Page 10 - Discover WINTER 2022
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GREATNESS CONTINUED
hard physical labor, neither of which he ever shied throughout his academic career, and soon after
away from. In fact, it was his belief that no education graduation, he found great pleasure in the service of
could be truly complete or valuable without learning his fellow man. As a young teacher, he never refused
the value and meaning of hard physical work. He or discouraged any student, regardless of ability to
attributed his unique attitude toward his experience pay or his workload.
as a slave, which taught him some important life
He was soon recognized, and rewarded with
lessons.
the challenge of establishing a school in Tuskegee,
He had watched as the white plantation owners, Alabama, that would share the mission of the
who believed that manual labor was beneath their Hampton Institute in Virginia. Applying his
dignity, lapsed into a state of increasing helplessness unparalleled determination to the project, he
as they left all physical work to their slaves. The succeeded in securing funds to purchase the land of
slaves, never having received proper training in the an old plantation, and together with his students,
trades, did the best that they could, but the net over a period of many years, he cleared land, erected
result was that the plantations fell into disrepair. The buildings, and established agricultural and industrial
unfortunate result of this was enterprises on the school’s
that after emancipation, blacks grounds. These enterprises
were not properly prepared helped to subsidize the cost of
for making their way in the boarding the school’s growing
world, and whites were similarly population, as well as affording
unprepared to assume the duties students the opportunity to earn
that had once been performed by their own way.
their slaves.
This served the purpose
This was compounded by the of giving the students the
attitude, now held by both races, satisfaction of having built their
that manual labor was beneath own school, as well as teaching
their dignity. Washington them the value of hard physical
resolved that he would embrace labor, in addition to the pursuits
both hard physical labor and of book learning. The students
his academic studies with equal were thus prepared for whatever
enthusiasm, and this turned out to be the key to his challenges lay ahead of them, and at the same time,
success. In his autobiography, Up From Slavery, he they learned that there was no shame in any kind of
explains: work.
The individual who can do something that It was not long before the school’s reputation was
the world wants done will, in the end, make his well-established, and Washington found himself
way regardless of race. One man may go into a spending a great deal of his time traveling to cities in
community prepared to supply the people there with the north, in pursuit of funding for expansion of the
an analysis of Greek sentences. The community may school, as well as scholarship money to an increasing
not at the time be prepared for, or feel the need of, number of needy students. Eventually, this led to an
Greek analysis, but it may feel its need of bricks and honorary degree from Harvard, and a nationwide
houses and wagons. If the man can supply the need reputation as a forceful and effective public speaker.
for those, then, it will lead eventually to a demand True to his character, he declined many invitations to
for the first product, and with the demand will come tour the country as an orator, since he was exclusively
the ability to appreciate it and to profit by it. committed to two things: the ongoing success of
Tuskegee Institute, and the continued advancement
Washington exemplified this work ethic
8 Discover Smith Mountain Lake WINTER 2021
