Ranked among the best autobiographies, Up from Slavery documents the personal achievement of the renowned educator, Booker T. Washington in his long journey from being born into slavery, to becoming a leading educator and founder of the Tuskegee Institute, a famous speaker, and a spokesman for his race towards the turn of the 20th century.

Booker T. Washington was instrumental in helping to establish schools specializing in vocational training for minorities in order to advance their position in society by obtaining marketable skills. A firm believer in the value of education as the best route to advancement, Washington disapproved of civil-rights agitation and in so doing earned the opposition of many black intellectuals. Yet, he is today regarded as a major figure in the struggle for equal rights, one who founded a number of organizations to further the cause and who worked tirelessly to educate and unite African Americans.