Up from Slavery · Chapter
X: A Harder Task Than Making Bricks Without Straw explained
Booker T.
What happens
Booker T. Washington describes the early challenges at Tuskegee, including the students' resistance to manual labor, the failed first brick kiln, and the struggle to establish a boarding department with no funds. He emphasizes the educational value of having students build their own buildings and learn trades, and recounts fundraising efforts in the North, the first Thanksgiving service in Porter Hall, and the recruitment of key supporters like Rev. Robert C. Bedford and Mr. Warren Logan.
Themes in this chapter
Dignity of Labor
Washington emphasizes teaching students to see beauty and dignity in labor, lifting it from drudgery to a source of pride and self-reliance.
Self-Reliance and Character Building
The chapter highlights how building their own structures taught students self-help, self-reliance, and a sense of ownership over the school.
Overcoming Adversity and Poverty
Washington recounts the extreme poverty and lack of resources at Tuskegee, and how the school overcame these obstacles through determination and hard work.
Characters to notice
- Booker T. Washington
Narrates the chapter, detailing his determination to have students build their own buildings and learn industrial skills despite opposition.
- Miss Olivia A. Davidson
Traveled North with Washington in the summer of 1882 to raise funds for the new building.
- Mr. Warren Logan
Introduced as a young man from Hampton who became treasurer of the Institute and acting principal, praised for his unselfishness and business acumen.
- Rev. Robert C. Bedford
A white minister from Wisconsin who preached the first Thanksgiving sermon at Tuskegee and became a devoted trustee for eighteen years.
Key passages
“The individual who can do something that the world wants done will, in the end, make his way regardless of race.”
A person who provides a needed service will succeed no matter their race.
Washington argues that practical skills are more valuable than abstract knowledge for gaining acceptance and economic independence.
“I had always sympathized with the 'Children of Israel,' in their task of 'making bricks without straw,' but ours was the task of making bricks with no money and no experience.”
Washington compares the school's struggle to the biblical story, but notes their additional lack of funds and expertise.
Highlights the extreme difficulty of establishing the brickmaking industry at Tuskegee.
“He completely obliterates himself in everything, and looks only for permission to serve where service is most disagreeable, and where others would not be attracted.”
Rev. Bedford is so selfless that he seeks out the most unpleasant tasks to help the school.
Washington praises Bedford's humility and dedication as a trustee.