Booker T. Washington, the prophet?

It is appropriate, then, to suggest that, while their educational philosophies differ in terms of their methods, audiences, tone, and character, they are markedly similar in their aim. (Dunn 26)

Learning is human nature; learning who comforts and provides for you and what items are edible or not; learning how to walk, talk and play; and eventually learning complexities like histories, math, science, sociology, etc. We learn naturally, and naturally those that learn the most and best get ahead. The subjects and even attitudes learned can vary drastically in different cultures and regions, but the intent of learning is to position one’s self to survive; for everyone, everywhere. Academic education has persisted as a almost guaranteed ticket to survival, and thus is regarded as vital in many regions of the world. Other educations- medicine, farming, fishing, etc- also serve the same purpose, survival. In the Eurocentric, Enlightenment-influenced world we live in today, the education best suited for survival is that of the scholar, and his trade… money.

Our children have had educational advantages that thousands of white children never did have. (Washington, A Sunday Evening Talk)

But what if those things we learn in higher education aren’t as valuable to survival, as say the knowledge of how to reap and sew fields? Booker T. Washington suggests just that; that even though blacks are equally capable and should be provided the same higher education oppurtunities as whites, their plantation education should not go by the wayside, but rather recognized as an advantage over the whites who know little of how to grow crops. Washington’s philosophy clearly has merit in that such knowledge does place blacks ahead of whites in that regard, particularly if the goal of education is to quench hunger, as he suggests in A Sunday Evening Talk.
In his time, and certainly in the rural South, the reticence and ability to work and grow crops was valuable, however, his argument must be recognized within its historical and geographical context. A plantation education, or the knowledge and abilities hitherto acquired by those who received such education, serves a much smaller advantage in today’s capital driven society than in Washington’s era. Plenty of men and women who couldn’t pick a cotton ball wear the most lavish of clothes and children who don’t know the first step of planting a garden who are overwhelmingly obese. How can this be? Simply put, money. Money overrides any intellectual ineptitude i.e. Paris Hilton. Of course that neglects the importance of a university education as well, but the intent was to demonstrate the diminished advantage of the plantation education.
Will that advantage re-gain prominence in the future? As our global population skyrockects, capital becomes increasingly more valuable, but so too does the importance of agricultural adeptness. Knowing how to grow your own vegetables and raise your own chickens can save money, improve our environmental impact and prove healthier than questionable food production and distribution practices. Environmentalists, farmers and health experts would agree with Washnigton’s position. As governments become more and more outdated, and faith in such systems continually dissipate, self-sufficiency becomes paramount to successful living, a self-sufficiency received via the Washington’s plantation education. Perhaps Washington’s philosophy is outdated, perhaps it doesn’t apply as aptly to the present situation, but perhaps too, he has issued us a prophecy of success in the future. And to think… a Negro could come up with it!