Booker T. Washington to Charles Chesnutt, 26 October 1903
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BOOKER T. WASHINGTON, Principal.
WARREN LOGAN, Treasurer.
The.....TUSKEGEE NORMAL AND INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE
.....Tuskegee, Alabama.....
For the Training of Colored
Young Men and Women COMMITTEE ON INVESTMENT
OF ENDOWMENT FUND
MR. WM. H. BALDWIN. JR
President Long Island Railroad
128 Broadway, New York City
MR. J. G. PHELPS STOKES
47 Cedar St., New York City
MR. GEORGE F. PEABODY
77 Pine St., New York City
MR. ROBERT C. OGDEN
784 Broadway, New York City October 26, 1903. My Dear Mr. Chesnutt :--
Will you be kind enough to let me know something about the character and importance of the organization referred to in the enclosed letter. I would state in this connection that the sum mentioned would be no inducement for me to go to Cleveland because I get two or three times that amount elsewhere, but if it is a wealthy and influential organization, the amount received indirectly and later on would be more important than the sum mentioned.1
I have not had time since my return from Europe to take up the thread of our former correspondence which I enjoyed very much.2
I wonder if you have read my article in the October Atlantic Monthly, and how much of it, if any, you agree with? I suspect that we are about as far apart as usual.3
Are you resting your pen?
B.T.W.Correspondent: Booker T. Washington (1856–1913), one of the most well-known Black activists of the early 20th century, was born into slavery in Virginia; in 1881, he became the principal of what would become the Tuskegee Institute, advocating widely as a speaker and writer for technical education for Blacks, whose entry into American industry and business leadership he believed to be the road to equality. His political power was significant, but because he frequently argued for compromise with White Southerners, including on voting rights, he was also criticized by other Black activists, especially by W. E. B. Du Bois.
1. The enclosure has not survived, but see Chesnutt's answer from October 31, 1903, which makes clear that the inquiry about a speaking opportunity in Cleveland came from Rabbi Gries of the Cleveland Temple for the Temple Course lecture series.[back]
2. Booker T. Washington took a vacation in Europe in September and October 1903, returning to New York on October 13, 1903.[back]
3. "The Fruits of Industrial Training" by Booker T. Washington was published in the Atlantic Monthly 92, no. 552 (October 1903): 453-62.[back]
