Up From Slavery

During his first Christmas season in Alabama, Washington is surprised by the local traditions that, to him, seem to have little relationship to the birth of Jesus Christ. Traveling around the Alabama countryside, he finds that people often stop working for the week between Christmas and New Years to get drunk and have wild parties, even if that is not how they behave the rest of the year. Among the poorest people on the old plantations, he finds that people can barely afford to celebrate at all, making do with a small bundle of fireworks shared between several children or 10 cents worth of cake for a family of six. At the Tuskegee school, he tries to foster a seasonal spirit of sharing and celebration, doing things like rebuilding a house for an elderly woman or finding coats for poor students to wear during winter.

Washington is somewhat surprised to see how enthusiastic the white citizens of Tuskegee are about the growing school. He credits this good reputation to his insistence that the school work for the good of everyone in the community, making it feel like a part of the town rather than a separate, private place. This goodwill helps the school raise enough money to quickly pay for the property in full.