Challenging several of the commonly held views about Booker T. Washington and his followers, this collection of essays offers a new estimation of their accomplishments and successes as having been greater than previously recognized by historians. Criticized for his gradual approach and often called an accommodationist in his own time, Booker T. Washington’s influence on civil rights was nonetheless significant and his writing continues to educate on the efforts of post-Emancipation America. The book explores his connections with presidents, such as Theodore Roosevelt and Calvin Coolidge, and examines the issues of black entrepreneurship in both in the United States and Africa—providing guidance for today's African American community to seek a way and means to deal with economic dislocation and despair. It also presents a thorough study of Washington’s secretary, Emmett Jay Scott, whose own influence as a leader continued well into the modern era through his familial connections to the Black Panther Party. This important collection will round out scholarly studies of Booker T. Washington and the movement he created with the fresh perspective it presents.