Atlanta Exposition Speech Pt. 3

We have looked at two segments of Booker T.  Washington's most famous address at the Atlanta Cotton States Exposition.  In this next segment of the speech we find the most controversial portion of that address.  Based upon one sentence misunderstood and taken out of context W.E.B. DuBois renamed the address the Atlanta Compromise.  I hope to put to rest any thought of compromise in this address and hope to shame those so-called scholars and publishers of alleged historical sites into giving the address it's proper name once again.  To their credit even Wikipedia correctly names the address, while stating that it has been called by some The Atlanta Compromise.

 To those of the white race who look to the incoming of those of foreign birth

and strange tongue and habits for the prosperity of the South, were I permitted

I would repeat what I say to my own race, “Cast down your bucket where you

are.” Cast it down among the eight millions of Negroes whose habits you know,

whose fidelity and love you have tested in days when to have proved treacherous

meant the ruin of your firesides. Cast down your bucket among these people

who have, without strikes and labour wars, tilled your fields, cleared your forests,

builded your railroads and cities, and brought forth treasures from the bowels of

the earth, and helped make possible this magnificent representation of the

progress of the South. Casting down your bucket among my people, helping and

encouraging them as you are doing on these grounds, and to education of head,

hand, and heart, you will find that they will buy your surplus land, make blossom

the waste places in your fields, and run your factories. While doing this, you can

be sure in the future, as in the past, that you and your families will be surrounded

 by the most patient, faithful, law-abiding, and unresentful people that the world

has seen. As we have proved our loyalty to you in the past, in nursing your children,

watching by the sick-bed of your mothers and fathers, and often following them

with tear-dimmed eyes to their graves, so in the future, in our humble way, we

shall stand by you with a devotion that no foreigner can approach, ready to lay

down our lives, if need be, in defense of yours, interlacing our industrial, commercial,

civil, and religious life with yours in a way that shall make the interests of both

races one. In all things that are purely social we can be as separate as the fingers,

yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress.

In this portion of the address Dr. Washington states the case for white southerners to look to the former slaves for their work force and to help rebuild the south. He reminds those southern whites that it was the Negro who looked after them, often raised their young and were entrusted with their very lives.  He contrasted the ex-slaves with Europeans immigrants who were taking the jobs and creating problems via "strikes and labor wars."  He reminded them that their beautiful land, railways, even cities were cultivated and built with "Black" labor.  So why would you now look elsewhere.  The case is made in the most passionate way reminding those southern white folks that black Americans were more than just workers and had proven themselves trustworthy and competent to "interlace" their lives with them.

In that last sentence it is clear that Dr. Washington was not opposed to integration and even encouraged it in business and private life.  Only those who are too unlearned to interpret literature and those who purposely distort the written word for their own profit would not understand the meaning of this portion of the text.

The final sentence of this portion of the address is what has caused a great and lasting controversy and caused W.E.B. DuBois to dub the address the Atlanta Compromise.  In it Dr. Washington stated the following:

       In all things that are purely social we can be

as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand

in all things essential to mutual progress.

Let us carefully examine just what Dr. Washington said, and not what we have been told he said.  I will divide the sentence into 2 parts, as he did.  1) In all things purely social, we can be as separate as the fingers.  Purely social would mean social interaction such as where we live, whom we spend out recreational time with and any other social event.  Booker T. Washington did not believe that social interaction was necessary to the progress of Negro society.  In fact he felt it could actually hinder such progress because it was a distraction from the more important issues facing the race. This is made clear n the second part of the sentence. 2) yet ONE as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress.  I believe Dr. Washington was borrowing from scripture in this statement.  (Romans 12:4)

Again, I say that rather than speaking of a divided nation, he believed in a united nation but that being one which could only come about from a unified focus on the things that benefited America a one nation under God. These essentials were and are faith, law, education and a national defense. He had just alluded to the fact that we had already interlaced our lives in these areas.  There was no compromise, there was no accommodation here.  It was pure fact. 

The following portion of the address expresses in pretty stark terms that Dr. Washington was not overlooking white responsibility toward the Black community.  He gave a dire warning and even a prophetic word of what the consequences of neglecting black Americans would be.

