Historic Fair Park: Booker T. Washington

The Visit of Booker T. Washington

Machinery Hall, built in 1886, later became the Manufacturers Exhibit Hall, then finally, in 1899, the State Fair Auditorium. In this latter capacity the building was the venue for large meetings of all kinds. One of the most noteworthy was the 1900 "Colored Ministers Congress," which featured the celebrated African-American educator Booker T. Washington as the keynote speaker on Sunday, October 5 - designated "Colored People's Day" at the State Fair.

Washington, founder and President of the prestigious Normal and Industrial Institute of Tuskegee, Alabama, appeared in Dallas only a little more than five years after he gave his famous "Atlanta Compromise" speech at the opening of the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia. On that occasion the noted lecturer declared that "in all things social" blacks and whites could "be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress," a statement that angered W.E.B. Dubois, another prominent African-American leader, who interpreted Washington's words as tacit approval of segregation. In his book, The Souls of Black Folks, Dubois excoriated Washington for making the statement.

The "Atlanta Compromise" speech notwithstanding, Washington remained a highly respected figure in black communities across the nation and when he came to Dallas in 1900, thousands of people, whites as well as blacks, turned out to hear him repeat his belief that before blacks could expect to be treated on an equal footing with whites they must first equip themselves with the practical skills that industrial and agricultural education could provide. "Knowledge must be harnessed to the things of real life," said Washington, adding:

Every colored mechanic is, by virtue of circumstance, an elevator of his race. Every house built by black men is a strong tower against the allied hosts of prejudice. It is impossible for us to attach too much importance to this aspect of the subject. Without industrial development there can be no wealth; without wealth there can be no leisure; without leisure, no opportunity for thoughtful reflection and the cultivation of the higher arts.

In other words, said Washington, if black people hoped to get ahead they needed to prove that they were worthy of both the rights and responsibilities of citizenship:

The foundation of citizenship, it seems to me, rests upon the intrinsic worth of each individual or group of individuals. No law can push the individual forward when he is worthless, no law can hold him back when he is worthy. The worthy may be inconvenienced but never defeated.

At the same time, the famed educator reminded the white people listening to his speech that:

Every white man in America should make an especial effort to deal justly and generously with the black race. In doing this you will not only help the Negro, but you will help yourselves. It is easy to treat those who are our equals in wealth, intelligence and social standing with justice, generosity, and politeness but the time to find the true worth of an individual is when he is in contact with an unfortunate individual or race. Any one can stand for their rights when the world applauds, but real courage is tested in standing for the right when the world condemns.

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Notice: The image of Booker T. Washington is from the Library of Congress American Memory Collection website.