Booker T. Washington was an American educator, author, orator and political leader. Born into slavery to a white father and slave mother Washington representative of the last generation of black leaders born in slavery. After emancipation, he worked in a variety of manual labor jobs making his way to Hampton Roads education. He worked his way through Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute and attended college at Wayland Seminary. After returning to Hampton as a teacher, in 1881 he was named as the first leader of the new Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Building Character is a collection of thirty-seven addresses Washington gave before students, faculty, and guests at the Tuskegee Institute. These addresses include timeless advice on subjects such as; Helping Others, The Virtue of Simplicity, Keeping Your Word, Getting Down To Mother Earth, The Cultivation of Stable Habits, and more. In 1896 Washington was granted an honorary master's degree from Harvard University for his contributions to American society. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate from Dartmouth College in 1901. In 1901 President Theodore Roosevelt invited Washington to the White House making him the first African-American ever invited as a guest. At the end of the 2008 presidential election Senator John McCain, referred to Washington's visit a century earlier as the seed that blossomed into the first African American becoming the President of the United States.
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