BLACK HISTORY FACTS

Booker T. Washington Facts

Photo of Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington

Introduction - Booker T Washington

Booker T Washington (Booker Taliaferro Washington) was born into slavery in 1856. He became free in 1865 with President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and went on to become the most important and famous leader of the black community from the last decade of the 1800s through his death in 1915. He lived at a time when black people were freed from slavery but were still greatly oppressed by most whites. They were legally segregated, as was upheld by the Supreme Court decision in 1896 in the Plessy v. Ferguson case that stated "separate but equal" was legal. Black people had been given the right to vote with the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; however numerous barriers, especially in the south, were put in place along with outright violence which caused most African-Americans not to vote. This post-Civil-War era needed strong leaders in the black community; this is exactly who Booker T. Washington was. He was a savvy political leader of the black community who knew how to fight for black rights and how to gain support from many important figures in the white community to progress the cause of equality for African- Americans.

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On this page you will find a list of interesting facts about this famous man in black history. Information includes how he became famous, why many black people of the time disagreed with his civil rights tactics, and exactly who Booker T Washington was. Whether you are a kid writing a paper for black history month or and adult interested in this great man we hope you find this information informative.

Booker T Washington Interesting Facts