presence and with
the inspiration of your words. We most sin¬
cerely endorse this move, and on behalf of the
citizens of Charleston extend to you our most
cordial invitation to have you come to us, that
292
BECEPTION GIVEN BOOKER T. WASHINGTON, AFTER HIS RETURN FROM EUROPE, BY GOVERNOR G. W. ATKINSON,
AT THE EXECUTIVE MANSION CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA.
CHAPTER XX.
NATIONAL NEGRO BUSINESS LEAGUE
ORIGIN AND WORK.
After advising carefully with some of the most
successful colored men throughout the country,
it was deemed by us that there ought to be in
the United States some organization that would
bring together annually the most substantial and
successful colored men and women who are
engaged in business and industrial enterprises, for
the purpose of consultation and receiving inspira¬
tion and encouragement from each other, as well
as for the purpose of arranging for the organiza¬
tion of local business leagues that would co-op¬
erate with the national organization. Accord¬
ingly, the first meeting was called to meet in Bos¬
ton, in August, 1900. The meeting was in session
three days. The following is a copy of the call
sent out for the meeting:
"After careful consideration and consultation
with prominent colored people throughout the
country, it has been decided to organize what will
be known as the National Negro Business League.
"The need of an organization that will bring
the colored people who are engaged in business
together for consultation, and to secure informa-
309
SYRUP MAKING, TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE.
CHAPTER XXI.
THE MOVEMENT FOR A PERMANENT ENDOWMENT
Having, through nearly twenty years of inces¬
sant toil, succeeded in securing for Tuskegee the
annual expenses for running the school and the
money with which to purchase its present
plant and equipment, valued at about $300,000,
it has been for several years clearly seen by
the trustees and myself that the thing needed to
secure Tuskegee in the future was a permanent
endowment fund. Not only is an endowment
fund necessary as an assurance that the work of
Tuskegee shall go on in the future, but it is nec¬
essary in order to relieve the Principal of the hard
work of remaining in the North the greater por¬
tion of his time begging and speaking in order to
raise the amount annually necessary to carry on
the work. An endowment fund, the interest from
which would be sufficient to meet, partially, the
current expenses of the institution, would enable
the Principal to devote his time to the executive
work of the school, and this would obviously lead
to greater perfection in the work there, both in the
academic and industrial branches. Improved
methods and facilities would redound to the ben*
335
22
stup^nts stacking hay, tuskegee institute.
CHAPTER XXII.
A DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK OF THE TUSKEGEE
INSTITUTE.
The reader has doubtless noted that much
space has been occupied in this volume in detail¬
ing the history of the Tuskegee Institute, and to
the casual reader this may have appeared out of
place in an autobiography. When it is borne in
mind, however, that the whole of my time,
thought and energy, for the past eighteen years,
have been devoted to the building up of this
Institute, it will be conceded that in any auto¬
biography of mine, a history of the Tuskegee
Institute is unavoidable and necessary. When
the history of Tuskegee Institute, since its found¬
ing until now, shall be completely written, you
will have also a history of my life for the same
space of time. It shall be my purpose in this
chapter, therefore, to give some definite idea of
the extent to which the Institute has grown, and
also to describe with some degree of accuracy
the work that is being accomplished there in its
various departments, agricultural, mechanical,
domestic science, nurse training, musical, Bible
training, and academic.
As has been said many times before, the
349
GIRLS' OUT OF DOOR WORK—BEE KEEPING, TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE.
362 THE STORY OF MY LIFE AND WORK,
days ago, I now submit in writing an appeal for a
library building for our institution.
We have 1,100 students, 86 officers and instructors,
together with their families, and about 200 colored
people living near the school, all of whom would make
use of the library building.
We have over 12,000 books, periodicals, etc., gifts
from our friends, but we have no suitable place for
them, and we have no suitable reading-room.
Our graduates go to work in every section of the
South, and whatever knowledge might be obtained
in the library would serve to assist in the elevation of
the Negro race.
Such a building as we need could be erected for
about $20,000. All of the work for the building, such
as brickmaking, brick masonry, carpentry, blacksmith-
ing, etc., would be done by the students. The money
which you would give would not only supply the build¬
ing, but the erection of the building would give a laige
number of students an opportunity to learn the build¬
ing trades, and the students would use the money
paid to them to keep themselves in school. I do not be¬
lieve that a similar amount of money often could be
made to go so far in uplifting a whole race.
If you wish further information, I shall be glad to
furnish it. Yours truly,
Booker T. Washington, Principal.
The next mail brought the following reply: "I
will be very glad to pay the bills for the library
building as they are incurred, to the extent of
twenty thousand dollars, and I am glad of the
opportunity to show the interest I have in your
noble work."
QNianna AHvnan aioaNavo
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON.
