(1856–1915). In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Booker T. Washington was known throughout the United States as a spokesman for African Americans. As blacks struggled for equal treatment with whites, Washington taught that hard work and patience were the best ways for them to improve their lives. His speeches earned him the respect of many Americans, both black and white. But other blacks criticized him for failing to take a stand against racial inequality.
Early life
Booker Taliaferro Washington was born a slave in Franklin County, Virginia, on April 5, 1856. As a child, he swept yards and brought water to slaves working in the fields. In 1865, after the end of the American Civil War, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ended slavery. Washington and his mother were freed, and they moved to Malden, West Virginia.
Washington's family was very poor, and he helped support them by working in a salt furnace and at a coal mine. He taught himself the alphabet and studied with the teacher of a local school for African Americans. He had to work five hours each day before class.
In 1872 Washington began studies at the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. This institute had been established to educate blacks. He was able to pay the fees by working as a janitor. After graduating in 1875 he taught in Malden and then at the Hampton Institute.
Career
In 1881 Washington was selected to head a newly established school for blacks in Alabama, the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. He began classes with 30 students in a crude shelter. Later he borrowed money to buy an abandoned plantation nearby and moved the school there. By 1915 he had developed the institute into a university. It had more than 100 well-equipped buildings, about 1,500 students, and nearly 200 teachers.
Although slavery had ended, African Americans still did not have the same rights that were given to white Americans. Washington, however, did not believe that blacks should protest to win equal treatment. Instead he thought that African Americans would get their rights if they impressed white Americans in the South with their hard work and progress. This, he said, would break down the divisions between the two races and lead to equal rights for blacks. He wanted African Americans to improve their farming skills and learn trades that were taught at Tuskegee. Among these were brickmaking, sewing, and engineering.
Many other African American leaders disagreed with Washington. They believed that blacks should challenge racial inequality directly. The best known of these leaders was W.E.B. Du Bois. Du Bois argued that only higher education and protests would help African Americans obtain their full rights as U.S. citizens. However, many black people felt comfortable with Washington's views. Many white politicians also felt at ease with his views and contributed funds to Tuskegee.
Washington published a dozen books. The most famous one is his autobiography, Up From Slavery (1901). Washington died in Tuskegee, Alabama, on November 14, 1915. Twenty-five years later his face appeared on a U.S. postage stamp. He was the first African American to be honored in this way.