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Primary sourcePhotographc. 1895

Portrait of Booker T. Washington

Frances Benjamin Johnston · c. 1895

A studio photograph of Booker T. Washington taken around 1895, showing him at the time of his rise to national prominence.

This studio portrait is the standard lifetime likeness of Washington, taken at the height of his rise to national prominence.

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Black-and-white studio portrait of a seated man in a three-piece suit with a high-collared shirt, bow tie, and vest with a watch chain. He sits angled toward the viewer against a dark drape backdrop, looking directly at the camera.
Frances Benjamin Johnston, Portrait of Booker T. Washington, c. 1895.

About this source

What it is

This is a studio portrait photograph of Booker T. Washington, taken by photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston around 1895. He is shown seated, dressed formally in a suit with a bow tie and watch chain.

Why it matters

Taken around the time of his famous Atlanta Compromise speech, this portrait became the standard image of Washington during his lifetime, shaping how the public pictured the man who had become the nation's leading Black spokesman.

Look closer

  • What does Washington's clothing and pose suggest about how he wanted to be seen?
  • Why might a formal studio portrait like this have been important for a public figure at this time?
  • What is left out of a posed photograph like this that a candid photo might show?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Booker T. Washington on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Booker T. Washington sources

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Black-and-white photo of a man in a dark suit standing on an elevated platform, arm outstretched, addressing a large crowd of people gathered outdoors, with buildings and trees in the background.Speech

Primary source

Atlanta Compromise

Booker T. Washington · 18 September 1895

Front cover of a dark red cloth-bound book. Gold lettering reads 'UP FROM SLAVERY, AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY, BOOKER T. WASHINGTON', with gold rules under the title and author name.Book

Primary source

Up from Slavery

Booker T. Washington · 1901

Speech

Primary source

Booker T. Washington reading an excerpt from his 1895 Atlanta Compromise speech

Booker T. Washington · 5 December 1908

Title page of The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches by W. E. Burghardt Du Bois, Second Edition, with a printer's device reading A. C. McClurg, and imprint Chicago, A. C. McClurg & Co., 1903.Book

Secondary source

The Souls of Black Folk

W. E. B. Du Bois · 18 April 1903

Handwritten Supreme Court of the United States record, No. 210, October Term 1895, Homer Adolph Plessy, plaintiff in error, versus J. H. Ferguson, Judge of Section A Criminal District Court for the Parish of Orleans. Text states the judgment is affirmed with costs, signed Mr. Justice Brown, dated May 18, 1896, with a dissent noted by Mr. Justice Harlan.Document

Primary source

Plessy v. Ferguson

Supreme Court of the United States · 18 May 1896

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