Booker T Washington Free Essays

Booker T. Washington and the Struggle Against White Supremacy One of the most powerful black leaders to have ever live, this is what some people argued of Booker T. Washington. We will write a custom essay sample on Booker T Washington or any similar topic only for you Order Now With a black mother and white father he never knew, Washington was born into slavery near Hale’s Ford in Franklin County, Virginia. He worked growing up, and then attended Hampton Institute, a school designed to educate African and Native Americans. I don’t think he knew, that anybody knew, how much he would change the world over his lifetime. There were many racists view’s back then. Booker T. Washington learned how to work around whites to get what he wanted, and took many tours around the United States to teach other blacks. Racism has been around for years, and remains around today. The difference is that it was much more cruel back then. There were many racist views expressed by whites toward blacks in the 19th century. After Reconstruction, whites began to really express these views. They had seen that blacks had been involved in many black political activities and it pissed them off. They also were mad since they had lost the Civil War. They claimed that: â€Å"Blacks had had their fair chance, had demonstrated their present incapacity for self-government, and could justifiably be relegated, for time being at least, to an inferior status. † Black people where humiliated, beaten, and thrown in jail, and even killed. Whites also controlled blacks’ futures economically. They established black codes to ensure that blacks had stable labor force, which designated â€Å"servants† as employees and â€Å"masters† as employers. This prevented blacks from vagrancy or loitering, making them work even if they did not want to. Booker T. Washington was a very smart man, well at least I think he is. He knew how to get what he wanted, the psychology of â€Å"Black Survivalism†. He uses many survivalist tactics he used on white people to gain improved living conditions for blacks. Many people feel that he was a sellout, he was, but it gained from it. Washington believed that black people’s problems would be solved if they worked like whites needed. If they would abide by the law and cooperate, the industrial education would provide them with an economic niche. Eventually, he believed this would lead to economic independence. Of course, white people thought that Washington was trying to promote segregation and black inferiority. He was not trying to promote segregation, but he was going for black inferiority. Black people needed to do this. Washington was basically saying that if black people continued to work in their field, and other fields, they had the upper hand. They would learn all the techniques, and know everything about that field. Whites did not work, so they knew nothing. Without the blacks, they could not make any money. Booker T. Washington took many tours. The tour that I was most interested in was his tour of Florida. This caught my attention I live here in Florida. This is apart of its history. Washington started his tour of Florida on March 1, 1912. It lasted from March 1st til March 7th. His tour was sponsored by The Florida State Negro Business League. FSNBL was made up of businessmen and women who believed that they could form a â€Å"good strong organization† that would â€Å"benefit and up build the colored race†. They accomplished exactly what they wanted. Booker T. Washington’s first stop on the was Pensacola. Pensacola was the home of Matthew Lewey, the publisher of the first black newspaper in Florida, the Florida Sentinel. This was not only Lewey’s home though, it was mine also. I lived in Pensacola most of my life before moving to Tallahassee. A Negro business community, is what Washington had called Pensacola in 1907. To him it represented â€Å" that healthy progressive communal spirit, so necessary to our people†¦Ã¢â‚¬  By 1910, the city had declined from their â€Å"black progress and success†. Yet, here he was making his first stop here five years later. March 1, 1912 he spoke at the Opera House in Pensacola. His speech was heard by over two thousand people. There were eight hundred whites in attendance, the rest were black. In his speech he gave encouragement and moral advice. Saying: â€Å"We not only have the advantage in a state like Florida of securing land, but the further advantages of finding plenty of work,†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"There are few if any members of our race who have spent any considerable length of time in seeking labor, labor seeks them. Our condition is different from laboring people in many parts of the old world where they have to spend days and sometimes months in seeking labor and then are not able to find it. Washington left Pensacola for Tallahassee. He made a quick stop in Quincy to visit the Dunbar Graded School. When he arrived in Tallahassee he was greeted with a parade. This parade was led by the FAMC band. FAMC is now Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. The band is now known as the Marching 100. Reading about my school in this book made me ev en more proud to be a rattler. The parade also consisted of black artisans, professional