Up from Slavery (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading)

This autobiography of a slave's rise to distinction asserts that a strong work ethic and excellence in whatever one is doing will be rewarded no matter what race or what position a person holds in life. As far as Washington was concerned, slavery only made the black person stronger. He argued that both blacks and whites would benefit more from giving blacks vocational training than from encouraging the "craze for Greek & Latin learning." While this set him at odds with other black leaders of his time, such as W.E. B. Du Bois, it also set the groundwork for Washington's Tuskegee Institute to be the best-funded black educational institution of its era.