The singular way in which Booker Washington proceeded from one thing to another, until, at length, he found himself beginning the great work of his life before he was himself quite aware of the fact, strongly tends to prove that he was destined to be a leader of his own people. We believe that he would himself acknowledge that the chain of circumstances which led up to his being landed at Tuskegee in 1881 was entirely providential. He did not himself seek the opening; it came to him unsought at a time when his services were still urgently needed at Hampton, where he had become General Armstrong's right-hand man, or his most efficient assistant. He was still fully occupied with the large class of Indian boys during the day, and then, until a late hour every night, with the more enthusiastic coloured pupils of his own people. At the same time, he was pursuing his own studies for self-improvement with characteristic ardour. Probably neither the good General Armstrong nor this chief officer of his staff as yet thought the arrangements at the Institute, which were found to work so well, were other than permanent.
A great change, which was nothing less than a great forward movement, was at hand, however. It came to pass that, at a time when he was least expecting it, the General received an urgent message for help from the darkest part of the Black Belt of Alabama. The missive in question came from white people, who were genuine friends of the negroes, and, as such, were representative of large numbers of others in the Southern States who were like minded. It occurred to these good souls that a large proportion of the coloured people—admirable human material, if turned to good account—was running to waste through lack of that knowledge which could only come of education or training suitable to their needs. The blacks greatly outnumbered the whites, and by very many their capacities for service to the State were not understood. It was thought by those who had put themselves in communication with General Armstrong that an institute, similar to the one which had proved so successful at Hampton, might be founded in the little town of Tuskegee, which stood aside from the main railway line, but had a branch for its accommodation. It had not entered into anybody's day-dreams to suppose that anyone, save an accomplished white man, would be competent to undertake so arduous an enterprise; but when the General received the application, and had thought about it, he clearly saw, to his own satisfaction, that Booker Washington was the man most likely to make such a school as the one suggested a success. The following passage from an open letter in the Century Magazine for September 1895, by Mr G. T. Speed, affords some notion of what the general outlook was in Alabama at the date in question:—
"When the attention of philanthropists was first directed to the ignorant condition of the freedmen in the South, in nine cases out of ten the practical effort to do something for their improvement was controlled by clergymen, and was largely influenced by sentimental considerations. The chief object seemed to be to grow a great crop of negro preachers, lawyers and doctors. The result was so disheartening that, fifteen years after the war was over, there were grave doubts whether the coloured race in the South was not lapsing into a barbarism worse than that of slavery. Fortunately, among those educators and philanthropists there was at least one sane man, the late General S. C. Armstrong, of Hampton. His main idea was to train workmen and teachers. Mr Washington was one of these teachers. Of him and his work General Armstrong, shortly before his death, said:— 'It is, I think, the noblest and grandest work by any coloured man in the land. What compares with it in general value and power for good? It is on the Hampton plan, combining labour and study, commands high respect from both races, flies no denominational flag, but is earnestly and thoroughly Christian, is out of debt, well managed and organised.'"
Concerning the opinions, the aims and aspirations of General Armstrong's disciple, the same friend says:—
"Mr Booker T. Washington had become persuaded that most of the efforts at training his people in purely academic directions were almost entirely thrown away. He held that the time was not ripe, and his people were not prepared for the higher scholastic training of which the Greek and Latin classics are the basis, but that they needed to be taught how to work to advantage in the trades and handicrafts, how to be better farmers, how to be more thrifty in their lives, and, most of all, how to resist the money-lender's inducements to mortgage their crops before they were made. It was with these great ideas that he began his work at Tuskegee."
When Booker Washington acceded to General Armstrong's request to proceed to Tuskegee to give practical shape to the white people's wishes, he received as many good wishes and congratulations as if he was going to accept an enviable appointment in some already founded and flourishing institution. The fact was, however, that not even the straw was as yet gathered for the bricks with which the proposed school would have to be built. Not even a site had been chosen, and no one knew where this might be found. The most favourable features of the situation were that the coloured folk were very desirous of obtaining some education, while the whites were equally anxious that a school should be provided for them. The cordial greeting accorded to the newcomer on every hand was perhaps more flattering than reassuring; for the obstacles in the way of success seemed so formidable that even the sanguine and persevering Booker Washington might have been excused had he hesitated. Had he not been a negro, he would probably have declared that the task assigned to him was impossible.