363
As illustrating the value of the work which we
are doing at Tuskegee, I am glad to add that
I was agreeably surprised during the summer of
1900 to receive a letter from the German Consul
at Washington, asking me to meet him for a con¬
ference. In the conference it developed that his
government had heard of the value of the agri¬
cultural work being done at Tuskegee, and that
he was commissioned by the Committee of Agri¬
culture of the German Government to secure
four persons from Tuskegee to go to Africa
to introduce cotton raising into the German
colony of Togo. After considering the matter
in all its details, Messrs. John W. Robinson,
Allen L. Burks, Shepard L. Harris as graduates
of the institution were selected, and with them
Mr. J. N. Calloway, who for a number of years,
had been in charge of one of the school farms,
went to serve as superintendent and execu¬
tive manager of the enterprise. This experiment
is being watched with the greatest interest
throughout this country. Germany has an
African dominion amounting to 925,000 square
miles, which is a third larger than the total area
of the American cotton producing states. It has
been found that this territory is fertile, fairly
well watered, and not too hot for cotton. Togo,
in which the experiment is being tried, is north
of the Gulf of Guinea and four hundred miles
John W. Robinson Allen J/. Burksy
Shepard L■ Harris Jas. N. Callowa
The party that went to Africa in the employ of the German Government to
teach cotton raising in the German Colony of Togo.
CHAPTER XXIII.
LOOKING BACKWARD.
My work at Tuskegee has always been of a
three fold nature. First, the executive work of
the institution proper; second, the securing of
money with which to carry on the institution;
and, third, the education through the public press
and through public addresses of the white people
North and South as to the condition and needs
of the race. On the grounds, in addition to the
ordinary task involved in educating and disciplining
over a thousand students, is added the responsibil¬
ity of training them in parental directions, involv¬
ing systematic regulations for bathing, eating,
sleeping, the use of the tooth brush and care of
health. In performing these duties, especially in
collecting money in the early years, I have often
met with many discouragements, but I .early
resolved to let nothing cause me to despair com¬
pletely.
The first time I went North to secure money
for the Tuskegee Institute, I remember that on
my way I called to see one of the secretaries of
an organization which for years had been deeply
interested in the education of our people in the
369
STUDENTS GATHEKING SWEET POTATOES,' TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE.
3P0 THE STORY OF MY LIFE AND WORK,
ing expenses, that since the institution at Tuske-
gee was started I have collected myself, or been
instrumental in causing others to help me secure,
all told, fully $1,000,000 for the permanent plant,
endowment and the annual expenses of Tuskegee.
Were I to attempt to give an account of all the
ways and means by which individuals have tried
to discourage me since I began at Tuskegee, this
little book would contain little else than that. I
have always found it easy to find people who
could tell me how a thing could not be accom¬
plished, but very hard to find those who could
tell me how a thing could be accomplished. In
my opinion the world is much more interested in
finding people who know how to accomplish
something than those who merely explain why it
is impossible to accomplish certain results.
I have been asked many times how I have
succeeded in this thing or in that thing. In almost
every case I have replied that it has required
constant, hard, conscientious work. I consider
that there is no permanent success possible with¬
out hard and severe effort, coupled with the
highest and most praiseworthy aims. Luck, as I
have experienced it, is only another name for
hard work. Almost any individual can succeed
in any legitimate enterprise that he sets his heart
upon, if he is willing to pay the price, but the
price, in most cases, is being willing to toil when
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON.
*433
others are resting, being willing to work while
others are sleeping, being willing to put forth the
severest effort when there is no one to see or
applaud. It is comparatively easy to find people
who are willing to work when the world is look¬
ing on and ready to give applause, but very hard
to find those who are willing to work in the
corner or at midnight, when there is no watchful
eye or anyone to give applause.
I end this volume as I began, with an apology
for writing it. It is always highly distasteful to
me to speak about myself, and in writing what I
have, I have attempted in a small degree, at least,
to subordinate my own personal feelings with a
view to giving the public as much information as
possible. I hope that some permanent good will
result from my effort.
♦Forty-three pages are here added to the folios to include full page
halftones not before numbered.
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY
THESTORYOF MY LIFE AND WORK
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON
Principal of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute.
Original Illustrations by FRANK BEARD.
THE STORY OF BOOKER T. WASHINGTON'S LIFE, as told by hmself, reads like a romance. The reader is carried back to
his birth—His early childhood in West Virginia—Life at Hampton Institute—His graduation—Then finally the beginning of the work
at Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in 1881, and a complete history of the institution up to the present.
ALL OF THE AUTHOR'S BEST SPEECHES are given in this volume, including his famous speech at the Atlanta Exposition
in 1895. The subject of lynching and remedy for same is clearly set forth. Mr. Washington talks more good sense on the future of
the American negro than any other writer on record. His speeches and teachings on these vital subjects will turn the whole course
of thought as to the negro problem and mark a new epoch in industrial and intellectual progress among the colored people of the
South.
The complete volume contains over 400 pages (size of book 5 !4x8 inches), and is appropriately illustrated with more than 40
full-page original drawings and halftones. No one who wants to be enlightened on the negro problem and the history of the
greatest colored orator and educator of today can afford to be without this book.
STYLES AND PRICES OF BINDING:
Hall Russia, Marbled Edges, very durable 1.50
Million Edition—Vellum De Luxe, Cloth, stamped in Gold on Backbone $1.00
AnDppMplJT • We, the subscribers on the following pages, to the above named book, hereby agree to take the number of copies
nUIILLITIUIl I ■ set opposite our respective names, and promptly pay the specified price on delivery of the same, if equal to
sample shown. Delay in delivery shall not invalidate this agreement.
'"THIS shows the style and color of leather
used on the back and corners of the half
Morocco binding.
The half Morocco is marble edge and very
handsome and durable.
PRICE, $1.50