Booker T. Washington lived from 1856 to 1915. He was one of the most influential black leader and educator of his time in the United States of America. He became prominent largely because of his role as founder and head of Tuskegee Institute, a vocational school for African Americans in Tuskegee, Alabama. Washington believed that African Americans could benefit more from a practical, vocational education rather than a college education. Washington believed that blacks would be granted civil and political rights after gaining a strong economic foundation. He explained his theories in “Up from Slavery”.
Booker Taliaferro Washington was born a slave in Hales Ford, Virginia, on April 5, 1856. After the government freed all slaves in 1865, he and his family moved to Malden, West Virginia. Washington worked in coal mines and salt furnaces while he lived there. From 1872 to 1875, he attended the Hampton Institute, an industrial school for African Americans in Hampton, Virginia. He became a teacher at the institute in 1879. Washington based many of his educational theories on his training at Hampton.
Booker T Washington learned that through primary vocational educations, that one can have a starting point. He was never against blacks getting a higher education. He knew he didn’t want to be a puppet to any political party. He had a keen sense of the corruption of politics. During his life he learned many things. He started his life in slavery and from there became one of the greatest influential speakers for African Americans. He learned that know one else was going to help him become an educator but himself. So with intrinsic motivation he started his own school to teach others what he has learned.
The Essay on Native American Europeans Americans Africans
The New cHaOtiC World Three completely different cultures clashed together and triggered the confusions all three worlds had against each other. All their misunderstandings then turned into a whole New World that still remains. Today, this New World is one of the main confinements for crimes. Religiously, the complexity of the unfamiliar Gods they believe existed had caused the big misconception. ...
Washington was often called by some African Americans an Uncle Tom. He was thought to be to liberal in his beliefs about educating blacks. He believed that if blacks had a strong vocational education, they could use it as a stepping stone for beginning a better life, just as he did. He believed with a strong foundation African Americans could work there way to the top.
Opposition to Washington came chiefly from W. E. B. Du Bois, a historian and sociologist. Du Bois criticized Washington’s educational and political philosophy and practices. Du Bois supported higher education for talented African Americans who could serve as leaders. He feared that the success of Washington’s industrial school would limit the development of true higher education for African Americans.
Du Bois went to Harvard and had a much different background then Booker T Washington. Du bois was never born into slavery. He believed blacks should be the same way he was, educated and becoming a leader. Du Bois belived that African Americans must speak out against discrimination. According to Du Bois, the best way to defeat prejudice was for college-educated blacks to lead the fight against it.
Booker T Washington was a very charismatic, powerful speaker. He used his speaking to reach out to people of all races, about equality. He wanted job openings reserved to blacks by whites. Being such a powerful speaker he became allied with some powerful political people, such as President Cleveland.
In a speech given in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1895, By Booker T. Washington, Washington declared: “In all things that are purely social we can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress”(Washington 888).
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... violence - and the blacks had no way to defend themselves. Washington felt it was more important that African Americans have food, shelter, and ... be taught to be leaders in the black community. In his 1903 book The Negro Problem, Du Bois stated, "The Negro race, ... and much publicized civil dispute with another black leader, Booker T. Washington. Du Bois was born in the western Massachusetts town of ...
This speech was often called the Atlanta Compromise because Washington accepted inequality and segregation for African Americans in exchange for economic advancement. The speech was widely quoted in newspapers and helped make him a prominent national figure and African American spokesman.
Booker T. Washington’s autobiography is a great piece of American Literature. It is very compelling from what he came from to what he became. I was very moved by his autobiography “Up from Slavery”. The reading was not over exhausting. It was simple to read and interesting.
His autobiography had all of the attributes one looks for in an autobiography. He came from a low point, and worked his way to the top. There were points were you felt so bad for Washington, and then so glad for him. It truly shows that he was a leader among all leaders.
By 1910, Washington’s influence had started to decline as Du Bois and others began new movements. Washington helped start a movement to educate African Americans, and was an influential leader that helped fuel equality. Washington died on Nov. 14, 1915.
As one of the most influential black leader and educators in his time in the United States of America, he overcame many obstacles. His role as founder and head of Tuskegee Institute, lead him to criticism that he overcame. Washington believed that African Americans could benefit more from a practical, vocational education rather than a college education. Washington believed that blacks would be granted civil and political rights after gaining a strong economic foundation. He truly was a leader among all leaders.
