Remembering Booker T. Washington, The Wizard of Tuskegee

On August 18, 1915, in Boston, Mass. Booker T. Washington gave his final public speech to the National Negro Business League. Less than three months Mr. Washington would die at his beloved Tuskegee Institute at the age of 59. When you think of 2 men who carried the voice of the people in the late 19th and early 20th Century, the names WEB DuBois and Booker T. Washington come to mind.

Booker T. Washington, 12 years DuBois senior made some say his most famous speech in 1895 in Atlanta, Georgia, "the cast your bucket" speech. Many people say Booker T. Washington underestimated the level of vile hatred southern whites had for black people. By the time of his death, the great migration of southern black people to the north and west was in its infancy. Come with me today as I go back 104 years to Mr. Washington's last public speech, in his words, my voice.

The Wizard of Tuskegee still impacts the nation today. His greatest accomplishment in life was the development of Tuskegee University. Tuskegee graduates are still among the many African Americans men and women leading communities across this nation with the philosophy that was instilled by Booker T. Washington. For me personally I happen to admre and respect David Wilson, who is the current President of my alma mater Morgan State University for structuring the school for incredible greatness in the future.