No matter how modestly this man tries to tell his story, the facts of his life shine with the luster of greatness. Booker T. Washington spent his early childhood as a slave on a plantation in the south. After the Emancipation Proclamation was read from the porch steps of the “Big House,” Booker’s ambitions to gain an education and make something of himself propelled him through every obstacle to his goal. Booker T. Washington was a tireless promoter of education for his race and of Tuskegee, the school for blacks which he founded in Alabama. He spent his entire adult life in these two causes and made great strides in elevating the sights and prospects of his people.

I had never really considered what it must have taken to raise the mindset of an enslaved people once they had freedom. While the human soul craves liberty, it does not automatically know how to use that liberty to the highest ends. Booker T. Washington’s approach to education of ex-slaves was comprehensive. He wanted to teach them everything about how to live civilized, useful lives of service and industry. Along with book learning, he taught them use a toothbrush, to sleep between the sheets of a bed, to bathe daily, to keep their clothing clean and mended, to love labor and avoid indolence, to learn marketable life-skills such as carpentry and brick-making, to acquire property, to vote sensibly, to worship and pray to God, and to live moral lives.

I found my admiration for Booker T. Washington growing with the turn of every page. He was practical, thrifty, energetic, articulate, earnest, hard-working, selfless, diplomatic, always hopeful and optimistic. He was also a sought-after public speaker with an ability to sway many to his cause and bring an audience into complete accord with him. I wish I could have heard him speak in person, but I’m grateful that I had a chance to hear his voice through this well-told story of his own inspiring life.