About the Booker T. Washington Institute

In 2000, West Virginia State College, the Booker T. Washington Association, the Midland Trail, and Cabin Creek Quilts Cooperative signed an agreement to work together to promote Booker T. Washington’s Boyhood Home and the ideals he stood for. After the signing, the Booker T. Washington Institute of West Virginia State College was formed to provide the backbone to make the agreement work. 

Since then, the Booker T. Washington Institute has held a number of programs and receptions. In conjunction with the West Virginia Department of Tourism, it is planning a remendous project with several other states for Freedom Trek III, which will take place in June 2002. Freedom Trek III will follow Booker’s steps from Tuskegee Institute to Malden, will incorporate a number of modes of transportation, and will include a variety of activities throughout four states. The program will end in Malden on West Virginia Day, June 20, with the Washington Family Reunion and the Middle States African Studies Association International Conference. 

Some of the programs held by the Institute have included Cooking in the Cabin with Miss Jane, a portrayal of Booker’s mother in his boyhood cabin; Selma and Beyond: Impact on a New Generation with Reverend Dr. Emerson Wood, Reverend Dr. Jerry Wood and Reverend Christopher Wood, discussing the impact of the Civil Rights Movement; History Alive! Character Presentations: Booker T. Washington and Carter > Woodson; a lamplight Vesper Service in the African Zion Church; the opening of Black History Month at the State Capitol with WV’s First Lady and other dignitaries. 

Tours of the Booker T. Washington Boyhood Home, the African Zion Church, the Norton House and Cabin Creek Quilts occur regularly and can be scheduled at any time for any number of participants. 

The Booker T. Washington Institute continues to plan and implement many ideas and programs focused on Booker T. Washington, his ideals, and the town of Malden.