By: Felicia Santos

And Janee`

He was born on April 5th 1856 as a slave in Franklin country.

His father was an unknown white man. And his mother was also a slave

At the age of nine he was employed at a salt packer and a year later he became a coal miner.

At age 16 the owner of the mine encouraged him to continue is education he entered Hampton agricultural institute.

Samuel Armstrong the principal of the institution he attended believed it was important that freed slaves should receive a practical education.

Washington impressed Armstrong and he arranged for a wealthy white man to pay for his tuition and later Armstrong became his mentor

Washington agreed with Armstrong's belief that African Americans should have a practical education

He was employed by Armstrong to teach a program for native Americans.

Then he worked at a colored school that was opened July 4th 1888 the school was originally owned by the local church.

The schools funding was only $2000 a year witch was only enough to pay the staff.

Washington borrowed money from the treasurer of Hampton Agricultural Institute to build his school on the outskirts of Tuskegee.

At the school they taught academic subjects but focused on practical education (farming, carpentry, brick making, shoemaking, and cabinetmaking)

Students helped build a new school and worked long hours

They were against the schooling of African Americans but he convinced southern whites to donate large sums to the school.

In 1895 Washington he gave a speech at the opening of the cotton states and international exposition in Atlanta. This speech made him become a national figure.

In 1900 Washington helped established the National Negro Business League.

He became the president of NNBL.

He was secretly one of the principles stock holders for the New York Age.

He married a woman named Fannie Smith and had a daughter named Portia. The next year Fannie died never having seen her daughter grow up. Or see Washington's school succeed.

Washington later married Olivia Davidson, the assistant principal of the school they where married four years and had two sons before she died

He married his last and final wife four years later her name was Maggie Murray a teacher at the Tuskegee institute

He died on November 14th 1915 He died of a heart disease know as

arteriosclerosis. The doctor warned him he didn’t have long to

live so he want back to Tuskegee and died there. Over 8000 people attended his funeral at

Tuskegee Institute Chapel.

Booker T. Washington wasn’t just an ordinary man he pushed for what he believed in and was able to succeed in helping many African Americans get a better education. He inspired many to never give up no matter how impossible there dreams may be. He may have had enemies but he never let them bring him down. Thanks to him the future of education was better.

“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else”

“character is power”“Excellence is to do a common thing in an

uncommon way” “Success is to be measured not so much by

the position that one has reached in life… as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed”

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAbooker.htm

http://gardenofpraise.com/ibdbookr.htm