BLACK LEADERS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY In the time after the fall of radical black reconstruction of the nineteenth century, African Americans were being oppressed by rural farming, civil rights, economical advancement and sharecropping. Booker T. Washington charged the fight for economical and political accommodation with his dream of equal civil rights. Timothy Thomas Fortune was an influential black journalist that fought for the rights of African Americans through literal resistance. The Lonely Warrior, Ida B. Wells was an outspoken voice against lynching throughout America and fought against the oppression of men and woman everywhere. Booker T. Washington was one of the last great African American leaders born into slavery. Washington emphasized political means and civil rights along with economic means and self-determination. Washington was the founder of the Tuskegee Normal and the Industrial Institute in 1881, for the development of skilled trade. The Instituted was the largest self-black supported Institution in America at the time. The school taught the arts of trade, self-determination and economical independence of sharecropping. Washington gave the Atlanta Compromise Address in 1895, to disclaim the notion of white supremacy and social equality to the south. Booker T. Washington sought to influence whites, but sought out the solid programs of economical and educational progress for blacks. Washington was one that thought that speaking out against injustice was self-defeating and should be suppressed. Washington founded the National Negro Business League in 1900, helped put a stronghold on substantial black population and did little for black business. As the chief black advisor to President Roosevelt and Taft, Washington devoted much of his time to securing federal jobs and used political power to win over key political figures in the North. He aided many blacks businesses but also hindered the activities of those who spoke against him. He also helped appoint the first black assistant US Attorney General. Many of Washington's ideas and concepts are still being used today in black communities. Booker T. Washington was in control of many black newspapers that agreed with his views and opinions.... ... middle of paper ... ...hting for all possible rights. Ida B. Well's kept up her fight for black equality for all African-Americans. Her fight stayed alive for some time until mutual friends such as Washington and Fortune decided to push her out of newspaper journalism for black rights and eventually out of the NAACP. All three figures that are talked about above are some of the greatest leaders in the fight for African-American rights. Booker T. Washington was a fine leader in (towards starting) the movement to push black equality, however he lacked the courage to be a true leader because he only wanted to keep whites pleased. The "Agitator" as Thomas T. Fortune was a great editor of black newspaper, next to Du Bois. Fortune is not all that and a bag of chips. He is a man that lived on hiding behind Washington and his ideas, was just a toy of Washington. "Joan of Arc", Ida B. Wells was the anti-lynching spokeswomen and the true heart and soul behind the fight for black equality in America. She is the only true independent leader out of the above. Wells spoke her mind, which was the truth, and she never looked back even when it was her life that mattered.
Throughout the course of American history, there have been many historical figures who have been responsible for, or were a part of the gradual change of our nation. In the early to mid 1900's, the United States was racially segregated, and African Americans were looked at as second class citizens. In the mid-1900's, a time period which is now known as the Civil Rights Movement, there were a number of different people who helped lead the charge to desegregate the United States. Some of the historical figures, who's names are synonymous with the Civil Rights Movement, include political activist Martin Luther King, NAACP officer Medgar Evers, Baptist minister Malcolm X, and normal citizen Rosa Parks. All of these people were a very large part of the Civil Rights Movement and attempted to recognize African Americans as equals to Whites.
However controversial his methods and objectives, few can doubt that Washington worked hard to achieve them. Certainly the high point in his career was his famous speech at the Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition in 1895, in which he accepted social and legal segregation but promised racial friendship and cooperation.
Born the son of a slave, Booker Taliaferro Washington was considered during his time to be the spokesman of the African American race. Washington believed that if African Americans focused their attention on striving economically, they would eventually be given the rights they were owed. With this in mind, he encouraged blacks to attend trade schools where they could learn to work either industrially or agriculturally. At his famous Atlanta Exposition Address in Atlanta he declared, "Our greatest danger is that, in the great leap from slavery to freedom, we may overlook the fact that the masses of us are to live by the productions of our hands and fail to keep in mind that we shall prosper in the proportion as we learn to dignify and glorify common labor, and put brains and skill into the common occupations of life" (Humanities Washington).
Booker T. Washington was an educator and an influential African American leader. His vision was for African Americans to ignore the discrimination and continue working hard in the crafts, industries, and farmlands. His belief was that the more skills education
Booker T. Washington believed that blacks should not push to attain equal civil and political rights with whites. That it was best to concentrate on improving their economic skills and the quality of their character. The burden of improvement resting squarely on the shoulders of the black man. Eventually they would earn the respect and love of the white man, and civil and political rights would be accrued as a matter of course. This was a very non-threatening and popular idea with a lot of whites.
...to be equally educated. His speeches not only attracted the black people but also, northern and southern white people. Booker worked hard for all that he achieved during his life time. People all over were followers of Booker T. Washington. One example of how much these followers appreciated Washington is through raising money for a trip to Europe. Not just anyone went to Europe in those days. The trip showed how much the people appreciated Booker’s efforts for civil rights and education of blacks. They sent
Booker T. Washington’s ideologies for economic advancement and self-help played a major role in his approach to fight for equal rights. By founding the Tuskegee Institute in Mound Bayou, he created a university that was segregated for black students and encouraged higher educational standards (Meier 396). These students were also encouraged to follow the social system of segregation in order to achieve political status in the United States. In an interview with reporter Ralph McGill, Du Bois recalls that in the process of obtaining funds for the Tuskegee Institute “Washington would promise [white philanthropists] happy contented labor for their new enterprises. He reminded them there would be no strikers” (Du Bois, qtd. in McGill 5). This shows the nature of Washington’s contradicting approach in obtaining political power by embracing the system of segregation and working with white leaders rather than against them to achieve his goals.
After the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, many African Americans saw the opportunity for freedom and equality. However, that was quickly taken away after the constant racism and oppression that took place after the civil war. In “They Say: Ida B. Wells and the Reconstruction of Race”, James West Davidson tells us about Ida B. Wells and other people of color that tried redefining what it meant to be African American. They wanted to show a different side of themselves, instead of what racist, white journalists and hate groups did. Nevertheless, they still dealt with daily struggles, such as few opportunities in politics, poverty, lack of respect, segregation, and hate crimes.
Booker T. Washington was a great leader. He was all for helping the black community become stronger. His goal was very hard to achieve considering the period in which he lived. America, during Washington's time was under reconstruction. The Civil War was over and blacks were, by law, equal to any other human being. Slavery was abolished and many southerners had a problem with that. To many whites, black people didn't deserve and weren't intellectually "ready" for such freedoms. The South had such a hard time accepting it that Union troops were stationed in southern states who couldn't cooperate. Booker T. Washington is a prime example to southerners who think that blacks can amount to nothing. In my paper I will talk to you about the many accomplishments he has made and the hardships that were attached to his achievements. As always a lot of people tried to pull Booker down. Some were even of the same race as Mr. Washington. But along the way a lot people helped Booker. People who he helped, his family, his community, and others who felt he was just a really great guy.
Booker T. Washington was an African American leader who established an African-American college in 1181. Then in 1895 delivered the Atlanta Compromise Speech to an audience of mainly Southerners, but some Northerners were present. In his speech he made a few points. He said, “No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem.” Washington believed that the African American race needed to learn first that manual labor was just as important as the work of intellects. He thought that until they learned this they were not worthy of becoming intellects themselves. The color line is thus important in teaching them this lesson. He also said, “It is important and right that all privileges of the law be ours, but it is vastly more important that we be prepared for the exercise of these privileges.” His opinion was that one day blacks would deserve to have equal rights with the whites, but right now in 1895 the blacks needed to be...
W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington were two very influential leaders in the black community during the late 19th century, early 20th century. However, they both had different views on improvement of social and economic standing for blacks. Booker T. Washington, an ex-slave, put into practice his educational ideas at Tuskegee, which opened in 1881. Washington stressed patience, manual training, and hard work. He believed that blacks should go to school, learn skills, and work their way up the ladder. Washington also urged blacks to accept racial discrimination for the time being, and once they worked their way up, they would gain the respect of whites and be fully accepted as citizens. W.E.B. Du Bois on the other hand, wanted a more aggressive strategy. He studied at Fisk University in Tennessee and the University of Berlin before he went on to study at Harvard. He then took a low paying research job at the University of Pennsylvania, using a new discipline of sociology which emphasized factual observation in the field to study the condition of blacks. The first study of the effect of urban life on blacks, it cited a wealth of statistics, all suggesting that crime in the ward stemmed not from inborn degeneracy but from the environment in which blacks lived. Change the environment, and people would change too; education was a good way to go about it. The different strategies offered by W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington in dealing with the problems of poverty and discrimination faced by Black Americans were education, developing economic skills, and insisting on things continually such as the right to vote. ...
We can see that African Americans were still struggling for equality even after the emancipation and the abolishment of slavery. They still did not get the equal rights and opportunities compared to whites. This had been reflected in the first essay in Du Bois’s book with a title Of Our Spiritual Strivings that indicates blacks were denied the opportunity that were available to the whites even after emancipation. During the days of Jim Crow, people of color received unfair treatment from almost all aspects of their lives. At that time, not all people were brave enough to express and speak up their desire for transformation. Two most influential black leaders that were known to have the courage to speak up their beliefs in social equality were
E. B. Du Bois indicated that the dominant influence that Booker T. Washington had on Blacks came at a time when there was less attention on the memories of war and more focus towards the idea of commercialism. Du Bois stated that Washington’s plan of industrial education was not original, that he simply added great enthusiasm as a way to gain an interest of the people. He recognized Washington’s achievements in the South as being the founder of Tuskegee Institute and the most notable achievement in favor of African Americans, his “Atlanta Compromise” speech. As a result, radicals accepted this as an act of surrender to Whites, and conservatives received this as a mutual understanding. Washington then gained attention in the North by grasping the concept that now dominated that area, which was maximizing profits and material
Booker T. Washington is arguably the most famous African American Education Activist for his multiple contributions to giving African Americans the equal education rights in the United States as white
Booker T Washington once said “ Do a common thing in an uncommon way.” Washington started his education in 1875 at Hampton University, then furthered his education from 1878-1879 at Wayland Seminary. Between 1890 and 1915 (25 years), Washington was an american educator, author and a big leader in the African-American community. Washington was a part of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which is the act to make all public accommodations equal. Two year prior to finishing his education, Washington opened up Tuskegee University on July 4th, 1881, in Tuskegee, Alabama. Tuskegee University is a private, historically black University.