Up From Slavery

Our assignment was to read the first four chapters of Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington -- I hope, or else I'll be a little behind in class today -- about his personal journey of literally coming out of slavery following the Emancipation Proclamation. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire reading assignment and can't wait to get a little further in the book, but by far my favorite part was when he was able to choose his name; therefore, that will be the primary focus of this blog.

"By the time the occasion came for the enrolling of my name, an idea occurred to me which I thought would make me equal to the situation; and so, when the teacher asked me what my full name was, I calmly told him "Booker Washington," as if I had been called that name all my life; and by that name I have since been known... I think there are not many men in our country who have had the privilege of naming themselves in the way that I have" (35).

Yes, the quote is a little long, but I couldn't bear to cut it short when there is so much significance in it. To consider that such an individual was a slave for his entire childhood, with no access to education, is surprising to me... How would someone in such a condition manage to rise above it? And when the Emancipation Proclamation was made, how did his family manage to survive on their own when so many were not? Not only that, but he worked in a salt furnace and then a coal-mine, but saved what little money he could and made his way to the Hampton Institute, "passed" his admission exam, and became a student after so much struggle in his lifetime. He constantly mentions how obtaining an education was the most profound desire he ever had in his life, how he wanted that more than anything in this world... And I love the fact that when he is first opened up to education when his community hires a local teacher, he also defines himself by it. There is no coincidence in that fact. He becomes a new person, with a new name and new identity, during the enrollment process... Maybe that's not much to anyone else, but it certainly affected me.