 The monument in 2010 | |
 Interactive map ofLifting the Veil of Ignorance | |
| Location | Tuskegee University,Tuskegee, Alabama, United States (Additional cast atBooker T. Washington High School inAtlanta) |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32°25′49″N85°42′28″W / 32.430197°N 85.707720°W /32.430197; -85.707720 |
| Designer | Charles Keck (sculptor) Palmer and Plonsky (architectural firm) |
| Builder | Roman Bronze Works Lloyd Brothers |
| Length | 69 in (180 cm) (Statue) |
| Width | 50 in (130 cm) (Statue) |
| Height | 8 ft (2.4 m) (Statue) |
| Dedicated date | April 5, 1922 |
| Dedicated to | Booker T. Washington |
Lifting the Veil of Ignorance (also known as theBooker T. Washington Monument and theBooker T. Washington Memorial) is amonument located on the campus ofTuskegee University inTuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was designed by sculptorCharles Keck and depictsBooker T. Washington, the university's founder, lifting a veil from atop a seated African American man. It was dedicated in 1922. In 1927, a reproduction of the statue was commissioned forBooker T. Washington High School inAtlanta,Georgia, United States.
Booker T. Washington was anAfrican American educator active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries who founded the Tuskegee Institute (renamedTuskegee University in 1985)[1] inTuskegee, Alabama, in 1881.[2] He modeled the institute after theHampton Institute, atraining school inVirginia that he had graduated from in 1875 and had been a faculty member of since 1879.[3] He died in 1915 at the age of 59.[4]
Following Washington's death,Robert Russa Moton, who had succeeded him asprincipal of the Tuskegee Institute, andEmmett Jay Scott, who had served as Washington's personal secretary, established a memorial fund in his honor.[5] The two hoped to raise $2 million (equivalent to $62.2 million in 2024) in donations, of which $250,000 ($7.8 million in 2024) would come from the African American community and the remainder fromWhite Americans.[5] Scott oversaw the African American fundraising effort, while fundraising from White Americans was entrusted to William G. Willcox, who was thechairman of Tuskegee'sboard of trustees.[5] While money raised from the latter would be directed towards supporting the institute, money raised from the former would go towards the creation of a monument to Washington.[5] Committees for the memorial fund were established in 35 states and Washington, D.C., though only $25,000 ($777,000 in 2024) was raised from African American donations.[5] However, this amount was deemed sufficient to begin creation of the monument.[5] In total, nearly 100,000 people made donations towards the monument's creation,[6] which would be paid for entirely by African Americans.[1]
Following the fundraising, two committees were established to oversee the monument's creation.[7] This consisted of one based in Tuskegee and another inNew York City.[7] The Tuskegee committee was made up primarily (and possibly exclusively) of African Americans and included as members Moton, Scott,Margaret Murray Washington (Washington's widow), andRobert Robinson Taylor (an architect and faculty member at Tuskegee).[7] Meanwhile, the New York committee consisted of White Americans, including sculptorCharles Keck and several of Tuskegee's trustees, including Willcox,Julius Rosenwald, andWilliam Jay Schieffelin.[8] Taylor served as thede facto coordinator of the project.[8]
In July 1919, Taylor traveled to New York City to review possible artists for the monument, and while he had hoped for select an African American architect or sculptor for the project, he ultimately selected Keck for the role.[8] By the end of the month, Keck traveled to Tuskegee to show the committee there eightmaquettes he had created for the monument.[8] The Tuskegee committee initially favored a design that consisted of a bust of Washington atop a pedestal.[8] Within the pedestal would be a black man with an exposed torso who is surrounded by implements of mechanical arts.[8] In one hand he holds a book, while with the other he is lifting a drape from himself, symbolizing the removal of a veil.[8] The proposed monument was similar in design to another memorial present on the institute's campus, this one to former chairman of the board of trusteesWilliam Henry Baldwin Jr.[9] This monument showed Baldwin's profile at the top of a stone slab, with a shirtless African American man underneath.[9] Ultimately, however, the Tuskegee committee selected a design similar to the one that was ultimately executed.[10] The most notable change requested by the Tuskegee committee was Washington's apparel, which was changed from anacademic dress to athree-piece suit.[11] In March 1920, Keck wrote to Taylor requesting several inscriptions that should be added to the monument.[12] This proved to be a contentious topic and led to several back-and-forth letters between the Tuskegee and New York City committees over the text and placement of the inscriptions, with the final result being a compromise between the two.[13]
