FROM A SALT MINE TO THE HISTORY BOOKS:
The story of Booker T. Washington
By Kathryn Larsen
Links by Stephen Kline
Did you know that you are very blessed and fortunate to be in school today? Sometimes you may not want to come to school, but a long time ago it was considered a great privilege to go to school and learn to read and write. In the 1860's, when President Lincoln freed all the slaves in the South and the Civil War was finally over, very few of the blacks could read. It had been against the law to teach a slave how to read. Since none of the freed slaves had been allowed to live on their own, they did not know basic things about living in the white man's society. They had much to learn! Because of his own determination and hard work, encouraged by a very special lady, an important black man went down in history, making great strides for all African Americans for all time. His name was Booker T. Washington.
After the Civil War, a very nice young girl from Vermont left the comfort of her parents' home and travelled all the way to the South to teach in a new school for illiterate blacks. Her name was Viola Knapp, which was soon changed to Mrs. Ruffner when she married a U.S. Army Lieutenant, Lewis Ruffner. The couple moved around the south quite a bit as the now General Ruffner was transferred from place to place. Later, he owned two salt mines and employed former slaves. One of his employees was Booker and his brothers and father. Booker desperately wanted to go to school and learn to read, and he had begun to teach himself the letters. The mine work was grueling, especially for such a young boy. The living conditions were horrible. The days were endless. Was there any hope for a better future? Not at present. The Negroes at this time in the South were cheated badly because many had little experience using money. The family needed all available hands to work in the mine. Booker managed to attend a Negro night school sporadically.
Eventually, Booker heard of a school in Virginia for former slaves. He set his sights on going there some day. He also found out that his boss' wife, Mrs. Ruffner, had once been a teacher of African Americans and hired Negro boys to help her at home. Booker decided to ask her for a job and try to get out of the dark hole of the mine.
Booker had heard that Mrs. Ruffner was hard to please. But he decided to work his hardest no matter what. He had seen something in the way she looked at him that made him want to reach for his dreams. She did not see his dirty exterior; she seemed to look straight to his heart and see what he could become if given the chance. Booker's first task was to clean an old woodshed. He had no idea how to do this, but he began and did the best he could. After a while, he went in and told Mrs. Ruffner that he was done. She followed him out to the shed and showed him many things still to be done. Booker wondered why he hadn't seen these things before. This was the first time in Booker's life that he really had to use his mind. When he was a slave, every task he did was monitored closely and he never had to think and plan what to do. Now, Mrs. Ruffner gave the instructions and left, leaving Booker to accomplish the work. Three more times he told Mrs. Ruffner he was finished with the woodshed, and each time she came and pointed out more things to be done. Each time he continued the task with new eyes and new determination to do well. She knew he could accomplish the task and she pushed him on and on.
This event was a turning point in Booker's life. He continued to work for Mrs. Ruffner and learned much about life from her. He soon went to the Hampton Institute and received his education. Later he opened his own school in Alabama called the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, specializing in training blacks in basic skills and liberal arts. The school became the largest one for black people in the world. Booker did a great deal of traveling later in his life, giving speeches around the country about the need for African American education. At one point, he was scheduled to give a speech in Rutland, Vermont. On the way, he stopped nearby to see the old Knapp homestead, the place where Mrs. Viola Knapp Ruffner had grown up. When looking at the house, he said, "To me it is a shrine." Through the inspiration of a special teacher, Booker T. Washington not only advanced himself and his dreams, but also influenced the entire African-American race in the critical time following the Civil War.
From a Salt Mine to the History Books
(the story of Booker T. Washington)
I. Civil War background
A. Some former slaves illiterate
B. Many former slaves had no concept of society, money, etc.
C. Some schools started for the blacks
II. Viola (Knapp) Ruffner
A. Vermont native
B. Goes to teach in a southern school for black children
C. Marries General Ruffner and travels with him
D. Hires Booker to work for her
- treats him like a real and valuable human being
- teaches him about cleanliness and hard work
- gives him inspiration to reach his life goals
III. Booker's accomplishments
A. Completion of the Hampton Institute in Virginia
B. Started the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama
- the largest school for blacks in the world
- continued because of Booker's conviction of the need for black education
C. Travelled extensively
- speaking all over the country
- gave speeches in the most prestigious of venues
- very well received by whites and blacks alike regarding the need for black education
- returned to the birth place of his mentor, Viola Knapp Ruffner, in Vermont to pay his homage
EXTENSIONS
- Research the Tuskegee Institute of today. What kind of programs are offered? What kinds of students attend there? Is the school still devoted to only black students?
- Write an essay about a teacher or other person who deeply influenced your life.
The story was taken from Booker T. Washington: ambitious boy by Augusta Stevenson, and The Washed Window by Dorothy Canfield Fisher, published in American Heritage Magazine.