[ HBCU_Presidents ] Booker T. Washington, 1st President of Tuskegee
Posted on 14. Jul, 2009 by Leshell Hatley in Faculty, HBCU Presidents, I'm a Full Professor!, Scholarly Celebrations
Dr. Booker T. Washington - from the Library of Congress
In keeping with our feature yesterday, we turn to Tuskegee University, a HBCU established in 1881 with Dr. Booker T. Washington as its first president. He was also the 1st African-American to appear on a US stamp and coin.
Booker T. Washington was an American educator, orator, author and the dominant leader of the African-American community nationwide from the 1890s to his death. Born to slavery and freed by the Civil War in 1865, as a young man, became head of the new Tuskegee Institute, then a teachers’ college for blacks. It became his base of operations.
Tuskegee rose to national prominence under the leadership of its founder, Dr. Washington, who headed the institution from 1881 until his death at age 59 in 1915. During his tenure, institutional independence was gained in 1892, again through legislation, when Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute was granted authority to act independent of the state of Alabama.
Dr. Washington, a highly skilled organizer and fund-raiser, was counsel to American Presidents, a strong advocate of Negro business, and instrumental in the development of educational institutions throughout the South. He maintained a lifelong devotion to his institution and to his home – the South. Dr. Washington is buried on the campus of Tuskegee University near the University Chapel.
Washington was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915, especially after he achieved prominence for his “Atlanta Address of 1895“. To many politicians and the public in general, he was seen as a popular spokesman for African-American citizens. Representing the last generation of black leaders born into slavery, Washington was generally perceived as a credible proponent of education for freedmen in the post-Reconstruction, Jim Crow South. Throughout the final 20 years of his life, he maintained his standing through a nationwide network of core supporters in many communities, including black educators, ministers, editors and businessmen, especially those who were liberal-thinking on social and educational issues. He gained access to top national leaders in politics, philanthropy and education, and was awarded honorary degrees. Critics called his network of supporters the “Tuskegee Machine.”
In an effort to inspire the “commercial, agricultural, educational, and industrial advancement” of African Americans, Washington founded the National Negro Business League (NNBL) in 1900.
However, this speech gained him great criticism (e.g. from W.E.B. Dubois) as he was also known as “The Great Accommodator.” Though Washington was born a slave, the scope and influence of his public life in the twentieth century rival that of Douglass in the nineteenth century. Though his career as racial spokesman was based on the idea that African Americans should eschew political agitation for civil rights in favor of industrial education and agricultural expertise, Washington’s secret activities, his attempt to exercise private influence on matters having to do with racial discrimination and segregation, suggest that his was a paradoxical life indeed. For how else are we to account for Washington’s “Atlanta Exposition Address” of 1895 and his attempts to challenge racial discrimination and segregated facilities by covert legal means?
To penetrate the mysteries swirling about the persona of Booker T. Washington, we must understand something of the times in which he lived and why the issues of African American leadership-who would lead and what kinds of political spoils they could garner for the African American community—played such an essential role in the African American’s attempt to participate fully in American life. For Washington, participation meant identifying, and being identified with, the status quo, the dominant way of thinking in American life and culture.
"Lifting the Veil" - Statue dedicated to Washington
When Washington’s autobiography, Up From Slavery
Additional Accomplishments:
- For his contributions to American society, Washington was granted an honorary master’s degree from Harvard University in 1896 and an honorary doctorate from Dartmouth College in 1901.
- On April 7, 1940, Washington became the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp. The first coin to feature an African American was the Booker T. Washington Memorial Half Dollar that was minted by the United States from 1946 to 1951. He was also depicted on a U.S. Half Dollar from 1951-1954.
- At the center of the campus at Tuskegee University, the Booker T. Washington Monument, called “Lifting the Veil,” was dedicated in 1922. The inscription at its base reads: ”He lifted the veil of ignorance from his people and pointed the way to progress through education and industry.
At the time of Washington’s death, there were 1,500 students, a $2 million endowment, 40 trades, (majors), 100 fully-equipped buildings, and about 200 faculty at Tuskegee. Dr. Washington is buried on the campus of Tuskegee University near the University Chapel.
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More Related posts:
- [ HBCU Presidents ] Dr. Frederick D. Patterson – 3rd President of Tuskegee & Founder of UNCF
- George Washington Carver: An Early Biotechnologist
- [ HBCU_Presidents ] Keith Norris: Interim President of Charles Drew University
- [ HBCU_Presidents ] Dwight O. W. Holmes: 1st Black President of Morgan State
- John Hope: First African-American President of Morehouse College
