Booker T. Washington

All authors’ have a purpose for writing what it is that they write. But does it stop there? Does that purpose for writing what it is that the author is trying to say just stop at that common goal of just putting words on a paper? Or does it expand? But where else could it possibly go? Booker T. Washington has more than one goal in “The Awakening of the Negro.” His goal is to get a specific message across. To widen our perception of the possible education that could be made available to the average “negro” during slavery. Washington uses logos to show exactly the power of negros He does this by establishing a lot of logos; through his experiences throughout his life.
In “The Awakening of the Negro” Booker T Washington starts off by painting a picture in the audiences mind of the things he saw and heard as he grew up. He describes to the reader what he noticed other people doing. Not just ordinary things but abnormal for a colored person. He notes a young colored man who attends school and has a great knowledge of French and other academic subjects. He also notes a young colored woman playing a piano, who had just returned from boarding school, where she was “studying instrumental music among other things” (Washington 1). These people along with other people he might have seen during his childhood exercising their gained intelligence were all “driven by the same conviction that the world as it is just won’t do. That we all have am obligation to fight for the world as it should be. Each of us, no matter the age, background, or walk of life, has something to contribute to the life of this nation” (Michelle Obama). Washington later writes about his conviction, and how was able to change the world as he tells his audience about his journey to Virginia. He was driven by a “spirit of self-help” (Washington 1). He contributed to the life of this nation his school and help that was focused on the “Black Belt of the South.” He was determined to provide “the same kind of opportunity for self-reliance and self-awakening that I had found” (Washington 1).
Washington proves this promise to his fellow people by helping those who would have no other way to find the proper education or even have the opportunity at that. Washington writes about one of his students who “paid it forward” and used his education that he acquired from Booker T. Washington’s school to organize meetings for the elder and how to help people get back on track. And he also proves his point with another student from his college, who influenced people and also helped them make changes to their lives. Washington believes that if the “negros” stick together and use the education that people like Booker T. Washington and his students provide then they will no longer need to be dependent on the “white man.” Washington gets his point across of the power of the black people by saying that “slavery taught the white man that labor with the hands was something fit got the negro only…something for the white man to come into contact with just as little as possible” (Washington 5). Because of this things were not getting done. Especially after more slaves started to become free. “the whole South, at the close of the war, was without proper food, clothing, and shelter” (Washington 6).
Through logos in this autobiography of Booker T. Washington we are able to receive a glimpse into what formed our future into the way it is now. It is because of people like Washington that we have such drastic change in history, today. On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama defied odds and became our first African-American President of the United States. If it weren’t for people like Washington and fellows alike we wouldn’t have so many successful black people today.