Answer:
They could share a familiar culture.
They could speak a common language.
They could help each other learn how to survive in America.
To learn the importance of the past and how it affects the future.
There are all kinds of stories of hostilities between early American colonists and the Native people who were already there. However, these hostilities did not occur with every European group who came. The French are a notable exception to this, and in fact, enjoyed excellent relations with the Natives almost from the very beginning.
Why were the French different? The main reason is that they did not try to change the Natives. They also did not compete with the Natives for land. When the French first came to the Americas in the 1530s and 1540s to engage in seasonal fur trading, they immediately established strong trading ties with the local Natives they found there. The Natives already dealt extensively in furs.
Booker T. Washington spent his early childhood in slavery. Following emancipation, Washington (like many Blacks) felt that an education was the best way to improve his living standards, so he wanted to educate himself to improve his life.