FOURTH OF JULY'S INDEPENDENCE
(Booker T. Washington) Fourth Grade
Caron Hartkop
As the fireworks light up the sky in celebration of our country's independence this fourth of July, 1881, I feel my own sense of independence and freedom. It is a reflective day for me, as I think back to the days of my childhood. I wonder what has become of the Burrough family, the master family where I grew up as an unthinkably poor slave. I also wonder whatever became of my father, whom I know nothing of, except that he was a white man. The shame to bore a black son during the days of slavery.
I can still smell the dust of the cabin in which my faithful mother and I lived until we were set free in 1864, thanks to President Lincoln and the end of the Civil war. It was an extremely small log cabin only about 12 feet wide, just enough space to lie down. I slept on a floor made only of dirt, in a bed of rags. Often, during the night I would awaken to see my mother kneeling over me, fervently praying for our freedom. It was her prayers that told me of our prisonhood. For, as a young child, I just thought we were too poor for food or clothes. I did not know of any other type of life, where freedom and choice reigned.
After receiving our long sought freedom, my mother, as strict as she was, did her best to raise me a good, honest man. Even though she had never read a book in her life, I know that the lessons of integrity she taught me will last forever. However, I desired something more. As I worked in a salt mine, I dreamed about going to school and learning to read and write. I knew that the ol' mine was not the place for me to stay.
Ignorance was becoming more and more a barrier for us as we ventured out to live a free life. I soon became tired of Negroes being taken advantage of because we were uneducated. Few ex- slaves were able to read and write at the time, and this made it so difficult for them to enhance their jobs and their way of living. After being enlightened myself, I became an educator at the Hampton Institute. There, I wanted to prepare other African-American people like myself for a productive life as a citizen in a free country. To do this, I attempted to organize courses that would teach the blacks a trade that they could carry into the workforce. This would open up many more opportunities for them.
After leaving the Hampton Institute, I wanted to pursue more ways to enable black people to live a full and educated life. In attempts to spread my faith and hope, I have traveled across the country and spoken up for the black rights. Along my paths I have been privileged to enjoy many of the world leaders including Teddy Roosevelt, J.P. Morgan, and Andrew Carnegie. Giving other people like myself a feeling of worth is what my life is all about.
This is what leads to my profound sense of freedom inside. Today is the first day of class at the Tuskegee Institute, of which I am the proud founder of. I arrived here in Tuskegee only a month ago, with no signs of a school. I know what we now have is not much to boast of, the complete Institute being made up of only two buildings, an old church, and a dilapidated shanty, but I like to refer to them as being "well ventilated," not run down. I have learned that perspective can change a man completely. So, it is not the buildings that give me the feelings of a new independence, it is what they symbolize. In these buildings, colored people can learn to read and write, carry out a skill, and fulfill their dreams. Thirty more Negroes, who were once born as slaves, are enrolled here today, and can now feel what it is like to "know." And as for me, Booker T. Washington, I revitalize my feelings of what it means to be free.
REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR BOOKER T. WASHINGTON
- Who did Booker live with and where did he live? ___________________________________________________________________
- Name three things that Booker did in his life.
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3. Do you think that Booker is satisfied with his accomplishments?
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4. Why or why not?
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5. How could things have been different if it had not been for the success and dedication of Booker T. Washington?
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OUTLINE
I. Fireworks light up the sky
A. Fourth of July
B. Feelings of freedom and independence
II. Dust of the Cabin
A. Twelve feet wide
B. Dirt floor
III. Long sought freedom
A. Dreams of an education
B. Ignorance was a barrier
IV. Hampton Institute
V. Tuskegee Institute
A. Run down buildings
B. Thirty enrolled
VI. Booker T. Washington
PROPS:
- a small model of the inside of the cabin Booker lived in as a slave, made out of the inside of a shoe box.
- pictures of Booker T. Washington
- samples of the types of food and clothes that slaves wore
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
1. Booker lived with his mom - he had no father.
They lived in a small cabin, only about 12 feet wide.
2. 1)Worked in a salt mine
2) Was an educator at Hampton Institute
3) Founded the Tuskegee Institute
3. Answers may vary
4. Answers may vary
5. Blacks may not be as educated and have the same rights
SOURCES:
Spencer, Samuel. Booker T. Washington and the Negroe's place in life. Little, Brown, and Company: Toronto, 1955.
Washington, Booker T. The story of my life and work. J.L. Nichols and Co.: Toronto, 1901.