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Archive 1Archive 2Archive 3

Date of birth

The article and infobox both used to show April 5, 1856, as Washington's date of birth. Last week, an editor changed the article text to 1858 or 1859, citing page 1 of Up From Slavery. The infobox still says April 5, 1856. Today another editor restored April 5 to the date of birth in the article. What should the article show as Washington's date of birth? (I think it goes without saying that the infobox should follow the article text with respect to the date.) — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 21:45, 20 March 2012 (UTC)

First African-American ever invited to the White House?

I'd like to add this to the article, if it's true. Is it?Cromulant (talk) 21:35, 6 September 2012 (UTC)

According to this, Washington was not the first African Amercian invited to the White House (Sojourner Truth was, according to the source), but was the first to be invited to a formal dinner at the White House.--JayJasper (talk) 22:02, 6 September 2012 (UTC)

The Atlanta Exhibition should be Atlanta Exposition.

Booker T Washington referred to it as the Exposition. The event was the Cotton States and International Exposition. Grover Cleveland wrote a letter calling it the Exposition as well.

Gray Gables, Buzzard's Bay, Mass., October 6, 1895. Booker T. Washington, Esq.: My Dear Sir:

I thank you for sending me a copy of your address delivered at the Atlanta Exposition.
I thank you with much enthusiasm for making the address. I have read it with intense interest, and I think the Exposition would be fully justified if it did not do more than furnish the opportunity for its delivery. Your words cannot fail to delight and encourage all who wish well for your race; and if our coloured fellow-citizens do not from your utterances gather new hope and form new determinations to gain every valuable advantage offered them by their citizenship, it will be strange indeed.
Yours very truly,

Grover Cleveland. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.165.95.73 (talk) 19:43, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

Fixed. Span (talk) 20:41, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

Bias

This article fails to adequately address Washington's role in opposing the more radical elements of the civil rights movement (DuBois, Trotter, and others who became involved in the Niagara Movement), especially in the 1900s. He used his connections with wealth and the political elite to maneuver their supporters out of jobs and funding, and may have pressured advertisers not to buy space in newspapers (like Trotter's Guardian) that were critical of him. He also actively dispatched supporters to monitor their activities and infiltrate their organizations. This comes up in histories of the forming of the NAACP and biographies of affected individuals. Magic♪piano 15:56, 20 December 2012 (UTC)

Seamier side? maybe that's politics. BTW had lots of enemies and he rolled over them, as the lede says: "Washington, "advised, networked, cut deals, made threats, pressured, punished enemies, rewarded friends, greased palms, manipulated the media, signed autographs, read minds with the skill of a master psychologist, strategized, raised money, always knew where the camera was pointing, traveled with an entourage, waved the flag with patriotic speeches, and claimed to have no interest in partisan politics. In other words, he was an artful politician."[1] While his opponents called his powerful network of supporters the "Tuskegee Machine," ..."
— Preceding unsigned comment added by Rjensen (talk • contribs)
Then the lede is not an accurate summary of the article, for no such behavior is documented there. The article body makes it sound like it was all civilized political disagreements, when their were some deep, bitter, and at times personal issues between people in the larger civil rights movement. Magic♪piano 17:26, 20 December 2012 (UTC)
my goodness--did some of theme use foul language or even cuss words? Did they break up meetings, firebomb churches or assassinate their opponents? Rjensen (talk) 18:17, 20 December 2012 (UTC)
Indeed, some of those things took place. I'm not aware of literal assassinations, but there was a degree of character assassination going on, and meetings were disrupted, including at least one at which BTW was the featured speaker. You wouldn't know any of that reading this article. (You also don't find out either here or at NAACP why BTW wasn't involved in the founding of the former, something one might otherwise expect of a high-profile leader.) Magic♪piano 18:54, 20 December 2012 (UTC)
I think the politics involved was quite civilized, and is covered in the text. Nobody was assassinated -- compare Europe in the 1890-1940 era. Rjensen (talk) 03:29, 21 December 2012 (UTC)

