Tells the story of Booker T. Washington's childhood following the end of slavery, his struggle to get an education, and his journey at age sixteen to the Hampton Institute.
Introduces Benjamin Banneker, a free black man of the eighteenth century who loved to learn and used his knowledge and observations to build a wooden clock, write an almanac, and help survey the streets of Washington, D.C.
Recounts the life of the African-American agriculturist at the Tuskegee Institute, emphazing his love of plants and his belief in living in harmony with the natural world.