"I knew that, in a large degree, we were trying an experiment--that of testing whether or not it was possible for Negroes to build up and control the affairs of a large education institution. I knew that if we failed it wold injure the whole race."
American educator, author, and orator who became a leading Black intellectual figure in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He founded the Tuskegee Institute and promoted industrial education. He was one of the most influential voices in U.S. education and civil society of his era.