The Story of the Negro is a history of Americans of African descent
before and after slavery. Originally produced in two volumes, and
published here for the first time in one paperback volume, the first
part covers Africa and the history of slavery in the United States while
the second part carries the history from the Civil War to the first part
of the twentieth century. Booker T. Washington was born into slavery,
worked menial jobs in order to acquire an education, and became the most
important voice of African American interests beginning in the latter
part of the nineteenth century.
The Story of the Negro is valuable in part because it is full of
significant information taken from hundreds of obscure sources that
would be nearly impossible to assemble today. For instance, Washington
discusses the rise of African American comedy with names, places, and
dates; elsewhere he traces the growth and spread of African American
home ownership and independent businesses in the United States; and his
discussion of slavery is informed by his own life. Washington wanted
African Americans to understand and embrace their heritage, not be
ashamed of it. He explains, as an example, the role of music in the
lives of the slaves and then notes how, nearly a generation later, many
African Americans were embarrassed by this music and did not want to
learn traditional songs. Washington is able to reflect on the first
fifty years of his life embracing a range of experiences from
share-cropping to dinner at the White House. It is just this
autobiographical element that makes the volume compelling.
Washington, with his indefatigable optimism, worked his entire life to
achieve equality for African Americans through practical means. Founder
of the first business association (the National Negro Business League),
leader of the Tuskeegee Institute, where George Washington Carver
conducted research, and supporter of numerous social programs designed
to improve the welfare of African Americans, Washington was considered
during his lifetime the spokesperson for African Americans by white
society, particularly those in positions of power. This led to criticism
from within the African American community, most notably from W. E. B.
Du Bois, who considered Washington too accommodating of the white
majority, but it took Washington's farsightedness to recognize that the
immediate concerns of education, employment, and self-reflection were
necessary to achieve the ultimate goal of racial equality.
