Tuskegee & Its People: Their Ideals and Achievements
History
Tuskegee & Its People: Their Ideals and Achievements
Tuskegee Institute
I taught them Scripture verses by repeating verse after verse till they
were able to recite them for me. I also sought to teach them to read,
and quite a large number can read now because of the opportunities
provided by my Sunday-school class. I have kept this class of older
people together, and it is one of the most active ones of all. We have
studied together many other things aside from the Sunday-school lessons,
and it has been necessary to do so, because the people have none of the
opportunities provided for those who live in the towns and cities. I was
early much encouraged to note that my efforts were appreciated by the
people.
I was often called upon to act as arbiter in all kinds of difficult and
unpleasant disputes involving family relations and other differences
among the people. Many and many a time did I take the place of the
minister and speak to the people when he could not be present.
To teach the people self-help, the surest sign of progress, we decided
to plan for a main school building which should mark the center of our
activities. This building we were able to erect at a cost of $2,000, and
it is a satisfaction to the people of the community that they alone paid
every cent of the cost, not one penny coming from the outside. The
struggle was a long one, a hard one, with bad crops and other hard
conditions interfering with our plans.
This building is a two-story one, well ventilated, roomy, and
accommodates 300 pupils. From the first we have sought to follow in the
footsteps of the parent institution, and have had the industries taught;
agriculture was introduced at once.
A large Trades Building was soon erected and teachers from Tuskegee
secured to help in the work. Blacksmithing, wheelwrighting, carpentry,
painting, and agriculture have been provided for the young men, and
cooking, laundering, housekeeping, and sewing for the young women.
The following buildings we now have in addition to those named: a
dormitory for girls, a blacksmithing-shop, and a teachers' home. More
than 4,000 pupils have come under the influence of the school.
[Illustration: THE CULTURE OF BEES.
Students at work in the apiary.]
I have continuously, for seventeen years, with the exception of a short
period, been in charge of the school; during the absence referred to I
was studying in New York city, and afterward, through the generosity of
a friend, was able to spend one year in Queen Margaret's College,
Glasgow, Scotland.
I am pleased with the progress the people have made. Many now own their
own homes, and eight and ten persons are no longer content to sleep in
one-room log cabins, as was only too true during the earlier years of my
work. I have regularly had "mothers' meetings," and these have raised
the home life of the people to a higher standard. I know what I am
saying when I state that sacred family ties are respected and
appreciated as never before in this immediate region.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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