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AAASM.ORG
IMPROVING THE LIVES OF BLACK PEOPLE THROUGH
AWARENESS, KNOWLEDGE AND EDUCATION
IMPROVING THE LIVES OF BLACK PEOPLE THROUGH
AWARENESS, KNOWLEDGE AND EDUCATION
| AAASM Black History Research Project |
| Booker Taliafero Washington April 5, 1856 - November 14, 1915 |
Occupation: Lecturer, Civil Rights/Human Rights Activist, Educational
Administrator, Professor, Organization Executive/Founder, Author/Poet
Booker T. Washington was born a slave in Hale's Ford, Virginia, reportedly on
April 5, 1856. After emancipation, his family was so poverty stricken that he
worked in salt furnaces and coal mines beginning at age nine. Always an
intelligent and curious child, he yearned for an education and was frustrated
when he could not receive good schooling locally. When he was 16 his
parents allowed him to quit work to go to school. They had no money to help
him, so he walked 200 miles to attend the Hampton Institute in Virginia and
paid his tuition and board there by working as the janitor.
Dedicating himself to the idea that education would raise his people to equality
in this country, Washington became a teacher. He first taught in his home
town, then at the Hampton Institute, and then in 1881, he founded the
Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama. As head of
the Institute, he traveled the country unceasingly to raise funds from blacks
and whites both; soon he became a well-known speaker.
Administrator, Professor, Organization Executive/Founder, Author/Poet
Booker T. Washington was born a slave in Hale's Ford, Virginia, reportedly on
April 5, 1856. After emancipation, his family was so poverty stricken that he
worked in salt furnaces and coal mines beginning at age nine. Always an
intelligent and curious child, he yearned for an education and was frustrated
when he could not receive good schooling locally. When he was 16 his
parents allowed him to quit work to go to school. They had no money to help
him, so he walked 200 miles to attend the Hampton Institute in Virginia and
paid his tuition and board there by working as the janitor.
Dedicating himself to the idea that education would raise his people to equality
in this country, Washington became a teacher. He first taught in his home
town, then at the Hampton Institute, and then in 1881, he founded the
Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama. As head of
the Institute, he traveled the country unceasingly to raise funds from blacks
and whites both; soon he became a well-known speaker.
In 1895, Washington was asked to speak at the opening of the Cotton States Exposition, an unprecedented honor for
an African American. His Atlanta Compromise speech explained his major thesis, that blacks could secure their
constitutional rights through their own economic and moral advancement rather than through legal and political
changes. Although his conciliatory stand angered some blacks who feared it would encourage the foes of equal rights,
whites approved of his views. Thus his major achievement was to win over diverse elements among southern whites,
without whose support the programs he envisioned and brought into being would have been impossible.
In addition to Tuskegee Institute, which still educates many today, Washington instituted a variety of programs for rural
extension work, and helped to establish the National Negro Business League. Shortly after the election of President
William McKinley in 1896, a movement was set in motion that Washington be named to a cabinet post, but he withdrew
his name from consideration, preferring to work outside the political arena. He died on November 14, 1915.
an African American. His Atlanta Compromise speech explained his major thesis, that blacks could secure their
constitutional rights through their own economic and moral advancement rather than through legal and political
changes. Although his conciliatory stand angered some blacks who feared it would encourage the foes of equal rights,
whites approved of his views. Thus his major achievement was to win over diverse elements among southern whites,
without whose support the programs he envisioned and brought into being would have been impossible.
In addition to Tuskegee Institute, which still educates many today, Washington instituted a variety of programs for rural
extension work, and helped to establish the National Negro Business League. Shortly after the election of President
William McKinley in 1896, a movement was set in motion that Washington be named to a cabinet post, but he withdrew
his name from consideration, preferring to work outside the political arena. He died on November 14, 1915.
| Hear a recording of Booker T. Washington's most famous words. April 5 marks the 150th anniversary of his birth. PLAY NOW |
History of Tuskegee University
Welcome to Tuskegee University- "the pride of the swift, growing south." Founded in a one room shanty, near Butler Chapel AME
Zion Church, thirty adults represented the first class - Dr. Booker T. Washington the first teacher. The founding date was July 4,
1881, authorized by House Bill 165.
We should give credit to George Campbell, a former slave owner, and Lewis Adams, a former slave, tinsmith and community
leader, for their roles in the founding of the University. Adams had not had a day of formal education but could read and write. In
addition to being a tinsmith, he was also a shoemaker and harness-maker. And he could well have been experienced in other
trades. W. F. Foster was a candidate for re-election to the Alabama Senate and approached Lewis Adams about the support of
African-Americans in Macon County.