The blighting effects of the Civil War were still visible; and when a beginning at teaching was actually made, the class had to be content with the accommodation of a tumble-down kind of building which was a very imperfect protection from the weather. In some respects the ex-slaves appeared to be no better off than when they were in bondage. In order to become acquainted with the people, and to understand their general condition and in what degree an effort to raise them promised to succeed, it was necessary to visit them in their homes in the surrounding country. In the main, their cabins showed no improvement on those in which they had been housed in the days of slavery; and some of their habits were as comical on the one hand as they were improvident on the other. Practically what we call one-room life was, in a great number of instances, a chief obstacle to their more complete civilisation. While in need of better homesteads and of many necessary but commonplace things, either for use or ornament, which they were, through their ignorance, quite unable to turn to any account. Their ignorance also led to superstition and to one-sided views of things, which suggested mischievous action. False pride would naturally inspire a love of showing off, which meant a waste of resources, which, in the hands of better economists, would have gone far towards providing the family with the comforts of life.
The school teaching commenced just after midsummer, 1881; and the number of the students who came was at once as many as could be accommodated, and their eagerness to learn testified to the earnest desire for education which was common among the coloured race. Had all been taken who wished to come, the school would have been a very large one at the outset; but at first the plan was to take only those who were not mere children and who had already acquired some learning. Some who sat in the classes were even approaching middle-age. Perhaps a chief drawback was that the aims of the teacher and the expectations of the learners did not generally agree. As Mr Speed tells us, Booker Washington's capital originally consisted of "nothing but ideas, ambition and a few friends, none of whom could do much in the way of contributions." His ideas were worth more than gold, however; while his friends were of sterling quality, one being an ex-slaveholder, who had done more than anyone else in originating the school. It may seem to be strange that some of the best and shrewdest friends of negroes in the Southern States at the present time are ex-slave-owners. Others among the white people would have preferred that the old-time hewers of wood and drawers of water for the superior race should remain illiterate, thinking that their coming in contact with books would have the effect of marring their capacity for field service. Not a few, especially at that time, in common with the coloured people themselves, entirely misapprehended in what an effective education consisted. It was too often supposed that it meant mere book-learning that would release its possessors from hard, manual labour. To General Armstrong and Booker Washington education would be of value to negroes because it would enable them to do more effectively the labour connected with a number of important industries to which they were called. This obvious truth is far better understood than it was a quarter of a century ago. The work done at Hampton, at Tuskegee, and at the many schools on a similar basis which have since sprung up in the Southern States, has not only demonstrated that the negro race may be made to become a source of vast good or profit to the Republic, it has revolutionised public opinion.
Meanwhile the numbers actually under instruction, and also of those who were exceedingly anxious to enter the classes, increased daily. At the same time, the overwhelming need of the coloured race, and the great opportunities to raise them which offered themselves, made a deep impression on Booker Washington, as it also did on one who was thus early an able and sympathetic helper in the work—Miss Olivia Davidson, afterwards Mrs Booker Washington. The latter was a superior girl, of coloured ancestry, although personally she was as white as the most pure-blooded descendant of the Pilgrim Fathers that could have been found. These two kindred souls were now one in the work, and, of course, they had many anxious consultations. It did not seem as though the work of the school could continue to be carried on in the forsaken church and half-ruinous shed which so far had been the only accommodation.
A short distance outside of the town there was an old plantation of a hundred acres, and as the house had been burned down, this was to be secured for the low price of a hundred dollars. If it could possibly be effected, the removal of the school to such a site promised to be a great step in advance; and, after overcoming a good many difficulties, a portion of the money was borrowed and possession was obtained. Having made such a good beginning, it seemed to be impossible not to go forward, especially when the enthusiasm of the coloured people was encouraged by the hearty sympathy and practical help of the whites. The fact is that, in proportion as the schools prospered, both blacks and whites were being made to see that they had very much in common; and friends of the negro will gladly recognise that the continued aid of friends in the Southern States has made uninterrupted progress possible. The next thing was to put up a main school building at a cost of six thousand dollars, the students themselves being the builders. For some time after this the difficulty in obtaining adequate funds was a cause of great anxiety; but what at the time seemed to be unsurmountable obstacles were always overcome, and the way was then open for still further advances. The first year's work at Tuskegee was, on the whole, a time of preparation and of founding what was destined to become a distinguished institute on a solid basis. It was then that Booker Washington set up a home of his own, into which he was able to receive his teaching staff. He was united in marriage to Miss Fannie Smith, who, like himself, had been trained at Hampton. In less than two years the first Mrs Washington died, leaving an infant daughter. In this early stage of the work, distinguished aid continued to be given by Miss Davidson in collecting, in giving shrewd advice, and in other service, including that of teaching. As will be made to appear, from this date the progress made and the growth of the Institute was no less rapid than wonderful.