Tuskegee Institute was established by an act of the General Assembly of Alabama on February 12, 1881, and Booker T. Washington opened the school on July 4 of that year to become its founder and first principal. Mr. Washington’s aim was to educate the head, the heart, and the hand, and through his students, transmit this learning to the community. He was committed to industrial, not liberal education, for the recently emancipated black population. Tuskegee Institute’s historical controversial philosophy of industrial education has been the subject of much criticism by some black leaders. Washington’s critics felt that the educational program at Tuskegee Institute was not in the best interest of black youth. There was also concern that Washington’s philosophy of education and his philosophy of race relations would force the Negro into a second slavery
