There is negotiating leadership and there is active leadership and in the hall of fame of the great black leaders for decades, George Washington Carver was an active leader. His leadership was not the type that sought to impress the public or make a name for himself. He did not try to start a movement or achieve a violent change or confrontation, though those things are sometimes necessary. Instead, George Washington Carver showed leadership by making contributions to the well-being of his people that would last a lifetime. His self-sacrificing spirit is an encouragement to all people of any race, religion, or color.
George Washington Carver is probably best known for his discovery in the use of nuts. And while it is true that Carver was honored with more than 300 discoveries to discover new uses of the common nut, his innovations did not end there. He continued his research to find important uses for other common agricultural products such as sweet potatoes, pecans, and soybeans. George Washington Carver held the hands of his people where they were then and led them to a better life. And where black society existed in the nineteenth century was agriculture. This is where the black family looked at their food, their lives, and the opportunity for self-improvement. And that is what George Washington Carver made possible.
He was a man of all means, determined at a young age to get a better education, he set an example in all that education was a means of freedom for his people and all people. He really had to struggle to achieve his success as he continued his high school education and then went to Simpson College in Iowa where he was a first and only black student and then went on to Iowa Agricultural College. His success at Iowa Agricultural College stemmed from his determination and ability to use his natural ingenuity to succeed in all endeavors. But his success was short-lived to introduce ideas such as crop rotation in southern agriculture that changed the way farming could be done and gave his people the opportunity to make a real profit from their daily work. Succeeding in his private work, he never used his acquired wealth to amass wealth for fame.
Instead, he wanted his work to benefit his people and all mankind. He was quoted as saying of his talents, “God has given me. How can I sell it to someone else? ” These were not empty words because he lived up to that philosophy as evidenced by donating the money he had saved to start the Carver Research Foundation in Tuskegee to ensure the existence of an institution to continue his important work in agriculture.
Not surprisingly, a vivid memory recorded in his tomb read: “He added to the riches of fame, but by neglecting it, he gained joy and fame by being useful to the world.” The legacy of George Washington Carver will set a precedent for black leadership for decades to come. It was a legacy of slave leadership, caring for his people, and making a real contribution to the development that mattered, to the standard of living and well-being of all African Americans, not just the lucky few. He is indeed an inspiration to all of us who look at the struggle the black community has endured for centuries and is a symbol of celebrating as the brightest and brightest leader in black history.
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