There is no defense or security for any of us except in the highest intelligence and development of all. If anywhere there are efforts tending to curtail the fullest growth of the Negro, let these efforts be turned into stimulating, encouraging, and making him the most useful and intelligent citizen. Effort or means so invested will pay a thousand per cent. interest. These efforts will be twice blessed—“blessing him that gives and him that takes.”
There is no escape through law of man or God from the inevitable:—          The laws of changeless justice bind   Oppressor with oppressed; And close as sin and suffering joined   We march to fate abreast.
Nearly sixteen millions of hands will aid you in pulling the load upward, or they will pull against you the load downward. We shall constitute one-third and more of the ignorance and crime of the South, or one-third its intelligence and progress; we shall contribute one-third to the business and industrial prosperity of the South, or we shall prove a veritable body of death, stagnating, depressing, retarding every effort to advance the body politic.

Here he urged that everything within the power of those who had it be directed at developing all Americans, and especially at this time the Negro.  He believed that education was the key, but not education in the sense we are led to believe we need today.  The education Dr, Washington spoke of was the education of the "Whole Man."  This involved history, culture, politics and economics. These were the "things essential to mutual progress," spoken of earlier. Note the eerie prophetic warning at the end of this segment of the speech.  Do this and get this, do that and get that. Sadly, it appears that they did "that" and we now have "that". 

  Gentlemen of the Exposition, as we present to you our humble effort at an exhibition of our progress, you must not expect overmuch. Starting thirty years ago with ownership here and there in a few quilts and pumpkins and chickens (gathered from miscellaneous sources), remember the path that has led from these to the inventions and production of agricultural implements, buggies, steam-engines, newspapers, books, statuary, carving, paintings, the management of drug-stores and banks, has not been trodden without contact with thorns and thistles. While we take pride in what we exhibit as a result of our independent efforts, we do not for a moment forget that our part in this exhibition would fall far short of your expectations but for the constant help that has come to our educational life, not only from the Southern states, but especially from Northern philanthropists, who have made their gifts a constant stream of blessing and encouragement.

Gentlemen of the Exposition, as we present to you our humble effort

at an exhibition of our progress, you must not expect overmuch. Starting

thirty years ago with ownership here and there in a few quilts and pumpkins

and chickens (gathered from miscellaneous sources), remember the path

that has led from these to the inventions and production of agricultural

implements, buggies, steam-engines, newspapers, books, statuary, carving,

paintings, the management of drug-stores and banks, has not been trodden

without contact with thorns and thistles. While we take pride in what we

exhibit as a result of our independent efforts, we do not for a moment forget

that our part in this exhibition would fall far short of your expectations but

for the constant help that has come to our educational life, not only from the

Southern states, but especially from Northern philanthropists, who have made

their gifts a constant stream of blessing and encouragement.

Next in Pt. 4 and the final portion of the Atlanta address, We look at a direct attack upon the civil disobedience message and tactics put forth by W.E.B. DuBois and others.

Atlanta Exposition Speech Analysis Pt. 2

I would encourage all to read Part 1 of the speech below for continuity's sake.

Dr. Washington's Atlanta speech continued as follows.

--------------------------------

A ship lost at sea for many days suddenly sighted a friendly vessel. From the mast of the unfortunate vessel was seen a signal,“Water, water; we die of thirst!” The answer from the friendly vessel at once came back, “Cast down your bucket where you are.” A second time the signal, “Water, water; send us water!” ran up from the distressed vessel, and was answered, “Cast down your bucket where you are.” And a third and fourth signal for water was answered, “Cast down your bucket where you are.” The captain of the distressed vessel, at last heeding the injunction, cast down his bucket, and it came up full of fresh, sparkling water from the mouth of the Amazon River. To those of my race who depend on bettering their condition in a foreign land or who underestimate the importance of cultivating friendly relations with the Southern white man, who is their next-door neighbor, I would say: “Cast down your bucket where you are”— cast it down in making friends in every manly way of the people of all races by whom we are surrounded.

Dr. Washington uses a true story, here, as an analogy of a truth he understood regarding how one may miss the life saving nourishment or answer when it is right in front of them. At this time he saw the beginnings of the migration to the north by many ex-slaves in what would be a decades long migration. He was not referring to black Americans wanting to return to Africa, or seeking a better life in another country, he was referring to the North as being a foreigh land, and the South as being our home that offered the relief sought. Many of those who had suffered in the South, first in a state of slavery, and now again after the end of reconstruction and the introduction of Jim Crow laws, had had enough. They saw the promise of fresh water and a better life, in the industrial North. Dr. Washington believed and sought to convince others of his vision for the South and what it offered. He believed that the abundance of land and need for the industrial and agricultural products of the South offered the promise of prosperity and true power to the ex-slaves. He also saw early warining signs of the dangers that lay ahead in the ghettos of the North.

