Boyhood of George Washington Carver, The

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You George Washington Carver was born a slave, but he became one of America's most honored men He was an artist who taught himself to paint and He was good enough to make art his life work if he'd wanted to But his life work was teaching For more than 40 years he taught at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama he helped black students better their lives through education and Showed black farmers how to make better use of their land He persuaded them to grow peanuts instead of just cotton peanuts enriched the soil cotton wore it out and To help black farmers even more he experimented with plants and soils trying to find ways of improving them of using them better and In his laboratory he found hundreds of ways farmers and industry could use peanuts and sweet potatoes, too George Washington Carver scientist artist teacher Some people today think he wasn't militant enough Some people think he didn't fight hard enough for the rights of black people Well, he did what he thought was best Using his mind and his hands.

He helped millions of people black and white His long busy life was an upward struggle that began when he was just a child Around the little country town where he lived neighbors called him the plant doctor Sometimes they would give him sickly houseplants and he would take them to his secret garden to make them well -off Again You George and his brother Jim were orphans who now lived with Sue and Moses Carver Their mother Mary had been a slave on the Carver farm Moses Carver didn't like slavery, but there had been no other way for him to get the help his wife needed But Mary was no longer with them She was a slave to the farmer and she was a slave to the farmer She had been kidnapped by slave raiders George often thought about what happened to his mother that terrible night when he was just a baby George never saw her again Now the days of slavery were passed and the Carvers were raising George and Jim as they would raise their own children George wasn't too strong, so he was usually given the easier jobs on the farm His brother Jim usually did the heavier work You George often watched Sue Carver knitting He knew he could do anything with his hands so he tried He made his own needles out of large turkey feathers stripped bare and For yarn he unraveled a sock and he imitated the movements he had seen Sue Carver make When his chores were done George would spend his time exploring observing Finding out all he could about things around him George often visited a neighbor's house where he was allowed in the kitchen He would often visit a neighbor's house where he was allowed in the kitchen One day he went beyond the kitchen Into the parlor There were paintings on the wall The first paintings George had ever seen You George decided he would learn to paint He made his own brush and he made his own paints He painted on anything he could find and As usual he was using his mind and his head You George was always trying to find answers to problems always finding interesting things to bring home and ask about You There was so much he wanted to learn But because he was black he couldn't go to the nearby school So he decided to teach himself to read from an old spelling book He learned every word in that book As he found other books to read his desire to become educated grew stronger and stronger Till finally one day when he was in his early teens he knew what he had to do He decided to leave the Carvers and walk to a small town about eight miles away where there was a school for black children For the first time he would be on his own Many struggles many difficulties were ahead for him But one day the whole world would admire this courageous quiet genius George Washington Carver You

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Identifier

F.2017-09-0004

Run Time

0:12:53

Format

16mm

Extent

460 feet

Color

Color

Sound

Optical

Reel/Tape Number

1/1

Has Been Digitized?

Yes

Element

Print

Related Collections

Robert Flaxman Collection

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