Against this dismal and deteriorating landscape, Booker T.
Washington struggled valiantly to build one of America's great
educational institutions, Tuskegee. Starting with one
dilapidated cabin, whose roof leaked so badly that a student had
to hold an umbrella over Washington's hand when he lectured on
wet nights, Washington built Tuskegee into the largest and
wealthiest school in Alabama by 1900, attended by more students
than attended any of the state's own (all-white) universities.
He raised funds for buildings and to acquire land. Tuskegee's
main business was to train teachers for segregated black primary
schools. It also offered instruction in advanced farming
techniques, brick making, and other skilled trades. Unusually
for the era, Tuskegee was coeducational from the first.
Tuskegee's students could hardly afford the cost of tuition.
Washington threw himself into the work of fundraising, achieving
spectacular success by gaining the confidence of the richest
industrialists of the North. They were impres