Cast it down in agriculture, mechanics, in commerce, in domestic service, and in the professions. And in this connection it is well to bear in mind that whatever other sins the South may be called to bear, when it comes to business, pure and simple, it is in the South that the Negro is given a man’s chance in the commercial world, and in nothing is this Exposition more eloquent than in emphasizing this chance. Our greatest danger is that in the great leap from slavery to freedom we may overlook the fact that the masses of us are to live by the productions of our hands, and fail to keep in mind that we shall prosper in proportion as we learn to dignify and glorify common labour, and put brains and skill into the common occupations of life; shall prosper in proportion as we learn to draw the line between the superficial and the substantial, the ornamental gewgaws of life and the useful. No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem. It is at the bottom of life we must begin, and not at the top. Nor should we permit our grievances to overshadow our opportunities.

This is may be the most powerful passage of the entire speech, yet greatly overlooked and/or misunderstood. Dr. Washington is stating basic economics 101, and putting in simple terms the philosophy and truth of Adam Smith as put forth in his immortal work, which formed the foundation for our nations capitalistic economy "The Wealth of Nations." Booker T. Washington is not saying that black americans should relegate themselves to doing menial work, or chhose to remain a lower class, but that basic foundational work for a wage is the building block for future advancement of a people. Smith put forth the principle that wealth is built by exchanging the value of our work for capital and the building of that capital with the creation of estates would lead to true freedom and prosperity for those who achive it.

I find it interesting that Dr. Washington was prophetic in stating that "no race can prosper till it learns that there is a s much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem." That could be simply restated as, " till we learn that there is as much dignity and honor in working a 9-5 as there is in writing a hip hop tune." We must learn what is truly important, and what leads to true wealth, not just riches. Riches can be lost or stolen, true wealth continues form generation to generation. A foundation must be established. A foundation of earning, saving, investing and empowering. This begins at the bottom, not at the top. As long as we seek to enter at the top we will not learn how to get and remain there. A strong and successful race or nation is one that learns how to build foundation upon foundation understanding that it is what we leave for our posterity that really matters and that our posterity understands what their responsibiliies are to what they receive. May we learn understand and teach those principles.

The Atlanta Expo Speech 1895

Following is the first section of the most famous, and in some quarters the most infamous speech ever made by Booker T. Washington. It was originally known as the Atlanta Exposition Speech given at the the 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta, GA, but has since become better known as the Atlanta Compromise Speech by Dr. Washington's detractors. Those who would criticize, however, fail to recognize the heart and soul of Dr. Washington and his message. In the weeks and months ahead we want to share a fresh analysis of this speech and others, from our own and other people's perspective.

As I mentioned, this is but the first portion of the speech, and we hope to add and analyze one section per week. We hope that a fresh look at this speech and it's content, will cause many to reconsider the true message contained there in, for the time and environment in which it was given, as well as how it relates to the state of Black America today and our future direction. We also hope that your comments will add to the discourse in a meaningful way. ---------------------------------------


Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Board of Directors and Citizens:

One-third of the population of the South is of the Negro race. No enterprise seeking the material, civil, or moral welfare of this section can disregard this element of our population and reach the highest success. I but convey to you, Mr. President and Directors, the sentiment of the masses of my race when I say that in no way have the value and manhood of the American Negro been more fittingly and generously recognized than by the managers of this magnificent Exposition at every stage of its progress. It is a recognition that will do more to cement the friendship of the two races than any occurrence since the dawn of our freedom. Not only this, but the opportunity here afforded will awaken among us a new era of industrial progress.

Ignorant and inexperienced, it is not strange that in the first years of our new life we began at the top instead of at the bottom; that a seat in Congress or the state legislature was more sought than real estate or industrial skill; that the political convention or stump speaking had more attractions than starting a dairy farm or truck garden.

