Assess the view that Booker T. Washington was the most important leader in the development of African American civil rights in the period of 1865 to 1992.

Marcus Garvey arrived in America and immediately formed a new branch of his UNIA in 1917. He was inspired by Washington, and believed black people should pursue socioeconomic change. Yet his motivation was for blacks to eventually ‘return to Africa’, and he was important as he inspired support from wealthy blacks, by investing in ships, and he also gained support from working-class blacks by concurring that white people would never allow equality; he successfully encouraged black pride. He was important because this attitude set in motion the ‘Black Power’ attitude that would emerge in the 1960s, while in comparison, Washington encouraged a ‘modest’ and ‘victimised’ black attitude – which was, overall, received negatively by black people. However, Garvey’s career coincided with economic prosperity, the Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance; these positive factors would have happened regardless of Garvey – giving him less importance as a leader of African Americans towards civil rights. The fact that Washington had the Jim Crow laws and extremely racist Supreme Court officials to contend with, compared with Garvey’s “lucky” timing of the economy and weakened Supreme Court – by Du Bois – this can show that Washington was more important than Garvey. Washington may not have achieved much, compared to other leaders, but he was at the very start of the period – challenging America when racism was still deeply engrained. Whereas Garvey also did not achieve much, but he came at a time when attitudes had already begun to change – Garvey was not as important as Washington.

Malcolm X continued Garvey’s view of white racism never changing, but his attitude was more radical than Garvey’s and perhaps not as important as Washington, as Malcolm X had advantages during his career; while Washington’s only advantage was his education. X was still an important leader, as he was easy for the vast majority of impoverished blacks to relate to; whereas Washington alienated most blacks, by having a number of white associates. Malcolm X was not the most important, however, because he was too radical and did not aim for political change like Du Bois, he alienated white support – unlike Washington, and he thought it was too late to return to Africa, unlike Garvey. Malcolm X created conflict at a time when Martin Luther King began his successful campaign of non-violence and equality – the approach Washington was taking at the beginning of the period. Washington was not the most important leader because he was not radical enough, but he was more important than Malcolm X, who was too radical.

Martin Luther King was the most important leader in black civil rights; although he did benefit from Du Bois’ successful court cases, Washington’s initiation of the importance of education and the factors of Lyndon B. Johnson and the media and public sympathy from Eugenie ‘Bull’ Connor’s harsh judgments. King’s 1963 ‘I have a dream’ speech, during the March on Washington, shows his importance as a leader, because he gained support from almost all parts of African American society unlike all the past leaders. Specifically in comparison to Washington alienating most blacks with prominent white support. King formed the SCLC in 1957, and unlike other leaders, he inspired the support of young people – students went on to form the SNCC; and these young people and King, carried out successful forms of peaceful protest, such as freedom rides and sit-ins. In comparison, Washington did not inspire particular parts of black society to do anything about civil rights – he merely encouraged education and less resentment towards the white man – in that sense, the social sense, Washington was not the most important leader, Martin Luther King was. Even in the political sense, King was the most important leader and Washington was clearly not as important as even Du Bois and the NAACP. For example, King was so successful with Governmental support, that by 1961 810 Southern towns had desegregated facilities. Whereas Washington merely lunched with Teddy Roosevelt and attended events with White political figures while the Supreme Court remained racist.

To conclude, although Martin Luther King had a number of benefits: the most supportive president, the wonders of the media, growing white sympathy and a golden opportunity with the 100th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation – King was clearly the most important leader. Garvey and Malcolm X had too strong a view, and did not take action to help African Americans for a sustained period of time, Du Bois was perhaps the second most important – as the NAACP showed a gradual success in the courts; encompassing social and political change. Booker T. Washington was important as he set civil rights activism in motion, but he did not take on a role as important as Martin Luther King.