THE TIGER AND THE TORCH ebook

Written words live beyond their writers. Many of our elders are long gone and
sometimes all that we have to remember them by are their words. A person’s
handwriting says a lot about them. For this reason, being able to see, hear and
read things expressed by people in their own words in their own way is a
privilege.
In A Vision of Education: Selected Writings of Edgar A. Long 42 , editor Anna
Fariello used Edgar’s handwriting throughout the book. Doing so helps to add
visual interest, provides content straight from the source, and uncovers another
layer in an historical account of Christiansburg Institute’s longest serving
principal. Overall, the collection is a well-thought and organized grouping of
autobiographical content mixed with insightful editorial content. The way Anna
Fariello brings together his content sheds light on the time period in which he
lived from another perspective.
During his tenure, Edgar A. Long, demonstrated versatility and artistry through
his writings. He provides a glimpse into what it was like living as a Black man in
Southwest Virginia shortly after the Civil War and into the 1900’s. Edgar wrote
reports, newsletters, sermons, speeches, and poetry with a particular creative
flair demonstrating how words can serve as art. Even as a student at Tuskegee
Institute, Booker T. Washington commented on Edgar’s published work.
Although he didn’t have any formal creative writing training, Edgar attributed
his poetic talent to his father “…who though unlettered had a gift for narrating
incidents and experiences from his own life that was something wonderful.” 43
“Build the ladder by which we rise from the lowly earth to
the vaulted skies; glad of the opportunity to pour into the
foundation of the structure of our racial ladder
because it gives us hope to believe that by it
we shall rise to better things.”
Edgar A. Long Quote from the President’s Annual Report/
Negro Teachers’ & School Improvement League of Virginia 44
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