Booker T. Washington's "Atlanta Compromise"

Booker T. Washington urges Black Americans to focus on vocational self-help and accept segregation for now — a strategy soon challenged by Du Bois.

Historians debate aspects of this entry. See the methodology for how contested history is handled.

Key figures

The full text of Washington's pivotal 1895 speech.

Connections to other moments, systems, and investigations — the links rarely drawn together.

contradicts (incoming)·Event
W.E.B. Du Bois publishes "The Souls of Black Folk"
Du Bois's demand for full rights now was a direct rejection of Washington's accommodation.

Du Bois's demand for full rights now was a direct rejection of Washington's accommodation.