The Future of the American Negro

Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856- November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915. Representative of the last generation of black leaders born in slavery, he spoke on behalf of blacks living in the South. In his last 25 years, Washington maintained his standing because of the sponsorship of powerful whites, substantial support within the black community, his ability to raise education funds from both groups, and his accommodation to the social realities of the age of Jim Crow segregation.