Guide to the Booker T. Washington letter, 1907 November 2
John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu
Published in 2014
Collection Overview
| Title: | Booker T. Washington letter |
| Date range: | 1907 November 2 |
| Creator: | Washington, Booker T., 1856-1915 |
| Extent: | 1.0 item |
| Abstract: | Letter from Booker T. Washington (Tuskegee Institute, AL) to John C. Minkins (Providence, RI) dated November 2, 1907. Washington discusses Minkins distinction as "the only colored man in the country holding the managing editorship of a white daily." |
| Language of materials: | English |
| Repository: | John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts |
| Collection number: | MS.2014.021 |
Scope & content
This collection contains just one typed letter from Booker T. Washington to John C. Minkins dated November 2, 1907 on letterhead of The Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, with an autograph signature of Booker T. Washington.Transcription of the letter:
Mr. John C. Minkins, Box 1100, Providence, Rhode Island My dear Sir:- Your letter of some days ago, which I am just getting opportunity to acknowledge, conveys rather surprising information which I am very glad to have. So far as I am informed you are the only colored man in the country holding the managing editorship of a white daily, and this is recognition which is in a high degree encouraging. I hope I shall have the pleasure of meeting you at some time when I am in the North.
I am very glad to learn that you have read my talks to our students in the Chapel, which have been published in The Student, with interest. I am having your name and address properly entered upon the mailing list of the paper and hope it will continue to reach you regularly and be found of interest.
Yours truly, Booker T. Washington (autograph signature)
Access Points
Subject Names Subject Topics Subject TopicsArrangement
This collection contains one letter.
Biographical/Historical note
Booker T. WashingtonBooker T. Washington (1856-1915) was one of the foremost African-American leaders of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into slavery Virginia, Booker T. Washington put himself through school and became a teacher. In 1881, he founded the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama (now known as Tuskegee University), which focused on training African Americans in agricultural pursuits. A political adviser and writer, Washington clashed with intellectual W.E.B. Du Bois over the best avenues for racial uplift. Washington advocated for education and economic success as the first step toward racial equality rather than pushing immediately for the end of segregation and disenfrachisement.
John C. Minkins
John Carter Minkins was born in January 1869 in Virginia. He moved to Pawtucket, Rhode Island as early as 1900 and became a writer, journalist and managing editor of the Providence Evening News. It is believed that Minkins was the first African American to become the managing editor of a daily newspaper intended for white readers. He delivered an address before the Union Lyceum in New Bedford, MA on January 3, 1909 then revised it and read it again on Sunday, March 18, before the Bethel Lyceum. That address was later printed in Providence, RI in 1909 as the pamphlet "Negro Progress Since Emancipation." He also gave an address to the Boston Literary and Historical Association in May 1910 in which he put forth his reasons for not opposing laws against miscegenation. An article titled John C. Minkins on Race Purity about his talk was printed on the first page of The Indianapolis Recorder for May 7, 1910.
Minkins married Rosa Lerisa Jessup (1871-1945), also of Virginia, in 1894 and they had 8 daughters, 5 of whom survived to adulthood.
Access & Use
| Access to the collection: | There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested. |
| Use of the materials: | Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them. |
| Preferred citation: | Booker T. Washington letter, Ms.2014.021, Brown University Library. |
| Contact information: | John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts Box A Brown University Providence, RI 02912 Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148 Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu |
Administrative Information
| ABOUT THE COLLECTION | |
| Acquisition: | Gift of the Estate of Beatrice Carter Minkins (daughter of John C. Minkins) in 2014. |
| ABOUT THE FINDING AID | |
| Author: | Finding aid prepared by Karen Eberhart. |
| Encoding: | This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2014-10-16 |
| Descriptive rules: | Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) |
Additional Information
Inventory
| Folder 1 | Letter from Booker T. Washington to John C. Minkins Contents Note: Transcription of the letter: Mr. John C. Minkins, Box 1100, Providence, Rhode Island My dear Sir:- Your letter of some days ago, which I am just getting opportunity to acknowledge, conveys rather surprising information which I am very glad to have. So far as I am informed you are the only colored man in the country holding the managing editorship of a white daily, and this is recognition which is in a high degree encouraging. I hope I shall have the pleasure of meeting you at some time when I am in the North. I am very glad to learn that you have read my talks to our students in the Chapel, which have been published in The Student, with interest. I am having your name and address properly entered upon the mailing list of the paper and hope it will continue to reach you regularly and be found of interest. Yours truly, Booker T. Washington (autograph signature) |
1907 November 2 |