Status Updates From Up from Slavery

Booker T’s whole life is a grind so far. Grind through slavery, grinding in the coal mines. Grinding to do a good job for Mrs. Ruffer. This way he could make more money and avoid the coal mines. Grind to get to Hampton. Grind to afford Hampton tuition by working as a Janitor. The amount of discipline this guy had and the way he’s writing his life story is awe inspiring.

After finishing Chapter 1 I can tell that I’m in for a unique perspective on slavery and black Americans. Washington states that “the black man got nearly as much out of slavery as the white man did.” While the statement seems controversial, his reasoning is understandable. He claims that blacks were conditioned to become handy with manual labor, while white slave owners and their families became lazy.

Reading for school🙂