Contact: Crystal Drake, Office of Strategic Communications
Tuskegee University marked its 145th anniversary by honoring Lewis Adams, the formerly enslaved craftsman and community leader whose political negotiation led to the founding of the school, and Booker T. Washington, the pioneering educator who became its first principal.
At ceremonies on July 4 organized by the Tuskegee Historic Preservation Commission, Dr. Mark A. Brown, president and CEO, reminded attendees that without Adams’ selfless and visionary deal-making with a political system not built to include him, Tuskegee University might very well not exist.
“This man – this Black man – dared to teach himself to read and write, which was illegal, developed economically valuable skills as a tinsmith, harness-maker, and shoemaker, and led his community into the future when he helped broker the agreement that created Mother Tuskegee and eventually brought us Booker T. Washington as the founding principal,” Dr. Brown said.
In 1879, Alabama Senate candidate Col. W.F. Foster asked Adams what he wanted in exchange for his influence to secure the Black vote in an upcoming state election. Instead of personal gain, Adams requested funding for a school for his people. Foster honored the agreement, working with legislative colleagues to earmark funding to establish the Negro Normal School in Tuskegee.
Commissioner George Campbell soon contacted Hampton Institute in Virginia seeking a teacher. Booker T. Washington answered that call, arriving in Tuskegee on June of 1881 – and somehow galvanizing the community to open the doors of the school just one month later on July 4. He would lead the institution until his death in 1915, shaping it into an influential academic powerhouse that continues to produce graduates that excel, which was recently illustrated when 70% of the Class of 2026 graduated already employed in careers of their choice, accepted into graduate school, or off to serve our nation as newly commissioned military officers.
“That appropriation of $2,000 created what became this thriving university, which delivers back more than $230 million in economic impact to this state annually,” said Dr. Brown. “It was a wise investment. During our Renaissance Era, we won’t stop creating scholars, ensuring and expanding equitable access to opportunity and doing what Booker T. Washington said was most important – providing an accessible world-class education, not just for education’s sake, but to empower the head, the heart and the hand of our students for purposeful work that will change the world.”
The morning began at Adams’ gravesite in Ashdale Cemetery in Tuskegee followed by a ceremony at Washington’s gravesite on the university’s campus. Dyann Robinson, chair of the Tuskegee Historic Preservation Commission, offered greetings, while former Tuskegee Mayor Johnny Ford served as master of ceremonies. Representing the Adams family, Reverend Rene Adams led participants in prayer at both ceremonies.
U.S. Representative Shomari Figures was also on hand to honor Tuskegee’s founders.
“I want to do everything possible to ensure Tuskegee continues to secure resources and support from the federal government to do the extraordinary work that has happened right here in Tuskegee for 145 years,” said Rep. Figures who represents the 2nd Congressional District of Alabama which includes Tuskegee.
Tuskegee Mayor Chris Lee shared with those gathered that the City of Tuskegee and Tuskegee University continue to rise together in the spirit of what both Adams and Washington worked tirelessly to accomplish for students and townspeople alike.
“Dr. Brown’s leadership at this university and in our community is making transformational impact,” he said of the deepening town and gown relationship Dr. Brown has championed.
Eminent Associate Dr. Elaine Harrington ‘61 also joined the ceremonies to introduce the annual Vester Marable Essay Contest winners: TrenDaja Warmack and Leah Bethune (Notasulga High School, 1st place tie), Kyleigh Jack (Booker T. Washington High School, 2nd place), and Jordan Johnson and Grayson Flowers (Notasulga High School, 3rd place tie). The students placed ceremonial wreaths and received cash prizes for essays they penned honoring figures from Tuskegee’s long lineage of leaders.
The dual ceremonies underscored the intertwined legacies of Adams and Washington—and the United States of America as both the nation and the university both started with a fight for and celebration of freedom.
Dr. Brown recently contemplated this powerful connection in a video message on the topic.
“This is how our firecrackers pop!” he said on Saturday about his and First Lady Gwendolyn Brown’s love for coming together on the Fourth of July every year to honor this uniquely shared anniversary.
© 2026 Tuskegee University
