Booker T. Washington (1856 - 1915) was born into slavery in Virginia. After emancipation he worked his way through college, attending the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (today, Hampton University) and Wayland Seminary, became a teacher; then was chosen to be the first leader of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, a position he held the rest of his life. As educator, orator and author, he was a dominant leader of the African American community and gained national prominence after his "Atlanta Address of 1895," in which he spoke about the topic of race relations. His autobiography, Up From Slavery, which is still widely read today, was one of fourteen books he published. This classic documentary features actor Charles Dumas portraying Washington in an award-winning, one-man play based on that book. Here we are given an idea of the integrity, power and charisma of this influential leader, the first African American invited to the White House, who committed much of his life to improving the relationship between blacks and whites.