How Did Booker T Washington Influence The Civil Rights Movement

The causes of the American Civil Rights movement follow a tortuous, diverging path; the work of a plethora of individuals and institutions culminating to accomplish a task unprecedented in American History. One such contribution may be traced well before the initial start of the Civil Rights Movement to the birth of one significant site within it – Tuskegee, Alabama. Tuskegee was founded as one of many farming communities within Alabama; whites found a home under its hot sun and upon its fertile ground. These luxuries were complimented handsomely by the de facto laws of the land – laws that allowed whites to own plantations whose prosperity lay on the backs of suffering African Americans. As Booker T. Washington’s influence rose within Tuskegee,

While a variety of factors influenced and supported the Civil Rights Movement, chief among them was the ability of African Americans to create and participate in institutions such as the TCA and NAACP. These institutions worked in tandem with the growing democratic system in Tuskegee to facilitate the Civil Rights Movement. Democratic institutions allow for governance by the citizens rather than a small number of elites; an important role in this process is the freedom of citizens to establish political institutions in which to gather and voice political opinions or ideologies. Political institutions, while necessary to democratic governance, rarely exist with freedom from government interference outside of democratic regimes. The ability of the African American people to form political institutions is evidence of the growing democratic presence within Tuskegee. The growing democratic influence within Tuskegee undoubtedly invited the creation of institutions such as the Tuskegee Civic Association, or TCA in 1941 (Norrell, 41). While the organization’s formation lacked the intent to be a political institution, its founders quickly realized that in order to accomplish their goals they must espouse a political presence and

This lack of political clout from the African American community allowed for those within the community to put into practice the teachings and ideologies of Booker T. Washington. Booker T. Washington believed that each African American must “cast down [their] bucket where [they] are” (Racial Alternatives, 114). As such, it was imperative that African Americans fight for the ability to exercise their right to vote. While fighting for this right, people like Herman Bentley aided significantly in the process. In 1949, Herman Bentley “registered 449 blacks, thus quadrupling the number of black voters in the county” (Norrell, 74). Democratic expansion is the ability of the people to participate in governing processes, such as the voting registration process. The ability of persons such as Herman Bentley to extradite the voting registration process for black voters signifies a community with a growing democratic presence. While Herman Bentley served to aid African Americans in their fight for voter freedom, the entrance of the 1870s brought with it conservatives such as Judge Cobb who served only as a tool by which whites exerted more power over blacks within the community (Norrell, 11). The growing population of black voters in later years allowed for the combat of these oppressive powers. While the past was full of bigotry, the