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Booker T Washington Short Biography

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Booker T. Washington was born in 1856 as a slave on a Virginia plantation owned by James Burroughs. His mother was a slave, and his father was an unknown, white male. His original name was Booker Taliaferro; he took the last name Washington after his stepfather, Washington Ferguson. He was nine years old when he was emancipated, and he immediately took a job at a coalmine to help support his family. Around this time, his mother, who was illiterate herself, bought him a spelling book and encouraged Washington to study. He displayed great intelligence, and soon impressed the owner of the coalmine’s wife. She gave Washington a job as a houseboy, and helped further his education. At the age of sixteen, Washington left his home and walked

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