Booker T. Washington, Builder of a Civilization

by Emmett J. Scott; Lyman Beecher Stowe

The efforts of the Negro farmers on these trips to get a word of approval from their great leader were often pathetic. One old man had a good breed of pigs of which he was particularly proud. He contrived to be found feeding them beside the road just as the great man and his party were passing. The simple ruse succeeded. Mr. Washington and his companions stopped and every one admired the proud and excited old man's pigs. And then after the pigs had been duly admired, he led them to a rough plank table upon which he had displayed in tremulous anticipation of this dramatic moment a huge pumpkin, some perfectly developed ears of corn, and a lusty cabbage. After these objects had also been admired the old man decoyed the party into the little whitewashed cottage where his wife had her hour of triumph in displaying her jars of preserves, pickles, cans of vegetables, dried fruits, and syrup together with quilts and other needlework all carefully arranged for this hoped-for inspection.

The basic teaching of all these tours was: "Make your own little heaven right here and now. Do it by putting business methods into your farming, by growing things in your garden the year around, by building and keeping attractive and comfortable homes for your children so they will stay at home and not go to the cities, by keeping your bodies and your surroundings clean, by staying in one place, by getting a good teacher and a good preacher, by building a good school and church, by letting your wife be your partner in all you do, by keeping out of debt, by cultivating friendly relations with your neighbors both white and black."

Mr. Washington was constantly bringing up in the Tuskegee faculty meetings cases of distress among the colored people of the county, which he had personally discovered while off hunting or riding, and planning ways and means to relieve them. Apparently it never occurred to him that technically, at least, the fate of these poor persons was not his affair nor that of his school. At one such meeting he told of having come upon while hunting a tumbledown cabin in the woods, within it a half-paralyzed old Negro obviously unable to care for his simple wants. Mr. Washington had stopped, built a fire in his stove, and otherwise made him comfortable temporarily, but some provision for the old man's care must be made at once. One of the teachers knew about the old man and stated that he had such an ugly temper that he had driven off his wife, son, and daughter who had until recently lived with him and taken care of him. The young teacher seemed to feel that the old man had brought his troubles upon his own head and so deserved little sympathy. Mr. Washington would not for a moment agree to this. He replied that if the old fellow was so unfortunate as to have a bad temper as well as his physical infirmities that was no reason why he should be allowed to suffer privation. He delegated one of the teachers to look up the old man's family at once and see if they could be prevailed upon to support him and to report at the next meeting what had been arranged. In the meantime he would send some one out to the cabin daily to take him food and attend to his wants.

At another faculty meeting he brought up the plight of an old woman who was about to be evicted from her little shack on the outskirts of the town because of her inability to pay the nominal rent which she was charged. He arranged to have her rent paid out of a sum of money which he always had included in the school budget for the relief of such cases. In such ways he was constantly impressing upon his associates the idea that was ever a mainspring of his own life—namely, that it was always and everywhere the duty of the more fortunate to help the less fortunate.

While he was sometimes severe with his more prosperous and better educated associates he was always considerate and thoughtful of the ignorant, the old, and the weak. He was never too busy to delight the heart of a white-haired old man who had been the original cook of the school by listening to his stories about the early days, or to discuss with another old man his experiences in the Civil War. He would never betray the least impatience in listening to these old men tell him the same story for the five hundredth time. Although the real usefulness of both these old fellows had long passed he never showed them by word or deed that he did not regard them as useful and valuable members of his staff.

Another old character to whom he invariably showed kindness and patience was a crack-brained old itinerant preacher who kept up an endless stream of unintelligible pious jargon. This old fellow would harangue the air for hours at a time right outside the Principal's busy office, but he would never allow him to be stopped or sent away and always sent or gave him a small contribution at the conclusion of his tirades, if indeed they could be said to have any conclusion.

Booker Washington had a weakness for the picturesque ne'er-do-wells of his race. One such old fellow, who lived near Tuskegee and who had always displayed great ingenuity in extracting money from him, one day, when he was driving down the main street of Tuskegee behind a pair of fast and spirited horses, rushed out into the street and stopped him as though he had a matter of the greatest urgency to impart to him. When Mr. Washington had with difficulty reined in his horses and asked him what he wanted the old man said breathlessly, "I'se got a tirkey for yo' Thanksgivin'!"

"How much does it weigh?" inquired Mr. Washington.

"Twelve to fifteen poun'."

After thanking the old man warmly, Mr. Washington started to drive on when the old fellow added, "I jest wants to borrow a dollar for to fatten yo' turkey for you!"