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What do Booker T. Washington,
George Washington Carver and Elements 4 Nature have in Common?
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By: Jon Adkins Founder of Elements
4 Nature
September 3, 2011
Well, the quick answer to that question is, we
all ate, lived and studied on Tuskegee Institute's campus. Of course, we all know that Booker
T. Washington founded Tuskegee Institute, now called Tuskegee University,
in 1881. Dr. George Washington Carver accepted an offer by Booker T. Washington
in 1886 to teach and to head the Agricultural Department at Tuskegee. The Legacy of Booker T. Washington was one of great magnitude.
Booker T. Washington accomplished the following: Founded Tuskegee in 1881
Wrote 14 books,
two of which were "-Up from Slavery-" and "-The Farthest Man Down-"
Raised funds to establish
and operate thousands of small community schools in the South
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| Booker T. Washington and his Wife |
Most of us know about Booker T. Washington's prolonged philosophical
debate with one of our other great Black intellectuals, W.E.B. Dubois. Well, I will never forget the clever one-sentence
summary that Dr. Payton, the former president of Tuskegee, said in one of his speeches about the philosophical debate between Booker T. Washington
and Dubois. Dr. Payton said that Booker T. Washington left Tuskegee University and W.E.B. Dubois left "-The
Souls of Black Folks-" (a book). Nothing else needs to be said about the famous debate. Most people
don't know that Booker T. Washington and Marcus Garvey were friends and shared the same philosophical ideas. Basically,
Booker T. Washington was focused on teaching and preparing his people to build a nation. He believed the only way
we would gain national and international respect is by building our own. Washington was interested in building our own
stores, factories and schools. He built and operated an efficient university nicknamed the "Tuskegee Machine"
of which I am very proud to be a graduate.
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| Dr. Carver in Tuskegee Lab |
Of course we all know that Dr. George Washington
Carver was a great man. Some of Dr. Carver accomplishments are as follows: Discovered over 300 products from the peanut
Designed a
mobile classroom "Jessup Wagon" to take education out to farmers Created 44 practical bulletins for
farmers
I can go on and on with
a list of accomplishments for both men. Their accomplishments speak for themselves.
We at Elements 4 Nature
(E4N) share the same goals and objectives as Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver. Our
main goal at E4N is to use the original formulas of Dr. George Washington Carver to produce jobs within the Black community.
We at E4N are extending the legacy of both George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington. However, E4N
would not exist at this capacity without the partnership that we have with Dr. Faye E. Williams.
Dr. Faye Williams is the founder and CEO of Natural Health Options (NHO) and owns
the rights to the original formulas for some of Dr. Carver & Dr. Curtis cosmetic products. In 2000, she purchased Curtis Labs in Detroit, Michigan. The continued legacy of Dr. George Washington
Carver, however, started with the work of Dr. Austin W. Curtis.
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| Lifting the Veil of Ignorance Statue at Tuskegee |
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| Dr. Austin Curtis in Tuskegee Lab |
Dr. Austin Curtis was Dr. Carver's science & research
lab assistant for
the last eight years of Carver's life at Tuskegee. Dr. Curtis is credited for keeping Carver's legacy alive
by making Carver products available for the public to purchase. After Dr. Carver died in 1943, Dr. Curtis established
Curtis Labs in Detroit in 1944. Curtis Labs sold Dr. Carver-based cosmetic products and became the largest Black-owned
& controlled company in the world. While working as Carver's assistant, Dr. Curtis was known as "Baby Carver" and was well respected by
Dr. Carver. Dr. Carver even named his famous Rubbing Oil after Dr. Curtis. Dr. Curtis died in 2003 in his
daughter's home in California.
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| Dr. Faye E. Williams |
Dr. Faye Williams is a remarkable woman.
Dr. Williams is not only the CEO of NHO but she is also the current National Chair for the National Congress of
Black Women. I met Dr. Williams in 2005 when I started re-selling some of the Carver products. It all
started, however, at the Blacks in Government annual training convention when Troy Smith, CFO of NHO, was selling the Carver
based-products. That was the first time I saw or even knew that there were any Dr. Carver products being sold on the
marketplace. I was happy that I had a chance to purchase some of Dr. Carver original products. I was
even more elated about some of Dr. Carver cosmetics products being manufactured and distributed by a Black-owned
and controlled company. That made my day, as a matter of fact, to paraphrase Ice Cube, I would say that day was a good day. What was another
good day was when I signed an exclusive agreement with
NHO in 2007 to manufacture
and distribute the Carver lotion. That agreement was the foundation in tailoring the natural-based company
to specifically focus on Carver-based products. Starting a natural-based company was in the works even before the
agreement with NHO was signed. However, once my proposal was accepted and signed in 2007, the new natural-based
company's focus was now on Carver-based products.
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| Earth Water Air & Fire |
Shortly after Elements 4 Nature was officially
formed in 2008, E4N along with Yasir Khalid, the founder of Medina Natural, signed an exclusive agreement with
NHO to manufacture and distribute a total of six Carver-based products. E4N's vision is
to use these wonderful products that Carver created from the peanut not only to heal people but to create jobs within
the Black community. Just like Carver revitalized the Southern economy with his inventions back in the day, E4N wants to help revitalize the Black
economy. The goals of Elements 4 Nature are consistent with the goals of both Booker T. Washington and
Dr. George Washington Carver. George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington were concerned about "The
Man Farthest Down"
and so are we at E4N.
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| Carver Rubbing Oil |
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| Sage & Sulphur |
E4N encourages those of you who loved what Booker
T. Washington and George Washington Carver represented and worked hard to achieve to support us in our goal to continue the legacy of both
men. Buying Carver products from E4N will help us to achieve that goal, which is to address the needs of the "Furthest
Man Down". Keep in mind, when you use some of Carver products you will know that they work exceptionally well.
Dr. George Washington Carver was a "Master Scientist" who spent long hours in the research labs at Tuskegee as well
as in the natural laboratory outside
studying nature. Carver would talk to and communicate with the plants on a daily basis. Based on Dr.
Carver's and Dr. Curtis's brilliant research, we offer a couple of his famous products that are store-ready and
now available in some of the local stores in the Washington DC/Baltimore area. Carver's famous Peanut Rubbing Oil for minor aches and
pains and Carver/Curtis Sage & Sulphur Hair Growth Conditioner are products
that we are working hard to make more available in stores across the country as well as in the international markets.
Once you try any of Carver's wonderful products, you will appreciate how great this man, George Washington Carver was.
The legacy of Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver will remain alive through the use of these wonderful
products.
Tuskegee University helped shape and mold
me to incorporate the spirit of Tuskegee into Elements 4 Nature. If we at E4N achieve one-third of what George Washington Carver and Booker
T. Washington achieved
at Tuskegee University, that would be a significant accomplishment and a tribute to the legacy of both great men.
Buy Carver!
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