Choice Review

Boston (Brockport State College) argues that recent historical work on Booker T. Washington, which paints a portrait of an accommodationist Uncle Tom, is sharply contradicted by an examination of primary sources. He convincingly argues that Washington had a shrewd grasp of the unholy political forces, cultural antipathies, and lynch mobs arrayed against blacks in the Deep South between the Civil War and WW I, and he carefully explains Washington's ideas and the key influences that molded them. Instead of preaching counterproductive confrontation, Washington developed a self-help agenda and put it into practice in building and directing the Tuskegee Institute and organizations like the Negro Farmers' Conference and the National Negro Business League. Washington "aggressively promoted his entrepreneurial ideas" and pressed African Americans to acquire "entrepreneurial mindsets" and "entrepreneurial practices." He lauded the achievements of captains of industry and persuaded them to monetarily support his program for uplifting and empowering blacks. Boston reveals how Washington's writings, speeches, and actions stressed the duty of successful individuals to help their brethren and outlined successful strategies for starting at the bottom and climbing up--while emphasizing practical education and the abundance of opportunities available to African Americans in the South. Summing Up: Recommended. All collections and levels. R. M. Whaples Wake Forest University