Skip to main content

Primary sourceBook1900

The Story of My Life and Work

Booker T. Washington · 1900

Booker T. Washington's first autobiography, published in 1900 and sold by subscription mainly to a Black readership.

Washington wrote this early autobiography himself, aimed at a Black audience, offering a contrast to his later, more famous memoir.

Ask Booker T. Washington about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Full text (public-domain edition)

About this source

What it is

This is a book written by Booker T. Washington, Principal of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, published in 1900 with an introduction by Dr. J. L. M. Curry. It was illustrated with photo-engravings and original pen drawings, and sold only by subscription rather than in bookstores.

Why it matters

This was Washington's first autobiography, written before his more famous and polished Up from Slavery. Because it was sold by subscription and aimed primarily at Black readers, it offers a different view of how Washington presented his life story depending on his audience, compared with the version written later for white readers. Comparing the two books shows how Washington carefully shaped his public image for different audiences.

Look closer

  • Why might Washington have chosen to sell this book only by subscription instead of in stores?
  • How might a book aimed at Black readers differ in tone or content from one aimed at white readers?
  • What does the choice of introduction writer tell us about who Washington wanted to associate with this book?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Booker T. Washington on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Booker T. Washington sources

Meet the AI Booker T. Washington →
Black-and-white photo of a man in a dark suit standing on an elevated platform, arm outstretched, addressing a large crowd of people gathered outdoors, with buildings and trees in the background.Speech

Primary source

Atlanta Compromise

Booker T. Washington · 18 September 1895

Front cover of a dark red cloth-bound book. Gold lettering reads 'UP FROM SLAVERY, AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY, BOOKER T. WASHINGTON', with gold rules under the title and author name.Book

Primary source

Up from Slavery

Booker T. Washington · 1901

Speech

Primary source

Booker T. Washington reading an excerpt from his 1895 Atlanta Compromise speech

Booker T. Washington · 5 December 1908

Title page of The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches by W. E. Burghardt Du Bois, Second Edition, with a printer's device reading A. C. McClurg, and imprint Chicago, A. C. McClurg & Co., 1903.Book

Secondary source

The Souls of Black Folk

W. E. B. Du Bois · 18 April 1903

Black-and-white studio portrait of a seated man in a three-piece suit with a high-collared shirt, bow tie, and vest with a watch chain. He sits angled toward the viewer against a dark drape backdrop, looking directly at the camera.Photograph

Primary source

Portrait of Booker T. Washington

Frances Benjamin Johnston · c. 1895

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Booker T. Washington now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions