Washington, Booker Taliaferro

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WASHINGTON, BOOKER TALIAFERRO

Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) became one of the leading spokespeople for African Americans after the American Civil War (1861–1865). Washington strongly promoted the education of African Americans in practical skills and manual trades—he founded the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama to promote such goals. He became popular among white political leaders for his views on racial harmony, which emphasized economic opportunity over political protest.

Booker Taliaferro Washington was born in Franklin County, Virginia, on April 5, 1856. His mother was a slave who worked as a plantation cook. Washington's father was an unknown local white man who took no responsibility for his son. His mother later married another slave, but her husband escaped to West Virginia during the American Civil War, leaving his family behind. After the war ended in 1865, Booker's family was emancipated and the family was reunited in Malden, West Virginia. His stepfather had found a job at the salt furnaces and young Booker worked with him as a salt packer.

Booker desperately sought an education for himself, but his family needed him to work in order to support itself. His stepfather reluctantly agreed to let young Booker go to school on the condition that he continue to work in the salt mines before and after school. It was in school that Booker acquired his last name; he had only been called Booker until that time. When the pupils at school responded to roll call with two names, Booker named himself Washington. He later learned from his mother that he already had a last name, Taliaferro. So he became Booker Taliaferro Washington.

Washington continued his work at the salt furnaces, took another job at the coal mines, and still pursued his education. It was at the coal mines that Washington learned of the Hampton Institute in Virginia—this was a school dedicated solely to educating former slaves. It was suitable for Washington and his family because students could finance their education by working at the school.

Washington attended the Hampton Institute in 1872, and it proved to be a critical move for his future. It was at the institute that Washington learned of the educational philosophy that would shape his later beliefs and influence his writings. The Hampton Institute focused its program on practical skills and manual trades to improve the status of African Americans in the community. The institute emphasized industrial and agricultural education as well as teacher training.

Washington graduated with honors from the Hampton Institute in 1875 and went on to teach in rural schools in Malden. In 1878 he began his studies at the Wayland Seminary in Washington, D.C. He left the school, however, because he found the purely academic and theoretical atmosphere to be too superficial for his tastes. The world of books and ideas did not reflect the reality that most African Americans were living at that time. He appreciated the more practical approach of the Hampton Institute and returned there in 1879 as a teacher.

In 1881 the president of the Hampton Institute General Samuel Chapman Armstrong (1839–1893) recommended Washington for a new position. Washington would be the principal of a new school for African Americans to be built in Tuskegee, Alabama. The school had an annual legislative appropriation of $2000. It had no campus, buildings, pupils, or staff and Washington had to recruit pupils and teachers to the school himself. He also raised money for buildings and equipment, as the future site of the school was located on an abandoned plantation. Washington's first lessons to his students were practical ones. Students and faculty together planted crops and made the bricks for the new buildings.

At the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (later named the Tuskegee Institute, and now Tuskegee University), Washington taught the same self-help philosophy that he himself had learned at the Hampton Institute. Washington emphasized manual and industrial education, as well as practical trades such as carpentry, farming, mechanics, and teaching. He additionally emphasized discipline, cleanliness, and thrift among his students. Washington sought to impart to them a philosophy of African American self-sufficiency, and he urged his students to become capitalists. In 1900 Washington put his own teachings into practice and founded the National Negro Business League. The school, however was his real legacy, and he continued to watch his institute grow over the years. By 1888 Tuskegee Institute expanded to cover 549 acres and have over 400 enrolled students. By 1915 the school had 1500 students and a larger endowment than any other black institution.

Washington's influence and educational philosophy, however, extended outside of Tuskegee, Alabama. In 1895 he was asked to address the Cotton States and the International Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia. The event had an all-white audience of about 2000 people. Washington gave a speech at the exposition that was later dubbed the "Atlanta Compromise." The soon-to-be famous speech outlined Washington's proposal for racial harmony in the United States. He explained that self-improvement of African Americans in economic and educational matters would make them more law-abiding and less resentful toward white Americans. This would eventually, he asserted, promote racial harmony. Washington spoke out against the public protests occurring at that time and saw economic advancement as a more effective solution than political demonstrations to racial discord. Ultimately, he accepted racial segregation in exchange for economic opportunities. As he said in the speech: "In all things that are purely social we can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress."

Washington's speech was very popular among white Americans, and he soon became a spokesperson for his people. He developed strong ties with northern philanthropists such as Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919), George Eastman (1854–1932), Henry H. Rogers (1840–1909), and Julius Rosenwald (1862–1932). They appreciated Washington's entrepreneurial approach to race issues. Washington also became an advisor on racial matters to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909) and William H. Taft (1909–1913). His advice was sought as well by various governors and members of Congress.

The late 1800s were a difficult time for African Americans despite Washington's calls for racial harmony. Lynchings increased, Jim Crow laws enforcing racial segregation in public were passed, and there were threats of disfranchisement for African Americans in the South. These were clear signs that African Americans needed more than economic advancement to improve their social position in the United States. Other black intellectuals such as W.E.B. Du Bois (1868–1963) and William Monroe Trotter (1872–1934) began to speak out against the "accommodationism" that Washington supported. Du Bois in particular was critical of Washington's educational philosophy. He felt that it discouraged African Americans from striving for a higher education, instead Du Bois supported the opportunity for talented African Americans to attain a college education and serve as leaders of the black community. This opposition to Washington formed the Niagara Movement in 1905. It provided an alternative view to Washington's position of compromise and humility. In 1910 the same group founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Washington himself realized that economic opportunity alone was not enough to improve the conditions of African Americans. His public position never wavered, but Washington privately supported campaigns against injustice. He anonymously financed lawsuits against disfranchisement and segregation and secretly influenced other legal actions. Washington maintained a demanding public life until he became ill during a lecture series and died on November 14, 1915.

See also: Civil Rights Movement, Jim Crow Laws