September 1895

Booker T. Washington's address at the 1895 Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition became one of the most famous and debated speeches in American history, proposing that Black Americans should accept segregation while focusing on economic self-improvement. The speech made Washington the most powerful Black leader in America for two decades and sparked the foundational debate in Black political thought between accommodation and confrontation.

Booker T. Washington delivered his Atlanta Exposition Address on September 18, 1895, calling for Black economic self-development and accommodation with Southern whites. Praised by President Cleveland and reprinted nationally, the speech made Washington the most powerful Black figure in America and a conduit for philanthropic investment in Black education for two decades.

Booker T. Washington addresses the Cotton States Exposition in Atlanta before a racially mixed audience, delivering his 'Atlanta Compromise' speech urging Black economic self-development over political agitation. The speech makes him the most prominent Black leader in America and wins white political support — though W.E.B. Du Bois would later critique it as conceding civil rights.

Booker T. Washington addresses the Cotton States Exposition in Atlanta before a racially mixed audience, urging Black economic self-development over political agitation in his 'Atlanta Compromise' speech. The address makes him the most prominent Black leader in America and wins broad white political support and philanthropic backing for Black education.