Booker T Washington

African American history is founded on the hardships of slavery and neglect for several years. They had no equal rights with the majority of white supremacists who used them as property. They did not have the essentials that we consider basic such as education and employment. During their announcement of freedom, it came as a shock that they were free. But, what would they do with their freedom? Were they free? African American oppression continued for years as they were still not recognized as citizens but mere aliens who had come to evade mankind. However, behind every oppression, a revolutionist is willing to take on the oppressor. Booker T Washington who was born as a slave was a young kid when the civil war was over and the slaves were declared free. He had no idea who his father was and had no documentation for his birth date. He only had one name as Booker but later on, added Washington to his given name. He realized that there was a need to uplift the blacks and former slaves in society during their freedom. He used education as his plan to combat the unequal social conditions that they faced in their day to day lives.

Booker trekked hundreds of miles to get to an educational institution that was free for all blacks, The Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. Booker who was determined to arrive in the institute had nothing but his clothes on him. He used all of his savings on his way for survival purposes. The journey was just the beginning of an entrenching future with a revolution to the black community. Booker graduated with honors and used his educational background to make a change. His educational achievements granted him an assignment to be the head of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

Views on White Masters and Mistresses

Booker was born a slave and making him be an optimistic black man who had no ill intentions for his white man when they were released from the bondage of slavery. He foes ahead to explain that the black community needed slavery to learn basic skills and have innovative knowledge for a decent livelihood. He uses the European slaves as a footnote to his remarks as the European population was later accepted by the common American citizens. He was probably not the only black man who never had ill intentions for their master. During the end of the civil war, a great loss of lives was witnessed especially those who were close to the masters and mistresses. Some blacks went ahead to mourn with their masters and show their compassionate sympathy to the bereaved. On the day of the announcement that ended black slavery, some whites were wearing sad faces, they were not sad because they were losing property but sad because they were losing a friend and a close companion who would be there for them in times of despair and would also share laughter in times of joy.

Booker believed that the black can take a lesson from their past experiences and make it a pillar foundation for making their race great. His main objective was to make the white population have trust on the black man to be responsible and henceforth be absorbed into society with equal rights and equal opportunities. He would rather have a black community that was uplifted with economic rights than give them political freedom as this would be a stepping zone to making them achieve their potential. Therefore, he believed the relationship between the white masters and mistresses with the slaves was not tensed but there were a mutual understanding and a relationship that was built for years.

Political Leadership

For decades, the African American community has been having a voice in society, whether politically or socially. They would look up to them as a source of hope when there was none. Great personalities such as Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and many others inspired them with words of wisdom and hope for a brighter future. However, Booker T Washington tops them all as he was the one who made a foundation in making the black majority race to be recognized. His main agenda was to give the black American economic rights and give them a chance to prove their worth in society. He did no push for equal political rights and would rather sideline political freedom and voting rights and have a conversation about uplifting his race economically with those in office.

In his arrival as the head of Tuskegee, he was given a rare opportunity for a black man to lead black students. There were outdated facilities and the institution was in poor standards. He motivated his students to build the institution from scratch without external help. His students realized his ideologies and were willing to be a part of his growing legacy for the future to come. His leadership and administrative skills gave him status among his fellow black men and with such a high rank he managed to form an economic alliance, The National Negro Business League.

The league had the sole purpose of creating economic prosperity for his followers. He urged African Americans to accept their fate as unequal to the white man. On the contrary to his words, it is said that he secretly funded litigation that was meant to accomplish equal civil rights for the black American. His growing fame and popularization had caught the eye of the Whitehouse and was given a role as the President’s advisor and even got an invitation to have a meal with then President, Theodore Roosevelt. This was a tremendous step for the African population but received great criticism by the white supremacists and political leaders. However, the critics did not lower his voice nor lower his tone. He kept on using his speech and action to uplift the man who was neglected in society. He would use his position to have a persuasive impact on those who did not understand the needs of a former slave.

