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| Booker T. Washington |
To describe Booker T. Washington as a gifted man would be an understatement. He was a brilliant man.
And he would've been considered a brilliant man in any generation among any people throughout human history.
Who was Booker T. Washington? To most people, he's merely an historical figure that schools, public buildings and libraries are named after. To African-Americans, he was a civil rights leader who fought for freedom at a time in American history when blacks who stood up to the prevailing white ruling establishment literally put their lives on the line.
Washington was born in the antebellum south in the mid-1850s. He was born to a slave woman named Jane and an unknown white father. Despite segregation and the Jim Crow laws of the south, Washington managed to put himself through school and became an educator, author and a gifted speaker.
And he founded the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama in 1881. That institution later became known as Tuskegee University.
And he founded the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama in 1881. That institution later became known as Tuskegee University.
Washington refused to let racism defeat him. From biography.com: "Under Booker T. Washington's leadership, Tuskegee became a leading school in the country. At his death, it had more than 100 well-equipped buildings, 1,500 students, a 200-member faculty teaching 38 trades and professions, and a nearly $2 million endowment. Washington put much of himself into the school's curriculum, stressing the virtues of patience, enterprise, and thrift. He taught that economic success for African Americans would take time, and that subordination to whites was a necessary evil until African Americans could prove they were worthy of full economic and political rights. He believed that if African Americans worked hard and obtained financial independence and cultural advancement, they would eventually win acceptance and respect from the white community."
http://www.biography.com/people/booker-t-washington-9524663?page=2
Though Washington died nearly a century ago, (1915) his words and wisdom are still golden. And his wisdom is something that every race, creed and nationality needs to study.
Though he was discriminated against, Washington refused to become embittered by the ignorance of others. Concerning the racism he faced, Washington said this: "I shall allow no man to belittle my soul by making me hate him." www.BTWsociety.org
Concerning those who believe in lowering academic and achievement standards to make it easier for African-Americans to succeed in life, Washington said this: "No greater injury can be done to any youth than to let him feel that because he belongs to this or that race he will be advanced in life regardless of his own merits or efforts."
Concerning the critical importance of good manners and respect for authority, Washington said this: "Those who have accomplished the greatest results are those who never grow excited or lose self-control, but are always calm, self-possessed, patient and polite."
And concerning those who profit through grievance and race-hustling, Washington stated this: "There is a class of race problem solvers who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances because they do no want to lose their jobs...(they) don't want the patient to get well."
If Washington returned to our modern world today, what would he think? While he'd be proud to see an African-American president in the White House, I think that he'd be dismayed to see that President Barack Obama is implementing policies that are destroying blacks by making them perpetual victims who are hopelessly dependent upon big government.
And I think that Washington would be dismayed to see the lives of millions of blacks ruined by the liberal policies of social elitists. He'd be crushed to see the violence, poverty, crime and immorality that bedevils the black community in America. And I think that he'd be outraged by the poverty pimps and race hustlers who have made a fortune by exploiting African-Americans and holding them down to prevent them from succeeding.
If Booker T. Washington came back to the United States of America, circa 2013, he wouldn't be a happy man. Because not only would he weep for his own race, he'd weep for the moral destitution that has befallen the entire nation.
You see, Booker T. Washington was a true Born-Again Christian. And he realized that any nation that rejected God and thumbed its collective nose at His laws wouldn't survive for very long. Washington said this: "I do not believe in waiting for heaven of the future. If we imitate the life of Christ as nearly as possible, heaven will come about more and more right here on earth."
God bless you Booker T. Washington. And rest in peace.
Though Washington died nearly a century ago, (1915) his words and wisdom are still golden. And his wisdom is something that every race, creed and nationality needs to study.
Though he was discriminated against, Washington refused to become embittered by the ignorance of others. Concerning the racism he faced, Washington said this: "I shall allow no man to belittle my soul by making me hate him." www.BTWsociety.org
Concerning those who believe in lowering academic and achievement standards to make it easier for African-Americans to succeed in life, Washington said this: "No greater injury can be done to any youth than to let him feel that because he belongs to this or that race he will be advanced in life regardless of his own merits or efforts."
Concerning the critical importance of good manners and respect for authority, Washington said this: "Those who have accomplished the greatest results are those who never grow excited or lose self-control, but are always calm, self-possessed, patient and polite."
And concerning those who profit through grievance and race-hustling, Washington stated this: "There is a class of race problem solvers who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances because they do no want to lose their jobs...(they) don't want the patient to get well."
If Washington returned to our modern world today, what would he think? While he'd be proud to see an African-American president in the White House, I think that he'd be dismayed to see that President Barack Obama is implementing policies that are destroying blacks by making them perpetual victims who are hopelessly dependent upon big government.
And I think that Washington would be dismayed to see the lives of millions of blacks ruined by the liberal policies of social elitists. He'd be crushed to see the violence, poverty, crime and immorality that bedevils the black community in America. And I think that he'd be outraged by the poverty pimps and race hustlers who have made a fortune by exploiting African-Americans and holding them down to prevent them from succeeding.
If Booker T. Washington came back to the United States of America, circa 2013, he wouldn't be a happy man. Because not only would he weep for his own race, he'd weep for the moral destitution that has befallen the entire nation.
You see, Booker T. Washington was a true Born-Again Christian. And he realized that any nation that rejected God and thumbed its collective nose at His laws wouldn't survive for very long. Washington said this: "I do not believe in waiting for heaven of the future. If we imitate the life of Christ as nearly as possible, heaven will come about more and more right here on earth."
God bless you Booker T. Washington. And rest in peace.
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