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Booker T Washington – (1850 – 1915)
– Educator / Author / Civil Rights Leader
Booker T Washington was was an American educator, orator, author and the dominant leader of the African-American
community nationwide from the 1890s to his death. Born to slavery and freed by the war in 1865, as a young man,
he became head of the new Tuskegee Institute, then a teachers' college for blacks.
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Booker T. Washington was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915, especially after he
achieved prominence for his "Atlanta Address of 1895". To many politicians and the public in general, he was seen as a popular
spokesman for African-American citizens. Representing the last generation of black leaders born into slavery, Washington was
generally perceived as a credible proponent of education for freedmen in the post-Reconstruction, Jim Crow South. Throughout
the final 20 years of his life, he maintained his standing through a nationwide network of core supporters in many communities,
including black educators, ministers, editors and businessmen, especially those who were liberal-thinking on social and educational issues.
He gained access to top national leaders in politics, philanthropy and education, and was awarded honorary degrees. Critics called his
network of supporters the "Tuskegee Machine."
Historical / Biographical information courtesy of Wikipedia.
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