Brooker T Washington was known as one of the foremost African American leaders. He founded the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute now known as the Tuskegee University. Washington was a child of a slave. He did not know who his father was except with a little clue that he is white. During his younger age he worked at a plantation mill. He discovered his interest in education while he was working at the mill and came across a school of children learning. He wanted to be just like them, but the time after the civil war african americans were prohibited from learning to read or write.
When Washington’s mother remarried to a Washington Ferguson (White male), they moved together to Malden, Virginia. That is when Brookers mother finally
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Washington also received a $2,000 grant to establish his school, today known as the Tuskegee University. He established the Tuskegee University in hope to educate the African American people. Washington did not see the school as a challenge to the white community. Instead he has taught the students at his school to be patient and be hard workers, and eventually they would be accepted by the white community.
Even though Washington believed that all men should be treated equally, his patient has earned him criticism. Critics argue that even with his reputation and political place (National Spokesperson) he did not demand for more equality for the African American population. Laws such as the Jim Crow and Black Codes prohibited blacks to vote or engage in political meetings.
Overall, I think Washington did a great job of helping the African American community gain educational rights. He worked hard to give the blacks what they needed (education) and at the same time kept peace within the two races. He did nothing to evoke the anger of the white population. Although he was later criticized by a white man about his lack of pursuance for more equality for the African American population, he was still looked at as someone that was considered important during the post civil war