What were Washington's earliest memories, and how did he describe his life as a slave--family, living conditions, food, attitudes towards whites

This is only a short answer question space and your questions are pretty detailed. The opening chapter deals primarily with Booker T. Washington's childhood and his impressions of slavery. He sets the tone for his memoir with vivid descriptions of the conditions of his domestic life, his duties and the conditions under which he lived from the time of his birth to the end of the civil war.

Washington was born in a log cabin on a plantation in Virginia. He knew almost nothing of his ancestry, including the name of his father. His mother was the plantation cook and their living cabin doubled as a kitchen for the plantation. The cabin was small and uncomfortable, with an earthen floor, many holes to let in the cold, and an open fireplace for cooking which gave off a nearly unbearable heat in the summer. His mother had little time to care for her children during the day and sometimes had to steal food to feed them.

Washington had a burning desire for education and describes the schoolhouse as a paradise.