Tuskegee & Its People: Their Ideals and Achievements was published by D. Appleton & Company in 1905. Washington edited the volume but contributed only the introduction; the bulk of the book consists of essays by Tuskegee graduates and faculty members describing their work in the field — teaching in rural schools, establishing agricultural extension programs, building businesses, organizing communities.
The book’s structure is Washington’s most effective argument for Tuskegee’s approach: rather than citing statistics or making philosophical claims, he lets the graduates speak for themselves. A woman describes teaching cooking and hygiene in a one-room schoolhouse. A man describes building a brickyard that employs his entire community. Another describes organizing a farmers’ conference. The cumulative effect is a portrait of institutional impact that no abstract argument could match.
As a primary source for the history of Black education in the early twentieth-century South, the book is invaluable. As propaganda for Washington’s philosophy, it is sophisticated — the voices are diverse enough to seem unscripted, and the achievements are specific enough to seem real, because they are.
Collecting Tuskegee & Its People
First edition (D. Appleton & Co., New York, 1905): Cloth binding.
Market values:
- First edition, near fine: $150–$400
- Very good: $60–$150