There have been many influential Black leaders since the Civil War.

They include Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Dubois, and of course Martin Luther King.

But none had more influence in their time than Booker T. Washington did in his.

Known by his admirers as the modern Moses, his role in helping Blacks establish themselves

after their liberation from slavery is a testament to the man and to America.

Booker T. Washington was born into slavery in 1856.

He did not know the day or month of his birth, who his father was, or his last name.

As a child, he was known only as Booker.

He chose the name Washington. He was nine years old when a union soldier arrived on the plantation

and announced that all slaves were free. The initial reaction to this announcement,

Washington recalled, was elation, and then shock. Yes, the Civil War was over. They were free,

but free to do what? The freed slaves, through no fault of their own, were simply unprepared for

freedom. They needed to learn not only basic academic skills, reading, writing, and arithmetic,

but basic life skills like hygiene, how and why to bathe in brush their teeth.

The cause to which Washington dedicated his life was education, practical education. His journey

began in 1872, seven years after the Civil War ended. He traveled 500 miles, most of it on foot,

to a small Virginia school dedicated to the education of freed blacks, the Hampton Normal

and Agricultural Institute. Forced to spend all his major funds on the grueling journey,

he arrived only with the clothes on his back. The headmistress viewed his suitability as a student

with open skepticism, but he wouldn't budge. She finally gave him a chance to prove his worth

in the form of a broom and a cleaning assignment. He passed her test and earned admission.

He graduated with top honors. Several years later, he was invited to begin what would become his

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