Up From Slavery is a book by the prominent African-American leader Booker T. Washington. This book was so important that I had to include a discussion of it in my book: The Real Wakandas of Africa. He was a very important part of the Black community in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Up From Slavery is a must read for all who feel that people have the ability to succeed despite their circumstances. Booker T. Washington was born into slavery, yet he rose to become one of the leading Black figures of his day. Yearning to read at an early age, he took a journey by himself to go to school. Facing segregated facilities and without money, he had to work to pay for his travel (hundreds of miles away) to the school. Upon arriving at school he worked at the school to pay his way through school. Eventually, he established Tuskegee University and his students built many of the buildings there. Booker T. Washington is often looked down upon because he did not advocate publicly for voting rights. However, there is some evidence that he was funneling money to support voting rights campaigns. Marcus Garvey looked up to Booker T. Washington because he focused upon industry and upon controlling businesses in the black community. Up From Slavery is an important read along with other books like that of WEB Du Bois. In many ways his book serves as the foundation for the importance of black owned businesses. Despite its shortcomings, you will enjoy this book and the development of Booker T. Washington as he often presents himself as having the perfect solution for any given situation. If there was a shortcoming to Booker T. Washington, it was that he did not publicly advocate for political rights for Black people. Like Booker T. Washington‘s book, I also discuss the importance of economic development of black businesses in the African-American community in my book The Real Wakandas of Africa. However, unlike Washington I also discuss the rich history of Africa before slavery and before colonialism. Prior to slavery Africans performed surgery on the eye to remove cataracts 700 years ago. In Central Africa they conducted cesarean sections with antiseptics several hundred years before they were done anywhere else in the world. They smelted carbon steel 2000 years before the present and Africans built the tallest building in the world. This building stood as the tallest building for more than 4000 years. To add to this, Africans also constructed a wall for which I wrote a book called: The Great Wall of Africa: The Empire of Benin’s 10,000 Mile Long Wall. This wall would almost wrap around the United States of America. It is stories like these that are often missing from African-American history. Nevertheless, the book Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington is a classic and a must read. It will keep you captivated with the life of Booker T. Washington as he struggled as a child to learn to read, pursued advanced degrees, and became a prominent Black leader in American society. Pick up a copy today!