irst half of the 20th century. Rather than judging Washington by
             contemporary standards, Harlan suggests, one must view Washington as he was
             in life, and judge him upon his own, rather than contemporary terms.
             It is easy to forget that during the heyday of his life, Washington
             was considered to be the foremost black America's foremost spokesman in the
             world. He attempted, not to conciliate, but to tread a middle ground.
             Washington feared a racial backlash that could cause a wider
             disfranchisement of African Americans than even existed at the time. He
             stated that African Americans should willingly; temporarily sacrifice
             claims to political and social equality, with an eye to economically better
             the community. The fruits of Washington's work still exists today, in the
             form of the Tuskegee Institute, an historically Black American college,
             designed to advance his aims through practical education.
             Washington's struggle was not that of a privileged man who had no idea
             of the struggles whom he went through. This makes him, in the judgment of
             history either less or more blameworthy for his stress upon hard work at
             the expense of all else. Up from Slavery, his autobiography, begins with
             Washington's chronicle of his childhood as a slave and states that his
             struggle for education led to his founding and presidency of the Tuskegee
             ...