Edit request on 5 May 2013

In the introductory section of the article, there is a subject-verb agreement mistake. It says: "Booker T. Washington understood the nuances of the political arena in late 19th century United States which helped him to manipulated the media . . ." 'Manipulated' should be changed to 'manipulate'. 68.102.25.18 (talk) 22:50, 5 May 2013 (UTC)

Done - Thanks! --ElHef (Meep?) 23:10, 5 May 2013 (UTC)

Complaint of editorializing

I very much appreciate the work that Wikipedia editors do to maintain such a vast organization of information. While reading Booker T. Washington's autobiography, Up From Slavery, I happened to visit Wikipedia's article on Mr. Washington.

Am I the only one who thinks it inappropriate to note (or is it opine?) in the first four sentences of the article that Mr. Washington knew how to "manipulate the media," "reward friends," "grease palms," and "punish" those obstructing his plans?

I am relieved to see a citation--no one took their liberty so far as to make an unsupported statement. But I still have two problems: -I doubt that these statements are true enough to record in the introduction to the article, or that they are important enough, and -I think words and phrases like "manipulate," "grease palms," or "punish" are what Wikipedia calls "weasel words"--words that actually themselves manipulate readers and grease their minds to get negative opinions of Mr. Washington.

Now, of course I must acknowledge that Mr. Washington was flawed. Even people working towards the same aims, like DuBois, thought as much (though for different reasons). Obviously, I am not advocating making the introduction a piece of hagiography!

Still, the current state of the introduction is not good enough and not fair enough. Since I know little about Mr. Washington, however, except what I read in his autobiography, I am not qualified to edit the facts present on the page and will wait for someone else to do so.

I look forward to seeing what you all come up with.

PS - I was surprised to find so little discussion here on the talk page. Have posts been deleted?

2Plus2Is4 (talk) 22:08, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for your comments. No, the discussions have not been deleted. They are linked at the top of the talk page under Archive 1 and Archive 2. As you will see, there has been lots of discussion about bias, both ways. From my own point of view (not knowing the sources), I wouldn't say that "manipulate," "grease palms," or "punish" are weasel words. I think it's pretty clear what they mean. They might be too euphemistic. 'Bribe' is more straight forward than 'grease palms', for example. A significant chunk of the lead (the palms, punish, manipulate bit) was given in quotes, until recently, taken from Booker T. Washington Rediscovered. I would agree that it's not very neutral to present the explicit view of a single biog in the lead, unless there is a general consensuses of historians. Two or three editors have done a fair bit of re-writing in the last year. It would be interesting to hear from them on this point, and others who know source texts. There is no doubt that the article needs a lot of work generally. Span (talk) 22:40, 30 May 2013 (UTC)
I rephrased in in line with the comments here. More is needed in lede re Tukeegee, Atlanta etc there were no bribes-- BTW told philanthropists what projects to support. Rjensen (talk) 02:17, 31 May 2013 (UTC)
I don't think we need a lead, overview and career overview. The normal biog structure would work better. Quite a bit of biog detail seems to have been lost over the years, such as in the early life section. Span (talk) 11:30, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

need a section reporting on his scientific work

BTW inspired me a child growing up in the deep south (a white Catholic attending Catholic school on the MS Gulf Coast.) He was the inventor of peanut butter (or so I read as a child) as well as various dyes and other inventions. Something should be said of this in the article.... the entire article seems to be dedicated to the racial battles of late 1800s, important for sure, but not the core of this good man. I have visited his museum in rural VA ( http://www.nps.gov/bowa/index.htm ). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.188.232.33 (talk) 15:44, 18 July 2013 (UTC)

Edit request on 24 October 2013

Under the section "Wealthy friends and benefactors" self0help needs to be self-help. Dontalibin (talk) 07:10, 24 October 2013 (UTC)

Done by User:Spanglej earlier today. Thanks. --Stfg (talk) 18:56, 24 October 2013 (UTC)

W.E.B. Du Bois' "militants"?

