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longaneyes_'s review against another edition
I haven't touched this in weeks. I'm sorry Booker T Washington :(
jdrags's review against another edition
4.0
This was the first novel I read entirely as an audiobook. I wish I had read a physical copy. I feel like the experience would have been more valuable. It was a good insight into what life was like during the Civil Rights Movement and the various means of survival people had to endure. I appreciate this novel's emphasis on education and applied skills. This may have been a five stars if I read the book in conjunction to listening to it because I think I missed a lot of the narrative due to distractions. However, it was still very insightful.
kevin_shepherd's review against another edition
3.0
I’ve heard it said that Booker T. Washington was “the white man’s black man.” I read nothing here that would make me assume otherwise. He certainly heaped praises on white philanthropists ad nauseam. This, his autobiography, reads like the well edited, painstakingly inoffensive inculcation that it was intended to be.
Insanely naive or overly optimistic?
“The "Ku Klux" period was, I think, the darkest part of the Reconstruction days. I have referred to this unpleasant part of the history of the South simply for the purpose of calling attention to the great change that has taken place since the days of the "Ku Klux." To-day there are no such organizations in the South, and the fact that such ever existed is almost forgotten by both races. There are few places in the South now where public sentiment would permit such organizations to exist.” ~Booker T. Washington, 1901
Really Booker? ‘Few places in the South where public sentiment would leave room for racist intent? Tell that to Emmett Till (d. Mississippi, 1955), Medgar Evers (d. Mississippi, 1963), and Ahmaud Arbery (d. Georgia, 2020).
“…no white American ever thinks that any other race is wholly civilized until he wears the white man's clothes, eats the white man's food, speaks the white man's language, and professes the white man's religion.” ~Booker T. Washington
If Frederick Douglass or W.E.B. Du Bois or Malcolm X had made that statement, it would have been an indictment of white supremacy. Booker presented it as a floor plan. Capitulate and assimilate.
The Atlanta Kowtow.
In 1895 Washington proposed that black Americans forgo political aspirations, civil rights litigations, and higher university educations. In exchange, southern whites would guarantee basic education and due process under the law. What came to be known as the “Atlanta Compromise” drew heavy praise from a LOT of white people (of course) and some pretty harsh criticisms from a LOT of black people (of course). The highest profile public lambasting of Washington’s racial gradualism came from W.E.B. DuBois (see: The Souls of Black Folk, 1903). In spite of the backlash, Booker persisted.
“I believe it is the duty of the Negro—as the greater part of the race is already doing—to deport himself modestly in regard to political claims, depending upon the slow but sure influences that proceed from the possession of property, intelligence, and high character for the full recognition of his political rights.”
I think the most telling quote in all of Up From Slavery is the one (THE ONLY ONE) where Washington uses the word “equality.”
“The wisest among my race understand that the agitation of questions of social equality is the extremest folly, and that progress in the enjoyment of all the privileges that will come to us must be the result of severe and constant struggle rather than of artificial forcing.”
Let me quote that again, just in case you missed it: “The agitation of questions of social equality is the extremest folly…”
Translation: Don’t rock the boat everybody.
I can almost hear Dr. King and Malcolm spinning in their graves.
Insanely naive or overly optimistic?
“The "Ku Klux" period was, I think, the darkest part of the Reconstruction days. I have referred to this unpleasant part of the history of the South simply for the purpose of calling attention to the great change that has taken place since the days of the "Ku Klux." To-day there are no such organizations in the South, and the fact that such ever existed is almost forgotten by both races. There are few places in the South now where public sentiment would permit such organizations to exist.” ~Booker T. Washington, 1901
Really Booker? ‘Few places in the South where public sentiment would leave room for racist intent? Tell that to Emmett Till (d. Mississippi, 1955), Medgar Evers (d. Mississippi, 1963), and Ahmaud Arbery (d. Georgia, 2020).
“…no white American ever thinks that any other race is wholly civilized until he wears the white man's clothes, eats the white man's food, speaks the white man's language, and professes the white man's religion.” ~Booker T. Washington
If Frederick Douglass or W.E.B. Du Bois or Malcolm X had made that statement, it would have been an indictment of white supremacy. Booker presented it as a floor plan. Capitulate and assimilate.
