Black Intellectuals Divide Over Atlanta Compromise

The Atlanta Compromise immediately divides Black intellectual and political life. While white audiences and Northern white press celebrate Washington's speech as statesmanlike, many Black leaders privately express alarm. John Hope, future Atlanta University president, publicly rejects Washington's renunciation of political equality. The debate between accommodation and equal rights advocacy will define Black political strategy for the next two decades and culminate in W.E.B. Du Bois's The Souls