Casting for the monument's statue was done by theRoman Bronze Works, whilePalmer and Plonsky served as the project'sarchitectural firm and the Lloyd Brothers served as fabricators.[14]
The monument was dedicated on the campus of the institute on April 5, 1922, in a ceremony that was attended by a mixed-race crowd of several thousand African Americans and White Americans.[15] The dedication coincided with the institution's annual Founder's Day.[15] For the ceremony, an Honorary Unveiling Committee was created, composed of African American community leaders who had been friends of Washington's.[16] Additionally, the National Urban League sent representatives to the ceremony, while both the National Negro Press Association and theNational Baptist Convention held meetings at the institute to coincide with the large gathering of people.[17]
Founder's Day activities began at 2 p.m. at the institute's chapel.[18] These events included addresses from several individuals, includingGeneral Education Board memberWallace Buttrick, formerUnited States Secretary of the NavyJosephus Daniels, and activistGeorge Cleveland Hall.[19] Several religiousfolk songs andhymns were also sung, while BishopRobert Elijah Jones of theMethodist Episcopal Church said a prayer.[19] At 3:45 p.m., the events shifted to the dedication of the monument, which began with a playing of Tuskegee'sschool song.[20] The monument was then presented by Scott and accepted on behalf of the board of trustees by Willcox.[20] The main address was then given by Alvin J. Neely, a Tuskegee graduate from the class of 1908.[20] Additionally, Moton read aloud a letter sent by PresidentWarren G. Harding commemorating the monument.[21] The ceremony ended with a playing of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" and abenediction byIsaiah Montgomery.[20]
In 1993, the statue was surveyed as part of theSave Outdoor Sculpture! program.[14] As of 2010, the monument is a visible icon of the university, with an image of the statue used in the university'sofficial seal.[1]
In 1927, Charles Lincoln Harper, the principal ofBooker T. Washington High School—the first public high school for African Americans inAtlanta[22]—commissioned a reproduction of the statue to be installed at the high school.[2] It is the only reproduction that was made of the original statue in Tuskegee.[2] It was surveyed as part of the Save Outdoor Sculpture! program in 1994.[23]
The monument, variously referred to asLifting the Veil of Ignorance,[24] the Booker T. Washington Monument,[1] and the Booker T. Washington Memorial,[15] is located at the center of Tuskegee University's campus.[24] It consists of a bronze statue atop a granite pedestal andexedra.[14] The statue element is 8 feet (2.4 meters) tall and has length and width measurements of 69 inches (180 centimeters) by 50 in (130 cm).[14] The pedestal, meanwhile, has a height of 50 in (130 cm).[14] The exedra measures 36 in (91 cm) high and has area measurements of 27 ft (8.2 m) by 30 in (76 cm).[14] The exedra curves around a granite oval platform, with the pedestal at its center.[14] Both the pedestal and exedra feature decorative designs of leaves and pine cones.[14]
The statue depicts Washington, standing and wearing a suit.[14] His left arm is outstretched, while his right hand grasps a drapery.[14] Underneath this drapery is an African American male who is seated on ananvil and nude save for the pieces of drapery that rest on his lap and other parts of his body.[14] In his left hand, he holds anangle, a book, and acompass, which are resting on his lap.[14] He is looking upwards and his right hand is raised, positioned directly underneath the drapery.[14] On the ground around him are several tools used in agriculture and mechanical work, such as a pair ofpliers, aplow, and asledgehammer.[14] At the statue's base are inscriptions indicating the sculptor ("C. Keck. Sc.") and the foundry ("Cast by Roman Bronze Works, NY").[14]
The monument's base bears several inscriptions, including quotes from Washington.[25] On the front of the pedestal directly underneath the statue is the following:[14]
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON / 1856 1915 / HE LIFTED THE VEIL OF IGNORANCE / FROM HIS PEOPLE AND POINTED / THE WAY TO PROGRESS THROUGH / EDUCATION AND INDUSTRY
On the back of the pedestal is the following:[14]
THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED BY / CONTRIBUTIONS FROM NEGROES / IN THE UNITED STATES AS A LOVING / TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF THEIR / GREAT LEADER AND BENEFACTOR
On theproper left of the pedestal:[14]
I WILL LET NO MAN DRAG ME DOWN / SO LOW AS TO MAKE ME HATE HIM
On the proper right:[14]
THERE IS NO DEFENSE OR / SECURITY FOR ANY OF US EXCEPT / IN THE HIGHEST INTELLIGENCE / AND DEVELOPMENT OF ALL.
