(CIVIL RIGHTS.) WASHINGTON, BOOKER T. Letter Signed, to Rodger S. Boardman, sending the Institute's annual report [not present] and announcing plans for a 25th-anniversary celebration. 1 page, 4to, "Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute" stationery; folds, short closed tear at upper edge. Tuskegee, 11 October 1905 ". . . I think you will be pleased at the evidence of progress which the institution is making, and the manner in which it is reaching and helping the masses of our people.
"This marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the existence of this institution, and the Board of Trustees has decided to have some fitting celebration of this occasion sometime during the spring . . . ."
On January 23, 1906, at New York's Carnegie Hall, the Tuskegee Institute Silver Anniversary Lecture was held to celebrate the Institute's 25th year and to raise money. The guest speakers included Mark Twain, whose speech was adorned with jabs at the rich even while the organizers sought donations from New York's richest, some of whom were in attendance, including John D. Rockefeller.
With--Booker T. Washington. Clipped Signature, on a small slip of paper likely removed from a letter. 1x4 inches. Np, nd.