Finding a Way Out

Knowledge about the American social environment in the transitional period following the Civil War is still incomplete in certain respects. Robert Moton, a respected black educator and a tireless promoter of racial harmony, has left us a memoir that provides a unique and valuable perspective on the progress in civil rights from the 1860s to the 1920s. It also describes the critical changes in American culture that gave blacks the opportunity to attain a social rank never before envisioned. Moreover, Moton’s memoir is a detailed record of a great “success story”. Despite being born to former slaves, he was able to secure the assistance of many kind and generous benefactors. He recounts his own spectacular rise from extreme poverty, to a highly admired position of authority, giving us an “inside look” as to how such a transformation is possible. Moton reached his zenith when he took up the leadership of the Tuskegee Institute after Booker T. Washington, and he was the one chiefly responsible for establishing the famous hospital for black war veterans. This chronicle of his life is extremely interesting and instructive, and is especially inspirational for young people, showing them the value of education, discipline, hard work, and cooperation. One area that has exceptional potential for study is the human capacity for creative adaptation to challenges. In regard to this, Finding a Way Out provides much information about the methods blacks used to obtain schooling and jobs in an American society that promised freedom and opportunity, but that in reality still had many restraints and restrictions. On a more personal level, Finding a Way Out documents the manner in which a young black man, armed with little more than determination and confidence, could reach one of the highest rungs of the success ladder in the United States, despite the odds. Robert Moton (1867-1940) was born in Virginia to former slaves. He received excellent vocational and liberal arts instruction at the Hampton Institute, a school with a military form of discipline. Moton, like many other members of his race, was concerned that blacks would not be able to sufficiently prove to whites that they were indeed capable of taking up their places as productive citizens, thus justifying their emancipation. He was also troubled about the misunderstandings that arose due to cultural differences. Consequently, he used every opportunity to articulate the distinctive and positive attributes of the various races he encountered, including Native Americans, Europeans and Asians.