men, and farmers. Washington gave his speech on â€Å"Some of the Essential Things In Race Development†. Afterwards he was invited to FAMC for a formal reception. Washington then gave another encouraging speech. He complemented FAMC, saying: â€Å"the State of Florida†¦has provided for the Negros in this state the best plant with the best equipment of any state in the Union. † â€Å"I am glad to add that it is the best kept up plant, the cleanest, and the most systematically arranged of any that I have ever seen. † Booker T. Washington visited Lake City, Ocala, Tampa, Lakeland, Eatonville, Palatka, Daytona Beach, and finished his tour in Jacksonville on March 7, 1912. How to cite Booker T Washington, Papers Booker T Washington Free Essays Industrial Revolution in America (1870-1900) demanded a new social order and improved schooling system, new life philosophy and labor relations. Booker T Washington was one of the leaders who foreshadowed industrial changes and saw roots of social transformations in improved educational facilities and new philosophy of education. Thesis The main contribution of Washington is a new vision of education (â€Å"industrial education†), participation in political, economic and social life and support of industrial and personal development of black population and the South. We will write a custom essay sample on Booker T Washington or any similar topic only for you Order Now Washington transformed traditional education and created a new concept of ‘industrial education’. He supposed that moral training was much more important than intellectual instruction. He believed that the black race should abstain from politics and civil rights agitation until industrial education should have done its work. Industrial education was not so much technical as moral (Verney 38). Washington explained that ‘industrial education’ should help a man to improve his self-image and level of professional skills. In order to promote eh idea of â€Å"industrial education† and support black population, Washington opened his own school in 1881 in Alabama. The main benefit of this school was that Washington applied his philosophy of education to conditions of Southern regions and economic development of the South. â€Å"Its programs emphasized industrial training as a means to self-respect and economic independence for black people† (Washington 50271). Booker T Washington was an advisor of the African American community taking an active part in political, economic and social life of this period. In many cases Washington not only seemed to agree with those whites who were moderate in their racial views and conservative in their economic views, he actually did agree with them, and they correctly sensed his response (Brock n. d. ). Following Verney (2001): In his solicitation for funds in the North, he carried letters of endorsement from a succession of Alabama governors and superintendents of education, for whom Tuskegee Institute was both an economic stimulant and a social tranquilizer (67). Washington had a great impact on political life in the region trying to solve racial problems and segregation. Financially, he received support from philanthropists, and introduced and organized educational programs for black students. In social sphere he had a great impact on views and life perception of black population promulgating ideas of equality and skillful labor (Verney 87). Publicly, Washington accepted a separate and unequal life for black people, but accepted black strength, self-improvement, and mutual aid. Booker T Washington supported industrial development in all spheres of life reinterpreting the role of black people in economy. â€Å"With the coming Industrial Revolution of the North, Washington envisioned many economic opportunities for freedmen in the South† (Brock n. d. ). Washington supported the idea of industrialization of the South and economic development of the poor regions. â€Å"This industrial training, emphasizing as it does the idea of economic production, is gradually bringing the South to the point where it is feeding itself† (Washington n. d. ). He saw improved position of black people as the main source of industrial development of the nation (Verney 87). Washington supported and welcomed industrial Revolution and economic progress through new educational approaches and social support of the coming changes. He stated that Industrial revolution opened new perspectives and opportunities for a wide number of people employed in industry including black population and former slaves. Washington supposed that industrial development of the South and improved conditions of life would benefit the whole country. He saw â€Å"industrial education† and personal development of black population as the main engine of Industrial Revolution. Works Cited 1. Brock, R. E. N. d. Cast Down Your Buckets Where You Are. 07 June 2007, from http://afgen. com/cast_down. html 2. Washington, B. T. n. d. The Awakening of the Negro (1896). 07 June 2007, from http://xroads. virginia. edu/~hyper/WASHINGTON/awakening. html 3. Washington, Booker Taliaferro. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2004. 50271. 4. Verney, K. J. Art of the Possible: Booker T. Washington. Garland Publishing Inc, US, 2001. How to cite Booker T Washington, Papers