 |
 |
|
|
|
Always a humble man, Carver kept a low profile. However, on January 21, 1921, he stepped into the spotlight at a U.S. House of Representatives committee hearing.
The congressmen were enduring hours of testimony on a proposed peanut tariff that would protect American peanut farmers from foreign competition. Carver, a witness for the peanut industry, was given ten minutes to speak.
In his threadbare suit with a flower in the lapel, he proceeded to captivate them with an endless list of potentials for the peanut. The representatives changed their minds and told Carver his time was unlimited. When he packed up his peanut products, he had won the tariff for the industry … and a storm of publicity for himself.
Carver’s Fame
Carver’s presentation cemented his reputation as “The Peanut Man.” Carver had everything depression-era white America wanted in a black folk hero—humility, humor, and self-made success. Exaggerated claims about his discoveries circulated, and legends were born.
 Though he complained at times about bad reporting, Carver did little to combat the inaccuracies generated by the press. He knew the publicity benefited Tuskegee, but he may also have been gratified by the attention after working for years in obscurity.
Carver’s Foundation
Carver was honored with numerous awards, tributes, and memorials. But it was the George Washington Carver Foundation and Museum at Tuskegee which he hoped would “go on functioning and bless all the people.”
To preserve his legacy, he donated his life savings of $60,000 to the foundation. Carver, famous for forgetting to cash his paychecks, was able to save this impressive sum even though his salary never exceeded $1,500 a year.
Continue to Carver’s Contributions. >>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
