The speech, delivered on Sept. 18, 1895, was honored on its 100th anniversary with the erection of an historic marker on the site of the address near the 14th Street entrance to Piedmont Park. The marker's unveiling was the kickoff of a slate of events in recognition of the centenary of the exposition. Atlanta organizations such as the Atlanta History Center, the Mayor's office, the High Museum of Art and other local colleges and universities have joined with Emory to sponsor and host the three-month calendar of celebratory events.
Byrd, who wrote the proposal for the marker, explained in his opening remarks that the Atlanta Exposition's primary goal was to "promote national unity in political and economic terms only 31 years after the civil war." He further noted, "the Atlanta Exposition was not only an opportunity for the business and political leaders of Atlanta to make visible the dream of the new south imagined by Henry Grady, but also it was an opportunity . . . to demonstrate that national unity was predicated upon racial unity."
In addition to Washington's contributions as a lobbyist, which resulted in the awarding of a $200,000 federal appropriation for the exposition, he also was instrumental in the construction of the Negro Building, the site of all African American exhibitions. Just as the exposition represented a vision of a new and progressive South, Washington was a symbol of the progress of race relations in the South. Washington symbolized to the exposition board members "the coalescence of ideological and economic forces that would transform the South from the site of a national conflict into the site of a national reconciliation with local and regional economic benefits," explained Byrd.
The unveiling featured presentations from local officials including Mayor Bill Campbell as well as members of the Washington family. Margaret Washington Clifford, granddaughter of Washington, defended the intent of the exposition address. She recalled her own education at Tuskegee Institute, the school founded by her grandfather. Benjamin Payton, president of Tuskegee University, presented a rousing speech in defense of the address garnering a standing ovation from the crowd. "Rarely has one man or one address had such an impact on one nation and generated such controversy," he said. Referring to historian Louis R. Harlan, Payton quoted from the essay, "Booker T. Washington in Biographical Perspective" originally published in American Historical Review in 1970, in which Harlan calls Washington "so complex and enigmatic that historians do not know what to make of him." He stressed that "even those who disagreed with it weren't able to ignore it, so important were the modes and themes of his address."
Louis R. Harlan, professor emeritus of history, University of Maryland, College Park, who received a Pulitzer Prize for his two-volume biography of Washington, opened the discussion with his analysis of the historical and biographical context in which Washington delivered his famous address. Calling the address a major turning point in this country's race relations, Harlan said, "I have always been critical of the concessions to white racism that Washington made in his address."
Harlan reminded the audience of the historical context of violence against blacks in which Washington delivered the speech. Harlan noted that Washington's speech was an instant success because of its conciliatory tone and its bargain of mutual progress, hurtling Washington into the role of African American spokesperson for two decades. Harlan described the Atlanta address as "a compromised formulation that I hope nobody would want to resurrect today."
David Levering Lewis, Martin Luther King Jr. professor of history, Rutgers University, and Pulitzer Prize recipient for his biography of W.E.B. DuBois, was equally critical of the bargain proposed by Washington. "Booker T. Washington's address suggested that the civil rights of black people were endlessly negotiable," he said. Lewis recalled his adolescent years in Atlanta and seeing the statue in front of the Booker T. Washington High School of Washington holding a veil while a young man kneels at his feet looking up at him. He said that he often asked himself whether Washington was lifting or lowering the veil over the young man's head.
William S. McFeeley, Richard J. Russell professor of history, University of Georgia, who received the Pulitzer for his biography of Frederick Douglass, dubbed the exposition address as "a sad day for Americans, black and white Americans." Describing the message of the address as "a withering of the spirit." He said, "It is a sad day when gorgeous oratory can make the barriers between the races seem bearable."
Darlene Clark Hine, professor of history, Michigan State University, commented upon the reception among women through the lens of Madame C.J. Walker, former washer woman who went from a sharecropper's home to a 34-room mansion in New York. Walker represented the sort of self-help and entrepreneurial progress that Washington touted in his address. "Considering their backgrounds, they should have been friends. Her life and work symbolized his teachings," said Hine.
Michael S. Harper, professor of English, Brown University and poet laureate of Rhode Island, presented a poem in honor of the celebration titled "Aborigines." Harper explained that the term "aborigines" means "those who by deeds learn to belong." Harper's poem contained references to faxes and the Internet, reminding the audience of the contemporary implications and connections of Washington's address. In his scholarly writing Harlan has pointed to the reason why Washington and his famous address still infuriates and inspires Americans today. In his essay "Washington and the Politics of Accommodation," he writes, "like Frederick Douglass before him and Martin Luther King after him, he had the program and strategy and skill to influence the behavior of not only the Afro-American one-tenth, but the white nine-tenths of the American people."
In addition to the events and exhibits planned around the city in honor of the centennial celebration, a symposium titled "Race, Identity and Public Culture" will be held on Friday, Oct. 13, and Saturday, Oct. 14, at Emory. The symposium will consist of four presentations involving Jacquiline Brown, anthropology and African American studies; Amy Lang, ILA; Robert Paul, ILA; Ivan Karp, NEH professor; and Thee Smith, religion; as well as other scholars from around the nation. Watch in future issues of Emory Report for more information or call 727-7602.
--Matt Montgomery