In September of 1895, Booker T. Washington took a radical
step and addressed a predominately white audience at the Cotton
States and International Exposition in
Atlanta. During
this time racial tensions in the South were still very high, and many people
did not think Atlanta
was ready for such an event. However, those Southerners in charge of the event
wanted to impress the Northerners in attendance with Washington's address, using it as evidence
of racial progress in the South. Throughout the speech, Washington spoke about Black people in a
matter that today many would call "accommodationist" or "assimilationist." He
spoke to the white people at the exposition in a way that communicated they