The Atlanta Kowtow.
In 1895 Washington proposed that black Americans forgo political aspirations, civil rights litigations, and higher university educations. In exchange, southern whites would guarantee basic education and due process under the law. What came to be known as the “Atlanta Compromise” drew heavy praise from a LOT of white people (of course) and some pretty harsh criticisms from a LOT of black people (of course). The highest profile public lambasting of Washington’s racial gradualism came from W.E.B. DuBois (see: The Souls of Black Folk, 1903). In spite of the backlash, Booker persisted.
“I believe it is the duty of the Negro—as the greater part of the race is already doing—to deport himself modestly in regard to political claims, depending upon the slow but sure influences that proceed from the possession of property, intelligence, and high character for the full recognition of his political rights.”
I think the most telling quote in all of Up From Slavery is the one (THE ONLY ONE) where Washington uses the word “equality.”
“The wisest among my race understand that the agitation of questions of social equality is the extremest folly, and that progress in the enjoyment of all the privileges that will come to us must be the result of severe and constant struggle rather than of artificial forcing.”
Let me quote that again, just in case you missed it: “The agitation of questions of social equality is the extremest folly…”
Translation: Don’t rock the boat everybody.
I can almost hear Dr. King and Malcolm spinning in their graves.
cvbazley's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Humanity has never seen another man like Booker T. Washington.
adriano64's review against another edition
Washington’s way of writing grated on me enough that I couldn’t get through the book
braddy7's review against another edition
5.0
Sometimes you get to the end of a book and want to stand up and cheer. This was a man of resilience and innovation, not to mention a great communicator.
bookishdamzel's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.0
Read for Local Library Challenge Prompt: A Book Set or Written in the 1900s
Up From Slavery was originally published in 1900, around 35 years after slavery was abolished in the United States. This is an autobiography by Booker T. Washington; he was born into slavery, lived through the Civil War, saw the abolition of slavery, and lived through the reconstruction era in the south.
The book focuses on his early life for a few chapters, but then leans heavily into him creating the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and his want for creating his idea of success for those that were freed. He wanted to instill a sense of education, both written and hands on, a major focus on industry, and gaining property. (Basically the "American Dream")
Washington also seemed to brush off the effects that slavery had on some people, along with one chapter of him brushing off the forced assimilation of natives almost in mocking when it came to their hair being cut and things of that nature?? Idk it was very odd. But those were his thoughts I guess?
He's also very repetitive at points, which makes the book rough to get through. However, I think it is something worth reading and learning about Washington’s experience.
Up From Slavery was originally published in 1900, around 35 years after slavery was abolished in the United States. This is an autobiography by Booker T. Washington; he was born into slavery, lived through the Civil War, saw the abolition of slavery, and lived through the reconstruction era in the south.
The book focuses on his early life for a few chapters, but then leans heavily into him creating the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and his want for creating his idea of success for those that were freed. He wanted to instill a sense of education, both written and hands on, a major focus on industry, and gaining property. (Basically the "American Dream")
Washington also seemed to brush off the effects that slavery had on some people, along with one chapter of him brushing off the forced assimilation of natives almost in mocking when it came to their hair being cut and things of that nature?? Idk it was very odd. But those were his thoughts I guess?
He's also very repetitive at points, which makes the book rough to get through. However, I think it is something worth reading and learning about Washington’s experience.
stevenyenzer's review against another edition
3.0
A good primer on Washington's views and his rise to prominence. His brand of black conservatism is a very interesting, especially in contrast with later black writers I've read. Washington's legacy is still a part of the discussion today — I just never realized it.
papidoc's review against another edition
5.0
Wonderful autobiographical account of the life of Booker T. Washington, co-written with journalist Max Bennett Thrasher. Born a slave, Washington became one of the most influential American educators and black leaders in America's history. Though this account is said by scholars to be a selective and personally favorable account of Washington's life, it is nonetheless inspiring as well as instructive. In my opinion, this account offers much of value both historically, and in terms of personal and professional development. Strongly recommended.