What would Adams want, Foster asked, in exchange for his (Adams) securing the black vote for him (Foster). Adams could well
have asked for money, secured the support of blacks voters and life would have gone on as usual. But he didn’t. Instead, Adams
told Foster he wanted an educational institution - a school - for his people. Col. Foster carried out his promise and with the
assistance of his colleague in the House of Representatives, Arthur L. Brooks, legislation was passed for the establishment of a
"Negro Normal School in Tuskegee."
A $2,000 appropriation, for teachers’ salaries, was authorized by the legislation. Lewis Adams, Thomas Dryer, and M. B.
Swanson formed the board of commissioners to get the school organized. There was no land, no buildings, no teachers only
State legislation authorizing the school. George W. Campbell subsequently replaced Dryer as a commissioner. And it was
Campbell, through his nephew, who sent word to Hampton Institute in Virginia looking for a teacher.
Booker T. Washington got the nod and he made the Lewis Adams dream happen. He was principal of the school from July 4,
1881, until his death in 1915. He was not 60 years old when he died. Initial space and building for the school was provided by
Butler Chapel AME Zion Church not far from this present site. Not long after the founding, however, the campus was moved to "a
100 acre abandoned plantation" which became the nucleus of the present site.
Tuskegee rose to national prominence under the leadership of its founder, Dr. Washington, who headed the institution from
1881 until his death at age 59 in 1915. During his tenure, institutional independence was gained in 1892, again through
legislation, when Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute was granted authority to act independent of the state of Alabama.
Dr. Washington, a highly skilled organizer and fund-raiser, was counsel to American Presidents, a strong advocate of Negro
business, and instrumental in the development of educational institutions throughout the South. He maintained a lifelong
devotion to his institution and to his home - the South. Dr. Washington is buried on the campus of Tuskegee University near the
University Chapel.
Robert R. Moton was president of Tuskegee from 1915 to 1935. Under his leadership, the Tuskegee Veteran’s Administration
Hospital was created on land donated by the Institute. The Tuskegee V.A. Hospital , opened in 1923, was the first and only staffed
by Black professionals. Dr. Moton was succeeded in 1935 by Dr. Frederick D. Patterson. Dr. Patterson oversaw the
establishment of the School of Veterinary Medicine at Tuskegee . Today, nearly 75 percent of Black veterinarians in America are
Tuskegee graduates.
Dr. Patterson also brought the Tuskegee Airmen flight training program to the Institute. The all-Black squadrons of Tuskegee
Airmen were highly decorated World War II combat veterans and forerunners of the modern day Civil Rights Movement. Dr.
Patterson is also credited with founding the United Negro College Fund, which to date has raised more than $1 billion for student
aid. Dr. Luther H. Foster became president of Tuskegee Institute in 1953.
Dr. Foster led Tuskegee through the transformational years of the Civil Rights Movement. Student action, symbolized by student
martyr and SNCC member Sammy Younge, as well as legal action represented by Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960), attests to
Tuskegee ’s involvement in The Movement.
Current President, Dr. Benjamin F. Payton, began his tenure in 1981. Under his leadership, the Tuskegee University National
Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care and the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site were launched. The General
Daniel " Chappie " James Center for Aerospace Science and Health Education was constructed - the largest athletic arena in the
SIAC. The Kellogg Conference Center , one of 12 worldwide, was completed as a renovation and expansion of historic Dorothy
Hall.
Tuskegee attained University status in 1985 and has since begun offering its first doctoral programs in integrative biosciences
and materials science and engineering. The College of Business and Information Sciences was established and professionally
accredited, and the College of Engineering, Architecture and Physical Sciences was expanded to include the only Aerospace
Engineering department at an HBCU.
At the time of Washington’s death, there were 1,500 students, a $2 million endowment, 40 trades, (we would call them majors
today), 100 fully-equipped buildings, and about 200 faculty. From 30 adult students in a one room shanty, we have today grown to
more than 3,000 students on a campus (the main campus, farm and forest land) that includes some 5,000 acres and more than
70 buildings.
Dedicated in 1922, the Booker T. Washington Monument, called "Lifting the Veil," stands at the center of campus. The inscription
at its base reads, "He lifted the veil of ignorance from his people and pointed the way to progress through education and
industry." For Tuskegee , the process of unveiling is continuous and lifelong.
Welcome to Tuskegee University- "the pride of the swift, growing south." Founded in a one room shanty, near Butler Chapel AME
Zion Church, thirty adults represented the first class - Dr. Booker T. Washington the first teacher. The founding date was July 4,
1881, authorized by House Bill 165.
