Booker T. Washington

Heroes are not born, they are made. There are many heroes throughout world's history that marked their place in time. Booker T. Washington is one of those heroes. Booker T. Washington is an African American educator who gained prominence in the 1870's to the start of World War I. That time was a very difficult time for the African Americans. Their right to vote and civil rights began to vanish and "Lynching, racial violence, and slavery's twin children peonage and sharecropping arose as deadly quagmires on the path to full citizenship." (The Booker T. Washington Era, n.d.). After the Reconstruction has ended in 1877, the African American populace completely lost its voice in the society.

Many black men excelled in different fields in this era. Many received doctorate degrees from different universities. Washington is one of the few black men that was able to get primary education in Hampton Institute, although this was only a probationary admission. There, he excelled in every field. He became an excellent teacher and speaker such that he was recommended by the principal of Hampton to fellow Alabamans who were trying to build a school for African American people in their state. Washington together with his students built a school for African Americans. It was named Tuskegee Institute (The Booker T. Washington Era, n.d.). The main contributions of Washington in the African American community is that (1) he emphasized the importance of education and employment for African Americans; (2) he became a chief spokesperson and representative for his race; and (3) he advocated cooperation within races (Kelly, n.d.). His methods paved way for the advancement of rights of the African American communities. These are the ways on how Washington helped the African American communities.