In 1856, Washington was born into a family of slaves in Virginia. From there it seemed that his fate had been sealed–to live out his life as a worker in Virginia. But, this was not the case for Washington, whose impoverished childhood and undying desire for education fueled him into a dedicated obsession with the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute until he found himself enrolled at the … school itself.
As an educated man, Booker T. Washington rose to power with his views on civil rights. Washington’s belief in education as well as trade skills for African Americans brought followers, and opposition, from all around. In Up from Slavery, all of Washington’s trials and tribulations are laid out on the page, with nothing left unsaid.
Booker T. Washington wrote Up from Slavery over the course of many years in post-Civil War America. It not only contains articles originally published in Outlook magazine, but autobiographical anecdotes as well, which were written throughout Washington’s travels in the south.
Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Arcade, Good Books, Sports Publishing, and Yucca imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. Our list includes biographies on well-known historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, Nelson Mandela, and Alexander Graham Bell, as well as villains from history, such as Heinrich Himmler, John Wayne Gacy, and O. J. Simpson. We have also published survivor stories of World War II, memoirs about overcoming adversity, first-hand tales of adventure, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.more
While reading this book, beyond my own reactions to what I read, I couldn’t help but wonder how other people would react to this narrative by Booker T Washington. It’s a life story that seems deemed to stir controversy especially in a racially and politically charged climate. A brief browse of reviews revealed that such an assessment wasn’t all that far away from what I thought. That said, I still think it’s a book well worth reading if only to invite people to have a proper conversation, an art form that’s been seemingly lost.
This is the autobiography of a former slave that later became one of the leading voices of the Black community in the country. In his life, he lived through the American Civil War, the Spanish American War, and not only survived, but thrived due to determination and hard work and yes, aid from people of both sides of the race line so prevalent in US history.
His language is plain, almost dry, and he begins the autobiography apologizing for this aspect of his narrative and oratorial style. It reminded me a bit of Noam Chomsky who often is flabbergasted that people are so interested in what he has to say because he doesn’t particularly think he has something fascinating to say. Of worth? Yes. Fascinating? Not so much. Mr. Washington seems to come from a similar place. He doesn’t sugar coat things and to me the core of his message is that there is a lot of work to be done, and any progress should not distract from the mission. Some people scoff at him being so thankful to white people, yet what I see in the pages is someone trying to be appreciative and gracious to anyone that helps the Tuskegee Institute. Someone who recognizes the class divide yet sticks to his beliefs that equality is something to be sought and nurtured.
Throughout the book, he speaks of his struggles in fields, in mines, in gaining an education, in building himself up and seeing what he went through and the practical way in which he describes it, I see a LOT of worth. He was never blind to racial bias and probably endured a lot from both white and black corners of the country, but he insisted on focusing on what he had to do. I won’t be surprised to see people be disgusted by his rhetoric as I won’t be surprised to see people inspired by it. I’m sure he faced much of the same polarization, yet in the end, he seemed like someone focused on trying to do his absolute best to help others and to serve as a bridge to a better tomorrow, which is an idealistic way to see his narrative, but at least the one I found myself experiencing as I read. Is that a reflection of ignorance, wishful thinking, yearning for more equality, or focusing on the positive aspects of a narrative? Perhaps…and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.