Booker T. Washington: Up From Slavery [Paperback]

Booker T. Washington (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2010

Nineteenth-century African American businessman, activist, and educator Booker Taliaferro Washington's Up from Slavery is one of the greatest American autobiographies ever written. Its mantras of black economic empowerment, land ownership, and self-help inspired generations of black leaders, including Marcus Garvey, Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, and Louis Farrakhan. In rags-to-riches fashion, Washington recounts his ascendance from early life as a mulatto slave in Virginia to a 34-year term as president of the influential, agriculturally based Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. From that position, Washington reigned as the most important leader of his people, with slogans like "cast down your buckets," which emphasized vocational merit rather than the academic and political excellence championed by his contemporary rival W.E.B. Du Bois. Though many considered him too accommodating to segregationists, Washington, as he said in his historic "Atlanta Compromise" speech of 1895, believed that "political agitation alone would not save [the Negro]," and that "property, industry, skill, intelligence, and character" would prove necessary to black Americans' success. The potency of his philosophies are alive today in the nationalist and conservative camps that compose the complex quilt of black American society.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Booker Taliaferro Washington (1856?1915) was an American political leader, educator, orator and author. He was the dominant figure in the African American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915. Representing the last generation of black leaders born in slavery, and speaking for those blacks who had remained in the New South in an exploitative, racist modus vivendi with the white Southerners, Washington was able throughout the final 25 years of his life to maintain his standing as the major black leader because of the sponsorship by powerful whites, substantial support within the black community, his ability to raise educational funds from both groups and his accommodation to the social realities of the age of segregation. Washington was born into slavery to a white father and a slave mother in a rural area in southwestern Virginia. After emancipation, he worked in West Virginia in a variety of manual labor jobs before making his way to Hampton Roads seeking an education. He worked his way through Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (now Hampton University) and attended college at Wayland Seminary. After returning to Hampton as a teacher, in 1881 he was named as the first leader of the new Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Washington received national prominence for his Atlanta Address of 1895, attracting the attention of politicians and the public as a popular spokesperson for African American citizens. Washington built a nationwide network of supporters in many black communities, with black ministers, educators and businessmen composing his core supporters. Washington played a dominant role in black politics, winning wide support in the black community and among more liberal whites (especially rich Northern whites). He gained access to top national leaders in politics, philanthropy and education. Washington's efforts included cooperating with white people and enlisting the support of wealthy philanthropists, which helped raise funds to establish and operate thousands of small community schools and institutions of higher education for the betterment of blacks throughout the South, work which continued for many years after his death.

Product Details

• Paperback: 182 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (June 30, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1453679022
• ISBN-13: 978-1453679029
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #349,959 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #71 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Special Groups > African-American Studies

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Booker T. Washington, January 20, 2010

By 

Gayle - See all my reviews

This review is from: Booker T. Washington : Up from Slavery : An Autobiography (Sons of Liberty Series) (Paperback)

This book is an excellent addition to the Sons of Liberty series for homeschooling students. Great for doing a book report.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and uplifting, October 29, 2011

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Booker T. Washington: Up From Slavery (Paperback)

In 1901, Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) published this autobiography. Born into slavery, after emancipation, Mr. Washington developed a philosophy that African-Americans needed to sweep away the ignorance that their subservient position had left them with, and earn the respect of the whites through hard work and excellence. In 1881 he founded the Tuskegee Institute to teach African-Americans how to study, how to work hard and intelligently (producing better results than the white businesses of the day), and how to have respect for themselves and others. This is Mr. Washington's story of his youth and his success at Tukegee.

This is a fascinating and uplifting book. Though cognizant of the racism that often surrounded him, Mr. Washington never lost his faith in the basic goodness of the people of all colors that he met. The only problem I had with this excellent book was the knowledge I could not shake, that Mr. Washington's faith was not rewarded, and the white community of the day would not give the African-American community respect and fair treatment.

That said, though, this is a great and wonderful book, which should rightly be considered an American classic. If you want to read a book that is a window on the America of the late nineteenth century, or if you want an uplifting book about a man of faith and love, then I highly recommend that you get this book!