African-American spokesman and leader Booker T. Washington spoke On September 18, 1895 before a predominantly white audience at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta. The “Atlanta Compromise” address is said to be one of the most important and influential speeches in American history. The workers of the exposition worried that the public was not prepared for such an advanced step. They decided that inviting a black speaker would help show Northern visitors the evidence of racial progress in the South. Washington eased his listeners’ concerns about so called “uppity blacks” by claiming that his race would be content living “by the productions of our hands.”
Washington's speech responded to what some call the "Negro problem”
Washington's speech responded to what some call the "Negro problem”