Born into slavery, with a black mother and a white father, Booker T. Washington’s early life had a major influence on his eventual thinking. After the Civil War, Washington was later able to attended the Hampton Institute after convincing the administration to let him work as a janitor for his education. The Hampton Institute, one the the first all-black schools in America, provided Washington with and outlet to focus his attention on African American rights and the progress of the black community in America. With his education completed Washington helped found the Tuskegee Institute. The Tuskegee Institute focused on the importance of skill, craft, morals and the progress for blacks and former slaves. This vocational school sought to give
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It was clear to Washington that true social equality would not be fully obtainable in the close future. To Washington it seemed unreasonable and perhaps dangerous, to force southern whites to practice equality without substantive proof of countering their racist stereotypes. His approach though seemingly indirect was representative of his upbringing and surroundings. He began public speaking to spread his ideas and his doctrine. In 1895, Booker T. Washington publicly put fourth his philosophy on race relations, during a speech in Atlanta, Georgia known as the Atlanta Compromise. He explained that African Americans need to establish themselves through education and that, “It is at the bottom of life we must begin, and not at the top. Nor should we permit our grievances to overshadow our opportunities,” and instead should focus on advancing the black community. In his speech On Making Our Race Count in the Life of the Nation, Washington went so far as to say, “the thought of going to live among a people in order to gain their votes and acquire official honors was repugnant to my sense of self-respect,” and African Americans shouldn 't pander to whites but instead should focus on their own wows. At the core of his argument was the belief
It was clear to Washington that true social equality would not be fully obtainable in the close future. To Washington it seemed unreasonable and perhaps dangerous, to force southern whites to practice equality without substantive proof of countering their racist stereotypes. His approach though seemingly indirect was representative of his upbringing and surroundings. He began public speaking to spread his ideas and his doctrine. In 1895, Booker T. Washington publicly put fourth his philosophy on race relations, during a speech in Atlanta, Georgia known as the Atlanta Compromise. He explained that African Americans need to establish themselves through education and that, “It is at the bottom of life we must begin, and not at the top. Nor should we permit our grievances to overshadow our opportunities,” and instead should focus on advancing the black community. In his speech On Making Our Race Count in the Life of the Nation, Washington went so far as to say, “the thought of going to live among a people in order to gain their votes and acquire official honors was repugnant to my sense of self-respect,” and African Americans shouldn 't pander to whites but instead should focus on their own wows. At the core of his argument was the belief