Up From Slavery Throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the author of Up From Slavery, Booker Taliaferro Washington, became known as one of the most influential and prominent African American leaders. Booker T. Washington was born around 1858 on a slave plantation in Franklin County, Virginia. Living with his mother and siblings, Washington endured a life of slavery until after the Civil War. Washington sought for a deeper education, one with which he would be able to make a life for himself by helping his fellow race. He fought to change how people fought racial inequality, especially through his work in the South. Booker T. Washington achieved great progress for African Americans by introducing a new way to gain racial …show more content…
Washington had with his Tuskegee Institute, he also became a very honorable public speaker. The beginning of his public speaking career began when he delivered an address for a meeting of the Educational Association. In this speech, he explained that the future for African Americans rested upon if “he should make himself, through his skill, intelligence, and character, of such undeniable value to the community could not dispense with his presence” (p. 202). His message, the idea that African Americans should prove their spot in society rather than demanding it was spread through his words. His speeches caught more attention, leading to his invitation to speak at the Atlanta Exposition. During his Atlanta Exposition Address, he explained Congress should do something to unite both races if they want to abolish the Southern race issue. As a result of the speech, Congress decided to pass the bill, giving more recognition to the hard work of African Americans. Washington was also given a degree of Master of Arts from Harvard, being “the first time that a New England university had conferred an honorary degree upon a Negro” (p. 300). Washington explained that one of his goals was to make a school that did so much service to the country that the President would recognize it. This became a reality, when President McKinley and almost all of his Cabinet officers visited Tuskegee. The President delivered a speech regarding the accomplishments of Washington, praising him for the changes he made throughout the