booker t. washington

English - English

Definition of booker t. washington in English English dictionary

a US teacher whose parents had been slaves, who started the Tuskegee Institute, one of the first US colleges for black people. He also wrote a book about his life called Up from Slavery (1856-1915)

(1856-1915) black USA civil rights activist and teacher, one of the founders of Tuskegee University in the USA

Related Terms

Booker T Washington

born April 5, 1856, Franklin county, Va., U.S. died Nov. 14, 1915, Tuskegee, Ala. U.S. educator and reformer. Born into slavery, he moved with his family to West Virginia after emancipation. He worked from age nine, then attended (1872-75) and joined the staff of the Hampton (Va.) Normal and Agricultural Institute. In 1881 he was selected to head the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, a new teacher-training school for African Americans, and he successfully transformed it into a thriving institution (later Tuskegee University). He became perhaps the most prominent African American leader of his time. His controversial conviction that African Americans could best gain equality in the U.S. by improving their economic situation through education rather than by demanding equal rights was termed the Atlanta Compromise. His books include Up from Slavery (1901)

Hyphenation

booker t. Wash·ing·ton

Turkish pronunciation

bûkır ti wôşîngtın

Pronunciation

/ˈbo͝okər ˈtē ˈwôsʜəɴɢtən/ /ˈbʊkɜr ˈtiː ˈwɔːʃɪŋtən/