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“SUCCESS IS TO BE MEASURED NOT SO MUCH BY THE POSITION THAT ONE HAS REACHED IN LIFE AS BY THE OBSTACLES WHICH HE HAS HAD TO OVERCOME WHILE TRYING TO SUCCEED..”

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Booker T. Washington was born a slave in Virginia, on April 5, 1856.

His  mother was a slave and his father was a local white man.

From a very early age, Washington recalled an intense desire to learn to read and write.

His family was set free by the Union Army following the Civil War.

After being set free, he started to attend school.

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In 1872 Booker T. Washington left home to attend Hampton Institute, an African American college in Hampton, Virginia.

He didn’t have any money or transportation, so he worked  to earn money and also walked and hitchhiked to get to Hampton from his home in West Virginia.

Hampton allowed him to attend the school in exchange for working as a janitor at the school.
Booker T. Washington  graduated in 1876

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In 1881  Booker T. Washington was named president of  Tuskegee Institute.

The school didn’t have much money and no campus, buildings, students, or staff.  Booker T. Washington had to start from scratch.

Booker T. Washington recruited students and teachers and raised money for land, buildings, and equipment. He and his students actually built a kiln, an oven used for making bricks, and they built their own school building.

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Tuskegee Institute became an important force in black education.

Under Booker T. Washington’s leadership, Tuskegee pioneered in agricultural improvements and would send out demonstration wagons that brought better methods to farmers and sharecroppers.

African Americans who were cotton sharecroppers improved their farming techniques, income, and living conditions.

Booker T. Washington urged African American sharecroppers to investor in their own business and he was the founder of the National Negro Business League in 1900.

Black agricultural scientist George Washington Carver (c. 1864–1943) worked at Tuskegee from 1896 to 1943, developing new products from peanuts and sweet potatoes.

By 1915 Tuskegee had fifteen hundred students and a larger endowment (designated funds) than any other black institution.

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White Americans were so happy with the Atlanta Compromise, that they made Booker T. Washington the new black spokesman.

He became powerful, having the deciding voice in federal appointments of African Americans and in philanthropic grants (charitable donations) to black institutions.

Through subsidies, or secret partnerships, he controlled black newspapers, therefore silencing critics.

Impressed by his power and hoping his tactics would work, many black people went along

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Booker T. Washington was a major force in the Progressive Movement

In 1895 Washington gave his famous "Atlanta Compromise" speech.

The Atlanta Compromise was an agreement between Booker T. Washington, some black southern leaders and white southern leaders.

The Atlanta Compromise urged black people to drop demands for political and social rights, concentrating instead on improving job skills and usefulness.

"The opportunity to earn a dollar in a factory just now is worth infinitely more than the opportunity to spend a dollar in an opera-house"

He appealed to white people to rely on loyal, proven black workers, pointing out that the South would advance to the degree that blacks were allowed to secure education and become productive.

The Atlanta Compromise was seen as a “sell-out” by some other black leaders, such as W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963), John Hope (1868–1936), and William Monroe Trotter (1872–1934).

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The Influence of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois on the Writings from the Harlem Renaissance

Two of the most influential people in shaping the social and political agenda of African Americans were Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois, both early twentieth century writers. While many of their goals were the same, the two men approached the problems facing African Americans in very different ways. This page is designed to show how these two distinct thinkers and writers shaped one movement, as well as political debate for years afterward.

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Booker T. Washington acted as a black leader in the Progressive Era, fighting against racism for blacks. He was a dominant leader, and he  had the advantage of  the presidents on his side.

The Tuskegee University which he had established in an old  church building in 1881 today provides education to 3000 students .

The campus of the university is designated as the Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site.

His autobiography ‘Up from Slavery’ gave a detailed account of the problems faced by blacks during that era and how he overcame the obstacles to succeed in his life.

He was awarded an honorary master’s degree from Harvard University in 1896 and an honorary doctorate from Dartmouth College in 1901 for his contributions to American society.