Brandon Wood Ching U.

S History Period 6

Booker T. Washington
! Booker T. Washington was one of the most important and inuential persons during the civil rights era in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Booker had some quite different views from a few other civil rights leaders of the same era, including that of W.E.B Du Bois. Even though he conicted with the general ideas of civil rights and was sometimes frowned upon by leaders of the movement, he had his own ideas about better ways to go about ending segregation and achieving equal civil rights. ! "The wisest of my race understand that the agitation of questions of social equality is the extremest folly and that progress in the enjoyment of all the privileges that will come to us must be the result of severe and constant struggle rather than articial forcing. The opportunity to earn a dollar in a factory just now is worth innitely more than to spend a dollar in an opera house." This quote, I think, summarizes Booker T. Washingtons plan on ending segregation; kind of a Slow and steady wins the race ideology. In my opinion, he was just in general a bit wiser, and a bit more patient than other civil rights movers at the same time. He understood that trying to get something to move quickly against its will wont produce the desirable outcome you hope for, and will ultimately result in heavier than needed casualties. Its like entering a foreign land, forcing the native inhabitants to live by your ways, and not expecting any kind of backlash. Sound familiar America? History tends to repeat itself, especially when it comes to oppressing the human spirit. African American people were nowhere in the wrong, they were entitled to everything they were ghting for, but theres just better ways to go about proving it. Booker T. Washington saw this relationship and decided to act on it for the better. ! Booker T. Washington was born a slave in 1856 in Hales Ford, Virginia to an enslaved black woman and a white father. Just in time though, because just a few years later, the emancipation proclamation was enacted giving Booker and his mother freedom. Content on taking advantage of his new opportunities, Booker worked himself

Brandon Wood

Friday, May 10, 2013 9:49:22 AM Pacic Daylight Time

70:cd:60:8b:7d:80

through all kinds of schooling, e.g Hampton Normal & Agricultural Institute and Wayland Seminary. Following his schooling, he took up some teaching, rst at a sunday school then as a school teacher in Hampton. A couple more years down his road to greatness, Washington spoke in the Atlanta Address of 1895, granting him nation-wide recognition and marking the beginning of his real political march. The Atlanta Address, or Atlanta Compromise, was an unwritten deal between blacks and whites in this area that enabled blacks to get education and work, as long as they basically submitted to whites; didnt speak out for equal rights, went to the different rooms, etc. From here on forth Booker was known as quite the political machine, followers of his were nicknamed the Tuskegee Machine. ! Booker himself was nicknamed The Great Accommodator by W.E.B Du Bois for his relations and willingness with white folks. One thing Washington excelled in was making friends with white people, especially philanthropists, which gained a lot of money for the movement. To give you a perspective on this, Booker even attended a couple high class parties and gatherings in the white house, which was a pretty great accomplishment for a colored person in those days. Being an expert at befriending whites, he gained many powerful friends, boosting his political stance, feeding the machine, and all the time making progress towards the movement. Though it wasnt apparent to others at the time, Washington did a lot of behind the scenes work and contribution for civil rights. He made quite a bit of his own nancial investments, funding litigation for civil rights cases in the court room, such as the Giles vs. Harris case that went before the U.S Supreme Court. ! Booker T. Washington contributed immensely large and needed funds to the movement, from all the money he put into it to the money he got others to donate. This kind of funding created numerous schools and opportunities for colored kids and the advancement of colored peoples. Rather than trying to meet the civil rights dispute head on and creating havoc, Booker aimed to ease into it; rst gaining friendship and loyalty, then respect from the white communities that would lead to equal rights not by force, but by general respect and camaraderie. Because of his contributions to civil rights, Booker T. Washington will always be remembered as a leader, educator, and a wise old sage in my eyes.

Brandon Wood

Friday, May 10, 2013 9:49:22 AM Pacic Daylight Time

70:cd:60:8b:7d:80

Wilson, Charles R. "ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SOUTHERN CULTURE." Docsouth.unc.edu. University of North Carolina Press, 10 May 2013. Web. <http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/ washington/bio.html> "Progress of a People: Booker T. Washington." Progress of a People: Booker T. Washington. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2013. <http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aap/bookert.html>. Wormser, Richard. "The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 10 May 2013. <http:// www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_people_booker.html> "Booker T. Washington Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 10 May 2013. <http://www.biography.com/people/booker-t-washington-9524663>

Brandon Wood

Friday, May 10, 2013 9:49:22 AM Pacic Daylight Time

70:cd:60:8b:7d:80