Midtown in Atlanta in Fulton County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
Booker T. Washington
1856-1915
Photographed by Byron Hooks, January 6, 2008
1. Booker T. Washington Marker
Erected 1995 by Georgia Historical Commission. (Marker Number 060-176.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists:
this page online
Location. 33° 47.179′ N, 84° 22.651′ W. Marker is in Atlanta, Georgia, in Fulton County. It is in Midtown. It is at the intersection of Piedmont Ave and 14th St NE on Piedmont Ave. This marker is located at the main entrance to Piedmont Park. The marker is not visible from the street. The park is closed between 11:00 pm and 6:00 am. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1491 Piedmont Ave NE, Atlanta GA 30309, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Georgia’s Piedmont. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Cotton States Exposition of 1895 (within shouting distance of this marker); Habersham Memorial Hall (approx. 0.2 miles away); Atlanta Woman's Club (approx. 0.3 miles away); Ansley Park (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Castle (approx. 0.4 miles away); Sector of Siege Line (approx. half a mile away); 61 16th Street Apartment Building (approx. half a mile away); Margaret Mitchell House (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Atlanta.
Photographed by Allen C. Browne, August 9, 2015
2. Booker T. Washington
This 1973 bust of Booker T. Washington by Richmond Barthι sits in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC.
“In the face of racial hatred, segregation, and disenfranchisement following the Civil War, it was unrealistic, Booker T. Washington contended, to expect African Americans to gain entry into America's white-collar professions. Instead, he suggested they establish themselves as a skilled and indispensable laboring class. With that accomplished, racial discrimination would gradually disappear. In 1881 Washington put this theory to the test, becoming the director of the newly created Negro Normal School in Tuskegee, Alabama. As the school grew, Washington became viewed as the nation's leading spokesman for African Americans. Yet by the century's end, many critics began to challenge his get along philosophy.” — National Portrait Gallery
“In the face of racial hatred, segregation, and disenfranchisement following the Civil War, it was unrealistic, Booker T. Washington contended, to expect African Americans to gain entry into America's white-collar professions. Instead, he suggested they establish themselves as a skilled and indispensable laboring class. With that accomplished, racial discrimination would gradually disappear. In 1881 Washington put this theory to the test, becoming the director of the newly created Negro Normal School in Tuskegee, Alabama. As the school grew, Washington became viewed as the nation's leading spokesman for African Americans. Yet by the century's end, many critics began to challenge his get along philosophy.” — National Portrait Gallery
