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A review by jbmorgan86
Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington
1.0
I read Booker T. Washington’s “Up from Slavery” for two reasons: (1) I teach about him in my Georgia Studies class and (2) I’m visiting Tuskegee this summer.
I realize that I’m a 21st century white guy and that it’s odd for me to critique such a massive figure of black history . . . But it’s just so hard to understand where Washington is coming from.
This book claims to be an autobiography but is really about the Tuskegee Institute (I read somewhere that this book was used to solicit donations). With that in mind, one can imagine how his audience shaped his writing.
Washington, a former slave, does nothing but praise former slave masters and ex-Confederates. He argues that blacks are better off because of slavery.
”[W]e must acknowledge that, notwithstanding the cruelty and moral wrong of slavery, the ten million Negroes inhabiting this country, who themselves or whose ancestors went through the school of American slavery, are in a stronger and more hopeful condition, materially, intellectually, morally, and religiously, than is true of an equal number of black people in any other portion of the globe.”
Washington recounts his own emancipation and argues that he and his fellow slaves felt pity for their former masters! He seems totally blind to the complexities of slavery and the long-term effects of slavery.
He also takes every shot he can against both Africans and African Americans (so . . . a lot of internalized racism? Self-hate?). He states that Africans dwell in the “darkest heathenism.” He calls blacks in America things like “ignorant,” “immoral,” and “uncivilized.” He seems to be angry when children show up at his institution FIFTEEN YEARS AFTER THE END OF SLAVERY and they don’t know how to “properly” place the silverware at a dinner table. He puts a LOT of emphasis on teaching black children what is “right,” “proper,” and “civilized” (i.e., what the wealthy whites do).
I wanted to give Washington a chance because I do think he intended well . . . but he seems to have come up short in almost every opportunity.
Now go read some DuBois!
I realize that I’m a 21st century white guy and that it’s odd for me to critique such a massive figure of black history . . . But it’s just so hard to understand where Washington is coming from.
This book claims to be an autobiography but is really about the Tuskegee Institute (I read somewhere that this book was used to solicit donations). With that in mind, one can imagine how his audience shaped his writing.
Washington, a former slave, does nothing but praise former slave masters and ex-Confederates. He argues that blacks are better off because of slavery.
”[W]e must acknowledge that, notwithstanding the cruelty and moral wrong of slavery, the ten million Negroes inhabiting this country, who themselves or whose ancestors went through the school of American slavery, are in a stronger and more hopeful condition, materially, intellectually, morally, and religiously, than is true of an equal number of black people in any other portion of the globe.”
Washington recounts his own emancipation and argues that he and his fellow slaves felt pity for their former masters! He seems totally blind to the complexities of slavery and the long-term effects of slavery.
He also takes every shot he can against both Africans and African Americans (so . . . a lot of internalized racism? Self-hate?). He states that Africans dwell in the “darkest heathenism.” He calls blacks in America things like “ignorant,” “immoral,” and “uncivilized.” He seems to be angry when children show up at his institution FIFTEEN YEARS AFTER THE END OF SLAVERY and they don’t know how to “properly” place the silverware at a dinner table. He puts a LOT of emphasis on teaching black children what is “right,” “proper,” and “civilized” (i.e., what the wealthy whites do).
I wanted to give Washington a chance because I do think he intended well . . . but he seems to have come up short in almost every opportunity.
Now go read some DuBois!