Up from Slavery

Booker T Washington

Up from Slavery is the 1901 autobiography of the American educator Booker T. Washington (1856–1915). The book describes his experience of working to rise up from being enslaved as a child during the Civil War, the obstacles he overcame to get an education at the new Hampton Institute, and his work establishing vocational schools like the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama to help Black people and other persecuted people of color learn useful, marketable skills and work to pull themselves, as a race, up by the bootstraps. He reflects on the generosity of teachers and philanthropists who helped educate Black and Native Americans. He describes his efforts to instill manners, breeding, health and dignity into students. His educational philosophy stresses combining academic subjects with learning a trade (reminiscent of John Ruskin). Washington explained that the integration of practical subjects is partly designed to "reassure the White community of the usefulness of educating Black people".

Table of contents

• Preface
• Introduction
• I. A Slave Among Slaves
• II. Boyhood Days
• III. The Struggle For An Education
• IV. Helping Others
• V. The Reconstruction Period
• VI. Black Race And Red Race
• VII. Early Days At Tuskegee
• VIII. Teaching School In A Stable And A Hen-House
• IX. Anxious Days And Sleepless Nights
• X. A Harder Task Than Making Bricks Without Straw
• XI. Making Their Beds Before They Could Lie On Them
• XII. Raising Money
• XIII. Two Thousand Miles For A Five-Minute Speech
• XIV. The Atlanta Exposition Address
• XV. The Secret Of Success In Public Speaking
• XVI. Europe
• XVII. Last Words