The following inscription is present on the exedra, directly above a bench area and interrupted by the pedestal:[14]
WE SHALL PROSPER IN PROPORTION AS WE / LEARN TO DIGNIFY AND GLORIFY LABOR / AND PUT BRAINS AND SKILL INTO THE / COMMON OCCUPATIONS OF LIFE
The monument in Atlanta, calledBooker T. Washington Lifting the Veil of Ignorance,[22] consists of the same statue, also made of bronze, but features a pedestal made ofGeorgia marble.[2] This pedestal bears the same front inscription as the original but has the "I will let no man ..." and "There is no defense ..." quotes both on its proper right side, while its proper left side bears the "We shall prosper ..." quote.[23] Additionally, the rear of the pedestal bears the following inscription:[23]
TEACHERS AND STUDENTS OF THE / BOOKER T. WASHINGTON JR. SR. HIGH SCHOOL / AND WHITE AND COLORED CITIZENS OF ATLANTA / AS A LIVING TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF / A GREAT EDUCATOR PATRIOT AND ADVOCATE / OF INTERRACIAL JUSTICE
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In a 2010 article published in the academic journalAmerican Art, art historian Ellen Daugherty said that "many viewers have been troubled by the ambiguity of the monument".[27] To express this point, she cites a passage from the 1952 novelInvisible Man, written by former Tuskegee studentRalph Ellison and based on his experience at the institute,[28] which reads:[27]
Then in my mind's eye I see the bronze statue of the college Founder, the cold Father symbol, his hands outstretched in the breathtaking gesture of lifting a veil that flutters in hard, metallic folds above the face of a kneeling slave; and I am standing puzzled, unable to decide whether the veil is really being lifted, or lowered more firmly in place; whether I am witnessing a revelation or a more efficient binding.
According to Daugherty, the statue focuses on Washington's actions and not on those of the seated man, drawing comparisons to the depiction of PresidentAbraham Lincoln inThomas Ball'sEmancipation Memorial, which shows Lincoln as an emancipator standing over a kneeling slave.[29] Daugherty suggests a parallel between Washington and Lincoln, with Washington continuing Lincoln's work by empowering African Americans through education and industrial training.[29] However, in contrast to the Emancipation Memorial, which Daugherty says shows a clear divide between Lincoln and the kneeling man, the Washington monument highlights the similarities between the two men featured in the statue, highlighting Washington's emphasis onself-help.[30] A review of the statue in the Hampton Institute'sSouthern Workman newspaper reads: "The likeness of the face of the crouching slave-figure to that of the great leader is symbolical, showing how one may become refined and spiritualized by the influence of thought and high aspirations."[31] Daugherty also notes similarities between Washington's depiction andJean-Antoine Houdon'sstatue of George Washington, suggesting that Keck was trying to portray Washington as "afounding father for the black race".[32]
Daugherty believes that the monument was intended at least partially as a repudiation of the philosophies ofW. E. B. Du Bois, a prominent critic of Washington during the early 20th century who advocated for more radical political activity than Washington.[33] Per Daugherty, by 1922, Washington's philosophies had declined in popularity and were being replaced by more activist ideas about directly demandingcivil rights.[5] In contrast to Du Bois's ideologies, Daughterty states that the monument supports the idea of "racial uplift", which was espoused by Washington.[34] This idea is also supported by historian Zion McThomas in a 2023 analysis of the monument for theJule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art atAuburn University, who said that the monument was "a marker of shallow racial unity in the midst of theJim Crow Era".[24]
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