Jan McCutcheon
English 48B
Journal on Washington



Author Quote: “In my contact with people, I find as a rule, it is only the little, narrow people who live for themselves, who never read good books, who do not travel, who never open up their souls in a way to permit them to come into contact with other souls--with the great outside world. No man whose vision is bounded by colour can come into contact with what is highest and best in the world” (684).

Internet Quote: “He lifted the veil of ignorance from his people and pointed the way to progress through education and industry.” --the inscription on the Booker T. Washington Monument at the center of campus at Tuskegee University (wikipedia).


Summary: In “Up From Slavery” Washington describes his life growing up in the last days of slavery in the United States. He describes his unstoppable desire to get an education, and his eventual triumph to found the Tuskegee University, become friends with President Grover Cleveland and be invited to speak to a large audience of white Southerners at the Exposition. Washington has probably done more to advance the rights of African Americans than any other in history but from today’s perspective is often judged as being too sympathetic to whites. He chose a non-violent, non-confrontational approach to achieving civil rights, which helped whites to accept what he had to say. His approach was to to reject bitterness, blame and hatred. He was tireless in his pursuit of education and a chance at a better life for ex-slaves. He said he felt sorry for all people affected by the institution of slavery and worked for the improvement for all people regardless of color. He believed that “few things, if any, are capable of making one so blind and narrow as race prejudice” (684).



Response: I was surprised at Washington’s sympathy towards his white masters and his pity of the whites who did not know how to do things for themselves because they relied on blacks for cooking, housekeeping, childcare, farming etc. I never thought about how their dependence on their slaves could be seen as a handicap. He describes how a white boy might not have to struggle to get things, but that the black child would appreciate it more, due to the struggle. He also claimed that blacks maybe be better off in the United States, in spite of the horrible circumstances that brought them here, than they had been if they stayed in Africa. He was perhaps being political in pointing out these things in his speeches to assuage the guilt of the whites and help alleviate the bitterness of the blacks.

Washington had clear goals in mind from a very young age. First, to get an education, then to help others to have a vocation so they could take care of themselves. He worked tirelessly to achieve these goals without letting negative emotions get in his way. While Washington can be criticized for not pushing for higher education or equal rights for African Americans, I think he received more cooperation from whites because he was not pushing for an equal or better life for blacks and was not a threat to them. I think he achieved more with the whites as allies instead of as adversaries. He took a longer view of the progress needed and chose a less antagonistic approach to achieving his goals.