George Washington Carver and Black History Month

Every Black History Month, we celebrate the same Black American historical figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Booker T. Washington, and Frederick Douglass. No doubt, these figures have impacted our country for the better–socially, educationally, financially–I consider it a mission to learn about, appreciate, and air our under-recognized black figures.

George Washington Carver (no, he is not related to our nation’s first president), made astonishing strides and contributions to American society and the empowerment of Black people and deserves a looksee.

While the details of his young life are unclear to the public, we know that in 1864, he was born in Diamond, Missouri, just one year before the abolition of slavery in 1865. His owners, Moses and Susan Carver, taught him how to read, write, which was unusual for the time, and care for the family garden. He discovered he had a passion for nature, often daydreaming about how God could make such beauty out of the most basic forest. In 1877, at the age of 13, he was convinced by the others in his community to leave his home state of Missouri to pursue a higher education.

He attended Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, studying piano and art. His art professor, Etta Budd, realized the utter talent Carver possessed for planting, and persuaded him to study fungal disease and botany at Iowa State Agricultural College. He graduated in 1894 earning a master’s degree in science and agriculture, making him the very first African-American ever to earn an advanced degree in agricultural science.

In 1896, the well-known educator, author, and philanthropist, Booker T. Washington extended to Carver a teaching position at Tuskegee University, an HBCU in Alabama, and he accepted that offer. While teaching at Tuskegee, Carver framed exceptional, rigorous, and vigorous inquiries regarding the use of peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans; he also focused on living and farming sustainably and identified reusable items such as recycled oil and paints from clay. These discoveries changed the lives of not just African Americans, but all Americans. Carver traveled around in his mobile classroom from community to community, teaching formerly-enslaved-farm workers effective techniques to care for their farms, such as crop rotation, self-sufficiency farming, and nutrition to name a few. During his time, he was famously known for inventing 325 uses for peanuts, and surprisingly none of his inventions were peanut-butter! He also invented 108 uses for sweet potatoes other than for eating. He rendered yeast, writing ink, spiced vinegar, all from sweet potatoes and paper from sweet potato vines.

George Washington Carver was wickedly intelligent. He was a genius in botany and agriculture. Additionally, he was not only a scientist, but a social activist for black male suffrage, becoming a symbol of hope for the African American community. He proved to everyone that a former slave, like himself, is equally as capable as a white man of obtaining higher education, graduating with advanced degrees, becoming one of the most important figures in American history, and be remembered for changing the lives of millions. His journey, I imagine, was not an easy one because of his intelligence and commitment to learning and serving his community.

Carver’s life sadly ended on January 5th 1943, after succumbing to complications of anemia after he fell down the stairs of his homestead; he was buried next to his mentor, dear friend, supporter and fellow black American, Booker T. Washington.