Booker T. Washington

Character Key: 
Display Name: 
Booker T. Washington
Sort Name: 
Washington, Booker T.
Race: 
Black
Gender: 
Male
Class: 
Middle Class
Rank: 
Peripheral
Vitality: 
Dead
Occupation: 
Professional
Specific Job: 
Educator
Date of Birth: 
Saturday, April 5, 1856
Origin: 
Virginia
Cause of Death: 
Old Age
Biography: 

At the end of the novel Gavin mentions "Booker T. Washington" twice while talking to Lucas, contrasting the way Lucas did "what nobody expected you to" with how Washington "did only what everybody expected of him" (237). Gavin's meaning is extremely difficult to pin down. The historical Booker T. Washington was born into slavery but by the end of the 19th century perhaps the most prominent black leader in America. As the principal of Tuskegee Institute, a prominent orator and an adviser to several U.S. presidents, his ideas about how to improve the position of blacks in American society were both controversial and influential.

Ontological Status: 
Historical/Real
Individual or Group: 
Individual
Character changes class in this text: 

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