Cite Educator Date Of Birth: 5 April 1856 Date Of Death: 14 November 1915 Place Of Birth: Franklin County, Virginia Best Known As: The black educator who started the Tuskegee Institute Name at birth: Booker Taliaferro Washington Booker T. Washington was born a slave and deprived of any early education, yet he grew up to become
America's leading Black educator at the start of the 20th century. Booker T. Washington was the first teacher and principal of the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama. Tuskegee became famous as a school for African-Americans; Washington championed learning and job training as the path to black self-reliance and success in America. Known as a powerful speaker, Washington also wrote the best-selling autobiography Up From Slavery in 1901, and advised Presidents
Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft on race relations. His rather flaccid nickname of "The Great Accommodator" offers a clue as to why he was later criticized by W. E. B. Du Bois and the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). They rejected Washington's idea that Blacks should accept an inferior status for the present while working to improve themselves for the future. Booker T. Washington remained principal of Tuskegee Institute from 1881 until his death in 1915; it was originally called the Normal School for Colored Teachers and is now known as Tuskegee University. Copyright © 1998-2017 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved.
This lesson is part of the National Park Service’s Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) program. The soft velvet rug that carpets the staircase that leads to the office of the president has felt the tread of many feet—famous feet and humble feet; the feet of eager workers and the feet of those in need; and tired feet, like my own, these days. I walk through our headquarters, beautifully furnished by friends who caught our vision, free from debt! I walk through the lovely reception room where the great crystal chandelier reflects the colors of the international flags massed behind it—the flags of the world! I go into the paneled library with its conference table, around which so many great minds have met to work at the problems of the past years. I feel a sense of peace. Women united around The National Council of Negro Women, have made purposeful strides in the march toward democratic living. They have moved mountains. Our headquarters is symbolic of the direction of their going, and of the quality of their leadership in the world of today and tomorrow.1Mary McLeod Bethune wrote these moving words upon her retirement as president of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) in 1949. Bethune had founded the organization in 1935 to give African American women a collective national voice at a time when they were typically shunned or ignored. As NCNW grew and gained respect, Bethune spearheaded the effort to establish a national headquarters in Washington, D.C. When a red brick townhouse in the Logan Circle area became available, Bethune quickly moved to purchase it. As the first headquarters of the National Council of Negro Women, this house played a prominent role in advancing the causes of African American women around the country. From 1943 until 1966, it provided the setting for countless meetings in which NCNW members discussed pivotal national events such as the integration of the military and public schools. Here also they created and implemented programs to combat discrimination in housing, healthcare, and employment. Bethune and the members of NCNW faced challenges of race and gender with a tireless spirit and determination. Bethune helped give a voice to African Americans and created an organization that continues to fulfill her vision more than 50 years after her death. Today the former headquarters is administered by the National Park Service as the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site.
|
Timothy Thomas Fortune | |
Born | October 3, 1856 Marianna, Florida, U.S. |
Died | June 2, 1928 (aged 71) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Alma mater | Stanton High School for Negroes |
Occupation | Orator, author, publisher, and African American civil rights leader |