The Booker T. Washington Reader (an African American Heritage Book) - Washington, Booker T.

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Résumé :
Here in one omnibus edition are Booker T. Washington's most important books. Washington was constantly, and often bitterly, criticized by his contemporaries for being too conciliatory to whites and not concerned enough about civil rights. It would not be until after his death that the world would find out that he had indeed worked a great deal for civil rights anonymously behind the scenes. Up from Slavery is one of the most influential biographies ever written. On one level it is the life story of Booker T. Washington and his rise from slavery to accomplished educator and activist. On another level it the story of how an entire race strove to better itself. Washington makes it clear just how far race relations in America have come, and to some extent, just how much further they have to go. Written with wit and clarity. In My Larger Education, Booker T. Washington explains how he came by his positions on race relations, by describing the people who influenced him during the founding of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute of Alabama. In Character Building are thirty seven addresses that Booker T. Washington gave before students, faculty, and guests at the Tuskegee Institute. These addresses take the form of timeless advice on a number of subjects. Very motivational and uplifting. Here are six historic essays on the state of race relations during the Reconstruction and early twentieth century, written from the African American point of view. Included are Industrial Education for the Negro by Booker T. Washington, The Talented Tenth by W.E. Burghardt DuBois, The Disfranchisement of the Negro by Charles W. Chesnutt, The Negro and the Law by Wilford H. Smith, The Characteristics of the Negro People by H.T. Kealing, and Representative American Negroes by Paul Laurence Dunbar.

Biographie:
Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) was born into slavery in Virginia and became an educator, author, and founder of the Tuskegee Institute. Solomon Northup (c. 1807-after 1857) was a free Black musician and farmer from New York who was kidnapped in 1841 and sold into slavery, where he remained for twelve years before recovering his freedom....

Sommaire:
The essential writings of Booker T. Washington reveal the remarkable life, educational philosophy, practical wisdom, and complex civil-rights strategy of one of the most influential Black leaders of his era. This substantial omnibus brings together Up from Slavery, My Larger Education, Character Building, and six historic essays examining race, education, law, political rights, and social advancement during the aftermath of Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow. In Up from Slavery, Washington recounts his journey from enslavement in Virginia to education at Hampton Institute and the founding of Tuskegee Institute. Both a personal autobiography and an account of collective advancement, the book describes his belief in education, skilled work, economic independence, self-discipline, and institution building as foundations for progress. My Larger Education continues Washington's story through the people, experiences, political realities, and practical lessons that shaped his leadership. He explains how he built Tuskegee, cultivated supporters, navigated racial hostility, and developed positions that made him both enormously influential and intensely controversial. Character Building collects thirty-seven addresses delivered to students, faculty, and visitors at Tuskegee Institute. These direct and encouraging talks offer timeless guidance on responsibility, perseverance, usefulness, honesty, leadership, work, and the development of personal character. The volume also includes six essays from the landmark 1903 collection The Negro Problem: Industrial Education for the Negro by Booker T. Washington, The Talented Tenth by W. E. B. Du Bois, The Disfranchisement of the Negro by Charles W. Chesnutt, The Negro and the Law by Wilford H. Smith, The Characteristics of the Negro People by H. T. Kealing, and Representative American Negroes by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Together, they preserve a wide-ranging debate among prominent Black thinkers over education, leadership, political participation, discrimination, and the future of African American life. Washington was frequently criticized by contemporaries who believed his public approach was too accommodating toward white supremacy and insufficiently forceful on civil rights. Yet later research revealed that, behind the scenes, he helped finance legal challenges and other campaigns against racial discrimination, disfranchisement, and lynching. Bringing together autobiography, educational philosophy, motivational guidance, and historic debate, The Booker T. Washington Reader offers a broad portrait of Washington's achievements, contradictions, influence, and enduring place in African American history....