Viewing Slavery Through a Historical or Biographical Lens
Booker T. Washington grew up as a slave, became free, and went on to do amazing things like public speaking, teaching at the Tuskegee Institute, and influence history and writers today with his speeches, political views, and books, especially Up From Slavery. Both a historical and biographical lens could be used to view the book. Although the autobiography is historically notable, some of the historical events are not completely accurate. And while it can also be viewed from a biographical lens, Washington does not completely reveal his feelings and beliefs.
Booker T. Washington’s Up From Slavery was originally published in 1900. Booker started out living as a slave in Franklin County, Virginia with his mother and two siblings. Once slaves were free he made his way to Malden, West Virginia with his mother. He worked and went to school during his time there. He eventually made his way to Hampton, continuing his education. A close friend, General S. C. Armstrong helped Washington pay for his education at the Hampton Institute. Booker found himself studying at an institution in Washington D.C., where he was surrounded by people whom he had nothing in common with. While he spent his time in D.C. though, his reputation as a speaker began to grow rapidly. He was even asked to give a post-graduate address at the Hampton Institute. After landing a job educating Indians at Hampton, Washington was reccomended for a job taking charge in a school for colored people in Tuskegee. As problems between whites and blacks grew worse, Washington was asked to make an address at the 1895 Atlanta Expo to a pordimnately white audience. Shortly after, he created the National Negro Business League in 1900.
Reading through a historical lens can be useful in several ways while understanding Up From Slavery. In the introduction of the autobiography, Washington informs the reader how the book he has written explains his life from being a slave to becoming someone with a voice and a purpose that influenced history, explaining “This volume is the outgrowth of a series of articles, dealing with incidents in my life, which were published consecutively in the Outlook” (Washington 29). By specifically expressing this, it is made certain that the book consists of his recollection of the life he lived. He also wants to give his readers an idea of what living in that time period was like through his experiences. His writing also helped others understand his culture, and what is what like to be completely immersed in it while trying to succeed as an African American.
Up From Slavery is historically notable because it was one of the first autobiographies at that time that was about an African American slave and his life. Washington fully involved himself with the Tuskegee Institute and historians are being “reminded of Washington's importance simply by noting that Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), founded in 1881, continues to graduate students” (Wells n.p.). Even though this school was founded years ago, it is still widely recognized today. To make an even bigger impact, Wasington influenced historical figures, such as Du Bois to fight for certain rights. Du Bois actually disagreed with a lot of what Washington believed in. He was extremely critical of Washington, and according to McCaskill, “Du Bois criticizes Washington’s strategy both for encouraging African Americans to postpone the fight for political power and civil rights and also for discouraging the Talented Tenth among black youth from seeking higher education with a liberal arts emphasis” (n.p.). Although Du Bois did not agree with Washington, he was still inspired to fight against his views, which eventually helped him win civil rights for African Americans.
Although Booker wrote the book based off of his first-hand experience and some of his accounts are true, not all sources agree with the accuracy in which he displays culture during that time. One occurance Washington misinforms us about is his “spontaneous” dine with Theodor Roosevelt. According sources, “It was not a spontaneous occurrence, but resulted from a specific invitation to dine” (Moses n.p.). Washington exaggerates his visit with the president, making the rest of his autobiography questionable and lessons the usefulness of a historical lens. Although some accounts to make his book seem less accurate, he does make certain points that show some of his memories are actually true. One thing Booker consistently talks about is his desire for an education. This desire was common in other narratives from African Americans at the time, showing that his account “stands as evidence of the slaves’ inherent will to be free and autonomous that contradicts slaveholders’ assertions that slaves preferred the dependency and paternalism of bondage” (McCaskill n.p.). The experiences he recalls line up with those of other individuals during that time, validating his memories. Another reason why Washington’s book gains credibility in a historical matter is because “black autobiographers represented themselves as so much in agreement with what white Americans already believed that the old anxieties about truth to self versus believability to others seemed no longer an issue” (Andrews n.p.). Since whites found it easy to agree with what Washington recalled in his book, this showed that his opinion was less bias, and therefore more believeable.
Another lens that would work well while reading Up From Slavery is the biographical lens. In the introduction, Washington admits “My regret is that what I have attempted to do has been done so imperfectly” (29). He then further explains that he wrote his autobiography with the little spare time he had. So, right away he gains trust from the reader with his honesty. Washington is able to explore the time era and issues going on while giving us his opinion and helping the reader learn how Washington thinks and processes everything around him.
Washington actually begins his autobiography with a completely honest statement, explaining that he cannot recall “the exact place or exact date of my birth” (Washington 7). Again, right away Washington shows that he is honest by admitting that he cannot rememeber everything and admits that some information may be missing or lacking in truth, but not purposefully. He shows that his memories are accurate when he explains that in the cabin he lived in as a slave “the naked earth being used as a floor” (Washington 175). At Booker T. Washington’s National Monument, visiters can observe how “A pile of rags served as Booker's bed” lining up perfectly with Washington’s description (Schuman). He also goes into great detail about the clothing he is forced to wear as well. Thoroughly he recalls “It is almost equal to the feeling that one would experience if he had a dozen or more chestnut burrs, or a hundred small pin-points, in contact with his flesh” (Washington 233). His detailed descriptions give the reader an even more accurate insight into what he experienced and what it was like to be a slave. Washington’s accruracy of his personal views shift though. Because he did not want to offend white southerners, he had to be extremely cautious “both in how he recounted his own history and how he explained himself in terms of the history of his race” (Wells). This act of being cautious most likely caused Washington to hold back specific details about his experiences and observations that could’ve easily gotten him into trouble, causing the wholarity of his book to be questionable.
Although Up From Slavery can be effectively be viewed through both historical and biographical lenses, the biographical lens fits best because it helps the reader better understand slave life based off of someone’s first-hand experience, which seemed to be Washington’s intention. Although the historical lens helps represent the culture as a whole during the time that the autobiography takes place, the book was meant to be a way to show others what it was like to be a slave and still come out of slavery a successful individual.
Works Cited
Andrews, William L. "Richard Wright and the African-American Autobiography Tradition." Style 27,
no. 2 (Summer 1993). Quoted as "Richard Wright and the African-American Autobiography Tradition" in Bloom, Harold, ed. Black Boy, Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2006. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 3 Dec. 2015
McCaskill, Barbara. "Up From Slavery." Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present: From the Age of Segregation to the Twenty-first Century. Ed. Paul FinkelmanNew York: Oxford UP, 2008. Oxford African American Studies Center. Thu Dec 03 04:03:04 EST 2015.
Moses, Wilson. “Up from History: The Life of Booker T. Washington.” ProQuest. Alabama Review, 2010. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.
Schuman, Michael. "BOOKER T.WASHINGTON BORN IN A LOG CABIN A PILE OF RAGS SERVED AS BOOKER'S BED VIRGINIA BIRTHPLACE DEPICTS PLANTATION LIFE AS IT COMMONLY WAS." ProQuest. The Salt Lake Tribune, 6 Feb. 1994. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.
Washington, Booker T. Up from Slavery an Autobiography. Raleigh, N.C.: Alex Catalogue, 1900. Print.
Wells, Jeremy. "Booker T. Washington and Black Progress: Up From Slavery 100 Years Later." ProQuest. Southern Quarterly, 2006. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.
