Charles W. Chesnutt to Booker T. Washington, 1 June 1908
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CHAS. W. CHESNUTT
1105 WILLIAMSON BUILDING
CLEVELAND, O.
Cleveland, O., June 1, 1908.
Dr. Booker T. Washington,
Tuskegee, Ala.
My dear Dr. Washington:-
I received your letter, requesting me to reserve for you at the Hollenden Hotel, a room with a bath, for June 29th and 30th.1 The manager stated that they would be glad to take care of you, but that they were not reserving rooms during the N. E. A. convention unless they were reserved for the whole period, to-wit: five days, beginning with the 29th.2 I told him that would be all right, that he should make the reservation, and since you were occupying the room for the first days of the period, it would probably not remain vacant at all after you gave it up; but if there were any loss, I would guarantee it. I hope this arrangement will meet your wishes.
My family join me in regards to you and yours.
Very Sincerely yours, Chas. W. Chesnutt.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 president 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 Hollenden Hotel was a luxury hotel in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. From 1888 to 1923, it had a large barbershop run by a prominent Black Clevelander, George A. Myers (1859–1930), who was active in local politics and a sometime correspondent of Chesnutt's. While Booker T. Washington stayed at the Hollenden on several occasions, Black guests were generally not welcome. [back]
2. The National Education Association, or NEA, is an organization for educators founded in 1857 as the National Teachers Association. The NEA's 1908 annual meeting was held June 29–July 3 in Cleveland, Ohio, and Booker T. Washington gave a speech on June 30 on "Negro Education and the Nation." (Reprinted in Journal of Proceedings and Addresses of the 46th Annual Meeting [Chicago: University of Chicago Press for the National Education Association, 1908], 87–93.) [back]
