Up from Slavery

Up from Slavery is Booker T. Washington’s 1901 autobiography, recounting his childhood in slavery, education, and work establishing Tuskegee Institute.

Connect

Booker T. Washington: Booker T. Washington was an African American educator and leader who founded Tuskegee Institute and advocated vocational education. The autobiography presents Washington’s life and articulates the educational philosophy he promoted.
Emancipation: Emancipation is the ending of legal slavery, especially the liberation of enslaved people in the United States during the Civil War. Washington recounts being born enslaved and gaining freedom after the Civil War.
The Souls of Black Folk: The Souls of Black Folk is W. E. B. Du Bois’s 1903 collection of essays on Black life, race, and American society. Du Bois’s critique challenges the accommodationist strategy associated with Washington’s autobiography.
Atlanta compromise: The Atlanta compromise is the political accommodation associated with Booker T. Washington’s 1895 address, accepting segregation while seeking economic opportunity. The autobiography helped make Washington’s accommodationist program legible to a broad national audience.
Tuskegee Institute: Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University, is an Alabama institution founded by Booker T. Washington in 1881 to educate Black students. Washington’s account culminates in the establishment and growth of this school.
Freedmen's Bureau: The Freedmen’s Bureau was a federal agency that assisted formerly enslaved people and refugees in the post–Civil War South. Its schools and aid formed part of the postwar setting for Black education described in the book.
W. E. B. Du Bois: W. E. B. Du Bois was an American sociologist, historian, and civil rights activist who advocated full political and civil equality. Du Bois opposed Washington’s emphasis on vocational training and gradual political change.
Booker T. Washington Monument: The Booker T. Washington Monument is a bronze sculpture at Tuskegee University depicting Washington lifting a veil from an enslaved person. The monument’s imagery echoes the autobiography’s narrative of emergence from slavery through education.
Atlanta Exposition Address: Booker T. Washington’s 1895 speech proposed economic cooperation and vocational advancement for Black Americans amid segregation. The speech’s themes of gradual advancement echo the autobiography’s account of Washington’s public program.
Hampton University: Hampton University is a historically Black university in Virginia, founded in 1868 as Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. Washington’s studies at Hampton shaped his approach to education and influenced Tuskegee’s model.