Booker T. Washington

1856–1915

Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) was an American educator and author, born into slavery in Virginia and freed as a child. He worked in salt furnaces and coal mines while educating himself, and at twenty-five was made head of the new Tuskegee Institute, which he built into a major college. His emphasis on vocational training and gradual advancement made him the most influential Black leader of his era and drew sustained criticism from W. E. B. Du Bois.

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