This sentence is unsourced and feels very biased towards the NAACP: "Black militants in the North, led by W.E.B. DuBois, at first supported the Atlanta Compromise but after 1909 set up the NAACP and tried to challenge Washington's political machine for leadership in the black community. Decades after Washington's death in 1915, the Civil Rights movement generally moved away from his policies to take the more militant NAACP approach." This sentence should be removed or, at the very least, revised so as to replace "militant" with a less-loaded term. Sɑk pʰʌpəʔ (talk) 15:35, 5 February 2014 (UTC)

"Militant" is not a negative or disparaging term. It's used by historians in this case: 1) "DuBois surveyed the consequences of Washington's policies and declared first that it was impossible for Blacks to rise economically without securing the political rights, and second that militant protest offered the only means to secure...." [see Donald Cunnigen; et al. (2006). The Racial Politics of Booker T. Washington. p. 122. {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)]. 2) Huggins writes: " DuBois brought the militants together in a conference held July 11–13, 1905"; 3) Perry writes: "DuBois militant stance put him at odds with Booker T. Washington". 4) and WEB used it himself: Williams (2010) writes: "Characterizing the NAACP as 'a militant organization,' he [DuBois] argued that it had no other choice, it 'must be militant...'" Rjensen (talk) 16:34, 5 February 2014 (UTC)

Legacy section: Passage is copy vio?

This passage in the penultimate paragraph (I broke up the passages into two sentences) sounds like the quote from a book but it is not in quotes: <<Others say he was a self-serving, crafty narcissist who threatened and punished those in the way of his personal interests, traveled with an entourage and spent much time fundraising, signing autographs, and giving flowery patriotic speeches with lots of flag waving - acts more indicative of an artful political boss than an altruistic civil rights leader.>>[1] It needs to be cited correctly.Parkwells (talk) 13:57, 11 November 2013 (UTC)

No it's not a quote. Rjensen (talk) 16:40, 5 February 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 30 March 2014

The reference at the end of this article to Scott Joplin as a "noted African-American composer of the 1920s" is clearly erroneous. Joplin died in 1917. Therefore, the text "of the1920s" should be removed. 2.25.187.231 (talk) 02:07, 30 March 2014 (UTC)

 Done Thank you for pointing out this error. I've made the change you recommended. — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 02:12, 30 March 2014 (UTC)

First African-American invited to the White House

Frederick Douglass met with President Lincoln at the White House in the 1860s. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 104.174.73.144 (talk) 17:49, 31 December 2014 (UTC)

Evidently Washington was the first African American to be invited for dinner. See Booker T. Washington dinner at the White House for additional information. — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 18:25, 31 December 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 19 February 2015

The Huntsville Daily Times
Newspaper published in: Huntsville, AL
Title: "Booker T. In Hospital"
---------------------
By Associated Press
New York, March 20, 1911 – Booker T. Washington was beaten up last night by Albert Ulrich, a janitor at an apartment building who accused him of acting suspiciously around the building. He was unable to appear in court this morning on account of his injuries. Ulrich was released on a $1500 bail for his appearance on Washington’s charge of felonious assault. Ulrich declares he attacked the negro on a complaint of his wife and that Washington tried to hit him. Washington declares he went to the apartment house to look for Auditor Smith of the Tuskegee Institute and that not knowing the latter’s suite number was looking for the name on the directory board when the janitor attacked him with a club. Washington is in a hospital where sixteen stitches were taken in his scalp.

http://www.newspaperabstracts.com/link.php?action=detail&id=85797 - 208.91.164.254 (talk) 20:44, 19 February 2015 (UTC)

Please include detailed additional information on how you think this information could be incorporated into the Booker T. Washington article. Thank you --Trödel 01:40, 20 February 2015 (UTC)

Source doesn't support statement, concludes the opposite.

