Up from Slavery

History has always been interesting to me, but like most people, there are parts of history that have a greater pull than others.  The Revolutionary War and the Founding have always been favorites of mine along with World War II.  I received two coffee table books as a kid from my grandparents, one about the Revolutionary War and one about the Civil War.  These were quality books made by National Geographic, back before that organization went political.  Along with some sound commentary, there were plenty of maps, graphics, and pictures that held a young boy’s attention long enough to foster an interest in these two seminal events in the history of the United States.

Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington (ISBN: 978-0-9997797-3-6) tells of the famous educator’s life from his early boyhood as a slave to his rise as a professor and principal (these days we’d probably say president) of the Tuskegee Institute.  The book was short on the childhood section, understandably so, since he was so quite young when slavery ended and had spent his days like all the other slaves: working.  Once freed, he and his family struggled like many to find work that would pay the bills, but they succeeded, and his mom encouraged an innate love for learning that eventually led to Washington’s heading off to the Hampton School.  A popular place with newly freed blacks trying to improve their lot, the school didn’t have a lot of room, but Booker so impressed the lady in charge of admissions when he was asked to clean some of the school rooms, that he made it in.  He didn’t squander a single opportunity, graduated, and then set about to provide opportunities for others.  What that led to was his founding the Tuskegee Institute.  The greater section of the book is spent chronicling how the school came about, its struggles and successes, and its growth and Washington’s efforts to promote the school and secure the funding needed to keep it on its own two feet.  He worked hard no matter what he was involved in, whether teaching, overseeing the school, working in his own home with animals and in his garden, or fundraising.  He was also a well-known and in-demand orator, invited to speak at functions, fairs, and other public events.  Throughout the book, he spends significant time noting that service, hard work, fulfilling one’s duties, giving things one’s best shot, and honesty are the keys to success and happiness in life.  He also touches on the question of race and racism, but only as a reality that is in the background and that mostly stays there when one develops the abovementioned qualities and masters skills that others require, such as the brickmaking, animal husbandry, sewing, architecture, dairy farming, and others that his school taught in addition to academic subjects.

While very much aware of Booker T. Washington and his accomplishments because I don’t remember a class or unit on American history in school that didn’t include him (as he said, if one works hard and does something that others find useful, one will have earned respect and likely at least some recognition), the book was interesting to read because there was more to his life’s philosophy than the education that he is most famous for.  Washington was a hard worker who believed in taking the bull by the horns and not allowing life, fate, other people (including other people’s choices), or whatever other thing people blame their failures on control him.  He believed others had a better chance to be successful if they were educated both academically and in life skills and professional knowledge.  He dedicated his life to making that happen, noting along the way that he was most fulfilled when helping and serving others.  I enjoyed reading his take on race and racism — he largely ignored it.  He was a former slave, but had no time for holding grudges and found that a straightforward approach that did not insult Southerners, but found a way to lift them up, helped the most.  The relations between the blacks and whites in Tuskegee were good in his opinion, so the proof is in the pudding as far as his approach is concerned.  Finally, Washington continually gave credit for his success to God, which is always refreshing.  Both historically and morally, the book was great and well worth the time.

   

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Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

“ . . . liberty is more valuable than life.”

An unfortunate part of American history is that of slavery.  I’ve always been inspired by Founders who set up a system with an eye toward slavery’s elimination and then a president in Abraham Lincoln who was willing to stake both himself and the country on slavery’s elimination.  Every since I saw the movie Glory in junior high (they released an edited version especially for showing in schools), I’ve appreciated the blacks who risked it all and more to fight against slavery, both as soldiers and as abolitionists or runaways or simply doing what they could to sabotage the system, much as those in occupied territory might do in a war when there weren’t other options available to them.  There are many inspiring stories.

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs, whose pen name was Linda Brent (available for free from Google Books) is an autobiographical account of Jacobs’ life from her time as a little girl to later in life when she is an adult with adult children of her own.  She describes her life and the life of those around her, like her parents, grandmother, and siblings.  The reader also learns about the immediate household of her owner.  As she works in the house, the reader does not learn much about the lives of slaves who worked in the fields on plantations.  While Jacobs herself undergoes very little physical abuse, she describes plenty that happened to family members and acquaintances.  She did, unfortunately, receive a lot of unwanted sexual advances from her master, which she notes was a very real experience for many, if not most, female slaves.  While it seems she avoided being raped, many others were not as fortunate.  Eventually, Jacobs has children by her own choice by another white man.  That causes some awkwardness, but what it really does is cement her desire to not be a slave anymore.  She realizes that, as slaves, her children have very little to look forward to.  With this in mind, she forms and executes a plan to run away.  She does this with a little help along the way by various friends and family and by avoiding capture by hiding in swamps, on boats, and, eventually, in the attic of her grandmother’s house.  She stays there, rarely coming out, for the next seven years.  This allowed her to see her children, who lived with her grandmother.  It also made for some close calls since her master was always hoping to re-capture her.  Eventually, she secured a way to the North and lived the rest of her life there, eventually being reunited with her two children.  Nothing was simple, though, and even getting her kids with her was difficult.  Life was made more difficult by the fugitive slave law, but Jacobs had a few extremely kind and understanding people in her life that helped her along at many dangerous turns.

The book was really interesting.  I thought it presented a lot of information about the life of slaves that maybe not everyone thinks about.  Jacobs talked a lot about how slave families were ripped apart.  She talked about the sexual abuse and harassment that was widespread in the South, yet often swept under the rug by what was considered to be polite society.  She talked about the role of religion in slaves’ lives; most were religious in spite of the gross hypocrisy displayed by the whites around them.  Like so many similar stories, Jacobs displayed an incredible resiliency and deep will to fight for what was right.  She and others risked their lives for freedom.  Her story is one that is well worth remembering because it so well demonstrates the value of freedom and how we need to protect it.

This work, including all text, photographs, and other original work, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 3.0 License and is copyrighted © MMXIV John Pruess.