Booker T. Washington and the Black Press, 1895–1915

Abstract

Between 1895 and 1915, Booker T. Washington was the single most pre-eminent African American. The period also faced severe deteriorations in many aspects of Black life such as segregation and mob violence. Washington, who had championed an optimistic view of ethnic relations, found it increasingly difficult to maintain his status as Black authority who also had the ear of mighty politicians and philanthropists. One key instrument in Washington’s efforts to preserve his power was the Black press, i. e. publications by and for African Americans. The dissertation at hand details how he interfered with the work of Black journalists. The research juxtaposes two types of sources: First, Washington’s correspondence with Editors, politicians and Black intellectuals who began to challenge him, and, second, the contents of newspapers that were relevant to Black public opinion – and to Washington personally, whose own privileged position hinged on the way that the Black press reported about him.