Came across this page researching Huggins' work, "Harlem Renaissance" that is cited as a reference here.--"Black militants in the North, led by W. E. B. Du Bois, at first supported the Atlanta compromise but after 1909, they set up the NAACP to work for political change. They tried with limited success to challenge Washington's political machine for leadership in the black community but also built wider networks among white allies in the North.[2]" Both 'limited success and the suggestion of growth of white allies' is not remotely suggested on the pages cited but if anyone read more they would know Huggins stated that just the opposite happened. Starting with "It was the glaring failure of Washington's model for black advancement that had galvanized the black community into action." That is right on the cited pages. The book overall explains Harlem's historical role in the black community. The pages are a very small fraction of the explanation of the political shift from Washington to DuBois, Garvey AND James W. Johnson to ultimately Dubois and the NAACP. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.65.129.162 (talk) 08:31, 16 December 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 1 February 2016

Bohemiotx1 (talk) 18:41, 1 February 2016 (UTC)http://cnx.org/contents/mYo99aAV@2/Questions-with-Answer-Key-for- Questions and Answers for Booker T. Washington's 1895 Compromise Speech

Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format. --allthefoxes (Talk) 23:24, 1 February 2016 (UTC)

Why is this quote not in there, is it too non liberal for Wikipedia?

Booker T. Washington

There is a class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs – partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.” — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.237.252.31 (talk) 11:48, 29 April 2015 (UTC)

it's an authentic quote but it is used primarily as a POV attack to bash black leaders in books with titles like: Scam: How the Black Leadership Exploits Black America and No Matter What-- They'll Call this Book Racist. Rjensen (talk) 12:15, 29 April 2015 (UTC)

True. Kjm40217 (talk) 16:43, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 5 October 2016

Under the heading "Tuskegee Institute", please change "The schools which Washington supported were founded primarily to produce teachers, a key need for the race in the 19th century." to "The schools which Washington supported were founded primarily to produce teachers, a key need for black communites in the 19th century." The current language is inappropriate.

libertyandverse 04:46, 5 October 2016 (UTC)

Done Topher385 (talk) 09:51, 5 October 2016 (UTC)

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Semi-protected edit request on 5 November 2016

In section Representation in Other Media the following is incorrect:

"A fictional version of Washington is featured near the conclusion of the 1981 film Ragtime trying to negotiate the surrender of an African-American terrorist threatening to blow up Carnegie Hall."

The phrase "African-American terrorist" is overstating the character's role. The character, Coalhouse Walker, Jr., is an African-American musician who is angry about the death of his fiancee and the destruction of his car by racist white men. "an African-American musician who is angered by racism" would be a more accurate and less negative description.

Also, Coalhouse was threatening to blow up the Pierpont Morgan Library, not Carnegie Hall."

[2]

Thank you for your consideration of my edit request.

Drkarenpsyd (talk) 05:58, 5 November 2016 (UTC)

References

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference btw-rediscovered was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ 1) Wikipedia entry - Ragtime (film); 2) Ragtime (musical) CD lyrics
Hello Drkarenpsyd, and welcome to Wikipedia. Thank you for pointing out this error. I've corrected it. — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 00:20, 6 November 2016 (UTC)

Error in Booker T. Washington article

Is the town where he spent much of his youth and met his first wife called Malden or Marden? It is spelled once each way within the same paragraph. I wanted to edit the article but it is blocked to prevent vandalism. A sad state of affairs... Myboo127 (talk) 03:17, 25 February 2017 (UTC)

Hello Myboo127, and welcome to Wikipedia. Thank you for noticing that somebody had misspelled Malden in one sentence, trying to fix it, and bringing it to our attention when you found you couldn't. I've fixed it. Thanks again. — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 04:26, 25 February 2017 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 5 April 2017 If Booker T. Washington was born in 1956 he was not born a slave, the civil war ended in

