As
a young slave in Virginia, Booker T. Washington developed
a burning desire to learn to read after escorting
his young mistress to school and peering at the children
through the window. After gaining their freedom, Washington’s
family moved to Malden, West Virginia, where he spent
his formative years and later returned to teach, following
his education at Hampton Institute. In June of 1881,
Washington became the first principal of Tuskeegee
Institute in Alabama and arrived to find no buildings,
no teachers, and no students. In ten short years,
he built Tuskeegee Institute into the premier black
industrial educational establishment in the nation.
Booker T. Washington became a nationally known speaker
and served as an advisor to President Theodore Roosevelt.
