Booker T Washington

“Assess the view that Booker T. Washington was the most important leader in the development of African American civil rights in the period 1865-1992”
When assessing the importance of a leader you must fist outline what a successful leader is, and the qualities one must possess. Leadership qualities, protest styles and focused, and the long term impact of their actions. In the case of black civil rights leaders we must also assess the white support and backing that the leader has. Booker T. Washington no doubt as an extent of each and every one of these attributes, but how “important” was Washington as a leader in comparison to other leaders of the civil rights movement? Washington is considered the father of the civil rights movement, and for good reason. Washington and his philosophy was the inspiration for many more notable civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X, and Jesse Jackson. However this fact does not make Washington the most important leader, due to the fact that the leaders that Washington inspired become important leaders, progressing civil rights faster and more effectively then Washington ever managed.
Washington was known for his relations with white leaders coming to fruition his 1895 Atlanta Compromise. In the agreement Washington is considered to greatly damaged the civil rights movement and hinder its progression. Notable leaders Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter, tagged the Talented Tenth, criticized Washington for his submission to white political rule, by agreeing that blacks would not agitate for equality, integration, or justice in return for basic education. Therefore Washington’s white relations hindered the progression to civil rights, making Washington an unsuccessful civil rights leader. Washington was criticised frequently for his links to the white community cited for seeming to be too condoning of white supremacy. Other civil rights leaders such as ……… found a more successful balanced between white relations...