Washington’s ideologies were heavily criticized by Du Bois who felt that Washington was a puppet to the white man and was accommodating their terms towards the black man in America. Du Bois who was also a black leader wanted the black man to only progress with equal civil rights. He believed that all men were created equally and should be treated equally among society. Taking away their God-given rights was considered unacceptable and treating the African American as not a man was still not freedom and was an unjust position.

Significant Speech at Atlanta

Just like every politician, Washington had a persuasive tongue to convince many to attend rallies and occasions to listen to what he thought was right and give solutions to the sickened unjust society. He was very much involved in National politics particularly after he gave a speech at a national cotton exposition in Atlanta, Georgia. Washington’s speech offered southern whites a reassuring message not to be worried about black freedom. He stated that they have no desire to pose a threat to them but to work alongside them and move ahead to progress together.

In the year 1895, Washington was asked to address the public at Atlanta exposition. His speech turned him into a national figure. His speech was viewed as controversial because he viewed politics was for mainstream society and that African Americans and the role of being separate from white society. This was a bargain that Booker was willing to strike. However, his criticizers felt that he was conceding a lot of power to the conservative white sect.

The significance of his speech in Atlanta was his aim ideology in the road journey to attaining equality. He wanted the black man to use their strengths and their skills to build them socially and uplift them economically. During this time, African Americans were very handy in building a nation as they would have no problem doing shoddy jobs. They built institutions and buildings such as the Whitehouse and worked in many agricultural industries to move the growing economy to its potential. He knew that attaining equal civil rights will bring a tug of war among the races and an outburst of violent actions will take place. Therefore mobilized the black man to work and work even more and attain skills that would be of great importance and help to their livelihood.

Part Two

Relevancy to Booker T Washington’s idea on Education

In many societies, there is a stereotypical view that success is measured with the college degree one has achieved and the level to the degree in terms of honors. The professions that one takes will determine how successful the person may be. Parents would love it for their children to be lawyers, doctors, and even teachers. However, this was not Brook Washington’s idea of education. He viewed education as a necessity to attaining innovative skills that would create a working economy. He used education to encourage the black man to fill to be accepted in society.

The reasoning behind his logic maybe because the African Americans did not have an equal opportunity as the white man. Therefore, his race had to scramble hat was provided for them. He encouraged African Americans to undertake courses such as carpentry, masonry, crafts among others to show a level of responsibility. It is correct to say that without such professions we would be living in a system that has a gap to fill when it comes to the supply of their services.

Today, Washington’s take on education is still applicable and is encouraged by many. It would not be sensible to have more doctors than nurses especially when there is a shortage of nurses all over the nation. This is just but an example of the many professions that require a workforce to make sure that there is steady growth in the economy and that there is access to employment for all social backgrounds. His idea also meant that not every citizen has the resources to get the best quality education. It meant that there should be an acceptance to settle on the applicable courses.

During Washington’s time, the African Americans were straight out of slavery but were still coming to terms with the living conditions of being free. It meant that they had to look for jobs that will give them a wage to put food on the table and give them shelter as well as clothing them. They would work in industries and cotton farms. In other words, they would do the scrappy jobs that the white man felt worthless. In the long run, the jobs that they would settle for turned out to be their escape from poverty.

We now live in modern days and it is said that African Americans still live in harsh conditions. They have been absorbed into believing that there are shoddy jobs that are meant for the lowlifes. This can be a consequence of the stereotypical view of what is success and failure. Instead of attending the courses that would give them employment, they would drop out of school and settle for the easy money such as selling drugs and robbing a store. This belief does not intentionally apply to the Black Americans but also other races including the Filipino. If all would realize the importance of the neglected courses then there would be little pressure to make our children do the courses that we feel are of benefit to their future. Booker was not trying to say that the population should settle for less but I am trying to prove a point that we should not be ignorant to deny certain courses that are at our exposal.