99 Setting Up Tuskegee

Booker T. Washington graduated from the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. He gave the graduation address. He had learned many skills at Hampton. Among them, to lay bricks.

Three years later, a committee from Tuskegee wrote to Hampton. They asked for a white teacher for a normal school. The principal wrote back. He had no white teacher. But he had a talented African-American graduate. The committee wrote, “Send him at once.”

Why was the school at Tuskegee founded? It was political. Colonel Foster, a white man, needed votes. Foster went to Lewis Adams, a black businessman. Adams made and sold shoes, harnesses, and tin articles. He made a deal with Foster. Foster must get money to support an African-American training school. And Adams would work to get him black votes.

The colonel agreed. The bargain was struck. Colonel Foster won his seat. The legislature acted. Some $2,000 would be provided annually for salaries. The normal school for African-American teachers would be in Tuskegee.

So Washington went to Tuskegee. And here is what he found. A small southern town with dusty roads. Half of the people were black. There was no school there. There was not even a building. And there was no land for a building. No students had been recruited. There was no money for land. No money for anything. The $2,000 was solely for salaries. The project looked hopeless. To Washington, it was a great challenge. He took a trip through the countryside. He saw how hard people’s lives were. And he recruited 30 students. Half were women, half men.

布克·T·華盛頓畢業於漢普頓師範與農業學院。他在畢業典禮上發表演講。他在漢普頓學到了許多技能，其中包括砌磚。

三年後，塔斯基吉的一個委員會寫信給漢普頓。他們要求派一名白人教師到普通學校。校長回信說，他沒有白人教師。但他有一位才華橫溢的非裔美國畢業生。委員會回信說：“立刻派他來。”

為什麼塔斯基吉的學校會成立？這是政治因素。一位名叫福斯特的白人需要選票。福斯特去找黑人商人路易斯·亞當斯。亞當斯製作並出售鞋子、馬具和錫製品。他與福斯特達成協議。福斯特必須籌集資金支持一所非裔美國人培訓學校，而亞當斯則會努力為他爭取黑人選票。

上校同意了。交易達成。福斯特贏得了他的席位。立法機構採取行動。每年將提供約2000美元作為薪資。非裔美國教師的師範學校將設在塔斯基吉。

於是華盛頓前往塔斯基吉。他看到的是一個南方小鎮，滿是灰塵的道路。一半居民是黑人。那裡沒有學校，甚至沒有一棟建築物，也沒有建築用地。沒有學生被招募。沒有土地資金，沒有任何資金。這2000美元僅用於薪資。這個項目看起來毫無希望。對華盛頓而言，這是一個巨大的挑戰。他走訪了鄉村，看到人們的生活是多麼艱難。最後，他招募了30名學生，一半是女性，一半是男性。