Booker T. Washington

Booker T. Washington

Booker T. Washington was an African American in the 1800s who worked at salt furnaces and coal mines and kept studying in school. He attended Hampton Institute where he kept working being a sanitation worker to pay for his tuition. The Hampton Institute founder was impressived that Booker T. Washington was advised to start his own institute that became the Tuskegee Institute. Booker T. Washington taught about the importance of self-improvement and learning. Booker T. Washington would found a vocational technical school that promoted learning so that individuals could improve themselves. His vocational school became the best vocational school. 

Booker T. Washington was criticized by W.E.B. Dubois for instructing African Americans in a technical trade in a time when there was racism. Dubois stated that Washington was not helping because he was instructing students to obtain technical training instead of a university education. (However, Booker T. Washington was making progress despite the racism that existed. Dubois instead of being positive decided to criticize Washington for making progress.)

Washington did not get discouraged and kept instructing students at his school. We learn that a technical trade is better than no learning and can lead to more education. We learn that through racism, individuals wanted to prevent others from improving by preventing them from getting jobs and gaining an education. This was to prevent competition. (Abraham Lincoln was going to unite the Union and help heal the nation after the Civil War when he was probably removed in order to prevent harmony and peace. Instead racist laws were placed in effect in Jim Crowe. MLK helped remove Jim Crowe laws in 1963 that allowed individuals to go to school, college, and not be discriminated against based on ethnicity and race.)

Washington allowed African American students to learn a technical trade that would improve their circumstances. This describes the importance of improving each and every day no matter how small the improvement. Washington cared about his students and attempted to get great instructors including George Washington Carver who was able to teach improved farming methods and was also an inventor. Booker T. Washington told Washington Carver that while he could not offer fame and wealth, he could offer the opportunity to help their fellow bretheren improve upon their circumstances. Washington Carver told Booker T. Washington that he would work with Booker T. Washington's school. (We can persevere seeing that despite opposition we can keep improving being self-didactic. The idolatrous system does not want individuals improving themselves through learning. If an individual is over 20 years of age, it does not want individuals to keep learning because then individuals improve.)