Freed, & Making People Freer

This summer, I visited the Booker T. Washington National Monument for the first time. Walking through the grounds of the plantation on which he and his family were enslaved, I imagined the everyday lives, but moreso, the moments when the Washington family received news of their emancipation and began to make moves into their future as free people.

As noted on the NPS website, the building structures are attempts to replicate what the plantation may have looked like when Booker and his family were slaves. Booker went on to influence Black higher education and businesses. Among the accolades and positive work he achieved, criticism of his compromises also exist.

The National Park System’s preservation of Booker T. Washington’s history allows visitors to consider how his early years influenced his legacy, as well as continued wrestling with his excellent work and the continued inequality in society.