Booker T. Washington

Booker T. Washington was a prominent African American educator, author, and advisor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He founded the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, which focused on vocational training for Black students. Washington advocated for self-help, economic progress, and racial accommodation, believing that through education and hard work, African Americans could gradually earn respect and civil rights. His approach emphasized practical skills over higher education. He was a key figure in discussions on race relations in America, often contrasted with contemporaries like W.E.B. Du Bois, who advocated for more immediate civil rights activism.