Tuskegee Institute, at its heart, was founded in order to offer African Americans a chance at bettering themselves. One of the key founders, Booker T. Washington, believed in the idea of blacks empowering themselves and using their large population in the South as a tool to do so. He wanted all blacks to take a stand and empower themselves economically which would eventually get them political power as well.The Tuskegee Institute, founded in 1881 by Lewis Adam and George W. Campbell, sat in the heart of Alabama and had one main goal: providing blacks with an opportunity unity for a quality education. This institution sat in the heart of Alabama, a state with a large black population but still oppressive laws targeted against blacks. The funding for this school was obtained after W. F. Foster, a white man running for the state senate, struck a deal with Lewis Adam. Adam, being a former slave, had a tight connection with the black community, so Foster and Adam agreed that Foster would make sure the government allocated money for this school and, in turn, Adam would secure the black vote for Foster. As a result, Foster won the election and was able to allocate $2000 for the creation of the Tuskegee Institute with Booker Washington as it’s first principal.
The Tuskegee Institute acted as both an academic and vocational education institution. This means that the institute offered its students typical academic classes (such as learning about history) along with teaching them skills in order to obtain a technical job in the near future. As part of the goal of teaching life skills, the institute even made students built their own buildings, make their own food, and provide their own basic necessities. This all fits under Washington’s goal of empowering blacks and giving them a chance to rise economically, socially, and politically.
Although being created over 100 years ago, the Tuskegee Institute still stands as a leading example of a predominantly black university. It eventually got full university status in 1985 and still offers thousands of degrees yearly in order to prepare its students for life through an academic and technical education. It has changed US history so much that it’s even designated as a National Historic Site--the only black college with this distinction. Even though Booker T. Washington died many decades ago, his vision still resides in the Tuskegee Institute to this day.
Sources:
https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/tuskegee-university-1881/
https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/odyssey/educate/bookert.html
Image:
https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/tuskegee/tuskgallery/tuskoutsidelg3.jpg
I think this is a really well written post about the history of a historically African American university that also helps illustrate how Booker T. Washington's ideals came to life in the form of this university. It is still a highly ranked university today. The University continued to break boundaries even in World War 2 as the university educated all of the first Black Airmen in the US Army, known as the Tuskegee Airmen. While the military was still segregated, these men were the first black men to be pilots in the US Army. The group earned over 150 distinguished flying crosses for their impressive role in the war.
ReplyDeleteSource:https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/tuskegee-airmen
I found this article about the pass very interesting. Something else I found out was that Washington was such a pervasive speaker regarding funding for the college, he was actually able to secure enough funding to make the Institution independent of the state of Alabama. Later on, he convinced financiers to fund the school $3000 and $1000 through an independent fund. Now, the university has grown to house equipment worth $180,000.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1583