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The “Atlanta Compromise” is the common name given to Booker T. Washington’s September 1895 address delivered at the opening of the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia, before a predominantly white audience. Because of his popularity as founder and principal of the Tuskegee Institute, his conservative views, and his rise as a black leader, Washington was asked to deliver the address. His speech was given at a time when violence and hostility toward blacks was intense and blacks were pushing for equality. The speech was a statement of his public philosophy on race relations, one that he espoused throughout his life. In his speech, he offered a compromise between the demands of whites for segregation and the demands of blacks for civil and political equality. Washington said, “The wisest among my race understand that the agitation of questions of social equality is the extremist folly,” thereby allaying white concerns. He urged African Americans to “Cast down your buckets where you are” and to pursue economic enterprises, not to seek social relationships. “In all things that are purely social we can be as separate as the fingers.” He advocated a gradual advancement of the race through hard work, economic improvement, and self-help. Even though the speech addresses both races, it was seen as telling black people to maintain the status quo. Whites accepted Washington’s speech in good spirits, and many blacks approved it, as well. It led to Washington being recognized as the spokesperson for black people.

“With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.”

Helen R. Houston