Frequently Asked Questions

 Q:   

Who Is Booker T. Washington?

 A: Postage stamps issued by the U.S. federal government came into existence in the mid-1840s, but it wasn't until 1940 that the face of a Black American appeared on one. It was Dr. Booker T. Washington. Dr. Washington was honored again in 1956, when his birthplace was featured on a second stamp. He was honored yet again when his face appeared on a U.S. coin--a 50-cent piece--another first for Black Americans. A second U.S. 50-cent piece shows the faces of Dr. Washington and another great Black American, Dr. George Washington Carver.

April 5, 2006 marks the 150th anniversary of Dr. Washington's birth. The Washington family and members of the Alabama state legislature are planning for a state holiday to celebrate that anniversary. The New Coalition is planning a series of events as well.

Washington's social, economic, and educational vision is just as relevant today as it was 100 years ago. Some may claim he is even more relevant on the important issue of a practical education for all Black Americans--students as well as adults. In his autobiography, Up From Slavery, Dr. Washington described the Reconstruction Period [1877 to 1878] as one where "schools both day and night were filled to overflowing with people of all ages and conditions." Some of the people were as far in age as 60 and 70, according to Dr. Washington. He went on to write, "The ambition to secure an education was most praiseworthy and encouraging."

Fast forward to 2005. A new study of student graduation rates funded by the Bill Gates Foundation focusing simply on the percentage of students that came through the public school system and received a high school diploma had startling results. Overall, 71 percent--for Blacks it was 56 percent and 52 percent for Latinos. For the state of Illinois--which had one of the lowest rates for Blacks in the country--it was 52 percent; the rate for Hispanics was 52 percent and whites 85 percent. The study represents a 10-year trend, from 1991 to 2002 and was researched by the Manhattan Institute.

According to the Urban Institute, currently 56 percent of Black females graduate from high school, compared with 43 percent of Black males. Thus, we have a widening gender gap for males.

Despite having more than 40 Black members in Congress since the 1965 Voting Rights Act, "when it comes to the unemployment rate between Black America and white America the gap grows wider. ...We see that 40 years later we are in danger of erasing all the gains we have made thus far." Those were the recent words of National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial as he discussed the organization's annual state of Black America.

The complex socio-economic situation we are facing in 2005 shows a similar concern that Dr. Washington was faced with during Reconstruction when he founded what is now Tuskegee University. He said, "At the bottom of education, at the bottom of politics, at the bottom of religion, there must be for Black folks, economic independence."

While Dr. Washington became the most powerful Black man in America with fame as an educator, leader, and organizer of Black businesses, he has remained one of the most controversial figures in Black American history. His historical image has been seriously diminished. He has been labeled an Uncle Tom. This was not justified, and as Thomas Sowell wrote in the December 1994 issue of Forbes magazine, the Booker-bashing was one of the most unfair hands dealt to any Black leader in history.

Dr. Washington graduated with honors from Hampton, taught there, was a married man who raised a family, delivered a commencement speech at Harvard, and was awarded an honorary M.A. degree--the first Black to receive such an honor. He also was awarded an honorary doctorate from Dartmouth.

The bashing has been rapidly changing. Recent scholarship reveals that Dr. Washington truly earned his title as "The Wizard of Tuskegee."

In 1984 Louis R. Harlan, distinguished professor of history at the University of Maryland, won the Pulitzer Prize for History for his two-volume biography of Dr. Washington and the Washington Papers, a 25-year project--making Dr. Washington's the first Black biography to receive such an honor.

Dr. Harold Frank Wilson, professor at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, submitted an insightful paper entitled Booker T. Washington in the 21st Century: The Continuing Legacy. Click the link to read the full version of Dr. Wilson's paper.
http://www.newcoalition.org/article.cfm?artId=21057