We should give credit to George Campbell, a former slave owner, and Lewis Adams, a former slave, tinsmith and community
leader, for their roles in the founding of the University. Adams had not had a day of formal education but could read and write. In
addition to being a tinsmith, he was also a shoemaker and harness-maker. And he could well have been experienced in other
trades. W. F. Foster was a candidate for re-election to the Alabama Senate and approached Lewis Adams about the support of
African-Americans in Macon County.
What would Adams want, Foster asked, in exchange for his (Adams) securing the black vote for him (Foster). Adams could well
have asked for money, secured the support of blacks voters and life would have gone on as usual. But he didn’t. Instead, Adams
told Foster he wanted an educational institution - a school - for his people. Col. Foster carried out his promise and with the
assistance of his colleague in the House of Representatives, Arthur L. Brooks, legislation was passed for the establishment of a
"Negro Normal School in Tuskegee."
A $2,000 appropriation, for teachers’ salaries, was authorized by the legislation. Lewis Adams, Thomas Dryer, and M. B.
Swanson formed the board of commissioners to get the school organized. There was no land, no buildings, no teachers only
State legislation authorizing the school. George W. Campbell subsequently replaced Dryer as a commissioner. And it was
Campbell, through his nephew, who sent word to Hampton Institute in Virginia looking for a teacher.
Booker T. Washington got the nod and he made the Lewis Adams dream happen. He was principal of the school from July 4,
1881, until his death in 1915. He was not 60 years old when he died. Initial space and building for the school was provided by
Butler Chapel AME Zion Church not far from this present site. Not long after the founding, however, the campus was moved to "a
100 acre abandoned plantation" which became the nucleus of the present site.
Tuskegee rose to national prominence under the leadership of its founder, Dr. Washington, who headed the institution from
1881 until his death at age 59 in 1915. During his tenure, institutional independence was gained in 1892, again through
legislation, when Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute was granted authority to act independent of the state of Alabama.
Dr. Washington, a highly skilled organizer and fund-raiser, was counsel to American Presidents, a strong advocate of Negro
business, and instrumental in the development of educational institutions throughout the South. He maintained a lifelong
devotion to his institution and to his home - the South. Dr. Washington is buried on the campus of Tuskegee University near the
University Chapel.
Robert R. Moton was president of Tuskegee from 1915 to 1935. Under his leadership, the Tuskegee Veteran’s Administration
Hospital was created on land donated by the Institute. The Tuskegee V.A. Hospital , opened in 1923, was the first and only staffed
by Black professionals. Dr. Moton was succeeded in 1935 by Dr. Frederick D. Patterson. Dr. Patterson oversaw the
establishment of the School of Veterinary Medicine at Tuskegee . Today, nearly 75 percent of Black veterinarians in America are
Tuskegee graduates.
Dr. Patterson also brought the Tuskegee Airmen flight training program to the Institute. The all-Black squadrons of Tuskegee
Airmen were highly decorated World War II combat veterans and forerunners of the modern day Civil Rights Movement. Dr.
Patterson is also credited with founding the United Negro College Fund, which to date has raised more than $1 billion for student
aid. Dr. Luther H. Foster became president of Tuskegee Institute in 1953.
Dr. Foster led Tuskegee through the transformational years of the Civil Rights Movement. Student action, symbolized by student
martyr and SNCC member Sammy Younge, as well as legal action represented by Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960), attests to
Tuskegee ’s involvement in The Movement.
Current President, Dr. Benjamin F. Payton, began his tenure in 1981. Under his leadership, the Tuskegee University National
Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care and the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site were launched. The General
Daniel " Chappie " James Center for Aerospace Science and Health Education was constructed - the largest athletic arena in the
SIAC. The Kellogg Conference Center , one of 12 worldwide, was completed as a renovation and expansion of historic Dorothy
Hall.
Tuskegee attained University status in 1985 and has since begun offering its first doctoral programs in integrative biosciences
and materials science and engineering. The College of Business and Information Sciences was established and professionally
accredited, and the College of Engineering, Architecture and Physical Sciences was expanded to include the only Aerospace
Engineering department at an HBCU.
At the time of Washington’s death, there were 1,500 students, a $2 million endowment, 40 trades, (we would call them majors
today), 100 fully-equipped buildings, and about 200 faculty. From 30 adult students in a one room shanty, we have today grown to
more than 3,000 students on a campus (the main campus, farm and forest land) that includes some 5,000 acres and more than
70 buildings.
Dedicated in 1922, the Booker T. Washington Monument, called "Lifting the Veil," stands at the center of campus. The inscription
at its base reads, "He lifted the veil of ignorance from his people and pointed the way to progress through education and
industry." For Tuskegee , the process of unveiling is continuous and lifelong.