Assignment
Booker T. Washington and the Atlanta Exposition Address Analysis
What does Booker T. Washington require that blacks do in order to prosper?
How would he evaluate the efforts of Douglass, Garnet, Delany and others who fought so hard to end slavery for his benefit? Weren't the efforts and the results of his predecessors, i.e., freedom, achieved through severe and constant struggle?
Where does Washington place himself among the members of his own race and why?
What does Washington mean by "the enjoyment of all the privileges that will come to us must be the result of severe and constant struggle rather than of artificial forcing?"
What is artificial forcing? How do you ensure that a race is not ostracized by the markets and by what practice or measure is this not artificial?
What does the religious imagery imply and what might be the purpose of its use?
What is the "altar that represents the results of the struggles of your race and mine" upon which he bends and how does this altar represent "the results of the struggles of your race and mine?"
Whose responsibility is it to work out this intricate problem between the races and who, according to Washington, has given them that responsibility?
What are blacks and whites each being asked to compromise?
Who, according to Washington, is ultimately responsible for ending racial strife and social inequities, when will this occur, and what does that mean for blacks at the present time?
How is Washington a product of his time?
Explain the role of culture and ideology in the framing of the Atlanta Compromise?
What can explain why his message was so enthusiastically received by members of the dominant culture?
Why would many blacks present at the Cotton Exposition become enraged, dumbfounded, or weep at the deliverance of Washington's speech?
Did Washington's beliefs in meritocracy overshadow any real means of producing solutions to racial inequality or the problems associated with racism?
Given the history and culture of the US, how could Washington be hopeful that through segregation and accommodation peaceful race relations could be achieved?
What factors did Washington overlook and not foresee that made achieving economic stability and lessening racial tensions impossible through accommodation and segregation?
Turner concludes that:
"...he, [i.e., Washington], will have to live a long time to undo the harm he has done our race."
What are your thoughts concerning Turner's response? What might be some of the reasons why Turner felt this way?