Booker T. Washington, Builder o - African American History

Booker T. Washington, Builder of a Civilization. 204
24.03.2006
Mr. Washington was a great believer in the sweet potato. He personaly
supervised the work of preparing for sweet potato planting
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practice not only because it was more expensive, but because it eliminated the
work of raising, preparing, and serving the foods which he regarded as a
valuable exercise in civilization. He also insisted that everything raised on the
farms should in one way or another be used by the students. Besides serving to
the students every variety of Southern vegetable from the Institute's extensive
truck gardens, he always insisted that their own corn be ground into meal and
that they make their own preserves out of their own peaches, blackberries, and
other fruits. In other words, he made the community feed itself just as far as
possible. And this he did quite as much because of the knowledge of the
processes of right living which it imparted as for the money which it saved.
The Treasurer also submitted a daily report of contributions and other receipts
of the previous day with the name and address of each contributor. Mr.
Washington arranged to receive and look over these daily reports even when
travelling. Hence, in a sense, he was never absent. Only very rarely and under
most unusual circumstances did he cut this means of daily contact with the
multifold activities of the institution.