Lasting Impact
Booker T. Washington died on November 14, 1915, but his legacy lives on even to this day, and his impact on the education of blacks was huge. Tuskegee became one of the leading schools in the country under Washington's leadership. The school had more than 100 well equipped buildings, a 200-member faculty teaching 38 trades and professions, 1,500 students, and a nearly $2 million endowment at the time of Washington's death. Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, now known as Tuskegee University, currently has about 3,153 students today. Washington was criticized by many northern activists for allowing African Americans to be segregated, but in the south, there was much more racism and discrimination towards blacks. Washington was fine with African Americans taking a "back seat" to whites, but he secretly financed several court cases that challenged segregation. Washington may have not fought for integration between blacks and whites, but he did fight for a practical and useful education for blacks.