Booker T. Washington rose from slavery to become a celebrated leader of the African American community. He founded the Tuskegee Institute in 1881 and became nationally renowned as an orator, writer, and political advisor.
Washington believed in the dignity of physical labor and that merit and talent are rewarded regardless of race. The Tuskegee Institute was a technical college that taught industrial skills alongside academic training. Students built campus buildings, grew food, and made furniture and tools used by the school.
Up from Slavery was first serialized in The Outlook magazine before being published in book form in 1901. This edition includes an introduction by Walter H. Page, a future ambassador to the United Kingdom.