Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute Builds Model of Black Self-Sufficiency

Booker T. Washington founded Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama in 1881 with $2,000 from the state and no land or buildings. By 1900 the campus encompassed 2,300 acres, 66 buildings constructed by students, and an endowment exceeding $1 million. Tuskegee trained thousands of Black teachers and skilled workers during an era when most Southern states criminalized Black education.