75.120.147.119 (talk) 13:54, 5 April 2017 (UTC)
Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format. DRAGON BOOSTER ★ 15:01, 5 April 2017 (UTC)

Tuskegee Institute

I've merged the two sections on the Tuskegee Institute; I can't see any reason to have them separate. Meesher (talk) 14:38, 9 July 2017 (UTC)

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nnbl founder or cofounder?

in this article it says BTW was a cofounder of NNBL, in the National Negro Business League article it says he was the founder. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Greg.collver (talk • contribs) 05:00, 12 September 2017 (UTC)

In the chronological section of the article, "Up From Slavery to the White House", it says Washington founded the league. In the lead, it says he was "one of the founders". (I don't see where it says he was a co-founder.) Both are probably true. Washington was undoubtedly the driving force behind the creation of the league, but it was probably established at a meeting that involved other people. I don't know for sure, but I suspect it's probably more accurate to describe him as the founder. — MShabazz Talk/Stalk 13:03, 12 September 2017 (UTC)
My 2 cents; the initial calls for the first conference of the NNBL were made in June 1900 by Washington. The first conference occurred in August and Washington was called the organizations prime mover and made its first president. The 200+ delegates to the first conference could all be called cofounders, particularly the officers and key committee members, though, as the body itself and in particular committees within the body decided upon the groups organization, stated goals, etc. It is possible that by looking through Washington's published papers, a more exact tracing of the formation of the organization is possible. Smmurphy(Talk) 13:20, 12 September 2017 (UTC)

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Basis for April 5th birthdate?

The body of this article says "On April 5, 1956, the hundredth anniversary of Washington's birth...", but the introduction gives "c. 1856" as his birthdate, which seems to be supported by the text that says he himself wasn't sure when he was born. What is the basis for the April 5th date? (I note that today, April 5th, 2018, there are Booker T. Washington birthday notices all over the net, so that is somehow being treated as his birthday.) 73.60.203.116 (talk) 19:25, 5 April 2018 (UTC)A passing reader, 5 April 2018

B.T. Washington's religious beliefs

The biography here doesn't mention or even allude to Washington's religious beliefs. Nor does it cover Washington's efforts to bring reform to the many black Baptist and Methodist ministers which he claimed were, "unfit, either mentally or morally, or both, to preach the Gospel to anyone or to attempt to lead anyone". Washington attempted to remedy this perceived problem by establishing a Bible training school at Tuskegee. Washington's claim was of course very controversial, and resulted in much criticism from Methodist bishops, who claimed he was making slanderous statements for profit. This chapter in Washington's life is covered well in Robert Jefferson Norell's, 2009 book, Up from History, pp. 109–110. B.T.Washington himself covers this in his own autobiography, Up from Slavery, pp.230–233 Washington's religious beliefs and his involvements with Methodist and Baptist ministers and churches needs to be covered if this is going to be an inclusive biography on Washington. I'm involved in other pursuits presently and havn't the time to commit here, esp since I don't like to make drive by edits without doing more research. -- Gwillhickers (talk) 23:13, 2 August 2018 (UTC)

Additional sources

WhisperToMe (talk) 12:57, 4 September 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 19 February 2018

According to the Booker T. Washington National Monument in Hardy, Virginia, Booker T. Washington was born on April 18, 1856.

Under Notes, Numbers 8 and 9 should be changed to The Early Life of Booker T. Washington, by John H. Whitfield, 2011 GordonPlummer82 (talk) 18:23, 19 February 2018 (UTC)

Hello GordonPlummer82, and welcome to Wikipedia. There are no known records documenting Washington's birth. He may have been born on April 5 or April 18 (I don't know where this article got April 5 from, as I don't see a source for it), but nobody knows for sure. I think it's accurate to say, as we do, that Washington "never knew the day, month, and year of his birth".
It isn't clear why you think footnotes 8 and 9, which cite Washington's autobiography Up from Slavery, should be changed. Could you explain? Thank you. — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 03:23, 20 February 2018 (UTC)

