Summary Of Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery

Booker T. Washington has long been recognized as a pioneer and a leader in the fields of civil rights, African-American literature, education, and politics. Long remembered for his speeches, his book Up from Slavery, and his bootstrap concept. Booker T. Washington contributed to the cause of civil rights and social equality in manner formats and discourses. Booker T. Washington’s life story also helps explain and translate the African-American experience in America, at both a specific historical moment, and in the context of American history in general. Washington’s text Up from Slavery is an autobiographical account of his life, and acts as a literary and historical argument in favor of equality and civil rights. Up from Slavery, much like Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography is also meant to act as a textual example for readers to model their own behavior on, as a path to a better life in America. A close reading of Booker T. Washington’s Up from Slavery will demonstrate the text’s

The first example mentioned in the chapter is the Hampton Agricultural Institute in Virginia, one of the first institutions of higher education opened up for African Americans. Washington symbolizes both how important education is for the African American community and how important creating an African American community is for education in the discussion of his setting out for the Hampton Institute. Washington describes how older people in his town would contribute a penny or a nickel to his school fund, and how interested and proud the community was that he might gain an education (Washington 41). Washington’s example can be read as an argument for communal funding for education but can also be read as an example of how important a support system is for