This work by Booker T. Washington, “The Atlanta Exposition Address”, or also known as “The Atlanta Compromise”, was a speech given in 1895 at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta that had a lasting impact not only to the crowd listening, but to the nation as a whole. Booker T. Washington was admired and appreciated by many black Americans. Although, everyone in the African American Community admired his overall achievements leading up to his speech in Atlanta, some of his ideas and thoughts became very controversial within the black community and possibly encouraged the Jim Crow era by proposing the ideology of separate but equal. “The Atlanta Exposition Address,” was significant in shaping history because it; sparked a split and debate within the African American community over the ideas Booker T. Washington proposed in the address, and simultaneously affected the nation as a whole with future laws passed off the basis of Washington’s ideology. To understand the context of where Booker T. Washington’s stance is in the address, people must first understand Washington’s background and his audience during the speech.
The oration “The Atlanta Compromise” from Booker T. Washington was to have the White citizens realize that Blacks are no different from Whites, other than the skin color. Blacks perform as much strenuous activities as Whites do, maybe even more, but why do the Whites get so bothered with Blacks being equal? Whites were sufficed with slaves being and treated lower than them. Also, some did not allow Blacks to be equal to them as well as not cater them, even though slavery has ended, to proclaim their partiality.
There was no equal justice. Southern men had to be careful of their language; no doubt, also, careful of their thoughts. It befitted them to be careful, they would feel, in a land that had a bitter epithet, “nigger lover,” for those whom it wished to cast sharp stones. It would seem that as far back as 1906, when a fearful race riot overran Atlanta, Dr. Booker T. Washington had hastened there from Tuskegee and persuaded certain influential whites and Negroes to sit down and consult in the same room over causes of plague that had over taken them, this was the start of the interracial co-operation. Wat Booker T. Washington did was amazing, it was an act of non-violence and brought people from both races together.
Louis Harlan examines the life, actions, and motivations of Booker T. Washington from top to bottom, peeling back the many complicated layers of Washington’s double life. Harlan’s research highlights an often overlooked fact of history, that the historical figures that live on in legend are, at the end of the day, only human, and the motivations behind their choices are rarely simple. We can only begin to understand Booker T. Washington by examining his childhood, his public and private life, the world he was living in, and the company he kept during his work as a black leader in white America. Harlan presented a detailed portrait of Washington, tracing his life from his early years as a slave to his rise as a national figure and leader of
In what ways did Booker T Washington’s influence shape the economic and social advancement of black southerners, 1880-1920? Booker T Washington stated in an 1890 article published in the nationally read monthly magazine Christian Union that he had "no hesitancy in asserting that three-fourths of the Baptist ministers and two-thirds of the Methodists are unfit, either mentally or morally, or both, to preach the Gospel to anyone or to attempt to lead anyone." Given his status as an emerging black leader and principal of the Tuskegee Institute gave his comments gravitas, and importantly erased any chance of him being accused of racism. His denunciation, with it’s risk of internecine conflict, was in itself puzzling in that he was attacking
Washington, a notable African American educator and leader who played a crucial part in the movement throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, was one of the most important early players in the civil rights battle. Washington detailed his vision for how African Americans may attain more economic and social equality in the South in his famous "Atlanta Compromise" speech made in 1895. The key plea was for whites to respond to the blacks' distress call and provide a helping hand to blacks who build pathways and want to be supported. He urged whites to trust blacks and give them chances, allowing both races to prosper harmoniously in business and agriculture. The Original recording of the speech was made on December 5, 1908, for private purposes and was later mad available commercially by Washington’s son in
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress” -Frederick Douglass. African Americans have gone through tremendous struggles and hardships throughout history, and whenever it seemed like something went right, something wrong would happen at the same time, this “struggle” Though, has led to outstanding progress towards the equality of the African American race. In “The Souls of Black Folk” by W.E.B. Dubois and “The Atlanta Compromise” by Booker T. Washington, Dubois and Washington give their opinions on the education of African Americans. I believe that both provide very logical options for the education of blacks, but Washington gives a better option for the time period and the historical context of the relationship between blacks and whites.
Thesis statement: The two great leaders in the black community debating about the issues that face the Negro race and Du Bois gave a compelling argument by using pathos, logos and ethos to create an essay that will appear to all readers. Outline: This essay will showcase the contradicting philosophies between W.E.B Du Bois and Booker T. Washington. Also, paying close attention to the different types of leadership between the two historic leaders in the black community. Both W.E.B Du Bois and Booker T. Washington contributed to and helped shape the future of African Americans.
The Atlanta Exposition Address by Booker T. Washington (1856-1915), written as a strategy in order to combat racial tensions in the South. Washington was born into slavery, where he worked on a Virginia plantation until emancipation in 1865. He then moved to Virginia with his mother, and taught himself how to read and write. After many years of saving he enrolled in the Hampton Institute (later called Hampton University) in 1875 and Wayland Seminary from 1878-1879. He would later become a teacher at Hampton, and after recommendation from Hampton’s president, he was selected to lead Tuskegee University.
Because of this, Washington was less concerned about political rights and more on promoting the policy of accommodation. In other words, Washington felt that equality could be achieved by appealing to the white Southerner. Washington urged Blacks to accept segregation for the time being and focus on proving their equality through financial independence (Painter, 155). On the contrary, W.E.B Du Bois sharply disagreed with the idea of accommodation.
However Booker T. Washington believed in having a more skillful education, consisting of learning how to trade, mastering agriculture skills and more things one would need to get a job. However, W.E.B DuBois also put many efforts to achieve equal rights towards African Americans which Booker T Washington put on hold. Booker T Washington’s plan was to make it so that “Blacks would [have to] accept segregation and discrimination but their eventual acquisition of wealth and culture would gradually win for them the respect and acceptance of whites”. This vision that Booker T Washington had “practically accepts the alleged inferiority of the Negro race”. W.E.B commented on this process saying it was an attempt, “to educate black boys and girls simply as servants and underlings.”
Booker T. Washington believed that in order to eventually achieve racial equality African
Washington appears to make some compromises in his argument. His speech is actually called the "Atlanta Compromise." He says that "in no way have the value and manhood of the American Negro
Civil Rights Leader, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., in his speech, “Give Us the Ballot”, emphasizes the importance of African American suffrage and urges many groups of people to do what they can to help this cause. King’s purpose is to inspire the black community to fight for their right to vote through nonviolent protest. He adopts a tone of urgency in order to encourage action from the African American audience, as well as from politicians, white northern liberals, and moderate southerners. Martin Luther King Jr. begins his speech by vilifying the institutions which disobey the Supreme Court’s decision to allow black people to vote and by expounding how the newly enfranchised African American community will vote to make changes in the
President Eisenhower, in his address to the country, more specifically the people of Arkansas, discusses the inevitable situation involving racial segregation occurring in Arkansas. Eisenhower’s purpose is to convey to the country that he will fight to preserve the decision that the Supreme Court came to on racial segregation. He adopts a personal tone in order to convey to the people of Arkansas that he understands how they feel in this situation. After establishing that he will do whatever is necessary to protect the rights of the students and connects with the Arkansas people by addressing the fact that his decision wasn’t based on his personal beliefs, Eisenhower shifts his focus to validating the citizen’s feelings of anger and feeling slighted. Eisenhower through logically crafted arguments asserts that he will use his powers to ensure the students’ rights aren’t withheld.