SUGGESTED EDIT SINCE THIS ARTICLE IS SEMI-LOCKED I'M ASSUMING SOMEONE ELSE HAS TO DO ACTUAL EDITING It says in the intro that Washington "manipulated the media" since "manipulated" has a very negative connotation, why not simply change this to "used the media" and let readers decide for themselves? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Knight-rider (talk • contribs) 08:22, 1 May 2018 (UTC)

ABOUT THE EXPRESSION "MANIPULATED THE MEDIA". As a reader, I had the same concern the previous person is expressing. The expression portraits Washington as a liar, or an illegitimate leader. "managed" or "used" the media, would be better options. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:48F8:9004:18E0:4C0C:955F:4328:C2C9 (talk) 01:01, 4 November 2018 (UTC)

mother was "mulatto"

It's quite well known and in most sources pointed out that Booker Washingtons mother was half white and half black racially, and father was white. Not sure why this is left out almost deliberately from Wikipedia, which to anyone who is studied on this man's life is a glaring and obvious omission. For a lock protected article these basic facts should be included... 94.253.238.229 (talk) 11:31, 10 March 2019 (UTC)

Editing Out Racial Bias in Text

Hi Wiki, As a contributing writer when errors are found,or when information is missing, I've noticed numerous entries whose text contains subtle and/or overt racial bias. As few word changes here or there would often repair the problem, when editing is allowed. Sometimes, entire reworkings are advised.

Since open editing is not permitted on this entry, I offer the following exampe:"From his earliest years, the slave boy was known simply as "Booker," with no middle or surname, in the practice of the time.[10]"

The term 'slave boy' is frought with racism; the sentence needs editing, among others; and, it could be edited to read as, "As a young boy, Washington was simply known of as "Booker," with no middle or surname, as was the enslavement practice of the time."

Of course, the sentence could be rewritten in many different ways.187.171.98.96 (talk) 21:20, 3 April 2019 (UTC)Felice.

Hello, Felice, and thank you for pointing out that terribly offensive sentence. I've revised it to say "From his earliest years, Washington was known simply as 'Booker', with no middle or surname, in the practice of the time." — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 03:13, 4 April 2019 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 12 July 2019

Overview In 1856, Washington was born into slavery in Virginia as the son of Jane, an African-American slave.[4] After emancipation, she moved the family to West Virginia to join her husband Washington Ferguson. West Virginia had seceded from Virginia and joined the Union as a free state during the Civil War. As a young man, Washington worked his way through Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (a historically black college, now Hampton University) and attended college at Wayland Seminary (now Virginia Union University).

The first usage of "Washington" refers to Booker T. The next is in reference to his mother's husband, Washington Ferguson. The next is "As a young man, Washington," in reference to Booker T. Were it to read "As a young man, 'he'" instead, it would be pronoun confusion, as the prior "Washington" referenced was the first name of Mr. Ferguson, not Booker T. Washington.

Suggested Edit "As a young man, (insert Booker T.) Washington (or Booker Washington, or just Booker, something referring back to the correct "Washington")..."

Thanks! Halfwayd (talk) 06:46, 12 July 2019 (UTC)

 Done @Halfwayd: thanks for the suggestion. Regards, Willbb234 (talk) 13:17, 12 July 2019 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 4 February 2020

74.87.212.174 (talk) 19:53, 4 February 2020 (UTC)
 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. You have not made any request. Eggishorn (talk) (contrib) 21:35, 4 February 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 22 March 2020

The sentence "On April 7, 1940, Washington became the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp." doesn't have a citation. I will add the reference: https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/african-american-stamp-subjects.htm Mason van Gogh (talk) 12:12, 22 March 2020 (UTC)

 Done and thanks. Goldsztajn (talk) 18:23, 27 March 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 3 February 2021

Booker T Washington's birthdate is incorrect according to multiple other sources. I would like to have this corrected to the correct date of April 5, 1856. Here are a few links for sources.

https://www.tuskegee.edu/discover-tu/tu-presidents/booker-t-washington https://www.britannica.com/biography/Booker-T-Washington https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/booker-t-washington Tcwoodie (talk) 00:37, 3 February 2021 (UTC)

 Done. ◢  Ganbaruby!  (Say hi!) 02:14, 3 February 2021 (UTC)

Works addition needed

The Man Farthest Down: a record of observation and study in Europe, 1912.

