To what extent

were black
leaders important
between 18771960?
Lauren Griffiths

 Grew up in the Reconstruction Era

Founded the Tuskegee Institute 1881 a black school in Alabama, devoted

to training teachers

Helped to form the National Negro Business League

Advisor to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft
Recognized for his educational advancements and attempts to promote

economic self-reliance among African Americans

Washington urged blacks in a speech in Atlanta (1895) saying 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. Basically
work within the system.

He laboured against the Jim Crow laws and tried to help protect the blacks

from lynching's

Booker T.
Washington
Success is to be measured not so
much by the position that one has
reached in life as by the obstacles
which he has overcome.

He argued that the races should work together but remain separate

socially

Conflicts with W.E.B. Du Bois because Du Bois disagreed with his

acceptance of segregation

Booker T. Washington was an important figure because he fought for the

African American's rights very wisely . He knew that they would not achieve
equality at this point in time so he decided to help them economically. He
knew that this would help them socially as well especially in the long run.
7/10

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Educated at Fisk University (1885-1888), Harvard University

(1888-1896), and the University of Berlin (1892-1894)

Founding officer of the NAACP in 1909

Involved in the Niagara Movement where he and other black

professionals solidified goals for improvements of black
American lives

Niagara Movement fizzled out after a few years

Editor of the NAACPs magazine,The Crisis. He took the role of

a propagandist for the black protest from 1910 until 1934

Clashed with Booker T. Washington

As the editor ofThe Crisis, he encouraged the development of

black literature and art Told the readers to see Beauty in
Black.

Became obsessed with the idea of political unity and

cooperation between all Africans (supported Pan-Africanism)

W.E.B. Du Bois was a dedicated campaigner against Jim Crow

laws, lynching's and the loss of voting rights. He left the NAACP in
1934 after years of writing extensively and being one of the best
known spokespersons for African-American rights of the time.
6.5/10

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importance?

W.E.B Du
Bois
A little less complaint and whining,
and a little more dogged work and
manly striving, would do us more
credit than a thousand civil rights
bills.

 Attended Fisk University and Rust University

Having bought a first-class train ticket to Nashville, she was outraged

when the train crew ordered her to move to the car for African
Americans, and refused on principle. As she was forcibly removed
from the train, she bit one of the men on the hand.

Wells sued the railroad, winning a $500 settlement in a circuit court

case. However, the decision was later overturned by the Tennessee

Supreme Court.Helped to form the National Negro Business League

This led to Wells picking up a pen and becoming a journalist

She led an anti-lynching crusade in the 1890s
Landed a job as a teacher but was fired in 1891 for her attacks
She wrote in depth about the lynchings in the south for a newspaper

run by a former slave, T. Thomas Fortune

Helped to form the National Association of Coloured Women in 1896

Conflicts with W.E.B. Du Bois because Du Bois disagreed with his

acceptance of segregation

Ida B. Wells
The way to right wrongs is
to turn the light of truth upon
them.

Ida B.Wells was a very significant and important figure because she
helped to establish several civil rights organisations, fought very strongly
against inequality (stemming from her train experience) and increased
awareness hugely in the US about the social and political problems the
coloured people were facing. She once said, "I felt that one had better
die fighting against injustice than to die like a dog or a rat in a trap.". She
left behind an impressive legacy of social and political heroism. 8/10

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Left school at 14 and worked as a printer before becoming

involved in the Jamaican nationalist movement

Established the Universal Negro Improvement Association

(UNIA)- Harlem branch had about a 1000 members after a
year

Charismatic and powerful public speaker meaning he gained

popularity during times when rioting and general anti-black
feeling was rife

Began the weekly newspaper The Negro World in 1917

Garvey believed that African Americans should develop their

own institutions and minimise contact with whites. He
wanted colonisation and to establish an independent black
African empire.

His popularity dwindled in 1922 when he met with the Ku Klux

Klan leader in an attempt to expand the UNIAs influence in
the south- where most blacks still lived

NAACP leaders launched the Garvey must go campaign. He

was found guilty of mail fraud and sentenced a sentence of 5
years. He only served around 3 years and was then deported
back to Jamaica

Marcus Garvey was responsible for putting forward ideas that

helped to advance the political consciousness of blacks worldwide.
However, he failed to realise many of his objectives, meaning his
role as a leader was weakened. He did not manage to unite blacks
which he originally aimed to do. Garvey did demonstrate that the
urban masses were a potentially powerful force in the struggle for

Marcus
Garvey
Men who are in earnest are
not afraid of consequences.

 She attended school until the age of 16, when she left to look after her ill

Rosa Parks
Each person must live their
life as a model for others.

grandmother. She then had to care for her chronically mother. Rosa
eventually managed to earn her high school diploma
Rosa Parks was a respected member of Montgomerys large African-American
community
By refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama,
city bus in 1955, this helped initiate the civil rights movement in the
United States.
The leaders of the local black community organized a bus boycott that began
the day Parks was convicted of violating the segregation laws.
On November 13, 1956, the Supreme Court ruled that bus segregation was
unconstitutional. The boycott ended December 20, a day after the Courts
written order arrived in Montgomery.
Parks became known as the mother of the civil rights movement.
Parks was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal
When she died at age she became the first woman in the nations history to
lie in state at the U.S. Capitol
Rosa Parks waited for the correct time to fight back and it paid off. Her refusal
to give up her seat led to massive changes. The boycott and further support
showed the power of the black community. Montgomery had to lift the law
requiring segregation on public buses which was a huge achievement for the
African Americans. Rosa continued after to write about her experience and
supported other civil rights events. This is why she was an incredibly important
black leader. 9/10

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To what extent were black

leaders important 1877I1960?
believe that black leaders were incredibly
important during this period. The leaders
increased awareness for the black
community, led political movements, set up
important organisations and most
importantly, made strong statements to the
rest of the US. This all allowed the African
Americans to gradually change how they
were treated and show the power and
determination they had in order to achieve
equality. They made the breakthroughs that
many others were reluctant to do. Even
though some of them only made small
improvements, it allowed them to slowly
gain more power and control.