The Story of My Life and Work

by Booker T. Washington

Last year, of the 1,164 students who attended the Institute, except a part of those in the Bible Training School, all were taking studies in this department, either in the night or day school, they being about equally divided between the night and the day school.

The night school course is so arranged that a student is enabled to do just half the amount of work in night school as in day school. A student in night school will therefore cover a year’s work, as laid out for day school students, in two years.

Last year there were 77 graduates from all of the departments.

I cannot close this chapter without making some special reference to the chapel at Tuskegee, which is regarded as the architectural gem of the Tuskegee group. It was planned by Mr. R. R. Taylor, who was then our teacher in architecture and mechanical drawing. The work of construction, even to the making of the bricks, was done wholly by students. The cost of erection of the building was valued at $30,000.00.

The following is a description of the building, a cut of which is also given in this volume: The plan of the chapel is that of a Greek cross, the main axis extending from northeast to southwest. The extreme dimensions from northeast to southwest, extending through nave and choir, is 154 feet 6 inches. The dimensions from northwest to southeast, through transepts, is 106 feet. The roof is of the hammer beam construction. The clear span of the main trusses is 63 feet, which is the width of the nave and transept. The angle trusses have a clear span of 87 feet, projections from the walls under trusses slightly decreasing the span. The gallery on back is 30 feet wide, extending over girls’ cloak room and 12 feet into main auditorium.

In the rear are choir room, study for minister, and two small vestibules, one on either side of chapel, giving entrance to choir room, study and main auditorium. A large basement is provided and in this the steam heating plant is located. At the northeast end of the auditorium is the pulpit platform, which is large enough to seat the entire faculty of eighty-eight members. This platform is 2 feet 6 inches above the main floor. Immediately behind this and elevated 3 feet above it, is the choir stand, with seating capacity for 150 persons. The chapel is sufficiently supplied with windows to give abundant light and ventilation, a very pretty effect being secured by the use of delicately tinted colored glass.

The woodwork is all of yellow pine and hard oil finish, except the floor which is of oak. The seating capacity of the auditorium is 2,400. One million two hundred thousand bricks were used in the construction, all made and laid by students. All the mouldings, casings and caps used were made by students. The floor is bowled. The height of the walls from top of floor is 24 feet 6 inches; from floor line to highest point of ceiling, 48 feet 6 inches. The height of tower from line of ground to top of cross which terminates it, is 105 feet. The electric lighting is from three main chandeliers, with thirty lights each, ten of two lights each, twelve of one light each, and from a reflecting disc of forty lights over the choir stand.

Gradually, by patience and hard work, we have brought order out of chaos, just as will be true of any problem if we stick to it with patience and wisdom and earnest effort.

As I look back now over our struggle, I am glad that we had it. I am glad that we endured all those discomforts and inconveniences. I am glad that our students had to dig out the place for their kitchen and dining-room. I am glad that our first boarding place was in that dismal, ill-lighted, and damp basement. Had we started in a fine, attractive, convenient room, I fear we would have “lost our heads” and become “stuck up.” It means a great deal, I think, to build on a foundation which one has made for himself.

When our students return to Tuskegee now, as they often do, and go into our large, beautiful, well ventilated, and well lighted dining-room and see tempting, well-cooked food—largely grown by the students themselves—and see tables, neat tablecloths and napkins, and vases of flowers upon the tables, and hear singing birds, and note that each meal is served exactly upon the minute, with no disorder and with almost no complaint coming from the hundreds that now fill our dining-room, they, too, often say to me that they are glad that we started as we did, and built ourselves up, year by year, by a slow and natural process of growth.