File:Booker T. Washington by Francis Benjamin Johnston, c. 1895.jpg scheduled for POTD

Hello! This is to let editors know that the featured picture File:Booker T. Washington by Francis Benjamin Johnston, c. 1895.jpg, which is used in this article, has been selected as the English Wikipedia's picture of the day (POTD) for April 18, 2021. A preview of the POTD is displayed below and can be edited at Template:POTD/2021-04-18. For the greater benefit of readers, any potential improvements or maintenance that could benefit the quality of this article should be done before its scheduled appearance on the Main Page. If you have any concerns, please place a message at Wikipedia talk:Picture of the day. Thank you! Cwmhiraeth (talk) 10:30, 31 March 2021 (UTC)

Booker T. Washington

Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) was an American educator, author, narrator, and adviser to multiple presidents of the United States. Born into slavery, he became the leading voice of former slaves and their descendants, and was one of the founders of the National Negro Business League. His long-term goal was to end the disenfranchisement of the vast majority of African Americans, who at that time still lived in the South. After his death, his legacy was seen as controversial by the civil-rights community, which criticised him for accommodating excessively to white supremacy.

Photograph credit: Frances Benjamin Johnston; restored by Adam Cuerden

Recently featured:

"manipulate the media"?

"manipulate the media"? Sounds like an unnecessary – if not inaccurate – characterization. How about "influence the media"? Misty MH (talk) 07:58, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

Why have intro and "Overview" sections?

What is the purpose of separate intro and "Overview" sections? Isn't the intro itself supposed to be the overview? —  AjaxSmack  08:04, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

referring to him by his first name

The article refers to Booker T. Washington as Washington in some places and as Booker in other places. Referring to him by his first name is improper, and it is used inconsistently. Should it be changed? Sunshine-moonshine-0 (talk) 20:34, 29 September 2021 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 29 October 2021

I would like to add the following information under the Descendant section:

The youngest of Booker T. Washington’s three children, Ernest Davidson (1889-1938), married Edith Eugenia (Meriwether) Washington (1891-1968). They were the parents of four of Booker T. Washington’s granddaughters, Agnes Louise Washington O’Neal (1919-1999), Margaret Ernestine Washington Clifford, formerly Cabiness (1921-2009), Edith Eugenia Washington Johnson, formerly Hughes (1924-2002), and one private (1). Agnes Louise Washington O’Neal gave birth to the last born of Washington’s great-grandchildren, Dr. Sarah Washington O’Neal Rush, founder of Booker T. Washington Empowerment Network (BTWEN), created to carry on his legacy of improving the lives of disadvantaged youth and their families (2,3).

References:

(1) http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Washington-41 (2) https://www.tuskegee.edu/news/washington-descendant-to-keynote-april-7-founders-day-convocation (3) https://www.amazon.com/Rising-Blood-Reclaimed-Autobiography-Great-Granddaughter/dp/0692312749/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2SHR7AKP9MWZM&dchild=1&keywords=rising+up+from+the+blood&qid=1635457782&sprefix=rising+up+from+the+blood%2Caps%2C155&sr=8-1 Srush33 (talk) 04:58, 29 October 2021 (UTC) Srush33 (talk) 04:58, 29 October 2021 (UTC)

 Done with language edits. Omitted Amazon from sourcing (not reliable for fact-checking and not necessary). Heartmusic678 (talk) 12:34, 2 November 2021 (UTC)
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