Up From Slavery

Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington, Skyhorse Publishing, 2015. 

Self-Improvement

If anyone ever pulled himself up with his own bootstraps, it was Booker T. Washington. He was born a slave on a farm in Virginia in 18556, into a very poor family. He educated himself, then educated others. He founded and ran the famous Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Tuskegee Alabama in 1881.  He taught students to become teachers. His educational emphasis was on technical education, trade school, vocational, such as farming, carpentry, masonry, crafts, not abstract academics. He also emphasized the importance of good personal hygiene and table manners. He spent much of his time touring the United States, giving speeches, and raising money for his school. He believed that black America should accumulate economic power before seeking political power. He was very non-threatening to White Americans and received much support from them.