Booker T. Washington, Builder o - African American History

Booker T. Washington, Builder of a Civilization. 231
better the condition of the race there is no difference between us, and I shall be
delighted to work in hearty coÖperation with you.'
"Since then, I have known him intimately and well. He was unselfish and
generous to a fault; he was modest yet masterful; he was quiet yet intense; his
common sense and sagacity seemed uncanny, such was his knowledge of
human nature. His was a great soul in which no bitterness or littleness could
even find a lurking place. His was the great heart of Lincoln, with malice toward
none and charity for all. He loved all men and all men loved him.
"My humble prayer is that his torch has lighted another among the dark millions
of America, to lead the race onward and upward."
Booker Washington's insistence that the classrooms,
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shops, and farms were for the development of the students rather than the
students for their development was well illustrated by a remark he once made to
Bishop William Lawrence of Massachusetts when the Bishop was visiting the
Institute. In reply to Bishop Lawrence's question as to whether he had chosen
the best available land for his agricultural work, he said, "No, sir, I chose pretty
nearly the poorest land I could find. I chose land on which men would have to
spend all their energies to bring out the life in the land. They work here under
the hardest conditions. When they go out to other lands--to their own lands,
perhaps--they won't find any worse land to till. If they find any better land the
difference will be all gain for them."
Perhaps more remarkable than any or all of his achievements was the fact that
Booker Washington was a gentleman. It would be difficult to find a man who
better conformed to the exacting yet illusive requirements of that term. He had
not only the naturalness and the goodness of heart which are the fundamentals,
but he had also the breeding and the polish which distinguish the finished
gentleman from the "rough diamond." This fact about Booker Washington has
been well described by Hamilton Wright Mabie in an article entitled: "Booker
T. Washington: Gentleman," in which he says in part:
"Booker Washington became one of the foremost men in America; he was heard
on great occasions by great audiences with profound attention; he was a writer
and speaker of National position, the founder of a college, and the
24.03.2006