“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged ,sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong because someday in your life you will have been all of these.
It is far better to be alone, than to be in bad company.
George Washinton Caver
Hello my name is George Washington Carver. My big day was on July 14th 1943. It was the day I became the first African American to have a national park named after me and the park was founded by Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
I came from a leader in agriculture as my father and a proud son of Missouri and I was born in about 1864 on a farm near Diamond, Missouri and was the son of Moses Carver. I grew up as a free child, albeit on the farm of my mother's former master.
Something that I've done that led me to my big event was when on January 21st, 1921 I became one of the first black experts to testify before Congress. My main mission in life was to coax farmers away from cotton to such soil-enhancing, protein-rich crops as soybeans and peanuts and to teach them self-sufficiency and conservation. The diligence I did was as a young boy, learning about the importance of not neglecting work and studying to enjoy my love of nature and painting. I also invented 300 uses for peanuts and pioneered crop rotation.
I remember sitting in my seat at the opening of my eponymous national park and feeling so proud to be honored in such a way, especially by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. I see a lot of people who look to respect me as a person. I hear the sounds of the ribbon cutting to signify the opening and hearing people all around me clapping and cheering.
The impact of my big day was that I became the first African American to have a national park named after me. After my big day I became respected in academics and as a person and inspired many African Americans to do great things and invent just like I did.
