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Tuskegee University

Booker T. Washington

1856

Booker T. Washington was born on April 5th, 1856.

1865

Washington was born into slavery until he was freed at the age of 9 after the Civil War. He soon starts to work in the salt and coal mines while attending night school.

1875

Washington graduates Hampton Institute with honors and started teaching in his home town.

1901

Washington publishes his most famous book, Up From Slavery. He then dies in 1915.

1881

While teaching at the Hampton Institute, he was asked to be head of a school in Tuskegee, he accepted.

1896

Washington earns an honorary degree from Harvard University.

Alice Coachman

• Won the Olympic high jump title becoming the first black woman from any country to win a gold medal
• Won 23 titles, most in high jump, some in sprints.
• Was recruited by Tuskegee university while she was still in high school.
• She grew up in the segregated south and trained on dirt roads and used old equipment to practice high jump
• She became an icon and leader for future black female athletes
• Created the Alice Coachman Track and Field Foundation to aid young athletes and former competitors in financial need
• Inducted into the United States Olympic and Paralympic hall of fame
• Died in 2014 at the age of 90

Establishment of Tuskegee University

• Established July 4th, 1881
• George Campbell, former slave owner and politician, wanted the support of African Americans so he asked Lewis Adams, former slave and community leader, to help him get more votes. Lewis agreed if Campbell would pass a bill allowing education for African Americans. Campbell agreed and bill 165 allowed Adams to open "Negro Normal School in Tuskegee"
• The school was first opened on an empty plot of land
• The board asked for a teacher from Hampton Institute and Booker T Washington accepted
• Washington was principal from 1881-1915, when he passed away

• The school later moved to an abandoned 100-acre plantation
• The students helped build the school
• After the death of Washington, Robert R Moton became president from 1915-1935