Booker T. Washington attends a tense meeting in Boston.
April 30, 1908
(Spring) Washington meets with Boston African-American leaders at a dinner at Young’s Hotel. According to Washington’s biographer, it ends when William H. Lewis, a lawyer and a Harvard football coach, tells Washington to go back to the South and concentrate on educating the Negro and “leave to us the matters political affecting the race.” Lewis subsequently changes his position and becomes a strong supporter of Washington.
Sources
- Massachusetts Historical Review