1. Booker T. Washington has been said to be one of the most influential African Americans of his time, and after his death passed that position on to W.E.B. Du Bois. Although both influential, their positions on how to acquire equal treatment were very different. In a short essay, compare and contrast the views of both men.



2. In his 1895 Atlanta Compromise speech, Booker T. Washington outlined his position of equal but separate facilities for blacks and whites. Write a persuasive speech in response to this concept either for or against separate and equal.



3. Booker T. Washington is known in history for many things, but one of the most impressive is his leadership of Tuskegee College, which he ran from its beginning to his death in 1915. Today it is a university of 3,000 students offering many areas of study. Do some research on the present day Tuskegee College. Use that information to make a brochure that could be sent to prospective students interested in attending the college.



4. Booker T. Washington advised Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft on racial matters. Based on his views, what advice do you think he gave them? Discuss several areas and your reasons for choosing them in a short essay.

Ideas submitted by Debbie Dickerson, a social studies teacher in Kansas.