Washington served as an influential leader to the

and more specifically, the time period in which Booker T. Washington served as an
influential leader to the African American people. However, instead of desiring to work
towards equality, he urged his fellow Blacks to accept racism and discrimination, and to
remain the inferior race. The answer to the "Negro problem", according to Washington in his
"Atlanta Compromise", was to segregate the Blacks from the Whites. As some agreed with
Washington and believed he was being realistic, W.E.B. Du Bois was not among them. In
contrast, he believed segregation was not the answer to the "Negro problem", and would
cause more problems instead. As stated by Du Bois, who disagreed with Washington's

tactics, in chapter three of The Souls of Black Folk, "Mr. Washington's program practically
accepts the alleged inferiority of the Negro races"(43).
Booker T. Washington advocated economic improvements for the African
Americans, but while sacrificing civil rights, political power, and higher education. He
believed that the Blacks should work hard and own land, and concentrate on industrial
education and the accumulation of wealth in order to gain the respect of the whites, even if it
meant suffering from racial inequalities for the time being. Booker T. Washington advocated
economic improvements for the African Americans, but while sacrificing civil rights,
political power, and higher education. He believed that the Blacks should work hard and own