In the beginning of the speech Dr. Washington wanted to express express that as blacks compromised one third of the population of the South, that region could not afford to ignore the black race, if it wanted to prosper. He also wanted to show due respect to the Governor of Georgia who was in attendance, and Board of Directors of the Expo, who had put on the exposition. One reason Dr. Washington felt that respect and honor were due was that the board had gone to great lengths to recognize and include the efforts and accomplishments of ex-slaves in all aspects of the exposition. At this time, almost 10 years after reconstruction had ended, a sincere effort had been made to rebuild the devastated American South by both the black and the white race. This Exposition was meant to showcase and honor that common effort. Black Southerners were included from the beginning in the planning, and construction of the Expo all the way through to their inclusion in the expositions and their attendance at the magnificent event. This event was was seen by all as a hopeful time and as a rebirth of the South. It was an exciting time for black and white people alike and was a period full of hope.

What followed next in the speech, however, was a taking stock of reality and a forewarning to our people. When Booker T. Washington said that we were "ignorant and inexperienced," he was not meaning this in a derogatory way. He was speaking of the reality that in the mere 30 years since the end of slavery we were still learning, or needed to be learning, how to live as free people and how to value what is really important vs. what looks important.

Sadly, while ignorance and inexperience were a valid excuse in 1885, in the 111 years since this speech we still seem to have failed to learn the lessons Dr. Washington was speaking of. We still appear to respect and value a congressional seat over an understanding of real estate or property ownership and acquiring an industrial skill. To the overvaluing of a congressional seat, we can today add entertainer and athlete. We still have too many of those who believe it is of more value to make speeches or have large conventions and gatherings than starting and building a successful career and business.

While politics, entertainment, sports, conventions and gatherings each have their value, these are not foundational to the sure success of a people. These, if sought prematurely and without the proper foundation will not provide for lasting success, and may in fact cause failure to achieve the lasting success of a society.

We must understand one thing in order to keep all of Booker T. Washington's writings and ideas in proper perspective. He loved the pure value of work. He worked tirelessly himself and taught that a job well done was reward enough in itself. But he also understood and taught that:

The man who has learned to do something better than anyone else, has learned to do a common thing in an uncommon manner, is the man who has a power and influence that no adverse circumstances can take from him.

I believe that we are still at the starting point, but that leaves me full of hope. It is never too late to learn a good lesson, if we learn it correctly. Neither the South, nor the nation at large, can ignore the Black race and hope to prosper. But we desperately need those in our Black communities, who hear and understand what Booker T. Washington knew and tried to impart, to unite in will and in action in order to take what was offered to us then and still awaits us today. Can we learn the lesson of finding work and finding it gratifying? Can we learn to value establishing and estate of value, whether it is in real estate, owning stock, or owning a business. These ideas will take a reconditioning process for many. It may not be easy, but it is crucial. If we succeed it will usher in a new era in our nation. One in which the Black community can take the lead.

Time To Remember

April 5th is the recognized birth date of Booker T. Washington. April 5th, 2006 marks the 150th anniversary of that birth. It is on this auspicious occasion that we wish to announce the Booker T. Washington Inspirational Network (BTWIN) founded by Gloria Jackson JD, great grand-daughter of Booker T. Washington.

The goal of the Booker T. Washington Inspirational Network is to form an alliance of thinkers, writers, speakers, ministers, artists, entertainers and others committed to the vision and ideals of Booker T. Washington.

We believe that the life and legacy of Booker T. Washington have been too long overlooked and even misrepresented, to the detriment of our great nation. Entire generations know little or nothing of his accomplishments, his vision or his message. Others think they know but, unfortunately, have been presented a distorted image and often perpetuate that distorted image. We believe it is time to change that.

This blog will print articles, and messages by and about Booker T. Washington, and allow discussion of these. We hope that the discussion will be positive and uplifting.

Happy Birthday Booker Taliaferro Washington may the people you lived and gave your life for learn and understand the power in your message:

I will allow no man to drag me down so low as to make me hate him. No race can hate another without itself being narrowed and hated. Character, not circumstances, makes the man.

You may fill your heads with knowledge or skillfully train your hands, but unless it is based upon high, upright character, upon a true heart, it will amount to nothing. You will be no better than the most ignorant.

The man who has learned to do something better than anyone else, has learned to do a common thing in an uncommon manner, is the man who has a power and influence that no adverse circumstances can take from him.


Please take time to visit the BTWIN Website at: booker-t-washington.com