Journal #18 Booker T. Washington: Be A Farmer!

QUOTE:

“No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem. It is at the bottom of life we must begin, and not the top” (Washington 681).


SUMMARY:

Washington gives this speech at the Atlanta Exposition in order to encourage a friendship between Southern whites and Southern blacks especially. He is introduced as a representative of “Negro enterprise and Negro Civilization.”


RESPONSE:

There is definitely truth in this statement, as far as there being dignity in different professions and lifestyles, since all people are especially skilled in different mediums. However, not everyone is necessarily destined to start out farming. At first Washington’s speech makes perfect sense though, people in general start at level one before they start on level five, but every single African American has a different scenario and cannot be expected to hold back if he or she is ready for a, perhaps, more “sophisticated” or complex lifestyle. It seems like Washington’s main concern is with the Southern states though, and enabling Southern whites and Southern blacks to progress side by side, so he is most likely talking about the majority of the “ex-plantation” slave population becoming farmers before anything else.

At first I thought, “This makes sense,” and I agreed with Washington. However, although his idea can be applied to many Southern African Americans, I also see how Washington’s speeches contributed to racial segregation and inequality. It’s unfortunate that his points didn’t include African Americans who had been educated since his speeches brought so much attention, so I’m glad that there were other black Americans who at least disagreed with Washington's ideas. If nobody challenged Washington, I wonder if there would still be segregation today? I don’t want to completely dismiss what Washington was trying to accomplish, however. I understand his reasoning considering how many slaves were somewhat dependent on their masters, since slaveholders liked to keep their slaves in a “childlike” state.